#he lifted as soon as he saw the yellow and then locked up which is why he slid

[nico-di-genova]

Alex has opinions about the penalty I see.

[crosshairlovebot]

welcome home / hunter x f!reader

pairing: hunter x f!reader

description: you return home to find hunter in the shower, and he shows you just how much he missed you while he was gone.

word count: 4,036

warnings: NSFW 18+ explicit sexual content. heavy scent kink. plot only if you squint. p in v s*x. oral s*x (f receiving). slight overstimulation. lots of kissing. slight body worship. cr*ampie.

the need to write a part two to that hunter smut a couple of weeks ago was so strong there was no avoiding it. the hunter feels gripped me so hard they're shaking me around like a rag doll. i have never written a full smut sequence like this before, so please bear with me if it's not as perfect as i would like! i'm doing my best!

although the previous part (which is not essential to read to understand this) was written with gender-neutral pronouns, this part is with a female reader. i wanted to make sure i could actually write a scene like this since i've never done it before. gender-neutral smut is something i'd like to try in the future once i feel more comfortable writing in this style :)

also posted this on ao3. feedback is welcomed, reblogs are appreciated. MINORS DO NOT INTERACT

You rode the slightly odorous lift up to your apartment floor, the doors sliding open slowly once it arrived. The hallway light flickered every minute or two as you approached the door to your humble abode, your body aching after working more overtime than you should’ve stayed for. Yawning, you pressed in the code before promptly walking into the still-closed door with a thud.

You frowned, suddenly more alert. You checked the panel and saw that you had just locked your apartment, not unlocked it. Living on Coruscant – especially in an area not known for being the safest corner of the planetary city – had informally trained you to watch for your safety almost constantly. And the possibility that your door may have been unlocked by someone who may or may not be waiting inside to hurt you was a red flag.

Heart beating faster, you pressed your ear up against the door, to see if you could hear anyone and your eyes widened when you heard a faint groan coming from inside.

Panic began to course through your veins, and you debated whether or not you should call the authorities before deciding against it. They wouldn’t get here in time to be of any use, and so many crimes happened on Coruscant that you doubted anyone would even come at all.

Instead, you steeled yourself and then typed in the code again.

Save for the single lamp you always left on; the apartment was dark. The yellow light bathed the small space in a soft glow that made everything look a little less like a standard-issue Coruscanti apartment and a little more like a home. You quietly dropped your bag by the door, picked up a vase from the entryway and crept into your apartment. It was then you heard the shower running and the soft hum of a smokey tenor echo through the apartment. Your shoulders instantly relaxed.

There was only one person who would break into your apartment and take a shower.

You placed the vase down on the kitchen bench, a smile biting the corners of your mouth as you walked to your small ensuite bathroom, the humming getting louder. Your smile only got wider when you saw his armour stacked neatly next to the dresser. You could hear the hum louder from here, and your heart squeezed itself against your ribs. He was happy.

You opened the door slowly, knocking softly even though he would sense you were there as soon as the door opened. “Hunter?”

The humming stopped and Hunter’s wet head poked around the shower curtain. If he was a sight when he was dry, he was completely ethereal when wet. His hair stuck around his shoulders and neck, water dripping down his tattooed face onto his neck. He smiled out the side of his mouth, eyes bright at the sight of you. “Hey, you.”

You grinned, just as pleased to see him. “Hey. You’re back.”

“I am.”

You nodded to the steaming shower. “Can I join you?”

He wordlessly pulled back the shower curtain as his answer, revealing half of his bare muscular body. You undressed quickly, piling your clothes on top of his blacks that had been kicked near the privy before stepping in with him. Almost instantly, you were engulfed in Hunter’s arms, his wet body pressed against yours as he pushed his nose into your neck, breathing deeply.

“Someone missed me,” you smiled, hands holding his upper arms and squeezing them gently.

You felt his breath on your neck as he nuzzled his nose against your skin. It was always the first thing he did when he saw you. “You have no idea how much,” the words buzzing against your skin.

At the feel of his half-hard length pressed into your stomach, and you chuckled. “I think I can guess.”

Hunter trailed his hands down your body, nose still buried in your neck. He loved the way you smelled. Something about it drove him crazy, though you weren’t sure what it was specifically. But you’d never complain.

You felt him pull you closer, and his wet hair fell onto your shoulder as he dragged his hands up and down your thighs and hips. The water cascaded over you both, and when his hand dipped between your bodies down to the place between your legs, you tipped your head forward to rest on his shoulder as you moaned. “Hunter,” you choked out as his hand moved in slow circles there, and you felt yourself slicken at the touch.

Hunter pressed light kisses to your neck and shoulder, marking a trail up to your ear with his lips. “Been waiting for you to get back.” His voice was ragged like he’d been running, rasping out of him all breathy.

His fingers still moved slowly between you, and you whimpered before telling him quietly. “I thought someone had broken in.”

Hunter pulled back to look at you, his hand stilling as he searched your face with a crease between his brow. He placed a soft kiss on your forehead. “Sorry, cyari’ka, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

You shook your head and looked in his brown-grey eyes as steam continued to rise from the running water. “I heard a loud groan…what were you doing?”

The corner of Hunter’s mouth lifted before those eyes of his darkened. “What do you think?” He pressed an open-mouthed kiss to your jaw.

You hummed. The idea of him getting off in your shower as he waited for you to come home conjured up so many salacious images in your mind you had to squeeze his arms to steady yourself. The thought of him in here, cock in his hand as he stroked himself to just your scent…it only made the arousal building inside you burn hotter.

“Couldn’t wait for me?” You croaked out.

“Kriff, no. As soon as I stepped inside you were everywhere,” he continued his kisses, sucking at your jaw. “And it only got stronger. Every breath I took you were there, inside my lungs, seeping into my skin. You know how insane you make me, and it’s been months…” He drew back and brushed his nose against yours. “Are you mad?”

“God, no,” you breathed against his lips.

“Good.”

Hunter finally kisses your mouth then. His mouth slants over yours and it’s impossible not to moan into it. His tongue moves over your lips and slides against yours. To think when you met him, he had no idea how to kiss and now he knew the inside of your mouth better than you did.

He groaned into the kiss, and you knew his senses were in overdrive right now, the hot wet of your mouth only driving him crazier. He pushed you back against the tile, his solid body trapping you between the cool of the tile and the heat of his skin. His hands gripped your hips as you snaked one leg around his. With his now hard length pressing between you, it was so close to where you needed it. You arched into him, the need to have him as close as humanly possible so intense you could comprehend nothing but Hunter’s kisses and hands as he did everything he could to consume every part of you. Your only thought was how badly you wanted him to.

You had missed him too, after all.

Your hands went into his hair, tugging at the wet strands as he continued to explore your mouth. He broke away but only to resume his kisses down your neck, his tongue lolling out to lick the skin and the droplets of water in between the kisses. Steam from the water clouded your vision, or was that because of the sensation of Hunter’s hands against you? You didn’t know. You moaned as his kisses travelled down your torso.

“Hunter,” you choked out as you watched him lower to his knees in front of you.

“Missed you so much,” he said again, the words vibrating against your skin.

You caressed his temple with your thumb. “I missed you.”

He groaned loudly against the skin of your stomach. “You smell incredible.”

You whimpered, so incredibly turned on as he moved his mouth down, his lips dragging across your skin, and you watched him descend lower, his eyes half closed and rolling back. You could see just how hard he was, up against his stomach. The water continued to flow down his shoulders and half-tattooed torso, down into the hair that covered most of his front.

You raked your fingers through his hair, nails against his scalp and you felt his moan on your stomach, and the sound ignited your insides with desire. It felt like your whole body was electrified, pulsing with need and he’d barely even done anything.

“Hunter, more, please,” you breathed out.

Hunter didn’t need to be told twice. He groaned, standing up and shutting the water off as he kissed you once more. He pulled back, sliding the shower curtain roughly across its pole before picking you up effortlessly. Your arms and legs went around him as he buried his nose in your neck again as he walked to your bed, both of you still dripping wet but neither of you caring enough to do anything about it.

Hunter lay you down gently, moving you up to the pillows as he climbed on top of you. His hair fell forward, dripping onto your chest and he leaned down to suck the droplets off your skin.

You moaned as his mouth travelled to your neck again, kissing you there, his lips sucking gently, and you knew there would be a nice mark there tomorrow that you would grumble about trying to cover for work. But right now, the idea of him laying a claim to you made every nerve ending in your body tingle, especially the ones between your legs.

His lips then made their way to your chest, and he moved to one breast, taking the nipple between his teeth, making you whine before he circled his tongue around it, sucking gently. Your back arched off the bed and you felt his hand slide underneath you, between your shoulder blades, drawing you into his mouth more. He sucked gently, then moved on to the other one, repeating the same ministrations with his tongue.

You panted, mewling with every pinch of his teeth grazing your nipple. He was taking his time with you, as usual, savouring every single part of you. You knew he’d be tired after spending months completing gruelling missions, but he was still eager to pleasure you slowly, work you up until you were begging for a release only he could give.

Exhausted, but never for you.

He released your breast, wetness from his mouth glistening the peak in the dim light. He continued down once again, leaving open-mouthed kisses as he lowered himself between your legs.

He looked up at you, eyes dark with want before he sat back on his heels to spread your legs a little wider, holding the inside of your thighs down with his hands. His thumbs circled the soft skin there as he gazed at you all spread out for him.

