#garage door sanctuary point

[jackactuallywrites]

Hidden Paradise

Pairing: Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley x fem!reader

Rating: Explicit (detailed shagging)

Warnings: Unprotected sex and also shower sex which we all know is unsafe

Summary: You walk in on a man in the shower, it takes you seeing him in the skull mask a week later to realise it was Ghost, and he is very intrigued by your reaction

Notes: This absolutely wouldn’t be possible without @xxven my muse and pookie and beta reader who gave me the plot 🤍❤️ (also raven on TikTok for making a hot thirst trap that inspired a whole scene)

Word Count: 4,195 (I am very horny for ghost)

ao3 link

There was very little luxury to be found on a military base; your military fatigues were never soft, your boots were the cheapest given by the contractors, your bed squeaked every time you so much as moved an inch, and there wasn’t so much as a tealight allowed in the barracks.

However, you’d found a quiet sanctuary. Far from the rest of the buildings on the base, there was a small shower block, disused and forgotten about in favour of the newer, more convenient showers. The water pressure wasn’t all that great, and the tiles would probably never return to whatever shade of white they’d started out as, but all that mattered was that it was so wonderfully, blissfully quiet.

Silence was one of the hardest commodities to come across on a military base; there was always something going on, whether it be a training exercise with a hard-edged sergeant screaming at recruits or the grunts trying out whatever shiny new piece of equipment the government had seen fit to waste money on, but out there in the shower block, muffled by a copse of trees, there was nothing. Beautiful, precious, nothing.

Today had been yet another long lesson in tedium, worsened by the fact that your most beloved friends were out in the field, busy repairing the vehicles with whatever they could scavenge from the base. You already felt exhausted at the idea of how much paperwork you’d have to do after they’d torn through the place, and the day proved you right, with you having to go to every single place in the garages to check what stock had been taken as mechanics had an annoying habit of forgetting to write down what they’d used. It was long into the evening by the time you’d finally finished putting in the orders to replace every strange bit of junk the mechanics had used, and all you could think about was the long shower you were going to take.

The route through the forest was one of the only places you could get away with wearing your headphones and listening to music without getting scolded by the sergeant on patrol, and you took advantage of this privilege every time, blasting some classic disco music in your ears as you approached the shower block, blissfully unaware of the world outside. If not, you might have noticed the sound of the shower running.

As such, you walked into the block thinking of nothing but how your new eucalyptus shower steamer would smell, having got fairly good reviews online. You already had a favourite shower at this point, the one on the very end, with the best water pressure that the rusted old pipes could provide, though it had no door to speak of. You walked along the yellowed tile floor, passing by the empty showers until you finally reached your favourite one, only to find that it was very much not empty.

Standing under the sputtering stream of water was a tall, well-built man, his tan back glistening under the hundreds of droplets of water, highlighting the various white scars on his back, some of them small, some of them intimidatingly large. You couldn’t help but let your eyes wander down, admiring the muscles in his back and perfectly toned legs, as well as a surprisingly sculpted ass. Whoever he was, he was statuesque in his beauty, as though he had been carved out of marble, and as he turned around to face you, showcasing the golden hair that trailed down from his abs, you caught a glimpse of his shaft, thick and long, yet quickly covered by a large hand.

It was that movement that broke the lustful spell you were under, and your eyes finally stopped ogling his body and flicked up to his face. You didn’t recognise him, not his pale green eyes or his crooked nose, but you could absolutely recognise the outrage on his face, and you yanked down your headphones, keeping your eyes firmly above his waist, “I- I’m so sorry, I didn’t realise anyone was in here.” His voice was little more than a snarl, “Get out.” You had absolutely no desire to argue with a man built like that, so you gave a quick nod and hurried back out of the shower block, not willing to spend a single second more in his presence.

~

Since your encounter in the showers, not a single night had gone past where you hadn’t dreamed about the man, his body, his hands, the dark blond hair that led down his navel, and the thick veins on his forearms. It lurked in the back of your mind, eternally present as a lustful little memory to entertain you during the more boring moments of your day.

Yet again, you were in another meeting writing down what items had been used over the week and what needed to be ordered for the next month's exercise. It was made slightly more interesting by the fact that this time, you were working with the SAS, and not just that, but with some of the most feared soldiers there were, including the worst of the worst, Ghost .

You swore you could almost feel the insidious aura coming from the man in the skull mask, as though it was radiating off him in dark waves. When he spoke, his words were sharp and to the point, never expending more energy than was strictly necessary, and rarely directing his attention to you, sitting in silence and taking notes, not that you were complaining. Every time the man spoke, you felt the hairs on the back of your neck prickle as though your body was trying to warn you that he was dangerous. It was only toward the end of the meeting that you finally spoke up, standing and reciting everything that you’d written down in your notebook.

It was times like that where you’d have to put on a brave face as if you feared the room of men no more than a pack of kittens, making sure your voice was loud and firm, forcing them to listen to you. None of them seemed particularly interested; after all, you were a perfect, albeit boring professional, yet you remained undeterred, making eye contact with each of them. Even Ghost was looking at you; you could see those pale green eyes watching you from underneath his skull mask with a strange intensity. You remained undeterred, staring back at the man as you read out the various things that were in stock and what would have to be ordered, yet there was something niggling at the back of your head. Those eyes were strangely familiar.

It took you a second to remember, and then the barely buried memory came back: the beautiful man in the shower, his body glistening, his toned muscles, and the dark blond hair that covered his navel. The words in your mouth died on your tongue, and you saw Ghost’s eyebrow raise underneath his mask as if he was intrigued by your reaction to him. You cleared your throat, hoping that the heat you felt in your cheeks wouldn’t show up on your skin as you dropped your eyes back down to your notebook, pointedly ignoring him as you focused back on your task, ensuring that you hadn’t missed anything.

Inexplicably, Ghost spoke up, interrupting your admittedly dull recital of your list, “How soon can we get a restock of the M16 mags?” His question forced you to look over at him, and his pale green eyes seemed as though they were trying to drill right through your head. You refused to back down this time, meeting his gaze no matter how prevalent the image of his naked body was in your mind, even if you did stumble over your words as you flipped through the pages, “Those mags, uh, the ammo for the M16 that is, we ordered those last Tues-Wednesday , so they’ll be in by the end of this week.”

You couldn’t see his expression under his mask, but you could have sworn that it tugged in a way that suggested he was smirking underneath the black fabric, a touch of smugness in his eyes. Was he flirting with you? There was no possible way for you to find out in the middle of a full room, so you decided to put that tantalising idea to the side, wrapping up the last few items on your list and then glancing around the room, “If there’s anything else, please send me an itemised list by the end of the day.”

With that, the meeting was over, every soldier packing up their files, undoubtedly each one as bored as you, and you had little desire to spend any more time with them, especially with the suspiciously intense look Ghost was giving you, so you gave your farewells and left the room as quickly as you could, doing your best to rid your mind of the confusing thoughts whirling around in your mind. Ghost, the supposed ‘psycho’ killer, was flirting with you. Or perhaps threatening you. You weren’t entirely sure which. And yet, you had a strange desire to find out, that small part of you that longed to step into dangerous territory. But how could you? That meeting had been the only time you’d ever interacted with the man; other than your brief encounter in the shower, it didn’t seem like there would ever be another opportunity to be alone with him.

Unless.

Regardless of how outraged he’d been previously, he’d seemed entirely intrigued by you in the meeting, almost amused. You’d seen the direction he was headed; if your mind wasn’t already overtaken with delusional optimism, you could have sworn that he was striding in the direction of the old shower block with what seemed like great determination.

This was one of those deciding moments, a fork in the path where you got to choose what the outcome would be: adherence to your usual routine or something far more thrilling. You could almost feel the clock ticking in your head, your time running short, and for once, you decided to be brave and at least a little bit stupid, heading to your barracks to pick up your things before heading out toward the shower block, adrenaline pounding in your veins as you made your way through the small woods to the brick building.

Even from the outside, you could hear the shuddering of the pipes as they desperately pumped water, your heart beginning to pick up the pace as you pushed open the heavy wooden door, closing it softly behind you, now able to hear the pattering of water on the tile floor and see the black clothing draped over the bench that ran the length of the wall. You walked down the centre of the block, approaching the last stall on the end, and yet, you couldn’t take that final step. Everything below the waist was screaming at you to leap into the shower with the man, yet your brain conjured images of the humiliating HR meeting you’d be in if you had, in fact, entirely misinterpreted what were admittedly very subtle hints. You didn’t dare push over that line with a man so far above you in rank, but you weren’t prepared to entirely give up, so you merely slunk into the stall next to his, stripping off your uniform and hanging it on the backside of the door, pulling it to and surrendering yourself to an unsatisfying shower.

The shower head shuddered as you twisted the knob for water, a few spats of water dripping out, yet nothing more. There was a good reason you stuck to that end stall; almost every other shower there had been neglected to the point of failure. You took this as a sign to give up, turning around to get your things, only to find Ghost standing in the now open doorway.

There was nothing but a towel lazily wrapped around his hips to cover him up, his blond hair already soaked, water leaving little trails down his body, pulling your eyes down. You quickly snapped your attention back to his face, your hands already going to cover your chest and between your legs instinctually. Ghost’s eyes lingered on your body before finally flicking to the broken shower head, then back to your face. You could see that intrigued twinkle in his eyes as he gave you a slightly smug smirk, gesturing toward the other shower stall with his head, “Mine works. We should share.”

You almost couldn’t believe what he was suggesting. The exact situation had been playing out in your mind ever since you’d seen him naked, yet never once had you made the connection between your shower Adonis and Lieutenant Ghost. The two couldn’t be reconciled in your head, but you quickly decided that this was a problem to be solved later, if at all. You turned your non-functioning shower off, though slightly reluctant to use the hand covering your chest to do so, and then walked out of the stall, ducking under Ghost’s arm holding the door open for you, and rounding the corner into the warm stream of the only functional shower, allowing the water to wash away all the important questions that should have been asked, only focusing on the present moment.

Though you’d chosen to face away from him, you could still hear the noise of his towel hitting the wall as he tossed it aside, your entire body tensing up as you felt his presence behind you, the nerves nipping at the back of your mind. You didn’t dare turn to look at him, trying to find something else to focus on to quiet your frenzied brain, your eyes flicking to the one bottle of his on the floor in the shower, trying to figure out what scent ‘original’ was supposed to be, and whether one liquid really could be shampoo, conditioner, and body wash.

Your thoughts on his toiletries were brought to an instant halt at the first touch of his hand on your hip, a questioning touch as though he was gauging your interest before moving any further. He might have been feared special forces, yet here, you retained a level of control, of security. You relaxed into his touch, leaning back until you bumped up against his chest, and his arm snaked around your stomach, wrapping tightly around your waist as he stepped forward into the stream from the shower, his head dipping down to rest in the crook of your neck. You could feel his other hand trail a path up your thigh before it, too, wrapped around you, pulling you snug against him in a tight embrace, like a man starved for any sort of touch.

For a moment, the two of you remained in that simple intimacy, your arms resting on top of his, enjoying the sheer pleasure of his embrace. Your hands were the first to move, your fingertips gently trailing over the muscles in his forearms, admiring the strength in them, unable to hold back a smile as you saw the not-so-subtle way he flexed them for you. His hand moved then, and you followed them with your own, one trailing down over your hipbone to the top of your thigh, gently stroking the skin there, the other one shifting up until it was just underneath your breast, pausing right before he touched anywhere interesting.

Clearly, he wasn’t about to touch anywhere without your explicit permission, and you decided to test him, pulling his left hand up until it was settled over your breast. His fingers paused, and you felt the tenseness in his arms, yet after a beat, he stretched out his fingers, tracing a little pattern over the swell of your breast, circling your nipple before his hand covered your boob entirely, gently squeezing it in his hand. You could feel his breathing growing heavier, every exhale blowing air over the skin of your neck, but you had no intention of stopping, relaxing into his touch, letting your head fall back against his shoulder, your eyes closed. The hand on your thigh had grown tight, fingers digging into your flesh, and you began to move his hand further in to where you could feel a growing need for his touch.

The further you moved his hand, the tighter his grip on your chest got, pulling you closer against him until you could finally feel his hardness pressed against the small of your back. His clear excitement emboldened you further, and you pushed his hand firmly between your legs, letting his fingers slightly part your labia to rest on your clit. That action earned you a low growl from him, and he buried his face into your shoulder as he pushed his fingers further down, touching the slick wetness beginning to leak out of your needy pussy. The second he felt your wetness, he drew his fingers back from you, digging them into your hip and pulling you firmly against him, rubbing the bridge of his nose against your neck as though he was trying to ground himself in the moment.

You had no problem allowing him to take his time, focusing on the simple pleasure of the warm water on your skin and the heat emanating from his chest to your back. His hand moved back to your pussy, more determined than before, as he slid his fingers down your slit, gently probing your slick hole with his fingers. As he slowly slid one in, he let out a strangled groan, shifting his face so he could bite down on the flesh of your neck, his other hand massaging your breast as his finger began to easily slip inside you. He stretched his thumb up to rest on your clit as he gently began to pump his finger in and out of you, rubbing in little circles, and you couldn’t help but let out a little moan.

The slightest of noises from you seemed to spur him on, and he pushed another finger inside you, beginning to kiss and suck at your neck as he did so, your body easily accepting his two fingers, and so he followed it with a third, his dick twitching with excitement against your back as all three of his fingers sank inside you without resistance.

Whatever good sense you had left was beginning to dissipate in the haze of your lust, and you reached your hand behind you to wrap around his cock, slowly beginning to stroke him as he gently fucked you with his fingers. He rewarded you with a soft groan in your ear, and so you quickened your pace, beginning to pump his dick in earnest, wanting him to receive the same pleasure as you. Your body was eagerly opening up around him, and the last bit of your intelligence vanished as your desperation for him overpowered you, and you begged for stupidity in two words.

“Fuck me.”

There was no hesitance in Ghost’s touch now as he pulled his fingers out of you, turning you to face him and then bending down to grab your thighs and lift you up, pinning you to the cool, damp wall of the shower stall. You could see the lust in his eyes as he shifted to hold you with only one hand, the other quickly moving to his dick, positioning it at your slick entrance and then slowly beginning to lower you down onto him. There was no comparison to the pleasure you felt, not only from feeling him slide into you, but to watch his face as he did so, his open lips, the desperate look in his eyes, his gaze entirely focused on you as though you were Aphrodite herself. You sunk your teeth into your lip to stop yourself from moaning out loud as you felt him stretch out your insides, yet you let your hands dig into his shoulders, your nails raking his skin as you felt every inch of him.

