#even though she covers my clothes and computer screen in fur

[themeeplord]

I have some valuable information for you guys. The place I'm an interning at has an office cat.

I bring you, Flik

When she's not all up in your face demanding pets, she's chilling somewhere nearby.

(video alt text: the same cat that are in the pictures is laying next to a window atop a white blanket. Outside the window small snowflakes gently fall down.)

[kpopisthereasonihavenolife]

i.changkyun / reader

genre: yandere!changkyun, librarian!reader (sex worker!changkyun)

warning(s)!!!: clubbing, mentions of sex/sex work, obsessive behavior, stalking, ‘love at first sight’ but messed up, masturbation (male), implied violence/murder, manipulation, changkyun plays the nice guy role but isn’t, changkyun is also pretty messed up (oops), y/n is oblivious to an astounding degree, implied drugging, chains/collars, confinement, kidnapping

w.count: 12.3k

Series | One-shot | Two-shot | Drabble [Rated: M] 

synopsis: im changkyun is a prime sex worker at a local club.  nothing gets his pride swelling more than any poser off the street willing to come into his club and pin bills between the elastic of his fishnets and skin. what he finds more exhilarating than any show, pole climb or heated one-night stand, however; is the one sober woman sitting among her group of wasted friends in a velvet, vip booth. he’ll do anything to know everything about her; putting on a friendly smile was only the first step. 

a/n: you can blame DAZED for this mess (hi, just in case you need a reminder, this is purely fiction and not at all who changkyun rly is as a person. nothing about this is okay in irl) 

This was nothing new.  This was just the way his life always played out.  An exhilarating erotic number on a stage with a pole, fishnets and teasing personality followed by the highest bidder to continue his line of work in a more secluded section of the club. 

Fantasia Dyed may have been a newer club against its competitors that have been around for years, but the workers and staff inside raised the bar previously set.  While clubs can be shady to begin with, what with the use of alcohol at every turn, murmurs of drugs, and agreements to met up for a quick money job- Fantasia Dyed had a reputation of the best line of sex workers you could get your dirty hands on. If you had the money, that was. 

Im Changkyun was the front man of that line up. Wanted by men, women and anyone in between- if you had the cash he demanded for his services, he was yours for the night.  He had no qualm so long as you paid and used the protection he required to keep your own STIs to your damn self.  He really wasn’t picky, and he never stopped to ask himself as to why.  

So, this- crawling out of some random woman’s creaky, box spring bed and pulling on the clothes he had lost earlier- was nothing new.  He looked over his shoulder as he ran his black painted fingers through his blond hair.  

The woman was passed out, a fuzzy, brown blanket covering her body as Changkyun turned away from her.  Throwing his shirt back on, flinging his jacket over his shoulders and thrusting his arms through the sleeves, he shimmied on his black skinnies and boots.  Grabbing his abandoned black, clutch bag from the stranger's couch he unclasped it to look at the envelope of bills he had received just hours earlier from his ‘client’.  

Throwing himself on the couch, he crossed his legs and counted the bills, smirking when he was adamant he was paid in full- with even a small service tip he assumed- to cover over his asking price for the night.  Satisfied, he got up and left that small apartment he had stumbled into. 

It was only when he entered his own home- the top floor penthouse of some wealthy building- did he wonder just for the briefest of moments if he was truly satisfied. 

-x-x-x-

“Y/n, if you don't come with me to Fantasia like you promised you would 2 years ago when it opened now that I finally have the money and the chance for my birthday, you’re being grounded.” 

You, who was busy replacing books that you had been wheeling around on your return cart back on the shelf, had the lovely company of your best friend sitting behind you at a library table as you worked.  She’d been going on and on about her birthday plans and while you were happy she was excited about them, she was adamant on adding you to the attendee list.  

Maybe it was cliche, but the oh-so-thrilling life you lived as a librarian of your local public library painted a rather ‘stay at home’ picture of you; and that is exactly how you wanted it.  The whole reason you took this job opportunity was because the head librarian noticed you come in every other Wednesday for a new list of to-reads to rent and offered a position after she got to know you a bit better.  

Had you had the choice, you’d stay cooped up in your house with a good book, a nice warm drink, a rainy day and peace and quiet for the rest of your life. But, of course, that was a fantasy.  Your social life was barely breathing, with Halie-the insistent best friend behind you- being the center of your social solar system.  

You were a prime recluse, you didn’t even keep in touch with your parents as often as you should since they were so utterly upset you were throwing so much ‘potential’ away when you decided to be a librarian instead of going into some out of this world career field. 

You had Halie and Halie had connections with just about everyone ever.  She was easy to adapt to personalities and was generally kind to anyone she meets unless they’re rude first.  She was a prime example of a modern ‘dream girl’ that people had.  Though, she was still your friend no matter who she is with anyone else.  

Was that naive of you? 

“Y/n, I’m telling you, you’ve gotta cooooome,” she whined.  Sitting backward in her chair, leaning back and pulling on the back of the chair. You sighed, pushing a spine of a book into its rightful you had just mapped out.  “Please,” she begged in a pathetically, high pitched voice. 

“If I go, will you stop whining?” You asked with your back still towards her, but you could practically see the smile on her face with the small, over-dramatic gasp she let out.  You almost immediately regretted your choice, and wished you could take it back. You knew Halie wouldn’t let it happen though.  You’ve spoken and now her selective hearing will kick on and she wouldn’t hear you even if you changed your mind.  

“So, you’re going?!” She screeched as you turned around and shushed her.  She was in a library. With a few more accepting statements from you solidifying your attendance to her birthday, she left happily as you finished stocking your shelves in dread before sitting behind your check-out counter with the same dread- only 10x stronger. 

You watched the time tick by on the computer screen at work, the watch around your wrist on the way home, the hanging clock on your living room wall and the alarm you set on your phone for 9 pm when you were set to get ready.  Time passed far too fast for your liking- you couldn’t even squeeze in a nap to help the nerves. 

Before you knew it, you were walking out of your home, locking the door behind you with the only acceptable club outfit you could think of as you made your way to Fantasia Dyed, texting Halie that you were dreadfully on the way. 

-x-x-x-

“Hey, Kyun! Take ten, dude!” Changkyun, who had just stepped down off of the high perched stage covered in sweat ruffled his blond hair that clung to his forehead in strands.  He nodded as he grabbed his bottle of water, slouching in a nearby domed-stool.  

One of his ankle high, black platform boots propped up on the stool’s ring with the other on the ground.  The white tank top he had personally cut off to end at his rib cage and expose his stomach drenched in spots of sweat.  Black skinnies clinging to his toned legs and his fishnets showing loud and proud through the open knees of his jeans and wrapping around the perfection of his waist.  Having left his faux fur coat in the employee lounge for the night.  

His dark eyes scanned the floor level he was currently occupying the best he could from his seat at the juice bar- for the lameizoids who wanted something non-alcoholic at his club.  He glanced at the wristwatch strapped onto the inside of his wrist and checked the time.  It was only just past 10 as he smirked.  

The night was still young.  

From not too far off in a different area than he was, he heard a small commotion starting to murmur.  From the looks of what he could see over his sips of water and his bangs hanging in his eyes as he flipped them annoyingly out of his way over and over, it may have been someone’s birthday.  Guest after guest going into the same area with the same woman in stockings and a cocktail dress hugging and greeting them.  

A VIP birthday reservation; that did ring a small bell somewhere in the overbooked mind of the club worker.  Perhaps it would pay off if he did some of his work within their sights.  Birthday crowds almost always paid off in terms of after work lip service and bonus pay.  

Stepping his foot off the lower ring of the stool he had been comfortably sitting on, he stood as he set his bottle on the juice bar. The tender at the particular unpopular drink selection area took it and tucked it away under the bar where Changkyun always asked him to put it so no one tried to get creative with it.  

Walking around the venue area, he strutted by the lower ground VIP booth surrounded by thick, velvet ropes.  Whoever this birthday diva was, she sure went all out to keep her and her group uninterrupted.  A lower level 10 person booth, a table full of booze and a secure perimeter to keep outsiders rightfully out of her hair.  Just from the set up, she must’ve been some spoiled princess.

However, what really caught his gaze was one particular woman.  A woman dressed in a tank top, a cheap looking fake leather jacket and dark jeans.  Perhaps not ideal for Fantasia’s club etiquette and whatever she was sipping on in her clear glass certainly didn’t seem like any alcoholic beverage to his trained eye.  His pierced brow ticked up as he walked fully by and the table of rambunctious party-goers left his sight around the wall.  

“Must be a prude,” he murmured but somehow, he almost felt guilty when the words left his mouth.  He couldn’t fathom at all why. It stalled him physically as he stopped in his tracks for just a moment before strutting further away from the booth to scope out a good area to work his magic.  

The moment midnight hit Changkyun was being flagged over by the absolutely smashed table he had passed earlier that night.  The VIP birthday booth had confidently called him over.  As he moseyed his way over, with a few of his coworkers already there to entertain the group, he was greeted by some drunken man hanging off his shoulder. 

Among the group of drunk or passed out party goers, there was the same woman from earlier who still seemed completely sober.  Changkyun raised his eyebrow as he shook the man on his shoulder off as he stumbled around and clung to the next nearest bod. He walked over to your side and sat himself down beside you on the velvet booth.  

Crossing his legs, he watched you flinch when he plopped himself down, his elbows rising to rest on the back of the booth, his hand hovering close to your face.  He sure made himself comfortable. He had to admit though, as you sipped on yet another refill of something nonalcoholic, you were pretty easy going on the eyes. 

“You sure don’t seem like you’re having any fun, lady,” he chided as he lifted one arm off the back of the booth to push his hair back out of his eyes for only the millionth time that evening.  He heard you nervously chuckle beside him and something about the sound of it stirred pleasantly in his chest. 

“Well, this isn’t exactly my scene,” you told him.  Your voice was soft like Christmas bells, but it erupted in his ears, making the background of sounds and voices and bass all drown out.  He was solely focused on your lips and the sound they produced when you spoke he couldn’t hear anything else.  

“Not your scene, but here you sit in mine,” he teased as he smirked at you.  You tapped the side of your glass that had become a slipping hazard from it’s condensation. Changkyun looked at the friends around you who seemed to be having the time of their young lives.  “You’re friends seem to be enjoying themselves.” 

“Well, they go out a lot. I really don’t like these kinds of places,” you told him before you looked at him with a slightly apologetic smile.  “No offense.”  

“Club scenes aren’t for everyone, I understand that. If you hate it so much, why did you come here?” He asked as you sighed, dipping your chin.  He felt a small spark of panic rise in his throat as he saw you suddenly even more forlorn than you have been.  Did he put that look on your face by asking your dumb questions? 

He mentally halted himself, once again wondering why it affected him so much what you did and did not like or how you acted.  

“It’s my best friend’s birthday so she pretty much begged me to come with her tonight,” you lifted your head and looked over to where she was, downing yet another shot.  You’d have to remember to book a cab for her to go home- if she doesn’t go home with the staff member she keeps clinging to.  “I probably won’t stay much longer since she pretty much forgot I’m even here,” you pouted.  

Changkyun’s eyes swelled at the precious pout to your lips as you whined about being forgotten because you were sober and weren’t partying like an animal.  What was wrong with him? 

“Do you like coffee?” He suddenly blurted out.  He couldn’t stop the words from forcing their way out of his mouth before his brain could functionally filter them or even stop them.  He gulped when you turned to look at him in the eyes for the first time that night.  Maybe it was the neon lights in the club or maybe it was the dim atmosphere that made them so enticing to gaze into, but he was locked in your gaze- unable to break away from you.  His jaw nearly dropped open as he explored the color of them surrounded by the club's aura.  

“Coffee?” You asked in clarification. He just clamped his teeth together before nodding once. “Well, I’m not the biggest coffee fan in the world, but I like teas’ and I can handle a frappe if I’m in the mood for it.” 

“I get off at three,” he told you as he desperately tried to keep eye contact. “If you find the stomach to hang around another three hours, we can get some?” He pitched as his voice that was normally always confident- as it should be for his line of grade-a work- shook just slightly with the booming club bass. 

Your eyes shifted when he put the offer out there, and he started to internally panic.  Would you say no? Would you politely decline him and try and carry on like he never said a word? Or would you turn him down and leave?  Then, it hit him.  You were in a club; a club popular for sex work and Changkyun happened to lead that gaggle of workers. It’s pretty damn obvious you were assuming he had some ulterior motive. For once, he didn’t. 

He dropped his elbow from the back of the booth as he turned towards you slightly, scooting forward to the edge of the booth seat.  

“I don’t mean to hook up or anything,” he clarified, “I just want to get to you know, so I wanted to get coffee at an ungodly hour.” The hands he waved around to try and help convince you quickly settled onto his jean torn, and fishnet covered lap.  “If you want to.” 

You sat and considered his offer.  It was Saturday, and the library was closed on Sundays so you could technically afford to be out later than you typically would.  And a late night chat with someone other than your wasted party of friends did sound tempting.  He seemed kind enough, even with his get up and the flashes of a performance you had glimpsed earlier with him on the lifted stage and poles.  You should never judge a book by it’s cover, just because he seemed like someone who slept around all the time, didn’t mean he was a bad guy, right?  

You smiled at him and his breath left him in one fell swoop.  It was like your smile materialized into a pro-boxer and just gut punched him. And he loved it.  

“A three am frappe sounds great,” you told him.  He smiled back wider than he knew he could. He thanked you before he excused himself to go back to work.  However, before he went back to the floor, he practically sprinted into the single employee bathroom and locked himself inside. 

He slammed his back against the door as his knees wobbled and he grew weaker. His breath was staggered as his chest heaved in unsteady shudders.  His fingertips shook and he had shivers running up his back from the memory of your eyes and that smile.  He started chuckling to himself in the empty bathroom as he felt his cheeks flush.  

God he felt so euphoric in the moment, it was practically erotic.  Whatever was wrong with him, he started questioning if it was really wrong if it made him feel so good. 

-x-x-x-

It was ten till three in the morning when Changkyun did one last check to make sure you hadn’t left yet.  Almost your whole party was passed out, had gone home by cab or with someone else at this point.  The club was nearly ready to shut down for the night as they started to chase people out. You saw him peek around into the VIP booth area as you smiled and waved to him reassuringly.  That same tightness coiled in his chest as he rushed to the employee locker room. 

A fellow pole dancer who was peeling off his skintight, laced finger-less gloves perked an eyebrow up at the rushing blond.  He hadn’t seen the worker so eager to get out of there before. 

“Some kind of big surprise waiting for you outside those doors or something, hot stuff?” He asked. Changkyun shook his head, too busy searching for his clutch behind his fur coat so he could meet up with you.  Yanking on the furry sleeves that felt almost too warm all of a sudden, he snatched the no longer hidden clutch from his locker shelf and slammed it shut.  

“Something better,” he breathed in promise to himself more than his coworker as he jogged out, his long coat bouncing off the back of his knees.  He came out of the room, seeing you standing and in the company of a different worker who was still relatively new to Fantasia Dyed. A rookie at best and his eyes hardened as the man spoke to you. 

Leaning far too close to you, breathing too close to you and smiling far too seductively at you. He was clearly looking for a bed to crash in, but Changkyun hated it.  Loathed it even as he felt his lips pull back in a grimace mimicking a defensive mutt.  He stomped towards you and inserted himself between the nuisance and yourself. 

Pushing his palms against the worker’s chest, he harshly shoved him backwards and took a few steps back himself towards you.  He felt like he was on fire, feeling you standing directly behind him.  He thought he could feel your warmth radiating onto his back like sun rays and it almost made him sweat.  He felt torn between feeling ecstatic that you were so close to him or completely pissed off at the man who stood shell shocked after being pushed away.  

“She’s taken already,” Changkyun growled.  He shocked even himself with his tone, something coiling further and beating in his chest so violently he swore he felt his chest jerk forward with each beat of his heart. 

The coworker raised his hands. “Chill out, man. ‘Didn’t know she was yours.” Something ignited the coil in Changkyun’s chest and sent sparks in his mind at the man's words. His? Yes… that sounds exactly right. 

It sounded blissfully perfect as the man walked off and the blond turned around to see you and properly escort you out of Fantasia Dyed. He watched your back as you left in front of him- ladies first- and he let a grin crawl across his face.  Unaware of how his eyes looked as they burned into the silhouette of your body.  

His. 

Changkyun led you out of the club, but neither of you expected it to be raining at three o’clock in the morning.  You gasped as you instinctively brought your hands up above your head. You were wearing makeup and if it got wet, it was all over.  Changkyun was quick to rip the coat from his shoulders and sling it around you.  It had no hood, but he placed the collar of it above your head as you grabbed the edges of it to pull it around your body.  

He nearly gasped when his finger brushed your hand, handing off his coat before he was pulling his keys from his clutch and pushing buttons to unlock his car that was parked just around the corner on the side of the building.  He reached around your shoulder and started directing you in the rain.  

It was only when he sat you in his car, nice and dry, when he ran to get into the drivers sid, slam the door shut, start the car and crank the heat to get rid of the wet shivers you had due to the rain, did he realize he had just touched you again.  Although his coat was under his arm, so were you as you ran through the rain.  He had to contain yet another delightful shiver. 

You shimmied the coat off your head to around your shoulders before you pulled it out from behind you and placed it on your lap as you pulled the seatbelt across your chest.  You looked at Changkyun who was already looking at you, but flinched and started fidgeting with his wheel and knobs for the radio in his car to distract himself. 

“I didn’t realize there was rain in the forecast this morning. I wouldn’ve have brought an umbrella.” You briefly blessed the idea that Changkyun asked you out because you had taken the bus and walked the rest of the trip to Fantasia, so getting home would have been a long walk considering the buses don’t run at three freakin’ am. 

Changkyun cleared his throat, whipping his blond, wet bangs out of his face and onto the top of his head, clearing his forehead as he shifted out of park. 

“So,” he started, “where do you want to go?” You tossed ideas around in your head and it was so early, hardly any place would be open except the occasional fast food place or gas station.  Offering him the choice between an open, probably dead lobby for some fast food or grabbing a drink and hanging in the car in the rain, he was driving off to the closest food location.  

As nice as it sounded being secluded in a car with coffee and the sound of rain, he wouldn't be able to look you in the eyes as you spoke as well. 

Changkyun took you to the place he would often stop for some after work food before going home or meeting up with someone. Because he knew the manager so well (and because the manager was always in store by three to start preparing for the staff to come in at six) Changkyun was allowed an early entrance. 

Even though you offered to get your own drink, Changkyun wasn’t allowing you to pay for anything since it was him who asked you out. Besides, it wasn’t exactly expensive to buy some caffeinated drinks- especially since he got a special discount too. The manager who always got him his food or drinks ready at this hour was shocked to see him with company this time around. 

Time seemed to become truly nonexistent to Changkyun as soon as the both of you sat down at a back corner table- away from anyone's eyes from outside as to not cause the manager grief if someone should come demanding entrance because Changkyun was inside. You both talked about anything and everything he could think to ask you to get to know you better.  

He learned that you were a librarian and that you didn’t go to school- forgetting about any further education after high school because you weren’t sure what you really wanted to do with your life. He found out bits and pieces about your family situations- gathering that you weren’t close and that you had no siblings to speak of. Your friends were small in number and that you weren’t really close to anyone aside from Halie- the proffered birthday girl at the club. 

He mentally thanked Halie for begging you to come to the club, considering if you hadn’t Changkyun would have never laid eyes on you. 

In turn, he shared what he could in return for your stories.  He had been working in the sex world for a few years now, quickly and unfortunately getting roped into it after a nasty breakup when he had just turned 21. When he realized just how desirable he could be, he started working out and eating better to keep his physique so business kept rolling in for him.  He was actually scouted by the assistant manager of Fantasia Dyed to work there- but it was the pay and benefits that really dragged him in.  He didn’t dislike his career, so he had no reason to say no anyways.  

At least with Fantasia Dyed, he had benefits to get himself into the doctor if one of his clients ever lied and gave him some gross sex disease- then of course he’d sue them into the ground for not following his work guidelines. He told you about why he pierced his eyebrow and even the stories behind the tattoos on his back. 

Oddly enough, despite your absolute opposite backgrounds, you both spoke and got alone brilliantly.  It was a balance of lifestyles and Changkyun basked in everything you had to say.  You didn’t shun him or sneer at his life as a sex worker and maybe it was the lack of disgust and prejudiced that really flipped something in his head.  

You did not judge him. You did not hate him. You laughed at whatever joke he pitched.  You blushed at whatever lame pick up line he slid into conversation. You groaned playfully at his equally playful flirting. You were making him fall and he did- hook, line and heavy sinker.  

He was absolutely, unbelievably head over heels for you and he felt like he was on fire. 

You both talked and talked until you had noticed that the sky started to change color and the rain had stopped. The sun was rising and you were suddenly overly aware of how exhausted you really were.  Changkyun saw you stifle a yawn and although it felt like his heartstrings were going to tear in his chest, he was quick to get up and offer you a ride home as the manager started to truly open the lobby for business as nearly all morning staff were present.  

As you sat in the car with him, directing him on what roads to take to get to your home, he found himself memorizing every turn. When you told him to keep it slow and then pointed out your small little apartment duplex, he looked at every crevice his eyes could see from the car window.  The neighborhood was somewhere small, but there was a small park just across the block so he expected it to be fairly busy during the day. 

As he bid you farewell, and watched you get safely inside before driving away, he struggled to contain his breath.  When he rolled into the apartment parking lot and up to his penthouse, he was quick to lock his door and lift his coat to his face.  

It smelt different than usual.  It had your shampoo’s scent embedded into its fake fur. It had the smell of your perfume and the smell of you inside of it.  He fell asleep that morning until afternoon with his coat curled around him instead of a blanket.  That feeling of euphoria chasing him until he finally fell asleep- only to have a set of specific dreams involving you in one of his reserved back rooms at Fantasia Dyed. 

-x-x-x-

Over the course of the next week, Changkyun did his damnedest to keep his eyes on you at all times he possibly could.  He’d wake up in the afternoon and find a way to enter the library you worked at and slip into a corner behind a bookshelf with a book to disguise his obvious staring of you.  When you’d leave the desk to replace books, he’d move to avoid your eyes, when you’d help a guest with their books to check out, he’d growl when it was a man that you smiled at.  When you got off work, he’d trial behind you just enough to stay unnoticed. He’d watch you get home every afternoon and one night he even put a small camera on one of the fake branches of your fake bush you hand sitting in a pot on your porch.  

He’d sit in his car or in his penthouse and watch the feed on his phone if it buzzed with a notification of movement.  If you were leaving, he’d jump into action to try and find out where you were going if it was an unusual time.  He’d watch you go to the store to shop or into some food place for something to eat. 

He’s even seen you meet up with Halie a few times and each time he did, he hated that wench more and more.  That obviously spoiled princess wasn’t good enough to be around you, acting like a typical romance villain and obvious snake.  You were smart, so he was curious as to why you trusted her so much. She was clearly brainwashing you and keeping you around as a tool. 

Changkyun had a mental list of enemies and people he hated, and she was ranked number one among that list- along with all the men he saw speak or flirt with you.  He wanted to get them away from you, throw them out of the picture and clean your mind of their filth. 

During his work hours, and after even, he’d still get randoms to get into bed with him- but his mind would be filled with everything about you.  The person underneath him would disappear and your face and body and voice would take hold in his brain like some sort of spell.  He’d fuck into man or woman with such fervor he’d be getting calls from his manager that he was requested for service back to back.  

He hit euphoria and erotic highs with you just in his mind, he nearly came undone when he thought how it would feel actually fucking you.  He’d go home from work, from another sex session and he’d lay on his bed, on his couch, sit at his table or collapse in his doorway and wear himself thin with his hand at the thought of your touch instead of his or someone else.  

He sat on the cold floor of his front door entrance, his leather, skintight pants unzipped and cock slipped through the hole in his boxers.  His hand squeezed his length as his fingers rubbed and pinched and squeezed around the head and slit. It was so dry as his hand slid up and down painfully on his shaft.  His hips bucked to meet his hands motions and his legs twitched in their perched, spread position.  His stomach was tight as his opposite hand came to pinch and twist his nipples- his shirt discarded as he slid down the door upon his entry earlier. 

It was so dry- it was hardly enjoyable- but it was painfully erotic. He couldn’t stop and the precum leaking from his cockhead wasn’t nearly enough for his hand to not pull on the delicate skin making him hiss.  Taking his lip between his teeth and breathing so heavily he stuttered, he watched his hand abuse his cock. 

The hand that played with his nipples shot down to hold his wrist as he finished himself off, cumming with the sound of your name spilling from his lips in lewd, breathless moans.  He lay on the floor, slouched and exhausted as cum stuck, drying to his chest and pants. 

He was so utterly, disgustingly, blissfully obsessed with you and he felt like he was losing his mind. His mind was filled to the brim with you, you, you.  He spent every waking hour he could preparing.  Yes, he had to make sure that everything would be perfect for when you’d finally come to him.  

You deserved nothing short of perfection- and Changkyun would fuck anyone, get paid anything and obtain whatever it was you desired to make sure you got exactly that.  However, it would take time- much to his dismay. 

He knew he had to get ready before he could possibly have you.  He started cleaning out a room he used as storage in his penthouse and got to work.  

It was ten days after your three am date that Changkyun decided to play innocent and ‘bump’ into you at work one day.  He was impatient and couldn’t wait any longer to speak to you again, to hear your voice directed at him again and not at someone else.  

He entered the library confidently that day, dressed in blue jeans, low heeled boots and a tee that was stretched just a bit at the collar.  His hair unstyled and glasses on his nose with his clutch under his arm.  He didn’t want to go over the top in style, so he tried to match your neutral style of dress.  

He took a moment to look at you before he took a breath and walked up to the desk, placing a fake smile of shock on his face when you looked up to see him.  He nearly fell to his knees when he saw your eyes shine and your mouth split into a smile and wave at him.  If he could, he would’ve ran the rest of the way to the desk instead of walked.  

When he walked at the desk, he leaned and laid his arms in front of one another on the desktop, bending and crossing his ankles together and grinned at you.  

“Well, fancy meeting you here, madam librarian,” he greeted, acting as if he hadn’t been here daily for the past week just to see you work.  

“It’s been a little bit, it’s good to see you Changkyun,” you said and he felt himself shift sinfully.  “I’d ask you why you’re here, but it’s a library, so,” you chuckled at yourself.  Oh, how he missed the sound of that laugh.  “Did you come looking for something specific?” You asked as he jut his lip out in thought.  

“Not necessarily. I just felt like cracking open a book, and what better place to start looking? It's a pleasant surprise you work at this library. It’s close to where I live.” That was true, there were two other libraries in town and this one was the closest to him. You hummed at him. “Could you recommend something to me?” He grew giddy when you smiled widely and stood from your desk chair and started to walk around the desk, motioning for him to follow you. 

As you asked him what he liked and disliked, leading him down the isles and scanning book after book, keeping small conversation he wished he could push you against a bookshelf and have his wicked way with you. He knew better, however; you needed to be taken care of in a specific set of ways and against a bookshelf wasn’t it- tempting as it may be. 

“Here,” you told him as you spun around and placed a book in his hands.  As he took it, he quirked a small, teasing smile as he looked at you as if you were playing a joke on him. 

“Twilight? Really, Y/n?” In his hand sat the book that sprung up the cheesy, cliche and overall, not so great movies he watched with one of his old friends for gags one night in his teens- completely drunk he may add.  

“Hey, don’t judge a book by it’s cover- or it’s movies. It’s better than you think.” You shoved the book closer to his chest. “Just give it a chance, please?” When you ask so adorably with your lip jutted out just enough for him to fantasize leaning down to bite into it with his teeth, he had no choice but to comply.  He’d read this book cover to cover, backwards even had you asked.  He’d do whatever you wished. 

He spent the afternoon halfway reading at a table near the desk and halfway watching you work until your shift concluded.  When you were packing up, he scrambled to get his clutch and mark the page he had to reread over and over again because he couldn’t concentrate and rushed up and over to your side.  

“Are you finished for the day?” He asked although he already knew the answer.  You nodded as he touched your arm, grabbing gently around your elbow.  “Do you want to go on a date with me?” He asked as he saw your cheeks grew in the most vibrant color of rose. 

“I, uh,” you cleared your throat and rubbed the back of your neck with your free arm. “I’m not dressed for a date though,” you pouted. Changkyun licked his lips, desperate not to let you get away from him just yet.  

“Then, tomorrow,” he pitched, “when you’re free tomorrow we can go out.” Tomorrow was Wednesday, and he knew that you always left work early on Wednesdays.  He watched you tuck a strand of hair behind your ear as you licked your lips before rolling them over your teeth and then opening your mouth. 

“I can do tomorrow,” you muttered, face fully flushed with redness flooding into the tips of your ears.  He released your arm with a giant smile.  He flicked his bangs out of his face as he felt his glasses slip just a bit further down his nose.  He reached into his clutch as he dug out his phone and handed it to you with the new contact screen up. 

“Let’s swap numbers then, and we can work out everything through the phone.” You didn’t hesitate to place your number into his phone before sending yourself a text with ‘it’s changkyun’ attached to the message.  You promptly added him in your contacts as well.  Offering you a ride home, which you took, he dropped you off and when he walked into his penthouse that afternoon he pumped his fist into the air.  As well as stared at the palm in which held your arm earlier, gazing at it as if he had just touched the blessed body of a holy messiah. 

As he sat in his living room on the couch, he felt himself harden in his sweats he wore before changing into his work attire. He had actually called in to take the night off since he had to be well rested for his date tomorrow. This hand had touched you, touched your skin.  He was sure it would feel magnificent on his cock too.  

-x-x-x- 

Tomorrow didn’t come fast enough and Changkyun was bounding out of bed at the ass crack of dawn to figure out what he was going to wear.  How would he style his hair? Would he fill all his ear piercings or change the stud in his eyebrow to a spike? Which shoes would he wear: sneakers, heeled boots, sandals? He couldn’t waste another second in bed, he had far too much to plan for the day to worry about sleeping any more. 

He dove for his phone the moment he heard the specific notification he set for you. He talked to you a bit and you both decided on a time to meet up.  Meeting up at noon for lunch and then he’d take you to a movie and then he’d walk around with you window shopping, talking about the movie you both saw and then he’d take you for dinner.  That’s what he wanted to happen.  

He showed up at the meeting place half an hour early.  Wearing a black, white spotted button up tucked into a pair of black jeans with a thin, white belt around his waist, he adjusted the buttons at the cuffs of his sleeves.  A simple, thin silver chain to show off his neck as his shirt was unbuttoned just enough to show off his collar bones.  The heels of his shoes clacked just enough on pavement or tile to let people know he was coming.  

“Changkyun!” He heard from behind him.  He raised himself off the bench had had been sitting cross-legged on, staring at his phone and debating on texting you.  He quickly spotted you waving to him from among the crowd of people on the hunt for lunch before their work break ends. 

His mouth nearly dropped when he saw you.  Running up to him with the cutest, apparel on. 

A summer dress of pale pink with small white dots that wrapped around your chest and fell loosely at the skirt to hit your thighs.  The sleeves off shoulder and sheer all the way down your arm until it wrapped around your wrist in sheere frills.  Black, thin straps to keep it all up. A pair of white sandals that wrapped around your foot and ankle with the smallest heel to keep you from twisting your ankle.  Hair done in two little buns on either side of your head, but still kept some down with a black, stretchy choker around your neck. 

The pink, circular satchel at your waist that hooked over your shoulder probably contained your phone, wallet and the pink gloss that covered your lips as you came to stop in front of him.  You were like a flower as he gazed at you.  You quickly lifted your wrist to check the thin watch you wore, making sure you weren’t late.  You weren’t. 

“I hope you weren’t waiting here too long for me,” you giggled and he felt his heart try to burst from his chest. He shook off his stupor the best he could in front of you before he smiled and quickly denied it.  

“I haven’t been here long,” he assured. You made a small jest about the both of you wearing something with small polka dots on it and he felt like he was going to fall to his knees at your noticing his attire and complimenting it.  You were far too precious. 

Throughout the day, he found out that you weren’t only exceptionally kind, but you were probably the biggest pushover he’s ever met.  You’d follow after him like a little lost duckling and whatever he recommended doing, wherever he wanted to go, you were quick to agree and comply.  With your ease of compliance, he was able to mentally go through the check list of plans he had set with little to no difficulty.  

It was miraculous how easily you obeyed him. 

Changkyun made note of everything your eyes lingered on, everything your fingers brushed, everything you expressed just the slightest interest in- he would remember.  Changkyun wanted to spoil you, wanted to give you everything you desired- everything you deserved. You were an angel walking, cursed upon the earth and nothing anyone could say would change his mind about it. 

The entire time you were out with Changkyun that day, you were smiling at him as he hung onto every one of your words.  Every interest, every detail, every idea or opinion you had- he grabbed it and held it deep inside his chest. 

It was coming close to around ten that night when he was finally getting around to dropping you back home, as he could see the exhaustion in your eyes and the slowness in your steps. He had half a mind to just drive you back to his home, but he couldn’t- not yet. 

He walked you to your door as he bid you a final goodnight and as you unlocked your door and pushed it open just a crack, you turned back to him and smiled.  He froze when he felt your fingers on his cheek before you stood to your toes and kissed his cheek.  You rushed inside before he could say anything and before you could regret it. 

The blond sat dazed and only managed to drive a block away before he pulled into a parking lot of a closed, daytime store.  His cheeks were flushed, his skin burned and his breath was staggered.  He could still feel the feeling of your lips on his cheek and that shiver of delight attacked his spine and spread until he was finishing himself off in the front seat of his car- the sound of your name on his lips over and over again as his fingers brushed his cheek trying to feel the essence of you in his skin. 

-x-x-x-

Changkyun had the privilege of taking you out on two more dates over the course of the last two weeks (along with his library trips to visit you) and it was today, when he once again frequented the library- where he noticed you weren’t in your usual high spirits.  He pulled you aside on your break and into a back corner library table as he made you spill your guts on what could be plaguing your mind.  

It took all of his will power to not scream when you told him you had been being harassed by some library guest who always comes in.  He always wants the same book renewed over and over and he always tried to pry your number out of you.  Even after clearly telling him no and explaining to you that you were traveling among the silver lining of a relationship with Changkyun- he was persistent.  It came to the point you were looking over your shoulder and even jogging to and from work. 

“So, he’s stalking you?” Changkyun clarified, as you nodded weakly.  He grit his teeth, his jaw tightening.  Didn’t other people know that his woman was off limits, especially when it came to following you around? He kept you under his watchful eye, but these men were after something far worse and in his sick, demented mind- they were the offender and they were a disease.  

Changkyun reached across the table and gently held your hand, trying to convey that he knew that you were scared and that he’d do anything to keep you safe.  He could see the tears glisten around your eyes and a taboo sense of arousal shot in his stomach at seeing your so utterly weak and vulnerable.  

He spent the remainder of the time with you on your break as he consoled and shushed you as he promised that he’d stay until you got off and when you did, he’d take you home.  You were quick to agree.  

That afternoon you rushed to Changkyun’s side and were discreet to point out the man who was hanging outside the library entrance with his nose in his phone.  According to you, that was the perpetrator and source of your fear.  You clung to Changkyun as he gently wrapped his arm around your shoulders and held you to his chest, walking out with you. 

When he dropped you off and kissed the top of your head as he sent you inside, the gentle eyes he had been gazing at you with disappeared as you shut the door and he heard it harshly lock.  

Turning around and stuffing his hands inside the pockets of his jeans, he waltzed back towards his car, but never got into it.  His dark shirt allowed him to dip below the hood of his car as he started walking around in the shadows the street lights created.  He stood behind a post as he watched the figure move from the side of the building to the front porch where he crouched below the windows.  

You had pulled the curtains and shut the blinds just as he had reminded you to as he was quick to walk up behind the stalker and hook his arm under the man’s chin.  The gasp that was pulled from the man was cut off as Changkyun’s arm tightened around his neck and he started to quickly drag the man backward and away from your doorstep. 

The blond shoved the man into the backseat of his car, slamming the door as he quickly rushed to get into the driver's seat.  Not bothering with his seatbelt, he started the car with tangible rage and started off.  

“What the fuck, man!” The man from his backseat scowled as Changkyun only reached into his center console and pulled out a small, black handheld device, pressing the button on the side of it as it zapped.  A stungun.  The man in the back hissed as he instinctively shut up. 

Changkyun’s aggressive driving made the man in the backseat fall back and forth along the seats before he finally gripped the passenger chair to steady himself.  Changkyun drove and drove until he was well outside of city limits before he stopped and parked his car. He peered up into the rear-view mirror, seeing the man behind him look around anxiously.  

“Get out,” the blond ordered as he stepped out of his car.  The man didn’t move, too shocked to process his words and was then yanked out by his shirt clad shoulder when he didn’t listen quick enough for Changkyun’s liking. The club worker threw the man on the ground as he rolled to his back just quick enough for Changkyun to stand over him.  His feet on either side of his hips, a glimmer in his eyes that was menacing to witness- even in the darkness of night. 

The man on the ground shuddered as he weakly tried to crawl backward on his elbows.  His heels kicked and dug into the ground, threatening to pull his shoe off, as he tried to get away from the look in the blond’s eyes.  

Changkyun’s foot came to the center of the man’s chest as he stomped, pushing him flat onto the ground.  He knelt, coming closer to him as he gripped the collar of his shirt.  Changkyun eyed him around- he certainly wasn’t a looker that's for damn sure.  

“You really thought you had a chance?” He asked lowly, almost in a growl.  “I’ll offer you a bit of last moment advice for perhaps your next life,” he got closer to the man’s ear, before telling him something.  “Stay away from things that don’t belong to you,” he seethed.  

Over the course of the next few days, Changkyun was delighted to see you smiling again when you told him that the man who had been stalking you seemed to finally leave you alone. 

He made sure that a week later when he saw missing person posters out in the streets, your eyes stayed off of them.

-x-x-x-

After a month of dates, library visits, phone calls and good morning and good night texts, Changkyun was finally- finally- able to call you his girlfriend. He was currently out with you at some cafe where you wanted to stop and get something to drink and he decided to walk in and sit down with you for a while. 

You were on your phone, tapping away before placing it down and repeating.  You were obviously talking with someone on the other end of your text thread, which already ground his gears, but the twisted brow on your face made him more curious than not. Someone was upsetting you and he already knew how to deal with someone who upset you. 

“Hey,” he called, gaining your attention. You looked at him, placing your phone back down.  “Who’re you talking to, Sweetness?” 

“Oh, just to Halie,” you told him. The name of your ‘best friend’ making his skin itch.  That fake fraud of a friend couldn’t even leave you alone while you were out with him? The audacity of the woman made him jittery. His knee began to bounce as he pressed further. 

“Are you two fighting? You look annoyed.” 

You sighed, solidifying that she was indeed bothering you. “She’s mad that I’m out on a date,” you grumbled.  Changkyun cocked his head. 

“Excuse me?” His resentment slipped out just a small fraction as he wanted to know immediately what this witch was putting into your precious little head.  “She’s mad at you for what?” 

You groaned again, placing your elbow on the table and your chin in your palm, you huffed.  “I think she’s just upset that I have a boyfriend before she does since she knows more people.” The tone in your voice made your annoyance apparent to Changkyun who had spent the last month of his life learning every little quirk in your day to day life- including your vocal tone. “She’s got a whole list of friends and while I have just enough to count on one hand, she's mad about my relationship.” 

Changkyun watched you toil the situation around in your head, trying to justify her words and actions, but he couldn’t let you do that.  This was a prime opportunity.  The perfect time to finally get that wench out of the picture and away from you. 

He reached across the table where he sat in front of you, careful not to knock into your drink. 

“Darling,” he cooed, gaining your teary, stress filled eyes, “maybe you shouldn’t be talking to her.” He watched your brow quirk and turn inwards at his suggestion.  He readjusted his grip on your hand, holding it tightly. “If she’s so angry about something like us, then maybe you should go on a little break at least.” 

“But-”

“I know she’s your friend,” he fought back before you could try and save Halie’s snake skin, “but every time you talk about her with me, it’s all things that stress you out or things she’s done that make you uncomfortable.”  He vividly remembers the club night of her birthday.  “Pressuring you into clubbing, then not paying attention to you at all even though you weren’t enjoying yourself.  Never talking to you unless she needs something or someone to bother.  Now, she’s angry because you’re happy with me? She’s just using you, Sweetheart.” 

“I know she seems bad, but-” 

“Y/n,” he breathed in a small, soft scolding tone.  “You can’t keep defending her and giving her what she wants. She has to learn, one way or the other.”  He watched your lips turn into a pout as he ran his thumb over your knuckles and brought your hand up to kiss the back of it.  “I just want the best for you, you know that.” 

He bit back a victorious smirk when you told him that you’d take his suggestion and advice to heart and think about it.  A little more nudging and you’d drop Halie like a hat. He just had to wait until she brought something else up again that put a target on her back.  

It didn’t take but three days for that to occur.  

You were home, off on a Sunday, just sitting in your home, on the phone with Changkyun while he just woke up from resting since he had work at Fantasia Dyed that evening.  He had some private show booked up so he couldn’t afford to flake out either.  He needed the cash for his personal project he always teased, and this coming party was sure to deliver.  

