#for now i only got thomas and 2 furnitures

[mikailys]

Oh so they finally made the event kinda playable~

I only hope I don't have to wait until the last day to find Jason tho 🥲

[enniewritesathing]

Discussion/Comment Post #...5?

I'm not sure; I've lost count but The Werewolf certainly did not.

Like my dude Walt from Fosters said:

It was not!

This is (maybe obviously) the part that I wanted to get to after me spending how many months yelling about and wanting to get it right to the point where I was doing the equivalent of moving furniture two inches to the right. Partially because I wanted to do this part justice; I had the idea when I did the Incident but I did not have the skillset I do now (or the CC).

That said, thank you @pink-chevalier for pointing in the right directions of a lot of things at 2-3-4 in the morning.

There is something that I would've liked to do but I have no patience for -- and that was animating blood dripping. I had enough trouble with highlights and making the heart wet/fresh... also learned how to dink around in Procreate.

I recognize that this part of the story is the scare the hoes (affectionate) away part. If you stumbled upon this and you stayed? Hello. If you took one at the warnings on top and said I'mma sit this out? Well, there's a bit more left.

also that said, this update got way more love than when I did it. Seriously; that part of the Incident averaged like 4 notes... part of why I was nervous about this update.

Anyway, let's get to it. Not in exact order..

When The Werewolf/Vin promised he was gonna kill everyone, he meant that shit. He said that shit with his soul and folks? He did it.

I'm not sure if anyone has caught this at all and I wish tumblr has like a spoiler thingie that's the black bar, you know the one but...

hey, everyone's death? foreshadowed!

except Thomas' in that he literally just caught a stray bullet. to the head. See, had he stayed in the other room, he would've lived and I'mma say this -- like John, when The Werewolf says he's gonna do something, he'll do it and he wouldn't have done anything to him or Mark. but nooo. see how Charles thought little of him?

anyway, back to the foreshadowing. Jordan was first -- and The Werewolf nearly got to them the first time until Dan came in at the last moment. (this is also important later on.) Jordan was more or less responsible for monitoring/making sure that The Werewolf is at least breathing and adjusting the levels as needed.

so him going for their throat and not only putting his claws through it but slashing? makes sense right? I couldn't breathe (oxygen) so now you can't either except you're choking/drowning in your blood. :)

honestly, Jordan fucked up when they asked the question of why John hadn't turned back if he was dead. when you bring questions into a situation like that, it's not going to end well. it's the equivalent of the teacher asking any questions before letting class go early and someone raises their hand to do that and now you're stuck bc it's actually a legit question. In a horror situation?! C'mon...

is that going to be explained? maybe, maybe not. i encourage yall to think. or don't and be like "yeah sure i'll believe that".

Bernard's I had to think... and honestly, his death was kind of out of pocket. So, his death was foreshadowed (if you squint) when he was with Charles and that big ass knife -- and he suggested that to him maybe he should cut John's face bc he is too pretty. Another thing with Bernard is that he is known for mouthing off and get into arguments specifically with Daniel. He's p much he's an asshole, but he's right in most cases.

I had to keep in The Werewolf jumping off like he's on the top rope of an AEW match. One of many favorites I have.

This time I decided to show Bernard's crushed face/head and the shocked looks of Daniel and Charles (more so Dan.)

Now, we get to Dan, who arguably, is just a coward, a hypocrite, and y'know what? engaged in some, dare I say, pussy behavior this whole time. Let's roast talk about him.

when I was going through the Incident and I was wondering, okay, what's Dan's deal and throughout the story, I decided that y'know what? big man ain't shit.

(i also decided that Daniel was the biggest out of everyone which meant that what happened to him in the Incident didn't quite make sense -- so I changed it for the way better.)

Sure, Dan saved Jordan right as The Werewolf was gonna grab them and do lord knows what. But he flat out abandoned them and made no effort when they were grabbed by The Werewolf. Oh! And! AND! He fucking guarded Charles. (Charles side-eyed him btw.)

Prior to that, he was given not one (he could've walked out), not two (he def could've walked out), but three! Shit, four times! He had more than enough chances to be like "aight, I'm out; have a nice day".

Yall heard what The Werewolf said about that. Nothing is lost on him and he read him for absolute filth before he killed him.

Anyway, his death -- it is the longest. Jordan and Bernard? They were chump-change, they were the warm-up.

now keep in mind, this mfer was still guarding Charles when The Werewolf did the Phoenix Wright finger (🫵). You know it was gonna be bad when Vin didn't even look Charles way.

0.1 seconds later Daniel is shifting the blame to Charles and Charles parried that shit like "hey, you're still here, idk what to tell you."

Dan does that thing where you accuse someone they know they did but they try to be all horrified about it??

But I have to hand it to Dan, in a way, he wasn't exactly phased when The Werewolf blinded his right eye.

like I said, this is the only major change I did to this part but I did keep the choking in (something something if I had a nickle everytime Vin choked someone out, I'd have 2 nickles, which isn't much but it's weird it happened twice) and I thought -- what would The Werewolf do instead?

and he said, "I wanna yeet him" (me: "is that what you wanna do?" // Vin: "let me do it, woman." say no more, wolfman.)

This is also another fav thing of mine that The Werewolf does. It is a show of power, even if he's not 100%. (Idk what percentage I'd put him at all things considering that he was 99.98% dead for 2 hours a few minutes prior.) He can throw a dude that's bigger than him into a wall, breaking said dude's back.

(there's so much I love about this part.)

Anyway, Dan's death is a call back to when he rescued Jordan and punched The Werewolf right in the solar plexus with a needle (something that neutralized Vin almost immediately).

The Werewolf was like 'oh, you punched me in the chest, well I'm gonna punch into your chest and rip your heart out since you've been fuckin' with mine'.

Did The Werewolf had to eat his heart tho? Probably not but yknow, all that jumping around and throwing people... bound to get hungry.

(this was slightly extra but he deserves it as a treat.)

like I said with Thomas, he would have survived had he just stayed in the other room.

You notice that Mark is flat out absent. if you have a good memory, I said he was the smartest person out of this whole story. as early as when The Werewolf was starting to wake up, Mark was like nope, I'm out, I'm not going anywhere near him again.

Not only that, he won against Jordan at Rock, Paper, Scissors in deciding who was gonna be the 4th in the lab.

Don't forget, Jordan told him it's okay to be selfish sometimes… at someone's expense.

Now, let's get to the Werewolf himself!

He had his (beautiful) dead fish eyes wide open for 2 hours and frankly I'm surprised he didn't blink earlier when he did.

I wanted it to be extremely subtle that he's just waiting to snatch people by having his hand twitch (I didn't want to make it super obvious bc that meant that Charles would have seen it. I thought about it when Bernard was taking the bracelet off but that would've been too obvious.)

In the Incident, they were just blank, but adding the super blown pupils in really makes it ...creepy? I'm not sure if that's the right word. he's just there like ◉_◉ and nobody exactly addresses it, lol.

which really makes the part where he looks up at Jordan truly scary.

I made the command decision for him to have his hair down after killing Bernard for a visual cue aside from the cracked floor. The force of him just cratering this guy's head in loosened up his hair. It gives him a much wilder look like the lord intended. and hotter lbr here

since I couldn't do it last time or I didn't quite have the cc for it, I made The Werewolf bloodier with each kill. I'm sure you can guess where this is going to go. (he's gonna need to be powerwashed)

I also decided to make a gif out of him breathing after killing Jordan to emphasize that hell yeah, he's alive, he's breathing actual air, let's go gamers; I'm gonna fuck everyone up.

now that I look back on it, this part kind seems kind of mouth focused. don't think that's anything on my part, but it could be for yall.

now the part between The Werewolf and Daniel... there may or may not have been some metaphorical fucking happening. Jury is out on that, but I wouldn't be surprised if that actually was the case. Why did you whisper in his ear and call him that, Vin? Huh?? 🤔😭

that said, he'd get so many catfish if he went noodlin'. love that for him tbh.

I wanna be on the record that this might be a favorite shot of mine -- I have several and I may do a "ennie's favs" post when I'm done with this story completely but--

The fuckin' look The Werewolf has in the mirror. Get his ass!

I thought to myself, "do I want to make The Werewolf a Nasty Man while I'm at it?" and ofc, I did because a) he deserves it and b) I want that moment where he eats Daniel's still beating heart to be a statement. What statement could that be?

i'm so sorry

I did kinda scare myself a little when I had to take the shot of him smiling. It was gonna be a close up but I'm like no that distant is good. I considered putting it as a jumpscare.

I made the decision for him to look deranged for a bit and go back to 'normal' on the basis that the amount of blood around his mouth was distracting. Like you just wanna get a big ol towel and wipe it off (but a risky wipe bc he's feeling bite-y).

Here's a question or maybe a comment, idk: just how did Daniel and Charles clock that The Werewolf was still weak or even guess that in the first place? Did they figure out through his movements/body language? (Vin did kind of linger after killing Bernard and he was a little raspy after throwing Daniel into the wall.)?

on the other hand, Vin is a mixture of the remaining toxins and a shitload of adrenaline and kind of a mess in general. He may or may not be vibrating a little bit.

...I want yall to keep that in mind for a later thing; it's also an explanation. (One that I think that I feel is indicative of The Werewolf in general.)

Or was it like their way of trying to bluff their intentions? like "a-HA; I have a shot at [x]! You can't do shit to me!" obviously that went so wrong for Daniel.

and finally -- this is gonna be just the one question that I have for Charles and for you, readers if you wanna take a crack at answering.

hey, what the fuck is YOUR deal? you uh, you got something to share with the class, Charles? This is the second time that's happened. Oh, and Vin thinks your blood smells bad. What does that mean? Can your blood be stinky because you're a stinky man in general?? And why is it that your vibe is just rancid?

You know a mfer is sus when he addresses John as Johnathan this whole time. Nobody calls him that!

(a side note... as much as I hate this mfer, Charles is fun to write. He's just so slimy; this is the first time in a while that I've had a sicko (derogatory). So, next part/update is going to be interesting to say the least.)

okay, if you made it this far, congrats -- but I also wanna hear your thoughts, speculations, comments, etc...

[threewaywithdelusion]

Shadowhunter Chronicles characters/couples as Taylor Swift songs:

Couples:

Herongraystairs: Timeless

I would’ve read your love letters every night / and prayed to God you’d be coming home alright / and you would’ve been fine, we would’ve been timeless /

cause I believe that we were supposed to find this / so even in a different life / you still would’ve been mine / we would’ve been timeless

Cordelia/Matthew: Getaway Car

I struck a match and blew your mind / but I didn't mean it / and you didn't see it

I wanted to leave him / I needed a reason

You were driving the getaway car / we were flying but we'd never get far / don't pretend it's such a mystery / think about the place where you first met me / riding in a getaway car / there were sirens in the beat of your heart

It was the great escape / the prison break

You weren't thinking / and I was just drinking

Thomas/Alastair: Sweeter Than Fiction

Wish I could make it better / someday you won't remember / the pain you thought would last forever and ever

Just a shot, just a shot, in the dark, oh, oh / All you got, all you got are your shattered hopes / they never saw it coming

Proved me right, proved me right, when you proved them wrong

I'll be one of the many saying "look at you now, look at you now, now" / I'll be one of the many saying "you made us proud, you made us proud, proud"

Anna/Ari: A Perfectly Good Heart

Why would you wanna break a perfectly good heart? / Why would you wanna take our love and tear it all apart? / Why would you wanna make the very first scar?

Maybe I should've seen the signs, should've read the writing on the wall / And realized by the distance in your eyes that I would be the one to fall

Kieran/Mark/Cristina: Out of the Woods

The rest of the world was black & white / but we were in screaming color

Are we out of the woods yet? / Are we in the clear yet? / Good

We were built to fall apart and fall back together

Your necklace hanging from my neck

That night we couldn't quite forget / when we decided, we decided / to move the furniture so we could dance

Remember when you couldn't take the heat? / I walked out, said 'I'm setting you free' / But the monsters turned out to be just trees / when the sun came up, you were looking at me

Emma/Julian: Run

Give me the keys / I'll bring the car back around

And my so-called friends, they don't know / I'd drive away before I let you go

I could see this view a hundred times / pale blue sky reflected in your eyes

There's a heart on your sleeve / I'll take it when I leave / and hold it for you

There's been this hole in my heart / this thing was a shot in the dark / say you'll never let 'em tear us apart / and I'll hold onto you while we run / like you'd run from the law

Emma/Julian Part 2: Dress

Our secret moments in a crowded room / they got no idea about me and you

All of this silence and patience / pining and anticipation / my hands are shaking from holding back from you

I don't want you like a best friend

Inescapable / I'm not even gonna try / and if I get burned, at least we were electrified

Even in my worst times / you could see the best of me / flashback to my mistakes / my rebounds, my earthquakes / even in my worst lies, you could see the truth in me

I woke up just in time / now I wake up by your side / my one and only, my lifeline

Kit/Ty: Renegade

I tapped on your window on your darkest night

Are you really gonna talk about timing in times like these? / And let all your damage damage me? / And carry your baggage up my street? / And make me your future history?

Is it insensitive for me to say "get your shit together so I can love you?"

Magnus/Alec: You Are In Love & Lover

You understand now why they lost their minds and fought the wars

There's a dazzling haze, a mysterious way about you dear / have I known you 20 seconds or 20 years?

Can I go where you go? / Can we always ben this close? Forever and ever

Ladies and gentlemen, will you please stand? / with every [bow] string scar on my hand / I take this magnetic force of a man to be my lover

My heart's been borrowed and yours has been blue / All's well that ends well to end up with you / swear to be overdramatic and true to my lover

Characters:

Julian: Eyes Open

The tricky thing / is yesterday we were just children / playing soldiers, just pretending / dreaming dreams with happy endings

And now we've stepped into a cruel world / where everybody stands and keeps score

Everybody's waiting for you to break down / everybody's watching to see the fallout / even when you're sleeping / keep your eyes open

So here you are / two steps ahead and staying on guard / every lesson forms a new scar / they never thought you'd make it this far

Nobody comes to save you now

Matthew: Tied Together With A Smile

Hold on, baby you're losing it / the water's high, you're jumping into it / and letting go / and no one knows / that you cry, but you don't tell anyone / that you might not be the golden one / and you're tied together with a smile but you're coming undone

it's not his price to pay

Clary: The Man

I'd be a fearless leader / I'd be an alpha-type / when everyone believes ya? / What's that like?

I'm so sick of them coming at me again / 'Cause if I was a man / then I'd be the man

[shirasuchiru]

My Candy Love (MCL) - New Gen

Ep.01 - After The Rain Comes The Sun - Roy Walkthrough

[There is just one outift option.]

For goose costume:

- It's very recent, I just got here...

- I didn't really have the choice, to be honest.

- Well, for now, I'm living with Mom. (This choice will give you a costume for your goose. I didn't try other choices, so I'm not sure if others work or not.)

—

Roy: I wonder how I didn't notice you, actually...

- Is that your best pick-up line?

- It's not a big deal, it happens...

- No problem. It's the same for me when I run. ( + with Roy)

—

Desk chair talk:

This part doesn't really affect your lovemeters, it will only give you the furniture of your choice you to put on your room.

- Look, a real desk chair: mobike, good back support, discreet... (There will be a mini talk about Thomas, except that it's natural)

- What do you think about this one, in the shape of a dinosaur? Isn't it too cute?! (I suggest to choose this one if you want to focus on Roy.)

- The little round chair is pretty, don't you think? It's cute, and it looks comfortable...

—

Now that you have free time, go to break area first and then cafeteria to meet up with Roy.

—

- Sorry, this is too weird!

- I'm going to go, before I can no longer look away from those abs, so...

- Everyone here knows you do... what exactly? (I chose this one, not sure if other ones give any extra points but this one is natural.)

—

- Okay, I didn't mean to bother you... I'll leave you alone.

- In two sets? Lightweight! (Choose this one for CG)

- Oh yeah, of course! After a run, a hundred push-ups... It's the bare minimum!

—

(You can spend 15 Gems for special scene.)

!!— If you know how the other options are affecting the lovemeter, please don't hesitate to let me know! I hope I could help you.🫶🏻

I posted Ep.2's walkthrough for Roy and Jason, if you want you can check them as well.

[cillspropertea]

Flipped

Chapter 2: Kitten

The reader is Aberama Gold’s eldest daughter, Esmeralda Gold in this fic.

 Warnings: tense situations, alcohol use, sedation, mention of drug use, maltreatment to a child, slight sexual references.

  This fic might have dark themes which may irritate or offend some readers. But if you've seen Peaky Blinders and are familiar with Thomas Shelby, you'll be okay. 😉  The story, plot, character histories and back stories might not be relevant to the original "Peaky Blinders" . Warnings will change per chapter. This is my first fic. Hope you all like it. English is not my first language

Thankyou so much for reading and liking my story. Do not hesitate to engage, comment or repost. Updates will be posted every 2-3 days.

  Synopsis: Your father’s one mistake shall alter your life’s direction forever. 

Word count: 2,165 words

You were taken to a new building, blindfolded, in a car, not so far away you noticed. The little trip from the car to, wherever, included steps and doors too, but this time you did not count. When they took of your blindfold you realized you had been escorted to a bedroom. The same mustached man tied your hands behind your back. You did not protest at all because ‘what was the point?’ the two people who could have come to your rescue were already in their custody, including Da’s main men. And the others, who were out there, would never take any action until a superior order.

     The mustached man saw how you were not fighting him when he reached for your hands to be tied. For a second a very unusual expression crossed his face. As if he was expecting a lot of struggle and fighting but it had somehow… disappointed him that you were not doing any of it. And when he was absolutely sure you were not going to do anything he asked the other men to go and that he could manage the task on his own. Just before he could quietly leave the room, a question that had been bugging you bubbled up from your mouth, “How did you know I was Esmeralda?” “What?” he frowned. “There were three of us there. How did you know I was the one you were looking for?” he looked down and cleared his throat trying not to meet your eyes, “I was told you were the prettiest so I…..” a little ‘huh’ escaped your lips “I just assumed…” he did not complete his sentence before closing the door.

         Sighing loudly, you turned around and saw the bed. Never had you despised a piece of furniture so much before. ‘So this is it then, all those silly romantic dreams end today, on this very bed…’ closing your eyes, you tried to stop yourself from crying but it was as if the single  that had escaped your mouth had broken a seal of emotions, probably bottled up since your childhood. Every time something bad happened to you, your only solace was that one day, one day, it shall all end. It was instilled in every Gold daughter’s mind that marriage was their only way out. And that it was for that very day they were born and bred for. And today that dream shall be shattered.

         There would be no way out. Probably a life full of misery, humiliation and prostitution awaited you now. Your family would not take you back. You would be worthless to them. Plus, when the whole Gold clan would get to know about this, they would not spare your father or your sisters. God you couldn’t even think of the way they would be treated for the rest of their lives. In short this little ‘mistake’ by Da would simply finish your family. ‘Perhaps Granny could save us all!’ she could. No one defied her orders but the question was ‘would she?’ not ‘could she?’ and the already known answer to that question was no, no she wouldn’t. She loved to instill fear among the people she led along with hearing praises in her name. And unfortunately for you, Da had served her a perfect opportunity to do not only that but also make an example of you people, particularly you, that ‘Maliah did not favor her own kin over justice’.

     Your sobs got louder and harsher. But you did not care. For the first time in your life you were not pulling at the leash of your emotions, instead you were letting them spill, like a tumbling liquor bottle. All the memories you had locked in your chest were now flooding back into your mind. The first time you were punished. You had found a tiny abandoned kitten under the broken shed of the store room. It was sick so you had decided to keep it and take care of it in the cabin, back in the backyard.  Ma would have never allowed you to keep it as your Father had a very bad temper in those day. He did not like animals unless they were hounds or horses. So you had decided to hide it from everyone, at least until it got better. And if they still wanted it gone (which you were sure they would) you would let it go, satisfied that it wasn’t sick anymore and that it could fend for itself.

    Unfortunately, Bonnie, who was always looking for ways to look good in Da’s eyes, heard his little, squeaky meows it usually made in the early morning, awaiting your presence. When you woke up, you had found the little kitty dead, neck snapped and was locked in the very same cabin with it in it for three days. A punishment your paternal grandmother, one of the main leaders of the Gold clan, saw fit. According to her, a female who is taught obedience, discipline and her place (which was lower than any man’s ever could be) at an early age always made their clans proud. Plus, she never really liked you anyway, you never understood why. It was your bad fortune that she had been visiting your family at that time.

    The cabin was dark and soon started to stink. You cried and sobbed but no one was allowed to talk, feed or even come near the cabin. “She needs to learn her limits, this little one.” Her wrinkled face was stern with anger and … mischief!? “This younger lot needs a lot more strictness than you are putting upon them.” She twisted and gracefully walked towards your trembling being. “She loved that animal didn’t she? You did didn’t you, girl?” she stooped down and caressed your wet cheeks. You nodded, tears still streaming down your chubby face as you hid behind your mothers legs “Than a few hours, with it in the same room won’t hurt you at all!” Her voice graced all of your nightmares. It sounded soft and caring but her words were always deadly. Like a sugar coated pill of poison. Your father hesitated, “I’m waiting Aberama dear!” she turned, cleaning her nails with her dress. “I haven’t got all day!”

Thomas Shelby

Polly’s voice still echoed in Thomas’s ears as he entered the bedroom. “This is not how we do things here Tommy and you know that!” she entered, winding past Thomas furiously. He closed the door he had just opened to get out of his office with a sigh and returned to where his aunt stood. “We are not barbarians Thomas! Even this business of ours has rules!” She stepped closer staring right into Tommy’s blue eyes. “How dare you drag that innocent girl into your business? I could hear her sobbing when I walked past the room just now!” Thomas exhaled. She looked down for a moment and then back in his baby blues again. “I want you to send her back right the fuck now!” she poked his chest with her finger with every word. “Right now! Before we damage anymore of her honor and dignity” Tommy shook his head slightly “I can’t do that Poll”. Polly huffed and sat on the chair near the table. “Don’t act like you don’t know the ancient and stubborn traditions of the Golds? That girl would be…” “Dead, I know…” Thomas exasperated. “But there’s nothing we can do now” He said with calm and fake menace in his voice. Menace, Polly could see right through of. He sat back in his chair and lit up a cigarette. “So what do you plan to do with her? Rape her?!”

------

    He saw the girl sleeping on the bed with her legs dangling from the side, as if she had just dropped unconscious. ‘So Polly’s sedative worked’, he thought to himself. When he noticed her tied hands, he tried to reposition her legs and immediately worked on the rope to free them. Her hands were cold and a bit blue because of how tight the rope was tied. He cursed inwardly as he rubbed her soft and now free hands to warm and comfort them a little. The girl stirred a bit but went back to sleep after a sigh of relief, thankful for the repositioning and untying of her hands, he thought. Sitting near her feet, Thomas realized he was avoiding to look at her face. He rested his elbows on his knees and rubbed his face tiredly. Getting up, he took his coat off and poured himself a whiskey. Only after gulping down half of the bottle of the amber liquid in the bottle did he glance at Esmeralda’s face. She was beautiful. He’d heard a lot about how devastatingly beautiful she was. It was a point that had caught his eye in Aberama’s file, put together by his men as well. The warm light from the side lamp made her soft, blushing face even more mesmerizing.

    Slowly walking towards her he gradually moved a ringlet of hair from her face, tucking it behind her ears. She was completely out of it, snoring a bit even. The whiskey made Thomas bolder, he softly caressed her cheeks with the back of his fingers. His fingertips lingered on her full lips. The lower lip was slightly bruised he noted. She had to have been biting that plush lower lip out of habit, it seemed. This brought a very small almost invisible smile to his face. His face went darker when his hand moved towards her neck and chest.

    Her cleavage on display from her white cotton dress, due to her lying on her side. The top button involuntarily undone. As soon as his hands touched her chest she flinched, startling Thomas as he took a swaying step back. “… Please let me go… I won’t do it again… I promise…”she protested softly in her sleep, no doubt having a nightmare. Never had he experienced the emotions he was feeling in those moments. He did not want to have sex with this girl. She was beautiful. So much that he was sure he had not seen anyone as stunningly gorgeous as her in his entire life. ‘except her… she had enchanted you just like her…’ The rumors and reports had been true. Something about her was truly attractive to him. But knowing the fact that as soon as the night shall end, this poor, devastatingly beautiful young woman’s future would end with it, that too because of him, made him uneasy. All because of a cocky mistake her father had made today.

     He could let her go unharmed. Let the whole wager thing go. But that meant announcing the world that Thomas Shelby had a heart and that was something he did not want to do at all. He knew very well how they treated a man with a heart, which is why he chose to be known as a heartless monster and behaved like one too.

     Sitting on the bed again he closed his eyes and heaved a deep breath. He was shocked! He could smell her scent! His beloved! She always paid him a visit when he had had a few drinks. He opened his eyes and there she was in the same white dress she wore at the event. No blood stains, no bullet wound and no sapphire. Laying down on the bed, smiling. ‘But, on the bed… there was Esm…’ “There is no pain Tommy. No pain, no suffering.” he sat motionless. The fact was he was getting these “visits” from Grace ever since her death and they had only become more frequent as time passed.

    At first he thought it was because of his use of opium. But soon he concluded it wasn’t. He believed she just accompanied him everywhere and made her presence known mostly when he was alone. Whether it was his imagination or her actual spirit, he did not want to know. But he never wanted these to end, whatever the hell these episodes were.  

    He loved Grace and believed she had loved him too. Polly knew about these “hallucinations” but refrained to comment or discuss them directly with Thomas. The truth was that he had been inconsolable after Grace’s sudden death and these imaginative meetings had played a very big part in getting Tommy to function again. So Polly had not said anything, yet.

Tags:

     “Come to me Tommy. Let me take your pain away…” Grace beckoned him seductively. He looked at her laying form. She looked perfect. Gradually he moved and hovered over her form. He could feel his control over his body stripping away as his lips touched the base of her neck. “I’ve missed you, I’ve missed you so much…” he breathed in between kisses. “Why do you do this to me? Why do you go away?” his nose caressed her jaw as he moved to kiss her lips.

