#got fucked bent over the couch in front of the giant windows and then he held me so gently and explained why i wasnt allowed to leave

[bittsandpieces]

just had a dream that I got kidnapped by an extremely hot dilf and literally woke up naked in his giant house in the woods

he was so nice that I almost forgot about him kidnapping me until he started groping me 🫣

[latenightsandbrightdyes]

One Way Or Another

Summary: A misunderstanding interrupts a snowy getaway with your boyfriend and his brothers.

Jungkook x reader. 

Angst. Fluff. Some Smutty Activity. Bangtan Shenanigans.

Welcome to a very random drabble that I wrote at some point and just found the courage to post. Thanks to the lovely @xjoonchildx who not only brightens my days with her amazing stories, and witty intellectual lists, but listens to my random nonsense I message her, and answers back with such sweet welcoming encouragement. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! 

                                 .......................................................

Your heart was racing. Sneakers squeaking out like a beacon on the hardwood floor as you turned a corner, the quick action propelling you forward into a large living room. Your eyes taking in the beautiful room as you mentally curse this gorgeous house in the woods. Feet still moving, trying to find anywhere that could hide you. Hearing his boots on the floor caused your heart to thunder in your chest. Eyes pinging around the room, landing on couches, a glass coffee table, gauze curtains. Nothing that was going to help. Brain apparently on a whole other level, had you exiting the living room. The hallway options were better but still not ideal. You pass up the idea of going upstairs, not wanting to make one of those fatal horror movie cliched decisions. The kitchen was to the left, that was the one place you knew you would be cornered. “This a maze or a house?” You sounded more winded than you actually were, the adrenaline making itself present in the air. His chuckle echoed from behind you somewhere and you squeaked, feet taking off like a rocket to the right. The chuckle got deeper and louder but not closer. He was in no hurry, confident that he would catch you. It wasn’t until the third or fourth slap of your sneakers on stone that you realized you had taken the stairs down. With a shake of your head, you paused unsure of what was down there. It was bright and only got brighter the further down you could see. Your feet slowly and quietly went down another step, then another and another. A noise from above had your head snapping up, as your hand gripped the railing. Your eyes narrowed, “was that...?” The cheeky bastard was whistling One Way Or Another. It felt like your heart was trying to match the beat, and you decided you didn’t care about the echo of your footsteps as you took the stairs quicker than ever. The room was open and brightly lit up with sunlight streaming in through floor to ceiling windows. Only a hot tub in the giant space, currently occupied by two of your friends. “Hey-“ You flapped your arms and aggressively shushed Hoseok, who looked even more startled than he had when you first burst into the room, intruding on his relaxation. “I’m sorry! I-“ Your head snapped up again, hearing boots on the stairs. Your wide eyes scanned the room again before they met Jimin’s amused ones. You hastily whispered “I was never here!” Before running and practically diving behind the hot tub. “What the hell is-“ “SHHH!” You hissed out at Hobi. “Just go about your business, bestie.” The whisper wasn’t as harsh this time, mostly because you felt bad but partly because you were trying to get your breathing under control. As you tucked your legs close and curled into a ball on the floor, you heard his whistling abruptly stop as his boots slapped loudly against the floor, announcing his arrival into the room. Slowly you pulled the hood to your onesie over your head, wishing it was an invisibility cloak. “Hyungs, have you seen my traitor of a girlfriend?” Jungkook’s voice was smooth, too smooth, as the words caused you to shiver. “What... No!” Hobi’s reply was too quick and had you squeezing your eyes shut. Jungkook’s chuckle and mocking “No?” Had you biting your lip. “Funny ‘cause I’m willing to bet you’re hiding the little sneak.” “What’s going on..?” Jimin’s quiet tone was full of confusion as more footsteps could be heard on the stairs causing you to curl into yourself tighter. “C’mon, just accept-“ “Accept what?” JK’s voice lashed out, cutting Jin off. “Accept that my girlfriend played me?” His tone was incredulous and had your heart sinking. “Wait, what’s...what happened?” Hoseok sounded so lost you couldn’t help but tilt your head to the right and look up at him in the hot tub. His hand held out in the air as if indicating Jungkook and Seokjin. A big huff of air was released adding to the already tense atmosphere. “We were just playin-“ “Playing? You and that little temptress were-“ You couldn’t take it anymore and popped up from behind the hot tub. “I couldn’t resist, okay!?” The pleading whine of your voice ricocheted off the walls as all heads snapped to you. Hobi jumped up from his seated position, turning so fast that he hit his knee in the hot tub. “Oh shit!” He hissed. The look on Jungkook’s face as he took a step towards you had you stepping back automatically. His eyes narrowed, “Oh, it’s my fault then?” Your hands flew into the air like you were tossing a pizza, before pointing at him. “YES! Just be glad that I restrained myself. The situation was under control until you-“ “Until I?” Jungkook ripped the beanie off his head, twisting the material with a harsh laugh before yanking it back on. “Nothing is under control if you’re picking anyone over me.” The force of your head shaking had the onesie’s hood falling down. “I didn’t pick anyone over you!” His shoulder lifted as he motioned to the right, “You took Jin hyung up on his offer.” You looked between Jin and Jungkook, “I wasn’t going to... I love Seokjinnie and all, but I love you so much. And you’re so-“ Jungkook scoffed, “But what do you love most, hmm?” Your eyes narrowed, “I do NOT love ice cream more than I love you!” “Ice cream, the fuck?” Ignoring Yoongi, Jungkook took a step, his voice taunting, “Your actions say otherwise...” You almost screamed, “It’s not my fault!” Your hands were moving all around as you ranted. “Jin offered me ice cream if I helped him win, yes, but I wasn’t... I thought about it for like a second. A. SECOND, okay? But then you bent over the pool table in front of me, and your ass was just THERE! I didn’t know where the pool balls were. Or that you were about to hit, and damn sure didn’t know you’d sink the 8ball!” Jungkook mocked your hand motion which had been a bit wide apparently. “Oh, there?” You jabbed your finger in the air at him indignantly, “Your ass looks great in that onesie, so don’t even!” He smiled at you, which is when you finally took notice that he had been slowly moving closer as he provoked you. Eyes narrowed, and head tilted to look for an escape, “Be glad I restrained myself, because I wanted to bite, but instead I only grabbed.” The shift in his body was clear, he hadn’t been expecting that but he sure seemed to like it. A smile played on your lips, “Oh, did you hear something you liked, Jeon?” lightly snapping your teeth at the end. Jungkook suddenly lunged at you, arm out stretched. You squeaked out a laugh as you hopped back and to the right. Your arm reaching the glass doorhandle and yanking it open, before charging out into the cold. The snow under your sneakers made you nervous but you pushed it down as Jungkook’s  boots crunched loudly in the snow. You quickly realized you were more trapped outside surrounded by the frozen forest than you had been in the house. Your foot slid in the snow, causing you to start to fall. Decision made for you, you turned and slid even more landing down on one knee with the other leg stretched out into a half split. With your arms out in the air at your sides for balance, you looked up to face your boyfriend. His handsome face was beaming with a victorious smile, his breath creating puffs in the cold air. All black onesie, beanie, and boots overshadowing all the snowy white. It really wasn’t fair how he looked so good in snow. All you wanted to do was launch yourself into his arms but you refused to give up your little game. You reached down and grabbed a handful of snow, ignoring the cold burn before tossing it at Jungkook. You watched as the snow scattered in the air, a few stray clumps only missing him by inches before they fell to the ground. Laughter bubbles up inside you, and you could feel yourself tipping over. Eyes squeezed shut and head thrown back as your laughter danced with the breeze, you gave in falling back into the snow, only to have a strong arm wind around your shoulders, cushioning your head from impact. “Caught you.” Jungkook’s warm hand on your cheek had your eyes opening, His smile brighter than the sun behind his shoulder. You tilted your head to the side, kissing his palm, as you brought your hand up to rest over his heart  before your eyes met again. “Hi.” His thumb slid along your cheek, touching the corner of your lips. “Hiya sweetheart.” Jungkook leaned down, and touched his nose to yours. “I knew you were there.” You leaned your head up to soak in the warmth of his breath as your other arm came around his back, nails tracing random patterns on his broad shoulder. “Damn, Hobi is a shitty alibi.” Jungkook chuckled, “Nah, babe, well yeah” he leaned closer, his lips ghosting over yours, “but I could see the reflection of your pink onesie in the window.” “Well fuck me and my hiding skills.” You breathed on his lips. He leaned his head back and to the side, “We can’t really call them skills, now can we, love?” Your nose scrunched up, “Excuse you, I am very skilled in the art of hide-“ Jungkook’s hand came up, and pulled lightly at the zipper of your onesie, stopping once he exposed where your cleavage and the cup of your red bra met. “Very skilled, indeed.” The gasp that escaped you had nothing to do with the cold air hitting your exposed flesh, and everything to do with Jungkook’s hips pushing into yours. You licked your lips as you hooked your legs around him. “We’re both very skilled, some may even say blessed.” His smirk was intoxicating, and the mischief in his eyes had your breath stalling in your lungs. If your hand would have been anywhere else, you would not of known he was up to something. But as you felt his back muscles shift slightly, you looked to his side and saw snow in his free hand. “Gguk…” The breathy tone of your voice had his smirk widening, and his nose wrinkling. He brought his snowy hand up, and over your bare chest, holding it there. Your eyes met, before you both watched his still hand, and the slowly melting snow shifting along his fingers. Your hand tightened on his shoulder, nails biting in as soon as the first drop of snow started to fall. It hit your chest with a searing silence as your lungs tried to take in all the air around you at once. Jungkook caused all of that air to rush from your lungs in the next moment, as he leaned down and slowly licked the melted snow off your chest. His dark eyes on yours, he placed open mouthed kisses along to the next snow that fell, before his hot tongue came out again to lick the liquid up. The shiver that rocked your body felt like it would of been felt through the very earth beneath you. His lips feathered lightly over to your galloping heart, resting there, as he brought his wet hand up to your throat. He tilted your chin up, before using his three long fingers to paint down your throat with melted snow. The whimper that managed to escape your throat was desperate and eager. Jungkook’s answering noise rumbled from his chest into yours, animalistic and proud, as he leaned up tongue starting at your collarbone, and slowly gliding up toward your chin. Snow fell as his teeth nipped at your pulse point. Your legs tightening around his hips, head thrown back further as your hands pulled him as close as possible. Snow forcefully hit your hand that was on his back, causing you to let go of Jungkook and had him pulling back looking down at you confused. Your brows furrowed as Jungkook shifted up onto his forearms quickly, covering you, right before the sound of snow hitting could be heard. You stared at his chest, as realization dawned, then brought your hands up to cover his exposed neck. A slow clap could be heard as the snow stopped. “Playing grab ass in the snow like a couple of horny teenagers!”  Jimin’s voice sounded so proud and amused. “Doesn’t feel good having people storm into your private moment, huh?” Hobi taunted as Taehyung’s laugh rang out just before another smash of snow sounded. Jungkook shifted his head to look behind him, your hands tightening around his neck with the movement. “The hell..?” “Just thought you could use some audience feedback,” came Jin’s reply, “Can’t see shit through your big ass head.” Hoseok’s wheeze was unnecessarily loud, and caused your irritation to skyrocket. “That shit’s not cool, bestie!” You called from under Jungkook. “Shit’s not cool to disrupt my down time, AGAIN!” Hobi shot out. “You and Jungkook with your kinky games…” Jin tried to sound disappointed but his laughter was too clear as another snowball hit your boyfriend’s back. “It wasn’t intentional, EX-bestie! This is kinky? Broaden your horizons to match your shoulders, bitch.” Your annoyance had you letting go of Jungkook’s neck to quickly zip up your onesie, then tapping him so he would move off you, which he ignored. As Jimin and Tae’s giggles rang out, you felt Jungkook tighten himself over you just before the thud of more snowballs hitting his back could be heard. Your hands quickly went back up to his neck, only to be met with clumps of erupted snowballs.  You quickly scooped as many pieces as you could and tossed them aside. Jungkook leaned back, his eyes dipping down to see you had zipped up, before looking at you with raised eyebrows. Just as he opened his mouth, you saw a snowball hit the back of his head, the broken pieces scattering around him as his head tipped down with the force. Pushing lightly at Jungkook’s chest, he actually moved back this time into a Half crouch half standing position, amusement written all over his face as he extended his hand to you. Once your hand was in his, he effortlessly pulled you up and into his body, still shielding you. “I’m gonna kick their asses.” You declared fiercely. His hand came up to cup your cheek, fingers tucking some hair behind your ear. “I fucking love you.” Jungkook’s voice was like warm honey sticking to your skin. You leaned up on your tiptoes, hands going to his cold wet neck, “I fucking love you too.” Jungkook’s  thumb slid down to your chin, to bring your lips together in a quick promise filled kiss. He pulled back as another snowball hit his back. Your glare was instantly back and aimed in the direction of the snowball launcher, even though all you could see was your boyfriend’s strong chest. His radiant smile had you looking up and ignited your own. “Seems like a good day for war.” Your smile turned into a massive smirk at his competitive declaration. “That’s what I’ve been saying all day!” “Tonight, we celebrate.” Jungkook winked as he stepped back and turned to face his brothers, missing the way your eyes lit up. “Oh shit, Jiminie woke the beast!” Hoseok called out, your eyes easily finding him further back from Tae and Jimin, a pile of snowballs on the ground as he used his gloved hands to make more at an alarming rate. Tae was also trying to stockpile snowballs, but wasn’t getting very far ahead. “Was that a toucan!?” Jimin yelled while turning quickly, stomping on more than half of Taehyung’s snowball collection, squinting at the trees. “Stop, Jiminah!” Tae grumbled as he hunched over, hurrying to make more. “Did you hear that?” Jimin said seriously as he turned, kicking out his leg taking out the rest of the pile. “Whatcha hearing, Jimin-shi?” Jungkook asked from your left. You looked down to see him squatted in the snow, sleeves of his onesie pulled over his hands making his own ammunition. “Sounds like Jiminie’s trying to save himself.” Jin laughed out. You hid your laughter behind a cold hand, wondering where you could grab some gloves for you and Jungkook, as Taehyung reached down, pulled up an arm full of snow, and dumped it on Jimin’s head. The yell that pierced the air sounded like a quack and actually caused birds to fly from the nearby trees. “Forget this, I’m going inside!” Jimin shouted as he turned toward the house shaking loose as much snow as possible. The chorus of boos we all let out were quickly accompanied by snowballs launching at Jimin’s retreating back. Causing him to tuck and roll to hide behind a pile of wood. “It was his idea, wasn’t it?” You asked no one in particular. Hoseok nodded and pointed at Jin too. The grin on your face was full of mischief and anticipated victory as you bent down to start another pile of snowballs. Jungkook sending your eyes to the pile he had been working on, as he placed a snowball into each of your hands. “Let’s get it, babe!”

[hufflesmonsters]

New Beginnings

A/N: hi, just dropping in to say I’m writing again >:D enjoy this slow burn. Also, surprise, it’s not a lizard man story though I do have one in the works so there is that.

~*~*~*~

Torren swung the ax down, splitting the log in two. Sweat beaded his brow as the sun bore down on him. He stuck the ax down in the wood stump and stood, wiping away the sweat with the back of his hand as he looked up at the sky. Just past noon, he’d have to get a move on if he was going to be on time for the kings summon. If he even wanted to take the job, whatever it was. If King Richard the second wished to hire a mercenary, it surely couldn’t be for anything fun. He clearly didn’t want to waste his own men for this, which meant that Torren was likely going to die during his job. 

And yet… the money he would get if he lived. He could retire, and finally live his dream of being the towns hermit to its fullest potential. As in, he only ever comes into town on stormy nights to buy ten kegs of ale and disappear for another three months. He grew his own food, hunted his own meat. Of course he kept messing up his tomato plants which meant he had to go into town to get those, but once he can figure it out then mission Hermit was a go. 

Stepping back, he grabbed the shirt he had draped over a nearby branch and walked towards his home. It was a nice little shack, one he’d built from scratch back when he was just a young boy. He had found the location by accident really, one minute he was being chased by his elder brothers, the next he was standing in a clearing with a pond and no one in sight for miles. At first it was just a cool hideout, somewhere he could go to get away from his crazy family and village bullies. But over the years he spent more and more time here, fixing it up and expanding the facilities. Next thing he knew he had completely moved in and claimed the land officially as his. 

Tossing the shirt on the couch, he walked into his bedroom and opened his dresser. He wasn’t sure what he’d need really, if this was a quick trip, and he hoped it was, he’d only really need two shirts, pants and his washing supplies. He already had his armor on, his swords were already by the door, polished and ready to go. He grabbed the shirts, extra pants, and his bag of supplies and stuffed them into a bag that he could tack onto his horses saddle. He’d grab a small coin purse for food and drink, which should cover him for his trip if he was careful. If he ran out of coin he’d only have to offer to chop wood for inns or something like that. 

As he turned to leave, bag in hand, he stopped by the kitchen and grabbed the oat bag for Sweetie. Most of the time she was content to just chew on grass, or even break into gardens and devour everything in sight. But oats, how she loved oats. 

The sun glared at him as he exited the house, he stopped briefly to lock it up before continuing down the path to the pasture. He could already see the giant grazing peacefully, black tail flicking away bugs as her dappled gray coat shone silver in the sunlight. She was truly a magnificent horse, holding a presence without even trying. She was a draft horse, one of the few capable of holding a full grown orc. And she was an absolute sweetie, hence, her name. 

“Got something for you, Sweetie,” Torren called as he entered the stall part of the pasture, grinning as her large head shot up, ears pointed forward and nostrils flaring. She smelled the oats like sharks smell blood in the water. With a graceful trot, she soon stood in front of him, towering over him by two feet. She bent down and nuzzled his cheek lovingly, snorting into his ear as he tried to shove her away. “We don’t have time to cuddle, girl. The King wants us at the castle by midday tomorrow.”

Sweetie snorted and stood upright again, flank twitching as she moved past him and into the tacking area. She was smart, smarter than most horses he’d met. She waited patiently as he began to saddle her, taking his time to secure the bag and oats in a place where she couldn’t get to it. She was tricksy, especially when it came to oats. But she also knew that those were a night time snack, something that he wouldn’t just give out unless they narrowly avoided death and allowed her to have something to chew on while he fought off a panic attack. 

He slid the reins over her head, patting her cheek as she opened her mouth to allow the rod to go in. Once she was fully outfitted, he lead her out of the stalls and closed the doors behind her. He swung up onto her back, and settled in. Gathering the reins, he clicked his tongue and set off down the dirt path that lead into town. The castle wasn’t too far, if he traveled nonstop today he’d be able to make it before midday tomorrow. Talk to the king, get the job done, and they’d be home before they knew it. 

~*~*~*~

Reaching the castle, Torren almost turned back around. He’d heard the rumors, how King Richard the second seemed to… overcompensate. The walls around the kingdom were large, but not as large as the damn castle. It towered over everything, almost as if it was a direct challenge to the gods. It was also very, very ugly with its pale brown coloring and lack of windows.

Showing his summons slip to the guards at the gate, he slowly made his way into the kingdom. It was another thing that irked him about King Richard, he was a man with “purist” beliefs. No race other than human was allowed past the walls without a proper invite. There was no trading, or apprenticeship allowed between humans and others. Which raised another red flag about this job offer, why would a king who hates his kind specifically ask him to complete a task for him. 

Torren tightened his fist on the reins as he watched the crowd wearily. He was going to die, either here or on this job if he wasn’t careful enough. The townsfolk weren’t bad, they looked more open to him than the guards did, but he didn’t dare interact with them. Not even to the young children who waved at him for the guards were watching him just as closely as he was watching them. 

Reaching the palace, he climbed off of Sweetie’s back and handed the reins over to the stable boy, a warning look in his eyes. If they mistreated her, he would rip all of their spines from their backs and beat them to death with it. Torren turned to look at the guards that approached him, back stiff as he towered over them. It was almost laughable, how they escorted him into the palace. 

The inside of the castle was just as ugly as the outside, the same beige walls, no decorations whatsoever. Whoever helped the king design this deserved to be publicly executed. Knights stood at every corner, some seemed to be standing at random places the further they got in. It was almost as if someone had just told them to pick a window and stand. The guards increased as they drew closer to the throne room, all of them standing at attention as they stopped in the middle. The guards beside him stood at attention, hands over heart and back straight. 

One of the guards announced the arrival of the king, everyone else following in salute. Torren looked up in expectation for the infamous King Richard the Second. Looking, looking, out of confusion, his gaze drew down to the floor when an irritated cough sounded. 

Oh, oh gods… 

Torren had to physically bite his tongue as he took in the sight of King Richard the second. No wonder the castle was so large and hideous, this man barely stood past a humans waist. He recalled an old nickname for the king, one that was immediately outlawed in the towns surrounding his kingdom. Little Dick Jr, the bane of all of Pufort. 

Torren knelt in front of the tiny king before any more offense could be given. And he had a lot to give at this moment in time. “Your grace,” he said stiffly. 

“Rise,” came the nasally response. “Do you know why I've called you here, orc?” Dick Jr asked once Torren towered over him again. 

“No, m'lord.” 

“I am a king without a queen, I'm basically a laughing stock in all the kingdoms!” Torren was willing to put money on it, that wasn't the reason why, but he knew better than to say that. “But there's a princess, locked away in a tower due east. And she will be my bride.” 

“And you wish me to retrieve her?” Torren asked for clarification. That didn't sound so hard at all. 

“Yes, it's a week’s journey all together, the roads are treacherous, but I'm sure you're no stranger to that,” again, nothing dangerous. “And then of course there's the active volcano and lava surrounding the castle and the dragon guarding it.” Ah, there it is. 

“I see, that doesn't sound too difficult for me,” Torren said, lying through his teeth. He could handle bandits, he could even sneak past a fucking dragon. But lava? An active volcano? That was something he'd never experienced before and wasn't too keen on the idea. 

“Perfect, we will discuss your payment when you get back. Godspeed, I wish to be married by the end of the month!” Little Dick Jr clapped his hands twice, alerting the guards that he was done talking to the half orc. 

Torren bowed his head and turned to make his leave. If he walked fast enough, he could get out of this city by the time the king reached the stairs. The guards had attempted to follow him out, but after they had to literally run to keep up they quit. It wasn't like he was going to do anything anyways. 

He eyed the gods awful bust of Dick jr. and contemplated tripping into it…

No, no. Not yet. 

~*~*~*~

If there were small miracles, Torren may have found one. Sweetie was in perfect condition when he had retrieved her, granted she had been touched by the stable hands and she made sure to voice her displeasure by biting his shirt and nearly throwing him into a mud pile. Sweetie was a sweetheart up until she had the wrath of the gods placed upon her. 

They had made their way out of the kingdom as fast as they could, and Torren was grateful that the guards didn’t give him an official escort out of the kingdom. Though, he had noticed several guards watching him carefully if he lingered too long in an area. Sure, there was traffic, but he was an orc, that was an unforgivable crime don’t you know? He half expected to get harassed when he passed by the front gate guards, but he was uncomfortably surprised to find that they did not. 

Oh, he was going to die on this mission. He should have gotten his affairs in order, who was going to take after Sweetie when he was gone? His brothers were half a kingdom away and his neighbors didn’t know he existed. Now, he was realizing as he traversed the hills, it was a bad time to be a hermit. Sweetie was smart though, maybe she’d find a new hermit to adopt and go about her life. 

Okay, maybe he should focus on traveling and not his soon to be untimely demise. 

Torren had just crested the hill overlooking the neighboring village when a shout came from his right. Looking over, he was wary to see an elf making his way over on his own sturdy steed. The elf seemed friendly enough, though most elves he met rarely stayed friendly. He paused and waited for the elf to approach, keeping a hand on his dagger just in case. 

The elf wasn’t bad looking, kind of handsome really if Torren was being honest with himself. Tall, a bit taller than most of the elves he met, golden skin that would make King Midas jealous. Long brown hair braided back in practicality rather than aesthetic, though it was a tad too ornate for pure practicality. He was dressed in simple leathers, with elven embroidery up around the shoulders, partially obscured by the cloak he wore. 

  “Hail, friend! I see you came from Pufort, a fine accomplishment for those of us considered too “unpure”,” the elf gave a laugh as he settled beside Sweetie. “Gavril, merc for hire,” he introduced himself as he put his hand out.

“Torren,” Torren said as he took the hand and shook it once. A mutual respect was given to the elf, some mercs stuck together, especially those around Pufort. The land wasn’t known for tolerance, mostly the guards fault, and so it wasn’t common to see many mercs who weren’t human. “What brings you to Pufort?”

“Ah, but the king, of course!” Gavril gave the man a bright smile before his smile dropped. “Better to talk here than in the village. Less ears.”

Torren felt his heart drop at the comment, dear gods was this the end? He hadn’t even made it out of Pufort yet! Gods, the amount of fun his brothers would have when they find out that he died in Pufort of all places… 

“I can see you’re freaking out, fear not, I am not going to say “long live Dickie”,” Gavril let out a laugh, and Torren didn’t appreciate it, like, at all. “He hired me a month back, and when I disappeared he chose to hire you.”

“And I should believe you, why?” Torren actually did believe him, it was just the dick move that Dickie would pull. But he was a distrustful man by nature, and so grilling the elf it was. 

“Why would I lie? Being here in of itself is a death sentence for me if one of his guards spots me,” Gavril shrugged. “No, I felt as if the job was far too… strange for me to complete without the full story.”

“And that story was?” Torren raised a brow as he shifted on Sweetie, who snorted in warning as she grazed. 

“The princess, she’s apparently the daughter of the neighboring kingdom, Aster. I did my research and went to them with the information on Richard. They don’t like the idea of an unsavory man such as him “rescuing” their daughter in such an unhonorable way,” Gavril leaned a bit as his voice dropped. “I was riding by, coming back from another business that I had to attend,  when I happened to have heard he had another summons, I thought it was only fair to let you know about it all.”

“And what, exactly, are you hoping to inform me of other than the princesses misfortunes?” Torren leaned slightly in despite himself. 

“I’m to meet another fellow, a minotaur by the name of Jardor. He was the princess's guard before she was imprisoned so she’d be more trusting of us. Her parents hired me to take her Aster instead of Pufort, and their offer is extended to any other mercenary hired by Richard.”

“And this is legitimate? How do you know they won’t cast you off to Richards' wrath once they have their daughter?” 

Gavril nodded as he sat upright. “A fair question, I, myself, found myself doubting it. However, I asked around their former employers and found that they were actually credible. I understand that you have no reason to believe me, but if you are curious you are more than welcome to come with me to meet up with Jardor.”

“And where is he?” Surely a minotaur would be noticeable around a place like Pufort.

“He was smart enough not to come to the welcoming land of Pufort,” Gavril said with a grin. “He’s in Halder’s Rest in the neighboring village, Stonewall, I believe.” 

“And you just happened to be riding by Pufort and saw me?” Torren raised a brow as he leaned back. 

Gavril let out a soft laugh. “Fair enough, I might have been lingering around to see what the little man’s reaction would have been.”

“How? You couldn’t have been allowed in the city.”

“It’s actually fairly easy to sneak in if you find the really dumb guards,” Gavril said with a smirk. “If you talk fast and use big words to explain away things, they simply just let you in.”

Torren shook his head, “very well. I’ll come with you to this Jardor, but I make no promises that I will join you.”

“Of course,” Gavril gave a bow to his head. “Now, what do you think are the odds that these kind folk will allow us to rest in their undoubtedly comfortable inn?”

“‘Us’?” Torren looked at the elf with furrowed brows. Surely he didn’t think they were going to travel to Halder’s Rest together, did he?

“Yes, ‘us’,” Gavril said with a raised brow. “Surely you didn’t think I’d just abandon you to these unwashed masses, did you?”

“Yes?” Torren wasn’t sure who he pissed off up there, but he was fairly sure he didn’t deserve this kind of forced upon companionship here. 

“Oh, my friend,” Gavril gave a sympathetic pout before clapping Torren on the shoulder. “You’re stuck with me.”

Gods help him.

~*~*~*~

Turns out, the good folk were not willing to rent out their plentiful rooms to two distinguished gentlemen like them. So, seeing as the guards started gathering around them once they exited, the duo had opted to camp out on the spacious planes outside of the village. Pro: it was a nice night out with the stars shining bright; con: there were wolves and they very much were eyeing them as a snack.