He looked beautiful like his. His brown skin illuminated only by the light that managed to creep through the blinds, his tattoo etched down one side of his body which still shined with the water from the shower. His cock was so hard with need, precum already pooling at the tip – you’ve barely even touched him. He was just worked up over touching you, breathing you in. He was average in length, but his thickness set him apart from any other sexual partner you’ve had. You ached to feel it inside you, but if he was taking his sweet time with you, it would be a while before you felt him stretch you.

Hunter was nothing if not thorough.

“Hunter…” you whined, sitting up on your elbows.

“Look so pretty like this,” he told you, not an ounce of insincerity in his tone as he crept down to his elbows, arms wrapping under and around your thighs as he pushed his nose against your centre. He breathed in deeply, and the groan that erupted from the back of his throat buzzed against your core.

“So good…” he murmured as he pushed his nose against your clit, making you jerk. He placed a kiss there before gently bringing it into his mouth to suck. You cry out, hips bucking up into his nose and he moans again before his mouth finally moves over you completely.

You arch your back off the bed as his tongue moves artfully against you. The sensation continued to stoke the fire that had been building the minute he wrapped his arms around you in the shower. You moved your hands to his hair, clutching the roots with your fingers and pushing him closer as he licked and sucked like a man starved. And in a way he was. Your hand was no substitute for this. He licked a line up, before bringing his lips around the bud again and sucking gently. You couldn’t think about anything but his hot mouth and tongue against you. You ground into his mouth, needing more friction as the pleasure began to build in your belly, coiling in hot spirals as Hunter continued. He groaned into you through his ministrations, and when he felt you clench on his tongue, he pulled you impossibly closer to his mouth as he moved his tongue faster. Your breaths filled the room, pants loud and moans echoing in the space. You could feel the mattress move underneath you and you looked down at him with hooded eyes to see him rutting against the mattress, getting off to the pleasure he was giving you.

“Hunter, please, I’m so—” Your words were barely audible, but Hunter knew what you meant as he pressed his tongue harder against you, bringing your clit into his mouth and sucking one more time, flicking it with the tip of his tongue. You cried out, the band inside you snapping as pleasure erupted.

Your back arched and you cried out his name like it was an incantation, over and over as he continued to move his tongue through your undoing, groaning against you as you came all over his tongue. Your hands tight in his hair, you tugged as you shuddered underneath him until the tremors slowed, and you lay breathless, limbs heavy. You looked down at him as he emerged from between your legs, mouth glistening with your come, coating his lips and chin. He licked his lips and groaned. The sight of it was so obscene you felt your body flush.

“Good girl,” he told you before he climbed over you, capturing your mouth in a kiss. You could taste yourself in his mouth and you moaned at the way his fingers briefly dipped inside you. “So good for me,” he told you against your lips. “Always so good.”

“Need you inside me,” you mumbled back.

Hunter groaned and you watched as he drew back to lean on his heels again, using the fingers he’d just brushed through your folds to lubricate his length. He hissed as he circled the tip and down the shaft before he coated his fingers again and slid them in his mouth, sucking them gently with his eyes closed, savouring the taste. You watched him, mesmerised.

Was this man really yours?

He positioned himself at your entrance, holding himself above you with strong arms, face over yours. His eyes were so intense, their brown-grey colour boring into you. He gave you a look, one that differed from the wanting gaze he’d been giving you. This look was one of tenderness, one that asked if you were still good – still okay with this. You nodded and he pressed his lips against yours once more before he eased himself inside you.

You gasped as you stretched around him, clawing at his shoulders as you locked your legs around his. He groaned as he bottomed out, filling you completely. He caught his breath and when you clenched around him, he made a choking sound, swearing.

“Been too long,” he whispered.

“Too long,” you repeated before he drew himself back out slowly. He pushed his nose into your shoulder again as he groaned loudly. Then he slowly began thrusting, the sounds of your moans and groans filling the room, along with the indecent sound of his skin hitting yours as his movements increased in speed.

“Hunter,” you moaned his name, and he groaned in response. His hands found your hips and he adjusted his position so he could reach deeper, and he continued to roll his hips against you, your hands clutching at his forearms as the headboard hit the wall repeatedly.

Sex with Hunter always felt amazing. Full of the kind of passion that almost didn’t feel real. It was full of moans and groans and tantalising touches that built you up and up so when you finally let go, the fall felt so good it was almost immeasurable. It was filled with kisses and though he wasn’t much of a talker, he would whisper how good you felt against him. No matter how rough he was being, you felt safe in his hands and cared for – he made sure of that. Being in the throes of pleasure with Hunter was an all-consuming feeling for you both, one that you relished whenever you got the chance. His time home was so fleeting, that anything you could both do to tell each other how much you missed the other, how much you loved the other, you would do. Later, you would use your words. But right now, your bodies spoke instead; each press, clench, shudder, whimper, and groan said the words for you both.

You could feel those familiar hot coils building again each time he buried himself in you, and you could feel his movements falter slightly as he came closer to his own release. He’d come up from your neck again and you looked up at him, mouth agape as his hair, now half dry, fell over his handsome face and the curled ends tickled your cheeks. You reached up and placed some behind his ear, hand cupping his jaw.

“Hunter—”

Hunter nodded quickly, eyes dark and pupils blown. “I know.”

Of course, he did. His senses were so in tune with your body he could feel the subtle changes of your arousal and smell the way your body was on the precipice of falling.

Hunter’s hands held your hips and the headboard, and he rocked himself into you, faster this time. He panted, a husky noise from the back of his throat sounding with each thrust as he brought you closer. You rasped out a string of yeses as the sensation that had been building rose to its peak. You locked your legs around his thighs, clawing at his back as you clenched hard around him, crying out.

Your back arched into him, fingernails forming crescent moon carvings in the skin of his arms as you shuddered against him. His name fell from your lips as you writhed underneath him, riding out your orgasm as he continued to sink into you on the verge of overstimulation.

“Come on, cyare,” you whispered to him as you were still trembling. "Still got my implant."

It wasn’t a second later until he gave a ragged cry as he stilled, spilling inside you. His eyes screwed shut and his teeth gritted as he groaned loudly – the way you had heard him through the apartment door before. Half collapsing on top of you, he pushed his face into your shoulder again, this time biting the skin there as his thrusts became languid, drawing out as much of his release as possible. You hissed as his teeth claimed your skin, but no matter how worked up Hunter was, he always made sure his bites weren’t too hard.

When Hunter’s shudders stopped, both of you caught your breath. You could feel his breath tickle your shoulder, and this was the first time since you’d been home that you registered the familiar musky smell of his skin. You smiled and kissed his shoulder while he was still on top of you, the tangy taste of his sweat on your lips.

Hunter slowly emerged from your shoulder and looked down at you, eyelids heavy and hair all tangled. You smiled, still dazed, and reached up to push it out of his face, tucking it behind his ear again. He smiled warmly at you before kissing the inside of your wrist.

He hissed as he pulled out of you, and the loss of him down there was so prominent you felt an ache. Hunter rolled off you and lay beside you on his stomach for a minute, his eyes drooping shut for a moment before he forced them open again.

“Hang on,” he said and kissed your shoulder lightly before pushing himself up and heading into the bathroom. You giggled as you heard the cupboard door open and shut before the tap turned on. You turned on your side, still half-limp, watching him wet a towel and then re-enter the room.

He sat next to you as he wiped between your legs sleepily, the warm towel a gentle caress on your skin before he placed it on the bedside table and lay down next to you.

You smiled and pulled the covers back so you could get under them together. They were damp from your hasty decision to not dry off beforehand, but they would dry as you slept. You watched as Hunter nestled himself in the mattress, eyes closing, but when you didn’t move closer to him immediately, he peeked an eye open. He reached out to you under the covers, with a frown.

“Come,” he said, his voice thick with exhaustion.

“I did. Twice,” you smirked as you let his hands circle your arms and pull you in closer.

“Shuddup,” he slurred, but he still smiled, kissing your temple as he tucked you against his chest. You breathed in the scent of him as you rested your head on him.

You chuckled. “You smell like me.”

“Good. Need to smell like you forever,” he pushed his nose in your hair, taking a deep breath in. “What is the name of this soap, anyway? Gonna place an order.”

You laughed. You loved he was like this – all soft and sleepy after you’d come together. It was a side only you saw, the shedding of that broody exterior he reserved for his service to reveal the tenderness that was a secret for your eyes only. “I think it’s generic brand vanilla and starflower.”

“Smells fucking incredible,” Hunter mumbled, making you laugh again. You kissed his chest and after a moment of silence where all you did was breathe together, he said, “You okay? I didn’t plan to do all that the second I saw you.”

You smiled. No matter how exhausted he was, he always had to check in with you.

“I’m really, really okay, Hunter,” you told him. “There are worse ways to be greeted upon returning home.”

“I at least wanted one conversation with you before I had my way with you,” Hunter murmured in your skin, kissing your shoulder again, this time where he had bitten you, his lips soothing the slight ache there.

“Talking is overrated,” you joked with a shrug, snuggling into his chest. You felt it thrum with a deep chuckle. He knew you loved to hear him talk.

“Tomorrow, we can talk. I have so much to tell you,” he breathed, lips brushing your temple.

You smiled. “Me too. Tomorrow.” You patted his chest gently. “Sleep now, cyare. I know you’re exhausted.”

Hunter hummed, on the cusp of slumber. “Tomorrow.” You felt his body relax. “Love you, cyare,” he mumbled into your hair.

You heard his breathing become deep and even, his chest rising and falling, his heartbeat steady against your palms. You smiled, closing your eyes. “Love you more.”

banner art by @vimse thank you for reading! <3 again, this is my first time writing a full smut scene like this so feedback (delivered kindly) is really appreciated!!