You both were chatting happily until you were cut shut but someone pounding on your door.  You told Changkyun to hold on a moment as you set your phone down on the arm of your couch and went to the door.  Changkyun on the other hand went and immediately opened the camera footage of your front door he had from that camera in your bush.  

He growled and jumped out of bed when he saw the back of Halie in the frame.  Her arms were crossed and her leg was bouncing as she slouched.  When you opened the door, her crossed arms flared out and she was clearly shouting at you from the hiking of her shoulders and the fact that he could hear her obnoxious voice through the call line. 

He jumped out of bed.  Nothing but sweats on as he threw on a jacket, leaving his chest naked before he was out of his penthouse, racing down the stairs and in his car on the way to your home.  He kept the call live- as much as he didn’t want to hear her voice- so he could hear the venom she spat at you as he worked her way inside. Stomping around and screaming like the bitch she was.  

When he showed up to your home and jumped out of the car, he finally hung the call up as he stormed inside, knowing the door was unlocked from Halie’s tempertatrum.  When he came in, he saw you against the wall with your ‘best friend’ not a foot away from you still screaming at you like you were deaf. 

He worked his way over before he was grabbing Halie’s shoulder, shoving her away and placing himself in front of you, walking back into your space until he felt your hands push on his shoulders.  He glared at the party animal blonde in front of him.  

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” He seethed as she seemed taken aback by his language towards her- a lady. 

“Excuse me?” She spat. 

“I suggest you leave, or else I’ll make you leave.”

“You can’t make me do anything. This isn’t your home either. I’m just talking to, Y/n.” Changkyun stepped away from you, turning the woman around by her shoulders and started pushing her.  

“Yeah? And you’re done now. Get out.” He told her, shoving her out the doorway once he worked her through the front room.  Before she could fight back, he got close to her ear and told her one more thing before shutting the door in her face and locking.  “Stay away, or I’ll make you.” The look in his eyes, the crazed dangerous gleam, made his threat very, very real. 

When he turned back around, he saw you on the ground, curled up as you cried.  He rushed to your side, rubbing your back and trying to get you to lift your head to look at him.  He cooed when he saw your swollen eyes and fat tears rolling down your cheeks.  

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m here,” he shushed as you just wordlessly nodded with choked hiccups and sputters.  You were seriously an ugly crier, but what could you do? Your best friend broke your heart.  

Changkyun shifted to hold you to his bare, jacket clad chest as you cried and he shushed you.  

“Don’t worry. You don’t need anyone else. I’ll always be here.” He promised.  

-x-x-x-

All it took was one more month, and everything was finally falling into place for Changkyun. Halie had officially left your side, with one or two more scraps between him and her before she finally called it quits.  And with the queen bee of your circle gone, the rest quickly fell apart and you were left with no one but Changkyun- as you should be.  

He was in his extra bedroom, setting up his project more when his phone rang. He jumped to it, knowing it was you calling after you got done with your shift at the library. He had told you to call him when you had the chance, since he wanted you to come somewhere tonight. 

“Hello, darling,” he purred into the phone, hearing you slightly chuckle on the other line.  “Did work go well? No annoyances?” He asked and he knew that you’d tell him about the computers or the receipt machine or the squeaky wheel on the return cart; but you never knew that he really meant to know if you were being bothered by any other man again.  “Well, if your evening is cleared up, why not swing on by Fantasia tonight?” 

He heard you pause on the other side of the phone call as he was walking out of the room, shutting the door softly behind him. It was almost perfect.  

“I’m not sure,” you drawled.  

“I’m working the floor tonight, bar-tending for staff out sick. You can sit at the bar with me.” Your hesitation was loud and clear for him as he continued.  “I’d really appreciate the company, but if you’d rather not-” he quickly heard you try and reconcile and save the conversation but agreeing to his proposal.  You were a sucker for guilt trips. “Really?” He asked in faux concern as he grinned, throwing himself back across the length of his couch. 

“Yeah. I’ll come, just promise that you’ll stay at the bar.” 

“I’ll do my best. If I have to leave, just hide in the bathroom until I’m back,” ‘so that you won’t be in contact with anyone other than me’, he added silently in his head. You agreed and he said a quick goodbye before he hung up the call.  He sat up and peered down his hall, picturing the door of his extra room.  Soon, you’d be with him always. 

It was an hour after his shift started and he had just served yet another waiting patron when he felt his phone buzz in the back pocket of his pants.  He wore a mesh shirt at the bar that showed off his torso. His tattoo in the middle of his back was on display when he turned around. His eyebrow piercing was a black ring this evening and he wore silver hoops in his earlobes. His knee high, buckle punk boots lifting him three inches higher into the air. 

‘I’m here, where do I go?’ Your text read with a nervous emoji beside it.  He told you the location of the mini side stage bar and soon your head popped out from among the mass of alcohol driver party goers.  As you got to the bar and slid into a stool in front of him, he leaned on the counter and whistled at you. 

“Well, look who dressed up for me tonight?” He asked, a purr in his voice as your cheeks flushed.  He recognized this get up, it was a piece he picked out for you one night. It wasn’t something he thought you’d ever wear out, since you were rather reserved, but he thought you deserved it anyway. 

It wasn’t anything fancy, but even a simple, black cocktail dress with lace running up the sides of it and looping around your neck and back looked good when placed on someone as breathtaking as yourself to Changkyun’s eyes. He could faintly hear you clicking your heels together underneath you as they were hooked on the metal foot ring of the stool. The bracelet and earrings were a nice touch. 

“I thought it was appropriate since you bought it for me,” you muttered, unable to look at him in the eyes.  He chuckled since it wasn’t hard to guess why. His entire chest was on display to see with only lines of fabric separating his entire torso from being nude.  He halfway wished he had gotten his nipples pierced when he was on the fence about it months ago just to see how you’d react to that.

He stood back up and turned his back and he could feel your eyes scan the tattoo that rested between his shoulders. Large and taking up a good portion of real estate on his skin. He smirked as he felt you stare, a shiver wracking up his spine just as it always did with you.  When he turned around, he offered you a glass of water he had so neatly prepared for you. 

“I know you don’t drink, sweetheart,” he told you as you graciously thanked him for the drink.  Throughout the course of his shift, he was tending to people left and right.  His charisma between patrons and ways of addressing person to person just by acknowledging how they seemed to looked amazed you.  

You could never hope to be the people person he is. He was bold enough to get on stage, strip and get behind closed doors for his way of life.  He was fearless in your eyes and you admired him for it.  He had told you that he would stop sleeping around for money since he was in a relationship with you now, but you just told him it was alright.  

You trusted him, and although the idea of him sleeping around did grind under your skin like ice and salt, you knew that was his job. He worked in this industry- the sex industry- so that was the end of it.  He had started to dwindle down in client numbers though, never wanting to have the sex he was getting paid for last too long. 

The clock struck midnight and Changkyun turned back to you the moment he had an opening to.  He leaned over the counter and towards you again, just so he could talk to you clearly over the loud bass and whistling from the stage work. 

“What do you say I make a drink for you?” He offered. You looked at your half empty glass of water he had refilled at least three times now.  “Just one, I promise. It’ll be on me too. I just want my girlfriend to taste some of my work since I don’t get to work the bar often.” 

“Well, when you say it like that,” you whined as he just chuckled and stood up, turning his back and started mixing.  It was three minutes later when he was sliding a cocktail glass gently towards you. Inside sat a liquid of pink that resembled the color of pink lemonade, but you knew whatever was inside that wasn’t lemonade. “Voilà,” he told you. “That’s something new I’m trying out. You get to be the first to try it.” 

His smile looked innocent enough to your eyes and as you started taking sips of it with a smile and a nod; however, you missed a sinister glint in his eyes.  You complimented him on it and found yourself sipping on the drink, making it last until well after one since you didn’t want to have him make another. It was half after when Changkyun noticed you starting to sway in your stool seat. 

He placed the towel he had in his hands on the bar before he rounded the bar to your side.  

“Darling, come with me. You look like you’re about to pass out,” he chuckled. You couldn’t get your mouth to move or your voice to work as your mind was just as fuzzy as your eyesight.  Were you really that much of a light weight? He took you back into one of his private rooms before he placed you on the bed. He sat beside you, brushing your hair from your face and running his fingers around your face, skin and shoulders down your arm.  “Sleep. I'll come get you later,” he told you softly- the totally opposite tone of the smirk on his face. 

You were in and out of it for the duration of Changkyun picking you up from the bed you vaguely remember placing you on.  He picked you up and took you out of the room. The bass of the club had stopped and you only heard him speaking briefly with coworkers before he loaded you into his car. 

It felt like he was taking you home as he removed you from the car again and heard the jingles of keys before a door was opened.  You only remembered being placed in a bed before you felt him kiss your forehead and you were out for good. 

You groaned as you were finally waking up. Your head hurt and you felt like your throat had sandpaper in it.  You coughed lightly as you reached your hand up to rub your throat, but something was around your neck. 

Feeling around, it felt like a collar or something. It was thick and leather, a small loop in the front of it. You also thought you felt tags near the loop that jangled.  Groaning and moving among the mattress you realized that it was pitch black in the room.  You were sure your eyes were open, but you couldn’t see a thing.  

Sitting up, you felt around your body.  Your cocktail dress wasn’t on you instead it felt like a nightgown was. Did you own nightgowns? IT feel off your shoulders to wrap around your chest and biceps with frills as it bunched around your thighs on the mattress. 

Your head pounded as you rubbed your eyes.  You moved to try and crawl from the bed when you felt something tug on your ankle. Feeling around, whatever was on your ankle was thick, cold and hard.  At first you thought it was some anklet, but then you felt something protrude from the cold metal. 

Pulling and tracing your fingers around it, you started to panic.  It felt like a chain. 

You got off the bed you were convinced wasn’t yours as you walked around like some cheap, budget-movie zombie in the dark room.  You found a dresser first. Feeling around, you felt the knobs of the four drawers and on top it had what felt like boxes. Reaching further, you found the dresser had a mirror attached to the back of it.  

Moving around in the opposite direction, you reached a closet door. Pull it open, you feel all sorts of soft fabric. Silks, satin, fur, cotton, linen- you felt all sorts of clothing. 

You looked around the dark room in panic before you trusted your voice.  

“Changkyun,” you called softly. You were going to call him again, but stopped short as you stepped on the cold chain that was around your foot. You screamed as you fell backward and before long, you heard someone padding up to the room and the door swung open. 

You scrambled back, covering your face with your arms as you soon felt the foot of the bed push against your back, keeping you from going back any further.  

“Sweetness, are you awake already?” Your arms that were up slowly lowered as you looked to the open doorway.  It was so bright outside of the dark room, you had to squint from the stark contrast.  Whoever was in the doorway sounded just like Changkyun, but- it couldn’t be. He walked closer to you. “Darling, can you talk?” His hand came to your throat, touching it with the pad of his fingers above the collar around your neck. “Are you thirsty? It has been half a day.” 

You were speechless as Changkyun stood up from in front of you before he walked out of the room. You moved to your knees and looked around. The dresser and closet you found were indeed what you thought.  

The bed was a canopy bed. A white frame with pink fabric hanging from it. The covers were red and white with a plethora of pillows at the head of the mattress.  There was a rack of four wood dowels by the bedroom door, and three of them a different kind of leash, and the fourth had a pair of handcuffs. 

The one window in the room was covered with black out curtains- you couldn’t tell if it was daytime or not outside right now.

Looking down now that you had the light from outside the room, you indeed did have a shackled ankle. You began to pull at it, the cold metal yanking around your skin- pinching and shafting it painfully. You hissed as your yanking was stopped by Changkyun shouting. 

“Don’t pull on that!” He cried, dropping to your side to pull your hands from your shackle. “I need to put felt and fur on it before you can move around in it safely. It’ll ruin your skin, but bear with it for now.” 

“Changkyun, what?” You squeaked.  He smiled, but it was twisted in some sort of menacing light. Maybe it was the light from behind him into the dark room that made him look sinister.  You felt yourself begin to tremble. 

“Don’t you worry your pretty little head,” he told you, patting your head and tucking your hair behind your ear. “Changkyun will take care of everything. I told you to remember?” He caressed your hair, tracing his finger down your face and under your chin. He then moved to hook his finger through the hoop in your collar.  “I told you, you don’t need anyone else. I’m all that you need. You are the princess, and this is your tower.” He flicked at the tags on your collar, one labeled ‘Princess’ and the other engraved with his initials. 

He then reached to his side to the discarded glass of water he went to get for you earlier for your throat.  He gently gripped around your neck and used the back of his hand to tilt your chin up. 

The mixing of emotions in your eyes made him shiver and when you blinked out a small tear he gently moved to place his lips over it. The salty taste made him groan as he leaned back and kissed your nose to see your eyes glossy. He smiled at you as he brought the glass to your lips. 

“Drink up, Princess.” 

a/n: i’ve never ever written a yandere fic before in my life, and as my first try- i rly dont think i did all that bad LOL. Let me know what you think bc it’s very rare I post Monsta X fic content and I need to know if you guys are still into it ;n; (especially with Wonho’s debut days away and a fic for him in progress LOL) 

[brelione]

She Likes Green Cats And Lives In A Tree (Pope Heyward X Reader)

You know that rule that teachers in the computer lab make about not googling anything that doesn't have to do with the current assignment?No one in Kildare High gave two shits.Well,accept Pope.Pope didn't like distractions,school was always supposed to come first.He tried to keep to himself,never skipping class with JJ and John.B.You were in all of his classes.You never payed attention,content with knowing you could walk out or jump out the window whenever you wanted.The rumors said that you lived in the woods,that you were a witch,that you were a mermaid,that you lived in an abandoned hospital.There were so many rumors about you that no one even knew who you really were.You were that one girl that everyone was fascinated with.A lot of the girls hated you because of it but you couldn't care less.You only showed up for the food and to use their computers.You never did homework or classwork and the school couldn't do much about it.

You didn't even show up to detention.They couldn't call your parents because they didn't know who your parents were or where they were.They had tried getting the police department involved but they couldn't do anything because you hadnt committed any actual crimes.You broke the little rules that didn't really matter unless they were all broken at once.Leaning back in your chair,googling things you shouldn't be googling,texting in class,playing music in study hall.Pope had tried so hard not to be distracted by you.He swore to god that he had tried really hard but he just couldn't do it.He’d find himself watching your screen,trying to figure out why you were giggling to yourself.It was the same thing every time.A teal looking cat.He didn't know why you found it so funny.Doodles of green cats covered everything.Your notebook,the pages within your notebook,most of your index cards and the front of your folder.He had never spoken to you.Not until that day two weeks ago.Everyone in the class was having conversations while the teacher was too tired to care.

You had tapped his shoulder lightly as he was typing his notes.He looked over at you,wondering why you had tried to get his attention. “Do you have a green colored pencil I could borrow?”You asked quietly.He reached for his pencil case,going through it.He only had highlighters and pens for his notes.He found his green highlighter,holding it up. “Would this work?”He asked.You nodded,taking it from him. “Thanks,Pope.”You grinned before starting a new drawing,looking at the photo for reference.He watched as you drew a circle with two triangles before handing the marker back to him. “Can I ask you something?”He asked.You nodded,waiting for him to continue. “Why do you always google green cats during class?”He asked.You pouted. “Look at her!Look at how lovely!”You grinned,pointing to the screen.It looked like an awful photoshop job. “She's in Bulgaria and she rolled around in green powdered paint.Its non toxic though.”You explained,noticing his doubtful expression.He nodded.

 “So why do you google her so often?”He asked,resting his chin on his hand.You shrugged. “It just makes me happy.Have you ever seen a blue dog?”You asked.He shook his head.You smiled,typing away before pulling up a picture of a blurry blue dog. “Look at it-isn't it the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen?”You asked.He wanted to say something cute or flirtatious like ‘you’re the most beautiful thing i've ever seen.’ but it didn't come out.He had just nodded.You showed him pictures of purple monkeys,yellow dolphins and orange sharks.You found brightly colored animals so funny and he just couldn't understand why.Everyday since then you had made him a doodle on an index card of a strangely colored animal.He kept them all,taping them onto his bedroom wall.He never learned if any of the rumors were true until he asked you to hang out. “Hang out?Where?”You asked.You two were walking down the hall to your next class.You never kept your textbooks on you,just a notebook,folder and a pencil case.He shrugged. “Maybe your house?Would that work?”He asked.You giggled.

 “Pope,I live in a tree.”You replied.He furrowed his eyebrows,trying to figure out if you were serious or not.He nodded. “Okay,what about the beach?”He asked.You nodded. “Yeah,yeah that works.”You grinned.At the end of school that day you leaned against the lockers,light backpack hanging off your shoulders.He had learned that you didn't have a phone or anything,really.You two had walked right to the beach from school. “So you really live in a tree?”He asked.You nodded. “Yep,it's not that far from here.Im not a witch though,it would be pretty cool if I was.Its really not that bad unless it rains.”You held your shoes by your side as you walked through the sand.He nodded. “You can come to my house whenever you want,you know.Do you eat a lot?”He asked.You shrugged. “I eat enough,I think I prefer living in a tree over a house as weird as it sounds.”You replied.He had somehow ended up holding your hand,his fingers laced in yours. “How do you shower?”He asked.You shrugged. “Depends on the day.Sometimes I just wash my hair in the library bathroom or i’ll shower at school.”You answered.He had asked you many questions about your life. “What about clothes?”He asked.

 “Lost and Found clothes are always interesting,I always wash them at the laundromat before I wear them though.”You answered.After he had learned about that he’d ‘accidentally’ give you his hoodies and tshirts.He had told his father about your situation so you could come over on weekends to eat dinner at his house.When summer came around he had become really stressed about you getting food,eventually bringing you to John.B’s house to introduce the others to you.Of course they had heard about you.The cute witch that lived in a tree.Only half of that was true.They had taken a liking to you.Kiara had gone through her closet and given you a lot of her old clothes and some hairties.You would sleep with Pope on the outdoor couch or in the hammock.You stayed at John.B’s house 5 out of 7 days out of the week,still staying in your tree.They didn't know how you had ended up like that or how you were able to sleep without falling to your death.JJ had become close to you,giving you a hunting knife to keep with you ‘just in case’.Pope had always talked to you about possibly living in a treehouse when you were older so you could have a compromise.

You had nodded,listening to his plans.He told you that you two could get a cat and dye its fur with natural dye.You had agreed with that,talking about how you wanted to pursue art.Pope was always looking out for you,becoming even more protective after you had gotten your first phone.Kiara had given you her old one and got you on Snapchat so you could message them whenever you needed to.Pope would message you whenever you were not with him.You would send him pictures of the birds that lived in your tree and send him videos of you hanging upside down from the branches.Your clothes hung on the branches along with your back pack.You had two blankets and your own little sleep set up.You’d sit on one of the larger branches,leaning backwards with your head against your other blanket.He had gotten over his fear of heights by staying in your tree with you sometimes,becoming more comfortable with your lifestyle.It was funny to think that this whole relationship had started with pictures of a green cat on the school’s computer.

[love-and-monsters]

Reindeer Centaur: Christmas Vacation

Merry Christmas and happy holidays! I hope you all enjoy this holiday themed piece and have a good day.

Reindeer centaur male X female human, 4824 words. 

The lodge had a sort of wood cabin aesthetic going on, which was only increased by the dusting of snow that covered everything and the pine trees that surrounded it. Little red bows decorated the edges of the porch and a large wreath was hanging on the door. You pushed your way carefully inside, the gold bell attached to the top of the door giving a cheerful jingle.

“Do you need help?” You looked up from your heavy bag to see a centaur leaning over you. His lower half was that of a reindeer, with thick fur and padded hooves. His hair was the same color as his fur and he was wearing a red vest over a white dress shirt. A bell covered harness was attached to his reindeer half and he had a similar collar around his neck.

“I think I’m okay,” you said. You glanced up at his head. Was he supposed to have antlers? Didn’t reindeer have antlers? Would it be rude to ask why he didn’t have them?

“Are you sure?” Just as he spoke, you pulled your suitcase through the threshold and smiled proudly at him.

“I’m good.” You made your way to the front desk and he trotted behind the smooth oak barrier.

“Are you here to check in?” he asked, clicking at the computer in front of him. You nodded, tugging off your hat and gloves.

“Yeah. Marisha Taylor,” you said. He clicked at the screen for a few moments, then smiled and reached under the desk.

“You’re in room 110. Here’s your key card and here’s your schedule of events we’re holding this holiday season. Meals are served three times a day with tea time on weekends and menus and times are listed on your schedule.” He passed you an envelope and a few pieces of paper. You took them and crammed them into one of the cavernous pockets of your coat. The reindeer centaur peered around you like he was looking for someone else.

“Are you here on your own?” he asked. You were pretty sure he was trying to sound professional, but his tone landed somewhere between curious and sympathetic. Your face was already red from the cold, but you could feel your cheeks stinging as the color darkened.

“Yes,” you said. “Just me. I know it’s for two. It’s just me.”

The reindeer centaur didn’t seem to know what to say to that. You could hear him scuffing a hoof on the floor behind the desk. “I’m sorry,” he said in a meeker voice. “Er. My name’s Elias. If you need anything, you can just call the front desk and I’ll be here.” He gave you a smile.

“I’ll do that,” you said. He waved at you as you headed past the desk and into the hall of the lodge. Go down the hall and make a left and you were in front of your door. After a moment of struggling to pull your card out of your pocket, you managed to unlock the door and step inside.

It was a nice room, keeping the natural wood aesthetic that the rest of the lodge also enjoyed. The bed, a queen size, was covered in white, lacy material and the furniture was a glossy white or just off-white color. Add in the green and red rug in the middle of the room, over dark hardwood, the entire place reminded you a little bit of a gingerbread house. You dropped your suitcase on the floor, stumbled over to your bed, and fell face first onto it.

This was supposed to be a Christmas vacation with your boyfriend. But he had decided to break up with you less than a week before you were supposed to leave. Unable to get a refund, you had decided to go anyway. He had paid for his half already. Might as well not let it go to waste.

It had become clear it was a mistake halfway to the lodge when you had realized that everything you had wanted to do had been designed for a couple, of which you were no longer a part. On the other hand, you had already packed everything up, paid for the trip, and taken the week off work. Leaving seemed like a waste.

The look the reindeer centaur had given you when you had turned up with just yourself had made you want to shrivel into yourself and fall through the floor. If people were going to be looking at you like that all vacation, you were pretty sure it would be less embarrassing to just go home.

Not, of course, that you had the money to order another flight back home on such short notice. That clinched it, you supposed. You were going to have to grit your teeth and stay. Maybe it would even be nice. There was a small town nearby that you could visit and the lodge was a really pretty and cozy place to stay. It could be a good vacation, even if it wasn’t the one you imagined.

With that decided, you unpacked your clothes and started to get settled. You flipped through a few channels of the TV before wandering down into the main lodge. There was a large, cozy sitting room with a merrily crackling fire in it, decorated in pine and red ribbons. A few other guests were scattered around the room in cozy chairs, some reading, on laptops, or chatting. One couple was squished into a corner, kissing like they were trying to consume the other’s face. You couldn’t look at them, and so sat yourself about as far away from them as you could.

You settled in with your laptop and scrolled through the internet for a while, trying to ignore the smacking noises the couple was making. Occasionally you saw one of the staff members, marked by their red vests over white dress shirts and little holly pins. There were a few humans, but most of the staff were reindeer centaurs, like the one you’d met at the front desk. That made sense, you supposed. You’d read that it was a family-run business.

The centaur you’d seen at the front desk trotted by occasionally. None of the male reindeer you’d seen had antlers, though all the girls you’d seen did have them, so you assumed it was just a gender thing. You could have sworn he glanced at you a few times when he walked by, but he didn’t try to speak to you. You were pretty grateful for that. More pity would have been really embarrassing.

After a few hours of sitting in the lounge, you headed up to your room and ordered room service. You did not want to sit in the dining hall with a bunch of other couples. After you finished your dinner, you took a warm shower and went to bed.

You woke up to someone knocking at the door. Blearily, you staggered out of bed, pulled on a fluffy robe, and headed to the door.

Elias, the reindeer from the front desk, was standing outside your door. “Miss? Are you- oh!” He startled back a little as you opened the door. His cheeks went faintly red when he saw you were wearing nothing but a bathrobe and nightgown. One of his large hooves scuffed at the ground. “I’m sorry. I was just coming to check on you. There’s a hiking event that you signed up for, but you didn’t show up.”

“What time is it?” you said. Elias tilted his head at you, looking a little confused.

“Ten minutes past nine,” he said. You sighed. Shit. You’d completely forgotten to set your alarm. Not that it really mattered. You weren’t planning on going anywhere anyway.

“Never mind. I’m not going.” You waved him off, sagging against your doorframe. “You can tell them to take off without me.”

“Are you not feeling well?” Eias asked. “Do you want me to get you anything?”

You rubbed a hand over your face. “No, it’s not because I’m sick. I don’t want to go on some kind of couple’s retreat when I’m not in a couple, all right?”

Your tone was testy and you could see realization dawning on his face. You braced yourself for another pitying expression, but he gave you a surprisingly warm smile.

“Did he ditch you?” he asked. His expression was warm and you found yourself meeting his eyes. They were a warm, chocolate brown that made warmth flood your stomach. You nodded before you could stop yourself. “I’ve been there.”

“You have?” you said before you could stop yourself. He was pretty handsome. You couldn’t imagine what kind of an idiot you would have to be to ditch someone like him. He laughed.

“My last girlfriend ran off with another guy right before we went on a weekend trip. That was depressing.” His short tail flicked and he scuffed a hoof against the floor. “But I went out and did a bunch of couple stuff on my own and it was actually pretty fun. Made some good friends.” He gave you a hesitant smile. One of the ears on the side of his head twitched. It was long and looked velvety. “I’ll understand if you don’t want to go, but I don’t think it would be a very fun vacation if you just stayed in the lodge the whole time.”

You hesitated, but you couldn’t deny the fact that he was right. “Give me a minute.” You retreated behind your closed door and quickly pulled on some reasonably nice clothes and ran a comb through your hair before stepping back outside. “Okay. I’m ready.”

He beamed. “Come on, then.” He led you into the main entrance of the lodge. There were several couples there and a female reindeer who looked similar to Elias, though a little older. You guessed she was his sister. He trotted up to her and spoke quietly to her for a moment. She glanced at you, then lifted a shoulder in a little shrug. He grinned and trotted back over to you.

“Lissa agreed to cover the main part of the tour, so I’ll give you a little bit of a private tour,” he said. You felt your cheeks redden a little.

“You don’t have to do that,” you said.

“It’s not a problem. And the trip is supposed to be for groups, so it would be a little awkward if you were on your own.” He shifted his weight, glancing away as if he were uncertain how you would react to him bringing it up.

“Thanks,” you said. He didn’t seem especially pitying so much as just genuinely hoping you were having a good time, which was nice.

The female reindeer, Lissa, led the group out of the front of the lodge and toward the forested trail that snaked around the lodge’s property. You and Elias brought up the rear. He was only wearing his dress shirt and vest, which seemed odd attire because you were shivering under your scarf and coat. “Are you not cold?” you asked.

“No. I’m pretty used to it. I’ve lived here my whole life. And reindeer are pretty- oh, hold on.” He trotted past you to the front of the group, where Lissa had managed to get her antlers caught in a particularly low-hanging branch. After a few moments of struggle, he freed her and she waved him off. He trotted back over to you, shaking some dislodged snow from his hair.

“Is she okay?” you asked. He nodded.

“She’s probably embarrassed, but it happens. It’s one of the reasons I’m glad I lose my antlers in the winter.” He jerked his head toward Lissa, who was successfully leading the tour again. “She’ll lose hers in the spring and I’ll get mine back. Then I’ll have to deal with tree branches.” He laughed and you couldn’t help but laugh too. There was a gentle, infectious quality to it.

You continued through the woods in silence. There was a soft rushing sound from somewhere nearby, and when you turned around a thicket of trees, you could see a large, rushing river falling over a small cliff into a pool below. The tour was separated from it by a short, but sheer drop.

“Wow.” The overhanging branches and snow made it look almost like a fairytale. Lissa started loudly explaining something to the group, but you moved a little closer to the water’s edge and peered into it. Elias stepped up behind you, one hand out to catch you if you fell.

“Careful,” he said. “I don’t want to have to jump in after you.”

“I’ve got good balance,” you replied. Elias stepped back and reached into the pocket of his vest. He removed something small and silver that sat in the palm of his hand.

“Here.” He passed it to you and you got a better look at it. It was a tiny silver boat, made out of some flimsy silver material. It felt like you could have crushed it by simply closing your fist over it, but it was so sweet and charming, you certainly didn’t want to. “It’s supposed to be a couples tradition here,” he said, “but it’s something you could do on your own.” He pointed down to the pool. “A couple carries their boat down to the pool and makes a wish for their future as they set it down. Supposedly if it sinks, the wish will fail, but if it floats, the wish will come true.”

“That’s a silly tradition,” you said. Elias’ ears drooped and he frowned at you.

“It’s a bit of a cliché, sure, but I like it.” There was hurt in his voice and you hurried to clarify.

“No, no, I was just thinking that the boats are going to sink eventually. They’re not going to float forever.”

“Oh. Well, when we come back this way, we’ll fish them back out. Each couple has a different color boat, so that’s how we tell them apart. If they’re still floating, then you wish will come true.” He led you down to a small dip where you could reach out and put the boat on the water. It wobbled for a moment, then floated out to circle the middle of the pond. “It looks good,” Elias said as it bobbed out into the water. “What did you wish for?”

“For my ex to die in a horrible accident,” you replied. Elias’ mouth dropped open before his expression split into an enormous, almost feral, grin.

“Really?” he said, equal parts incredulous and impressed. You snorted at his expression.

“No, not really. I wished for a good vacation.”

“Oh,” said Elias, faintly disappointed. You wondered if he would have enjoyed the revenge-by-proxy.

“You don’t really want to be involved in someone’s horrible death, do you?” you asked. Elias shrugged.

“I suppose not.” He guided you out of the way as the rest of the group marched to the water. “At the very least, I think I can help with your other wish.”

“You’ve been pretty good so far,” you said. “You were right. It’s nice out here. Really peaceful.”

A strange look crossed Elias’ face for a moment. “Hold on a second,” he said and he trotted over to his sister. They spoke for a moment, Elias making pleading hand gestures all the while. Eventually, she sighed and nodded. Elias beamed and trotted back to your side.

“Follow me,” he said and he started to trot away from the rest of the group. You hesitated, then walked after him. He was trotting quickly enough that you had to jog to keep up.

“Where are we going?” you asked. He slowed a little, but his trot was still energetic, hooves lifting high above the snow.

“The rest of the tour doesn’t show too much. It’s just a bunch of couples’ events throughout the forest. But there’s a part of the forest that most tours don’t get to see.” He hopped over a fallen log and offered you an arm as you climbed over it. “It’s a bit of a hike, though. Are you up for it?”

“Sure,” you said. He nodded and his pace quickened a little as you continued into the forest.

Sunlight sparkled against the ice as you continued through the woods, illuminating a bright path for you to follow. The path you were following didn’t seem to get much use, as it was largely obscured by branches and debris, but Elias seemed to know exactly where he was going. He loped on ahead of you, making sure you were still following behind every few minutes. As you traveled through the forest, you noticed that the white, green, and brown of the woods was being interrupted by splashes of crimson red. The red became more and more common until the ground was littered with it. The red was flowers, you realized. Poinsettias, you thought.

Elias slowed down and you realized that the trees had grown taller and larger, so that their branches created a sort of canopy. The light was dimmer, though the little beams that filtered through the branches sent the ice on the ground glittering like diamonds. The poinsettias were everywhere, blanketing much of the ground in red. You stopped, but Elias continued on. “This isn’t even the best part,” he said when he saw you gaping at the flower carpeting of the ground.

He led you on a little further, hooves crunching on the flowers until there was a clacking noise as he stepped forward again. You stopped, but he continued forward, hooves clicking over the ground. At a closer look, you could see why. He was no longer stepping on flowers, but instead on a sheet of ice that covered the flowers. As you gaped in amazement, Elias turned around and smiled at you.

“Come on,” he said, offering a hand. “If it will hold me, it will certainly hold you.”

You reached out and took his hand. It was smooth and warm against your own. Elias tugged you forward and you took a tentative step onto the ice.

Your feet skidded and you had to lean on him, which ended up pushing both of you back from the shore. Elias was surprisingly steady on his hooves; you had thought he would have been skidding all over the place, but he was perfectly sure. “Are you okay?” he asked as you eased your weight off him.

“I’ve been ice skating before,” you said. You took a few steps to make sure your feet were under you, then pushed off into a glide. Elias watched admiringly as you went in a slow circle around him. “See?”

“Mmhm,” he nodded. He continued stepping delicately across the ice. You drifted into a glide next to him.

“What are we going to see?” you asked. Elias glided to a stop and pointed toward the edge of the pond. The flowers continued out of the water and up around the base of an enormous pine tree. When you looked more closely, you saw that the entire thing seemed to be shimmering faintly.

“It’s the oldest tree in the forest,” he said. “There’s a legend that says that as long as it stands, this area will always be prosperous.”

“That’s a nice legend,” you said. Elias continued forward and pawed at the base of the tree with a front hoof. After a moment, he pulled up a flower, a smaller one, and trotted up to you. He gestured for you to hold still and swept some of your hair out of your face before tucking the flower into it.

“There. The flowers are supposed to be part of the blessing. If you have one, then your life will be prosperous as well.” He dropped his hands and smiled. “It looks lovely on you.”

You could feel your face heating up, and not just from the cold. “Thank you.” He smiled.

“That’s why the symbol of the lodge is a poinsettia. It means prosperity,” he said. “And good fortune.”

“It’s beautiful here,” you said. “Thank you for taking me.” It was hard to put the amount of gratitude you felt into your voice, but you tried.

“It’s what I would have wanted someone to do for me when my girlfriend left me,” he said in a quieter voice.

“She was an idiot,” you said loudly. “You’ve been nothing but sweet. I can’t imagine having someone as great as you and letting them go.”

A splash of darker color crossed his face and he scuffed his hooves against the flowers. “You’ve been wonderful too,” he said. “Your boyfriend must have been a very stupid man to let you go.”

You grinned at him a little stupidly until a cold wind whipped through and both of you shivered. “Ugh,” he said. “We should probably head back to the lodge.” He trotted back to the pond and took a particularly large leap onto the ice.

The instant his hooves hit the ice, there was a thunderous crack. His eyes went wide and he stumbled, almost falling. His hooves scrambled, skidding out from under him. After a flurry of desperate motion, he managed to crawl back up onto the bank, panting in terror.

You ran toward him and helped pull him away from the ice. There was a deep groaning noise and a series of cracks so loud they almost made the ground shake. White cracks splintered across the surface of the ice. Within moments, water was seeping across the ice. A few of the smaller floes went under.

Elias trotted to the edge and poked at one of the larger ice pieces with a hoof. It bobbed, the edge sinking under the water for a moment. He retreated back to your side, frowning.

“How did you break the ice?’ you said. “It was steady when we walked across it before.”

“I must have landed on a weak point too hard and it fractured,” Elias said. His ears flicked, pinning back against his head. You looked around the edges of the pond. It wasn’t too wide across, but it merged with a river on either side. You couldn’t walk around it.

“Is there a bridge somewhere?” you asked. “We could walk down a little ways and cross there.”

“Not for a long way down. No one comes down here and we cross using the ice in the winter and wading in the summer. It’s too cold to wade across now.” Elias paced the edge of the shore for a moment, then nodded and knelt down. “Get on.”

“What?” You hadn’t met many centaurs before, but all the ones you had met had been very touchy about people riding them. They usually considered it degrading.

“Get on.” Elias offered you a hand and, after a second, you took it. You settled on his back. The fur was slightly coarse, but under it, you could feel thick fluff. Elias stood up again, wobbling slightly as he adjusted to your weight. “You comfortable?” he asked.

“Yes,” you said. “What are we going to do?”

Elias turned his head enough so that you could see him smirk, then he turned forward again, expression focused. He backed up a few feet and pawed at the ground with a hoof. Something clicked in your mind. “Wait. You’re not going to-”

He took off, running full tilt toward the edge of the pond. You automatically ducked down and seized the bell harness around his waist.

He pushed off the ground with enough force that your teeth clicked together. There was a moment of weightlessness, then a bone-shaking thud as you hit the ground on the other side of the pond. Elias trotted a few feet. You could feel his legs shaking slightly and you scrambled to get off him before he could even kneel down again.

“I’m all right,” he said. “I wasn’t sure that was going to work.” He let out a shaking sigh of relief. “I’m glad it did.”

“Me too,” you said. You leaned on him as he clung to you, both of you swaying and giggling in relief. Elias turned and looked back at the pond. The perfect image of underwater poinsettias was fractured by the chunks of ice floating over the water.

“I hope no one’s too pissed I broke the ice,” he said. “It’ll be harder to get across if anyone wants to visit the shrine.”

“It’s not like it’s urgent, is it?” you said. Elias shrugged.

“Sometimes people go there if they want a lucky break. Supposedly it’ll give you a boost of fortune.”

“What happened didn’t feel very lucky,” you said as you looked down at the broken pond.

Elias snorted quietly. “You can ask for luck, but you never know what kind you’ll get,” he said. “Though my grandma always says that sometimes things that look like bad luck are just good luck in disguise.” He shrugged again, smiling at you. “We’ll see, I suppose.”

You couldn’t help but smile back. Despite the chill, you felt pleasantly warm all of a sudden. “We’ll see.”

He took a few steps forward in the snow, then turned back to you. “Do you want to ride on my back again?”

If you had been surprised before, you were utterly astonished at that remark. “Are you sure?”

“It’ll be faster,” he said. “And it’ll be warmer than if you were just walking next to me.” Before you could say anything else, Elias knelt in the snow and looked toward you. “Come on.”

You carefully straddled him again and he stood again. After making sure you were holding on again, he took off running.

His pace was steady and even when running over the debris-filled forest floor. You could feel his muscles working under you in a smooth, regular motion, especially where your hands rested on his waist.

As you approached the pool where you’d originally split up from the rest of the group, Elias slowed down. “Want to see if the boat’s still floating?” he asked. He knelt to allow you off his back and you approached the water together.

The rest of the group’s boats were still there. A few of them were visible at the bottom of the pool. Yours, however, was still circling aimlessly around the center of the pond. With a bit of effort, you managed to snag the boat between your fingers and pull it out.

“Your wish will come true,” Elias said as you returned to him with the boat.

“I think it already did,” you said. “Thank you.” Elias beamed.

“You’re very welcome,” he said. “I’m glad I was able to help.”

A short walk later and you were in the main room of the lodge. Elias had produced two large mugs of hot chocolate and you were sitting in front of the fire.

“Are you feeling less upset about your ex?” he asked tentatively. You nodded.

“I don’t know what I even saw in that ass,” you said. “Thinking about it, he did a lot of stuff like this. Always bailing on me whenever I needed him and then expecting me to show up whenever he needed anything. I think I just didn’t want to believe it.”

“At least you’re over and done with him now,” Elias said. “You can move on.”

“Mm,” you agreed. Elias shifted his legs under him and his ears twitched slightly. You could feel his gaze moving to you, then moving away again. He cleared his throat and spoke.

“I was going to ask if you were still wanting to continue with the scheduled activities tomorrow,” he asked. “They are very couple-aligned activities.”

“I don’t know. Today wasn’t so bad. But I wasn’t with the group much anyway,” you said.

I have the day off tomorrow,” Elias said. “If you aren’t interested in staying here, the town is wonderful this time of year. You could come in with me and I could show you around.”

You looked sideways at him. “Are you asking me out on a date?”

His cheeks pinked significantly, but his voice was steady as he responded. “Well… not exactly. I’m not interested in being a rebound. But I do like you. I wouldn’t be opposed to waiting for a while and… keeping the option open?”

You smiled at him. “I like that idea.” You absently let your hand fall through his hair. It was surprisingly soft. He leaned into your touch. The fire crackled warmly and you felt quite at peace. You lifted your gaze to the poinsettias that lined the ceiling.

“I don’t know if you had anything to do with this,” you offered to the supposed spirit of the forest, “but thank you.”

There was no response but a gentle breeze outside. The poinsettia seemed to gleam a slightly brighter shade of red in the firelight.

[fuwafuwamedb]

The King’s Dumu Lugal (Hakuno, Caster Gilgamesh, Gudako)

A king was only as good as his kingdom and the management of his world therein.

A great king could understand the pieces on the board before him. He could understand how people were and what motivated them. He could understand what he needed to do and how he needed to proceed to build up the walls around himself. He knew when to be lenient. He knew when to push someone forward.

Kings could push through pet peeves. He could find the way to work around any flaws he possessed.

“My king.”

Caster paused from the screens before him, glancing back at the woman nearby.

Ah, his saving grace.

She had singlehandedly applied a Sumerian dictionary to the computer system, making all of this possible. She had spent hours upon hours on this system, building it up bit by bit until he had found that he could enjoy the full benefits of the Chaldean computers through a Sumerian filter. In return, Gudako and the others could see the work he did and make use of his decisions.

His chestnut-haired savior. His whiskey eyed genius.

Even more astounding to him was the fact that she had asked for nothing in return.

He had gone to her chambers, knocking upon her door and finding it only opening enough to let him see the large sitting room a bit and the hallways that went further back from this door. She had looked up at him and told him that servants were not permitted in her space when he asked to enter.