Luckily for them, the wolves found a rather unfortunate deer and left them alone for the rest of the night. After that, the sleeping got easier, though Torren still kept a hand on his dagger under his pillow. And if he noticed that Gavril did the same with his staff, well, he wasn’t going to be one to talk. 

The morning was a tense affair, Gavril had cooked and while it smelt delicious Torren wasn’t one for accepting food from strangers. But his mother also raised a gentleman with manners so he ate anyway. And it pissed him off more that it was, indeed, delicious in all honesty.

They set off not long afterwards, mounting their steeds and making their way to Stonewall, a village that was a good two hours away. Both Sweetie and Torren did their best to ride ahead of Gavril and his steed, Farren, however the two seemed to be professionals Thorn in his Side, for they stayed right on his heels, humming a stupid little song.

Torren really pissed off some of the gods. 

But, by the Grace of the gods, they finally made it to Halder's Rest with minimal spats. Or, "character building" in Gavril's mind. The vast difference between Aster's civilians and Pufort's was easily spotted. Where an inhuman was hard to see even just passing through in Pufort, it was hard to not see them in Aster. From vendors, to guards, to just a milk maiden lizard girl. 

It felt… welcoming. 

"Halder's Rest is just down the road,'' Gavril said as he led Farren though the bustling roads. 

Torren let him take the reins, not sure if he should run or not. He had no idea really what sort of situation he was walking into. One kingdom was going to be pissed off, that was for sure. Either Pufort or Aster, and he wasn’t sure which one was better. Aster wasn’t known for its military, sure it had it, but no one had seen it in action in well over a hundred years. They preferred to stay diplomatic in negotiations, and somehow it’s worked so far. And yet, he feared what Aster would do if King Richard the Seconded got his grubby little hands on their daughter. 

But another part feared what the King would do to him if he failed to deliver the princess. He wasn’t the first mercenary, and even Gavril admitted he was cheating death when he hung around Pufort waiting for Torren to leave. Pufort was well known for their military power. King Richard was always willing to fling a fleet at a neighboring kingdom, or hell, even his own people, if he felt there was even a hint of offense at him and his legitimacy of his rule. 

He should run, Torren realized. Like now, right now-

“Hey, there he is!” Gavril said as he pointed at the minotaur guard that stood outside the inn with his arms crossed.  “Jardor!”

Jardor looked up with irritation on his face. He was big, even for a minotaur and just as uniquely colored. Most minotaurs that Torren had come across were either brown or black with white colorations. But Jardor was a multi-colored minotaur, white based but he had russet, black, brown and gray mottled on the skin that was exposed through his armor. His horns were wide and angled high, making him more imposing.

“Stop calling attention to us,” the guard hissed as they drew closer. “You could jeopardize the mission.”

“Oh, please,” Gavril rolled his eyes. “There’s only milkmaids here, it’s not that dangerous.”

“The king could find out and send his fleet,” Torren hissed at the elf. 

“Exactly,” Jardor snorted as he shifted his stance. “Our success depends heavily on stealth. Until we deliver the princess back to the capital of Aster, we are not out of the weeds yet.”

Gavril sighed heavily but nodded. “So, are we heading out or is there other business we need to attend to first here?”

“We’ll head out, most of the pleasantries can be exchanged on the road,” Jardor said as he led them to the guards stables and pulled his draft horse out of the stall. As he mounted, Torren surveyed the town. It was a nice place to be, he supposed. But he still preferred his privacy.

“I don’t believe we met,” Jardor said to him as they set out. “I’m the Princesses’ guard, Jardor Stoneskin. And you?”

“Torren Azorrn,” Torren said finally. “Just got hired from the King-”

“-and poached from me once he left,” Gavril interjected with a cheerful grin.

“Yes,” Torren agreed with a heavy sighed. 

Jardor snorted and shook his head. “Of course,” he sighed. “I apologize for him, he was supposed to go home and then make his way back here. Though I am glad he did make the detour, I doubt I would have survived the trip with just the two of us.”

Torren found himself smiling as Gavril let out a gasp of mock hurt. “It is nice to have a more level headed company,” he agreed as Gavril mumbled to himself as the two men snickered. 

“I will have you two know, I am pleasant company!” Gavril said as he steered his horse next to Sweetie. 

“Of course, my friend,” Jardor said evenly with a placating smile. “Of course.”

“Why did you have to return home, anyways?” Torren asked with a raised brow at the elf. He had only mentioned business arrangements, but going home was an entirely different thing “Was that the other business you mentioned earlier?” 

“It was,” Gavril said defensively. “I have people at home who were waiting on me, had to let them know I’d be back for good later than anticipated.” 

Torren nodded and left it at that, he wasn’t going to judge people for their personal affairs, he knew that if he was still in contact with his own brothers he’d be doing the same. They lapsed into a silence after that, save for the occasional direction change from Jardor the other two were content with just following him. Finally, Torren found himself speaking up. “Jardor, if you’re the princesses’ guard, then why aren’t you with her?”

“Ah, there are two princesses in Aster, the one who is heir to the throne and the second in line should anything happen to the eldest sibling,” Jardor said. “The princess I served was the second in line, though she loathed the whole thing,” he added with a soft smile. “When she was...cursed, I was ordered to stay behind and help protect her sister.”

“So she’s cursed?” Gavril asked with a frown. “You didn’t mention that.”

Jardor shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I, yes, she’s cursed,” he said stiffly. “The sooner she comes home, I’m sure she’ll be closer to breaking that curse.”

“Isn’t true love usually the factor in those curses?” Gavril asked with a furrowed brow as Torren studied the minotaur. 

“Yes, but that is not the case here,” Jardor said with such confidence neither mercenary knew what to do with that. 

“So what is this curse?” Torren asked. “Why was she moved to such a remote location, surrounded by lava and a dragon?”

“It was considered necessary by the Throne, it was not my place to question it,” Jardor said stiffly. 

“So you did disagree,” Gavril noted. “Which means it likely isn’t a curse, and that makes me so much more intrigued, don’t you feel the same, Torren?” 

Torren didn’t comment. But he did note that the minotaur was clearly hiding something, and that made him all the more wary of this job. He should have just stayed home. 

“Must you grate on my nerves, elf-boy?” Jardor snapped as he looked at the elven mercenary. 

“Ah, elf-boy is actually my younger brother, a cute lad but not nearly as annoying as me, elf-man,” Gavril said with a grin, but it dropped quickly in the wake of a grim expression on his face. “Look, we can deal with a dragon, and even the lava. But if she’s cursed, we need to know exactly what we’re walking into.”

“Nothing dangerous,” Jardor promised, and the two men relaxed just a bit at that. The situation was weird, but Jardor radiated a trusting aura that it was hard to suspect they were walking into a trap. At least for Gavril, Torren always assumed there would be a trap involved when he traveled with others. “Just let me take the lead when we get to the tower, a familiar face will help her.”

“How long has she been locked away?” Torren asked finally. 

“Seven years,” Jardor said with a weary look in his eyes, and deeper down, pain. “It’s high time for her to come home.” He nudged his horse, kicking her into a faster gait as they made their way out of Aster and into the wildlands. “That said, we’re a three day journey away from the tower, it’s in a remote part of the country that few travel by. We shouldn’t face any resistance before the volcano.”

“Well then, let’s get ourselves a princess,” Gavril said with a smirk at Torren as he sent Farren barreling after Jardor. 

Torren sighed heavily and patted Sweetie’s neck, “let’s get this over with,” he said to her as he nudged her side gently, a gentle permission to run with the other horses, a permission that she gladly took as she galloped next to their two companions. In just three days, he’ll be fighting off a dragon surrounded by molten lava just to rescue a princess. That was the only certain thing he knew about this mission, if there was a curse, if they could get her to Aster before the King found out, if he still was getting paid.

Gods, was he still getting paid?

~*~*~*~

[eye of the tiger blasting]

Jardor kept the lead, forging ahead when Gavril decided that bickering with Torren was a Lovely Idea. Both men, both adult men, were constantly five seconds away from getting into a slapping fight that escalated when Gavril, a four year old apparently trapped in a twenty eight year old's body, claimed that Torren had hit him. 

Jardor just let it happen when Torren really did hit him. 

Setting up camp was a horrid affair, all three of them were skilled in camping, but those skills had varying degrees. Jardor could put up an excellent tent, but the sleeping cot kept getting tangled and eventually he just laid out on the mess with a stoic resolve. Torren was an expert in putting out his sleeping cot, but his tent kept falling out on one side and eventually he just moved Sweetie over to help keep it propped up with the promises of getting her an extra big bag of oats. And Gavril would put his tent up, but in the process of laying out his sleeping cot the tent would fall. When he’d try to put the cot up first, the tent would fall and he’d have to find his way back out again. And so, in a moment where his remaining two brain cells bumped together, he tied his tent up to the branches of the tree keeping it up and elevated while Torren glared at him from the inside of his lopsided tent that was beginning to smell of horse.

The morning didn’t help anything either. 

Torren, used to years of cooking and traveling by himself, had woken up early and made himself, and only himself, a nice breakfast. The other two, woken by the pleasant smell of bacon and the heavenly sizzle of fresh eggs being cooked, came out of their tents with growling stomachs and crushing disappointment when they spotted Torren eating it all by himself. Jardor was disappointed, Gavril was dismayed. The two had to fend for themselves, Jardor splitting a piece of jerky with the elf as they glared subtly in Jardor’s case, and blatantly in Gavril’s. 

When they finally set back out again, it was in lesser spirits than the day before. They were less than a day away, according to the smell of sulfur that got increasingly heavier as they traveled on. Gavril could see why no one had rescued the princess prior till now, the lands around the volcano were barren, the roads treacherous by hungry wolves. It was dangerous even for the three of them, he couldn’t imagine a merchant or a lone adventurer braving this land.

Well, maybe Torren.

But everyone else would be fucked.

Jardor let out a soft laugh up ahead and slowed to a stop at the crest of the hill. He glanced back at the two catching up, a light shining in his eyes as he grinned at them. “We’re here,” he announced as the tower, tall and magnificent, loomed below. It wasn’t exactly just a remote tower, Gavril could make out some crumbling structures of a once beautiful palace. He wondered, hoped really, that it was still stable and safe for the princess, surely her parent’s wouldn’t have dumped her into this hell hole if it was unstable. He paused, actually, he’s met some gods awful parent’s. It was a high possibility. But that was neither here nor there, the tower was still far enough away, but they would arrive there within the hour if they paced themselves. They still couldn’t spot the dragon, and none of them were willing to go head on against a fucking dragon.

Torren opened his mouth to speak, to ask what the plan was in case the dragon reared its head. But before he could utter a single word, a horn sounded from behind them. The three turned on their steeds to watch as a troop of soldiers made their way towards the tower, banners flying high, and armor glittering in the sunlight. 

Pufort. 

"Fuck," Gavril said with pursed lips. 

Fuck was right. 

~*~*~*~

Princess Amirah was absolutely, and positively bored. She had nothing else to paint, unless Harold suddenly changed their mind about her painting his scales. She’s run dramatically through the hallways a dozen times this morning, and really she wasn’t feeling it for a thirteenth time. All the books have been read, a countless amount of times. At this point she could quote the books and she did, constantly, to Harold as they cleaned their teeth from their meal each night. Harold never spoke as to whether or not they enjoyed it, but she assumed they would have put an end to it by now if they didn’t. 

She sighed heavily as she paced her room, paint brush in hand as she tried to figure out a new canvas. There was still some room on the window sill, maybe even the dresser if she painted small enough. She paused by the open window, the smell of sulfur no longer bothered her as she breathed it in. She barely remembered the smell of fresh, clean air. Or the sound of bustling streets, the maids coming in with sweet hushed words, her mothers hugs…

Amirah shook her head and smacked her cheek chastisingly with her paint brush. No, no thoughts like that, she’s survived seven years without those things, she can survive many more. In all honesty, she probably could leave. It wasn’t like anyone was going to come looking for her of all the princesses in this unholy tower. They were more likely to go for the skinny blonde overlooking the ocean than her. Which was fine, she was the second born princess of Aster, her sister was always considered the prettiest, the fairest, the princess that all should aspire to be. 

Amirah made it her mission to defy that expectation. She hated the princess duties that her mother and sister had forced her to attend. She hated the expectations that were expected of her as the second in line to the throne. To marry a neighboring kingdom, to secure an alliance between the two. To have their heirs and continue the bloodline. It all made her squeamish honestly. In a perfect life, she wouldn’t mind marrying and settling down on her own terms with someone that she truly loved. But she didn’t have the perfect life, she had her mothers expectations and her sister's legacy. 

She was honestly safer in the tower than back home. 

A strange sound filled the air, and a frown pulled at her lips as she looked off outside. She adjusted her glasses as another horn sounded, a horn of all things. Why would a horn be here, who was blowing the damned thing. They were going to wake Harold up!

Leaning out the window, Amirah let out a gasp as banners crested over the hill. Banners that belonged to Pufort, the kingdom ruled by King Richard. In the distance, she spotted three men charging ahead of the group, and hope glittered in her heart as she spied familiar horns. Was Jardor really here? She didn't know who the other men were, or what she assumed were male honestly she knew some beefy female knights, oh gods was Clarissa here? That would truly make her day. 

Before she could speculate, however, a loud roar filled the air and shook the ground. Clinging to the wall, Amirah looked up in slight fear. She knew that roar, and what it meant. A challenge, anyone who wanted her, had to go through them.

May the Divines bless their poor souls.

[eighth--wonder]

@technicallyaminecraftsimp @grayve @anastoundingmango pspspspspspspspspspsp i finished the game night fic

fandom: dream smp

pairings: none :] it's just some sbi shenanigans

warnings: they yell a lot but not in a threatening context, swearing

disclaimer: this is strictly about their characters. none of this is directed at or meant to represent the cc's.

enjoy :]

--

--

Tommy threw himself onto Wilbur. Wil grunted at the weight. 

"Oh, I'm boooooored." He whined. 

Phil sighed. "Then go do your chores, your rooms a mess."

Tommy groaned loudly. He threw his arms open wide, hitting Wil in the face. Wilbur gave Tommy a deadly side eye which he ignored. 

"Fine, fine. What do you want to do then?" Phil said, putting down the book he was reading. 

Tommy stared blankly at the ceiling for about 3 minutes. 

"He's thinking." Wilbur whispered.

"Must be why it's takin' so long." Technoblade muttered from his chair. 

"Oi!" Tommy shouted. He pushed himself off of Wilbur and lunged playfully at Techno, putting him in a sad chokehold.

"Oh you wanna go, Theseus?" Techno said, grabbing at Tommy. 

"Nononononono, please don't hurt me!" Tommy shouted, holding back laughter. The fear in his voice was fake, and a wide smile occupied his face.

Techno nodded in faux victory as Tommy flopped off his back and onto the floor. 

It was a solid minute before Tommy said something.

"Uno!" He said, pointing a finger in the air.

"Dos!" Wilbur shouted like he had accomplished something. 

"No you idiot, the card game." Tommy said, pulling himself up off the floor. "We're going to play Uno tonight." 

"I'm fine with that." Phil said. 

Tommy smiled and went to fetch the game. Upon returning, Wilbur snatched the small box out of his hands.

"You fools. You're all forgetting the most important factor in game night." He said. "The selling factor, the end all be all of game nights across the world."

"And that is?" Techno asked.

Wilbur looked him in the eyes. "Snacks."

Phil looked up at the ceiling. "No, we're not getting snacks. I'm not taking you guys to the store at this hour." The clock read 11:30pm.

"Then I'm not playing." Wilbur crossed his arms.

Tommy looked at Wilbur and then at Phil. 

"Yeah. Then we're not playing." 

"Snacks would be nice." Techno looked at Phil.

"Techno, you're supposed to be the reasonable one." Phil sighed. 

"Morals mean nothing if snacks are in the equation." 

Tommy bounced excitedly and Wilbur had a smug look on his face. 

Phil looked distraughtly at his keys. Taking them to the store would be hell. But, he did really want to play Uno. 

"Fine!" He said in defeat. Everyone erupted in a small chorus of cheers. 

"Big Man Phil. Couldn't handle the pressure of a 16 year old and some sad wannabe Shakespeare enthusiast?" Techno said to him smugly as they were walking to the car. Tommy and Wilbur had raced ahead of them to see who would get the front seat. Wilbur won and Tommy had been trying to convince him he hadn't.

"Oh shut up." Phil said, pushing Techno to the side a bit. They both laughed.

"I get the music." Tommy said. Somehow, Tommy had gotten the passenger seat. 

"Well, no." Wilbur whined. "You're just going to play the Able Sisters." 

"No! No, no I won't." Tommy stumbled over his words. He definitely was going to. 

The car ride was loud. Wilbur wouldn't stop shouting at Tommy to change the song and Phil kept threatening to turn the car around. Techno had fallen asleep in the back seat. 

They arrived at a Walmart. There was one other car in the parking lot. Phil prayed it was the cashiers car. The less people to see Wilbur and Tommy go completely apeshit the better. 

The store seemed empty. The air was crisp and the vibe felt forbidden. 

"Okay, what d'you guys want." Phil said. 

"Sour Patch Kids!" Tommy yelled. One of the cashiers, a black and white haired boy, looked up at the sound of Tommy's voice. He looked highly unamused. 

"No, those taste like shit." Wilbur whined. 

"Oh shut up! They taste wonderful!" Tommy said, his voice a bit higher in pitch. 

Wilbur rolled his eyes. 

"Oh, Phiiiiiiiiiillll." Tommy whined. "Can I sit in the cart?" 

Phil nodded.

Phil stepped away from the cart to inspect a bag of chips. In the 2 seconds it took him to step forward, Wilbur had grabbed the handles to the cart. Tommy laughed.

"What are you doing, Wilbur?" He said. His voice was damp with laughter. 

Wilbur said nothing. He had an evil grin on his face as he positioned his feet on the floor. 

Phil turned around at the sound of Tommy's giggles. 

"What are you- oooooh no, Wilbur." Phil said, a small hint of laughter crept into his voice.

"Ready, 3. 2. 1. GO!!" Tommy and Wilbur shouted in unison. 

Wilbur took a running start and pushed the cart forward with speed. Once the cart gained enough speed, he hopped on the back of it. The cart sailed down the aisle, knocking down 2 small sample stands in the process. They were yelling the entire time, whooping and hollering nonsense as the air pushed their hair back. 

Phil pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh. Techno was bent over laughing. 

Tommy and Wilbur rounded the corner, Wilbur hopping off the back of the cart and skidding the cart to a halt in front of Phil and Techno. They were both out of breath and giggling like schoolgirls. 

"Are you two done? Can we actually shop now?" Phil said. Techno was still dying in the background, holding onto Phil's shoulder for stability. 

"Sure, but I'm still pushing the cart." Wilbur said. 

Phil shrugged halfheartedly. He really didn't care who pushed the cart, he literally just wanted to play Uno. 

Wilbur steered the cart haphazardly around the store, grabbing items he wanted and making an effort to hit Tommy as he threw them into the cart. Techno and Phil walked behind them, grabbing onto small items they planned to put in the cart later. 

"Phil, Tommy and I have decided we want to go rogue." Wilbur said. Tommy was sat behind still in the shopping cart, nodding. 

"I literally don't care mate, do whatever you want. Just know you're getting what I pick."

Wilbur didn't respond, just turned back to Tommy and nodded seriously. Tommy nodded seriously in return, ruining the mood with his giant smile and quiet giggling. 

Tommy stumbled out of the cart, Wilbur not bothering to help him in any way and just watching him fall. Once he regained his balance, the two set off to wander the store aimlessly. And probably make a nation if Wilbur was going. 

The cashier from earlier began making his rounds, glancing down every aisle to make sure it wasn't a mess. He got to the sample stands that Tommy and Wilbur had knocked down and made a face of pain was it? No, it wasn't pain. It was more tiredness. Or disbelief. A mix of both to be honest.

Techno felt bad. The cashier was obviously in high school and the bags under his eyes were so clearly visible. His shift must end soon and he shouldn't have to clean up after Techno's god awful brothers. 

"Here. Take this." Technoblade said, handing the boy a $20 bill. "They're literally so annoyin' and destructive, it's the least I can do."

The boy took the money gratefully. He thanked Techno about 700 times before pocketing the money and picking up the mess. 

Across the store, Tommy and Wilbur could be heard shouting and laughing. Tommy's cough-laugh echoed through the store. 

They arrived at the checkout. Phil was the only one putting items on the belt as Tommy and Wilbur were still in the store somewhere and Techno was bagging the items. 

The two men stood patiently at the doors, waiting for Tommy and Wilbur so they could leave. The store had gone quiet. Phil wasn't concerned in the slightest and Techno didn't care.

"Fuck it. We're leaving without them." He said, turning around and activating the automatic sliding doors. Techno shrugged and followed, happy he would finally get the front seat. 

Phil drove the car into an unlit part of the parking lot. He sat there, tapping his thumbs to the beat of Techno's music. 

The two chatted while waiting for Tommy and Wilbur to get there. It was a good half hour before they came out of the store. They were looking frantically for the car and kept hitting each other on the arms. Phil unsuccessfully suppressed a laugh. 

"Oh, they're such idiots." He said after he stopped laughing. He drove the car around in a circle three times before they noticed him. 

"You left us you prick!" Tommy shouted once he had gotten in the car.

Phil laughed. Wilbur couldn't care less about being left behind. He was helping Techno pick music for the ride home.

"It's not funny Phil! I'm like the kid from Home Alone." He said gloomily. "It's like no one cares about me." 

"Awww. Don't say that, Tommy." Phil said. His smile could be heard in his voice.

Tommy grunted. He crossed his arms and looked dramatically out the window. It took him about 2 minutes to get over it though, as he soon was rummaging through the bag of snacks.

"Hey! Those are for when we get home! Stop." Phil shouted, looking in his rear view mirror. 

Tommy stuck his tongue out at him but stopped eating. Wilbur on the other hand was elbow deep in a bag of salt and vinegar chips and didn't plan on stopping. 

Wilbur and Tommy talked the whole time home. Their voices raised a bit at times but were brought back down by an evil stare from Phil. Techno had control of the music, as he was the only one with a playlist everyone could agree on.

They all piled out of the car. Phil carried the bags and Techno locked the car. Tommy and Wilbur had yet again decided to race back. Tommy lost this time and Wilbur decided in that moment he would never let Tommy forget it.

Everyone sat in their respective seats upon entering the house. Phil on the recliner, Techno on the giant chair, and Wilbur and Tommy either right next to each other or on opposite sides of the couch. In this case, they were right next to each other. On other days, Wilbur would just sit on the floor. 

"Alright let's play." Phil said, grabbing the box of cards off the table and dealing them. 

They each got 7 cards. Wilbur hated his cards, Techno loved his, Tommy was too tired to comprehend if he liked them or not, and Phil thought his were alright.

The game started. As usual, Techno and Phil got way too into it, standing up and dramatically placing down their cards with shitty one liners.

"You thought you had won the round just by lookin' at your cards, huh Phil. Well sorry to break it to you, I'VE WON THIS ROUND OLD MAN!" Techno yelled. He placed down a yellow 6 on top of the already placed blue 6.

Phil dipped the tip of his hat to shade his eyes. "You fool. You absolute fool. You really thought you won this?" Phil laughed. He placed down a yellow 2. 

Techno gasped. "But Phil, you said you didn't have any yellow cards!" 

Phil slammed his hand down on the table. "I was simply bluffing!" He shouted.

Techno crossed his arms. "Wil, make your move."

Wilbur halfheartedly threw down a red 2. 

"Tommy, your turn." He said. 

Silence. 

"Tommy?" Techno said, turning to face where the boy was sitting. 

He was asleep, his head on Wilbur's shoulder. His cheek was smushed and his cards had fallen out of his hand. 

"Awwww." Phil said. 

"Don't you dare 'awwww' me. I'll kill you." Wilbur said, being careful not to move the shoulder Tommy was resting on. 

A moment of silence followed.

"So I'm guessin' the game's over?" Techno said. 

Phil nodded. "Yeah, it seems it is."

They all looked at the sleeping boy.

"You get his arms, I get his legs?" Techno said.

"No, I say we leave him here." Phil said.

"Wait no." Wilbur said. 

Techno nodded. "Yeah, that seems reasonable." He said, grabbing his coat and heading towards his bedroom. 

"Guys please, no." Wil said. He was smiling. 

"G'night Wil!" Phil said, waving and leaving the two boys in the living room.

Wilbur smiled fondly. "Those little shits."

He laughed quietly to himself before leaning his head on top of Tommy's and drifting to sleep.

[buckyscrystalqueen]

Meant To Be: Part 10

Pairings: Past Machine Gun Kelly x Reader, Opie x Reader

Warnings: Swearing, drug use, cheating

Word Count: 4,935

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9

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

A loud screech directly in front of your face jolted you from your nap, followed by toddler strength slap to your cheek, and a second screech.

“Child, what the actual fuck?” You groaned as you opened your eyes and watched Opie try to wrestle Gage into a diaper while your son continued to screech, laugh his butt off, and squirm with all his might to get away.

“Sorry. He is just not having anything of it...”

“Gage Michael!” You barked as you threw the blanket off of you and sat up. “This is not naked baby time! Naked baby time is after your bath...”

“Oh... um... I kinda had to spray him down?” Opie said hesitantly as he looked up at you. “You were out, and I heard him giggling so I was gunna take him outside to play on the swings so you could sleep a little more, but he was covered in shit, and... well I didn’t really know what to do so I just hosed him off in the bath and used the towel...”

“Then let him go for a bit.” You sighed with a nod. “It’s fine. Saves me a step before bed, but you should have woke me up. You didn’t have to do all that.”

“Yea, well you looked tired as hell.” He said as he set the clean diaper down on the coffee table as you both watched your son take off too push his dump truck popper toy around your living room, as happy as can be in his birthday suit. “And the kid fucking reeked.”

“That happens.” You laughed as you stretched your back out. “Time’s it?”

“Four thirty.” He said as he moved his foot out of the way for the toy. “And I’m just gunna fucking do what I should have done a decade ago and see if I can take you both to dinner tonight. My treat. I know a place by the beach, we can sit, and watch sunset if that’s not to late for him.”

“You don’t care that I literally just got out of a relationship and am currently knocked up?”

“OK one, does it look like I care, and two, can you really call that a relationship or just a toxic partnership?”

“Look, he may be a toxic, cheating, drug addicted scum bag, but he did give me two children and a lot of good memories, too.”

“And I respect that. But let me ask you this. Is the life you had with him the life you really see yourself raising your kids in long term?” He paused for a moment to let that question sink in, before he crossed his feet on the floor and leaned forward to rest his arms on his bent legs. “Look, you know me well enough to know I don’t fuck around with women I’m not serious about. I also know you well enough to know that you don’t like being alone. And I know that if you don’t move on, you’ll go back to him, and I couldn’t live with myself if I waited around for you to see your own self worth only to lose you to him again before that’s happened. So, I’ll ask again. No expectations. You wanna go to dinner tonight?” You groaned and covered your face with both your hands as you fell back into your couch.

“I hate that you know me so well!” You whined as you sat up and looked over at him with a shake of your head. “This better be the best mother fucking restaurant in the fucking world cause I’ll be really fucking pissed if our first date sucks...”

“It’s food truck city. You’ll have plenty of options to pick from and they’re all good.”

“The fuck is food truck city?!”

“It’s by the beach.” He repeated with his eyebrow raised. “How have you not seen it when you go to the beach?”

“Because I don’t go to the beach.” You giggled with a shake of your head. “I had a pool in my back yard...”

“OK, get the fuck up.” He laughed as he got off the floor with a giant smile on his face. “We’re fixing this problem right fucking now. I’m gunna go grab my other shorts from the truck and I’ll help you get your little nudist into a suit after. This is fucking ridiculous.”

“God, just as dramatic as ever!” You called out as you stood up to grab your child. “Come on, bubba. Opie’s gunna show you what the beach is all about.” With surprisingly very little coercing, you got your son in a swim diaper and a bathing suit, packed a small beach bag, and changed into a suit yourself in under twenty minutes. You let Opie drive your car so you didn’t have to move the car seat and so you could cover your kid in sun screen, and just when you were about to ask him about parking, he pulled into a house a couple blocks from the beach.

“Is this your place?” You asked as you leaned forward to look at the stunning house.