🏷️ @starrylothcat @sinfulsalutations @moodymisty @nahoney22 @freesia-writes @nobody-expects-the-inquisitorius @bobaprint @crosshairsnose @jesseeka @thegalaxys-edge @chopper-base @wenalena @shredderwest @leavingkamino @r2d2staser @beckbucket @pb-jellybeans @mylifeisactuallyamess @padawancat97 @littlecrowtime @jedipoodoo @ezras-left-thumb @lovelycurls @fruitsaladtree @literallydontlook

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if you're a regular on my tag list but haven't been tagged, it's bc your age isn't in your bio/have said you prefer sfw fics.

[xzaddyzanakinx]

Missed Me?

Final part for real this time, no cliffhanger I swear!!

Stepdad!Anakin Skywalker x femme reader

Warnings: none, fluff and sweetness

Info: obi-wan loves his brother; even if he does occasionally want Anakin to double over from a swift punch to the gut. Satine is a lawyer btw

“Sweetheart.” Anakin speaks low and steady over the phone. “I need you to listen to me.”

“What? What’s wrong Ani?” Your response laced with worry.

“Deadbolt the doors, make sure the garage is padlocked okay?” He said sternly, so you immediately did as you were told, switching the call to speakerphone.

“Anakin what is going on?” You demanded.

“Sweet girl, your mom knows okay? She took the Camaro and left me here with divorce papers.” He said calmly.

“You’re fucking joking.” You gasped. “She stole your car? Well I’ll come get you!” You started to rush to the door when he sternly told you no.

“I called my brother, he’s coming to get me. Satine is doing us a big favor and drafting up some paperwork. The house, my car and your car are under my name anyway. Your mom can’t win any of that in court okay?” He reassured you.

“So then-“

“Baby, I told you I need you to listen alright?” He reminded you. “I’m not pressing charges over the car. She’s headed home to get hers I believe, or at least that’s the way she was headed last time I looked at Life360.”

“Keep the doors dead bolted understand?” His tone was oddly calm, as if your whole world hadn’t just crumbled.

“R-right okay.” You whispered.

“Hey- princess, don’t worry. Everything’s fine okay? We are fine.” His voice now gentler than before. “I promise, this divorce won’t be messy. It’s very clear cut okay?”

“But what about you An-“

“No. Nothing is happening to me.” He said. “Nothing. You’re over 18. Everything is fine, I swear it.”

“Okay.” You sighed. “Satine said so?”

“Yes baby. I already told them-“

“Shhh! Shh, mom just pulled in.” You whispered as if she could hear you from the driveway.

“Don’t you dare hang up.” He said sternly.

“I’m not!” You huffed, going to the window to peek from behind the curtain.

You watched as your mother chucked Anakin’s keys at the front door, flinching when you heard the impact. Your mom walked over to her own vehicle and opened the trunk, lifting a backpack out. The yellow glow of the porch light was just bright enough that you could make out the heap of bags in her trunk. She’d already packed her things.

“Oh shit.” You whispered and backed away from the window as she walked toward the front door.

“What?” Anakin demanded.

“She’s got a bunch of bags in the trunk of her car but she’s coming up the porch steps right now.” You squeaked.

The door handle rattled and you heard keys jangling, the twist of the lock, and the forceful push of the front door. Then came the rapid, loud knocking.

“Hey!” She yelled. “I know you’re home. I want to talk to you!”

“No. Don’t say anything.” Anakin warned. “Obi just pulled in, don’t talk to her. Not even through the door.”

Anakin could be heard shuffling and slamming his brothers car door, instructing him to get him home as quickly as possible.

Your mother kept knocking, even going so far as to rap on the window in hopes that you’d hear her out.

“Please just talk to me. I’m not- listen it’s not your fault!” She yelled. “You were just a teenager!”

“Baby- no.” Anakin sounded pained as he spoke.

“I know Ani.” You whispered back. “I know, okay? I’m not gonna talk to her. Not even if she says stupid shit like that. As much as it angers me, I know I’m better off staying quiet.”

“Good girl.” He sighed. “I’ll be home soon okay? Or actually-“

”Obi can we stop at the hardware store?”

“Which one?”

“I don’t care. Whichever is open!”

“Christ, alright.”

“I’m getting new locks before I come home.” Anakin declared.

“That’s probably a good idea.” You said quietly, alittle suspicious of the sudden silence from outside.

You crept back up to the window and saw your mother standing next to her car, sitting on the lip of the open trunk. Her hand flailing as she spoke animatedly over the phone. You could physically see her huff out loud just before she got up and slammed the trunk shut, angrily ending the phone call.

“Has everyone lost their fucking mind?” She yelled, pulling out her car keys and walking to the drivers side door to get in and speed away from the house.

“She left.” You breathed out.

“Good.” Anakin sounded relieved. “I’ll be home as soon as I can okay?”

”why don’t I just take you there? I’ll go get the new locks.”

“Are you sure? Well- if… okay! Okay fine, here at least let me give you some cash.”

“Can you hang up so I can yell at you now?”

“You already yelled at me!”

“I’m not done yet!”

“Well you’ll have to wait. Your wife is calling me.”

“Princess-“ he started.

“I know, I heard.” You let out a slight laugh.

“I love you, see you soon.”

“I love you.” You said, hanging up and immediately collapsing on the couch.

You had let all your emotions out or at least you thought you did, by the time Anakin arrived. You ran to the door with dry eyes but the moment you unlocked it and saw him you were drowning in salty tears. He scooped you up and kicked the door shut, sliding the deadbolt into the locked position before carrying you to the couch.

“Shh it’s okay.” He whispered, his lips kissing the top of your head while you clutched onto his shirt.

“What are we gonna do?” You sniffled.

“What we always planned on doing.” He said.

“Serious?” You asked, leaning back to see that he was letting a few tears fall too despite his calm speaking voice.

“Of course I’m serious.” He said, his eyebrows furrowed. “I love you. I’ve always been serious about that.”

“But we just-“

“Look at me.” He said sternly, wiping his cheek with his shoulder. “I love you. I have always loved you. I don’t care if we just got back together, that doesn’t matter to me. I’m just as serious about you as I was before, it didn’t just go away in our time apart.”

His hands came up to cup your cheeks, his thumbs brushing away your tears. He took a grounding breath and kissed your forehead, the outer corner of each eye, and the tip of your nose.

“I would have left at anytime, you know that? Anytime. I just wanted you to be ready.” He said, a hint of something mournful in his eyes. “Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

Six years later

A new state, a new town, a new house.

A new life.

The moment the divorce was finalized you sold your old home. Using that money to get the hell out of dodge and move to somewhere warm.

Arizona was warm, always warm. You’d never even visited before you chose to live there, neither had Anakin. You wanted somewhere completely fresh, a clean slate for you to write your own story on and gods did you have a good story.

You found a beautiful two bedroom home, absolutely perfect in every way. It was close enough to town but far enough away that you weren’t surrounded by traffic or neighbors. A nice front yard, an ever nicer fenced in back yard. The big floor to ceiling glass windows in the dining room really sold it for you, the natural lighting and the fucking view was outrageous.

There was even a fire pit in the backyard which you decided to christen on your first night there via much too many s’mores. Now it was in regular use, sometimes by just you and Anakin, he did love an evening under the stars. The sky was so clear, unlike any place you’d ever been before, it was almost surreal.

Though as of late it’s been seeing an influx of visitors.

Anakin had his very own garage now, a *six* bay garage at that. He was the local go-to for multiple reasons, the prices, the high quality work, and people love a family owned store. With him as the lead man and you at the front desk, the pair of you were practically unstoppable.

This also meant that Anakin was in control of his work life in a new way. He was able to separate home and work unlike before where it wasn’t ever guaranteed that you’d be left unbothered. No more waking up at the asscrack of dawn to the obnoxious noises of old, no more at-home phone calls, no more blocked driveway, no more late nights.

It meant that he was able to be present for important moments without the worry of distraction. It meant he could cry along with you today.

You both were able to reel it in and contain the tears until the last second. The twins were so unbelievably excited for their first day of school, you both agreed that sobbing the entire way to their classroom would definitely put a damper on their day. So you smiled and skipped down the hall as requested by Leia and Anakin performed Luke’s very long, very intricate, never the same secret handshake at the door.

You gave hugs and kisses and a final goodbye wave, then booked it back out to the car. You almost made it to the foyer before your sniffles turned into cries, when you looked at Anakin for comfort you saw he was already holding his breath in that ridiculously uncomfortable way that he did to stop himself from sobbing.

Thankfully you made it to your vehicle before he passed out from lack of oxygen. It would be a real shame for him to miss this afternoon’s celebratory cookout you were hosting due to a blacktop issued concussion. The other fathers from your first time parents group would be highly disappointed if you ended up in charge of the grill.

“I can’t believe we have 12 more years of this.” Anakin sniffled.

“Seriously? Did you seriously just say that to me right now?” You cried.

“Yeah I did. I just wanted to prepare you for our suffering for the next decade.” He gave you a crooked, tearful grin.

“You’re lucky that I love you.” You hiccuped out a laugh.

“Yes I am.”

