#charlie is live-in ex who i still live with and sleep in the same bed with and hang out with all the time

[elliesbelle]

r u and charlie broken up?

yes ma’am/sir

[ninchen1909]

A drunken rage and a sober confession

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Words: 1.116

Warnings: the use of alcohol, fluff

Summary: Bucky confesses his feelings to you after he comes to you after a date gone wrong. But you won't hear his confession since you're sleeping. But are you really sleeping?

 „I mean come on Buck, don’t let this chick get you down, she doesn’t know what she’s missing. You’re nice, sweet, funny, generous, you make the best chocolate Chip cookies I’ve ever tried und you have the world cutest daughter. Seriously it’s her loss, now she will never see your ass in the pants of your fireman uniform. “

And here you are, standing in front of your best friend, one hand on your hip, while you hold a half empty  bottle of vodka  with the other one. Giving your best friend the best speech about self-worth that you can, in your admittedly quite drunken condition.

When Bucky called you earlier, to ask you  if he can come over,  you were surprised, you expected him to still be on the date of which he told you, with the "really cute lady" he had met at the supermarket.

And of course you weren't even the slightest bit jealous when he told you about it. No, of course you weren't. And certainly this date is not the reason why you have been drinking for two hours already.  I mean it’s not like you've been totally hopelessly in love with him for over four years now, without him noticing.

But how could you not be in love with him? Bucky is always there for you when you're down, he supports you where he can and every time you see him in his firefighter uniform you have to be careful that your jaw doesn’t hit the ground.  The only one who knows about your feelings for Bucky is your best friend Natasha, apparently you didn't keep your ogling as secret as you thought you did, as she soon found out about your crush on him. After a long talk from her, you wanted to ask him out, but unfortunately it was the same day that he told you about the "supermarket lady".

So you locked your feelings deep in your heart and were happy for him as much as you could. After all, it's been a long time since he threw himself into the dating pool. Ever since his now ex-girlfriend ,Lisa, left him about two years ago, leaving their then seven-month-old daughter Charlotte with him.

All the time you are walking up and down the living room giving while giving him your uplifting monologue, Bucky is sitting on your sofa, grinning and following your movements with his eyes.

“Angel, it's really not that big of a deal. She just didn't want to have a little kid in her life. And that's ok. As long as I have you and Charlie, I will be fine.”

You roll your eyes and pause in your movement:” Why am I angrier at this woman than you are, she knew you had a daughter before the date.” you look at him questioningly.

“First of all she did know I have a daughter, yes but she didn’t know Charlie is still so young. And second you’re angry because you are drunk, you always get upset faster when you are drunk. But honestly how much did you drink and why?”

While he was answering you, Bucky got up and moved closer to you.

Only now do you really notice the affect of the alcohol, before that you were still distracted by your angry rant

Your slight swaying, a clear sign of your alcohol level.

Bucky seems to notice this, because he carefully pulls you close to him, to stabilize you.

"Come on, let's get you to bed" he carefully tries to move you towards the bedroom, but you stop him: "No, I have to be there for you today and take care of you, not you for me.”

Smiling lovingly, Bucky looks you in the eye:” Just seeing you today, made this day better, and as I said, I’m fine. And you little miss, are definitely drunk, so off to bed you go.”

This time you go with him willingly.

When you arrived in your bedroom, he helps you out of your clothes. While Bucky disappears into the kitchen to get you a glass of water for the night, you snuggle up under your covers. As you lie there you feel everything start to spin, so you close your eyes to avoid getting overwhelmed.

You can hear Bucky's footsteps as he approaches your bedroom again, but you can't bring yourself to open your eyes, you’re way too tired. Apparently he thinks you fell asleep because his steps slow down and he tries to walk as quietly as possible. You realize, that he is now standing next to your bad as he puts the glass of water down on your bedside table. However, you still do not open your eyes. You feel his hand lovingly stroking your forehead and wiping your hair off your face.

Your mattress sinks in slightly and you notice that he has sat down next to you on the bed, stilling running his fingers through your hair, he sighs, then begins to speak softly: ”Oh angel, if you only knew what you mean to me and that I only went on this date to forget you at least for a few hours. But I needed some way to take my mind off you. Getting that image of you, me and Charlie as a family out of your head. But I should have known that I can never get my mind  of you. Steve said I should finally confess my feelings to you and tell you the truth about Lisa and me. But I can't, what if you don't want to be friends with me anymore. I can bear never having you all to myself, but I could never deal with it, if you turned your back on me. If only I could tell you how beautiful you make my life. How many times I wish you were Charlie's mother, but I don't dare. Maybe someday I'll grow some balls, so I’m brave enough,  to tell you all this when you're awake, to tell you that I love you with all my heart and all my soul.  But not today.” Suddenly you feel fully sober again.

He gets up from your bed carefully, a few seconds later you feel his warm, soft lips blow a gentle kiss on your forehead before his steps move away from your bedroom. You hold your breath, only when you hear the front door slam softly do you open your eyes and let air flow into your lungs again.

Just to whisper a single, quiet sentence into the darkness of the room: "I love you too.

[angeldcgs]

"i know, it's kinda weird..." back when she was alive, it was perfectly normal to get married as soon as possible. in fact, if she'd remained unmarried at her age, she would've been seen as a spinster, with people assuming that something was wrong with her, but nowadays, people didn't feel the need to get married at all. val couldn't help but wonder just what sort of life she would've been able to live had she been born in the late twentieth century, likely able to avoid such a stifling marriage if she hadn't been conditioned to believe that was the only available option for her. having the privilege of being able to live through decade after decade while remaining the ripe age of twenty eight, she couldn't help but be jealous of the generations that preceded her, witnessing the freedoms they gained, while also growing frustrated by the regression that seemed to occur within the last decade or so. "really? never? not even if you find 'the one'?" it shouldn't matter to her, anyway, seeing as they'd never be able to actually be married, but knowing how he felt about longterm commitment still mattered to her. perhaps she was getting too ahead of herself, though— they'd yet to even sleep together, she still knew hardly anything about him, and, most importantly, he didn't know she was a vampire. all of that would come in due time. for now, she was laying the foundation, buttering him up so the eventual reveal would go more smoothly, learning what she could about him before she let herself get fully invested. but who was she kidding? she was already invested, and had been from the moment she'd smelled his blood, willing to overlook his many flaws if it mean she could continue feeding off him. they could have something good, maybe not a traditional relationship, but something still beneficial for the both of them. he clearly needed someone to take care of him, and val just so happened to be conditioned to do just that, tapping into her former skills as a housewife in order to provide him with the attention he deserved. she didn't feel the same resentment as she did caring for her ex-husband all those years ago, almost seeing charlie as a child who wasn't capable of looking after himself, and therefor needed her to survive. "you sure?" she'd taken such care to buy a variety of options, trying to provide him with whatever he might have needed to get his strength back. since it had been so long since she'd relied on food to provide her sustenance, she wasn't exactly sure what would work best, and so she bought a little bit of everything. at least he continued to drink more of the pedialyte on his own, easing her worries just slightly. "oh, no! don't worry about it. they were having a sale, so... it's really not a big deal, it wasn't that much." the grand total had come out to a little under two hundred dollars, with a second bag of food still waiting for him on the floor beside the bed, but that was chump change when compared to how much money she had. it was the least she could do, anyway, and she wouldn't accept a single cent from him as payback. "do you want some water? i got water, too." she reached down and grabbed a big bottle of fiji water, influenced to buy it by the pretty packaging. "you can take a shower, if you want— if you feel up to it. just let me know what you need!"

"uh, yeah, i guess so." he didn't know many divorced people, or many people who were married either. the sorts of people he was in regular contact with didn't tend to be made for long term relationships, charlie included. marriage as a concept seemed so foreign to him, from his point of view people their age only got married in dire situations, during complete lapses of judgement and would be quick to rectify the situation. he couldn't picture val being that sort of person, the little he knew about her made her seem so put together, organised and careful in a way that didn't exactly mesh with the concept of her marriage he'd invented in his head. "yeah! yeah, uh, i don't really see myself ever getting married." why was he talking about that? she didn't need to know about his commitment issues. he was trying to make himself look good, better than some guy who gets too drunk and passes out in an alley. it would be a downright miracle if he managed to get her to see him as more than that, he couldn't help but assume that some of her kindness was being put on because she pitied him and he didn't want that. he didn't want to be seen as someone who was unable to take care of himself, it was true but it was also something he'd come to accept about himself. as much as he might've wanted it, no one could live his life for him and girls didn't want a guy who they had to baby, that was what he thought anyway. whatever gut feeling she had about him, he didn't want to disappoint her by proving it false. he'd long since given up on the idea of being special to anyone, the thought of someone holding him in high regard like that did nothing except make him ill, yet val spoke with such earnestness that he felt a strange pull to act in opposition to what he'd come used to. he wanted to make her like him, that much was obvious and to some degree she already did. how far that stretched, charlie was unsure, the only thing he could do was try not to ruin whatever image she'd concocted with the dirty truth of who he was. there was little he could think of to say in return so he chose to smile and nod, deciding that it was best to agree with whatever fate-like conclusion val had come to in order to explain why she'd been drawn to helping him. he didn't believe in that kind of stuff but who was to say it wasn't true? what did he know? his brain was so fried from the countless overdoses and blackouts he'd had in his life that he couldn't really trust anything he thought or believed in. it was so much easier to go along with what other people said, trusting their judgement took responsibility away from him and at the end of the day, that was all he really wanted. once he'd sat upright and had the bag of food dumped on his lap, charlie curiously rummaged around for a second or two, determining what she had bought before pulling his hand back. "i'm okay for now, thanks." in truth, he felt a bit ill, sitting up had made his head spin and he was quickly becoming aware of a killer headache settling in the back of his skull, he said nothing about either issue though and tentatively reached out for one of the bottles instead. he'd ask to bring the bag with him when he went home, any chance not to waste his money on groceries was one he'd take eagerly. "i can, um, pay you back for all this." a gentlemanly offer that he hoped, prayed that she'd refuse. he was already imagining the price of the taxi home he was going to be forced into paying once he was ready to leave and the thought of having to call up his dealer and tell him he couldn't pick up that night like he'd been planning to was a devastating turn.

[chocominnie]

One Last Time 02  —  Pjm. (M)

⇢ pairing: Jimin X Reader

⇢ Genre: Idol!Jimin, Exbf!Jimin, model!reader, sad au, fluff, tons of smut, angst

⇢ Synopsis: Your idol ex boyfriend Jimin cheated on you. You two have been broken up for a while now and the media has been keeping track of you and him. You’re trying to get over him, but the things that happen inbetween makes you re-think the entire breakup, and so does Jimin…

⇢ Song : xxxxx

⇢ Previous : 00   01

⇢ Word Count : 

⇢ Warnings: dominant jimin, makeout sessions, this is honestly a sad angsty au, cheating, pregnancy, unprotected and protected sex, a bunch of sex, no really a LOT of sexual themes too, I know I’m forgetting some but sorry in advance!

⇢ Copyright: please do NOT repost, translate, or modify my works in any way, shape or form, on any platform. If found doing so , it is considered as plagiarism and appropriate LEGAL action will be taken

⇢ Authors note: This is my mini series for the summer! Get your tissues, things to take your anger out on, and sit back and watch the drama unfold. Shall we begin?

Your eyes shoot open, chest heaving heavily as you let out a blood curdling scream. Not this again. The same dream over and over again each night. It leaves you sleepless. The time on the clock on your nightstand reads 3:04 am. Just only four hours ago is when you fell asleep. But a full night’s sleep hasn’t happened for a year so why would it matter anyways.

Once you catch your breath you unplug your phone from the charger and read some of the notifications. From your window, the night-time critters sing their songs along with the persistant owl that’s somewhere around the apartment complex. You’d only noticed him, the owl, just a few months ago when your cat started meowing with his hoots. 

A missed call from your uncle. 

Immediately you unlock your phone and dial the number. Bringing your index finger to your mouth you gently nip on it waiting for it to answer, The rings are agonizing to you. If something has happened you only wish and pray it wasn’t as bad as you think. He’s the only parental figure left in your life.

‘‘ Princess! Hello I was just calling to speak to you earlier. But I realized you are five hours ahead of me and you had probably went to sleep.’‘

His soothing voice calms your emotions making you let out a tiny breath of air. Thank god.

‘’Hey Charlie.” You sigh. Looking towards your left, you spot Clara purring quietly next to you. You can’t help but to smile while bringing a hand over to rub her head with your thumb.  She’s so small under the shining moonlight from your window.

Her white coat shines brightly amongst her, making you remember the first night you had brought her home. All she did was sleep, and it worried you because you had no prior expierence caring for anything, let alone a small animal. Clara only drank kitten milk and slept back then. Occasionally being awake enough to nip at your fingers whenever you pet or touched her.

Now she’s a bit bigger and walks around the apartment like she owns the place. Quite the little attitude she has, but its too damn cute for you to scold her whenever she does something wrong. 

“ Yes I did fall asleep from after a gathering at someone’s house.’’ You continue on, bringing your knees to your chest after opening the curtain of your window fully.

The moons brightness illuminates the entire room, but not so bright for you to complain though. ‘’ Oh- was it Jimin’s? Tell him I said hell-’’

You bite your lip hard at his name. He doesn’t know and you wont even dare to let him know. Knowing him, your uncle would have a fit and oppose to come back to Seoul to ‘set the record straight.’ to Jimin. That’s the last thing you want to do, cause trouble.

‘‘ It was his brother’s house warming party.” You say, lowering your tone in your voice. You look at the nightstand for a couple of seconds just before opening the top drawer of the wooden, polished piece. Your hands shakily pull out a picture of you two together.

It was taken at  Marne-la-Vallée, France right infront of Cinderella’s castle. That was the day that you and Jimin had to went to Disneyland in Paris, France. You cant help but to think, with the picture in hand, that it was one of the best nights ever. It was also the same night your virginity was taken.

‘‘ Oh.. I know that tone. Are you two arguing at the moment.”

You shrug, “ I mean you could say that.’’

No you cant.

‘‘ Alright alright I won’t talk more of him. Let’s change the subject.” He chuckles deeply into the phone.

‘‘ How’s Europe? Anything new happening on base?”

‘‘ Same old Same old. It’s been what? 2 years since I’ve left Seoul? The food is different over here. They don’t have kimchi pancakes sadly.”

You can only imagine the frowny face he makes at you whenever he doesn’t approve or like something. It always turns out to be funny.

You giggle into the phone shaking your head slightly, “ Of course. You are in Europe Charlie. Where are you getting food from anyway if you are on base?’’

‘‘ I can go off base to a certain mileage when I am off duty. I just have to report back in time. But you do know that you can always come live on base with me...’ He trails off.

Oh boy. Here he goes. He’s always talking about moving you on base with him. Hell, he’s been talking about it since before he had to go to be based in Europe. By then you were twenty years old and old enough to live by yourself. Growing up in Daegu, Korea since you were six, you felt as if Korea was home to you and you definately weren’t ready to leave yet.

Especially, after losing your parents here. Around eight years old, your aunt and mother were on the way to pick up your father from the airport. With your mom and dad also being military and based in Korea with your dad’s bestfriend, your uncle Charlie, your father had been called to take military leave to go and be based in Korea for the National Guard.

On the way back from the airport, a drunk driver had struck the car knocking them off the road and colliding head first into the railing of the bridge. All bodies were reported dead upon collision, including your aunt. Charlie didn’t take the news well at all, and so did you. Only eight years old and still a bit new to a foreign country. It was devistating for you and Charlie. Charlie did what was right and stepped up to be your legal guardian while taking some time off from the military. Till this day, he treats you like his sacred little daughter and you can’t ask for anyone better than him.

 “You are old enough to live on your own and housing is avail-”

You jump at his voice on the line again, being too spaced out from the tragic memory. Before he can go on any longer you cut him off. ‘‘ Im fine with the apartment you left me. Im paying the bills on time and taking good care of it.”

‘‘ Alright fine. But that option is always available you hear me? I will always be ready for you to come with me.’’

‘‘ Okay Charlie” You groan.

‘‘ Alright.. sweetie it’s getting late on this side and it’s already 3 am on your side. Get some sleep okay? Don’t you have a model shoot thingy or something? You have those a lot.’‘

‘‘ Yes i actually do in a couple of hours. It’s been a while since I’ve did a shoot. Please eat and sleep well. Don’t injure yourself.’‘

‘‘ I promise. You promise to do the same right?’‘ He says, rustling movements are in the background.

‘‘ Yes I promise. Good night sleep tight..’‘ You smile as you wait for him to finish the rest.

He chuckles one last time on the other end, ‘‘I’ll always love you, goodnight‘’

Beep Beep Beep

You in a racy light pink lingerie with white duvets and sheets is the concept of your comeback. It’s supposed to symbolize the “Night After’’. Camera’s click and directors yell and praise you in your subtle yet damaging moves and facial expressions. You want.. no need for this comeback to be successful. Not only did your manager schedule this, but she is making sure that they release this same very day.

Nobody in this company’s industry has ever did this before. But you, you are sort of the special one. The special foreigner as they say. It’s not like you don’t like it but you don’t like that they label you as that. Stylists, employee’s hell even anybody who works there treat you as a princess. It’s not bad, but it’s just weird.

‘‘ One last one. Give me a sexy yet innocent look mama.’‘ Elliot, the director says, smiling wide at you.

You slip a finger into your mouth and do a little pout with your lips.

Elliot busts out into a roar of happiness with his hands clapping furiously. ‘‘That’s it mama yes! That’s just what we needed!’‘

Adjusting his microphone earpiece, he turns around to greet and thank everyone, ‘‘ Alright everybody this concludes our shooting! You all worked so hard today. Make it home safe, eat well.’‘

Finally. You sigh out in relief and close your eyes. It’s been a long day. Almost 6 hours of shooting. Three Videos, and five swap outfits for each session of shooting for the ‘’ Night After’’.  As everyone heads out and starts cleaning up you bow your head slightly and thank them.

A stylist brings you a satin robe to cover yourself in. You thank her and put it on just before getting up from the bed and walking towards wardrobe. Once you are done putting on your clothes, your manager leads you straight out the exit. Outside awaits the car that drives you everywhere. Literally everywhere.

‘‘ Tomorrow somebody has put in a special request for you to appear as the main lead girl in their music video. It’s short notice and I told them I would have to bump some things around and notify you. But they are paying us and you good money to be in it.’‘

Money? Sounds like a plan.

‘‘ It’s fine. Who am I shooting for?’‘ You say, fluffing your hair just a little while inspecting yourself in the rear view mirror.

Your makeup is still intact with no ruins and the contacts they had given you suited you very well. A hazel with a slight bit of teal. Suddenly the car moves off into the busy streets of Seoul. You can’t help but to notice every couple that walks along the sidewalks. They seem so happy, glad to be around each other.

On the floor of the car lies your little mini backpack filled with all of your items and belongings. Picking it up, you begin to dig through it looking for some hand lotion to soothe your semi-dry hands. Once you find it you gently start to squeeze the tube.

‘‘ Kim Namjoon.’‘

You freeze. Namjoon? The same Namjoon from the group? Joonie? It’s been well… a year since you’ve seen him in person. Hell since you’ve seen all of Bangtan Sonyeondan together. Except for lastnight when Hoseok and.. that guy showed up.

You sigh already knowing the answer from the question you are about to ask.

‘‘ From…?’‘ You ask then put the lotion back in your bag. Slowly you rub your hands together to moisturize.

Your manager quickly flips through the daily planner, ‘‘ Bangtan Sonyeodan but this is for one of his mixtape songs.’‘

Thank goodness.

‘‘ That’s fine. What time will the car be arriving tomorrow?’‘

‘‘ 8 am on the dot. You need to be there by 8:30. I’ll be tending to one of my other models tomorrow so you will be alone. I can send som-’‘

‘‘ No no it’s truly okay. I know how to manage things myself. Besides, I learn from you.’‘ You reassure her with one of your winning smiles, laying your head on her shoulder.

‘‘ Aigoo what am I going to do with you?’‘

The day ends very well. The movies you’ve been watching have kept you occupied. But not occupied enough for you to keep crying at all the sad parts in the chick flicks. Breakups, someone had died, someone had even just spilled something onto the floor and that was enough to send you into tears.Only because when the main lead boy rushed to help clean it up, it reminded you of Jimin last-night helping Isabel.

‘’What is going on with myself.’’ You blow your nose into a tissue for what seemed like the thousandth time today. Clara lets out one of her meows beside you then goes back to grooming herself.

You place her onto your lap and begin to run your fingers through her fur over and over again. Such a soothing effect to you as you stare into space sulking in your thoughts.

Why is it that you weren’t enough for him? Why is it that every single little thing reminds you of him? You gave him your all and he gave you his but what happened? Where did you go wrong? Cooked, cleaned, satisfied his needs. You guys had even started to plan out what you wanted out of a family. When you wanted a baby and what you would name it. It was fun. The whole relationship was fun. Right until that scandal.

Ding.. Ding.. Ding.. DI-

You unlock your phone immediately to stop that annoying dinging noise. Not surprisingly it’s a text from Jeon Jungkook.

Kookie : Im coming over I’ll be there in exactly 3 minutes.

Kookie: Don’t think about leaving either.

Kookie: Im bringing someone with me.

Kookie: We need to have a serious talk babycheeks.

You roll your eyes at the nickname he’s given you. No matter how many times you tell him you want him to change it, he declines. There’s no point in asking anymore.

Why would he want to talk anyways and who is the person he’s bringing. Eh.. it might just be Ryan they seem to do everything together as a team.

As soon as you step foot out of your bed the sound the door clicking makes your head shoot up. How in the living hell does he know the password to your house? Rage takes over you. That’s something that you hate. When people invade your personal space. In this case, personal home.

‘‘ Jeon fucking Jungkook!’‘ You scream, abruptly stomping your feet all the way to and out your bedroom door. Suddenly you stop at the sight of the two faces staring back at you.

Jungkook’s expression holds a concerned yet upset face while the other just stands there calm and cool. But you on the other hand are way besides that level.

Your eyes must be filled with rage and the expression on your face is no good. How dare he disrespect you like that? Bringing him into your home, knowing the bad blood between you two. Oh, they both have something coming towards them. You begin to walk to them again making each step make the floor shake.

‘‘ Get out. Both of you. One you invade my personal private home..’‘

You grab both boys by their collars, making sure to grip the one on the right’s harder than usual. ‘‘ Two, you fucking invite him over here.’‘ You drag each of them towards the exit. Which is going good until Jungkook rips your hands away from his shirt and takes you over his shoulder.

You’ve had enough of him and his invasive ways. Pounding on his back with your fists, you make sure to scream into his ear. “ Put me the fuck down Jeon Jungko-”

You hiss at the stinging sensation on your ass. Did he just? Jimin stands there awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. You make sure to make eye contact with him and roll your eyes. Something that always had and will piss him off.

‘‘ Hush. I told you all of us needed to have a deep talk about you.’‘

Jungkook plops your frail body onto one side of the couch in which he sits next to you. He motions for Jimin to come sit across from the both of you but you aren’t having it.

‘‘ Don’t you do it.” You glare at him. Jungkook sighs harshly only to pluck your forehead two times. You whine and rub it with your index and middle finger.

Jungkook shakes his head in disapproval, ‘‘ When are you ever going to learn? Jimin sit down now.”

‘‘ Truthfully.. I feel as though I shouldn’t be here so-”

“ Good. Get out you are unwanted.” You snap back causing him to give you one of his long stares with no facial expression at all.

Jungkook glares at you just before getting up to throw his hands in the air full of disappointment. “ Enough! “

Yelling. Something else you don’t like to hear being done at yourself. You finally sit still and quite avoiding any eye contact with the both of them.

He sits back down and clears his throat. Jungkook gives Jimin a look before continuing on.

‘‘ I gathered us here to talk about you..”

‘‘ Why. Im fine. How many times do I have to say it. Im fine im fine im fine im fucking fine!’‘ You exclaim, getting more mad by the second. When will people accept this?

‘‘ Baby.. ’‘

Your eyes shoot up to him and his soft voice. You didn’t want to but you did because his voice to you is like candy that melts into your mouth.

‘‘ Don’t call me that. You have a girlfriend at-least be loyal to her rather than what you did to me.’‘

‘‘ Fuck is anybody going to just sit here and listen? Can we at-least get to the source of the problem? Huh?’‘ Jungkook leans back into the couch clearly pissed by your attitude.

Jimin’s the first to speak and holds a firm eye contact with you, almost daring you to break away from it.

‘‘ Fine. Im just going to cut straight to it then. Why are you so jealous? You aren’t okay at all. I seen the way you looked at us yesterday. You wanted to break down so bad but you didn’t. It looks like you’ve been dropping weight day by day why aren’t you eating well?’’

You’re taken a-back by his jealous comment. Although you are you just cannot admit it. You are jealous. You do want him back. You cant bear to see him with another girl but you. But the fact that Jimin is concerned makes you really hope. Just hope that there is something left of you still in his heart.

‘‘ Jealous? Jealous tuh.” You scoff, leaning into Jungkook’s arms where you rest his head on your chest. You only do this just to see Jimin’s reaction and by the look on his face he doesn’t enjoy that move one bit.

‘‘ Yes jealous. I mean why else would you put almond extra-

‘‘ Woah. No need to go there. We established that it was a so called accident lastnight.” Jungkook does finger quotes into the air and looks down at you.

You lift your head up and furrow your eyebrows in annoyance, “ So called? So you really believe that I did it on purpose. Wow Jungkook. Escort yourself out.’’

He sighs, wrapping his arms around you securly in hopes of you settling down a  little, “ Honestly it’s not like that. I wasn’t there to see you bake them nor was I watching her eat it. Im just saying that you knew Jimin was coming and obviously his girlfriend was going to come too. It’s a little sketchy is all.”

There’s no fixing what he said. Him adding onto his explanation just made things sound worse than what he’s trying to say. You don’t have time to be ganged up on, nor like it at all. It’s best if they both just leave, to not turn nothing into something.

‘‘ Get out. Now. Before I call and tell Ryan what you said and then she’ll definitely deal with you.’‘ You say, removing yourself from off of him and onto the other side of the couch with your legs crossed.

Mad isn’t even the word to describe yourself right now. You’re just a mixture of all emotions.

Jungkook now looks of sorriness written all over his face. You bite your lip and shake your head while pointing towards the door. He sighs heavily and takes one last look at you while removing himself from the couch. You watch him slip on his coat and shoes.

Jimin gets up from his spot on the couch, ‘‘ I’ll be leav-”

‘‘ Sit down we aren’t done talking.” 

He looks at you with his eyebrows furrowed, sitting back down slowly.

Jungkook keeps his head down as he wraps his blue scarf around his neck. Poor baby, but he shouldn’t of said it. “Please better yourself and talk it out with each-other. Im leaving.”

‘‘ Make it home safely.. Kookie.” You sigh once the door closes behind him. Now you’re here. Face to face with Park Jimin.

The same Jimin who cheated on you. The same Jimin you haven’t seen in a while. You take a few moments to take in his appearance. He seems to have re-gained his muscles that are peaking through his black, longsleeve shirt. His thighs are still thick, just like his luscious lips. Of course he changed his hair color to black. But who knows, he might change it again.

‘‘ You’ve been doing well?’‘ You say, voice low but enough for him to hear. You drop your eyes to your lap instead of keeping intact with his.