When you finally sunk down to the base of his cock, he leant forwards to rest his head on the wall beside you, clearly struggling to contain his composure, his hand digging into the flesh of your thigh, the other splayed out on the cool tile wall. He took a second to breathe before he began to slowly thrust up into you, his hand shifting from your thigh to your hip to pin you in place. Even in your wetness, you could feel how big he was, filling you up so perfectly, and you arched your back against him, desperate to feel every inch of him inside you. His eyes were on you now, and he moved his hands from the wall to your lips, tugging your bottom lip out from between your teeth and issuing you a singular command, his gaze intense.

“I want to hear you.”

Even in your pleasure, you couldn’t stop yourself from obeying a command from your superior officer, and you let out the moans you’d been holding back, tightening your legs around his waist to pull him into you as much as possible, your fingers raking against his back as he fucked you, his hips beginning to move more forcefully against you. His fingers now moved to your hair, brushing the errant strands out of your face and then shifting down to cup your cheek, lifting your face, his voice soft, “Look at me.”

There was no mistaking the utter lust in his gaze when you looked up at him, yet you could also see quite a great deal of tenderness, of genuine care, which only served to heighten your pleasure, your hands moving from his shoulders to the back of his neck as you clung to him, desperately grinding your hips against him. He picked up his pace further yet still restrained himself from fully slamming into you, his grip like a vice on your thigh. His voice grew hoarser as he caressed your cheek with his thumb, clearly strained, “Touch yourself.”

In another situation, you might have felt insecure, yet you were entirely awash in lustful pleasure, and so you obeyed, reaching down with one hand to begin rubbing circles around your increasingly sensitive clit, feeling that same build of pleasure in your core as Ghost fucked you faster still, his expression growing more desperate by the second. He leant forward to whisper his final command against your lips.

“Come for me.”

Your body seemed honour-bound to obey him as your pussy clenched around his dick, your pleasure building until it finally crescendoed, with Ghost’s lips crashing onto yours as you finished, his hips moving frantically as he desperately fucked you, his thrusts stuttering as he finally shot his load deep inside you, his body crushing yours into the wall in a tight embrace. Your kisses became softer as the both of you came down from your frenzied high, his grip on your body loosening slightly, your death grip around his neck becoming less deadly.

With a satisfied groan, Ghost let himself sink to the floor, pulling you down along with him into his lap, letting his dick remain inside you as you settled more comfortably on top of him, resting against his chest as he lazily wrapped his arms around your lower back, cradling you against him. After such bodily heat, the comparatively cool water of the shower felt heavenly on your skin, washing away your intermingled sweat.

You probably could have slept there, with Ghost still buried inside you, yet he was not so spellbound. With a gentle movement, he pulled his softening length out of you, reaching over to grab the bottle of soapy liquid he’d left on the floor. Then, he repositioned you so you were now sitting in between his legs, his thick thighs boxing you in as he opened the bottle behind you. You weren’t entirely sure what he was doing, nor did you care, still awash in a pleasant afterglow. The touch of his fingers gently massaging the liquid into your hair was a heavenly surprise, and you practically melted into his hands, a human-sized pile of putty perfectly manipulated by him. He ran his fingers through the length of your hair, thoroughly soaping up every strand before he let the cool water wash away the suds.

Then, he got to work on your body. Never had you been so grateful for three-in-one soap as it meant you didn’t have to miss a second of his warm chest against your back as he began to soap up your body, his fingers incredibly gentle against your skin, paying attention to every single part of you, and then letting you lean back against his chest as the water washed everything away, his arms coming to rest around your waist. Every single care of yours seemed to follow the soap down the train as you relaxed into him, enjoying the way he rested his chin on your head as you closed your eyes, finally entirely at ease.

[fandomnerd9602]

Make a Change

Bambi!Wanda x Reader

Inspired by the parade scene from Princess Diaries 2

Wanda, the doe-human hybrid was still getting used to all of the changes in her life. First off, she was rescued from the Facility and ended up a nice hybrid Sanctuary. And then she met you and found herself falling in love with you, a human of all people.

But something was bothering you. The one thing Wanda didn’t know was that the Sanctuary was drowning. There was little support coming in at the time. Donations were scarce and humans were still frightened by the mere appearance of hybrids.

Your pal and benefactor Tony Stark did all he could but support was drying up faster than his father’s liquor supply. His words actually.

You tried to keep Wanda and the other hybrids filled with joy and keep them safe. Bud Natasha knew the truth. If things didn’t change fast, the Sanctuary would have to close its doors.

Tony proposed a Hail Mary idea. There was a city wide parade coming up and…

“I want you and a couple of the hybrids to ride in a car together”

“Me?” You asked with a raised brow

“You’re the one running it!” He answered. “Also Natasha and maybe…”

“Can I help?” Wanda asked a little unsure what was going on.

“Sure!” Tony answered, “the more the merrier. You know, you could be a supermodel”

Wanda smiles and stays close to you. “I’ll do it if you will” she whispered in your ear.

“We’ll sit together then” you answered.

The day of the parade had come. You and Wanda were loaded onto the backseat of a convertible.

The citywide parade was in full swing. Wanda was instructed by Stark to just sit there and wave. The simple act should be enough.

As the convertible turned out of the garage and onto the parade route street, you could tell all eyes were on you, Wanda and Natasha. But not exactly in the good way, their stares and glares pierced you. And if it was affecting you, then it was definitely affecting Wanda. Natasha was a little more resilient but Wanda, well if she was hurting, she was actually doing a better job hiding it. Her attitude was confident and royal like.

And then her eyes wandered and she saw her. A little cheetah hybrid girl, maybe two or three, her eyes were filled with tears. This little cheetah girl was surrounded by fellow hybrid children who were teasing her. Wanda’s heart immediately broke.

“Stop the car,” Wanda ordered.

Tony looked dumbfounded, “w-what? Why?”

“I said stop the car!” Wanda practically shouted. Tony stopped the car.

Wanda immediately bolted out of the car and walked over to the little hybrid girl. The crowd was silent at this point. Even the band playing behind you halted and froze.

You could see her, getting on her knees in front of the young cheetah girl. “Hi there im Wanda,” she said, her voice full of motherly love, “what’s your name?”

“Riri” the young girl replied.

“That’s a lovely name, Riri” Wanda’s attention turned to the hybrid kids bullying young Riri. “And may I ask why you were hurting Riri?”

“They were playing with my tail,” the young girl cried. She kept one of her thumbs in her mouth, obviously she had been separated from her mother at too young an age. “They said no one would adopt me. That no one would like my cat eyes or tail or ears”

“I like them. They’re so cute.” The doe assured her. “They’re all you”

You got up and walked over to Wanda and Riri. “Wanda…” you looked at them, an idea forming in your mind, “would Riri like to join us for the parade?”

“That sounds like a great idea!” Wanda’s eyes wandered to the entire rest of the hybrid children, “in fact, why don’t we all walk in this parade together?”

The young hybrids all got excited. Wanda offered you a little wink. She bent down and opened her arms, inviting Riri into them the way a mother would. Natasha, watching the whole exchange, simply smiled.

Riri happily jumped into Wanda’s arms. The doe hybrid looked to you. Without even a moment’s hesitation, you joined Wanda at her side and the parade resumed.

Wanda and you led the hybrid children out into the street, waving to the crowd of humans. You could see hearts breaking, people smiling and clapping. You turned to Wanda, she was like royalty among the common folk. Her presence was strong, resilient. She held tight to Riri with one hand and with the other, she reached for your hand. You took it without a second thought.

Little Riri slowly but surely stopped sucking on her thumb and began to wave to the crowd. For one moment, she was a princess.

The parade ended as Wanda handed Riri back to the adult she saw with the crowd earlier.

“You can visit me anytime, Riri” Wanda assured the little girl.

“Bye Wanda,” Wanda walked over to you, tears forming in her eyes.

“She’s an orphan. They’re all orphans” Wanda cries softly as she collapsed into your arms.

“I know” you whispered before kissing her forehead. “You did so good today”

“I could’ve done more” she responded, looking up to you. You leaned your forehead against hers, gently rubbing her antlers. The mere action brought Wanda some solace.

“Wanna go home and watch a movie?” You asked as you led her away.

“Yes please”

Later that night you got a phone call from the hybrid orphanage. You took all the info in and hung up.

“What was that?” Wanda asked.

“You did more than you realized, my doe” you smiled. “The orphanage called and…Riri just got adopted.”

Wanda began to cry happy tears as she hugged you tightly.

“I didn’t think…” Wanda tried to comprehend what to say as you quietly soothed her soul.

“You wanna know the secret to changing the world?”

“What?”

“You do it thru acts of random kindness” you reassured her. “You changed that little girls world today”

Wanda smiled, “I-I just looked at her and I saw my boys. I know we’ll find them some day.”

“I have no doubts my doe” you placed a kiss to her forehead.

You woke up in the couch the next morning to see Wanda asleep, her face buried in the crook of your neck. She awoke a split second later, facing you with a little blush on her face.

“Sorry,” she whispered, “I guess I fell asleep during the movie”

“Don’t be,” you smiled back, “I like having you close”

Wanda giggled, her eyes trailed from your eyes to your lips and back. You felt yourself pulling to her like magnets. Suddenly you were interrupted by a knocking at your apartment door.

You opened the door to find Tony standing there frantically. “You gotta see this!”

He produced a newspaper with a photo someone took of you and your doe human hybrid gal, leaning foreheads against one another and the caption: BREAKING BARRIERS.

“Wanda is famous. We got donations and corporate sponsors pouring in!” Tony explained with a smile.

Natasha came up behind him with a piece of paper, “Stark’s right. Just look at these numbers.” She handed you the paper and your eyes went wide.

“What is it, (Y/N)?” Wanda asked.

“W-Wanda,” you exclaimed, “because of your simple act of kindness, you helped us raise in five minutes what we haven’t raised in five months!!”

Wanda was in complete shock. The sanctuary was saved. Support was pouring in. All because of her act of kindness.

“Wanda you are amazing, you know that?” Tony asked, an idea flashed in his brain. “That’s it! You and Wanda!”

“What?” You turned to your pal.

“You and Wanda are the faces of our organization! I’m a genius! We need you and Wanda to be our spokespeople!”

“I-I don’t know” Wanda said uncertain, “I’m not much of a camera person”

“Oh come on,” Tony found himself begging you and Wanda. “Just one photo together. Please! For the article!”

You took Wanda to her favorite spot on the Sanctuary grounds. Tony and a photographer followed.

“One photo,” Tony promised, “just act like you love each other.”

Well who said anything about acting?

You rolled your eyes and sat down on the hilltop overlooking the Sanctuary. Wanda sat down behind you and leaned her head on your shoulder, giggling at what she was doing. Her laugh was so infectious you couldn’t help but chuckle a little too.

The photographer snapped the photo. Tony quickly looked at it and smiled. “Perfect!”

That photo became the symbol for co-existence between humans and hybrids. You and Wanda saw it in newspapers, ads, and websites and with it, came an influx of support for the charity and for hybrid rights. That photo also rests comfortably on the mantle of your fireplace. You and Wanda still look at it on occasion.

Tags: @lifespectator @aloneodi @supercorpdanbeau @scarletquake-n7 @family-house-of-m @holiday-house-of-m @iiconicsfan25 @iamnicodemus @pinklawyerwinnerzonk @russianredassassin @revanshand @olsenmyolsen

[captain039]

PART 6 Predator grounds (Cooper Howard)

Alpha!Cooper Howard (pre-war)x omega!reader

Alpha!Cooper Howard (The Ghoul) x omega!reader

Warnings: AOB dynamics, vault tech things, forced heats/ruts, eventual smut, age gap, angst? Experiments, needles, drugs, talks of pregnancy, first times, anxiety attacks, anxiety, forced claiming, mentions of rape, plus size reader, fat shaming.

Me to me: Finish the story’s you’re writing! 😡

Me to me also: oh look new idea 😘

Fricken roller coaster 👌🏻

Previous part <-

It’s strange. Coming back to the world, one you thought you knew the one you grew in. This, this wasn’t it.

Nora stared with you, the browns, yellows and little green. The rusted ruined cars, building and ship cargo. The overly hot sun.

“Come on, I used to live down there in Sanctuary hills” she whispers and you just nod following her down the path. There’s skeletons by the gate and you hold your breath as you go past before letting it go. You follow the woman through the shrub and into the nuke ruined homestead. She talks with a Mr.Handy while you’re staring at the world you can see past the broken stone wall. Your minds blank yet over running and you reach out for Nora instinctively. She stops talking as does the robot and she holds your hand following your gaze. The beta lets you hold her hand before you’re searching the ruined houses for anything you guess. After it’s clear this place has been ransacked the Mr. Handy robot, or Codsworth points you in the direction to the next city.

You follow Nora silently she’s got the gun and knows how to use it, you’ve got scared omega running through your veins right now. You rub the mating bite on your neck, gods you wonder if he’s alive, if they froze him again or he got out. You hope he didn’t get out as you pass what you think is a dead dog in the middle of the road. You almost gag seeing its insides and quickly avoid it while looking away. You continue down the road seeing a red rocket station and a bark making you and Nora jump. You frown as she aims her gun but what comes running from the garage doesn’t look like what was on the road. The dog wags his tail, tongue out happily as he sniffs you both intently before barking.

“Ok boy?” Nora asks kneel to pet him before looking around.

“No owner?” She asks glancing to you and you shrug.

“Good boy” she mutters petting the dog one last time before checking the station. It’s empty besides some medical items that look very out of date. The dog follows you the whole time sniffing around before your on the road again. You take in the broken buildings, broken road and weird smells, it’s been like this since the bombs dropped and you’ve been hiding away underground, forced for some breeding program when there were already people up here?

You hug your middle keeping your eyes on the ground before you hear shots.

“Stay here, hide in that building!” Nora says quickly urging you into the rundown store.

You hear more shooting and shouting, your spot in the dusty smelly closet is horrid but it keeps you from out there.

You don’t know how much times pass, but the shooting stops, the shouting stops too. You don’t leave your spot though. You hear your name called though and peek out the door and see Nora, you sigh in relief and head out hugging her quickly without thought. She’s panting slightly and sweaty but you don’t care.