When he offered to return her great deeds, she’d told him she merely wanted to have the opportunity to help him.

“Then I shall have you remain at my side.”

She remained…

“I brought dinner for you,” she told him, holding up the soup and the vegetables that rested upon the tray she held.

“Are you going to keep me company this evening?”

He’d noticed that she would gaze upon him at times. He was no fool. Those brown eyes would linger on him for several moments when he was working. She would fidget with her hands at other times. Sometimes, he would even see her bite her lip or have her gaze turn so somber.

What is it that you think about when you look at me?

He desired greatly the chance to ask such a question, but she eluded him. They may have been alone, but the work he did with fine tuning Chaldea and improving the technologies with the aid of Da Vinci took precedence over his opportunities to speak to Hakuno.

That and-

“I have things to attend to.”

She often had things to attend to, he had noted. While she would linger near him, remain at his side and coax him into a few minutes of sleep to keep death from his door; she would always have to leave him. It was troublesome to hear time and time again.

There she turned though, after setting down his tray. The skirts of her dress were sashaying around her hips, her hair swaying here and there as she went.

It reminded him of his dream the other night.

Caster closed his eyes, turning his attention back to his food after she left him.

The help was much appreciated.

He would denounce her for her efforts to assist him. He wouldn’t criticize her efforts to remain both helpful and distance.

It was different from Siduri though.

Siduri had a natural distance between them. She had made her intent clear and she held no airs about her that said that she wished to close the distance between them.

Hakuno…

Hakuno had all those airs.

She had those thick lashes that she could look over at him from underneath. She had those sweet lips that moved in a way that beckoned his eyes. She had that collarbone, bereft of all markings, begging for his lips to cover in bitemarks and bruises.

When she would reach around him, all he could see were dainty hands that would look remarkably fragile to his eyes.

His hands in return would feel inclined to reach forward to grab her. His mind will fill with the images of stripping the dresses from her body. He longed to press her to his desk and undo the zipper of her dress with his hands of his mouth. He longed to kiss every inch that that dress revealed to his eyes.

But he was a king and a man of incredible restraint. He held himself back… despite the glimmer in her eyes that said he could go ahead. He stopped himself despite the way her body seemed to lean closer and closer to him.

He couldn’t eat tonight.

Why is her area of the facility off limits?

Why did she know Sumerian?

Why did he find himself thinking about her so often?

Gudako had given him no help, but her gaze put him into a mental spin as well. At his few questions he’d thought to ask, the woman had hesitated. She’d looked to Mash and quickly patched together tangent after tangent.

He moved from his desk, thinking about this more.

It was high time for some answers. He wanted to know what it was that made Hakuno so mysterious. He wanted to know the truth.

No more somber looks.

No more subject changes.

“I’ll be with Ur if you need me,” the woman could be heard saying to Gudako now.

Gilgamesh found himself pausing, pressing against the wall at the corner of the hallway adjoining the one the two women were in.

“I’ll pick up the tray in a bit,” Gudako promised.

He waited, watching Hakuno walk passed him, heading for her private part of the facility. He looked back, seeing Gudako looking towards the outdoors.

Ur?

Caster moved up behind his master, leaning in close as the woman enjoyed her pretty outdoor view.

“Who is Ur?”

The redhead paused, shivering a second before she spun around.

“Caster,” the woman dared to exclaim.

No, that wasn’t what he had asked. He moved to his full height, looking down his nose at her.

“Ur?”

Gudako hesitated.

“Who is Ur, Gudako?” he asked once more, softly.

She was incredibly lucky.

Despite his displeasure at repeating himself, he had now asked thrice about who this Ur was. She needed to stop wasting his time and begin to tell him what was going on.

“Ur is… well… He’s someone precious to Hakuno,” Gudako answered, albeit reluctantly. “…Has she still not told you about him?”

“Why would Hakuno need to tell me about him?”

“Because he’s your… Never mind.”

No, that was not an acceptable answer. He went to push the subject, but Mash called for her, joined by Ozymandias and Francis Drake.

Riders.

He pulled back, allowing the woman to escape him.

Hakuno would be letting Gudako come get the tray she had been carrying.

He could go himself to get it.

There were no other thoughts on his mind other than to invade her space. He could seek reconciliation after he had transgressed.

The door was unlocked for once.

Not that I come here often.

He slipped the door open, closing it quietly behind himself.

The room was more opulent than he had first thought. The rich golden and crimson banners showing lions and riches hung high on the walls. The furs and blankets adorning the couches and on the floor with wood blocks and hand sewn dolls were rather interesting.

Why would she have such childish toys here?

He settled onto the blanket, looking at the dolls.

They showed improving sewing technique, the careful stitching and repairing efforts showing on a few of the dolls.

What was this?

“Aaaabum.”

Gilgamesh paused at the sound of the voice nearby. He looked up, turning his gaze away from the toys to look at the small figure crawling to sit near him.

The red robes around his shoulders were adorned with golden thread and black accent. The golden hair gleamed proudly from the top of his head.

Those red eyes looked up at him excitedly, his ‘oof’ of a sound accompanied by his waving his hands for him as he sat close to him.

“Ah-bum!”

Caster could feel the reels and gears of his mind coming to a halt. He could feel his heart hammering away in his chest as he looked down at the young boy.

“Abum!”

More hand waving, the boy was intent on this.

Caster glanced at the hallway a moment before he moved a bit closer.

He leaned in close, brushing a hand through that head of blond hair and tilting that head up to look at him more.

The boy was small, perhaps three or four?

No, he was too small.

Maybe younger?

“Ur!” Hakuno’s voice was calling loudly for him. “Ur! It’s almost time for your bath! Come here!”

The toddler didn’t pay any heed to that, instead climbing onto his lap and sighing happily.

This was her secret? This was why no one is permitted in her chambers and why she vanishes so often?

It would make remarkable sense why she would leave him so often now. A youth needed time with their parents. They would need to have time to become accustomed to talking and walking. They needed guidance and entertainment.

As he looked down at the boy again, he could see him grab one of the dolls and begin chewing on its leg. Those red eyes looked up at him, glimmering as though looking up at the sun itself.

Who is his father?

Who… what a ludicrous joke to ask.

The room was adorned in Sumerian culture. His people’s teachings were all over this room from the tablets to the treated furs and blankets. The boy himself was adorned in Sumerian clothing. He bore a name that was like that of his time and people.

A poor city name choice, sure, but it still remained that he had a name that one of his people would bear if he had been born in their time.

What’s more, he bore a hair color of gold that no other could manage. He bore red eyes that looked like that of a snake, or the more divine of people in the universe. His mana was young and weak, but only because he had not begun using his magic quite yet. He possessed mana of the old world, not of this time and age’s mages.

And he called me Abum.

Caster leaned in close, pulling a spare fabric from his gates.

“Hello, my dumu lugal.”

His child prince, he had called him. Was that not what he was?

“Ur!”

Hakuno was still calling for him as Ur pressed his face against him and closed his eyes happily. There was a bit of food still on his face. Caster wiped at it lightly as he leaned against the couch nearby and watched the boy settling in to rest.

“Ur! Where are you? Ur!”

Running could be heard. He could hear the doors being pushed open nearby, but he didn’t dare move with his son resting on his lap.

His hand brushed through that mess of blond hair. His head leaned back against the couch a bit as he looked down at the child.

“Ur! Ur, this isn’t fair to ummum, where-“

Hakuno paused, coming into view.

Her robe was wrapped around herself haphazardly. Her hair was loose and hanging around her shoulders. At the sight of him, she froze, eyes widening.

“I came to speak with you, but it seems my son felt more suited to greet me,” Caster murmured to her gently. “Would you care to have a seat? There’s much for us to discuss with one another.”

For example, how he’d manage to bear a son with her.

[siribear]

she exhales and watches her breath cloud in front of her. northern winters are colder than she’s used to, even with her heavy coat and several layers. and out walks nate, finally, with her cup of hot coffee and his own cup of what she just knows is hot cocoa.

‘sorry,’ he says. ‘long line.’

she presses a kiss to his cold cheek. in her letter, she had said she hadn’t visited this coffee shop. too out of the way when the campus coffee shop is right there. his return letter was short, simple, gave them their second date when he took his next leave: i’ll take you there. promise.

the coffee is heaven. enough to drink for the taste instead of just the caffeine.

‘you were right. you were so right. i can’t believe i’ve been missing this - ’ she looks at him over her paper coffee cup. ‘ - nate?’

he’s pale. steam rises from his hot cocoa fallen on the sidewalk. when she holds her hand against his cheek, it’s even colder than before. his skin is ice under her fingers, frozen.

red spreads across his coat, onto her hands, and no one hears her as she screams -

-

‘ - nate!’

alice curls in on herself, nails clawing at the wooden floor under her. dogmeat whines, low, and pushes his head under her arm.

‘i’m okay, boy,’ she whispers, combing fingers through his fur. ‘just a nightmare.’ dogmeat whines again.

just a nightmare - until she hears a baby crying somewhere in the house. maybe a baby abernathy they tried to keep secret? alice can’t blame them. but when the crying continues and none of the family wakes, alice takes it upon herself to see to the noise. her canine companion isn’t happy about his sleep being interrupted, but he pads after her anyway.

instead of a baby, she finds the family cat clawing at the front door, crying to be let out. alice scoops the poor thing into her arms and sits on the nearby couch.

a shuffle from the back room announces lucy, who greets her around a yawn. ‘sorry, we’re used to her whining. maisie here is just used to being outside all the time, but we don’t let her go out at night. because, well - ’

‘absolutely too dangerous,’ alice finishes for her, scratching under maisie’s chin. her purrs vibrate through alice’s chest.

lucy watches the two of them for a moment. ‘are you really with the minutemen?’

maisie moves to curl up in lucy’s lap, who begins petting her absentmindedly.

‘i am.’

the younger girl leans toward her, pitches her voice low, and says, ‘do you think i could be one?’

alice blinks. ‘do you want to be one?’

‘yes! don’t get me wrong, i love my parents, but i want to travel. they barely let me go to diamond city anymore.’

she doesn’t want to mention mary. ‘when we rebuild the minutemen, the commonwealth will be safer. then maybe your parents will let you travel more.’

lucy frowns. ‘i know.’ she sighs as dramatically as she can for two in the morning with her parents sleeping in the other room. ‘i know. but, ugh. anyway. stay here.’ she stands up suddenly, spilling maisie onto the floor. the cat swishes its tail and moves to another room. lucy returns soon after, a folded piece of paper in hand. ‘you’ll go to diamond city long before i do, so can you do me a favor?’

‘another favor?’ alice grins. ‘how many caps is this one worth?’

‘five.’ lucy rolls her eyes and puts the paper in her hands. ‘can you make sure this reaches a guy named hawthorne? please? he’s a mercenary, you can’t miss him.’

‘oh, i see why you wanted to go to diamond city.’

the younger girl blushes in the dim moonlight. ‘you’re the only one i can trust with this.’

alice stops herself from ruffling the girl’s already mussed up hair. ‘i’ll take it to him.’ she unzips a pocket on her jacket and slips it inside. ‘and your secret is safe with me.’

without warning, lucy throws herself at alice, wrapping her up in a quick hug. ‘you are the coolest, i swear.’

‘sure, kid,’ she says, just to see her bristle. this time, she does ruffle her hair. ‘now - where did those raiders go that took your sister’s locket?’

lucy points the area out on her pipboy, and alice marks it on the map. the satellite station is only a few hours east of concord, but she isn’t sure what she’ll run into on the way there.

‘you aren’t leaving now, are you?’ lucy asks when alice makes to stand.

‘what? no. i enjoy sleeping in.’ alice makes a show of yawning.

‘okay.’ lucy stands. ‘i don’t believe you,’ she says, flat. then, ‘there’s some food and water by the door. i put it together when you went to sleep. good luck, alice.’ she returns to the back room, leaving alice with a wink.

true to her word, alice finally notices the small pile of supplies near the door. she sighs and watches the cloud dissipate before heading back to her own bed. dogmeat joins her for the extra hour of sleep she can manage, before she slips out of the house long before dawn.

-

dogmeat isn’t happy about being told to return to sanctuary. ‘everyone needs that food, boy,’ she tries to explain. to a dog. ‘the sooner the better.’ dogmeat shakes his head again, jostling the small pouch of seeds around his neck. ‘dogmeat,’ she tries again, voice stern.

finally, he gives her the dog-version of a grumble and separates from her and codsworth at red rocket.

‘ah, the open road again, mum,’ codsworth says as they turn left away from concord. ‘did you sleep well? my sensors say it’s just after four in the morning.’

alice pops open a can of water and downs half of it. ‘well enough. i’m counting on you, though, codsworth.’

‘have no fear, mum. together, we can tackle anything.’

she has to laugh at his optimism, but she finds herself truly smiling all the same.

-

together, they make their way to the satellite station olivia. it seems the whole commonwealth is still asleep. not even the mutated fauna bothers them as they walk the treeline, avoiding roads. codsworth hums a tune without a melody, just enough to fill the silence without making too much noise.

alice checks her pipboy to make sure they’re still heading the right direction, and makes a note about the quarry they pass by. just as she’s about to put the screen back to sleep, she notices a tab labeled radio.

she tunes in to the frequency for diamond city radio, surprised when music she knows from before warbles through the small speakers. ‘music survived,’ she whispers, listening as the ink spots croon on the station.

it makes the trip that much faster, and she smiles the whole way.

-

dawn breaks as she crouches behind a group of dead trees to spy on their location. ahead, a set of metal stairs leading to a lofted room; below that, a wooden shack; and a separate, concrete building with a raider dosing off in the window, their back to her.

‘flank them,’ alice whispers to codsworth, motioning for him to go to the opposite side of the fence. she waits until she sees his floating form across the way, then moves in.

the first raider she finds sleeping in the wooden shack. she slits his throat with his own knife. the second raider wakes enough to approach the shack, and alice presses herself against the wall. she watches codsworth float by the window and cleave the raider in two with the buzzsaw.

alice takes a deep breath and exhales.

no one else makes themselves known, and when they investigate the upper room, all they find is a bunch of scrap and a baseball bat. the scrap she stuffs in her bag for sturges to strip for parts. the bat she leaves.

inside the actual station doesn’t go near as smoothly. first: she barely avoids crossing a laser tripwire, disabling it and sighing at the electrical trap above her head. second: she and codsworth are noticed the moment they enter the larger room downstairs. third: one of the raiders has a minigun.

alice spends the majority of the firefight ducked behind large computer consoles, taking potshots as codsworth distracts the raiders with his flamethrower. two go down before they find her hiding spot, and then she’s pinned by minigun fire.

ironic.

bullets ping off the computer towers by her head. some chip away the metal, making way for others to take chunks out of her cover.

‘codsworth,’ alice calls. one eye swivels her direction. ‘cover me!’

‘right away, mum!’ he charges in, turning the flamethrower on the closest raider. she flails, pats the cloth of her armor, but codsworth doesn’t let up. alice moves closer, just in time to watch the raider’s skin go black and charred. dead.

‘you fucking metal fuck,’ growls the last raider with the minigun. codsworth rushes forward despite the gunfire.

‘i don’t bleed, you know,’ he taunts. but then his movement slows, and parts of his metal chassis are blown across the room from the force of the onslaught.

his buzzsaw slices the raider on the arm before she slams the barrel of the gun into him, sending him flying across the room.

‘god damnit. where did you go, little girl?’ the raider drops the minigun for a pistol, favoring her injured arm.

alice vaults the table she hit behind and uses her momentum to knock the raider off balance.

if you’re too close, use the butt of your gun like this -

she smashes the butt of her pistol into the raider’s face. more blood curls around her fingers as she looks up at alice. the raider raises her pistol to fire, but alice is quicker.

- just might save your life.

the sound of mechanical twitching carries her to codsworth.

‘codsworth, hun, you okay?’

‘r-r-right as r-rain, mum,’ he stutters. he can’t sound like he’s in pain, but she knows some kind of mechanism got knocked loose. she looks at the scattered pieces of metal across the floor. shot off, more like.

one robotic eye blinks at her.

‘can you... move?’

his hover jet sputters and lifts him off the ground for a second before he falls back to the floor.

‘i’m afraid not. b-b-but i know you’ll be just fine on your own, mum. brilliant work taking down that raider.’

‘you did most of the work,’ she mutters. then, ‘wait, what do you mean on my own?’

‘i d-d-don’t think i’ll be leaving this floor, miss alice.’

‘that wasn’t an option, codsworth. codsworth?’

his one eye closes, and he doesn’t respond.

[mustangshelby04]

Boston Boy - Chapter 7

A/N I’m going to start posting once or twice a week now. Give me time to work on the future chapters and make them great for you. But now, it’s time to meet the Allens!

Kate fidgeted in her seat, waiting for the few cars driving down the road to pass so she could cross and go down her street.  Chris was sitting in the passenger seat looking at his surroundings.  She lived kind of in the middle of nowhere.  There were woods surrounding the road they were about to drive down.  She slowed down near the fourth, well spaced out mailbox and pulled into the driveway there.  

The brick rancher sat in a large clearing.  Where the garage door used to be was a set of dark oak French doors with beautiful stained glass windows in the top half of each.  The main entrance to the house was a single door similar to the French doors at the top of a wide porch.  It was a wide dark oak and the stained glass was the entire middle of the door and on either side were long, thin stained glass windows.  There was a large picture window in the middle of the house with jewel blue and chocolate brown curtains covering it.

Peeking out from those curtains were two dogs that Chris recognized as Denali and Galway.  They were barking madly as Kate parked and turned the car off. “Home sweet home.” She said. “We’ll go in my doors here so we can get our bags in safely.” Chris collected his bag and grabbed Kate’s two bags as well.  She had her purse and carryon bag and was unlocking the French doors.

“These are pretty.” Chris said, admiring the doors.

“Thanks.  I actually picked them out.  And the front door.  It was a mother’s day present from me, my brother, and my step dad.”

“You’re the only car here.  Where is everyone?”

“Work, probably.  We got here earlier than planned.” Kate set her purse and carry on bag down on the leather recliner. “Well, this is my little garage apartment.” In the front was the recliner and a matching sofa set up in front of a 50” Samsung flat screen Smart TV.  The TV was surrounded by a custom TV center made up of two floor to ceiling bookshelves, a row of cubbies above the TV, and an entertainment center below the TV.  The bookshelves were stocked with all kinds of books, photo albums, and DVDs and BluRays.  The entertainment stand was neatly organized with a desktop computer CPU, a Playstation 4, a Direct TV box, and a charging cradle for the Playstation controllers.  Through the glass doors, he could see more DVDs and BluRays.  The cubbies above the TV held knick knacks, stuffed animals, and picture frames.

In the middle of the room were the two large, folding screens with famous landmarks from England, France, and Italy painted on them.  They extended from each wall, creating a wall of their own with a large gap in the middle that served as a doorway to the bedroom.  Between the screen and the TV center was a small refrigerator and a counter with a microwave.

Behind the screen on the left was Kate’s queen sized bed with her stuffed Thumper sitting in front of the pillows.  On the opposite wall from the bed behind the screen on the right was a large, custom closet set up that extended from floor to ceiling.  There were small, shallow drawers for jewelry and larger, deeper drawers for clothing on one side.  In the middle were two large doors that opened to the wardrobe.  On the other side were shelves for shoes.  On the top of it were cabinets for storing bags and other things.  A folding footstool sat between a small flight of stairs and the shelves so Kate could climb up and collect things from the top cabinets.

The small flight of stairs led to a short hallway with two doors, one straight ahead with a small doggy door and one to the right.  The one on the right was Kate’s bathroom.  It wasn’t large, but it had a nice floor to ceiling shower, a good-sized vanity and a toilet.  The door at the end of the hallway led into the main house.  To the left was a step down into a utility room where the washer and dryer was along with a door to the backyard.  To the right was the den with a fireplace and a custom built desk that extended across the far wall.  There was a large and a small archway on one wall.  The smaller archway led to the kitchen while the other led to the living room.  

They didn’t make it past the den, though, because Denali and Galway were on them.  They begged for love from Kate, rubbing against her and barking.  When they noticed Chris, they both abandoned Kate to get love from the stranger in their house.  Chris got down on his knees and played with them.  Kate watched them for a few seconds before she went to the dining room to see if she had any mail on the table.  A wall that stretched halfway across the house separated the kitchen from the living room.  The dining room sat at the end of the wall, connecting the kitchen and the living room.

A hallway led from the living room to the three bedrooms and the bathroom.  Her parents had the master bedroom, her old room, which was the second largest room, was now a guest room slash office, and her sister Janice’s room was the smallest room.  The bathroom was a large bathroom with a stand up shower in one corner and a large, deep Jacuzzi tub in the other corner.  There was a long vanity with two sinks and the toilet sat in a space between the vanity and the tub.

“Come on, guys!  Go outside.” Kate said to the dogs as she rifled through her mail.  The dogs ran ahead to the utility room and bolted out the door into the large, fenced in backyard as soon as she opened it.

“This place is nice.” Chris said behind her. “You grew up here?”

“Yeah.  We moved in my sophomore year of high school and haven’t left.” She gestured at the yard where the dogs were running. “This whole area was terrible.  Overgrown and there were tree stumps everywhere.  My step dad has really fixed the place up over the last fourteen years.  The next thing on his honey-do list is the kitchen.  Mom wants new cabinets and a new dishwasher along with a new refrigerator.  She’ll probably get a new sink and new countertops, too.  Complete overhaul.  Come on, Gally!” Her Boston terrier ran back in the house while Denali continued running around the backyard. “I don’t like to leave Gally out there.  There’s a bald eagle that’s tried to take off with her a few times.”

“Shit!”

Kate picked Gally up and the pooch settled in her owner’s arms cradled against her chest, trying furiously to lick Kate’s face. “I know it’s a felony, but I will kill that bird if it harms one piece of fur on my baby.” She kissed Gally’s nose and set her back down on the ground to follow her and Chris back into Kate’s room.  She flopped down on the bed and sighed. “I have missed this bed.” Gally climbed up the pet stairs on one side and marched up to the head of the bed, laying down on one of the pillows.  Kate watched her and shook her head. “Spoiled brat.”

Chris sat down on the bed and laid back. “Wow.  This bed is comfy.”

“I told you.  It’s definitely more comfortable than yours.”

“Well, I still can’t judge that.  I haven’t slept in it yet.  Or done anything strenuous to test it out.” He rolled up on his side and ran his hand over her ribs. “I mean, we’re alone right now….”

“Travelling doesn’t take it out of you?”

“Are you tired?”

“A little bit.”

“Too tired for….” Chris was cut off by Gally walking up and licking him on his nose.  Kate burst out laughing and Gally snuggled herself by Kate’s head.  Chris laughed and rubbed the Boston’s belly. “Spoiled brat is right.”

Kate pushed Gally towards the edge of the bed. “Go lay on the couch.” Gally hopped down and trotted over to the couch with a huff. “Am I too tired for what?”

Chris leaned down and kissed her deeply, running his hand up her shirt.  He was about to climb on top of her when a loud banging came from her front doors.  They both shot up, smacking their heads together in the process.  Gally started barking madly at the door, jumping up and down in front of it.  A moment later, just as they finished putting themselves together, Kate’s step-dad unlocked the front door and walked into her garage apartment.

“Katie!  You’re home early.” He said in his Southern drawl, petting Gally as she jumped up on the recliner to be loved on. “We weren’t expecting you until this evening.”

“Yeah.” Kate smiled at her step-father. “My flight was booked so we took an earlier flight together.”

“Who’s we?” He was looking Chris up and down.

“Papa, this is Chris.  Chris, this is my papa Bill.”

“The Boston boy.” Bill nodded, still looking highly suspicious of Chris. “We’ve heard a lot about you.  Mostly from her brother.”

“I’ve told you about him.” Kate insisted.  Bill just grunted. “Ok, papa, you’re very intimidating.  Good job.  Chris is intimidated, aren’t you Chris?”

“Yes.” Chris said.  He wasn’t entirely lying.

“You’ve done your fatherly duty, now be a normal human being for once in your life and be nice.”

“Where’s the fun in being a normal human being?” Bill asked.

“It’s completely underrated.  Try it sometime, you’ll see.”

Bill held his hand out to Chris and Chris shook it, wincing slightly at the pressure the older man was putting on. “I’ve been to prison before, son, and I’m not afraid to go back.  Don’t hurt my daughter.”

“Papa!  Ok, out.  Leave.  Goodbye.  I’ve got to get unpacked.” Kate hustled her step-father back out the door.  Gally followed him out, but he shooed her back inside.

“Call your mother and let her know you’ll be home for dinner…. With a guest.”

“Ok.  Love you.” Kate shut the door and shook her head, muttering to herself. “I am so sorry, Chris.”

Chris chuckled, petting Gally between the ears. “It’s ok.  Has he really been to prison?” Kate shot him a look that told him her step-father was dead serious about that one. “Oh shit.”

“Don’t worry.  Asshole McGhee is still walking this earth.  So, you stand a chance against my papa.” Asshole McGhee was the name she’d given her ex that had cheated on her and nearly ruined her life.

“Good to know.  Are you sure I shouldn’t get a hotel?”

“I’m sure.  It was part of the agreement with my parents when I paid to renovate the garage into an apartment that they stay out of my business.  This is my apartment, that’s their house.  He doesn’t usually just barge in like that.”

“Extenuating circumstances?”

“Like me meeting someone in Boston on a trip by myself and wanting to make sure I’m not dead or suddenly have a pimp?  Yeah.  That’s his definition of extenuating.”

“So, you paid to renovate this place?”

“Yeah.  I took out a small loan for it.  I just finished paying it off earlier this year.”

“What happens when you decide to move out?”

Kate shrugged. “They’ll probably add a small stove and rent it out for more than they’re charging me.”

“They charge you rent?”

“Well, sort of.  It’s kind of a roommate set up.  I pay a portion of all the bills.”

“Oh.  Sorry, I don’t mean to pry into your finances.”

“It’s ok.  I’m going to start unpacking.” She handed him the remote. “Make yourself comfy.”

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

Later that evening, Chris was watching a Golden Girls marathon while Kate was stretched out on the couch beside him with her head in his lap.  She’d fallen asleep and had stayed that way for almost two hours now.  He didn’t mind.  He happily stayed still and stroked her hair, running his fingers gently through the golden mass.  She hadn’t styled it, so her naturally wavy hair was on display.  He decided that he liked it better that way.

A knock at the door in the short hallway disturbed Gally’s sleeping form on the back of the couch.  She shot up, barking, and jumped down on Kate’s hip.  Kate yelped and curled into a little ball, glaring fiercely at her dog as she ran for the door.  She sat up, rubbing her hip, and looked around.

“Ugh, what time is it?”

“About 5:30.” Chris said.

“Wow, I was out.” Kate stood up and went over to answer the door.  It was her mother. “Sorry, I was asleep.  Gally, hush!  It’s just Granny.”

“You didn’t tell me you were coming home early.  I would’ve come home early, too.” Helena said, hugging her daughter tightly.

“I meant to call you, but I fell asleep.  But I’m glad we got here early so I could unpack.  Now I can show Chris around tomorrow.” Helena spotted Chris standing up from the couch and let out a startled noise. “Mom, this is….”

“You think I don’t recognize Captain America?”

“This is Chris.  Chris, this is my mom, Helena.”

“It’s really nice to meet you.” Chris said, shaking Helena’s hand. “Kat talks about you a lot.”

“She talks about you, a lot, too.” Helena replied.

“Mom!” Kate’s face was turning a deep pink.

“What?  You do.  How did I not know that your Boston boy was Chris Evans?”

“Quit being rude.  And you didn’t know because I didn’t tell you.  Also, you don’t pay attention to the internet.”

“I did see a story on Facebook yesterday about Chris Evans being at a game with some blonde girl.  I didn’t think for a second it was you.”

“Thanks.”

Helena shrugged. “The pictures weren’t that great and I can’t see great anyway.” She looked at Chris. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Chris smiled. “I know this isn’t the most orthodox thing on the planet, but I really do like your daughter.  A lot.  I hope that we can get to know each other and I can prove to you that I’ll make a good partner for her.”

Helena nodded. “You’re polite.  That’s good.  I won’t grill you too hard right now.  I think we’ll have time for that later if you’re spending the week.  Right now,” She looked at her daughter. “I don’t feel like cooking tonight.  Let’s go out somewhere.”

“Oh, I’m tired of eating out somewhere.” Kate said. “I’ll cook, if you want.”

“If you want to, but I’m not helping.”

“You say that every time and every time you wander into the kitchen and nitpick.”

Helena shrugged. “So what are you making?”

“I don’t know.  Dinner.” Kate turned to Chris. “Do you wanna run to the store with me and we can pick something out?”

“Sure.” Chris smiled. “That sounds great.”

“Ok.”

“Take your sister, please.” Helena said as she headed back for the main part of the house with Gally hot on her heels.

“What?  Why?”

“Because she needs to do something besides work and watch TV.”

“Mom, you have tomorrow off and you can make her do all the things then.  I am not spending twenty minutes combing the store trying to find her because she’s roamed off somewhere.  I just want to get the groceries and get back.”

“You’re being mean.”

“No.  I’m being practical.  If you want to eat dinner on time, then Jan stays here.”

“Fine.  Have it your way.” Helena disappeared into the hallway and the door shutting came a moment later.

“Sorry.” Kate turned back to Chris. “Jan has this thing where she roams off everywhere we go.  It’s a real pain in the ass when she does it at Target or Wal-Mart.  I once spent forty five minutes searching for her at Target.  And don’t get me started on taking her to the mall.”

Chris shrugged. “I didn’t think you were being mean.”

Kate grabbed her purse off the recliner and pulled her keys out. “Mom is always quick to defend Jan.  Especially from me.  Like I said, she still thinks I’m that misguided teen who was angry and took things out on my little sister.” She sighed as she opened the front door. “This week is going to be so much fun.”

“I think it will be.”

“You haven’t met Janice yet.”

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

Kate had decided on salmon steaks, rice, and a roasted vegetable medley for dinner.  She’d had to get a chicken breast for her sister because Jan refused to eat the salmon.  Chris sat in the living room talking with Kate’s parents while she cooked.  Jan wasn’t very engaged in the conversation.  Her eyes were glued to the TV as they usually were.  Gally was sitting in Chris’ lap demanding to be petted while he talked.  Denali would come over and nudge him for attention, but Gally would manage to get his hands back on her.

When dinner was about ready, Chris offered to set the table.  Kate directed him to where everything was located and he kissed her cheek every time he walked by.  Helena came in and checked on the food for about the dozenth time, nodding her approval at her daughter’s cooking skills.

“We got pie for dessert.” Chris announced as they sat down at the table. “Key lime.”

“It’s the kind you like, papa.” Kate added.

“I don’t like key lime.” Jan said.

“Then don’t eat it.”

“Kate.” Helena warned.

“What?  No one is forcing her to eat the pie.”

Helena rolled her eyes and looked at Chris. “Usually I would ask you what you do for a living, but that seems like a stupid question.”

“Why?” Bill asked.

“He’s Captain America.”

“Oh.”

“You liked ‘Snowpiercer’, papa.” Kate reminded him as she passed him the bowl of rice. “Remember?  You watched it a few months ago.”

“That’s the one on the train, right?”

“Yeah.” Chris said.

“So that was you, huh?  That was a good movie.”

“Thank you.”

“Mom was a theatre major in college.” Kate said to Chris. “I can’t remember if I told you that.”

“Yeah.  You mentioned it.” Chris looked at Helena. “What college did you go to?”

“Southern Illinois University.” Helena said. “They had a good theatre program.”

“Were you on stage a lot?”

“I liked the backstage work more, but I did a few plays.”

“I guess Kat gets her creative side from you?”

“She gets it from both her parents.  Her father is talented in his own right.” Bill snorted and Helena shot him a look as he scooped up a large helping of veggies.

“Mom won’t say bad things about my father.” Kate explained, a forkful of salmon on her way to her mouth. “She still thinks it’s wrong to speak badly of him in front of her kids.”

“I’ve got plenty of things to say if you want to hear them.” Bill said, shooting his daughter a mischievous glint.

“You’ll do no such thing, William Allen.” Helena said.

Chris looked over at Kate and she smiled slightly. “I took his last name after I turned eighteen.” She explained. “It used to be Loewenthal.”

“That’s a mouthful.” Chris said, seemingly demonstrating by shoveling a mouthful of rice into his mouth.

“Yeah.  People have never pronounced it right.”

“Her father wouldn’t sign the papers to let her change her name when she was younger.” Helena said. “She had to wait until she was old enough.

“Kat told me about everything you guys went through.  I’m really sorry that happened.”

“Thank you.  So you’ve seen some of Kate’s pictures?”

“Yes, ma’am.  She showed them to me in Boston.  They’re amazing.”

“She does have a good eye for it.  Katie’s always been creative.  From the figure skating and the dancing to the plays she did in high school and now the pictures.  She really loved to be on stage, though.  The military base near here has a playhouse and they put on ‘Cinderella’ last year.  She tried out for the lead role and was sure she wasn’t going to get it because she thought she was terrible at the audition.  She ended up playing Cinderella every weekend for about six weeks.”

“Do you remember when I did ‘Grease’ that one summer back home in Kentucky?”

“Was that when they condemned the theatre?”

“Yeah.” Kate looked at Chris. “The place was really old and needed to be torn down, but for some reason, they let the theatre company do ‘Grease’.  They had marks on the stage where it wasn’t a good idea to stand because you might fall through.  And a good portion of the marks we were supposed to hit were right over or right next to the bad marks.  The whole play was us hopping around and trying not to fall through the stage while singing.”

Chris laughed. “That must’ve been a sight.”

“I’ve got a video of it.” Helena said. “We converted our old VHS tapes to DVDs about a year ago.  I’ll have to dig some out for you.”

“I would love that.  Thank you very much, Mrs. Allen.”

“Oh, call me Helena.  I feel old when people call me missus.”

“It’s because you are old.” Bill said. “You’re two years older than me, Mr. Allen.”

“I admit that I’m old.  Catch up.”

Kate saw Chris smiling at her parents’ banter.  She took his hand under the table and he turned that smile on her. “Usually papa isn’t so reserved.  Give him a couple of days and he’ll be at the table in just his underwear and turning everything said into a sexual innuendo.”

“It’s a gift my husband has.” Helena said. “Some things he says you just sit there and wonder how he got from point A to point Sex.”

“He also wins the lottery a lot.  But only scratch offs.  Never the Power Ball or anything.”

“My luck doesn’t work with that.” Bill said. “I don’t know why.”

“Slot machines are goldmines for him, too.” Helena added. “We went to Las Vegas and left with more than we came with.  I saved money for the trip and he took twenty dollars of it and paid for the whole trip with that twenty.”

“Nice!” Chris said. “What’s your secret?”

“It’s no secret.” Kate said. “He has a golden horseshoe jammed up his ass.  Which I better inherit when you bite it, old man.”

“You’ve got to dig it out if you want it.” Bill retorted. “I’m not getting it for you.”

“I’ll just get the undertaker to haul it out.”

“He’ll probably steal it for himself.”

“Nope.  I’ll be there taking pictures.”

“What about your brother?  He’s first in line.”

“He makes six figures a year and I’m pretty sure he’s CIA.  He doesn’t need a golden horseshoe.”

“Your brother is CIA?” Chris asked.

“I think he is.”

“He’s not CIA.” Helena said.

“He’s secretive about where he goes.  He can’t talk about most aspects of his job.  And he knows too much about things I can’t explain how he knows about them.  He’s definitely CIA.”

“That’s kind of terrifying.” Chris said.

“Right!?  I’ve been trying to get him to fess up, but he swears he’s not.  I just say the brother doth protest too much.”

Chris looked over at Janice who had been quiet this whole time. “Janice, are you close with your brother?” Janice just shrugged.

“Don’t be rude, Janice.  Answer him.” Helena said.

“Not really.” Janice said.

Chris tried again. “Kat says that you like movies.  What are some of your favorites?”

“I don’t like superhero movies.”

“That’s not what he asked.” Bill snapped.

“Bill….” Helena started.

“Helena, there’s no reason for her to be so rude.”

Janice let out a loud huff and stood up from the table, storming off back to her bedroom and slamming the door.  Helena closed her eyes in frustration and Kate shook her head. “Sorry, Chris.” Kate said. “She’s uh…. Well, I told you she’s a handful.”

Helena started to get up, but Bill stopped her. “No.  Let her sulk.  We’ve got company and she doesn’t need to be out here if she’s going to act that way.” He looked over at Kate. “The food is delicious, baby.  I love it.”

“Thank you.” Kate said, happy that her step-dad had relieved the sudden tension. “I saw the recipe on Pinterest and wanted to try it.”

“You and your aunt.” Helena said. “You’re always on Pinterest.”

“Oh, like you’re not?” Kate shot back playfully. “Don’t forget I’m friends with you on there.  I’m pretty sure you have ninety eight percent of the recipes on Pinterest pinned to your food board.”

“Eighty two percent.” Helena said with a laugh. “There’s some on there that are just plain silly.”

“Kat said you learned to cook in France.” Chris said. “That’s really cool.”

“It was one of the many places I learned.” Helena said. “My brother was stationed in Germany and I spent the summer with him a couple of times.  I met this old French woman while visiting Paris and she invited me to come to her house because I loved food so much.  I ended up living with her for a month while she taught me all kinds of things about cooking and baking.”

“Helena has lived a remarkable life.” Bill said. “But her best moments are when she’s asleep.”

“Bill….”

“Has Katie told you that her mother sleep walks?”

“No.” Chris said.

“Here we go.” Helena said.

“Our dog Ireland used to sleep on my side of the bed and she would nudge my hand to get me to pet her in the middle of the night.  One night she nudged me and when I went to pet her, she wasn’t there.  I didn’t think much of it and went back to sleep, but she did it again.  So I opened my eyes to see her staring up past me with a weird look on her face.  I look over and Helena is standing spread eagle against the wall like she’s being patted down by the police.  I said, ‘Helena, what the hell are you doing?’  She didn’t even look at me.  She just said, ‘Never mind.  Go back to sleep.’” Chris started laughing and Bill joined in.

Helena rolled her eyes. “I think they’re making it all up.”

“No.  You’ve scared the shit out of me with your sleepwalking.” Kate insisted. “I woke up one night when I felt someone staring at me.  You know that creepy feeling you get?  Well, I opened my eyes and she was right over me.  When I said her name…. Mom, not her actual name…. She said, ‘Don’t fight the nuns.  They’re going to kill you.’  Then she just stood up straight and walked out.  I was scared to even move.” 

Chris’ hand was holding his chest as he laughed. “Oh my god!”

“I was just trying to protect my daughter.” Helena said.

“I’ve been terrified of nuns ever since.” Kate joked. “Thank god it didn’t happen when I was going to Catholic school.  That would’ve really fucked me up.”

“I don’t think Katie inherited that from me.”

“I didn’t.  I just got the insomnia and the restless legs.”

“I keep telling you to go to the doctor about that.”

“I don’t see how those sleep studies work.  I sleep bad enough as it is.  Hooking me up to a bunch of machines and filming me isn’t going to make me sleep better.  There’s no way the data is accurate.”

“My mom has RLS.” Chris said. “She hated the sleep study they did on her, but the medicine they gave her has helped.”

“Does it make her tired?” Helena asked.

“It knocks her right out.”

“Mine does, too.  Katie picks on me at night when we’re watching a TV show and I start falling asleep.”

“It’s to keep you from saying something in your sleep that will traumatize me.” Kate said.  She smiled as Chris and Bill started laughing.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

Chris crawled into the bed in just his underwear as Kate finished up in the bathroom.  They had stayed up kind of late watching home movies of Kate performing on stage and skating.  Watching her skating videos had given him an idea.  While Kate was at work Monday, he would have to look into making that idea come true.

Kate walked down the stairs and smiled at him. “That’s a good sight.”

“Hmm?” Chris asked, snuggling deeper into the bed.

“Chris Evans in my bed.  I guess Princess Aurora was right.” She climbed in next to him.

“What was she right about?”

Kate pointed at the little wooden sign hanging by the stairs.  It had the silhouette of Aurora dancing with Prince Phillip and in pretty scroll letters next to it, it said, “If you dream something more than once, it’s sure to come true.”  

Chris chuckled. “Well, we are comparable to Phillip and Aurora.  You said so yourself.”

Kate laughed. “Once upon a dream.”

Chris pulled her to him. “What did you dream about me doing in this bed?”

“Oh, a little of this and a little of that.”

He laughed. “You’re quoting the movie.”

“Of course I am.”

“I do love that movie.”

“Me too.”

“So, tell me.  What does dream Chris do that I need to live up to?”

“You really want to know?” 

“Oh, I really want to.” He nuzzled her just behind her ear, making her sudder.

“Well, in one dream he finds a pair of handcuffs that I own and uses those on me.”

“Kinky.  What about specifics?  What exactly does he do to you while he’s got you restrained?”

“Hmm…. There’s a lot of teasing with his mouth.  Sometimes he has a beard and sometimes he’s Steve Rogers clean.  I prefer the beard because it can tickle and scratch at the same time.”

Chris moved her hair away from her neck and started kissing her shoulder and neck. “What about with his hands?”

“Oh, he uses those too.  I’m pretty sure there’s not one inch of my skin that isn’t touched by him.”

He reached down as far as he could and ran his hand up her thigh, over her hip, and across her ribcage before cupping her breast as he bit down lightly on her shoulder. “What else?”