‘‘ Yes. But you have not. Im disappointed in you. Why are you doing this to yourself? Don’t do this because of me.”

‘‘ Jimin you don’t know the feeling. You don’t know how it feels to be left wondering why you weren’t good enough for someone. Why they had cheated on you. You don’t understand at all and wont ever.’‘ Your voice cracks on the last sentence and you an feel the lump in your throat become sore.

He bites his lip unsure of what to say next. Those words had hit him good inside. ‘‘ Im sorry. I truly am. But you know the reason why we had to end it. I fucked up bad and the media was making the scandal bigger and messier day by day. It was better to just call it off.’‘

One by one your tears start to drop. You nose begins it’s running trip but you sniffle it back up.

‘‘ You could of denied it. You know you could of made a statement and denied it. But you felt something for her didn’t you? Didn’t you?’‘ You semi-yell, sobs already starting to take it’s way over.

He bites his lip once again and ruffles his fingers through his hair, “ Baby..’’

You wipe your tears with your hands making your face even more puffy from the crying. “ I am jealous. I am I admit it Jimin. But do you know i have been suffering for one year and two months? I can’t sleep at night because im so used to your touch at night. I look at every couple in Seoul and think to myself, Dang they seem so happy. What’s their secret?’’

Jimin sits up, making eye contact with you with tears welling up into his eyes. It hurt’s you more than yourself to see him crying. It always has.

‘‘ Please don’t do that. Don’t do this to yourself. Please get help from someone to try and move on. Please. I don’t like to see or hear you make yourself suffer.’ He begs, getting up from his seat and coming towards you.

Jimin sits next to you, hesitantly opening his arms up to you. Would it be wrong to embrace him? He’s being too sincere, but thats what you want right? You decide to just do it, and lean into him only for him to pull you in closer into his chest.You just lay there crying and sobbing while he runs his fingers through your hair. You shouldn’t be doing this. He has a girlfriend. But it feels so right.

‘‘ What does she have that I don’t? Why couldn’t you love me the same way you love her “  You cry into his chest, soaking his shirt with your tears. 

You’d been waiting for this moment to just let it out. Let everything out.

‘’ Please don’t make this harder than what it is right now. Just try and forget me and move on. Please.” Hypocritcal. How does he expect you to get over him when he’s the one whos holding you so tight right now. Soon enough his sniffles join yours in harmony.

You raise your head up and look him deep into the eyes while you wipe away his tears, “ Don’t cry Jimin. I’m the one supposed to be crying over you. Don’t cry.’’

He takes your hand away from his face and wraps his fist ontop of yours, “Please promise me you will move on okay?’’

You shake your head no, “ I can’t make that promise.”

He doesn’t say anything. He gently cradles you in his arms and lifts you up. You don’t think to where he is going. You just close your eyes and grab onto his shirt firmly not wanting to let go.

Soon enough you feel the cold sheets over your bed. He covers you in the duvet and leans down to your forehead.  A kiss. Your fist is still locked onto his shirt in which he tries to pry it away but you don’t want to let him go. He sighs and raises his arms up as he takes off the shirt revealing an extra plain white wife beater under it. Taking your other hand, he wraps your hand into another fist onto the shirt to where both of your hands are holding onto it.

‘‘ Please better yourself for me baby. Sleep and eat well. “

Is all he says before turning off the lights and walking out your bedroom door.  You can hear him putting on and zipping up his heavy coat but you just don’t make a sound.

The apartment door clicks and beeps letting you know he’s already gone.

[lampmeeting]

D for Charles/Magnus, I for Magnus/Toki, L for Charles/Pickles, and F for Melm/JT.

eeehEHEHEHE DILF *rubs my little hands together* don't mind if i do~

D for Drunken Love Confession - Charles/Magnus

pre-klok. :') magnus has been chipping away at charles' resolve. there's just something about the bookish, put-together little chuck offdensen that makes magnus wanna break through all his defenses and see him come undone. he always did like a challenge. they have heated, passionate debates about the direction of the band. they get in each other's faces. magnus even kissed him once, but charles pushed him away, furious and blushing, and demanded he leave his office.

after six months of this weirdly charged back-and-forth they have, the band invites charles to come drinking with them to celebrate pickles' birthday. charles declines, concerned they're just inviting him to come because they want someone else to play designated driver. but magnus intervenes like "nah i'm driving tonight, promise. so go nuts." and charles seems to think it over... and eventually agrees.

so they all go out! at first charles seems to be pacing himself, but pickles gets shots, and it's all downhill from there. magnus, staying dutifully sober, watches the rest of the band + charles get sloppy and silly, not minding in the slightest the way charles leans against him a little in the booth and touches him when he laughs. he starts to regret not getting drunk himself, but he'd promised charles. it's enough just to see charles' mask slip, albeit not quite in the way magnus wanted. but he'll take it for now.

at the end of the night, magnus drops the band off at the apartment and then continues on to charles' place. he pulls up, and charles tries to get out of the car, but stumbles and falls. he's a lot more fucked up than magnus suspected. magnus helps him to the door, but charles seriously looks like he's about to black out, so he takes him inside, cleans him up a little, and puts him to bed (on his side, in the recovery position, he knows the drill). before he leaves, he can't help himself... he runs fingers through charles' sweaty hair and strokes his jaw. charles opens his eyes, seeming surprised that magnus is still there, and then... he smiles at him. a genuine smile. and as his eyes close again, he whispers something that freezes magnus in place.

"...mmfm...mmlove you..."

"...what?"

but charles is under again, and magnus leaves in a panic. charles doesn't, can't, have feeling for him. that's too much. magnus just wanted some fun, right? maybe get charles worked up enough for an angry fuck. but...love?

magnus can't sleep. the next time magnus sees charles, charles pulls him aside. "i apologize that you had to babysit me like that the other night. i can't exactly recall everything that happened, so if i said or did anything, ah...embarrassing, i'm very sorry."

so charles doesn't remember what he said. or he does and he's just trying to save face. magnus should be relieved about this, but for some reason his heart feels suddenly sore...

"oh, yeah, no...you were out like a light. don't worry about it."

--

I for "Idiots in Love" - Toki/Magnus

post-post-galaktikon. weirdly enough i'd probably write this from like nathan's pov or something. he's having everyone over to the house for some reason, maybe a holiday or his daughter's first birthday or something (her cool uncles wouldn't dream of missing it). this means..... rrugghhgh magnus is coming over. it's the first time he's interacted with magnus since pickles and charles' wedding, so maybe a good couple years, and he's not looking forward to it.

everyone arrives. toki and magnus are the last to show up, and nathan has to do a double-take because this is SO not magnus. half his hair is back in a ponytail, he's let his beard grow in some, and he's wearing a sweater?? and he's smiling? he genuinely seems happy to see nathan, gives him a hug, says a warm hello to abby.

over the course of the afternoon nathan has to keep looking at him and reminding himself that's magnus fucking hammersmith because he's just so... animated? friendly? he's sitting next to toki and they're holding hands, and when others are talking the two of them are making eyes at each other and cuddling and laughing at little things they seem to be sharing between themselves. they're being a couple of absolute goofballs together, and honestly it's a bit sickening to watch. is magnus just faking this?

at some point nathan excuses himself to the kitchen for something, and while he's in there he's joined by magnus, considerably more subdued.

"sorry, man, i just...i thought maybe we could talk for a sec."

so they talk. they catch up a little. nathan learns magnus has been hitting the therapy especially hard over the past year, making some meaningful strides. it's not an act, he's genuinely happier now. or at least trying to be.

"i mean, you know how it is, nate, right? doesn't abby make you wanna be better just because she exists and she loves you?"

okay, nathan can understand that. he still doesn't understand... them. but it really seems like magnus has turned a corner, which... good for him, he supposes. as long as he's treating toki well.

when they return to the party, nathan watches magnus sit back down with toki and give him a kiss like he'd been gone all month, and they giggle to themselves again. this time, it seems...all right.

--

L for "Love at First Sight" - Charles/Pickles

i'm gonna flip the script here!! i've already done the whole "charles sees pickles on stage and goes gaga for him" twice now... so i'd pull away from the 80s and do a fic where they actually did meet for the first time in the mid-90s when pickles was in dethklok.

so they've got their shitty original manager (the one from doomstar) still, and he's just not pulling his weight. he's managing a few other bands and his heart isn't in dethklok the way it used to be. pickles is worried they're stagnating, and when he learns that it's been magnus lately making sure they get booked, that's the last straw. they all come together, and they tell the dude to fuck off. but then this leaves them without a manager. magnus offers, but pickles has already been wary about how possessive magnus seems about the band recently, so when pickles says no the rest of them vote the same.

pickles blows through his old contacts looking to dig up some manager from his past who can either wants to manage dethklok or has connections to someone else. no dice. skwisgaar comes up with no one. magnus is still trying to campaign for himself. shit gets dire when somehow seth finds out dethklok is lacking management and leaves pickles a voicemail offering his "valuable fuckin' services". pickles blows his fucking top, swearing and screaming. "HOW HARD IS IT TO FIND ONE GUY CAPABLE OF MANAGING A FUCKIN' BAND??"

the doorbell rings, and pickles, still raging, throws it open.

"WHAT??"

"ahh!"

it's just... a dude. like a normal-ass dude. glasses. a nice dress shirt and slacks. nice hair. handsome. he's nervous as shit, but that almost makes him more handsome.

"i, ah...i-i was told that van on the street belongs to, ah...to someone here? i clipped the, ah, the bumper. just a little. but it's noticeable."

anger forgotten, pickles just... stares at him. are his eyes green or brown? and that jawline...

the man shifts his weight just a bit, peeking into the apartment with wide, curious eyes. "sorry, that, ah... that's quite the drum kit."

"huh?" pickles looks back at it and steps inside, and the man follows as if he's simply meant to be there. "oh, yeah, thanks. you play?"

"hardly. a small jazz kit in college for a friend's music project but it, ah, obviously didn't go anywhere." the man glances around and seems to realize that he's just waltzed inside. "right, ah, so about the van--" he pulls out his card. charles f. offdensen of finch & associates. an honest-to-god lawyer. huh. so he's a smart guy. good-looking to boot. knows a bit about music, apparently. and he's looking to make things right about hitting the van...

pickles smiles, hearts in his eyes. "ya like metal, charlie?"

--

F for "Fake Dating" - Melmord/Twinkletits

aaahahah... okay. so, this would be when melm is living with john as part of his continued therapy. a few months pass, and they've actually become good friends, melm thinks, not just therapist and patient. it's nice living there with john.

and then, john gets a call from his ex-wife, joy. she's in town, and she wants to come over for dinner one night before she leaves. the only thing is, she's got her new fiance in tow. she and john ended on pretty mutual terms, so there's really no bitterness there, but even so, john knows it's going to be an unpleasant evening. and then there's the question of what to do about melmord.

"you can just stuff me in a back room and pretend i don't exist. i'll be real quiet."

"absolutely not, you've been watching too many sitcoms."

"excuse you, that's jane eyre."

john just doesn't exactly know how to approach explaining melmord's presence in the house. because he knows joy, and joy will ask.

"tell her i'm a friend who needed a place to crash?"

"joy knows i don't do friends anymore."

ouch go melm's feelings.

"well, uh... you could just tell her the truth? that i'm your patient and i live with you?"

john pulls a face. "absolutely not."

in a flash of sitcom inspiration, melm snaps his fingers. "i got it! i'm your boyfriend! we'll pretend to date!"

"pretend to--?? mel, honey, no. okay? i understand you're trying to help, but--"

"but what? what's your brilliant idea, doc?"

cut to john introducing melmord to his ex-wife.

"and this is my... well, he's uh, my boyfriend actually. my boyfriend melmord."

melm is all smiles as he leans in and takes joy's hand. "please, just call me mel."

and then of course at the end of a long night, joy and her fiance leave, and john and melm pat each other on the back for a job well done. they really gave it their all, put on a convincing performance full of long embraces and doting glances and romantic touches. neither of them really want to talk about how easily it came to them, and how unwilling they both are to bring it to an end.

"well, uhh... good night, then." john chuckles. "darling."

"yeah, haha, sleep good, uh... sugarbear."

they laugh. they're standing in the hall laughing. they should really move apart from each other and go to their respective rooms if they're going to sleep, but they're not moving. and they're still laughing. and now melmord is touching john's shirt, fingering a button, and john has a hand on melm's hip...

"maybe," melm says quietly, "we can just pretend for, like... a little longer?"

[crashdevlin]

Leftoverture 3- Carry On

Author’s Note: Don’t get me wrong, I loved the finale, but I was thinking about how much I miss Dean and I couldn’t stop thinking about ways I could have him back so…I’m going canon divergent while being as close to canon as possible. ‘Cause that’s how Cassie do. This is where Leftoverture officially crosses over with Crash Into Me!

Summary: Sam tries to convince Dean to talk to his widow, but it takes a visit from an old friend to get him to do the right thing.

Pairing: Dean x OFC

Word count: 3755

Story Warnings: angst, Post-barn scene sads, mentions of major character deaths (Dean and AU!Sam), mentions of depression, memory fuckery,

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey, get off the phone. Who are you texting?” Dean asked, looking over at Sam’s thumbs tapping out a message.

“I’m...just letting some people know that you’re back, okay? What?” Sam defended, pulling his phone out of Dean’s reach as his brother tried to grab it.

“She better not be part of that group text, Sam. I will kick your lanky ass.”

“Dean, come on.”

“She has mourned me! She’s probably just starting to get okay and you want me to break that? Not to mention the kid. How are we supposed to explain to her that I’m just suddenly not dead anymore?” Dean pulled over onto the shoulder and glared at Sam until he rolled his eyes and sighed, hitting the X to take his sister-in-law’s number away from the list that included Bobby 2.0, Jody, Donna, Charlie 2.0, and Garth. “Thank you.”

“It’s only been a month. You think she’s starting to get over you already?” Sam finished tapping out his text as Dean pulled back onto the interstate.

“I think I’m a threat to her life as long as I’m in her life, man. I mean, that’s why it took us so long to get together in the first place, because I knew that me being a hunter was gonna put her in the ground and it was just lucky for all of us that it put me in the ground before her.”

“Don’t say th-”

“It’s better for her to think I’m still dead!” Dean exploded. “If she knows I’m alive, she’ll come back to the bunker and she’s gonna end up dead and that’ll be on me! Okay, it’s better if she thinks I’m dead and we keep it that way!”

“So, I guess you’ve made up your mind on this one?” Sam asked.

“Yes!” Dean nodded, somehow still keeping his eyes on the road. “You know what, yes, I’ve made up my mind. Because she deserves to live a life that I’m not ruining. She never wanted the job to encroach on her life, or Rebel’s, okay? Fuck, if I ended up getting that little girl hurt, I could nev--and you know she only agreed to marry me in the first place because Chuck was gonna kill us all anyway and he’s not a problem anymore and what happened to my ring when I bit it? You didn’t burn it with me, did you, because that was a really good silver ring and if you melted it with me, I’m gonna be pissed.”

Sam shook his head in disappointment. “Your wife was wearing it on her thumb last time I saw it.”

Dean sighed and licked his lips. “It’s better this way, Sam. I know you don’t see it, but it’s better.”

“Right. You, uh, you remember when you guys were ‘just friends’ and she started dating that asshole that didn’t know what ‘no’ meant?” Dean’s jaw clenched tight at the memory. “You remember how pissed off you got that she was dating someone, let alone a Dom dickbag like him, and how you spent the entire weekend trying to get dirt on him to use to get her to dump him?”

"He was tryin' to put things in her while she was drunk! He deserved a bullet through the skull for that shit and he's lucky she wouldn't let me go talk to him."

"Yeah, I know. He was a piece of shit, but you didn't know that when we got there. You just didn’t like him because he was dating her."

"I'm a good judge of character and she is not. She dates douchebags. She always has. I mean, look at her cheating son-of-a-bitch ex-husband. If she's dating them, they're douchebags."

Sam rolled his eyes, obviously catching Dean’s self-deprecating undertone in that sentence. "Okay, but you're just gonna let her date someone else? You're gonna let her find some other douchebag to date that you won't be able to save her from?"

"I didn't save her from Mike or Drew. She was already half out the door on both of them before I interceded with either. And I know what you're doing and it's not gonna work." Dean pointed his finger in Sam’s face. "You're not gonna get me all jealous so I go find her because I'm afraid of her getting over me and moving on. I want her to move on. I want her to have a good life. That's the whole point here, man."

"Dean, she's not going to move on. She's gonna be devastated the rest of her life because you aren't-"

"So, we should make it worse by putting her through it twice?!" Dean snapped. "We should make her have to watch me burn another time, right? We should make her clear her shit out of the Bunker in a few years too? We should make her live with the hope that one day I'll manage to make it home again? We should put her heart back together just to shatter it into pieces again when I die permanently? Fuck you, Sam. I can't do it to her. I just...no."

Sam took a deep breath and shook his head sadly. "Fine."

"It's better this way. It's just better."

"Sure. It’s better.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was something cleansing about a simple werewolf hunt. Sam was being a little overbearing, but Dean understood why. Sam didn’t want to see him die anymore than he wanted to die again. There were only two wolves and they went down easy. It was a textbook hunt...just like the vampire cult should have been.

Sam shook away memories of the night in the barn and followed an energized Dean out to the Impala. It wouldn’t happen again. Not anytime soon. Dean was around to stay. Sam would make sure of it.

“So, hit the motel, pizza and beer, head back to the bunker in the morning. Did you report my death to the fire department because I’m still wanting that job and I’ll have to think of one hell of an excuse if you told them I died.” Dean shrugged, continuing before Sam could respond. “I’m gonna need to come up with an excuse either way, but an excuse for a month of radio silence is easier than an excuse for comin’ out of the Lazarus Pit, ya know?”

“I...didn’t say anything to them, Dean. It was really low on my list of priorities to tell the Lebanon Volunteer Fire Department that Dean Campbell was dead.”

“Awesome. I’ll figure out what to tell them. For now...pizza.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“No, I know, it was a crazy situation, but I honestly think getting lost in the Yukon without a cell phone was probably the best thing that could have happened to me." Dean laughed into the phone as he walked into the library. "Yeah, exactly. Never gonna take a warm, dry bed for granted again. Well, thank you so much for understanding, Captain. I'm excited to get training. That's gonna be...yeah, I'm gonna be there. Thanks again."

Dean smiled as he tucked his phone into his pocket. "He bought it. Thanks for putting those fake Canadian news pieces up. Appreciate it."

"Okay, but what if someone else searches your fake name, Dean?"

Dean rolled his eyes. "You think she's Googling me?" He stepped forward and looked down at Sam sitting at the library table. "She Googles me and she'll find a story about a man named Dean Campbell getting lost in the Yukon and surviving on moose and wolverine and melted snow. No pic, no identifying words. She'll look at it, say 'It is a miracle this guy survived' and then she'll move on to the next search result, okay? I don't understand why you're all up in my business about this but-"

"You don't miss them?" Sam asked, pushing his hair out of his face and leaning forward.

Dean bit his lip and shook his head. "No, I do not."

Sam stood and looked down into his brother's eyes. "Well, I do."

"Well, they're staying gone." Dean patted his brother's shoulder and walked toward the hall. "Good talk."

He sat on the edge of his bed and ran his hand down his face. Of course he missed her. Of course he missed the little girl he treated as his own daughter...or...the other Dean treated like a daughter. It was just too difficult. Explaining to his wife was one thing, an easy thing. She’d come back in a heartbeat and it would all be fine between them. She wouldn’t care that he wasn’t exactly the same in body, that he had different scars and a slightly different pattern of freckles or that his hair wasn’t quite right even after trying to make it work for four damn days.

She fell for him because of how he treated her, how safe she felt with him, how he made her feel. All of that was in the memories. How he felt about her was in the memories, too. He loved her in a way he'd never been able to let himself love anyone else. She was so much different than any other woman he'd considered making a life with because she was like all the best parts of them all mixed together. She was smart like Cassie Robinson, badass like Jo Harvelle, understanding of the Life without being part of it...with a kid, just like Lisa. He remembered that...and he knew that he'd never find another woman like her.

That was okay. He didn't really want another one: another woman, partner, wife. He couldn’t see himself opening up like that to someone other than his short little badass. And Sam was right that he didn't really want her with someone else, either...but she deserved it. She deserved to get over him and move on to greener pastures. So he had to stay away. For her good, he had to stay dead.

For the good of the little girl, too. If he just came back from the dead, it would completely fuck that little girl's understanding of life and death. It would fuck her up for life.

Dean sighed, picking up his phone and kissing his lock screen; the picture they took on the beach for their honeymoon. He held the phone over his heart for a minute and lied back, staring at the ceiling until sleep took him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dean smiled as he sat in a folding chair on the side of a soccer field, watching a short blonde girl dribble a ball between her feet on the green grass. "She's gettin' good," he commented to himself.

"She missed tryouts this year," a familiar voice said. Dean gasped a little as he turned in his seat to look at the angel in the beige trenchcoat. "They moved back to Florida too late for her to be placed on a team."

"Cas? Are you--is this--this is a dream."

"Yes. But...my presence is not." Castiel smiled as Dean stood and wrapped him in a hug. "Jack saved me from the Cosmic Entity from the Empty. We've been improving Heaven."

Dean pulled back and sniffled as he slapped a hand on Cas' shoulder. "Man, where have you been, then? We've missed you."

"Angels stay in Heaven now. Jack and I thought it was best to keep our interference to a minimum." Cas chuckled. "I'm not technically supposed to be here now."

Dean licked his lips. "Well, then...what's with the, uh, Freddy Krueger you're pulling?"

"Dean requested it. He knows what's been happening on Earth, that you've taken on his memories and essentially become him, and he knows that you are avoiding Cassie."

Dean scoffed and stepped back from the angel. "I'm sure he's got an opinion on all this."

"He does. He has a strong opinion on what you're doing and what you should be doing." Castiel stepped closer. "He told me to tell you to get your head out of your ass. He said that, if you have his memories, you're in love with her too and you need to go to her. He knows you couldn’t live with losing her forever...so don't lose her."

"Cas, she's better off without me."

"Is she?" the angel challenged. "Because she’s Dean Winchester’s widow. Doesn't that put a target on her back?"

Dean pressed his lips together in a thin line and looked away. She could handle it...right? "She's got protections...and we taught her to fight. She's gonna be fine."

"Dean told me to tell you that if you don't get in his car and drive to Florida, he's going to 'rip your pansy lungs out'," Cas said, doing air quotes. Dean scoffed. "He was very adamant that you go to her."

"Fine. But it's gonna hurt her. I'm gonna hurt her." Dean was absolutely serious but Cas just smiled and shook his head a little. "Hey, uh, Cas? Before you go...I'm...I'm not gonna get to see you again, right? So, don't you think we should talk about-"

"I think that would be a bit redundant." Castiel’s smile brightened, crinkles forming at the corners of his eyes. "Dean and I have spoken at length about my sacrifice and the words spoken before Billie and I were taken to the Empty."

"And?"

"And Dean Winchester’s Heaven is full of people who love and cherish him...who see him for the hero he is. He never believes he's going to hurt any of them. You should learn from his example."

"DEAN! Look!" Dean looked behind him to see the girl kick the soccer ball at the goal. He couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face.

"Great job, Youngblood!" he shouted before turning back around. The angel was gone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dean smiled tightly at Sam as he walked into the kitchen the next morning. “So, uh...I’m gonna take a few days...drive down to Florida.”

Sam’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

Dean nodded. “Yeah...Castiel came to me in a dream last night. Said the original me is up there in Heaven and he’s very unhappy with my choice.”

“Really?” Sam was obviously amused.

“Yeah. I don’t know if it was really him or not. Maybe it was just my brain kickin’ me in the ass but...I’m gonna go get ‘em back.”

“Thank you. I was hoping you’d come to your senses.”

“Yeah, yeah, anyway...I’ll be back in a couple days. I’ve got training on Monday so...it’ll be a short trip. Maybe she’ll come back, maybe she won’t but…” He shrugged. “Don’t know ‘til I go talk to her.”

“Good luck, man.”

Dean nodded before heading to the garage. He had plenty of time to get nervous as he drove toward his in-laws’ house in North Florida. A month wasn’t too long. She’d gone longer without him in the past, but...he was alive back then. She knew he’d be back eventually.

He parked the Impala down the street. He wanted to see her before he talked to her. He needed to see how she was working through his death...if she even needed him. Dead Dean told him to go, but if she was moving on, he’d just get back in the car.

She was on the porch when he arrived, coming around the neighbor’s house to hide in the shadows around the side of her parent’s house. “It’s still hard. I don’t think it’s ever not gonna be hard. I still keep wanting to hear that damn Impala coming down the road. But even if I did hear it...I know it’d be Sam.” Dean bit his bottom lip. She was still mourning him. “I don’t know, Manda, but Erik has been a godsend.” His eyebrows went up. Who the fuck is Erik? Did she move on already? “He’s the only reason I get out of bed most mornings. He’s been helping a lot with Aria, driving her to school in the morning and making breakfast. Oh, he makes the best pancakes.” She gave a small chuckle. “Not that I need pancakes. I’ve put on, like, fifteen pounds since he died. Yeah, that is a lot. Erik doesn’t think so either...and Dean wouldn’t care...but I care”

Dean watched her shrug before shaking her head. “I don’t know. He seems nice but...my parents didn’t even know Dean and I got married, so of course Erik doesn’t know. He doesn’t understand...but he’s helping anyway.” She sighed and hummed a little into the air, staring up at the moon. “It’s still just really hard.”

Dean watched as she finished her phone call to her best friend and kept looking up into the night sky. He had to force himself to step around the side of the house and toward her. “Who’s Erik?” he asked. It was the only thing he could think to ask. Green eyes behind thick, dark glasses went wide as she turned to look at him.

“Dean?” she squeaked.

“Mostly,” he whispered as she threw her phone to skim across the grass and launched herself at him. He closed his eyes as she wrapped her arms around him, overwhelmed by the feel of her warmth against him. “Come on, Crash, I taught you better than this. Where’s your silver and holy water, baby?”

“Inside,” she sobbed out into his chest. “But I know you’re you. I can feel it.”

He pressed his lips to her hair and took a step back, leaning down a bit to look directly into her eyes. “I am me, but I’m also...I’m also not. Can we...can we take a walk?”

“Of course!” she agreed, sniffling and wiping at her eyes under her glasses.

They started to walk out of the yard onto the street. “Okay, but before I get into my whole thing...who the fuck is Erik?”

“Oh, he’s a maintenance guy, works with my dad. When I moved to the Bunker, Erik rented my room.”

Dean nodded, his lips pursed. “So, he’s your parents’ tenant and you’re letting him take your daughter to school?”

“My parents trust him...I trust him.” She stuck her hands in her pockets and shrugged. “He’s a nice guy...and he’s a writer, too. He was shocked by the number of notebooks I have. He used to do all of his writing on his computer, but he’s started writing in notebooks since I showed him the versatility of handwriting a story. He said it was like going back to simpler times.”

“Okay. I guess...so, he’s just…”

“He’s just a guy that lives at the house.” She looked over at him as he jammed his hands in his jacket pockets. “So, how are you back? Sam burned you. You shouldn’t be back.”

“You remember when Chuck was destroying the other universes and the other versions of me and Sam showed up? They were fleeing their world.”

“I remember. Sam wouldn’t take his hair down.”