“Buddy of mine married a doctor.” He said with a shake of his head. “I use his driveway and save myself the parking fees as payment for photographing his wedding for half what I usually charge.”

“Do you have to go up...?”

“Nah, they’re both at work.” He said as he got out of the car with you and pulled open the back door to get Gage. “I already called him.”

“I got the stroller.” You started as you put the beach bag on your shoulder, but he shook his head.

“I got him.” He said as he shut the back door and moved Gage to his shoulders. “See, that view is much better.” He said over your son’s peels of laughter. “Can you carry my camera.”

“Oh, my God please do not drop my kid!” You laughed as you shouldered his bag and nervously reached up to keep Gage in place.

“Really? You think I’m gunna, what? Drop him on his head or something?” He laughed as he looked over at you, before faking a worried look and lifting Gage’s leg a couple inches. “Whoa... whoa!”

“Harry Winston, don’t even play!”

“She remembers the full name.” He chuckled as he lead you down the street. “Impressive.”

“Shut up.” You huffed as you whacked his arm and glanced up at your son again, who was curiously looking around at his new view of the world. “Wait, stop for a second.” You said as you grabbed his arm and pulled him to a stop beside you. “He’s in awe right now.”

“It’s a pretty good view from up here.” He teased as he adjusted his grip on Gage’s legs. “Like right now, I have a killer view of this gorgeous pair of tits.”

“You’re unbelievable.” You laughed as you took a couple pictures of the two of them. “All I get is a beard.”

“That’s cause you’re short.” He pointed out as the three of you kept walking down to the beach. You gasped and fake pouted for a moment as he laughed at his own joke, but when he pouted his bottom lip out at you, your heart skipped a beat.

“Is it bad that I wish you hadn’t listened to my brother?”

“Our worlds would be a lot different, that’s for sure. I never would have moved to this hell hole town.”

“And I wouldn’t be bringing ten tons of emotional baggage with me.” You sighed as you crossed the road beside him.

“I’m not afraid of a little baggage.” He said as you stopped at a corner to cross the main road. “Especially when I know the girl carrying it. Not the girl she’s been trying to be, but the real deal, Southern born and bred, trash talkin’, gun shootin’, hunting in camo instead of going to church on Sunday morning girl.”

“You’re gunna make me start cryin’ again.” You pointed out as you followed him to the first of roughly a half dozen food trucks by the beach.

“Well, you can’t pick out something to eat if you are, so I suggest you stop and pick something.” He said as he took Gage off his shoulders and put him on his hip. “What about you, little man? What sounds good to you tonight? Uh huh. Yea, I think so, too. Uh huh...” A smile spread back across your face as Opie listened and chatted with Gage, pointing out different colorful things for him to look at and talking to him as if he was his best friend and not a one year old.

“Oh, my God. Fried Okra.” You said as you stopped in front of the second to last truck with a shake of your head. “I haven’t had fried okra in years.”

“Fried okra it is.” Opie said with a smile as he stepped over and got in line. “What else you thinking? Their southern mac is pretty spot on, too.”

“He’ll definitely like the mac.” You said with a nod as you stayed close, but far enough away to see the menu on the side. “Fuck, I don’t know. I want a little of everything.”

“Then we split a bunch of shit.” He said with a shrug. “My favorite is their shrimp and grits or their biscuits and gravy...”

“OK, you’re making the pregnant girl even more hungry than she was five minutes ago.” You laughed as you moved back over to his side. “But I’m down to splitting a couple things.”

“We’ll take one of everything for Opie.” He requested the second he walked up to the window. “No kick for the kid on the side of grits. And a beer, a large sweet tea, and what for little man?”

“I’ll do a water and a fruit punch for him. He’ll like that.”

“Alright bud, can you hand her the money?” Opie asked as he handed Gage a fifty, turned him toward the counter, and pointed at the lady. “You gotta share. Can you give it to her?” She ‘aww’ed’ at your son as Opie gently pushed his hand toward the window so the woman at the register could reach it, and he cheered for him when he let go of the payment, which made your pride and joy laugh and clap his hands excitedly.

“He’s adorable.” The woman said as she got Ope’s change.

“He’s his mother’s son in the looks department, that’s for sure.” Opie said with a glance over at you. “Keep the change, hun.”

“Thank you so much! We’ll call your name when it’s ready.” With a nod of his head, he put his hand on the small of your back and led you over to a half empty group of stone picnic tables. He grabbed one closest to the sand, and sat you down on one side of the bench facing the water to hand you Gage.

“Hey.” He said softly before he went back to get the food. You hummed and looked up at him as you situated your son on your lap, and he smiled for a half second before leaning down to kiss you. “Didn’t feel like waiting until the end of the date.”

“You are just trouble, mister.” You said as you reached out and grabbed his shirt before he could walk away. “I like it.”

“Oh, I’ve always been trouble.” He growled as he leaned down to kiss you again. “And you better fucking love it.”

“I do.” You confirmed as he turned and walked back up to the truck to get your food. You set up what you needed for Gage and looked up at Ope as he set the full tray of food down on the table. You both got an absolute kick watching your son fall in love with butter grits, and surprisingly, not the homemade mac and cheese you expected him to love, but you both about died laughing at the horrified look he made when he tried and quickly spit out the okra.

“It’s an acquired taste, bubba.” You laughed as you gave him some more grits to make it all better. Just like Opie had promised, there were no other expectations from the date, other than to just enjoy your evening. He took care of the bags as you helped Gage explore the new environment; snapping a few photos of quick range of emotions the child felt as he stood in sand for the first time, and documenting his sheer joy at the cold waves of the Pacific Ocean. And then his up close presence changed to one from afar as you played as a mother to a little boy, who didn’t also have to keep an eye on your troublesome ex for the first time in a long time.

You took your time building a small sand castle by the shore line just so Gage could smash it all down when you were finished, and you taught him how to chase after the seagulls like all little boys should do. You helped him pick out the best shells to bring to Opie as gifts, who put them all in his pocket as if they were his new prized possessions, and showed him how to gently return a starfish to the water where he lived. You sat in the shallow water with him standing between your thighs to get him to laugh every time a wave washed over your laps, and pointed out the surfers and the setting sun, which he was not that interested in, until he finally just collapsed in your arms in sheer exhaustion and passed out. 

“You wanna take him home?” Opie asked as he sat up and put his camera away when you walked over with Gage fast asleep on your shoulder.

“In a little bit.” You said as you used his shoulder to sit down in the sand beside him. “I haven’t sat and watched the sunset in years.” You glanced over at his nod and took the towel he was handing you to wrap your son up. “Will you stay tonight? I don’t want this night to end yet.”

“Absolutely.” He said with a nod as he draped your towel over your shoulders. “It’d make my day ten times better.”

“Mine, too.” You agreed as you leaned over into his side with a sigh, realizing for the first time that this date didn’t feel forced the way the one and only date with Colson did. “Thank you.”

“Any time, sweetheart.” He said softly as he scooted closer and wrapped his arm around your waist. “Any time.”

——

“Wait, you’re back?!” Your old agent, Shawn, nearly shouted. “Like back, back. Like taking work...”

“I’m back.” You said over him as you made breakfast for you and Opie while Gage babbled incoherently to his French toast stick pieces and cut up grapes. “But tell who ever that I’m sixteen weeks pregnant. But I don’t give a shit if it’s TV or a modeling gig or what, I just need something.”

“OK, you said sixteen weeks pregnant?” He clarified as he took notes, when a phone call beeped in on your other line.

“Yea, just hit four months.” You confirmed with a nod as you looked at Colson’s ID picture. You ignored the call and hit a quick text letting him know you’d call him back, which only made him call you back immediately anyways. “So not super showing yet, but if you squint, you can see it.”

“OK, I know for a fact Inked wants you.” He said as Colson called back yet again, which made Opie reach out to send the call to voicemail for you. “Inked has wanted you for months, I just didn’t know whether you wanted to come back after everything or not.”

“Yea, I wanna be back.” You sighed as you served up breakfast plates while a splash of regret washed over you. “Just don’t wanna think about my past shit anymore. Trying to move on, you know?”

“Right, of course. Well, let me make some calls. I know people have been in touch the past two years to see if you were taking jobs or not, but I gotta see if too much time has passed...”

“Just tell them I’m down for anything but porn.” You said as Colson called back a fourth time. “Keep me posted, I got another call.” You handed Ope his plate and hit answer with an annoyed growl. “Dude, I am on the fucking phone!”

“Yea, well when I see fucking pictures of my son and my girl at the beach with some other guy  first thing when I get off the fucking plane, I’m gunna blow your shit up ‘til I find out what the fuck is going on!”

“I’m not your fucking girl anymore, Kels!” You shouted back as you threw your pan in the sink. “That was your mother fucking choice. And I made a choice based off your stupid fucking choices, too. Now can I eat my breakfast in peace...”

“Where’s my kid?” He demanded over the sound of his car door slamming shut. “I wanna see my kid.”

“He’s eating breakfast, I’ll FaceTime you...”

“Tell me where my Goddamn kid is now, or I will put out a fucking warrant for kidnapping!” He shouted over you, which made Opie jump to his feet when he saw the sheer rage flash in your eyes.

“Mother fucker, I will drag your Goddamn name through the fucking mud if you so much as think of putting a warrant out on me ever again, do you hear me, bitch?! Don’t you fucking dare threaten me...”

“Easy...” Opie breathed in your ear as he stood against your back and took the second frying pan from your hand while Gage started to scream. “Easy, baby girl. You’re pregnant...”

“Tell me where my son is, and I won’t fucking have to!” Colson shouted back as Opie gently grabbed your wrists and crossed them over your stomach. Your whole body started to shake as you fought the conflicting feelings in your mind, and you teared up as you took a shuttering breath to respond.

“555 Whipper Willow Court.”

“I’ll be there in 30.” He barked before hanging up the phone, and you instantly dissolved into tears.

“I hate him.” You sobbed as Ope lowered you to your knees on the vinyl plank wood floor.

“I know, sweetheart.” He said with a nod.

“I need to find a lawyer.” You gasped as you stood up quickly and grabbed your phone. “Fuck, I gotta get ahold of that guy before he does.”

“OK, well I’m gunna head out for a bit...”

“No, please stay.” You said as you looked up at him with a desperate shake of his head. “He’s never hit me before but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t hit walls near me when we’re both going at it.”

“Then I’m not going anywhere.” He stated simply with a single nod. “I’ll clean up little man and take him out back while you call, OK? We got time.”

“Opie...” You said as your phone call to the lawyer that did your custody case with your mom started to ring through on speaker. He paused to turn around to look at you as you started to tear up again. “Thank you.”

“Of course, baby girl. I’d do anything for the three of you.”

“Adam Gracey’s office, Nicole speaking.”

“Nicole, it’s (Y/N) (Y/L/N). I need to schedule an urgent appointment with Mr. Gracey today to file for primary or even full custody...”

“I’m sorry Ms. (Y/L/N), Mr. Gracey is leaving today at...”

“It can’t wait.” You interrupted as you took the call off speaker and put the phone up to your ear with a shaky hand. You took a deep breath, knowing there was no other way than then truth you had tried so hard to manipulate in your favor just a month before in this situation, and exhaled forcefully. “We’re going through a horrible break-up and I don’t trust my ex around me right now, and I’m pregnant with our second. And even though I got clean two years ago, I’m worried he’ll try to use that against me to take my kids into an absolutely toxic environment without me in it to protect them from his lifestyle because he still uses drugs. Please... please, I’m begging you. I need to get the paperwork in before he does. Please. I know how this looks right now, but please...” Nicole stayed silent on the other end of the line for a moment, before you heard your lawyer’s voice faintly in the background.

“I remember them. Call the jet and push it back to four. Tell her to be here at one on the dot, or I’ll have to leave...”

“Oh, thank God.” You gasped as relief washed over you and took a giant weight off your shoulders. “Thank you, I’ll be there on time, I promise. Thank you so much.”

“We’ll see you at one, Ms. (Y/L/N).” Nicole said with a smile in her tone before she hung up to answer the next call.

“Does that smile mean you beat him to the lawyer?” Opie asked as he came out of the downstairs bathroom with your de-syruped son.

“He’s squeezing me in at one.” You said with a nod as you looked over at him. “You got him for a minute?”

“Yep. We’re gunna go out and swing a while, right little man?”

“I’ll be out in a minute.” You said with a nod. After locking the front door so Colson couldn’t just walk right in, you ran upstairs to double check the safety net of cash you had been squirreling away since you found out you were pregnant with Gage. It was small, considering it was mainly just all of your paychecks from working at the farm stand for a few months, some money your dad had secretly gave you when you dropped him off at the airport, and what was left in your savings account when you moved back home, but it was better than nothing since your current bank account didn’t look much better after renting the house you did. 

The weight that had lifted moments before settled right back down on your shoulders as the thought that, even if you were to get custody, you wouldn’t be able to keep your head above water for very long without work crashed down, and made you wonder if it would just be easier to go back to Colson to avoid what was about to come. But that thought was temporarily pushed aside when your ex started to ring the door bell incessantly between his angry pounding.

“Jesus, this man.” You growled to yourself as you put your money back in it’s hiding spot and headed down stairs to get the door.

“Who the fuck is here?” Kels demanded as he walked right by you without a glance.

“Friend from back home.”

“Where is he?”

“Jesus, asshole. Can you fucking chill out for one minute. No stop.” You said as you jumped in front of him before he could go upstairs. “This ain’t your fucking house, Kels. It’s mine. You’re not just helping yourself to roam about my house...”

“Move.” He said as he reached around you to grab the latch of the baby gate, and with your close proximity to it, you got pushed out of the way a couple feet when he swung it open forcefully.

“Hey!” Opie shouted, making your ex freeze as the former handed you your son and moved to stand in front of you. “I don’t fucking think so.”

“You the fucking prick that thinks he can move in on my fucking girl?” Colson asked as he stood up to his full height, which was the exact same as Opie’s. “Yea right.”

“No, I’m the fucking man that’s stepping up to treat her better than you could ever fucking dream of, boy.”

“Oh the fuck you are.” Kels said as he pulled back to knock Opie out in his rage, but your childhood friend grabbed his wrist before he could even come close to connecting with a simple smirk.

“Smile, mother fucker.” Ope said as he gestured to his side at his DSLR camera that you didn’t realize he had set up on the table by the door when you were upstairs. “You’re on candid camera. Judge’s love violence.”

“Wait, what... you filed for fucking custody?!” He shouted as he ripped his hand back and looked at you in total shock. “You’re fucking serious.”

“Colson, I’m not gunna take your kids from you.” You said with a shake of your head as you held Gage tightly to your chest. “But I don’t trust you to be alone with them.”

“Oh, I’ll see you in fucking court then, bitch.” He said with a nod. “All because you think I slept with some girl I didn’t even touch. Looks like you’re the slut here, shackin’ up with some new guy...”

“That’s enough.” Opie said loudly before you could say anything incriminating on camera. “Are you here to see your son or what?”

“No, my son needs to be home where he belongs...”

“Not without a court order.” You said with tears in your eyes and a shake of your head. “Or until you can pass a drug test.”

“Oh, because you have the moral high ground on that one. I’m not the one that overdosed when I was pregnant.”

“And you’re also not the one that’s stayed sober since then either.” You said evenly, hating that you had to use things you were sometimes guilty of yourself against him. “We have a swing set out back. Do you want to spend time with your son...?”

“Nah, I’ll be back with a court order to take him home real soon.” He said as he yanked open your front door. “And a fucking restraining order to keep Lurch here away from my kid.” You jumped when he slammed the door behind him, and Opie instantly reached back and picked up his camera.

“Take this to your lawyer today.” He said as he stopped the video and handed you the whole camera. “Just hit this play button twice and it’ll play back the whole thing. I’m gunna have a buddy of mine that owes me a favor- tech kid, he’ll put up cameras for the next time he comes back...”

“Ope, I can’t ask you to do that...”

“It’s no big deal...”

“It’s no big deal that I can’t afford!” You hissed back as you bounced Gage in your arms to get him to stop crying. “I’m fucked here unless my agent calls back. I will either be able to afford a good lawyer and be homeless by the time Colson finishes dragging this out as long as he can because he knows I’m broke, or I get a shit lawyer I can afford and I lose my kids. So I can’t afford some fancy cameras to make my case, all I have is my word against his so I’m probably just better off dealing with the cheating to keep my kids safe...”

“OK... OK.” He said as he locked the front door and stepped over to you to pull you and Gage both into a hug. “Listen, I’m not fucking around when I say I’m in this. You need help with bills, I can easily move in, because I live in a studio apartment paying month by month, and I hate the place. Shit, I’ll even sleep on the couch if need be. (Y/N), I moved out here to help you years ago. I just... well I lost you for a minute there, but now that I’ve got you back, I’m not letting you or your kids go. 

I’ve known since the day I fucking met you at that stupid middle school dance that we were meant to be, and I don’t give a shit what you’re going through right now, same as I wouldn’t have cared if I had been able to save you when you were using. I’m here for it, just like I should have been years ago when I saw how bad you were with using, and years before that when I saw the start of your down slide at my graduation. I know it’s messy and fucked up, and confusing as hell right now, and even if you just see me as a friend at the end of the day, let me help you. Let me help get you on your feet after everything you have been through until you are able to finally see the woman that I know is hiding under layers of make up, ink, and choices that were made for all the wrong reasons. Let me help you love yourself again. Let me help you be the mother I saw at the beach last night, who is willing to kill herself to make sure her babies are safe and sound. Let me help you, because I know you won’t let anyone else do it for you.”

“Opie.” You cried into his chest, which made him carefully tighten his arms around you in a way that didn’t squish Gage.

“I’m here.” He said with a nod as he leaned down and kissed the top of your head. “I’m not going anywhere. Not for anything.”

Part 11

[liklty]

Wizard And Sorceress - Hisirdoux Casperan | Becoming: Part 2

Plot: (Y/N) (L/N), a 17-year-old girl who has long known she was a sorceress, has been roped into her cousin’s Trollhunter adventures alongside a couple of friends. 

Word Count: 1326

Warning: Like, one swear word

A/N: NoneTo say the least, classes were uneventful. You had art first thing in the morning, followed by math, which always took out the last two brain cells. You had French in the afternoon, which was later followed by English.

After school, you, Jim, and Toby grabbed your bikes and walked through the locker area where Toby said that he was almost done with his braces. By almost, he means in 4 years. Towards your right, you heard Steve and his friends laughing as the blonde slammed a locker shut, a locker that had a poor kid, Eli stuck inside. It was impossible not to feel sorry for the brunette.

“Okay,” Toby said, his voice quivering slightly, “Nothing to see here.”

“We can’t just let him do that,” Jim told him, frowning.

“Uh- yes, yes we can if we just look the other way.” You said, looking straight ahead.

You wanted to help, you really did, but you didn’t know where to start. Well, you did, but you didn't think acting on it was a good idea. Plus, despite the fact that you were older than them by a couple of years, you were too much of a coward to go up there and take Eli out.

“Yeah, exactly. If Psycho Steve’s terrorizing him, he’s not terrorizing us.” When Toby saw your cousin approaching Steve, he did a double-take. “Jim?” his eyes widened, as did yours. “Jim! Oh, no...”

Eli had claimed to have seen creatures with stone skin and fangs in the canal earlier that morning. Jim tried to persuade Steve to let Eli out, but the blonde growled and grabbed the front of Jim's shirt, yanking Jim towards him. As you and Toby moved through the small crowd that had gathered around the two boys, his fist was raised, ready to punch him. 

Jim was encouraging Steve to strike him, while Toby was silently repeating "no" over and over. Your eyes darted around, checking if there were any teachers nearby, as you looked at your cousin with worry.

Toby then began chanting, “Let him out! Let him out! Let him go!”

You and the other students were quick to jump in. Steve squinted at the crowd before raising his fist a little higher and scowling. Fortunately, Couch Lawrence burst through the door before anything could happen, forcing Steve to drive the other boy away. Couch pointed a finger at Steve.

“Palchuch, what’s going on here?” He demanded. 

Steve rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and said, "Uh, nothing, sir."

“Why aren’t you at practice?”

“Just helping Eli,” The boy said as he opened the locker, a little smug grin tugging at his lips as he looked at Jim, “He was stuck.”

“On the double, now!”

Steve slammed the door shut again after Couch Lawrence left. “Friday at noon, you and me,” he says, pushing his face toward Jim's and jabbing his index finger into the shorter boy's chest. “Tick tock, tick tock,” he said as he slowly backed away, waving his pointer finger back and forth.

Jim took a quick look at the ground before opening the locker door, promptly let Eli. You recoiled as he fell facedown to the ground.

“Thank you, Jim!”

----

“That was awesome, man! Did you see that chant? Let him out! Let him out!” Toby exclaimed gleefully, “I mean, you probably won’t live by Friday, but that was awesome.”

Jim just grinned and looked at his friend before being distracted by a honk. Barbara could be seen through the front window of the car.

“Good thing Jim’s mom is a doctor, huh?” You said. 

As the redhead lowered the driver's window, the car slowed and the three of you came to a halt right beside it.

“Hi, you three,” She smiled and adjusted her glasses as she said hello.

“Hey, mom.”

“Hi, auntie.” 

“Hey, Doctor Lake. You’re looking sharp today.”

Barbara looked down at her outfit and smiled as she thanked Toby. Before she drove off to work, you guys had a brief conversation with the lady. Toby went to his house while you and Jim biked over to yours.

You went upstairs right away after entering the house, while Jim tossed his bag to the side and entered the living room. You walked into your room, tossed your bag in the corner, and collapsed onto your bed. You took your phone from your pocket and began scrolling through your social media feeds.

After a few moments, you heard a scream coming from below. It sounded like Jim was yelling. You hurriedly got up and carefully walked down the stairs, making sure to take a thorough look around you. Downstairs, no one appeared to be around. You jumped when you heard more shouting from the basement, and you made a hand motion, making a nearby umbrella levitate towards you. A red glow surrounded the umbrella before the colour faded away when the object landed in your grip.

When you heard a hump, you slowly and quietly made your way down the stairs, umbrella in hand. When you saw two giant creatures in your basement, you came to a complete halt, your eyes widened as you held back a scream. 

One of these creatures, who had this back facing you, had four arms and was blue. Even though the other one was facing partly in your direction, they didn't seem to notice you. They were grey and considerably bigger than the blue one. They were covered in green fur and had razor-sharp teeth. That creature seemed to be capable of easily destroying you, which made you feel very uncomfortable. You were uneasy about the situation you were in. No, actually, you were terrified by the whole situation.

When you saw Jim lying on the floor, unconscious, with the creatures leaning over him, your breath got caught in your throat. Inhaling deeply, you leaped from your spot and out into the open, your umbrella now lying on the floor to the side since it would probably not help you against these creatures. You lifted your hands, one pointing at each beast. They turned to face you, a look of surprise and uncertainty on their faces.

“H-hey! Get away from him.” You screamed as you took a slow step forward, your hands trembling.

“Oh, dear. Are you, by chance, the Trollhunter's sister?”

“Uh- uh- what-? Just get away from him!”

Your palms glowed a fiery red, and you unintentionally fired two beams at them because of your fear, causing you to stumble backward. The creatures were struck by the two beams, which caused them to fly back and crash into the opposite wall. Cracks appeared in the cement. As you made Jim float slightly and brought him over to you, you bent slightly, a red glow emanating around his clothing. As you prepared to fire two more beams, you felt the rush of adrenaline coursing through your veins.

“I- er- I suppose this is not the best time to talk. We will speak later, sister of Master Jim.”

They ran away, leaving you alone in the almost pitch-black basement, confused and terrified. Why were they in your basement in the first place? What were their intentions with your cousin? He was labeled as a Trollhunter. What the fuck is that?! Someone who tries to kill trolls??? They matched the definition of the monsters Eli saw in the canal, now that you think about it. Were these the same monsters as the ones Eli had seen? Were there really monsters in the basement or were you just high? You really hoped it was the latter.

You pulled yourself out of your head and glanced over at Jim, who was still knocked. It wasn't the latter, you sighed. After taking him upstairs, you laid Jim on the couch and covered him with a blanket before going to the kitchen to make dinner. You sat near Jim after that, waiting for him to wake up.

[poisongirl18]

Rain (6)

Raine (6)

Opie watched as Raine cleaned up the dishes from the night she had spent with Tara. She managed to be graceful with just one free hand.

He was leaning against the doorway just taking her appearance in as she hummed a soft tune, unaware that he was watching her.

Opie hadn't felt something like this in a while. His heart felt something other than ice cold, his body wasn't stiff and tense. He felt at ease, felt at home.

"Are you going to stand there and watch me or are you going to dry these." He watched as Raine smirked while she stared down at the dishes at hand.

Opie smiled before stepping forward, grabbing a dish towel as he took in the now clean dishes, drying them off carefully.

"I can't remember a time where I did this." Opie spoke softly, his eyes cast down on the dish.

Raine turned her head slightly raising a brow. "Dried dishes?" She taunted, knowing that the big bad biker probably didn’t do this normally.

Opie smiled and shook his head. "Dried dishes with another woman besides my wife."

Raine nodded, her mouth dropping slightly in an 'O' shape. "You don't have to, if you don't want to. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable."

"I think if I can kiss you, I can dry your dishes. Hell I should be doing it all. You were just shot." Opie shook his head as he took a dish from Raine.

"Yeah well I've done a lot more with worse injuries." Raine thought it would be funny, thought she would get a small smile out of him, but she was wrong.

Opie's hand tensed up on the plate he was holding, he had to calm himself down so it wouldn't shatter. "What was the worst?" He questioned softly.

Raine froze at his words for a quick moment before continuing. "You don't want to know that." She shook her head.

"I do." Opie pressed so he could return the favor to the douche.

Raine cleared her throat and shifted on her feet uncomfortably. "I-uh, I came home late from work, he naturally assumed I was cheating and hit me before I even put my bag down." She paused, lost in her own memories. "He had a knife and pressed it to my throat."

Opie placed a hand on the small of her back, trying to provide some sort of comfort. "That's horrible."

She nodded. "Yeah, it was. I thought I was going to die that night. I hoped he would've just ended it all." She breathed out. "You're hunting him down, aren't you?"

Her question took Opie by surprise, he became dumbfounded, not able to speak.

She let out a sigh, turning to the large man. "I'm not stupid. I've been in this town long enough to hear the rumors." She shook her head. "I can't let you do it."

"Do what?" Opie raised a brow.

"Kill an innocent man."

Opie let out a deep chuckle, throwing the dish towel over his shoulder and looking at his little lady in amusement. "Innocent? I'm sorry did I just make up the story where he pressed a fucking knife to your throat?"

"He's sick." She shook her head.

"He doesn't have the flu Raine. He's sick in the fucking head, and I think he has brainwashed you into thinking he's some sort of victim."

"How am I supposed to carry on knowing that a man is dead because of me?" She challenged.

Opie rolled his eyes. "You wouldn't even know."

"Opie!" She rolled her eyes.

"Raine," Opie moved so he was able to trap her between his chest and the sink, both tattooed arms caged her in, but she wasn't afraid, "I don't know how to tell you this sweetheart, but I'm going to do whatever I have to to keep your sexy ass safe. I've let something happen once, and I'll be damned if it happens again, you understand Raine?"

Raine stared up at the giant, a smirk on her face that almost made Opie break his big guy act and bend her over the sink. "Yes Opie."

The way she purred his name made Opie's dick harden underneath his jeans, the beast inside of him was trying to claw its way out, but he was keeping him in. Raine was too fragile to deal with what he had planned for her.

"Good girl." He nodded, pulling away slightly only to be pulled back, his lips pressed firmly against hers for a heated passionate kiss.

Opie instantly picked Raine up, setting her on the nearest counter to attack her lips. She wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him in closer.

Raine was surprised by her own actions, but she needed to know what it was like to feel wanted, to feel the touch of a man that hadn't caused her pain.

Opie trailed his hands under her shirt, stopping at her waist, he didn't want to scare her, but needed to feel some skin.

Raine was mid way through a delicious moan when the knock at her front door silenced her. She pulled away, gasping as she looked between the man she was tangled with and the door.

“I wasn’t expecting anyone?” She panted, licking her now plump bottom lip.

Opie pulled away from her, his hand immediately going to the gun in the back of his jeans. “Stay here.” He instructed.