MASTER LIST

@aafiyas (cannot tag 😬)

@joossieisdabomb

[oneletteredwondered]

One of the Boys

Virgil is a new tenant to an apartment complex and his landlord seems real nice. He told Virgil that should he ever need anything fixed to just give a call. He managed to get over the anxiety of calling someone for help, now he needs to get over the gay panic he experiences every time his landlord sends ‘one of the boys’ over.

Pairing: Everyone has a crush on Virgil who is also gay for everyone.

Warnings: panic descriptions from talking over the phone/to new people. Possible second hand embarrassment, swearing

Prompt pic at the end.

--

In all fairness, Virgil loves his new place. Way more than the old place he used to live at least. At least here the walls weren’t cracked and seemed sturdy enough that he wouldn’t be able to hear his neighbors through them. While he does his sweep of the place, writing down anything that might be wrong so the landlord can’t blame them on him, there’s barely anything broken or messed up. A clear step up from his old apartment.

“What you say Oogies?” Virgil nods to the black cat lounging on the cat tower after he’s finished his walk through. The cat stares at him, he stares back. They blink slowly at the same time and Virgil puffs out a breath. OogieBoogie wasn’t fond of the move. Complaining loudly at every jostle of the cat carrier. Virgil wanted to let her out but couldn’t until all his stuff was moved in for her safety. Seems like he’s forgiven.

“Come on lazy bones,” He finagles the cat out of the tower and she curls over his shoulders, paws dipping into the hood of his hoodie, and purrs. He smiles and scratches at her chin. For the most part she blends into the patterned fabric, her grey stripes the only thing that pop out, and even then only barely.

Virgil locks the apartment door, cat on his shoulders, and walk-through papers in hand. They walk their way around the complex and to the main office building. Virgil almost hesitates, thinking maybe he should go tomorrow morning at a better time, but OggieBoogie nuzzles his head encouragingly.

“Yeah okay,” He whispers to the animal, knowing she’s smug as he opens the door. It’s fluorescently bright. There’s no one at the front desk. Virgil takes two steps, and nearly backs out, when a friendly face pops out of one of the offices.

“Oh Virgil!” Virgil lets out a sigh of relief. He recognizes the elderly face 

“Hey Mr Sanders,” He gives an awkward wave. The cheery man laughs.

“You may call me Thomas you know,” He says smiling at his cat and waving to the animal. She blinks at him.

“Right, yeah, course, Mr. Thomas yeah,” Virgil says. Thomas gives him a fond smile but doesn’t correct him. Thank god. Thomas helped him fill out lease papers when he first came to check out new apartments. Honestly a blessing as Virgil had no idea what he was doing. Bonus that Thomas professed the place to be queer friendly as well. Virgil hung up his rainbow flag in the window the moment he found it.

“Oh I brought the walk through papers back,” He hands them over and Thomas takes them happily. 

“Everything good so far?” He asks. Virgil nods, nothing on there that he thought needed fixing, at least right away.

“Oh,” Thomas says softly. Virgil tenses and Oogie starts purring on his shoulder to comfort him.

“Are you having problems with the lights?” Thomas asks, very sincerely. Virgil shrugs a little and Oogie shifts to accommodate his motions.

“Not really, nothing serious,” He tries to play it off. Thomas pouts at his papers.

“Some of the plugs not screwed in properly, not working, a light out in the laundry area,” Thomas ‘tsks’ as he reads off Virgil’s writing. He perks up and offers Virgil a bright smile.

“No worries at all! I’ll send one of the boys over to fix it.” He offers Virgil a wink and riffles through his pockets. He pulls out his wallet and inside it a business card for the office that he promptly hands over.

“You ever need anything fixed, do not be afraid to call ya hear?” Virgil just nods, taking the card with him.

“Wait the boys?” He finds himself questioning. Thomas smiles again with a flippant wave of his hand.

“It’s the name of the contractor company I have hired here for the apartments. Someone should be over in about an hour to help you with the lights.” And with that Thomas is walking away to his own office, leaving Virgil to go back to his new home.

“Shit,” He mutters as he now realizes. Company coming over, and his new home is a mess. He walks quicker than he normally does to try and clean a little before ‘one of the boys’ makes it over. Oogie is not as impressed.

--

Virgil does well distracting himself. He organizes the boxes and even rearranges the hazardously brought in furniture to his liking. Oogie is lounging in her cat tower again, watching him try not to be frantic. He’s in the middle of putting some tupperware containers in the cabinets when there’s a knock on the door.

He wipes his hands on his jeans to make sure they’re not sweaty, and opens the door. Somewhere in the back of his mind he debates slamming it shut but in the end remains frozen with the front door wide open. Cause there in front of him is an absolutely gorgeous guy, hair slicked back and a cunning smile.

“Good afternoon, my name is Damien. Mr. Sanders said you needed help with some of your lights?” His voice sounds like silk and though there’s a long scar across side of his face, it takes nothing away from his beauty.

“Uh yeah.” Virgil says awkwardly.

“Yeah, yeah,” He says even more awkwardly and moves to the side to let the guy in.

“Much appreciated,” The guy, Damien says. Virgil can’t tell if the dude is cheeky or not, but damn is he flustered trying not to stare at his arms and the way he moves in those white jeans. Who wears white jeans to fix things? Virgil should send them a thank you note.

“Which plugs were having issues?” Damien asks then and Virgil decides words are not needed just this moment and deigns to gesture as best he can. Damien smiles at him and sets to work straightening some of the plugs out and replacing one in the corner when he notices a crack in the casing.

“Excuse me, miss.” He hears Damien say and peeks over his kitchen counter to see Damien gently nudging Oogie away from some of his tools. Virgil whines.

“Oogies come on let the man do his job,” Virgil goes over and scoops the cat up, petting her head to keep her from getting annoyed that she couldn’t continue with her curiosity. Damien laughs though and stands, now taking out the walk through Virgil so diligently wrote not 2 hours ago.

“You said that some of the plugs don’t work and that some of the switches don’t lead to anything?” He glances at Virgil with just a hint of a smirk. Virgil hugs Oogie a little tighter to keep his gay panic from spiraling.

“Yeah just seemed weird? I didn’t know if it was something wrong or what,” He says with a shrug, trying to seem nonchalant. Damien lets out a small laugh and waves Virgil to follow. He pulls out a small plug in light and pushes into one of the sockets Virgil said wasn’t working. He flicks the switch on the wall and the light pops on.

“Oh,” Virgil says and wants to die of embarrassment. 

“Well now I feel stupid as fuck,” He says. Damien lets out another laugh, flicking the light twice more to demonstrate.

“It’s to save power that some of the switches lead to the plugs. Nothing broken there. You’re not stupid because you didn’t know.” He takes back his light and once more gives Virgil that sly smile. The worst is he smiles in a way that makes it seem like he knows what he’s doing to Virgil, which is just rude. Except he’s not, Damien is insanely polite which does not help Virgil in the slightest.

“Is there anything else I can help you with?” Damien asks as he puts the last of his tools back in the case.

“Nah. I’m good, thank you,” Virgil says, determined not to make a fool of himself this time. Damien nods his head.

“Have a good rest of your day then. It was a pleasure meeting you,” And this smug bastard winks at him and closes the door behind him. Virgil lets Oogie fall to the floor, picks up the nearest pillow, and screams into it. At least he can do it with proper working lights.

--

Virgil is freaking out. There’s no other way to put it. He is freaking out. So he got a little lazy and didn’t do his dishes. He’s been working so often and never found the energy to keep up. He decided he had a dishwasher for a reason, and even though he felt bad because the machine wasn’t even full, he ran it, and now there is water over the floor. Shit.

He sits on the couch, legs bouncing, with his phone in his hands. Thomas’s number is on the screen, ready to be dialed at the press of a button. Virgil still isn’t sure if this counts as a proper emergency. He managed to clean up most the water with some of his towels, but water is still coming out. Maybe if he just keeps rinsing out the towels and waits for the cycle to be done, he can pretend it never happened.

OogieBoogie jumps into his lap. She kneeds at his leg and is put out when he doesn’t move right away to pet her or give her proper access to his lap. She bumps her head against him and pushes her way to his chest, knocking his phone with her foot in the process.Virgil hisses at the action and ruffles her face in revenge.

“Hello?” A very faint voice calls out. Virgil swears softly and picks up his phone.

“Uh Mr Sanders Thomas?” He says into the receiver, then pulls it away to stare at the ceiling to briefly wonder what is wrong with himself.

“Yes?” Thomas says on the other line.

“It’s Virgil from Unit 16 B.”

“Virgil! How are you?” Thomas doesn’t sound put out that Virgil is calling him, which is a good sign so far. Virgil takes a deep breath, hands working methodically though Oogie’s fur.

“Doing okay yeah, how are you?” He says, it’s important to be polite. Thomas laughs.

“Doing good over here. What can I help you with?”

“Uhm, my dishwasher is leaking? And there’s water on the floor and I don’t know how to fix it. You said I could call if something is wrong and I just, yeah.” Virgil shrugs to himself. Thomas gasps on the other end.

“Oh no! That won’t do. I’ll send one of the boys over to help clean it up.” And Thomas hangs up. Virgil stares at the phone, then at his cat, then back at the dishwasher. He really doesn’t want Damien to see him embarrassed like this  again. He buries his face in Oogie’s side and lets her purr calm him down. He must be there for a while because soon enough there’s a knock on the door.

Thankfully, it’s not Damien on the other end. However, it’s another incredibly attractive guy with a wild smile and even wilder hair that makes Virgil tense up because how. This one wears a shirt with the sleeves ripped off to show how ripped their arms are, and again, white jeans, though this time, the jeans are not as white as they once were, evidence of the work that has been done in them.

“Afternoodle! I’m Remus. The Sander’s Man said something was wishy-washy with your dishy-washy?” His smile in untamed and Virgil stares at him dumbly trying to understand what the hell just came out of his mouth.

“Yes?” He ends up asking more than saying, and moves over so Remus can come inside.

“Much appreciated, now what is gong on here?” Remus smirks down at the mess of the kitchen with his hands on his hips.

“I just ran the dishwasher and water started coming out. I was in the kitchen when I felt it on my foot.” Virgil explains as Remus moves some of the soaked towels over. He finagles the machine to open, something Virgil was too scared to try.

“Oh boy, I see. Give me one hot second here hot tamale, and I’ll get this all cleaned up.” Virgil isn’t sure what he should be more flustered by. Being called hot by a hot guy, or the fact the dude flexed while talking and there is some serious definition in his arms. So Virgil just nods as Remus skips out to the maintenance golf cart outside the door, and brings back in a tool box.

Virgil watches from over the counter as Remus pulls out the racks and practically crawls his way into the dishwasher. Virgil decides it’s a good time to walk away so he doesn’t end up staring at Remus’s ass while he works. That’s not proper behavior for someone who is trying to help.

It’s a few minutes, one colorful yet not quite a swear, and a victory noise later that Virgil feels okay going back to the kitchen area.

“Oh! Hello~ pusspuss!” Virgil gets to watch the exact moment Remus looks up to see Oogie staring at him working. Virgil scoops the cat up.

“Sorry she’s really into strangers.” He says. Though really, she hides from everyone. Remus lets out a cackle of a laugh.

“That’s fine, I’m into strangers too. So I fixed the problem here, no more soggy floors for you. Make sure to run it every so often so it keeps things going clean and unclogged.” Remus says far too quickly for Virgil to respond properly. He picks up his tools and returns them to the case. Virgil does a half-assed job of not staring at his back which is now water soaked.

“Is there anything else I can help you with?” Remus asks at the door. Virgil shakes his head.

“As long as it works I think I’m good,” He says. Remus smiles openly.

“Have a good rest of your day then!” He says and closes the door behind him. There was really no reason for him to flex as he said that but Virgil enjoyed it and no one else has to know.

--

“Shit shit shit,” Virgil is fumbling. He had to go grocery shopping and get some cat food for OogieBoogieBaby. And no self respecting trash panda such as himself would dream of carrying it back inside in more than one trip. So he’s fumbling with his arms lined with bags that would be cutting into his skin if not for his hoodie sleeves, but even then, those are falling and he wishes it wasn't so hot out.

He manages to make it to his door, shift some bags around so he can get his key out, when the bag of cat food starts slipping. Virgil can see it now, cat food all over the front porch to either collect ants, or other cats, or any other large animal. He wouldn’t feed it to Oogie, to afraid of what is on the ground and if it’ll upset her stomach. He braces for impact and for another quick trip to the store.

“Whoa!” Virgil feels the weight leave him but not the crash. He blinks at the ground, then at a pair of white jeans, then at the bag of cat food in someone else’s arms, then up to the face of a bespectacled stranger with brilliant blue eyes.

“Are you alright?” Stranger asks calmly and takes another bag from Virgil that looks ready to topple at a second’s notice. Virgil snaps out of it once it’s out of his hands.

“Shit yeah thanks,” He breathes out in a rush, thankful as all hell as he manages to finally get the door open. He pushes it with his hip and Oogie is waiting at the door for him, meowing up at him. He coos a greeting to her and sets the bags down in the kitchen, the stranger follows only to the inside door and puts the bags down there to not intrude.

“Thank you so much,” Virgil says once he’s done pretending he can carry that much. The stranger just offers him a small smile, kneeling down to let Oogie sniff his gardening glove covered hands.

“It was my pleasure to help you. My name is Logan, I’m one of the workers on site.” He says and stands. His voice is low and calming, it would make for a great audio book, and Virgil is not going to spend the rest of the day thinking about that.

“Though I do apologize for suddenly grabbing your things, I know that can come across as ‘creepy’ and I do not wish for that to be my first impression.” He pries a glove off and holds out his hand. Virgil takes it and gives it a small shake.

“I’m Virgil, and this is OogieBoogie,” He introduces himself and his cat who has deigned to jump on the counter and sniff at the contraption on Logan’s back. He gently pushes the cat away with a soft look in his eyes.

“Pleasure to meet both of you. None for you I’m afraid,” He chides Oogie gently. Virgil swallows because damn, someone interacting gently with his cat more of a heart throb than originally intended. And Logan is nothing if not simply scholarly stunning.

“My apologies again, be sure to let someone know if there’s anything we can help you with. Have a wonderful rest of your day,” Logan nods his head softly and there is just the smallest crinkle around his eyes hidden under his glasses and Virgil is so weak as he closes the door to his apartment. He’s come into contact with one too many pretty people at this complex and it will be the death of him. Still, it is nice to wave to Logan every so often as he preens the landscaping around the buildings.

--

Virgil watches as water drips down the window. It started the other day after some rains. He put a towel under it to keep some of the water from ruining anything, but it’s still going the next day. Virgil sighs and looks at his phone, Thomas’s number on the screen. He takes a deep breath and presses call.

“Hello?” Thomas answers.

“Hey Mr. Thomas it’s Virgil, from Unit 16 B.” A practiced line. Thomas gives a happy gasp.

“Virgil how are you?” Thomas always sounds excited to speak to him. It helps.

“Doing okay, how are you?” He asks, absently petting Oogie’s back.

“Good good! How can I help you?” Thomas asks in turn. Virgil looks at the window.

“Something’s up with my window? It’s like.. leaking.” He explains but not really. Thomas hums.

“Did this start up with the rain?”

“Yeah, I’ve tried cleaning it with towels but it keeps going.” Virgil says. Thomas makes another hum noise.

“Sounds like a problem with the roof. I’ll send one of the boys over.” And Thomas hangs up. Virgil isn’t as put off with the abrupt ending, expecting it this time around. He glares at the window and goes to wait for ‘one of the boys’. Oogie follows over and demands pets. It a decent distraction till a loud knock comes from the door.

Virgil opens it and it's just unbelievable how down right beautiful this guy is. His hair in perfect waves and a charming smile on his face. His sleeves are also cut like Remus's were, but far less frayed.

"Wonderful morning, my name is Roman. Our dear Mr. Sanders told me there were some ill issues with the roof is that right?" He speaks with such confident flamboyance Virgil is a loss for words.

"Yeah," Is all he manages to say. He's pretty. Way too pretty for this.

"Yeah, sorry it's over here," He turns and leaves the door open for Roman to follow. Roman laughs loud and proud and does just that. Virgil shows him the window and does not bit his lip as Roman jostles the frame showing off muscles that are illegal.

"The panes seems closed but I'll check outside as well." He turns and heads out the door. Virgil follows.

"And the roof?" He asks. Roman offers him a dashing smile, checking his tools that he attaches to his belt, holding up pristine white jeans.

"You may hear some noises for a while as I'm up there, but fear not, I'll find the problem." He gives Virgil a wink and with ease, he finds a ledge on the building and hoists himself up. Virgil does not squeak. Certainly not cause he's scared that Roman will fall, and certainly not cause he rolls his shoulders and Virgil can see his body move and god damn it he’s so not straight.

So he goes inside and pretends there’s not a real attractive guy fixing his roof. The noises of fixing continue for an hour or so, Virgil keeping busy with cleaning and some mild work emails. Then the noises stop. Virgil glances at his ceiling curiously.

"Uh, Roman?" He calls from his front door, making sure the dude didn't fall off and die.

"Be down in a moment fair tenant!" He hears. Virgil rolls his eyes and barely turns when Roman suddenly lands in front of him.

"Roof is all set. There were a few shingles out of-"

"Did you just jump off the roof?!" Virgil interrupts. Roman blinks at him and has the nerve to smiling so dashingly again.

"I dare say I did," he says as if it's no big deal. Virgil sputters at the reckless, careless, brash attitude. Roman is far too entertained by it.

"I'm honored by the concern, dearest. Just one more moment to check the window from the other side." He winks again and is walking around the building before Virgil can say anything.

He grabs Oogie and plants his face in her fur. Too gay to function. He talks to her plainly about how unfair it is that pretty boys plague his life, only to find out he can absolutely be heard through the window by Roman asking in a muffled voice.

"You think I'm pretty?" Virgil screams and hides in his room, hearing Roman laugh through the wall. This is how he dies, he decides. This is even worse than the time Damien had to tell him his lights weren’t broken, he just didn’t know how to use them. This is so much worse.

He groans loud and dramatically when there’s a knock on his front door. He doesn’t want to open it. But he does, cause it’s rude other wise.Roman stands there, smug expression and a bright smile.

“Checked everything and cleaned up some water. A few shingles out of place and a loose vent, got those all patched down. If it continues to leak it might be a bigger issue so be sure to call if it does. Anything else I can help you with?” He asks. Virgil takes a steady breath to say no.

“I think I’ve dug my own grave enough for today,” He says, further digging his own embarrassment grave. Roman gives another laugh.

“Enchanted to meet you pretty boy, have an amazing rest of your day.” And then Roman honest to goodness bows and drives off in the golf cart. Virgil closes his door softly and looks at Oogie who stares back from her perch on the counter.

“Don’t even start,” He tells the cat. She looks away like she doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

--

“Boogs! No!” Virgil does not like shouting at his cat. He doesn’t like shouting in general. But it gets OogieBoogieBitchBaby away from the wall she is using as a scratching post. She scampers off as he approaches, fingers going over the claw marks in the wall. He groans to himself.

He moved her cat tower because she kept getting onto his work papers. In revenge for disposing her from her favorite perch and sights of the room, she clawed at the wall instead, leaving a few nasty scratches behind.

“How am I supposed to fix this?” He asks where she’s run off, hearing her run around. He bangs his head on the wall. This is not how he wanted his night to go. In the end, he has Thomas’s number on his phone and piece of paper he tore to shreds in worry over what he could possibly say.

“Hello?” Thomas answers.

“Hey Mr. Sanders, it’s Virgil. I-”

“Virgil! How are you?” Thomas asks. Virgil takes a deep breath.

“I’m- I’m so sorry Mr. Sanders. It was an accident I swear.” He needs to apologize, cause if Mr. Sanders kicks him out, he’ll have to go hunting for places to live again, and who is going to take him with a cat who destroys things, and then because no one will take him, he’ll die on the streets and Oogie will eat his toes.

“My cat Oogie she got upset with me and she clawed the wall and I’m so sorry,” He says in a rush.

“Hey, hey Virgil it’s okay. It happens, our furry friends do funny things. I’ll send one of the boys over to help fix it right up, okay?” Virgil swallows a lump in his throat at Thomas’s easy solution.

“Okay,” He croaks out and then hears the click of someone hanging up. He lets his phone drop and then puts his head in his hands. He doesn’t want to be kicked out his apartment, or to have Mr. Sanders think bad of him as a tenant, or as a bad pet owner. He throws himself back on his couch. He feels so dumb.

Thankfully, there’s a gentle knock to his door. Hopefully his savior in this mess. He opens it to bubbly boy in round glasses, giving him the most cheerful smile Virgil’s ever seen.

“Hey there, evening to you, my name is Patton. Mr. Sanders said we have some kitty claws on the walls?” He asks. Virgil lets his shoulders drop.

“Yeah, I’m so sorry about it.” He says Patton waves his hand.

“It’s not a cat-astrophe, it happens. Can you show me where it is?” He asks. Virgil nods and steps back to let the boy in white jeans in, then pauses.

“Did you just make a pun?” He deadpans. And Patton giggles.

“Sorry, sorry, just slipped out. I’m pawfully bad at them.” He says with a bright smile. Virgil stares at him, then snorts into his hand.

“That was really bad,” He says but Patton just beams at him.

“Got you to laugh though.” And Patton should not sound so proud of making a stranger laugh. Virgil coughs to cover his awkward and shows him where Oogie got to the wall and Patton ‘tuts’ in response, putting down a bag of tools on the floor.

“I have just the thing to get this back in purr-fect conditions.” Patton opens his bag and pulls out some paint and calking. Virgil steps back to let him do his job, very aware that Oogie is hiding somewhere away from him. It makes him nervous to not see his cat in the area. Sure Oogie isn’t a registered therapy animal, but she does a good job of keeping him calm.

“There, al-meow-st done!” Patton smiles at him over his shoulder and adds another coat of paint to the wall, looking good as new. Maybe it’s the puns or the cute, but Virgil does relax.

“Thanks for that.” Virgil says as Patton cleans up. He giggles once more and waves Virgil’s concern off again.

“It’s no big deal, it’s what we’re here for.” He reassures. Virgil sighs and turns to the small meow behind him. Oogie is on the table staring at him. Patton lets out a squeal of happiness.

“Oh she’s precious!” He says in syrupy sweet voice. Virgil snorts again and looks between the two.

“Wanna pet her?” He asks and before he finishes Patton is shaking his head.

“Un-fur-tunately I’m allergic. But she is paws-itively adorable.” Patton coos and waves to the cat, Oogie does nothing in return but that’s to be expected. Virgil rolls his eyes at the both of them.

“Thanks again for your help,” He says. Patton beams and there are freckles on his cheeks. Freckles, too cute, not allowed.

“Of course! Anything else I can help you with?” He asks. Virgil’s turn to shake his head.

“I think we’re good now,” He says. Patton giggles once more.

“Have a claw-some rest of your night,” And that shouldn’t be funny but Virgil snorts again and Patton is proudly walking off.

--

What the fuck, what the fuck. Virgil stares at the door knob in his hand. He just went for a late walk to get his mail, Oogie joining him on his shoulders. Something rattled in the door knob when he opened it, having to actually shove the door open to get back inside after unlocking it. When he went to close the door, the handle came off in his hand before he could close it proper.

What the fuck.

He stares at the space where the door knob was and his open door. His mind immediately races to all the creepy people who can break in and steal things or kidnap his cat. Or even all the bugs that will make home in his food and hair. Nope. None of that.

“Hey Mr Sanders?” Virgil says first, his anxiety over the open door he can not close for fear it won’t open again overriding his normal fear of calling his land lord.

“Virgil! How are you? It’s very late,” Thomas yawns on the other end. Virgil winces. He probably should have thought this through considering the time.

“I’m okay, so sorry to wake you, it’s just. My door handle uh, fell off?” There’s a pause.

“Well that’s not good.” Thomas says.

“I’ll send one of the boys over.” He hangs up plainly. Virgil has enough time to worry if he made Thomas upset by calling so late, and worry Oogie somehow got out only to find her cuddled in her tower, when the bad lights from the maintenance golf cart shine through the crack in the door.

There’s an awkward knock and Virgil pulls the door open. He’s not sure who in their right mind has sunglasses on this late, but at least this gorgeous person isn’t using them to hide their bright eyes. They give him a quirky smile.

“Well this isn’t something you see every day.” They remark and Virgil has to huff out a laugh, some of his panic subsiding.

“Evening babes, I’m Remy. What happened?” He asks and goes about unscrewing the rest of the door knob, kneeling down and scuffing his white jeans that nearly glow in the darkness. Virgil tells him the lead up and Remy scoffs out a laugh of their own, giving Virgil a glance, that turns into a once over, that shakes him to the core.

“No worries, I can see the broken piece. Easy fix.” He winks at Virgil and gets a spare doorknob from the golf cart. Virgil stand idly by as he fixes it, keeping Oogie from getting too close.

“Wassup cat?” Remy asks and gently puts his knuckles to her head in greeting. She makes a noise and then trots off, satisfied with the attention.

“What’s their name?” Remy asks while he screws things back together.

“That OogieBoogie, Oogie for short, though she’s been more of an OogieBoogieBastard lately.” She meows at Virgil from the top of her tower. He hisses back at her. Remy snorts.

“Nice, I have an orange cat named Pumpkin.”

“Nice,” Virgil says back. Remy smirks at his response and keeps working. Vigil pretends the look on Remy’s face didn’t give him reckless night vibes, that he would take Remy up on if he asked, cause damn, the dude’s hot.

“May I borrow your key for a second babes?” Remy twists the knob a few times and with Virgil’s borrowed key, closes, locks, and opens the door with no problems.

“All good to go, anything else I can help you with?” He asks as he hands back the key. Virgil shakes his head.

“Nah, I’m good, thanks for that,” He says. Remy gives him a wink.

“Have a good night babes.” Another wicked smirk and Virgil does his best to close his door at a proper speed. His heart is pounding and these pretty boys will be the end of him.

--

“Hi! Welcome in, how can I help you?” Cute, is all Virgil can think when he enters the office. Pastel, is second. There’s a new receptionist at the desk, freckles and a mega-watt smile.