“Sorry” you say letting go and she just smiles saying it’s alright.

“I found friendly people” she says and you nod following her. You meet with some survivors, Preston alpha, Mama Murphy beta, Sturges another alpha and two betas a man and woman who seem intent on arguing more than giving their names.

“Oh you’re not from around here” Mama Murphy says looking at you and you gulp a little.

“No, no you’re far from home, far from your mate” she hums and you frown a little.

“Hm I’m getting the sense he’s changed” she says frowning and your heart skips a beat despite not believing the woman.

“Mama Murphy come on” Preston sighs.

“Oh shush” she waves the man off.

Your group heads back to sanctuary hills. You stick close to Nora the whole way. You help her clean out her old house, keeping what’s useful like the old table, couch and mattress. Nora sets up the mattress outside trying to dust it off the best she can while you sit on the surprisingly stable old chair, head in your hands.

There’s a scattering that wakes him damned rad roaches thinking he’s an easy meal. He barely looks to blow the thing to pieces before sighing and getting comfortable again. It’s morning before he can sleep again and his clicks his tongue before moving. This bounty he’s been chasing enjoys running too much and he’s getting sick of it. One Charlie James, stole something from some high and mighty, he didn’t care, didn’t matter as long as he was getting paid. He needed the caps fast, he’s been running low on viles for a while now and the coughs started to hurt more.

He finds the rat bastard hiding in a shopping mall, holed up like a little rat with his trinkets. The man doesn’t get a chance to speak before there’s a hole in his chest and his heads coming off with a few saws. Cooper grunts as he raids the little hide out before he’s heading back to the small town to get his bounty. He wonders how he got this far, roaming America, his first instinct was to stay around Los Angelas see if he could find his ex wife and daughter so he could find you. Hell there hasn’t been a day in the last 200 years he doesn’t miss you, his body aches every time he thinks about you, about that bite he left on you, about how you’d react if you saw him. After they took you away he went haywire, feral as the doctor said, he was teeth and claws before he got turned into this. Now he was truely feral, well not in the ghoul sense feral. Heading back into town with a head strapped to his thigh made most people look away or dart inside while he went to the towns mayor. He got paid, left a head lighter and headed to the closest drug dealer he could find. While hes waiting he hears about sanctuary hills, about how a Vaultie is running it with her little mated omega that ain’t even hers. Running it with the minutemen apparently. He shrugs it off at first but what makes him clench his fist though is their description, laughing about how the omega was ‘fat’ then the exact description of your hair, your face then your name leaves their mouth… He snatches his viles throws caps at the man, shoots the bastard laughing about you in the leg and barges out the door ignoring the pissed off yelling. He’s storming through the town before he looks to a map to find Sanctuary hills He’s got a five days trip to get there.

It’s been four months since you got here, three months to watch people build and grow this place into something of a community, guess Mama Murphys got one thing right about this place. You’re tending to the plants, Nora’s out helping another settlement and you’re left in charge seeing as Preston would happily stand by and guard rather than lead and leave it in your very incapable hands. Hell Struges would be better at this, Marcy could easily bark around orders, you just want to curl up in your bed. It’s been hard, really hard, you’ve sworn and yelled at Nora more than once and you felt like an absolute shitty friend but she would smile, give you a hug before heading out. Preston tries to offer his comfort in his weird way, Sturges makes sure to not cross your path when you’re in a mood and Marcy fights back and poor Jun looks like he’s about to cry if you slightly raise your voice at him. You’ve avoided all other settlers like the plague and thankfully they only introduced themselves and moved on. Nora was the real hero, saviour, mayor of the town, she ran this place like she knew how to run a government. You bonded with her, your mind and body designated her as your person and she didn’t mind. She had that motherness about her, strong but kind. Though you missed your mate, Cooper, you hear people saying how you’re lucky you hadn’t followed his path into death, or how you hadn’t been plagued by sickness or him being gone. It made your hope spark that he was alive, frozen like you somewhere. It’s hard with limited medical access out here despite the clinic, your heats come, people’s smells feel like an attack every time, you have a nest you made, Sturges yelling over construction makes you want to tuck talk and run. It wasn’t like this before, you could live your life, with suppressants and scent blockers. You were heading down to the clinic, made after the ruined house was removed by the bridge when you see a figure across the bridge. You think it’s Nora or a settler at first but the way he’s standing has your neck hairs standing up. You signal the guard standing by the clinic having a small chat and she’s up instantly heading to the gate. Despite the gate open and this place being friendly with most, sometimes raiders or other hot headed people think they can take on a community. You’re weary as the stranger approaches the gate and the guard Kayla simply nods and he’s let in. Not a raider then thankfully.

You go into the clinic smiling at Jun before your body tenses, a scent invaded you and your mind reels back to Cooper. It feels like a bullet, quick hitting and build up flaring. You turn seeing the stranger, he’s hidden under his cowboy hat and cowboys outfit. Your body shakes at the familiarity of the outfit, the scent that hits your nose when a soft breeze comes. You can’t speak or say anything as he just stands there. Your mate bite seems to flare up in response knowing who gave it to you is here. What lands a killing blow though is that he walks away, walks down the road heading into the guns and ammo store. You let out a noise sounding like some strangled cat crying and take the extra long route back to Nora’s house where you slam your door shut and hide under your blanket.

[bby-namjoon]

OldFriend!Mafia!Taehyung: First Love

(AU: where Tae was your bestfriend in high school and one day he vanished, but you meet again 10 years later and he has some secrets to hide)

{Part 1} {Part 2} {Part 3} {Part 4}:

———————————————————————

“I’m excited!”

“Why?” He laughed, turning onto his street.

“I don’t know, I haven’t seen your house yet and I just wanna see how you live! I think it’ll be nice to just see what you call home”

“Well, we’re here”

You turned your attention back out of the front windscreen and gasped, “this is your house? No way”

He’d turned through a pair of black steel gates before proceeding slowly up his driveway and stopping short of his large garage door. From first glance you could tell that his house was atleast twice the size of yours and far more modern. It’s high hedges made the lavish property feel safe and secluded, like this plot of land was its own sanctuary away from the outside world, but when you thought the exterior was beautiful, your jaw practically dropped as you stepped inside.

The first thing you noticed was the marble floors that stretched the entire expanse of the property, everything was large and beautifully designed, his love of art and music showing through the sculptures and paintings littered around the house, brightening up the neutral monochromatic themes that recurred throughout most of his rooms, just enough to add some character to them. Even his bathrooms were beautiful, both of them holding sleek granite sinks and chrome furnishings, the only thing differing between them was that one had a large roll top bath stood in the corner whilst the other had an enclosed glass shower. You continued to follow him around his home, watching as he pointed out the empty guest rooms and his office, telling you how most of his business gets taken care of at home and that his closest team often come over to work alongside him, coming and going throughout the week as needed.

The final room on the tour was his bedroom. As soon as you stepped inside you could smell his cologne, the last spray of it obviously still circulating around the room from where he’d gotten ready before your rooftop date earlier in the evening. He’d used his connections to set up a romantic sunset picnic for you both, where he used the slight breeze as an excuse to have you sit between his legs and hold you close as you fed eachother strawberries, feeling as though you were a million miles away from the bustling city of Seoul that continued it’s course beneath you.

If Taehyung knew how to do anything, he knew how to centre piece a room. Much like the grand piano in his living room, or the granite island in his kitchen, his king size bed sat proudly against the wall where it was boxed in by a bedside table on either side, it’s white sheets looking pristine and freshly made, making you have to resist the sudden urge to throw yourself onto it, burying yourself beneath his feather down duvet. He let you peek into his well organised wardrobes and drawers before finally pushing back his curtains and opening up a set of french doors that took up much of the wall on the far side of his room, his hand finding yours as he led you outside with him. The doors had brought you out onto a balcony that looked over his dimly lit, flower lined garden and across the distant tree tops to the city skyline, and you couldn’t describe how taken aback you were. Everything about this house from its architecture to the surrounding views was just amazing.

He pulled you over to sit on his outdoor chairs, a smile on his face. “You’re so cute, the whole time you were just like” he paused to pull a face of awe and you laughed, leaning back in your chair.

“I can’t believe you live like this, it’s crazy. I mean, I knew you lived in a nice house growing up, but this? This is just next level.”

“Thank you, I put a lot of my money into this house because I spend most of my time here, but I dunno, I still don’t feel as at home as I do when I come to yours.”

“Really? Why?”

“I guess because this house is so big and it’s just me, it just feels empty you know? I just have all this space with nobody to fill it, but your house is cosy and warm and I like that. 1st world problems amirite?”

“Wanna swap?”

“I’ll move in tomorrow,” he chuckled. “What would you have done if I lived in a horrible area or in a really tiny goshiwon?” (a small one bedroom apartment in Korea that usually consists of a bed and a desk and you share a kitchen/bathroom with others on your floor).

“Well, if you lived somewhere dangerous and you were at risk or you felt unsafe then I’d ask you if you wanted to come and live with me instead, and if you lived in a goshiwon I wouldn’t care because we’re always in eachothers personal space anyway,”

“That is true,” he smiled, “but aren’t you cute.”

“Were you checking if I’d still hang around if things go downhill and you lose all your money?”

“Pfft, no”

“Well just to be clear I wouldn’t care if you were rich or poor, Kim Taehyung. You’re still a good man at heart and that’s all that really matters to me,”

Your words made his heart squeeze because he didn’t agree, he didn’t think he was a good man. He’d told himself that if by the third date he was certain you both wanted to be together, then he would tell you everything, but until then he had to continue to swallow his guilt as if there was nothing to hide.

“Do you wanna stay the night?”

“I haven’t got anything with me,”

“You can wear my clothes, and I have a spare toothbrush you can use”

“Alright then,”

When you got ready for bed he let you look through his T-shirt drawer to pick out what you wanted to sleep in, your hands automatically gravitating towards a white T-shirt with a big design on the front.

“I like that shirt, I have it in black too, I think”

“You should wear the black one! Where is it?”

“Are we really gonna be wearing matching couple shirts before we’re even a couple?”

“Don’t act like you don’t love it, I know you,”

He smiled, reaching into his drawer and pulling out the darker version of your chosen top along with some comfy bed trousers, leaving you to skip off to the bathroom and get changed. When you returned you were bare faced with your hair tied up in a bun, your body clad in nothing but a pair of knickers and his oversized shirt which stopped at your mid thigh, and when you saw him in his matching shirt you couldn’t help but squeal.

“We’re so cringe, I love it” you giggled, and you saw the smile creep onto his face as he failed to conceal how much he was enjoying this moment, no matter how clichè it was. He pulled you closer to him so he could have a proper look at you, a playful smirk tugging at the corner of his smile as his eyes wandered down your body, taking in how good you looked in his clothes as a familiar feeling of arousal started to rise within him, causing him to quickly try and cloud his brain with any other thoughts, something that was easier said than done as you pulled him over to the mirror to take a picture together, your bodys now pressed against eachother as he put his arms around you, smiling for the camera.

“These are so cute! Look!”

They really were cute.

“Send me those,”

“I expect to see them printed onto giant posters and stuck up around the house” you smiled as you sent the photos to him.

“As if I’d put them up and let other people see how good you look right now,”

You were surprised at his reply but you laughed, “I’m stood here with messy hair and no makeup on, people would probably think someone had a gun to your head to take these pictures with me”

He laughed, “well I think you look sexy in my clothes, you look way better than I would for sure”

“Shut uppp” you smiled, “and stop looking at me like that!” You reached up to cover his eyes and he caught hold of your wrists, peeking over your palms.

“Look at you like what?”

“You know how!”

“I don’t, enlighten me”

“Your eyes go all soft and you just look at me with a little smirk on your face! Stop!”

“Why? Does it get to you, Y/N?” He cocked an eyebrow and the smirk came back, making you exclaim out of frustration as you pulled your hands away from his and ran over to the bed, hiding yourself under the covers.

He laughed, following after you and hugging the mound your body made through the duvet, “you’re so annoying,”

“And you love it,”

“No I don’t.”

“Yes you do,”

“Shut up.”

He chuckled as you moved around underneath him, finally re-emerging into the open air. You were a little surprised at how close his face was to yours but you didn’t react, just closing your eyes to let him brush some stray strands of hair from your forehead. You felt his lips follow soon after, pressing a kiss just above the space between your eyebrows.

“I do wanna kiss you on the lips but I know we’re supposed to be behaving ourselves,” he spoke lowly, his voice making you open your eyes again to look up at him.

You tried to hold back your smile, playing it cool. “Well, it could technically be a goodnight kiss? We did just go on a date after all”

“Hmm, that’s true” he hummed, his gaze moving slowly from your eyes to your mouth as he edged a little closer. “Behaving is no fun anyway, right?”

“Someone’s not feeling shy anymore,”

“What can I say? Seeing you in nothing but my shirt has that effect on me” he smiled, closing the gap between you both as he manouvered around the duvet, careful not to break the kiss as he joined you under the covers. A shiver was sent up your spine as goose bumps broke out across your skin, your warm body obviously too sensitive to handle the touch of his icy fingertips. “Sorry, baby” he mumbled against your lips as he hooked an arm around you, making sure he was as close to you as possible to warm you up again, but his free hand was unable to hold back from wandering, carefully tracing itself up your leg before stopping at the thigh, giving it a squeeze, thoughts of him kissing and nipping and trailing his tongue up the soft skin now flashing through his mind, making him realise how desperate he was to have you writhing and moaning under his mouth, just the thought of it was intoxicating.

That was the first night you’d ever shared a bed together, all the other cuddles and erasure of eachothers personal space was usually not able to get this far as he’d tell you he had to go cause he has work early the next day, when in fact he was just heading out on his nightly shift of dealing, leaving you to sleep alone, none the wiser. Still, you took the moment in, your mind wandering back to the way he’d gripped and traced your thighs, fingers teasing the waistband of your underwear before tearing himself away and hiding his face in your neck, his lips still pressing kisses but softer this time, mumbling how much you mean to him as he gingerly tip-toed around the 3 words he knew he felt but wasn’t quite ready to speak into existence, his aura changing from needing release to needing affection, almost giving you whiplash as he did so.

He was mysterious to you, you wanted to keep searching his soul until you worked out what the missing puzzle piece was but you didn’t know where to start. Instead, you just enjoyed the moment, appreciating the way the sunlight that had broken through the crack in the curtains graced his face, illuminating how pretty he was.