Raine tensed when she saw the gun and let out a little gasp. “Jesus Ope, it could just be neighbors or one of the guys.”

“Stay here.” He repeated taking heavy strides towards the door.

Raine let out a huff, but decided to listen to the man. She slid off the counter and made her way to the fridge to grab a water.

Opie peered out the side window, surprised to see a black Cadillac parked in Raine’s driveway. He made his way to the door opening it to find not only Gemma but his two children looking up at him.

“Gem, what’s going on?” He asked, immediately putting his gun away.

Gem looked at Opie with a apologetic glint in her eye. “Something's come up.”

Opie shifted on his feet as he looked down at the children again. “Everything alright?” His first thought was that one of his brothers had been injured, but Gemma quickly nodded.

“Yeah baby everythings good at the club.” She patted the kids shoulders. “I just need you to take the kids.”

Opie absentmindedly ran a hand over his beard, he hated the awkwardness between him and the two kids that he created especially after the death of their mother, but he didn’t really know how to connect with them. “Gem-”

“Hey guys!” Raine greeted cheerfully as she came to stand beside Opie, almost pushing the man out of the way. “You guys look beat, why don’t you come in and I’ll get you a snack.”

Opie couldn’t help but notice how the children’s faces lit up when they saw Raine or how fast they ran into her home like it was their own.

“We got it Gemma, no worries.” She smiled, taking control of the situation.

Opie couldn’t help but stare down at the small little woman as she seemed to grow a sense of confidence since being shot.

Gemma glanced between Opie and Raine, a small smirk appearing on her lips. “I’ll see you two around.” She waved before turning on her heel, a small chuckle leaving her lips as she walked to her car.

Opie shut the door before turning to Raine, who was already skipping off happily to the kitchen.

He followed her, catching up with her in time to see her plump little ass bent over in the fridge as she attempted to pull out some apples and peanut butter.

Opie quickly moved to her side, taking the items from her small hand into his larger ones. “Did you hit your head when you fell?” He grunted out, dropping the food on the table.

“Most likely.” She teased, grabbing a knife from the drawer. 

“You just seem different.” He noted. “Happier.”

Raine let out a small breath before nodding. “I am. I just . . .” She trailed, thinking over her words carefully. “I just don’t want to live in fear anymore.”

Opie nodded, agreeing with her, before moving to cup her cheek. “I don’t want you to.” He smiled as he trailed his calloused thumb from her cheek to her bottom lip. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

Her eyes lit up at the promise, something she never had before. “I’m sorry for taking control back there.” She changed the topic. “I overheard you and I got excited when I heard the kids being here.”

Opie couldn’t stop his lips from quirking up. “I didn’t want them to bother you. I know your hurting and healing.”

Raine rolled her eyes. “Please, they bring me joy.” She turned away from him and went back to the task at hand, wondering how she was going to be able to cut the apples like she planned.

She used her good hand to prop on her hip as she bit her lip. Opie let out a deep chuckle. “Go sit with the kids, I’ll do it.”

Raine handed the knife over to Opie with a smile and placed a small kiss on his cheek. “You’re the best.” She said softly before going off to sit with the kids who were more than happy to see her.

“You feeling Raine?” Kenny asked, his eye moving from the new television to look up at her. “Gemma said you got into an accident.”

Raine smiled softly and nodded. “Something like that, but I’m fine buddy. You’re dad has been helping me out.”

Kenny nodded. “Maybe we can help out too. Pap was teaching me how to do stuff around the house.” 

“And Gemma taught me some recipes.” Ellie spoke from the other side of her.

Rain couldn’t help but scrunch up her brows at the thought of the kids having so much responsibility, none of which was taught by their dad.

“That’s really great guys.” She smiled as Opie came in with a plate for them, taking note at how the kids didn’t seem to even acknowledge their father. “I might take you up on that offer.”

“They talking your ear off?” Opie teased as he sat awkwardly on the chair next to them.

“No, not at all.” Raine smiled. “I enjoy them.” She glanced between the two of them before looking up at Opie. “I enjoy all of you.” 

Opie smiled softly before leaning back against the chair, getting comfortable. “A couple minutes of T.V. and then we gotta get you two home.” He told the kids gently.

The kids only nodded before cuddling careful into Raine who only smiled as she watched the show playing on the screen.

It wasn’t even fifteen minutes when the three of them were zonked out on the couch. 

Opie smiled at the trio knowing that they were so comfortable with each other. He let out a soft sigh before gently moving Kenny and Ellie from Raine before gently picking her up and carrying her to her bedroom.

Raine let out a soft whimper when he laid her down on the bed. He frowned not knowing if her small sound was from pain or a nightmare.

He leaned down to press his lips to her when her eyes opened just a crack. “Ope, the kids.” She let out, worried about them even in her tired state.

“They’re downstairs.” He let out softly.

She let out a yawn before carefully rolling to her good side. “Let them stay.” She said before quickly falling back to sleep.

Opie shook his head before going down the stair and going to shift the kids in a more comfortable position.

He let out a sigh as he used a blanket to cover them before making his way to the chair he was in earlier making himself as comfortable as possible before falling asleep.

Tags: @lostghostgirl94​, @dazzledamazon​

[atmilliways]

On the 1st day of Dethmas this writer gives to thee...

Dec 13 - Your favorite holiday tradition... Dethklok style

My mom has these static cling decals in traditional greens and red, and every year I am in charge of using them to decorate the bathroom mirror. At some point ages ago I got bored with doing plain ol’ wreaths all the time. Sometimes I spell out Happy Holidays, sometimes I make green presents with red bows, sometimes it's a garland draped across the mirror, etc. I don't even live there anymore, and she still goes spare if I don't do it.

I just spent an hour trying to find an example picture and failed, so (Facebones voice) use your fuckin’ imaginatiooooooooooooooooon. ... Roll it!

(Oh yeah, and I’m doing a different pairing for each fic this challenge, no repeats. This one is Nategaar.)

~

We Two Kings

~

One trip back to Nathan’s parents’ place for Christmas. That’s all it takes to break Skwisgaar’s long tradition of not bothering to get presents for anyone he’s sleeping with. As soon as they get back, he marches into their manager’s office. 

“You gots to finds this things for me,” he says imperiously, dropping something flat and green on Offdensen’s desk. “Buts in blacks and silvers. Ands with the little red dots whats ams berries.”

Offdensen picks it up gingerly between thumb and forefinger as though he’s concerned it might be some sort of used condom. (He’s only been working for the band a few months now, but it wouldn’t be the first time.) “What, ah, is this exactly?”

“Ams ones of those things for ams puttings on a mirrors.” Skwisgaar fishes around in his back pocket and produces a somewhat bent polaroid, dropping it on the desk next to the green slip of plastic shaped like a cartoon holly leaf. In the picture, two different shades of green leaves make up a Christmas wreath on the mirror, dotted with red berries, all clearly captured by Rose Explosion using an old Sun 660 Autofocus. “Nathans makes this at his parents’ house. Different stuffs every years, never repeats hims-self.”

The photo is given due consideration as well. Offdensen glances up over the edge of his glasses. “And you want to. . . .”

“Wants to haves them for the new house we ams have built,” Skwisgaar confirms. He’s not particularly thinking about why all this feels so important or what that might mean about what was supposed to just be a casual fling. “For next years, whats he can does it at homes, too. Onlies gets more and haves a big fucks-off mirror ins the livings room for thems.”

“I’ll let the contractors know to add it to the plans.”

“Goods.” Skwisgaar starts to leave, but pauses at the door. “And don’t tells no ones. Ams a surprise.”

And the surprise goes pretty well. A few weeks before the next Christmas Skwisgaar takes the almost man-sized box, scrapes the shipping labels off, wraps it (poorly), and leaves it in front of Nathan’s bedroom door. He doesn’t leave a tag saying who it’s from and Nathan never asks, but the guy has to have an idea who it’s from. Who else would know to do this?

A few days later, the living room mirror in the newly christened Mordhaus is decorated with a giant silver skull made out of cartoon holly leaves. It’s layered over the black ones to give the illusions of lines and holes, with a glimmer of red berries sprinkled deep within the eye sockets. Up close it’s crude and a little weird, but from a distance it looks fucking cool. It gives Skwisgaar an unfamiliar warm feeling in his chest to know that he’d helped make that possible. 

The year after that, it’s a crow in flight with a silver fish in its beak, dripping with blood. The year after that, it’s a black and silver present with blood seeping through one corner and a red tag that reads “FROM SATAN.” Between that and the following year’s spider wearing a Santa hat, that’s about as Christmas-y as it ever gets. The rest of the guys think it’s cool but don’t pay enough attention to realize it’s their own bandmate who does it every year. 

Fast forward about a decade. 

It’s well after 4am, early in December. Skwisgaar is lounging on the couch nearest to the mirror, idly playing guitar while Nathan works with his static cling decals and, occasionally, a step stool. Every once in a while the hulking frontman paces around the room to examine his work from different angles and distances, scratch his head, and drink absentmindedly from his current beer bottle. It’s the same brand his dad keeps in the fridge back in Florida. (That one isn’t Skwisgaar’s doing, Nathan arranges for that all on his own every year.)

Just like the unacknowledged understanding that Skwisgaar gave him this new tradition to look forward to, there’s an unspoken rule that Skwisgaar doesn’t look until he’s done. Relationships, it turns out, are mostly a matter of paths trodden so deep into you that you follow them without having to think about it, and it feels good. Comfortable, even. 

Eventually Nathan thumps down on the couch next to him. Skwisgaar stops his absentminded fretting to put the guitar to one side and stretch, getting a few satisfying little pops out of his spine. From the looks of it out the windows, dawn isn’t all that long off. “All dones?”

“I think so,” Nathan grumbles. “I can’t get the fucking lines smooth enough, but whatever.”

“I’s shores it am fines, Misters Porflect,” he replies, and accepts the half finished beer that Nathan hands him. Their fingers brush, and Skwisgaar impulsively transfers the beer to his other hand so he can tangle them together. He’s not particularly thinking about what this impulse might mean about what was supposed to just be a casual fling over ten years ago now, but has endured into . . . something else. “Can I sees it now?”

Nathan seems surprisingly ambivalent; usually he demands that Skwisgaar look and give his opinion immediately upon completion, pressing and wringing to try and get constructive criticism even though they both know he doesn’t always take that the best. This time he just shrugs and says, “Sure, I guess you can, if you want,” with so much forced casualness it’s like he slathered it on with a trowel. Puzzled, Skwisgaar stands and tugs for the other man to come with him as he starts to turn—

His jaw drops as soon as he sees what Nathan has spent the last several hours working on with meticulous attention to detail and laser-like focus. 

“That. Ams mine face,” he says wonderingly, dropping Nathan’s hand and drifting in for a closer look. 

Despite the complaint a moment ago, there aren’t really lines. The entire piece is roughly as tall as he is and mostly silver overlaid with black, like looking at the negative of a photograph. It’s not particularly detailed, but Nathan has captured the contours of his face in black shapes. Eyes, nose, cheekbones, mouth, jaw . . .  even the hollow of his throat, all framed by dark waves of the hair that always hangs down in front of his shoulders. 

Nathan comes up behind him while he stares, taking the beer back before he has a chance to accidentally drop it, and Skwisgaar rocks back on the heels of his boots and leans against him. “I can’ts believes you dids this. . . .”

“Yeah, well.” He can feel Nathan shrug, and the rumbling in his chest when he speaks. “I didn’t want to do a stupid Christmas tree, and I couldn’t think of anything else.” More of that forced casualness. “It’s not really a big deal, I’m gonna do one of us each year for a while so those other assholes can’t bitch too much about being left out. But . . . yeah. I started with you. What do you think, any good?”

“Ja, goods,” Skwisgaar manages against the sudden big gay lump in his throat. 

He’d been facing away from Nathan the whole time he’d been working on this; it was done from memory. Nathan has memorized his face. And this is a guy who, rather than just imagining he’s singing in armor just to make an album more brutal, actually commissioned a full suit of armor to be made for himself on the grounds that just picturing stuff when you could actually have it was for pussies. 

Fuck. Holiday bullshit hadn’t ever gotten to him before, but he’d made that one, tiny no-gift exception and that had opened the floodgates, hadn’t it? This big lug with his once-a-year art projects has a piece of his heart . . . and now seems to be holding out a piece of his own. 

Skwisgaar turns. It feels like he’s moving in slow motion and his tongue is weighted and heavy with words he has no practice and probably no right to say out loud. So he doesn’t say anything, just winds his long fingers into Nathan’s hair and kisses him like there’s no fucking tomorrow. They’ve been together for so long, that’s all he really needs to do to tell the man I love you back, I love you too. 

It’s going to be a brutally amazing Christmas this year.

[hellcaster901]

The Wedding Pt 6

Summary: Y/N is getting married in a few months, and its something that she’s been looking forward to for a while. But she runs into an old coworker, one that she just can’t help feel a connection to. Not only is her best friend not helping, but she’s trying to figure out now what she really wants.

Warnings: None, but there will be more soon!

Author’s Note: I hope you guys are staying safe and staying healthy in this crazy time! Hopefully reading makes things seem a bit less scary for us.

This is a bit of a shorter chapter, but the next one will be worth it.

Masterlist

~~~

We dressed in silence, taking sly looks at one another, a satisfied smirk on our faces as we dressed. I reached for my phone, not surprised that I didn’t get a message from Adam yet, no calls or anything, but I did get a call from Mary, and a small text that says ‘you owe me’. I rolled my eyes, looking back at Negan. He stood there, a shit eating grin on his face as he stared at me.

“I should be going.” I smiled, looking at the time, knowing if I didn’t leave now I would stay here all day. He nodded, looking over me. “I’m gonna…” I pointed at his room, stepping away from him. I turned quickly, jogging up the stairs and grabbing my pants. I pulled his sweats off of me, tugging the jeans up and letting his shirt fall softly on my waist. I bit the inside of my cheek, wondering if I should sneak this shirt out or just leave it and regret it later. 

“You can keep it.” I jumped, turning and seeing Negan leaning against the door frame, arms crossed, staring at me with an amused smirk. “I don’t wear it, keep it on. It looks better on you than it did me, that's for sure.” He smirked, I blushed, grabbing my own top and folding it. 

“I guess I’ll take it.” I chuckled. Negan followed me as I grabbed my shoes, watching me as I moved around him home, gathering my things, almost making sure there wasn’t a trace of me when I left. I tugged my shoes on, shoving my shirt in my bag, my engagement ring scraping against my hand from the side pocket. I froze, reminding myself what I was going back to. I tugged the ring from the pocket, staring down at the rock. I twisted it in my fingers, the ring slipping through my fingers, landing on the floor and rolling towards Negan. “Shit.” I cursed, ready to reach for it as Negan bent down and grabbed the giant rock.

“Damn, he must really love you with the size of this thing.” He joked, inspecting it under his gaze. I scoffed, rolling my eyes.

“It’s so bulky, I was never one for a giant rock on my finger.” I chuckled, thinking back when he proposed. We were with his family, a family vacation and he popped the question on the first day. I remember panicking, saying yes to not embarrass us t in front of his parents, thinking that’s what my answer was. Negan held the ring out to me, the ring looking like a doll's toy in his massive hands. I held my palm out, but he quickly grabbed it with his other hand, turning my hand over. I stopped breathing as he looked down at my small hand, his thumb brushing against my knuckles. It was as if time had stopped as he lifted the engagement ring, slipping it over my ring finger, the band leaving a trail of fire as it made its way down my finger, finding its home as Negan let go. If I were to drop dead now, I’d be happy.

I looked up at him, my mouth gaped, the ring and his hand burning as skin, our eyes locking as he looked up at me. I could see he was surprised with what he did, not thinking of what he was going to do, but just did it. And with how much I didn’t want to feel, but my heart swelled, the thought of Negan proposing to me left me hot, left me happy, left me… excited. More than what I felt when Adam proposed. That scared me. 

I tugged my hand from his, hurriedly fixing my hair, a blush rising on my cheeks, making some excuse that I had to water my plants. Without a glance back at him I left his house, frantically unlocking my car and making a fast exit. 

I hardly remembered the drive as I pulled into my apartment parking lot. Cutting the engine and sitting there, speechless at what happened, speechless at what I felt. I searched for my phone in my bag, grabbing the machine and dialling Mary’s number. I put it on speaker, setting it on my dashboard, staring out the window with wide eyes. I must’ve looked crazy. 

“What happened?? Tell me everything!” She rushed into the phone, her excited voice filling my small car.

“Mary, it was… perfect.” I sighed, dropping my head to the steering wheel, the harsh rubber hitting my forehead. “The sex? Perfect.” I hummed, thinking back to all of it.

“God damn.” She sighed with me, hearing me talking about it all. 

“And we fell asleep together on the couch.” A smile rising on my lips.

“How did that happen?” Mary questions, the need to know was in her voice. 

“We sat there.” I explained, “And just talked, and it was perfect. It was like everything just felt right and I must’ve fallen asleep before him and he didn’t even want to move me for him to be comfortable.” Mary gave a wanted sigh, I’m sure imagining what it was like to sleep in his arms. 

“Girl, you have him wrapped around your finger.” She giggled. I shook my head.

“I think he has me wrapped around his finger.” I weakly fought back, “Adam didn’t even text me or call me once after I talked to him last night.” I mumbled, switching the topic. “I don’t even know if he’s home or not.” 

“He didn’t even check up on you?” Mary scoffed, “What an ass.”

“Stop it.” I rolled my eyes, lifting my head from the steering wheel and grabbing my stuff. “I’m sure he was just busy, I get being busy with the guys happens.” I brushed off, locking the car as I made my way to my apartment. 

“Um that doesn’t matter when you have a fiance.” Mary bit back. 

“Look, how about I call you once I settle, okay?” I huffed, climbing the flights of stairs to the apartment, just realizing how sore everything was on my body. “If Adam isn’t here, do you want to come over?”

“Already showering.” Mary laughed. “Bye!” She yelled. I rolled my eyes as she hung up, shoved the phone in my back pocket and grabbed my keys. I unlocked the door, none of the lights or anything were on as I stepped in. A sigh of relief left me as I dropped my stuff, dragging my body towards the shower.

I groaned with delight as I sprawled out on my bed, clean and in new clothes, checking my phone once again to see if there was anything from Adam, and again, nothing. I sighed, typing out a quick message.

‘Back home. Hope you had fun last night. Love you.’

I waited a few seconds, wondering if the bubbles were going to pop up, or anything, but nothing happened as I laid there. 

---

I groaned loudly, shoving my head into the ocean of pillows Mary kept on her bed. I didn’t know what to say or even how to start the conversation. “Why am I doing this!?” The pillows absorbing my muffled scream, “Why did I fuck him in that disgusting bathroom?” 

It had been a week since I had my sleep over of passion with Negan. A week since I’ve talked to him. Not that I was freaking out about it.

“From what you told me, you enjoyed that dirty bathroom.” Mary teased, I shifted my head, giving her a death glare from behind my hair, she only chuckled. “Look, you don’t have to say anything to him, or even see him. Just ghost him.” I scoffed, “But,” She added, flicking my arm, I mouthed an ‘ouch’ as I sat back up, pushing my hair down. “If you feel like you need to talk to him, just text him and tell him that things need to end.” The phone felt strangely heavy in my hands, the on going fact that I was going to send a fucking ‘break up’ text to man I’m not even dating, “Do you really want to end it with this man?” Mary emphasized, “You look pretty heart broken over the fact that you have to do this.” I shook my head.

“He’s just something fun.” I mumbled, convincing both of us as I tapped on the messages, the keyboard popping up on the screen. “Mary, he was married before, and it didn’t work for him. I don’t even think he’d want a relationship.” I explained, my thumbs hovering over the keyboard. A relationship was something I was already in.  It was ridiculous to act this way, to freak out from not talking to him for almost over a week, but maybe that’s just my insecurities talking. Maybe some part of me actually thought this was more than just a hook up… and if that’s the case I needed to end this now before it got too serious.

“Have you guys even talked about this becoming more?”

“No.” I laughed, shaking my head, thinking back to when we agreed it was just for fun. “Am I overreacting? I feel like I’m overreacting.”

“Maybe a little bit?” Mary whispered.

“I feel like this is becoming more to me.” I mumbled, dropping my phone. Mary’s eyes widened, both of us surprised that I admitted something like that.

“What do you mean more to you?” She questioned. I shrugged, staring up at her, maybe admitting to myself that this was something more to me than a hookup.  

“What if I’m getting into my own head? Thinking this is more than what it really is.” It was embarrassing to admit that maybe this is something more to me. Especially to someone like Mary who wanted me to end things with Adam the second we started dating.

“How do you feel about Negan?” She sincerely asked. I shrugged again, almost feeling like a teen talking about their feelings. Maybe I was one, confused and hormonal. 

“He’s just… Negan.” I explained, trying to find the right words to explain a man like him. “He’s charming, and he makes me feel amazing.” I smiled, thinking back to those very exciting times with him.

“It’s obvious you got something there for him.” Mary smiled. But i shook my head, sitting up straighter.

“Look, me and Adam already spent so much money on this wedding and I can’t just leave him after a few good fucks.” I rushed, grabbing my phone. Before I knew it my thumbs were typing out a message, basically saying whatever me and Negan had was over and there’s no need to message me again. I almost finished the message before the phone was yanked from my hands. “Hey!”

 “Look, how about we go get some food, maybe sit down, get some food in you and then you think about it a bit more, does that sound good?” I hated when Mary talked to me like a child, but right now, that’s all I really needed. “Maybe let you think about what you really want.” I nodded, a small pout on my face. “Lets go dummy.”

--

I sat there patiently waiting for Mary as she used the bathroom, taking small sips from my drink, looking around the small Qdoba we sat in. I couldn’t even play on my phone since she took it from me, slipping it in her back pocket and didn’t plan on giving it back to me once we finished eating. I was stuck here looking around at the place. 

I knew I was making rash decisions, but the fact was that I’m in over my head. I’m an engaged woman, messing around with a man who was basically twice my age. A man who knew what he was doing and making me feel satisfied at each chance he got. But besides the sexual part, I don’t think this was anything other than that for him. For me… I’m not sure. I’d be stupid to not look at the connection I had with the man, to not see that there was something more than the physical attraction. But maybe that was just in my head, and all there was was physical attraction. With Adam, I’ve been with him for almost 3 years, I loved him enough to say yes to a proposal. Loved him enough to start spending money on a wedding. I couldn’t stop now and end it all while we’re so close. 

“Hey.” Mary smiled, sliding into the booth. I smiled at her, taking another sip from my cup. “Whatcha thinking about?”

I rolled my eyes. “You know what I’m thinking about.” I huffed, biting down on the straw.

“Duh.” She rolled her eyes with me, “But what are you thinking is the right choice for you.” I shrugged again, leaning back against the booth.

“I think I need to-” I glanced at the door, my eyes widened at who I saw. “What the fuck?” I gasped, watching as Negan opened the door, smiling at a young girl, who looked 18, as she stepped into the building. “Mary.” I whispered harshly, ducking my head down, moving my hand up to cover my face. Mary looked at me with confusion, turning to see what I flipped on but I quickly kicked her shin.

“What the hell?” She groaned, pulling her feet away from me. 

“Don’t be so obvious.” I hissed, glancing back at Negan and the girl. “But look who just came in.” I whispered. I watched as she awkwardly looked at me, awkwardly turning her body like she was going to pop her back. I watched as she glanced over at Negan, a gasp leaving her lips. She twisted back to me, her eyes wide.

“She looks 16.” She hissed at me, “Who is that?”

“I don’t know.” I hissed back. My eyes still glanced over at the two of them. There wasn’t any affection from what I could see. But I could tell from her body language she was flirting. The way she pushed her chest out, making eye-contact with him, touching him at any chance she got. “That can’t be his sister, or any cousins.” I tried to think of every excuse this man could give to who this girl was. 

“She looks like a baby!” I nodded, watching as they waited in line, Negan not bothering to look around the shop. I watched as he smiled down at her, talking with her. Whatever he was saying, was funny enough for her to laugh, lightly slapping his chest. Our food that sat before us was forgotten as we watched Negan and this girl. “Seriously, she looks like she's 16.”

“I think she might be.” I frowned, winching at the thought of Negan being with a minor. I tried to suppress the thought, chills running up at back at the possibility.

“No.” Mary scoffed, shaking her head. “I don’t think he’s that much of an idiot to be doing something like that.” I watched as he smiled, a laugh leaving his lips, my heart sinking, my own mind telling me to smash my head against the table as I over thought everything.

“You gotta be kidding me.” I groaned loudly, dropping my head to the table. It was like the universe was wanting to fuck me over today, make sure my life was a living hell. 

“We’re leaving.” She whispered, standing up and going to the condiments bar. I tried not to look back at them, avoiding the two of them as Mary came back with lids for our bowls. I quickly shoved the top on it, grabbing my drink and turning around. I glanced back at Negan and the girl, Negan smiling down at her, laughing at something she said. I watched the way she lightly touched his arm, her hand lingering. “Let’s go.” Mary whispered, tugging me along. I glanced back at Negan and the ‘teen’, the air leaving my lungs as we made eye contact, confusion written on his face before his eyes widened slightly at my confused expression.

I felt like my lungs were ready to collapse. Of course, we weren’t together, yes I was engaged, but I thought there was something there. 

“What the hell was that?” Mary scoffed, still dragging me by the arm towards her car, my mind blank, nothing coming out of my mouth as I tried to process what was going on. “I can’t believe him.” The rant Mary went on was through one ear and out the other as she rambled on, angry for me, and angry that she thought he was a good guy.

“It could’ve been nothing.” I shrugged, still letting Mary drag me to her car.

“Y/N!” Negan’s voice rang through my ears, Mary tugging me harder to her like I was some child.

“Don’t bother, Y/N.” She shook her head, letting go of my wrist as she grabbed her keys. I barely said a word as I climbed into her car, setting my lunch on my lap, buckling myself up without a word. I didn’t even bother looking at Negan as Mary pulled out, driving off without giving Negan a second look.

Through the car ride Mary rambled, angry that she let me get caught up in Negan, angry that she pushed me to get caught up. Angry that she thought this was good for me.

“Look, we don’t know if anything is going on between them.” I shrugged, trying to come up with some excuse, hoping this girl wasn’t a minor. 

“You kidding me?” Mary hit the wheel, shaking her head. “Maybe this is his kink, he likes to fuck with younger woman, probably the only thing that gets him off.” She protested. My heart only cracked more at the thought of the possibility of that. Was he only with me because of my age? Is that really what this all was? And moved on to the next young piece of ass? I shook my head, trying to chase away the thoughts Mary was shoving in my head. 

“Look, maybe this is for the best.” I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “Maybe this is a sign that my fun is over and I just need to focus on the wedding.” Mary slammed on the breaks as she found a spot in my apartment complex, turning to me with a deranged look in her eyes.

“Do you want to be with Adam?” I scoffed, almost offended with the tone she used with me.

“Of course I do.” I shrugged, cracking the lid off my bowl. With a huff, Mary grabbed the bowl, setting it on the dashboard. 

“Y/N.” She snapped, a hum of protest leaving me as I watched her move the bowl closer to her. “Look at me.” Again, I felt like a child, but I did as I was told. “Do you really want to be with Adam, or is being with him the safe option so you don’t go hurting his feelings and not throw away the almost 3 years you have with him?”

I stayed silent, choosing not to answer. When she put it like that… I wasn’t sure. I sighed, dropping my head onto the head rest, all these emotions and feelings going through me, and I wasn’t sure what to do.

“Look,” I started, staring out the window, knowing if I looked at Mary as I said this, I’d only start crying. “Ever since I saw Negan again, he’s all I can think about.” I confessed, my chest tightening as I even thought of his smile. “Being with him has only made things a bit more confusing about what I want. But now…” I sighed again, thinking of the girl he was with. Maybe I was overreacting and the girl was a niece or something, but I don’t remember him mentioning he had siblings, or anything like that. And maybe I was being overly sensitive about it all, since we really weren’t together, what was going on was just for fun. “I don’t know. I just feel like I got broken up with.” I explained. Mary sighed next to me. I saw her move out of the corner of my eye, and then a small weight was placed on my lap. I looked down, my Qdoba bowl resting on my thighs. I chuckled looking up at her.

“Lets eat before this shit gets gross.” She laughed.

---

We sat in the kitchen, sipping on beers as Mary let me think things over, trying to decide what I really was going to do.

“Okay, so on one hand you break things off with Negan, marry Adam and have a loveless marriage.”

“Mary.” I warned, she held her hands up, rolling her eyes with a wink at the end.

“But on the other hand, you break things off with Negan AND Adam and you become single again where we can go back out again and find someone else for the both of us?” She grinned, wiggling her eyebrows. “One is looking like the better option here, and I think we both know which one it is.” I only shook my head as I took a sip. My phone vibrated against the counter, the name ‘Negan’ popping up. I froze in my spot, looking up at Mary. She stared wide eyed at the phone, looking back at me. “When’s Adam gonna be home?” She questioned. I glanced at the clock on the oven, 5:30.

“In about 30 minutes.” I mumbled, the buzzing stopping. I stared at Mary, a simple shrug was all I got from her. She went to open her mouth before my phone started buzzing again. Negan’s name back on the screen. I watched as her face scrunched up. “I’m not going to answer.” I huffed, setting down my beer, crossing my arms. Mary nodded, leaning back in her chair as we watched the phone buzz until it finally stopped. I tried to think of the reasons why he would call me, especially twice in a row. Was it to apologize with what happened today? Explain what was actually going on? It’s not like he should, we weren’t together and there was no need to for him to apologize, but I felt like I needed one. 

“Anyway, I think you need to be single again where we can go back out and mess around.” Mary went on, talking about how I can move in with her when I broke up with Adam, we can go back out drinking every night like we used to and go crazy again. 

“Mary, I didn’t say I was going to break up with him.” I huffed, rolling my eyes. “I still need to figure things out.” I waved a hand. “It’s not like I can just break up with him and not be stuck with cancelling everything we already have for the wedding.” I explained. I tried to think about what I really wanted, whether it be with Adam and make things work, or be it by myself with Mary in her apartment. I took a deep breath, staring down at my phone, the screening lighting up with a text.

“Is that Negan?” Mary mumbled against the rim of the beer, tilting it back and downing the rest. I nodded, grabbing the phone and swiping on the message.

“‘Can we talk?’” I read outloud. The small text bubble came back up, the three dots blinking at me as he typed. My jaw dropped at the next text that popped up, Mary sitting up straighter at my expression. “‘I know you saw us, I want to explain.’” I looked up at her, jaw still dropped as she tried to think of something, anything to say. “What do I say?” I panicked, looking back at the messages. “Do I leave him on read? Or do I end it now.” Mary didn’t say a word as she grabbed the phone from me, her thumbs working quickly. I sat there, wondering what she was saying, as she typed, deleted some, typed again, and repeated her whole process until she stopped, reading over what she typed. “What does it say?” I asked, she handed me the phone, as I carefully grabbed it, making sure I didn’t touch the screen and accidentally sent the message.

‘There’s no need to explain. If there was someone else, you should’ve told me. Hope it works out for you two.’

“Really?” My nose scrunched at the text, it sounded very passive aggressive.

“You don’t want him thinking that he can walk all over you, right?” She defended the text. “If he thinks you’re okay with him seeing someone else while you guys mess around, then he’ll keep walking over you.” She smiled.

“Mary,” I sighed, setting the phone down, “I’m literally engaged and I’m messing around with him. I’d be a hypocrite to tell him he should only see me.” I grabbed the phone again, deleting the message before typing my own out. “How does, ‘I get it. You don’t have to explain yourself.’ sound?” Mary shrugged, shaking her head. 

“What do you want him to say? Like do you want it to be that he was messing around with some younger girl or do you want it where he wasn’t?” 

“What kind of question is that?” I huffed, slamming my phone on the table, a little harder than I would’ve liked.

“Look,” She started, elbows on the table, “If he says it was nothing and there’s nothing going on, then you go right back to him.” I nodded, listening to her reasoning. “But if he tells you that there was something going on, then that means you walk away and you have your answer.” I thought for a moment, looking down at the unsent message. I quickly deleted the message, swiping and setting his messages on ‘do not disturb’. 

“I need to focus on what I have with Adam.” I confidently said, looking up at Mary. She gave me a sad look, I knew she was hoping I’d break things off with both of them, but I knew I couldn’t do that. “This is what I want.” I stated.

But I couldn’t ignore the voice in the back of my head telling me this was the wrong choice.