“Hi uh, I got a notification I have a package?” He stammers out. Oogie purrs at his shoulder, reminding him it’s okay.

“Sure! What apartment number?” Virgil rattles off his numbers as the receptionist looks in the package closet.

“For Virgil?” They ask. He nods and takes his box, keeping it away from Oogie as it’s a surprise for her birthday.

“Oh! I’m Emile by the way. I’m working in the office now so if you need anything just give us a call okay?” They’re so earnest. Virgil ends up just nodding his head, only speaking when Oogie bumps her head to his.

“Yeah, thanks,” He says and before he can make an exit Thomas appears from inside one of the offices.

“I thought I head you! Virgil, how are you?” He asks. Virgil gives him a soft smile.

“Good, and you?” It’s only polite. Thomas lets out a laugh.

“Good here too. Say, the staff is hosting a tenant party here, some games and some food, you should join us if you’re not busy.” Thomas hands Virgil a flyer with some gaudy colors. Virgil does a good job of not letting his dislike of the idea show.

“You should totally come!” Emile beams at him and it does something gay to Virgil’s heart. Virgil glances at the two of them smiling at him.

“I could stop by?” He offers not waiting to make them mad at him. They cheer and turn back to their jobs. Virgil walks back to his apartment, petting Oogie as he does.

“What did I just get myself into?” He asks her. She bumps her head to his hand in response.

--

It’s not a bad turnout for an apartment complex party. Virgil does show up, Oogie situated on his shoulders. Even though its closer to summer, He’s still wearing his hoodie if not just to give her a place to put her paws should she wish to.

There’s those plastic cheap tables lining around the pool area, boxes of pizza and some crinkly plastic containers of mini sub sandwiches sit on top. There’s a section for drinks and cups right next to. Virgil gets himself a cup of lemonade.

He glances about. Some people are playing some bean bag toss game, others are playing on the mini putt putt area Virgil didn’t even know they had. Lots of people are in the pool, messing around and splashing water at each other. He sticks to the sidelines.

“Virgil!” Or maybe not. He looks to who called his name and though he’s happy Logan called for him so he doesn’t have to be alone, he’s lamenting the fact that not only is it Logan, he’s also with Patton, Damien, and Remy. Fuck. Virgil goes bug eyed, giving himself a pep talk, helped along by Oogie making a ‘mrrp’ noise in his ear, and walks to his doom.

“Hey Logan,” Virgil says once he’s close. Patton waves as best he can with hands full of pizza.

“Sup babes?” Remy asks with damn smirk, sunglasses appropriate now. Virgil rolls his eyes.

“Damien, if you don’t remember,” Damien holds out his hand. Virgil of course remembers embarrassing himself in front of freaking sleek attractive Damien, but he isn't about to say that. Virgil takes his hand to shake and Damien flips it to bring a kiss to the back of Virgil’s hand. Virgil’s jaw drops as Patton giggles helplessly.

“Dee don’t do that!” He says but there’s not force behind it. Damien just smiles like the cat that got the cream.

“I didn’t know you two were familiar?” Damien turns the attention to Logan now. Logan just pushes up his glasses.

“I admit to helping Virgil carry in groceries more than once.” Logan says, giving Damien a look that Virgil doesn’t have the power to decipher. Patton whines.

“Kiddo you could have asked for more help,” He says. Virgil shrugs.

“Two trips are for the weak.” He and Remy tap their glasses together in a cheers.

“Yes and I’m sure dropping your groceries is also for the weak.” Logan chides and it does hit a little harder, but still Virgil taps his glass to Remy’s again in a cheers.

“Virgil!” Someone calls and Virgil is blinded by the force of Emile’s smile so suddenly in his face.

“You came!” He’s excited. Virgil nods and takes a step back. Oogie murmurs upset on his shoulder.

“Yep, I said I would and hey, free food.” He ignores the looks the others give each other and Emile just bounces.

“Well I’m glad you’re here. Me and Patton were gunna play corn-hole later, you should join us!” Patton gives an equally excited gasp as Emile gestures to the bean bag toss.

“Uh sure,” Virgil says. Emile bounces and waves, and is off to say hi to other residents as soon as he came. Virgil is reeling from the interaction and it only gets worse.

“Is that pretty boy??” Virgil hears the splash before he sees anyone but then Remus is there in his face, shirtless and in swim trunks and dear god, he has a tramp stamp.

“Hello again stranger~” He coos. Virgil musters up a hi when suddenly another shirtless person is standing next to Remus.

“It is pretty boy! How are you darling?” Roman says. Virgil has officially hit gay panic mode. If the earlier mix of suave and cute wasn’t enough to do him in, the pure amount of muscle now is going to do him in.

“Fine,” He chokes out. Remus and Roman both laugh at his answer. Great. If he hoped for any kind of saving from the others, it’s surely a dashed hope by the amused looks on their faces.

“Are you joining us in the pool?” Remus asks excited. Oogie hisses from his shoulders. Vigil raises a hand to calm her and she nuzzles his knuckles.

“Uh not today.” He says, which is the wrong thing to say.

“But another day?” Remus asks all wild excited. Roman shoves him.

“Like he wants to spend time with your gross ass!” Roman shouts playfully. Patton huffs and calls him for his language but he is ignored. Remus gasps offended with a wild smirk on his face.

“Sure he does, can’t keep his eyes off these guns,” And Remus flexes. Virgil smacks a hand to his face. Oogie dips to hide in his hood. Roman lets out a laugh and firmly shoves Remus back into the pool.

“The only gun he needs is a glock to the face.” Roman puts a fist in his hand, flexing as well. The pun does get Patton to giggle though and Damien rolls his eyes.

“Virgil I am going to get some food, would you like to accompany me?” Logan asks finally done with the nonsense.

“How do you know his name!?” Roman screeches.

“I asked.” Roman let's out an outright offended gasp for whatever reason. He doesn’t get to say another word as Remus from out of no where, runs and tackles Roman back into the pool with no such boundaries.

“Food sounds good,” Virgil says. Logan smiles softly at him.

“I think I shall join you,” Damien says looking into his cup which doesn’t look empty but who is Virgil to judge. 

“Come find me and Emile when you’re done okay?” Patton interjects before they can leave. Virgil offers him a two finger salute, and then leaves Patton and Remy to go find Emile, while he finds food.

“Idiots,” Logan mutters once they are away from the pool. Damien hums in thought.

“But not wrong,” He says.

“They aren’t right either.” Logan snaps back.

“Should I go?” Virgil asks as they are clearly not talking to him. Both Damien and Logan look at him scandalized.

“Certainly not!” Damien says and gives him a slick smile. Virgil swallows down his lemonade to keep his throat from clogging up. He spends some time talking to the two of them, making sarcastic comments and opening up. Oogie pops out to lick his hair at one point.

At that, Virgil finds Emile somewhere, letting them know he’ll be right back, wanting to drop Oogie off at home. He’s comfortable enough here to not need her reassurances, besides, she’s tired from napping and needs to go home to sleep. With some ‘hurry back’ wishes, he’s off back to his place.

He makes sure Oogie is comfy and goes to leave, finding Thomas waiting in one of the golf carts outside his door.

“Need a ride?” He offers. Virgil laughs and joins him in the small vehicle.

“Virgil if I may, I have a favor to ask of you?” Thomas says seriously. Virgil nods his head as his lungs refuse to let him breathe for fear of the favor.

“Please be kind to my grand kids yeah?” Thomas asks, an earnest look in his eyes. Virgil isn’t sure what he’s talking about, but then he looks up. All of the boys who have been coming in and out of his life to fix his home are there staring and waiting for him to get back with the same look in their eyes.

Oh. Virgil thinks.

Oh no.

--

AN: Lol that multiship life

Edit: now with a part 2

[naminethewriter]

America’s Favourite Gameshow!!

Day 2 and I’m still on track! It’s way too late though and I hope I get done with the other prompts sometime before 12am 😴 Anyway, have fun with this silly little fluff story 💙💚🥰 @intrulogicalweek2021

Here on Ao3

Masterpost | Intrulogical Week 2021 Masterpost

Characters: Remus, Logan

Relationship: romantic Intrulogical

Rating: G

Words: 1,480

Summary:  Logan just wanted to make sure his boyfriend ate something. Remus wants entertainment more.

Logan walked along the halls of Remus’ castle in search of his boyfriend who had run off after breakfast to continue some project of his. Now, hours later, Logan wanted to ensure that he had eaten since then because while they didn’t require to eat, considering they were just figments of Thomas’ overactive subconscious, it had proven to be beneficial to their wellbeing as well as Thomas’. It had taken Logan almost a year of research to come to that conclusion but it had been well worth the effort.

 But both sides of Creativity were prone to forgetting the passage of time while working on one of their passion projects, hence Logan’s decision to check on Remus this afternoon. He had already looked through most of the grounds and was now on his way up into a tower. It was pretty much separated from the rest of the castle and nobody but Logan and the Duke himself had access and Remus spend a lot of time up there doing whatever he wants without disturbance. The only reason that Logan had put off checking there first is because he disliked the long, long staircase leading up. About three fourth of the way up, Logan could hear cluttering sounds, so it seemed reasonable to assume his search would soon be over.

After another five minutes of climbing he finally reached the top, only one door separating him from whatever mess Remus has caused this time. Logan took a few deep breaths before pushing it open.

 Pure Chaos laid before him. He couldn’t even begin to describe it. Furniture overturned and broken. Paint or something colourful had gotten everywhere. Glass shards, papers, confetti, everything scattered randomly around the room and Remus in the middle of it.

 Logan didn’t even attempt going any further in. Instead he called out to his boyfriend who turned to face so fast, his head rotated more than it should with a sickening crack.

 “Lolo!” he grinned, pulling his head back into the right position before climbing over the rubble to the door. As soon as he got into touching distance he wrapped himself around Logan in a tight hug. His boyfriend just patted his arm until he let go. “What brings you here, starshine? You horny?” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, causing Logan to roll his eyes.

 “No Remus, I am not horny. I simply came to check on you since I haven’t seen you since breakfast.”

 “Ah shit, is it already evening? Damn time flies when you’re busy, huh.”

 “What were you doing in the first place? This entire room is a mess.” Logan immediately regretted asking when he saw the smile spreading across his boyfriend’s face. “No, Remus, please-“

 Too late.

 Remus snapped and suddenly there was a spotlight on the two of them, two more swinging across the room that was now notably darker. Some kind of jingle started playing and an invisible audience started applauding. Remus, now in a suit, brought a microphone to his mouth.

 “Ladies and Gentlemen! You have waited patiently and now it is finally time to play America’s favourite gameshow! It’s” – the fake audience yelled along the next words –

 “Art or Science!”

 “The rules are simple,” Remus continued alone. “Our returning champion, Logan ‘Logic’ Sanders, has five minutes to survey the room and then he has to decide: did I cause this chaos in the name of Art or Science! He is allowed to ask me three things to specify, not one hint more. Our contestant has a success rate of 66% so far and I’m sure we are all curious to see the result of our fourth episode of-!” Remus held the mic away from him and again the imaginary audience shouted:

 “Art or Science!”

 “Now, Logan. Are you ready to start?” Remus held out the mic to Logan this time who groaned and levelled him with an unimpressed glare.

 “Is this really necessary, Cephy?” Remus laughed and threw his arms open.

 “Of course not, but it’s fun so we’re doing it!” Logan massaged his temple. Ever since Thomas had taken to binge watching SNL sketches on YouTube, Remus had been practically enthralled with their game show parodies. Especially if Bill Hader (Remus’ favourite cast member) played the host. His top spot shifted between ‘What’s that Name?’ and ‘Who’s on Top’ every five minutes and Logan couldn’t deny that the chaos of those concepts fit Remus very well, so it should be no surprise that he thought of his own little show. It just annoyed Logan that he was the only contestant ever having to deal with it.

 Well, at least it was short. He could play along for five minutes.

 “Fine, start the clock.” Remus cheered, as did the audience, and the light returned to how it was before, with the entire room evenly lit.

 “As always, please don’t hesitate to give us play-by-play commentary on your thought process, Sherlock,” Remus giggled and Logan nodded absentmindedly, already scanning the room for clues. He took the first minute to simply think and his boyfriend let him but Logan knew he would grow impatient eventually.

 “Clearly there is both art supplies as well as lab equipment present and I have witnessed you using both for the others intended purpose, so that does not provide any essential hints. The furniture is mostly broken and out of place. Especially that table that seems to be hanging out the window and only hangs on with one leg anchored inside. The glass was most likely smashed by said table. This could point to a possible explosion that resulted after a failed experiment, favouring science as its cause. Though again, I have seen you set off an explosion to create an art piece of yours so it is not concrete proof either.” Remus nodded along to his descriptions and a spotlight also shone on the areas he talked about.

 “Now for my first question, I would like you to confirm whether the dark red substance in that corner is blood or not.”

 “It’s not, though I tried my best to get it to smell the same.” Logan nodded, again falling silent for a moment to think. The quiet was broken by a croak and something moved though it was hidden enough that Logan couldn’t quite make it out.

 “You used live specimen. Not unheard off for your art but more common with experiments. Especially frogs.”

 “Toads, not frogs actually.”

 “I can tell apart a frog croaking and toad doing the same, Remus. That sound was a frog.”

 “Nah, you see, I like how toads look better but frogs sound more appealing, so I made a toad that croaked like a frog.”

 “Fascinating. Could you show it to me later?”

 “Sure! Also that counts as your second questions.” Logan glared at his boyfriend for a moment but relented.

 “Fine.” He continued to point out other details about the room and whether they pointed towards art or science and soon Remus announced that he had only 30 seconds left. Logan contemplated in his head and came to a decision at the same moment Remus called:

 “Time! Five minutes are up, Ladies and Gentlemen! Now Logan, give us your answer, please!” The room had darkened once again, with a spotlight on Logan and Remus and two others moving around the room.

 “I say it’s art.”

 “Is that your final answer?”

 “Yes, Remus, please do not drag this out any longer.”

 “Yeah, yeah.” He waved his hand around before getting back into character. “His answer is locked in! Now let’s see if he’s right. Is it art?” A drumroll played and then a bang. Even more confetti poured out of the ceiling, along with balloons, the normal, oval ones and those long ones with two of the former tied to one of the latter (I’m sure you can guess what that symbolises, we’re talking about Remus here after all).

 “Coooooooorrrreeeeccccctttt!” Applause roared and Remus threw an arm around his boyfriend, pulling him close. “Another win for our returning champion! With this his success rate is now at 75%! How are you feeling, are you proud?” He held out the mic to Logan, who rolled his eyes.

 “I am alright, now please wrap this up.” Remus giggled but complied.

 “That was it for this episode of-“

 “Art or Science!”

 “See you next time, folks!” And with another snap, things returned to normal, the lights, the sounds and Remus’ outfit. “Wasn’t that fun, starlight?”

 “It was fine, Remus.”

 “You just don’t like admitting it~”

 “No matter, that is not what I came up here for anyway.”

 “Oh yeah, why did you come here?”

 “To ask if you have eaten since breakfast.”

 “Oh, rotten shit, I forgot.”

 “I thought as much. Come on, I secured you some leftovers from lunch and the rest of the hot sauce.”

 “You are the best, moonlight.”

[imagines-hoarder]

The Older Man (Pt 2) *smut*- Thomas Shelby

Request// Hey! Will you post a part 2 of “The Older Man”? I would be the happiest person alive =)

*After two years of sitting on the sidelines and focusing on school, I decided to use writing as a way to procrastinate from classes instead of the other way around. Family Divided and My Husband’s Brother fans are gonna kill me cause they have DEFINITELY been waiting longer; maybe more to come? I do also wanna give a little warning; I have not written a full work for this blog in two years and the first part of this story was the peak of my passion. I wanted to give y’all the smut you loved but wasn’t in the mood for angst so let me know if you have any storylines you have in mind for these two and we’ll see how long I’m around for? Please be gentle with my heart! xoxox*

Masterlist

(Part 1)

For those who know him, Tommy is predictable.

When you took a moment to finally watch the man who you had craved for years, you had noticed that he had a routine of his own that ran deeper than his calendar could account for. He was always awake before the sun, and you could only rely on him to find stillness for four hours a night; six if he could find peace. He’d spend the mornings at Charlie’s yard with the horses as day broke and would spend the coming hours in one of his factories across Small Heath. You had spent many years visiting him strictly on Wednesdays for your pay, but he now knew that a sultry touch could convince you just enough to have lunch with him before you left. He’d leave far after the last machine had ground to a halt and his final employee had clocked out. If he was lucky, you would stop by on your way home on the days of your choosing, but time had soon taught him to expect you at random. It had become his welcomed reprieve from drinking alone.

After eight months of finding yourself endlessly tangled into this circumstance with Thomas, you had settled into strange domesticity that was only possible with a man as destructive and dangerous as Tommy.

The smell of his cigarettes reached your nose the moment you unlocked your apartment. He was visible to you only in the dark by the embers glowing between his fingertips. 

“While I enjoy your covert visits as much as the next woman, I thought you would know better than sneaking up one armed with iron by now,” you proclaimed as you brought the room into further clarity by turning on the lamps. A cheeky grin was already stuck to your face by the time you could see him sitting in the wingback chair left by the last tenant. “Frankly, I’m surprised you found your way here before midnight.”

Once you had left Tommy’s office following your first fling, it didn’t take much time and even less convincing for you to find your own flat. It was close to your parents but far enough to keep them from ever knowing how the Tommy they doted on for years was defiling their only child in the dead of night. He didn’t live there, but it’s where he could be found most nights for the few hours he did sleep.

“Is it a crime to want to see you? Haven’t stopped thinking about you since you came to the office two days ago.” He looked so settled in a chair that was so beneath him, common man’s furniture that had faced many years of wear on the leather and scars on the legs.

“Well, sorry to keep you waiting, Mr.Shelby. I had a commitment to attend to this evening.” You moved to grab the empty glass resting loosely in his hands. He took a moment to notice you, no doubt arriving home from a local club. 

“A business commitment, I presume,” he called to you as you walked to the bar, pouring a glass of whiskey for yourself before refilling his own. “Can’t think of a man special enough to see you in such a state.”

You look down at your dress, an attractive piece of fabric that fashionably displayed your assets between layers of chiffon and beading. Your unruly hair had been pinned to display your mischievous eyes and the rouge in your cheeks. “Other than the present company, only the one I shot in the chest an hour ago. He was working for the Italians.”

He gave you a mere nod before you journey back to him. “At least he got a pretty view at the end of his life, didn’t he?”

His warm fingers brushed yours as you returned his glass, putting out his cigarette in the nearby dish before finding a reason to settle. His free hand pulled you to rest with him in the rundown chair, feeling the warmth of his lap underneath you and enjoying the feeling on his palm splayed on your lower back.

“I’m sure there are other things he would have preferred to see at death’s door,” you spoke gently, only loud enough for him to hear as you washed down the night with a gulp from your own glass. “Though I can’t tell if you're jealous or excited at the prospects.” He grunted before emptying his glass again.

“I have nothing to worry about. Couldn’t give a fuck about other men; just my best girl.”

“I’d say you’ve gone soft on me, Thomas, but I can feel how hard you are.” You assumed the waiting and outfit had quickly got the best of him as you felt him against you, his rigid facade contradicting the yearning you knew he felt. You slowly rotated on his lap to face him, your legs positioned to relax on either side of him. You slowly pulled the pins from your hair as he watched, letting it fall into its natural state before pushing the wayward strands behind your ear. “You’re the only one who calls me a girl anymore. I’ve been a woman for a while now, Tommy,” your hands trailed down to his trousers, slowly unveiling what you so eagerly pined for. Warm. He was warm all over and his gaze felt light fire on your face, the glasses finding themselves near the smoldering cigarette as your hand grazed deeper into his pants. “and for many, I am what death looks like.”

His lips crushed yours in a manner all but patient, his hands tangled between your hair and the back of your dress, aching to release you from all barriers between you. His lips sunk to your jaw and neck as he revealed your bare torso, leaving behind a trail of lustful caresses. You took the earliest opportunity to find balance on the ground and slipped out of the dress that pooled at your waist, tugging away your undergarments with it. By the time you had finished, Tommy’s chest was bare and you had the pleasure of freeing his member before you reclaimed your throne on top of him, calves rubbing against the firm leather of the chair.

Your weight sunk onto your knees and you felt him fill you. It was as if it were your first time again; so raw and natural as if he didn’t already own a part of you that you only now realized existed. The room brimmed with your sharp moans and Tommy’s heavy pants as you bounced on top of him. You tried to feel every bit of this moment without getting lightheaded; you didn’t know if he was pulling you closer or you were pushing yourself towards him as the coil snapped in your stomach. Your hands found their way to the nape of his neck before you let out a shaky whine in his shoulder.

“No, not yet, love,” he cooed as your soft body began to relax in his grip. It would be a sweet yet peculiar notion, to think the night was over so quickly over. You felt your legs slide from the chair as Tommy pulled you to the ground and you naturally found your position. Your hips were lifted as he reached for them and your shoulders fell to the ground. With your cheek to the floor, you could see him in your periphery, the man with a calloused touch that had reached the most inner parts of your desires. “I’m not done with you yet.”

He pushed himself inside of you, and the cry that left your throat was lewder than you could have expected. As you held onto the legs on the worn chair, Tommy only thrusted deeper between your legs. By the time he was pressed fully against you, he was bucking at a pace of his own. “For fuck’s sake, Tommy!”

He bent against you, and his chest was against your curved back, now roping his arm around your waist so every inch of you was connected to him. “They may see you as a woman out there. But in my office, in your bed...on this bloody fucking chair, you’ll always be my girl,” he gritted out. His breath was hot against your ear as he came deep inside of you, bathing in the thrill of filling you up.

All the noise faded while sweat and slick dried between your bodies. His head rested between your shoulder blades as you laid between his arms on the floor. You weren’t sure how long you laid there, moments or millennia, before you unwound your limbs from his, grabbing your pile of clothes in the process.

“I nearly died in your arms tonight,” he said with a trace of humor on his lips. You tossed him his clothes before you pulled on your bloomers.

“It’s not your time yet, old man.” The glare you received had become a familiar friend in the past year. You knew that behind his scold, he was watching you as if you were art in the making; beauty in the moonlight that he didn’t deserve.

Tommy is predictable. He always had a card up his sleeve, something holding unexpected pleasures or unforeseen schematics. The longer you knew him, the more you were sure that he would always be one step ahead of those who thought they had him pinned. Maybe that's why you kept coming back to him. He was reckless and sometimes detached in order to stay ahead, but he was always calculated and cared for you in a way only a man like him could. He fulfilled a hunger no drug, no fortune, and no other man could ever satiate in you.

He took your hand in his, his rough palms soothing to your senses. “Then we must make all the little moments count until then.” He left hot kisses up your wrist and forearm. “Marry me, Y/N.” You scoffed with a laugh bubbling in your throat, pulling away from him as you walked to your room. You needed a bath more than a joke at the moment. “I’m serious, love. Marry me and I’ll give you a house with endless corridors and new furniture.”

“Maybe I don’t want to marry you, Thomas,” you teased from the other room.

“And maybe I only want to fuck a young woman I’m married to.”

“Then you’ve become quite the prude in the last five minutes!” 

You could retort day and night, but you knew a ring would be on your finger by next week, whether you had blatantly said yes or not. You would never admit it, but you knew that Tommy saw you as predictable too.

Cuties who have asked me to tag them at some point: @buckybarnesisalittleshit @moonlxghtbay @roliepoliegirl  @iamafancygirl @eggingamazinglove @characterobsessed (if you want to be untagged, please message me!)

[libraryofloveletters]

Haunted

Luke doesn’t believe that the house is haunted but you know for a fact, that it is. 

Luke Alvez x Reader 

Warnings: mentions of ghosts, talking to ghosts, mentions of death, kissing, Luke thinking that you’re slightly crazy, cursing

Category: fluff with a little angst :) 

Word Count: 3.2k

Author’s Note: idea came to me while watching crimson peak so here we are :) and did I use Thomas Sharpe as the ghost ? yes I did, and what ? Anyways, this is purely to indulge myself so idk it’s probably shitty :) 

----- 

Luke had been with you for the last two years and he’s heard many stories of the “amazing family home” that you have so many beloved memories in. You figured it was finally time to take him on a trip. As soon as he could get a break from work, the two of you packed up and started your drive to the house. 

“So why do you call it the Red Estate ?” he asked you as you made a turn down what looked like a road that led to nothing. 

“Well, It belonged to my great great great grandparents who bought it from the family who had originally built the house” you told him as you drove. 

“Okay, but what does that have to do with the name ?” he laughed, you smiled 

“I'm getting to that. The family that had originally built the house, the Sharpes. His wife loves roses, red roses. The whole estate was covered in them, the rooms had rose wallpapers, the furniture had roses on them” you explained. 

“That's interesting” he looked out the window. “There’s more baby.” you chuckled, he turned to you, waiting for you to explain. 

“Well, Lady Sharpe had gotten sick and she passed away. When she passed, her husband remarried and he brought his new bride to the house” you looked over at you, his brows furrowed. “What? did she haunt them?” he chuckled, making you smile. 

“The roses that were in full bloom seem to die overnight, things changed around the house. It was thought that she did haunt them, whispered to them, tormented them until she eventually killed them” you smiled at Luke. 

He rolled his eyes playfully, “you don't actually believe that nonsense, do you ?” he asked you. “My family bought the house after they died, I'm just telling you what I've heard darling” you laughed as you pulled into a long driveway. The drive down was good 2 minutes, you drove through the large iron gate with the rose insignia on it. 

Luke’s mouth hung open as you drive towards the house. “This is the ‘little house’ that you spent your summers in ?” he asked. 

The house was much bigger than you had led him to believe, it was more of a manor than a house. There were large stained glass windows in the front, with of course, roses on them. The manor has vines running up the side that had dried up. 

The two of you stepped out of the car, you tumbled through your pockets for the key while Luke grabbed your bags from the car. “Is it just me or did it get cold all of a sudden ?” a cold breeze blew through the yard as Luke finished his sentence, you chuckled. 