You wished you could stay like this forever, wrapped up in his arms as even in his sleep he held you closely, never wanting you to leave his embrace because it brought him comfort. Comfort to know that you were here, with him, happy and safe and content. It’s all he wanted.

Sadly though, all good things must come to an end.

—————————-

Tae spat onto the rain covered pavement, leaving a small puddle of red to spread out on the grey tarmac, blood trickling down from his nose and onto his white dress shirt, mimicking the pattern of the raindrops that had now soaked through his clothes. This wasn’t how the night was supposed to go.

He got back to his car, bloody knuckles scraping against the inside of his trouser pockets, sending a familiar yet out-dated pain to course through his nerves as he pulled out his phone, sending a message to his boys about the event that had just taken place.

It was supposed to be a quick job, a quick job that if completed would mean that he could spend the whole night with you tomorrow, but instead, it was a dirty trap. The deal had gone wrong and Taehyung was jumped by 3 men, all of them trying their best to overpower him and drag him to the floor, expecting to get away with the money and the drugs, but Tae wasn’t the weak fool they expected him to be. Despite the odds not being in his favour, he walked away with all the goods he arrived with, leaving the men with nothing but bullet wounds and broken bones.

He slumped back into the drivers seat, a dull ache pulsating through his right eye after sustaining multiple hits to the side of the face, his split lip throbbing mercilessly, yet he didn’t react. It had been a while since something like this had happened, but he’d been through far worse during his time in the industry, the scars literred across his body were proof of that.

To him, the bigger problem was that he knew he had to avoid you for a week or two, he needed enough time for his face to heal before seeing you again. Sure, he could lie and say he was mugged, or a crazy person attacked him in th street, but his pride was far too great for that. He’d never admit a false defeat.

The first lie of a business trip in Busan lasted a few days, believable enough for him to avoid having to see you, but he made sure to call and text as much as he could, wanting to make it clear that he wasn’t just avoiding you altogether.

“Boss, I caught wind that Yongguk isn’t happy about what happened that night you fought his men. He thinks you dishonoured him and he wants payback.”

Taehyung scoffed, “he wants payback? What is wrong with that guy? He’s the one that ordered for the deal to go bad, it’s not my fault his men aren’t trained well enough to take on one man”

“I know, but we’ve always known that he’s fucked up. Apparently two out of the three men he sent to you died, so he wants to even the playing field, I’m not sure if that means to come and kill you or any of us but he’s got a plan brewing.”

“Well I’m not gonna let him or anyone else hurt you guys, they can come for me all they want, but you’re not getting harmed, I can tell you that much.”

“No, we will stand alongside you. What’s the plan?”

“Well we’ll have to find out some more info first so go with Hoseok and Jungkook and try to find out as much as you can. We’ll gather here tonight at about 10 to talk it over.”

“Yes, boss.”

“Thank you.”

With a bow of his head Jimin left Tae’s office, leaving him alone to think about everything that was suddenly coming his way.

His phone started to ring, snapping him out of his thoughts. Y/N flashing up in bold across his screen.

“Hey Tae,”

“You alright, babe?”

“Yeah, I just miss you..you’ve been so m.i.a lately”

“I’m sorry, I just- after the Busan trip I felt a little unwell..I think I’ve come down with something and didn’t want to get you sick too, but believe me I miss you aswell”

“Oh no, what’s wrong?”

“Uhm I’m not sure really, I keep getting headaches and feeling sick”

“Oh no, rest lots and make sure you eat enough, do you need anything?”

“No thanks baby, I’m good. I’ll be sure to look after myself so I can see you again soon, I promise I’ll spoil you to make up for lost time” he frowned, feeling guilty for all the lies he’s told over the past week.

“You don’t need to, just seeing you again will be enough,”

“Aren’t you cute,”

“The cutest,” he could hear your smile through the phone and it made him feel warm, “now get some rest, I want you to be better as soon as possible! No excuses!”

“Yes ma’am! I’ll try my best and I’ll see you soon, thank you for calling me, I don’t deserve you”

You laughed a little, “shut up, there’s no need to thank me! I’ll see you soon, Tae” you smiled, and even though he couldn’t see you he smiled too,

“See you, y/n”

When you hung up he sighed, putting his head in his hands. He couldn’t keep this up for much longer.

—————————————

That evening tae invited his boys over for them to relay any information they found so they could devise a plan of action against Yixing and whatever he was plotting.

“We need to take him out, Tae. The longer he’s around, the more shit he’s gonna cause. He’s insane.” Yoongi spoke up, shaking his head at the information Jimin told to the group.

“I know, but it’s not as simple as that. We need to be tactical. If we know he’s planning to ransack us at our next shipment pick up, we’ll be on high alert. We’ll change our formation. It’ll only be the start so we need to keep two steps ahead, but the fact we have the information means we’re heading in the right direction.”

“We could set up a decoy shipment? We could reroute and pick up from a different dock? That’ll buy us some time?”

“Good idea, let’s work this out”

The boys continued to brainstorm their ideas for the next few hours, but little did Taehyung know that you were on your way over to surprise him with some dinner, expecting him to be in bed unwell.

When you arrived you knocked on the door just as Yoongi was coming out of the kitchen, a bottle of beer in hand. He looked through the spyhole, seeing you stood holding a bag of food. “I got it!” Yoongi called out, thinking you were the delivery girl for the dinner they’d ordered.

He opened the door and you were confused, “is Taehyung here?”

“Uh yeah, but I can just take it, thank you, have a good night”

He took the bag from you and you you furrowed your eyebrows, stopping the door with your hand as he went to close it.

“Wait-I’m confused, who are you?”

“Why does it matter? Taehyung is here, we ordered this on his account, but he’s busy so I answered the door”

“I’m not a delivery person?”

“Then who are you? Why do you wanna see Taehyung so badly? Oh god, did he hook up with you? I-“

“What? No?” You felt a weird sensation in your stomach, had he been hooking up with other girls? All of this was making you feel uneasy. Something was going on. “Can you just get him? He’s my friend and I was bringing him dinner because I thought he was sick.”

The man in front of you looked confused, he hadn’t seen or heard of you before. “What’s going on? Is the order wrong?”

Perfect timing.

When Tae appeared beside Yoongi you gasped at the bruises on his face, his bottom lip still swollen and scabbed from being split. You saw his eyes grow wide and he felt his heart fall into his stomach. He didn’t expect you to be here.

“This girl said she’s your friend and she made you dinner cause you’re sick?”

“Yeah Tae, I thought you were sick. Not battered and bruised, what’s going on? What happened to you?” You were dying to cup his face and kiss his bruises better but you knew he was keeping something from you, so you stood your ground.

Yoongi looked between you and Tae before backing up, sensing the tension in the air. “I’ll just go put this in the kitchen..”

Taehyungs heart was beating out of his chest, he almost wished Yoongi hadn’t left you two alone, he didn’t want to get into a fight with you. He didn’t want things to go like this.

“Are you gonna answer me or what?” you crossed your arms, looking up at him, waiting for him to give you an explanation.

He stepped out the house and closed the door behind him, blocking out the sound of the other male voices that were flooding towards you from the living room.

“I uhm..I don’t really know what to say..”

“What do you mean you don’t know what to say? You seemed to have a lot to say before when you were making up lies about being sick”

His head was spinning as he tried to think of a response, so instead he just bit his bottom lip, looking at the floor. He didn’t have the confidence to look you in the eyes.

“Are you just not interested in me anymore? Is that it? That guy asked me if I was one of your hookups, is that what you’ve been doing this whole time? Am I just one of your throw away girls?”

“What? No! I’m not hooking up with anybody! I only want to be with you, nobody else! There’s never been anyone else!”

You felt your chest tighten at his words. “How can I believe you when I know you’re still keeping something from me?”

“I just don’t want things to change, I know as soon as I tell you the truth you’re gonna see me differently and I’m scared of that..I-I don’t want to lose you again.”

You suddenly felt scared, maybe you didn’t want to know the truth.

“I’m scared now too, but just tell me. I want to know.”

He took a deep breath, thinking it all through. He realised that there was no way out of this now, and that he had to finally tell you the truth. The jig was up.

“Okay, fine..but can we talk about this in my car? I don’t want anyone listening.”

You nodded, “yeah, fine.”

He disappeared back into the house for a moment to retrieve his keys, trying his best to psych himself up for what was about to happen. He wasn’t sure how you were going to react, the enclosed space of his car possibly becoming the worst place to talk if you end up shouting, but it was too late to go back on himself now. He’d wasted enough time.

Once you both sat down in the front seats you turned to face him while he focused on the steering wheel, still too afraid to make eye contact.

You looked at his swollen, busted lip and the shadows of bruises that took over the side of his face. Had he been mugged? Who would do something like this to him? Why wouldn’t he just tell you?

You suddenly felt a swirl of anxiety in the pit of your stomach and you just wanted to know the truth. Whatever it was, you just had to make sure he wasn’t in danger.

“Tae, please just tell me, I’m worried about you.”

“Please promise me you won’t hate me,”

“What?”

He looked at you for the first time this evening, his eyes panicked. “If I tell you, please don’t hate me. I’ve been scared to tell you this whole time because I’m scared you’ll hate me and you won’t want me in your life anymore. I mean, I wouldn’t blame you, but I don’t want to lose you, not again.”

The anxious swirl returned, this time in the form of a tsunami as it moved to engulfed your chest, your eyes still on his bruised ones as he pleaded to you.

“I-I can’t promise that because I don’t know what you’ve done, Tae. You know me, I will try my best to understand you because I don’t want to lose you either, but we can’t work through something unless I know what it is.”

He took a deep breath, seeming defeated, but he knew you were right. He couldn’t expect you to promise that when he knew the kind of person he was.

“Okay..I’ll tell you.”

And with that, he turned back to the steering wheel, his gaze on his lap, and he told you everything. He told you about the real business his family had been involved in growing up, the trading of arms and drugs and any other illegal substance you could think off. All of which became his after his father had died. All of which became his and that’s why he disappeared.

He told you about his men, one of which you’d met at the door, and how without them he’d never have made it this far, because even though he was their boss, they were a team and together they ran the underground scene.

He told you about the things he’s done and the things he’s seen in order to to get to where he is today and you couldn’t even talk. You were in shock. You watched as he gripped the steering wheel, his eyes closed as he thought back on his career and the life he leads.

Finally he told you about his face and why he’d been avoiding you. He was too scared to let you know about the real him. The real him that laundered and blackmailed and fought in back alleys in the middle of the night after a deal’s gone bad. The real him that killed people. Albeit to stay alive, but he still killed.

He looked in pain as he wrapped up his explanation, his eyes threatening to brim over with tears. He really was a terrible person. He was selfish to expect you to stay. He was wrong to even bring you into all of this, lulling you into a false sense of comfort. He was disgusting and he hated himself.

“I just-I just didn’t want you to know me as this person, I didn’t want you to get wrapped up in my life and the shiftiness that comes along with it. I wanted you to see me as a better person, someone that reminded you of teenage me, of the good memories we had together, but-but I realise now that that’s not fair. You deserve better than this, better than me. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

You saw the brimming tears finally roll down his cheeks and he wiped them away. The silence in the car becoming deafening.

You couldn’t process anything he had just said. Being a gangster was one thing, selling drugs and buying guns, but murder? He was a murderer.

You felt your body shake with agitation, you felt sick.

How could he be capable of that? With his own bare hands? The same hands that held yours. The same hands that pulled you close to him and wrapped you in a hug. The same hands that ran through your hair and held your face as he kissed you.

“Please say something..” he sniffed as he turned to you, trying to find some kind of emotion on your face.

“I uhm..I think I need to go. I-I’m sorry but I’ve gotta go.”

Your gaze flashed up to his before gathering yourself and getting out, keeping your head down as you rushed back across his front garden and down his drive, almost reaching the front gate when you heard him call after you.

“Y/N, please! Wait! What does this mean?” You knew he wasn’t asking about your almost relationship, but more so whether or not you’d ever speak to him again.

You stopped in your tracks, turning back to him, you wished you hadn’t after seeing his face. He looked like a kicked puppy. You felt a twang in your chest as you fought between your head and your heart, but in the end you decided to stay neutral.

“I need some time to think, Tae. I’ve gotta go, I’m sorry.”

You tore yourself away from him and hurried out the gate, almost bumping into the real delivery boy on your way out.

You practically ran back to your car, locking the door behind you as you rested your head against the steering wheel, closing your eyes.

You couldn’t believe it.

[yeonju-nymphea]

⋆☁˚ bottle episode | c.bg

pairing: choi beomgyu x gn!reader. genre: fluff. wc: 1k. warnings: mentions of food and poop

summary: home is where the heart is. sometimes that home is shared with others.

"Oh, sorry, " The loud creaks of the rooftop door almost drowns out their voice, "I didn't think anyone would be up here." 

Beomgyu turned around and there you were, dressed in what you would call your most unflattering outfit, even if Beomgyu would argue otherwise. But, before he could say anything back, you disappeared. The sound of your footsteps faint, almost undetectable, yet Beomgyu's ears were ringing at the sound.

Beomgyu doesn't believe in love at first sight, but if he did, that was the moment he knew that he would do anything to be madly and deeply in love with you. Ever since seeing you in the harsh backlighting of the stairwell, he couldn't get you out of his mind.

Finding himself gravitating towards the rooftop more and more, in hopes that he'll run into you up there. The rooftop became his third home, the first and second being his apartment a few floors down and his best friends.

Months and months past, and Beomgyu would find himself going up there whenever his schedule permitted it, sitting at the dingy patio set he found and cleaned up at the roof, surrounded by the sounds of city night life, basking in the light of the stars above him, and in the company of the plants he brought up; the whole universe embracing him in its arms. 

The rooftop, unbeknownst to Beomgyu, had a second resident. Someone who found the old patio set and brought it up there, someone who watered the plants that they assumed their owner had abandoned, and someone who couldn't get the muffled sound of the man strumming his guitar through the doorway.

You had wished you didn't run away so fast, but now found yourself unable to stop thinking about the red-haired man whose voice you have never heard. And even though it has been months since you've run into him, you found yourself going back towards the rooftop. Praying to the universe, maybe this time I'll see him again; and until the universe answers your prayers, you'll continue to make the roof your home. 

"This is my favorite place in the whole world!" Beomgyu exclaimed. His hair wasn't red anymore, recently dyed brown. And there, following him close behind in complete awe, the rooftop's 2nd resident. 