~~~~~

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[crue6xx]

Special Girl

[Nikki×reader]

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Warning:smut, cursing

Type:Smut/Fluffy

Word count:1653 way more now oof

Nikki and the guys are doing something special, and you get totally surprised.

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Thursday

Today you woke up and Nikki wasn't in bed, you lie down and wait for him, suddenly Nikki swung through the door "hey baby, wanna go to the Rainbow for breakfast" Nikki said smiling and happy, you smiled and got ready for the day.

You hopped in the car with Vince driving, tommy in the back with Nikki and Mick in the front passengers side, you notice Nikki cant help but smile and is holding back giggles you dont pressure him about it though.

After you guys ordered, you looked out the window in the reflection something caught yours eyes, your jaw clenched and your hand tight , eyes wide open, you saw the waitress bent down to a position so Nikki could whisper into her ear, than he slipped her a $10.

You were about to get up and drag Nikki behind the Rainbow and yell at him, but just before you could even finish through what you were gonna do you heard singing and tambourines, Nikki had a giant smile as the waitress put a cake on the table while she sung happy birthday, "happy birthday baby!"

You smiled like an idiot, you ate cake with the guys and talked about how surprised you are "I didn't expect a thing" you said laughing.

Nikki fed you a piece of cake, you soon finished up at the Rainbow, thanking the waitress. When you got home you and Nikki snuggled and cuddled on the couch while watching a movie, you both fell asleep on the couch.

Friday

You wake up and immediately smell pancakes, bacon, and grits Nikki is shirtless halfway covered by the sheets and is propped on his elbow, "morning baby" Nikki smiled, you look at the bed and see a breakfast in bed tray in between you with two plates of breakfast for you and Nikki, "I'll put something on" Nikki said softly as he grabbed the remote and put on your favorite show.

You spent the day going around with Nikki to random places you picked, and Tommy followed along making it extra funny and with Mick's random expressions and sarcasticness, Vince randomly was here then there and gone and back.

Nikki bought you flowers and clothes you wanted, you didn't spend too much because you didn't just want his money.

Saturday

Nikki was up at night planning, soon to be you would have your fun. You woke up with Nikki wrapped around your body

"Nikki" lightly moving his arm over to his chest and then kissing his cheek he woke up a little bit "love you" Nikki groaned, you smiled "ok Nikki go back to sleep".

Later on when you all were awake, Nikki had told you dress in something comfortable but nice, you wondered why.

"Woah" Nikki said as you walked in the room wearing red pants that werent to tight but definitely showed your curves they looked like leather but it was stretchy, your shirt was a loose tank top reading "BAD BOYS" and a red symbol in the middle reading "Mötley Crüe" with a white strip through the middle saying "girls girls girls" and the bottom saying "HOLLYWOOD CA".

Nikki was on the couch wearing a leather jacket with a black tank top yes again saying "Suck It" with a black and white bandana around his neck and leather pants.

You Nikki and the guys drove out to one of the bands best friends who at the time worked at Elektra records and had a decked out mansion.

When you pulled up there were many cars parked literally everywhere, people inside and outside all over the place, in the pool, bushes like no kidding, "Nikki!" Some guy says walking up to Nikki with his hand out "yo haven't seen you in a bit" they talked a bit until he turned to you "hi I'm Markus, with a K" you guys shook hands.

"Hey come look at this" he lead you 2 through the crowd in the living room which yes had a real dance floor that lit up, Mick was on the couch talking to some girl Vince was probably getting a blow job somewhere and Tommy was showing his swimming skills off until he got water up his nose.

Markus brought you guys up to the balcony of the master bedroom that peered down on the living room, a balcony inside the house wow this is nice you thought, suddenly you saw random guys looking at eachother like there is some sort of que.

Markus nodded to the Dj and the Dj nodded to some other guy passing it arond the house and outside until basically everyone was inside the house and Markus nodded to one other guy and got off the balcony "HAAPY BIRTHDAY (Y/N)" everyone screamed and shouted popping tiny trinkets and confetti and fog machines went off.

After that quick rush of excitement and thrill things got a bit calm and "without you" started to play, Nikki got on one knee and pulled out a tiny black box with a skull and bones on the top, "(y/n) I love you so Damn much, always have always will, and I knew since the day we met you were gonna be the one never got away, so (y/n) the love of my life will you marry me" Nikki opened the box to a shiny diamond ring with a small red gem inside that glowed in the light and on the bottom of the ring read "special girl" you started to tear up and cover your mouth "OH MY GOD NIKKI! YES YES ONE MILLION TIMES YES OH MY GOD" you practically jumped up and down. Nikki placed the ring on your finger and moved the ring from his right hand to his left hand ring finger.

You both kissed passionately and soft but a bit rough, his lips meet yours as you put your hands on his cheeks as he put his arms over your shoulder.

"This is why your my special girl" he said softly in your ear

You both got off the balcony of the master bed room that was inside, the music changed to "same ol' situation" you talked to people and had some drinks.

"Wow Nikki" Tommy said just starring in disbelief Mick patted Nikki on the back and hugged him, "alright my man" Vince said all gathering around you and Nikki "that's a awesome ring (y/n)" Tommy looked at you smiling.

After all the people talked "without you" started up again and you and Nikki got on the dance floor.

Nikki had his forehead on yours as his arms were over your shoulders swaying to the music as Nikki synced these lyrics to the song "without you in my life i'd slowly wilt and die but with you by side your the reason I'm alive". You kissed Nikki softly he looked you in the eyes "Your my special girl and I love you so god damn much" Nikki kissed your neck as the song came to a nice mellow end lining up perfectly with Nikkis proposal of love to you.

"don't go away mad (just go away)" played and you turned around Nikki put his arms around your waist as you swayed he pressed into you a bit and you could feel the massive bulge he has been keeping in for about 2 maybe 3 hours now that had pressed into the curve of your ass perfectly, warm and stiff, you could feel him throbbing through his leather pants "damn Nikki, your hard".

Nikki smiled "I've been starring at you for half the night even kissing you could easily get me off"

You turned around "I'm gonna get a drink" you kissed him on the cheek, Nikki nodded "hey Markus thanks for letting us use your house" Nikki thanked Markus "nah man any time no problem" Markus happily explained.

"Ya think I could use the master bedroom?" Nikki asked "yeah but your cleaning the sheets" Markus joked with Nikki, You came back to the dance floor and looked around "hey Markus where is Nikki" you kind of had to shout cuz of the music "I'm pretty sure he's in the master bedroom" Markus said as he took a shot.

You headed up to the Master bedroom, you opened the door and Nikki was on the outside balcony drinking looking at the palm trees, "hey Nikki" you came up in front of him "I was thinking about what went on on the dance floor, wanna deal with it?"" you said stroking his chest Nikki kissed you "hey baby".

You kissed him back, you started to get into a rough make out session he squeezed your ass as you pushed into his bulge with Nikkis hot breath leaving hickeys and a trail of kisses down your neck, Nikki kissed you on the way to the bed, you pushed Nikki onto the bed Nikki took off his tank top as you unbuckled his pants and dropped his pants down to his ankles, his pre-cum dripping onto his leg and covering his tip fully dripping on the sides, you suck his tip slowly taking all of his pre-cum in tour mouth, and licking the sides slowly and to the top then taking him in whole his tip pressing against the back of your throat.

As you sucked him off, he slid his hand down your pants into your panties and rubbed your clit, he could feel how wet you were, he flipped you onto the bed and pulled off your shirt, you unclipped your bra as Nikki took off your pants and panties.

He put you on his lap as he kissed you slow but a delicious needing desire of affection, he pumped into you 5 times, you wrapped your legs aeound his waist as he flipped you on your back in the bed.

Nikki easily slid into you, "shit, Nikki" you moaned with your head back and eyes closed, Nikki just hovered over you cursing and clenching his fists in the bed railing you hard and fast "Fuck baby, your so Damn wet"

Nikki started to rub your clit while fucking you mercilessly in and out fast and hard, your grip tightened on the sheets as he would come out slightly so his tip rubs your clit every other second, teasing you and licking his lips, with his hips bucking faster into you with his every thrust making your legs quiver in pleasure, "my fucking special girl, yeah whos my special girl" Nikki demandingy asked, you tried to speak but couldn't Nikki thrusted into you harder as he groaned oh "who my special girl huh?", "me Nikki, fuck Nikki, me".

Nikki was about to break, and you were reaching your breaking point as well, "Shit babe, im gnna cum....Fuck in gonna cum all inside you baby" Nikki moaned loudly you finally hit your orgasm, Nikki still finishing as you felt a warm thickish liquid drip from you, Nikki lied down beside you before he got up to rinse off for a 30 second shower, and got ready.

When you both were ready, you went downstairs and it was quite obvious what you were doing but you ate dinner and went back upstairs to cuddle spoon and snuggle to sleep.

[geekydane]

More than a machine - Connor x reader - part 7

Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 •  Part 4 •  Part 5 •  Part 6 

You went with Markus and the other androids back to Jericho. Most of them just ran and left you behind with Markus. It was hard to keep up with the androids as they didn’t get exhausted. Markus had been patient with you and didn’t complain when you slowed down. As you reached the harbour and you saw the giant rusty container ship you were a bit disappointed. You didn’t know what you had expected but you had hoped for something a bit more… more?

Androids sat all around, some needed to be tend to and others just looked afraid. The smell inside the old ship was intense and now you knew where Markus jacket had the smell of diesel from. It was mostly dark but they had lit a few fires in old oil barrels. It was a sad sight and you understood even more why they fought to get their freedom if Jericho was the only safe place to call home. You helped a few androids stop bleeding with the little supplies they had before Markus told you it was time to return to the city. He didn’t dare to near the area where you left your car, as the police would be everywhere. He led you to a train station and gave you a small hug before he left.

“Your jacket.” You reminded him and reached it too him. He took it but let it hang over his arm instead of taking it on.

“Thanks for everything, y/n.” he said and nodded at you.

“Don’t make it sound like we won’t see each other again.” You said and you could feel the tears start to well up in your eyes. You tried your best to blink them away, but they just started to run down your cheeks.

“hopefully I will see you soon.” He simply said and turned around and walked away. As you were left alone on the station in the middle of the night, all the memories of the same night’s activities seems to creep in on you. You could not stop thinking back to when Connor was having a minor breakdown on your couch and how you had hold each other like your lives depended on it. You could use Connor right in this moment. It would be nice to hold on to someone that would understand you. But… would you even be able to tell him? He was a deviant hunter at its finest. He was working against everything you worked for. You should actually be enemies, but just the thought of him made you feel a little warming in the snowy weather. As you boarded the train and you were high speed nearing the other end of the city you realized that you were shaking and you needed to get home soon. It wasn’t just for the snow that was soaking your clothes but also the events that you wanted to forget. All the lifeless faces lying around in front of your feet only few hours before.

It wasn’t until you got home that you let the tears run. Even though you felt so weak, you didn’t want to show it if there were an deviant hiding away on you property. They didn’t have to know about what you had seen. When they got to you, they were all so full of hope for the future. They could get those kind of news when they were safe in Jericho.

You threw your wet clothes around the living room, not caring about anything, before you went to your room and buried your head in your pillow. You tried your best to close out every emotion and just let the exhaustion overtake you and sleep. The extra energy you had used to fall asleep was enough for it to go faster.

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

You woke up to a crash of glass and bang of something hard hitting the floor. You shot up and were about to get up and see if someone was breaking in, but you stopped yourself before you did the most stupid thing you could have done. Walk right into the arms of someone wicked-minded enough to break in when it was light outside. And the fact that you were only in your underwear, made you an easier target for anything uncomfortable.

You slid down from the bed in a slow and silent motion and crawled under it and moved a few show boxes to the side in the process. You started to shake immediately but you tried your best to keep your panicked breathe in. You heard someone running around your house opening doors and it didn’t take long for the person to get to your room. The door was smashed open and it hit the wall with such a force that you weren’t sure it was still intact. The person stopped a few steps inside the room. You could see the person’s neat shoes. Not the shoes you would think a burglar would wear. But who knew these days. There were a lot of different people that were unemployed because of the advance androids that were build, so maybe it would be someone rich suddenly becoming desperate enough to break into people’s houses?

The person didn’t move for almost a minute. You tried to hold in your breath but you hoped that the hand covering your mouth took the most of that little sound that would be. Suddenly the person bent down and sat on their knees. You gasped. They had figured out where you were. You reached immediately and rolled out from the side and got up, only to see Connors surprised face. You froze and a train of thoughts went through your head until you relaxed a little bit. He wasn’t going to hurt you.

“What… the fuck are you doing, Connor?” You said under a shaky breath. Connor got up from the ground and corrected his tie before he spoke and strangely looked away.

“I… I was just informed that you weren’t at work and hadn’t called in sick. When I arrived at your house it looked like someone had tried to break in. The paint on the door was recently scratched off around the keyhole and when I looked through the window some of your stuff were scattered around the floor. I must have jumped to conclusions. I was just… Worried.” He said and looked up at you for a split second and looked down again. Was he flustered? It was like a slight tint of blue was on his cheek that wasn’t there before. When he gave you a quick look again you first realized that you had rolled out of bed the moment before. And the things that was scattered around your place were your clothes that you had violently thrown around the night before. So you were standing in front of Connor only in your underwear. You tried your best not to seem too affected by it and sat slowly down on your bed and covered yourself with your duvet.

“I… had a rough night. Emotionally. So I totally forgot that I had to call in sick. I went to bed really late. Connor, you scared the living shit out of me!” You half yelled at him and you could feel how your whole body was still shaking. It was a very intimate moment and you couldn’t lie to him. You were both exposed to each other in your own way. You physically without any clothe on but Connor was showing a lot of emotions, so it was like he had taking his robotic mask off. He told you he was worried about you and he showed that he felt embarrassed to have invaded your bedroom and seen you almost naked. He was shy about it. You almost wanted to smile by the fact that he wasn’t hiding it at all. The last time you saw him show so much emotions was because he was afraid to die. This was good even though the situation was messy.

“I’m sorry. Are you okay?” Connor asked you and his LED started to blink in a yellow colour. But you realized that it didn’t go from blue to yellow. It was going from red. He was alarmed.

“Not really. I just need to calm down again. Jesus. But thanks for checking up on me, Connor.” You gave him a smile and you noticed how his LED flashed red a few times before it went back to the normal blue colour and he smiled back at you.

“I am sorry. I will go out and let you… Get into some clothes. Oh. Sorry about the door.” He backed out of the room like he wouldn’t miss a glans of you and closed the door to your room behind him. You could see that there was a crack in the door where the doorstop on the wall had hit it. It wasn’t all the way through so you weren’t planning on getting a new door anytime soon. You quickly found some clothes and found Connor sitting in your sofa. It was like he was deep in thoughts because his whole body jerked like you had surprised him and he dropped the coin he was fiddling with. You looked from him to the window near the couch that was now shattered.

“I already called for a replacement of it. You don’t have to pay for a new window now that it was my doing.”

“I can’t imagine your boss being very fond of that.” You said and stepped around the glass.

“So, Connor? Why were you even at my office this morning?” You went past him and out in the kitchen to make a cup of tea. Connor was silent for a while and without even looking you could sense that his LED was working hard on his temple to find a good answer. You spilled the hot water all over the kitchen counter because you wouldn’t stop shaking but you needed the tea to calm down.

“We are stuck I out investigation and we have some dead ends. Therefor I was checking up on everything that we have going through; including you.” He explained as you sat down next to him. He watched as you sat the cup of tea down on the table in front of the couch. His eyes were on your hands. You felt a little embarrassed about him seeing it, but you tried to stay calm.

“And it was so important, that it couldn’t wait until after work?” You said and took a long sip of the tea while looking him in the eyes, removing his attention from your hands. You could feel that there were more behind all of this. He was going more and more deviant, but he was the first one you had ever met, that fought so much against it. But maybe the consequences for him were much bigger than the others?

“I guess I couldn’t wait.” He said leaning forward and rested his elbows on his knees. A very human thing to do actually, because he was avoiding your stare now.

“That’s very sweet of you. Did you talk to James?” You tried to lead the conversation over to something that wouldn’t end in him snapping back into his android self.

“Yes. He was the one that told me you weren’t there. It was strange how he wasn’t concerned about your wellbeing. He said I shouldn’t come here.” Connors legs started to jump up and down under his elbows. It looked strange for someone like Connor to move so… much? He was always stranding straight or sitting up straight with his hands resting on his legs.

“Oh. Don’t think anything bad about James. He’s concerned about me.” And you were sure that he must have thought that there was a deviant coming to get help or something. If he just knew what you had been doing the night before he would actually have come running. That’s how James was.

“If I was him, I would have been here immediately to check up on you.” Connor spoke out in the room more than to you. Your heart skipped a beat at that statement and you could feel your cheeks started to heat. You had so many weird emotions at once. You were still shaking from all the trauma that you had experienced lately but at the same time you could feel the warmth spread inside. You felt the need to take Connors hand. To just touch him and being connected somehow. Something to calm everything inside of you.

“But you are not James. You are Connor and you actually came to check on me.” You said and without asking took his hand in yours. He didn’t even flinched back like you though he would. He actually reached out for you with his other hand too and stroke your knuckles with his thumbs.

“You are still shaking. I am sorry that I had this effect on you.” He said with sadness in his voice.

“It’s not only you. I just… had a rough night. I saw some things downtown that no one should ever experience. But it didn’t exactly help thinking I was going to be mugged.” You looked down at your fingers as Connors steady hands worked the tension out of you with only the touch of his hands.

“What happened downtown? Did someone assault you?”

“In a way. I don’t want to talk about it right now. I actually don’t want to think about it at all.” You said and took a shaky breath and concentrated on the movement of Connor’s thumbs on the back of your hand.

“I am sorry to hear that. Does this help? I can sense that your heart is regaining its normal rate.” Connor analysed and you couldn’t help but chuckle a little.

“It helps a lot actually. Your skin is very soft.” You said smiling and observed his hand on yours.

“Would you mind if I hugged you? They say that human contact can help decrease stress.” Did he even think about what he was saying now? Human contact?

“Did it help you the last time you were here?” You searched his eyes for any kind of regret or doubt in what he was saying but his face looked gentle and kind. There was no sign of the robotic Connor at that moment.

“It did. Would you let me help you?” He let go of your hands to let his arms spread wide for you. For the first time ever you saw Connor smile so big that you could see his artificial teeth. Perfect white teeth. You let yourself fall into his embrace. The way that you were sitting on the couch - slightly facing each other – made the hug more like you lying on his chest with the arms around his middle. He squeezed you tight and you were engulfed in the smell of him. He smelled so clean. It made you wonder who washed his clothes. Did he have an owner? Or a home? Where was he when he wasn’t with you? At that moment you wouldn’t mind if he just stayed there forever.  It was so calming to know that someone like Connor was there for you, even though he wasn’t meant to be. He was there because he wanted to.

“I have to admit that… I felt scared again.” Connor confessed without breaking the hug. You closed your eyes and hummed.

“why?”

“I thought you were hurt. Physically. I thought I would find you lying in here bleeding out. I wouldn’t have been able to help you. It was another kind of scared, but it felt the same.” You could actually feel the vibration of his voice in his chest along with the biocomponent. In all your years of experience with androids, you had never really let yourself get this close to one of them and really feel them. You knew how everything inside Connor worked, like a doctor knows about organs. But laying your ear against his chest made you forget that he was different from you.

“I’m pretty sure that a Connor hug would mend any wound.” You hummed and you felt so light when the vibration of a small laugh went through his chest.

“You think so? I haven’t had much practise. I don’t believe many would let me hug them.” There was something so sad about that sentence that you finally looked up at him. He was staring at you with a loving grin. Had he been looking at you all the time.

“Is it hard? Being an android at the police station I mean?” You didn’t want to push him to think that he’s doing anything wrong showing his emotions but you were really curious now.

“It does give a lot of complications and name calling. But I am used to it. I have many hours where people are home from work and I can be there in peace and reading through files.” You completely forgot your own problems for a bit. Listening to what Connor had to go through just because he was an android was heart-breaking. To think that he treasures the hours at night where everyone is gone? How can people be so cruel?

“So… You don’t have a home?” You asked quietly. His face slowly turned a bit stiffer and his LED turned bright yellow. Shit, you had been pushing him too hard.

“I… don’t.” He said simply.

“You can come here whenever you want. Not just for the investigation, you know?” His eyes twitched a few times before he went back to his smiling self again. He gave you a little squeeze.

“Thank y/n. It means a lot. But right now I think I have to go. Hank may soon wake up from his night at the pub. We have to go through some files before going to the new lead we got.” Connor explained but made no sign of wanting to stand up. But his words sure brought you back from cloud 9.

“New lead?”

“Yes. I have got a report that something happened close to the city centre last night. I have to find out what exactly but I have to pick up Hank first.” You were suddenly busy looking everywhere but at Connor. Why was he still interested in hunting the deviants. Maybe he doesn’t see himself as one of them or is still fighting against it? No matter what he couldn’t figure out that you were involved.

“So you can’t stay any longer?” You purred at him even though you were sure it didn’t help much. It did bring a smile to his face which you wouldn’t want to be without.

“I’m sorry, I have to work. The man who is going to fix your window is going to be here soon too. Did I mend all the wounds?” He said and you were surprised by his jokingly tone. ‘Please stop fighting against your deviant self, Connor’, your mind screamed.

“Not all of them.” You teased back and let him squeeze you one last time before he let go.

“Well. Then I must come back another time.” He confirmed and you both got up. Before he could do it himself you reached up and straightened his tie.

“I’ll see you soon Connor.” You said and watched him walk to the door. Yet again he backed out of the door to get a last glance of you before disappearing. You realized that this was going to be hard on you. You had to convince Connor to join the deviants at some point, or else he was going to find them soon and deliver them to the authorities and you couldn’t let him do that. In the end you would have to choose.

Part 8

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tags:  @black-and-white-eyes @vda-writes @mundane-cup-noodles @superanonymousreader @aya-fay @dragonempress123 @talle-2002 @jamiethenerdymonster @i-resent-this-hellsite @i-do-wat-i-want @syrinxgm @queerfandomtrash @missjayi 

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Sorry it took me forever to update! I’m back at work and i just had my 25th birthday which means a crazy amount of traditions in Denmark. I don’t want to taste cinnamon ever again in my life!!! x.x

PREPARE FOR DRAMA IN THE NEXT PART

[buckyscrystalqueen]

Seven Times Great: Part 6

Pairings: John Winchester x Reader

Warnings: Swearing, angst

Word Count: 2,235

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5

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

“So what are we not doing?” John asked as he pulled up to your seventh case. You sighed and looked out the window.

“Not runnin’ toward the bad thin’s.” A smirk pulled at the corner of his lips as he put the car in park along the curb, down the block of the house your rugaru was in and turned toward you on the seat.

“And?” You fought to control your smile as you turned more toward the window.

“An’ I’m not gon’ float ye ta anoth’a room ta ‘andle it m’self.”

“And?” You could see John’s reflection in the truck window illuminated by the street lights as he crossed his arms over his chest. His eyebrow was arched as he waited for an answer and he was fighting a losing battle with his smile. You sighed but kept your eyes glued to the window.

“An’ I won’ yell a’ the monst’as in Scottish gibberish an’ call ‘em twats an’ cunts.” You turned on your seat and pointed at him with a forced scowl. “An’ let the record show I only did tha’ once!” He nodded slowly as he turned off the car.

“Mmhmm. Sure you did, baby girl.” You stuck your tongue at him as he opened his car door and slid out. He paused with his hand on the door and pointed up at you. “No fire balls. Use a damn lighter like a normal hunter.” You rolled your eyes as you got out of the truck behind him and closed the door on your way to the back of the truck.

“Again, only did tha’…” He glanced over at you with his eyebrow raised and you stood up a little straighter. “A’right, twice.” He handed you one of his home made flame throwers and a zippo.

“Twice to many.” You rolled your eyes as you flicked open the zippo to make sure it worked. “Stay behind me.” You nodded as he closed the bed of his truck and walked past you. You loved the way he got all serious when he was going into a hunt.

You never meant to make hunts harder on him the way you did but unlike John, when you got into that hostile environment, you felt like you were in a bar during a Celtic match in Glasgow all over again. Your natural instinct to taunt and fight back came out and you sometimes got a bit carried away. Apparently, no matter how cute John though you were when you went on a rant, during a hunt was not the time for it.