“It’s always cold up here love” you smiled at him as you walked towards the door. “It’s only 6 o'clock and it's September.” he stated, following you to the doors. 

“Lady Sharpe baby, she’s the reason it’s cold” you told him as if that was a known fact, he rolled his eyes again. 

You unlocked the door and pushed it open, Luke and yourself walked into the empty foyer. There was a large round table in the middle, the sun from the hole in the roof shining through. You looked up and smiled, Luke looked up too, “why is there a hole in the roof ? Lady Sharpe caused that too ?” he joked, earning him a playful hit to the arm. “No, rainstorm” setting your keys on the table, you sat on the chair beside it and slipped off your shoes. 

“Tom!” you shouted, Luke looked at you. “I’m back and I've brought a guest!” you walked into the kitchen and Luke followed behind you, 

“Baby?”

“Hm?” 

“Who’s Tom ?”

“Oh, Tom. As in Thomas Sharpe, the guy who built the house.” 

Luke began laughing, hysterically. You filled the kettle with water as Luke was laughing and set it on the stove. When he finally settled down, he turned to you. “You talk to the dead guy ?” “his name is Tom and yes I do. This is his house, be respectful Luke” you rolled your eyes and turned your attention back to the stove. Luke wrapped his arms around your waist, hugging you from behind. “I’m sorry baby, I'll be nice to Tom” he chuckled, “thank you. Now get the cups from the cupboard” 

The two of you turned so you could show him which cupboard but the cupboard door was already open. “That one” you patted Luke’s hand that rested on your stomach. 

“That was closed when we walked in right ?” he asked 

“That’s correct” 

“How did it open?” 

“Tom” you smiled 

“Uh huh, just the wind then” 

Luke headed to the cupboard to get the mugs and returned the table as you took the kettle off the stove. The two of you sat at the table just talking for a few hours, before you knew it, it was dark out. 

Luke followed you up the stairs and into a room. He sat on the bed watching as you pulled some clothes out of your bag when he realized that he didn’t take the bags upstairs.

“Did you bring the bags up here?” 

You shook your head as you changed into your pyjamas. “So how did they get up here?” 

“To-” he cut you off “I don’t want to know” he got off the bed and changed too. The two of you settled in bed, his arm around you and your head rested on his shoulder. “Good night baby” he whispered, “good night love” you leaned up and gave him a kiss. 

“Good night Tom” you mumbled, you could tell Luke’s eyes on you. “Don’t even say anything” he chuckled before kissing your head. 

Sometime throughout the night, Luke was shaking you to wake up. “Huh stop lemme sleep” you mumbled. “Y/n, wake up. c’mon it’s not funny, get up please” he begged you while shaking your shoulders. You groaned and sat up, “what Luke ?” he looked at you, “okay something keeps knocking downstairs and it won’t stop” 

“Okay, what am I supposed to do about that?” 

“Can you come with me to check ?” 

“Mhm okay, let’s go” you rolled out of bed and headed into the hallway. Luke followed you, you looked around “nothing’s happening” you mumbled, still half asleep. 

“It was coming from downstairs” you sighed. The stairs creaked as you walked down. “You check the kitchen and I'll check the hallway, okay?” you told him, he nodded. You could tell he was just putting on a brave face for you, something had genuinely scared him. You walked down the hallway, nothing seemed out of place. 

“I swear if it’s you scaring him, I'll burn this house down” you whispered quietly to yourself, mostly as a warning to Tom. Turning on your heels, you headed into the kitchen quietly, Luke stood by the window looking outside. He hadn’t heard you come in. 

You creeped up behind him and grabbed his shoulders, “boo!” he jumped. “Y/n! what the hell babe!” you laughed. “Sorry sugar, but I didn’t see anything. Did you see anythi-” a loud thump came from the hallway causing the two of you to turn around. 

“Yeah, that” Luke said. You stuck your head out, a vase had fallen over and shattered all over the floor. You knew that vase, it was the one that in your room but you didn't tell Luke that. 

“Let’s just go back to bed Luke” you stretched your hand out for his, he reluctantly grabbed yours. “What about the vase?” he looked at the broken pieces of glass as you dragged him up the stairs with you. “I’ll clean it up in the morning baby” you pushed him in the bedroom, you stepped in after him and turned around to shut the door.

You had a feeling that someone was there even though you couldn’t physically see anyone other than Luke. You glared into the nothingness before shutting the door. 

---- 

Luke came in and shook you awake once again, only this time he came with coffee. “Morning love” he handed you the cup of coffee as you sat up in bed. “Sleep well ?” you asked him, he smiled and nodded “I did actually. Thank you for getting up with me last night” you squeezed his hand and took a sip of the coffee. 

“Did you get up after I fell asleep and cleaned up the vase?” he shifted on the bed to between your legs, his head on your thigh. He pulled your legs over his shoulders as you ran your hand through his hair. “No, I didn't. Why ? It’s not there?” he shook his head, his hair rubbed against your thighs making you giggle. 

“It’s gone” 

“Hm, he probably felt bad for scaring you and cleaned it up” 

“You really think that’s what happened or are you fucking with me?” 

“I’m fucking with you Luke. How would a ghost pick up glass?” 

Luke let out a laugh, you smiled at him. “Wanna go for a walk ? I can show you around the property?” he rolled onto his stomach, his cheek against your thigh. 

“Sounds good, can we have breakfast first ? I'm hungry” he asked you sweetly, and who were you to deny such an adorable man.

“Of course, let me change and I'll be down” he pressed a kiss to your thigh before hopping off the bed and heading out the room. Stretching as you got off the bed, you headed to the bathroom to brush your teeth and get dressed. When you came back to the bedroom after changing, you felt a presence in the room. 

“Now, I don’t appreciate the shit you pulled last night” you mumbled as you fixed your hair, the lights flickered in response to your sentence. You looked in the mirror, “He’s a good guy, I promise” you set the hairbrush on the dresser before going to open the door. 

The door wouldn’t open. 

“Are you serious ?” you pulled on the door, still no luck. 

“Stop acting like a child, let go of the door” you said a little louder. “Babe? You alright?” Luke called for you from downstairs,  “yeah, give me a sec, I'm coming!” 

“What do you want me from me dude?” you asked, hoping that you’d get some response or the frickin door would unlock. The window flung open and a cold breeze blew into the room, some leaves from the yard blew in as well. A single red rose petal landed by your foot. 

“Okay, I know what you want. Can I go now?” you tugged on the door and this time, it unlocked. You headed down the stairs, Luke stood at the end of the staircase. 

“Were you talking to someone up there?” 

“Just a phone call” you smiled and grabbed his hand. 

“Did you eat ?” you asked as you put on your shoes

“I did, don't you want to eat ?” he asked

You shook your head and pulled him outside with you. You walked with Luke to the back of the property, you showed him the stables, even though they had been empty for years. The two of you sat by the lake for a bit before heading to the end of the property line where the roses grew. 

“I thought the roses died?” Luke looked at you as you walked closer to them. “They only grow back here for some reason” you told him as you picked a few from the bush. “Does anyone even come this far ? you know, to take care of them” he leant down and smelt them. You smiled as you watched him. 

“No one’s been back this far for years. Everyone kinda stopped coming here since my grandfather died. My grandmother came once and us kids come every so often but that’s it. We just come to tidy up and make sure everything is still locked up” 

The two of you hung around outside until the sun began to set, you made your way back with the bunch of roses. You set them in a vase when you got back into the house. It was your last night in the house since Luke was needed back on Monday, you figured you'd make him dinner before you guys head out tomorrow. 

Luke sat in the kitchen as you cooked. “You’re sure you don’t want help?” “for the 100th time, I'm okay love” The kitchen was quiet other than the sounds of you cutting and stirring the contents of the pot ever so often. A sudden drop in temperature and the candle flame going out caused Luke to call for you. 

“Is that your friend Tom again ?” he joked, you smiled at him and brushed off the eerie feeling you had. 

“Probably” you went back to cooking.

Luke knew you believed that there was a ghost named Tom living in the house but he thought you just bought into the story because you had been told that your entire life. The window flung open and rose petals blew into the kitchen as the wind made its way through the kitchen. 

“What the hell ?” Luke stood up, brushing the petals of himself and the table before shutting the window. You turned off the stove and looked at him. 

“Believe me now?” 

“Freak accident darling, there’s no one here” He made his way over to your pressing a small sweet kiss on your lips before helping you set the table for dinner. “He’s just gonna keep bothering us until you believe” you looked at Luke who was too busy eating to even pay attention to you. 

Now you knew how Tom could get and you knew it seemed crazy, like way crazier then you talking to a ghost so you didn’t bother telling Luke. You remembered the summer then your cousin refused to believe Tom was actually real. Your cousin came down one morning gushing about how he had slept with this girl and she was so amazing, and how he even had the hickeys to prove it. When he lifted his shirt to show you, there was a “T” across his chests made by hickeys. You giggled as you took a sip of your water, Luke looked up at you from across the table. 

“What ?” his head tilted to the side

“Nothing” you smiled at him

The two of you finished dinner and headed up to the bed. Luke made sure to check all the doors and windows before going up with you. “You know, I had a good time, despite all the strangeness” Luke chuckled as he got into bed. 

“I’m glad you did” you were standing by the mirror taking off your necklace. Something cold touches your shoulder which made you turn around. “You okay?” Luke looked at you, his brows furrowed into a face of confusion. You ran your hand down your shoulder for your arm, “yeah, just a piece of hair on my arm. Made me feel weird” you chuckled and looked into the mirror. 

You could feel him in the room, it was much colder than it was then you stepped in. Seems like Luke had noticed too, he shifted in the bed. “Come cuddle with me, it’s cold” he shivered, pulling the blanket up to his chest. You smiled and made your way over to him, getting into bed and curling up beside him. 

“I love you, you know that ?” Luke looked down at you, your head resting on his chest 

“I love you too” you smiled up at him.

--- 

The next morning, you had both woken up much later than expected. The house felt warm. You had never felt the house this warm before, you went to roll out of bed but Luke’s arms pulled you back towards him. “Mhm, hi baby” he  covered your cheek in kisses, you giggled. “Good morning to you too. We gotta get going love, you need to get home for work tomorrow.” he groans at your mention of work. “Can we stay here forever?” he mumbled into your neck. “Me and you and Tom ? Sure we can” you joked, he sat up. 

“On that thought, let’s go” he got out of bed, you laughed and got up too. 

The two of you got ready to head out. You made one last check through the house while Luke took the bags to the car. He waited for you by the car as you stepped out. 

You took one last look inside, whispering to yourself. “Bye Tom, take care” you smiled at the empty house and locked the door. You walked to Luke and gave him a hug. 

“What's this for ?” His arms pulled you closer to him 

“For putting up with my ghost stuff all weekend” you smiled up at him 

“Ready to go?” he asked as he opened the door for you, “thank you” you got into the passenger seat. 

A single rose laid on the seat, you picked it up and smelt it. “Where’d you get that?” Luke asked you, looking at the rose in your hand. “It was on the seat. You didn’t put this here?” you looked back at him, he shook his head. You rested the rose on your lap, Luke backed up before pulling out of the driveway. You took one last look at the house before he left the driveway, a figure of a man stood in the window. He smiled at you and waved at you and you smiled back at him.

“What are you smiling at ?” Luke looked over at you with his own smile on his face, “oh just the house” you smiled at him. 

The drive back into the city was quiet, the two of you got back earlier than expected. You dragged your bags into the room as Luke went to pick up Roxy from the neighbours. You unzipped your bag to find a note on top of your clothes, Luke probably left something for you. 

You unfolded the paper, it wasn’t Luke’s handwriting. It’s one that seemed oddly familiar but you still weren’t sure why. 

“Thank you for bringing love back into this house. 

T.S” 

T.S, Who was T.S? 

It hit you, T.S was Thomas Sharpe. 

Turns out ghosts were real. 

---------

Taglist: @luke-alvez​ @iconicc​ @aaronhotchnerr​ @mac99martin​ @aaron-hotchner187​ @tclaerh​ @lieberhers​ @pumpkin-reads​ @ssa-holmes​ @katexrichardson​ 

[wouldpollyapprove]

You Love Me?

Summary: After Tommy accuses her of trying to take Grace’s place as Charlie’s mother, Y/n leaves the house, trying to forget the words he said to her. Running from her problems, Y/n decided to drink the night away and face her problems in the morning.

Request: 13 angst and 2 humor for Tommy as well please? I like your writing a lot!

Requested by @jenepleurepasbaby

Thomas Shelby x Reader

Word Count: 2k

Warnings: language, alcohol, drugs

A/N: This is probabaly trash and after editing it, I could have done so much more with it but I’m lazy. And I know that I said I was taking a break this week, but I spent all day working on a lab write up and needed to write something I actually enjoy, so this is it. It sucks, but I don’t care. Oh, requests are open and I will be editing my fandoms list so, yeah.

Masterlist

“I think you need to take a break, Tommy.” Y/n stood behind him, looking over at the papers he was hunched over. She ran her hands over his tense shoulders and decided to rub out the knots. “You’ve been at this for hours, how about you come join Charlie and I on our walk?”

A grumble was all she got in response before he through her hands off him. 

“Tommy, please. You deserve a break.” She was met with silence. Y/n huffed and walked in front of his desk. “If you won’t do it for yourself, do it for Charlie. He misses you. You spend all your time in your fucking office and none with him. He needs his father.” Her words finally caused the man to look up, but there was nothing but anger in his eyes.

“It’s a real shame nobody asked for your opinion,” Tommy stated. Leaning back in his chair, daggers for eyes stared back at Y/n. “How would you know what my boy needs, hm? Your not his mother, now are you?” 

The questions stung, causing cracks in her heart. Y/n never tried to be Charlie’s mother. All she ever wanted to be was someone the boy could come to in a time of need. Someone to support him and love him, but never his mother. She could never do that.

“All you are is my fucking whore! Nothing more, nothing less! Now fuck off, will ya?”

He didn’t have to ask her twice as Y/n ran out of the room, tears pooling in her eyes. She wanted to blame it all on stress from work, but how could she believe that when the words cut her so deeply. She had always thought of herself as more than just his whore, accepting the fact that he wasn’t quite ready for marriage. 

But he loved her.

Tommy loved her, that’s what she once knew. Now, dodging furniture and maids, with tears in her eyes, she was uncertain. Finally, upon the room she shared with Tommy, she quickly opened the door and shut it behind her. Sliding down the door, once she hit the floor, tears spilled out like a raging river. Sobs echoes through the room as she pulled her knees to her chest. 

Was she no more than a whore to him? Was she wasting her life on a man who would never want her? Questions as such ran wild through her brain, no answer in sight. How was she to know Tommy’s intentions when he never gave away much. 

“It’s alright,” Y/n whispered to herself, her head resting against her knee. Her eyes roamed the room, trying to grasp onto something, anything that could distract her. Then, out of the corner of her eye, the sun hit glittering fabric from the wardrobe. Wiping her tears, she pushed herself off the door and trudged over to the wardrobe. The door creaked as she pulled out the fabric, a glittering blue dress that Tommy had bought her. It was beautiful in the light, sparkling like a crystal ball, tragic that it had never been worn. 

Upon seeing the dress, an idea popped into her head. She wouldn’t spend all day crying over a fucking man, she would having more fun than that.

*~~*~~*

A smile broke out across her face as the band played a new song. “I fucking love this color,” Y/n ran her finger over the bar.

Her friend, Beth, giggled a reaction from one too many cocktails. “Yeah,” she drawled. “It’s… lovely.”

Y/n let out a sigh and leaned her head on the counter. She was unclear what time it was, vision hazy from the alcohol, but it was getting late, the sun setting outside. “We should go dancing!” she declared, raising her head up a little to fast.

Beth nodded, “We should. We…” Her sentence dropped off as a pair of men walked through the door. A nudge from Y/n brought her attention back to what she was saying. “We haven’t done that… in ages.”

Y/n slide off the barstool after chugging the last of her drink. She then grabbed her friend by the elbow and dragged her out of the pub. They were in the wealthy part of Birmingham, the part that wasn’t covered in dirt and death. People from this part of town didn’t die falling into machinery or from soot coating their lungs. These people usually died from consuming too much alcohol or drugs or in their sleep at the age of 85. Being in that part of town also meant that Y/n could do whatever the fuck she wanted.

No longer in Small Heath, she needn’t worry about the rage of Thomas Shelby. There weren’t Peaky Blinders or members of the Shelby family around every corner. There was no one to tell her to go home or to bite back the tears and leave Tommy alone. She was finally free. Free from the filth, from the looks, from the whispers that came from being with a dangerous man. 

For the first time in what felt like ages, Y/n like the person she used to be. 

The pair ented a club, one Y/n knew would give them the high they were seeking. Drugs were strewn on tables like leftovers and alcohol was soaking everything from the walls to the tables. If you wanted to forget something, it seemed, this was the place to go.

Dodging people too drunk to stand, Y/n made her way to the dance floor, Beth right behind her. Once in the middle of the floor, she couldn’t help but start dancing, grabbing a random person to dance with her. “I fucking love this!”

“Me too!” her friend shouted above the music. 

The danced for a long while, opting to dance with each other rather than the men around them. It was more fun that away, being able to express themselves with no other intentions but enjoying themselves. Both women were tired of being chased after by men to only become sex toys in their eyes. 

“I dumped Jack!” Beth yelled, throwing her arms in the air to the beat of the music. 

Y/n laughed, “About fuckin’ time! You should’ve dumped him ages ago!” The music picked up, much faster than it was before, causing her to let out a squeal as she started jumping around. “I love Tommy!”

Beth stopped dancing and grabbed Y/n’s arm, pulling her close. “You what?” Her friend said something, but even with their proximity to each other, Beth was unable to hear her. She pulled the two over to the edge of the dance floor until she spotted a table for them to sit at. “You what?” she repeated.

A little out of breath, Y/n rested her elbows against the table. “I love him, Beth. I love Tommy.” A waitress came over a collected their orders before she could continue. Once the woman was out of earshot, she said, “But I don’t think… I don’t know if he loves me.”

Beth huffed and leaned back in her chair. “Men are arseholes.”

“Yeah, yeah, they are.”

After a few drinks later and many tears, the two stumbled out of the club. Y/n didn’t want to go home and face Tommy, who she knew would be angry, instead, Beth insisted she stay with her. So, the two stumbled and giggled the whole way to her apartment, going on and on about how the needed to go back to that club. 

“I want a ham sandwich,” Beth muttered from where she laid on the couch. 

“Me too,” Y/n agreed, lying on the floor, before falling asleep.

*~~*~~*

The next morning, Beth and Y/n woke up, heads pounding, and made ham sandwiches before Y/n decided to leave. She didn’t want to impose and found it best to figure out her next moves on her own. 

On the streets of Birmingham, she walked all the way to Small Heath, watching the large shops and fancy restaurants change into dirty brick houses and factories. The closer she was to the Small Heath, the less she knew. All she knew was that her head felt like it had been smashed in and her feet ached from the long walk and all the dancing she had done the night before. There was no way she was ready to face her problems. 

Before she could compose herself, Y/n saw Polly walking down the street. The woman had yet to see her and Y/n wanted to keep it that way. With her head to the ground, she quickened her pace and prayed she wouldn’t be seen. God obviously wasn’t listening as Polly called over to her.

“Y/n.” The woman walked over to her. With a smile, Y/n lifted her eyes from the pavement, ashamed that she had to be seen with makeup running down her face, unruly hair, and yesterday’s clothes. “What happened to you?”

Where was she to start? “Um, it’s a long story…”

“Does this have something to do with Tommy?” A nod confirmed her suspicions causing her to swear under her breath. Her nephews only knew two things: how to run women off and how to chose the wrong ones. “Let’s get you cleaned up,” her voice was gentle as she led Y/n to her house.

Y/n did nothing as Polly helped her clean up, wiping the makeup off her cheeks and comb the rats out of her hair. She sat there, blank face, and let her thoughts run wild. All her worries from the day before had vanished, no longer holding the weight they once did. She was at the point where she believed that what happened, happened. Whether fate was real or not was not up for debate, it didn’t matter. Life played out in odd ways and if things got better than they got better. If they didn’t then she would deal with it when that happened. 

“Polly, why weren’t you at the meeting?” Tommy’s voice boomed through the house. 

“Fuck,” Polly muttered, having forgotten the meeting as soon as she’d seen Y/n. “I was busy,” she replied from the kitchen, where she sat next to Y/n at the table.

“What could be-” His sentence faltered when he entered the kitchen and saw Y/n. She was cleaned up, but it wasn’t hard for him to see she was exhausted. “You’re here.”

“I was going to go back home, but then I remembered that you lived there too,” she said, eyes trained on the cup of tea that sat in front of her. 

A sigh escaped his lips, he knew he fucked up. Even before Y/n had left his office the day before, he knew. The harsh words that left his lips weren’t meant to meet the air. He was stressed and angry with work and should’ve never taken his frustrations out on Y/n. 

Polly excused herself upon seeing the tension between the room but didn’t leave until she made it clear that Tommy had to fix what he’d done. Y/n was one of the only good things in his life and she’d be damned if he messed that up. 

“I’m sorry for what I said.”

Y/n snorted. “Then why’d you say it?”

Closing the distance, Tommy strode over to the table, taking a seat next to her. He grasped her hand, relieved when she didn’t pull it away. “I should have listened to you, love. You and Charlie deserve better. And I know you do your best to respect Grace and I shouldn’t have said otherwise. You love Charlie like he’s your own and you don’t have to. You don’t even have to fucking like him, but you love my boy. And you love me even after knowing what I’ve done.”

Y/n gave him a small smile. “You love me?”

He rolled his eyes, “Is that all you got from that?”

“No.” She grabbed him by the collar, pulling him closer. “That’s just my favorite part.” She pulled him into a kiss.

*~~*~~*

@amirahiddleston @haphazardhufflepuff @woahitslucyylu @mzcrazy2 @lovemissyhoneybee @multi-fandom-iimagines @tarafaithe @jenepleurepasbaby @fernweh-fangirl @the-anxious-youth @theshelbyclan @wtfdanness @chloeforde @futuristicslimemongerbanana @lucillethings @captivatedbycillianmurphy

[wiypt-writes]

Leave No One Behind

Ch 9-Doctors Orders Part 1 Co written with @icanfeelastormbrewing​

Episode Summary: Hannah has a cold and of course Ari takes it upon himself to look after her. Once that little obstacle is out of the way trouble finds them once again on the morning of her birthday…and hell breaks loose at the Red Sea Diving Resort.

Episode Warnings: Bad Language words. Smut (NSFW no under18s)

Episode Pairings:  Ari Levinson x OFC Hannah Horowitz

A/N: This chapter is going to be split into a number of parts, posting over the next few days. A lot happening here. It ran away with us a little bit! Hope you enjoy, we’re proud of this one!!!

Leave No One Behind Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Chapter 8

“Hey you with the pretty face, welcome to the human race. A celebration, Mr. Blue Sky's up there waitin', and today is the day we've waited for.”  Mr Blue Sky by ELO

 Ari woke early the next morning and he immediately could sense something wasn't right. For starters Simon wasn't curled on his head, not that he was complaining but it felt quite strange to feel him at the end of the bed and not all over the pillow. Speaking of the pillow, he noticed Hannah's head wasn't on it, right next to his, even before he opened his eyes. Why couldn't he hear her breathing? And what was that other noise? Just with that thought he bolted his eyes open only to find Hannah sat up in bed, coughing.

Shit.

His eyes quickly roamed the dark room, it was still dark outside, but he could just make out her bare back as she was sat up, her knees bent to her chest as she tried to stifle the coughs in the palm of her right hand.

"Hey, you ok?" Ari asked with his sleepy voice before clearing his throat.

Hannah nodded in response but continued to cough as she did so.

Ari shifted on the bed and sat up, gently moving so he could see her, ignoring Simon's grumble as he was jolted from his position by his feet from where he was watching Hannah, again. Ari glared at him. He and that dog were going to need to set some ground rules. Well basically just one; no grumbling at him while on his fucking bed. 

He heard Hannah chuckle softly at Simon's reaction and he reached out to rub her back. Damnit, she was warm to the touch, so he moved again to lay the back of his hand against her cheek.

"You’re hot, Firefly."

"There’s a joke in there somewhere, Lobo." she mumbled before breaking into a hacking coughing fit again. "Fuck, I feel like shit Ari."

She definitely sounded like shit too.

"Let me get you some water." Ari offered before hopping out of bed. He found his shorts and threw them on and then he headed over to the small dresser where there were a couple of bottles. He grabbed one with a swift movement and brought it back to her, twisting off the cap. Hannah took a drink under Ari's watchful eye, spluttering a little as she coughed again but she managed to drink half of it before she handed it back. "You must have gotten a cold." He smiled sympathetically at her. "Or some random tropical disease." she coughed again, just before sneezing.

"Nope. You got soaked in the rain yesterday, Firefly." he stated, a little smug at the memory of her wet clothes sticking to her body.

"I’m the doctor not you." she managed to state between coughs and then looked at him. "Besides, you don’t get colds from getting wet Ari, it’s a virus."

Ari chuckles while rubbing her back softly. "Alright, is there anything I can do to make you feel better?" "Drugs, Ari. I need some paracetamol and whatever else we have in the kit." Ari saw her scrunch her nose and she groaned. "Fuck."

"What?"

"The medical kit is in the office." "I’ll go fetch it sweetheart. You stay here." Ari offered, happy to be of use and take the reins. "I can’t Ari, I need to get back to my hut before anyone sees me…" and with that she set into another load of coughing and sneezing "...or hears me for that matter."

Ari pondered for a few seconds, noticing she was right as the first rays of sun were beginning to sweep through the window. "Then I’ll take you to your room and then I’ll go get the stuff."

She nodded "Can you pass me my dress?"

Ari picked it up from the back of the chair but turned to look at her "Han, it’s still damp." She groaned.

"Hang on…" he said before Hannah watched him disappear in the bathroom only to emerge from it a few seconds later with a towel in his hands "Wrap yourself in that for the time being."

"Yeah, cos that’s not gonna look suspicious."

"This whole thing is gonna look suspicious, Han. Stop being a pain in the ass and do as you're told." the natural leader in him commanded.