“Um….” It was getting hard for her to think clearly with his roaming hands and his erection pushing into her backside.  She could feel the slight movements against her as his hips pumped almost imperceptibly. “God…. Uh…. He spent a lot of time between my thighs.  Biting and sucking and licking…. Jesus, Chris, I can’t even think right now.”

Chris pulled her onto her back and moved over her, attaching his mouth to her right breast.  She let out a moan as one of his hands snaked down her stomach and dipped below her underwear.  He made an almost purring noise when he discovered how wet she was for him.  His fingers began to lightly swirl her clit, teasing her, as he moved his lips down her body.  Before he reached her thighs, he looked up and grinned.

“Hold onto the headboard.” He said, voice husky. “Don’t let go until I tell you.” She reached up and gripped two of the slats of the headboard.  

He smiled and went back to kissing, licking, and sucking his way around her thighs as he worked her underwear down her legs.  Once they were gone, he spread her legs out and rested them on his shoulders.  His tongue flicked out over her folds and she writhed under him.  He gently raked his nails on her hips as he gripped them to hold her still.  She held on tightly to the headboard as he sent bolts of pleasure throughout her body.  Just as she felt the first waves of her orgasm start, he pulled his mouth away.  She let out a squeak of disappointment.

“What happens next?” He asked, moving back up her body.

“Uh….” She shook her head, trying to clear the fog. “In that dream…. I don’t know.” He shot her a confused look. “I wake up before the next thing.”

“Well, I guess I’ll have to adlib.” He looked at her body appraisingly. “How much flexibility did you maintain from figure skating?”

“Guess you’ll just have to find out.” She smirked up at him and he chuckled.

“Oh, I intend to.” Chris sat up on his knees between her legs and reached behind him to grab her ankles.  

Instead of keeping them spread once they were in front of him, he held them together and braced them both on his left shoulder.  He leaned forward until her knees were touching her chest.  She moaned when he pushed deep inside of her, the angle making her feel full of him.  His pace was slow and steady, bordering on torturous.  Their grunts and moans were almost in sync with each other.  When he wanted to pick up the pace, he sat back up on his knees and spread her legs to either side of him, holding her knees against his ribs.  He picked up the pace and was pleased to see that she never let go of the headboard.

“I thought…. you were…. going to…. test…. my flex…. ability.” She said, between thrusts.

Chris grunted and pulled out of her, dropping her legs. “You can let go of the headboard now and get on all fours.” She did as he asked, moving slowly so he could enjoy the show.  Once she made it on all fours, he lifted her left leg up behind her and rested her shin on his shoulder.  He was impressed that she didn’t even flinch. “How far up can I push this leg?”

“Well, I used to be able to reach behind me and pull it up behind my head.  I don’t think it would go that far now, but try for a ninety-degree angle.”

He scooted closer and her leg went up, her toes pointing at the ceiling.  He had to lean back slightly to enter her from behind, but when he did, the sensations were incredible.  The angle was so different than anything he’d ever experienced before.  She’d never tried this position before, either.  They both couldn’t hold back the noises that escaped their lips.  He felt her flutter around him and then seize down on him suddenly.  She cried out into her pillows as he picked the pace up through her orgasm.  Her hands dug into the covers and she collapsed down off her hands to her elbows.  The new angle pulled him in deeper and soon she was coming again.  When the last of her second orgasm began to fade, he felt himself about to go.  She squeezed her pelvic muscles and he yelped, spilling himself inside her.

They laid on the bed staring at the ceiling and panting.  Both of them were covered in a fine sheen of sweat.  When they looked at each other, they both started laughing.  He pulled her to him and she laid her head on his chest.

“How’s your leg?” Chris asked.

“Stretched and ready to go.” She answered. “The other one is a little jealous.”

He patted her right leg. “Next time.”

Tag List:

@joannaliceevans-fanficblog @jamielea81 @southerngracela @kelbabyblue @introvertedmouse @tfandtws @sullyosully @deidrahouseofpain @lovinevans @ajosieface

[katwriting]

Fic: Sound of your Heart

celebrity AU // chapter 3

In which Alec suffers, and Magnus has a ball about it. Oh, and there’s a first date too. 

word count: 5.4k (13.1k total) // Read on AO3 (or continue reading below)

Magnus was woken by the persistent beeping of his alarm, and the sound of raindrops splattering against his window. Groaning, he rolled over onto his back and threw an arm across his eyes. It was far too early for the world to require him being a functioning member of society.  

He was just about to drift off to sleep, when there was the familiar sound of rustling blankets. Magnus felt the mattress dip and a warm body settle next to his own – followed by the sharp sting of claws digging into his stomach.

Magnus' eyes shot open as he yelped in pain. "Chairman! I told you to stop doing that!"

He grabbed Chairman and carefully set him down next to him on the duvet, trying to send him his strictest glare. When Chairman just huffed and curled up next to him, Magnus shrugged and snuggled into his cat's silky gray fur. He would be a strict cat dad some other time.  

Instead of scolding his cat, Magnus dared to throw another glance out the bedroom window. The clouds were a depressing gray and didn't seem like clearing up anytime soon.

Magnus ran his fingers through Chairman's fur. "You don't feel like getting out of the house, do you?"

The cat's purrs only grew louder.

Magnus sighed again and pulled the Chairman closer to his chest. "Me neither, dear."

They stayed like that for a little while, Magnus burrowed in his pillows and duvet, the Chairman snuggled up against his chest. Awful weather aside, Magnus felt at peace. It had been a few weeks since the end of his tour and aside from writing songs and meeting with his team here and there, life had been surprisingly quiet. Magnus had adored being on tour – playing at a different city every night, soaking up the excitement from the audience, listening to them his songs – but he never felt as much at peace as in his own Brooklyn apartment on a rainy day. He didn't like rain, actually he resented it, but there was just something about enjoying a day in while the rest of New York had to face the floods that put Magnus at ease.

He was just about to doze off again when the comfortable silence in his bedroom was interrupted by his phone beeping. Grumbling something unrecognizable, he reached over and grabbed it, hissing when the bright screen hurt his eyes. It was just far too early for people to expect him to be a functioning member of society yet.

However, when he checked the name and message that had come in, his mood brightened and he quickly opened the message.

Got almost run over by a bike this morning and by the time I was at work my clothes were drenched. I hate rainy days.

Magnus chuckled, starting to type out a reply. He was pretty sure it would earn him a very snarky reply, but it was worth the trouble.

About ten days had passed since Magnus had run into Alec at the coffee shop again and they had exchanged numbers. For his initial text to Alec, Magnus had gone all out – and regretted it the second he had hit sent. But thankfully Alec's humor wasn't limited to conversations happening in person and he had replied with just the same amount of wit, and the same sarcasm that had intrigued Magnus about him in the first place. They had been texting back and forth since then, and talking to Alec had become an unexpected, but not at all unpleasant, new part of Magnus' daily life.

They didn't talk every day, but sent each other messages here and there. In doing so, Magnus had learned a lot about Alec. Not just that his sister's wedding drove him crazy or that he was dangerously close to killing Aldertree from finance on sight the next time he saw him. But also what kind of music he was currently listening to or that he'd had an aversion to peanut butter for as long as he could remember. Magnus now knew that Alec didn't quite get the hype around Marvel movies or superheroes in general. He'd practiced archery as a kid, had even won a few competitions. But thanks to his job and just life in general getting the best of him, he had not been to an archery range in quite some time.

And most importantly,  he absolutely, entirely, with every fibre of his being despised rainy days.

It's like the universe is planning for me to have a shitty day and wants me to KNOW it does.

Magnus could almost hear Alec grumble the words while he was probably sitting in his office, clad in a semi-dry suit and loaded with misery.

Don't be dramatic. It's not that bad.

No. It's worse.

Magnus chuckled, then dropped his phone onto the mattress to look at his cat, who had left his position curled up next to Magnus to pad over to the other side of the bed where he could look out of the window. Chairman didn't look like he approved of the rain either – he almost looked like he was frowning.

Still grinning, Magnus grabbed his phone, snapped a picture and sent it to Alec.

I think you have an ally in your aversion against rainy days, Alexander.

Alec's reply took mere seconds.

FINALLY someone who understands me. Also, nobody calls me Alexander.                                                                                                                                    

You better get used to it, then.

With a soft laugh, he put his phone onto his nightstand, then stretched one more time before pushing the covers off his body and getting out of bed.

+++

"All I'm saying is that this could be a really nice opportunity for you to get back into the game after your break."

"And all I'm saying is that I'll think about it. That's all I can promise at the moment."

Sighing, Magnus grabbed his coffee and took a sip. He peered over the rim of his mug at Ragnor, who was sitting on a chair next to him and going through a folder that seemed to be about to burst.

"You know you could just use a computer, right? It would make the whole searching for that thing you scribbled onto a post it note you borrowed from an assistant and left somewhere in a conference room three floors upstairs a week ago thing a little easier," Magnus quipped, his lips already pulling into a smile. Ragnor was very much responsible for Magnus' success, but he was also a dear friend and just so easy to tease.

But before Ragnor could come up with an undoubtedly sarcastic reply, the glass door to his office opened and Catarina walked in, carrying a large cardboard box.

Taking in Magnus' smirk and her husband's exasperated features, she frowned. "What did I miss?"

"We're sending Magnus back to that lousy coffee shop he used to work at if he keeps getting on my nerves any longer," Ragnor grumbled, barely looking up from his notes.

Anybody else would have been intimidated by his behavior, but Magnus wasn't fooled. He had long accepted that Ragnor was just a natural grump and comments like that weren't to be taken seriously. Except if he was really pissed, but since Magnus' career had taken off, the number of times that Ragnor was genuinely angry at Magnus had declined significantly. Mostly because Magnus had actually started to listen to him. From time to time. When the mood struck.

Luckily Magnus knew that Ragnor would never take his antics personally. He had been an important mentor for Magnus since day one (and would not miss a single chance to tease him about that), but they both knew that underneath all their bickering lay a deep mutual respect and understanding for each other. It was part of what had made their both their working relationship and their friendship so strong since the beginning. The same applied to Catarina, even though Magnus and Ragnor's tendency to roast each other had tested her nerves in the past more often than not.

Almost as if she had heard Magnus' thoughts, Catarina took another stern look at them and let out a sigh. She took a seat next to Magnus on the couch and reached for his hand, her thumb mindlessly grazing over his skin as she took in Ragnor's discontent and Magnus' cheeky smirk.

"Magnus", she said, her voice infinitely kind and just a tiny bit scolding, "what did you do now?"

Magnus huffed out a laugh. "I didn't do anything. I just told your dear husband that I'm not really in the mood for a TV show appearance right now."

"More like that you're not in the mood for any TV shows anytime soon."

"It's not like I'm supposed to do any TV shows anytime soon," Magnus shot back. "A three months break from the public eye. That's what we agreed on."

Ragnor just opened his mouth to reply when Catarina cut in. "It is. And you're getting that time off, don't worry. But three months away from the public eye doesn't mean three months off work." She nodded towards the cardboard box she had brought with her. "Your new autograph photos came in and there's a lot of new fan mail too. Time to get to work, love."

Magnus flashed a smile at Ragnor. "I'm so sorry, dear friend, I believe we'll have to postpone this conversation. Not that I mind."

He then turned back towards Catarina. "Do you need me to start signing now?"

She shook her head. "Just make sure they are ready by the end of the week."

Magnus nodded. "Consider it done."

Signing some of the new autograph cards took a few hours that Magnus spent tucked away in a quiet meeting room in the Downworld Records headquarters. He managed to get a few hundred done and would have been faster if his friends weren't so terribly chatty. Catarina stopped by with coffee sometime in the afternoon, Elias from the reception desk paid him a visit and even Ragnor came to say hi at some point. Even Alec kept Magnus company, only through texts, but still.

Magnus kept signing until well into the afternoon, when his eyes were sore and his writs hurt. When he'd reached the point where he couldn't stand to look at his own face anymore, he decided to call it a day. He put the signed autograph cards back into the cardboard box, took the fan letters with him and made his way to the ground floor.

+++

Back at his apartment, Magnus fixed himself a glass of wine before sitting down on his living room carpet and taking out the letters Catarina had given to him. Reading fanmail was something he had always preferred to do in the privacy of his apartment. There was just something about these letters people sent him, something so personal that Magnus felt like taking his time was the only way to treat them right. He didn't read everything, of course. There was just too much coming in. But he tried. Lots of them were about how people felt inspired by Magnus, how he had inspired them to go after their dreams. Those always hit close to home, especially since it hadn't been so long ago that Magnus had been a struggling singer with a big dream himself. The least he could do, he felt, was give those people's words at least a fraction of the time and attention they had put into writing them.

A little while into reading the letters, Chairman joined Magnus in the living room and with his cat resting in his lap and his fans' moving stories to go through, the rest of the afternoon flew by. Magnus didn't even notice how much time had passed until, once again, the persistent ringtone of his phone drew him out of a particularly inspiring letter.

Without looking, he picked up, too busy with swallowing past the lump in his throat that the fans' story had left behind to check the caller ID. "Hello?", he said, voice slightly pressed. Emotional letters always got him.

"I swear to everything that is holy, I will kill Aldertree and not even try to make it look like an accident."

Magnus chuckled. "Hello to you too, Alexander."

"Oh, sorry. Yeah. Hi." Magnus heard some traffic noise in the background, and Alec cursing under his breath. "Anyway, I'm going to kill him."

Putting the letter aside, Magnus shooed the Chairman of his lap so he could sit up a little. "And why is that?"

"As if I would need a specific reason at this point," Alec scoffed before there was loud honking in the background and Magnus could hear him curse again, louder this time. "Great, now I stepped into a puddle too. I just got this suit dry cleaned, dammit! "

"Today is really not your day, huh?" Magnus said sympathetically, then took another sip of his wine.

Alec let out a sigh. "Yeah. You could say that."

"So. Aldertree?"

"I don't even know why I get angry about him at this point anymore. He's been sabotaging my work ever since I got promoted. I just try to ignore him most of the time, but he manages to get on my nerves every damn time. I just can't stand him, yet I can't do anything about it since I'm not running the company yet and he knows it. It's just so…frustrating."

A wave of sympathy rolled through Magnus. Before his career had taken off, and even now that he was where he always wanted to be, he'd had to deal with plenty of people who fit to that description. At least until he had learned which people were here to stay and which ones were only around as long as his fame was.

"Look, Alexander-"

Alec didn't let him finish. Or even properly start, for that matter. "You know what's fun?"

"I assume you're going to tell me in a second."

"Ha. Well, yeah.  Uh…what's fun is that I didn't even call you because of Aldertree, yet ended up ranting to you about him anyways."

Magnus huffed out a laugh. "I don't blame you. Awful people do tend to have that effect on us. Besides, I enjoy talking to you."

"Yeah, me too. The talking, I mean. I uh…I like that, too. That was kind of the point why I called in the first place."

"To talk to me?"

"No. Well, yeah, but also because I wanted to ask something."

Magnus chuckled. "I'm all ears."

"Look…I really enjoyed texting with you these past two weeks or so and I was kind of wondering if we uh…could hang out for real at some point?"

"Hang out? May I remind you, Alexander, that I don't just hang out with people." He swirled the wine in his glass. "But if this is your adorably dorky way of asking me out, please, go ahead."

Alec let out a slightly nervous laugh. "Yeah. That's kind of it. So, will you?"

"Will I what?"

"Stop being a tease, mostly. Also, go out on date with me?"

Magnus smiled and nodded, then remembered that Alec wouldn't exactly be able to hear that reaction. "I'd love to."

"Yeah?" Alec sounded genuinely surprised, like he hadn't expected Magnus' answer. "I mean, great! How does this Friday sound?"

Magnus smiled. "Friday sounds great. See you then?"

The relief in Alec's tone was impossible to miss. Magnus felt his heartbeat quicken at the realization. "Yeah. I'll see you then."

"Great! And Alexander?"

"Yeah?"

"Do me a favor and try not to kill Aldertree until then. I'm all for handcuffs, but I'd hate for our first date to be in prison."

Alec's gleeful laugh rung in Magnus' ears long after they had ended their call.

+++

"Magnus, hey!"

Looking up from his phone, Magnus turned around just to see Alec rushing towards him. "I'm sorry I'm late," Alec huffed, slightly out of breath and cheeks a little flushed. "I got held up at work by you know who and then came here as fast as I could."

Magnus smiled reassuringly, noting with a pleased feeling that Alec's gaze was raking up and down his attire. So the necklaces and open buttons had been a good idea after all.

"No problem, I just got here myself," he said, turning around towards the building that had definitely seen better days, but otherwise didn't give anything away about what awaited them behind the door. "So, Alexander. What exactly are we doing here?"

Alec grinned. "Let me guess – you googled the place, came up with nothing and it's been bugging you all week. Am I right?"

Magnus pursed his lips and raised a hand to scratch at the back of his neck. "I may or may not have been a little curious. Now, are you just going to keep making fun of me or are you actually going to tell me what we're doing tonight?"

Alec chuckled. "Impatient as always, I see." The chuckle turned into a full-blown laugh when Magnus just raised his eyebrows at him.

"Fine, let's stop keeping you in the dark. I actually didn't know this place existed until my sister told me about it about a week ago, and it's a bit of a long story, so why don't you just see for yourself?"

To Magnus' (not at all unpleasant) surprise, Alec underlined those words by gently putting a hand on Magnus' back and nudging him towards the entrance. And if Alec's hand rested there for just a little longer than strictly necessary, Magnus wasn't one to complain.

Magnus had gotten to know Alec a little better through their continuous texting over the past couple of days, and it didn't take even half an hour into their date for him to learn another three new things about him: He had a mediocre taste in style, a great taste in music and an excellent taste when it came to picking locations for a first date.

The initially dull looking building had turned out to be a cozy little art gallery that focused on all kinds of weird exhibits. Currently, they were showing an exhibit about the absolute worst the 80s and 90s had to offer in terms of music – also known as Magnus' secret guilty pleasure kind of era.

"I have to admit, Alexander, you do know how to pick an unexpected first date location," Magnus mused as he slowly walked through the exhibits' Pop and Rock of the 90s section after strolling through other sections for a while.

Alec, who had been doing a very poor job at hiding the fact that he'd been a little nervous about what Magnus might say about his first date idea, visibly relaxed. "You like it, then?"

Magnus beamed. "An exhibit about all the awful 90s music you will never hear me admit out loud I still love? I love this.

"Good, that makes one of us. Because I'm starting to wonder what on earth you find so fascinating about the 80s."

They had made it into a part of the exhibit where visitors got to witness some of the best of the 80s and 90s on their own. All they had to do was put on a pair of headphones and choose a song on one of the tablets that were mounted to the wall.

Magnus, who had already been busy picking up a pair of headphones, halted. He raised an eyebrow  at Alec. "I'll have you know that the 80s included musical legends such as Queen, Bon Jovi or Whitney Houston, Alexander."

"Yeah, I know that," Alec deadpanned, his tone being nowhere near serious. "I'm talking about the Cyndi Lauper and Wham! songs in here." He sounded like mentioning those artists alone personally offended him.

Magnus shrugged. "Collateral damage. There are so many better pieces to pick from. May I?", he asked, holding up the pair of headphones to Alec.

When Alec nodded, he slipped them over his ears and grabbed another pair for himself. Once they were both all set, Magnus turned towards the vast music selection and picked a song for the both of them.

As soon as the song started playing, Magnus couldn't help himself. He closed his eyes just as his body almost automatically started moving in tune with the music. Magnus had always had a hard time just sitting still when listening to a good song, especially when it was one of his personal favorites.

He kept going until a gentle tap on his shoulder dragged him out of the last bit of the song, just as the singer's voice started to fade off. When he opened his eyes, he realized that Alec had been watching him, leaning against the wall, headphones long forgotten and a gentle smirk on his lips.

"Don't You Forget About Me? Really, Magnus?"

Magnus shrugged. "That is 80s music as well, Alec. Not so bad after all, is it?"

Alec chuckled. "You sure know how to sell it."

Alec reached out and pulled the headphones off Magnus' head, setting them back onto the hook where they'd taken them from. "So what other not-so guilty musical pleasures are you hiding?"

Magnus laughed. "My dear Alexander, that is a story for a second date."

It took them another while to finish their stroll through the gallery. Most of it was due to Magnus, who could talk about music for hours and sure made use of that trait during their date. But Alec didn't seem to mind, he patiently listened to Magnus' stories and threw in an anecdote of his own here and there, proving that it hadn't been just talk when he'd said he had a bit of an interest in music as well.

After they had made it to the end, Alec went to retrieve their coats and met Magnus in the entrance hall. "So? Did you like the exhibit?

Magnus beamed at him as he reached for his jacket, his fingers brushing against Alec's as he took it. "I told you already, I loved this. Your lack of appreciation for guilty pleasure music isn't going to change that."

Alec smiled back at him, and this time it reached his eyes, too. He looked…hopeful, Magnus thought. "Great. I was actually kind of nervous since you know, first date usually means drinks or a movie or whatever. But I figured since you mentioned you're into 80s and 90s music, this might be up your alley."

"Definitely. Thanks for bringing me here. However, now that you mention it," Magnus said, glancing at his watch, "drinks don't sound so bad right now."

Alec grinned. "I was hoping you would say that. Come on, I know a place."

Alec led them to a bar not far from the gallery. Thanks to it being a Friday night, The Hunter's Moon was packed, but they managed to secure themselves a small table tucked away in the corner. The place wasn't big, yet buzzing with energy and excitement, the latter being due to the stage about 30 feet away from Alec and Magnus' table. For now, it was empty, but a microphone and guitar seemed just to be waiting for someone to start playing.

When Magnus asked Alec about the empty stage, Alec just smirked and muttered something about patience. "But you'll like it, promise."

He ended up being right. Alec had just taken off towards the bar to get their first round of drinks when a young woman walked on stage, waved to the audience and started tuning the guitar. There was a moment of excited silence before she started playing a rendition of James Bay's "Hold Back The River", singing along in a soft voice that slowly grew more powerful as the song went on. Magnus was fascinated immediately, so much that he almost didn't notice Alec had gotten back from the bar, drinks in hand.

Alec chuckled as he pushed Magnus' drink into his direction, their fingers brushing together briefly. "I assume you like this place?"

The woman had reached the first chorus and while her voice had been soft and melodic, she switched gears to a much more powerful tone as the song went on.

"Are you kidding? I could listen to her all day", Magnus said and laughed. "I haven't been to an open mic night in forever, but I'm just realizing what I've been missing out on."

Alec nodded and smiled. "This is one of my favorite places. It's a bit of a commute from my apartment, but the music makes it all worth it. I admire these people, actually. It takes courage to just walk up onto that stage and sing your heart out, not knowing if people are going to like it or not."

"That it does", Magnus mused, before realizing the words had actually slipped out. "I mean, I can imagine that it does. These people must put their heart and soul into these performances," he added quickly, just as the woman on stage put all her energy into the final few lines of the song.

Surveying Alec's expression carefully, Magnus kept an eye out for any signs that he had managed to blow his own cover. When Alec didn't show any signs of suspicion, Magnus breathed out and turned back towards the stage and grabbed his drink. Relieved, he raised his glass towards Alec. "Anyway. To us. Thanks for bringing me here, Alec."

Alec's gaze was warm when he looked at Magnus. "It's my absolute pleasure."

Magnus' martini clinked against Alec's beer bottle, and the sound made Magnus oddly hopeful. Things had been going well so far. Alec had been attentive and funny all night and there hadn't been a single moment of awkward silence. Even better – Magnus was having a genuinely good time.  He didn't quite trust the warm, comfortable feeling in his stomach just yet, but it seemed like they were ringing in a rather special kind of night.

And judging from Alec's soft smile and the warm expression in his eyes whenever he caught Magnus looking at him, Magnus wasn't the only one feeling that way.

+++

"…and that's why I am pretty sure that next time I go to Peru, the people at airport security won't be as tolerant as they were last time."

Magnus finished his little story with a smirk and a flourish and his free hand. The other one had been tucked into Alec's for the past couple of minutes. Alec had grabbed it to pull Magnus aside and out of the way of an approaching group of pedestrians. He hadn't made any attempts at letting go since, and Magnus was going to be damned if he was going to make him do so.

Magnus almost found it odd how well Alec and him got along even though it was only their first date. But then again, he couldn't bring himself to care.  Their evening had gone way too well for that. Throughout the night, Magnus had realized that all the funny texts and spontaneous phone calls in the world didn't even come close to spending time with Alec in person. Magnus had had a good feeling with Alec since they had first run into each other at the coffee shop, but the longer the evening went on, the more Magnus realized that his gut feeling about Alec had been right.

Talking to Alec, laughing with him, was easy, effortless. Alec's gaze was warm, his laugh contagious. He was still a lot more on the quiet side than Magnus, but the longer their date had gone on the more Alec had opened up. He'd stood a little closer, let his gaze rest on Magnus a little longer, nudged him here and there to underline his point while telling a story, or gently brushed his fingers against Magnus' as he reached for his drink. They had been small gestures, easy to miss, but Magnus had noticed anyway.

His own skeptical mind had blamed it on the cozy bar and the music in the background at first, but even now as they were strolling through the streets, Magnus felt as comfortable with Alec as he had been the entire night. That feeling had only grown stronger when Magnus' weird story from Peru, sometimes a bit of a dealbreaker on any first date, had made Alec only laugh with no signs of him being weirded out.

"You got yourself banned from an entire country. Why am I not surprised."

"What can I say, Alexander – I am a man of many talents."

He took another few steps on the sidewalk, then almost tripped over his own feet while trying to dodge a lamppost. It was only thanks to Alec's quick thinking and even quicker reflexes that Magnus didn't end up falling flat on his butt in the middle of the street.

Alec chuckled. "I suppose almost breaking your nose because you walked into a lamppost is one of those?"

"Fine, it wasn't one of my best moments."

"It's okay. It was actually pretty adorable."

"Adorable, huh?"

"Yeah," Alec mumbled, his hand brushing against Magnus' once again.

This time, Magnus didn’t think twice. In one swift move, he closed his own hand around Alec's, holding it in a light grasp, just tight enough to feel connected but still light enough for Alec to pull away if he so desired.

There was a pause, a beat of silence. Magnus breathed in, was about to pull his hand back, when the grip of Alec's hand suddenly tightened and he interlaced their fingers.

Magnus breathed out, his shoulders relaxing. He looked over to Alec, and caught him looking right back.

As their eyes caught, Alec's gaze drifted to their interlaced fingers and Magnus saw a smirk pulling at his lips. Alec bit his lip, then looked back up at Magnus. "Okay?"

Magnus let out a soft laugh, just barely audible, barely more than a breath. He returned Alec's smirk, his gaze reassuring. "Absolutely."

They kept walking for another while, for longer than it would have been strictly necessary to get to the next subway stop. Some of the time they spent talking, but most of it in comfortable silence. Magnus didn't mind either – he was more than okay with their little detours, as they meant he didn't have to say goodbye to Alec just yet.

Eventually though, they made it to the subway stop and came to a halt, turning towards each other. Magnus felt an odd sense of déjà-vu, similar to the last time they had seen each other and had been forced to say goodbye too early.

Judging from Alec's smirk, he'd had the same thought. "I guess this is where we part ways, again?"

Magnus chuckled. "I guess so."

Alec reached out for his other hand, his fingers softly grazing over Magnus' skin. "I had a really good time tonight."

Magnus squeezed Alec's hand gently. "So did I. Care for a second date sometime soon?"

Alec's gaze was as warm as the smiles he'd sent Magnus throughout the evening. "I'd love that."

Magnus beamed at Alec. He had just a couple of minutes left until he needed to catch his train, but he just couldn't bring himself to head off just now. The night had been too special. Instead, he stepped closer to Alec, closing almost all of the distance between them.

"Alright, Alexander," he muttered, voice barely above a whisper. "I'll see you soon then."

He took another half step closer and felt Alec's breath brush against his face. Pausing one more second, he waited if Alec would pull away. But just like earlier, when he had reached out for his hand, Alec didn't. So Magnus took one more half step to close the distance between them and dropped a kiss on the corner of Alec's mouth – just shy of his lips.

Squeezing his hands one more time, Magnus slowly backed away. He was just about to turn towards the subway station and head home when Alec's voice made him turn around once again.

"Magnus?"

"Yeah?"

"You call that a goodbye kiss?"

A sly smirk pulled on Magnus' lips, matching the one on Alec's face. "My, my Alexander. How brazen you are," Magnus mumbled. He stepped closer to Alec again and rested one hand on Alec's waist, the other on his face before leaning in again – for a proper kiss this time.

[kariachi]

Martin Mystery commission for @thenixkat!! A 10k rewrite of Hairier and Scarier, now featuring more Tonio and sorority girls!

Martin had, at first, been displeased with the Center work station that had been stowed away in his dorm as an alternative to giving him a raise. Diana had tried to convince him this was the better deal, but there was no way on the bright blue ball that was Earth he believed it. Even now, he would’ve preferred the extra five grand a year that had been tossed the others’ way. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t about to take full advantage.

“Check it out, Jav! The inside scoop on all of Torrington’s hottest hotties!”

Having a personal computer of any sort was handy. It gave him the opportunity to write stuff out and store it away without needing to take up physical space, which was especially useful when one was trying to gather as much information with which to impress girls as physically possible. With how important his studies of the paranormal, supernatural, and just magic in general were, there simply wasn’t enough space in his brain to remember all the little tidbits of information he managed to gather about, not just hotties, but also his friends and the occasional boy Tonio was into. And Center computers? Were all set and ready to make files on individuals, a program Martin was using with gleeful abandon.

He was very proud of himself for his work. Doubly so for how well he’d hidden it all. These files were all hidden in the folder he used to store his original fiction, which itself was labeled ‘Case Notes 4-73X-52K’. It was as secure as he could make it without arousing suspicion.

“Betty here,” he said as he showed off his work, “is president of the chick flick fan club, and guess who’s got two tickets to the premiere of Tears of a Teenage Beauty Queen?” He threw a smile at Java as he took out and waved said tickets, receiving a wide grin in return.

“Very smooth.”

“Thank you. Now,” he stowed the tickets back away and moved on to the next file, “meet Maria. Her locker is lined with posters of Rad Bradford- the world’s top male eyebrow model. You know, people say I have brows just like his.”

“If you say so.” It wasn’t the most encouraging response, but okay. Next file.

“And let’s not forget Louise- her favorite color is fuchsia, so wait until she sees me in this!” Martin pulled a floral print fuchsia shirt out of a bag by his chair, holding it up to himself. He had been warned against this color once before- against the whole pink-purple spectrum really- but he was not going to let the opinion of two sorority girls, given ages ago, stop him from getting a foot in with a hot girl. It wasn’t gonna happen.

“Nice shirt, for a limbo contest.” He also was not going to let his sister’s opinions stop him, but that was a vow going back several years. Java turned at Diana’s entrance with a smile. Martin ignored her, as was the proper brotherly way. Besides, he had other things to worry about- like ‘should I gun for a forth girl, just in case, given my track record’. It was a new technique he was trying, if going hard after one girl at a time wasn’t giving him results, maybe going less after more girls would give him more luck…

“Martin Mystery!” And she was going to sick her nose in it, of course. “You can’t use Center equipment for your own personal dating scams!” For a brief instant the smart-ass in him wanted to point out that he also sometimes used it to help Tonio get dates, though the thought was snuffed out quickly. Instead he just returned her glower.

“Why not? It’s not like anyone’s gonna find out.” He had this on lockdown, the only weak link in security was Diana herself and

And MOM’s face replaced Louise’s on the screen.

Fuck.

“I’m never quite sure,” she said as Martin felt every individual cell in his body try to back away, “whether you underestimate me or overestimate yourself, Martin.” She looked pissed. In a moment of panic Martin began trying to close the file, or bring up another file, or do anything really that would get that look off his screen. It didn’t work. Nothing worked. Diana, beside him, looked too damn smug, probably with the timing as much as anything. Java was edging away. MOM glared harder.

“Meet me in my office, Agent Mystery.”

~~~

Whoever oversaw maintenance for cell block C ought to have been taken out and shot. There was no way all of those cells could’ve gotten that dirty with regular cleaning, it just wasn’t physically possible. The doors, the walls, the floors, everything was covered in patches and puddles of muck and grime and other things that it made even Martin’s skin crawl to think about. And given the cleaning supplies at his feet, and the look MOM was giving him, he had the sinking suspicion this was all about to be his problem.

“Perhaps after cleaning the cages you’ll think twice about misusing Center equipment.”

“Ya know,” Martin replied, even as a voice in the back of his head told him he was pushing his luck, “why don’t I just go think about it now?” If anything MOM’s gaze got firmer.

“I can double the task if you feel like playing games, Martin.” It was no wonder she’d gotten the designation MOM, getting reprimanded by her was just as bad as by his own mother. For a moment he felt like he was six again, being stared down as he suggested donating all his clothes to charity so he could fit more comic books in his closet.

Was not a fun feeling.

“Sorry you got busted, dude,” Billy said, hovering to his side as MOM walked away. There was nothing Martin could do but sigh.

“A fair price to pay,” he said, not really feeling it, “MOM’s not gonna delete everything I had on there, is she?” He wasn’t holding out hope for his files, but… Billy gave him a smile and a pat on the shoulder.

“Your stories are safe and sound,” he said, and a bit of weight lifted off Martin’s spine, “but you can’t put them under false labels anymore.”

“When you say ‘can’t’-”

“Don’t or MOM will just take the whole workstation. And you still won’t get a raise.”

“Damnit.” Martin huffed. That was just his luck. “Well, at least I’ve got you to help out, right Billy?”

“Nope.” He was still smiling. That was not something you said to a guy who was about to clean all of this and still smile! “I’ve got my own work to do.” As everything from Martin’s shoulders to spirits sank like a busted freighter, Billy patted him again and hovered passed him towards the exit. “Have fun, Martin!”

That. Traitor.

Martin groaned and looked around at the cages again. Filthy was an understatement, even he managed to keep a cleaner space than this. His mom would’ve pulled out the flamethrower again if she’d seen the mess in front of him. And it was all on Martin to clean it, by himself, with the occupants of the cages still there. What was MOM trying to do, kill him?

“Well,” he said to himself as he spotted one- one- left empty and began to haul supplies to it, “might as well start with the easy cage.”

He didn’t have the authorization needed to open any of the cages in a single button press, and even MOM didn’t have the authorization to give him the authorization, so Martin was forced to type in his unique security password, plus the ‘punishment’ code- which explained why he was opening a cage and also barred him from opening any others until this one was shut and locked- followed by scanning his u-watch before the doors would open. The Center could afford overkill, but apparently not janitorial staff.

It was, he couldn’t help thinking, strange that this cell was as dirty as the rest of them despite having nothing in it. But then, if maintenance couldn’t be bothered to clean the cages that were in use, why would they touch the ones that weren’t. And he almost, almost, couldn’t blame them. These cages were well lit, but had nothing resembling an amenity outside a single bed that was, in all honesty, more like a bench than anything. No ventilation. No grates. This one in particular had a pile of shit off to one side and he was certain he was going to see more. There was just the bench, the tile floor, and a piece of paper taped to the back wall. It would’ve still been creepy and suffocating even without the mess.

Martin took a moment to check the piece of paper out, mostly because he wanted a distraction from his chore. It was an article! About him! About a werewolf capture he’d made what felt like ages ago. It even had a picture.

“Aw, someone was a fan.” Okay, that was a bright spot in his day. Kind of. If nothing else look at the angle in that photo, count on the guys from the Center’s weekly newsletter to get his good side. Still, something about the article rustled his jimmies, even as he settled in to start scrubbing some unidentifiable muck out of a back corner. There’d been something about that mission, it’d been a struggle and really unique and he found himself wracking his brain to remember why. It’d turned out to be a werewolf but there was something about it, it had been

A phantom. A phantom werewolf.

It’d been invisible.

Martin froze in his scrubbing, muscles going tense. He was alone, in a supposedly empty cage, that had an article on the wall about an invisible werewolf he’d put in here. His back was to the cage. He took a deep breath, moving slowly to place the rag he’d been using on the floor. The door was still open, he hadn’t seen a reason to close it, so. Best case scenario, nothing was in here, he was being paranoid. Next best case, it was asleep and he hadn’t woken it. Worst case, it was

There was a thud as something dropped from the ceiling.

Going with his first instinct, as soon as the werewolf hit the ground behind him Martin dove for the door, reeling back when it darted in front of him with a growl. Okay. Okay. It was between him and the door, all long limbs and dark fur and probably one hell of a grudge from the way it was growling.

“Hey there,” he said, plastering on the fakest smile he’d ever managed, “long time no see.” The growling got louder as it stalked closer. Martin tried to edge towards the door. “Look, clearly you don’t want me here, so how about I just leave, huh?”

To his utter lack of surprise, the werewolf did not step aside and let him walk out a free man. In a heartbeat it dove at him, knocking Martin to the ground as he clapped his hands around it’s wrists to hold back vicious claws and dodged away from snapping teeth inches from his nose. Fuck, the thing reeked as bad as it’s cage. Scrambling, he managed to get his feet planted against it’s belly and heaved, launching it across the cage and onto it’s back. Years of practice made it easy to jump to his feet, using the bench as a platform to bypass the monster as it recovered from the rough landing and flipped back over, just in time to grab his left arm as Martin bolted through the doors, setting off the automatic locking mechanism.

Oh god. Oh fuck. Oh shit.

Panic setting in, Martin grabbed his arm and began to heave against the werewolf’s grip, the machinery behind the plexiglass doors whirring as they applied gentle pressure along his arm where they’d have liked to be closing. A tiny piece of Martin’s brain took the time to be glad they weren’t just shutting anyway, taking the limb clean off, though that may have been safer than the position he was in now. It felt like an eternity, though probably it was only seconds, before the werewolf lost its grip and Martin fell back with a cry of pain, clutching his arm. As the door properly shut and sealed, he turned his attention from the still growling creature to his forearm. More specifically, to the four fresh, bloody gashes on it.

Fuck.

~~~

He didn’t finish his cleaning. They couldn’t have made him, not with a gun to his head. Martin Mystery was not a man prone to fear, but he was a man who had grown up with magic and been interested in the supernatural since he was old enough to focus his eyes and he was not, under any circumstances, going to let a wound from a werewolf fester. As soon as he’d come down from the adrenaline and shock of a sudden werewolf attack and the realization that he’d been scratched, Martin had shucked his shirt- it wasn’t like he didn’t have more- and used it to wrap his arm just long enough to flee back to Torrington.

Stowed safely away under his bed was what may well have been some of the most valuable stuff at Torrington. Most people, from just looking at the cache, would’ve laughed at the idea- a mangled disaster of a book, a handful of various stones, bundles of leaves, grasses, herbs, and a few little carved items of wood, bone, one of gemstone, still nothing fancy. But it was, more valuable than damn near anything. Nowhere else on school property were you going to find a higher concentration of magic and spell components than in the dark wood box cleverly hidden behind a take-out container and a pile of possibly-sentient-at-this-point socks.

It was this box that Martin dragged out as soon as he’d locked the door to his dorm and drawn the curtains. His spellbook, the sapphire frog, a few different herb bundles, and because he wasn’t quite stupid the first aid kit he’d promised his mother he’d keep somewhere accessible back when she’d first signed the paperwork for him to begin work at the Center. He had to have, somewhere in there, or in the myriad of other books on things so many people thought weren’t worth studying with the fervor he threw at them, there had to be some way to prevent werewolf curses settling in. There had to be.

Martin Mystery spent the next seven hours trying everything he possibly could before he finally went to bed.

Then he spent another four trying them all again.

~~~

Lunch the next day was… interesting.

Martin headed to meet Diana in the lunchroom, arm still aching from both the wound and his attempts to make sure there wasn’t any curse to it, only to be met with wide eyes and a noise somewhere between impressed and concerned.

“That must have been some punishment.”

“Yeah, it’s not easy being me, Di.” He stretched and clenched his fingers as he spoke. Tonio had seen him without the bandages that morning and expressed worry that it might be bad enough to screw with his movement, so now Martin was worried about it too despite himself. Maybe he should ask Diana about that? If anyone would know how deep a wound it would’ve had to be to cause problems it’d be her... He threw his gaze around the room as he considered the option- maybe he should get lunch first? Despite the breakfast Java had brought up when he hadn’t shown at the cafeteria, he felt like his stomach was gnawing on it-

Wait, stop, Betty was right there!

“Now if you’ll excuse me-” And he was gone, leaving his sister blinking in his dust as he all but teleported across the room to Betty’s table. Betty who didn’t look to happy to see him. Well, that was going to change soon enough. “Betty! Just the girl I was looking for.”

“Get lost, Martin.” He was not deterred. He was never deterred. He was hungry, but not deterred.

“Hey, is that any way to talk to someone who scored two tickets to tonight’s premiere of-” What was that smell? Oh god it smelled amazing- He looked down and was immediately enraptured by the contents of Betty’s plate. “Those look delish!” At no point had any cafeteria food, even Java’s, looked or smelled so wonderful as that chicken did to Martin in that moment, standing there with his stomach consuming itself like a black hole.

“You don’t mind if I take one of these, do you?” he asked, throwing up a smile as he snatched a wing off her plate, not even noticing the way he was practically draping himself over the plate or how Betty backed away. What he did notice was Luke straight lifting him off the ground by the back of his shirt.

“Dude,” the other boy said firmly, “some manners around my girlfriend!” Girlfriend? His? Between this new information and the fact there was chicken in his hand and not yet in his mouth Martin was at a bit of a loss.

“But, I’m just so hungry, I can’t help myself…” It wasn’t a lie, but it was still about to get him punched before Diana jumped in to save his life.

“Luke, wait!” It said something about how she was held at this school as compared to her brother that Martin was immediately set down, Diana automatically grabbing hold of him. “Martin’s just, part of a science experiment I’m running. He hasn’t eaten in three days, it’s making him loopier than normal, I’m so sorry.” She steered him away from the table as she spoke, Luke glaring after them, and Martin was grateful- in a confused way- until she reached for the food.

“Back off, Di, the wing is mine!” he growled as they briefly wrestled over the chicken, only for her to wrench the item out of his hands. Martin all but whimpered as she turned with a tense grin and replaced it on Betty’s plate, then took advantage of the continuing confusion of everybody involved to grab him by the undamaged arm and haul.

“Are you crazy?!” she growled under her breath as she lead the way to the door. “What’s wrong with you?!”

“I don’t know,” he replied, and it was the honest truth even if he wasn’t really paying attention to her. No, his eyes were on a new plate of chicken, hot and fresh and smelling delicious and going right passed them. “But I have to eat!”

Laser focused on the plate, Martin pulled out of his sister’s grasp, hardly noticing the world around him until after the crash, when he was on the floor next to Jessie, wrapped around her plate like a cat with a yarn mouse.

Floor chicken was awesome.