“Door.” He said softly as he walked up the steps to the front porch silently. You flicked your finger at the white wood and slowly creeped open. As silently as you could, you flipped the top of the zippo open and followed him into an ambush.

A man with blood shot, yellowed eyes, a scared face and blood dripping from his mouth lunged and tackled John to the ground. Fear ripped through you and you instantly dropped the zippo and shoved the man off your boyfriend as hard as you could.

“Ye think so?” You snapped as you snapped your fingers in front of the blow torch and squeezed the trigger. It sputtered for a half a second before the flame died just as the rugaru was finding his feet once more. “Moth’a fuck’a.”

“Just do it!” John coughed. You smirked as you dropped the red can and made a giant fire ball in your palm.

“You can’t save him.” The man taunted as you threw the first flame toward him, missing him by inches as he ducked behind a couch. “Something will…”

“Piss off, ye twat.” You snapped as you created a second fire ball. The monster lunged over the back of the couch and you caught him in mid-air with the flame. “Yea tha’ wha’ I thought ye cunt. Done fucked up good, aye?” You threw the man across the room, slammed him into a wall, and hit him with a second fire ball for good measure as his pained screams filled the room. You bent down, scooped up the gas can and the zippo and crouched down next to John.

“Can’t go one hunt without calling someone a twat, can you?” You shook your head as you grabbed his arm and blinked you both to the street by his truck.

“T’is a Glaswegian thin’, luv… well not jus’ Glasgow but still.” He shook his head and stood up with a sigh of defeat on the issue. You handed him your weapons of choice with a smile and headed to the cab of the truck to leave before the police were called.

“We’re gunna take a break from hunters training for a bit. You’re a little too good at this.” He joked as he pulled himself into the driver seat beside you with a chuckle. You smiled proudly as you toed off your boots and kicked your feet up on the dash.

“An’ ye were worried ‘bout me.” You looked over at him with a smirk as he rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“Blink us home, baby girl. I don’t feel like driving.” With a small giggle, you put your feet on the floorboard and one hand on the dash. It took just a tad bit longer to get your mind wrapped around the whole truck as you laid your other hand on the roof. With a deep breath and a blink, the truck rocked a bit and landed rather hard in your driveway.

“‘ome sweet ‘ome.” With a sigh of relief, you both got out of the truck and grabbed your bags from the truck bed. Neither of you realized how tired you really were until that exact moment but three weeks on the road had taken a lot out of you. You didn’t even bother bringing your duffle all the way into your room and snapped both you and John into PJ’s as he locked up and did his nightly routine of checking salt lines, traps and rooms. By the time he crawled into bed beside you and pulled you into his arms, you were both fast asleep.

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

“So no fireballs?” You joked as John handed you a machete.

“No fireballs!” He snapped. You pouted as Dean leaned forward and looked at you.

“You can make fireballs?” Your pout turned into a smile as you made a small ball of fire hover in your palm.

“Don’t encourage her!” John snapped as he handed his oldest a machete. You giggled as you extinguished the flame.

“‘e doesn’t like it ’s’much.” You teased as John handed Sam a machete and closed the trunk of the Impala. “‘e doesn’t like tha’ I call ‘em twats, either.” Sam and Dean tried to stifle their laughter as John turned you around and gestured toward path to the barn you were supposed to be clearing.

“March, baby girl.” You glanced over your shoulder at him and smiled broadly.

“Ye know I make yer life more fun, luv.” You said as you headed down the path. He nodded as he fell into step beside you.

“Yea, that’s a damn understatement.” You bumped into him with your shoulder and leaned your head on his arm.

“She is good for him.” Sam muttered under his breath as John put his arm around your shoulder and kissed the top of your head.

“It’s so weird to see him like this.” Dean agreed as John rubbed your arm for a second before letting you go. Sam nodded in agreement as you bent down and picked a flower. You pulled a bobby pin from the back of your bun and pinned the flower in the middle of the twist with a small giggle at whatever John had said. “Makes you wonder what he would have been like if mom had stayed alive.” The two brothers shared a quick glance as John paused and looked back at them.

“You two gunna just watch us hunt or are you gunna show up to work?” Sam rolled his eyes as Dean slipped into ‘serious hunter mode’. As you got closer to the barn, John gestured to his son’s to go one way as he he gently grabbed your arm and pulled you toward him. You fell back a few steps so John could take point as Sam and Dean lined up beside you. With a silent count of three on his fingers, you quietly opened the door with your powers and waited outside for a moment so the three men could enter.

The weather worn barn was completely empty as the four of you stepped inside and there wasn’t a single item that gave you any indication that anyone had ever been there. The hairs on the back of your neck stood on end as a magical laugh filled the space from the shadows in front of you.

“Ye Winchesters neva learn.” As a purple glow filled the barn, you dropped the machete and moved in front of John. Instinct took over as you easily caught the spell your grandmother threw at the boys and you threw it back in her direction.

“Ye fuckin’ cunt!” You screeched as you threw up a protection spell behind you. “Ye think ye can attack m’boys, aye?”

“They’re monst’as like the things they destroy, (Y/N)! ‘ow can ye not see tha’?” You threw a whitish blue spell at her that she managed to barely escape from.

“Ye know nothin’ ‘bout my family.” You growled as a smile spread across your face. “Ye neva did. Ye turned yer fuckin’ back on the only family ye ‘ad, ye skank.” With a growl she tried throwing another spell at you that ricocheted off the protection spell behind you. You could feel your feet lifting slowly off the floor as your anger curled in your stomach. “Ye think that’ll save ye, ye twat? Think ye can trick m’family an’ I wouldn’t find out? Face it, yer alone in this world an’ t’is yer own fuckin’ fault!”

“I know wha’s bes’ for m’ gran’daught’a!” She screeched as she tried to throw another half assed spell at the protection spell to find a weak spot. You slammed a spell back at her that sent her flying back against the back wall of the barn as Dean finally got ahold of Crowley for back-up.

“Ye don’ know shite ‘bout yer gran’daught’a, ye bell-end! Ye know pow’a. Tha’ all ye know! An’ I’ll tell ye this…” You grabbed her by the neck and yanked her forward so she was hovering in front of you. Her body writhed as you curled your hand around her throat and tilted your head to the side as she began to struggle for air. “Ye even look a’ m’family ‘gain an’ I won’ jus’ fuckin’ threaten’ ye. M’ boyfriend, m’uncle, the boys an’ the angel… their off limits to ye. Ye think ye can beat me a’ this fucking game? Fuckin’ try me, cunt.”

“Dove… put her down.” You couldn’t look away from Rowena’s slightly blue face as you shook your head at your uncle.

“She’s ta learn.” You didn’t see Crowley’s shake of his head as your grip on Rowena’s throat was forcibly loosened.

“Dove, you cross that line, you can’t come back. I can’t help you if you go dark…” You glanced down at him and John, who was pressed up against the protection spell. Your grip loosened once again as he put his hand on the invisible wall.

“Baby girl, please. You promised me.” His gaze followed you as you slowly came down and once your feet hit the ground, you let go of Rowena. She gasped for air as Crowley told his demon’s to bring her back to her cell.

“I’m sorry.” You whispered as you reversed the protection spell. He nodded as he quickly took a step over and wrapped you in his arms.

“Please, sweetheart. Please just leave her alone. I can’t lose you.” You nodded as Crowley came over and pulled you away from John.

“You listen to me and you listen well.” He leaned down til he was eye level with you. He pointed at you as his eyes tinted red. “Stay- the fuck- away- from my mother. I don’t care what she does, I don’t care where she goes, leave- the cunt- alone. I will not let her corrupt you because that’s what she’s trying to do. You can’t kill her no matter how strong you are and the first time you do, you go dark and I have to send these flannel clad morons after my only family. You go near her again and I’ll lock you in your own cell until you find some fucking sense again, do you understand me?” You nodded frantically as he poked your shoulder with his finger. “Stay- away!” He looked up at John and shook his head. “Take her home.” John grabbed your arm and guided you out the door as Crowley disappeared with Rowena.

“No more hunts for you.” John said as Dean snickered into his wrist. “I just… I can’t with you.” You looked up at him with a small smile.

“I didn’ make a fire ball.” He scowled at you as Sam and Dean burst out laughing.

“Not the point, baby girl. So not the point.”

[shanedawsonfanfiction-blog]

But I Am Not A Superhero. Chapter 3.

Chapter Three. December 7, 2017.

-Shane’s Point Of View-

I opened my eyes and realized that I had fallen asleep while I was supposed to do some research for a video idea. I quickly grabbed my phone to see how late I slept in to.

4:30pm.

“Shit!”

I jumped off of the leather couch and ran upstairs. I had an hour to get ready and pick up my mom and Jess, “Fuck.” I ran into my bathroom and took the fastest shower that I probably took in my entire life, then I threw on a plain sky blue shirt and dark jeans, fixed my hair and brushed my teeth.

As I ran back downstairs, I dialed Drew’s number, “Hey, I need you to watch the boys while I am gone tonight.” I said as soon as he answered. I ran around the house like a chicken without its head, tiding up the main floor.

“Right now?” Drew asked me.

“I’m leaving for the airport to pick them up now.” I said grabbing my car keys off of the counter in the kitchen, “You don’t have to get here till maybe five, but I need someone to keep an eye on them so that they don’t mess up the house.”

“No prob, I’ll be there in a few. Spare key still in its hiding spot?” Drew asked me.

I checked underneath the smooth painted blue rock next to the front door as I left and locked the door, “Still there.” Then I jumped into my forest green Jeep, starting the engine.

“Go get ‘em, tiger.” Drew said, jokingly.

“Bye.” I hung up, pocketed my phone and drove to the airport.

--

I got there just in time, their flight was just landing. I watched everyone making sure that I didn’t missed them. I saw my mom then I saw her. That is when I started to get nervous. I took a deep breath and tried to settle down the pounding in my chest.

‘She hasn’t changed at all.’

Same flawless pale skin, large brown innocent looking eyes, petite body and glossy brown hair. Jessa had sent me countless selfies over the years and we even Skyped a few times, even though she hated being on camera. We only did it so we could proof to each other that we were actually who we said that we were. For a few weeks in the beginning of our friendship, she actually thought someone was catfishing her. Only because she had been catfished many other times.

The two woman walked up to me and both smiled at me, I smiled back. I hugged my mom first, “Hey Mom.” I said, smiling, “Did you girls had a good flight?” I asked them both after the hug.

“Yes, it was good.” My mom said, turning to Jessa, “What did you think of the flight, honey?”

We locked eyes and she blushed slightly before she spoke. I found it fucking adorable, “It was alright.” Jessa said, holding a pink cat carrier with a very angry cat inside, “Now I can actually say that I was on a plane and I remember it.” She pointed at the carrier, “Seph wasn’t too happy, though.”

I bent down to look at the little gray and black kitten, “Poor kitty, don’t worry she’ll have the run of the house when we get home.” Then I smiled at Jessa, standing back up and straightening my shirt, “Hey, welcome to Los Angeles.”

“Hey.” She muttered softly, looking as nervous as I felt.

I opened my arms for a hug and she went in for it, wrapping one of her thin arms around my waist, not wanting to whack the carrier into me. I rubbed her back a little, “Thank you for coming to visit me, sweetie.” I said softly, placing my chin on her head as we hugged.

“No problem.” Jessa said, stepping back a little, she pushed back a strain of hair the smiled at me, “I’m just glad we could finally meet.” She was around four feet and ten inches tall, she was tiny in every way imaginable. It made me think that I was a giant.

I took her bags with one hand and offered my spare hand for hers, she took it gently. I jerked my head over my left shoulder, “Let’s get outta here, the car’s this way.”

When we reached my Jeep, my mom quickly sat in the backseat with the suitcases at the cat carrier. So that Jessa had the passenger’s seat, right next to me. I narrowed my eyes at her and she just shrugged innocently.

With Jessa being so petite, I had to pick her up and place her into the seat. I noticed that she blushed slightly as I lifted her up. I pretended like I didn’t notice then climbed into my seat and started up the engine, “Are you guys hungry? I could stop somewhere.” I said as I buckled up.

“Not really, Shane. I am just tired.” Jessa admitted to me, buckling up then looked out her side window. She did look exhausted. I pulled out of the parking lot and down the road.

“Mom, what about you?” I asked looking at her in the review mirror.

“You can just drop me off at home, Shaney. I miss the many pets.” My mom said to me.

“Alright.” I said, switching lanes so that I was headed to my mom’s house instead of my place, “After I drop off Mom, we can just go to my place and chill out.”

“That sounds good.” Jessa said softly, turning her head to look at me, “You look great, by the way.” She said, smiling softly.

I returned the smile, “Thank you, sweetheart. Same to you and tiny.”

She blushed slightly, looking at her lap, “Yeah… well I have always been tiny.”

I turned off the main road and into a nice looking neighborhood, “True, hopefully I can change that while you are here.” I winked at Jessa.

“You can try, but I won’t hold my breath.” She shook her head.

“One can hope, though.” I stopped at a stop sign then turned right, “So Drew is gonna be at my place when we get home. Is that alright with you?” I pulled next to my mom’s house and parked.

“That is completely fine.” Jessa said, nodding as her whole face lit up.

“Okay, good.” Then I looked at my mom, “Mom, I will grab your bags for you.” I said, unbuckling and getting out of the Jeep then getting my mom’s bags out from the backseat.

Mom nodded and got out of the backseat, walking to Jessa’s rolled down window, “Hope to see you again, sweetheart. It was nice to finally meet you.” She said.

Jessa nodded, looking at her, “Same here, it was nice to talk to someone on the plane. I know that we will see each other some more before I go back home.”

“Of course, just tell Shane whenever you wanna see the pets or me.” My mom said smiling at me, I nodded at them both, then I jerked my head to my mom’s house, “I’m gonna put these on the porch while you chit chat.” I walked to the house and put them near the front door then walked back to the Jeep, “Thank you Mom for making the pit stop to get Jessa.”

She patted my cheek, “Oh of course, honey. She is a great girl.” Then she winked at Jessa, “Text me whenever he pisses you off, okay? I mean it.”

“I doubt he will piss me off, but I promise, Teresa.” Jessa said nodding to my mom.

I climbed into the driver’s seat, started the engine and looked out Jessa’s window at my mom. She waved her hand lightly, “Please call me Momma. Everyone does. Okay, I am getting a glare from Shane, bye guys.” She waved at us then walked up to the front door.

After I saw her unlocking the door and walking in, I drove away, “I see you and Mom hit it off, I am glad about that because I had a feeling that you two would.”

“Oh yes, I love her already. She is a complete sweetheart, Shane.” Jessa said, turning her head to look at me.

I smiled as I stopped at a stop light, “I know that she is a sweetheart. There is no mean bone in her body. Sort of like you.” I eyed her and smiled softly.

“I can be a total bitch if I need to be, you know what I mean.” She looked at me then looked away, to her lap as she licked her lower lip.

I nodded, staying silent, because I knew that she could be.

I knew all about her very first relationship. That had been an abusive relationship. She had found a loophole to his many threats and made him breakup with her by thinking that she was cheating. She of course would never ever cheat on anyone, even on a total douchebag that verbally, mentally and emotionally abused her.

I heard all about Ron, how she treated her, how he would nag her to have sex with him after dating her for a year. Like me, she wanted to wait to until she was married. It broke my heart to hear her voice crack when she told me about what happen in November 2009. That was the month when she finally gave in and had sex with him.

She deserved a guy who would honor her wishes, who wouldn’t pressure her into anything that she didn’t want to do, and she needed a guy who completely understood her, inside and out.

In many ways, that relationship had molded her into the strong-willed woman that she was now.

I drove into the gated neighborhood that I lived in and quickly looked at her, “You know, if you ever dated another guy like that, tell me and I will beat his ass.” I looked back to the road.

Jessa blushed, “I know you would, Shane.” I saw her look at me, “Thank you for being so protective, it means a lot to me.” She quickly reached over and kissed my cheek. When she relaxed back in her seat I glanced over at her, “I’ll always protect you, even with my friends.” I looked back to the road.

We passed a handful of houses then I pulled into the long driveway and smiled as I parked, “Home sweet home.”

Jessa’s eyes widen, “I only saw it from videos and Snapchats. It is huge!” She unbuckled and looked at me, “Wanna take me in first or my bags first?”

“I was thinking getting you in then your things.” I said, also unbuckling, “I’ll help you out, hold on.” I opened my car door, jumped out and walked around the front of the Jeep, opening her door, “Ready?” She nodded and I lifted her out, put her down then took her hand gently, “You are very light.”

She blushed as we walked to the front door, “Thanks.”

“No problem.” I said as I was about to grab the doorknob to the front door, the door swung open and Drew grinned at us both, “I saw you walk up.” He glanced at Jessa, “Hi, you must be Jess. Shane told me all about you.”

I cocked my head as I raised an eye brow, “Shut up.” We walked around him and I guided her to the living room and she sat down on the gray couch, “Get her bags and the cat carrier from the car, please?” I hollered to Drew, sitting next to Jessa.

He poked his head in the living room and smiled at us, “No problem.” Then he walked outside to the car.

--

-Jessalynn’s Point Of View-

I glanced around and saw the Christmas decorations that Ryland had put up right before the breakup, I bit my lower lip, feeling the eyes of Shane on me. I turned to glance at me, rubbing my elbow to his arm slightly because he was sitting that close to me. I saw him quickly turn his head so that he was looking at the little Christmas tree instead of looking at me, “You need a table for that tree.” I said softly, “It looks funny on the floor.”

He grinned, “I think you are right.”

Suddenly I heard my baby’s squeaky meows, Drew was walking inside and to the living room, “He seems very angry.”

“She.” Shane corrected Drew, “That is Persephone.” I couldn’t help it, I smiled softly.

“Where’s Cheeto and Uno?” I asked, because I hadn’t seen them yet. Drew quickly opened the office door and out came Uno, running to Shane, “When I saw Shane pull up, I quickly put Uno in the office so that he wouldn’t jump on you. Cheeto is probably hiding.”

“Hi buddy, I told you that I was coming back.” Shane said, petting Uno, “This is Jess, she is gonna stay with us for a while, so be nice to her.”

I smiled as I let Uno sniff me then I reached the top of his head and petted it, “Nice boy.” I locked eyes with Shane and smiled, “What?” I asked as I grinned at him.

He shook his head, “Nothing, just I liked how you let him sniff you before you reached out to pet him. Most people don’t tend to do that.”

Uno jumped on the couch on my other side and put his head on my thigh. I shrugged lightly, “My grandma taught me that when I was a kid, I was always with her at dog shows and most dogs got jumpy if you just reached out to them to pet them. You let them sniff you, let them sniff you, then if the dog gives you the okay, then you can reach out and pet them. I also do that with cats, because well they have claws.” I smiled at Shane.

“She’s smart, you better keep her around. Maybe she will rub off on you.” Drew said, folding his thin arms over his chest, looking at us both.

I laughed a little, “Maybe I’ll make Shane stop bringing demons inside his house.”  I widen my eyes at Shane.

That made both guys laugh, “You can try, Ryland did and look how that turned out.” Shane said, standing up, “I’ll get your bags.”

“Oh I did, they are in the guest bedroom.” Drew stopped him, smiling at me. I returned the smile and looked at Shane who sat back down next to me.

“Okay then, so we can let Seph out.” He grabbed the carrier from the table and handed it to me, “You are her momma. You open it. She might kill one of us if we open it.”

I pushed Uno away, “No, she might attack you, buddy. Drew, hold his collar so he will not try to lick the fuck outta her.”

Drew quickly sat beside Uno and held him, “You are the boss lady.”

I opened the door of the carrier and grabbed her, “Shh. It’s okay, sweetie.” I held her and she started to purr, her golden eyes glued to Shane, “Good girl.”

Shane smiled, shifting his weight slightly, then turning slightly so that he was facing me and Persephone.

“What’s up with her left ear?” Drew asked, pointing at it with his free hand, “No Uno, stay over here.” Uno was trying to either sniff or lick Seph.

Persephone had an ear that didn’t form right when she was born, it looked like she had it cocked all the time. I smiled, “She is different. Her left ear didn’t completely form right when she was a kitten. She can hear and move it, it just looks like she’s holding it weird.”

“It’s cute. And you were right, she does kinda looks like Muffins.” Shane reached out, to let her sniff his hand. I smiled softly.

‘He is a fast learner.’ I thought to myself, petting my baby.  Persephone sniffed his hand and then did something I wasn’t expecting. She climbed onto his lap and started purring.

I looked at him, in complete surprise.

“What?” Shane asked, looking at me, rubbing her neck and making her purr even more.

“She hates new people.” I squeaked out, I looked at Seph and Shane. I smiled softly, I relaxed completely. I was thrilled that she liked Shane, “This is gonna be your other parent, so you gonna listen and obey him.” I said to my furry kid, rubbing her cheek.

“You guys are pet parents.” Drew laughed a little, “Jess is the momma and you are the daddy.” Shane and I looked up at each other then looked at Drew, in-sync. Drew laughed, “Maybe not, I’ll just shut up then.”

“Yeah, you do that.” Shane muttered at his best friend, looking over my shoulder.

I looked at the Christmas tree again, noticing something orange beside it, Cheeto was stalking into the room. Seph must’ve heard him because she cocked her little ears then turned around to glance at him, still on Shane’s lap.

Cheeto stopped walking, mid-step and looked at her. All of the humans in the room stopped moving and probably stopped breathing. This was it, the tie breaker. If they didn’t get along, this trip would be cut really short.

Seph jumped off of Shane’s lap and walked up to Cheeto, her tail high and proud. She sniffed him and he sniffed her then they touched noses.

“Yes!” Hollered both Shane and I, relieved that our kids liked each other. I turned to Drew, “You can let Uno go, she is okay with dogs.” I looked at Shane, “Hey, where is the kitty box? She might want to use it soon.”

Shane looked at me, stood up, picked up my baby, “Come with me, little princess.” We quickly walked out of the room and into the office. Cheeto followed his daddy and meowed softly.

I patted my legs, “Uno, come here.” Uno bounced to me and I petted him, “Good boy.”

Shane walked back, kitty-less and sat back down next to me, “They are sniffing butts and other kitty things. I think that they like each other.”

I laughed a little, still petting Uno, “That is good, they are getting to know each other and other shit. So that is a huge thing.” He reached out and petted Uno with me, “Uno seems to get that you are different.”

“Hmm, he isn’t stupid.” I smiled at Shane.

Shane stood up, “Are you hungry? Want a soda? House tour?” He asked me then pointed at the office door, I quickly looked at the door and saw our kids play fighting.

I licked my lower lip, “Soda and house tour.” I looked at Drew then at the pets, “You okay here?” I stepped closer to Shane and linked my arm with his.

“You have nothing to worry about, momma. I’ll keep a watchful eye on your kids.” Drew said, giving us a smile, “Go on, I can handle them.” He waved us away.

I smiled, “Okay, thank you, Drew.”

Shane led me to the kitchen, “Diet coke or root beer?”

“Root beer, please?” I planted myself against a counter, watching him get two root beers, “They are diet, I hope that is alright. I am not allowed to drink regular soda.”

I took one and popped the top, “It’s perfectly fine.” I looked around, noticing that his usual tripod and lights are gone from the kitchen and the sink was cleaned.

‘He must’ve cleaned before he got me.’ I thought to myself as I took a sip of the soda.

“So as you can tell, this is the kitchen. Coffee cups are above the maker. I’ll get down any plates and other cups, you probably won’t be able to reach them, and the snack cupboard is over here…” He went over to the snack cupboard, where I already knew where it was.

“Shane… I know… Your videos…” I said, grabbing his arm slightly, stopping him.

“Right… I almost forgot you saw all my videos…” He said softly, blushing slightly, “I’ll show you the upstairs then, I hadn’t really filmed up there…”

‘He is nervous! Awe.’

I left my soda on the counter and walked arm in arm with him, then when we reached the spiral staircase he took my hand and led me up.

We reached the carpeted hallway, he opened one door, “My room, very bare, but I like it.” I didn’t look in, because I had already saw it in videos, so I just nodded, “Bare is good sometimes.”

He shut the door, walked to the other door that was right across from his, “Your room.” He said as he opened it. We walked in and I gasped. He had decorated it! It was Eifel Tower/Paris themed.

There was three huge themed pictures that were hung above the all-white plush headboard, the bedding was a soft pink, white five huge all-white pillows, and there was a soft fur all-white rug next to the queen sized bed. Underneath the big bay window was a cat bed for Persephone.

I looked at him, “You remembered.” I whispered, putting my hands over my mouth.

He was watching me carefully, “You hate it?”

What? No… I love it!” I hugged him tightly, “Thank you, Shane.”

‘He had remembered that I always wanted an Eifel Tower/Paris themed bedroom and I could never get it because we were always poor.’

“Your closet is over there and your bathroom is over there.” He had pointed at the two different doors on the different walls of my bedroom, “You have a built in seat in the shower, so no falls and no awkwardness between us for me helping you.”

He had thought of everything.

“Your closet has some clothes, I remembered your sizes.” Shane said softly, “Just shirts and some jeans.” He shrugged slightly.

I walked to the double white wooded doors to the closet and opened them. I gasped, ‘shirts and some jeans’ was an understatement. A complete understatement!

I didn’t need to pack clothes, probably only bras, socks and underwear. He had gotten me a dozen or so jeans and shorts, all blue or black, tons of tank tops and shirts, ranging to every color possible. Hoodies also, blue, black and gray.

‘He paid attention to my style of clothing, no doubt.’ I thought to myself looking at some shirts that were on hangers. I smiled softly, seeing he added his own merch in the shirts. Then I saw something that I never ever wore.

“Dresses!?” I held one up as I looked at him, in total shock. The one I was holding was a black thin strapped black beaded dress. Totally my style, minus that it was a dress,

He just shrugged, looking at me, “They are for special occasions.”

They were beautiful and my style, if I did ever wore dresses. Edgy but yet classy. They were all strapless and floaty. Most of them were black but I saw a handful of purple or pink.

“Special occasions?” I narrowed my eyes at him, full of interest.

“We still don’t know when you might go back home, so I thought of everything.” He muttered. I hung the dress back up, walked over to him and hugged him tightly.

“Thank you, Shane. This room, the clothes, everything.” I said, letting him go.

“Mom helped with the clothes and the decorations for the room.” Shane said softly, looking away from me, ashamed or nervous.

I made him look at me by putting a hand underneath his chin, “Shane, stop it. This was amazing and so sweet. You didn’t need to get me clothes or decorated the room for me.”

“I wanted you to feel comfortable while you stayed here. Make you not think that you are just a visitor, because to me, you are not just a visitor.”

I smiled, “Thank you, Shane. The room is everything I always wanted.” I hugged him again, placing my head on his chest right above a shoulder.

He wrapped his arms around me and kissed the crown of my head. We broke apart and he looked at me, “Jess… I…” He started to say.

“Guys?” Drew interrupted Shane.

“What?” Shane hollered, slightly upset that he was interrupted, he walked to the closed door and opened it, peeking his head out, “Drew, what is it?”

“There is a food delivery guy here for you, man.” Drew hollered up the stairs.

Shane looked at me, “You okay here for a bit?”

I nodded, sitting on my bed, “Yeah I am fine, go.”

Shane walked out of my room, leaving the door ajar, maybe for Persephone to find me. I heard him run downstairs and get the door. I found my suitcase and I had decided to unpack while I was alone.

[awkwardshanandagins]

Costco+Lupron=One Very Stabby Shanda

You read that right, STABBY. As in I'm on the brink of stabbing someone or something.  Anyone else ever feel this way? Oh..no?  Are you telling me it's not normal to feel like stabbing someone?  Well, shit, I've been feeling stabby so hard since about 5:00 p.m. yesterday, just in time for my husband to get home.  Lucky him!  I got my sixth and final Lupron injection yesterday and this one stays in my system for three months as opposed to the one month injections I've been getting.  I don't know if you're supposed to feel much of a difference between the two but dear Lord this one has been a doozy!  I have had to try way harder than one should ever have to try to not elbow someone in the face today.  That should just be easy, right?  We don't elbow people in the face, it's not socially acceptable, therefore we do not have to consciously make an effort not to do so, we just don't do it.  Not me.  Not today.  I've had to make a very conscious decision not to elbow several stupid faces.  They're lucky I have some self-control.