Grumbling, she took the towel, stood up and wrapped it around her before taking a shaky step. "Jesus."

"You ok?" Ari asked as he threw his shirt on.

"Just dizzy." Hannah replied as she stood put and rubbed her temples.

Ari rounded the bed concerned and in a quick movement hooked one arm under her legs, the other round her back beneath her shoulders. He was sure she was going to protest at the sudden movement and change of position but she gave a little sigh instead and relaxed into his arms, tucking her head into the crook of his shoulder and Ari thought that was clearly testament to how ill she was. 

He made his way to the door with Hannah in his arms and clicked his fingers at Simon who followed him.  He opened the door with one hand, peeking out and once he had checked the coast was clear he quickly and quietly made his way to her hut. Praying to God and all the saints he didn't run into someone coz, honestly, he had no fucking idea how he was gonna be able to explain him carrying a semi-naked woman bridal style from his hut to hers.

 Once he had reached Hannah's hut he stepped inside and closed the door behind him, taking a deep breath and letting relief wash over him before he set her gently on the bed. 

"That's it, sweetheart. Want me to tuck you in?"

Hannah shook his head while adjusting to the new position "Just pass me a cami and a pair of sleep shorts from the drawer."

He headed over and did as he was told, gently dropping her clothes onto the bed next to her.

"Can you manage or…" he asked, hands on his hips and nodding to the items of clothing.

Hannah smiled at his concerned face "You’re the expert at getting me undressed Ari, I’ll manage the other way round just fine."

He chuckled "Ok, I’ll be back in a moment."

Ari left her to it and headed to the main area. Once there he tried not to warn anyone of his presence by bumping into furniture as it was still fairly dark in that part of the resort. He carefully went into the office and turned on the light, locating the medical bag immediately and searched for the meds Hannah had asked for. Just a few seconds later he jumped out of his skin when he heard Max's voice.

"What are you doing?"

"Jesus, Max. You scared the shit out of me." he hissed, trying to buy some time to come up with a feasible excuse.

Max chuckled and then nodded to the box of pills. "You ok?"

"Just a headache. Needed some paracetamol." he said casually, avoiding visual contact with Max and looking at the pills in his hands instead.

Next thing he knew Max was handing him the water bottle in his hand. "Here I’ll get another."

And of course then he had to be watching him so Ari had to take 2 of the damned tablets himself before he managed to fob Max off, grabbing another 2 and heading back to Hannah’s hut once Max curiosity had been duly satisfied and he had watched him turn around and leave.

"What took you so long? Couldn't you find the bag?" Hannah blurted out when he saw him coming into her hut.

"I found something more than the bag. Don't ask." he said as he sat on the edge of the bed and handed the pills. "Here."

She frowned and sat up straight and reached for the water while he explained about his encounter with Max making Hannah chuckle and shake her head before breaking into another coughing fit.

"Are there any side effects to taking painkillers without being in pain?"

"Yeah, Lobo. Hair loss." Hannah deadpanned.

 "No need for sarcasm." he narrowed his eyes at her.

"Well, stop asking stupid questions." she quipped before taking the pills with a mouthful of water, wincing. “My throat feels like I’ve been swallowing glass." "Want me to arrange for you to stay in bed all day?" Ari asked, his hand falling to her knee.

"I’ll be fine in an hour or so, besides if I stay here all day I’ll be bored and there’s stuff to do and ..." she whined.

Ari scoffed and cut her off.  "Ok let me rephrase that, I’m gonna arrange for you to stay in bed all day."

"No, Ari, like I said, it’s boring." she insisted.

"I’ll come keep you company as much as I can." he tried to bargain, knowing full well she wasn't one for following orders she deemed stupid.

"Oh yeah? And what you gonna tell the others as to why you keep sneaking in here to see me?"

"That I’m coming to check up on my teammate." he rolled his eyes. "Yeah, like you did with my aerobics classes…when Rachel noticed and asked why you never checked on hers?" she asked, a wicked smile on her face.

"No, that’s….I didn’t…" he sighed. "Well, can you blame me?" he asked with a whiney voice.  Hannah laughed and he smiled "You weren’t exactly being discreet, Levinson"

"Ok, look, forget about that now. I’ll figure something out." he said as he leaned over to kiss her frowning when she pulled back.

"Yeah I wouldn’t do that if I were you."

"Yeah, good point. Although isn’t a cold contagious days before symptoms?" he cockily asked.

"Hark on you Dr Levinson."

"You know, Guy Thomas is technically a doctor, I mean he has a PHD so…" 

She laughed loudly which made her cough. "In fucking Anthropology!"

"Details…" he smiled broadly.

Hannah snorted and locked her eyes on his "You’re right though. Chances are you already got it." Ari chuckled. "Ok, I’m gonna go for my run before everyone gets up. You gonna be ok?" "Sure I’ll manage. I’ve lived alone for the last 4 years Ari, had plenty of colds…" Ari grimaced, he didn’t like to think about that. For some reason it made him a little upset though he knew it was illogical as she was a grown woman and a doctor nonetheless. "Just try and get some sleep. When they start asking where you are at breakfast I’ll use it as an excuse to come see you, tell them I’ll come find out."

"Make sure it’s you who comes, please." she pleaded as she got under the sheets and rested her head on the pillow.

"Of course it will be. I’m the boss, can do what I want."

She sat up again and gazed at him. 

"Don’t let Sammy come or I’m never leaving this hut again."

"Dramatic much?" he tried to joke. "I know him, he won’t let me out of bed for days." she said and Ari could read the concern in his eyes.

 "Neither would I given the chance, albeit for a much different reason." he quipped cheekily, trying to brush her concern away.

His eyes sparkled with satisfaction as he saw Hannah's jaw drop. She slapped his arm and broke into a coughing fit. "You’re an asshole Ari. You can’t say that when I can’t kiss you properly."

"Then I’ll say it again when you can." he said, rubbing her thighs over the covers

"Promise?"

"Damned straight it is."

Hannah grinned before leaning back on her pillow again "Go, before I climb you like a tree and infect you with my virus."

"Now that's an image I intend to dwell in all through the day, Miss." he said before kissing her head and getting up and walking to the door. "Thing is firefly…" and he turned to look at her, one hand on the door handle. “…you infected me 9 years ago."

"That is so lame!" she said as she threw a pillow at him "Go. Now."

He chuckled and stepped outside closing the door behind him.  Hannah then looked at the pillow and groaned. "Now I gotta pick that up."

As if on cue Simon trotted towards the pillow and flopped down on it, looking up at her.

"Ok, guess I don’t…" she shrugged

**** Ari was hoping his run would keep his mind occupied and help quiet the noise in his brain. He was worried about Hannah and though he was well aware it was probably only a cold and, yes, she was a fully trained doctor who knew exactly what she was doing, he still couldn't help but think about how poorly she had looked and sounded. 

Fuck it.

With a sigh he turned his Walkman off when he was still a mile or so away from the resort. He couldn't concentrate on what he was listening to and the headphones were constantly falling from his head due to his furious strides. He wasn't in the mood and every little thing in the universe was apparently conspiring to bug him. 

Damn, Ari. Are you listening to yourself? 

His inner voice slapping him on the back of his head was the final straw. He groaned and quickened his pace, longing for the moment the cold water in the shower would ease the stiffness he was feeling in his muscles and mind. 

"I thought you were ill." Max greeted him when he emerged in the main area after making it home and showering.

"I had a headache. Hence the painkillers. And guess what, they killed my pain. So here I am." he explained, a bit too harsh.

"Woah chill man." Max frowned as he raised both his palms as a peace gesture.

"I’m perfectly chilled." Ari huffed as he sat down on a chair.

The truth is she wasn't chilled, not even remotely. He knew there was nothing he could do and Hannah would be probably asleep once the effects of the pills had kicked in, but he was twitchy as fuck to go check on her. "You look worried Ari." Rachel stated. More as a warning of his conspicuous behaviour than as a real concern.

"Do I? Well I’m not. What’s for breakfast?" Ari asked, trying to put on a genuine smile on his face but failing considerably.

"Whatever you want. The guests don’t arrive until 11 so it's up to you what you want. There’s plenty of bread for toast and pastries in the pantry." Rachel replied, squinting her eyes at him.

"Ok, I’m gonna grab some coffee." he said as he got up, praying someone asked about Hannah soon coz he was now seriously worried. 

He was not only worried about her but also about acting cool when they would eventually ask. He wanted it over and done with as soon as possible coz he didn't know how much time he was going to refrain himself from snapping at someone or something. He grabbed his coffee and then an idea came to him. He poked his head back into the main room and asked if he should throw a few rounds of toast in for everyone, knowing if he made enough there’d be some left over and they would be bound to notice one of them was missing.

An instant later Rachel came in to help. They made the first batch in silence, his mind still racing, and as the second batch was in she turned to him. 

"So, come on, don’t bullshit me Ari. What’s going on?"

"What do you mean what’s going on?" he asked back while cursing at a piece of toast who was still too hot for him to grab.

"You’re twitchy. You and Hannah had an argument already?"

"What? No…what makes you think that?" 

Rachel looked at him with that seemingly expressionless look that was yelling cut the crap and Ari sighed. It was Rachel after all, he could trust her and it would do him good to blow off some steam with someone.

"She’s ill."

Rachel frowned before asking "What do you mean? Like bad ill?"

"No, it’s a cold but she’s feeling pretty rough." he explained as he grabbed the bread from the toaster and dropped it onto the plate. He felt relief as he uttered those words, explaining what was going on to another person had really helped him realise he really shouldn’t be making a big deal out of it.

"Ah. Ok. Want me to go check on her?"

"No, I told her I would when you all realised she hadn’t shown for breakfast…" he paused and then bit his lip "Look, can…can you just maybe ask about her out there? My nerves are on edge."

Rachel smiled "Sure, good look convincing Sammy to stay away."

"Actually, I was hoping you could help me with that." he asked somewhat shyly.

"How?"

"You’ll figure something out."  His shy request had morphed now into a wicked smile making Rachel roll her eyes at him.

"You owe me Levinson. I don’t like lying to him, it’s not fair." she conceded but waved her index finger at him.

"You don’t have to lie to him…just don’t tell him the truth."

"Where I come from that’s called lying, Ari."

"You know what I mean, Rach." he remarked as he flashed his signature cheeky smirk at her.

"Come on man, I’m hungry." Max's voice suddenly startled them both.

Ari seized the opportunity and gave her one last pleading look at Rachel and she groaned before pointing at him again.

"Fine, let's get this over with but I mean it. You owe me, big time."

"I know, and if it's any consolation I don’t like all the sneaking around either but until Han is ready to tell Sammy there’s not much I can do." he shrugged.

"Whatever." she said, grabbing one big plate and handing it to Ari "Take the toast out there, Romeo."

They headed back out of the kitchen, carrying the communal breakfast and Ari sat back down, a bit more collected this time.

"About time, what were you doing? Baking the damned bread?" Max whined, raiding the toast plate.

"You wanna eat that toast or wear it?" Hannah cut his protests.

"Woah, easy Rachel…what’s happened this morning, why is everyone so tetchy?"

Ari looked at Rachel and she understood. The sooner they get this over with the better but just as she opened her mouth to speak, Sammy cut her off.

"Where’s Hannah?"

Everyone looked at one another for a few seconds. The only thing that could be heard being Max munching his toast. Ari tried to hold back the relief sigh he was dying to exhale. Rachel wasn’t needed after all, he had to thank Sammy for that.

"I ain't seen her." Jake, who had been getting the matches for his tan ready, shrugged. "Or Simon actually, he’s normally here before she is…"

 "I’ll go see if everything’s ok with her." Ari offered, standing up.

 "I can go." Sammy frowned.

No. No. No. Ari froze and panicked for a few seconds and gave Rachel a meaningful look.

"Let Ari.” Rachel l blurted out before pausing. "Because of Simon…you know the dog doesn’t like you, and it will only put you in a bad mood if he starts growling and you’ll end up arguing with Hannah.”

Well, that had been bold but it seemed to have worked as next thing he knew Ari heard Sammy grumbling. "stupid little gargoyle."

"And that’s why he hates you. You insult him, you hurt his feelings." he told Sammy, trying not to seem too eager to fuck the hell out of the room.

They were all too focused on their own act to notice Max who was simply looking at them, munching his toast. He clearly wasn’t buying any of the shit Rachel was saying.  Whereas Jake was too engrossed in cutting the matches he had previously taken from the matchbox with a knife, his coffee long forgotten.

"It’s a dog Ari, he doesn’t know what I’m saying." Sammy continued grumbling.

"Well he clearly reads your body language then."

"Yeah…that’s true. He copies body language too." Max deadpanned, sitting back on his chair.

Ari did his best to keep a straight face, ignoring him but clearly hearing his sniggers. Rachel was the one to glare at him and he shrugged as he resumed eating his food.

Thankfully, Rachel then took charge of the situation and started explaining the schedule for the new guests that would be arriving a few hours later, Ari took the opportunity and stood up, heading out  for Hannah’s hut. Gently opening the door he saw Simon was snuggled around her head and she was dozing. He approached and sat on the edge of her bed and watched her for a few seconds before feeling her forehead. She was still warm and he sighed.

Simon moved his head and licked the back of Ari’s knuckles when he recognized him.

 "You looking after her pal?" he cooed at the dog and moved his hand to scratch under the dog's chin, "Good boy."

Simon wagged his tail and rolled over demanding more belly scratches from the hairy human that seemed to be sharing his mom's bed. Ari chuckled as he obliged, rubbing his pink and black spotty belly.

"Demanding little bastard." he softly whispered so as not to disturb Hannah's sleep. But it was too late. With a little sigh she stirred at the movement, blinking.

"Hey, how you feeling firefly?"

"Still crappy." her voice came out hoarse. 

"Yeah, you’re still warm. You should rest in bed till you’re feeling better." he ordered softly.

"Yes Dr Levinson… or Dr Thomas, whatever." she said before yawning and Ari chucked. "How was it out there?"

"Not bad. I asked Rachel for help but it wasn’t needed, Sammy asked before she could."

Hannah nodded and shuffled down a little in the bed, coughing again. Ari waited until she was done and he then leaned down over her, one hand either side of her shoulders as she was led on her side. 

"Ok sweetheart. I’m gonna go back out now but once they know I’ll sneak to see you whenever I can." 

 "I’m just gonna sleep Ari, I don’t need babysitting." she grumbled.

Ari raised an eyebrow playfully. "Ok, so you don’t want me to take care of you or keep you company? That’s fine, I get it…" he mocked a complaint, a soft smile on his face.

"Shut up." Hannah groaned.

"And now you don’t want to hear me either." he chuckled and kissed her forehead. "Get some rest and shout if you need anything." and he pondered for a moment before speaking. "On second thoughts, just don't shout. Your voice is terrible today..." and he stopped when he saw her mouth drop open "You know what I mean, Firefly."

"Ari?" Hannah asked as he made to stand up. "Yeah?" "I could use some orange juice." she beamed at him before sneezing for the umpteenth time.

"Ok, I’ll bring some for you." Ari wandered back to the main area, all the way thinking how he was going to pull his next stunt. Just act natural, Levinson. You got this, he thought as he entered the main area, his hands falling to his hips as he walked in.

"Where is she?" Sam asked once he spotted Ari was back.

"She’s sick Sammy." and he held his hand up to stop Sammy’s impending babble. "It’s just a cold."

Sammy frowned. "A cold?"

"That’s what she said." He shrugged and turned to walk to the kitchen. "She asked for some paracetamol and orange juice." he said, ignoring the fact Max was narrowing his eyes suspiciously after he caught Ari with the pills before. He opened the fridge, considering if it would be good for her to drink cold liquids, and poured a glass of orange and went back into the main dining area just as Sammy walked in from the office with the box of pills and gestured to the orange juice.

"Want me to take it? I can examine her."

"She’s a doctor too, Sammy." Jake snorted.

Ari was getting more flustered by the minute. He just wanted to get rid of Sammy and get back and check on her again. Damned it. He knew he was being ridiculous but she really didn’t look well at all and if he had his way he’d be curled up besides her all day. He would trade posts with Simon on the spot. He looked at Rachel as a last resource, silently asking her to take the reins. 

Rachel took a deep breath and turned to Sam. "Sammy, she won’t want her brother fussing." She then turned to Ari. "Take her some toast too in case she feels like eating something." she said while putting a few slices from the large plate on the table onto a smaller one. "Tell her I’ll check up on her later and grab her laundry."

Thank you Rachel.

"I bet Simon is eating that toast." Max quipped.

Jake chuckled. "That’s a point, should we take care of him today?"

Ari shook his head. "He was curled up on the bed with her, looked pretty comfy. I’ll take him for a walk if he wants to go but to be honest I don’t think he’ll leave her."

“Unless it’s you.” Max quipped.

“What do you mean? Ari asked.

“Simon is conveniently deaf unless you or Cracker are talking to him.” Max grinned “You’re like his parents, it’s cute.”

Ari rolled his eyes and with that he headed back out, down to her hut. God, he was sweating already and he had showered less than an hour before. Simon looked up when Ari got in the hut. Hannah was asleep so he placed the orange juice, toast and pills on her bedside table before leaning to kiss her head.

"Sleep tight, my Firefly." he whispered as he straightened up and looked at Simon. "You coming buddy? Let’s get you some food and go for a walk, huh?"

Ari watched the dog look at Hannah, then him and then back to Hannah again, hesitating. Sammy could say whatever he wanted, but that dog did understand what they said to him. No one was gonna convince him otherwise.

"She’ll be ok pal." Ari rolled his own eyes at himself when he realised he was explaining to the fucking dog. But Simon was proving his point as he stood up and walked down the bed, jumping off the side. Ari saw him stretch and wag his tail as he headed out, Simon at his heels. 

*****

A few hours later Rachel went to Hannah’s hut and knocked on the door, walking in after Hannah told her to do so. Rachel found her sat up in bed and thought Ari, though being a painful drama queen, was right. She looked awful. Her nose was red, her eyes looked tired but at least she was reading.

"How are you feeling?"

"A little better, thanks. I had a good sleep and the meds seem to have worked their way into my system." she explained and then she paused. "What time is it by the way? I can’t find my watch." she asked Rachel as she scanned her bedside table and drawers again.

 "Maybe you left it in Ari’s hut…I mean if you slept there last night…" Rachel offered, cocking an eyebrow.

Hannah looked at her and sighed, rolling her eyes.  There was no point in even denying it and she wasn't feeling strong enough to either. "How much do you know?" "Well from what the pair of you have told me and the fact his tee was mixed in with your laundry, I’d hazard a guess at all of it." "Ari’s shirt was..? Shit!" Hannah groaned.

"Yup, shit indeed. You’re lucky I spotted it before your brother did. Thankfully it was next to a pile of your panties and he wasn’t looking." Rachel chuckled at Hannah's mortified expression before continuing. "Then there’s also the fact that the dress you were wearing yesterday was on the chair in his hut. I washed that too, you can thank me later, or we can talk about how his bathroom was missing a towel and curiously enough there’s one that seems to have appeared on the floor by your bed. Your pick."

Hannah groaned again and rubbed her face down her hand.

"By the way it was the shirt he was wearing for dinner the night he came home." Rachel winked at her.

"Yeah I know…he left it here and I forgot I threw it in with my stuff." "You two had yourselves a welcome home party, huh?" Hannah laughed at Rachel's wriggling eyebrows and coughed a little. "Don’t be so nosey."

"Look, I’m happy for you two, I really am. And I love to see you happy, you deserve it but…well, Max suspects something and it’s only a matter of time before Sammy and Jake figure it. Especially if Ari is as shit at keeping a cover as he seems to be. He was a wreck this morning."

"A wreck?" Hannah asked, surprised. "I’ve got a damned cold, what’s he so fretted about?" "Well according to him you looked really bad and were burning up, moments from death…you know that type of thing. I had to smack some sense into him in the kitchen before he blew it with the rest." 

Hannah rolled her eyes. "He’s such a drama queen."

"When it comes to you he is. You should have seen him. Shittiest Mossad agent ever." Rachel mocked him.

Hannah laughed again and, as usual that morning, her laugh was punctuated by coughs.

"Luckily Jake is too focussed on his tan to notice and Sammy…well Sammy is oblivious and to be fair probably doesn’t even want to even consider anything like that so…"

Hannah pondered what she had said for a minute and looked at her. "You think we should come clean? I mean Ari said he would happily tell everyone but I’m not sure if I can handle Sammy already."

"That’s up to you. But the longer you leave it, then surely the harder it's gonna be?" Rachel smiled at her, sympathetically.

Hannah rubbed her eyes. "I don’t think I can do this until I feel better, and then it’s my birthday next week and don’t want anything to spoil it."

"I can’t answer Hannah, I can’t tell you what to do." Rachel patted her leg.

"I’ll speak to Ari about it." she mused and Rachel laughed.

"What’s so funny?" "That man will do whatever you tell him to do. I know that, you should know it by now." Hannah shook her head, though Rachel may be right that was not what she needed at that moment.  "I don’t want him to just do what I say, just want him to help me make a decision." She looked at Rachel and then grinned "I see you did a pretty good job covering the marks on your neck, unlike yesterday."

Rachel blushed. "You saw them?"

"Yes." And the grin on Hannah’s face turned into a grimace.  "And I don’t want to think about it. He’s my brother."

"Ari told you?"

Hanna nodded.

"Bastard."

"I’d already figured it out. I told them ages ago the pair of you were…you know, or at least there was something going on. He was like a bear with a sore head when you were on leave." Hannah explained

Rachel squinted her eyes at her. "Like you were when Ari was gone?"

Hannah shrugged, to be fair Rachel was right, the Navons were pretty shitty at concealing their feelings. And speaking of concealing?  "FYI that concealer on my desk is pretty good if you need to borrow it."

Rachel stared at her blankly and Hannah swept her hair to the side to show her the now fading bruises Ari had given her the other evening and Rachel snorted. 

" Wild Ari, huh?"

"You got no idea." Hannah smirked mischievously.

"Pity Sam is your brother. We could have traded stories." Rachel shrugged amused.

"Don’t get me wrong Rach, I’m happy you’re with him. He needs someone in his life that’s for sure but…yeah, no. I’d rather not listen to them…but if you need to talk hey, I can pretend you’re talking about Chef Aziz…"

At that the pair of them burst out laughing and Hannah had another coughing fit just as Sammy walked into the hut.

"What are you two laughing at?" he asked as he glanced at Hannah. "You feeling better, Han?" "Loads. Rachel is great company." she said, raising her eyebrows at Sammy who went immediately red and cleared his throat. "Need some water Sammy?" Rachel who was sitting on the edge of the bed slapped Hannah’s leg through the covers and mouthed to her Don’t be mean.

Hannah shook her head and looked around, allowing her brother to collect himself. "Hey, where’s Simon by the way? He bailed on me…"

"He was with Ari. They went for a walk then down to the diving hut and then Ari was going out with Jake to prep the tour route for tomorrow." Sammy explained.

 "Has Simon gone on the boat with them?" Hannah frowned.

 "Yeah, why?"

 "I thought he only went diving because he wanted to be with me." she pouted. "He’s been stuck to Ari like glue all day." Rachel confirmed.

 "He even ignored the new group of tourists." Sammy scoffed.

"Judas." Hannah grumbled, folding her arms.

****

3 days Hannah was in bed laid up, and Ari hated it. He’d popped in as much as he could, stealing half an hour or so here and there to lay with her, until Sammy pulled him up at one point over lunch on the second day.

I’m the doctor, she’s a doctor…I don’t see why you have to be checking up on her all fucking day.” Sammy pouted.

“Because you’re busy with the guests.” Ari reasoned “I’m the manager so I can just float about. Besides, it hasn’t been all fucking day, I’ve been to check on her like 3 times to take her some water and something to eat, that’s it.”

Nevertheless, he backed off after that. On the 4th day Hannah eased back into light duties so Ari managed to spend some time with her during the day as but he continued to sleep in his own hut to allow her to sleep properly to fully recover and also to avoid further suspicion as he had also developed a little sniffle himself and was running out of excuses to the rest of the team as to what it was.

But all this meant it was nearly a week since they’d last managed a night together, and it had left him a total needy bastard.

One morning he arrived at the main area of the resort after he’d been talking to a few guests who had asked him for ideas of what to do in Port Sudan. He headed into the main rooms, looking for Hannah, mentally ticking off where she could be. She wasn’t with Jake and Sammy as they were out diving, she wasn’t with Rachel and Aziz helping set up for lunch and Max…well he had no idea where Max was at all. He stood pondering for a moment when he spotted Simon trotting out of the office and he gave a grin.

Bingo.

Hannah was looking through the filing cabinet in front of him as he stepped into the room, silently. He took a moment to appreciate her, taking in her long legs right from her bare feet up to the hem of her pale, strapless blue sundress which hung mid-thigh. It curved neatly over her ass and hips trailing the curve of her waist up to her shoulders which were bare, hair pulled into a messy pony tail, halter neck of her bikini tied at the nape of her neck.

Fuck this, it had been far too long. And he was horny as hell. The damned world could wait.

He shut the door with his foot and she jumped slightly, turning to face him but before she could register what was happening his lips were on hers, the kiss demanding as his hands held her cheeks, tongue finding its way between those soft pillows, sliding forcefully against the roof of her mouth. She let out a soft moan and her hands moved directly to the ties on his swim shorts. His lips curved into a smirk at her demanding nature, the fact she wanted him just as much was getting him even more worked up, and she pulled back to look at him a little, her fingers undoing the string easily as his hands slid to her waist, yanking her even closer so their pelvises were flush and she could feel his arousal pressing into her stomach.

“Stop smirking.” She mumbled, and he chuckled a little, his nose brushing hers “Cocky bastard.”

“You want cocky?” he muttered, his lips brushing hers, the feather-light touch sent a shiver down her spine as his mouth slid to her jawline and that spot on her neck just behind her ear. “I’ll show you cocky Firefly.”

His lips crashed to hers again as he pivoted them away from the cabinets and towards the desk at the side of the room, his movements effortless as she gave into his directions completely. Submission had never been her strong point, but when it came to Ari she was weak and now was no exception. She was weak to his touch, his mouth, his every damned action as she allowed him to man handle her, his hands gliding up her back to her neck, fingers of one grasping at the nape as he held her face to his, his mouth dominating hers.