“Right, well...um…” He cleared his throat. “Couple weeks ago, Man-bun Sam died in South America. Werewolves...and Dean couldn’t take it and he did a full wipe of his memories so that he wouldn’t have to remember and Sam went to Rowena to get her to fix it. Her version of fixing it was to give him, give me, your husband’s memories.”

“So, you’re-” She stopped in the middle of the street and turned to look at him. “You’re not my Dean?”

“Of course I am. I’ve got all of his memories. I’ve got all of his love.” He rubbed at the back of his neck. “Slightly different body...and a different soul. Your Dean is in Heaven. But I’m just like him. I’m exactly like him, Crash.”

She swallowed and searched his face for a few moments before she looked away. “The day we met...why was I crying?”

She was quizzing him, testing his memories, seeing how much like her husband he really was. “Mike left you,” he said quietly. “It wasn’t the first time...or the last. Rebel was about...two years old and you were tryin’ to hold yourself together. We shared some beer and talked about the monster Sam and I put down...and you gave me your number.”

“You, uh, you had a tattoo that I designed...it burned so you don’t have it now, but what-”

“I’ll get the rune again,” he interrupted. “So you can astral to me again.”

“Oh, it is you,” she whispered.

“It is me.” He wrapped her in a hug again and she grabbed at his jacket to hold him to her. “I don’t know how to go about this, though. How are we gonna explain to the kid that-”

“I-I don’t know.” She pulled back and shook her head. “I don’t know if she even caught on to the fact that you were dead...all I said was ‘gone’. I just said you were gone.”

That might make it easier. “Is she back at the house?”

“No. She’s with her father. It’s just Erik and my parents at the house right now.”

“Do your parents know I died? I’m just trying to determine if we can go in or if I’m sleeping in the car tonight.” He smiled at her as she sighed and looked away.

“I told them you broke up with me.”

“So, can I come inside?”

“You’ll have to sleep on the couch...unless you wanna sleep on the floor in Aria’s room. I’ve been sleeping with her on her loft bed since Erik has my old room and bed and all that.”

He smiled and headed toward the house, her hand in his. “She still have that big pile of stuffed animals under the loft?” She nodded and he smirked. “Then I’ll sleep in her zoo.”

She led him into the house and started up the stairs. They were halfway up the stairs when the door to the room that used to be hers opened. “Cass?” a voice asked. Dean stopped in his tracks.

“Didn’t mean to wake you, Erik.”

“It’s okay. I was just worried when you didn’t come back in. Are you-” Shadows fell over Dean and Crash as a figure stepped to the top of the stairs. “Oh, shit.”

Dean’s eyes narrowed as he stepped around his wife and up a few stairs. “What the hell are you doin’ here?” he demanded.

“You’re dead,” the blue-eyed man squeaked.