At this point, you may be thinking I am a very violent person. As much as I talk about it (and yes, sometimes daydream about it), I would NEVER actually do anything to hurt anyone.  I'm a big ol' pussy and I "care" too much about my fellow man or whatever.  But, if there was ever something strong enough to make me actually throat chop someone, it would be this damn Lupron.  This shit is not for the weak!  I know better than to go out in public the first couple days after my injection but I ignored my better judgement, something I do too often.

I decided to run by Costco on my way home from work.  Going to Costco while practically roid-raging on Lupron is a terrible idea.  Going to Costco in general is usually a terrible idea.  I have such a strong love-hate relationship with Costco.  It is literally my favorite store while also being the place I hate most in this world.  It's not so much the store I despise, but the people inside of it.  There seems to be a common theme with me lately, I just really can't stand people.  Anyways, after spending almost a full week laid up on the couch I figured running some errands would be good for me.  I have to do things while I feel most human and today was one of those days, or so I thought.  Hormonally, I don't think it was my wisest decision.

Parking was the first red flag.  This dickhead woman stole my spot and I about had a total meltdown.  A screaming, crying, ramming my car into the back of hers kind of meltdown.  I think she knew how annoyed I was, one because I stared her down real hard and two because she did not get out of the car until I exited mine and walked inside.  Another spot opened up two spots away and at this point a normal person would have let it go but Lupron said "NO! YOU WILL HATE THIS WOMAN FOR THE REST OF ETERNITY.  SHOW HER YOUR HATRED!" I glared through her window as I got out of my car.  I went as slow as possible so I could see how long she'd stay in there.  Part of me was hoping she'd get out but the other part of me, the more rational part of me, was like "why? what would you do if she did get out?"  I'd give her a good ol' fashion scream cry in the face, that's what I'd do!  I always seem to think if I stare at someone long and hard enough, they'll feel my rage burning into the side of their face and they'll know they did something stupid.  Man, I sure showed her!  In reality, she probably had no idea any of this was even happening.

While walking in, I somehow got behind the slowest couple that has ever existed.  They were barely moving but did an excellent job of taking up the entire entry way so there was no way for me to go around.  They continued their slow, sprawled out moseying the whole way in, pointing and stopping at every single item; again making it nearly impossible to pass them.  My hormone fueled rage did not let me give up however.  I got way too close for comfort, did a few NFL approved spin moves and somehow slipped by.  What I don't understand is how at the end of my shopping trip in hell, I ended up behind them again!  They had to have walked in and straight to the check-out lane.  There is no way, with their speed, that they could have made it anywhere else in the store and still ended up in front of me in the short amount of time it took me to sprint around the place.  Damn them.  Damn them real hard.  Slow walkers are literally the worst.

Next, I ended up right in front of a real fun older gentleman.  He turned out to be a super douchebag, but by the end of our interaction I made sure to really give him the look of hate and shame so he knew how annoyed I was.  To start, he about ran me over with his cart.  I was eating a sample as most of us do during our shopping trips to Costco.  Let's be real, it's pretty much a given that at least 75% of us are there during lunch time to indulge on these samples instead of eating a normal lunch.  Anyways, I do what I do best and accidentally dropped it down the front of me.  It had ranch on it and it spilled all over me and splatted on the floor.  Trying to be a decent human being, I bent over to pick it up and this mother-effer was so close behind me that he had to abruptly pull his cart backwards or he would have knocked me straight onto my face.  I let him go around, loudly said "jeeeeeeeeez," picked up my stuff and walked slowly behind him so he could get way ahead.  I was trying to spare his life.  About three aisles down, all of a sudden I can feel a cart right behind me but before I could turn around, someone threw a giant heavy box of something into it making a huge crash which about made me wet myself.  I turned around and it was the same toolbag who nearly booty bumped me onto my damn face.  At this point, I was beyond annoyed, almost to a place of murder, so I decided to follow very closely behind him so he could feel my wrath glaring a hole into the back of his head.  He walked comically fast, which I take as a compliment because I obviously scared him enough for him to practically run away.

I decided to skip the rest of the samples and leave before I lashed out and hurt someone, or most likely myself.  It was obvious I was in no state of mind to be around other human beings so I made a straight shot for the aisle I needed which luckily was right by the check-out.

You know what people drive me the most crazy?  The ones who act like they take precedence over everyone else on this earth.  Luckily, one of them was right in the main aisle trying samples with her child while her cart sat in the middle of the busiest aisle there is.  It was obvious it was in the way as people were lined up to get around it and were taking turns to pass her.  The polite thing would be to move your cart but no, she just stood there shoving her stupid face with quinoa not giving one shit that she was making it difficult for literally every other person there to get around her.  If anyone were to get a punch to the throat today, it would have been her.  I wanted to slap her quinoa out of her hand and high-kick her cart.  Move your shit, lady!

Whoever is in charge of deciding what items go on which shelves is either incredibly smart or terribly evil, or both I guess.  All I wanted was the protein powder I use for my morning shakes.  It is usually always by the vitamins but you know where they moved it?  On the fucking candy aisle!  Good God, why?  I AM A WEAK PERSON, COSTCO!  They know.  They know we are all weak and if they put the healthy crap by the delicious and unhealthy crap, we will buy both.  What a bunch of assholes.  Smart assholes though.

By the time I got up to the checkout lane, my arms were so full of stuff I did not go there for in the first place, that I was walking with an awkward limp, attempting to use one of my legs as a weird third arm to try to keep it all from falling.  I was hot and super sweaty at this point, which I'm sure made me look incredibly sane, and the rage had hit an all-time high.  What's worse than a menopausal woman?  A HOT menopausal woman!  A nice man came to my rescue as he clearly saw they had a liability on their hands with me.  I left as quickly as possible and tried not to look at anyone for fear if they gave me the wrong face, I might throw my box of items right at their head.

This was not even one of my worst trips to Costco.  I usually take Paul with me which honestly just makes it all worse.  He is not good in crowds and has a quick temper at times.  We are quite the pair right now!  One of us usually tries to remain level headed to keep the other one from completely losing their mind and rampaging through the store.  He absolutely loathes Costco so I tend to be the one remaining level headed.  Hard to imagine, I know.  The sample areas are breeding grounds for assholes.  It never fails, every time either he or I walk up to grab one, some jerkoff steps in front of us and grabs the last one.  I will wait patiently but Paul will boil over and have to walk away while cursing quietly.  Actually it's not quiet at all.  He does it so loud it usually draws attention.  I try to quickly corral him out of there while telling him to talk quieter which usually leads to us bickering until one of us walks ahead of the other one and remains five steps in front for the rest of the excursion.  It's obvious there is a marital spat taking place at this point.  Any time you see a woman walking five steps in front of a man, you can guarantee a fight just took place.  I really should just leave him at home.  It never turns out well.  Paul can't help but have an angry scowl on his face the entire time.  My family now calls Paul's angry face his "Costco face."

My next stop was PetSmart.  I should have just gone home but why stop there?  Maybe for the safety of myself and others?  Probably, but I live life dangerously.  There was this bird, or possibly baby pterodactyl, inside PetSmart that screeched non-stop the entire time I was there.  Normally, I would be able to block that out but my Lupron brain would not allow me to and instead made it sound like it was inside my skull.  I asked the cashier if the bird did this all the time and he said yes while looking like he had been seriously considering murder.  I would lose my mind working there with that bird.  That damn thing would "mysteriously" disappear one day.  Whoa, calm down, I wouldn't kill it, I'd obviously just let it go.  Right as I walked out of the parking lot, a car alarm continued the screeching's of that fucking bird.  Again, it usually wouldn't bother me but since it was happening inside my skull, I seriously considered running inside and screaming similar sounds until someone shut the stupid thing off.  Instead, I got in my car and drove my ass home.  I will hide out here until the effects of Satan's saliva wears off and I am a more normal, functioning person.

I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am that this will be my last shot!  This stuff is no joke.  It honestly has been both a blessing and a curse.  I truly do think it's made me feel better in many aspects but it has also made me into a complete lunatic.  Seriously, if my marriage can withstand this, it can withstand anything!

To those who are considering this medication, please do not let my stories turn you away from it.  The side effects I've had really have not been anything compared to the constant pain and bleeding us girls/women with endometriosis suffer from.  I've heard people have both amazing and terrible experiences with it.  I really urge you to think for yourself on this one and not take others' experiences into account since each one of us reacts so differently to this drug.  If you do decide to take it, good luck and God speed!  I joke.  Seriously though, I am here to listen to you throughout your own Lupron journey if you just need someone to vent to.  It helps having someone to talk to who completely gets it.  If you decide to give Lupron a try, just a word of advice...DON'T GO TO COSTCO!

[forevans]

title: a right moment summary: Dodger’s been acting strange. warning: a hint of a sexually intimate moment plus a steamy exchange note: reader has working reproductive organs and the ability to become pregnant prompt: daydreaming + ↓ gif = this length: 3.8k words beau: chris evans

A low whine by your side of the bed draws your hazy mind into consciousness. You moan and roll over to gauge the time, squinting against the harsh sunlight through the giant windows that take up one wall of the bedroom. You’ve slept through your alarm again. For several weeks now, the summer heat has you up late into the night and dragging yourself out of bed hours after your alarm goes off.

You drop a hand over the side of the bed and a wet nose pushes into your palm before a rough tongue swipes across it, sending tingles up your arm. “Dodger,” you mumble, and the nails from his paws click-clack on the wooden floor as he shifts restlessly, another whine escaping his muzzle. “Where’s Chris?”

Dragging yourself from bed, you make your way to the en suite bathroom (Dodger’s nails clicking against the hardwood floor behind you) to go through your morning routine. Then you wander through the sunlit house in search of Chris.

You find the clump of muscles of a man in the living room, stretched out along the deep seated sectional couch. He looks effortlessly and unfairly alluring with an arm behind his head and hooded eyes gazing at the screen on his phone. He’s dressed in workout clothes, his feet buried under the decorative cushions sprawled along the couch.

With a smile, you walk over and sink on top of his frame.

He sighs noisily—your weight rising and falling with the heave of his chest—and his arm encircles you as you snuggle up against him. “Mornin’, lazybones.”

“Morning.” You bury your face into his neck and the heady smell of sweat clouds your head. “Did you work out?”

“About an hour ago.” He drives a hand through your hair and cups the back of your head. The pads of his fingers massage your scalp and pull a moan from deep within you. It’s almost immediately followed by a broken howl from Dodger, who’s settled himself in front of the coffee table three feet away.

“What’s wrong, bud?” Chris asks in a lazy mumble.

“I think he wants to go for a walk; he seems on edge.” Now that you mention it, he’s been acting this way for about two-three weeks now; he’s clingy and constantly vying for your attention.

“We’ll take him to the dog park. It’s a gorgeous day out.”

“Mm-kay,” you say on a sigh, rolling off of him and onto your back to stretch out your limbs. Your tank top rides up your abdomen and Chris takes that opportunity to slide a rough hand over the exposed skin and curl fingers over your waist. “I need to get ready.” A smile tugs the corners of your mouth.

“In a sec.” He rolls onto his side and shoves his nose into the space between your neck and shoulder, the soft hairs of his beard tickling your skin. “You feel really good.” He shifts his hips and presses himself against your side with a sensual moan. “Really good,” he mutters. He nibbles along your skin and raises himself up as he tugs you under him, and forearms brace on either side of your head.

Your legs spread and welcome his hips to fit against yours, your crotch throbbing with the pressure against you. Hands slide down his broad, firm back and fingers dig into the uphill curve of his asscheeks just under the waistband of his jogger pants.

Chris rocks the length of his body along yours, brushing against your tingly nipples through the fabric of your shirt. A shudder wracks throughout your body and you arch your back with a whimper. “So fucking sexy,” he whispers, running a hand down your side before sliding it to your back to pull you more firmly against him.

Hands under his shirt, you drag them around to his front, nails scratching through his wiry chest hair down to his happy trail. He lets out a gravelly sound from the back of his throat, and god. “You’re the sexy one.”

“You easily out-sexy me.”

A laugh bubbles out of you, putting pressure between your legs that’s worlds different from the pleasure Chris is evoking. “I have to pee.”

He laughs. “You know exactly what to say to turn me on.” He places a smatter of kisses on your forehead. “Okay. You should get ready anyway. We can finish this later.” With a wink, he crawls off of you and heads toward the kitchen. “Dodger, let’s go get your stuff.”

Instead of following Chris’ command, Dodger trails after you as you return to the en suite.

You’re in the closet, standing in your underwear with Dodger sniffing at Chris’ shoes on his side of the closet when Chris comes in, wearing the Tom Brady snapback you bought him.

Dodger’s red collar and leash in his grip, he stares down at the dog. “Bud!” The reprimand is watered down by the slight chuckle that escapes. Dodger acknowledges Chris by wagging his tail, bumping it against your calf. “Come on.” He slaps his thigh, bending at the waist.

Laughing lightly, you crouch down and wrap your arms around Dodger in a loose grip. “Don’t cha wanna go to the park?” He twists around in your arms and tries to lick your face.

You help Chris exchange the chain collar for the red one. Once that’s done, you rise to your feet, and you’re about to turn to get ready when a light touch at your ankle stops you in your tracks.

Your breath hitches as your gaze lands on Chris, rising slowly with his fingers grazing up your bare leg. A wave of goosebumps erupt in his wake and your body’s victim to a violent shudder.

By the time he’s standing his full height, his hand reaches the bottom curve of your ass and you’re basically panting like a dog in (the) heat. His eyes are piercing, the blues almost hidden behind the eclipse of his dilated pupils. He lands a sharp smack to the flesh of your ass cheek and draws his bottom lip between his teeth.

You’re about two seconds away from saying to hell with the park and begging him to push you up against the nearest wall and fuck you into a sweaty, satisfied mess—when he spins around and tugs Dodger along. “Be quick,” he says over his shoulder.

Be quick. Fuck. That would’ve been a good line to say as you dropped your pants and bent over the nearest flat surface.

“Tease!” you shout after him, only to be met with his fading laughter.

With a sigh, you put on a t-shirt, shorts and sneakers, and grab a pair of sunglasses. Then you head back into the spacious living room to the giant library-design bookshelf unit mounted against a wall. You search through the collection of books.

(It’s a strange mix of romance, acting and directing, young adult, Buddhism and other spirituals, philosophical and self-help, and science fiction.)

You pick one that’s been on your to-read list for way too long, then follow the sound of a rumbling engine; heading through the sleek kitchen to get to the attached garage where Chris and Dodger are waiting in the black Jeep SUV.

You slip into the passenger seat, careful not to step on the bag Chris packed that’s sitting by your feet. The smell of leather drowns your senses—Chris must’ve had it detailed recently—and you crack open your window.

Dodger’s head appears between you and Chris. As Chris slowly pulls out, you hook an arm around Dodger’s neck in case he gets another urge to jump over the gear shift and sit on your lap. But you can’t hold him like this for the ten-minute ride to the park. “Babe,” you say, “drop the back window on your side?”

At the sound of the window rolling down, Dodger makes a gruff noise and shimmies out from under your grip. You smile and relax into your seat, then Chris’ hand covers yours on the armrest console.

“Dodger! Don’t you wanna play?” Chris is standing a few feet away with his arms spread out. Your sunglasses are resting on the brim of his snapback, which is casting a shadow over the top half of his face, and the bottom half is heavy with his beard, but you’re sure there’s a pout on his face.

You’re seated on a shaded bench with your book open and the bag next to you, packed with two bottles of water, sunscreen and toys. Dodger is sitting by your feet and staring at Chris, who’s now waving around a tennis bone enticingly. Laughing, you lean over and run a hand down his soft coat. “Go on, Dodge. Go play.”

He simply whines, his front paws shifting on the slab of concrete that confines the bench.

A slight breeze dances by and lifts the smell of freshly cut grass and sunscreen that you and Chris smoothed over each other when you got here.

You mark your book, place it in the bag and hook the strap over your shoulder. As you stand, Dodger sniffs at your shoes before following you to where Chris is, surrounded by some toys he took out of the bag.

The afternoon sun beats down on you, and you reach up for your sunglasses. At the same time, you take the toy from Chris’ hand and wave it to grab Dodger’s attention.

Dodger drops down low, butt raised high and tail swishing.

“Ready, boy?” you say. “Ready? Fetch!”

He takes off after it, eyes trained on the tennis bone soaring through the cloudless sky.

You turn to Chris, expecting him to be happy that Dodger’s finally in the mood to play, but instead find his lips pursed in a moue.

“He’s mad at me,” he says, curling an arm around your shoulders and pulling you into his chest for a consolation hug.

“He’s not mad at you.” You loop a finger over his waistband and give a little tug. “He probably just wanted me to play too.”

Dodger returns and offers it to you. You had it to Chris. “Here.”

Chris flips it several inches in the air and catches it again, Dodger’s gaze never leaving the toy. As Chris readies to throw it, you take a step away to give him room. The bone shoots off further and higher than your throw and Dodger almost trips over himself to catch up with it.

You wrap your arms around Chris’ middle and smile at him. “See? He’s not mad.”

He returns your smile and leans over to press them together, the tip of his nose gently nudging the bottom of your sunglasses. “You’re right,” he says into your mouth before a contented hum vibrates through his lips. You kiss away the tingling sensation.

Dodger interrupts, dropping the bone on your feet. You bend to pick it up and a wave of dizziness crashes into your head. Straightening yourself, you blink away the confetti of spots that spring in front of your eyes, then find the park tilting on its axis as you stumble.

“Whoa!” Chris grabs your arm and steadies you against him. “Are you okay?”

“’M a little dizzy.” You anchor yourself to his steady build, taking deep breaths until your eyes don’t feel like they’re rolling around in your head anymore. “I think...” You take a step back, hand him the bone then dig around in the bag for some water. “I think I just need to sit in the shade a little.”

“I’ll come with.” He starts to lead you to the bench, but you shake your head.

“No, I’ll be okay. Play with Dodger.” You take off back to the bench, taking several sips of water along the way, and only as you turn around to take a seat do you see that Dodger’s followed you back. You look at up Chris and shrug, levelling a hand with your shoulder, palm up.

Your man sighs; shoulders lifting and falling with the effort, and collects the rest of the toys at his feet before trudging over. He drops the things on the bench and, using your knees for leverage, squats down in front of the dog. He cups the pup’s head between big hands. “I’m starting to get worried. Are you not feeling well?” Chris asks, concern softening his voice. He takes hold of Dodger’s front paws and places them on his knees, bringing them eye-to-eye. “All you do lately is follow [Name] around.”

A pair of middle school-aged kids run past you with their energetic Beagle, their giggles and shrieks shooting Dodger’s ears to attention. His gaze follows their movements until they’re a safe distance away. He’s been doing that since getting here, actually—monitoring the strangers within your radius. Almost protectively, like...

You gasp.

Chris jerks, almost falling backward. “What? What happened?”

You’ve read about dogs who can sense when—When was the last time you got...?

You bite your lip and close your eyes, doing the math in your head. You were working hard on your latest project the last time and accidentally stained your jeans. That was, what—two months ago?

“Babe?” A warm hand clutches your knee. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

So that means... Four weeks—You’re four weeks late.

Oh my god.

Dodger whines, slipping his paws off Chris and turning to place his head in your lap, above where Chris’ hand lay.

“Okay, you’re both scaring me.”

Your hand shoots to your abdomen, heart thumping so hard you can feel it at the base of your throat.

Oh my god.

You meet Chris’ anxious stare. “I-I’m late.”

He frowns, gaze sliding down to where you’re clutching your stomach. His brows jump, eyes widen. “Oh my god. Fuck—are you sure?”

“Yeah. But I mean, it makes sense. I’ve been so tired and sleeping more, my nipples are super sensitive”—god are they; Chris made you come from sucking on them alone the other night—“and Dodger hardly ever leaves my side if he can help it.”

Chris’ expression seems to morph between fright and eagerness. “We should find out.”

“Now?”

“Now.” Chris throws all the toys into the bag as you attach Dodger to his leash and hook the loop through your wrist. “Where’s the closest place we could get a pregnancy test?”

“I’ll check.” You pull out your phone from your pocket and start up the Google Maps app. As you type away, Chris leads you to the car with a hand to your back and the bag over his shoulder, and Dodger trots along beside you. “There’s a gas station, two minute drive from here.”

On the drive there, the car is brimming with a buzzing energy. You simultaneously chug water while wrestling a restless Dodger to stay in the back seat. You almost spill water on yourself when Chris takes a sharp turn, cutting it close with the red light.

Chris pulls into the small gas station and parks in the shade beside the building where the restrooms are. You all lurch forward as he breaks hard, and he turns the engine off. “Okay, you stay here.”

You both unbuckle your belts, and you place a hand on his arm. “They’re more likely to recognise you.” Neither of you want to suffer through a press storm, especially this early on when you’re not even sure that you’re... y’know.

(Though you’re about sixty percent sure.)

Dodger whines, paws on the armrest console.

(Ninety-six percent.)

Chris pats his head. “Dodger won’t leave your side, and he can’t go in there.”

You’re sure Dodger would be fine if you left for two minutes, but Chris keeps shifting and fidgeting in his seat that you think maybe he needs to do something. You take off your sunglasses and hand it to him. “Okay, you can—” You don’t even get to finish your sentence when he springs from the car and bounces around the corner.

Wow, how much worse is he going to be when I’m in labour?

Your breath hitches. Whoa—you’re getting a little ahead of yourself. You rub a hand over your face then squeeze your knees, halting your bouncing leg.

(What if you are? Chris has always been vocal about wanting children. Is this something you want, now? People say there’s never a right moment to have a child.

But then what if you aren’t? Would Chris be upset? Would this be the catalyst for him to start wanting children now? What if he realises he doesn’t want them with you?)

(Oh god, what if you are, and Chris doesn’t want them with you? He’d stay with you for the child, but you love him too much to let him feel trapped in a relationship with someone he doesn’t want to be with.)

Man, you have to pee.

You throw the door open and jump out of the air-conditioned car and into the California heat. Before you can slam the door shut, Dodger leaps into your seat and fixes his pleading eyes on you. You sigh. “Come on.”

The toxic smell of petrol assaults you, and you swallow down your nausea as you lean against the side of the SUV. You play with the leash still attached to Dodger, glancing between your hands and the corner around which Chris disappeared.

A car honk sounds in the distance. The leash tautens when Dodger moves several feet away and sniffs at a spatter of what looks like bird poop on the ground.

What is taking Chris so long?

“What do you think, Dodger?”

Ears twitching, he looks up, but not at you. His gaze is trained somewhere behind you, and you turn to look. A moment later, Chris appears from behind the corner, sunglasses on the brim of the cap, sipping from a cup of pink slushie and holding a paper bag and a—is that a wooden back scratcher?

You squint to get a better look as he approaches.

He hands you the bag and back scratcher with a key attached to one end. There’s a moment when you’re both holding onto the items and looking into each other’s eyes. You swallow. Should you say something? What is there to say?

“Good—Have a good pee,” he says, the inner edges of his lips stained pink.

“Thanks.” You take the box out of the bag and study it. It’s one of those fancy digital ones that also estimates how far along you are.

“I don’t know how to—” He breaks off, and you look up at him. “I don’t know whether or not...” to wish for it?

Rolling your lips together, you reach up and stroke your thumb across the apple of his cheekbone. His eyes close at your touch. “I know. Me neither.”

His fingers find your wrist and they curl around it as his eyes open again. “Whatever happens—it’s gonna be okay. I love you.”

And just like that, a thin blanket of calmness settles over your mind. He loves you.

You slide your hand around to the back of his neck and pull him over to place a kiss on the corner of his mouth. You shakily breathe in the smell of artificial strawberry and sweat, then take a step away and to the restrooms.

He loves you.

The fluorescent lights flicker on and—Your jaw drops. There’s no window to air out the stale urine that permeates the air, and you’re afraid to touch anything without a blacklight to confirm there aren’t bodily fluids staining the grimy surfaces.

You do your business as fast as you can, and it all feels like some kind of dream because the next thing you know, you’re leaning against the front of the SUV next to Chris, the test and your phone—with the timer counting down—behind you on the hood.

You take a breath and actually welcome the smell of petrol. “Now we wait.” Three minutes.

Chris exhales.

Dodger circles in front of you then settles down at your feet.

You lean your head against Chris’ shoulder. He intertwines your fingers together and rests them on his thigh.

“I’ve wanted kids for a long time.” His voice is low under the cacophony of traffic, and you lift your head to see him staring down at the asphalt. “I mean—I was blessed growing up, and seeing my sisters with their own families now... I want that. I want what they have. I want my kids to have the childhood I had.

“The only thing in the way of all of that—I just... I couldn’t find the right person I wanted to share it with.”

You shift, accidentally jostling him, and he jerks his head around.

“Until you,” he adds. “Of course.”

You give him a wry smile. “Of course.”

“I meant until you.”

You turn so your hip is leaning against the hood’s grate. “Chris.” You bring your clasped hands to rest against your stomach, if only to give yourself more time to gather your thoughts. “Listen. I know you want the—the big family and white picket fence, but... Um. You need to... I know we love each other, but sometimes that’s just not enough, you know? The person you’re sharing your dream with is more important than the dream itself.”

He shakes his hand from your grip and pulls himself to his full height. He cups your face between his hands and smiles at you. “This is one of the reasons why I love you.”

You blink.

“You’re it for me. I don’t want anybody else. And when I imagine my future, you’re all I can see. It’s you.”

“Chris...”

“I want this”—he gestures between you—“I want us.”

You drop your head, as if the worry in your mind has evaporated and you no long carry the burden, and a smile pulls at your mouth.

“Unless... Un-Unless that’s not what you want...?”

Your head snaps up. “No!” You scrutinise the uncertainty in his face and shake your head. “Chris, you’re the love of my life. You make me happy, and I only want to make you happy.”

He smiles. “You do. You do.”

This beautiful man.

You cup his face between your palms like he did and drag him over to kiss you. Your foreheads meet after your lips break apart. “I just needed to make sure.”

He kisses you again then pulls you intimately closer until you’re pressed against each other and his arms are firm around you. You’re submerged into his body heat and at this moment, this is the only place you want to be.

The timer on your phone sounds. Your breathing stutters. The bones rattle in your chest from the force of your heartbeat. You pull away and stare at each other. Chris looks anxious—you can only imagine what he sees on your face: fear? Anticipation?

You both turn around and you pick up the test. Your gaze meets Chris’ again, and he visibly swallows. His arm curls around your shoulders, tugging you into his side. “Ready?”

Licking your lips, you nod. With a deep inhale, you hold it out with an unsteady hand.

You tense.

Pregnant 3+ weeks

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early birds: @themusicplayedherlife, @mizzzpink

[losille2000]

The Chocolate Affair, Chapter 4

TITLE: The Chocolate Affair CHAPTER NUMBER: 4/? AUTHOR: Losille2000 WHICH TOM/CHARACTER: AU!Tom, CEO!Tom GENRE: Romance/Drama/Spy Fiction FIC SUMMARY: When a mysterious—and gorgeous—stranger sends dessert instead of a customary drink one evening in a bar, Christine Callaghan can’t help but be intrigued, even though she’s on a diet… from men. RATING: M (sex, language) WARNINGS: Explicit sex. Vanilla, but a hint of chocolate syrup (in a lightly D/s way). AUTHORS NOTES: So, uh, yeah. As I said, this is probably the most explicit love scene I’ve ever written, and it sort of got away from me (6500 words long), but I hope it meets your approval. Sorry for the wait! Thanks for reading, everyone!

Also on AO3 Previous chapters: 1 - 2 - 3 -  Character Bios: Tom - Christine - Alex - Rory

The Chocolate Affair Chapter 4

 Our tour doesn’t really classify as a tour, just a walk up the curving staircase to the first-floor gallery, with Tom pointing at the doors to guest rooms—four of them—in the ovular space. He mentions, offhanded, that there’s a fifth and sixth on the upper level. I figure there must be more underneath the main level where we had dinner, but I don’t dwell on it. I’m not here to look at the ostentatious architecture, I’m here to look at—no, drink up and take my fill of—a handsome man.