In a quick, almost forceful movement he spun her round, his mouth trailing open mouthed kisses down her neck to her shoulder, moving to the other side to repeat the action and she let out a low keen of delight.

“Shh.” He stopped, what he was doing and Hannah stilled, her breathing deep. Once she’d obeyed he picked up where he had left off, his hand sliding up over her covered breasts, palming them in his large hands, letting out a gently sigh of his own as he felt her nipples peak through the material.

“Ari…we can’t…” She mumbled, suddenly coming to her senses as she heard voices pass by the reception desk “There’s people outside…”

“I don’t care.” He whispered into her hear, his right hand gently sliding back7 up her neck, fingers flexing over her smooth, delicate throat “You can be quiet, right?”

“I…” he cut her off as he tilted her face to his, swallowing her protests with another filthy kiss, his other hand moving down, rucking her dress up, the pads of his calloused fingers tracing a slow path up her inner thigh. He gently brushed over the spot between her legs and a soft growl rolled in the back of this throat as he could feel her arousal through her bikini bottoms. He released her mouth, his lips staying millimetres away from hers “You’re fucking soaked baby girl”

Hannah couldn’t find the words to reply. She was putty in his hands, and happy to let him take control. All truth be told she was aching for him too, and although this hadn’t been going on long in the grand scheme of things, the way he did make love to or fuck her had her craving for his touch whenever she could get it. She let out a gasp as his fingers brushed her bottoms to one side, skating her slit as he found her nub and began to coax at her expertly. She bit her lip, hard, the taste of copper flooding her mouth as she found herself desperately trying to control her noise.

Releasing her throat, Ari’s other hand gently pressed at the base of her spine, bending her forward a little over the desk and her hands splayed flat against the wooden surface sending a few papers floating to the floor, her check pressed to the cheap oak. Ari moved her bikini to the side, and with one hand still on her back he used the other and gave himself a few strokes, before he lined himself up and sank into her.

“Fuck…” She hissed between gritted teeth as he pulled back, sinking straight back in again, his eyes focussed on the spot they were joined, watching himself move in and out. His thrusts were slow, deliberate at first, and his eyes flicked to Hannah’s face as her head raised from the desk, tilting back slightly. He saw her jaw slacken and in a flash his hand reached out, palm clamping over her mouth.

“Gotta be quiet sweetheart…” he grunted out, his other hand gripping her shoulder so he could pull her back onto him and he picked up the pace, fucking her with desperation, like a man starved.

The sound of skin slapping skin, her muffled moans and his own low hisses filled the room as he continued his assault on her spot, his cock dragging against her walls again and again. It was quick and dirty, and before long Hannah could feel herself unravelling. Ari felt her too, the tell-tale fluttering of her clamping down on him signalling she was close.

“Nearly there baby?” he asked, even though he knew the answer and she gave a quick nod, his fingers flexing over her mouth. Releasing the grip on her shoulder he reached around, found her clit and she felt the teasing of his thumb and forefinger as he rolled it between them, his chest pressing to her back, mouth nipping at her ear. With a shudder, the world faded to nothing but a bright, white light and she came, her groan stifled by his hand as she bucked back, eyes fluttering shut, knees trembling as she went limp over the desk. Releasing his hold on her mouth he grabbed her hips, his own snapping back and forth with enough force to jolt the desk slightly, causing it to scrape over the floor as he felt his balls contract and he came inside her, hard, and it was all he could do to keep himself from yelling out.

“Fuck…” he mumbled, his hips slowing to a stop as his head fell forward a little, his breathing deep, T-shirt sticking to him as sweat coated his entire body. He took a moment before he stepped back and looked down as Hannah pushed herself up, his hands gently pulling her up by her hips helping her to stand.

“Cocky enough?” he quipped as he straightened his pants whilst she turned to face him, her cheeks flushed. She reached up and pulled her pony tail free, shaking her hair out whilst she shook her head, grinning at him.

“One word for it.” She arched an eyebrow as she re-tied her hair and squirmed a little, feeling his release dribbling down her inside leg “And now I need to go change.”

“I thought bikini bottoms were supposed to be waterproof.” He chuckled, pulling her in for a quick kiss.

“You’re an ass hole.” She mumbled, before she pulled away, patted his chest and opened the door. The sound of the guests outside grew louder as the flow of fresh air filled the room, well, fresher seeing as it was fucking hot out there too, and with a last glance over her shoulder she smirked and left.

Part 2

[whatdoesshedotothem]

Wednesday 2 September 1835

6 55

11 ¾

No kiss ready in ¾ hour - very fine morning F61° at 7 40 -  A- off at 9 to the school (rode) to meet Joseph Hepworth and Anne Lee and order about furniture - breakfast at 8 in ½ hour - then looking over bills to find out cost of some things from Thomas Greenwood - out or rather in the house at 9  with Mr Husband ordering about the fire-place to be made in the Linen closet and then out setting out with Mawson and his 2 men the new farm-yard till 11 10 - then paid Mr Husband £11.6.0 expense of unsuccessful estimates (of which £5 to Brian Helm and £2.2.0 each to Greenwood Dean and Gankroger and Rhodes the joiners) and paid Mr Husband his own 8 weeks wages up to Saturday 29th ultimo £16 - out again at 11 ¼ - had Booth - then at Walker pit - sometime talking to Joseph Mann - thinks there will always be some escape of water at the stopping - it will escape thro’ the measures - a throw there - a little throw down of about a ft. - and if we do stop it effectively still it must rise 3ft. before it can affect the Spiggs colliery at all - I have only need to raise it 11ft. - at the Lodge - 3 men began this morning lowering the stuff (2 yards broad) against the Lodge and barrowing across the gate-way it to the other side - Had Mr Husband again - the shuttle-frame finished before James H- and Carter (Charles H- ill today and staid at home) went to dinner at 2 - found fault with part of the wood - oak-sap - not fit to be put down - why did CH bring it from Greenwood’s? G-‘s having no better was no excuse - it should have been sought for elsewhere - set  James and Carter to remake the frame - then with Mr Husband to the Spiggs Loose - he cannot get a house in Halifax from £10 to £15 rent, but Mallinson the joiner could take him in - I said I could not advise - Mr Harper was the fittest person to advise - I could only say were I Mr H- I would not go to Mallinson’s - he (Husband) would like to build him a cottage joining on to James Greenwood’s cottage at Godley - it would be done under £100 - declined this - returned by the Lodge at the Cascade bridge - Cockroft and 2 men got the centres set this morning and going on well -  Set Robert S- and Joseph Sharpe to do up again the walk -  Off at 5 to meet A- met her at Hardcastles -walked slowly back and came in about 6 20 - had Mr Sowden sorry he had offended - hoped I should look over it - would have given me his vote but had been 1st canvassed by the yellows and had promised not to vote at all - otherwise did not care 6d. how he voted - then said I, will you vote with me? I will not call upon you unless pressed but may I count upon your vote? yes - very well said I, then I will think no more of what had passed - meaning he might keep the farm - said I would not take a new tenant who would not give me his vote but I had not meant to send away an old one - however, I must now consider S- as a new tenant, and ask his vote - he promised to give it me - I said dinner was waiting - ordered him beer, and came away -  Dinner at 6 50 - 20 minutes with my father and Marian - coffee - A- read aloud several paragraphs from the newspaper - sat talking till 9 ½ - her aunt asked her to stay at Cliff Hill during Sutherland’s visit  - they come on the 15th instant . very fine day F63 ¼° now at 10 55 then ¼ hour with my aunt  

[notveryglittery]

birthday prince (5)

summary: happy birthday, roman!!! words: 2,900 / ship: dlampts (deceit/logan/virgil/patton/roman/thomas/remy) author’s note: this is part five of my Giving The Gay Anything He Wants series for roman’s birthday (june 4)! all ships are written implied romantic but i’m not stopping you from interpreting it otherwise. check the end notes on ao3 for credit on these gifts (bc i don’t know where to put them in this post)! i hope you enjoy!!

part 1 (roceit) | part 2 (logince) | part 3 (prinxiety) part 4 (royality) | part 5 (dlampts) |  read on ao3

— — —

“Rise and shine, buttercup!”

Roman swatted at the air, as if that would send away the voice trying to wake him. “Five more minutes,” he grumbled, burying his face back into a pillow.

“You said that ten minutes ago, sugar,” drawled another.

If Roman really thought about it, he’d remember that, yes, he was guilty of this charge. That didn’t mean that he would admit to it, of course! Besides, even if he did, today was his day so he should have been able to do whatever he liked.

Oh.

Oh!

Energy shot through him as he jolted up. “It’s my birthday!”

Patton’s laugh was musical, the most beautiful sound Roman could ever ask to start his morning with. “I knew we’d get there eventually.”

“I dunno, I was sure it’d take him at least another half hour,” Remy teased, standing in the doorway.

"Good morning!" Roman exclaimed, swooping in for a kiss from Patton. He happily obliged, taking it also as an opportunity to comb a hand through Roman's tangled hair.

Were it not for Remy clearing his throat a moment later, the two might have lost track of time entirely. They pulled apart, only a little sheepish about it. Patton took Roman's hands in his and gave him a tug, urging him out of bed. Thankfully, now that Roman knew what was being celebrated, he followed easily, lips curled into a grin that seemed it'd never go away.

"What's on the agenda?" He asked eagerly, curious how early it actually was and how long it'd be before his first gift.

"Get yourself dolled up first, hon," Remy told him, tilting his tumbler in the direction of the closet.

"Remy!" Patton hissed, a hint of a scolding reminder in his tone, if Roman was hearing right.

Apparently, this was all it took for Remy to remember whatever Patton was trying to say. They swapped places faster than Roman thought possible, especially with his sleep addled brain not quite keeping up. Remy looped an arm through Roman's and began leading the way to the bathroom.

Patton waved at them as he left, "see you in a bit!"

"You're up to something," Roman accused without hesitation.

"Why I never," Remy said, pouting. "When have I ever been up to anything in my whole life?"

It was, again, thanks to Roman's still half-asleep state that he could level Remy with his best unimpressed look.

"Here I am, just trying to help you look your absolute best, and you're claiming me a criminal. That's just plain unfair."

Roman couldn't deny how wonderful that sounded, actually. Doing his own makeup and hair was a regular occasion, so much so that it almost got boring to do anymore. Remy, without a doubt, could be trusted to make sure Roman's winged eyeliner would be sharp enough to kill a man. Not that Roman would ever admit it, but Remy might have been even a better makeup artist than he was.

"Alright, alright," Roman yielded, "I supposed I'd be lucky to have someone of your talent dress me up today."

Remy looked equally smug and delighted at this. He shooed Roman along to take a shower, ducking back out of the bathroom to, presumably, pick an outfit for Roman for the day. The prince used the hair and body care products that he liked to save for special occasions, singing (of course) various Disney love songs as he did. With what must've been some sort of sixth sense, Remy was on him again as soon as he was wrapped up in a bathrobe and towling his hair dry. He got to work without wasting a moment, making sure that Roman's luxurious locks were fluffy and styled just right. The swoop to his bangs had never been so perfect, if he was being honest! The makeup look was bold, reds and golds and glitter; thankfully, Remy reassured him he'd used all waterproof brands so that Roman could cry all he liked without issue.

They returned back to the bedroom, where Remy had the outfit displayed on a mannequin. It shouldn't have been a shock that he'd picked some of Roman's favorite pieces but he was pleasantly surprised all the same.

"I really do just know you that well, I guess," Remy said, nonchalantly.

Roman, lightning quick, pressed a kiss to his cheek, leaving behind a lipstick print. "You do and I love you so much for it!"

While Remy blushed and stammered at the sudden affection, Roman darted ahead and began to get dressed. Remy didn't need to turn away to give Roman his privacy, all things considered, but he did anyway, fiddling with the jewelry on Roman's vanity. It took some deliberating, but he decided finally that, above all else, the rainbow jewel encrusted crown was a must for today's ensemble.

"How do I look?"

"Babe, I don't even need to—" Remy's words died on his tongue as he faced Roman. Sure, there had been no doubt that Roman would look handsome as hell, but the beaming smile and light in his eyes and bouncy excited posture… He looked so happy and radiant and— "Wow."

"Stop," Roman said, giggling.

Remy took the crown and approached. He gave Roman a half-bow, smirking up at him. "May I have the honor, your majesty?"

“Stop!" Roman repeated, squeaking.

"Never," Remy promised, standing and reaching up to nestle the accessory on Roman's head. Each strand of hair still fell perfectly into place. "Now then," he said, taking Roman's arm in his, "shall we begin the festivities?"

Getting downstairs took no time at all, though Remy did dart ahead and down the steps first, so that he could loudly announce Roman proper. Patton and Thomas cheered for him as he descended, which added only more to the warm blush that he had a feeling might be a permanent addition today to his makeup. The pair ooh'd and ahh'd over Roman's look, showering him in compliments and praise. If this was just the beginning, then he sincerely was unsure whether he'd make it out of the celebrations alive.

They gathered at the dining room table, where Virgil and Deceit were laying the finishing touches on breakfast. The spread looked delectable, every one of Roman's favorite foods, and all of it hot and freshly cooked. Logan joined them last, carrying a plate with a single biscuit on it. There was a lit candle, too, and they'd all started singing before Roman could even catch up. He blew the little fire out and made a wish - though they'd nearly all already come true at this point, anyway.

"We're breaking a record today of how many times we can sing happy birthday," Thomas said with a wink, "fair warning."

Breakfast was full of fun and light chatter. They talked about the rest of their plans (at least, the ones they weren't keeping secret) and reminisced on old milestones. Roman felt full and happy, content to just sit and listen to his loved ones talk and joke around him. He was never left out of the conversation, though, always pulled back into a topic or started one anew with. He was listened to, unequivocally, and the attention was pleasant.

Soon, the food was finished, and the group moved to the kitchen. Patton and Deceit worked together on dishes while Logan presented what would be the first of birthday treats. They were muffins with Crofter's jelly in the middle, a flavor that Roman didn't recognize.

"Roman's Razzleberry," Logan explained, looking mixed on his feelings regarding the name. "It took some experimenting, but this combination of raspberry, strawberry, and dragonfruit came out the metaphorical winner."

"It's delicious!" Roman exclaimed, taking another from the tray. "My own jam! Thank you, dearest."

They gathered in the living room next, where the furniture had been rearranged to give them space for various activities. They did start with a movie, to let their meal settle, all huddled together on the couches. Roman was squished between Virgil and Thomas, the former playing absentmindedly with Roman's fingers while Thomas trailed his hand up and down Roman's arm, leaving tingles along the way. He might have dozed off a little, warm and cozy as he was.

The short nap energized him for their next game. Charades was one of his favorites as it gave him an opportunity to really practice his acting skills. What better way to hone one's craft than by not being able to use all the normal necessary components? Playing a part without any speaking lines and having to hope he'd do well enough that his companions could guess… It was a challenge he always looked forward to!

Virgil popped out and back in shortly with snacks for them all, the apparent second birthday treat: popcorn and candies and chips and soda, all easy and quick but not any less appreciated. They split into teams of two, leaving one to be their referee, and then each round, swapping out so that they all could have a turn to play. Roman ended up the winner, to absolutely no one’s surprise, though Deceit did come in a close second.

Lunchtime had rolled around and this time, they took to each making sandwiches for themselves. Patton and Remy surprised them (well, surprised Roman) with the third and fourth birthday treats: heart shaped cookies with exquisite frosting doodles and red velvet cake pops, respectively. They were sweet and delicious and baked perfectly and Roman only resisted eating more than he could count because he knew he had to save room still for whatever Thomas and Deceit had made. After they were finished and the dishes were washed, Patton led the way back upstairs. They stopped in front of his room.

“Would it be okay if we took a trip down Memory Lane?” He asked, holding Roman’s hands. “I was thinking we could visit some birthdays past!”

Roman looked to the others, nearly overwhelmed with how much affection and love he had for them all. “Whatever you have planned, I’m all in.”

“Nap time,” Remy and Virgil chorused.

Deceit rolled his eyes while Logan stifled a laugh.

“Shh,” Thomas hushed, giving them pats on the head. It was an amusing sight, to say the least, as Remy had a couple of inches on him and Virgil’s hunched over form was shorter than them both.

Memory Lane was as warm and fuzzy as Roman remembered it. He didn’t come through here often, usually only when he and Remy needed something for a Dream, but the consistent feeling it carried of being embraced by Mom or Dad was nice. The memories they visited were nice, too: old visions of time spent with friends, trips to amusement parks, parties that ran late into the night. While they all had their moments, Roman couldn’t help but feel that his birthday today was the absolute very best of them all. By the time they exited, he wasn’t sure he’d ever felt quite so relaxed. Logan and Virgil, on the other hand, looked like they were a little tired from the adventure. He took to their sides, planting himself between them, and grabbing each of their hands. Their quiet, grateful smiles were enough to give him pleasant shivers down his spine.

“Kitchen’s off limits,” Deceit announced as they all arrived back downstairs. “None may enter.”

“Except me!” Thomas piped up.

“Except you,” Deceit agreed, giving him a not-so-secret smitten smile.

Before Roman could ask why, they’d both disappeared. His attention was quickly stolen by Remy anyway, who was dragging him down onto the couch for his and Virgil’s aforementioned nap time. Patton giggled, making sure that they had enough blankets and pillows to be comfy.

“You sleep well, okay? We’ll wake you up in a little bit!” Patton said, taking Roman’s crown for him so that it wouldn’t get in the way, and setting it carefully on the coffee table.

If Roman wanted to ask Logan and Patton to join their cuddling, he didn’t get a chance to. Remy was carding a hand through his hair, draining him of his energy with each gentle scrape of nails against his scalp. He would have declared Remy a cheater for using his powers like this, but Virgil was falling victim to it as well and having his emo nightmare curled up with him was too pleasant to allow any upset feelings, regardless of how joking or serious they were.

Roman did, in fact, nap well, especially thanks to Remy’s presence.

When he woke, his limbs were only a little stiff, but he was overall very warm and relaxed. Virgil was gone but Remy had his face tucked into the crook of Roman’s neck. His sunglasses had been removed and Roman decided it might be worth dealing with the possible attitude of rousing Remy before he was well and ready if it meant getting to see his pretty eyes.

“Pstt,” he whispered, cupping Remy’s hand in his cheek. “My sweet dreamcatcher, it’s time to wake up.”

Remy grumbled, leaning into Roman’s hold. “Sweetie, I know you aren’t trying to coax me out of slumber right now.”

“Why I never,” he teased, echoing Remy’s earlier faux offended tone.

It took a moment longer, but Roman was blessed with getting to watch Remy blink away the lingering sleep. He thought this might be the best present of them all, seeing the swirling and shimmering shades of brown in Remy’s eyes, never one color at a time. It didn’t last long, what with Remy letting his eyelids slip back closed, but that was because he was leaning in to kiss Roman, and that sort of made it worth it.

“I should’ve known better than to leave you two alone,” Virgil groused suddenly, startling them apart.

“You’re just jealous I got to kiss the most handsome prince in the world before you did,” Remy said cheekily, reaching over to grab his sunglasses from the table and sliding them back on.

Roman couldn’t have prepared even if he wanted to. Virgil moved so quickly, thanks largely in part to those flight reflexes, swooping in and capturing Roman’s lips with his own. The kiss was fierce and passionate and even as Virgil pulled away, Roman followed after him. He sighed, disappointed for it to have ended so quickly. Virgil stuck his tongue out at Remy and then shot away as Remy lunged for him. They chased each other around the living room, laughing and throwing playful insults back and forth. Roman watched fondly from the couch, warm still in their nest of blankets.

Hands pressed down on his shoulders, massaging the post-nap aches away. Roman looked up, finding Logan above him. Logan smiled, bending slightly to give him a kiss on the forehead.

“Troublemakers, the both of them,” he said, only pretending to be disappointed.

“You’re one to talk,” Roman pointed out. “I’ve seen what you and Deceit get up to.”

“Shh,” Logan hurried to interrupt. “I haven’t a clue what you’re talking about.”

“Dinner’s ready!” Patton called suddenly from the kitchen.

Roman’s stomach growled, surprising him; he wondered how long they’d slept for. Logan came around to the front of the couch and helped Roman up. Virgil and Remy had already darted away to try and steal bits of food.

“Has your birthday been so far satisfactory?” Logan asked, taking a moment to return Roman’s crown to his head. It was a testament to Remy’s hard work that his hair still looked flawless.

“It’s been perfect,” Roman answered enthusiastically.

Dinner consisted, once more, of Roman’s favorite foods. The cupcakes were courtesy of Thomas, another birthday treat, and while he seemed embarrassed about the messy frosting, Roman thought it overwhelmingly endearing; he especially liked the edible glitter and fondant stars. As they were nearing the end of their meal, Deceit procured the final birthday treat: champagne glasses for them all, filled with bubbly cider. There was another happy birthday song as Patton brought the cake out to the dining room. Roman had definitely started crying by now, as it all came together just how much they’d done for him today.

“A toast,” Deceit began, holding up his glass. The others followed. “To our favorite author, poet, artist, actor.”

“To the prince of our dreams,” Remy chimed in.

“And our hearts!” Patton added.

“To the best Creativity I could ask for,” Thomas continued.

“To the greatest hero,” Virgil suggested.

“To a wise and clever leader, one whom we can always trust to take care of us,” Logan rounded out.

Roman wiped frantically at his eyes, uncertain whether his makeup was smudge proof as well, but not caring one bit. “Thank you,” he said, voice wobbly and thick with tears. “I love you guys more than I can say.”

Deceit, from his seat beside him, used his free hand to take one of Roman’s. He pressed a kiss to his knuckles and then held that hand to his cheek. “How unfortunate for your wellbeing,” he threatened sweetly, “because I think that we can say plenty.”

And they did, praising him on anything to everything: from his appearance to his creations, his traits and what made him tick, and the cute faces he made without realizing, and every tiny simple little thing they adored about him. It was, to say the least, the best way to end what had been the best day.

[just-barrow]

It seems to have been a while since anyone made a Thommy fic rec list, so I thought I’d start with a seasonally appropriate one. Here be ghosts, vampires, zombies, and other supernatural shenanigans! 

Massive thanks to everyone who helped out with this. I got so many suggestions that I didn’t have the time to read all of them myself, but I have faith in this fandom’s good taste ;) please feel free to reblog or comment with your own recommendations!

Now without further ado, have some spooky Thommy times!

Completed:

Hauntsverse - Haunts (Explicit, 50k) // The Enchanted Life of Thomas Barrow (Explicit, 77k) // Domestic Life (Explicit, 8k) by Are:

Strange apparitions descend upon Downton Abbey, rearranging furniture and lives- and, in the midst of it all, Thomas Barrow and Jimmy Kent begin to unravel their own mysteries.

Voodoo by Are:

voo·doo (vd) n. pl. voo·doos 2. A charm, fetish, spell, or curse holding magic power for adherents of voodoo. 4. Deceptive or delusive nonsense. tr.v. voo·dooed, voo·doo·ing, voo·doos To place under the influence of a spell or curse; bewitch. (General, 2k)

AFIRE by Are:

Jimmy has a very strange ability. Thomas discovers it. Together, they try to work it out. (Mature, 17k)

The Gentleman’s Survival Guide For The Zombie Apocalypse by crocodileinterior:

Thomas Barrow/Jimmy Kent- modern / zombie apocalypse AU. There is candlelit dinners and long walks through the woods and the slaughter of walking corpses that are trying to eat their brains. All very romantic, I’m sure you’ll agree. (Mature, 15k)

Things That Go Bump In The Night by CosmicZombie:

In which Jimmy is stubborn, Thomas is sexually frustrated, and Alfred takes on the (unintentional) role of cupid. (Mature, 5k)

The Monster by flippyspoon:

O'Brien is Igor. Dreams are weird. (Mature, 2k)

In His Shoes by afewreelthoughts:

“What, Jimmy? You’d never believe in magic?” (Mature, 3k)

The Knight of Cups by afewreelthoughts:

As Jimmy Kent awaits devastating news following his tryst with Lady Anstruster, he begs Thomas to visit a fortune-teller. (General, 1k)

A Ghost Story by thegirlwiththemouseyhair:

Thomas Barrow fell in love with Edward Courtenay while serving as a medic at the Downton Cottage Hospital during the Great War. Years later, Lieutenant Courtenay falls in love with Thomas when Thomas is back in that same hospital. But Lieutenant Courtenay killed himself in 1917, which complicates matters, as does the rival he finds in Jimmy Kent… (Teen And Up, 37k)

Whenever I feel afraid/ I hold onto my erection/ And whistle a happy tune/ And that is my protection/ Against being afraid by Pastache:

Thomas and Jimmy watch a ‘spook tale’. (Explicit, 4k)

Trick or Treat by Jembu23:

Thomas loved Halloween; the decorations, the costumes, the changing fall colors. It had been a while since he had dressed up and actually gone trick or treating, let alone going to any sort of halloween party. He never really did a costume anymore, but Thomas still loved Halloween. This Halloween, he meets a Trick or Treater that gives him one hell of a treat. (Mature, 2k)

In Another Man’s Skin by dragons_in_the_north: 

Well. There were no marks on Jimmy’s throat, at least. But more worryingly, it wasn’t his throat, not really. The reflection staring back at him was a tall, broad-shouldered man, his pale skin practically glowing in the pre-dawn gloom. Sharp cheekbones thrown into shadow, hair falling fetchingly across his eyes, lips red even in the half-light, dark bristles peeking out from the collar of his undershirt—

He wrenched his gaze away from the glass, fixing his eyes on a blank patch of wall as he took several long, deep breaths.