~~~

The floor chicken, alongside a plate of his own Diana grabbed him and the first of her plates, was thankfully enough to take the edge off Martin’s hunger. At least, enough of an edge that he could think about other things, like the slight itch that was leading him to rub his shin against the inside of his jeans or, more importantly, the fact that while Betty had been a bust he and Di shared an art class with Maria and they were currently working on figure drawing and anatomy.

So of course when Ms. Sachs called for a volunteer, Martin was immediately in motion. After all, as he pointed out with a gaze in Maria’s direction, he was a dead ringer for Rad Bradford. In fact, now that he was started-

“This pose,” he told Maria, who from her small jump clearly hadn’t been expecting him to suddenly be practically hanging off her easel, “is for you.” That’s it, Mystery. Who the man? You the man.

“Get your own girlfriend, loser.” Wait, what? When did Brody get there? And when had he started dating Maria?!

“Heh, sorry,” Martin replied, backing off sheepishly, “I didn’t know she was spoken for.” Because she hadn’t been three days ago! What the fuck? First Betty, now Maria? Thankfully he was broken from that spiral of confusion and poor timing by the sudden impact of a piece of charcoal against the back of his head. A quick turn to investigate revealed who else but Diana, ready with another piece to throw if he didn’t get his butt in gear.

“If you’re gonna pose, pose already,” she insisted, and though Martin rolled his eyes he went to do so. After all, there were still a few hot girls in the class- though sorority ties barred him from moving in on two of them- so he may as well peacock while he had the chance. He made his way to the stool in the center of the studio and struck a classic pose, brow twitching when Diana immediately laughed. “The Thinker? Really? How about something more believable?”

For a brief moment, his temper flared, and he seriously considered mooning her in front of the entire class. But, Taylor was to his right and would’ve nailed him with something heavier than a bit of charcoal if he did, so he instead settled on pulling down his lids, twisting his face into the most grotesque mask he could manage just long enough to get his friends to laugh and Diana to comment on its appropriateness before settling back into something more relaxed.

Things were fine like that for about ten minutes.

The problem with posing for a class, especially semi-impromptu posing, was that there was nothing to distract you but your own mind. Normally this wasn’t a problem for Martin, his imagination ran like an ostrich through the savannah, but today was just proving, difficult. He was still hungry enough for it to keep him from thinking, and the more he sat there the worse the itching from before seemed to become. Maybe if he’d had some music going or something he could’ve focused on that instead, but in a quiet room it was like it was getting worse and worse until finally he just, had to scratch. He tried to keep it low-key at first but…

“Stay still, Martin.” Diana was not alone in this request, the rest of the class either grumbling or looking at him in concern as his scratching got more intense.

“I can’t, I’m all itchy! The fuck, did I get fleas or something?” If that werewolf gave him fleas on top of everything he was quitting the Center and reading tarot for a living like his grandmother. The majority of the class picked up their easels and moved back a step, the rest descended into chuckles and open laughter as Martin scratched like he was trying to take skin off, having to actively stop himself from just gnawing on his own leg.

“Try doing your laundry once in a while!”

He could only fucking hope that was the problem.

~~~

At least during gym there were things to keep his mind off his hunger, and itching, and the fact he was starting to ache a little bit. Plus, Java was there and much less likely to judge him than his sister was. So Martin felt pretty good, not great at this point but pretty good, strolling in with his new shirt and the sort’ve confidence only he could manage. There were always cheerleaders nearby during his class, always, and lovely Louise was among them. Yes, he was down two out of three, but he still had a chance to get a date by the end of the day.

Little mind was paid to him as he walked by the rest of the mini-squad on his way to a curious Louise’s side, laying on the Mystery charm.

“So, Louise, I saw you admiring my shirt…” And immediately every one of them started giggling, which even he knew was never a good sign.

“I’ve just never seen a guy wear fuchsia before…” At least Louise was smiling at him as she said it, that was progress, right? Right? Martin blinked, beginning to second guess this decision- maybe he should’ve listened to Ivy- and smiled sheepishly at her. But before he could continue on chatting, a basketball slammed hard into his gut. He just barely caught it, flashing the girls an ‘I’m okay’ grin.

“My girl has better things to do than chat it up with you, Mystery.” And Martin heard nothing beyond that. Chip? Louise was dating Chip? Number one, since when? All of these girls had been single last he’d heard, where the fuck were these relationships coming from? Number two, why? He threw a confused look at Lil, two cheerleaders down the line. She responded with nothing but a shrug and a grimace that clearly communicated how much she didn’t approve of the matter either.

“Mystery!” Oh, yeah, person talking. “You playing ball, or what?” Martin grinned at him, cutting around him, dribbling the ball.

“With my mad skills? Step aside!”

One downside to working with the Center was that he simply didn’t have the time to devote to things like sports, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t capable. He’d always been the athletic type, and his missions were often more than enough to keep him in shape even when he wasn’t doing proper sporty things. In fact he’d once been referred to as the ultimate geek-jock fusion, and he was more than happy to show off what he could do for an audience, any audience, but especially one including girls. Lil applauded him from the sidelines as he dribbled hard, fast, and in as ostentatious a manner as was physically possible, right until the moment he got an angle wrong and sent the ball directly into his ankle.

Chip didn’t even look at him as he fell over, just snatching up the ball with a curt “you’re skins”. Rude.

“You alive, Marty?” Lil asked as Martin got back to his feet, heading back their way even as the other cheerleaders chuckled over his tumble.

“Right as rain, Lils,” he said with a smile, “gonna take more than a vicious basketball attack to stop me.”

“We’ll keep that in mind.” He blew her a raspberry and shook his head- so mean, and to him, her good friend- as he turned his back to the lot and began to shuck his shirt.

He got most of the way there before he looked down and saw a sea of orange fuzz.

Eyes blowing wide, he slammed his shirt back on and looked around erratically, suddenly horrified someone might have seen the fur covering his chest. That hadn’t been there ten minutes ago when he’d gotten changed, it just hadn’t. This was bad, this was bad bad bad-

“Java!” He was so glad his friend worked his class, he needed the security of just, having him there, and clung one-handed to his arm. “Did you see that? Did anyone see that?” Martin scanned the room again. Cheerleaders were talking amongst themselves, didn’t seem to be paying him any mind. Other boys looked like they wouldn’t have noticed if he’d died on the court. And then Java, frowning slightly at him.

“See what, Martin?” Okay. Okay, nobody noticed. Alright, that was- He quickly darted a hand under his shirt to confirm that had happened. It had. Fuck. Martin took a deep breath and tried to relax. He could handle this. He could handle this.

“Look, Jav,” he said, throwing up a laughably fake smile, “I’m not feeling so well, can I sit this class out?” Java’s frown deepened in concern, but slowly he nodded.

“Go to nurse,” he said, and Martin nodded vigorously before bolting for the door.

~~~

Things were getting worse by the minute and the nurse was the last place he planned to go. He’d gotten to watch in real time as the fur overtook his legs as he changed back into his standard clothes. His nose was getting keener and keener, with every step it felt like, which didn’t help that his stomach was rumbling again, louder and fiercer than before. The itching was getting insane, everything ached, and the world was just, too damn loud. He could hear everything, from squirrels running around to other students talking under their breath as he stalked by with a growl building in his throat.

Martin was a good ninety-percent sure what was going on. He would’ve had to be stupid not to be, and no matter what his grades said Martin Mystery was not stupid. At least, not about things like this. Attacked by a werewolf? On the night before a full moon? (It was a full moon tonight, he knew, he was one of those people who kept track of that shit.) Being beset afterwards by intense hunger? Heightened senses? Sudden fur? A turtle could’ve followed that trail.

This wasn’t good. This really wasn’t good. What was he going to do? What could he do? He’d already tried everything! There was nothing he could do with magic to stop or fix this, and he wasn’t going to the Center for help, not after what he’d seen yesterday. He was going to have to

He stepped around a corner and just barely missed being hit by a ball being tossed between two other boys. Without missing a beat he twisted around, leaping through the air to catch it in his teeth, landing on all fours on the ground with a skid that made his palms hurt. Before what he’d just done could even clock with him, he was shaking the ball with a growl.

“Um, Mystery?” When he glanced up Todd was slowly kneeling down beside him, one hand hovering near his shoulder and the other gesturing somebody behind Martin away. “You okay dude?” No, no he wasn’t, but how precisely do you explain ‘I got scratched up by a werewolf yesterday and now this’ to a civilian? You couldn’t, not without the Center having to get you out of the psych ward afterwards. Instead of a proper answer his jaw tightened around the ball and a whimper forced itself out of his throat, making him flinch with just how bad this all was. Tentatively, Todd started petting his hair.

“Um, it’s alright? Look, I sent Marcus to find, somebody…” Oh this was just getting better and better, they’d probably track down a teacher, or Diana-

“Thanks, Todd, we were looking for him.” That wasn’t Diana. The figure that ran up alongside Marcus and dropped to his side was very much Lil, followed closely by Darcy. “Marty? Buddy? Can you give Todd his ball back, we can get you inside?” He bit back another whine and forced his jaws apart, the ball plopping out into Todd’s open hand.

“Sorry man,” Darcy said as the girls helped Martin to his feet, each with a firm grip on one arm. Todd shook his head.

“Don’t worry about it, I’ve had to wash worse than Martin-spit off this thing. Just, take care of him?” Their grips tightened.

“We plan to.”

~~~

“I call to order,” Sarah said, standing at the front of the meeting room, “this meeting of the Psi Psi Psi sorority and Tonio Antonelli to address the topic of- Martin Mystery, the fuck?”

This was a rare moment in which Martin did not want a crowd of girls looking at him. The entire sorority was there, plus Tonio- who they had hunted down specifically because he was the Senior Martin Specialist once he’d demanded nobody get Diana or Java involved. Java might have been safe, maybe, but if Diana figured this out she’d call MOM within four minutes. Fuck, the girls might call the Center if they found out.

“Is this a vampire thing? How worried should we be here?” Oh thank god. The vampire thing was old hat at this point, he could work with it.

“It might be?” he lied through his goddamn teeth, swallowing down a handful of peanuts from the honestly scarily large package Taylor had found him. “I don’t know. I’ve been feeling, weird, lately.”

“Uh-huh.” Tonio looked him over and for a long moment Martin remembered just how damn well he knew him, especially when his eyes flicked to Martin’s bandaged arm. “For how long?”

“Almost a week now.” Lying was good here, lying would keep him out of a cage. Yes, Tonio’s eyes narrowed at him, but he didn’t argue and that was all Martin needed. A few of a girls sighed.

“Martin,” Aria said, “you have to tell people when shit’s extra weird, or else we can’t help.” He shrugged sheepishly.

“I thought I had everything under control.”

“Uh-huh.” Ten different people at once with that one. Sarah sighed.

“Okay,” she said, “from now until we get this worked out, someone is always on Martin Duty. Keep notes, keep him from getting the cops called on him, the usual.” Wait, no, fuck again!

“Guys, it’s not necessary, I’ll just hole up in my room a bit, up my calorie intake, it’ll be fine.”

“Martin,” Tonio patted his arm with too calm an expression, hefting a book in one hand, “fetch.”

It fucking burned that as soon as the paperback went flying he did.

~~~

“Tonio, man, our rooms are connected, you don’t need to do this.”

“Yes, yes I do, because you’re a disaster.”

Martin groaned and flopped back against the pile of dirty laundry he was using as a mattress. Tonio was insisting on sleeping in his room tonight, for the sake of keeping an eye on him, and Martin wasn’t rude enough to make him sleep on the floor.

“Seriously, I’ll be sleeping, what sort’ve trouble can I get into?” What he wanted, more than anything in the world in that moment, was to not be sharing a room with one of his best friends when he surely went full werewolf. He liked Tonio too damn much to want to maul him.

“Knowing you? All of it.” Tonio stretched out on the bed, smirking at him as he reached for the last light in the room. “Just whine if you need me to escort you to a tree or something.” Martin scowled at him.

“Oh shut up.”

As Tonio laughed and that final light shut off, he pulled his blankets around him and shut his eyes, praying for an uneventful night.

~~~

Martin Mystery woke up on the floor of the Psi Psi Psi meeting room, surrounded by familiar faces.

“So, good news- it’s not vampire shit.”

“Bad news- you’re a werewolf, Martin.”

“Don’t make Harry Potter references at him, the idiot’s been through enough.”

“I sincerely doubt that.”

Martin groaned, pressing the heels of his palms into his eyes like it might make all this a dream.

“Are you sure?” he asked, as if he didn’t damn well know.

“Well-” It sounded like Tonio was somewhere towards the back of the room, and that was definitely his ‘why are you my best friend?’ tone- “given I woke up… seven hours ago? to your tail in my face? We’re pretty damn sure.” He sighed. “I knew you were lying... Why do you not tell me these things? I share a suite with you, this is relevant!”

“I was scared getting people involved would make things worse!” He was. He really, really was. Those cages kept flashing in front of his eyes, alongside images of blood and bone. “Is everybody o-” As he pulled his hands away from his face, Martin noticed the long, black claws sticking out of each finger. A small, distressed noise rose in the back of his throat.

“Yeah, like we said,” Darcy said, taking a gentle hold of one of his wrists- oh, look, his wound was gone, that was terrifying- “definitely a werewolf. Claws, your ears are all pointy right now, and there is just, so much fur going on. And everyone is fine.”

“Yeah,” Maddie chimed in. “You were less Cujo and more Clifford.”

“We were all more worried about you chewing a hole in yourself than one of us,” Sarah added. “Speaking of which, do you want a flea collar? We were talking about what sort’ve supplies Diana and Java’d need to keep you healthy now and, that might be handy.”

“They aren’t going to need anything to keep me healthy.” It was a relief to know he hadn’t hurt anyone, apparently hadn’t even tried, but still. There was no way this could get out. No. “Not a word about this leaves this room.” Brows raised incredulously all around him.

“Martin,” Tonio chimed in, “speaking as your voice of reason- at the very least Diana needs to hear about this. I mean come on, are you gonna go home for the summer and just hope you never walk out of your bedroom during a full moon? Your family’s gonna have to know.” Martin shook his head, muscles tense, and lips pulling back from his teeth.

“If Diana finds out, the Center will find out. If the Center finds out, I’m going to end up in a cage.” Paige scoffed.

“Over the bodies of twenty-three girls and a Tonio you will.”

“Martin, seriously,” Darcy still had her grip on him, and clearly wasn’t planning on letting go anytime soon, “we can’t be there for every full moon. You’ve gotta tell somebody.” Martin whined under his breath.

Fuck fuck fuck.

~~~

In the end they compromised. The others wouldn’t tell Diana unless directly questioned about his potential werewolfness, and he’d call his grandmother and tell her he was now at risk for canine distemper.

This was easier said than done.

“Yes, Gramma.”

“I know, but-”

“Look it’s a very recent thing-”

“Gramma telling Diana is an actual health risk here.”

“I tried that- Yes, yes, I know.”

“But Gramma, I-” Flinching, Martin nodded along and held the out the phone. “Tonio, she wants to speak to you.” The other boy took the phone as if it might bite.

“Hello, Mrs. Mystery. I’m doing fine, how about you? Oh great.” Of course, Tonio she was chill with.

“No, no, we’ve got things under control, we think. Just figured someone in his family should know about this. I mean full moons still happen over the holidays… Uh-huh.”

“Oh no, he was great, perfectly manageable, plenty of food, a few hours of fetch, and everything was fine.” Well, that was good to know at least, even if the idea that he’d played fetch made Martin pout even harder than he had been. Who knew being a werewolf could be so humiliating?

“Huh, that would explain it. Okay, I’ll let him know. Bye, ma’am. Same to you, bye.” All eyes in the room- which wasn’t that many at this point, it’d been decided that the people who’d actually gotten a decent amount of sleep should carry on as normal while the rest slept or handled this werewolf business- were locked onto Tonio as he hung up the phone. With a deep sigh, he flopped down bonelessly beside Martin.

“So, that necklace is supposed to stop the worst of the vampireness?” Martin sighed.

“That’s what they tell me.”

“Your gran thinks it should’ve stopped the werewolfness too, but since it didn’t she’s gonna call up some of your aunts and try to get a new one together that will.”

“So,” Sarah interjected, hanging off the back of a chair, “we only have to worry until they do. Then everything should go back to normal Martin weirdness, right?”

“That’s what she thinks. She wants us to keep an eye on him until then.”

“Well fuck, we were gonna do that anyway.”

On the one hand, Martin couldn’t help but notice they were talking about him like he wasn’t there, especially as they continued on. But on the other, what they were talking about was ‘our friend is a werewolf, how do we manage this without him ending up in a cage’. Everyone there had sat up last night making sure he was okay and under control. Sophia and Maddie had gotten hold of a PetSmart catalog and were arguing over what dog beds looked more comfortable.

As worrying as the situation was, his grandmother and aunts had his back and his friends, honestly, seemed just to get more awesome the more they learned about his weirdness.

And after the holy water incident he hadn’t thought they could be more chill about his shit.

~~~

The lot of them were in the middle of a discussion about collar colors- half of them, including Martin, felt red was the best option because warm colors were his thing, while Tonio was with the other half in thinking a blue collar might work to bring the color of his jeans up to balance the rest of his color scheme- when the u-watch went off. And everything immediately stopped.

It chimed.

The screen went to its pre-call static.

Darcy wrenched the watch off Martin’s wrist and yeeted it across the room.

They all watched in silence as it ricocheted off the back wall, hit the floor, and bounced into the darkness under a desk. After a brief moment, the space was illuminated, and MOM’s voice rang out.

“Martin? Agent Mystery, where are you? Answer me!” A brief pause. “Goddamnit…” And the screen went dark again.

Silence reigned for several seconds more, three sets of arms wrapped protectively around Martin, Tonio’s hand clamped onto his arm. Slowly, everyone turned to Darcy.

“What? I panicked!” Martin released the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, the others following his lead.

“Fingers crossed, she just thinks I’m slacking off.” Lil nodded against his shoulder.

“Fingers crossed.”

~~~

“Bad news, everybody,” Hannah said as she stormed purposefully into the meeting room, waking up two girls and Tonio in the process.

“Because we haven’t had enough of that lately…” She threw the short blond a sharp look, then turned her attention back to the room at large.

“Chip’s dead-”

“Well, that makes my life easier.”

“Lillian!” Lil doubled down, arms crossed and back straight.

“He was a piece of shit.”

“Louise is a mess!”

“She’ll live, better off without him anyway.”

“Okay,” Sophia said, stepping between them with hands raised, “can we stay on topic? What happened, Hannah?” Shutting the door behind her, Hannah walked across the room to hover casually and worryingly protectively around Martin.

“What was left of him was found around the other side of the building this morning, in the bushes. Everyone’s talking like it was some sort’ve animal attack.”

Martin’s gut fell clean out of him, eyes blowing wide. There weren’t animals at Torrington large enough to take out a teenage boy. They weren’t even allowed cats for fuck’s sake, nonetheless anything that could leave ‘what’s left’ of anything bigger or badder than a pizza. All there was was- And he’d been at odds with Chip, sort’ve, just yesterday-

“Oh no, don’t you start with that look!” There was a light thwop against the back of his head and when he turned to look there was Tessa, with a firm, no-nonsense expression. “You’ve been alone for ten minutes out of the last eighteen hours, that is not long enough to break out of a locked room, find a jock, eat him, clean yourself up, break back in, and lock the doors or windows or whatever behind you.”

“I could if I wanted to,” Martin countered on pure instinct, baring his teeth at the thought he couldn’t do damn well anything if he wanted.

“Yeah,” Tonio said, tone flat and as unimpressed as everyone’s expressions, “maybe if you were a were-cheetah.”

“The point is,” Hannah said, laying a hand on Martin’s shoulder, “we know you didn’t kill him, but, we don’t know what did. And until that thing is caught, anyone who finds out about you is gonna see you as the prime suspect.” Hackles raised around the room at the thought.

“Okay everybody,” Sarah said, glaring at nothing in particular, “sounds like we’ve got more and more shit to worry about.”

~~~

Another meeting was called for that afternoon.

Nobody was really sure how they were going to handle the ‘strange beast eating schoolmates’ situation. They couldn’t even agree on if they should. Several of the girls were of the opinion that they should just leave well enough alone, it probably was some animal that made its way onto campus and it was better to let the professionals deal with it. Others felt it was better to know for sure- find out what it was that attacked Chip and then decide whether or not to be worried.

Martin had enough of an instinct for his work to know it wasn’t going to be some animal. That was the sort’ve thing Diana would suggest, and she was rarely right when his gut said ‘supernatural’. He might be wrong, but she wouldn’t be right.

“I’d put my life savings on this being the sort’ve thing the Center should get involved with,” he said, slumped down in his chair at the head of the room with the rest of the council, idly scratching his arm.

“Even if it is,” Ivy countered, “we’d still have to get involved. You’re the Center employee here, we aren’t leaving you alone, and you don’t want your sister or Java involved.” He hated a lot of things, but mostly that she was right. Whatever was going on he could probably handle it alone, but nobody was going to let him. Maybe Diana and Java would handle it, but the idea of not being there to help them made him queasy. Or maybe that was the hunger again. Just in case he tore open another bag of Fritos.

“I’m just saying, guys, I can handle it. Give me like, two hours-”

“I’m sorry, did we not already have this argument yesterday?”

“Yesterday a guy wasn’t dead!”

A knock rang from the door before Sarah could answer. Again, the room went quiet. Another knock.

“I know you all are in there,” Diana called from the other side, “we need to talk to Martin!” Goddamnit. This was the problem with getting your whole damn social group together in the usual place, you were too easy to find. Martin swore to find them all a new meeting room, in a different country if he could swing it. In this moment though, everyone in the room shared a look before Darcy stood and cracked the door.

“Martin isn’t here.” Bless that girl.

“You’re lying.”

“Why would I lie?”

“You’re already Martin’s friend, who knows how much lower you’d sink.”

“Hey!” The affront on Tonio’s face at that, as Martin’s oldest friend, was golden.

“Tonio’s here, Martin’s here, let us in.”

“No.”

“Darcy, please.” Logically Java, who Martin had no doubt was also out in the hall, would’ve been able to open the door with ease. He was, he had to assume, just too kind-natured to risk hurting or scaring her. “Think he might be sick.”

“He’s fine.”

“Listen-” Wait, was that Billy? That sounded like Billy. Fuck. “-this is going to be hard to believe, but we think he might be a werewolf-”

“Yeah, we know, either that or he’s possessed by a golden retriever. It’s all under control, goodbye.” As everyone inside struggled to not laugh or throw something at her, Darcy closed the door. Or, at least she tried to. The door stopped before it could click shut, and despite her best attempts creaked open enough for Java, a disguised Billy, and a very affronted Diana to force their ways in.

“You know?!”

“Well yeah,” Darcy responded, holding her ground between them and the others, “he was chasing balls out front yesterday, it’s not exactly rocket science.” Diana gaped for a moment, the boys waving behind her in an attempt at being friendly, before craning to glower at her brother over Darcy’s shoulder.

“Martin! What the fuck! You tell them but not us?!” He licked barbeque flavoring from his claws and waved.

“Hey guys. Um, nothing to worry about? Gramma’s working on keeping me from going all, furry.”

“-er.”

“Shut up, Ivy.” If anything Diana glared harder.

“You told Gramma, and not me!”

“Well Gramma doesn’t have a direct line to the Center, now does she?” Tessa reached out and grabbed Darcy’s arm, slowly pulling her back into the seats as Billy and Java edged towards the front of the room.

“Martin,” Billy said, “you really should head back to the Center-”

“And end up in one of those cages?” Martin tensed at the very thought and when he did everyone did for one reason or another. A few of the girls half-rose from their seats, eyes on his team and on Billy. “Yeah, no. We have everything under control here and Gramma’s working on keeping me from changing. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Nobody’s going to put you in a cage, Martin,” Billy said, hands raised placatingly. “If anything you’ll be killed alongside the rest of us.” Wait what? Jaw going slack, Martin’s face twisted into a confused grimace. “The werewolf that turned you escaped yesterday, as per protocol we had to call Security Chief Jones back in from her vacation and after looking over the footage she’s angrier than I’ve seen a person in years. You’re dead, I’m dead, MOM, the Assistant Security Chief, Head of Maintenance… If any of your friends here want work at the Center, we’re about to have a lot of openings.”

It took a minute for that to sink in. Normally he’d take such a threat with a major grain of salt, but if there was anyone working for the Center he would count on to follow through… That was honestly kind of scary. Thankfully other people were paying attention for him, namely Sarah, who was the one to pipe up with a-

“What do you mean ‘escaped’?”

“Oh, yeah,” Billy said, apparently so caught up in his imminent demise he’d forgotten, “that’s why MOM was looking for Martin. And because he hadn’t finished his cleaning-”

“In my defense I did get attacked by a werewolf.”

“-but mostly because he’s the one who caught it last time and we were worried it might hold a grudge.” The room went quiet again as everyone let this sink in. The other werewolf was loose, it may or may not be out for Martin’s blood, if it was, then it was probably heading for or already at

“Well,” Tessa said, “at least we know what probably killed Chip.” Java sighed, some tension leaving his shoulders.

“Am glad not Martin.”

“No, no,” Tonio said, “you haven’t seen wolfy-Martin, he wouldn’t take out a bacon cheeseburger.”

“I am right here.”

“We know.”

“But if the werewolf is after Martin,” Diana asked, “why would it kill Chip?”

“Because he was an asshole?”

“Stop it, Lil. Was probably just hungry. After all, it’s not like it had Darcy there feeding it jerky.”

“By the way, thanks Darc.”

“No problem, Marty.”

“Okay,” Sarah raised a hand for silence as she spoke, motioning the newcomers to take a seat with the others, “so, we know the extent of the werewolf problem. Now,” she looked directly at Billy, “what more can you tell us?”

The ‘having them sit’ thing turned out to be useless, because the moment Billy pulled out the werewolf’s file everybody was out of their seats again, crowding around him for a better look. It had everything. Height, weight, preferred diet, blood type, known history, Martin’s report on the mission during which he’d captured it. Even a photo, which got a lot of ‘huh’s from the crowd.

“That looks, nothing like you did, Martin.”

“Really?” he and Diana asked as one. Lil nodded.

“Yeah, you looked a lot more humanoid. Like, blatantly very canine, but not nearly as much as that guy. And you were fluffier. And more colorful.”

“You think maybe the vampire thing has something to do with it?” Tonio asked, and Diana glared at Martin again.

“They know about the vampires too?!”

“Look, after the holy water incident I had to come clean with some stuff.”

“What holy water incident?!”

“The one where Darcy dumped some holy water on his head as part of an in-joke and he started smoking.” It was a rare and, in Martin’s mind, beautiful moment where Diana had no words. She just gaped at him, eyes wide. He shrugged.

“I’d rather not talk about it. Whatcha thinking, Tonio?”

“I’m thinking,” Tonio leaned back as he spoke, “maybe you’re not becoming a werewolf like one that because you’ve already got the vampire blood going on. Maybe werewolves that are vampires or are gonna be vampires are a different type, and that’s why you’re fluffy and colorful. Or maybe that necklace of yours is working on it, just not entirely. So you’re only half-turning.”

“Gramma’d be glad to hear that,” Diana said, “it would probably give her less work to do.” Martin nodded along to that, it would, it really would, but Java shook his head.

“But not help with phantom werewolf,” he said, and he was right. If that thing was eating people, and looking for Martin, then they had to recapture it. And hopefully find someplace more humane to put it. Maybe Martin could gain survival points with Jones if he puppy-eyed for the werewolf’s well-being… But first.

“Well, I did catch it once,” he said, standing tall and grinning toothily around the room, “and that was in way worse circumstances, this’ll be a breeze.”

“Worse than on a high school campus while you yourself are transforming into a vicious beast?”

“He wishes.”

“Shut up, Tessa.” Martin’s grin widened as he aimed it at Billy, who shifted away slightly at the sight of sharp teeth. “Of course! Last time I was inexperienced, human, and only had half a clue what I’d gotten into. This time I’ve got people behind me, I’m a fucking werewolf, know exactly what I’m dealing with, and, I have time to plan.” He stretched, rolling his shoulders. “Who wants to help catch a monster?”

All around the room hands went up. Not all of them, but that didn’t matter when every face in the room held a confident expression. Everyone here trusted him, and whether they were willing to help with this specifically or not- it was a dangerous event to be involved in after all, even if he didn’t plan for any of them to be in harm’s way- they all had his back.

He’d known there was a reason he liked all these people.

~~~

In the end fifteen extra people- including Tonio- made light work, and preparations were complete well before the sun finished setting. Which left plenty of time to argue about who would be involved in the actual ‘werewolf capture’ portion of the event. And it was an argument. Too many people wanted to be involved with that. In the end they managed to pare it down to just Lil- who could not be deterred and made the compelling argument that she was the most hardcore athlete present so she was fairly certain she could handle whatever Martin and Diana could- alongside Diana and Java, with Martin acting as bait and- at his own insistence- the only one on the ground.

That had been an entirely different argument, but he’d won it with logic and empathy and forward-thinking and Diana damn well better have been proud of him.

So it was that, as the moon rose over the rooftops, he found himself standing alone at the edge of the campus. He could feel more of the wolf coming over him, just as he had the day before. Aches, hunger, heightened senses, that itching that was still fucking going. Martin chewed at one hand as he paced, face shifting into a short muzzle, tail growing through the hole Jessica’d cut in his pants and boxers earlier. Even if the other wolf somehow wasn’t after him, which he doubted, it was certain to find him, and that was all they needed to set things in motion. For it to take any sort’ve interest.

The damn thing took another hour, it’s scent rousing Martin from a potato chip-induced half-sleep before it came within sight. Setting his spine, he climbed back to his feet and let out a howl. One graciously answered.

“That’s it, buddy, come get me…” He stood tense, waiting, waiting, until the snarling form of the phantom wolf slipped out of the deeper shadows. Why it was showing itself, Martin didn’t know, but he certainly wasn’t about to complain. It came closer, he moved back, closer, back, rinse, repeat, until finally the tension in the air broke and the beast leapt with a roar.

Martin ran.

Through the grass, vault a shrub, it was on his heels, longer legs serving it well, up a path, under one of the larger trees-

There was a yelp as the werewolf followed him.

With a sharp grin, literally, Martin spun on his heels to face his foe. Java and the girls grinned back at him from up in the foliage, and beneath them- one very colorful werewolf.

“And now you can’t do your phantom thing.” Phase one, complete. Phase two, a go.

The werewolf charged him again and this time Martin stood his ground, grabbing it by the shoulders and twisting as it went for his throat. Together they hit the ground, a mass of fur and claws and teeth. The goal, as Martin wrestled with it, was to get it subdued enough that the others could bind the thing. Originally they’d been going for a net, which would’ve left the dye and paint they dumped over it unnecessary and kept this whole fight much shorter, but preliminary testing had proven Martin could shred it easily and they were going off the assumption the other wolf could do the same.

Thankfully, Martin considered as a lucky bite got lost in his mane, he was a lot better protected than last time.

With a snap, a snarl, a familiar kick to the gut, the werewolf broke out of his hold and darted back to give itself space. Which also gave Martin time to get hold of the x-rod, quarterstaff style. Having a weapon couldn’t hurt. Besides, this way he could smack it from a distance and there was feeling deep in his soul that was satisfying about smacking something coming at him with a stick.

Now that he thought about it, this was probably the instinct called upon during the invention of baseball.

One sharp crack stunned the wolf, sending it to the ground, and Martin sprinted to pin it. Not that he was quite fast enough, by the time he reached it it had enough sense back to try for another bite, one hastily blocked with his staff. And so, with jaws around his weapon, Martin did one better.

A staff pressed against the back of it’s jaw held the wolf’s head to the ground, Martin’s weight on it’s middle kept it from maneuvering. At first, the wolf tried to swipte at him, but his own thick fur and clothing made it a waste of time. The best it could do was try to lift the staff like a barbell in a bid to even the odds back up, and even that was an attempt that wouldn’t last long. Now they didn’t have to worry about the teeth, Java, Diana, and Lil jumped down from the tree and came to Martin’s aid- each swaddled in a painful number of layers for safety’s sake.

Java grabbed the wolf’s forearms and carefully pulled it’s hands from the quarterstaff, pinning them above it’s head so the girls could tie them with a length of wire carefully covered with cloth and cotton for safety. This was repeated, with even more care, with it’s flailing legs. Then, while Java held the legs and Lil held the arms, Diana pulled out one of Tonio’s belts (“Nothing deserves to be bound in anything of Martin’s”) and wrapped it loosely around the wolf’s muzzle. Carefully, carefully, she tightened it as Martin pulled the staff away, like the world’s most dangerous game of Jenga, before yanking it tight the instant the staff was clear.

Thoroughly bound, gagged, and pinned, there was nothing of consequence the phantom werewolf could do. Martin patted it’s head consolingly.