 He opens wide two dark cherry doors, stepping aside to let me precede him into the room. When I’m past the threshold in the sedate, neutral-toned sitting room, he steps in behind me and shuts the door with a quiet snap. I whirl around… well, attempt to whirl around to face him, but he’s already there, his warmth pressing against my back, long-fingered hands digging into my hips to shove us forward. His hard excitement pushes into my ass as we walk in step with each other toward the giant bed across the huge open room, sending a bright shot of heat straight to my core.

I expect him to continue, to lay me down on the bed or at least sit me there, but suddenly I’m cold, the room’s ambient air prickling my skin with the abruptness of his disappearance. Swallowing a deep breath, I turn around and look for Tom, finding him at a sideboard, pouring amber liquid from a crystal decanter into a matching glass. It must be whisky, I think, because isn’t that what these types of men always drink from their sideboards?

 Tom lifts the glass and sucks in a mouthful as he turns back to me, his eyes alight with hunger. It’s carnal. Animalistic. Wolfish and starving and thirsty at the same time, like I’m an oasis in the middle of the desert. I’ve seen that look before—not on him, though, or even another man.

 A Persian leopard, starved and bony, loped into our camp the night my team arrived north of Mosul, Iraq on my first overseas assignment. Our guides said it was rare for them to come down off the mountains, but its hunger must have driven it into our camp in search of food. We were warned not to feed or pay it any mind, but it started yowling in the middle of the night, just outside our barracks. I couldn’t imagine the pangs of hunger it must be suffering to make such sounds. Of course, my own cat back home lets me know he’s hungry—constantly—despite being five pounds overweight. But this sound… this was different. It was the sound of dying.

 I tossed and turned for a few hours and couldn’t find any sleep. Fed up and frustrated that no one else seemed to care, I threw my covers off, pulled on my boots and scrounged around our makeshift mess hall for something to feed it. My offering was likely to be nothing more than a single drop of rain in a drought, but I couldn’t lay there all night listening to the poor animal starve to death.

 Resources were precious for us in the middle of nowhere, but one of the Marine cooks pulled a shank of meat out of the cooler and handed it to me anyway. I ventured out into the moonlight, ready to coax the leopard close enough that he would smell or see me with the meal. He did, right way, and carefully picked his way across the rocky, sandy ground. His focused eyes glinted in lantern light as he walked, his large tongue licking his mouth in anticipation of the meager feast.  

 I’d never seen another living thing so ravenous up until that point in my life. Sure, I’ve seen hungry animals and, unfortunately, people since, but that leopard is the closest I come to understanding what Tom must be thinking as he prowls with feline grace across the room and sets his whisky tumbler on the table beside a plush couch.

 But is Tom really the leopard, preparing to devour me to slake his hunger? Or was it me last night, lured in with dessert, starving for positive male attention? Have I sealed my own fate by accepting a solicitous hand? I shudder at the thought, knowing the story with the leopard ends with a gunshot ricocheting off the valley and a dead animal at my feet, Colonel Baker shoving his sidearm into a holster with a meaningful glare in my direction.

 I shake my head, telling myself I need to find better analogies. For my own sanity, I can’t let myself think about anything other than the man in front of me right now.

 Tom pulls his coat off and tosses it over the back of the couch, then pulls the unknotted tie slow, agonizingly slowly, though his collar and drops it on top of the coat. He does all of this while watching me, staring, consuming me with his half-lidded eyes. I lock my knees and try to resist the urge to stand at attention under his assessments. Nothing about his actions make him feel like a drill instructor, but there’s something in the air between us, something controlling and dominant that flicks against my independent nature.

 “Take your heels off,” he says, eyeing my feet.

 “Excuse me?” I ask.

 He laughs. “Or keep them on, if you like. I love fucking women in gorgeous heels.”

 I gulp. It’s the first time he’s used such coarse language, and I want to know how he can make something so vulgar sound so hot.

 “But I can see you’re uncomfortable in them,” he adds again.

 “You don’t know that.”

 He meets my eyes. “Yes, I do. The way you move in them isn’t the same as a woman who has had lots of practice wearing them. I want you to be comfortable. Well… within reason, of course.”

 “Fine,” I bite out, kicking off my shoes and squishing my stocking-covered feet in the thick carpeting. I don’t know if I’m angrier that I can’t convincingly pull off the air of refinement I wanted or that he can read into it so well. What else can he figure out about me?

Tom mirrors my actions, bending down to remove his own footwear to reveal the dark polka dotted socks beneath. I giggle at the sudden frivolity of the design considering his otherwise straight-laced costume. He looks up at me from under his heavy brows as he stuffs the shoes under the side table.

 “What’s so amusing?”

 “Your socks,” I say. “They’re inconsistent to your outright demeanor.”

 He chuckles. “Ah, yes. Perhaps there’s more to me than I present to the public.”

 “Maybe,” I reply.

 He stands to his full height, eyes back on me as he reaches for his cufflinks and carefully removes each one.  They’re heavy and metal, I can tell by the way he palms them in his hand, and they make substantial clunks on the table beside his whisky glass when he sets them there.

 I belatedly realize he hasn’t offered me a drink, and doesn’t seem to have any interest in procuring one for me. Instead, he grabs his left sleeve and rolls it up his forearm, moving slowly and elegantly to expose the flexing and releasing muscles beneath the cloth. Then he repeats the action with the opposite sleeve, until both sit at his elbows.

 He’s not a slight man, that much I know from the press of his body to mine at times through the evening, but his forearms are more than I imagined. He’s lean and lithe like a jungle cat, and as I can see now, with just as much powerful musculature honed from a great deal of physical activity.

 Though I never pictured him a weakling—in fact, he has never strayed from his golden godly image in my head—the reality is so much more. Now I know he can hurt me, in more ways than one. And those personal bodyguards lurking around outside? They’re decoration, nothing more.

 I lick my lips, thinking further and imagining how else he might look, waiting for him to remove more clothing. For him to come over to me and undress me, too.

 But he doesn’t.

Strangely, he lowers himself onto the couch and rests back against it.  He spreads out, seemingly taking up the whole space with his body, long arms laying across the backrest and his knees bent and legs spread wide to showcase his groin in a welcoming, purely sexual display. Tom neither invites me nor disinvites me from sitting with him, but he reaches for the amber liquor on the table and sips it before resting back and staring again. The tumbler, I note, stays in his hand, balancing on the back of the couch.

 I swallow around the sudden lump in my throat, not knowing where to go and what to do. This man is so different from any other I’ve encountered. He’s a mystery, and for the first time in my life, my sexual confidence evaporates into thin air.

 I wonder if he’s done it on purpose, to unsettle me. To make me so uncomfortable that my carefully constructed personal control goes right out the window. So that he might get something incendiary out of me about who I am or what I do.

 “Take your dress off,” he commands like a man who is always obeyed.

 Okay, then, I think and reach for the zipper under my arm. “Wouldn’t you like to do the honors?”

 He shakes his head, takes another sip. “No. I’d rather watch you, watching me. Keep your eyes on me.”

 My skin enflames at his words. I’m trained to follow orders in certain aspects of my life, but most of my life is something I rule. I control what I do and what I don’t. Yesterday, before I met him, I would have never dreamed of allowing a man to issue me such commands. In fact, my ex and I fought about it constantly, because I was never willing to give up my control for him.

 Tom makes it too easy to obey him, and it sends a funny fluttering insect into my belly. A part of me wants to protest—rebel—but it’s impossible to do so. I’ve already sunk too far into his world. It started the moment I readily followed his orders to show up in a black dress and heels tonight.

 No wonder he expects me to follow other commands.

 “I’ve always thought,” he starts, his words slurring slightly, but it’s not from drunkenness. The man in front of me is the farthest thing from alcoholic intoxication. “You can tell a lot about a person by their sartorial choices. Don’t you think?”

 “I would agree with you,” I say, pulling the zipper down, making sure to hold his gaze. Heat and wet flood the expensive lacy satin between my legs. I didn’t know—I didn’t realize—

 He grins mischievously. “And what have you learned about me?”

 “You’re exacting. Regimented. You wear it like a uniform, like you’re in the military, and just as strict. You clearly expect it from everyone else,” I murmur. The zipper stops moving and I lift a hand and stick a finger beneath one of the sleeves holding my dress up. Then I push it down my arm, following suit with the other. I hold the fabric in place to continue. “You’re polished. You like the finer things in life, your suits aren’t something you pull off a rack. But you don’t do flamboyance, even with all your money. And the way you carry yourself in the suit, it’s like you were born in them. It’s second nature, probably because you started wearing such fine clothing when you were very young.”

 I pull the dress down further, enjoying the way his eyes widen eagerly as it shifts south, revealing the lacy scallop on the edge of my bra. “Though, there’s your socks. You’re a contained man, but you let a little frivolity show through your accessories. Which tells me you’re not necessarily a hard man—”

 “Oh, I guarantee you, Christine,” he said, taking another sip of his whisky, “I am rather hard.”

 Glancing at his groin, I do take note of the increased tent in his trousers. Even in the shadowed room and dim light, I can see the shape of it in the black fabric. I lick my lips again and he shifts his hips in discomfort.

 “Eyes on mine, darling,” he orders.

 I drag my gaze up to meet his again and I see steely reserve. There are other observations I can tell him—things I’ve picked up through the evening—though it’s not necessarily related to his clothing. But I choose to draw my cards back, keeping them close to my chest. I know better than to reveal my hand this early in the game.

 His eyes flicker down my body, as though trying to move the fabric I’m sliding south faster than my current speed. I bite my lip and chuckle, taking a breath. He never told me how quickly to drop it, so that’s his fault.

 “You don’t wear dresses often,” he starts. “But you wear them more regularly than you do the heels. And the heels—well, they’re still sensible though they’re tall and expensive. So though you might never wear them again, you prefer quality.”

 I nod. “That’s easy.”

 He laughs and leans forward, a shadow passing across his face in the room’s low light. Somehow, he seems more mysterious. More unpredictable. “You didn’t dress like the other women here tonight. Not flashy. Your hem is respectable and elegant, but still at a length to reveal your wonderful, shapely legs. And the neckline, as it is open and across your shoulders is a sophisticated grace as opposed to showing everything.”

There were some plunging necklines tonight, I think. But I thought that’s what he preferred.

“And what does that say about me, exactly?” I ask.

 “You’re private. You keep things to yourself. You have secrets, probably lots of them, that you only reveal to a few people.”

 I draw in a breath and let it out. He’s stabbing at thin air, hoping something sticks. I know he is, because I know he’s looking for something. For some tell that he’s right. Or, perhaps, for something more incriminating. What I’m wearing could mean anything. Maybe someone else picked it all out for me and I’m just wearing it? Maybe I just don’t like showing my body off?

 He seems to read my mind and stands up, finishing off his glass of whisky and leaving it on the table beside the couch. Then he saunters over, walking around me, appraising me, his hands resting on mine where they hold my dress around my torso. “You like showing your body off, so you don’t cover up for that reason.”

 “Is that what you think?”

 The man shrugs, stopping in front of me. He’s close enough again that I can feel his heat radiating over my body, enveloping me. I haven’t taken my eyes off him, except for the few seconds he spent behind me, and now he’s staring into mine. The scent of warm whisky wafts around us and I cant toward him, searching for the feel of him brushing my skin, for a taste of the spicy liquor on his tongue.

 “You, however, understand the concept of intrigue,” he interjects between us, stopping me mid-movement.

 The fact that I’m doing all of this for him—acquiescing and undressing—and still haven’t kissed the man doesn’t escape my notice. But his refusal to inch forward and claim my mouth has nothing to do with an aversion or some rule about not kissing because it’s too personal. No, he’s stringing me along, providing more ‘intrigue.’ Winding me up tighter, making me wetter.

 And he’s barely touched me.

 I’m so out of my league, it’s ridiculous.

 He grins as I shift away from him. “Sadly, mystery is a misunderstood art and lost on so many today. Don’t you think, Christine?”

 I hum my answer, entranced by the way his lips curve to form words, wishing I could find the nerve to stop this unrelenting tease and get down to business.

 “You do want to impress and show it all off for someone special, but not just for anyone. It’s probably the sexiest thing I’ve learned about you tonight.”

 “Really?”

 He pushes down on my hands, lowering the dress further, slipping his fingers around my waist to tug the fabric over the flare of my hips. Faintly, I feel the garment pool at my feet, but I don’t look down to confirm it. I couldn’t even if I wanted. I am transfixed in his gaze, my breath catching as his eyes dip to peek at my lingerie.

 A sly grin pulls at his lips. “It’s why you went to all the trouble to wear something like this.”

 He leans over me and his teeth nip at my shoulder, catching the strap of my bra to drag it until it falls down my arm. I shiver at the light tormenting sensation as it prickles my skin and hardens my nipples uncomfortably against the satin and lace bra.

God, I’ve never wanted someone to touch me so much.

 But he doesn’t. No, instead he retreats a bit, and stares down at me again. “Am I close?”

 “I would say you’re definitely warm,” I reply.

 “Good, because you should never be ashamed to show this gorgeous body off,” he says, hands motioning to me, not physically touching, but I feel like his fingers are already on me, digging into my flesh.

 I gasp.

 His smile only grows more wicked. “But then I must ask,” he says, bringing the thumb of his right hand up to my breast. There he lightly flicks the puckered nipple through the fabric, then cups the whole thing in one long fingered hand. I moan at the new sensation, and at the size of his hand holding me so tenderly. It takes everything for me to open my eyes that have inexplicably fluttered closed.

 “Ask what?” I say on a parched tongue.

 “This is an expensive set of lingerie,” he continues. I do not doubt that he’s a connoisseur of the finest lingerie the world offers, as seen on many different women. “And I wonder why you’ve spent so much money on something for one night. You don’t outwardly strike me as a frivolous person, so it makes me think you might have purchased this set for someone else and since you haven’t been able to use it, you’ve brought it out tonight.”

 Surprisingly, I don’t bristle. I don’t even cool. But it does make me nervous that he’s bringing up my ex again. “They were purchased this afternoon.”

 His eyebrows shoot up at my admission. “Is that so?”

 “With money left over from selling the engagement ring,” I admit.

 He gives me a low, throaty chuckle, clearly delighted at the information. “Mercenary girl.”

 “You have no idea.”

 “I approve,” he says, “though I’ll take even more pleasure ripping it to shreds.”

 A part of me wants to stop him, but I don’t because I want him to rip them from my body, too. I want him to throw me back on the bed and have his way with me, anyway he’d like, and end this ridiculous teasing that has me all in knots and in desperate need of release.

 To prove his point, his hand tickles down my bare stomach, bypassing the garter belt sitting low on my waist, and finally hooks on the front of the skimpy matching knickers. With one deft movement, lace and elastic bite hard into my skin as a riiiiiiip resounds throughout the quiet room. He stands back, admiring his handiwork and the angry red skin where the offending material pulled apart. Then he balls the shreds into his hand and tosses it aside like rubbish.

 Somehow, he’s completely left the garter belt in place. Now I know my league isn’t even close to his. Oceans don’t just separate us. No. He’s somewhere out in the stratosphere and I’ve practically dug a grave six feet down and that still wouldn’t explain how far apart from each other we are. And he seems to know that, too, but it doesn’t diminish the hunger in his expression. Nor does it stop his tongue sweeping out and licking his lips.

 “I could have easily stepped out of them,” I offer.

 “Expedience,” he replies, drawing a finger down the length of one of my garters. “You would have needed to remove these darlings, which I don’t want, and I do so hate waiting.”

 I laugh. “You’re the one making us wait.”

 “Am I?”

 “You’re playing with your food.”

 He throws his head back and laughs a hearty laugh, though it’s tight with something else. Something I can’t put my finger on. “Perhaps I am.”

 “If you play too long, your food will get cold,” I joke.

 The finger on my garter sweeps back up my inner thigh, the rest of his paw joining in and cupping my sex, kneading the mound with his palm. I suck in air and claw at his arm, not expecting the intimate intrusion. It’s not harsh or painful by any means, but I’m prepared, somehow. All I want him to do is take the ache away, though the strength of his hand makes it worse. Makes me squirm in agony.

 Two fingers slip past my folds and draw up, resting for a second over my clit, giving me a moment to relax against his hand. Then he lightly pinches the nervy bundle between his fingers and thumb. Heat floods me all over, the ratchet in my belly tightening further, and I squeal. It’s a sound I’ve never heard come out of me.

 Ever.

 No man has ever inspired such a reaction. I almost want to cry. Not from pain, but from the unmistakable, uncontrollable surge of bliss rocketing through my body.

 I knew he’d worked me up. I know I’m starved for this kind of attention. I just hadn’t understood how much I needed this. How much I want this.

 “I don’t think…” he murmurs, stepping closer to me now, invading all my space, until I can smell the whisky on his breath again. Warm breaths ruffle a bit of hair that’s fallen in my face as I meet his eyes. “I don’t think we’re in any danger of cooling off.”

 I smile as his forehead presses to mine and our noses brush, his lips hovering delectably over mine but refusing to close the distance. “You’re a very dangerous man.”

 His fingers move again, though this time it’s his other hand reaching behind me to unsnap the closure of my bra. “Darling, you have no idea.”

 Except I do. I have a whole lot of an idea.

 But I ignore it, push it to the furthest reaches of my brain. I don’t have enough blood there to think about it right now. Everything else has diverted elsewhere in my body, flushing my skin and shaking my limbs while his marvelous fingers continue to rub and circle and tweak their way over my sex.

 “Fuck,” I groan, my muscles tightening and my back arching until I push into him. Then he’s gone, just like that. The offending hand, responsible for such pleasure, cups my cheek tenderly. His thumb presses to my lips and I smell myself on him, tasting a hint of my muskiness.

 “Such a dirty word from such a pretty mouth,” he whispers.

 Then his lips cover mine, stealing what little oxygen I have left from my lungs, nibbling, crushing, savoring. First my lips, then dropping to my chin, my jaw. An earlobe. He’s taken a defibrillator to my cold beat-up heart and shocked it back to life, the thing now warm and jackhammering against my sternum in a painful tattoo.

 It’s all I can do to remain upright, but his arms are around me, crushing me to his chest, hands questing lower, dipping into the hollow of my low back and then sweeping over the rise of my ass. His palms flatten against me, then he digs his fingers into my ample flesh, lifting and pulling me against the hardness hidden in his trousers.

 I moan an oath, wrapping my legs for leverage around his hips, grinding into his cock. Fuck. I need him to fill me, take away the emptiness. I need him to finish what he started. I need… him. I need this.

 He carries me over to the bed and tosses me back and I bounce, looking up at him from half-drunk eyes. Never has he looked more like a god than he does at this moment, covered in shadow, haloed by the lamp light behind him. He’s strong, fearsome, and oh so powerful. For the briefest moment, I consider the hard look on his attractive features to be one of indecision. Or, perhaps, consternation. As though he knows he can hurt me, a mere mortal, and has second thoughts.

 But it’s gone in a flash when he blinks and brushes it off with a shake of his head.

 I toss my head, throwing the hair out of my eyes as I attempt to scramble back a bit, inviting him to follow. He doesn’t; he grabs my ankles and pulls me down to the edge of the soft mattress before stepping between my parted legs and covering me with his body.

 I groan at the weight against me, closing my eyes as his lips make a sparse trail from my neck down to my sex, the glorious rasp of his beard scratching against my skin. Once at his destination, he kneels reverently on the floor, hands pushing at the inside of my thighs to open them further, nipping at the velvet crease between my leg and my mound. My muscles stretch and pull, then relax as he holds me in position and delves his tongue tentatively past my folds.

 I reach for him, running my hands through his soft hair, trying to get him to look up at me. I need him to fill me. I need the ache and the fullness. But he ignores the mewl and soft entreaty of, “Tom,” on my lips. Moaning in bliss and torment, I succumb to him, knowing he is a man with a purpose.

 My hips rise at his concentrated attention, grinding with him as his teeth and tongue take over an intricate dance against my clit. Twinges of pleasure and pain alternate with nips and sucking pulses of his mouth, building the itchy tightness in my abdomen higher until my breath hitches—that strange moment of silence as explosives take in the air around them and release.

 The introduction of one finger shoving inside my wetness, followed by another, is what detonates the bomb. He crooks them together inside me and bites hard with lip-sheathed teeth on my clit. It’s like he’s thrown a lit match in a puddle of gasoline and I’m a fireball.

 I scream my release, fisting hands in the bedclothes beside me, holding on lest I float away into the ether like ash. His free hand settles flat against my belly, pressing me down into the mattress, adding an additional tether, keeping me still as he draws out his ministrations. I’m on fire, the flames consuming—scorching—everything in their path, demolishing any remaining misgivings I have about coming tonight followed by the lingering worries I have about him.

 In this moment, I know I would go to the depths of Hades for him if only he’d do that to me again.

He has but to ask.

I gasp for air, wrung out and weak as aftershocks quake through my body. He crawls from the floor like a panther, stalking, ready to devour me again, holding himself on fists over me.  A wolfish smirk curls his mouth—that beautiful, perfect, talented mouth—and he kisses me.

 “You taste divine,” he whispers against me, his tongue pushing past my lips, begging entrance and enticing my own tongue to follow along. It’s lazy at first as I convince my limbs to wake up from their haze of ecstasy, but it doesn’t take long for him to stoke the fire again. Not with his hard body pressed into me like this.

 I moan against his lips and lay my hand on his chest. “Why are you still dressed?”

 He laughs, tweaking my right nipple. I arch into him with a moan. “Shall I remedy that?” he asks.

 “I think you should,” I murmur, my fingers playing with the topmost buttons on his shirt.

 Tom pulls away and kneels above me again, closely watching me as he reaches for the buttons. He makes swifter work of them than I would have ever been able to, tugging the tails of the shirt out of his trousers and pushing it off his shoulders.

I drag my eyes from his, dropping to look at his pecs and lower to his stomach, and can’t help but bite my lip in satisfaction. I knew he had to look something like this, but I didn’t plan for something that gorgeous. Here, too, he’s lightly bronzed, like he spends time in the sun on the regular, and with his shirt off. Not that it should be so ridiculous; rich people always travel. He probably has his own island. What glorious sun god doesn’t?

When we finally latch gazes, I realize he’s been watching me for my seal of approval, too. It’s both endearing and confusing; how can a man be so confident in himself—and know he looks like this—but require assurance that he meets my expectations?

 It’s a crack in his façade, one I cling to as he bends to the side and opens the drawer on the nightstand. Even though I know this is a onetime deal, he’s confirmed with one simple look that I’m more important than some dime-a-dozen call girl at a hotel. I’m not some vessel solely here for his pleasure—or for other motives. And that, perhaps, is the most intoxicating and gratifying thing about all of this.

 I tremble beneath him and release a sigh. He glances at me as he withdraws a foil wrapper from the drawer and tosses it on the bed beside us.

 “What?” I ask.

 Tom lowers onto the bed, on the other side of me, resting on his elbow. “I’m quite enjoying how responsive you are.”

 “How could I not be?” I giggle, throwing a leg over his hip and pushing him down onto the bed as I use my weight to flip us over. Except I’m only successful because he lets me do it. There’s no doubt in my mind that I would have failed if he didn’t want to do this.

 I settle on the seat of his pelvis, resting against his cock and sucking in a breath at the friction of his trousers against my oversensitive core. Jesus.  His hands splay on my thighs and knead up into my hips, holding me in my position to scrape and grind more forcefully against me. My eyes roll to the back of my head—literally—and I shut them, biting my lip to stop a moan from ripping from my mouth.

 “Take my trousers off, darling,” he orders, back in control of the situation.

 Rubbing myself against him one last time, I watch with pleasure as he grits his teeth and his eyes flutter closed for the hastiest of moments.

 “Keep doing that and I won’t last.”

 “Shame,” I hum and move to make short work of his belt, fly and trousers. He lifts his ass to help me in removing all the cloth covering his lower half, but that’s all the help I get. He seems perfectly content watching me crawl back up his legs and stop at the impressive, jutting cock now twitching against the ridged plane of his stomach with each slow breath he takes.

 Even that’s beautiful, like they molded him out of clay to achieve perfection in girth and length and color. It’s almost unfair.

 I reach out for him, prepared to lick him from root to tip to taste his salty skin, but he flips me onto my back again. Before I have the time to stop him, he’s pinned my hands to the mattress above my head.  Then he bites my lower lip before diving for another kiss.

 “I warned you, did I not?” he says, his voice low, rumbly, and menacing, but it shoots straight back down to my core and deflates my lungs.

 “I don’t mind if you come in my mouth.”

 Tom laughs lightly. “No. I’ve thought of nothing else but fucking you since we met, and I’m not wasting this on your mouth right now, no matter how beautiful or sweet it is.”

 I suck in a breath, staring up at him with wide eyes. The way he makes it sound, I feel like he intends for more after this. Like this isn’t the one night stand I thought it was; sure, if I have my say, we’re going to learn every inch of each other’s bodies tonight, and probably into the early morning. But his words and his tone make it sound like he’s considering more.

 He sits up above me, thighs on either side of my waist, his erection proud and terribly underserved. He throws me a bone, though, and it’s the condom foil he places gently in my hand. I raise an eyebrow mischievously and grin.

 “Don’t tempt me to put you over my knee and spank you.” He’s teasing, but not really. I hear the steeliness in his voice and see the flinty stare. He’s daring me to make a move, but I don’t think I’d regret either outcome.

 I rip the foil open with my teeth and reach for him. A hiss escapes his tight lips and I dart a glance up at him, only to see his facial muscles straining with control. Something about this does things to me I can’t describe. It makes me need him more, need him between my legs, but it also instills a level of triumph—no, of power—in me. I’ve been able to drive a gorgeous man to this point, just by being me. Not from acting like someone else to please a stupid fiancé. Or playing a role designed for subterfuge.

 This is all me.

 He snatches my hands away from him as soon as I’ve finished rolling it down his shaft, not allowing me the opportunity to push his limits a little further. Again, he pins my wrists over my head and rests against me, our skin warm and soft, practically melting into each other. I shift beneath him, open my legs wider, inviting him to find a comfortable seat against me. The action draws his hardness to my aching core, slipping tortuously through my slick heat.

 “Please,” I moan, pressing my head back into the mattress and closing my eyes. His lips suck on my throat, on my pulse, tongue darting out with the rapid beat.

 “Please what?” he asks. A hand leaves my wrists and skates down an arm, down my side to my hip and thigh. He pulls my leg up and sets it around him, further shifting us both into optimal position.

 I pant against him, circling my hips to entice him along. He is immovable. “Quit playing with me, Tom. Fuck me. Please.”

 “Of course, darling,” he murmurs into my skin, shifting up, thrusting into me with one long fluid movement. It’s a bittersweet invasion, large and stretching and filling, but slightly sharp and deliciously painful on the edges. He stills for the briefest of moments, meeting my gaze in search of confirmation that he can continue.

 I roll my hips against him, and it’s all the information he needs, his hands flying to them, digging into the flesh as he sets an even but pounding rhythm. I am at once breathless and panting with pleasure, begging again for release with every thrust that grinds and circles against my throbbing clit. We’re both on a hair trigger, but my orgasm still sneaks up on me out of nowhere, starting first at the base of my spine and detonating outward to every inch of me, my body tensing and rigid beneath him.

 “Jesus fuck,” I bite out, scratching at his back, searching again for some other anchor than his hips holding me steady. I watch him, seeing the concentration on his brow, the light sheen of perspiration gathering and glistening on his skin, and it triggers a smaller aftershock, clutching and contracting around him.

 The clenching of my body proves too much for us both and his movements stutter, a guttural groan erupting from the lowest part of his chest and rumbling out of his throat. He sounds like that leopard suddenly, at once dying of starvation and completely sated, sinking his teeth into my shoulder as he empties himself into me.

 At once, I understand. I’m full of him, deliriously relaxed and twitching with satisfaction, but there’s a part of me that is bottomless, needing more attention, knowing I’m never going to get my fill of this man.

 It terrifies me.

 He collapses on top of me, and I cling to him, lest this end before I’m ready for it to end. Tom makes no movement either, with his face buried in the crook of neck, the heat between us slowly cooling but never extinguishing.

 Wordlessly, he slips away to dispose of the condom and returns to bed. He stretches out like a cat and pulls me back against him so that my ass rests comfortably in seat of his pelvis again. Never have I felt so needed or wanted—and this from a man I met a day ago. How is that even possible?

 I shiver and he draws the bedcovers up around us, enveloping us in warmth, hazy euphoria and heavy limbs dragging us both down into a dreamless sleep.