This was certainly a… complication. (Mature, 11k)

i can’t be gay till he comes back by tommythetommo:

Over a few spooky shenanigans, Jimmy’s attraction to a certain under-butler grows (and Thomas’ persists). (Not Rated, 10k)

Forever Tuesday Morning by irrationalgame:

Without you my life’s gonna be Forever Tuesday morning - The Mockers

A period time-loop set somewhere after Season 3. (Teen and Up, 34k)

Bad Dreams? by irrationalgame:

Jimmy encounters something in the attic, Thomas tells ghost stories, and other spooky goings on at Downton! (Teen And Up, 3k)

Supernatural Comfort by irrationalgame:

Thomas makes the ultimate sacrifice. (General, 900)

Supernatural Problems by irrationalgame:

Jimmy makes a wish. Things get weird. (General, 3k)

Too Spooky! by irrationalgame:

Thomas and Jimmy to to a Halloween funfair. Jimmy gets a fright. Thomas gets a surprise. (Teen and Up, 2k)

A Way Through by dancing_satyr:

Downton hosts a séance and skeptical Thomas Barrow gets far more than he bargained for. (Teen And Up, 10k)

Siren by ThisThatAndTheOther:

Jimmy’s strange behaviour after an accident proves to be dangerous for Thomas. (Not Rated, 8k)

The End of All Our Exploring Will Be Not To Arrive Where We Started by ThisThatAndTheOther:

Modern era AU. Jimmy and the gang think it’s a good idea to perform black magic without having any idea what they’re doing. Halfway to crack. (General, 6k)

The Haunting of Thomas Barrow by Riotstar:

The memory faded, flames licking at the edges of the picture, of Thomas sat alone in the hall while his parents fought over him again. He sat ringed in flame until he was a boy no more, but instead a grown man, now staring up at the coldly beautiful face of the Turkish gentleman. He was smiling, holding out a hand to Thomas, who reached for it, but as soon as the fingers of his undamaged palm brushed Pamuk's, the hand was snatched away. (Mature, 4k)

Things that go Bump in the Night by Riotstar

His blissful solitude was interrupted by a loud thud, followed by the sound of something breaking, and an even louder "fuck!". Thomas sighed and stubbed out his cigarette. (Teen and Up, 1k)

Uncompleted:

Charme de Lune by camaelczarka:

In the summer of 1922, rumors spread of wolves near Downton. (Mature, 19k)

Downton of the Dead by irrationalgame:

When Jimmy decides to creep downstairs for a midnight snack, he nearly ends up as one himself. So begins a series of strange events at Downton Abbey! (Mature, 18k)

Creatures of London by gwdihw:

Supernatural / Horror AU. Jimmy is still working for Lady Anstruther when a chance meeting with a mysterious man called Thomas causes him to be hunted by an unknown monster. (Mature, 7k)

In The Fade by LinkWorshiper:

While Thomas is in New York with Lord Grantham, strange dreams start to plague Jimmy on a regular basis, keeping him unable to sort which ghosts are real or imagined. Soon, it becomes evident that Thomas himself might be the only one who knows anything about the things Jimmy never dared to believe. (Mature, 92k)

A Creature at Downton by i-live-for-television:

Jimmy has finally forgiven Thomas and is ready to start a new friendship with him. But when a new and possibly dangerous Valet begins working at Downton, Jimmy realizes that he cares a lot more for Thomas than he originally thought. (Mature, 12k)

[what-is-your-plan-today]

Leave No One Behind Ch9: Doctor’s Orders Part 1

Co written with @icanfeelastormbrewing​

Episode Summary: Hannah has a cold and of course Ari takes it upon himself to look after her. Once that little obstacle is out of the way trouble finds them once again on the morning of her birthday…and hell breaks loose at the Red Sea Diving Resort.

Episode Warnings: Bad Language words. Smut (NSFW no under18s)

Episode Pairings:  Ari Levinson x OFC Hannah Horowitz

Song for Episode:  Mr Blue Sky by ELO 

A/N: This chapter is going to be split into a number of parts, posting over the next few days. A lot happening here. It ran away with us a little bit! Hope you enjoy, we’re proud of this one!!!

Series Master List //  Main Masterlist 

Hey you with the pretty face, welcome to the human race. A celebration, Mr. Blue Sky's up there waitin', and today is the day we've waited for.

Ari woke early the next morning and he immediately could sense something wasn't right. For starters Simon wasn't curled on his head, not that he was complaining but it felt quite strange to feel him at the end of the bed and not all over the pillow. Speaking of the pillow, he noticed Hannah's head wasn't on it, right next to his, even before he opened his eyes. Why couldn't he hear her breathing? And what was that other noise? Just with that thought he bolted his eyes open only to find Hannah sat up in bed, coughing.

Shit.

His eyes quickly roamed the room. It was still dark outside but he could just make out her bare back as she was sat up, her knees bent to her chest as she tried to stifle the coughs in the palm of her right hand.

"Hey, you ok?" Ari asked with his sleepy voice before clearing his throat.

 Hannah nodded in response but continued to cough as she did so.

Ari shifted on the bed and sat up, gently moving so he could see her, ignoring Simon's grumble as he was jolted from his position by his feet from where he was watching Hannah, again. Ari glared at him. He and that dog were going to need to set some ground rules. Well basically just one; no grumbling at him while on his fucking bed. 

He heard Hannah chuckle softly at Simon's reaction and he reached out to rub her back. Damnit, she was warm to the touch, so he moved again to lay the back of his hand against her cheek.

"You’re hot, Firefly."

"There’s a joke in there somewhere, Lobo." she mumbled before breaking into a hacking coughing fit again. "Fuck, I feel like shit Ari."

 She definitely sounded like shit too.

"Let me get you some water." Ari offered before hopping out of bed. He found his shorts and threw them on and then he headed over to the small dresser where there were a couple of bottles. He grabbed one with a swift movement and brought it back to her, twisting off the cap. Hannah took a drink under Ari's watchful eye, spluttering a little as she coughed again but she managed to drink half of it before she handed it back. "You must have gotten a cold." He smiled sympathetically at her.

"Or some random tropical disease." she coughed again, just before sneezing.

"Nope. You got soaked in the rain yesterday." he stated, a little smug at the memory of her wet clothes sticking to her body.

"I’m the doctor not you." she managed to state between coughs and then looked at him. "Besides, you don’t get colds from getting wet Ari, it’s a virus."

Ari chuckled while rubbing her back softly. "Alright, is there anything I can do to make you feel better?"

"Drugs, Ari. I need some paracetamol and whatever else we have in the kit." Ari saw her scrunch her nose and she groaned. "Fuck."

"What?"

"The medical kit is in the office." she rasped. "I’ll go fetch it sweetheart. You stay here." Ari offered, happy to be of use and take the reins. "I can’t Ari, I need to get back to my hut before anyone sees me…" and with that she set into another load of coughing and sneezing "...or hears me for that matter."

Ari pondered for a few seconds, noticing she was right as the first rays of sun were beginning to sweep through the window. "Then I’ll take you to your room and then I’ll go get the stuff."

 She nodded "Can you pass me my dress?"

Ari picked it up from the back of the chair but turned to look at her "Babe, it’s still damp." and she groaned.

"Hang on…" he said before Hannah watched him disappear in the bathroom only to emerge from it a few seconds later with a towel in his hands "Wrap yourself in that for the time being."

"Yeah, cos that’s not gonna look suspicious."

"This whole thing is gonna look suspicious, Han. Stop being a pain in the ass and do as you're told." the natural leader in him commanded.

Grumbling, she took the towel, stood up and wrapped it around her before taking a shaky step. "Jesus."

"You ok?" Ari asked as he threw his shirt on.

 "Just dizzy." Hannah replied as she stood put and rubbed her temples.

Ari rounded the bed concerned and in a quick movement hooked one arm under her legs, the other round her back beneath her shoulders. He was sure she was going to protest at the sudden movement and change of position but she gave a little sigh instead and relaxed into his arms, tucking her head into the crook of his shoulder and Ari thought that was clearly testament to how ill she was. 

He made his way to the door with Hannah in his arms and clicked his fingers at Simon who followed him.  He opened the door with one hand, peeking out and once he had checked the coast was clear he quickly and quietly made his way to her hut. He was praying to God and all the saints he didn't run into someone because, honestly, he had no fucking idea how he was gonna be able to explain him carrying a semi-naked Hannah bridal style from his hut to hers.

Once he had reached Hannah's hut he stepped inside and closed the door behind him, taking a deep breath and letting relief wash over him before he set her gently on the bed. 

"That's it, sweetheart. Want me to tuck you in?"

Hannah glared at him and he smiled innocently whilst she rolled her eyes "Just pass me a cami and a pair of sleep shorts from the drawer."

He headed over and did as he was told, gently dropping her clothes onto the bed next to her.

"Can you manage or…" he asked, hands on his hips and nodding to the items of clothing.

This time Hannah smiled at his concerned face "You’re the expert at getting me undressed Ari, I’ll manage the other way round just fine."

He chuckled "Ok, I’ll be back in a moment."

Ari left her to it and headed to the main area. Once there he tried not to warn anyone of his presence by bumping into furniture as it was still fairly dark in that part of the resort. He carefully went into the office and turned on the light, locating the medical bag immediately and searched for the meds Hannah had asked for. Just a few seconds later he jumped out of his skin when he heard Max's voice.

"What are you doing?"

"Jesus, Max. You scared the shit out of me?" he hissed, trying to buy some time to come up with a feasible excuse.

Max chuckled and then nodded to the box of pills. "You ok?"

"Just a headache. Needed some paracetamol." he said casually, avoiding visual contact with Max and looking at the pills in his hands instead.

Next thing he knew Max was handing him the water bottle in his hand. "Here I’ll get another."

And of course then he had to be watching him so Ari had to take 2 of the damned tablets himself before he managed to fob Max off, grabbing another 2 and heading back to Hannah’s hut once Max’s curiosity had been duly satisfied and he had watched him turn around and leave.

"What took you so long? Couldn't you find the bag?" Hannah blurted out when he saw him coming into her hut.

"I found something more than the bag. Don't ask." he said as he sat on the edge of the bed and handed the pills. "Here."

She frowned and sat up straight and reached for the water while he explained about his encounter with Max making Hannah chuckle and shake her head before breaking into another coughing fit.

"Are there any side effects to taking painkillers without being in pain?"

"Yeah, Lobo. Hair loss." Hannah deadpanned.

"No need for sarcasm." he narrowed his eyes at her.

"Well, stop asking stupid questions." she quipped before taking the pills with a mouthful of water, wincing. “My throat feels like I’ve been swallowing glass."

"Want me to arrange for you to stay in bed all day?" Ari asked, his hand falling to her knee.

"I’ll be fine in an hour or so, besides if I stay here all day I’ll be bored and there’s stuff to do and ..." she whined.

Ari scoffed and cut her off.  "Ok let me rephrase that, I’m gonna arrange for you to stay in bed all day."

"No, Ari, like I said, it’s boring." she insisted.

"I’ll come keep you company as much as I can." he tried to bargain, knowing full well she wasn't one for following orders she deemed stupid.

"Oh yeah? And what you gonna tell the others as to why you keep sneaking in here to see me?"

"That I’m coming to check up on my teammate." he rolled his eyes. "Yeah, like you did with my aerobics classes…when Rachel noticed and asked why you never checked on hers?" she asked, a wicked smile on her face.

"No, that’s….I didn’t…" he sighed. "Well, can you blame me?" he asked with a whiney voice.  Hannah laughed and he smiled "You weren’t exactly being discreet, Levinson"

"Ok, look, forget about that now. I’ll figure something out." he said as he leaned over to kiss her, frowning when she pulled back.

"Yeah I wouldn’t do that if I were you."

"Yeah, good point. Although isn’t a cold contagious days before symptoms?" he cockily asked.

"Hark on you Dr Levinson."

"You know, Guy Thomas is technically a doctor, I mean he has a PHD so…" 

She laughed loudly which made her cough. "In fucking Anthropology!"

"Details…" he smiled broadly.

Hannah snorted and locked her eyes on his "You’re right though. Chances are you already got it."

Ari chuckled. "Ok, I’m gonna go for my run before everyone gets up. You gonna be ok?"

"Sure I’ll manage. I’ve lived alone for the last 4 years Ari, had plenty of colds…" Ari grimaced, he didn’t like to think about that. For some reason it made him a little upset though he knew it was illogical as she was a grown woman and a doctor nonetheless. "Just try and get some sleep. When they start asking where you are at breakfast I’ll use it as an excuse to come see you, tell them I’ll come find out."

"Make sure it’s you who comes, please." she pleaded as she got under the sheets and rested her head on the pillow.

"Of course it will be. I’m the boss, can do what I want."

She sat up again and gazed at him. 

"Don’t let Sammy come or I’m never leaving this hut again."

"Dramatic much?" he tried to joke. "I know him, he won’t let me out of bed for days." she said and Ari could read the concern in his eyes.

"Neither would I given the chance, albeit for a much different reason." he quipped cheekily, trying to brush her concern away.

His eyes sparkled with satisfaction as he saw Hannah's jaw drop. She slapped his arm and broke into a coughing fit. "You’re an asshole Ari. You can’t say that when I can’t kiss you properly."

"Then I’ll say it again when you can." he said, rubbing her thighs over the covers

"Promise?"

"Damned straight it is."

Hannah grinned before leaning back on her pillow again "Go, before I climb you like a tree and infect you with my virus."

"Now that's an image I intend to dwell in all through the day, Miss." he said before kissing her head and getting up and walking to the door. "Thing is Firefly…" and he turned to look at her, one hand on the door handle. “…you infected me 9 years ago."

"That is so lame!" she said as she threw a pillow at him "Go. Now."

He chuckled and stepped outside closing the door behind him.  Hannah then looked at the pillow and groaned. "Now I gotta pick that up."

As if on cue Simon trotted towards the pillow and flopped down on it, looking up at her.

"Ok, guess I don’t…" she shrugged

**** Ari was hoping his run would keep his mind occupied and help quiet the noise in his brain. He was worried about Hannah and though he was well aware it was probably only a cold and, yes, she was a fully trained doctor who knew exactly what she was doing, he still couldn't help but think about how poorly she had looked and sounded. 

Fuck it.

With a sigh he turned his Walkman off when he was still a mile or so away from the resort. He couldn't concentrate on what he was listening to and the headphones were constantly falling from his head due to his furious strides. He wasn't in the mood and every little thing in the universe was apparently conspiring to bug him. 

Damn, Ari. Are you listening to yourself? 

His inner voice slapping him on the back of his head was the final straw. He groaned and quickened his pace, longing for the moment the cold water in the shower would ease the stiffness he was feeling in his muscles and mind. 

"I thought you were ill." Max greeted him when he emerged in the main area after making it home and showering.

"I had a headache. Hence the painkillers. And guess what, they killed my pain. So here I am." he explained, a bit too harsh.

"Woah chill man." Max frowned as he raised both his palms as a peace gesture.

"I’m perfectly chilled." Ari huffed as he sat down on a chair.

The truth is he wasn't chilled, not even remotely. He knew there was nothing he could do and Hannah would be probably asleep once the effects of the pills had kicked in, but he was twitchy as fuck to go check on her. "You look worried Ari." Rachel stated. More as a warning of his conspicuous behaviour than as a real concern.

"Do I? Well I’m not. What’s for breakfast?" Ari asked, trying to put on a genuine smile on his face but failing considerably.

"Whatever you want. The guests don’t arrive until 11 so it's up to you what you want. There’s plenty of bread for toast and pastries in the pantry." Rachel replied, squinting her eyes at him.

"Ok, I’m gonna grab some coffee." he said as he got up, praying someone asked about Hannah soon because not only was he worried about her but also about acting cool when they would eventually ask. He wanted it over and done with as soon as possible because he didn't know how long he was going to be able to refrain from snapping at someone or something. He grabbed his coffee and then an idea came to him. He poked his head back into the main room and asked if he should throw a few rounds of toast in for everyone, knowing if he made enough there’d be some left over and they would be bound to notice one of them was missing.

An instant later Rachel came in to help. They made the first batch in silence, his mind still racing, and as the second batch was in she turned to him. 

"So, come on, don’t bullshit me Ari. What’s going on?"

"What do you mean what’s going on?" he asked back while cursing at a piece of toast that was still too hot for him to grab.

"You’re twitchy. You and Hannah had an argument already?"

"What? No…what makes you think that?" 

Rachel looked at him with that seemingly expressionless look that was yelling cut the crap and Ari sighed. It was Rachel after all, he could trust her and it would do him good to blow off some steam with someone.

"Ok, she’s ill."

Rachel frowned before asking "What do you mean? Like bad ill?"

"No, it’s a cold but she’s feeling pretty rough." he explained as he grabbed the bread from the toaster and dropped it onto the plate. He felt relief as he uttered those words, explaining what was going on to another person had really helped him realise he really shouldn’t be making a big deal out of it.

"Ah. Ok. Want me to go check on her?"

"No, I told her I would when you all realised she hadn’t shown for breakfast…" he paused and then bit his lip "Look, can…can you just maybe ask about her out there? My nerves are on edge."

Rachel smiled "Sure, good look convincing Sammy to stay away."

"Actually, I was hoping you could help me with that." he asked somewhat shyly.

"How?"

"You’ll figure something out."  His shy request had morphed now into a wicked smile making Rachel roll her eyes at him.

"You owe me Levinson. I don’t like lying to him, it’s not fair." she conceded but waved her index finger at him.

"You don’t have to lie to him…just don’t tell him the truth."

"Where I come from that’s called lying, Ari."

"You know what I mean, Rach." he remarked as he flashed his signature cheeky smirk at her.

"Come on man, I’m hungry." Max's voice suddenly startled them both.

Ari seized the opportunity and gave her one last pleading look at Rachel and she groaned before pointing at him again.

"Fine, let's get this over with but I mean it. You owe me, big time."

"I know, and if it's any consolation I don’t like all the sneaking around either but until Han is ready to tell Sammy there’s not much I can do." he shrugged.

"Whatever." she said, grabbing one big plate and handing it to Ari "Take the toast out there, Romeo."

They headed back out of the kitchen, carrying the communal breakfast and Ari sat back down, a bit more collected this time.

"About time, what were you doing? Baking the damned bread?" Max whined, raiding the toast plate.

"You wanna eat that toast or wear it?" Hannah cut his protests.

"Woah, easy Rachel…what’s happened this morning, why is everyone so tetchy?"

Ari looked at Rachel and she understood. The sooner they get this over with the better but just as she opened her mouth to speak, Sammy cut her off.

"Where’s Hannah?"

Everyone looked at one another for a few seconds. The only thing that could be heard being Max munching his toast. Ari tried to hold back the relieved sigh he was dying to exhale. Rachel wasn’t needed after all, he had to thank Sammy for that.

"I ain't seen her." Jake, who had been getting the matches for his tan ready, shrugged. "Or Simon actually, he’s normally here before she is…"

 "I’ll go see if everything’s ok with her." Ari offered, standing up.

 "I can go." Sammy frowned.

No. No. No. Ari froze and panicked for a few seconds and gave Rachel a meaningful look.

"Let Ari.” Rachel blurted out before pausing. "Because of Simon…you know the dog doesn’t like you, and it will only put you in a bad mood if he starts growling and you’ll end up arguing with Hannah…”

Well, that had been bold but it seemed to have worked as next thing he knew Ari heard Sammy grumbling. "stupid little gargoyle."

"And that’s why he hates you. You insult him, you hurt his feelings." Ari told Sammy, trying not to seem too eager to fuck the hell out of the room.

They were all too focused on their own act to notice Max who was simply looking at them, munching his toast. He clearly wasn’t buying any of the shit Rachel was saying.  Whereas Jake was too engrossed in cutting the matches he had previously taken from the matchbox with a knife, his coffee long forgotten.

"It’s a dog Ari, he doesn’t know what I’m saying." Sammy continued grumbling.

"Well he clearly reads your body language then."

"Yeah…that’s true. He copies body language too." Max deadpanned, sitting back on his chair.

Ari did his best to keep a straight face, ignoring him but clearly hearing his sniggers. Rachel was the one to glare at Max and he shrugged as he resumed eating his food.

Thankfully, Rachel then took charge of the situation and started explaining the schedule for the new guests that would be arriving a few hours later, Ari took the opportunity and stood up, heading out  for Hannah’s hut. Gently opening the door he saw Simon was snuggled around her head and she was dozing. He approached and sat on the edge of her bed and watched her for a few seconds before feeling her forehead. She was still warm and he sighed.

Simon moved his head and licked the back of Ari’s knuckles when he recognized him.

"You looking after her pal?" he cooed at the dog and moved his hand to scratch under the dog's chin, "Good boy."

Simon wagged his tail and rolled over demanding belly scratches from the hairy human that seemed to be sharing his mom's bed. Ari chuckled as he obliged, rubbing his pink and black spotty belly.

"Demanding little bastard." he softly whispered so as not to disturb Hannah's sleep. But it was too late. With a little sigh she stirred at the movement, blinking.

"Hey, how you feeling firefly?"

"Still crappy." her voice came out hoarse. 

"Yeah, you’re still warm. You should rest in bed till you’re feeling better." he ordered softly.

"Yes Dr Levinson… or Dr Thomas, whatever." she said before yawning and Ari chucked. "How was it out there?"

"Not bad. I asked Rachel for help but it wasn’t needed, Sammy asked before she could."

Hannah nodded and shuffled down a little in the bed, coughing again. Ari waited until she was done and he then leaned down over her, one hand either side of her shoulders as she was led on her side. 

"Ok sweetheart. I’m gonna go back out now but once they know I’ll sneak to see you whenever I can." 

"I’m just gonna sleep Ari, I don’t need babysitting." she grumbled.

Ari raised an eyebrow playfully. "Ok, so you don’t want me to take care of you or keep you company? That’s fine, I get it…" he mocked a complaint, a soft smile on his face.

"Shut up." Hannah groaned.

"And now you don’t want to hear me either." he chuckled and kissed her forehead. "Get some rest and shout if you need anything." and he pondered for a moment before speaking. "On second thoughts, just don't shout. Your voice is terrible today..." and he stopped when he saw her mouth drop open "You know what I mean, Firefly."

"Ari?" Hannah asked as he made to stand up. "Yeah?" "I could use some orange juice." she beamed at him before sneezing for the umpteenth time.

"Ok, I’ll bring some for you." Ari wandered back to the main area, all the way thinking how he was going to pull his next stunt. Just act natural, Levinson. You got this, he thought as he entered the main area, his hands falling to his hips as he walked in.

"Where is she?" Sam asked once he spotted Ari was back.

"She’s sick Sammy." and he held his hand up to stop Sammy’s impending babble. "It’s just a cold."

Sammy frowned. "A cold?"

"That’s what she said." He shrugged and turned to walk to the kitchen. "She asked for some paracetamol and orange juice." he said, ignoring the fact Max was narrowing his eyes suspiciously after he caught Ari with the pills before. He opened the fridge, considering if it would be good for her to drink cold liquids, and poured a glass of orange and went back into the main dining area just as Sammy walked in from the office with the box of pills and gestured to the orange juice.

"Want me to take it? I can examine her."

"She’s a doctor too, Sammy." Jake snorted.

Ari was getting more flustered by the minute. He just wanted to get rid of Sammy and get back and check on her again. Damned it. He knew he was being ridiculous but she really didn’t look well at all and if he had his way he’d be curled up besides her all day. He would trade posts with Simon on the spot. He looked at Rachel as a last resource, silently asking her to take the reins. 

Rachel took a deep breath and turned to Sam. "Sammy, she won’t want her brother fussing." She then turned to Ari. "Take her some toast too in case she feels like eating something." she said while putting a few slices from the large plate on the table onto a smaller one. "Tell her I’ll check up on her later and grab her laundry."

Thank you Rachel.

"I bet Simon is eating that toast." Max quipped.

Jake chuckled. "That’s a point, should we take care of him today?"

Ari shook his head. "He was curled up on the bed with her, looked pretty comfy. I’ll take him for a walk if he wants to go but to be honest I don’t think he’ll leave her."

“Unless it’s you.” Max quipped.

“What do you mean? Ari asked.

“Simon is conveniently deaf unless you or Cracker are talking to him.” Max grinned “You’re like his parents, it’s cute.”

Ari rolled his eyes and with that he headed back out, down to her hut. God, he was sweating already and he had showered less than an hour before. Simon looked up when Ari got in the hut. Hannah was asleep so he placed the orange juice, toast and pills on her bedside table before leaning to kiss her head.

"Sleep tight, my Firefly." he whispered as he straightened up and looked at Simon. "You coming buddy? Let’s get you some food and go for a walk, huh?"

Ari watched the dog look at Hannah, then him and then back to Hannah again, hesitating. Sammy could say whatever he wanted, but that dog did understand what they said to him. No one was gonna convince Ari otherwise.

"She’ll be ok pal." Ari rolled his own eyes at himself when he realised he was explaining to the fucking dog. But Simon was proving his point as he stood up and walked down the bed, jumping off the side. Ari saw him stretch and wag his tail as he headed out, Simon at his heels. 

*****

A few hours later Rachel went to Hannah’s hut and knocked on the door, walking in after Hannah told her to do so. Rachel found her sat up in bed and thought Ari, though being a painful drama queen, was right. She looked awful. Her nose was red, her eyes looked tired but at least she was reading.

"How are you feeling?"

"A little better, thanks. I had a good sleep and the meds seem to have worked their way into my system." she explained and then she paused. "What time is it by the way? I can’t find my watch." she asked Rachel as she scanned her bedside table and drawers again.

 "Maybe you left it in Ari’s hut…I mean if you slept there last night…" Rachel offered, cocking an eyebrow.

Hannah looked at her and sighed, rolling her eyes.  There was no point in even denying it and she wasn't feeling strong enough to either. "How much do you know?" "Well from what the pair of you have told me and the fact his tee was mixed in with your laundry, I’d hazard a guess at all of it." "Ari’s shirt was..? Shit!" Hannah groaned.

"Yup, shit indeed. You’re lucky I spotted it before your brother did. Thankfully it was next to a pile of your panties and he wasn’t looking." Rachel chuckled at Hannah's mortified expression before continuing. "Then there’s also the fact that the dress you were wearing yesterday was on the chair in his hut. I washed that too, you can thank me later, or we can talk about how his bathroom was missing a towel and curiously enough there’s one that seems to have appeared on the floor by your bed. Your pick."

Hannah groaned again and rubbed her face down her hand.

"By the way it was the shirt he was wearing for dinner the night he came home." Rachel winked at her.