"This is your favorite place?" To which Beomgyu nodded, the excitement almost radiating off of him.

"Look, there's my plants," he points to the 2 plants you've been watering, "Thursday and Sputnik, I'm usually not good with keeping plants alive but somehow these 2 lived. Here, if you stand right here you can get a great view of-"

You let Beomgyu ramble on. You met him 2 months ago, he was friends with your best friend's cousin, around the time you gave up hope on the red-haired man on the roof, and yet he was the man you were looking for this entire time. Funny. You start laughing to yourself.

"-if the time's right the stars seem a little bit brighter up here." He pauses as he hears your laughter and turns to grab your arms, "what's so funny?"

"You know that's my patio set, I found it at a garage sale. I think Thursday and Sputnik like it."

"Wha-what do you mean?" Beomgyu's excitement turned to confusion.

"And if you look right over there, you can see the fountain. It's pretty late so you'll think no one would be over there, but this one couple goes by the fountain every week to stargaze." You take a glance over to Beomgyu. You can see his eyes darting around as he's trying to understand what you said to him. "Beomgyu, I'm the one that's been watering Thursday and Sputnik. I'm also guessing you're the red-haired man I ran into when I first moved here."

It all clicked. "You were wearing a hoodie with Robert Patterson on it right?"

The rooftop quickly jumped Beomgyu's list, from his 3rd home to his 2nd.

A secret sanctuary and neither of its residents dared to share it with anyone else. You guys did everything up there. You built Lego flowers, made pillow forts, ate takeout from the restaurant across the street. You celebrated everything and anything you could up there.

~

"Happy birthday to you!" Beomgyu grabs Robert and gives him a kiss right on his forehead as he squeezes him a little too tightly.

"Beomgyu stop! You're hurting him!" You quickly tug Robert out of his grip. "My poor Robert, being abused by his aggressive dad."

Beomgyu softly taps Robert's stuffed duck head, "It's okay Robert told me he likes tight hugs."

~

Confetti showers you as you open up the rooftop door, and you're greeted to the sight of Beomgyu holding out a bunch of brown balloons.

"What's all this for?" You ask, grabbing the balloons as Beomgyu starts to struggle to put a party hat, also brown, on you.

"You pooped today!" Beomgyu's excitement is comical.

"This is for my poop?"

"You've been constipated for a week, I think this is a perfect time to celebrate." The patio table was covered in food and treats, a lot of cheeses, spicy ramen, and takeout from the curry restaurant that always makes you poop.

~

Beomgyu blows out the candles on his cake. "Congrats on Masters," it said. The rooftop, now decorated with fairy lights and lanterns, was covered with pictures of League of Legends Champions, printed from a printer that desperately needs a new cartridge.

"Thank you so much," Beomgyu pulls you into a hug, one as tight as the one he gave Robert on his birthday, "You really didn't have to do this."

"You've been staying up all night for weeks trying to climb, of course we were gonna celebrate it." Reassuring Beomgyu that this isn't a stupid celebration to have.

Of course, it was a stupid celebration to have. But as long as you were celebrating together, all the stupid things don't feel so stupid. The stupid little rooftop the both of you put your entire hearts into for months.

It was your home.

The multiple plants you guys take care of together(Beomgyu isn't very good at watering them), the pieces of random decorations and furniture you left up there(2 chairs covered in a Twilight blanket and pillows you treat as your sofa), and the photo album, almost bursting with the number of photos you guys have taken up there.

Eventually, both of your leases end, and with that ends the time you shared on the rooftop. All of the stupid celebrations you've had, people watching, stargazing, movie binges; left as a fond memory of the rooftop you two shared. The rooftop was now empty. To the innocent bystander it seemed like nothing happened up there, it just always the old dingy rooftop of an overpriced apartment building.

But to the rooftop's couple, it was the best story they have could ever told.

[unscrupulousartist]

hellerby fic, part 3/10

10 March 1929

Like most days since returning to the Lackadaisy, Mordecai woke in his modest one bedroom apartment between soft cotton sheets. Unlike most days, he was woken by a hyperactive Ivy Pepper.

"Good morning!" She cheered, bounding across his little room to pull open his curtains. Leafy plants sat on the white windowsill. It's already mid morning, but the North facing windows denied the worst of the sunlight from his personal sanctuary. "I need you to drive me to St Charles!"

Groaning, Mordecai pulled a pillow over his head. "Ask Viktor."

"Viktor's tired from the Kehoe run."

"I'm tired from the Kehoe run. Or have you forgotten, it was twilight when we returned."

Little hands took hold of the edge of his blankets and yanked, exposing him. "Viktor never betrayed my trust to work with the enemy," she huffed and grabbed his pillow.

He hissed. "You can't keep using that excuse to—to—bully me into doing what you want!"

"I can," she propped her hands on her hips. "And I will. Now get dressed." Sticking her tongue out at him, she spun around to stomp out into the main room. He took notice of her dress; a more conservative cut, reminiscent of something his mother might have worn to church, had his mother paid any attention to fashion.

Rolling onto his back, he allowed himself a moment to stare at the ceiling and rub the sleep from his eyes. At length he sat up, running his claws through his fur to attempt at taming the inevitable bedhead. Partially dressing, he ventured after Ivy to make his way to the tiny bathroom.

Over the years, Mordecai had collected a number of items to decorate his home. The initial design had, of course, been plotted under Mitzi's careful eye. It showed most in the cozy sitting area, with curved plush chairs clustered around a little fireplace, mostly ignored in favour of the desk set up adjacent to the kitchenette. At the time, Mitzi insisted it was for her own comfort, and indeed she had spent many afternoons sprawled across his otherwise unused chaise to complain about Zib, or Atlas, or Church, or whichever poor soul had evoked her trivial anger that day. Now, it's where Ivy sat.

"Aren't you ready yet?" She kicked up her feet, frowning at him.

"If you expected expediency, you should've called ahead," he left the bathroom door open as he fished for his brush. "What are you dressed up for? Where are we going?"

"Nevermind what!" She pointed a finger at him, then proceeded to outline a series of complex directions—no doubt pulled from the depths of her memory.

He rolled his eyes, but let her rant as he brushed his teeth and wandered around the apartment watering plants. Her voice followed him back into his room as he finished up his routine, purposefully going slow to rile her up. Taking a cue from her tasteful earrings and necklaces, he donned his favourite cufflinks and picked out his nicest shoes.

"Finally!" She jumped up while he pulled on his jacket. "Why do you take so long!?"

"I could go back to bed," he reminded.

"No, no, no!" Scooping a long box under an arm, she moved to push him towards the door. "Let's go!"

"How did you get in, anyway?" He asked, pausing to lock up. "Do I need to dispose of my doorman?"

"What you need are better windows," she snickered.

"The fire escape, of course," he sighed.

Offering his arm, they took the stairs at a moderate pace. They bid the doorman a good day, then walked the three blocks to the Lackadaisy Cafe to borrow one of the company cars. It was only Horatio behind the counter, and Ivy chatted with him for a few minutes while Mordecai continued to the garage. He drove around to pick her up out front, and they were on their way.

It wasn't until they were out of St Louis proper that Ivy looked at their surroundings. "Take that left!" She pointed at an oncoming intersection.

"This would be easier if you just told me where we were going."

"I told you, we're going to St Charles!"

Hackles rising, an old memory came to him. The details were fuzzy, the context unclear. 

"I'm drivin'—" Rocky hiccupped, laughed, and wrestled his way past Mordecai to the driver's seat.

Swaying on his feet, Mordecai tried to follow, only to stand awkwardly in the open door. He blinked. "Where are we going?"

"Someplace special," Rocky grinned. Then he took hold of the front of Mordecai's vest and started hauling him into the car—and, consequently, into his lap.

Feeling loose and amenable, Mordecai let the musician maneuver him up and over into the bench seat. He rolled with the motion, ending upside-down with his feet against the passenger door. Which was when he noticed: "Where'd my shoe go?"

This time, he recognized the bridge.

"There's a little road, a couple miles along," she gestured to the other bank of the Missouri River. Beyond her side of the vehicle, a streetcar rumbled past in the opposite direction taking people toward St Louis. "I remember, there was a funny rock with a tree growing up on top of it."

"Fascinating," he scanned the road periodically as they ambled alongside traffic, wedged between an empty farm truck and a couple other leisure cars. "Perhaps it would be helpful to consult a map."

"There weren't many signs," she admitted.

He sighed. "I'm beginning to think you don't actually know where we are going."

"I do know," she insisted, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes. "It's just, been awhile since the last time I was there."

"Of course," he raised his chin to put on an air of arrogance. "Do I at least get to know the name of the person you're courting?"

Her nose wrinkled. "You're not allowed to judge him."

"Judge?" He raised a brow at her. "Who do you take me for?"

"Shush you," she swatted his shoulder, pouting. "You think you’re so clever."

Humming, he caught a glimpse of the little turn off that disappeared beneath the bridge.

The car bumped over the uneven path. Boneless, Mordecai noticed the reflection of headlights in the Missouri from where he was plastered against the passenger door window. The truss bridge passed out of and into focus, and he shifted to rub his dry eyes and look at Rocky. "Where are we?"

"He wakes!" Rocky sang. Changing gears, the car jolted to a stop and the engine went quiet; though the lights stayed on. 

"So it seems," Mordecai hummed. 

"Are you sure that we are awake?" Rocky asked. Only, his voice dipped theatrically and he turned to face Mordecai. One hand braced on the bench seat, beside Mordecai's knee, and he leaned close. "It seems to me that yet we sleep, we dream. Do not you think—" reaching into his jacket, Rocky pulled out his flask. "—the duke was here, and bid us follow him?"

Mouth dry, Mordecai pressed himself back against the door. "What?"

Rocky sighed, and uncapped the flask. "My own fault, for forgetting."

They lost their entourage one by one to the major intersections before Ivy pointed out the funny boulder wearing a tree. It was nearly another half hour of zig zagging through the outskirts of St Charles, then they pulled onto a semi affluent road. The houses there were modestly spaced between privacy bushes, offering an allusion of wealth.

"There!" Ivy leaned over the dashboard to point at a specific house. It was differentiated by plant boxes in the window and meticulously tended flowers. "Pull over, pull over!"

"Calm down," Mordecai took his time parallel parking, eyeing an angle that he might be able to see from the front window. "Does your father know you're making housecalls?"

"No," she glared at him as she pushed open her door. "And if you tell him, I'll sneak mayonnaise into your office."

His tongue curled in disgust, but she had already jumped out of the car. Following, he caught up to her on the cobblestone path to the front door. "And what if I tell Viktor?"

"Viktor is the one who told me to come here," she boasted. Juggling the long box she'd carted the whole way, she took hold of the door knocker and struck the hammer three times.

"Then why not take Viktor?" Mordecai crossed his arms. "And don’t give me that excuse about the Kehoe run."

"You know how Viktor is," she raised her brows.

Then the door opened, and an older lady frowned at them. She was dressed in something borrowed from the previous century, with narrow glasses and curls piled beneath a bonnet. "I've already found the word of God," she clipped. "And I'm not interested in buying."

"Goodday!" Ivy demured, performing a perfunctory curtsy. "Mrs McMurray?"

The name registered, and Mordecai's ear twitched.

"Yes," said Mrs McMurray. "I don't fancy on repeating myself."

"We’re not trying to sell anything. I was hoping to visit with Calvin?" Ivy asked, tone sweet and eyes innocent. "My name is Ivy. Ivy Pepper? I brought Calvin a present, for his birthday."

"Oh," Mrs McMurray seemed to relax, her expression turning to curiosity. "He never mentioned you."

"He does seem awful shy," Ivy agreed, nodding. "I've asked Rocky about a million times to bring me over, but—" Ivy hissed and bit her cheek when Mordecai stepped on her toe.

Mid headshake, Mrs McMurray didn't seem to notice. "Say no more. That nephew o’ mine is half handful, half dalliance, and not a speck of common sense. Come in, come in—" she stepped back, opening the door wide for them to enter. "The boys are working in the yard, we'll have to call them in for tea."

"Splendid," Ivy grinned, nearly vibrating as she tried to control her excitement. She bustled in, wiping her shoes and moving far enough along for Mordecai to follow.

"Thank you for your hospitality," he managed not to grit his teeth around the words.

"Of course," said Mrs McMurray. She shut them in, then gave him a considering look. "You must be Miss Pepper's chaperone. Mr..?"

Behind Mrs McMurray's back, Ivy pretended to gag.

"Mordecai Heller," he introduced. "I used to work with Miss Pepper's father—I've known her for quite a few years now."

"How quaint," Mrs McMurray intoned, eyes flat. "And what is it you do, Mr Heller?"

Ivy blanched, panic causing her fur to rise.

"Accounting," answered Mordecai. "Your roses are growing nicely. Do you tend to them yourself?"

"Yes," Mrs McMurray preened, her shoulders squaring. "A gentleman who knows his flora?"

"Plants are easier to understand than people," he explained.

"Well, then we should take tea in the garden. It's a good day for it." She hustled ahead of them at a good pace, spry for an elderly.

Ivy waited for him to walk beside her, and leaned close to whisper. "A gentleman who knows his flora?"

"Ivy-Ivy?" He mocked.

"Shut up."

"I hope Calvin doesn’t mind seeing his supervisor on his birthday."

"You're not anybody's supervisor, Mordecai."

"The paperwork says otherwise."

"Here we are!" Mrs McMurray announced as she threw open the back door. She charged ahead, maneuvering down the steps and toward a grassy patio surrounded by fruit trees and shrubbery. "Calvin! Roark! We've guests!"

Ivy elbowed ahead to pause on the stair; her ears perked and angled forward. Her grip on the gift tightened as Mordecai loomed on the step above her. Following her line of sight, he quickly determined the cause of her symptoms.

"Guests?" Freckle asked. He stood in about the middle of the lawn, a hatchet in hand for splitting wood, dressed down to his undershirt and suspenders. He blinked in the sunlight, lean muscles on display. A pile of logs beside him explained his state. 

Next to him, in a similar sort of undress, Rocky dropped the two splinters of wood he had been carrying to a wheelbarrow. 

"You have me at a disadvantage—" Rocky wagged his brows as he shrugged out of his vest. The whole while, Rocky managed to keep a hand on Mordecai's chest, pushing him lightly against—

"Miss Pepper!" Rocky shouted, taking immediate notice of them both. "What are you doing here?"