“Don’t worry, dude, we gonna make sure you’re kept in better conditions this time.”

~~~

Two months passed and thankfully nobody died, though several did lose their jobs, and even MOM walked on eggshells for a few weeks. Plans to improve conditions in the cages were rushed through the approval process, though the phantom werewolf would never see them. That one had been transferred to another facility with nicer cells that also was plenty far away from Martin.

He’d gone through two more full moon cycles since being turned, none of which had resulted in any harm to any individual. At least, not any harm that put them at risk of turning. Getting knocked over by an enthusiastic werewolf was not a big threat. As it was he’d spent those nights out in the forests behind Torrington or locked up in the meeting room, always with someone to look after him, often with a ball to chase and snacks to eat. It was actually kind of fun, now that he was getting used to it. But nothing lasts forever, and amount of the shaving and nail clipping he was having to do to maintain his cover was really crimping his style. It would’ve crimped Diana’s style.

“Hold still, Martin!”

“If you’d hurry up I wouldn’t have to!”

“Do you want this to stay on?” Diana demanded, aiming an knee to the small of his back, “then sit still!” The new necklace their grandmother had sent was… tighter than the last one. More of a choker than anything. Supposedly to make sure it stayed in place, as if Martin had ever had a problem with keeping it on before. He supposed it probably had something to do with how often he got transformed into things, especially lately. This was supposed to make sure he didn’t turn into any more supernatural creatures before his time, or give into any of the relevant urges, and if it didn’t work she was probably going to come up and ward him personally.

Again.

“There, finally! How many ways to close a necklace are there, and how did Gramma find them all?”

“I’m not sure I want to know,” Martin replied. Before his eyes his claws were receding, and he could feel the hunger dying down. He turned to grin at his sister. “Thanks, Di.”

“No problem.” She brushed her hands off and sat back on his bed. “It’s going to be nice to have the, well, comparatively normal you back.” He laughed and scooted back himself, throwing an arm over her shoulders.

“Tell me about it. If I never wake up with a ball in my mouth again it’ll be too soon.”

[honeywithblueberries]

Christmas

A/N: HAHAHAHA!! Take that, writer's block! I win! You loose! Even though it's five days late……

Merry late Christmas, everyone! I'm so sorry this wasn't out sooner, but enjoy! ……….

The answer to the absurd question came out far too easy and quickly. "Yeah, I'm going to have to pass."

And to his amusement, her response was exactly what he expected.

"Niiiiccckkkkk…….."

The fox todd forced to keep his face blank as he stared at his computer screen. Thought it was tough keeping the smile off his face. Behind him, his partner, Judy Hopps, pouted at him. He could barely make out her reflection in the screen, her eyes wide and bottom lip stuck out. Turning to look at her would be a huge mistake. She pulled her cute bunny eyes attack on him a dozen times too many.

Nick had some control, dammit!

He refused to give into her this time. Especially considering what she was begging from him. There was a line in the sand and an absolute limit to what he was willing to do to make her happy. At least, that's what he told himself as he fought to not look at her.

"Don't even bother, Carrots." he said drolly as he began to type again. "That look of yours won't work if I don't acknowledge it. And I'm not going."

Huffing, Judy let her face relax and frowned at the back of his head. "Why not?"

Snorting at the question, he rolled his eyes and turned his chair to look at her.

"You're seriously asking me, of all mammals, why I don't want to go to this stupid Christmas party?" Nick raised his eyebrows at her, sighing when she eagerly nodded. "Carrots, I can barely stand this holiday as it is. Now you're asking me to go to the house of a someone I barely know, wearing a hideous sweater, and make small talk with total strangers."

Deciding to take advantage of his attention, Judy's pout returned with full force. Her ears even fell across her back for added effect. And her vulpine partner brought a paw to his chest as he gave a soft 'awww' at her expression. The cute bunny eyes attack was successful.

"Please, Nick," she asked, stepping closer to him and clasping her paws together.

Nick winced and tried to look away. But that only made the bunny's lip quiver and eyes widen further.

"I don't have a sweater to wear," he groaned, flinching as she batted her eyelashes.

"Paw-mart has some on sale for five bucks." She smiled prettily at him, taking another step closer. "And there's a prize for the best sweater."

Scoffing but not moving away, Nick rolled his eyes again. "Spend my hard earned money on a sweater I'm not going to wear ever again in hopes of winning a gift bag filled with cheap Christmas candy and trinkets? No thank you."

That had Judy's expression turn from pleading to thoughtful. Her ears perked up at the sound of footsteps heading towards their cubicle. Turning from Nick to the walkway, she gave a small hop towards the entrance.

"Hey, Dave?" she called, the tall grey wolf officer looking around briefly before smiling down at her.

"Hey, Hopps," he gave a friendly wave to the fox, "Wilde. What can I do for you two?"

"You went to Officer Fangmeyer's Christmas party last year, didn't you?" Judy asked.

Wolford's face lit up. "Oh, yeah. Didn't win the sweater contest, but there were still a ton of other games. I walked away with two fifty buck gift certificates."

Nick's ears and tail snapped up as his focus razored in on the wolf.

"What did the winner of the sweater contest win?" he asked with interest.

"I can't remember." Both the smaller mammals deflated at that, though they jumped when Wolford turned to another desk. "Higgins! What did you win at Brook's party last year?"

The hippo's head popped up, a grin stretched across his muzzle.

"A hundred buck mastercat gift card and a roarlex watch." His small beady eyes narrowed on the other three officers as he pointed a hoof at them. "And I'm going to win again this year."

"Dream big, Higgs!" Came the response of another, unseen officer.

Laughing, Dave turned back to Nick and Judy. The bunny looked over at her partner in triumph, smiling at the look of excitement on his face.

"How does Fangmeyer afford that?" he asked in a slightly dazed voice.

"Loaded parents who like her a lot," the wolf answered with a shrug. "I gotta go. See ya at the party."

Both waved at him as he left.

"So, Slick," Judy smiled at him and walked over to where he sat. "Feeling the Christmas spirit, yet?"

Snapping out of his daze, the fox smirked at her before hopping out of his chair.

"Oh, you haven't seen Christmas spirit yet, Carrots. Just wait. I'll win this contest." Taking his jacket from the back of his chair, he shoved his arms into it as he winked at her. "Play your cards right, I might ask for your help spending that gift card."

Judy laughed. as she watched him gather his messenger bag. Pausing next her, he gave her a hip bump. She stumbled a bit before regaining her balance, her partner reaching out to steady her. Giving her paw an affectionate squeeze, he reluctantly let her go and continued his walk to the precinct doors.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have a sweater to buy. See you tonight." With a salute, he was gone, freeing his phone from bag as he walked.

Still giggling, Judy shook her head and turned back to her own computer.

"Dumb fox." she muttered as she climbed in to seat and began to finish up her reports. ………..

Nick kept the growl to himself as the disgruntled muttering reached his ears.

"I can't believe I'm here helping you shop for clothes."

Rolling his eyes behind his sunglasses, the todd looked down at his friend, Finnick. The fennec fox was dragging his feet as he followed after the taller todd, scowling at everyone and everything around him.

"It's not clothes shopping." Nick argued back as he selected a potential candidate from the sweater rack. "I plan on winning this stupid contest."

"You mean you plan on impressing that partner of yours?" Finnick countered with a smirk. Nick's ears flattened against his head.

"I don't know what you're taking about."

"Sure you don't. Like you're not going to go home tonight and dream about doing a strip search on the bunny." The smaller fox laughed as Nick ducked his head. "You can't hide anything from me, Wilde. I only have one piece of advice for you: Take advantage of that mistletoe tonight."

"Like she would want me to do that….." Nick muttered, pretending to examine another sweater.

"Have you smelled her recently?" Finnick asked, his voice laced with amusement and incredulity. "She's a heartbeat away from jumping your bones! Don't think I haven't seen the two of you popping suppressants like they're fuckin' mints."

"What do you think of this one." Nick asked frantically, whirling around with a sweater pressed to his front, ready to change the subject.

Finnick looked at it for a moment before doubling over with laughter. Just when Nick thought he was getting control over himself, the fennec lost control again. He was on all fours in the middle of the department store laughing at the fox officer holding the ridiculous red and green sweater covered in bright gold Christmas bows and blinking lights.

"We have a winner," said Nick smugly, turning the sweater back to look it over again. "That gift card is mine!" …….

It took a full hour for Nick to get ready. He took a long hot shower, spent an unreasonable amount of time in his fur dryer, and made sure every patch of fur was meticulously brushed and groomed. With his nice slacks on and his favorite green, dress shirt on, he tried not to grimace as he slipped the Christmas sweater on. The fox adjusted the collar of his undershirt, letting it peek out tastefully.

"Looking good, Wilde," he said to his reflection, examining himself from every angle. A paw vanished under the sweater to click the lights that decorated it on. "Look out, Carrots. You're gonna fall for a winner tonight."

And now, half an hour later, the todd stood in front of Brook Fangmeyer's closed door. He held a poinsettia and bottle of wine for his hostess, ready to win the sweater contest. Listening to the sound of muffled Christmas music and voices, he made sure his smirk was in tact as he picked up the sound of footsteps making their way to the door.

Only to have it fall when a well dressed Brook answered the door.

"No freaking way!" she exclaimed in delight as Nick's mouth fell open in shock. "I can't believe it!"

Before Nick had time to dash away, the tigress reached down and dragged him in. Giving him a perfect view of the guests inside. The elegantly dressed guests who were NOT wearing hideous holiday sweaters and were all now staring at him in surprise and amusement. A few of them turned to laugh discretely while others didn't bother to hide their enjoyment. The poinsettia and wine bottle were tugged from his paws and set aside as the door closed, sealing the todd inside.

"I- uh….. was told this was a sweater party….." Nick mumbled as Brook pulled him further into the party.

Laughing, his fellow officer guided him to the Christmas tree. "Oh, I know! I didn't think you'd fall for it and now I'm out forty bucks!"

Feeling his embarrassment and anger grow, the fox allowed himself to be dragged around. Though he temporarily forgot his situation when he saw Judy next to the tree enthusiastically talking to Chief Bogo. And he felt himself flush with something that was definitely not anger at the sight of her in a tight red dress. Brook grinned at his reaction to his partner.

"Hey, Hopps!" she called getting the bunny's attention. "Look who showed up."

Purple eyes widened in shock as the police chief broke out into laughter. The usually surly cape buffalo had most of the party's attention, much to Nick's relief. Judy grinned as she looked at the todd, her eyes sparkling as she left their boss to stand in front of Nick.

"I'll be darned," Judy said, still looking at his sweater and shaking her head as her eyes followed blinking lights decorating it. Meeting his gaze, her grin grew. "I didn't think you'd fall for it."

Tearing his thoughts away from the pretty bunny in front him (and silently admitting Finnick was going to be right about his later plans), Nick scowled around the room.

A few of the party goers were still looking at him and chuckling. Wolford and Higgins were accepting money from a few of their fellow officers. Higgins even looked over at Judy and waved the wad of bills at her with a large grin. Ears shooting up in realization, Nick looked back over at her as she wave at the hippo.

"Exactly how many mammals bet I'd fall for this prank?" he demanded, putting his paws on his hips.

"It's called a hustle, sweetheart," she countered, giving him a look sly enough to rival his own. Paired with that smile, he had to keep his eyes from scanning the ceiling looking for mistletoe. "And to answer your question, only seven. Higgins, Wolford, Fangmeyer, Grizzoli, Pennington, me, and……"

A small beep from her evening bag had both their eyes moving to it as she pulled it free and smiled at the screen.

"You."

Nick was flabbergasted.

"Excuse me?" he asked, not quite sure if he heard her correctly. But Judy merely smiled wider as she turned her phone around.

"You heard me, fox." Nick looked at her in confusion before looking at the small screen.

There was a message from Finnick selected, the video ready to be played. Nick pressed play and his eyes widened when it showed he and Judy in their favorite bar, this time last year judging by the mini Christmas tree in the background. Both he and the bunny were grinning into the camera.

"Ok," started past Judy, her eyes still looking at the mammal recording. "We have Finnick as a witness for a monumental bet about to take place. Nick here is ready to loose to cute, little bunny."

Video Nick scoffed and grinned before shaking his head at her. "Don't count your chickens, Carrots. You have a full year to come to terms with the fact the fact that you'll never win a bet against me."

In the video, Judy turned to grin at him, nudging the fox with her shoulder, causing his tail to wag happily at the contact.

"And I can't wait to see you in an ugly sweater before next year's out." she challenged.

"So when I win," came the todd's voice, "you have to be my slave for a full twenty four hours, on a day of my choosing, no complaints." Judy laughed on the screen and held his playful gaze. Video Nick seemed mesmerized for a moment, before clearing his throat. "And if you win…?"

As he watched their past selves interact, present day Nick felt himself become lighter than air at Judy's reaction to him. It was…. more than a little flirtatious. Video Judy nudged him again and smiled coyly.

"Guess you'll have to see." she teased. "So here's the bet: I bet I can get you into an ugly sweater before the end of next year."

The todd on the screen pretended to think about it before he stuck out his paw. "I look forward to you serving me for twenty four hours."

Both mammals shook on the bet, present day Nick suddenly remembering that moment perfectly. Looking from the phone, green eyes met the sparkling gaze of his partner. Judy put her phone back in her bag still beaming at the todd.

"You…." he whispered, not looking away from her. "…… You hustled me good."

Nodding, the bunny crossed her arms and stepped closer to him.

"Sure did."

"So," he began, copying her motions and moving closer. "What do I surrender as forfeit?"

Her eyes moved from his, up to the ceiling before flicking back down to him. Nick looked up and felt his mouth drop at the sight of the mistletoe hanging above him. Looking back down, his eyes were wide and mouth dry as Judy bit her lip while she waited for his response.

"I understand if you're weirded out, or even grossed out, by it." she said quietly. "I just thought that we had really great chemistry and….. I always feel like…. I'm… more, when I'm with you. Like, I'm more than just a bunny or even an ordinary mammal."

Nick thought his heart was going to beat out his chest.

"You're always there for me, you always support me, and I've never met a mammal, male or otherwise, who makes me feel nearly as happy or complete as you." Her ears fell back, their crimson color visible under the dim light of the party. A small flicker of doubt flashed in her eyes when he still didn't respond. "So if you can stomach it, your forfeit is a kiss under the mistletoe. If it's not too-"

There was a full stop in the party before the air was filled with whoops and hollers of encouragement. Unable to stand still in the wake of her confession, Nick's paws shot out and pulled her into his arms. Their lips met, and everyone and thing faded away. One paw moved to cup her face while the other landed on her hip. But Judy didn't stay surprised for long.

Her arms wrapped around his neck and the pair savored the moment their friendship became something so much more than what either of them had ever hoped for.

"I love this holiday," Nick whispered when they pulled away for air. He smiled into her eyes before ducking his head to meet her lips again.

Needless to say, it was a very merry Christmas.

[tyrwinthyr]

Episode 1, act 1

‘On November 1st it will be ten years since the doors of Arcadia closed on Its sons and daughters.  This exposed us to the world, causing your Mad President to demand a ‘Second Inquisition,’ calling on all other leaders to hunt and kill our people.’

Sheila paused her typing there, leaning back in her chair to consider that last word.  Was ‘people’ the right word to use to describe a race of beings so diverse? Tabbing over to a browser, she looked up the definition.

PEOPLE (noun) 1. Human beings in general or considered collectively.

A heavy thump of fingers sent the cursor back to her letter. It blinked there accusingly, slowly winking in and out of existence. She put her palms against her eyes, rubbing until stars appeared.  A migraine was coming on, the kind that started in the back and violently plowed through anything productive she worked on. She dug her fingers under the base of her horns, right where they began at her temples, then tugged down on the curved parts.  It relieved some pressure; she turned her attention back to the chore of picking the correct noun.

It was always dangerous to compare the Fae to humans, particularly where humans were concerned.  The word ‘Fae’ itself was a catch-all they used to describe anything they didn’t understand these days.  Sheila wasn’t herself technically of the Fae races, but that didn’t prevent satyrs from being lumped in with the rest.  Most of her species, and many of the less magical beings, considered themselves to be ‘Folk.’  That might work… she looked up the definition.

FOLK (noun) 1. People in general.

Sheila sighed at the computer screen, decided that it would all come out in editing, and continued with her letter.

‘It wasn’t until years later that the madman was removed from office, and it was many more before the war waged on us eased.  Even though the war is technically over we are still treated as less than.  Violence is committed against the Fae on a daily basis, but nothing is being done about it.  We’ve been in your world for as long as humans have, living alongside you without incident.  Why does knowing we exist change things so drastically?  We are still the same people you worked next to, lived near, laughed with… I’m asking for your help, Senator, to end the persecution of my…’

Hiking up her skirt slightly while waffling back and forth between ‘community’ and ‘race,’ she leaned down to scratch the fur above her left hoof.  Leaning forward a bit, she also checked to make sure her polish wasn’t scuffed.  A glance cast over her shoulder proved Karen was staring at her leg.  The older woman’s face was caught somewhere between curiosity and distaste, which rapidly became embarrassment when Sheila snapped her skirt down curtly.

While her human coworkers had gotten mostly used to her horns and long ears, they rarely caught glimpses of legs covered in fur. Long skirts in layers of subdued fabrics hid anything too distracting from curious eyes.  It was always better to let them wonder what might be under there than to endure the barely veiled discomfort of a human dealing with strangeness.

With a brief smile on Sheila’s part, Karen was let off the hook.  The rictus curve of her lips relaxed immediately, breaking into a telling smile. It was an over compensating mask stretched nearly to breaking across her face. It was the defensive smile of a human caught being possibly offensive. Well, for the ones that cared about such things.

“Oh,” the woman said, startling herself out of the attempt to make her face look ‘natural,’ “Your father is on line two.”

Sheila nodded her thanks, then tugged down on her horns again, trying to ease the ache between her ears.  After a few deep breaths, and a countdown backwards from seven, she picked up the handset.

“This is Sheila,” she said, mustering up her best professional voice.  Human/Fae relations had taught her a lot about having a ‘business voice,’ but with her father, it rarely lasted long.

“I know who you are,” his voice in return was cool, bland, tearing into his daughter’s attempts to be professional, “and you know better than to keep me waiting. You know I’m busy.”

Sheila cast an accusatory glance at Karen, who was finding anywhere else to look. “I just got off a call,” Sheila lied, knowing full well she probably wouldn’t have picked up any sooner regardless.

“Right.”

After muting the phone to take a deep breath, she bravely asked, “May I know what you are calling for, sir?”

“Your brother will be in Colorado tomorrow.  I will forward you his itinerary, I expect you to offer him full assistance, as well as hospitality, until he departs.”

It wasn’t her brother Simon that she had a problem with. It was her father’s way of demanding things from her that irked her.

“I’m busy tomorrow.  I’m sure he can handle himself for a few hours.”

“You are a Whitehart,” he stated, his voice still cool, though behind it came the power of an unspoken invocation, “So you will do your duty to this family.  I do not have to ask… or must you be reminded?”

“You haven’t actually asked yet,” she retorted, calm torn apart by the ragged edges of family duty, “but no, you don’t have to force me.”

“As long as you do your part, you will continue to receive my financial support…” he continued, but his daughter was no longer listening.  

Instead, she watched her best friend walk towards her, a welcome breath of fresh air named Gaspar.  Skirt swishing, chin held high, he was the very image of the ‘Action Transvestite’ he claimed to be.  Light on the make-up today, true, but the pleated skirt paired with the business top made the Look.  Without a word he sat on the edge of her desk, fingers folded like the noblest of ladies across his lap.

“Did you hear what I said, Sheila?” Her father only raised his voice like that occasionally.  Mostly, her mother had once explained, at his only daughter.

“Yes, Father,” she responded, rolling her eyes at Gaspar. He clucked sympathetically, most of his attention on staring down Karen.  Oil and water didn’t work as a good comparison for the two nearly as well as ice and a hot frying pan did.

“Good.  Since I have no further business for you, I’ll let you get back to your…” he paused, perhaps to allow his contempt to gather in the final word, “Work.” Sheila’s face reddened, lips pressing together tightly.

“Love you, Father,” she said coolly, savoring the silence the words created before he disconnected.  Her lips had gone numb in the process, and an exhalation from Gaspar made her smile softly.

“Oh. My. God. Sheila!” he said, eyes wide, knowing what the words meant to her family, “You know, someday you’re going to mean it when you say it… THEN what will happen, hmm?”

“He’s in no danger of that happening, trust me,” came the reply, her handset slapping back into place as a punctuation.

“Savage!  Girl, I just can’t even with you today,” Gaspar’s eyes reflected the delight he felt.  He loved a good scandal.  Pulling his sleeve up, he exposed a new watch to his redheaded friend.  She knew he collected watches, so offered him a smile of approval.

“Oh, you got it!” she said, pulling it closer to admire the Invicta he was sporting.  He’d been watching the price on this particular toy for a while.  The only thing he loved more than clothes, watches and make-up was a bargain.  He’d lectured many times that paying full price for something was admitting defeat.

“No,” he scoffed, then corrected, “Well, yes, I did, but what I’m showing you, silly goat, is the time.”  He was the only person in the world she allowed to call her anything related to her ‘animal’ bits… he had earned the right, “It’s time for you to shed your Mormon clothes!  It’s time for bailando!”  He slid off the desk, extending a hand towards Sheila like they were about salsa right there in the cubicles.

A soft cough from Karen brought both of their gazes to her. Once again, the satyr wondered if there were any baby Karens, or if they just materialized fully grown one day asking the boss about overtime.  She was studiously ignoring them, but a pile of folders had conveniently gotten closer to the edge of her desk.

Gaspar took up the gauntlet, “Oh, hey, you can come with, boo!” When she looked up, he was right next to her desk grinning mischievously, holding out his hand.  Without a word, Karen stood up to march into the breakroom.  

Quickly, Sheila saved her work before following her friend out the door.

 The air was crisp, but not too cold, as autumn should be. Pumpkin spice had invaded everything, edible or not, and you couldn’t toss a black cat without hitting a Halloween store. It was Sheila’s favorite time of the year.  Even though he griped about the chill, Gaspar let her roll her window down so she could savor it.

“Did you dress up when you were a kid?” Gaspar asked, pointing the car in the general direction of her apartment with his usual disdain for road etiquette.  He casually flicked his middle finger at someone honking at him, not even bothering to look in their direction.

“For Halloween?” she clarified, easing her grip on the oh-shit handle above the window, but leaving her hoof braced against his dashboard just in case.  “Yeah, we all did.  Samhain is a middle place, so people could see us.  We could be ourselves without fear.”  Her flamboyant friend had learned the previous year about what the Folk called the ‘twixt,’ which were things and times between.  That was when the Fae had the most power.

“Oh, that would have been lovely,” he sighed, hand flat on his chest, looking at her wistfully. “A boy in a dress was never allowed. ‘Oh, no, Gaspy, you can’t be Joan of Arc! Why can’t you just be a regular knight?’”

Sheila chortled softly, “You sound nothing like her,” she teased.

“Thank god.  I’d have to rip out my own vocal cords if I ever developed her eardrum-piercing cawing.”  The way he deadpanned his threat evoked a laugh from the satyr, though she quickly stifled the sound.  Gaspar sighed. “You know, holding all that in is going to kill you.”

“My therapist says my stress levels are manageable,” she quipped back defensively.  They both know she didn’t have a therapist.  They encouraged openness, feelings… dangerous things for a Whitehart.

“You know what I mean, silly goat,” he said, watching her face while simultaneously causing three different cars to blare their horns at him.  She did indeed, so fell silent until they pulled up in front of her apartment.

Years ago, fire had torn apart the area of Colorado Springs called ‘Mountain Shadow.’  It was the tip of the burn scar on the side of the mountain, and even a decade and a half later it was still healing.  Like the saplings that had pushed their way through the ash to start their new life, the Folk had taken up residence in the area.  Sheila lived in a gated apartment complex in the area, her room looking up at the healing hillside.  She paid more for it, but it spoke to the nature spirit in her.  After destruction there was new, often stronger, life.  It gave her hope that the Fae could grow strong after their own calamity.

Gaspar hummed to himself on the porch swing, wafting clouds of cotton candy vapor from his favorite brand of cancer-stick. Sitting out there served two purposes: a nicotine fix, and it let him ignore the inside of her apartment.  He had come to terms with the fact that the big pile of clothes opposite her bed was dirty, the clean ones were hung with care on an exercise machine, and it might take a week or more before her dishes made their way to the kitchen. Even though it drove his OCD ‘itchy with madness,’ he’d promised not to try to straighten up anymore.

The satyr stood looking at herself in a full-length mirror, one that was tacked to the wall without a frame.  She ran her fingertips over the bareness of her thighs, checking the state of the wax job she’d gotten the Sunday before.  They called it a ‘greek,’ and it removed all her fur from her navel to the middle of her thighs, giving the image of thigh-high stockings made of red fur.  She decided it was still clean enough, though she frowned at the state of her tail.  After hours trapped under a skirt, it looked more like bunny fluff than it did goat fur.  She fussed at it with a brush, then gave up.

Her hair, not happy with having been bound back all day, let its opinion be known by frizzing out as much as possible.  It was quite upset, she was sure, because she had not only tried out a new conditioner, but had dyed it a darker shade of red. Her usual color was closer to orange (Gaspar tried to help by calling it ‘coppery’), and her roots had been ‘hot.’ No matter how she tried, it wouldn’t form into the desired ringlets of luscious red. Instead it looked, in her opinion, like something found at the bottom of a basket of red yarn.  Giving up, her hair found itself bound tightly backwards before being slathered with leave in conditioner to weigh it down. Hair and tail would just have to stay upset.

“Your clothing allergy has gotten out of hand,” Gaspar patted her bottom as he walked by, then sat daintily on the edge of her bed. While he was entirely comfortable with her naked bits, he still gave her ever-growing laundry pile a look of horror. “Okay, so, if I paid for a maid… hazard pay, to be sure… would you even let them in here?”

Sheila did not look up from where she was sorting her clean dresses. “You know I can’t let someone in here unbound, Gaz.” She turned with a dress held up in front of her.  It was short, perhaps too short, and red… perhaps too red.  Her friend was looking at the wall near the head of her bed instead of the dress. On it was a painting of a door, covered in symbols, with a quite-real handle sticking out of it.  Above the door was a quote:

‘I have trod the upward and the downward slope; I have endured and done in days before; I have longed for all, and bid farewell to hope; And I have lived and loved, and closed the door.’

The quote had nothing to do with the operation of the door; Sheila just liked Stevenson.

“Sometimes,” Gaspar said quietly, sitting with a straight back, his knees folded, “I try to remember life before the Fae.  I think that maybe I knew what I was seeing, you know, before?”  he paused, adjusting the hem of his skirt, “I feel I’ve always know them… you.”  He offered her a smile, then motioned towards the portal with a delicate lift of his fingers, “Who knows, maybe I’ve seen a door like this in Manitou, and I was like… tra la la, yay, a painting?”

The two were bound together by a ritual, but there were still things she couldn’t tell him.  The trods, how they worked, their locations; all of these things would put his life in danger.  He was only allowed to know of this one because a quick splash of water would blend the colors, rendering it impotent.

“So,” she changed the subject, “does this say, ‘momma wants her bun honeyed?”

He knew what she was doing, but after a quick sigh, he came back with, “It says that, as well as, ‘just leave the money on the dresser.’”

“Sex, and some coffee money?” she sat next to him, pulling the dress up over her hooves, “Sounds like a win-win to me!”

“As long as you’re okay with 7-11 coffee, hooker,” he said, turning his usual sly smile away from her.  She knew she wouldn’t be winning this round of snark.

She stood up, turning her back to him so he could fit her tail through the button hole in the back of the dress.  While she made the proper adjustments to her cleavage, he stood to lace golden strands around her horns.  They were bargain-bin necklaces repurposed, but they went with the earrings she wore.  While some of her cousins would pierce the full length of their long, conical ears, she liked to keep things simple.  After Gaspar fixed her make-up, and she added a bit of shine on her hooves, they were ready to go.

Normally, they would have gone to a bar in Manitou, a nearby town that accepted the Folk.  Most of the residents were either Fae or their biggest fans.  Instead, they were heading to the Castle, downtown.  It was a meat market club, with heavier music, more expensive drinks, and hookups far cheaper.  Tonight was a ‘Faery Mixer’, a marketing ploy to get humans into the club. Let the strange and delightful drink free so you can over-charge the humans who want to touch them.

They made it from the parking garage without any of the usual stupidity.  Sheila was quite happy with the wolf whistle received from a passing car.  Usually, it was someone shouting some speciest bullshit. Sexism was far easier to tolerate, particularly when she was feeling sexy.  Once within the building, she settled Gaspar into a corner booth before going to get their drinks.

“Hey, satyr baby,” said a younger man, sliding a bit too close to her at the bar.

She sighed, ears twitching, then replied, “I’m a faun.” When he leaned in closer, turning his head towards her to hear over the music, she repeated: “I. am. a faun.”  He seemed confused by the correction, so she turned to collect the drinks from the bartender.

“You look like a satyr,” he replied, following her close through the crowd.  She swayed through the dancers and minglers expertly, an artform developed by years of waitressing. It was how she’d paid for college, after all.  She didn’t reply until she had the drinks set in front of Gaspar.  Adjusting her dress, she turned to lean towards her inebriated shadow.

“I’m a faun, not a satyr,” she lied.  It was a common mistake that humans made, confusing the two species.  “Satyrs are feral party animals,” she continued, leaving out the bad parts: the misogyny of her male counterparts, who were lauded for centuries for molesting nymphs and human women alike.

“So, what the fuck is a faun?” he asked, looking her up and down in disbelief.

“Like a satyr, but not as…” she paused, almost saying ‘rapey,’ “Easy.  I’m sure if I wasn’t a faun I’d be all about being called ‘satyr baby.’  I’m not, though, so… go away, ‘kay?”  Gaspar leaned up, making a shooing motion towards the man.

“Time to g’wan, boyo,” he said, managing to look both glamorous and intimidating.

“I was just being friendly, freak,” the young man stepped back a bit, raising his voice, “You think I, what, wanted some fucking beast like you?”  Humans were oddly attracted to the Fae, particularly the ones put together by lusty gods.  Resist their overtures and attraction turned to anger quickly.  Fae were less than human, not good enough, just monsters.  

Sheila had dealt with it many times before, but her Gaspar never handled it well.  Sliding into the booth next to him, she covered his hand with hers, shaking her head.

Finding himself being stared at, without any further responses from the ‘faun’ to fire him up, the young man walked away.  

“His prick is as small as his mind,” Gaspar quipped, testing the flavor of his grasshopper.  

“How do you drink those?” Sheila asked, wrinkling her nose in pretend disgust.  She preferred a good IPA over ‘girly’ drinks.  

“Because I want a drink that doesn’t taste like Stockholm syndrome?” he responded, spinning the ice in his glass.  Sheila chuckled softly; they’d disagreed about this for a long time.  She preferred heartier flavors.  Maybe it was the influence of Dionysus, but it didn’t matter, she liked beer.

“Oh, don’t look, but someone’s peeping!” Of course, she immediately turned to look, causing her friend to sigh in exasperation, “I said DON’T look!”

The peeper in question was handsome enough, dancing with a pair of women. Friends, if the way they moved was any clue.  He had dark hair, coupled with light eyes. She did like a nice light eye. She liked the way his clothes fit him even more, even though they weren’t expensive.  He seemed… comfortable. Sure to Gaspar���s word, his eyes spent more time on their booth than on the dance floor.  

“You positive he’s not looking at you?” She asked, watching the man dance.

“Oh, I wish he was,” came the reply, “I would climb that mountain and plant my flag in his textured crop top… but he is so horridly straight.”  She looked at her friend, who immediately tapped the side of his nose, “Gaydar says ‘no fly zone, possibly with anti-gaycraft in his back pockets.”

Sheila counted her blessings once again that Gaspar was in her life.  Without him, she wouldn’t have been able to get a moment’s peace in a packed club.  Folk only numbered close to five percent of the human population.  Most humans claimed to either know a Fae, or to have a friend who knew one personally. Still, they were rare enough for people to be curious, and now that the war was over, more were willing to chance an encounter.

“Go” Gaspar nudged her by sliding his butt against hers. “If he’s odious, give me the sign, girl.”

After a last swig of beer for courage, and some fussing with the length of the skirt (a sudden wish that it was longer), she started toward the trio.  She was used to being the one to start up a conversation, particularly since most who came to her were like ‘satyr baby’ from earlier.  The man smiled at her as she got closer, as did his companions.

Normally, Sheila felt very predatory trying to find a partner in a club.  Deny it as she might, she had satyr blood.  It meant that there was passion inside her that needed to come out. Where better than with nameless targets in a meat market like this one?  Sex could happen, and usually did, but it wasn’t necessarily the desired outcome.  A happy side effect, maybe.  It made her feel like she was prowling, devouring hapless dancers to make herself feel better.

When the man placed his fingertips gently against her arm, leaning down slightly to introduce himself, Sheila felt a kindred spirit.

“Greg,” he said, his voice rich, his mouth close enough to entice, but without touching the sensitive hairs on her ear.  A whiff of store bought musk brushed her nose, barely hiding the more pleasant copper and salt smell of his skin.

“Sheila,” she responded, and that was all it took. They were dancing.  The girls he was with didn’t introduce themselves, but neither did they leave.  Instead, they closed the distance, stepping inside of each other’s personal bubbles. Other than that first touch, Greg kept his hands to himself.  His friends, however, did all the touching for him.  The satyr didn’t mind, not in the least. They were all here for the same thing.  With a group like this, she didn’t have to worry about what might happen.  It allowed her to relax and release the energy she needed to.

Soon, she found herself closing the distance on Greg. It started with little touches: fingertips and hips, but as the music grew heavier, so too did her movements. The club was her temple to Bacchus. Dancing was her religion, and her god demanded ecstasy.  She had never in her life uttered a word of prayer to the creator of her race, but every time she set hoof to dance floor his presence was keenly felt.  

Her heart pounded in her ears as she ground against him, rhythm dictating their movements, heavy bass matching the beat in her chest.  He was turned on, she could tell, but he wasn’t hers quite yet.  She didn’t want him to want her.  She wanted him to need her.  She squatted in front of him, still moving to the beat, but placing her face close enough to his jeans to get her point across.

Hands on her horns dragged her backwards away from Greg, turning her as she slid to her knees.  The young man from before met her angry eyes with madness of his own. Holding her horns didn’t hurt as much as her hair might have, but to her it was twice as humiliating.

“I’m not good enough to talk to, freak?” he shouted over the music, the ambient noise in the club lowering as people stopped dancing to stare. “But you can dance with this… this... faggot?”  The floor was too smooth for her to get her hooves placed well, not with his yanking her head about.  Greg and his friends tried to help, but the young man had friends of his own. Even with the press of the crowd growing worse as people jockeyed to see her predicament, she could still make out the boy’s friends pushing her support away. Words shouted, hostilities rising, and all Sheila could do was flounder.

“I’ve got you figured out,” he mocked. “I just needed to get a ‘handle’ on you!”  He laughed at his own joke, then dragged her head towards his crotch, “Fucking blow me, beast!”

A hoof finally setting itself right was all she needed to drive herself forward, so that’s what she did.  One curved horn landed with a satisfying crunch into his junk, making him scream.  He didn’t let her go, so she rammed him once more.  Trying to twist her head caused him more damage, so he finally let go. Freed, fueled by the rage of being so violated, she came up swinging, but failed to connect.  A hand wrapped around her waist, pulling her back, a familiar voice calming her slightly.

“Woah, woah,” Greg shouted, pulling her backwards, “I think he gets it.”  The young man’s friends rushed to his aid, glaring at the satyr as if she was the problem. She could hear Gaspar calling to her, trying to reach her through the crowd.

“You fucking freak!” the man shouted from the floor, both hands gripping between his legs, his voice cracking with pain. “I’ll fucking kill you!  I’ll mount your damn horns on my wall!”

She lashed a hoof out towards him, but he was too far for her to land the blow.  Greg held her tight, speaking calmly to her, and she let that ease her anger.  Shock came as adrenaline ebbed.  She had struck a human.  The camera lights aimed at her, the eyes of those around her, they all reminded her of just how sub human she truly was.

A dog had just bitten the mailman, and the best the bitch could hope for was being caged.

[ice-cream-under-stars]

Lost and Found (Jumin Han x Mc)

Chapter 2 (1,398 words)

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Author’s note: Hi, lovelies! I’m really grateful for all of the positive feedback on the last chapter, both here, on tumblr, and on ao3! I wasn’t expecting to get any comments, so the fact that I got even more than one made me really happy! This chapter is slightly shorter, and I’m kinda afraid I made Jumin ooc, but I hope you enjoy anyways ≧◡≦

Chapter 2

  The building was so large. Mc felt small and unimportant in its shadow. She paid the taxi driver and mustered up the courage to enter. Besides, it’s not like I’m meeting the President or anything. Heck, I probably will just give the cat to an assistant or secretary and leave. 

  “May I help you, Miss?” The young man at the desk was saying. Mc found it slightly difficult to focus. The lobby buzzed with sounds and people. Televisions were hanging here and there on the walls. The chairs and sofas encircling the glass tables seated men and women in fancy business clothes. Mc assumed they were waiting for meetings and whatnot. She wasn’t sure; after all, she knew nothing of the business world.

  “Uh, yes. I’m Mc. I have Mr. Han’s cat. Chief Assistant Kang told me to come here.” Mc lowered one side of the cloth bag she was holding to reveal the furry, white head.

  “Oh! Please wait one moment.” The man then began dialing a number on a phone. He relayed the situation and a female voice on the other line replied with something Mc couldn’t quite make out.

  “Yes, Ma’am.” He hung up and then said to Mc: “If you’ll please take the elevator to the top floor.”

  Mc felt her anxiety begin to climb up inside her as she ascended. She was clearly out of her element, wearing leggings and a slightly over-sized long sleeve. I probably look like I’m in my pajamas to these people. She absentmindedly picked at her sleeve which she had scrunched up her arm to prevent it from covering her hand, making the touch pad on the elevator easier to use. Eh, on second thought... no. They probably have way nicer pajamas than this. The woman couldn’t help but chuckle to herself.

  The doors glided open and she stepped out onto a floor that was flooded with the setting sun’s natural light. Everything had an orange tint to it. The shiny floors reflected the light to the ceiling, which in turn melted down the walls and blanketed the furniture. Mc noticed a woman behind a desk. There were piles of paper neatly stacked all atop it. The woman herself had short, brunette hair and wore glasses that reflected the light of the computer’s screen in front of her. She didn’t hear Mc approach until the latter cleared her throat and greeted the former with a hello.

  “Ah, you must be Miss Mc?”

  “Yes. Hello. Miss Kang, is it?”

  “That is my name. You have my employer’s cat with you?” Mc confirmed the statement and held out the cloth bag; however, Miss Kang made no move to take it. Instead, she turned to her desk. She held down a button and spoke into the machine.

  “Mr. Han? The woman with your cat has arrived. Yes, si—” but she was cut off as the door adjacent to the two women was opened quite abruptly, startling Mc. She turned to see a tall man with dark hair and grey eyes in the doorway. Once his eyes settled on Mc, she wished she could have become a turtle and hide in her shirt. His aura screamed serious and professional, and its intensity was beginning to choke her. She may have unconsciously stood up straighter and forgotten how to breathe.

  “I presume you are the one with my Elizabeth III?” His voice was deep and his tone was strict and to-the-point. But... was there a hint of anxiety in it as well? Mc didn’t give herself the chance to dwell on it. She replied, as calmly as possible, with:

  “Yes. Here she is.” Mc reached into her bag and scooped the cat into your arms. Is she purring? Upon seeing her owner, the feline meowed and began to squirm in Mc’s arms. She took a few steps forward and Mr. Han closed the remaining distance. With care, he took his darling pet into his arms and inspected her. Mc stood there awkwardly, unsure if it was impolite to stare at him.

  After a moment, he looked at Mc. She felt like like icicles were piercing her body. Mc began to pick at her sleeve again.

  “Come into my office,” the man demanded, turning on his heel. Mc blinked. She glanced at Miss Kang, who simply looked exhausted, then back at the empty doorway.

  “I, uh, should be getting back,” she proclaimed. Liar. There’s literally nothing I have going tonight. Upon hearing no response, Mc sighed in defeat and entered the office. 

  The man was sitting in his chair with the feline sleeping on his lap.

  “Close the door.” Mc obeyed. She turned back to the heir and found him staring at her as he lightly scratched the head of his pet. She could see the calculations running behind his eyes. Was he judging her? Most likely, and it made Mc feel even more uncomfortable than before. She was about to say something to break the crushing silence, but he beat her to it. “Well, Miss Mc, I seem to owe you my gratitude for finding and returning my cat to me. If you don’t mind me asking, what were her living conditions over the past few days?” He may have framed it as a question, but Mc knew it was an interrogation.

  “I, uh, used to have a cat.” She cast her eyes to the floor and tried to cover up the sad taste in her mouth with, “So I had the necessities to take care of yours. You don’t need to worry. While they weren’t as— uh— nice as what she’s probably used to, they’re of better quality than what most people of the middle class use for their pets.” What was she saying?! At this point, it seemed as though she were stringing random words together in hopes of sounding sophisticated. Was she even making any sense at this point? “My cat is—was given that same food and she was very healthy.”

  “Apparently not healthy enough.”

  “I beg your pardon?!” Mc jerked her head up to face the man squarely. “Minnie didn’t die from health problems. She died from old age. Sorry, but some people aren’t rich enough to pay doctors to cure that.” Mc’s eyes widened in shock as she placed her hand over her mouth. She returned her gaze back to the floor, knowing she should apologize, but simultaneously not wanting to.

  “I’m sorry.” He was the one apologizing. “I didn’t mean to be rude. It’s just,” he sighed, “I’ve been worried about my Elizabeth and want to make sure she has been cared for.”

  “Well, she looks healthy, doesn’t she?” Mc’s voice was more hushed this time.

  “Indeed, she does. Thank you. And I truly am sorry about you losing your Minnie. I’m sure it will be difficult for me also when—” but he stopped himself. Mc stole a peak and noticed he was focusing on the white fur ball in his lap. She observed the softening of his eyes when he looked at the feline.

  “W-well, I should be going. I am glad I was able to return your cat to you safely, Mr. Han.” She swung around and began to reach for the handle of the door.

  “What about your reward?” Mc halted and turned.

  “O-oh. Um, I f-forgot but... uh, yeah?” Mc inwardly cringed at herself. She couldn’t even form proper sentences, and after snapping at a corporate heir at that— wait, was there a hint of amusement in his eyes? 

  “My assistant will give you the check. Have a nice evening, Miss Mc.” Mc bowed awkwardly and hastily before all but slamming the door shut behind her. It wasn’t out of anger, but pure anxiety. She needed to get out of this building before she embarrassed herself any further.

  The assistant followed suit of her employer’s words and even said,

  “This isn’t very professional of me, but thank you.” Mc was taken aback at this but replied with a small “you’re welcome.” Either this Miss Kang loved the cat equally as much as Mr. Han, or she was tired of hearing about it. Mc leaned towards the latter option.

  Exiting the building, Mc breathed freely for the first time. She stretched out her sleeves to their actual length and subsequently flagged a taxi to bring her home.

[galfridus1]

Happy Birthday Arthur!

It’s 17 August here and it’s Arthur’s birthday!! Many happy returns!

Here’s a fic, inspired by prompt from @thestarrynightgazer and with thanks to @maybeishouldwait for comments. This is part one of three/four depending on whether you count reblogs.

***

“It’s his birthday? Today?”

Zeldris looked at Gelda with absolute incredulity, his heart pounding uncomfortably in his chest. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” he griped as he shot out of bed, quickly rummaging in the wardrobe for something to wear. “Now I’ve got less than eight hours to find him a present.”

Gelda looked up at him, her face calm and serene as she propped herself up with a number of pillows. “I would have thought you’d remember,” she chastised, a slight smile curving the left side of her mouth. “How long have we been living together now? Time enough for you to know when Arthur’s birthday is. And besides it’s on the calendar…”

“Yes, yes alright!” Zeldris grumbled as he pulled on some clothes. “What’s happening anyway?”