“About as dead as you’re about to be, Chuck.”

~~~~

The Kitchen Sink - @emoryhemsworth @flamencodiva @wasabiwitteks @rainbowkisses31 @rissbennett @mariekoukie6661 @officiallyunofficialperson @dolphincliffs @mrs-meghan-winchester @gayspacenerd @foxyjwls007 @ilovefanfic86 @marvelfansworld @f-yeahfandoms @wonderlandfandomkingdom @hhiggs @sev3nruby @hobby27 @paintballkid711 @divadinag @thewhiterabbit42 @fantasymyth-1 @queenoftheunderdark @cosicas-cuquis @superfanficnatural @letsby @supernatural-bellawinchester @onethirstyunicorn @swinchester27 @chalicia @screechingartisancashbailiff @death-unbecomes-you @dayasvalkyrie @paryl @wereallbrokenangels @the-american-witch @that-one-gay-girl @tatted-trina6 @sunshineandwings86 @lunarmoon8 @wheezyeds @vicmc624 @couldabeenamermaid @vulgar-library

[moldisgoodforyou]

give a little: chapter four (college!jj maybank x oc)

MASTERLIST

pairing: jj maybank x oc

synopsis: charlotte “charlie” walker is a rising senior at the university of south carolina, an exercise science major, a kappa, and is back in the outer banks for the summer. she’s stubborn as hell, isn’t rich enough to be a kook or poor enough to be a pogue, and is used to being in the background. she and jj both go to USC, her sorority and his frat (beta) running in the same social circles but the two rarely speak at school. things change when they run into each other at the boneyard in the summer.

warnings: drinking, swearing, explicit mentions of sex, all characters are 21+

author’s note: this one was FUN to write and my fave chapter so far, enjoy! 

wordcount: 3.6k

_______________________________________________________________________

“Are you okay, Charlie?” JJ asked, concerned. 

“I’m fine, um..” She glanced over just as Rafe seemed to recognize her and turned back toward JJ. “Oh, fuck it,” she muttered under her breath. Taking JJ by surprise, Charlie leaned over and her lips met his. 

He didn’t hesitate to kiss back, threading his fingers through her hair as she pushed him gently back into the sand. JJ took control instantly, flipping them over so he was on top. He broke off the passionate kiss reluctantly, hovering over her as Rafe walked away. 

The blonde choked out a laugh. “I’m not complaining, believe me I’m not. But what was that?” 

Charlie laid under him for a beat, just staring into JJ’s piercing blue eyes while she caught her breath. Once she came back to her senses, she rolled out from under him and he turned away, letting her sit up. “Um. Fuck, you’re good at that.” Immediately she clapped her hand over her mouth, blushing red. 

He grinned and ran his hand through his hair. “Thank you. So are you.” 

She let out a nervous laugh. “Right. Thanks. Um, my ex I told you about? It was Rafe. And that was the girl. I just wanted to prove something, I guess.” 

JJ frowned, immediately growing protective. “That asshole?” 

Charlie frowned back. “I didn’t know...he was nice while we dated.” JJ shook his head quickly. “No, of course. I’m not blaming you at all. He’s shitty, that’s all. I’m sorry he messed with you like that.” 

She gave him a small smile. “Sorry I came onto you, Maybank.” 

JJ let out a short laugh. “No complaints here, Walker.” 

Charlie turned toward him, pulling her knees up to her chest. “Would you be willing to help me?” 

JJ nodded. “Of course, Walker, anything.” 

She paused for a moment before asking. “Would you be my fake boyfriend?” 

His eyes grew wide, like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Your fake boyfriend?” 

Charlie nodded. “Yeah. Just for the summer, to make him jealous, and then you can go back to pretending I never existed when we go back for senior year.” 

JJ slightly frowned. “I always knew you existed, Charlie.” 

She waved her hand in dismissal, getting excited at the prospect of her idea. “So you’ll do it? You’ll be my fake boyfriend?” 

He hesitated. “Just to make him jealous.” 

Charlie smiled. “Exactly! Just to make him jealous.” 

JJ shook his head to himself before sighing. “Yeah. I’ll do it. For you.” 

She missed the longing look he gave her. “Perfect! You’ll be the perfect fake boyfriend.” 

He smiled and helped her up from the sand. “Come on then, fake girlfriend. Let’s get you home.” 

JJ walked back to the party with his arm around her shoulders loosely, coming up to the Pogues. John B and Sarah were nowhere to be found - John B was probably groveling at her feet to explain himself - and Pope and Kiara exchanged glances upon seeing the pair. 

“You good, Charlie?” Kiara asked, walking over and helping pull her shirt up a little bit. She didn’t miss her messy hair or the slight red stain smeared on JJ’s lips. 

Charlie just smiled and leaned her head on JJ’s shoulder. “Of course, why wouldn’t I be? Thank you.” 

Pope looked confused, pointing at the two of them. “Did you guys…” He trailed off, muttering “ow” when Kiara elbowed him sharply in the ribs. 

JJ shook his head. “Are either of you sober enough to drive or do we need to call someone? Where’s John B and Sarah?” 

Kiara just laughed. “You started that fight, I think they’re back at her place already. I have the keys, let’s roll.” 

Charlie tilted her head, reaching up for JJ and running her finger lazily along his jawline. “Can I stay with you, Maybank? I told my parents I would be sleeping over at Grace’s.” 

His eyes widened slightly. “Yeah, I’ll, uh, just sleep on the floor. You can stay with me.” 

As the four walked toward the van, Pope looked over his shoulder at the two trailing behind them and pretended to crack a whip, making the sound with his mouth. Kiara shoved him, laughing as JJ reached up his middle finger to flip Pope off. 

JJ set Charlie carefully in the backseat and crawled in next to her, keeping her steady throughout the bumpy ride home. 

Once they were back at the Chateau, JJ brought her in and glanced around, thankful that Sarah had made John B decorate the place a little since their high school days. “Um, bathroom’s down the hall. There’s a spare toothbrush in the cabinet, help yourself.” 

Charlie nodded, sleepily making her way. 

The second the door shut, Kiara grabbed JJ’s arm and pulled him back into the living room. Pope sat back on the couch, hands locked behind his head and feet up to watch the inquisition. “What really happened?” She asked in a hushed tone.

JJ raised his hands in defense immediately. “She came onto me!” He whisper-yelled, yanking his arm out of Kiara’s grip. 

Kiara crossed her arms. “You have lipstick all over your mouth, JJ!”  

He had the decency to look a little embarrassed and swiped the back of his hand over his mouth. “I swear, I rescued her from this creepy Touron that was gonna do god knows what with her, then we were just talking and then Rafe walked past and she just kissed me! I guess we’re dating now?” 

Kiara let out a short laugh. “It’s been a week since you actually started talking to her. You’re delusional, JJ. Or drunk. Or both.” 

“No! I swear! She asked me to be her boyfriend!” 

Kiara pursed her lips. “We’ll see what she says in the morning. But if you do anything to her while she’s drunk, I swear I’ll -” 

JJ waved his hand. “You know me better than that, Kie, I’m not gonna do anything.” At the sound of the door opening, he walked away. 

“Spare room’s down here, Charlie. I’ll take the floor.” He offered, showing her the way. 

“Okay. Do you have um, a shirt or somethin’ I can sleep in?” She asked, already starting to pull her top off. 

He stepped forward quickly and pulled her hands away. “Whoa, hold on, I’ll turn around and let you change. Um..” He pulled a clean shirt of his out of the closet. “Here. Call for me when you’re done.” He walked out and shut the door. 

After about ten minutes, he knocked once and put his ear to the door. “You good, Walker?” With no response, he cracked the door and peeked in - to see the girl curled up under the sheets, fast asleep with a pile of her clothes next to her. He laughed quietly to himself and pulled out a spare blanket, then settled onto the floor and fell asleep to the sound of her soft breathing.

_______________________________________________________________________

The next morning, JJ woke to a note scrawled onto a scrap of paper. “Had work. Thanks for the bed xo Walker” He grinned at the signature and got ready for work, pocketing the note before he left. After his shift, JJ strolled into the ice cream shop. 

Charlie pretended to groan. “You again? You still want to see me after last night?” 

He laughed. “Is that really how you speak to a customer, Walker?” 

She rolled her eyes. “What do you want?” 

He shook his head. “No, it’s okay, I’m -” 

Charlie interrupted. “It’s on the house, Maybank.” 

He grinned. “In that case, I’ll take the chocolate fudge. Thank you.” She allowed a small smile and scooped one for him, then another. She handed him his ice cream and came out behind the counter, flipping the sign to closed.  “You don’t need to close up just for me,” JJ said, confused. 

“I’m not, it’s just my break and this is easier. Sit.” 

JJ sat in a booth across from her. “I had to track you down, because I still don’t have your number.” 

Charlie gestured for his phone. “You couldn’t just send a pigeon or something?” She teased. 

He laughed. “Right, yeah, I’ll just train up a carrier pigeon real quick. Who needs phones anyway?” 

She smiled, saving her contact in his phone as ‘Walker’ and slid the phone back across the table to him. “Did you see my note? I didn’t mean to just dip out like that.” 

Charlie took a long lick of her cone, making a small noise of approval at the taste. 

JJ just stared at her lips, letting a small trail of ice cream melt down his hand. 

She furrowed her brow and snapped her fingers in front of his face. “Hello? Earth to Maybank?” 

He jumped, startled, then grinned. “You know, if we’re gonna be fake dating, you should probably start calling me by my name, Walker.” 

Charlie wrinkled her nose. “I was kinda hoping you were too drunk to remember that conversation.” 

He shook his head. “You were hammered, I was simply not sober. But if you want to call it off, that’s fine.” 

She shook her head. “No, I actually think it would work. I just want to piss Rafe off and you two are like mortal enemies, so I don’t think there’s anyone better.” 

He laughed. “You’re probably right. So are you gonna call me JJ?” 

She pretended to think about it for a second, licking her cone again. “Fine. But I’m not letting you call me Charlotte.” 

“Charlie it is, pretty girl.” 

She blushed, but maintained eye contact. “I’m only calling you that in public though, Maybank.” She added for good measure. 

He grinned and reached out to tug the end of her hair gently, then offered his pinky to her. “Deal.” She smiled and locked hers with his. 

“Deal,” she repeated softly. She kept her gaze on his, then jumped in surprise as someone rapped on the door. 

She got up and quickly unlocked the door, letting her dad in. “Charlotte, I told you to wait until the shift change, you can’t just close up early -” He started, then stopped when he saw JJ sitting in the booth. “Who is this?” 

JJ quickly got up, extending his hand. “JJ Maybank, sir. I go to school with Charlie.” 

Mr. Walker nodded, gripping his hand a little too hard. “Right. Charlotte, are you two..?”  

Charlie quickly shook her head. “No! He’s just my...uh...JJ.” 

Mr. Walker raised an eyebrow. “Your JJ?” 

“Friend!” Charlie desperately amended. “My friend. JJ. JJ is my friend. Sorry. Brain freeze. Anyway, thanks for coming early, here’s the keys, the cookie dough needs to be restocked. Thanks Dad!” She grabbed JJ’s hand, pulling him outside as he waved goodbye to Mr. Walker over his shoulder. She was bright red. 

“Your JJ?” JJ teased, bumping her hip with his. 

“My friend.” She corrected, swatting his shoulder. 

“Your boyfriend.” He replied, smirking. 

“Fake boyfriend, Maybank.” She amended. 

“That’s JJ to you, pretty girl.” He grinned, bumping her hip again. 

Charlie huffed. “Whatever. JJ. Finish your ice cream and we need to go to my house and set some rules.” 

JJ finished his cone with a bite, walking to her car with her. “I hate rules.” He whined. 

“I know, but if you’re gonna help me out it’s gonna be on my terms.” She insisted, driving away. 

“Do you think your dad liked me?” He asked after a few minutes of silence. 

“I don’t know? Was your handshake good?” She replied. 

JJ nodded. “I think so.” 

Charlie shrugged. “Then you’re probably fine. He’s like any other dad, he’s pretty easy going.” 

He cleared his throat. “Right.” 

She pulled up to her house and walked in, kicking off her shoes and making her way upstairs. Halfway up the stairs, she stopped and turned. JJ stood in the doorway. “Coming?” 

JJ pointed at himself. “Me? Oh, uh, right. I didn’t know I was coming to your room.” He kicked off his shoes hurriedly and followed her up. 

Charlie closed her bedroom door behind him and flopped onto the bed, patting an empty space. “Make yourself at home, Maybank.” He sat on the edge of the bed next to her, leaning back on his elbows. 

“Okay. Rule number one. You can’t tell your friends.” 

He frowned. “Wouldn’t that kind of ruin the whole illusion?” 

She shook her head. “No, no, about the fake part. I don’t care if they think we’re dating, whatever.” 

He nodded. “Right. Deal.” 

Charlie thought for a second. “Rule number two. PDA is fine, but only in public.” 

JJ pretended to think. “How much are we talking?” 

She smirked. “Whatever will piss Rafe off.” 

He shrugged. “Okay. Are you sure you don’t want to think about this, though? It seems like a lot just to prove something.” 

Charlie nodded confidently. “I want to prove I’m over him.” 

JJ frowned. “Are you?” 

Her expression faltered. “We dated for almost a year, JJ. It’s hard to just..cut that off. It hurt.” She confessed. 

He balled up the covers in his fist, frowning deeper. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.”

She shook her head in dismissal. “It’s fine. Just remember the rules, and we won’t have any issues.” 

He laughed. “Two rules, easy enough. Now. I need to hear these stories that are going around about me.” 

Charlie laughed and reached over, tugging at his hair. “You just want your ego fed, Maybank.” 

He grinned, leaning back and locking his fingers behind his head. “So what if I do? ‘Fess up, baby.” 

“Not your baby.” 

“Whatever.” 

She scowled at him. “Hm. The ski trip, last year. Did you have sex in the hot tub?” 

“God no!” He exclaimed. “Who did you hear that from?” 

Charlie laughed. “Blair Benson, but she’s a habitual liar anyway. Hm...did you do body shots off the waitress in that sketchy strip club out in Springdale?” 

JJ smirked. “Fine, that one’s true, but she offered.” 

She wrinkled her nose. “What about fucking Alyssa Brown in sophomore year in the back of the party bus? On the way to the Beta formal?” 

He grinned. “Watch your dirty fucking mouth, Walker.” 

“Watch your dirty fucking mouth, Maybank!” She shoved his hip with her foot playfully and he yelped. “You’re not denying it,” she accused, pointing a finger at him. 

He laughed and shook his head. “That one’s a lie too. I’m starting to think I shouldn’t be on that list after all.” 

Charlie just shrugged. “Maybe not, but there’s got to be a reason why they’re telling all these stories.” 

JJ smirked and lifted his shirt, gesturing at his abs. “It’s because I’m stunningly handsome.” 

She paused for a moment to admire his abs, losing her train of thought. He dropped his shirt and put a finger under her chin, tilting it up gently. “Eyes up here, Charlotte Walker.” 

She swatted at his hand and rolled her eyes. “Don’t call me that.” 

He grinned. “Couldn’t resist. Now it’s your turn,” he insisted. 

Charlie laid back on the pillows and folded her arms across her chest, looking up at the ceiling. “Try me. There’s no rumors floating around about me, I’m innocent.” 

He smirked. “So...you didn’t sleep with Brian Russell after you did three keg stands at the Georgia tailgate?” 

She gasped, sitting up quickly. “He did not brag about that!” 

He laughed, triumphant. “Ha! Of course he did, Walker, who wouldn’t want to brag about sleeping with you?” He paused to think, then grinned. “Did you also blow James Avery in the sleeping dorms freshman year? On Halloween?” 

Charlie just turned more red, making a guilty face, and he laughed harder, tears welling up in his eyes. 

“Damn girl, I’m gonna make a list just for you to pin up at the Beta house! I didn’t know you had it in you!” 

Charlotte groaned, covering her face with her hands in response. “Shut up, Maybank.” 

JJ grinned. “What did I tell you about covering up that cute blush of yours?” He reached out and poked her side and she flinched, letting out a breathy moan of surprise. He grinned and put his finger to her lips, lowering his voice. “Careful, pretty girl, your mom might think we’re doing more than just hanging out in here.” 

Charlie laughed and turned her head, biting his finger gently. 

JJ yanked it back. “Ow! Watch where you put your teeth or I’ll add that to your list!” 

“Fuck you, watch where you put your fingers!” She retorted. 

JJ grinned and moved to hover over her, arms locked and  hands on both sides of her head. 

Charlie’s breath caught in her throat as his necklace dangled over her, the pendant brushing against her chin. 

“If you give a little, maybe we could get to know each other,” JJ murmured.

“Careful, Maybank…” 

“I’m not touching you, Walker.” He replied, then rolled off of her. 

Charlie frowned slightly and JJ smirked, poking her dimple. 

“What, did you want something to happen?” 

“Fake boyfriend, JJ,” she reminded him. 

“You said PDA was fine,” he shot back. 

“Yeah, public display of affection. That’s what the P stands for.” 

“It could stand for private, too.” He raised his eyebrows, challenging her. “Shouldn’t we practice, anyway? So it feels more natural? Or do you plan on being drunk every time we hang out?” 

Charlie turned up her nose at him. “I don’t need practice, JJ. I can kiss just fine.” 

JJ wasn’t convinced. “I know that, pretty girl. But it’s not just kissing. We need chemistry, otherwise it’ll be obvious.” 

“I’m sure we’ll figure it out.” Charlie stood, about to walk away to sit in a chair in the corner of her room. 

JJ stood quickly and gently grabbed her wrist, spinning her to face him and stepping close. “I’m not going to do anything you don’t want to do, Charlie,” he murmured, backing her up against the wall and putting a hand above her head, looking down at her. 

Her breathing grew heavy. “I..um..” He leaned in until his lips were about an inch from hers, waiting for her to make the first move. 

Her chest touched his with every rise of her breath, on edge just from the anticipation. 

At the sound of the doorknob jiggling and the door opening, Charlie shoved JJ away and ducked out from under him. “Jamie! What are you doing?” 

JJ groaned under his breath, taking a seat on her bed. 

Her eleven-year-old brother, Jamie, walked in, football in hand. He made a face, taken aback by the stranger in his sister’s room. “Who are you?” He asked, wrinkling his nose in the same manner that Charlie did. 

JJ laughed and ran his hand through his hair, messing with it. “I could ask you the same thing. I’m JJ.” 

Charlie walked over, about to push him out. “Jamie, this is my friend JJ. Be nice.” 

Jamie tilted his head, doubt running across his face. “Do you kiss all your friends?” 

JJ caught a laugh in his throat as Charlie sent a glare at both the boys. “We weren’t kissing. And I told you when the door is closed, you can’t just walk in. I’ll pass the ball with you later.” She put her hand on his head, steering him out of her room despite his protests and shut the door behind him. 

In the hallway, Jamie began singing as he walked away. “Charlie and JJ, sitting in a tree…” 

Charlie shook her head, embarrassed. “Oh my god.” 

JJ grinned. “I like him.” 

She rolled her eyes. “I’m sure. That’s your cue to leave. I’ll drive you home, where do you live?” She grabbed her car keys and slipped her shoes on, heading downstairs. 

He shook his head quickly. “Uh, I just live with John B over summer but it’s kind of far out of the way. You can just drop me back at the ice cream shop, I had my bike there.” 

She drove in that direction, only a short ride away. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t know. I don’t blame you for not wanting to crash with your parents after high school.” 

JJ grimaced slightly. “Yeah, just thought it would be nice to have some independence.” 

Charlie sighed, wistful. “If only. Then we wouldn’t have been interrupted.” 

He turned to her in the car seat, thankful for the turn in conversation. “Nothing was technically interrupted, Walker, because you were too scared to make a move.” 

She let out a short scoff of protest, parking in the ice cream shop’s lot. 

“I was not scared!” JJ nodded and unbuckled, turning to get out of the car. “Sure you weren’t.” 

Charlie reached out and grabbed a fistful of his shirt and pulled him close, kissing him soundly. 

He reacted after a beat, turning into the kiss and leaning across the center console. 

She pulled away with a grin. “Not scared.” 

He flopped back into the passenger seat, breathless. 

Charlie smirked, poking his side. “You don’t have a quick reply, for once, Maybank?” 

JJ shook his head. “Not this time. Have a good night, Charlie.” He sighed, exiting the car, getting on his bike, and driving away. 

_______________________________________________________________________

Later that night, she had a text from an unsaved number. 

Unnamed: 7/10

Charlie: um, wrong number maybe? 

Unnamed: Nope. I’m rating your kiss 

Charlie stared at the text, confused, then laughed in recognition and saved the number. 

Charlie: only 7/10?? I’m offended 

Maybank: Points for element of surprise. Had to take away for the cliche and the fact that your dad was 100% watching through the shop window 

Charlie: I can do better 

Maybank: I know you can do better, pretty girl

Maybank: Don’t worry. We’ll work on it 

TAGLIST: @booksandshish​ @jiaraendgame​ @hmsjiara​

[breanime]

Dynamite (Part Five)

Things start to get heavy here!

warning: violence, domestic violence

*cover by @moonlit-void-to-the-far-unknown*

Part Five: Got Dynamite

You woke up surrounded by the sun, feeling warm and safe and perfectly sore. You opened your eyes to see the sunlight illuminating your room, and you smiled as you sat up. Johnny was beneath you, looking like an angel as he slept. It had been so long since you’d felt this feeling, this unconditional, unstoppable, powerful love. You’d never felt like that for Miguel, even in your good days, but with Johnny… It was just so natural. You leaned down and kissed his cheek, his skin warm under your lips.

He grinned, his eyes still closed. “Yo,” he said, his voice deep and hoarse and making you clench your thighs together, “I don’t wanna ruin the mood, but I gotta say something…”

“Okay?”

He opened his eyes, and when he saw you, his smile widened. Your heart did a flip in your chest. The way he was looking at you… As if you hung the sun, which was crazy, because he did! “I never,” he said, “not even for a second, ever stopped loving you.”

You smiled back. “Me neither.” You leaned down and kissed him, feeling so light and warm and happy as he wrapped his arms around you. Being back in Johnny’s arms after so long was so much better than you’d ever imagined it would be—and you’d imagined it quite a few times.

“After this,” Johnny said, laying back with your head on his chest, “After today, once he’s back on American soil, Mikey, Briggs, and the team will arrest him.” You didn’t have to ask who “he” was. It was weird, discussing your husband in your marriage bed as you laid with another man—a man you loved far more than you’d ever loved Miguel.

You bit your lip. “And… after that?” You asked, trying not to let the insecurity show in your voice. Johnny was a Fed, after all, and you were… You were his case. Once it was over… would he leave you again? It’d been so easy for him the last time…

“After that,” Johnny answered, lifting your chin and looking into your eyes so you could see how sincere and serious he was, “It’s us, baby. Just us.”

You smiled, and your smile was like the rising sun to Johnny. You kissed him, which lead to another few hours lost in the sheets.

Later, Johnny stood in front of you, his hands on your face as he kissed you. “Next time we see each other,” he said, smiling, “everything will be different. Well, not everything—not the way I feel about you.”

You smiled back, feeling like you could fly, you felt so light and happy, weightless in your overwhelming bliss. “Hurry back to me.”

Johnny leaned down, his soft lips brushing against yours as he spoke. “I am never leaving you again,” he promised, “I never should have left in the first place…” He kissed you, his arms wrapping around you, bringing you closer. “I love you.”

“I love you,” you said, meaning those three words with all of your heart, “See you soon.”

“Soon,” he promised.

Hyped up on love, as soon as you were alone, you rushed up to your room. You slammed a suitcase down onto the bed and started packing. You were floating, grabbing garments and perfumes, and stuffing them into your bag. Honestly, you’d be happy to leave with nothing if that meant you could be with Johnny, but you figured you couldn’t go with him wherever he was staying now, so you anticipated having to stay in a hotel. You spun around the room, giggling to yourself as you packed. Johnny loved you. He loved you. He loved you. God, you had wished for him for so long, missed his touch and kiss and smile—and now he was back. He was with you. It was almost too much, the joy, too good to be true—but that was Johnny. You knocked something down, and you bent down to pick it up.

It was your wedding photo.

You stared down at it, a feeling of sadness on the edge of your ecstasy. You had loved Miguel, once. And you really did try, at first, to be a loyal and forgiving wife, but… You were never meant to be with him, and he was never meant to be with you. Maybe he was supposed to be with Emily, or Adelita, or some other powerhouse of a woman, but whoever it was; it wasn’t you. You put your hand on his photo, looking down at the man you married and feeling nothing for him. You were supposed to be with Johnny, you’d always known that, and now, you had the chance to be with him again. You got to start over, you got to be draped in this sunshine again, and you couldn’t wait to—

“Going somewhere, mi amor?”

You stopped cold, your heart freezing in your chest. Slowly, you turned to see Miguel standing in the doorway, smirking over at you with a cold look in those dark eyes of his. He walked over to you, and you were frozen in your spot. He grabbed your wrist, and you dropped the picture.

“You and Johnny have plans?” He asked, his grip like a vice. He let out a humorless laugh. “What, you think I didn’t see you drooling over him like a dog?”

“W-what do you care?” You shot back. “You don’t even want me anymore!”

“You are mine,” he growled, shaking your wrist, his eyes on his ring on your finger, “My wife! Not some… common whore!”

“Whore? Are you mistaking me for your ex-wife?” You yelled back, trying to pull your arm out of his grasp. “Or for yourself?”

“Watch how you talk to me—”

“How the fuck are you gonna lecture me when your breath still smells like blonde pussy—” Your words were interrupted by Miguel’s hand slamming into your face. You fell back, hitting the dresser. Miguel had never struck you before, but as you looked up at him, your jaw stinging and heart pounding, you knew it was only the first hit…

…and not the last.

Johnny had gotten into his car, his heart so full he thought it might burst, and turned his phone on. He had a few calls and messages from the team, the last one telling him to report to Graceland ASAP. He drove absentmindedly, his heart and mind on you. He felt like a fool, wasting all those years when he could have been with you—but he had you now, and he wasn’t going to let you go ever again. He hopped out of the car and floated into the house, unable to keep the smile off of his face—you just had that effect on him. But he stopped when he walked into the house.

“—a complete farce!” Mike was yelling.

“Who made that call? Give me his name!” Briggs screamed.

Johnny jogged into the room. “Whoa, whoa, what’s going on?”

Holden was standing in the living room, arms crossed, and that sour look on his face, and Mike and Briggs looked like they were both about to burst a blood vessel. “Agent Tuturro,” he sighed, “How many times do I have to tell you to keep your phone on when you’re working a case?”

“Johnny,” Mike turned to him, his blue eyes full of emotion, “this—I—I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” He frowned, looking over at Briggs. “Yo, what is he talkin’ about?”

“Head Agent Holden made an executive decision at the last second,” Briggs explained, his eyes hot with fury, “We weren’t able to apprehend Galindo.”

“What?!” Johnny spun towards Holden, his heart pounding now for a completely different reason now. “Why the fuck not?!”

“The government has decided not to arrest Galindo until he’s made a deal with the full team present,” Holden began.

“Because having Briggs and I there just wasn’t enough!” Mike shouted, disgusted.

“AND it has to be on U.S soil,” Holden continued, “The Mexican government refuses to implicate a Galindo, and without their backing, any crimes committed on their side of the border is out of our hands—”

“—we have enough to indict him,” Briggs argued, “with Y/N’s testimony and the evidence she’s given us, we can put him away!”

“Only for a few months, and with his legal team, he’d be out before we could even construct a worthwhile case,” Holden said back, “We need more time, need to gather more intel—”

“—we can’t keep her in there,” Johnny cried, nearing panic, “I promised her I would get her out!”

“Well,” Holden shrugged one shoulder, “that’s why we don’t sleep with our informants, Tuturro.”

Briggs and Mike moved at the same time, grabbing Johnny as he lunged at Holden, holding him back. Johnny pushed against them, but they held him off, pushing him back a few feet. Holden jumped back, eyes wide. “You—you’re too close, Tuturro! I’m pulling you off this case!”

“What?!” Mike yelled.

“You can’t do that!” Johnny shouted.

“Johnny���s the closest one to the cartel right now, you can’t pull him out!” Briggs added.

“I can, Agent Briggs, and I am,” Holden said, glaring at them as he adjusted his tie, “because I’m in charge. Me. And I don’t need a disgraced wildcard,” he turned his gaze to Johnny, “or an emotional hothead,” he glared over at Mike, “or a snitch telling me what to do.”

Johnny felt a great sense of hatred bonding him, Mike, and Briggs in that moment, and he balled his fists up, eager to punch that smug motherfucker straight in the face. But before he could, Paige and Charlie burst in, out of breath.

“We have to get to Y/N!” Paige said, running into the room.

“Agent Arkin, we don’t—” Holden began.

“What’s going on?” Johnny asked, stepping up.

“Emily’s locked up,” Paige reported, “she’s in holding downtown now, and she told me that Miguel is on his way to kill Y/N!”

Johnny wasted no time, running out of the house with his team at his back. Holden stared after them, jaw dropped. No one even spared him a look back.

They broke every speed limit to get to your place, breaking down the door and rushing in. Johnny lead the team up the stairs and into your room, his gun drawn. But when he stepped in—

—the room was empty.

“Clear!” Charlie called into the radio from her position in the house.

“Clear!” Briggs reported.

“All clear!” Mike said.

“Clear down here, too!” Paige said.

Johnny lowered his weapon; the room was a mess, and he felt his skin grow cold when he saw blood on the mirror. He walked towards the bed, noticing a suitcase overturned on the floor before he saw a paper on the bed. “Guys,” he said into his radio, “Up here…”

The team found him standing in the same spot, staring down at the paper.

“What is it, Johnny?” Briggs asked, standing beside him.

Johnny didn’t answer. Briggs took the paper—a polaroid picture—out of Johnny’s hand, and hissed. It was a simple photo of a worn-down church pew with a short, poignant message written beneath the picture. The message was written in blood.

Serrano- Hope you were worth it.

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

Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think! Oh boy... Things are getting too spicy for the pepper! Let me know how you felt about this chapter: the good, bad, and the ugly! I’ll post the final part tomorrow--any predictions? It’s gonna be angstyyyyyy....

Everything Taglist: @sweetybuzz25  @mrsjaxtellerfan  @rhabakoli  @encounterthepast @realduckvader   @justvnash @knowles-morgan  @ateliefloresdaprimavera @evanlys19  @nyxxnoxx @carlaangel86  @luminex3 @jigsawlover10  @gollyderek @otomefromtheheart @lexxierave @crushed-pink-petals @amethyst09 @falsehopesndreams  @a-dorky-book-keeper @witchygagirl @glimmerglittergirl​ @nich0lasmatthews​ @ben-c-group-therapy​ @felicity-x0​ @amirra88​ @mamabutterflyyy​ @vibranium-soul​ @xserenax-13​  @whoaitslucyy-blog  @gemini0410​ @ktiz90​ @theoceanhathsolace​ @starrynite7114​

Johnny Tuturro Taglist: @beardburnsupersoldiers​ @feelingsandemotionsnotexplored​  @jamielennkeeler​ @honeym-daddi​ @missjessie21 @tashawar​  @smoooore​​ @texasbama​​ @chaotic-rayofsunshine​ @uhlxis​  @langiinspirations

[iknowiknowiknowtheend]

as I lay in my bed unable to sleep I bring you more au garbage.

someone somewhere is going to say “oh bad ur such an angel.” because he’s so sweet n shit and he’s gonna be like “haha literally!” the angel joke will be made it’s been in my head ever since I went “yeah, bad=angel”.

bad and skeppy both wear bandanas around their necks and they swap them out sometimes, it kinda f’s up their set color pallets thingies but whatever it’s for the sake of platonic cuteness it can slide.

the au is has elements inspired to stuff from supernatural because I unfortunately like that show, I’ve already mention how schlatt’s deals are akin to demon deals and I figured I’d also mention au angels are like supernaturals angels. that being that they don’t float around with harps, they have stabby stab sticks and also generally don’t care about humans. with that being said any angel other than bad that might make an appearance would most likely be a huge asshole.

bad does have a sword but he gives it to skeppy at some point because skeps should probably have something to defend himself with and bad can just resign himself to throwing knives because haha cool.

bad and skeppy are kinda like wonder and silvia from the Disney (not) hit show Wonder Over Yonder, where they go around making friends/helping people.

okay okay I’ll stop talking about bad and skeppy now- I just haven’t touched on them as much as I have for the others so it was info dump about them time.

minx is a cool demon lady with a liiiittle too much power but whatever it’s chill (no it isn’t).

schlatts always had weird knowledge over magicy stuff- people born with sigils (things that help them do magic) are just born with it randomly and aren’t often gifted with knowledge of how the magic all works. like sure they can throw water around but that’s about it.

sigil magic can be conducted through runes, which can be carved into things (ex. schlatt carving tunes into his swords so he can do more fancy stuff with his fire powers)

the rune swords r good anyway for schlatt because he could really only do fire stuff through his hands/palms more specifically, and when you’ve got swords in hands that’s kinda hard bro.

anyway now we get into the ~old times~ with young schlatt who was a sword fighter because I guess he had nothing better to do with his life. he was good at it, like Coliseum fight people to the almost death and win way too often all the goddamn time good. and that was just for shits n giggles really.

so the good fighting skillz were what got him into the god killer bunch. minx probably picked him out, looked down at him and went “oh aye look at that guy down there he’s really good at this let’s get em-“

currently unsure of how to say schlatt got his immortality, he certainly wasn’t born an immortal ram guy. I’m thinking of maybe like minx curses him or something- maybe it’s just an all of the bunch thing that happens on some weird outing.

minx has always been immortal though, she’s a timeless demon.

anyway at some point schlatt fuckin drowns and wakes up on an island coughing up gallons of water because you can’t fucking breath if ur lungs r filled to the brim with salt water. (worth noting that was not a pleasant experience)

it’s part of my weird immortality rules- direct murder only is the singular way ur getting outta this mess. pretty much anything else under the sun goes as a “nope ur still getting to live, have fun.”

like charlie- charlie wasn’t part of the god killer bunch he came up years and years after, but schlatt gave him an apple that granted him immortality. charlie ate that apple as a regular human person and ended up (as seen in the immortals mini-reunion comic)one slimey boy in one slimey pit of despair. he fell in it and just became slime which would’ve normally killed him but hey it’s my bat-shit immortality rules so he’s fine. well, as long as you count still being alive but as a weird slime creature fine. whatever he’s alive- that’s the point.