Tag-List:

@wickedtactics @tsugumiholic @kingdomhate

@burnthecheshirewitch@cherrylooney@star611

@tahliac11 @exquisit3corpse @jeldog @arzua10

@bby-imasociopath @depressed-kay

@aliciaasky @naty-1001 @mrsmikaelsxn

@illiethefairy @bunnylovesani @offthethir/wall

@slutforhayden @ausskywalker @angelsadmired

@slut4starwarssmut @chocolatepalacecloudhoagie

@starkiller419 @hearts4mitski4 @no1klet @lethargic

@allhailbuckybarnes @shadowhuntyi

@bobtheturmpetman29 @mortalheartache

@fallinlovewithevil @sythethecarrot

@joshfutturmansrighthand @chaoticantihero

@vadersslut @luvvfromme @anakinsbaee

@sweetcheesecakesblog@rga11 @luvskywxlker

@angelsadmired @kaminokatie @anakin-pilled

@graveyard-stray @angeldarkness95 @guiltycherries @piastricentric @sweetcheesecakesblog @chiaraanatra @espinathena-17

Let me know if you wanna be added/removed

[the-possum-writes]

[Monster Mash] 🔞

❥Character: (Hugwolf) Finn Mertens

❥Tags: NS/FW, smut, non specified private parts, gender neutral reader, kn0ts, size difference, teratophilia

❥Synopsis: Jake entrusts you to watch Finn while they look for a cure.

❥Wordcount: 1028

❥A/N: Happy Halloween! I couldn't do October themed stuff but I had this request in the bin from AO3 and I figured today was an ideal day to post. 🎃👻🐺

❥Taglist: @foxpearlwilder

"Keep an eye on Finn while we track down the Alfa Hugwolf, don't let him out of your sight!" Is the responsibility Jake entrusted upon you.

"Good hunting!" I'll do whatever it takes to keep him here." Is your vow to Jake as you shakily grasp the walkie talkie, but throughout your conversation, you failed to notice Cinnamon bun being used to free hugwolf Finn from his confinement that was designed particularly to keep him locked up. You dropped the walkie talkie as you turned around slowly and saw a set of yellow canine eyes peering down at you with the utmost need for affection. The warm breath huffing over your shoulder had startled you into a chilly position. His big fluffy arms lift you up faster than you could run away, not that you'd get very far, but it's better than passively being squeezed that has your sides aching and your heart fluttering, and even then, there's only so much of his hugs you can take before falling limp to the hugwolf's touch, Finn sniffs you curiously before huffing in disdain that you couldn't handle his cuddles like many others.

The Hugwolf was more than willing to abandon you in search of a new hug victim, but you're not ready to let him go so easily. Jake trusted you, and you'll do whatever it takes to see it through, especially since it involves your best friend's safety.

"is that all you got?" You manage to stand on unsteady legs, but your arms are sturdy and ready.

This caused the hugwolf to run up to you for another large hug, knocking you off your feet and onto the floor, but instead of feeling the dungeon rock, you collided against Finn's coarse fur as he protected you from the fall, holding you up to him as he rubbed himself all over you. This wasn't too bad if you ignored the fact that you were caught in his grip like a pet owner overly devoted towards their pet; you found yourself snoozing away unconscious because of how pleasant Finn's hold was on you, but then something different startled you awake.

"So soft." With short huffs and playful growls, the Hugwolf caressed you over his chest and midriff, letting you feel a hardened hump pressing against your plump bottom. One of your hands crept away from your side and gently touched the firm bulge that was now warm against the fabric of Finn's shorts, or what remained of them.

The Hugwolf makes you gasp. There's a warmth whirling inside your gut at the idea developing in your head, consequently Finn responded by thrusting his hips forward in a frantic whimper. "Whatever it takes," you say to yourself as you put your hand inside Finn's shorts. His snout nestles into your shoulder as he adjusts his grip on you in a more gentle squeeze, laying the two of you on his side so he can enthusiastically wag his tail, dry humping his growing cock against your open palm that doesn't slow down its stroking. "Argh, I'm gonna hug you so hard," he breaths in your aroma before tasting you directly by licking the side of your cheek, making your face burn warm because it's the closest thing to a kiss you've had from Finn. Except for the one time you gave him mouth to mouth, which doesn't count. Your heart races against Finn's chest as soon as you think the hug can't get any hotter. Finn pulls you up to him and tears your lower clothes, including your underwear, leaving you blushing profusely. "Whoa! Take it easy, there! You're at least twice my size-!" Instead of warning him, it made you want him even more. Particularly now that his heart-shaped paws have turned you over in such a way that your private parts are in full view of his ravenous glare, lapping you and leaving behind enough saliva to give the impression that he was drinking water from a bowl, Finn's tongue stimulation has you jerking and squirming in his grasp as the ecstasy takes over your body and senses.

"Won't let you go" Hugwolf Finn growls greedily. Finn left you so stunned that you were unable to recognize that he had flipped you again, with your back against his chest and both legs raised as he tried to slide inside of you. Finn kept trying to push the leaking tip of his cock inside of you, but it kept slipping away and brushing against your sensitive areas, so you cried out in desperation and grabbed hold of his heated shaft, hoping to guide it straight into your waiting insides. You give a strained, "Oh fuck-!" as Finn doesn't wait for you to calm down and just begins pounding on you like there's no tomorrow. But he also hugs you while you're gasping and groaning, giving you sloppy hugwolf kisses and lovingly telling you how nice you feel.

You imagined he'd already filled you to the full with his entire cock, but there's a lovely little surprise waiting for you just at the base of his length, something round and throbbing, like an unexpected gift wrapped in a gorgeous knot. "Fiiinnn... I don't know if it'll fit... But, but... I want it inside! All of you!" You gasp at the extra heat stuffing you full, practically swaying your hips in sync with Finn's just to try to match his speed to no effect. But who needs speed when the rhythm of this dirty dance begins to lose its pace as you climax right here on Finn's hugwolf cock. Your smaller form twitches in the aftermath as Finn pumps you up full of his warm cum, unable to measure how much of it there is due to his knot keeping you in place, but hey at least you accomplished your mission.

"Hah... I did it~ I'll be keeping you here until Jake comes back with the cure..." You say with a triumphant smile as Finn cuddles up to you like you're a teddy bear. Although now that you think about it, this hugwolf curse isn't so bad, deep down you hope it'll take a while for them to find that cure.

[drhenryblack]

Guys I can't art

I can't art :( But I can write :) Speaking of which, here's a little something for the hungry Showtime nation. Basically how Human! Caine and Human! Pomni met: From Pom-Pom's perspective: "There I was, pathetically sobbing in the mud, next to my car with the car's keys locked inside the car. Pathetic, pathetic, pathetic. And then the rain stopped and my head jotted up, that's when I first saw him. Caine. He was about the same height as me, with a build like one of those typical old cartoon ones. You know, the cartoon style that represented men with very broad shoulders and chests and slim waists. Well, he was like that, but humanoid. He was slim, yet still had a broad chest and shoulder, trim waist and thin muscular legs. He had slightly curly red hair and a boater hat with a red elastic strip on it. His skin was fair, and freckles adorned his cheeks. His eyes were mismatched, one a beautiful deep sea blue, and the other a forest green. He was wearing a red coat over his white shirt and black pants. His black shoes were surprisingly shiny in the mud, and he had the umbrella in his hand. But then there was the lower half of his face... I probably screamed as I backed out and pressed myself against the car. It really was a horrible sight. Imagine the face of a rotting corpse, but only the bottom half of its face pasted onto this man's. His skin was a sickening red, almost as if it was muscle. There were a couple holes here and there in his cheek, allowing one to see into his mouth. And he had no lips. Literally, no lips, just a set of unusually perfect teeth. I can't even describe what I saw. My breath hitched, my heart pounded, and soon I hyperventilated and fainted on the ground. But not before I felt two strong arms lift me up and carry me away..." And here's our Ringmaster's perspective: "God no... My mask, I'd come out into the rain without my mask. My face aglow for all to see. I almost rushed back for it, but not before I met...her. The girl was crying in the mud...rather...pathetically I must add. But I approached her. I stood with my umbrella next to her and she looked up. She had a short yet unusually...plain body. Like the plainest of plain bodies. Literally, nothing about it was unusual or special. Like the perfect human body diagram in a biology book. Just like that. She had dark brown hair which was short and tied in a small ponytail. She was wearing a dark blue hoodie and brown pants. Like a typical depressed loser-like outfit. Her skin was pale and nose button-like. But her eyes... Oh lord... Oh Mary, in the name of all that is holy... Why... Why were her eyes so...special? They were a reddish blue in color. A very, very special color. And her eyes were very big too. And there in the mud, with her pupils blown wide, thick tears running down her now red face, and lips turned down. She looked...so...cute. You could see each strand of muscle in her iris. And I could make out a couple threads of purple and yellow. So pretty. So beautiful. So so freaking good. But then...she screamed, and I realized. My face. She probably saw what all others saw in me...a monster. A gross disgusting monster. She was probably disgusted beyond measure, guessing by the way she fainted. I dropped the umbrella. I picked her up, and I made my way back to the tent."

[op81s]

Thinking about how Alex was friends/teammates with Jules and watched his accident and then had to replace him and how similar the circumstances of that was to todays incident with the truck on track in an aquaplane zone. Honestly will be ever learn? And similar to when the FIA decided to penalise Pierre at Suzuka last year too :////

the way i got out of bed at 5:54 am and turned on my computer just to answer this ask because YES. i feel like a lot of people forget that jules and alex were teammates in f1 and that moment with the truck must have brought up a lot of terrible memories. and then he got a freaking penalty for it?? like... what did you want him to do?? as cass (@nico-di-genova) mentioned in one of their posts... he lifted as soon as he saw the yellow and then locked up which is what made him almost slide into the truck. there's not much else he could have done in that scenario and the truck just should not have been there.

cass and i have talked before about how horrible it must have felt for alex to have to replace jules after his accident and how at first he was supposed to race in the sochi gp THE WEEK AFTER but the team decided to run only one car (and for once the fia did the right thing and didn't penalise them for it).

in an interview in 2022 alex commented on that decision saying 'of course, a few days later, we made the decision, as a team and out of respect for his family, not to drive this car, it was too premature, it was a great relief for me. i didn't want to drive the car on a weekend like that.' and in that same interview alex compared jules to max saying that jules was on the same level as max in terms of talent and ability and went on to say that during his time at manor he himself was 'never at his level in terms of talent or performance, and he had an eye on the future, waiting for his chance.'

so yes i 100% agree with you on thinking of jules when that i saw that clip of alex going off and almost hitting the truck.

i was actually unaware of the pierre incident 'cause i'm very new to f1 but i looked it up and yeah... it really feels like they never learn, huh... (at least the fia admitted that they made a mistake there and they've implemented new procedures since to hopefully avoid another such incident in the future).

but yeah... very much feeling for alex now and for pierre last year 'cause those incidents must feel especially horrendous for those drivers in particular.