Ivy raised a hand, fingers waving as she held the gift with her elbows.

"She's come along to visit your cousin, Roark," Mrs McMurray tutted. "I thought, I surely misheard when Miss Pepper said you refused to bring her along for introductions. Have you no consideration for your family, Roark?"

Freckle coughed, and Rocky scooped the dropped wood to toss into the wheelbarrow. "I considered us to be living in progressive times, dear Aunt. If the boy wanted to introduce her to his mother, he would've invited her along ages ago."

Ivy chewed on her lip as Freckle panicked and looked at her. Mordecai prodded her along.

"Yes, I did wonder at that," Mrs McMurray narrowed her eyes at Freckle.

All of Freckle's fur stood on end, his tail raising straight as his shoulders hunched. "We work together—" he glanced at his mother, back at Ivy, then turned to the ground. "We never—um—"

"You know how he is," Rocky placed a hand on each of Freckle's shoulders, pushing as he spoke to Mrs McMurray. "Our Funny Freckle can barely speak to you, Dear Aunt. How did you imagine him approaching an intimidating figure like Miss Pepper?"

Snickering, Ivy smiled as Mrs McMurray looked back at her. "It's lovely to be here," she deflected.

Sighing, Mordecai edged past them all to choose a seat. He tuned out the idle chatter as he studied the round table set in the rectangular space. There were only four seats, each angled so one's back faced a corner. Seeing few opportunities for true symmetry, he clenched his fists and picked the spot with the best view of the ingress.

Ivy bounded over as Mrs McMurray followed Rocky and Freckle inside, and dropped into the seat next to him. A pleased smile decorated her face, and her eyes seemed wistful. "Did you see how surprised he was?"

"No more surprised than me," Mordecai removed his glasses to inspect the lenses, then pulled a handkerchief from his pocket. "I somehow doubt that Viktor advised you to ambush Mr McMurray in his home."

"Not in so many words," Ivy shrugged, focusing on carefully placing the gift in the center of the table. 

"Just the other day he called McMurray a weak jawed milk drinker, unfit for our lifestyle."

Gasping, Ivy punched his shoulder. "He did not!"

"Not in so many words," Mordecai shrugged, brows quirking at her as he cleaned his glasses.

"You'll be nice today, Mordecai," she hissed. "I really like him."

"Ah, yes, the one quality I am known for," he replaced his glasses. "My niceness."

They had a couple more minutes to quietly bicker before Mrs McMurray returned with a tea-laden tray. Five sets, Mordecai noted, plus a little jug of syrup. "Make a bit of space please, Miss Pepper," she directed, not-unkindly. Ivy scrambled to pick up the gift again, holding it in her lap. "Thank you—Roark says you work together. What instrument do you play?"

"Not in the band," Ivy managed an awkward laugh, nodding in thanks as Mrs McMurray placed a teacup and saucer in front of her. "I—um—sometimes I wait tables at the Lackadaisy."

"Neither of them take their jobs very seriously," Mordecai added. "But the customers like them, so Mrs—" he hesitated a moment, and settled on a borrowed euphemism, "—M keeps them around." 

Ivy's lips pinched as she glared at him.

"Roark takes very few things seriously," Mrs McMurray sighed. "And Calvin?"

"We're lucky to have him," Mordecai managed. Ivy relaxed into a small smile. "He's good at… fixing things."

"He's always had a mendful spirit," Mrs McMurray nodded.

The door opened again, and Freckle stumbled out, as if pushed. Freezing, he glanced up at the table with wide eyes and pinpricked pupils; but he was well dressed, with a jacket overtop of a pinstriped vest.

Rocky waltzed out a moment later, violin and bow in hand. He wore his usual duds, sans jacket, with his sleeves rolled up. "Hark! Have you started without us?"

"Heaven forbid anything should start without you, Roark," Mrs McMurray tutted. "Calvin, come sit at the table. Roark, something soothing, if you'd be so inclined."

"Of course, Dear Aunt," he fell into a deep bow, then kicked Freckle into motion. As Freckle joined them at the table, sparing Ivy a shy smile, Rocky put his instrument to his shoulder to tune.

Though Mordecai had never made a habit of watching Rocky play—the opposite, in fact, had been his general goal—he'd had, over the years, plenty of opportunities. Enough to realize that, regardless of piece or company, each performance always brought the same image to mind.

Bow flying across strings, Rocky seemed preoccupied in some other plane of awareness. He stood on the car's roof, the headlights catching the underside of his chin and arms as he plucked a pizzicato. The fireflies were out and dancing about his head, an ethereal chaos that incited the musician to laugh and spin, tail wavering.

Mordecai's grip tightened on the flask, holding the borrowed drink between both hands as he leaned heavier on the car's hood. "What song is that?"

Rocky slowed, the rhythm cutting in half as he peered down at Mordecai. "Hm?"

"Well, Calvin," Mrs McMurray settled in the spot between her son and Mordecai. "Now is as good a time as any to say how you met Miss Pepper."

"Ah—?" Freckle grimaced and looked at Ivy. 

"Rocky brought him along to work," she jumped in. "And at the end of the day I asked him to come dancing."

"How forward," said Mrs McMurray.

Beyond the table, Rocky hopped onto the splitting log. He cocked a toe and pulled a long note from his instrument, then pitched into sing-song. "Such shaping fantasies, that apprehend more than cool reason ever comprehends. The lunatic, the lover, and the poet are, of imagination, all compact."

“No quoting, please, Roark,” Mrs McMurray sighed. But she readied the fifth cup for him, placing it on the arch of the table closest to Rocky. “Or, if you can’t contain yourself, something less frivolous than Midsummer’s Night.”

“Do you have requests, Dear Aunt?” he asked, pivoting into a spin. “Perhaps from the happy tale of Hamlet?”

Freckle snickered and Ivy grinned. 

“That’s Shakespeare?” Mordecai guessed.

Rolling her eyes, Ivy elbowed him. “A little literature wouldn’t hurt you.”

“A big enough tome could cause significant blunt force trauma,” Mordecai challenged.

Ivy’s eyes widened as Freckle winced; she tilted her head significantly at Mrs McMurray.

Sighing, he shifted in his chair to address the matriarch directly. “That was a joke. I prefer to restrain my small talk to shrubberies,” he reached as if to feel the closest leaves, but they remained too far away. “Is this a Japanese Cypress?”

It proved a decent tactic. “You’ve a keen eye, Mr Heller,” Mrs McMurray appraised. She slipped into an easy lecture, and Mordecai made sure to hum and nod and ask questions at appropriate intervals. Rocky played an Irish aire, and Ivy leaned close to whisper with Freckle. Quietly, she passed him the gift box; he peeked inside, grinned, and looked up at her shyly.

A hasty equilibrium held for half an hour, before the performer descended from his pedestal and approached the table. “I’ve heard not a word of dancing,” said Rocky. Juggling bow and instrument in the same hand, he tipped a generous portion of syrup into his teacup.

“Then you need to clean the cotton from your ears,” Mrs McMurray drawled. “For it was the first thing Miss Pepper mentioned.”

“And you dropped the subject,” Rocky nodded. “No doubt thinking of our dear Freckle’s two left feet.”

Ivy giggled, and Rocky winked at her.

“Rocky,” Freckle hissed.

“Is there supposed to be a story there?” Mrs McMurray asked, looking over her glasses at Rocky. “Or are you determined to embarrass your cousin at every turn?”

“I entreat you to imagine a scenario where both could be true,” Rocky grinned at his aunt. “For Miss Pepper has spent many an evening teaching our dear Freckle to dance.” He cradled his fiddle like a ukulele, and plucked a quick tune. “Perhaps your eyes would believe faster than your imagination.”

Squealing, Ivy jumped from her seat and pulled Freckle with her. “Come on!”

Laughing, Rocky managed a quick sip of his tea before readying again his instrument. Propping a foot on Ivy’s abandoned chair, his eyes swept over Mordecai. But it was only for a moment, then the musician started a fast paced jazz improvisation. It was somewhat lacking without accompaniment, but it was more than enough for Ivy to guide a smiling Freckle through the Lindy Hop. 

“How lively,” Mrs McMurray failed to keep some fondness from her voice, and she managed a small smile. She raised her voice to address the merrymakers. “And where did you learn to dance, Miss Pepper?”

“Mostly my godmother,” she admitted with a laugh, spinning with Freckle. Her coordination survived the extra task of talking. “But all her friends took turns teaching. Even Mordecai!”

“Ol’ Serious Face?” Rocky snickered.

“Don’t be rude, Roark.”

“It’s simple fact, Dear Aunt,” Rocky soothed. “Though my memory might fail me, I am certain I have never seen this cat dance.”

Mordecai rolled his eyes and sipped his tea. “Many things have failed you, Roark.”

Gasping, Rocky struck a discordant note, then pointed his bow at Mordecai. “Take that back.”

“Calm down, Rocky,” Ivy giggled. She slowed to a stand, arms still around Freckle.

“Nope, no, only Aunt Nina calls me Roark,” Rocky shuddered.

Ivy sighed. “Are you done being dramatic? I was having fun.”

“The dramatics are never truly over,” said Rocky. He took the opportunity to slurp more tea. 

“It was nice of you to come visit,” said Freckle. He looked almost at Ivy, smiling. 

“I’ve been meaning to, for a while,” said Ivy. “But someone seemed to think I shouldn’t come over.”

“Let me play the lion too,” Rocky performed another gasp, then raised his voice. “I will roar that I will do any man’s heart good to hear me! I will roar that I will make the Duke say—”

“No more quotes, Roark!” Mrs McMurray yelled over him.

A prickle wound down Mordecai’s spine. He couldn’t help asking: “Who is this Duke?”

Rocky turned to him with a wide smile.

“Nevermind Shakespeare,” Ivy groaned. “Be quiet, Mordecai, or I’ll make you dance with me.”

“That would be a sight to see,” said Rocky.

Mordecai made a show of pulling his watch from his pocket. “If you’re finished dancing with Mr McMurray, perhaps it is time we go.”

Ivy opened her mouth to complain, but Rocky interjected. “A serendipitous notion. You’re no doubt going my way, you can give me a lift.” He turned to Freckle and Ivy and waved his instrument at them both. “Chop, chop, lovebirds. Say your saluts so we can be on our way.”

“Rocky!” Ivy stomped a foot.

But Mrs McMurray was unaffected. Standing, she picked up her teacup to take with her. “I suppose it’s prudent to take opportunities when you see them, Roark. But perhaps next time, you could do your cousin a favour?”

“We’ll make a meal of it,” Rocky placed a hand on his chest. “Next Sunday dinner, I’ll bring Miss Pepper around for a proper interrogation.”

She shook her head, then looked at Freckle. “Calvin, see your friends to the door while I gather your cousin’s things.”

“Yes, mother.”

The four of them watched Mrs McMurray retreat inside; then Rocky’s smile dropped and he pulled a familiar flask from his jacket. “Blast you, Miss Pepper.”

Freckle flinched.

“Don’t be such a spoil sport, Rocky,” Ivy huffed.

“If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a million times,” he complained as he tipped a measure of liquid into his teacup. As an afterthought, he offered the flask to Mordecai.

“No, thank you,” Mordecai drawled.

“We should go inside,” said Freckle. His shoulders were raised, but he still held Ivy’s hand.

“Not you, too,” Ivy groaned.

“You groan because you don’t understand,” Rocky flailed his arms, then drained his syrupy drink. “It’s bad enough we dragged Freckle into our sordid mess of a life—and yes, Miss Pepper, you still get to share in that blame, I don’t care how you rationalize it—but what do you think will happen if you, Little Miss Princess of St Louis, were to be followed? Am I to one day return here—” he gestured at the house, then pointed at Freckle. “—to our childhood home, to find Dear Aunt Nina dead or worse?”

“Worse than dead, Rocky?” Ivy crossed her arms.

Mordecai sighed. “There were four vehicles that crossed the bridge with us,” he said, standing. “None of them followed us off the main road.”

Arms dropping, Rocky blinked at him. “You’re certain?”

Mordecai hesitated, heat flushing beneath his fur.

“You’re certain?” Rocky asked, breath ghosting across Mordecai’s lips. “Absolutely? Because the others seemed to insinuate that—”

Mordecai kissed him. 

“Most of my job relies upon attention to detail,” Mordecai rationalized.

“But are you certain?” Rocky pressed.

He recognized some semblance of desperation in the other cat’s eye. Clearing his throat, Mordecai looked up at the well maintained home. “I’d risk my mother’s life on it.”

The musician relaxed, a comfortable grin coming back to him. “No you wouldn’t,” he challenged.

“I wouldn’t,” Mordecai agreed. “But, by definition, it wouldn’t be a risk because no one followed us.”

Mrs McMurray poked her head out the door. “Are you coming, or have we changed our minds?”

“Coming!” Freckle and Rocky chorused together.

The ensemble was hustled inside, and Rocky disappeared to sort his violin and do whatever else he still needed to do in the home. Freckle and Ivy loitered, talking in whispered giggles. It left Mordecai to entertain Mrs McMurray again; this time he focused on the photos on the walls. "You've a lovely home," he gestured.

"Thank you, Mr Heller," she nodded, following his movement. "It hasn't always been a peaceful place, but we make do."

Reluctantly, he took a look at whatever frame he had inadvertently drawn attention to. It appeared to be a family portrait, with a young Rocky and Freckle both front and center. Freckle's head was ducked and he looked up at the camera awkwardly; whereas Rocky had his normal huge smile, a tiny violin cradled in his arms. Behind them was a host of adults, Nina McMurray near the edge. More than half were close enough in appearance to suggest siblinghood, and one—who rested a hand on Rocky's shoulder—held a full sized version of the child's instrument.

"I'd imagine any house with Mr Rickaby to have been chaotic," Mordecai mused.

“That’s putting it mildly,” Mrs McMurray huffed.

Then Rocky came barrelling down the stairs, a case in hand and fully dressed. “Pick up your feet, players! Time to make our exit.”

“You could stand to foster a little more serenity, Roark,” said Mrs McMurray. She handed him a parcel of clothes. “Your laundry; pray, please get less blood in them next time.”

“I shall try, Dearest Aunt,” he leaned to kiss her cheek as he took the items. “But you know how clumsy I am.”

“Mhm,” she glowered.

“And we’re off!” He danced out the front door, then froze on the step. Shoulders dropping, he sighed. “Of course, he parked out front.”