anyway the immortal drowning rules are drowning, then passing out for a good while only to regain conciousness (hopefully somewhere dry) and coughing up the water in your lungs. not breathing can’t exactly kill you but you shouldn’t live with water in your lungs it’s not cool.

jeez I’m a terrible au god aren’t I?

*note to self stop saying anyway all the goddamn time*

as we’re on the topic of water I suppose I should discuss fundy a bit more. as much as I love both fundy and wilbur I’m not exactly sure what I’d be doing with them. they’d be minor characters that would stick around for a while and then get back to whatever it is they do most likely..

fundy should never be in the middle of a deep body of whatever because if he falls off he’s probably gonna fall to the bottom of said body of water and die. ironically if you’ve seen fundys impossible difficulty videos you’ve probable seen the feature where any water you come into proximity with just fuckin disappears, and that’s pretty much what fundys water powers are. he gets close to water and the water just disappears. although I might fix that to where instead of it being a passive always active thing, it’d have to be something he’d bring about himself. or could have it be that it is a passive always active thing but he’d have to concentrate to make it go away— that might work. cuz you know you can’t just NOT have water. okay long fundy paragraph cool I guess.

on to dream and george then-

dream and george grew up in the same general area. they were friends as kids n shit because why the fuck not, they would play in the forest and fight with sticks and be dumb because that’s what kids do. one day dream goes out (probably without George I haven’t decided 100% yet) he’s probably like 5 or 6 and he gets attacked by like a jackass monster or whatever and he gets this weird kinda freaky scar thing. so that’s why he wears the mask- it was at first because the wound was pretty bad and then he just had grown accustomed to it.

I’ll leave it at that because I can’t think of anything else + I’m hungy.

[katekaned]

i want your midnights

my @lgbtincomics​ secret gift exchange gift for @kaurwreck! 

“So… I heard you have a date for tonight’s party, Hel.” Dinah’s voice thrummed with barely contained glee, even over comms, as Black Canary and Huntress sped through the streets of Gotham toward that night’s (really, early morning - it was 2 am) target. 

Helena’s reply came tersely through Dinah’s earpiece, “It’s not a date.” 

“Well, I heard from Babs who heard from Steph who heard from Tim who heard from Kon who heard from Lois who heard from Maggie who heard from Kate… that a certain ex-detective Montoya will be accompanying you to the Clocktower festivities tonight. Sure sounds like a date to me.” 

“Can we try and keep our personal lives out of the field tonight?” Barbara broke in to reprimand them. 

Dinah cheerily responded, “Well, we never have before, so I don’t really see any point in starting now, O.” 

A deeply resigned sigh came over the comms to which Dinah cackled and Helena gave a begrudging smile under her motorcycle helmet. 

Barbara’s voice crackled across the comms again. “This is a simple mission, guys. Get in, make sure Seeber gets the message, then get out. Got it?”

“We’ve got it, O. After spending the past month taking down this dick’s trafficking business, tonight will be a breeze,” Helena replied. 

“It’s just too bad Zinda’s not with us - she could really put the fear of God in this bastard,” Dinah chimed in. 

“Canary, we agreed this was a two-woman job -  and besides, Zinda’s been hard at work decorating the Clocktower since midnight.”

“Only because you wouldn’t let me start any earlier!” Zinda’s brassy voice came through their earpieces loud and clear. “This clocktower will not become party ready all by itself!”

“Ooh that reminds me,” Dinah said in a sing-song tone. “Hel - you need to look like an absolute BABE for Renee tonight. Please let me take you shopping for a date outfit this afternoon?”

“Not! A! Date!”

____________________________________________________________

Is tonight a date? 

Renee’s mind was always filled with a hundred different thoughts at any given moment - cases she was working on, what to have for dinner, various exercise regimens and dozens of other things, all competing for her full and undivided attention. Most days, she’s a consummate pro at multitasking but, this December 31, one thought returned again and again to the forefront of her mind.

She paced all around her apartment, careful to step over the piles of gear strewn haphazardly on the floor, as she pondered whether or not Helena Bertinelli, her occasional (though more and more frequent) partner in vigilantism, had invited her to a New Year’s Eve party tonight as a friend-date or … as a date-date. The party was being hosted by Helena’s crime-fighting team, the Birds of Prey, and, according to her, was going to be a relatively small affair attended by teammates and a few affiliated heroes. Which did little to assuage Renee’s anxiety. 

Renee Montoya is not typically one to worry about such silly and mundane things as whether the girl she (potentially) likes likes her back. Renee Montoya sleeps with women and breaks their hearts and she doesn’t do the whole dating thing. (Not anymore. Not after Daria. Not after Kate.) So to feel her heart jumping in her throat like she’s a damn schoolgirl again is not a familiar sensation and she doesn’t like it, not one bit. 

Outside her windows, the telltale early signs of a winter storm were taking place. The wind picked up, whistling sharply through the alley below and carrying white flurries along the way. Overhead, thick, gray storm clouds menaced the city of Gotham, giving no indication that they were going to dissipate any time before midnight. 

Just as Renee felt herself about to begin dissecting and analyzing every interaction she’d had with Helena since she asked her to attend the party with her, a sharp rap sounded from her door. Trying to ignore the sweat gathering under her armpits, she ran her hands through her hair one final time and went to open the door. 

“Hey, I know I didn’t buzz up, but your doorman recognized me, I think from when we had drinks a few nights ago, uh, and he just let me up, so, yeah…” Helena trailed off as she took in the funny expression on Renee’s face. “You feeling okay, Montoya?”  

Renee was not, in fact, doing okay. In fact, the very sight of Helena Bertinelli standing in her doorway, looking absolutely, drop-dead gorgeous had driven all the air out of her lungs and all coherent thought out of her brain. Helena’s dark curls were piled high on her head with a few stray curls framing her face and she wore a black cropped turtleneck with the tightest pair of leather pants Renee had quite possibly ever seen. Fortunately, at Helena’s confused expression, a few synapses in Renee’s brain began firing again and she managed to stop looking like she had recently been concussed. 

“Oh, um, I was just, uh, thinking … it’s kind of cold for, y’know, a turtleneck.”

Oh, God, now she knows you were looking at her abs! Say something different! Anything!

“Not that there’s, uh, anything wrong with that, you look great, I mean, you always look great. Um. D’you wanna come in and drink something?” 

Great save, Montoya. How are you the same suave lesbian who managed to bed a woman in Kahndaq of all places? 

As Renee held the door open for Helena to enter her apartment, she tried to keep her eyes from gazing too long at any ... particular part of her body and, in doing so, missed the shy smile on Helena’s lips at Renee’s flustered greeting. Helena sauntered into the kitchenette area and sat down on a barstool at the counter. 

“What do you have?” 

“I’ve got lemonade, OJ, water, of course, and some non-alcoholic eggnog that Kate and Mags brought over earlier this week!” 

Renee managed to find two clean glasses and turned to Helena, waiting for her response. She noticed an almost pensive furrow in her brow that definitely wasn’t there before. The playful light in her eyes also seemed to have vanished. 

“Just some water will be fine. I’ll need to be well-hydrated to withstand even one of Zinda’s drinks tonight.”

“Alright, then,” Renee shrugged and grabbed a pitcher from her fridge, filling the two glasses and handing one over to Helena. “Are Zinda’s drinks really that potent?”

“Oh, God,” Helena snorted in the middle of her first sip. “Just be grateful you don’t drink anymore because that shit could take down a fucking elephant.” 

Renee inhaled sharply through her nose as she drank deeply from her glass of water. 

Helena flushed deeply and shot an apologetic look across the counter. “Shit, Renee, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to make light of -”

Renee cut her off, “It’s fine, really, Helena. We should be heading out now anyway.” 

She made her way briskly over to the entrance table where she kept her wallet and keys and shoved both into her jacket pockets. As she opened the door, she turned back to look at Helena, who was still looking rather like a kicked puppy, and gave her a sharp smile. 

“Come on, princesa, you’re the one who knows where the fuck where we’re going.” 

As Helena rushed out the door and started toward the stairs, Renee turned to lock the closed door behind her and took a slow, deep breath.

So not a date.

______________________________________________________________

As soon as the elevator doors slid open, Renee and Helena were hit by a barrage of sound and lights from the loft space at the top of the Gotham Clocktower. Stepping out into the brightly lit, colorfully decorated and rambunctious party from the cold, damp and dark streets of Gotham was a jarring experience. Seeing the party already at full tilt, sent a fresh prickle of nerves through Renee, when she felt a cold hand slip into hers and squeeze it tight. 

She glanced up at Helena’s face. Much of the tension from the motorcycle ride over and the brief yet eternal ride up the elevator seemed to have disappeared upon their entrance into Helena’s second home. Helena smiled softly at Renee. 

“Don’t worry. I’ll show you around.” 

As Helena tugged her further into the celebration, Renee felt her heart give an involuntary skip. 

Stop it, she admonished internally. She’s just being friendly.

“This is the kiddie table!” Helena’s face looked almost completely different with the giant, shit-eating grin she sported as she gestured to six young girls grouped around a flat-screen television, all with video game controllers in their hands and surrounded by bowls of various snacks and bottles of soda.

“Just because you guys are ancient doesn’t make us kids,” fired back a tall, blonde girl in a purple sweater without even looking up from the TV screen. “Anyways, Cass and I are only here because Zinda promised to slip us one of her special cocktails at midnight.” 

Helena narrowed her eyes at the shorter, dark-haired girl sprawled out next to the blonde, who just smiled and gave a what-can-you-do shrug. 

“Not under my watch, she’s not. Unless we’re suddenly a year in the future and you both are 21, there will be no underage drinking tonight.”

“Can’t be watching us… when you’re busy watching her,” the dark-haired girl replied smugly. 

Helena sputtered violently at that and the entire group dissolved into giggles. Renee noted that all of them were teenagers with the somewhat incongruous exception of a nine-year old who was busy shoving handfuls of M&M’s into her mouth. Two of the girls were blonde, three, including the nine-year old, had black hair and one of them had bright red hair. 

Blushing furiously, Helena spoke loudly over their snickers, “ANYWAYS. These gremlins are Stephanie, Cass, Mia, Lori, Charlie and Sin and they are all little shits. Enjoy your video game, girls, Renee and I are going to go talk with the adults now.” She said the last part pointedly, giving a killer stink eye to the rambunctious group. Tilting her head, she signaled to Renee that it was time to move along. 

“If you don’t mind me asking, Helena…” Renee began talking as they weaved their way past countless obnoxious New Year’s themed decorations.

“What the hell are the Birds of Prey doing partying with a bunch of kids?” Helena flashed her signature sharp smile at Renee who felt her treacherous heart thump a little harder.

“Yeah, pretty much,” she’d only worked with the Birds a few times but she’d never seen any of those girls with them before. Although, a few of them did look awfully familiar.

“They’re family,” Helena replied. When Renee only looked more confused at her response, she explained further, “Steph and Cass are Spoiler and Batgirl. Cass is basically Babs’ daughter and where Cass goes, Steph goes. Mia is Speedy and like a surrogate daughter to Dinah and Sin is Dinah’s actual, adopted daughter. Lori and Charlie tried to get into the superhero business a while back and Babs basically took them in. She keeps them housed and fed and going to school and loves them like daughters, too. So, yeah, they’re family.” 

Renee and Helena had stopped walking at some point in their conversation and were now standing between a set of giant, glittery numbers spelling out the upcoming year and the largest, most elaborate display of cupcakes Renee had ever seen. While Helena talked, Renee tried her hardest not to stare at her exposed abdomen or her leather-clad legs and, in doing so, found herself watching her full, dark purple-painted lips move as they formed words that Renee was definitely supposed to be listening to. After they’d stopped moving for a few seconds, Renee’s gaze snapped up to Helena’s sparkling brown eyes and blushed at her knowing look.

“That’s … pretty awesome that you guys have, like, a superhero family,” Renee ended up saying.

“Yeah, it kind of is.” Helena’s hand brushed against Renee’s.

Renee stopped breathing for a second.

“HEY YOU LOVE BIRDS! Stop hiding over here and come join the par-tay!” 

Popping out from behind the giant, glittery 2 came Zinda Blake in all her obnoxiously loud and exuberantly happy glory. She was wearing the classic bartender outfit of slim, dark pants and black vest over a white shirt and her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She had a devilish smirk on her face as she wiggled her eyebrows at Renee and Helena. 

“Zinda! We weren’t even-” Helena started to snap at her but Zinda just laughed and turned back the direction she came from. 

“I’m just bustin’ your chops, Hel. But you really should come say hi to some more people or they’ll start wondering what you two are up to.”

Zinda winked at the two of them then began walking toward another group of women, clearly expecting Helena and Renee to follow, which the two women did after only a brief glance at each other’s embarrassed face. 

In quick succession, Helena greeted and Renee was introduced to a Cindy, Kendra (who she was pretty sure was freaking Hawkgirl), Sonia, Kate (Spencer, not Kane) and Dawn. They were all friendly and welcoming (and evidently more than a little drunk) but Renee could have sworn as soon as Zinda led them away, they all started whispering and … did money exchange hands? 

Renee still wasn’t sure whether she’d made the right decision, deciding to come to this party with Helena. She obviously enjoyed spending time with her and the party wasn’t awful or anything, but she just felt … out of place among all these team members, who knew each other so well. She had turned down a quiet night at Kate and Maggie’s for this! And why? Because she thought, just maybe, Helena had invited her because she was interested in her as more than a friend? Renee felt stupid for even thinking that could be the case. Even if Helena did think she was attractive, she’d never once done anything to truly indicate that she felt something romantic for Renee. And after her comment back at Renee’s apartment … well, they didn’t talk much about Renee’s past struggles with addiction but Renee felt surer than ever that anyone who knew that about her would never be able to feel anything more than pity for her. 

Lost deeply in thought, Renee hadn’t even realized that they had reached the elaborate bar at the other end of the loft. Zinda slid behind the counter and started mixing, in Renee’s opinion, far too many liquids from different bottles together in an enormous mixer. Seated right by the bar was Barbara Gordon, Oracle herself, and Renee’s old boss’s daughter. She still couldn’t quite wrap her head around Jim Gordon’s little girl being the mysterious and all-knowing Oracle that every superhero and vigilante had asked for help from at least once. And sprawled across Barbara’s lap, her fish-net clad legs dangling over the arm of her wheelchair was Dinah Lance, the Black Canary. Even though Renee had met Dinah and even worked briefly with her before, she still felt a bit awe-struck in the presence of the stunning blonde. Her reverie was quickly ended, though, as Black Canary was, well, pretty damn plastered, if the empty glass in her hand and the glazed look in her eyes was any indication.

“Whatever was in this drink, Zind, is fucking magical,” she slurred in Zinda’s general direction while Barbara ran her hands through her sweaty, messy hair. “I feel unshtoppa- umshoppab-” 

Dinah frowned as she struggled to articulate the word, then shrugged, “I feel like dancing! Take me back to the dance floor, Babs!” She ordered imperiously while stumbling off of her lap and beginning to stagger back to where some of the others were dancing to some music that was undoubtedly selected by one of the teenagers. Now that Dinah was out of Barbara’s lap, Renee could see that the mighty Oracle was also wasted, though not nearly as much, and she watched as she wheeled off after Dinah. 

Helena had a funny look on her face as she also followed her two best friends progress across the room. After a minute, she realized she was staring and turned back to Renee, who was feeling and looking quite lost again.

She started to apologize, “I’m so sorry, Renee, I really didn’t think they’d be this drunk already. I know they’re the only other ones you really know here and I thought -” 

Renee cut her off. “It’s New Year’s Eve, people get drunk, it’s fine, Helena. It really doesn’t bother me.” 

Helena continued to look upset, though, so Renee turned to Zinda and asked, “Any chance you’ve got something non-alcoholic back there that’s not soda?” 

Zinda paused mid-shake. 

“On New Year’s Eve, lady? You’ve gotta be kiddin’ me! I’ll mix you up something so divine, you won’t even taste the alcohol-”

As Zinda spoke, three things occurred in quick succession. Helena attempted to leap over the bar, whether to slap a hand over Zinda’s unthinking mouth or strangle her, it’s impossible to know, because even Helena Bertinelli can only do so much while wearing the world’s tightest leather pants. Instead of cleanly soaring over the bar, she crashed into it, knocking bottles and glasses every which way. As everyone in the tower started to look toward the commotion, Renee Montoya took off toward the closest set of doors, which turned out to lead to a small balcony on the south-facing side of the tower. And, lastly, Zinda Blake’s brain caught up with that fast-shooting mouth of hers and she remembered that Helena had already told them that Renee abstained from drinking, and while she could be around alcohol, maybe don’t offer her any? 

“Hel, sweetie, I’m so sorry. I wasn’t even thinkin’,” Zinda said, as Helena peeled herself off of the bartop and ignoring Zinda’s apologies and the mess of glass and liquor, rushed to the very doors Renee had just gone through. 

Helena burst through the double doors out into the freezing, wintry air. She wasn’t sure what she expected to see out there but it almost certainly wasn’t Renee laughing her ass off, already covered in melting snowflakes and surrounded by an assortment of incongruously green plants. 

Pausing in confusion, Helena managed one word, “What-”

Renee caught sight of her disheveled and distraught appearance and just started laughing harder. 

“How are there … fucking tropical plants growing out here?” She wheezed. “It’s below fucking freezing.” 

Still baffled, Helena responded, “Um… during a mission, we, er, liberated some of Poison Ivy’s experiments and after Babs determined they weren’t dangerous or anything, she put them out here. Turns out they’re, like, immune to the weather or some shit.”

“That actually makes a lot of sense.” 

As Helena was talking, Renee slowly pulled herself together and grew more somber. Helena started to move toward her.

“I should’ve known this was a bad idea.”

“...what?” Helena stopped in her tracks at Renee’s words.

“Coming here. To a Birds of Prey New Year’s Eve party. I don’t belong here… I’m the Question not fucking Hawkgirl or Black Canary or whatever.” 

“I don’t have any special powers, either.” Helena frowned. “And you do belong here. Because I invited you.”

Renee shook her head and turned to look at the view from the balcony. “Kate said this was a bad idea. I should’ve just listened to her.” 

Helena’s frown grew bigger. “Of course, this is really about Kate Kane,” she muttered.

Renee whipped around. “What the fuck do you mean ‘of course it’s really about Kate Kane?” 

“I mean that you’re still in love with her! And you can’t let yourself be happy with anything or anyone that’s not her!” Helena’s eyes widened as the words left her lips and she slapped her hand over mouth, but it was too late.

Renee’s eyes narrowed. “You think I’m still in love with Kate? And so, what, you invited me to this party to try and protect me from her? Just like you’re trying to protect me from alcohol? I don’t need your fucking protection, Helena!” 

Helena reeled backwards at that. “No! I-I didn’t- I never-” She slowed. “You think I’m trying to protect you, Renee?”

“Well, yeah,” Renee answered. “That’s why you can’t act normal around me and alcohol and you freak out whenever I talk about Kate…” She trailed off at the look on Helena’s face.

“Renee… I don’t think I need to protect you. You’re just about the biggest badass in Gotham City, if not the entire planet!” Helena exclaimed.

“Bigger than Batman?”

“Easily bigger than Batman.” Helena started to move toward Renee again. “I - I was acting so weird tonight because I’m really fucking nervous, okay? And, I know I can be an inconsiderate bitch sometimes, and there’s so much alcohol on New Year’s Eve and I just didn’t want to act or say anything bitchy. And so I acted like a fucking idiot instead who thinks you can’t handle being around alcohol. I’m so stupid,” Helena spun and slammed her fist against the wall of the tower. 

In the span of just five minutes, Renee had gone from feeling completely and utterly foolish and desperate to this wild, electric buzzing under her skin as Helena explained her actions. She licked her dry lips. 

“And… the stuff with Kate…” 

Helena didn’t face her. Staring at the wall, she said quietly, “I act weird when you talk about Kate because I know you’re still in love with her and … I’m so in love with you it physically hurts me to hear you be in love with someone who doesn’t love you back.”

Renee tapped on Helena’s shoulder. As Helena turned around, slowly, to face her, Renee slid both her hands up Helena’s muscular arms and grabbed her face gently. 

“You idiot,” but she said it like she didn’t really think Helena was an idiot. At all. And she stretched up on her tiptoes and placed the lightest kiss on those stupid purple lips of hers.

Helena’s eyes fluttered shut and Renee couldn’t help admiring the way her long, dark lashes brushed against her cheekbones. 

“You’re … not in love with Kate?” Helena whispered, too scared to open her eyes or move a muscle, lest Renee vanish into the dark night.

“Kate… is my best friend. My first love. But she has Maggie, now, and I … I … have you. If you’ll have me?”

Helena smiled tearily and pressed her lips against Renee’s again. This time it was not light and it was not gentle.

And they stood like that, wrapped in each others arms, kissing in the snowy night air, until Zinda opened the doors, Dinah and Babs (both far more sober then they’d been earlier in the night) behind her. 

Simultaneously, the trio’s faces moved through showing concern, shock and, finally, happiness, entirely unnoticed by Renee and Helena. 

Dinah finally cleared her throat and spoke, “You guys okay out here? Well, midnight’s in ten minutes. if you were curious, but it, uh, seems like you’ve got this handled.” 

They so had it handled. 

[suffering-and-happy-about-it]

The Mystery (White Demon's Love Song, Part 4.)

Series description: A new job was what the reason you found yourself on a lonely roadtrip on the western coast, ending up in the woods of Olympian Peninsula. Yet a sudden car malfuction was what cause your unplanned stay in Forks. To your surprise, there was a lot of sinister things going on under the veil of fog.

Part summary: There was no denying inside your mind - Jacob was suspicious and something was going on with him. Yet as you try to make up your mind about the whole thing, you encounter an unwelcomed visitor. 

A/N: So, honestly, there is a LOT going on in this chapter alone. But I like that, at least we ain’t static and we keep pushing the story forward. Also, Charlie’s here’

Tagging: @missdictatorme​

Word count: 4.7 K

Twilight playlist: ✨ Twilight Crackheads ✨

Series masterlist: H E R E

The muscle pain was too much for you as you tried to get out of the bed. You knew you won't get up when you were walking up the whole night. Even your mood was moron-ish. Jacob was still sleeping on the sofa when you took a shower and made all of your morning rituals peacefully. Great. It was roughly seven in the morning. There was a deep mist and it was raining outside - but dear God, you couldn't wait to go on a long walk. As you watched Jacob sleeping, you decided to leave him a note.

'Jake, I went outside. It was raining, so I borrowed a raincoat from the hanger. I'll be back soon.' - That was all you wrote there. You didn't know there you were about to go yet, but the idea of Jacob knowing where you were venturing made you worried. At first, you wanted to go to the city center to look around Forks - but then you turned in the woods. You should try to look around... Maybe for a walk at least a mile or so.

There was a small path, a barely visible one - you were pretty sure that this was the spot where Jacob disappeared last night. Quickly, you looked around and ventured between the trees. God, it was cold again. The mist was leaving your mouth again and you had goosebumps. The wet ferns weren't helping at all; the leaves were smoothing your calves and it was making small maps of water on your legs. Your skin was freezing at those small spots. The ground was soaking wet but hard nonetheless.

You were walking down the path with your head more or less empty. There were no thoughts - sure, the suspicions were trying to make their way into the spotlight, but you didn't still want to believe that Jacob would be a killer for real. The fear was purely irrational, the whole deal was coming out of a troubled relationship you had before.

The man was an asshole. A serious one. You were young and dumb when you started dating him. There was no domestic violence involved in the relationship, but he was making an advantage out of his physical appearance. Ever since that moment, you didn't have the best feeling about physically noticeable men. Yet although the fear was inside you, it didn't mean at all that Jacob would be similar to the said ex-boyfriend and he, indeed, wasn't. Yet this behavior was particularly strange. Who would be walking into the woods in the night, coming back in the early morning?

It took you almost twenty minutes to stop and look around. Small raindrops were falling onto the soil, the ambient sounds of the forest were like a blessing to your soul. Then you noticed. At first, you didn't notice anything. You almost thought that you were delusional. Quickly, you glanced around and walked off the path, to rise a piece of cloth laying on a lonely root. It was still there when you walked to it and picked it up. It was... It used to be a torso of a t-shirt with a print of sorts. It was torn to shreds.

Something clicked inside your brain. When Jacob took you inside his flat, there were shreds of clothes laying everywhere. At first, you suspected that Jake might be a monster in the sheets or something like that - yet the ghost of Bella and an absence of a woman in the flat made you sure it's not the case. Now, there were shreds of clothes in the woods. It was at that moment when you heard a thud. You couldn't tell what it was. At first, you thought that Jacob might've caught you at his sacred place - yet when you turned around, there was no one. Okay, it was time to go back. You were freezing anyway. Quickly, you turned back to the path and started walking in a quick tempo - your palm pushed the shred deep into one of the pockets and fastened without realizing it. Another thud canceled the silence - it was way closer than the last time.

Your blood froze when you realized you've heard a growl. Quickly, you ran for your life. It didn't matter what it was, you didn't look back - you were terrified. Once, you almost fell on the ground. The shop was just behind the trees when you realized something growled just a step behind you as if something was playing games with you. A horrified squeal came out of your lips as you jumped forward, landing on the small lawn at the back entrance. There was a feeling of stupidity as you started crying, but you indeed were laying on your back, watched the sky, and cried. Soon after, you realized someone was touching you. With a scream, you pushed yourself off the someone before realizing it's just Jacob. Just Jacob who was going on walks in deep nights. Honestly, it was better to be killed by someone you already knew than getting harmed by something that was chasing you down in the woods.

"Did something happen to you?" - The man started to check you - his palms were searching for something in your arms and face as if he was expecting to find something. - "I swear that it might sound crazy, but I know something was chasing me down. Something was there in the woods with me, Jacob, I swear." - Dear Lord, you were chaotically mumbling without knowing what was coming out of your mouth. Then something else clicked. - "Dear God, you're burning, Jacob." - As you wanted to put your palm on his forehead, Jacob suddenly pulled away and got back on his legs. - "You're just freezing, trust me. Did you see anything?" - The man asked. He didn't think you're crazy. More so, he was taking you dead serious. And fuck, you couldn't tell what was worse.

"No, I just heard weird thuds... You know... As if something was jumping from tree to tree..." - It was coming out of your mouth unconsciously as you were getting up as well. - "Forget it. I think that Forks is just stressing me the hell out. I'm not used to this atmosphere and weather." - But Jacob didn't answer this allegation. More so, he was getting more and more serious.

"I... Need to go somewhere. Would you mind if I leave you at Charlie's for a while? You're going to be safe with him, I swear." - Jacob asked seriously. This was making you crazy. What was happening? Why did he know that something might be happening? - "Don't you want to tell me what's going on here?" - This was everything you were capable of saying. - Jacob froze down for a second before he knew what to say. - "We have a lot of mountain lions here in the last few months. I'll drive to my friend's to assemble a hunting party." - Wait a moment... You just told him something was jumping from a tree to tree, like a monkey, and he told you about mountain lions with a dead ass face. This wasn't adding up.

But it was a good idea to spend some time at the police station. It might calm you down, it lets you come to different thoughts and conclusions. Charlie might know something about all of this too, why wouldn't he? - "Yeah, that's probably the best idea." - This was all you need to say. Jacob instructed you to take the towtruck and gave you the address, which you then wrote to navigation. He told you he's going to take the bike - it was Saturday, so he didn't have to pull a small board with 'Closed' written on it, but he still made sure it's hanging on the garage door. Just before you took off - after you changed your clothes and put the dirty ones into the laundry, Jacob called Charlie and asked him if it's okay to send you there. Sure, Jake might as well send you to Newton's outdoor shop or he could straightaway take you to La Push with him to hear every fucking secret.

Charlie's was most likely the safest place right now. Why? Jacob knew precisely what was hunting you in the woods and Charlie's house was monitored almost all the time since Charlie was a part of the La Push family and he still was Bella's dad. They were keeping an eye out there. It was one of the leeches - and it was so insolent that it almost hunt you down to a werewolf's liar. It was late to chase the thing down, yet the smell gave it away. It was the same woman he, Seth, and Embry encountered just two days. Now, it knew where he lives. Honestly, Jacob couldn't care less. Sure, vampires could be a problem, but not a real danger for a shifter like him. If the bloodsucker would try to sneak into the flat, he would have no real problem defending it. The problem was that this was too close to the city - the group was trying to get closer and closer with each day. They needed to change schedules again, serrulate around Forks.

Thanks to God, Charlie didn't have any problem with taking you in for the afternoon - he even told Jake he might be going on a visit to Billy's, which sounded like a good idea. Jake knew you were there on a road trip and the beaches were a must-see. Also, La Push was soaked with their stench and guarded all day. Every werewolf that was trying to rest after the watch was ready to strike any time. - "Hey..." - Jacob made you roll the window down. It was raining more than before, so he was soaking wet within the next minute. Yet he didn't seem to notice it. - "I know it's weird, but trust me, you don't want to do one-v-one with a mountain lion. It would win for sure." - This made you grin as you shook your head. - "Maybe I have superpowers. What can you know?" - For a moment, you just chatted and neither of you knew there was a pair of curious eyes sitting up high in the trees, listening to every word of the conversation.

Hell, this whole trip was already too crazy, why would you get scared by spending your afternoon at some policeman's house? If anything, this seemed to be the most reasonable thing you did in the last three days. The stay in Forks was straight out of a movie or a book. Soon after you took off, you noticed that the navigation certainly wasn't taking you to the police station. You were driving to the other side of Forks, to a pretty large neighborhood. - "Evergreen Loop... One... Three..." - You counted the housed, crouching out of the window like an idiot. Well, you didn't have a chance of missing Charlie Swan's house - the man was standing there with an empty expression, waiting for you outside the door in old jeans and a flannel shirt. How did no-one living here feel cold? You've seen a guy in shorts, in this heavy rain, when you were on your way here.

Carefully, you put your car behind the chief's police car and you ran to the door as quickly as you could, nervously grinning at Charlie when you were climbing down the stairs. - "I... Hey. I know it's weird, but when I was on a walk this morning, I stomped upon a mountain lion and it made me scared, so I refused to stay at Jacob's workshop." - This was a fabricated lie, but some facts here and there aligned. Honestly, Charlie wasn't in a mood of finding out what was happening - the only thing he knew was that you needed babysitting for the day and since he was alone at home, why wouldn't he let you stay there?

The house was big on the inside, although it could be seen that it's very old. The colors were faded, the furniture was old... Well, at least the house was nicely warm and there weren't shreds of clothes laying everywhere. You could appreciate that. - "Do you want something warm to drink?" - Charlie asked, still standing behind you, which made you freak out a bit. With was going on since last night, when you noticed Jacob's spending excessive time in the woods, you were kind of jumpy. Who wouldn't be? - "That would be great, thank you." - The smile wasn't convincing at all, but Charlie wasn't the one to ask. He just started to make you a cup of tea. Quietly, you've sat at the table in the kitchen and took a look around. There was a lot of photos held by magnets on his fridge.

On one of them, there was Charlie next to an old, white-haired man. Both of them were dressed in fishing equipment, holding their rods proudly with a big smile. Then, there was Charlie and a girl... Who was strikingly similar to him - the resemblance was undeniable. Both had dark, brown eyes and hair, the same uneasy smiled and awkward posture. But the girl was pretty. Her features were balanced and calm as she smiled to the camera - this must've been Bella, you concluded. On another picture, there was Bella and fuck, someone had to figure out her angle there - because she was breathtaking. There was an equally handsome man next to her, holding a small girl on his forearm. Her husband and daughter, you figured out without a problem. The girl was resembling her mother a lot too, so this must've been in the family. On the last, and presumably the most recent one, there was Charlie with a beautiful black-haired woman his age. Yet her skin was russet's, like Jacob's. Was Charlie his dad? No, you stopped yourself. These two were nothing alike.