[swanimagines]

Please can I ask for some headcanons about dating Rupert Travis (Detroit: Become Human)? Thank you!

A/N: Anonn you're an angellll for requesting my boi Rupert 😭 I have missed him so much❤️

Also I'm sorry this is so long overdue, I've been wanting to publish this for a long time but there's been a lot of drama over the years... but I need comfort from my favourite android babe during these trying times 💕

Also @majestickitty, I think you'll like this 😏 (Also sorry for not being able to help you a while ago with finding all the Rupert fics that are still up, I wish he had gotten more stuff/his tag would still be somewhat active/that so many of those few people who wrote for him in 2018 hadn't deactivated and taken all those fics with them, and the fact that so many nowadays just makes ChatGPT generate fics and publishes them as their own... doesn't really encourage me to check any of the x reader tags anymore to be honest)

Note: This is for human!reader because the request didn't ask for android!reader and my default reader is a human unless the fandom has no humans at all.

So, you first met Rupert when he came to your pet shop and you caught him pocketing a bag of bird food.

You immediately ran over and grabbed his wrist, which made him pry his hand away from you and try to make a run for it, but you managed to push him back, his cap slipping off in the process.

You almost dialed 911, as he was scrambling for his cap and then… you saw it.

A LED blinking red on the side of his head. You immediately froze, not knowing what to do.

“You’re… an android?” you asked, which made Rupert frown and look up. 

You weren’t afraid, you were actually putting your phone away.

You crouched down, looking at the now banged up bag of bird food, and lifted it, some seeds falling out.“What do you need bird food for?”

He didn’t answer, he just eyed you and you got up, shutting the blinds and locking the door. “Probably better to ensure nobody else sees you. The way things are right now, you’re at risk.”

His LED kept blinking between yellow and red as he sat there on the ground, clearly expecting you to do something to him, but instead, you made your way to the storage room and returned with a new bag of seeds. “How much do you need?”

His LED only blinked as yellow now - you took it as a sign that he was confused.

No wonder he is, you thought. Most of us would kill him on sight.

When he still didn’t answer, you went back to the storage room and soon you were at the counter with a backpack and stuffed as many bags of seeds as you could there.

“Let’s agree that once you guys get the freedom you deserve, you’ll pay me back, alright? And you can always come back if you need more seeds, too.”

You handed him the bag and opened the door for him. He hesitated for a second, but then nodded at you and took eye contact for a moment, before he put on the cap again and left your shop.

You looked at him walking down the street for a moment, before you closed the door and vacuumed your floor from the spilled seeds.

A few days later, you meet him again at a park.

You see him sitting on a bench, throwing seeds to pigeons flocking in front of him, and you approach him slowly.

He looks up at you briefly, then lowers his eyes to the pigeons again.

You shift your weight from side to side for a moment, before you quietly ask, “Can I sit?”

He doesn’t move for a moment, his hand freezes at your question too.

Then, he nods slowly.

You sit down before you risk a glance at him.

You notice he no longer has a LED, probably realising it’s too risky for him. His eyes are shadowed by his cap, but you know he’s watching you in a way too.

You swallow. “All of us aren’t bad, you know. But I understand you may feel that way.”

He lets out a breath, before he nods. And then, he finally speaks. “I’m sorry for trying to steal from your shop.”

You smile a little. “It’s okay.”

And that established a small, but surprisingly quickly budding, friendship between you.

You helped him with feeding birds by providing him seeds, and in return he helped you around in your shop sometimes.

Not with customers present of course, but he was there in the morning before you opened and after closing, cleaning up and sorting your ordered packages of supplies.

He seemed to find joy from getting something to do and to feel being appreciated, especially when it involved animals. Even though your shop didn’t have animals on sale.

And after the revolution/the peaceful demonstration and Rupert being able to live more freely, you were able to officially hire him and he would have had the right to rent his own apartment…

But instead, he wanted to stay with you.

You see, your friendship had grown into something more, but only after now, Rupert was brave enough to confess his feelings for you.

And that’s when your love story began.

He likes to lay on your lap as you sit on the couch watching TV or laying in bed, just feel you running your hands through his hair.

No human, nor other android, had ever shown any affection to him, and it was partly surprising really how much of a cuddlebug he was when he got to taste it.

You also teach him to cook because he had watched some romantic movie while home alone and told you he may want to surprise you with dinner sometime, because the movie had such a scene.

It… didn’t go well. At first.

WB200’s weren’t meant to be cooks, so it wasn’t among his natural skills.

But him being an android was a helping factor in it, because he learned pretty quickly as he was able to memorise every single line from the cookbook from only one read.

His reservations towards humans is a long-term issue despite loving you.

Fortunately your friends are understanding of it, chipping off his nervousness bit by bit.

And eventually, he grows to trust humans a little bit more.

The hardcore anti-android people left Detroit anyway, so there wasn’t that much danger outside anyway. At least not more than for humans anyway.

And one day, after about a year from the demonstration and President Warren declaring androids are free, you come home to see Rupert wearing his LED again.

You smile at the sight of it, and all the memories flashed by you — him trying to steal from your shop had resulted into the love of your life.

And now, you could finally show your love as a human and an android.

Requests are open! FANDOM LIST | PROMPT LIST(S) | RULES (READ!!!)

[kimaswork]

Heard from @thetopazdragon that you two are buds, so I suggest a friendly competition to see who can make a better one shot-

Idea- Fem reader who is bio siblings with Kaeya but Diluc has a little huge crush on her, but since Kaeya is such a trouble maker, Diluc has to get reader alone for a bit to confess~

Will thou accept the challenge?

-Anon🐧

I shall accept this challenge, feathered foe. Let's see how my opponent fairs, if they so choose to partake in this battle-

The Mondstadt sun was blaring down on the winery as if it was trying to melt you and the boys as you were out working. The upcoming festival called for extra wine due to anticipated travelers and guests, so you and your brother came to help at the winery.

"Put the bottle down or I'll get Diluc to change the locks." You threatened your brother Kaeya as he slowly turned to see you behind him. "Heh- Sister, I was merely going to try the liquors to ensure they're best for sales." You roll your eyes and take what few steps separated you from him, then snatched the bottle from his hand.

"Outside now-" You ordered your older brother with a stern tone. "You can have this whole bottle when I think you've worked enough." You promised as you shooed him out of the cellar.

"Deal!" He gleefully exclaimed. You watched as he left to go help the winery workers pick grapes and other ingredients for the wines. "You solved that rather peacefully-" Said a voice from behind the door as soon as you had stepped out of the cellar. As you turned you saw your adopted brother, Diluc.

In all honesty, you never really saw him as a brother. He was more like a close friend that you spent most of your childhood with. He was 3 years older than you, but he never treated you like a child. He always was so kind and gentle with you as you grew up with him.

Thinking back on your younger years made you smile before you snapped yourself back to the present.

"O-oh yeah. Just figured he should be helping too." You said with a soft laugh. He looked down at you as he closed the door. "So I should change the locks, eh?" He asked, repeating your threat to Kaeya earlier. "Haha, you heard that?" You nervously looked away. "Uh, yeah- it would keep him out so he'll have to keep working." He grins with a nod. "Good idea, I'll get them changed out soon, and you go hide that bottle to keep up your end of the bargain." He says.

"Let's just keep it in the cellar for now if he won't be able to get in, yeah?" You suggest, to which he nods in agreement. "You best be off then, I believe you came to help too-" He said with a knowing smirk. "Oh right! Thanks for the reminder!" You quickly placed the bottle back in the cellar then ran to assist Adelinde in making refreshments for the hard workers who were out in the sun.

°•○♡○•°☆°•○♡○•°☆°•○♡○•°☆°•○♡○•°

Heavy leather boots thumping on the wooden floors caught your attention as you cleaned up in the kitchen. You saw Diluc carrying kegs of wine to the cellar from the day. Leaving the kitchen, you opened the door for him so he wouldn't have to stop. "Thank you." You nodded with a soft smile as you propped the door open with a nearby vase of flowers.

The sun began to set as the yellow and orange hues of the pastel sky faded into the deep hues of purple and cobalt making night set in. You rolled kegs into the cellar as Diluc lifted them unto the racks until all work was finished.

"There- That's all for today." Diluc deep voice grumbled as he stepped out of the cellar and shut the door. "Wash up and I've got some dinner for you." You say, as you dust off your hands on your shirt. "Be there in a bit." He replies as he kneels before the door with a key you haven't seen before and inserted it. "Did ya change the locks already?" You inquired.

"Of course, unlike the inefficient Knights, I get my problems solved as soon as they appear." He says as he finished locking the door and stuffing the key inside his coat pocket. You chuckled at his statement, he never liked the knights and you always found it rather funny that he was sorta like one in your eyes.

"Alright dinner then bed?" He asked.