“Where else would I have parked?” Mordecai asked. He glanced back to check on Ivy, who gave Freckle a quick peck on the lips. 

“Nevermind,” Rocky waved back at him, already on the move again. “I’ll drive.”

[dreamsallalongthewatchtower]

CH. 3 House Rules

Summary: The daggers get a look into Maya's life. Rooster is filled in on a little secret. Jake and Maya go past the point of no return.

Notes: SMUT!! Cursing and mentions of alcohol. 18+ MINORS DNI!!

Word count: 3 k

The drive to the edge of Vegas was filled with Bob and Fanboy in the back seat talking about work. While in the front Jake and Maya were stealing glances at one another. Before long Maya pulled up to a house that was in the middle of nowhere. “This is your place?” Fanboy asked. “It’s more like a rental from a friend. You’re lucky she isn’t here; you boys are all her type. But you would have to be gentle, she has a bad hip.” Maya said parking the car in the driveway. Maya was the first one to exit her car, she walked over to the cab driver and waited for him to roll down his window. “Thanks, Arturro. Here’s fifty for coming out here.” Maya said, handing the cab driver two twenties and a ten. “Oh, miss Maya, you know I can’t accept that.” The elderly driver protested. “Well, that’s too bad. Say hi to Arturro jr. for me.” Maya shot back dropping the cash in the vehicle. Walking up her driveway to greet the daggers, Maya couldn’t help but feel nervous, this was her sanctuary, the place where her and Judy had many heart to hearts, it was her creative space, and she was about to let a bunch of clean-cut military personal into her and Judy’s eclectic world. She stopped at the front door. “Before I let everyone in, remember this is not officially my house. It is my friend Judy’s house; she is away for the time being. Please make yourselves at home, but anything destroyed or ruined is on me. Understood?” Maya prompted the daggers. Everyone nodded their heads. Maya unlocked the front door and let the squad into her home.

“Before everyone else gets here, let me give you a tour.” Maya said, shutting the door. Setting her purse on the counter she got in front of everyone. “So, this is the kitchen, pantry is out in the garage.” She said pointing to a door off to the side of the kitchen. “This is the living room slash dining room; out back is the patio. There is a pool and a hot tub. Down this way,” Maya continued. “Are some of the spare rooms, there are four with two beds each. We have a bathroom on this side as well. At the end of the hallway is a small gym workout area. Down at the other end are a couple more spare rooms, those only have one bed per room. There is also a bathroom, as well as a half bathroom. There is also the master bedroom with the master bath attached.” Maya said taking the daggers through the house. Walking everyone back to the main area Maya stopped in front of a door along the wall. “This leads to the basement; the washer and dryer are down there. As well as my room and the music studio. That is the only part of the house that is off limits. If you are invited then that’s fine, but it is by invite only. In each room the closets have clothes, they are unisex so just find something that fits, and you can wear it. We also have shorts in the gym for anyone who wants to go into the pool.” Maya finished. There was a knock at the door. Maya walked over and opened it up to find some of her other friends arriving. “Hey guys, come on in!” Maya said, opening the door to a larger group of people. Soon, the living room was flooded with people. The daggers went to pick out rooms and change. Maya sat on the sofa texting a couple more friends. Waiting for the daggers to reemerge. Fanboy, Coyote and Payback wasted no time joining Maya’s friends in the back. Bob wasn’t so sure, so he hung back inside in his clothes. Rooster and Jake were talking in the kitchen.

Phoenix finally emerged from her room. “Ashes! Do you have anything I could wear for the pool?” Natasha asked. “Yeah, let’s go to my room and find you something.” Maya said, leading her friend down to the basement. Entering her room Maya crossed the room to her dresser. “Wow.” Phoenix exclaimed. “You really are going to leave this all behind?” Phoenix asked her friend. “You know me Nix, I can’t stay in one place for too long. Besides, Judy said I can come back anytime.” Maya said grabbing a bikini for her friend. “Here, see if that fits you.” Maya said, throwing the swim suite on her bed. Maya grabbed an oversize t-shirt, spandex shorts and a pair of grey sweatpants for herself. “So, there is something I have to tell you. A little birdie told me that Rooster likes you. I think you should go for it to be honest.” Maya said pulling her Clash shirt over her head. “No way! Who told you?!” Phoenix asked. “Your friend Hangman.” Maya replied. “First off, he is not my friend more like a rock in my shoe and second; he can’t be trusted, he’s always trying to pull something I wouldn’t be surprised if he said that to rile you up. You didn’t tell him I liked Rooster, did you?” “No, he just said Rooster likes you and he thinks you two could be good together.” Maya replied. Phoenix let out a sarcastic laugh. “I don’t know how true that could be coming from Jake. Let’s not think about it, let’s go continue this party!” Natasha yelled. The two friends made their way up the stairs to rejoin everyone else. When they emerged from downstairs the only three men in the house had gone silent at the sight of Phoenix in the pale blue bikini, she borrowed from Maya. The two women laughed and made their way to the backyard. Phoenix jumped in the pool and joined the group of guys that were talking to Fanboy and Payback. Maya sat at one of the tables watching her friends all mingle. Bob, Hangman and Rooster made their way outside too. Rooster sat with Maya at the table. “Maya what was Natasha like when you two were young?” Rooster prompted. “She was a little kooky, she was the one my parents deemed a bad influence for a while.” Maya replied. “I would have never thought that.” Rooster said. Both were watching the group in the pool. A few of Maya’s friends pulled Phoenix out of the pool, and they started dancing with her. Rooster let out a frustrated sigh. Maya watched as Rooster started to clench his fist. “Relax Bradley, those guys mean nothing to her. I’m going to ask you something and I just need a straight answer. Do you like Natasha?” Maya asked. Rooster took a second to answer. Searching Maya’s face, he finally answered. “Yes, but she only likes me as a friend. So, I don’t want to get my hopes up.” “What if I told you I know for a fact she feels the same way? What if I told you that she is also afraid you won’t reciprocate and her putting herself out there would ruin your friendship?” Maya threw out. Maya watched as Rooster’s eyes began to widen. “You’re serious?” He asked. “I don’t play around when it comes to Phoenix. I suggest you make the first move though; she’ll be too concerned about ruining the friendship.” Maya said. Her eyes now drifting to Bob who made his way to the table. “Hey Bob, how’s my favorite ginger ale drinker?” Maya asked. “I’m okay, how are you, Maya?” Bob responded. Maya didn’t respond as she looked over Bob’s shoulder as saw Jake making out with one of the girls that had showed up. Maya couldn't hide the displeasure on her face. Bob noticed this and turned around to see the same sight that made Maya upset. “Maya are you okay?” Bob asked. “This is unbelievable. I kissed him less than an hour ago and he wanted to ‘do it right’ Maya said with air quotes. “But here he is with his tongue down that girl’s throat. I’m going to the studio. You can come if you want to.” Maya said extending an invite to Bob. “Sure, I’ve never been in a music studio before.”

The two walked into the house past Jake and the girl that was hanging on him, down into Maya’s studio. When Maya opened the door Bob was blown away by the size of it. “How did you manage to get this put in?” Bob prompted. “Judy had it put in for her grandson, he uses it when he comes through town, but for the time being it’s mine.” Maya replied. While the party was going on upstairs Maya walked bob through the process of making a song. They played with the soundboard on a couple different songs. Then Maya showed Bob how recording a song was played around with. “Come in here and I’ll show you a few simple notes.” Maya said. Bob walked into the recording booth and took the seat Maya was sitting on. Maya handed Bob a guitar and stood behind him. “Okay put your fingers here and play that note.” Bob followed Maya’s instructions and played A minor. “Good, now move your fingers here and play.” Bob once again obliged and played an E major with a raised fifth. Soon Maya had taught Bob how to play Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin. “This was fun, maybe you can show me some other songs.” Bob said. “But I think for now I’m going to go to bed. Thank you for showing me the studio.” Bob said putting down the guitar. “Good night, Maya.” Bob called out. “Night Bob!” Maya said back. Maya sat in the booth playing around with different riffs when she heard a knock at the door. “I thought you were going to bed?” Maya said not looking up to see Jake was at the door. “Not yet.” Jake said. Maya whipped her head up. Her blood started to boil. “This is an invite only and you’re not welcomed here. Besides don’t you have a Barbie upstairs to make out with?” Maya asked sharply. “Yeah, she isn’t really my type.” Jake said still standing in the doorway.

“I find that hard to believe.” Maya shot back. “No really. I like long dark hair and blue eyes. Someone who is a little shorter than I am and isn’t afraid to say what’s on her mind or put people in their place. Someone who loves bourbon. That’s my type.” Jake finished. Making his way from the doorway to the soundboard Jake stood with his hands in his pockets looking at Maya. Maya looked at Jake for a second before she set down her guitar and left the sound booth. “Look I don’t know what you want but, I don’t want my feelings played with.” Maya stated. Making her way over to Jake. Jake stood in silence. “I’m not someone who can just hook up with someone and not feel anything. I don’t play any ga” Jake didn’t let Maya finish as he closed the space between them and kissed Maya. When she tried to pull away Jake grabbed her by the back of her neck and deepened the kiss. Maya thought about trying to pull away again, but she loved how Jakes lips felt on hers. To Maya’s surprise Jake pulled away. “I would never play with your feelings.” Jake said before he pulled Maya back in for more kisses. When Jake’s hands started to roam Maya could feel a tight feeling building up in her stomach. She hadn’t been intimate with a man like this for some time. Slowly Maya pushed the flannel Jake was wearing off his shoulders and arms onto the floor. Jake followed and lifted Maya’s shirt over her head revealing her bare body. Jake took a second to admire Maya. “Let me shut the door.” Maya said walking away from Jake. After shutting the door Maya turned around and finished undressing herself. Standing in nothing but her blue lace panties Maya felt the tight feeling coming back as she watched Jake strip down to just his boxers. Jake once again closed the space between them and feverishly kissed Maya all over her chest and shoulders. Jake’s hands found their way onto Maya’s hips. Squeezing both sides released a moan from Maya. Spinning herself and Jake around Maya led the way to a couch so she and Jake could move forward. Maya pulled away and laid on the couch waiting for Jake to follow. Jake got on top of Maya. Just as Maya went to pull off her panties Jake grabbed her hands. “No leave them on, I’ll just push them to the side.” Jake commanded. Just as he promised Jake used one hand to push aside the lace panties and started rubbing Maya’s clit. The small circles caused Maya to arch her back. It felt so good to have a man touching her. Before long Maya felt the tight sensation building and building. “Oh fuck, don’t stop, don’t stop.” Maya breathed out. “Yeah? You going to cum already?” Jake asked. Before either one could react the building sensation finally came to a climax. “That’s a good girl. Think you have one more for me?” Jake questioned pulling off his boxers. Maya just nodded her head.

Jake took her answer and started rubbing his cock along her slit. “I can’t believe you already came for me.” Jake said continuing to rub himself against Maya. “Don’t tease me.” Maya whined. Jake slowly inserted himself into Maya. “Fuck, you’re so tight!” Jake let out. Starting at a medium pace Jake couldn’t help but think to himself that Maya was the sweetest little thing while under him. “Oh god!” Maya cried out, breaking Jake from his trance. “You can get rougher; you won’t break me” Maya said. Jake just smiled down at her. He leaned down and started playing with Maya’s nipples. Squeezing one between his fingers while biting the other one and flicking it with his tongue. He began to slow his pace but was slamming himself into Maya. Wrapping her arms around Jake she began to claw his back out of ecstasy. Jake let out a moan as Maya dug her nails into him. Picking up his pace Jake wrapped a hand around Maya’s throat and leaned into her ear. “I want you to taste yourself.” Jake said not giving Maya a second to think. He pulled out of her, letting go of her throat, Jake leaned back on the other end of the couch. Maya followed and wrapped her lips around Jake’s cock. At first, she started slow and took every inch like it would be the last thing she had in her mouth then she wrapped her hand around the base and moved it in unison with her mouth. Jake threw his head back and moaned for Maya. This is when Maya pulled out all the stops, she quickened her pace not taking in Jake’s full length. “Oh Fuck!” Jake let out as he ran his fingers through Maya’s hair. Maya then swirled her tongue around his cock and plunged all the way down to the base filling her throat with Jake’s cock. Holding herself there Jake couldn’t help but let out a series of moans and fucks. Coming up for air Maya jerked Jake’s cock for a second before she got up and situated herself in reverse cowgirl on Jake’s cock. “Holy fucking shit!” Jake moaned as Maya bounced up and down. Jake couldn’t help himself, he wanted to be the one in control. He grabbed a fist full of hair and pushed both bodies forward. Slamming into Maya, Jake could feel Maya tightening around him. “You have to beg me to cum. Do you understand?” Jake stated. “Yes” Maya let out. Jake smacked her ass and pulled her up a little. “Yes what?” Jake growled. “Yes sir!” Maya cried out. “That’s a good girl.” Both were now slamming into each other quickening the pace. Maya felt the tightening feeling build up again in her. She knew she was close. “Please can I cum? Please?” Maya cried out. “Not yet!” Jake moaned as he could feel himself building as well. “Please sir! Please I need to cum!” Maya cried out again Jake slammed into Maya over and over again trying to catch up to her. “Yes! Cum for me baby, cum all over my cock.” Jake snarled. As if on command the tightening sensation snapped in Maya and a wave of pleasure washed over her. She slowly stopped rolling her hips but could still feel Jake slamming into her. Another second and she could feel Jake cumming in her. Jake fell back onto the couch breathing heavily. “Oh, fuck Maya.” Was all Jake could say. Maya herself out of breath got up and proceeded to put her Clash shirt back on. “Hey,” Jake called out. Maya looked back at Jake. “Just know when I’m serious about something I don’t play games either.” Jake threw out. Maya didn’t know what to say. She grabbed his clothes and walked to the door, opening it up. “Maya?” Jake asked, trying to get a response from her. Maya threw up a finger signaling for him to wait. She didn’t hear any noise upstairs. The party must have died down. Then she walked the short distance to her bedroom door and opened it up. “Come on let’s go to bed.” She finally said to Jake. “That’s all you have to say?” Jake asked. “Shh, you can either go to your room or you can bunk with me.” Maya suggested. Jake didn’t give the offer a second thought. He jumped up and put on his boxers following Maya to her room. Not another word was spoken between the two for the remainder of the night.

[leguin]

Armed with a search warrant, detectives drove more than 500 miles across Northern California in search of the goat.