"What you're studying there?" - Charlie muttered out suddenly, making you feel like a guilty five-year-old. Well, you didn't have to stare at the fridge so obviously, yet you did. You deserved this. Although the Bella questions were itching your tongue, especially after seeing her happily married on the photo, you decided to ask on the last one. - "Is that your wife? I mean, she's really pretty." - Quickly, you pointed at the photo of him and the black-haired woman. Charlie was kissing her temple there while she was laughing at the camera. The man got flustered pretty easily. Maybe, you shouldn't ask about such personal things. God, what if she was dead? Oh, no. - "That's not my wife. It's my girlfriend, you could say, I guess... Her name's Sue and she's from La Push. She's staying here for the most part, but her son isn't feeling too well lately, so she wanted to stay at their house for some time." - Wow.

Charlie himself was surprised by how many did he tell you about his relationship with Sue. It was probably just that he wasn't used to being alone - Sue and he were taking it seriously for the last few years and she was there for him the whole time since Bella moved out of Forks. Yet he was alone in the house for the last week... So it was probably showing a bit. Usually, he wasn't this opened with strangers, but you were in Bella's age and honestly, he needed someone's company. Sue barely picked up the phone in the last few days and she was very worried about Seth for the most part.

He was a cop, right? And ever since he knew about Jacob's funky business, he naturally figured out what was wrong with Seth. The young boy was in the same business as Jacob. He needed Sue to take care of him, and Charlie, being a single parent himself, could understand that. Naturally, Charlie didn't know everything about the werewolves - he didn't ask Jacob a single question about it, because he refused to be directly involved in their 'wolf thing'. And the wolves re-appearing meant that most likely, something much more dangerous than a few overbred mountain lions is lurking around Forks, which was also the reason Jacob drove to Sam's. That was all Charlie knew and he wanted to keep it that way.

The man wouldn't say it out loud, but you were kind of a welcomed guest at the house. You welcomed the stay there since, in this house, you felt much safer - and Charlie had some company. He knew that he won't be talking much, but he was glad he isn't entirely alone in there. - "You've told me that your car broke down, right?" - He asked as he sat down at the table as well, giving you the cup of tea. In answer, you nodded. - "You also talked about Tacoma." - "Yeah. I wanted to travel a bit before settling down because of my job at Tacoma. Which led me here." - "Great!" - Charlie exclaimed all of a sudden, making your eyes widen at such a reaction. - "I was planning on visiting a friend of mine living in La Push and trust me, the beaches are something you can't miss. The friend is Jake's dad." - Charlie said with an important smile. Oh no, he thought that you're having... Something.

First off, it was too early to even get to know each other, let alone have something with the 'split-personality Jacob'. Second off... Why on earth would you fancy a guy about who you thought he might kill you in a gruesome way? He had his chances and truly, he hadn't killed you yet, but maybe he was just waiting for a chance. Especially after his late-night walks, that were super-off in your opinion. - "Uhm, I would like to come along. Not... Not to see Jacob's dad, of course. I would like to see the beaches. If you're saying I have to see them, then I have to see them." - Once more, you smiled at took a sip of the hot drink. You needed just that.

The conversation between you and Charlie was rather subtle and not too personal. But it was nice. Charlie was a calm, reserved man who was better at listening than talking. When there was nothing left to talk about, he invited you to watch a baseball game - and just after a few minutes after it started, you found yourself dead asleep in the armchair. No wonder there - you've spent at least half of the night awake, so you were tired as hell. The man, to your surprise, threw a blanket over you - and since he wasn't the cooking type, he ordered pizza, one for each. He didn't wake you up to ask you about the ingredients, so he just hoped he'd get it right. And to his surprise, you almost cried when he woke you up, telling you the lunch is served on the table.

It took you a grand total of ten minutes to pay Charlie for the food. Jacob might've noted something about being low on budget when Charlie asked him why he's having you at the workshop, so naturally, he presumed the lunch is his treat. It was just a damn pizza, for God's sake. It wouldn't ruin his financial plan or anything like that. When he refused to take the money again, you just put it on the table as you were leaving for La Push. He was driving first in his police car with you just meters from the back of his police car.

The reservation was a magical place, you had to say. The woods were strikingly similar, but... The feeling was different. The houses were smaller and less frequent. As Charlie took a turn, you followed - both of you stopped in front of a small house with a red facade, which was almost entirely gone. It was a tiny house - a young woman was standing in the subtle rain, smiling at Charlie mostly. Next to her, a man was sitting in a wheelchair - his smile was even wider. His hair was just like Jacob's, long and black. Their features were also very similar. So this was Jacob's dad, you assumed. And this... Was either his mother, a friend, another family member, or Jacob's sister. Your bets on sister, but who knew?

Since the very first moment, it was evident that Charlie and Billy, as the man introduced himself to you, knew each other for a whole eternity. There was a lot of laughter, internal joke and for the most part, they weren't paying you any attention at all. Which was good. But the young woman didn't let you go unnoticed. She, also, was strikingly similar to Jake and charming. It was one of those girls which you think you already met and knew, even when you met them for the first time. - "My name's Rachel. Hi." - She walked to you with her arms entwined on her chest and a big smile on her face. - "I'm Y/N, nice to meet you." - Oh, the phrase sounded bad after a total of two days you've spent in Forks and near cities. How many times will you introduce yourself to someone? - "And you're driving my younger brother's most beloved car." - She joked, but it didn't come across as funny to you. Another extremely weird smile appeared on your face as you got flustered. Charlie and Billy had disappeared inside the house some time ago, so now you were alone with Rachel.

"Um... That's a long and wild story." - This was all you answered. - "Charlie told me about the beaches here and that I have to see them? Can you give me instructions on how to get there? I don't want to bother you." - This taken Rachel away. So, you surely weren't Jacob's fling, because the whole topic made you unnerved. Yet she was interested in the story. - "What if... We take Jake's car and go there together? It might be fine to have some company." - She smiled. This time, there wasn't anything flustering about what she said. And to be honest, it was nice to go there with someone... Who wasn't a man? Except for Mrs. Peterson, and the weird conversation between you and Mrs. Newton, you hadn't talked to a girl... In a few weeks. - "Okay then, take the lead."

Throughout the whole time, Rachel was pumped about driving in the towtruck. From what she told you, you understood that the car was Jake's most beloved possession and that he rarely let it out of his sight. She made you swore not to tell him she was driving the truck. It was as you approached the beach when it struck you - why Charlie told you that you have to visit the beach. It was the atmosphere. The sea was lazily rolling small rocks around, there was a lot of washed-out logs on the beach, used as benches and an impressive number of people. - "Welcome to La Push." - Rachel smiled at you when she saw the way you looked around the beach. The most interesting thing for your eyes were two small isles just hundreds of feet from the beach. One could swim there.

"So, will you tell me the story?" - The woman asked when you walked to the beach, deciding that you will have a small walk to the nearby pounds in the woods. You started talking - how you planned on moving to Tacoma and getting a job there, about the whole road trip, and how you got stuck in Forks - highlighting the part where Jacob helped you out a big-time to make her little brother look good. Of course, you told her about the mountain lion thing. Rachel knew that was a lie, but she kept her mouth shut. - "Don't tell him I told you, but... Jake was never a bad guy. Sure, he had his moments and periods of being... A big asshole, but he has a good heart. After our dad." - Rachel smiled when you stopped just a couple of yards from the trees, standing there with your palms in the pockets of your jackets. The wind was really cold, but it didn't make the place less magical. - "Billy seems like a jolly person." - You acknowledged. - "Oh man, you should've seen him before the car crash. He was running around like crazy." - Rachel smiled sadly. There was a banter that kept you from asking about what happened to Billy, but Rachel started to talk on your own.

Just like you felt nice in her company, you seemed like a nice, trustworthy person as well. Since it didn't look like you'll be telling Jacob everything she told you, she started talking. It would be hard to talk about Sara, that was their mom, and the night just a few years back. But since she got back to La Push and started dating Paul, one of Jake's friends, she found reconciliation there. It was like a cure for her soul when she could tell someone who was simply listening. No dumb questions asked, no weird looks, anything - just listening to the story. Of course, she let out everything about the shifters, but she gave you a pretty good idea about what was going. - "I'm sorry if this sounds weird, but... Something's bugging the living hell out of me since we visited Mrs. Peterson because of her old car." - You started on your way up to the pounds. Rachel didn't need to hear the rest of it. - "Bella Swan, isn't it?" - She asked, knowing precisely what you had on your mind.

"The girl wrapped Jake around her finger pretty well. To be honest, I know Jake wasn't always the nicest to her either, but... I don't know. It was wild if I can be honest with you. She left Forks after she married one of the Cullens and sometimes, she stops by. Thanks to God, she knows better than visiting Jake. It would just wake up some nasty things." - Oh, so this was what happened... Naturally, Jacob had a different approach to the situation - something else happened in his perspective, but you sure as hell weren't about to ask him. Without further questions, you nodded and focused on the path under your legs.

The walk to the pounds was very nice - Rachel told you some stories about the pounds and then she talked about her twin, Rebecca, and Jake, telling you stories from their childhood. When she described how many times Jacob fell to the pond, you were kind of worried about him - it was a miracle that he hadn't drowned before reaching the age of six. Honestly, it was amazing how many stories she had - all of the stories had a specific story and each of the small pieces of history was making a nicer, clearer picture of La Push in your head. When first thunders hit your ears, it was still too far away, you decided to walk back to the beach and ride back to Billy's. But Jacob changed your plans without doing anything.

He was just standing above the beach with his hair let down, it was reaching way below his jaws, standing there with his elbows over his chest. His chocolate, dark eyes were watching as you and Rachel slowly walked closer to him. - "I see you two have already... Introduced." - The man looked at both of you, there was a hint of when he saw you both slowly walking down the beach. - "She wanted to drive here alone, so I've just asked if she wants someone to go with her." - Rachel vindicated both you as soon as it sounded kind of suspicious coming from Jacob. Then, after a slight moment, a small smile appeared on his face. - "That's nice of you, sis. One would've suspected you did it just because you had a chance to drive my truck, which is it?" - Jake asked with a small smile on his face. With that, you listened to the brother-sister bickering as you walked back to the truck.

Neither of you knew that the whole time, a wolf was watching over the whole beach, protecting you from the danger you could be in.

[rhetoricalrogue]

31 Days of Wayhaven: Day 10

Prompt: Blood Rating: G Words: 1910 Characters: Winona Adams, Farah Hauville, Nicolo Morelli Summary: Farah accidentally connects two dots while dishing out on some gossip. Note: Blood, bloodlines...stretching the prompt a little? Who, me?  Tony first showed up in a few headcanon posts of mine as my detective Aubrey Miller’s best friend/ex-dance partner before she came back home from the City.  He’s apparently evolved from a throwaway mention minor character to a bridge between Aubrey and Unit Charlie.

For the @31daysofwayhaven event.

“You should have seen the look on his face!” Farah bent over in laughter before flopping onto Winona’s bed.  Unit Bravo was stationed at the Facility closest to Wayhaven while their new warehouse headquarters was being built and it so happened that Charlie was also in between missions.  When Farah had found out about how Winona had joined up with the Agency, she had made a beeline to introduce herself, practically bouncing off the walls in excitement and hoping that her Echolian hadn’t gotten too rusty after seven years.  Nate was incredibly good at the language, but no matter how fluent he was, it wasn’t like speaking her mother tongue with another native speaker.

Just hearing the same language spoken so fluently made the pangs of homesickness that hit unexpectedly now and again hurt just a little bit less.  They still felt like a knife being twisted in her side, but at least they didn’t take her breath away or knock her to her knees as often.

“You shouldn’t tease him so,” Winona chastised, reclining on her side and peeling an orange to share.  Winona liked spending time with the youngest member of Unit Bravo.  The exuberance and sheer joy that radiated out of her reminded her of her own younger sibling that hadn’t made it through the rift she’d fallen through before it had closed almost immediately after her.

Her hands trembled for a moment, the peel of the orange caught between her fingers.  Her brother would have loved having these available year-round.

“But he makes it so easy, Winona!”  Farah took a segment of the orange she offered, nibbling at it to acclimate herself to the taste.  The first burst of sweet yet slightly tart flavor always overwhelmed her senses, but she really did like them.  She sighed as she popped the rest of the segment into her mouth.  “I just wish Adam would talk to someone about how he feels.  I mean, Aubrey is head over heels for him, I just don’t get it.”

“People express their feelings differently,” Winona commented, peeling another segment.  “And sometimes fear makes expressing those feelings openly difficult.”  Her thoughts went towards Cameron and Penelope.  She and Nicky had lengthy conversations on how the two of them should just say how they feel about it instead of living in a constant state of mutual pining.  The unresolved sexual tension between them was so thick that Winona often felt it buzz along her skin.  It was a struggle to not feed off it - had it been two other people than the ones who trusted her the most, she wouldn’t feel guilty about topping off her energy or using her pheromones to give them that extra push they needed to resolve things - and whenever things flared up between them, she found herself raiding the Facility kitchens for anything sweet to distract her from the yearning hunger that made her fangs extend and mouth water.

It was a good thing that Unit Bravo was around.  She and Mason had an...agreement.  The no-strings, casual sex he offered was worlds better than the slightly formal, businesslike encounters that the Agency offered.  The participants were volunteers, and she made certain that they had a good time, but it always felt more like a visit to a clinic instead of a more natural sensual moment.  Cam and Penny had been sparring in the training area earlier and what Winona had walked in on made her think that seeking out Mason’s company for an evening was a good idea.

Farah rolled onto the mattress until she was on her stomach, her feet kicking in the air.  “I still don’t think Adam fully understands that this guy who came for a visit was just a really good friend of Aubrey’s.”  She’d been in the middle of sharing a recent incident where some man had dropped into Wayhaven unexpectedly on his way to another city and had decided to surprise his very good friend.  Apparently Detective Miller had been a ballerina before settling in Wayhaven and this man had been her longtime dance partner.  And apparently, Adam hadn’t taken it well seeing the current object of his unspoken affections interact so easily with a man from her past.

The best part of it was that this man had been a supernatural being himself, though from how Farah described him, he had clicked with Aubrey long before he realized there was something special about her mutated blood.  Farah had giggled about the fact that Aubrey had tried her hardest to make everything in Wayhaven appear normal so he wouldn’t catch on to the Agency, and then this half-fey guy turned around and threatened the four vampires bodily harm if his best friend got hurt because of them as soon as she was out of the room.

Farah was right.  Winona would have loved to have seen that unfold.

“He was a cutie though,” Farah said, digging her phone out of her pant pocket.  She swiped around until she found a good shot.  “See?”

Winona looked at the picture, smiling as she took in the relaxed, easy smile on the detective’s face - she’d only been briefly introduced to her once during her initial stay and Winona could tell that she had still been taking in the fact that beings such as herself existed and that she had a murderous vampire hunting for her.  It had been a lot to take in, and honestly, Winona was surprised that Aubrey had taken it as well as she had.

Then she focused on the man next to her.  Yes, he was attractive, but there was something oddly familiar about him that she couldn’t quite put her finger on.  Zooming in on his face, she had a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach.   “What did you say this guy’s name was?” she asked, zooming in further.  His eyes and the way his mouth quirked as he smiled made her dig out her own phone and pull up a picture.

“Tony.”

“Last name, Farah.”  She zoomed in on her phone and held it side by side with Farah’s.

“I don’t know, something Italian?”  Farah rested her chin on her hands.  “Something with an M?”

“Morelli?”

Farah snapped her fingers.  “That’s it!  Wow, that was a great guess!”  She started when Winona all but jumped out of bed and rushed towards the door.  

“Nicky!  Get in here now!”

***

“Are you certain this man’s name was Morelli?” Nicky asked, holding Farah’s phone as he paced around Winona’s bedroom.

“Yeah, he’s a famous dancer in the City.”

“It checks out,” Winona said, holding up her phone to show Nicky the quick Google search.  “Do you think that the two of you could be related?”

He frowned.  “Morelli is a common last name, it could be coincidence.”

Farah squinted.  “Are you sure?  I mean, the two of you look awfully similar.”

Nicky stared at the screen, his eyes boring holes into the picture.  “None of my mother’s family survived the plague of 1656.  I was only a child then, but my grandmother would have taken in anyone who had made it.”

“What about your sister?” Winona asked, sitting at the edge of her bed.  She resumed peeling off segments of orange, purely to give her hands something to do.

“She only had one child, and they died along with her and her husband in the earthquake of 1693.”  He pointed a finger at her.  “And before you ask, no, I didn’t have any children.”

“Nicky, you did sleep around a lot,” Winona pointed out.  “Like, a lot-a lot.”

“But I was careful!  I admit, I may have been a bit of a -”

“Horny dude who couldn’t keep it in his pants?”

Nicky glared at Farah, who just laughed at him.  “A romantic with a great love of women,” he pointed his finger at Winona in warning for her to not chime in.  “But I was extremely careful to leave without leaving a…”  he searched for a word.  “Little souvenir behind.”

“Well!” Farah hopped up from the bed and snatched her phone away faster than Nicky could react.  “I know one way to solve this!”

“Wait, what are you doing?”

She pulled up her contacts and pressed down on the one named AUBS that was bracketed with little ballet shoe emojis and sparkly pink hearts.  “Getting info from a source.”

“No, you don’t -”

“Too late! Hey Aubs!  How’s it going?”  Farah bounced a little on the balls of her feet while listening to whatever Aubrey was saying.  “Quick question: you know your dreamboat best friend?  Ha, okay, so thanks for telling me he’s single, that’s actually really useful info, but I was wanting to know a little bit more about him.  What’s his mom’s name?”  She twirled on the ball of her foot in a lazy, half-pirouette that she’d been working on with Aubrey.  “No, no reason at all, just really interested!”

Nicky scoffed.  “Like that’s not going to raise suspicion.”  

“Gianna?  Gianna Morelli?  That’s really pretty!”  Farah gave Nicky a glance and raised her eyebrows to see if the name rang any bells.  He shook his head when it didn’t.  “Okay, so maybe a little weirder question, do you happen to know who his grandma is?  I remember you talking about her and how she made the best chicken soup that one time the whole cast of a production got sick.” She gasped and pressed a hand to her chest.  “Aubs! Of course I listen to you, I’m offended you’d think otherwise!”

“Well?” Nicky asked, resuming his pacing.  Farah waved a hand at him to get him to quiet down.  

“Oh.  Okay.  Can you call me back as soon as you ask then? And ask where from Italy she was from!  Oh, cool, thanks!  Okay, byeee!”  Farah clicked off the phone.  “She said she didn’t know, she’d have to ask Tony.  She’s always known her as Nona Morelli.”

“Did she know where she was from?”

Farah fidgeted with a curl of her hair and was tempted to drag it out, but thought better of it when she saw that Nicky was incredibly tense.  “She wasn’t quite sure where, but she said Tony’s grandma always talks about Sicily and how she goes back to travel there every so often.  She’s really big on historical preservation and does a lot of work with the older cemeteries.”

All three of them jumped when Farah’s phone rang, ABBA’s Dancing Queen chiming out.  “That was fast!” she said by way of a greeting.  “Okay, fine, confession: I may have shown off a picture to some people here at the Facility and Tony may bear a remarkable resemblance to one of the other agents in another unit.  No, no, not a supernatural.  He’s human, just dead, like really dead. It’s a long story.  Anyhow, what sort of news do you have?”  Farah sat on the bed and kicked her feet in front of her.  “Uh huh.  Uh huh.  No, it’s probably not likely they’re related, but think how neat it would be!”

“Her name, Gallinetta.”

“Oh!  Isabela Morelli?  That’s a really pretty name too!”  Winona shouted out a warning as a loud thud made Farah turn around. Her eyes widened when she saw that Nicky had fallen to the floor, his hand clutching his chest. “Uh, Aubs?  I’m gonna have to call you back.  That dead guy I told you about?  I think he just fainted.”

[whelvenwings]

Thanks (for being an asshole)

Dean/Castiel, 4.4k, AU (no supernatural), Breaking Up & Making Up, Angst with a Happy Ending.

Dean and Castiel broke up two weeks ago, and Dean's been a wreck ever since. Tonight, he's heading to Charlie's apartment for some ice-cream, alcohol, and a TV marathon - or so he thinks. Charlie, however, has other plans for the evening, and who might be there to have a long talk with Dean.

Read it here on AO3 if you prefer!

--------------------------------------------------

Dean had been promised ice cream and a TV marathon and beer - and maybe something stronger - and that was the only reason he was leaving his apartment for the first time in two weeks.

It was bitterly cold and apparently he needed to have a look at the Impala’s heating system, because as he drove towards Charlie’s place the air coming out of the vents was doing a great job at speeding up his fingers’ journey towards frostbite. He turned on the stereo, and a song came on that he knew. Led Zep, obviously. Castiel would have -

Dean’s stomach clenched and his chest ached and he said, out loud,

“Nope.”

He wasn’t thinking about Castiel. Not today. It had been two weeks of thinking and thinking and thinking, and today he was giving it a rest. He was going to go to Charlie’s place and watch whatever crappy TV she put on while attempting to drown himself in a potent mix of alcohol and Phish Food.

He turned off the stereo. The silence wasn’t much worse or better. When he had nothing to listen to, he thought about Castiel; when he had something to listen to, he thought about Castiel with a backing track. It wasn’t much of a choice.

Phish Food. Phish Food and old soap operas and no ex-boyfriends.

Even thinking about Castiel as his ex-boyfriend made Dean’s grip on the steering wheel tighten.

When he pulled up outside Charlie’s apartment, he took a moment to gather himself. He’d been avoiding Charlie’s calls for days up until this morning, and he was pretty sure that if she didn’t see him today, she was going to chase him back to his own apartment and force-feed him Ben and Jerry’s finest herself. Even still, he didn’t want to go in. He just wanted to start the Impala’s engine again and drive away. He wasn’t hungry for the ice cream. He didn’t want to be seen by anyone. Charlie would know as soon as she saw his face that he was broken. 

Dean felt raw and razor-sharp. He was in tatters and ribbons and he knew that it showed and he didn’t want to damn well cry in front of anyone tonight. 

He wouldn’t, he wouldn’t. He could stop himself crying, he wasn’t two years old. He was doing it now, after all, wasn’t he? It wasn’t so hard.

Getting out of the Impala, Dean slammed the door behind him and headed inside Charlie’s building. It was a shabby, nondescript place with an elevator that was a little past its best. The sign had some graffiti on it, so that it read, 

No More Than 6 00000 People in this Elevator at One Time. Thanks for being an asshole

Dean stared at it.

Thanks for being an asshole, Castiel had pointed out to him, the first time Dean had brought him to meet Charlie. 

Thanks for being an asshole, Dean had joked, when Castiel had stolen all the blankets, the first night they’d slept in the same bed.

Thanks for being an asshole, Castiel had said, when Dean would get hard-headed in an argument, give him the silent treatment.

Thanks for being an asshole. Their get-out clause, their password, their grin in the middle of their worst times. They’d had problems, sure. But they’d always got themselves back out, together. Dean had meant it when he’d said thank you for them. He’d been grateful, in a way. Because if he was annoying Castiel and Castiel was annoying him, it meant that even through the worst of their crap, they were holding onto each other.

And now Dean was reading those words for the first time since the break-up, and he wanted to laugh and he wanted to hit something. He could hear them in Castiel’s voice. His throat felt choked. His hands were fists by his sides.

Ding!

The elevator’s doors rumbled open. Dean walked out of it on legs made of concrete, feeling like a part of him was still back in there reading those words, over and over. Before he walked down the hallway to Charlie’s door, he took a second to lean against the wall and try to pull himself together again. He was never going to make it through a long night. He needed to go home and sleep more. But he could at least show his face, stop Charlie worrying about him.

When he peeled himself off the wall and walked down towards Charlie’s door, he found that it was already ajar. Frowning, he tapped his knuckles on against it as he stepped inside.

Charlie was standing in the tiny hallway, her hands on her hips, looking expectant.

“Hi!” she said, stepping towards him.

“Uh… hey?” Dean said. She was wearing a thick winter coat and boots. “Are we going somewhere?”

Grabbing him by the arms, Charlie swivelled them around in a half-circle and then backed out of her own front door, and promptly slammed it in Dean’s face.

“What?” Dean demanded. “Charlie?!”

“It’s for your own good,” Charlie said, and he could hear the sound of her keys in the lock. “I swear to god, Dean, I’m doing this for you, okay? Please don’t hate me.”

“What are you talking ab-”

“Dean?”

Dean went quiet and still. He knew the voice that had sounded from behind him, inside the apartment. He’d know it anywhere.

“Charlie,” Dean said in a low, threatening voice.

“I’ll be at the Starbucks down the block,” Charlie said through the door. “And Dean, I know you probably could break my door down, but please don’t do it. I’ll be back in an hour so just hide in the bathroom if you have to. Don’t break my door. Okay bye!”

Dean slammed his fist against the door, furiously, as he heard her footsteps start to recede down the hall.

“Charlie! Don’t you dare walk away, don’t - don’t - ah, shit.”

In the distance, there was the far-off ding of the elevator. 

She’d really gone. Dean was locked in here.

He turned around. Standing opposite him now in the hall, there he was: the person Dean most and least wanted to see in the whole world.

Castiel. He looked -

Well, he looked like a wreck, if Dean was being honest. He had big dark shadows swooping under his eyes, and his hair was a mess, and he seemed to be wearing a new blue bathrobe and old pyjamas with his snowboots at the bottom.

“Did you walk here in that?” Dean asked, at the same time as Castiel said,

“You look terrible.”

Dean wanted to hug him. Not in a stupid airy-fairy sweet way. He wanted to hug Castiel so tightly that it crushed him. He ground his fingernails into his palms.

“Charlie told me we were having a movie night,” Dean said.

“She said to me that she had some of my stuff that she wanted to give back to me. From you.”

“So you came in your freakin’ pyjamas?”

Castiel looked haughty.

“It’s none of your business anymore,” he said.

Dean pulled a big cold smirk.

“That’s right,” he said, “It’s not. Get hypothermia. Whatever.”

“As though you’re the height of fashion, today. How long since you shaved?”

“Not your business anymore,” Dean said tightly.

They stared at each other for a long moment. The light in the hall flickered. Dean was so angry he could weep. He wanted to hit the wall.

“Are we going to try to break out?” Castiel asked.

“‘We’ aren’t doing anything.”

“Then in the absence of a better plan, I’m going to go and sit down,” Castiel said calmly. “And wait for an hour.”

“Dibs on the good seat.” It came out almost automatically - just the first thing Dean could think of that would make Castiel annoyed. C’mon. Feel something. Fight with me. Why exactly Dean wanted a fight wasn’t important. He was so angry that it burned. Him. Castiel. Alone. In an apartment. Fucking Charlie. Dean was ready to physically fight whoever was nearest.

“No,” Castiel said. “I was here first -”

“Doesn’t matter. I called dibs,” Dean said, stepping forward as Castiel turned away towards the living room.

“I called it before you were here.” Castiel was obviously trying to act dignified, but he made a rush for the chair as soon as he heard Dean coming up behind him; Dean grabbed for the back of his bathrobe, and pulled hard. Castiel turned to push him off and the two of them squabbled, ungainly, moving into the living room step by awkward step.

“It’s my turn ,” Castiel said, with Dean’s arm at his throat. “You had it last time we were here.” 

“That was before. ”

“Before what?”

“‘Before what?’ Seriously?”

“Before breaking up? That makes a difference?”

“What, it doesn’t make a difference to you?” Dean shot at him.

Castiel glared at him furiously, and then with a twist of his shoulders he was out of the bathrobe and dropping into the best seat in Charlie’s living room. Dean was left standing with the gown in both hands, holding it tightly.

That had been all wrong. The physicality of it. They weren’t supposed to touch anymore. They weren’t supposed to even see each other, that was the last thing Castiel had said before he’d left - but thanks to Charlie, that part was already wrecked.

Dean sat down on the second-best chair. It had a hard upright back that no amount of cushions could improve.

They sat in silence for some time. Dean pulled his phone out, and tried to call Charlie. Her number was unavailable. He texted her, and then texted Sam, and Jo, and even Bobby. Stuck in hell at Charlie’s please come, emergency.

When he glanced up, he saw that Castiel was looking down at the floor.

No one was replying to his messages. Dean put his phone on the arm of the chair, where he could definitely see and hear it if someone answered.

The seconds ticked on.

Castiel. Dean didn’t want to look at him, and also wanted to look and look and look, because this… he thought he’d already had his last chance to look at Castiel, to be in the same place as him. He’d been tearing and twisting himself into pieces over that for two weeks, and now he had another chance. Here. In this awkward living room, with everything and nothing to say to each other. It felt like coming up for air and finding it was poison gas, and breathing it anyway.

“How have you been,” Castiel asked, eventually.

Dean said nothing.

Castiel breathed out.

“Fine,” he said. “Don’t talk to me.”

“I just don’t wanna talk.”

“You never want to talk.”

All Dean had been thinking about for two weeks was the things he wanted to say to Castiel. He had reams and reams and reams of words locked in his head. 

“Nope,” he said.

He caught the look on Castiel’s face, the half-second blanch of pain before it was smoothed over with a resigned shrug.

Dean didn’t want to talk. He didn’t want to talk. He wanted to stay shut up tight and safe and not say a single word, and -

Minutes passed.

That look of hurt on Castiel’s face kept cracking against the back of Dean’s mind like a whip. 

You never want to talk. Nope. Crack.

Dean swallowed hard.

Stupid. Stupid words. Stupid Castiel. Stupid Charlie. Stupid goddamn situation. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

“I’ve been okay,” he said. Grunted, really.

Castiel looked over at him.

“You have?”

A long pause.

“No,” Dean said.

Castiel’s mouth twisted up ever so slightly to one side and Dean knew he was trying not to show that he was sad. He wanted to pull Castiel in, hold him together. He wished the living room were smaller and they were crushed together, no escape from each other. He wanted the whole world to be so tiny, right now, that they couldn’t be apart by even an inch. 

“You?” Dean said.

“No,” Castiel replied.

Dean nodded.

This room wasn’t claustrophobic enough. It would be a mistake, an embarrassment, a vulnerability, to choose to go over to Castiel now. Dean wanted it to be a necessity, not a choice. He wanted the world to give them no option.

“I keep thinking about that night,” Castiel said.

“When you left?”

“When you told me I had to go.”

“I said maybe you should go,” Dean said. “You were the one who actually did it.”

“You wanted me to.”

Dean’s head jerked up.

“Is that what you think?” he demanded.

Castiel swallowed visibly.

“You think I wanted you to go?” Dean pushed.

“I…”

“Seriously?”

“How am I supposed to know, Dean?” Castiel said, and the pain in his voice was thin as a wire and sharp as a barb. “When you’re angry you just shut me out. You can’t wait to get away from me. You won’t even look at me.”

Dean put his head in his hands.

“I didn’t want to go,” Castiel said. “I didn’t want any of this. But when you can’t stand to be around me…”

“That’s not true,” Dean said, muffled by his hands. Somehow it was easier to talk into them, in the dark.

Castiel didn’t say anything.

Dean took his hands away from his face.

“Then why do you avoid me?” Castiel asked. “When you make me angry, I tell you, and we talk about it, and then it’s done. But when you’re angry, you never say anything, and I have to guess what I think that you want, and this time… everything pointed to you wanting me to leave. Just like it always does. And this time, I actually did it.”