Gelda looked at him, her violet eyes gleaming and Zeldris felt the breath catch in his throat. It was the one feature they shared, their eyes so like one another’s, their beauty causing him pause even after all these years. “You have no need to worry,” she chuckled, “I’ve sorted everything out. The party will be here. Arthur knows nothing about it but everyone else does, and I booked catering. The cake is a masterpiece.”

“How are you always so organised?” Zeldris muttered as he checked his reflection in the full-length mirror, running a hand through his hair to make sure the spikes were arranged in their proper place.

“It’s easy really,” Gelda replied, “You just have to pay attention and get stuff done. Which is what you should do now. I have suggestions for gifts if you’d like?”

Zeldris paused, his lips pressed together as he battled temptation. “No. I do this every year. I’m going to get him something myself this time.”

Gelda laughed, the tinkling sound reverberating through the air. “Well, good luck. Text me if you draw a blank.”

***

Four hours later Zeldris sincerely regretted telling his girlfriend that he did not need her help. He had scoured what felt like the whole of Oxford Street, trying and failing to find something Arthur might feasibly want as a gift. But it was all to no avail. The problem was Arthur had everything any twenty-five year old could possibly want, and if he got him alcohol again Gelda would no doubt raise her eyebrows, the expression saying ‘I told you so’ more clearly than any words could convey.

Still, a bottle of some random liquor was better than nothing. Turning abruptly, adroitly dodging the crowds swarming past in the opposite direction, Zeldris made his way back to the department store he had listlessly explored earlier that morning. The day was hot, the relentless August sun beating down on the shoppers who dragged their feet limply down the tarmaced street but Zeldris trudged on, wrinkling his nose in disgust as the odd smell of grease from the stalls dotting the sides of the road caused him to gag slightly. He just wanted the whole sorry experience to be over. Thank goodness Gelda’s birthday was not until April next year.

He was nearing the pretentious facade of Selfridges when a conversation caught his attention, the words somehow penetrating his consciousness above the hubbub of chatter. His eyes strayed to a small girl walking alongside her mother, clutching at a lead for dear life as an enthusiastic puppy pulled her forcefully along. The animal looked delighted, oblivious to the weather, and Zeldris was surprised to feel a twinge of longing piercing his chest. It looked so much fun, and of course Arthur had always wanted a dog.

Zeldris stood stock still, causing several passersby to bump into him forcefully. And why not? True, a dog was not ideal - they shed hair like nobody’s business and made their surroundings smell like mouldy old socks when wet - but the three of them were older now, and well off. They could easily afford to look after a pet, and it could always live outside in the garden. And as a gift it was at least original; Gelda could hardly complain that he had wimped out this time.

***

About half an hour later, Zeldris was standing in the reception of Battersea Dogs and Cats home, the only place he could think of in central London where one might find a canine at short notice. The walls were covered in pictures and leaflets showcasing the charity’s many success stories, sorry-looking mongrels, skeletal and with mangy fur, transformed into sleek, happy and well-beloved pets. He was just congratulating himself on his brilliant idea when the voice of the receptionist pulled him back to reality.

“You need to book an appointment for an interview about adopting a dog,” she gently explained as she tapped on her computer keyboard. “We have slots next week, but nothing available until then, I’m afraid.”

Zeldris felt his heart sink slightly. “Is there nothing sooner?” he asked cautiously. “I was really hoping to get one today.”

“Well that’s out for a start,” the woman said sharply, her eyes drilling into him as she turned away from her screen. “We are very careful here. We don’t let just anyone adopt a dog. There’s an initial interview, a home visit to check suitability, and then an observation when a suitable pet has been found. The whole process takes about a month.”

“A month?” Zeldris asked incredulously. “But… I mean…”

“If you’re after a specific dog, don’t worry, there’s always plenty, and sometimes the cute ones aren’t all they’re cracked up to be,” the lady continued, her expression softening slightly. “We have dozens of Staffies and they’re great companions. People look down on them, but they’re wonderful. I have three myself.”

“It’s not that,” Zeldris said quickly, feeling an unwelcome heat flooding his cheeks. “It’s… well this is embarrassing. It’s my boyfriend’s birthday today and he’s always wanted a dog. I really wanted to surprise him.”

“Awww!” The noise that issued from the woman’s mouth was somewhere between a sigh and a swoon. “That’s so, so… romantic,” she gushed, and Zeldris felt the blush he was trying to manage spiral out of control. “But it doesn’t change things,” she added more gently, a sad smile on her face. “There’s no way you can adopt a dog as a surprise. Our team will need to talk to your boyfriend too.”

Zeldris was on the point of making a hasty exit when he caught a calculating look in the receptionist’s eyes. “But…” she began, her lips pursed in thought.

“Go on,” he encouraged, with some effort forcing his face to return to its normal countenance. “You have something in mind?”

“As it happens, yes,” the woman continued, the words accompanied by a vigorous nod. “You see, the team raided a kitten farm a few days ago. The poor things were being kept in such awful conditions and… well the upshot is we have far more cats than we know how to deal with. And a slot for an interview just opened up. If we have a cat that’s a match for your family then you can take it home with you today.”

“A cat?” Zeldris mulled over the idea and the more he thought about it the more pleased he became. They were by far superior animals in every way. They cleaned themselves, did not require walks, and had the added benefit that they would keep any pests at bay. Zeldris pictured himself sitting on the sofa, a dainty feline jumping up to him and laying its head in his lap. And Arthur did like cats. Maybe not as much as dogs but he did like them. Only last month he had been encouraging a stray to visit the garden, that is until the sorry-looking animal had given him fleas.

“Thank you, why not,” he finally said, returning the receptionist’s eager smile as the lady started tapping away at her computer once more.

***

No long after, Zeldris found himself being led up the stairs towards a room that smelled strongly of biscuits and bleach. The walls were lined on all sides with cages, perspex doors with holes in giving a glimpse into the almost identical habitats within. Each cat had bowls of food and water, a litter tray and a box to hide in, as well as a few toys scattered about on the white laminate surfaces. The occupants however could not have been more varied: the cats came in every colour imaginable; some ran up towards their doors, rubbing their heads against the plastic in greeting while others shied away, turning their backs.

The interview had been an informal affair consisting of a few questions about the household amenities and some quiz-like queries about the cost of vet care and insurance. Zeldris was glad he had read the blurb on the organisation’s website as he’d waited for his meeting with one of the Home’s volunteers to begin; the answers he’d needed were still fresh in his mind.

“Now let’s see…” the volunteer murmured as he leafed through the notes of interview, the papers rustling slightly in his fingers. “Three adults, all of you working long hours, and no children. I think we have just the cat for you.

“I have to warn you he’s lazy, which is good because he will basically do nothing to the house while you’re at work. But don’t expect him to be a good mouser,” the young man added as he led Zeldris to a cage in the corner of the room. Inside sat one of the fattest creatures Zeldris had ever seen; the white and ginger cat was at least as wide as it was long, if not wider, and sat at its empty food bowl with a mournful expression. It looked like a circle more than anything, or perhaps a stuffed cushion, though the colouring reminded him strongly of Arthur.

“His name is Cath, don’t ask me why,” the volunteer said as he gave the cat an affectionate look. “And as you can see he likes his food. We’ve put him on a diet since he’s arrived and he’s not been too happy about it. But I think some proper fuss will help him settle.”

Zeldris, regarding Cath with something approaching disgust, was on the point of asking if any other unwanted felines were possibly available when the volunteer opened the cage. Before Zeldris knew what was happening the cat had launched itself into his arms and started purring loudly, the vibrations reverberating through him as Cath fell asleep.

“He’s… not done that with anyone before,” the volunteer said incredulously. “He must really like you!”

“Probably just hungry,” Zeldris muttered under his breath but deep down he was secretly pleased. It was nice to be holding the cat, who was even heavier than he looked, in the knowledge that the feline was at least a bit choosy.

The young man retrieved a wad of papers stuck in a plastic folder next to the cage, his eyes flicking from side to side as they traced the words on the pages. “Cath has a clean bill of health, and he’s been fully vaccinated. He’s ready to go,” he said cheerfully as he gave Zeldris a wide smile. “He’s a well adjusted cat too. Nothing untoward in his past; his previous owners just couldn’t afford to feed him I think.”

Prising Cath out of his arms proved more difficult than expected but eventually, between them, two volunteers managed to wrestle the animal into a travel box. So it was that, loaded down with food, a litter tray and, of course, the enormous cat in a cage, Zeldris set off in a taxi heading for home. He imagined how pleased Arthur and Gelda would be even as the weight of the cat pressed into his lap.

It was only as he approached the terraced house the three of them shared that he noticed his phone, the lock screen flashing to show he had several missed calls and a veritable flurry of unread messages, most of them containing the words ‘where are you’ in capital letters. It was much later than he had thought, and the party would likely be starting soon, that is if it was not already underway.

In a rush, Zeldris paid the taxi driver and made his way as quickly as possible to the door of the house, hampered in his efforts by the amount of cargo he carried. He was met on the threshold by a furious Gelda. “Where have you been?” she hissed, her eyes smouldering into his own before she caught sight of the amount of stuff he was carrying, “And what is all this?”

“I got him a cat,” Zeldris said lamely, his voice sounding unsure even in his own ears. Gelda stared him with undisguised astonishment, before her face morphed into an enormous grin. In a second she was kneeling before the travel cage, cooing like an imbecile at the still-purring feline.

“That’s an amazing idea! You are completely forgiven,” Gelda said in rapture as she opened the cage, the huge cat launching into her arms in an instant. “Let’s go give it to him now. We’ve already done the reveal. He was surprised,” she added with a little reproach in her voice as she settled the cat more securely in her arms. “Where did you get it from?”

Zeldris felt slightly aggrieved as Gelda led the way towards the dining room, the cat still purring contentedly in her arms as she sashayed down the hall. “I got him from Battersea,” he grumbled as he followed behind, having deposited the various bags at the door. “And for your information it was a bit of a mission. I think I should be the one to give him to Arthur…”

“Surprise!” Gelda shouted as she flung open the door, revealing a large group of people all holding glasses. The mahogany dining table was groaning with food, an absolutely enormous cake standing proudly in the centre. It was shaped like a castle, iced walls and turrets rising up proud to form three tiers of confection topped with red and green flags. “It’s Castle Camelot,” Gelda whispered into his ear as Zeldris stared at it in amazement. “You know, because he’s Arthur Pendragon. Cost me a small fortune to commission but I think it’s worth it.”

The guests were just beginning to make suitable noises in response to the cat’s appearance when, without warning, it launched itself from Gelda’s arms. Zeldris watched in horror as Cath leapt onto the table and, without hesitation, nose-dived straight into the castle cake, knocking it into pieces in an instant.

The whole thing seemed to happen in slow motion. The tall turrets fell to the table, crumbling on impact, covering the pristine white tablecloth in icing and jam. The guests looked on with horror-stricken faces, mouths open in shock and eyes wide as saucers. The previously cheerful room was now silent as the grave save for the mewls of the cat, who was devouring the cake as if he had not eaten in weeks, small globules scattering from his whiskers into the mass of golden crumbs. Zeldris felt Gelda stiffen noticeably at his side, the soft sound of her breathing betraying her perturbation; it took a lot to upset her but once she was she cried easily. He dared not turn to look into her face, sure that she would be on the point of tears.

Amidst all the commotion, his eyes caught Arthur’s and he felt terrible on seeing his boyfriend’s face was a picture of desolation. Then, suddenly, Arthur began to laugh. First, his lip twisted, a faint chuckle bubbling up before the sound built and grew into an almighty guffaw. Arthur threw his head back, tears of mirth beading the corners of his eyes as he stared at the mess which had once been the most elaborate cake ever to be constructed. Arthur was of course quick to smile, but it had been a while since he had looked quite this happy.

With some relief, Zeldris felt the change in atmosphere trickle through the room as their friends caught the mood, smiles and laughter returning as they passed bottles of wine and spirits round to replenish their drinks. Glasses clinked and jokes passed as the guests quickly retrieved their phones to capture the sight of the ruined cake. It would no doubt be the star of social media before the hour was out, along with the feline who had caused the destruction.

With some trepidation, Zeldris slipped an arm around Gelda, unsurprised to feel her tremble in his grasp. He was relieved to find that she leant into his touch. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered to her as he held her close, both arms encircling her waist as Gelda pressed her face into his shoulder. “They did say he was on a diet but I never thought…”

“That. Was. Hilarious!” Arthur said heartily, moving round the table to join them. He had managed to scoop up the cream-covered cat before it moved on to the rest of the food, depositing dairy smears and crumbs all over his jacket in the process. With a slightly apologetic look, Arthur kissed Gelda tenderly, stroking her hair with his free hand and Zeldris felt her relax against him. It was nice, comforting, the effect only slightly marred as Arthur added with unbridled enthusiasm, “I love him! What’s his name?”

“Cath,” Zeldris confirmed as the now-stuffed animal rubbed its face into Arthur’s chest, continuing to purr as if it was some sort of drilling machine. “His name is Cath. And starting now he is not allowed in the dining room.”

[cielpurrple]

Make Me - 19

Jimin x Reader x Got7 Jaebum

Word count:6717

Summary: Everything seemed perfect; your present with Jimin with a promise of the future together with him too, looks bright.

Until his past came to say ‘hello’.

Everybody’s gaze is now on Jungkook, waiting for him to speak.

“Among us, I’m the closest one that can keep an eye on Y/N since we’re both at the university so I’ll do that part. I’d do whatever I can to protect her, ” He spoke with a hint of seriousness.

Namjoon and Taehyung nods in approval while Yoongi’s dim expression lights up.

“Do your best to hang out at LATE regularly so you can be more protected,” Jin directly told Jungkook and the younger man nods.

“I’ll be around there  too so expect my presence on the campus from time to time,” Yoongi added.

“I’ll personally invite Y/N to be a junior intern at my company,” Namjoon said.

“As for Jimin hyung, I’ll take care of it,” Taehyung spoke.

They stayed there for a few more minutes and when there’s nothing more to add on their plan, Taehyung and Jungkook left.

“I hope this will be enough to keep them safe,” Jin said.

“Let’s just do our best for the two of them,” Namjoon replied.

Yoongi, who’s now in front of Namjoon’s computer, began cracking the university’s database. He’s now heightening the security of the personal information of the students. He even adds a new memorandum to be circulated in a few hours time about the disclosure of student’s private information.

“I wanted to call Hoseok but as I track him, it’s not a good place to call so I dropped a message, asking him for a meet up,” Yoongi said as he exited the program that he used to crack the database and ‘cleaned’ Namjoon’s computer.

“Call us when you’re gonna meet, alright?”

Namjoon looked at Yoongi.

“Sure. See you guys, I’ll call when there’s progress.”

Yoongi left the building followed by Jin.

As soon as Jin took off, Namjon created a formal letter, telling the university that they personally picked you as their junior intern. When he saw the ‘sent’ message, he left the building as well.

It was still dark when you wake up. You slowly get out of bed trying not to wake Jimin up and when you successfully did it, you went to your room and began packing. When you’re done, you went downstairs with a plan on making something for him to eat.

You’re about to flip the last batch  of pancakes when a couple of arms slowly trapped you from behind making you smile.

“Good morning Jiminie,”

He rested his chin on your right shoulder, wanting to see what you’re making.

“Good morning princess,” he replied. He let go of you when you’re about to transfer the food into the plate.

He went to the table and you smiled when you see him clap like a kid as you placed his plate of pancakes.

You began to eat and in between mouthfuls, he started to talk.

“Are you ready? I mean, have you packed already?”

“Yes,” you replied, finishing the last piece of your food.

“Great, I can still see you before you leave.”

You smiled at him and watch him finish his own food.

“Thanks for the delicious breakfast, baby.”

“You’re welcome, I’ll miss doing this while I’m away,” you pouted.

He chuckled upon hearing what you said.

“Your parents miss you I’m sure, so better spend time with them while you still have a summer vacation baby,” he replied while ruffling your hair.

“Yes, I know, please stop torturing my hair,” you stood up so you can escape from the hair-messing Jimin but instead, he tickled you. When you had a chance to run, you dashed towards the second floor but he chased you untl you reach his room. You raised both of your arms, trying to surrender.

“I give up, Stop!”

You yelled until you collapsed on the floor.                  

You were already panting when he stopped tickling you. You then realized that he’s on top of you.

“Go and take a bath or you’ll be late for work,” it came out as a whisper in between your breaths.

“Right,” he said and he slowly stood up and you followed.

As soon as you managed to stand up, he grabbed you by the waist then a pair of soft, warm lips greeted yours.

You responded to the gentle movements of his lips that sent your entire body on fire.

You’re sure you wanted more but you knew that this wasn’t the right time.

So when he pulled away, you playfully pushed him towards the direction of the bathroom.

“Alright, alright, see you later in a bit,” he gave in.

When you heard the faint click of the lock, you went to your room and prepared as well.

You opted for a simple and comfortable clothes. You carried your travel bag with you as you jogged downstairs when Jimin followed.

“You should’ve waited for me, that looks heavy,” he commented while pointing at your bag.

“Thank you but  I can carry it,” you responded.

The two of you walked together towards the front door. There are two cars already waiting for the both of you.

“I’m sorry I’m not coming with you,” his tone is very apologetic.

You cannot lie, you really wanted him to come too but it would be selfish of you if you’d convince him to come along knowing that he’s already a working man and has a responsibility. So instead, you smiled at him.

“You don’t have to say sorry Jiminie, I understand.”

You gently put down your bag and went closer to him so you can give him a hug.

“Promise me you’ll eat on time though I’m away,” you said.

“I promise,” he replied.

“I know you like your job but please have enough rest too, okay?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Now it’s his turn to ask you.

“Video call me always?”

“Most certainly,” you replied.

“God, I miss you already,” he whispered.

“See you in a few weeks Jimin,” you replied.

“Take care,” he responded.

You let go of him and he walked you until you both reach the car that you’ll be using.

You waved goodbye to him and he walked to his own vehicle. When he started to drive, your car followed. You didn’t feel any sense of longing but when your car turned into a different direction from his, you felt a pain on your chest so you just stared on his car as it disappear from your view.

In between your rides, you and the assigned driver made a few stops for food and toilet breaks. Everything that’s going on in your journey is being reported by your driver straight to Jimin. You chuckled when you tried calling him and found his number busy, only to find out that the driver’s reporting to him.

It’s already dark when you arrived in front of your house’s gate. You tried inviting the driver for a bit of rest and a meal but he profusely declined so you just thank him, told him to have a safe journey back, and bid him good bye.

As you enter your house, a dashing animal jumped at you, making you scream.

“Heya Potchi, I’m so glad to see you too, my boy!”

You said as you ruffle the dog’s soft fur while it waggles its tail like a car’s wiper.

“Honey, our Y/N is here!”

Your mother shouted as she came half walking, half running towards you. She trapped you into her arms, embracing you tightly.

“Oh, dear I’m so glad to see you,” she whispered in your ear.

“I’m happy to see you too, Mom!”

She let you go and you saw your father approaching he towered at the two of you.

“My, my, look at that--” he looked at you from head to toe, as if you’ve become a new person. “—our Y/N became prettier in a span of one term!”

You rolled your eyes at your father, trying to conceal your heating cheeks. You noticed him looking beyond you, as if he’s expecting someone else.

“Are you looking for Jimin, dad?”

He nods.

“He’s not with me, he has work.”

“Righty,” he said and he picked up your bag and went back inside the house.

After you have settled, you came back downstairs already wearing your favorite clothes. Your mother prepared several of your favorite dishes plus ice cream.

You’re enjoying a late night variety show when your father sat closer to you.

“What’s up, dad?”

“Nothing, nothing.”

“Come on, I know there’s something. Oh, how’s the resort?”

“It had it’s opening a couple of months  back. Your mother is in housekeeping, and I’m on the valet parking.”

Upon hearing this, you couldn’t help but to feel apologetic of what your parent’s jobs have become. You don’t feel ashamed of what they’re doing, you just think that your life before, when you still own a small grocery store was much more convenient.

“Are you happy there, dad? You and mom?” you looked at him, not paying attention to the show anymore.

“Of course, get to ride on luxury cars almost every week,” he smiled.

“Don’t worry about us Y/N, we’re doing great. The pay is good as well you know,” your mother added, bringing you some cookies and coffee.

This made want to finish your studies in an instant, get a job and help your parents. You leaned your head on your father’s arm while he ruffled your hair.

“Seriously, what’s up with the men in my life making my hair a mess? It’s hard to style and make it presentable you know?” you groaned.

“Oh, so the ‘hair messing’ is already reserved for Jimin then?” Your father pouted. He even gave an emphasis to “hair messing” and “Jimin” just to tease you again.

“Whoa dad—can you please admit that you miss Jimin more than you miss me? You keep on mentioning him. You know what, I’ll just video call him so you can see him right now.”

You pulled your phone from your pocket but your father in order to tease you once again, invited someone for a video call and the recipient answered on the second ring.

It’s none other than Jimin.

Your mouth fell open when you saw him on your father’s screen, busy clicking and typing something on the computer.

[Hello sir, good evening]

Upon hearing his voice, you freeze.

“Oh, yes ehem, hello Jimin. How are you doin’ son?” your father tries to cover his screen from your gaze.

[I’m doing well sir, just a couple of things to be done for work.]

“Have you eaten?”

You heard him chuckle and sigh. You tried calling your father’s attention but he ignores you on purpose.

[Yes, I’ve had dinner earlier with my boss, thank you.]

“You seemed quite pale and your face is thinner, does Y/N  take care of you when she’s there?”

Your mouth dropped in an instant when you heard him ask your boyfriend that question, you wanted to react but your father gestured for you to keep quiet.

[Oh, sir, I beg to disagree but Y/N has been taking care of me since day one that we’ve been together. I am the one who’s lacking, most of the time, sorry about that.]

Your heart melted when you heard him defend you, your father looked at your direction as if he was defeated about something. He looked at you let out your tongue to tease him back.

“That so? Alright, I just wanted to see how’ya doing there. Get some rest alright?”

[Will do sir, thank you for your concern.]

“Bye.”

He immediately end the call and you playfully smack your father’s arm.

“Dad, what are you trying to accomplish with that?!”

“Nothing, nothing, I’d get some rest for I have a long day tomorrow. You too, don’t stay up too late talking to him, he looks tired,” he said while going upstairs.

“Good night dad, I love you!”

You heard him mutter an ‘I love you too’ before he enter their room. You went to your bed to call Jimin.

The call was short, you asking him how’s his day and you remind him again not to skip meals and rest properly.

The morning came and your parents left a note, saying they’ll be off to work. So, in exchange, you decided to do the laundry while cleaning whatever part of the house you can clean while they’re away. You started from the bathroom until you reached the living room. You stopped for a quick lunch and went to your backyard to hang your laundered clothes and you noticed there are newly bloomed flowers on your garden.

You took a snap of it and send it to Jimin, telling him how pretty the flowers are.

You felt productive that day when you finished your tasks and your parents wasn’t home yet. So, you decided to take a stroll on the beach and watch the sunset.

You watch the small children play on the sand while you find a quiet spot away from them. You took a picture of your bare feet buried in the sand, and several shots of the setting sun.

You returned home and still your parents are away so you prepared food for them.

This routine continued until it became a habit for you, not noticing that two weeks has passed already.

One morning, you decided to drop by at the exclusive resort to bring food to your parents. You dressed appropriately with the hopes that the guards will let you in.

When you approached one of them, he told you to wait for a bit just to confirm your parents’ identities plus the approval of the head of the security department.

After a few minutes, they allowed you to enter the resort’s premises but only with a presence of an escort--a tall, masculine man that has an uncommon facial feature. In short, it’s odd for him to work as a security personnel because he’s attractive.

“I’ll take it over from here,” he looked at one of the security person you just talked to a while back.

“Hi, my name is Wonho, and I’ll be guiding you to our employee’s lounge. And you are?”

“Y/N, Y/N Y/L/N,” you replied.

“A pleasure to meet you, Miss Y/N. Now, shall we proceed? We only have ten minutes tops. Follow me,”

He began walking and you followed. All of the staffs there greets him in a friendly way which made you feel somewhat relaxed.

You stopped at one of the closed double doors and he knocked once, you heard your mother’s voice permitting you two to come in.

“You have a lovely visitor, Madam Y/M/N.” He said and he gestured you to enter the employee’s lounge.

True to his word, the lounge is beautiful. It’s spacious and it looks like a living room with a kitchen. You handed the food to your mother and she thanked you. You said good bye to her right after.

The security escort guided you still until you’re on the gates once again.

“Thank you for letting me in,” you told the guard and the escort.

The guard just nods while your escort smiled.

“My pleasure, Miss Y/N, see you around.”

You gave him a slight smile and returned to your house. You decided not to do that again.

When you exited the resort’s premises, Wonho spoke through a device attached to the collar of his shirt.

“Did you enjoyed that?”

[I do.]

The person on the other line replied.

Jimin was restless ever since  the encounter you three had with Z. There are times that he can’t focus at work thinking you might be spending your time with her. He doesn’t want to bother your friends so he didn’t mention it to them but instead, he convinced you to come home to your parents thinking it’ll be safer for you to be there. He started doing his tasks ahead of deadline so he can have a free time and visit you soon but for the meantime, he gets by just video calls, and pictures that’s coming from you.

“Missing Y/N?”

Taehyung appeared, his blazer rests on his arm.

He just glanced at him and returned into typing.

“C’mon hyung, you do miss Y/N, right? Why not take a week off?” he offered.

“That offer’s tempting Taehyung but no, I have work to do,” Jimin replied, completely dismissing the subject.

“Don’t tell me you had a fight before she leave? It’s been what? A couple of weeks right?”

Taehyung said, with a hint of panic.

“it’s nothing like that. We didn’t fight at all.”

Jimin replied.

“Then what is it? You’re not yourself these past few days honestly,” he sat on one leather sofa.

Perhaps, it’s about time he say something, to open up what’s bothering him.

“Remember our celebratory meal for Y/N and Jungkook?”

Jimin looked at Taehyung, who’s now seated properly, his attention is all on him.

“Yeah, what about it?”

“Y/N and I strolled for a bit until she introduced someone to me,” he continued.

“It’s Z. She introduced me to Z Taehyung.”

Taehyung’s eyes widen, denying what he just heard.

“Are we--? No, we’re not talking about the Z that we know or?”

“That’s her, yep. The one and only.” Jimin confirmed.

“How did Y/N get to know her?”

“Well, she said she became her roommate during her first year.”

“How did she reacted when she saw you?”

“She’s more than surprised. But we acted as if it’s our first time meeting each other so Y/N  wouldn’t suspect anything,” he said, now he’s sitting on the cushioned chairs across Taehyung. He felt somewhat drained just by telling this to Taehyung.

The two of them became quiet for a few moments until Taehyung cleared his throat.

“I’m not in the position to say anything but hyung, shouldn’t you tell Y/N about her?”

Jimin’s head jerked into Taehyung’s direction, his face is dim and serious. He slowly shook his head.

“She still doesn’t know anything Tae, I don’t have any plans in telling Y/N about it,”

Taehyung kept quiet. It seems that he wanted to say something but he just kept it to himself.

“You can visit Y/N anytime, hyung you have my permission,” he gave Jimin a pat on the shoulder and he exited Jimin’s office.

Jimin exhaled and buried his head on his hands, trying to think of you, the only person who calms him down.

Hoseok went back to the man who gave him a task in collecting information about you, empty handed. He was on his way to the said man’s office and to his surprise, the door burst open and it bore a woman who’s still trying to adjust her dress. He concealed himself on one of the curtains and he frowned upon seeing the woman’s face, thinking what is she doing there at this time. When he’s sure she’s far enough, he proceeded to the office as if nothing has happened.

“You’re late,” the man said.

“Sorry, I had a hard time getting information about the girl you’re looking for,” he replied.

“That wouldn’t be necessary anymore.” He smiled mischievously as he turned the chair round and round.

“Y/N Y/L/N. Under a scholarship grant, excellent grades, incoming third year next school year.”

Hoseok’s jaw tightened, he can’t believe he gathered the information he wanted already.

“How did you get the information?”

The man tilted his head on one side, looking proud.

“I didn’t. The information came here on it’s own. Someone from the university paid me a visit. Seems that beautiful lady had some troubles before,” he stood up and poured himself a glass of liquor.

“In other words, she had an enemy, and that enemy of hers babbled everything to me,” he faced Hoseok, handing him a glass of whiskey.

“Don’t you think it’s about time to visit someone? But before that, I’d relax at the resort, you should come along.”

That day, Hoseok came with him, trying to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the beach although he’s itching to tell Yoongi what he  just knew but that should wait. They’ve been there for weeks now and he’s starting to get bored until one morning, they stopped at the floor where the security team is.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?”

He zoomed in the camera showing you talking to one of the guards. The said guard asked permission from the higher ups where Hoseok is and the superior agrees because the man who’s watching you gave a go signal.

“But, I want to  make things more fun, so Hoseok will you do the honors in accompanying our valued guest to where she wants to go?”

“Which Hoseok?” another voice asked.

“Oh, shit yeah, you Wonho, go and pretend you’re one of the security personnel and that you should escort her,” he ordered.

And Wonho left. They watched your movements from there until you left.

That’s where Wonho asked the man if he liked what he did, and with a satisfied smile, he said yes.

After that, Hoseok’s group went back to the city. Yoongi must know what this man had discovered as soon as possible so when he was asked to do some errands, he gladly accepted it and he contacted Yoongi.

When Taehyung left Jimin’s office, he quickly called Namjoon, telling him what Jimin just told him. Namjoon asked for a meeting, still without Jimin. They decided to meet at LATE and when they’re all complete, they asked Taehyung to retold what Jimin had just shared to him.

“Well, this is all getting mixed up,” Jin said.

“Why do I have the feeling that we cannot do anything about this anymore?” Jungkook asked.

“I don’t know Kook, but I’m feeling the same way about this matter as well,” Yoongi said. He excused himself when he received a call.

“I think it’s about time we tell Jimin about this, that it’s not just Z who knows Y/N but Jaebum as well,” Namjoon said which earned several tensed looks from the others.

“Why are you all looking at me like that? Should Jaebum be Voldemort too? Call him he-who-must-not-be-named?”

“How are we going to tell him?” Taehyung changed the topic.

“Any ideas?” Namjoon asked.

“Guys, we need to go and get Y/N now,” Yoongi said when he returned.

“Why?” Jin questioned.

“I just got a call from Hoseok, and he told me that Jaebum owns the resort where Y/N’s parents are working. And according to him, Jaebum’s planning something, a visit,” he explained.

“Shit, let’s go. I’ll get Jimin hyung,” Taehung said as he quickly put on his blazer.

“I’ll prepare the cars, let’s meet at Jimin’s,” Namjoon said.

It’s your third week and you’re starting to miss Jimin’s physical presence now. You don’t want to sound needy or clingy just because you want him to be around that’s why you haven’t mention him anything about visiting you. You just wish he’d be the one to open that topic so you can invite him. You’re resting on the hammock that your father put up for you whenever you feel like reading outside or just to chill when he approached you.

“Do you want to go back in the city?” he said as he sat down on the wooden platform closest to you.

You stop swaying and sat beside him.

“No, dad why?”

“Well, it’s obvious that you’re getting bored here, you miss Jimin don’t you?” he began to tease you again.

You made an ugly face but as you sighed, you nod, answering his question.

“Well, I think, that Cupid or whoever is the god or goddess of love favored you,” he said nonchalantly.

“What are you talking about, dad? Do you mix alcohol with coffee now?”

“No, seriously, look who’s coming,” he said while looking at the direction of your gate.

Your gaze followed your father’s and when your eyes looked at the gate that’s slowly opening, it made your heart beat fast until it showed you the familiar blonde hair with a hint of pink, he’s holding two bouquets of flowers.

“Did you ask him to go here? Dad, you know he has work!” you whispered-screamed beside your father.

“Nuh-uh-uh, I’m innocent. But he told me that he’ll come today. That’s just what I know, swear.”

He even crossed his heart which made you laugh.                                                                                          

“Why don’t you approach him darling, c’mon he’s waiting for too long already,”  he said.

You kissed your father’s cheek while thanking him, and you approached him.

“Miss me?”

You gave him a smile and nod.

“This is for you, and this one’s for your mom.”

He handed you two bouquets and you invited him to come inside when the gate opened once again.

The rest of the boys came in making you smile even wider. Your mother was the last one to enter and you handed her her bouquet.

“Whoa, I’m so glad to see you all,” you smiled at them.

“We kinda miss you so we tagged ourselves too. I hope it doesn’t ruin your plans,” Jungkook teased.

“Ugh, whatever, Kookie!”

the rest of your night became an instant party where you placed mats on the ground, Taehyung became instant best friends with Potchi. Chill, upbeat  music plays on the background courtesy of Jungkook.

Namjoon asked you to dance and he mentioned your junior internship and you thanked him. He assured you that you deserve it that’s why you were chosen.

You saw Jin helping your mother serve some more food and in cleaning up while the rest of the boys are talking to your father while playing cards.

“So, may I assume this is my daughter’s last day here?” your father asked the boys.

Namjoon explained it to your father in a business – like manner and he said yes to him in an instant.

For his assurance, he gave him his business card and when your father read it, he shook Namjoon’s hand as if there’s no tomorrow and you laughed.

“You should pack, Y/N-nie. Hubby’s fetchinh you~” Jungkook teased.

“Don’t worry Kookie, I already packed. I planned on returning this Tuesday but, here you guys are.”

You saw your parents and Jimin went inside the house. You wanted to follow but you felt like it’s a matter which he should discuss with your parents alone so you let him.

Jin asked everyone to clean up and you all helped. When your father called you, he said that he’s giving you the permission to go back to the city with them.

When you went upstairs, you found your mother in your room, with a tear on her face.

“Mom, What’s wrong?”

“Nothing I’m just happy for you, darling.”

“Jimin he—he told us that you’ve met his mother and they’re asking for a meeting with us, me and your father. He said it’s something important,” she said while you try to calm her down.

“Why are you crying?”

“It might be the wedding proposal honey!” she blurted.

“Oh, mom, maybe it’s just a friendly meeting, you know to get to know each other.”

“But what if it’s a wedding proposal?” she countered.

“Then it’s a wedding proposal. It’s not like we’re gonna get married in an instant you know,” you assured her.

You changed clothes as you talk to your mother. When you’re done, you came downstairs with her.

“Take care you lot,” she said to all of you.

“See you soon,”your father said.

“Bye mom, dad, see you next break!” you said and with that, the long ride to the city began.

You rode one van and the noise is unbelievable. Teasing here and there, talking about random stuff and then finally when all of them decided to plug their earphones, one by one fell asleep.

You’re seated beside Jimin who fell asleep right after Yoongi. You smiled at his sleeping form and you find yourself getting tired as well.

When you wake up, you stopped at a breakfast diner. Your table if not overflowing—full of food.

Several plates of bacon, waffles, eggs are served, plus the coffe. You’e in the middle of munching your toast and bacon when Namjoon spoke.

“I believe Jimin has something to say to all of us.”

He smiled and looked at his friends  and finally at you.

“Well, Y/N and I, we’re...” he looked at you lovingly, and you gave him an assuring smile as he hold your hand “...unoficially engaged.”

As you looked at the others, who are all wide eyed, Jungkook, who’s grinning like a fool, Taehyung, who’s smiling widely at you, he even gave you a thumbs up.

Jin called the waiter and when he came back, he poured coffee on your glasses.

“This calls for a toast,” Jin raised his glass towards your direction, and the others followed.

“For the future Mr. and Mrs. Park!” Taehyung cheered  and all of you took a sip of the coffee together.

You both told how  ‘unofficial engagement’ happened plus his future plans in meeting your parents to officially ask for your hand.

After that, Jungkook and Taehyung started to tease you while the others laughed at him.

“See, told ya you’d be a Mrs. Park soon!” Jungkook teased.

“Not yet, Jungkook. Chill,” you replied.

After another round of champagne, the others started receiving phone calls so it’s a sign that this meet up will end. You gave Taehyung another hug and he congratulated you not just for being Jimin’s fiancée but for being an intern at Namjoon’s company.

The rest of the ride back to the city was so noisy again, you have to shut them up.

You agreed to be dropped off at the mall and from there, Jimin’s car is already waiting for the two of you.

When you arrived home, you went straight to your room to fix your things. After that, you went to the pool and dip your feet there, creating waves.

“What’s on your mind, princess?”

You looked at him, and gave him a smile.

You admit it’s kind of embarrassing for you when he break the news to his friends but when you saw how happy they looked upon hearing the news, you felt at ease.

“Nothing, I’m just very happy,” you said.

He sat beside you, planting a peck on your lips, after that, you leaned on his shoulder.

“Dad keeps on mentioning you whenever he had a chance, he used your name to tease me every time,” you recalled your arrival.

He laughed while you told him all of the instances that your father teased you.

“I think my parents love you too, they just can’t say it directly. Oh, before I forgot, Mom was crying last night, may I know why?”

You looked at Jimin’s expression and a shy smile formed on his lips.

“Well, I already asked them, for a meeting. Mom and Gram are asking for it and I told your parents that that meeting’s important so, they can plan the date whenever they’re ready,” he explained.

“Important? Why important?”

“Because I’m going to formally ask your parents for their approval of you, being my fiancée of course.”

“Oh,” you looked into the water so he couldn’t see your smiling face.

“That’s it? Just ‘oh’?” he teased.

He tilted your chin so he can look at you properly.

Without hesitation, you met half way and closed the distance between your lips and began making out until he pulled you into the water.

“MY GOODNESS PARK JIMIN!”

He chuckled as you scream his name.

“I LOVE YOU, Y/N WILL YOU BE WITH ME FOREVER?”

“Yes, Yes, I will!” you said and you again kissed him.

After playing in the pool, you both went to your respective rooms to get changed. He just ordered takeout for dinner. You two fell asleep in an instant.

 Your routine for a week is to wake up earlier than Jimin so you can prepare brekafast for him. When he already left for work, you try to read some articles online related to your course. You’re already enrolled through online so it’s convenient for you.

You were quite bored so you decided to go out and walk for a bit. When you get hungry, you decided to get some cake and coffee for lunch. You’re very satisfied while eating your food you didn’t notice that someone’s watching you.

You’re texting Jimin whe someone passed by, dropping their handkerchief in front of you. So, you picked it up, and called the person’s attention.

“Excuse me, mister, MISTER!”

He turned, he looked the same age as you or probably older. His gaze is quite strong but not offending, it’s as if he’s asking you what do you want with him.

“Uh, you dropped this,” you extended your hand that’s holding the handkerchief towards him.

“Oh, thanks.” He accepted it and he gave you a smile.

You smiled back at him and you went on your stroll.

-TWO  WEEKS LATER-

An emai was sent to you, notifying that you can start the internship early. You responded to the email and you agreed.

Now, you’re on your second week and you’re on the research department. Everybody there is nice and they’re willing to teach you what you must know. You’re wearing a dress paired with black flats and tights. Your hair is neatly placed on a ponytail, plus a very light make up. When you land on the first floor, you were a bit surprised when Jimin suddenly speak.

“Can you change into a normal office clothes please?”

“Why?”

“You look so beautiful on that dress baby, someone might get interested in you,” he pouted.

You just gave him a smile.

“I’m not interested in anyone but you, okay?” you looked at him straight into his eyes.

“God, I want to kiss you right now but you’re wearing lipstick so, no.” He said.

“Let’s go?” you asked and he agreed.

Namjoon’s company is located just a few streets away from Jimin’s office so he can drop and get you there.  You said goodbye to him and alighted the car.

You greeted everybody including the maintenance crew. When you reached the elevators, you quickly hopped in. When you pressed the close button but somebody stopped it and several men came in.

You alighted the elevator on your floor and you greeted everybody. You started to sort whatever task you have on your desk. You’re on your final rounds when your supervisor called your attention and invited you to his closed office.

“May I be of help, sir?”

“Yes, indeed um, the CEO is requesting you to come to his office.”

CEO means Namjoon.

“I’m sorry?”

“Yes, he needs you in ten minutes so, you can leave your task here and go there now, as in go straight to his office.”

“Okay, thanks.”

You exited the floor and proceeded to the topmost floor.

This is your first time coming there and you were greeted by a spacious office. You’re quite surprised when there’s nobody seated on the secretary’s desk.

You knocked and when Namjoon told you to come in, you did.

“There you are,” he said more like with relief than business – like.

“I would like to ask a favor from you, Y/N. Please fill in for my secretary today. Her niece just called thirty minutes ago, telling me she’s sick, we have a meeting in ten,” a hint of nervousness was obvious on the way he speak.

“Okay, but first of all, breathe?” you told him firmly.

“What do I need to do?” you began looking around if there’s something you can bring to that meeting.

“Just write the minutes, and if possible, be specific as to who will say what.” He said as he fix his tie.

“Okay, let’s do this, we can do this!” you cheered.

“That’s the spirit,” he said.

When he wore his coat, he nods meaning it’s time for you to go to that said meeting. He handed you a laptop where you’d type the minutes.

You’re seated on his right side, while he occupies one of the ends of the long table.

A few  minutes passed and a group of men came in, occupying the once empty seats.

When the meeting started, so as your typing. You’re so focused on what you’re doing that you haven’t noticed that there’s someone’s staring at you the entire meeting.

After two hours of debate, discussion, problem – solving and agreement, the meeting finally came into adjournment. You make sure that the minutes was saved. Namjoon told you to go to his office and wait for him there and you followed.

“Namjoon, there you are!” someone spoke behind him.

“Jaebum,” he greeted.

“I saw your secretary today and I am interested.”

Namjoon’s neutral expression became dim.

“Jaebum, remember what we had agreed years ago? Whoever’s in my jurisdiction is off-limits,” he said with a warning.

“Why, is she yours?” Jaebum asked.

Namjoon didn’t answer.

“Or, does she belongs to your youngest, Jeon Jungkook?”

It’s obvious that he’s trying to get some information about the person you’re dating.

“If we don’t have anything business related to talk about, please excuse me,” Namjoon walked past Jaebum, his expression’s unreadable.

When Namjoon came back, he faked a smile before entering his office.

“Thank you very much for today, Y/N. I knew I can count on you.”

“You’re so cool back there! I mean, you handled every issue with smart answers, you made those people questioning you to shut up,” you praised which earned a wide smile from him, his dimple showing.

“You can go home early,” he said, while loosening his tie.

You’re about to insist but he said he already talked to your supervisor and he knew what’s going on so you returned to the floor where you’re supposed to work to get your things and exited the building.

When you’re downstairs, you’re surprised when one of Jimin’s cars is there waiting for you.

You hopped in and when the car started driving away, you texted Jimin about what happened. He replied that he’s very proud of you.

As soon as you exited his office, Namjoon called Yoongi. He made a big mistake, he forgot that Jaebum is one of the attendees of the meeting today. He felt like instead of protecting you, he even exposed you to him.

He felt guilty but as Yoongi said, it has been done already so all that they can do is to wait for whatever step Jaebum will do. On the other hand, Hoseok was just listening as to what Jaebum’s saying. He hid his hand inside his pockets for it turned into fists. How could Namjoon do such a wrong deciscion of exposing you? 

You’ve completed two months of internship on Namjoon’s company, earning more than enough required hours for the school’s requirement. Your performance was great that the department you rendered service asked an approval for you to be absorbed when you graduate.

That night, Namjoon told you that you’d come with him, for a celebration and you agreed.

He brought you to another fancy restaurant. Everybody was there already, including Jimin.

All of them congratulated you for a job well done.

You went out of the restaurant together and parted ways when you reached the parking lot, riding your respective cars. You went to your room immediately to change.

While you’re away, Jimin received a call from an unknown number.

“Hello?”

[Do you still remember what happened five years ago?]