"Dinner then bed." You agreed.

■□¤▪︎☆▪︎¤□■♤■□¤▪︎☆▪︎¤□■♤■□¤▪︎☆▪︎¤□■

"What the heck you guys?!"

You rushed inside to see a distressed Kaeya near the cellar. "They actually changed the locks on me! Can you believe that?!" You crossed your arms. "Really brother?" He froze up as he stopped his miniature tantrum and stared at you. "We had a deal, no alcohol until you've earned it. Now outside." You demanded. He left with a dejected expression.

You felt a bit bad, but you knew this was needed. Besides the festivities were to start in a few days and the wine needed to be prepared soon!

From the other room Diluc watched as you kept your brother in line. He grinned, he had feelings for you for some time but seeing you take charge like this made him fall for you all the more. He was absolutely head over heels for you, he knew he was ever since he was a teen. But he could never ask because there was always something or someone that prevented him.

Kaeya. He needed to get him out of the way for a bit.

《●○•☆•○●》《●○•☆•○●》《●○•☆•○●》

After the third days work Diluc put all the full kegs into the cellar. Lifting them onto the walls with what looked like no effort at all.

Halfway through his efforts there was a soft click. Poking his head out of the cellar he saw his brother. "Hey, gimme a hand here-" He requested, putting hi plan into motion. With a sigh Kaeya walked over and helped Diluc with the kegs. Once a full wall had been stocked they called it a night.

"Finally!" Kaeya said exasperated as he walked out of the cellar. "Hold up." Diluc called him back, making him groan in what almost sounded like actual agony. "Don't be like that- I got somethin' for ya." The redhead says as he rummages through the cellar for the bottle he had attempted to swipe a few days prior. "Please say it's not more work..." He whined. "Quite the opposite actually-" Diluc laughed as he stepped out and handed Kaeya the bottle.

Taking the bottle Kaeya grinned. "____ told you about our deal?" "Yep, and your free to go. Works almost done so you can go back home now." He said, hinting that he should leave now. Keaya nodded with a gleeful grin before walking out and heading back to Mondstadt, wine in hand and and hangover in the future.

Diluc smirked to himself. Gone off without a hitch, now with the main distraction out of the way his odds of asking you out just got way better. As he locked up the rest of the winery he finished up the day and called it a night.

The next day you arrived early as usual and let yourself inside to meet Adelinde. You assisted with morning chores, cleaning the winery, anything you could get your hands on really. Most of the vineyards had been picked clean in the days prior so you just decided to make yourself useful in other ways until you were no longer needed or until the festival had at least passed.

After an hour the tell tale sound of thumping boots sounded from down the hall. You grabbed a glass of lemonade and stepped out of the kitchen with a smile. "Morni- oh!" You cut yourself off as you saw Diluc with a bouquet of flowers in hand. "Who's the lucky girl? Or guy?" You ask, a cheeky smile curving your lips.

"That would be you, my dear." He swiftly responded, making you choke on your own spit. At the sound of your coughing to clear your throat, Adelinde peeks her head around the corner, only to disappear into the kitchen once again as Diluc nods his head for her to leave. Diluc pats your back with his freehand until you take a deep breath. "I'm sorry. What?!" You exclaimed in utter shock.

He takes the lemonade from your hand and replaces it with the bouquet as he chuckles. "The lucky girl just so happens to be you." He elaborated. "Is this a 'thank you' for helping with the winery? Because if it is, it's really not nes-" "It's not." He interrupts. "These are an... um-" He clears his throat as the situation sets in for him.

Was he really about to ask out the girl he was crushing on for the past few years? Would this be the one time he could actually get the question out? Archons, was he always this nervous? Or was this time just more intimate? No, he had to snap outta it. He was going to do this.

"These are 'I like you... Maybe even love you, flowers.'" He says, mentally kicking himself over how incredibly stupid he sounded compared to his usual composed self. You chuckled softly, fiddling with the petals on one of the sunflowers. "You think you love me?" You ask as a blush sets itself into your cheeks and you shift your weight from foot to foot.

He gulps as hit mouth begins to feel dry. With a nod he clears his throat once more. "I was hoping I could mayhaps take you on a date?" He offers. He pulls his hands behind his back as he pulls his gloves off. The anxiety he felt made his hands sweat, and the gloves made things much worse. He pulled them off and slipped them into his pockets as he awaited your response anxiously.

"I like you too-" You began. YES! He thought. You had accepted his advances. "But let me think about the date part." NO! "But of course, about when can I expect an answer?" He asked, trying his best to not sound desperate. "By the end of the day, I promise." You replied. "I can do that." He said, lying through his teeth.

The day went on and Diluc practically tortured himself as he worked. Thinking or the many, many scenarios of how you could answer him. Would you agree and go out with him? Would you say no and never speak to him again? Would things become awkward between the two of you? He sighed as he continued filling another keg.

The hours felt like decades but by the time it was finally dusk, Diluc raced to the winery to meet with you and to have your answer.

Upon his arrival he saw you sitting at the table with dinner, a new glass vase with his bouquet settled in the center. "Hello there, Adelinde and I got dinner ready." You said as you welcomed him inside. He closed the door behind himself and came to sit at the table where his plate was set across from yours. "So..." He wanted his answer immediately, but he didn't want to seem rude and just demand it outright.

Thankfully, you knew Diluc, and you knew him well. "You must want to know my answer." You say as you look down at your plate with a grin, cutting your food before taking a bite. "Ah, yes." He replies, greatfull you knew what was on his mind.

You looked up at him with a soft smile and pulled on of the flowers from the vase. "Diluc, I honestly thought these flowers would've been for someone else. But I did say that whoever they were for would be lucky, didn't I?" You asked. Only answering his query with another. He nods. "Well yes." He responds. "Then I guess we'll both be lucky."

Taking the flower in your hand you place it in his hair so it gently rests on his ear. He looks at you with a pinkish hue to his cheeks. "Does this mean?" He asked, to which to nodded. Without a second thought he gets up and jumps the table.

Within seconds his hands were on your waist as his lips met yours, making you gasp in surprise. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that!" He says with an exasperated sigh. Your face was full-on red before you reached up on your tip toes and kissed his cheek. "So about that date?" You asked.

"It'll be the best date you've ever been on sweetheart. How does a vacation to Wangshu Inn sound?" He asks, knowing you've always wanted to visit. You look up at him with the brightest smile he's ever seen, which he takes as his answer. "I'll book a reservation as soon as possible!"

[late-to-the-magnus-archives]

Reconsecrated - a Malevolent fic

Normally, he’d be in here, John muttered to himself. But he’s not. Which means…  He gasped again.

“John,” Arthur said evenly. “Explain this right now, or I swear, you have not seen how not-calm I can be.”

He’s leaving it to me. John’s voice was thick. He left this honor to me.

Part of the Surrogate series.

AO3

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

Everybody in the damn palace knew something Arthur didn’t. They had to, because the behavior toward him had changed so much that it almost made him doubt his own memories. “Another one?”

Yes. They’re coming!

Of course they were. They probably flew, or had eighty-eight legs, or something. “There he is!” the thing behind him said.

“Fuck,” muttered Arthur.

“Hey! Composer!”

Somehow, Arthur kept from groaning and turned, wearing what he hoped was a welcoming smile.

You look like you’re going to puke.

“Shut up,” Arthur muttered. “Yes?”

“Such an honor, Mister Composer, sir,” said whatever it was, and grabbed his hand with a wet warm something that was not a humanoid appendage.

Arthur managed to keep his feet as the thing shook his entire arm with enthusiasm. “A pleasure, I’m sure,” he managed.

Back off, John rumbled.

It did. “I can’t wait!” And away it slithered.

Arthur shook his hand out, flexing his fingers. “For what?” he said. “Can’t wait for what?”

Fuck. I don’t know. We need to find out.

“How?” said Arthur. “We haven’t even seen the King in two days. The carnival’s taking up all his time. If there’s some composition he wanted, he didn’t exactly let me know!”

John growled. At least it’s been a success.

It had. Hastur had endeavored to make this carnival feel open and fun and stress-free for all who attended, while simultaneously locking it down to the point that not even an earring would pass those walls without his notice.

Initially, merchants complained. They soon saw the wisdom, however: with the guarantee of the King in Yellow that goods and entertainment were safe (relatively, given how madness-inducing the ones in the dangerous half of Carcosa could be), they were making bank.

Are we still going to Odd’s concert?

“Of course.” Arthur shook out his arm again.

Even with all this bullshit?

“I’m going to support him,” said Arthur with the grim determination of an embattled general.

Fine. Turn more to your left, or we’ll hit the wall.

Arthur resumed.

#

They weren’t completely late. Violin rang over the square, playful and luring and promising more. Arthur skirted the crowd, head down, trying to squeeze close enough for John to see.

“And then she said, not without my donkey!” Odd projected seamlessly, magic carrying his voice directly overhead.

The laughter was quite wild.

“Hurry!” Arthur hissed.

Press against the wall again, John said, and someone recognized his voice.

“The Composer!” someone declared, and Arthur suddenly found himself grabbed and all but lifted, caught in motion like a leaf in a river.

Fuck! John cried, and Arthur was deposited on a stage with a thunk.

Odd laughed lightly (voice still projected) and took Arthur’s arm, pulling him to his feet. “Now, now, you could've just asked for a solo!” He must have been working the crowd for a while already, because they were primed to laugh, happy to follow his lead.

“Uh,” said Arthur, realizing his voice was also projecting, and reddened. “Um.”

This wasn’t our idea! John hissed.

“That’s what Hastur said,” Odd winked to more audience entertainment.