According to the search warrant, deputies believed Cedar was staying at Bleating Hearts Farm and Sanctuary in Napa County, based on the fact that the sanctuary had posted on Instagram its support for Long and urging people to call the Shasta District Fair to convince them to spare Cedar. But long had taken Cedar to a farm in Sonoma County because she and her family live in a residential area in Shasta County and are unable to keep farm animals there.

Echoing language used when law enforcement search a home for drugs, the warrant allowed deputies to “utilize breaching equipment to force open doorway(s), entry doors, exit doors, and locked containers” and to search all rooms, garages and “storage rooms, and outbuildings of any kind large enough to accommodate a small goat.”

not to engage in hypotheticals but imho this is the kind of norcal story that would not have happened 10 years ago. incredible to me how many people there have just dug into 'the cruelty is the point' type of behavior. not that it hasn't always been there in some ways, but people are reactionary to a really significant degree rn.

[thebossestunicycle]

don’t know if you were able to tell by the bear in my backyard, but my mom’s house is basically an animal sanctuary at this point. i took my brother out to Chili’s and when we went to go back in the house, we found them on the fake plant hanging on the garage door:

we waited outside for like 20 minutes, hoping they’d move, but we eventually just opened the door very slowly so they wouldn’t be bothered.

really hope that she didn’t choose to lay her eggs there, or her kids are gonna be living off of microplastics like the rest of us.

[leaveme2mythoughts]

In point of fact... I would not just buy a ready-made mansion

I would buy a large plot of land and build a multi-generational compound to be the family home.

Everyone in my family could live there, we'd have a garden to grow some of our own food, a decent sewing room for me, a garage and power tools for my bro, a library with shelves to the ceiling and ladders that slide, secret passageways and hidden doors....

My sister could have her own tiny home at the back of the plot in the faerie garden portion. We could have a couple smaller honeymoon-style buildings for couples that want some privacy while still being connected to the fam. The ground-floor would have all the accommodations elderly or disabled family members might need, so they could comfortably live there and be included.

My brother, mom, and I would do all the painting and wood finishing. My friend could help us with the wiring.

Yeah... family sanctuary.

“I would buy a mansion” “I would buy designer” “I’m getting a pool” Don’t give me that lame ass if I won the lottery shit. You’re all pathetic. If I came into a significant amount of money, you know what I’d do? I’d go to the Ren Faire, B-line straight to the cloaks. I’m talking floor length, heavy, wool, felted details, huge hooded cloaks that are like 450 a piece and all handmade and I’d get me one. Maybe even get one of the smaller ones that hangs off the shoulders and lands just above the elbow that are 90 by themselves. And I’d be the baddest bitch around because I’d wear that shit everywhere. It’s 115 degrees? I’m sorry do I look like I give a fuck? I have a cloak bitch I don’t need your fahrenheit bullshit. And you’re a FOOL if you wouldn’t do the same.

[safesaustralia7]

Secure Your Sanctuary: Tips for a Safe Home Environment

Your home is your sanctuary—a place where you should feel safe and secure. But creating a safe environment involves more than locking doors and closing windows. It’s about taking proactive steps to protect your loved ones and your property from potential hazards. Whether you’re a new homeowner or just looking to enhance your existing safety measures, the following tips will help you maintain a secure and peaceful home.

Assessing Your Home’s Security Needs

Before implementing new safety measures, start by assessing the security needs of your home. Walk around your property, paying attention to areas that might be vulnerable to intrusions, accidents, or other risks. Ask yourself the following questions:

Are all entry points, such as doors and windows, properly secured?

Do you have enough lighting around your home’s exterior?

Are your smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, and fire extinguishers in working order?

Is your home prepared for natural disasters like storms or floods?

Taking the time to assess these needs will help you identify where to focus your efforts and resources, ensuring that you’re addressing the most critical areas first.

Strengthening Physical Security

Physical security measures are the foundation of a safe home environment. These include locks, barriers, and systems designed to deter intruders and protect your family.

Install High-Quality Locks and Deadbolts: The front door is the first line of defence against intruders, so it’s crucial to have a solid, high-quality lock and deadbolt. Consider upgrading to smart locks, which offer the convenience of keyless entry and the ability to monitor access remotely.

Reinforce Windows and Sliding Doors: Windows and sliding glass doors can be weak points in home security. Install window locks and use security bars for sliding doors. Additionally, consider using shatter-resistant film on glass surfaces, which helps to prevent break-ins.

Invest in a Home Security System: A reliable home security system with alarms, cameras, and motion sensors can be a game changer. Modern systems allow you to monitor your home from your smartphone, giving you peace of mind whether you’re at home or away. Look for systems that include 24/7 professional monitoring for extra protection.

Install Security Cameras: Security cameras are a visible deterrent for potential intruders. Install cameras at key locations such as entry points, driveways, and backyards. Choose models with night vision and cloud storage for added convenience.

Fire Safety: A Must for Every Home

Fire safety is an often-overlooked aspect of home security, yet it’s essential for protecting lives and property. Here’s how to make your home more fire-resistant:

Install Smoke Detectors: Smoke detectors should be installed in every bedroom, outside sleeping areas, and on every level of your home. Test them monthly and replace batteries at least once a year. Consider using interconnected smoke alarms, so when one sounds, they all do.

Have Fire Extinguishers on Hand: Place fire extinguishers in accessible locations like the kitchen, garage, and near any fireplaces. Learn how to use them properly and ensure that all family members know where they are located.

Create an Escape Plan: In the event of a fire, every second counts. Develop a family escape plan that includes at least two ways out of every room. Practice this plan regularly with your family so that everyone knows what to do in an emergency.

Maintain Safe Cooking Practices: The kitchen is a common source of home fires. Never leave cooking unattended, keep flammable objects away from the stove, and ensure that your stovetop is clean and free of grease build-up.

Child and Pet Safety Measures

If you have children or pets, ensuring their safety is a top priority. Here are some tips to keep your home safe for little ones and furry friends:

Childproof the Home: Install safety gates at the top and bottom of stairs, secure heavy furniture like bookshelves to the wall, and use outlet covers to prevent electrical shocks. Keep cleaning supplies and other hazardous materials out of reach.

Secure Pools and Water Features: If you have a pool or other water features, ensure they are properly fenced with a self-locking gate. Always supervise children when they are near water, and consider installing pool alarms for added safety.

Pet-Proof Your Home: Keep electrical cords out of reach of pets, and store chemicals like antifreeze and cleaning products in locked cabinets. Ensure that windows and balconies are secured to prevent accidental falls.

Protecting Against Natural Disasters

Natural disasters like storms, floods, and earthquakes can strike with little warning. Preparing your home for these events can minimise damage and keep your family safe.

Secure Heavy Furniture: In earthquake-prone areas, securing heavy furniture to the wall can prevent injuries. Use brackets or straps for large items like bookshelves, televisions, and appliances.

Prepare for Power Outages: Keep a supply of flashlights, batteries, and a battery-powered radio in case of a power outage. A portable generator can be a valuable investment for longer outages, but be sure to operate it safely and never use it indoors.

Create an Emergency Kit: Assemble an emergency kit with essentials like water, non-perishable food, first aid supplies, medications, and important documents. Store the kit in a waterproof container and keep it in an accessible location.

Install Flood Barriers: In flood-prone areas, consider installing flood barriers or sandbags to divert water away from your home. Elevate appliances like washers and dryers above potential flood levels, and keep important documents in waterproof containers or safes.

Enhancing Your Home’s Digital Security

In today’s connected world, digital security is as important as physical safety. Smart home devices, Wi-Fi networks, and personal data need to be protected from cyber threats.

Secure Your Wi-Fi Network: Use strong passwords for your Wi-Fi network and enable encryption. Avoid using default usernames and passwords for smart home devices, as these are easy targets for hackers.

Install Firewall and Antivirus Software: Protect your devices from malware and viruses by installing reputable firewall and antivirus software. Keep software up to date to ensure that your systems are protected against the latest threats.

Monitor Smart Devices: If you have smart home devices like cameras or smart locks, monitor them regularly for suspicious activity. Change passwords frequently and disable features that you don’t use to reduce potential vulnerabilities.

Peace of Mind Starts at Home

Creating a safe home environment doesn’t happen overnight, but by taking small steps and implementing the right measures, you can build a sanctuary where you and your family can feel secure. From reinforcing entry points to preparing for natural disasters, each action you take contributes to a safer, more resilient home.

Remember, the goal isn’t to live in fear but to prepare for the unexpected. With these safety tips, you’ll not only protect your home but also enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing you’ve created a secure sanctuary for your loved ones. After all, a safe home is a happy home.

[realestate234]

Purva Weaves Yemalur | Exclusive Flats At Bellandur, Bangalore

Purva Weaves Yemalur is an exclusive residential property in Bellandur, Bangalore. It offers 3 and 4 BHK Luxury Homes. Puravankara Limited built this beautiful housing project, which is in the quiet area of Yemalur in Bangalore. The apartments in this building were carefully designed to have a great mix of modern architecture and comfortable living areas. With large rooms and lots of natural light, it is a cozy and luxurious place to live.

Incredible Floor Plan: A Symphony of Space and Elegance

It boasts a notable floor plan that seamlessly combines area and beauty:

Spacious Interiors: The houses at Purva Weaves feature spacious interiors with perfectly designed layouts. From expansive living rooms to well-appointed bedrooms, each nook exudes luxury and capability.

Modern Kitchen: The kitchens are ready with excessive-give-up appliances, smooth countertops, and adequate garage area, making cooking enjoyable for residents.

Luxurious Bathrooms: The bathrooms are designed with premium furniture, elegant tiles, and modern-day facilities, imparting a spa-like retreat within the comfort of home.

Private Balconies: Many houses at this property feature private balconies with panoramic perspectives of the surrounding panorama, creating a super spot for relaxation and unwinding.

Advanced Security Measures: Peace of Mind Guaranteed

At Purva Weaves Yemalur Bellandur Bangalore, residents safety and protection are paramount, with superior measures in place:

24/7 Security: The residential building is equipped with spherical-the-clock safety personnel and surveillance systems, making ensure a steady environment for residents and their families.

Access Control: Access management systems are applied at entry points, ensuring that the best-authorized individuals can input the premises.

CCTV Surveillance: CCTV cameras are strategically positioned for the duration of this property to screen sports and enhance security measures.

Intercom Facility: Intercom structures are hooked up in each domestic, permitting citizens to speak with protection employees and other citizens without problems.

Embracing Vastu Shastra: Harmony in Design

Purva Weaves Yemalur embraces the standards of Vastu Shastra, developing houses that promote concord and effective energy:

Optimal Orientation: The format of every home is designed to ensure foremost orientation, taking into account ample natural mild and ventilation at some stage in the day.

Balanced Spaces: The interiors are cautiously made to preserve the stability of factors, colors, and textures, developing a sense of tranquility and proper being.

Vastu-compliant Features: From the location of doors and home windows to the association of rooms and fixtures, everything in the layout adheres to Vastu ideas, fostering harmonious residing surroundings.

Final Thoughts

It gives citizens an unheard-of residing revel characterized using luxury, comfort, and security. With its superb ground plan, current amenities, and advanced security features, it provides citizens with a sanctuary to unwind, entertain, and create lasting reminiscences. Discover your gardens of luxury and safety at Purva Weaves Yemalur Bellandur and raise your lifestyle inside the colorful town of Bangalore.

[kitchendoorspecialist]

What are the benefits of opting for bespoke or custom-made kitchen cupboard doors in the UK?

In the bustling landscape of UK kitchens, the focal point regularly lies within the cupboard doorways, putting the tone for the whole culinary space. As discerning owners are searching for to infuse their kitchen sanctuaries with individuality and functionality, the appeal of bespoke or custom-made kitchen cupboard doors shines brighter than ever. Let’s discover the myriad benefits those tailor-made treasures provide to elevate your kitchen enjoy to new heights.

1.Tailored to Perfection: Unlike off-the-shelf options, custom-made kitchen cabinet doorways are meticulously crafted to suit your unique space like a glove. This guarantees seamless integration and a cultured, professional end that exudes sophistication.

2.Unleash Your Creativity: With bespoke options, you hold the reins of layout, allowing your creativity to soar. From choosing the finest materials to choosing personalized finishes and elaborations, each detail displays your flavor and style, transforming your kitchen into a bespoke masterpiece.

3.Unrivaled Quality: Quality reigns supreme within the realm of custom-made cupboard doorways. Crafted with precision and using premium materials, these doorways boast advanced sturdiness, promising years of reliable carrier and enduring beauty.

4.Enhanced Functionality: Say goodbye to compromise and good day to tailored functionality. Custom-made cabinet doorways may be designed to deal with particular garage needs, whether or not it is maximizing space with clever storage answers or incorporating specialised capabilities for seamless organization.

5.Seamless Integration: Harmonizing with existing decor is effortless while you choose custom-made cabinet doorways. Whether you are aiming for a modern-day minimalist aesthetic or a country attraction, those doorways can be tailor-made to complement your kitchen's layout ethos seamlessly.

6.Value Investment: While the initial investment can also seem better, custom-made cupboard doorways offer long-time period cost that transcends fee tags. Their exquisite craftsmanship and enduring attraction enhance the overall price of your home, making them a savvy investment for the destiny.

7.Tailored Customer Experience: At the heart of custom-made cabinet doorways lies a customized customer experience. From initial consultation to very last installation, expert craftsmen paintings intently with you to bring your imaginative and prescient to life, making sure a tailor-made adventure each step of the manner.

8.Eco-Friendly Options: For the environmentally aware owner of a house, custom-made cupboard doorways provide eco-friendly alternatives. From sustainable substances to power-efficient manufacturing methods, these doorways prioritize environmental duty without compromising on style or pleasant.

In the dynamic landscape of UK kitchens, custom-made cupboard doorways stand as beacons of individuality, first-class, and capability. With their tailor-made allure and unmatched craftsmanship, they not only raise the aesthetic appeal of your kitchen but additionally redefine the way you enjoy culinary creativity and comfort. Embrace the bespoke revolution and unlock the door to a kitchen that reflects your precise persona and life-style.

For bespoke kitchen cupboard doors inside the UK that marry fashion with substance, explore our collection at Kitchen Door Specialist at United kingdom. Crafted with precision and ardour, our custom-made doors are tailor-made to convert your kitchen right into a sanctuary of elegance and functionality. Experience the difference of bespoke luxury these days.