He frowned as he hears the voice of the person on the other line.

“Who’s this?”

[Wow, you suddenly don’t know who I am? Alright, let me make you remember who I am. By the way, your girlfriend is so beautiful she doesn’t deserve someone like you.]

The call ended there, making him furious.

“I told you, Kim Namjoon I will know who among your friends are connected with Y/N,” he said to himself.

“And of all people it’s this fucker Park Jimin.” His tone bitter, anger is evident.

You picked the wrong guy, Y/N.

I’ll make sure this is not a ‘happily ever after.’

He said as he burned and tossed an envelope with several pictures of you together with Jimin, holding hands while walking towards the parking lot into the fireplace.

<<CHAPTER 18.5

[okimargarvez]

WAITING FOR YOU

Original title: Giudizio in sospeso.

Prompt: waiting, friendship, jealousy, misunderstandings.

Warning: none.

Genre: romantic, angst, friendship.

Characters: Penelope Garcia, Luke Alvez, Lisa Douglas, Sam, Phil.

Pairing: Garvez, Penelope x Sam, Luke x Lisa, Lisa x Phil.

Note: oneshot 22 in Garvez collection.

Legend: 💑💏😘💍.

Song mentioned: E fuori è buio, Tiziano Ferro.

Note: With this story, I apologize to Lisa for having hated her, just because she dating with Luke. It would be much easier to hate her, but I tried another street.

MY OTHER GARVEZ STORIES

WAITING FOR YOU

 -I can't do it. I'm not joking, I can't do it.- the woman brings a hand to her mouth. -I feel sick.- she feels her stomach mumble as if it were protesting too. A female hand is resting on her shoulder. She immediately takes it with hers.

-Of course, you can do it! It's normal that you feel like that. But remember that you aren't alone. And then, he loves you too much. Everything will be great, ok?- the woman dressed in white nods, but she isn't really convinced. And her friend knows it, but she also knows that nothing she'll do or say will succeed in the task of making change her mind. Only when she'll finds herself before the altar, next to the man she'll love for the rest of her life, perhaps, she'll yield and enjoy only the moment.

-Girls, how it's going? We are only waiting for the bride.- she exchanges a glance with the other, standing behind the future Mrs. Alvez. She nods and approaches. -Come on, Luke will not be able to resist for a long time. You know that if you don't move, he'll come in person and pick you up. You know he can!- all three burst out laughing, but one of them doesn't hide her nervousness.

-I already tried, JJ. She's a lost cause.-

 **

Two years before

The blonde woman carefully observes every type of tea present on the shelf. She tries to take stock mentally the tests, she already has, to decide what will be the chosen one, the next to enter and occupy a space in her sanctuary. -Penelope?- hearing called, she turns, pretty surprised. She doesn't recognize the voice and it's strange even to be called by name. As soon as she sees her, however, she understands who is. -You're Penelope Garcia, Luke's coworker, right?- caught. She can no longer pretend not to have noticed her.

-Yes. And you are Lisa.- how to forget that name? She hopes that externally Lisa doesn't see that she is trembling inside. -You love tea, too?- as usual, she came out with a stupid question. But in silence, when she's anxious, she just can't stay.

-No, but my best friend, yes and soon will be her birthday, so...- the brunette shrugs and approaches. Penelope had already sensed the first time she had met her, how beautiful she was, but so, dressed in simple casual clothes, the woman's beauty stands out even more. She looks like one of those that don't need tricks or other accessories, to shine. Unlike her. -I see you're an expert, would you give me some advice?- she nods even if she would like to get out of this place as soon as possible.

-What is your friend's tests? Because it has just come out a new infusion, experimental, but it depends on whether it is one that appreciates strong tastes, or not... - she raises the box and shows it to her. Lisa watches it carefully, reads the ingredients and then she smiles, approving the blonde's suggestion.

-It seems perfect!- even his smile is sincere and spontaneous. -Thank you, Penelope...can I call you Penelope?- she stops, looking uncertain. -Luke told me that the whole team calls you Garcia, but I'm not from the team and I always thought it was weird to call people by their last name...- Penelope tries not to jump when she hears that name, but she has to get on with it though. Now he and Lisa are a couple (probably, he didn't say anything at work). But she chuckles when the other woman starts a rant, very similar to hers. It's impossible not to find her nice, that's why Alvez is so taken by her.

-I really didn't do anything... and yes, of course you can call me Penelope. In reality, in the team we call each other by our last names... a stupid way to pretend to keep the distance, when in reality we are a family. But he'll have told you this... Luke, I mean.- damn it, she said that name, this time.

They start heading to the checkouts and Penelope insists on paying everything, so they'll load more points on her loyalty card and they get a discount; just outside, she'll can give her her part, if she really insists. Even Lisa is positively impressed by the blonde, who this time wearing a dress much soberer and less colorful, although she doesn't have a physical to appear on the covers of Vogue, stands out for her so overwhelming personality. It's impossible not to feel good in her company. This explains why so many times Luke mentions her name when they talk about a newly solved case.

-In fact...- she starts talking as they walk each one with their own bag in hand. -Luke doesn't tell me anything. It's also a bit unnerving...- the blonde curses this turn of conversation. She absolutely doesn't want to talk about him, she doesn't think she's able to pretend that she feels nothing for him, without making a fool of herself, to say nonsense, to make her understand that, heck, he's not just a colleague. But then she looks up and meets the big ones so strangely insecure of the brunette. With that aspect, no one would imagine that she could feel uncertainty. She seems one of those who have a host of men behind drooling for her, one in high school was the most desired, one that plays the part of the bad and ignorant in the TV series. Instead, she knows very well that Lisa graduated in medicine, very active on the social front. In short, perfect.

-Well... Luke- dammit, she called him again by name. -...it's like that even at work. Always withdrawn. He's a reserved guy.- she tries to reassure her. -You just have to give him some time and you'll see that he'll open by himself.- Lisa nods, then they arrive in front of a car in much better conditions than Penelope's.

There is a moment of silence and embarrassment. -Penelope... by chance, you maybe want to get to go grab some coffee?- she looks at the strange expression of the blonde. -Or a tea.- both laugh at her proposal. -I would like to know better someone who is part of Luke's life... I often feel like a stranger...- this sudden fragility upsets the computer technician even more.

-Sure, willingly.- she finds herself answering. -But I'm not the most suitable person to talk to... it would probably be better if you talk to Matt, JJ or Rossi...- she mocks. -The only subject I'm prepared for, is Roxy.- Penelope's eyes light up as she says the dog's name.

-Really? Yet when he tells me of the cases the colleague who mentions most is you. And from how I saw you two interact when you interrupted our... first date...- the blonde blushes and she's about to apologize, but Lisa makes her understand that there is no need. -...I thought you were great friends.- Penelope sighs as they enter a bar, order and sit at a table, one of the few free. How will she get out of this mess?

-Great friends? No!- too much emphasis. -Well, he's part of the family, yes, we're friends... but I gave him so much trouble, when he arrived. The fact is... that the one of which he had taken the place, Morgan... he was my best friend. And when he left... I was a bit out of my mind... more than usual, if you can believe it!- they both burst out laughing again. Then Penelope, almost seeing herself from the outside, makes a gesture that she hadn't programmed. She puts her hand on the darker one of the other woman. -But even in my state, I couldn't help but realize how he was a good person. He's a great guy, Lisa, I'm sure you'll be happy together. You're lucky.- she couldn't pretend more and even Lisa seems to understand it. -In addition, he has that adorable ball of fur next to him.- again Roxy it seems like the best way out.

-Yes, Roxy is really sweet. I would spend hours to caress her. All the stress accumulated during work seems to slip away as if by magic.- Penelope nods, feeling a tiny twinge in her stomach, or perhaps her heart. Yes, part of her had hoped to find out she'd managed to win Roxy as much as she did. A stupid and selfish thing. The brunette seems to notice the veil of sadness appeared in the eyes of the other, but probably she believes that it's due to the reference to work. After all, they both see ugly and sad things. -You said that Luke wasn't your type, when we met.- it's just a way to change the subject and lighten the atmosphere, but the blonde feels anxiety grow. -So, what's your ideal type? I'm just curious.- Penelope's mind is completely foggy, she tries to think of something sensible, but nothing comes. It's a situation she's not used to.

Then she pulls out her cell phone and looking for a photograph of Sam, her last boyfriend, and shows it to her. -This is Sam. He taught me how to play the ukulele and the clarinet.- thinking back to the episode in the elevator, when Luke had thought wrong about hearing her saying "fingering techniques", she smiles. -He's a vet, he loves animals. In fact, it's for that reason that I fell in love with him.- she scroll through the photos until she find the one of a black cat. -This is Sergio. He's my real life partner for a few years.- she caresses the picture with her thumb, then the screen turns to black.

-Wow, he is beautiful! And Sam sounds nice either...- she gives her a wink. Lisa's voice is mischievous. Then the face of the brunette lights up suddenly. -What if we all went out together one night?- Penelope knows she should answer negatively. First of all, she and Sam are no longer together, although it seems that Lisa didn't understand it. Secondly... spending hours watching Luke flirt with another woman are too much for her heart too. Finally, it'll surely be terribly embarrassing.

And despite all these thoughts, what she does is accept.

 -Hello.- she approaches the man, she puts her hands on his shoulders and gives him a gentle kiss. She sees him smile as she squints her eyes. -How was your day? You put a few criminals behind bars?- he wraps his arms around her waist, enjoying her scent.

-Someone.- but he doesn't want to think about the case they have faced. They managed to save only the last child and he'll never forget the eyes of the less fortunate parents. -And you, Dr. Douglas? Did you saved some lives?- he imitates the non-serious tone of her, who moves away with a playful push and puts a hand on her side, putting herself in a seductive position.

-Yes obviously! But I wanted to talk to you about something else...- Luke feels the danger in the air. -You know that I should have bought that tea for Marika, that soon is her birthday, right?- he nods. -I went to that place that Phil advised me. And... you'll never guess who I met.- her lips are folded into a smug smile. -You're never going to know who is. Not even with your profiler skills.- he really wants to show her that she's wrong.

-Are you sure?- he asks, approaching until she finishes with her legs against the couch and he forces her to sit almost, looking down on her, from a dominant position. -First: judging from the way you talk and from that cheeky smile, it's someone I know- Lisa snorts and he realizes he's right. -Second: too much enthusiasm. If it were your ex you would have presented this differently, trying to make me jealous. You're that kind of woman.- she opens her mouth wide, pretending to be indignant. -You know what I meant, Lisa, don't play the stupid. You're not at all.- he immediately regained points. -So, it's a woman. That I know. One of my colleagues.- she watches him sit next to her on the sofa, immediately joined by Roxy and caresses the dog to vent her frustration.

-How did you do? I practically didn't say anything!- the man puts his arm around her shoulders.

-I'm a profiler, baby. I can't help but read in people's behavior. And then I still haven't said the name. I could be wrong.- he smiles as she approaches to kiss him again. -Do you want to know my hypothesis?- he whispers softly, his lips wet from hers. She nods. Luke sighs and suddenly seems to no longer want to joke. -Garcia.- he says, only. -JJ hates tea, never drinks it. Prentiss it's more the coffee type, black coffee, with very little sugar. And Tara... no, she's not the type either. Garcia, on the other hand, she is madly in love with tea, before any case she drinks at least one cup and my nose is clogged with all those strange aromas. I don't even want to know what some contain.- Lisa shakes her head, still annoyed at having lost. She's a tough girl and probably he likes her for that. -Come on, I was joking! She is my only colleague you met. She was the only one you could meet.- something doesn't convince her, but she decides to surrender. She has an important thing to say to him.

-Anyway- and the look that he launches at him is a clarification that this story isn't over. -I met Penelope - it is strange to hear her mention the name of the blonde informatics -and we talked a bit. She's really a wonderful person, now I understand why you mention her so often. I couldn't understand before, that thing about her jokes or why she dress like that, but now I know.- while her girlfriend describes Garcia, the man nods and when she points out how much he talks about the last, he blushes, but Lisa doesn't notice it.

-Yes, Garcia is... Garcia.- he couldn't say more. He feels a lump in his throat and realizes that if that node melts, then he couldn't stop the flow of words and thoughts. Better to continue to deny. Sooner or later everything will vanish.

-Yes, and we got along so good that... I asked her if she wanted to do a four-way.- she immediately understands that Luke has misunderstood. -But not in that sense, maniac!- she hits him with a weak fist on the arm, but bursts out laughing in turn. Not even in this case she notices the tension that has completely gripped the man's body. -I suggested her to go out together one evening, you, me, she and Sam.- his shoulders stiffen even further, hearing that name for the first time. And now, who the hell is this Sam? Because, of course, the thought that Garcia could find a man like him had found Lisa didn't even pass through the antechamber of his brain. It was much more comforting to believe that she would remain the support of the team forever. The woman notices his confusion. -Sam, Penelope's boyfriend. Don't tell me you've never talked about it.- he doesn't answer. -Anyway, she accepted.- Luke starts coughing as hard as he can and is forced to drink a whole glass of water before he calms down. -Are you okay, honey?- he feels Lisa's hand stroke his shoulder.

-Yes... Something just went down my throat.-

 The blonde woman hesitates for the umpteenth time before pressing the send button. In the end, she is forced to yield. The alternative is to let Lisa know the truth or blow up the appointment with an excuse. But, without understanding the reason, she doesn't want to disappoint her. Surely, she'll be part of the life of Luke, Agent Alvez, for a long time, so getting along is the best solution. She wouldn't be able to hate her even if she were an evil witch.

A minute later, while she is washing her only plate and Sergio's bowl, the phone starts ringing. She looks at the name on the display and the heart stops. She lets it ring a little longer, then she responds. -Sam?- she walks around the room as when she is particularly agitated.

-Penelope, what's going on? Something serious, I shouldn't be worried?- she shakes her head and then remembers he can't see her.

-No, no, nothing serious, just... if you had a moment, five minutes, I'd rather talk to you in person.- she expects the man to answer negatively, maybe to go her to hell. They break up more than a year ago and they are very little in touch, even if they got along just like friends. Theirs wasn't an overwhelming love story, but a rational and balanced relationship between two people who love each other.

-Ok, just give me ten minutes... you always live in the usual place?- it almost upsets her, to think about the usual place. Where she almost risked dying. She probably should have moved a long time ago.

-No, I send you the address.- while talking with the other hand she has already sent the necessary information to her ex. -Done. All right, I'll wait for you.-

 **

 He was no longer able to sleep, after she broke off the blockbuster they were watching to exclaim, super enthusiastic, that Penelope had get a green light from Sam. The double-date would have been done. Surely the best choice was to keep a low profile, pretend it's nothing and resign that now everything was decided. Luke himself was aware of this, but when he sees the blonde woman, give him the back while preparing her usual weirdness, he just can't resist.

-Hey.- he greets her and she jumps for the scare. He comes up to join her, to fill a cup of coffee. She looks at him from the corner of her eye.

-Good morning.- but when their eyes meet, the woman immediately understands what he wants to talk to her. However, she decides to continue to interpret the part of the one that knows nothing.

-So... you and Lisa?- it seems that he too is embarrassed to deal with that subject. -I didn't think you'd ever say yes. Do you realize you'll have to endure my presence for a whole night?- Penelope rolls her eyes and snorts, then gives him a boost to push him away, feeling him too close. Luke feels a chill different from those he felt when Lisa had done the same action.

-I'm aware of it, Alvez . But is really hard to say no to your girlfriend. She was so enthusiastic that I was obliged to say yes. I did it just for her, that this is clear in your mind?- she puts a few tablespoons of sugar and then mixes, moving away from the stove and move on a table. It seems that the others haven't yet arrived, except for Emily who will surely already be in the office studying a new case. He follows the sinuous movement of her hips, hoping not to have too embarrassing expression printed on his face. So, he reaches her. -Joking aside, Lisa is really a nice person. She is nice and always smiles, her smile is contagious.- almost the same words used by the brunette to describe her. -She loves Roxy.- she looks at him seriously. -This is a fundamental thing.- he nods, just as serious and decisive. The moment is interrupted by a familiar sound for both. -There's a case.-

 **

 The man looks around, hands in his pockets. He sighs, and his breath creates a cloud of condensation. Watch the hour flashing in a building next to the restaurant where he hopes he can get in early. He's one of those chilly people who can get cold feet even in the summer. A counter-sense, since he is a male, but still the truth. Penelope's hands have always been warmer than his. It seems strange to think of her, but a smile is painted on his lips. Then he sees a very attractive brunette woman heading towards him. Surely there will be someone behind him, she can't want to talk to him. Instead she stops right in front of him.

-Sorry, I would not bother you, but, is not that, by chance, you are Sam, Penelope's boyfriend?- he likes how sounds that title. But he immediately understands that she is Lisa, the girlfriend of Penelope's colleague, as a result... he is ruined. He'll never succeed in holding the game, he doesn't know how much she said about them, they didn't have time to get their act together. He starts to cold sweat, but he is forced to nod.

-Yes, I'm. You must be Lisa, right? Nice to meet you.- he holds out his hand and notes that hers is delicate and almost as cold as his.

-Me too.- she smiles, becoming even more beautiful. But she still doesn't reach the Penelope levels. -Have you got any news of your girlfriend? Luke hasn't answered me for over an hour...- Sam shakes his head.

-No, Penelope hasn't even let me know anything. But it's normal, they will be concluding the case. Don't worry, trust me.- he smiles at her, trying to reassure her.

-I trust. Surely, you have experienced a situation like this many time more than me. You can say that you're almost a veteran!- the man nods, but the only thing he thinks is Where are you, Penelope? I will not last long without saying one of my stupid things.

 The blonde type quickly a text, but she is forced to stop. She takes off her glasses, closes her eyes and massages her temples. The man watches her movements in passing, not losing sight of the road. -I'm sorry, I wish I could drive slowly, but we are in tremendous delay.- he says, feeling the desire to touch her, at least her hand, to strengthen his words. Obviously, he doesn't do anything. -You need to stop? We can always warn them that all bets are off. Or your boyfriend is one of those who get angry for the slightest thing?- he ventures, repenting immediately.

-Who, Sam? No, let alone. He is the most patient person I know, he is used to our schedule. And I think Lisa would understand too. But I don't want to disappoint them. We have only one hour late. - the truth is that she wants to get rid of this problem as soon as possible. She can’t go on pretending to be engaged with Sam forever. He too has a life to carry on. This thing must be done tonight.

Luke can't understand why Garcia behaves that way, but basically if there's a person whose behavior he has never really read, apart from understanding that she didn't really hate him, it's her. -We have to go first to your house, do you need to change your dress?- stop at a red light, he tries not to stare her neckline.

-Why, Alvez, you don't think it looks nice?- she answers in a firm tone, turning towards him and giving him a few more inches of her skin. Her gaze is a challenge, but the man falters as he passes his eyes back and forth on the body of his partner.

-No...- he answers sincerely. -You're beautiful.- he exclaims sincerely. However, she doesn't give too much weight to the compliment.

-And, Sam always told me that he finds me beautiful with heels as with slippers and pajamas.- a pang of pure jealousy stabs the man who press a little too much on the accelerator, making her toss. And he isn't at all wrong, Luke thinks, trying to breathe normally and proceed at a more constant speed.

It's a strange thing to think that their partners are waiting for them, together and they are coming together. As if the pairs were reversed. For a second, he tries to put his arm around her waist, then shakes his head, a moment before parking. Lisa doesn't deserve this, not even being betrayed by thought. Penelope is just a chimera, a dream that will soon fade away. He opens the door for her, but she doesn't thank him and doesn't even wait for him. He has to hurry to reach her and first he takes another bit of that view. The movement of her hips is so sensual... No, Luke, come back to earth. You're about to meet her boyfriend.

-Baby, you finally arrived!- next to his girlfriend there is a tall man, quite present, not bad enough for his taste, not as much as he wanted. While those thoughts arise, he denies them. It is selfish behavior to wish that she doesn't have someone to make her happy. Garcia instead had only beautiful words for Lisa, but of course, she doesn't feel anything for him.

-Hey, you did it!- he tries to concentrate on the welcome kiss she is giving him, but he can't help but eavesdrop on the exchange of words between the other couple. Baby. It gives him so much trouble to hear a man call her that. Again, Luke. Stop that. As soon as he separates he sees the bright face of his colleague and the arm around her waist in very possessive way. He can, you not. You have Lisa, what else should you wish for? Focus on her. It's easier to think of it than to do it. The other approaches him, not letting her go and grasping his hand.

- I'm Sam, nice to meet you.- the lucky one is unaware of what he really thinks of him, but he gets a taste of this, by the way he returns the grip, a bit too strong.

-Luke.- his other hand in Lisa's. -We can get in? I'm starving.- he would have said any stupid thing to start this evening, so as to finish it as soon as possible. Lisa sits next to him and the other couple profiteer to them, i.e. Sam in front of his girlfriend and Garcia... in front of him. The nightmare has just begun.

When ordering, Penelope can't help but underline the fabulous gesture made by Sam, the choice to become a vegetarian, thanks to the immense love that he feels for her. He wants to throw up but pretends that's nothing and returns Lisa's sincere smile.

-So... you and Sam how long have you been together?- Luke pours the first of many glasses. It will be a tremendous evening. But he doesn't seem the only one uncomfortable. Even Garcia seems strange, her smiles appear forced or too exaggerated, even for her. She continues to make shrill giggles and touch her boyfriend's arm. The latter instead seems perfectly comfortable, like Lisa (of course, he has her next to him), in paradise. He can't help but realize he is a brilliant man. And surely this is the reason if Penelope loves him.

The thought is too strong and makes him jump, he stretches a bit too much his leg and ends up against the knee of Garcia, who notices but is limited to a strange look. Anyway, it's Sam who answers, like almost at all the questions. Practically the two federal agents are bystanders, they witness the conversation between their halves, intervening very rarely. -From 2014. It's almost four years, do you believe it, lovely?- he caress her on the cheek and takes her hand. Luke grinds his teeth, but no one notices.

-No, it doesn't seem possible to me.- she replies, blushing when he tries to feed her. The Latin Agent wants to be able to do the same with Lisa, but he just can't do it, he's not that kind of person and... he doesn't want to make things even worse by using her. She's perfect, Garcia has also said it, but the problem is... not for him.

And as he walks with Lisa, hand in hand, he understands that he can no longer continue like this. She deserves to know the truth.

 **

 The day hadn't started normally. As soon as he set foot in the BAU, he realized that there was something strange in the air. He had immediately recognized the two female voices and involuntarily, had begun to listen. Luke didn't believe that he could be in seventh heaven and underground at the same time, but apparently, he was wrong. -I feel like a worm, JJ, for how I treated it. But if I don't love him anymore, what can I do? I told him it didn't make sense to continue this farce and he... you should have seen his face. He took it so hard... I'm so sorry! If I could, I would force myself to love him, it would all be much simpler. But I can't deny what I feel or don't feel.- her friend tried to comfort her, told her it wasn't her fault, that she had done the right thing.

Sam and Penelope had broken up.

 Fortunately, the case wasn't particularly complex, and they didn't even have to use the jet. Penelope didn't miss a beat, her indications arrived at the right time and were always decisive. But he still noticed a slight difference. And after confronting Lisa and resolving that question peacefully, he understands that he must find the strength to settle this matter too. Plus, he needs to know if she's okay. She may have forgotten his words, but he didn't. He still wants to be the someone she wants to go to when she's crying.

He walks in the corridor to Garcia's room, but a sound he has heard before stops him. Sobs. She is crying. So, maybe, the story with Sam was really important to her. And surely, he isn't the best person to help her right now. Not with half heart that exults.

He decides to enter anyway, because he can't leave her alone to cry. But he is stopped again, this time by her weak voice, while she seems to talk to someone. But she is alone. The others have all gone home, it's sure.

-I have... I have to stop crying. It's useless. It went like this now. I should have told Lisa the truth, so I wouldn't have been forced to... - another series of excruciating sobs. He doesn't know what keeps him from running to her. In reality, he knows very well: to discover a truth that almost certainly she wouldn't be willing to tell him consciously. He raises his ears when he hears his ex-girlfriend mentioned. -Why I can't love Sam, God, why?- that's who is her interlocutor. -Everything would be so simple. He's such a good person. He loves animals. Theater and music. We get along so good... it's perfect. And so why? Why he doesn't make my legs shake? Why I don't feel that burning desire to see him, to be with him?- again to Luke it seems to be on the roller coaster. A moment he is in paradise and the one afterhell, because he understands that what makes him happy is the same thing that saddens Penelope. And he hates immensely himself for this.

-What I have always wanted is a man like those lives in comics, books, cinema. One willing to fight anything, just to have me. And I can't imagine Sam in that dress.- another round of wiping nose and sobs. -Why right him? Why I have to imagine myself... I don't even want to mention him. I must not. I must be strong. He chose another one, and she is a wonderful person. She's beautiful, but this isn't enough. She is also nice, sweet, playful. And Roxy has approved her.- he doesn't have time to realize that she is talking about Lisa, therefore about him, because his thoughts are overwhelmed by a lacerating noise. -It's over, I have to resign myself. All those looks, those jokes, the nicknames, the flirting... it was all for fun.- he would like to shout at her that it's not like that, but he understands that there was still something she had to say and that he must hear. -When I saw him, the first time, with her... I couldn't believe it. But it was absurd, that one like him was single. I wish I could hate her, but I know it wouldn't be right. I would like to have the strength or the courage to leave, to leave everything, to see if at least he notices me or if he doesn't care. Or at least I would like to be able to treat him in a cold, different way. Make him understand that the light went out in my eyes. And it will not turn back on again.- it's really the final sentence, because he hears a strange noise, like a beeps and then only sobs.

He no longer waits for anything else to stop him and opens the door. She is in the chair, glasses on the desk. In her hands she holds an anti-stress kitten. When she hears that someone has entered, she doesn't even raise her head. -Penelope.- she recognizes the voice and understands that, because he doesn't call her Garcia, he must have heard at least a part of what she said. But she can't even chase him away, ask him to leave or pretend not to be crying, like that time more than a year ago. She lets him approach, so he can observe with his own eyes how love for him has reduced her. -Penelope, please don't cry...- he whispers softly, but from the cracked tone he seems to be on the point of even pouring a certain amount of salty tears.

No, don't cry, I can't stand your tears, I will never... because if you're happy... every smile is gold, and in the distance, I forgive you and I implore you...

She feels his breath on her neck, sees the shadow of him on her. She allows him to turn the chair in his direction, to take her face in his hands, to look at her for a long time and even to embrace her. But she remains motionless, like a statue or a lifeless puppet, in the arms of the man she loves. She doesn't stop his caresses on her back or the sweet and comforting words, standard, which he tells her. But she doesn't stop crying either. -Please, Penelope, stop it. You're killing me!- now yes, she's sure, he's crying too. She feels the hot, salty tears, running down her back, who knows how they managed to cross the threshold of the sweater. Still, she doesn't expect what he is about to do. That, she would certainly not have allowed him. And I love you so much, that, for those sweet eyes I can only feel bad and taken those lips and then kiss you in the sun, because I know how bad the lack of a smile is, when we get distance, it disappears from your face and it's... scary...

Luke takes her face in his hands and lays his lips on those of the blonde, who for the shock holds both eyes open, but manages to pull away from him only after at least thirty seconds. Too many, for her tormented heart and her confused head. -Why on earth would you do that? I don't want the mercy of any man, especially if engaged!- she moves away, stands up and reaches the opposite side of the room.

Luke shakes his head and in a flash he is near her again. Penelope feels powerless. She doesn't know how to get rid of him. -I've just had a few dates, with Lisa.- he starts saying, with the aim of explaining that in any case he's again a free man. Like her. But she pushes him even more abruptly.

-This is not my business.- she exclaims, her tone so wounded and disappointed that he doesn't hold back.

-I think so...- he can only say, before laying once again the lips on those of his colleague. So soft, tasty. But it's not just this. The heart seems to fly. He feels soft legs and an extreme euphoria. The desire to cry, laugh, scream. It's a very light kiss, almost like if they were teenagers; on their lips, the salty taste of the tears that both have shed. Squinting his eyes, he realizes that those of her are wide open, again. Why she can't let go herself? Yet, she said she loves him. Not to him, but she said it.

-What were you thinking?- as soon as he lets her go, she talks up a blue streak. Anger in her eyes. -You are engaged with a woman and do this with another?- she shakes her head. -Then you're worse than I thought.- the discomfort that she feels is so great that for a moment paralyzes him. But then he understands that he can't allow her to start thinking wrong about him again. He can't lose such a precious stone that already has his name engraved inside. Not by negligence.

-Please, Penelope, believe me. There was nothing important between me and Lisa. Not that I didn't try, I'm honest. But the most significant event was a pool game. I love her, but we're wrong to each other.- she doesn't seem entirely convinced, but allows him to hold her hands, which is a good sign.

-You told Matt that she is beautiful...- he nods and steals her word.

- ...smart, funny...- he ends for her, making a mental note to talk to Matt to teach him to hold his tongue. -She is so. But with her, that spark has never been lit. She never made shake my legs...- he wonders if she recognizes who this quote comes from. He gets closer until she is forced to place both hands on his chest, to block him, before he can try again some risky gesture. -And she didn't replace you in Roxy's heart.- he hesitates, but he decides to say the other half, seeing how the face of Penelope illuminates at this declaration. - And not even in mine - but she just can't trust him, it's too early. The pain in her chest is still so strong, it can't disappear like magic. So, they are still embraced, only tight, this time to each other, even her arms wrapped around Luke's muscular body, she starts crying again and he strokes her back and that's it, no one talking.

Then, all of a sudden, she comes off and pushes him away again. -Yes... it's too late, Luke.- what he never wanted to hear. -I can't, I can't... I don't know, I can't do it.- she wipes the last tears with her hands and throws them away.

-But... I only went out with a woman!- he can't give up.

-I know, but... I don't know what I thought. Why I was deluded into being special, how could I have convinced myself that we would end up together, that it was only a matter of time, why I wanted to convince myself that it was our destiny.- she laughs. A bitter laugh. - I was so stupid, so immensely stupid!- it hurts him even more to hear her insulting herself. But the worst is yet to come. -I didn't think I would be able to suffer more than the death of my parents and the departure of Derek. But it happened.- she whispers the last sentence softly. Hoping he doesn't hear it. -Why I allowed myself to fall in love with you? Why?- he tries to kiss her again and for the umpteenth time she rejects him.

-Not, I've already told you! I don't want your alms, I don't want to pity you or that you have to do something for me... I'll be fine, ok? I'll be fine. I will not make you weigh, because I'll love you anyway, whatever you do, because you are now part of the family, because I can't do anything about it.- this declaration is really too heavy. If pure love exists, this is definitely a good example. Luke is overwhelmed by the immensity of the feeling that Penelope feels towards him. Probably nobody had loved him like that before, outside his parents. Maybe. -You should be with a person like Lisa. She's right for you, you both have been in the same places... she understand you perfectly.- he's just shaking his head. -She can help you...- the man doesn't find an alternative way to force her to keep quiet than pushing her against his chest, to welcome yet another fountain of tears.

-No, she's not suitable for me, she's not able to help me, it doesn't mean anything that we've been in such places.- he lifts her face, forcing her to look at him. -No one can understand me like you, Penelope. It's not pity, it's not compassion, I don't say this because I'm a good guy, but because it's the truth. Just watch you smile or see you or hear your voice while you talk about anything... makes my day better.- it's his turn of the kilometric declaration. -I'm in love with you and I would didn't have to be out with another woman, for understood this and finally found the courage to tell you this.- is the blonde, now, who moves her head in denial.

-I'm sorry too. Really. Because now I can't... I need time. My heart... is so wounded, that simple poetic words or knowing that I'm not indifferent to you, it's not enough anymore.- Luke nods, sighing with relief at having at least freed himself from that weight.

-Good, Penelope. I'm willing to wait for as long as you need.- another strong phrase. But who knows if he really is aware of the weight of what he says?

-Are you sure?- she asks, looking directly into his eyes. -Because I don't know how long it will take, it could be days, or maybe a month... or a year- she still feels compelled to warn him. -I have no idea. I don't ask you to wait for me.- she makes this clear.

Luke takes her hands in his. They are so cold, but less than Sam's. -I will wait for you anyway, even if it's forever. Because I love you, and after all, since I was born, I did nothing but wait, living wait to meet you.- this would be too much for anyone, even for her, that even a moment ago (hours, in reality) has asked to the Lord to imagine Luke in the role of her male co-star in the film (or book) of her life.

-Luke, do you realize what you say? Or have you only seen too many romantic films?- he reads the fear in her eyes. But he too is frightened by the strength of his feelings. He hasn't premeditated anything, he merely says what he feels.

-I know it's heavy words and no, I'm not telling you that, by chance, I really think so. I had two years to sculpt them in my heart. I don't mean that Lisa was a mistake or a phase, I would like to believe that she was more than that, she's a good person and deserves better. Someone who loves her as I love you. I'm sorry, I missed it again.- he almost manages to snatch a smile from her. -Please, Penelope, believe me. Tell me that you believe me.- with his extreme joy (but also surprise) she nods.

-I believe you. But now, it's better if you leave. When and if I'm ready, I'll let you know. Okay?- Luke nods, moves away towards the door, opens it and closes it, turns to her. He reaches her and takes her hands. Their lips very close.

May I?- he whispers and after a moment's hesitation, she nods. This could be considered as their first real kiss, because Penelope takes delight it as much as she does, finally letting go. But only for those few seconds. -See you again in the next case, Penelope.- the blonde woman can only nods.

 **

 Wait. Waiting is hateful. Tedious. Enervating. But it's better to live forever in doubt than to know and face a horrible truth that could destroy us?

In any case, Agent Alvez doesn't have much time to think about it, not as much as he thought he had.

He is trying to distract himself by carrying on with his work, when he hears the unmistakable sound of the blonde's heels signaling her entrance. He tries hard take not notice. He told her he wouldn't put pressure on her and intends to respect what he had promised. But those steps are getting closer and closer. A hand is resting on his shoulder. He would recognize that perfume everywhere. He finds himself on his feet and doesn't even have time to say hello. Those fleshy lips take possession of his, Penelope is kissing him, in broad daylight, in front of their colleagues and other federal agents. First the shock, mixed with joy. Then a little embarrassment. -But...- she motions him to silence.

-I told you that I didn't know how much time I'd need.- he replies with a shrug. He notices the smudged lipstick, which is now definitely on his mouth. -I elaborated in a hurry.- she smiles and in a moment he forget everything.

-I realized it.- she smiles in turn, the classic  fishy face thing while looking at her. They hear the giggles of others in the background. -With you there are no half measures! - he finally exclaims, trying to remember where they are.

-Exactly, Alvez . If you really want to be with me, you have to accept the complete package. And if you are ashamed to kiss me in front of my family, you should also when we are alone.- she clarifies, the serious and decisive tone that sends him so much joy.

-I'm not ashamed at all!- she challenges him with her eyes and this time he is grabbing her for life, capturing those saucy lips, that allow to question him. He manages to access her tongue and again, he forgets completely where they are and she too, despite someone (Rossi) tells them to get a room.

But it's the voice of the chief who brings them to reality. -I'm sorry to be forced to break the magic, but we have a case.- both blush, realizing that they had let themselves go a bit too much.

As they head for the meeting room, holding hands like two teenagers, he whispers in her ear See? I was right. Until the next case.- she giggles softly, shaking her head, before looking for the remote and coming back serious.

 ** Today

The woman observes her boyfriend, standing (though with the help of two crutches), next to their best friend and one of the most important people of her life in a day so special... but basically, she had always known that this moment would come. Luke and Penelope were destined to end together, it was only a matter of time. They were just too afraid to admit what they felt for each other... that's nothing new.

A bit like her and Phil. That fathead had even sent her into the arms of another, his best friend, to avoid addressing the fact that she, Lisa Douglas, could be seriously in love with him. No nurse syndrome. After Luke had explained that he couldn't think of her more than a friend, she had forced the ex-federal to wake up. He had to stop to feel sorry for himself and really open up to life, to what he could still reserve for him. After all, it was he who kissed her first, then regretted and threw her into the arms of handsome Latin. That he really was a perfect man. Nice, smart, sweet... and he had Roxy . But he wasn't Phil. And he had Lou.

And now, she too.

TAGS: @theshamelessmanatee @itsdawnashlie @talesoffairies @janiedreams88 @kiki-krakatoa @yessenia993 @teyamarra @c00lhandsluke  @gcchic @arses21434 @orangesickle @entireoranges @jarmin @kathy5654 @martinab26 @thisonekid @thenibblets @perfectly-penelope @ambrosiaswhispers @maziikeen92 @lovelukealvez @reidskitty13 @jenf42 @gracieeelizabeth27 @silviajajaja @smalliemichelle99 @charchampagne14 @ichooseno  @ megs2219 @rkt3357 @franklintrixie @thinitta @chewwy123 @skisun @maba84 @saisnarry @myhollyhanna23 @thenorthernlytes

[rookiek13]

Voltron Fluff Week 2017:Day 5 - Sweets

(I swear this has something to do with sweets)

The pod landed quietly, scarcely making a noise beyond the rustling of grass. Kolivan had ample experience with stealth, and the cloak on the pod helped them remain undetected. Hacking sensitive systems were best done unnoticed.

Pidge wrinkled her nose as she exited the pod. It reeked of mud and algae and wet rot. Like that marsh her family used to walk the dog by. Ugh. Tramping through mud. At midnight in pitch black conditions. This was going to be a blast.

Kolivan waited patiently, ears twitching at every cry of the nighttime birds. They were harmless, Pidge recalled, except during mating season. They would stay in the forest, hunting whatever nocturnal creatures called it home.

“Have your eyes adjusted?”

His eyes glowed dimly in the blackness. But she could make out his outline better now, even without the aide of her helmet. The indicator lights on their uniforms had been turned off for the mission. From here on out, they were relying on their night vision and the dim light of the dual crescent moons.

“Yeah, let's get going.”

It was slow going at first. The ground was uneven with scattered stones to slide on and roots to trip over. Galra apparently had good night vision, because Kolivan hardly hesitated. It became easier once Pidge realized that she could see his pale hair better than the rest of him. It helped orient her, at least, and Kolivan was taking his time.

It took about fifteen dobashes for them to cross the reasonably dry ground and approach the marsh. The ground grew spongy underfoot, the grasses and reeds ever higher.

“It will take a half-varga to cross this. Our target's villa is on the other side.”

“What kind of defenses?”

“There will be a security system once we reach the building. No guards on this side. There are poisonous creatures in the marsh. And the locals are covered with thick fur that takes eons to dry, so they would never attempt crossing here.”

Ugh. Traversing a marsh at night was bad enough, but filled with poisonous snakes? No thanks. Not that she really had a choice. They needed this intel. Besides, Kolivan had diverted some of his resources to help her find her family. As abrasive as he could be, he was trying to help.

With a sigh, she turned on the small device on her hip. It emitted an ultrasonic frequency that would keep the marshes more dangerous creatures at bay.

Kolivan waded into the marsh and abruptly cursed.

“What's wrong?”

There was a quiet splashing as he reemerged from the thick reeds.

“It's deeper than I expected.” He muttered. Water dripped from his pants, all the way to mid thigh. Mid thigh on a Galra was nearly Pidge height. She cursed too. She did not have the stamina to swim all the way across the marsh.

“Climb on.”

Kolivan crouched down so Pidge could clamber up on his back. She wrapped her arms around his neck, mindful not to snag the braid. He stood as though she weighed nothing, plunging readily into the marsh.

This had to be the strangest thing she had ever done. She was riding on the back of an alien warrior in the black of night, on their way to infiltrate some rich guy's house. She'd had dreams that were less weird.

Being rich and ostentatious seemed to go hand in hand no matter how many galaxies were crossed. The Villa was enormous, with hundreds of lights shining through the windows. What a waste.

Getting in was easy. There was a low balcony that hung over the water. Kolivan boosted her up until she could grasp the railing and swing over, crouching low. He swung up after her, landing softly. She took her time hacking into the outer security. Some cameras, a few motion sensors (none anywhere near the back of the house, the amateurs.) Once Kolivan's clothes no longer shed water, they crept in.

Pidge's opinion of this rich person fell exponentially more the further they infiltrated. There were hardly any guards, no interior cameras, and only the occasional motion sensor. The family dog could have sneaked in undetected.

They found the office without trouble. It only took minimal effort to bypass the electronic lock and get the door open.

“Watch the door.” she whispered. She needn't have bothered. Kolivan knew what he was doing. She slipped her backpack off her back and withdrew her laptop quickly. Kolivan shut the door silently, crouching next to it. His keen hearing would give them all the warning they'd need.

The chair dwarfed her as she settled in.

“Let's see what you do on the weekends.” she muttered as she began hacking in. A few keystrokes were all she needed to get her program running.

While she waited, she surveyed the room. Gaudy decorations. Gruesome trophies. And an entire shelf of...

“Kolivan, what are those?”

Two disembodied yellow dots swiveled toward her, the extent of what she could see of Kolivan in the dark. She was illuminated by the computers, so she didn't need to extrapolate.

“It appears to be a box of gugligoop. A very decadent sweetmeat from the Andromidik system. They are very costly, hence the display of extravagance.”

“Huh. Alien candy.”

“Is it that strange?”

“No.” She answered thoughtfully, “It's just that most of the food on the castle is really bland. At least when Coran makes it. Hunk puts a lot of effort into spicing it better.”

The computer beeped, drawing her attention to it. The information she needed was displayed on the screen. Kolivan approached, eyes narrowed as he read it.

“He's meeting with the High Queen of Sckubrats in a few quintents. She has been overlooking our presence for a time, but she is aware that we've been operating in her territory.”

“This correspondence looks like he's trying to impress her.”

“He'd have much to gain from an alliance.” Kolivan ground his teeth.

“Is there some way we could sabotage the meeting?”

“Trying to do so would put us at risk.”

“I don't mean anything dramatic. It's just... read this. He's bragging about all the luxuries he can afford. Isn't there some kind of faux pas we could play with?”

For a moment, Kolivan was silent. Then he grinned. It was terrifying.

“There is. Sckubrats is a bitterly cold planet. They rely on high calorie meals to survive. And there is precious little on this planet to satisfy that. Except for...” He glanced up at the shelf of gugligoop. “Are your fellow paladins fond of sweets?”

Pidge matched his grin. “Kolivan, I like the way you think.”

She searched the room for anything else that would be useful while Kolivan retrieved the gugligoop from the high shelf. It was as well that she did, as another cabinet in the room was filled with a variety of alien candy. It took a bit of arranging, but she managed to fit everything in her backpack with the laptop.

Sneaking out was even easier than sneaking in.

It wasn't until they were halfway across the marsh that they spoke again. Pidge was once again Kolivan's puny paladin backpack, clinging to his neck as he walked.

“You are a child by earth standards, are you not?”

An unusual question from Kolivan. If it wasn’t business, he didn’t tend to pry. But she decided to answer anyway.

“Yeah. Legally, anyway. Why?”

“I recommend the Mosizo hard candies.” He answered softly, “They were my children's favorite.”

And if Pidge’s grip tightened, it was so she wouldn’t fall off. No other reason.