“I’m sorry about this,” Arthur tried to whisper. “We’ll go.”

For just one moment, Odd’s voice was genuinely soft. “You absolutely can. Otherwise, you can help me out just by being a temporary prop. I won’t make you do anything.”

Arthur straightened. “We can help? We’re in.”

Wait just a minute!

“Pinch of playing along?”

Arthur smiled. “Absolutely.”

Arthur! We don’t know what to do!

“Trust him, John,” Arthur murmured with a grin.

Odd’s voice carried again. “Why, we’re changing direction, folks! It’s time for a sing-off!”

What? John roared, word lost under the roar of the crowd.

Odd threw his arm around Arthur’s shoulders, pulling him close. “The celebrated chosen Composer, captivating container of the King’s cantankerous kid, Arthur Lester the AMAZING… What do you have to say for yourself?” And Odd held his tail under Arthur’s face like a mic.

Arthur was grinning; he could feel his cheeks burning, which engendered applause, which made him blush harder. “I, uh—”

“A likely story,” said Odd, tilting his tail-tip back to his own mouth, then dipping and spinning Arthur to his other side.

The crowd cheered. Arthur laughed.

Aaah! John called.

Odd elbowed John by elbowing Arthur’s left arm. “Easy, kid, you’ll spook your stallion.” He’d done it in an odd sort of accent, nasally, saying shpook your shtallion.

Arthur laughed again.

John sputtered.

Odd held his tail to Arthur’s face again. “I already know what I’m going to sing, see. My question is what you’re going to lead with.”

Arthur again went red, to the great entertainment of the audience. “I… well, I wasn’t…”

Odd tilted his tail back to himself. “That old chestnut? Pffft! Hey, we got any grandmas in the crowd?”

They did, judging by the cheers (and they quite liked Odd, judging by the wolf-whistles).

Back tilted the tail-mic. “And what else?”

“Else?” squawked Arthur.

“Else! Dance! Fire!” Odd spun, announcing as he dipped his own tail. “Romance! Passion!” He winked at the crowd. “Forbidden delights!” He began to sashay, hips swaying.

Without warning Odd's tail lashed out and gave Arthur a deceptively gentle smack on the ass.

Arthur jumped.

Odd gasped dramatically, hand to his mouth. “Arthur, I am so sorry! I don’t know what came over me—you know that my tail sometimes has a mind of its own!” He seized the appendage once more. “We talked about this,” he said, the picture of betrayal. “You told me you would be good!”

The offending appendage flicked.

“Now,” Odd said, “as I was saying—”

The moment he turned back to the crowd, his tail went for Arthur’s crotch.

Odd grabbed it, wrestling with it, not-so-quietly telling it to behave.

More than the grandmas howled this time.

Arthur laughed hard enough to tear up, and wiped his eyes.

Odd danced around him, light as a Dancer, and leaned in, tail to Arthur’s face again; he’d produced a lute out of nowhere, and began a low, fast rhythm, building in volume and transitioning to higher keys with every question. “So hey, before we get to it, let’s get serious. Arthur Lester, voice of the Shining Court, shadow to Hastur’s grand light, walking-ambulating-circumgyrating favorite of the Court of the Golden Throne…” He took a deep, noisy breath. “Do you have  a favorite color?”

The tail flicked right to Arthur. He blinked.“Well, ye—“

The tail flicked left to Odd. “Yes, this is really important,” he interrupted.

The tail flicked right. Arthur laughed lightly. “I… you see—“

The tail flicked left. “Seashell? Pfft, nonsense! I mean, you’re a key player-mover-shaker in a court with kind of a theme.”

The tail flicked right. Arthur’s cheeks were beginning to hurt from smiling, and he didn’t mind at all. “I guess it’s be—”

Odd gasped, his strum reaching a fevered pitch. “Bistro brown!? Oh, the betrayal!”

Odd really had worked this crowd up, and they guffawed, bellowing color suggestions, hooting lewd appreciation.

So, almost no one heard Arthur’s answer. “Yellow. It’s yellow.” He took his left hand in his right.

Oh, Arthur…

“Yellow! A little sycophantic, a little grease for the wheels. Hey, next time you’re gonna pour it on that thick, least you could do is warn a guy,” Odd complained far too loudly, and clapped his hands.

Oh! said John. The stage lit up. Yellow silk bearing his sign unfurled from all over, lit with flickering orange light that brings out the golden threads. Torches sit now all along the sides of the stage, somehow brilliant in spite of the noonday suns. I think Hastur helped set this up.

“Gee, you think?” Arthur mumbled.

And Odd transformed his lute into a violin, and he sang, a cheerful, quick ditty he could skip to. “When I was a wee lad, not half good nor half bad, nobody knew that I could sing! Could dance and could prance, and could flirt, take my chance, but never a note I would wing! ‘Til one day, a sweary, magnificent fairy decided to give me my due… she rode me so hard that my words went to shards and there was only one thing I could do: I held out my tongue…” Demonstrated. “And filled up my lungs…” A ridiculously loud gasp. “And let out a mighty… boo-hoo!”

Pause for laughter and applause. Arthur stood back, arms crossed, laughing too.

Odd bowed, the epitome of grace, then pranced again, playing his violin. “Lucky for me, she could speak tee-hee-hee, and recognized skill when she heard it. In trade for our fun, she put me on the run with a letter for help from the guild seat. So goes my tale, with a lesson to sail, should you find yourself under a fairy: don’t be afraid! They’re sweeties, no shade; and always remember…” He drew the note out, running his fingers up the strings to a high, perfect pitch. “To whimper. To whimper! They really do like you to whimper!” And he cavorted across the stage, bowing, flipping his tail, repeating his final verse, which could barely be heard under all the cheers.

Arthur joined the applause. “You win!” he called between cupped hands. “All hats off for Odd!”

Somehow, the roar grew louder, and numerous items of clothing rose into the air—quite a few not worn on the head.

Amazing, whispered John.

Odd trotted over and gave Arthur a quick side-hug—a clear move of friendship, no bad feelings between—and then returned to the front of the stage to play his violin in a haunting, slow tune.

“Where’s the edge?” Arthur whispered.

Two more steps. There.

Arthur climbed off the stage and stood aside, audience yet again.

Hastur never had a chance, said John.

“What?”

The miracle is Odd is still prancing around, free.

Arthur stilled. He frowned, still turned so John could watch, and considered this statement.

Odd led them through popular ballads, getting them to join in; he brought the mood down with sad songs like The Daughter Of Carith; he got them howling again with the utterly bawdy Jester’s Bester Day.

And through it all, John laughed, and cheered, and sniffled when needed, and bellowed praise.

Finally, there was a intermission. Arthur wandered away, tired as he often was these days, and thoughtful. He licked his lips. “So Hastur wouldn’t have a chance, eh?”

What? said John, as if coming out of a trance.

“What you said. Hastur.”

Oh. Yes. This is right up his alley. He’d have taken this guy in a heartbeat, broken him, kept him for ages.

Arthur could believe that. “He didn’t, though.”

No. He didn’t. It’s a good thing, Arthur.

“I know that.” It was a touch sharper than intended. Arthur softened his tone. “Is… it hard for you to see Odd?”

To… what?

“Do… you want to, uh…” Arthur cleared his throat. “Um. Do. Something. With Odd?”

John’s silence could mean anything.

Fine. Arthur had been a father. He’d had hard conversations. He could do this. “Sexually?”

That was one hell of a sputter. What? Are you insane? No!

“Because I know you share Hastur’s taste, and—”

No!

“—if you did want him, it would be normal and nothing to feel shame about, and—“

You are the only person I want, and just my luck, you’re an imbecile!

Arthur sputtered this time. “You said—“

I’m not… John sighed. Look. You know how I feel about you.

Arthur seemed to go stiff. “You’re changing the subject.”

I’m not changing the fucking subject, John growled. The way I feel about you hasn’t changed. It didn’t change when I lost my memories, and it certainly hasn’t changed now that I’ve regained all of them. I can appreciate him, watching him entertain the crowd, even though it means…

“Yes?” Arthur challenged.

It makes some memories complicated, all right? Damn it, Arthur. But no, I don’t want him. Their left hand clenched. I want you.

Arthur’s face was hot. He still didn’t believe that. “If that was true, then Hastur would share that taste. He’d have come on to me.”

John snorted. I promise you there’s absolutely at least one timeline where he has.

Arthur stumbled.

John pushed on. I’m going to wear you down.

“Lovely,” Arthur muttered. “Positively charming.”

I mean convincing you that I mean it, ass, John huffed at him. Is it so difficult to believe that I do?

It was Arthur’s turn to huff. “I’m trying to say you don’t have to keep pretending for the sake of this stupid—” And suddenly, he was grabbed.

What the fuck? John snarled.

Dancers, out of nowhere, whisked them off their feet.

Arthur struggled uselessly. “Hey!”

Forgiveness, your grace, came from a thousand directions at once. You are late.

John did not have spines, but if he had, they’d all be raised. What?

“For what?” Arthur cried.

And it just figured they wouldn’t answer.

Need fucking Sunny to translate, muttered John, who’d observed that they seemed to like Sunny a lot, and had not analyzed why.

#

Arthur was not taken to his room, but to a huge, tiled, steamy place he’d never been before. The echoes tipped him off.

John gasped.

“What?” said Arthur. “Where are we?”

A very sacred room, said John in a low voice. This is a place of anointing. Consecration.

Arthur felt a spike of panic. “Of what? This is what? Am I going to be sacrificed, or something?” His struggle seemed to be some sort of signal. The Dancers pulled his clothing off so quickly they must have sliced it.  “The fuck!” he yelled, and was dropped into hot water.