“You knew I didn’t want you to leave,” Dean shot back.

“You didn’t want me to?”

“Really? You’re gonna play it that way? Like you didn’t know?” Dean said. “Jesus.” 

“I didn’t know, Dean.”

There was a ring of truth in his voice that brought Dean up short.

“But that’s not - obviously it’s not like that,” he said. “Obviously I didn’t want that.”

“It’s not obvious. You never say anything. Nothing is obvious.”

Dean glared at the floor. How to explain himself? How to tell Castiel that when he was angry, it felt like he was carrying round a bomb and if he talked, if he said one word, it would go off and explode on them both?

“If I talk to you about that crap, you’ll leave,” Dean said.

“I already left,” Castiel said, “because you didn’t.”

Dean paused to take that in.

“But when I’m angry…”

“I screwed up,” Castiel said. “I upset you. I was always going to because people are never going to be able to agree all the time. You’re going to be angry at me. And I wanted you to tell me.”

Dean snorted.

“What’s funny?”

“You don’t actually want that,” Dean said.

“I do.”

“You don’t. You really don’t.”

“You don’t think I want to know about what you’re thinking?”

Dean shrugged.

“I think me being angry is a me problem.”

“Right. So that’s why you said I should leave.”

“I said maybe you should leave.”

“You gave up,” Castiel said.

“ Me? You left!”

“You told me to.”

“I didn’t really want you to…”

“How was I supposed to know that, Dean?”

“You can’t tell that I don’t want you to leave? You can’t tell that I care?”

“I know you care,” Castiel said, angrily at first, and then again, quieter. “I know you care.”

There was a pause.

“Maybe I should’ve tried harder,” Dean said after a while, trying to keep his voice from being too thick with feeling. “That night.” Castiel, across the room, put his head on one side. It was such a familiar gesture that Dean almost broke.

“You always try your hardest,” Castiel said. “I do know that. You just try your hardest to keep me out, most of the time. Not let me in.”

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Dean said. Castiel went still.

“This is -” he began, and then cut himself off. Dean looked up at him. “Nothing you could say,” Castiel said carefully, “could be worse than the things I imagine you thinking.”

“Like what?”

“Like you’re glad I’m finally gone,” Castiel said, so quickly, so easily, and Dean could tell how many times he must have thought it. “Like I’ve been hanging around for too long, all this time. Like your life just got so much easier and better without me in it. Like you’ve wished I’d leave for so long, but you didn’t want to hurt me by telling me. Or you just couldn’t be bothered.”

“Couldn’t be…” Dean’s stupid choked-up throat was giving him trouble. And across the room, Castiel wasn’t helping, looking as though he were barely holding it together. Dean gritted his teeth. “It’s nothing like that,” he said.

Castiel raised one shoulder, slightly, eloquently.

Dean took a minute, and then a minute more.

Damn it.

“These last two weeks,” he said, and then stopped, and then started again, looking at the floor. “These last two weeks the thing I’ve thought about the most is how I won’t get to see you again. I haven’t been out my apartment in two weeks until tonight and the whole drive over here I was looking for you on every corner. I don’t - how long am I gonna do that? I haven’t spent a damn second of my life ever wishing you were gone.” Across the room, Castiel looked unconvinced. Damn. It. “What I, uh. What I think about is how - how now we’re broken up your face is going to change when you get older and I won’t know what you look like anymore. Someone else will, maybe. Not me. And I keep thinking that they might be able to - they might feel - for you, I mean - but it won’t be even a - a small… thing - compared to what I - and Cas, I wish that I could give you…” Dean couldn’t go on. He took in a breath, and let it go.

Every word felt like a fire ant bite. And the only reason he had any of it in his head, the only reason he could talk at all, was because he’d spent so much time recently lying in bed trying to explain himself to a Castiel that wasn’t there. Before two weeks ago, he wouldn’t have had a word to say.

When he looked up, eventually, he saw that Castiel was sitting with his bare arms folded, his eyes on Dean. He looked cold, and Dean realised he was still holding the stupid bathrobe in his hands.

“Shit,” he said, standing up. He held it out. “Here.”

Castiel got to his feet, and came near. Dean pressed his lips tightly together. Hard. Strong. As cold as he could be, after saying all that. He’d never spilled so much all at once. It was too much.

As he took the bathrobe, Castiel’s hands brushed Dean’s. 

Don’t, Dean wanted to say. Don’t. I can’t touch you if it might be the last time.

Castiel wrapped the bathrobe around himself again, and tied a knot at his waist. The cord, Dean noticed, was the one from Castiel’s curtains at home, an odd shade of purple.

“You look like a wizard who just got kicked out of magic school in the middle of the night,” Dean said.

“Thanks,” Castiel said.

“For being an asshole?”

Castiel was half a step away. He was watching Dean. There was something in his face that hadn’t been there before Dean had said all that crap - a kind of intensity that Dean recognised. Dean swallowed. He wanted this, he wanted this, he wanted it so badly that he couldn’t speak - but he also knew that he couldn’t stand it, could not stand it, to touch Castiel now and then have him leave. But he couldn’t stand to be here and not hold him, either -

“I can’t do this,” Dean managed. “Cas, I can’t. Not if we’re over.”

Castiel watched him, those eyes of his clouded with thought.

“You’re an asshole,” he said, after some consideration.

“Uh…”

“You are. You’re an asshole. You push me away even though you don’t want to. You’re my best friend, and you act like I’m your worst enemy.”

“Well -”

“It makes me angry, Dean. I’m angry and I’m telling you. And later maybe I won’t be angry, and I’ll tell you about that too. I’ll tell you right now that these two weeks have been hell, in case you couldn’t already tell from the fact that I walked here in a bathrobe to get the things I thought you’d dumped here at Charlie’s for me. I’ll tell you that hearing your voice in the hallway when you arrived was like coming home. I’m telling you because I want you to know... you can’t switch off saying just the bad things. You switch off the good things, too. And I wanted to hear the good things, Dean. I wanted to hear all of it. You were thinking things like that about me all the time? And you let me think you wanted me gone? You asshole .”

Dean’s heart was beating a mile a minute in his chest. He felt hot all over.

“Good things,” Dean said. “That I think about you? You wanted to hear them?”

“If there were any,” Castiel said.

The sincerity with which he said it made Dean want to hit a wall all over again.

“You - you think I don’t think nice things about you? But I do things for you, all the time...”

“You do things for lots of people, Dean.”

“But you - it’s different, it’s special…”

“Is it?”

“You don’t know that?!”

Castiel shrugged.

“I’m an asshole,” Dean said.

He stared at Castiel.

“I’m an asshole,” he said again.

“Dean, I -”

“I am,” Dean said.

“Well. At least when you’re being an asshole, you’re caring and not telling me. Not the other way around.”

There was that slight dryness, the odd humour, Dean had missed with a pit in his stomach.

“Well, for what it’s worth…” He steeled himself. “Cas, I… you… I mean, you know, uh.”

Castiel didn’t know, though. That was the problem. And the world wasn’t going to push the words out of him, fate wasn’t going to force them any closer than this. Dean had to choose. He had to decide to say it.

He looked down at the floor.

“I want to be with you,” Dean said. “Every day. I want you. And I want to deserve you even though I can’t. But I wouldn’t have ever given up. Trying to, I mean. If it wasn’t already over.”

Castiel’s shoulders untensed. His hand moved to Dean’s cheek, thumb pressed into the stubble there.

Dean looked up, into his eyes.

“Don’t leave me,” Dean said.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Castiel said, and kissed him. The kind of kiss that Dean had missed more than anything, the kind that said everything Dean didn’t know how to use words for. Devastatingly soft - no teeth, no anger, no hardness. Hands holding, bodies pressed, skin alive, heart thudding.

I love you, Dean said with that kiss. I love you I love you I love you I love you.

One day he’d say it. One day.

After some time, they made coffee. And talked a little more.

“I was angry with you,” Dean said.

“Why?” Castiel asked. 

Dean gritted his teeth.

“Because,” he said. “It feels like I do a lot of things to show I care. And they don’t seem to mean much to you. So it feels like I care more than you sometimes.”

“But I always tell you that I care,” Castiel said.

“Anyone can say it,” Dean said.

“Oh, really?”

Dean snorted.

“Fine. Point made.”

“I can show you,” Castiel said. “As well as tell you.”

“You can?”

“Mm.” Castiel drew him closer. “I can start now.”

They sat together on the best chair, which was just big enough for two people who wanted to be close. Dean’s phone, lighting up over on the arm of the second-best chair, went ignored. And so it came as something of a shock when there was an almighty crash from the front door, followed by the sound of a distant wail.

“What the -”

Together, Dean and Castiel rushed towards the noise. When they arrived in the hallway, they saw a small gathering: Bobby, Jo, a very surprised-looking Sam, and a distraught Charlie who appeared a few seconds later.

“What did you do?” she said. “How did you get here?”

“I just kicked down a door,” Sam said, sounding proud of it.

“What’s going on here?” Jo asked, looking between Dean and Castiel, a smile growing on her face as she took in the way they were standing, close to each other.

“We were just told there was an emergency,” Bobby said.

“And you couldn’t have tried to knock first to stop it?” Charlie demanded.

“We thought the element of surprise might be important,” Sam said. “Like in a hostage situation.”

“Yeah,” Charlie said sarcastically. “Loudly slamming my door off its hinge is going to make it really surprising when you walk into my apartment.”

“It wasn’t a very good door,” Bobby said.

“It was great! It opened and it closed and it didn’t hang off one hinge at all!”

“I can get a new one. Better.”

“Wait, really?”

“Yep,” Bobby said.

“Huh. Well… okay, then.”

“Yeah, but seriously, what’s going on here?” Jo asked. She was still looking at Dean and Castiel, her eyes flickering between them. “Is there something I don’t know?”

“Don’t look at me,” Dean said. “Charlie’s the one who locked us in here.”

“Wait - what?” Sam demanded.

“You did what?” Jo said, sounding more delighted than Dean would have preferred.

“Well…” Charlie shifted uncomfortably. “You know, they just wouldn’t talk to each other… and they make each other so happy, when they don’t have their heads up their asses… and it was all wrong, so I just thought…”

“You thought you’d lure us to your apartment under false pretences and then lock us in,” Castiel finished for her.

“With the best of intentions?” she said weakly.

“Still kind of an asshole thing to do,” Dean said.

Charlie opened her mouth, and then closed it, seeming to accept this.

“But, uh, hey - Charlie?”

“Yeah?”

Dean looked at Castiel, and grinned, and took his hand.

“Thanks for being an asshole,” he said.

[thomas-and-the-chocolate-factory]

Thomas and the Chocolate Factory - Chapter 1

A Sanders Sides / Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Crossover

Summary: Remus Duke is the greatest chocolatier of all time, and after living the past few years a recluse, he decides to finally open his factory once again. And it's young orphan Thomas Sanders' dream to win a ticket and get to go! Will he win a ticket? And if he does, will he make it out alive?

Masterpost

----------

Thomas Sanders was an orphan. He’d never known his parents, and had grown up in an orphanage with the many other kids there all his life. The owners of the orphanage, Dot and Larry, weren’t very wealthy. They tried their best to keep the place in good condition and give all the children the care they needed, but with every passing day, it became more apparent that the place was facing problems.

Not all the children realised as the portions of food became smaller at meals. Thomas did. Not all the children noticed as the chocolate they got weekly as a treat changed to be a monthly treat, and then changed again to a yearly one that every kid only got on their birthday. Thomas did. Not all the children noticed as things in the orphanage like the television and furniture were sold and switched out for cheaper, second-hand stuff. Thomas did. Not all the children noticed the look of relief Dot and Larry had when a child was adopted or fostered, as it meant they had one less mouth to feed. Thomas did.

So, Thomas decided to try and help out. He got an after school job doing the paper round. It didn’t earn much, but Dot and Larry were grateful all the same.

His new job meant the boy would have to pass a certain building in his town four times a day. A building that was torture for him to be near.

This building was a chocolate factory. And it was the largest in the world.

Remus Duke, the owner, was like the local town cryptid. Many in the town were once employed at his factory, where he created the most amazing candy inventions in the world. While the Duke brand chocolate bars were the signature item, other creations included ice-cream that would never melt, gum that never loses its flavour, bubblegum that can be blown to enormous sizes without popping, and more! It was incredible!

However, other chocolatiers grew envious of Remus’ booming business and ability to create things seemingly impossible. So, they sent in spies to go undercover and learn Remus’ secrets. Soon, Slugworth was releasing the ice-cream that never melted, Fickelgruber was selling gum that never lost its flavour, and Prodnose was selling the bubblegum that could be blown to enormous sizes! Remus, panicked, fired all his workers and closed his factory forever.

Forever didn’t last very long.

One day, smoke was coming from the chimneys again. Duke products were being sold at candy stores once more. Remus’ ex-employees raced to the factory, hoping to be given their jobs back. But Remus never came out from the factory to announce his return. Ever since its closure, no one had ever gone in, and no one had ever come out. No one knew who his new workers were. Apparently, shadows appeared in the windows, but no one could ever make them out.

Thomas would give anything to go into that factory. The place had fascinated him ever since he first heard the story of it. He wanted to know how Remus created the things he did, he wanted to know who the workers were, and he wanted to have the chance to try all of the Duke products he could. The only thing he’d ever tried were the chocolate bars he got for his birthday.

That’s why it was torture for him to walk past. As he walked from the orphanage to school, from the school to the news office, from the news office to the houses subscribed to the paper, and from those houses back home, he’d pass those large gates and the smell of warm sweet chocolate would flood and override his other senses. His stomach would growl hungrily, and he’d shuffle by slowly, imagining he were eating it as well as smelling it.

Torture. But blissful torture. It was his method of escapism.

One that he really needed as food portions got smaller and smaller.

One night, he’d been getting ready for bed. Larry came into his room to say goodnight, only for Thomas to speak before he could. “Larry? How much longer will you be able to keep the orphanage open? And where will we go when it closes?”

Larry sighed. He walked over, sitting on the end of Thomas’ bed. “... We don’t know how much longer. But there’s an orphanage in the next town over with a lot of spare rooms and in much better condition. They’ve agreed to take you all in when the time comes.”

Thomas nodded solemnly. “Okay… What about you and Dot? What are you going to do?”

“Dot’s probably going to go back to teaching. As for myself… I’m not that sure yet. But we’ll make do. You don’t need to worry, Thomas.”

“I’ll miss you.”

“We’ll miss you too, Thomas. But it’s okay. We’re not closing this place just yet. Now get some sleep, you have school tomorrow.”

“Okay… Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Thomas. See you in the morning.”

Thomas buried himself under his thin blanket as Larry stood up, flicked off the lights, and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Thomas’ eyes drifted to the window. There in the distance was the Duke factory, and the sky above it was filled with stars. And one of said stars was a shooting one, firing across the sky. As he saw it, Thomas wished with all his might that some good luck would come his way. That something would save the orphanage. That he’d get a new life and not have to go hungry anymore.

-

“I’m home!” Patton Gloop called through the bakery as he stepped inside. Only he shouted in German, obviously, given he lived in Germany.

His mother, Harley Gloop, poked her head through the doorway behind the counter that led to the kitchen. “Pat! Perfect timing, I just put in some cookies in to bake for you. I made an extra batch of dough with no eggs so you could eat it.”

Patton grinned, dropping his school bag. He ran behind the counter and into the kitchen, going right over to the bowl and digging in with the spoon. Mm, it was so good! He really needed this…

Patton hadn’t had the greatest day at school that day… He’d had PE, his least favourite lesson.

Patton was fat. He knew the word had bad connotations, but he didn’t think it should. He liked his body!

Well… he tried to. But it was hard to stay positive when no one else seemed to like his body.

He didn’t get bullied necessarily, but… People would tease him, call him nicknames like ‘butterball’, ‘chubs’ and things like that. He knew most people meant it in an endearing fun way, but it could still hurt sometimes.

However, one person who always meant for it to be taken seriously and hurtfully: his PE teacher. The guy was a… was a b-hole.

I know, it sounds very harsh, but it’s true. Due to Patton’s weight, he decided to force him to work a lot harder than any of the other kids. Patton would have to do exercises double time, put all the equipment away after the lesson on his own, sprint when the other students were told to jog, and jog when other students had to walk, and multiple times had been worked to the point he was physically sick. One of his best friends, Terrence, often found himself knelt beside him, comforting him as his breakfast came back up.

Little did Mr Wyatt, the PE teacher, know, said actions just enabled Patton and made him eat more. Because that’s what Patton did when sad: eat! It made him feel so much better; the delicious tastes distracted him from the bad feelings and made him feel bright and happy! Which is why he was so happy to be having this delicious cookie dough.

“So, honey, how was your day?” Harley asked, finishing up icing a cake to put in one of the display cases for the next day.

“It was good.” Patton didn’t like telling his mum what happened to him in PE. It would make her sad and angry, and he didn’t want to feel the bad feelings he did. “Terrence and I were talking about having another sleepover soon! I’m on snack duty as usual. I know both our favourites, after all. I think it’s going to be at Terrence’s this time.”

“You know what date yet?”

“Not yet. Hopefully soon, I can’t wait!”

Harley smiled, kissing his head as she passed him, taking the cake to the front of the store. “Why don’t you take that dough up with you to the apartment, get in your onesie and pick out a movie. Once the cookies are done, I’ll bring them up and we’ll watch it together.”

“Okay!” Patton picked up the bowl, running upstairs to his and his mother’s flat above the shop. It was small, but neither of them minded. It was all the two of them needed, and they were happy in it. He put the bowl down on the coffee table, before running to his room. “Hey, Toby!”

Toby, Patton’s dog, yawned awake from where he was curled up in his bed. Patton gave the dog a quick hug before going to his wardrobe and pulling out his grey cat onesie. Once he’d changed into it, he whistled for Toby to follow him, before leaving the room, returning to the lounge. He scooped up another spoonful of cookie dough, before going over to the DVD shelf.

“Hm… which one…?”

Patton looked over them a little longer, before smiling and pulling a DVD from the shelf. Winnie the Pooh was his favourite movie, but this was his favourite documentary. Well, by ‘favourite’, I mean the only one he actually liked and was interested in. It was all about the Duke factory, detailing the rise, fall and resurgence of it. Though, Patton didn't care much for the mystery side of the factory’s history. He just liked watching the candies, sweets and chocolates being produced. It looked so delicious, and always made him desperate to go out and buy a bunch of Duke chocolate - it was his favourite, after all.

Patton ran to the TV stand, putting the DVD into the player, before returning to the sofa. Toby immediately jumped up and curled up on his lap. Patton petted the dog’s head, before picking the bowl of cookie dough back up and digging back in. Soon, it was empty. With perfect timing, his mother came in holding a plate of cookies just as Patton put the bowl back on the coffee table. Harley sighed, smiling, as she saw what DVD Patton had chosen. “Why am I not surprised…?”

Patton giggled, taking a cookie from the plate. “You know how much I love Duke chocolate; it’s the best ever!” He smiled, turning back to the screen and pressing play on the remote. “I’d give anything to get a lifetime supply or see inside, or anything like that.”

That would be nice. Maybe, if he got to go and see inside, he wouldn’t be picked on anymore because everyone would want to be his friend to hear his story of what’s inside. Or, if he got a lifetime supply, everyone would want to be his friend so they could have some.

Either way, he’d get a lot of friends. And that would make him happy.

-

“Daddy, I’m home!”

Roman Salt called through the mansion as he stepped inside, the butler having let him in after driving him home from school. He pulled off his fur coat and handed it to said butler, waiting for his father to come in and greet him. He waited… and waited… and-

There were the footsteps. He turned to the person coming into the entrance hall, and his face soured. It was neither of his parents. Instead it was his nanny, Pryce.

“Welcome home, Roman. Now, I-”

“Where’s my father?”

Pryce sighed. “Roman, your father is on a very important business call in his office, and it will probably last for the rest of the day, so-”

“The rest of the day?!” Roman almost screeched. “My performance is tonight! He’s seriously missing it?!”

“Yes, he is. I’m sorry, Roman, but I’ll be taking you in-”

“This is unfair, he’d better be able to properly make it up to me! If not I’ll SCREAM!”

Before Pryce could respond, Roman was storming off in the direction of his dad’s office. Pryce chased after him, calling for him to stop and calm down, but Roman’s temper was a fire that could not be put out. He slammed open the door, causing his father, Romulus Salt, to almost jump out of his chair.

“YOU AREN’T COMING TO MY SHOW?!”

Romulus muttered to himself, before turning to his laptop. “I’ll be back in a moment.” He muted the call, before standing and turning to his son. “Roman, let me explain-”

“DON’T! I don’t want to hear an excuse! What I want is retribution!”

Romulus sighed, knowing what was coming. He put on a smile. “I’ll get you whatever you want, sweetheart.”

“Good! I want a horse. Valerie said she got one for her birthday, and they’re so much better than my stupid ponies. She may be my best friend, but I cannot let her show me up. Also, I would like a new mink coat - the fur’s getting all matted on my current one.”

“Of course, my little pri-”

“I’m not done! I want you to get a professional dressmaker to make me personal, high quality replicas of all the Disney Princess dresses. They need to be good, not like some cheap dress-up thing from a Disney store.”

“Okay, Ro, I’ll make sure you get all those things as soon as possible.”

“...Good.” Roman turned and left the office, head held high, the smuggest possible look on his face.

Once the door was closed, Romulus sighed in relief. Peace and quiet, once again. He took a moment, enjoying the calmness, before sitting back down behind his desk. He unmuted himself from the call, and returned his focus to business.

Roman, on the other hand, found Pryce once again, and gestured for him to follow him to his room. “I need to look my best for the show tonight, I need you to do my makeup. BUT!” He turned on his heels, glaring up at his nanny. “If you ruin any of my palettes, lipsticks,  anything … I’ll make sure daddy has you fired.”

Pryce nodded. “Of course. I’ll be very careful, Roman, I promise.”

“You’d better hold to that promise.” Roman led the way into his bedroom, sitting down at his dressing table, which was laden with more makeup than most people would buy in a lifetime. “Right, I’m playing a prince, so I need to look as handsome as possible, obviously - though to be fair, you don’t really need to do much to make that the case. A red and gold colour scheme is best, as my costume is white, red and gold. Make sure it’s bold enough to stand out on stage, but not to the point where it’s too unnatural and weird looking.”

Pryce nodded, already planning out the look in his head. Thanks to working with Roman for so long, he was an expert at creating very high quality makeup looks and then applying them fast. The boy had very high standards, and Pryce knew if he didn’t meet them, he would be fired. And he couldn’t let that happen - the pay was extremely good. So, Pryce had to bring out his skills now, and make sure not to comment on how extreme Roman’s makeup request was for what was just an amateur school play performed by a bunch of ten and eleven year olds.

Well, Roman did like to stand out and be the centre of attention.

Eventually, Pryce finished. He stepped back as Roman turned to his mirror. Pryce waited with bated breath, before Roman hummed. “It’s acceptable.” He picked up a hairbrush and hairspray, handing them to Pryce. “Now do my hair. It needs to be neat, and enough hairspray to hold all evening, but not so much that it will take ages to wash out.”

Pryce held back a sigh, starting to brush Roman’s hair. ‘Don’t worry, Pryce…’ he thought to himself reassuringly. ‘When you finally put your creative writing degree to good use and write a book and get it published, you can quit and move away...’

Roman raised an eyebrow as he noticed Pryce wasn’t quite focussed. He folded his arms, clearing his throat. When that failed to get Pryce’s attention, his expression soured. “PRYCE! Focus!!!”

Pryce started, face flushing. “S-sorry…” He drew his focus back to what he was doing. When he was done, Roman gave a nod which translated to ‘acceptable’.

Roman stood. “We need to get going if we’re going to get there on time. You packed me a dinner to have at school, correct?”

Pryce nodded. “I’ll go grab it from the kitchen and meet you in the entrance hall.” He held the door open for Roman, letting him past. Roman didn’t thank him, heading down to the entrance hall.

“Butler!” he called. He’d never bothered to learn any of the staff’s names apart from Pryce’s, since Pryce was the one who practically raised him.

The butler came in. “Yes, Master Salt?”

“Get my coat.”

“Which one, Master Salt?”

“Hm… the leopard print one, please.”

The butler nodded, heading to the coat room. Roman’s patience wore thin very quickly, as it usually did. When the butler came back, he snatched the coat. “Took you long enough.” He pulled the coat on. “You’ll need to drive Pryce and I to school. He’ll be here in a minute.”

When Pryce finally came in, Roman snatched the bag that contained his dinner away from him immediately. “Be a little faster next time.” He opened the bag, humming as he looked over its contents. Pasta, garlic bread, and for dessert, a Duke chocolate bar. He nodded. “Acceptable. Now, let’s go!” He turned and left the mansion, Pryce and the butler promptly following.

-

It was all down to this. The teams were tied. The Bayshore Little League team had one batter left. They needed a homerun. Luckily, it was their best player who was stepping up to the plate.

Logan Beauregarde narrowed his eyes at the pitcher, blowing a bubble with the gum in his mouth. He sucked the bubble back in as he raised his bat, gaze focused on the ball in the pitcher’s hand.

The pitcher threw the ball, and as it neared, Logan swung his bat as hard as he could, hitting right on target. The ball was sent flying, and he took off running. He reached first base as the ball had landed and stopped rolling, was at second by the time one of the fielders got to it, reached third as the ball was thrown back near the diamond. It was a race to home base.

He skidded to a stop at the base just before the catcher caught the ball.

Cheers rang out from the home team’s dugout as well as the stand where the team’s family and friends were. Bayshore had won! The team ran out from the dugout, all going into a hug on the field. Logan beamed with pride as his teammates and coach all started cheering him, calling him awesome and the best player. He knew it to be true, but that didn’t change the fact he liked to hear it. However, he knew he couldn’t stay for long; he had somewhere to be. He pushed through the crowd, heading towards the stands, which his dad was coming down from.

“Lo! Oh, you did amazingly, I’m so proud!” Teal Beauregarde smiled, hugging his son close.

“Um, Dad? Hugging… You know I don’t really like hugging…”

“Oh, right. Sorry.” Teal pulled away. “But you really did do great.”

“Thank you…” Logan paused, looking around. “Where’s Pa?”

“Oh, he, um…”

Logan sighed. “He didn’t come again?”

“He was probably busy with work. But hey, you know he’ll be really happy when he hears you won!”

“True...”

Teal sighed, trying to think of a way to cheer his son up, before remembering something. “Hey, I ran into Joan earlier. I said maybe they could come round and you two could have a sleepover tonight. We could order pizza, you can watch movies, play video games-”

“Can’t. Busy.”

“Huh?”

“Dad, you know the high school asked me to fill in for a missing member of their mathletes team, and then after that, tonight, I have a chess tournament.”

“Oh, yeah. Of course. Tomorrow night, then?”

“I have astronomy club, a soccer match and then karate. And before you say the day after, I have robotics club and then ice skating. Now I need to go get changed into my mathlete uniform, Pa’ll probably be here soon to take me there and I need to be ready.”

Logan turned and was about to walk away, when Teal caught his hand before kneeling down in front of him so he was the boy’s height. “Lo, you don’t get too overwhelmed, do you?”

Logan’s eyebrows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“You do so much in a week, every week. So much extracurricular, so many competitions… Promise me you’ll let me know if it’s ever too much, okay?”

Logan responded with a simple eye roll accompanied with a slightly cocky smirk. “Dad. I’m a world record holding gum chewer; I’ve been asked to fill in for a high school mathletes team when I’m still in the 5th grade; I currently hold the title of the champion of the under elevens national chess championship, a title which I’ll defend tonight; and I could go on with a bunch of my other achievements. Trust me, I can never get overwhelmed by a workload. Remember the motto Pa gave me? ‘Win or die trying’. I’m sticking to it.”

And with that, he turned and walked off towards the changing rooms, blowing a bubble with his gum as he went. Teal sighed as he watched his son leave. He often worried Logan was a little too confident for his own good. Teal wished he had the guts to talk with his husband about what he was teaching their son...

Logan, meanwhile, quickly got changed, before heading back out, only this time leaving the field and going to the sidewalk, where he quickly found his Pa’s car parked. He ran over, before climbing in the passenger seat.

Anton Beauregarde turned to him as the boy climbed in. “Did you win?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Good,” Anton nodded. “Still got your gum?”

“Yes, I do.”

Anton nodded again, before starting the car. As he pulled away from the curb, he started talking again. “It’s very important you win this round of mathletes tonight. You need to get through to the quarter finals, since that’s televised.”

“I’m not aiming to get into the quarter finals,” Logan replied. “I’m aiming to win the finals. And before you say it, yes, I’m aiming to keep my chess championship title. Don’t worry, my motivation hasn’t waned.”

His father didn’t respond, so Logan assumed Anton had heard all he wanted to hear. Logan turned, looking out the window, absentmindedly blowing another bubble.

Logan’s pa had always been… hard to please. He wasn’t the affectionate type, a trait Logan appeared to adopt from him over his development. This led to Logan quickly learning that he would gain praise - the closest thing Anton gave to affection - if he made his father proud by being high achieving and being, well, a winner. So, at school, Logan threw himself into academic studies. He quickly climbed to the top of his classes, and started taking academic extracurriculars. It didn’t do much. So, he started going outside of his comfort zones, dipping into different sports. Baseball, soccer, karate, ice skating, gymnastics. Still nothing. So he decided to do something big: break a world record.

Breaking the world record for the longest time spent chewing the same stick of gum was an obvious choice. Logan liked gum - he often chewed it while working to stop himself fidgeting. The current record was only three months, something he knew he could easily beat. So, he went to a candy store and bought a stick of Duke brand gum, specifically the gum that never loses its flavour. Not losing the fruity taste to bland nothingness would make it easier.

Three months and a day later, he was awarded a certificate saying he was now a world record holder, which was hung up in the living room to this day. Anton finally started acknowledging his son’s achievements and started getting more involved in Logan’s life. Logan could have given up gum chewing then… but he’d gotten kind of addicted. And what if someone broke the record and he lost his pa’s respect? So he kept chewing, and hadn’t stopped since.

And he was happy. Yeah… he was happy.

-

“Virgil! Virgil!”

Virgil Teevee’s eyes did not leave the TV. He didn’t even hear the voice calling his name to be fair - he had a headset on, his ears filled with the noises from the game he was playing as well as the voices of the people he was playing online with.

“Shoot, I’m out of ammo…” he mumbled as his character pressed his trigger to no avail. “Can you guys cover me while I try to find more ammo?”

“Sure,” one of the guys he was playing with - Andy - replied. “Also, here. Not much ammo left in it, but it should last until you find more.” Andy’s character dropped a handgun in front of Virgil’s.

“Thanks.”

“VIRGIL!!!”

This time, Virgil heard. He pulled off his headset, before calling, “What?!”

His mother’s voice called back. “We have to get going, come on!”

Virgil immediately paled. “Um… go where…?”

His mother, Linda Teevee came in, pulling on a cardigan. “We have that meeting with your teacher, remember? I reminded you this morning.”

Virgil felt like he was going to be sick. He knew his grades had been dropping. He knew he hadn’t done 90% of the homework assignments that he had been set so far this year. He knew he barely paid attention in class, just sitting in terror that he’d be called on to answer a question. This was going to be the worst meeting with the teacher of his life.

He needed to prepare.

He left the game, turning off the TV, before running upstairs to his room. He pulled on his sneakers first, before he grabbed his largest pair of soundproof headphones, as well as his phone and Nintendo Switch. He plugged the headphones into his phone, started playing music, and turned up the volume. He slipped a game cartridge into the Switch, turning it on, and starting to play. He left his room, heading downstairs, not lifting his eyes from the console in his hands.

This was his plan. This was how he was going to get through this whole evening. Just ignore everything and bury himself in Mario Kart and Animal Crossing and the other games he had for his Switch.

It had worked before, and would likely work again.

Linda didn’t bat an eye as she saw Virgil come in head down, glued to the screen. Over the years, she had gotten used to his apparent gaming addiction. If anything, she encouraged it. His games kept him out of trouble.