"Yeah I know…he left it here and I forgot I threw it in with my stuff." "You two had yourselves a welcome home party, huh?" Hannah laughed at Rachel's wriggling eyebrows and coughed a little. "Don’t be so nosey."

"Look, I’m happy for you two, I really am. And I love to see you happy, you deserve it but…well, Max suspects something and it’s only a matter of time before Sammy and Jake figure it. Especially if Ari is as shit at keeping a cover as he seems to be. He was a wreck this morning."

"A wreck?" Hannah asked, surprised. "I’ve got a damned cold, what’s he so fretted about?" "Well according to him you looked really bad and were burning up, moments from death…you know that type of thing. I had to smack some sense into him in the kitchen before he blew it with the rest." 

Hannah rolled her eyes. "He’s such a drama queen."

"When it comes to you he is. You should have seen him. Shittiest Mossad agent ever." Rachel mocked him.

Hannah laughed again and, as usual that morning, her laugh was punctuated by coughs.

"Luckily Jake is too focussed on his tan to notice and Sammy…well Sammy is oblivious and to be fair probably doesn’t even want to even consider anything like that so…"

Hannah pondered what she had said for a minute and looked at her. "You think we should come clean? I mean Ari said he would happily tell everyone but I’m not sure if I can handle Sammy already."

"That’s up to you. But the longer you leave it, then surely the harder it's gonna be?" Rachel smiled at her, sympathetically.

Hannah rubbed her eyes. "I don’t think I can do this until I feel better, and then it’s my birthday next week and don’t want anything to spoil it."

"I can’t answer Hannah, I can’t tell you what to do." Rachel patted her leg.

"I’ll speak to Ari about it." she mused and Rachel laughed.

"What’s so funny?" "That man will do whatever you tell him to do. I know that, you should know it by now." Hannah shook her head, though Rachel may be right that was not what she needed at that moment.  "I don’t want him to just do what I say, just want him to help me make a decision." She looked at Rachel and then grinned "I see you did a pretty good job covering the marks on your neck, unlike yesterday."

Rachel blushed. "You saw them?"

"Yes." And the grin on Hannah’s face turned into a grimace.  "And I don’t want to think about it. He’s my brother."

"Ari told you?"

Hanna nodded.

"Bastard."

"I’d already figured it out. I told them ages ago the pair of you were…you know, or at least there was something going on. He was like a bear with a sore head when you were on leave." Hannah explained

Rachel squinted her eyes at her. "Like you were when Ari was gone?"

Hannah shrugged, to be fair Rachel was right, the Navons were pretty shitty at concealing their feelings. And speaking of concealing?  "FYI that concealer on my desk is pretty good if you need to borrow it."

Rachel stared at her blankly and Hannah swept her hair to the side to show her the now fading bruises Ari had given her the other evening and Rachel snorted. 

" Wild Ari, huh?"

"You got no idea." Hannah smirked mischievously.

"Pity Sam is your brother. We could have traded stories." Rachel shrugged amused.

"Don’t get me wrong Rach, I’m happy you’re with him. He needs someone in his life that’s for sure but…yeah, no. I’d rather not listen to them…but if you need to talk hey, I can pretend you’re talking about Chef Aziz…"

At that the pair of them burst out laughing and Hannah had another coughing fit just as Sammy walked into the hut.

"What are you two laughing at?" he asked as he glanced at Hannah. "You feeling better, Han?" "Loads. Rachel is great company." she said, raising her eyebrows at Sammy who went immediately red and cleared his throat. "Need some water Sammy?" Rachel who was sitting on the edge of the bed slapped Hannah’s leg through the covers and mouthed to her Don’t be mean.

Hannah shook her head and looked around, allowing her brother to collect himself. "Hey, where’s Simon by the way? He bailed on me…"

"He was with Ari. They went for a walk then down to the diving hut and then Ari was going out with Jake to prep the tour route for tomorrow." Sammy explained.

 "Has Simon gone on the boat with them?" Hannah frowned.

 "Yeah, why?"

 "I thought he only went diving because he wanted to be with me." she pouted. "He’s been stuck to Ari like glue all day." Rachel confirmed.

 "He even ignored the new group of tourists." Sammy scoffed.

"Judas." Hannah grumbled, folding her arms.

****

3 days Hannah was in bed laid up, and Ari hated it. He’d popped in as much as he could, stealing half an hour or so here and there to lay with her, until Sammy pulled him up at one point over lunch on the second day.

I’m the doctor, she’s a doctor…I don’t see why you have to be checking up on her all fucking day.” Sammy pouted.

“Because you’re busy with the guests.” Ari reasoned “I’m the manager so I can just float about. Besides, it hasn’t been all fucking day, I’ve been to check on her like 3 times to take her some water and something to eat, that’s it.”

Nevertheless, he backed off after that. On the 4th day Hannah eased back into light duties so Ari managed to spend some time with her during the day as but he continued to sleep in his own hut to allow her to sleep properly to fully recover and also to avoid further suspicion as he had also developed a little sniffle himself and was running out of excuses to the rest of the team as to what it was.

But all this meant it was nearly a week since they’d last managed a night together, and it had left him a total needy bastard.

One morning he arrived at the main area of the resort after he’d been talking to a few guests who had asked him for ideas of what to do in Port Sudan. He headed into the main rooms, looking for Hannah, mentally ticking off where she could be. She wasn’t with Jake and Sammy as they were out diving, she wasn’t with Rachel and Aziz helping set up for lunch and Max…well he had no idea where Max was at all. He stood pondering for a moment when he spotted Simon trotting out of the office and he gave a grin.

Bingo.

Hannah was looking through the filing cabinet in front of him as he stepped into the room, silently. He took a moment to appreciate her, taking in her long legs right from her bare feet up to the hem of her pale, strapless blue sundress which hung mid-thigh. It curved neatly over her ass and hips trailing the curve of her waist up to her shoulders which were bare, hair pulled into a messy pony tail, halter neck of her bikini tied at the nape of her neck.

Fuck this, it had been far too long. And he was horny as hell. The damned world could wait.

He shut the door with his foot and she jumped slightly, turning to face him but before she could register what was happening his lips were on hers, the kiss demanding as his hands held her cheeks, tongue finding its way between those soft pillows, sliding forcefully against the roof of her mouth. She let out a soft moan and her hands moved directly to the ties on his swim shorts. His lips curved into a smirk at her demanding nature, the fact she wanted him just as much was getting him even more worked up, and she pulled back to look at him a little, her fingers undoing the string easily as his hands slid to her waist, yanking her even closer so their pelvises were flush and she could feel his arousal pressing into her stomach.

“Stop smirking.” She mumbled, and he chuckled a little, his nose brushing hers “Cocky bastard.”

“You want cocky?” he muttered, his lips brushing hers, the feather-light touch sent a shiver down her spine as his mouth slid to her jawline and that spot on her neck just behind her ear. “I’ll show you cocky Firefly.”

His lips crashed to hers again as he pivoted them away from the cabinets and towards the desk at the side of the room, his movements effortless as she gave into his directions completely. Submission had never been her strong point, but when it came to Ari she was weak and now was no exception. She was weak to his touch, his mouth, his every damned action as she allowed him to man handle her, his hands gliding up her back to her neck, fingers of one grasping at the nape as he held her face to his, his mouth dominating hers.

In a quick, almost forceful movement he spun her round, his mouth trailing open mouthed kisses down her neck to her shoulder, moving to the other side to repeat the action and she let out a low keen of delight.

“Shh.” He stopped, what he was doing and Hannah stilled, her breathing deep. Once she’d obeyed he picked up where he had left off, his hand sliding up over her covered breasts, palming them in his large hands, letting out a gently sigh of his own as he felt her nipples peak through the material.

“Ari…we can’t…” She mumbled, suddenly coming to her senses as she heard voices pass by the reception desk “There’s people outside…”

“I don’t care.” He whispered into her hear, his right hand gently sliding back7 up her neck, fingers flexing over her smooth, delicate throat “You can be quiet, right?”

“I…” he cut her off as he tilted her face to his, swallowing her protests with another filthy kiss, his other hand moving down, rucking her dress up, the pads of his calloused fingers tracing a slow path up her inner thigh. He gently brushed over the spot between her legs and a soft growl rolled in the back of this throat as he could feel her arousal through her bikini bottoms. He released her mouth, his lips staying millimetres away from hers “You’re fucking soaked baby girl”

Hannah couldn’t find the words to reply. She was putty in his hands, and happy to let him take control. All truth be told she was aching for him too, and although this hadn’t been going on long in the grand scheme of things, the way he did make love to or fuck her had her craving for his touch whenever she could get it. She let out a gasp as his fingers brushed her bottoms to one side, skating her slit as he found her nub and began to coax at her expertly. She bit her lip, hard, the taste of copper flooding her mouth as she found herself desperately trying to control her noise.

Releasing her throat, Ari’s other hand gently pressed at the base of her spine, bending her forward a little over the desk and her hands splayed flat against the wooden surface sending a few papers floating to the floor, her check pressed to the cheap oak. Ari moved her bikini to the side, and with one hand still on her back he used the other and gave himself a few strokes, before he lined himself up and sank into her.

“Fuck…” She hissed between gritted teeth as he pulled back, sinking straight back in again, his eyes focussed on the spot they were joined, watching himself move in and out. His thrusts were slow, deliberate at first, and his eyes flicked to Hannah’s face as her head raised from the desk, tilting back slightly. He saw her jaw slacken and in a flash his hand reached out, palm clamping over her mouth.

“Gotta be quiet sweetheart…” he grunted out, his other hand gripping her shoulder so he could pull her back onto him and he picked up the pace, fucking her with desperation, like a man starved.

The sound of skin slapping skin, her muffled moans and his own low hisses filled the room as he continued his assault on her spot, his cock dragging against her walls again and again. It was quick and dirty, and before long Hannah could feel herself unravelling. Ari felt her too, the tell-tale fluttering of her clamping down on him signalling she was close.

“Nearly there baby?” he asked, even though he knew the answer and she gave a quick nod, his fingers flexing over her mouth. Releasing the grip on her shoulder he reached around, found her clit and she felt the teasing of his thumb and forefinger as he rolled it between them, his chest pressing to her back, mouth nipping at her ear. With a shudder, the world faded to nothing but a bright, white light and she came, her groan stifled by his hand as she bucked back, eyes fluttering shut, knees trembling as she went limp over the desk. Releasing his hold on her mouth he grabbed her hips, his own snapping back and forth with enough force to jolt the desk slightly, causing it to scrape over the floor as he felt his balls contract and he came inside her, hard, and it was all he could do to keep himself from yelling out.

“Fuck…” he mumbled, his hips slowing to a stop as his head fell forward a little, his breathing deep, T-shirt sticking to him as sweat coated his entire body. He took a moment before he stepped back and looked down as Hannah pushed herself up, his hands gently pulling her up by her hips helping her to stand.

“Cocky enough?” he quipped as he straightened his pants whilst she turned to face him, her cheeks flushed. She reached up and pulled her pony tail free, shaking her hair out whilst she shook her head, grinning at him.

“One word for it.” She arched an eyebrow as she re-tied her hair and squirmed a little, feeling his release dribbling down her inside leg “And now I need to go change.”

“I thought bikini bottoms were supposed to be waterproof.” He chuckled, pulling her in for a quick kiss.

“You’re an ass hole.” She mumbled, before she pulled away, patted his chest and opened the door. The sound of the guests outside grew louder as the flow of fresh air filled the room, well, fresher seeing as it was fucking hot out there too, and with a last glance over her shoulder she smirked and left.

Part 2

[jadienjaystoriesandart]

Sanders Sides Coraline AU 

It’s nearing 3AM here, and I’m watching Cinema Sins Coraline. So... I decided to write a bit for my Sanders Sides Coraline AU.

This excerpt is when Thomas find the Other World, because I don’t feel like writing shitty parents tonight. And hey! Finally learned how to the do the ‘keep reading’ things!

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Thomas bent down his eyes narrowing as the tunnel of rainbow like colors expanded out in front of him. Now, for most people, this might seem like a bad idea. But for Thomas, after hardly having anything fun or exciting happen for the 2 weeks of moving in, this seemed like an adventure and chance he was willing to take. Not like his parents would notice he was gone... or dead.

Pushing his throw blanket off and crawling inside, Thomas let his curiosity guide him into the fabric tunnel. He got to he end and pushed open the door to find that... he was in the parlor room again? He blinked confused at that looking around at the area. 

There was some key differences, more furniture, cleaner, and the paintings on the wall were more cheerful. There were also some photos, but it was hard to see in the darkness. There was however one light, and some faint humming from that direction. The warm glow lead to the kitchen, and the sound was male by the deeper tones.

Carefully he moved down the hall and pushed open the door to see someone in a blue polo shirt with a tan cardigan and tan pants making food. Thomas blinked in shock at the intruder in his home, taking a step back only for the floor to creak. The person turned and looked at him with bright blue button eyes.

“Well hello there, kiddo!” he said happily, he had round glasses on a short, slightly rounded face. “Come, don’t be shy now!” he said happily putting down the bowl and whisk holding out his hand.

Thomas swallowed, “W-Who are...” he asked shakily, trying not to panic.

“Me?” the man laughed, sounding cheerful as ever, “I’m Patton, your Other Father kiddo!” he said with a bright smile at him, moving his curly brown hair out of his face.

“Other... Father?” Thomas echoed confused to him, looking around at the full cabinets of foods. The lights cast a warm glow on the clean walls and counters.

Patton beamed at him, “Yup! I’m your dad, kiddo, I guess I’m just ‘better’.” he jokingly said going back to stirring the contents in the bowl. “Mother dear is outside in the gardens getting some fresh vegetables for dinner.”

Thomas looked at the stuff on the stove, though did keep his distance from the open flames. Patton then looked at him with his unblinking, button eyes, “I’ve got an idea, why don’t you go get your brothers, dinner should be ready by the time.” he suggested to Thomas, ruffling his hair.

Looking at him confused at that Patton beamed, “Virgil is upstairs in the attic and the twins are in the basement.” he told him, “Go on sport.” with that he turned back to getting the ham out of the oven.

Thomas walked away confused, but the other had every opportunity to harm him so he must be okay. That or Thomas was dreaming, one of the two. Walking to the hallway he decided to go to the attic first, as he disliked the basement of the house. The way up was quiet, not even the stairs creaked as he got to the attic door and knocked on it twice. Thomas for a moment thought this was a joke, until the door open and he was looking up at a teenager with a baggy purple and black hoodie. Thomas eyes traveled up from the holey black pants to the purple button eyes looking at him with a raise eyebrow

“Something you need?” who Thomas guessed was Virgil, asked him.

Thomas swallowed hard, “Uh... Patton... Dad, said that dinner is ready and to get you and the twins.” he said carefully, a little scared.

Virgil titled his head then smiled, “Well we best get the twins then.” he said to Thomas as he walked out closing his door. “Come on then bro.” he grinned ruffling Thomas’s hair, his hand was firmer than Patton’s as Virgil lead the way down the stairs. Thomas carefully following behind, this dream was just getting stranger. “So... your my brother?” he asked Virgil who nodded looking at him over his shoulder.

“Yup, your Other Brother.” he said calmly though he was smiling. Thomas frowned, “But I don’t have a brother.” he told him.

Virgil shrugged, “In this world you do though, and that’s me and the twins. I promise, I’m telling the truth.” he said as they turned in the hallway. Thomas followed quickly turning to see someone in the doorway who turned them.

“Out of your room Emo?” the man in a lack caplet and yellow button eyes said hanging his hat on the hanger. “That’s a first.”

“Oh hush dad.” Virgil snarked back, the man made a face playfully messing with Virgil by shoving him and ending with them play fighting for a moment. The man then looked at Thomas and grinned, “You must be who my darling Patton told me about.” he said with a grin, “I’m your Other Father as well child.”

Thomas just nodded to that as he grinned, “Names Janus.” he said holding out his hand as Thomas shook it awkwardly. “Guess you two kids are gonna get the rascal's.” Janus hummed looking at the door. “Yeah, dad said dinner is ready.” Virgil said with a shrug putting his hands in his hoodie pockets.

Janus nodded, “Well don’t want to let the food get cold, best hurry along. Logan dear won’t be happy if you keep him waiting.” he chuckled as Virgil nodded with a smile and walked outside. Thomas took a minuet watching Janus leave as he walked after Virgil, once outside he frowned, “How can I have two fathers?” he asked confused.

Virgil looked at him, “You like to question things, don’t you?” he asked back as Thomas flushed at that. “Look kid, you just do, and they are the best dads one could ask for.” he promised him as they walked down the porch stairs and turning to the stairs that lead to the basement door. “This one is normally unlocked compared to the one in the house.” he told him.

Thomas just nodded, deciding not to ask why as he didn’t want Virgil to snark at him. Walking over as Virgil knocked hard once and just walked in. Looked at the open door for a moment, before following Virgil inside after hesitating, he walked into a large room that had one side painted in green and silver and the other was in gold and red. “Oi!” Virgil yelled out, “Things on and two, dinner is ready! Get your asses in gear!” he called out.

Sounds were heard from the double bathrooms as out of the one from the red side came a guy in a very princely outfit, and dark red button eyes with green thread. This teen huffed. “Really my chemically imbalanced brother, must you just barge into our room?” he scolded. “It’s my house too Princey.” Virgil said back calmly with a nonchalant attitude. “Beside our little brother decided to show up.”

“Little brother!?” came from the green door as it opened, out stepped a guy in a very... exaggerated outfit. Thomas wasn’t sure if he was going for the opposite of his twin or over done villain. Green button eyes with red threat stared at Thomas through wild brown and white locks. “Great! We need a prince for the castle!” he cheered going over and picking up Thomas and tossing him up into the air.

Thomas squeaked as he landed on the bed of the other, Virgil moved his head in the way that would be someone ‘rolling their eyes’. But, as they were buttons, he wasn’t sure. “Come on, we don’t want mom getting upset at us for letting the food go cold.” Virgil grumbled. “Bro, meet your twin brothers, Roman and Remus.” he said quickly. Roman squawked, “For shame, such a lame introduction.” he then bowed to Thomas, “Prince Roman actually, your amazing older brother.”

Then Roman yelped as Remus pushed him out of them, “And I’m Duke Remus! the even better brother!” he said, Roman scowled as i ended with them wrestling each other. Virgil huffed, “Guys come on! I’m hungry!” he said as Thomas giggled a bit, these guys didn’t seem half bad.

Getting up from the bouncy green and black bed with tentacle pictured covers, he ran up after Virgil the twin following close behind and into the house. Inside Patton looked at them, “Wash your hands kiddos!” he said quickly, Thomas went to do so as the twins and Virgil grumbled at that trudging after him. Inside the dinning room when Thomas went in after finish up first, he walked in to see another man setting the table. This guy had on a black polo shirt and blue eyes with black pants that were more dressy than Virgil. Sitting on his face, framing the dark blue and silver thread button eyes, was some thick rectangular glasses.

Thomas wondered if they could even ‘see’ to have ‘bad eyes’ but kept that thought to himself. He did near jump when the man looked at him and hummed, “Well hello Thomas.” he said to him calmly. Blinking in shock Thomas hesitated, “You know my name?” he asked, the others hadn’t said he name yet so he figured they didn’t know it.

Nodding to him, “Ofcourse, I know the names of all the kids here, you’re no different.” he promised, “I’m your Other Mother, Logan.” he said with a curt nod. Thomas blinked at that, his ‘mother’ was a guy? Well, he did have to dads, so this couldn’t be any stranger. “Care to help me set the table?” Logan asked him, with a dumbfounded nod Thomas gripped the plates setting them out at each place with a cloth in front of the chair.

“Don’t worry Thomas.” Logan said after Patton started to set the food on the table, “We’ve been waiting for you, we aren’t here to harm you.” he smiled faintly, after only ever giving cool or calculating looks. Thomas shifted a bit, “That’s... comforting, but what do you mean you’ve been waiting for me?” he asked curiously.

Virgil looked up from helping Patton set the table, “Every kid has Other Parents, Thomas. Right, mom?” he asked looking at Logan who nodded. “Yes, and you happened to find yours, which is lucky. We are here to help you where your real parents are lacking.” Logan told him calmly.

“Oh...” Thomas muttered looking down, was it really that obvious his parents weren’t the best of people? A hand that was cold and smooth lifted his chin to meet Logan’s button eyes, “Don’t cry now, I know your home life isn’t the best, but we are here now. We’ll be a family you need, promise.” he looked at Thomas with a faint smile that was kind and loving, like how he was told moms were to smile at you.

Patton hugged him quickly, the other was rather squishy to the touch, but he was bigger round than stick person Logan, but at least slightly taller than Janus. “We love you Kiddo, and this place was meant for you to find it.” he giggled kissing Thomas’s forehead.

Taking their seats at the table, Thomas was next o Virgil and Logan, with Remus across from him. Patton was at the other end of the table flanked by Janus and Roman. Logan gave thanks calmly and helped Thomas get some food so the other had a healthy balance, while the others got theirs. Thomas was sheepish about this whole thing, but the food did smell good and looked edible. “How is it Kiddos?” Patton asked, smiling brightly.

“Great as always dad!” Virgil said cheerfully as Roman and Remus said the same. Thomas shyly nodded, “It tastes amazing.” he said softly as Patton beamed at him, his freckles showing when he did. The ham did taste great, it was tender and juicy, he happily ate his corn with his mash potatoes.

“Ha! See I’m not the only who who mixes them Roman!” Virgil declared point his fork at him. Roman scoffed, “You two are just weird.” he said with a wave of his hand, Logan chuckled at this smiling fondly at his kids.

“Whatcha guys want to drink?” Janus asked everyone as Thomas blinked in shock when the chandler came down for them with different drinks in it. Logan hummed, “We have sodas and flavored water along with milkshakes.” he told Thomas who looked a little overwhelmed.

“Er... I’m not picky.” Thomas said honestly, Logan hummed with a nod getting Thomas some grape juice as it was higher up. He happily drank some, smiling a bit at the sweet, but very flavored taste. He looked around the table to see the group was very happily chatting to each other, then he looked at Logan. “No need to be scared Thomas, I can bet this is a bit overwhelming.” he said calmly.

“Kind of...” Thomas said shyly, Logan nodded slowly and seemed to be very understanding.

“Take your time, I’m not going anywhere.” Logan promised to him placing a comforting hand on Thomas’s shoulder. It did make him smile at how gentle Logan was being and he wasn’t forcing Thomas to speak like his real mom did. Thomas took a moment, wiping his fingers on the napkin in his lap, “it’s just...” he looked conflicted but Logan remained silent. “This all seems too good to be true, almost magical in a way... I must be dreaming.” he said to Logan honestly.

“Understandable that you’d have doubts, given how your current life is. But, this is very real.” Logan said softly to him, though he didn’t have eyelids, Thomas could tell the button eyes were soft in their gaze. Before Thomas could say anything he yelped in pain when Remus pinched him under the table, “Felt that right?” Remus cackled out.

Logan gave a stern glare, “Remus.” he said carefully, as Remus looked sheepish and ducked his head. “Sorry Mom, sorry Thomas.” the duke mumbled out quietly as Logan nodded to him.

Well that did prove Thomas could feel pain, so he wasn’t dreaming, but still. Logan sighed looking back at Thomas, “Don’t worry Thomas, he’s just trying to help.” he smiled at him, going back to dinner, Thomas finished his plate and drink, feeling a bit more at ease as time went on.

“You kiddos gonna play outside later?” Patton asked happily to the group. Remus grinned again, “Yup, now that we have our Prince here, our castle is complete!” he said was Roman nodded along. Virgil scoffed, “Am I playing Dragon Witch again?” he asked. “Oh don’t be like Emo! You play a great dragon!” Roman whined as Thomas snickered at Virgil’s playful scowl.

“You like games Thomas?” Logan asked curiously, “The twins are great at games in the forest.” he promised. Thomas looked at Logan and shyly nodded, “Yeah, tough there aren’t many kids around the house.” he said softly, especially during this covid stuff.

Logan beamed at that, “Well now you have brothers, right kids?” he asked as Remus was nodded along with Roman happily, Virgil gave him the peace sign with a relaxed smile. Thomas did smile at that with a nod at that, yeah, Logan was right. But, before he could say anything he found himself yawning. “Goodness, it is late.” Janus said looking at the clock, “Might have to change plans boys.” he said sadly.

Remus pouted, but Virgil tried to stifle a yawn himself as Roman did look a little sleep now that the other two started up. Patton giggled, “Come on kiddos, tomorrow you can play outside all day.” he promised them as they got up together.

Thomas sleepily followed them, as Logan looked at him, “Head onto bed, we’ll be up to tuck you in after the others.” he promised. Tuck him in? His mom and dad never did that. Sluggishly making his way upstairs, as his stomach was full for once and it was late, Thomas opened the door to his room on the second floor. “Woah!” he breathed out.

His room had new rainbow rug, with stars and planets on the ceiling that seemed to move on their own. Heck, it didn’t even look like there was a ceiling! Little lights danced around the room like fire flies and stuffed animals waved at him from the bed and walls. Thomas gazed around his mouth gaped open in awe as he sat down on his bed that had puppys and cats on it.

The door opened as he turned to see Logan, Patton, and Janus walk in, “Like it?” Patton grinned, “Jannie and I worked hard on it.” he told Thomas.

“I love it!” Thomas cheered as he hugged Patton and then Janus, then jolted away a little sheepish that he did that. But looking up he only saw bright smiles at him. “Glad to here it darling.” Patton cooed as he helped Thomas to bed. “But, tomorrow is another day, and we expect to see you back here soon.” “That’s right, wouldn’t do for you to be tired.” Janus teased him bopping Thomas’s nose.

Smiling at that, Thomas yawned again as Logan pushed the covers over him kissing his forehead along with the two other fathers. “Goodnight Thomas.” Logan said softly, “Sleep well.” Humming faintly as Thomas closed his eyes, feeling utterly exhausted for once since moving here.

“See you soon.” the three said in unison as Thomas fall into a dreamless sleep under warm covers.

Light filtered through his window as Thomas opened his eyes, lifting the covers only to find his room wasn’t colorful again. The stars were gone, and the walls were there dull grey.

He frowned, had it really all be a dream?