Linda remembered when Virgil was younger… He was such a handful! When he was in kindergarten, she felt like she was called in every other day because Virgil had a screaming match that led to him being sick. Then, when he started elementary school, she kept having to come in because Virgil passed out in lesson, apparently due to getting extremely panicked when called on, leading to him hyperventilating and being unable to breathe.

But then he started getting into video games. Suddenly, he was calmer, much more reserved, and kept out of trouble. She didn’t have to come running to pick him up from school on a regular basis anymore.

So, she got him the consoles and games he wanted, and left him to his own devices. She was happy, her son was happy. It was good all around.

“Come on, then, lets go,” she said despite knowing full well Virgil couldn’t hear her. She left the house, Virgil trailing behind. They climbed into the car, before heading off.

Linda didn’t bother to try and start a conversation with her son as they drove up to the school. She knew by now that he always kept his music up so loud he couldn’t hear anyone. 

And she was right. To Virgil, the journey up to school, the meeting with his teacher, and the journey home all blended together. Whatever happened during the meeting, Virgil knew it couldn’t be good, so he purposefully stayed ignorant. When they got home, he wordlessly went up to his room before his mom could try and question him about what was said by his teacher. He turned off his Switch, before getting out his laptop. On it, he returned to the game he had been playing before he left the house.

“Hey, Verge, where’d you go?” Andy’s voice spoke as Virgil turned his mic back on.

“Had some stuff. Doesn’t matter, I’m back now. What’d I miss?”

“Missy choked on his Duke chocolate bar after his brother scared him.”

Virgil chuckled. “Missy, you need to get Pranks under control…”

Missy mumbled incoherently in annoyance, Virgil and Andy laughing.

Talking to his friends online was the best thing, Virgil thought. Even better than having real life friends. Real life friends judge you based on your appearance and popularity. Online, all that mattered was whether you were good enough at gaming, and if you were, boom, you're in a group who’ll invite you to play no matter what. They couldn’t see Virgil and what a mess he could be. All they knew about him was what he told them. And they liked what they knew of him.

And that was good enough for him.

-

To be continued

Feel free to ask if you would like to be tagged!

[440mxs-wife]

In the City

Supernatural meets Law and Order, Part Two

You climbed back into Briscoe and Logan's cruiser and headed to the crime scene. This time, it wasn't the park, but a neighbor's backyard that had the familiar yellow tape around it. The three of you walked up to Scott Rivers, the on-scene tech to get the facts of the case as he knew them.

"What's the story here?" Briscoe asked.

"Same as before, claw marks, heart torn out and looks like the body was dragged here from actual kill site," Rivers answered as he looked you up and down. "And who might you be?" he asked appreciatively.

"Mackenzie Reed, I'm a consultant hired to work on this case," you murmured as you walked around the scene. This was looking less and less like a werewolf attack to you, and more like something else, especially given the time of day. "Dammit. This is not good. Not good at all," you muttered.

You walked over to where Briscoe and Logan were standing with the tech, Rivers. "I think I've seen all I need to see, fellas. The rest can wait until we get the M.E.'s report," you declared. You got into the cruiser's back seat and Logan drove back to the station. Lennie bid you and Logan a good night and said he'd see you both in the morning.

"So, where are you staying?" Logan asked as you switched to the front seat.

"I was going to find some motel and hole up there till Sam and Dean got into town," you answered.

"Nah, don't do that. You can stay at my place," Logan offered.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea, Mike. I have a boyfriend, you know. I really don't think he'd be too keen on me spending the night in my ex-boyfriend's apartment," you explained.

"He knows we're still friends, right?" Logan asked.

"Yes," you responded.

"He trusts you, right?" Logan persisted.

"Me? Yes. You? Big fat negatory, Ghost Rider," you replied.

Logan chuckled. "Come on. I promise nothing will happen. We'll order some Chinese food from that place you love, we'll swap war stories, then we'll go to sleep. In separate beds," he added.

"Fine. You in your room, me on the couch," you declared.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

An hour later, you and Logan had arrived at his apartment. You dug out your pajamas and your toiletries, then asked if you could borrow a towel for a shower. He agreed, and asked what you wanted for dinner. After you gave him your order, you stepped into the shower to wash off the grime from traveling and the crime scene.

While you were changing, Logan called out to tell you that he was going down to the corner store. He wanted to get some beverages and snacks for later, so you told him what you wanted. Even though deep down, you suspected he already knew, given that you had dated for three years.

You stepped out of the bathroom, fully refreshed and dirty clothes packed back into your luggage. Your phone rang and the Caller ID said it was Dean. "Hey, baby, I was just thinking about you. Where are you?" you wondered.

"Pennsylvania. We'll be there tomorrow afternoon, like I thought. Did you find a nearby motel you could stay at?" he asked. "Kenzie?"

You pinched the bridge of your nose. "No, Logan offered to let me stay in his apartment. I'm sleeping on the couch, though," you added quickly. You squeezed your eyes shut and braced yourself for the firestorm.

"Kenzie, if he tries anything...." Dean started.

"He won't. Because he knows he's in deep trouble if he does. He knows I'm capable of kicking his ass and won't hesitate to do so if it comes to that. Which it won't," you mentioned. "I promise you, Dean. Logan and I are just friends. When you and Sam get here, we'll go to a motel. One room for Sam, and one room to have all to ourselves," you said in a sultry voice.

"You promise?" Dean asked.

"Of course, my love. I even remembered to bring my 'special jammies', just for you. For tonight, though, I'll have to settle for cuddling with an extra pillow that I'll pretend is you," you chuckled. Turning more serious, you continued. "I love you, and nothing is ever going to change that. I told the LT that you are my world. And I meant it, Dean," you finished softly.

"Ah, Kenzie, I love you so much," Dean whispered.

"I know, Dean. I love you too. Can't wait to hear you roll up in your badass car and step out in your leather jacket. You'll impress the hell out of Mike's partner, Lennie, I'll just bet," you grinned as Logan walked back through the door. "Anyway, Logan's back with some food, so I'll talk to you later. See you soon, baby. Sweet dreams," you replied.

"Sweet dreams of you, Kenzie my love," Dean responded then disconnected the call. You stared down at your phone, a loving smile on your face as you thought of Dean.

"Was that 'Loverboy' on the phone?" Logan smirked.

"Yes, that was Dean. And just so you know? He likes you about as much as you like him," you retorted.

"Oh, good, and here I was afraid we wouldn't get along," he responded sarcastically.

"Logan, can we please not do this tonight? Let's just catch up, swap some stories, then get some sleep, okay?" you asked.

Logan sighed deeply before answering. "Okay fine, you win. Eat some food, tell some stories, then hit the rack. Right?" he answered.

You took a step closer and walked your fingers up his chest. "And uh, Mike? If you, um, try anything?" you said in a husky voice. He nodded, then you grabbed his argyle tie and pulled him down so you were nose to nose. "I won't hesitate to kick your ass. I fight vampires and werewolves and all kinds of other creatures for a living. You know I can do it," you growled then released him.

He loosened his tie enough to slip it off over his head. "I suppose now is a bad time to tell you how turned on I am, right?" he asked. Over your shoulder, you flipped him the bird as you took a seat on the couch. Logan chuckled and shook his head.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

True to your word, after you had finished dinner, you and Logan decided to swap some war stories. You told him about some of the close calls you had and he told you about losing his partner, Max Greevy. You expressed your condolences and mentioned some of the people you had lost along the way as well. Charlie, Bobby, Ellen and Jo. Then you regaled him with the story about the hunt at Plucky Pennywhistle's, where Sam was attacked by clowns. You assured him that it would make a lot more sense when he saw Sam in person. The big, tall moose of a man who was scared of clowns.

After the laughter between you died down, Mike looked at you and said, "Aw, Kenz, it's been way too long. I'm having a great time, talking with you like this. I've missed you," he admitted.

"I'm having a great time too, Mike. You've had my number saved in your phone after all these years. Why haven't you called before now?" you asked.

Logan paused before answering. "I dunno. I guess I kept waiting for you to come back here, back to me. We had something, Kenzie. You can't deny that," he replied.

"I know, Logan, but the key word is, 'had'. I'm with Dean now, and he's....he's it for me, Mike. I love him to the moon and back. He knows when I'm upset but trying to hide it, and he doesn't let me get away with it. He helps me through the nightmares. Dean has seen me at my worst, and he still loves me. For him I would die, and I nearly have. More than a few times. He's everything to me, and looks at me in return as if I'm everything to him," you finished softly.

"As long as you're happy, Kenzie. I hope I'm lucky enough someday to find someone like you again," Logan remarked. "Don't worry, I'm not going to come between you two. I'd like us to still be friends, though," he said with hope.

You sniffled and then smiled at him. "Deal. Now, no more chick-flick moments," you grinned.

"Right! You thirsty? Want something else to drink?" Logan asked as he rose from his chair.

"Nah, I'm good. I think it's time for me to go to sleep, though. It's been a long day," you replied. Logan agreed, and got out some extra pillows and blankets for you. "Thank you, Mike. I appreciate you letting me stay here tonight. For the record, I'm glad you called and asked for our help. Don't be such a stranger though. Call me once in a while, okay? Goodnight, Mike," you said as you gave him a hug.

"Goodnight, Kenz," Logan returned. Still love you, he silently added.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

On the way to the precinct, you and Logan stopped for a bagel and coffee. "Man, I forgot how good the food is here in New York," you said as you sipped your coffee. "The pizza alone is almost worth moving back here for. Almost," you added.

You spent the morning reviewing Briscoe and Logan's case notes and the M.E.'s reports from both crime scenes. Around lunch time, you got a call from Sam, saying they were only a few blocks away, according to his phone's GPS. You leapt out of your chair and headed downstairs to meet them, with Briscoe, Logan and Lt. VanBuren behind you.

Just as the Impala was pulling into a parking space in front of the building, you burst through the doors. You were so excited that you nearly tripped down the stone steps. Dean was out of the car almost before the engine shut off and ran towards you.

With a huge smile on your face, you jumped into his arms as soon as he reached you. Your legs wrapped around his waist and your hands cradled his face. Dean had one hand on your thigh and the other on your back, supporting you. Your mouths had crashed together in a long, passionate kiss. When you broke apart, both you and Dean were grinning at each other, overjoyed to no longer be apart. He brushed your hair away from your face and tucked it behind your ear. "Missed you, Kenzie baby," he remarked softly. "Missed you too, my love," you whispered.

Dean released his hold on you and lowered your feet to the ground, but held fast to your hand. You both turned to the two detectives and their lieutenant, who were grinning at the display they just witnessed.

"Hey, what am I, chopped liver?" a voice from the Impala's passenger side boomed out in fake annoyance.

"Sam!!" You exclaimed as you ran over to hug the younger Winchester. "Hiya, Kenz. Great to see you, glad to finally be here," Sam chuckled. You hooked your arm with Sam and pulled him over to where Dean was left standing. You took Dean's hand in yours once again and intertwined your fingers.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Sam and Dean Winchester. Boys, these are Detectives Lennie Briscoe and Michael Logan, and their boss, Lt. Anita VanBuren," you stated. Everyone exchanged handshakes and pleasantries, then you all went inside.

Once you got back upstairs, you suggested meeting in one of the interview rooms. Sam and Dean followed Briscoe and Logan to the room. Lt. VanBuren got right next to you and held you back a bit by your arm. "Girl, you didn't tell me he was even better looking in person! Mmm! I'll say it again, your man is FINE!" she declared, as you chuckled.

Inside the interview room, you signaled to Logan to disconnect the cameras, and you locked the doors. "What we're about to tell you doesn't leave this room. The fewer people that know, the better. Logan already knows some of it, from when he and I were together," you said as you took Dean's hand in yours.

"From the information on the first crime scene, the M.E.'s reports and yesterday's discovery, I think what we're dealing with is a skinwalker," you announced. Dean looked at you in surprise, and you nodded.

"A skinwalker? What the hell is that?" Briscoe asked.

"A skinwalker is a cousin to a werewolf, so canine in origin. Which is why that's what I thought it was at first," you started. "The claw marks, the hearts missing, that usually points to a werewolf," you remarked.

"What made you change your mind, Kenz?" Dean asked.

"It was yesterday's crime scene. The first one was at night, in the park. Yesterday, we were called to a neighborhood, a backyard. And it was late evening, but not after midnight. More of a domestic setting, too," you emphasized. Dean looked down at his shoes and nodded, because he agreed with your assessment. That meant you'd have to change your strategy for tracking, fighting and killing the thing.

"Is all this stuff for real? I mean, I thought werewolves and such were just campfire stories meant to scare people," Briscoe interjected.

"Nope, Lennie, it's all real. When Kenzie left here to go home to Kansas, she said that her folks had been killed by vampires," Logan explained. "At first, I thought it was just some elaborate excuse to break up with me, but then she showed me her journal. All full of notes about this kind of stuff. What the thing is, where it lives, its weaknesses and more importantly, how to kill it," Logan finished. He gave you a quick smile to show you his support.

"What's unique about a skinwalker, is that it can change into a dog at any given moment. That alone is going to make things much more difficult, as far as tracking it down and killing it," Sam mentioned.

"In a city this size, with as many dogs as there are about? We're going to have to keep an eye on the parks and neighborhoods at night. Most likely for strays, or ones with tags but that are out wandering by themselves," you finished.

"Gee, and here I thought this was going to be difficult," Lennie muttered.

"So, how do we kill it, if we're lucky to find one?" Lt. VanBuren asked.

"Silver, through the heart," Dean answered.

"We still have some of those silver bullets, Dean?" you asked him.

He nodded. "Think so, Kenz," he replied. "We've got some you can just load right into a clip for your 9mm. But is there a garage or something I can pull into? I don't exactly want to do this out on the street," Dean explained.

Logan walked out to the Impala with Dean to show him where to park. Once they got into the parking space, Dean opened the trunk's secret compartment to get out the silver bullets. When Mike saw all the hardware, he gave a low whistle of appreciation.

"And all of this stuff kills one thing or another, right?" Logan asked, gesturing to the arsenal.

"Yep," Dean answered.

As Dean was digging through the trunk, the tension between the men was almost thick enough to need a chainsaw to cut through it. Dean cleared his throat. "Hey, thanks for letting Kenzie crash on your couch last night," he said gruffly. "It helped me to know that she's protected, even though she'll tell you she can do it herself," Dean added.

"Yeah, she's pretty independent, from what I remember. It was good to catch up with her, swap some stories," Logan replied. "And uh, you don't have to worry about me. I can tell how much she loves you, and I'd never come between that. As long as she's happy and you treat her right, that's what matters to me," Logan finished.

The two men shook hands, which seemed to ease some of the tension. Little did they know, but you and Lt. VanBuren were watching their interaction. "Well, I'll be damned. We might just be able to pull this off without them killing each other," you remarked.

"I didn't think Mike had it in him. You know, before Dean got here, I noticed something. Since you got here, Logan's been watching your every move. He still loves you," Lt. VanBuren observed.

"He said as much last night, but I told him about my feelings for Dean and how much he means to me. Logan said he understood and that he wouldn't come between us. We'll still be friends, though," you replied. The lieutenant seemed skeptical about that, but she kept her thoughts to herself for the time being.

Back up in the interview room, you all worked together to come up with a plan to find the skinwalker and eliminate it. Tonight, you were all going to the park dressed in regular clothes, like you were having a picnic of sorts. All the while, you would be keeping an eye out for dogs that may be candidates for the skinwalker. Even if it turned out to be a bust, at least you'd have the memory of a good meal spent together.

As you ate, various conversations filled the air. Lennie expressed his appreciation of the Impala to Dean, who didn't hesitate to boast about her attributes. Sam and Mike got to know each other a little better, while you and Anita quietly discussed the men sitting at the table.

At various times during the meal, you and Dean would lock eyes, and you gave each other a smile. Those moments warmed your hearts and made you love each other even more. Of course, everyone else decided to tease you about how "disgustingly cute" it was.

The real work began after dinner. Sam and Dean tossed around a baseball, while you and Logan took a walk together. Dean kept a watchful eye on the two of you, making sure to keep you in his sights.

"Relax, Dean, they're just talking," Sam said, interrupting Dean's surveillance of you and Logan.

"Yeah, Sammy, I know. Besides, I have a little game-changer in my pocket here," Dean grinned and tossed a small box towards his brother.

Sam opened it and gave a low whistle of appreciation. "Whoa, Dean. You mean this?" he asked.

"Sammy, I've never been more sure of anything in my life. She's my world, man. I can't see me growing old with anyone else but Kenzie. Maybe someday have a couple of kids running around the bunker, I don't know," Dean remarked.

Sam walked over to his brother to return the ring. "Well, I gotta say this. It's about damned time, Dean," he grinned. "I've watched the two of you over the years, man. There are no two people on this earth that are more meant for each other than you and Kenzie," Sam replied.

"Thanks, Sam, I appreciate that," Dean said. He looked up to see that you and Logan were walking back towards him and Sam. You stopped for a moment as your eyes met and you flashed him a brilliant smile.

Just as you were almost to where he was standing, a German Shepherd barreled into you, knocking you over. A man with dark hair, brown eyes and somewhat of an athletic build came running over to you. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I threw the Frisbee, but I thought he'd catch it before it reached you. Are you okay?" he said frantically.

You got to your feet and brushed yourself off. "I'm okay, please don't worry. It was bound to happen sometime tonight, park's kinda busy," you responded.

"Sarge, that was naughty of you to knock over this nice lady. Say you're sorry," the man admonished.

Sarge looked at you with deep sorrow in his eyes. You couldn't resist Sam's puppy-dog eyes, so you definitely couldn't resist the real thing. You reached over to pet him and scratch behind his ears. "Oh, it's okay, Sarge. You're still a good boy," you cooed.

"Kenzie? Baby, are you okay?" Dean came rushing over, checking you for injuries.

"I'm okay, Dean, really. You don't have to fuss," you pouted, but secretly loved his attention.

"Well, we'd best be on our way. Sorry about knocking you over, miss," the man said as he and Sarge departed.

Dean curled his arm around you, keeping you close to his side. You brought one arm around his waist and rested your head on his shoulder, your other hand resting on his chest. "You okay, sweetheart?" Dean asked.

"I'm fine, my love," you responded. You looked up to see him scanning the park and you could tell he had slipped into full-on hunter mode. You began to feel it too, like something wasn't quite right. "What is it?" you asked.

"Don't know yet. I don't think that was a random encounter. Something's off, and I think we should pack up and call it a day," Dean replied.

You both rejoined the group and helped pack things up. You agreed to meet at the precinct in the morning to share your thoughts about your encounter with the man and his dog. Dean drove back to the motel, his hand in yours with fingers intertwined. Once there, Sam went to his room, while you and Dean went to yours.

Dean threw his bags onto the floor next to the table and chair in the corner. You followed, and did the same with your bags. As soon as you closed the door, Dean had you pushed up against it, his lips smashed into yours with hot, devouring kisses. His hands roamed freely over your body, up your sides, your arms, and finally his hands cradling your face. "Oh, god, Kenzie, I've missed you so much," Dean whispered between kisses.

"I've missed you too, Dean. Holding that pillow last night was no substitute for the real thing," you replied breathlessly.

You broke apart long enough to help each other get undressed, then you met again beneath the sheets. Dean raised up on one elbow, hovering over you a bit. The back of his hand brushed your cheek ever so softly, almost with a reverence. "I love you with all my heart, Kenz. You are one of the best things to ever come into my life. It was me and Sam for so many years, then you came along," Dean remarked.

He reached behind him on the nightstand and brought out a small, black velvet box. "I've loved you from the moment I met you. There's no one else on this earth but you that I want to grow old with. Mackenzie Reed, will you marry me?"

Dean opened the box to reveal a gorgeous diamond and white gold engagement ring. Tears sprang to your eyes and you covered your mouth with your hand. "I love you so much, Dean, of course I'll marry you!" you exclaimed.

He slipped the ring onto your left hand then captured your lips in a slow, sensuous kiss. "I love you, Mr. Winchester," you grinned. "I love you, Mrs. Soon-to-Be-Winchester," Dean replied. You celebrated your engagement with a night of passionate lovemaking with your future husband.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The man and his dog returned to their car. Shortly thereafter, two men stood beside the car, the German Shepherd no longer present. The dog had been replaced by a tall, well-built man with blond hair and brown eyes. "It's her. The one we're looking for, I smelled it. She's the one who killed my twin brother two years ago. Hunters," he snarled.

"What should we do, Karl?" the other man asked.

"Patience, Thomas. Patience. Besides, once we capture her, we'll have an added bonus. An additional piece of leverage to get those hunter friends of hers to rescue her," Karl explained.

"What? What 'leverage' are you talking about?" Thomas queried.

"She is with child," Karl grinned evilly.

Up next: Part Three

[mydearsaddiary]

Little curiosity notes: Hey guys! We’re on chapter 9 now! If everything goes according to plan the story will end in the next chapter! I might do an additional short epilogue after, but the plan is only to continue until chapter 10! Thank you so much for reading until here and as always: Feel free to reach out!

Thank you!

Candy (08/20/2020)

Neil Chapter 9 part 1- First, do no harm

1933

-Cliff- I said as I walked from the back room of the diner I helped to manage now- you’re running low on soda, you know!

-Geez- He said, finishing up cleaning a table and running towards me- I’m awful with this inventory stuff ya know, MC. Mind seeing everything we’re missing?

I smiled, gently hitting him on the head with the papers I was holding- Glad to help.

-Neil coming in today? Just got his new bourbon stash this morning!

-Im sure he’ll pop by later when the nanny is home. How’s everything going with you?

-It’s fine, me and Jane just moved in together- He crossed his arms , blushing a little and giving me that big smile of his.

-So you finally settled down. Next thing you know you’ll have little Conways running around the place

-Maybe in a few years- He turned around when somebody called his name- Alright, duty calls. Have fun in there!

-I always have- I waved at him and returned the back room to count our stock, manage prices, and do basically everything I did at the Ice Box. I enjoyed doing the same job alongside the same people without having the risk. Our past evolved into a better future than most of what the other mob bosses had.

Suddenly, I heard the lock click. My initial shock soon turned into dark memories I wanted to forget. Impulsively I tried open the door only to find out I was actually locked in

-Hey...! Hey!- I knocked on the door- Hey, let me out! Somebody locked me in- I wasn’t scared of enclosed places. It was the sound of the lock clicking and the inability to open it from the inside that haunted me.

I hated being locked in.

-MC- The door opened after a few knocks. Vince was there- Sorry, just came in and thought somebody left it open

-It’s alright-My cheeks were colored red, but besides that I kept my posture- I’ll just do the inventory outside

1926

I opened my eyes, waking up from my sleep. I could feel no sign of light besides the faint, artificial one. I sighed heavily realizing nothing had changed. In my new found experience, not being in the sun for three weeks messes with you head. It makes you tired and empty. A crippling force tells you to accept your fate to remain there.

I sat up, only to find Vera already awake on the mattress besides mine- Did you check the day today?- I asked

-Yeah. The holidays are approaching fast. How are you?

I rubbed my stomach which now had started to show more. Vera had asked the mayor, in one of the times he came in, for new clothes. She had some in the bedroom they used to share. It was refreshing to say the least and her clothes, that were slightly bigger on me, helped me hide my condition from him. It was a light and loose salmon colored shirt that went down until my hip, and a beige skirt that went to my calf, along with white stockings. It was nothing I’d normally wear, but I wasn’t in the position to be picky.

-I feel fine- I said- I don’t feel too sick anymore. I haven’t gotten any movements yet

-How far along are you?

-Hm... I went to the doctor last month... Must be around 13 or 14 weeks.

-It’s still early. Mine didn’t move until about 17 weeks

I looked at her, genuinely surprised- You have kids?

-Oh yes, Frank and I have our children. They’re all grown and moved on to different parts of the country. My oldest one is a little older than you.

-What’s her name?

-His, actually. His name is Robert. He’s 21 now, he got a job out west and comes back to visit when he can.

-Who are the others?

-Oh, May is 18. She’s with her aunt in Florida. I sent her when things got too complicated here. She wouldn’t listen to us.

I chuckled- I know how she feels.

-Then there’s Matt. He’s 16.

-What’s going on with Matt?

-He’s in New York as an apprentice to his grandfather. My ex-husband’s dad. He wants to teach him how to run the business he owns

-Seems like they’ve got it all figured out

-Yes. Well, I know the feeling of having your first kid. I was but a bit older than you are right now. Although- She pointed to her surroundings- I had a more adequate stay

I laughed, but there was no humor in my voice- Adler’s gonna bring our city down under his total power if we don’t do something

-You don’t think your men are trying to save you or figure it out?

-Trying is the key word. Vince...-I sighed, with a heavy heart- Well, Adler shot him... He must be dead right now. That means Cliff and Uncle Charlie must be a mess. On top of it, for my uncle, there’s the fact that I disappeared. That also messes with Neil who, I can’t even imagine what he must be feeling but it’s nothing good. Then Donovan isn’t close enough with them to put everybody’s head together. Julius, Cleo, Sofia and Andrew... Im sure they’re trying to help but...- I sighed- I’m the head of the Ice Box. Im the queen on the chess board. They need me- I said as I realized it myself- I can’t spend any more time waiting for something to happen or counting days.

-You already tried everything, remember?

-Not everything- I got up, exercising my need to move my legs- You know Adler’s schedule better than anyone. When is he out for a long time?

-He’s always at the office from noon to six on weekdays.

-Then thats our time to escape. We’ll wait an hour just to be sure, then leave.

-Yes, but you’re leaving out the important part— How are we gonna leave?

-Last night, before I went to bed, I was looking around your things to see if I could find something useful

-You went through my stuff?!-She said visibly irritated

-If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have found this- I opened my hand to show her the few bobby pins I had in my possession

-How is pinning your hair up helping us?

-Oh Vera, dig a little deeper. It’s for opening the door. I can pick it!

-With those? I think you might be a little too optimistic

-Thankfully- I said cheering up- I had plenty of training sneaking back in my house, and hiding from Momma and Poppa. I have yet to meet a lock that could stop me.

She looked at me for a few seconds and sighed- Alright, I’ll bite. One in the afternoon then.

-Thats right!-I hid it once I heard the door open. They were bringing breakfast down.

____

We heard Adler leave. We heard everything until there was nothing else to hear. The anticipation was so overwhelming that when Vera’s little clock hit twelve-thirty, we were on out way up the stairs.

I got two bobby pins and started to work on unlocking the door. In a few minutes, it clicked and it opened right up to the now dark living room

-You know- She whispered- For the three weeks you were here, you could’ve tried that sooner.

-I didn’t know you had these!- I whispered too, but in an angrier tone- And you’re welcome!

I pushed the door out slowly, as if someone would head. The dark immensity of the house spread before my eyes. Without a single soul there it seemed peaceful, but in a way that unsettled you, like something was waiting to jump out from the dark. The negativity soon disappeared as I got lost in my thoughts for a second and walked over to the big window, letting the sun hit my face. The warmth of the natural light, warmed up my heart along with it. The joy of finally breaking free made me forget for an instant I had to walk out the front door.

-Miss Granger, let’s go!-Vera hurried me up

-Yeah, right- I walked up to the front of the house. By the door there was a table. I noticed keys on top of it- This is for his Ford, isn’t it?- I grabbed them-Nifty! We just got out escape vehicle

-I can’t drive- She looked at me uncertain

-Well, I’ve been learning- I replied opening the door- Now, let’s scram

___

I had to go through two Fords to find the one the keys belonged too, within myself we could taste the flavor of freedom.

Opening the door, I made my way in. It was then everything was ruined by a single shot that went right through the window on my side. When I looked back, Adler stood a few yards away with a gun aimed in my direction, along with his two goons.

-Go, Vera! Inside!-I yelled at the top of my lungs closing my door and turning on the car. I stepped on the gas and went as fast as the car would allow me to.

Soon, down the streets of Chicago we went. The bright sun and the streets filled with people would normally be cause for celebration, but my currently situation prevented me from enjoying it. I heard more shots coming our way and noticed that Adler was following us in his own car

To make everything better, Vera was freaking out in the passenger seat

-Woaaaaaaaaah, be careeeful! Waaaait, you’re going tooooo faaaaast!

-Vera!- I yelled back, driving and swerving as much as my experience would allow- If I don’t drive fast he’s gonna catch up to us—Ah!- I yelped when another shot came right in between us, making a hole in the windshield

-You’re gonna kills uuuus!-Her voice got louder and more annoying- I’m not ready to die!- She continued, letting out her “Oh!”s And “Oh my god!”s And her loud screams that were worse than the shots for me. At this point, I tried my best to ignore them since our lives depended on it

She yelled even louder when his car bumped into our rear and sent our bodies forward. I heard continuous shots that shattered our windows and I couldn’t go any faster. I had to think of something quickly, but all the stimulation from the outside made the task harder.

That’s when I saw it and hope ushered back into me. The little red convertible from the corner of my eyes, driving right ahead of us. Vince drove with ease on the wheel, while, surprisingly, our most experienced shooter, Donovan, fired back in the mayor’s direction from the passenger seat.

Seeing them, I let out a relieved little laugh. Fear was substituted with the urge to go faster, so I gained some distance on them. On the other side the trusty green Studebaker had Cliff, Uncle Charlie and Julius in it. Cliff drove, Uncle tried to steal glances my way, and Julius had a pistol, and helped Donovan by firing back. Sometimes Vince would keep one hand on the wheel and use pearl to fire as well. What I thought was going to be hell quickly turned into an exhilarating thrill.

And then, time slowed down as a third car showed up. The darker colored vehicle that belong not just to any man, but to the man I had longed to see all this time— Neil Dresner. I recognized the car but I couldn’t see him since he drove ahead of me. It might seem silly, but the importance of that moment couldn’t be just understood, it had to be felt. The whole world brightened up again just to know he was near. I knew then I wasn’t alone, and I never would be again.

And then everything came back to me in a second, when Vera’s shouting became deafening and another shot came right by us

-We’re going to die! Jesus!- She kept having her panic attacks

-MC!-I heard a voice from Vince in his car- To the docks! Go to the docks!

I nodded, better now that I had a direction in mind,so I sped up towards my new destination.

The city passed by us in a blur, I didn’t allow myself to focus on anything else but getting there. I’m sure everyone else had a plan and in my mind I started formulating the beginning of my own.

I turned into the road that led to the docks and swerving the car faster than it could handle, I stopped abruptly, hitting a few of the many giant boxes piled around, ready to be transported. The side of the car caved in, but we came out unscathed in the front

-What are you thinking?! We could have died! We could hav-

-Vera!- I yelled, looking at her, panting. The adrenaline hadn’t left my body and I knew it wouldn’t for a long time- you’re a chatter-mag bitch- I said in an unusual calm tone, still trying to catch my breath

-Excuse me?-She gave me that look she usually did when she disapproved of something

I was going to reply, but then I heard a car and shots again- Go Vera! Out of the car!- I pushed her out her way and pulled her to hide behind the boxes laid out nearby.

I heard more tires and assumed my gang had arrived to rescue us. I smiled realizing I was right when I saw Vince throwing me my trusty revolver- Let’s take car of em, boss.

-Don’t call me that- I grabbed it, feeling an immense power I hadn’t felt in a long time. I pointed it to my target, my enemies, those who sided with Adler...

...And fired.

Part 2: https://mydearsaddiary.tumblr.com/post/627009903803990016/speakeasy-tonight-fanfic-neil-season-3-chapter-10