Arthur, calm down! John said, voice clear as anything even as Arthur’s ears filled. This is a big deal! Calm down! Nobody’s hurting you.

Arthur sputtered, found his feet, and stood, dripping scented water. “What the hell is going on?”

Normally, he’d be in here, John muttered to himself. But he’s not. Which means…  He gasped again.

“John,” Arthur said evenly. “Explain this right now, or I swear, you have not seen how not-calm I can be.”

He’s leaving it to me. John’s voice was thick. He left this honor to me.

It was John’s tone that caught him. Arthur went silent.

I’m going to bathe you, Arthur.

Why did it sound… different? “Like you do every day?”

No. Not like I do every day. Not here. Take two steps forward; a Dancer waits with a tray that carries folded cloths. Stand still now, and let me take them in order.

Arthur stepped forward as bid. “In order?”

This is sacred, Arthur. It’s symbolic, not just literal. So much  softer: And he gave this to me.

“This… what does this mean, John?” said Arthur, matching the soft tone.

It’s what you were robbed of before.

“Before? John?” Arthur swallowed.

John had begun to use the cloth, but not like ordinary bathing. Gently, he traced Arthu’s face, his closed, gently fluttering eyelids, his ears, his lips. Gently, John traced his jaw, and slowed over the pulse in his throat. This first is symbolic because it represents the removal of your past.

“Excuse me?” said Arthur.

Not literally, you twit. John’s hand was gentle in spite of his tone. It means you’re turning a corner. Starting a whole new life as…

“As?” Arthur squirmed a little.

John didn’t stop; this was a thorough, slow clean. As my own.

The way John said that…

Arthur shuddered, inhaling unevenly. He had no words; everything clogged up in his throat. John had said similar things before, hadn’t he? A million times, with memory or not, he had.

Hadn’t he?

Not like that. Arthur knew in his bones it had never been like that.

The cloth disappeared, replaced by, apparently the second one; it was slightly rougher, and its scent was strong—a little pine, a little mint, a little something else Arthur couldn’t identify. This one represents beauty that my mark, my association, my connection, covers you in.

“John, that’s… that’s silly,” Arthur said softly, but he couldn’t mean it. This felt sacred. Felt… strange, like some kind of massive light was shining on him and through him, and in that naked place, he was not alone: John was there, too.

It means I will care for you. It means I will provide for you, including—

That swipe was rough, across Arthur’s right nipple. He jumped..

—discipline.

“Oh, fuck that,” said Arthur.

John chuckled.

Arthur flicked his left arm. “Dumbass.”

Because you’re my own, John pressed ahead, clearly amused with himself. The second cloth disappeared, and the third one was… soft.

Arthur had never felt anything so soft in his life. It barely had a scent; this was about sensation, and just the brush of it on his face felt like floating in a dream, felt like every nerve he had was brand-new, felt like that naked, light-revealed place inside him was being so gently caressed.

This one… this is the promise that though I am powerful, and though I could crush you… I never will. John’s voice was tight.

So was Arthur’s. “This was supposed to happen last time?”

It’s supposed to happen. Yes. I would’ve… I couldn’t handle him… doing this to you.

“Well. He didn’t.” Arthur swallowed, but the lump stayed in his throat. “Looks like it’s all you.”

It’s me, said John with no venom at all.

Arthur closed his eyes as the third cloth whispered over his skin, so soft it almost tickled, so soothing that his thoughts fell into silence. He forgot about potential staring Dancers; he forgot about the reason for this whole thing. He breathed. The water nearly reached his chin, and he floated, physically and metaphysically, in John’s care.

Buzzing. Pleasing. Warm. Limp except for certain hidden straining—

Fuck! said John a thousand years later.

Arthur startled conscious as he’d been dunked into cold water. “Wha?” he said, bleary.

Don’t you get any fucking ideas, said John.

“Have you enjoyed yourselves?” said Hastur.

Arthur scowled. “I thought this was John’s time!”

“It is, and it was. It is time, now, for the next step.”

Arthur, he… he’s hovering there, flanked by Dancers. I don’t know what he’s doing. You can’t be marked again.

Arthur paled. “You’re not trying, are you?”

“No.” This was as gentle as Hastur’s voice ever got (which wasn’t very), as if this place truly was sacred. “It is time for you to receive the honor that should have been yours.”

Arthur’s face went long. “The fuck are you talking about?”

You mean…

“I do.”

“What?” snapped Arthur. “You know, I was enjoying this until you walked in.”

Hastur rumbled. “It is time.”

“If someone doesn’t tell me what the fucking hell is going on, I am jumping out the window,” Arthur declared.

Hastur lifted him out of the water.

Arthur yipped—then found himself dry and wearing something just as soft as that third cloth had been. He felt it: a shirt, closed by crossing at the waist and held by some kind of belt; and a long, open skirt of some kind. He gasped. “This is that outfit.”

“As it should have been.” Hastur put him down. “Are you ready?”

“No! I don’t know what… no!”

Please.

Arthur froze. “You… you want to do whatever nonsense this is?”

It’s the honor you’re fucking due.

“I’m… I’m not…”

Please.

Arthur’s face twisted. “I can’t say no now!”

They were both silent.

Arthur sighed. “What do you need me to do?”

“Stand in silence. Receive new words. Accept the praise of my people.”

Arthur opened his mouth to reiterate this was entirely unnecessary, and then remembered—

Remembered the way John said my own, the way that touch had felt, the way he’d responded—

Because he had, under the water. He’d been completely relaxed, except for one specific part that stood very much at attention.

The problem had gone away at once with Hastur’s entrance. Arthur didn’t think either of them saw. There’d be no end of the nonsense, if they had. No: there was no reason to feed this manipulation John had constructed to feel in control.

Still. It had not been a normal experience. Maybe it was important to do this. “If I miss a cue because you two didn’t warn me, I swear…”

“Thank you,” said Hastur, who sounded relieved.

Yes, Arthur!

“I guess let’s go,” Arthur said, abruptly feeling shy for reasons he did not understand.

#

Arthur could hear the crowd. It was a pre-concert susurrus, the quiet hum of conversation from many, many people trying not to stand out.

It also echoed in a way he knew: this was a big room, not the small classroom John had described for him before.

We are in the Cathedral, John whispered.

Arthur gripped his left hand. “The what?”

It’s a cavern of black, shiny stone. The light comes from stalactites and stalagmites painted and glowing, sending flickers dancing across the ebony polish. It is very large, and beautiful. The central altar sits in a pool of swirling gold, like starlight captured and made liquid. Arthur, it’s packed. Every seat is taken. Everyone is looking at us.

Arthur shivered.

I’ve got you.

Arthur nodded.

Hastur finally put them down. Arthur felt the stone under his feet, polished smooth and surprisingly warm.

“Welcome, oh you whose opinions I value,” said the King in Yellow, Lord of Carcosa, and his voice silenced all others.

Here we go, John murmured.

“I’m sure this seems puzzling,” said Hastur, pacing behind Arthur, looming. “After all, this is a place of marking, is it not? Of grandeur, and excellence, and celebration… and yet the mortal who stands before me today has already been marked.”

And Arthur wondered for the first time if marking would have felt… different… if Hastur hadn’t hated him going in. His gut said that was truth.

“It’s come to my attention that there is confusion as to where this one stands,” said Hastur, and rested one enormous hand on Arthur’s side, covering his right arm.

Arthur let him.

“Understandable. At the time of his marking, we were not… at peace, he and I,” said Hastur smoothly, a world of communication in his words.

John snorted.

The audience shifted, a few small murmurs rising and falling like waves.

“This human being—flawed, frail, yet favored—is my court composer. His name, which I choose to use, is Arthur Lester.”

Dead silence. Maybe they all thought Hastur was going to claim Arthur was Faroe’s mother, or something. Arthur had no idea.

“He belongs to me,” said Hastur, shifting around to his other side. “I have chosen him; he has earned that place above and beyond all requirements, including when I thought… less of him than I now do.”

Arthur swore everything in the room was holding its breath.

His left hand gave his right a squeeze. That helped.

“He is more than my musician. While he blesses my court with music famed throughout the Dreamlands, making my jubilees beautiful, making my Rites ecstatic, that is not why we are here.”

He’s going to do it, John whispered so quietly.

Do what?

“I considered many ways to address the… confusion of our early relationship,” said Hastur, which was as close to publicly admitting a fuck-up as Arthur could imagine him saying. “Speeches. Grand gifts. Parading him, perhaps, on the back of a winged camel, so all could watch his reddening face.” He chuckled. So did his guests.

Arthur’s face sure did redden.

Fucker, John muttered, but not angrily (the traitor).

“But none of that was what was needed here. In the beginning, I only spoke to you of flaws; I kept you from seeing those things which made him worth keeping… and that, I will no longer do.”

Arthur  jumped as Hastur turned him so they faced one another. He was shuddering.

“Instead,” said Hastur,” I will make it clear, here and now, how he is appreciated. You shall take this with you today; keep it in your hearts, write it in your stories, play at children’s versions in your own time. But for now… you will listen.”

No one made a sound.

Then Hastur did. He began to sing.

John could sing, yes, absolutely, but he didn’t do it often; this was… this was a voice honed over thousands of years, maybe singing literally among the stars, maybe singing to create or destroy or remake at will. This was a voice that buzzed through Arthur’s bones, and made his eyes water, and felt so good that he couldn’t even fall over in the wake of this sound (though falling over felt like not a bad idea—this was tugging on his soul, somehow).

Arthur closed his eyes and rode it as if caught in undertow.

He had no clue what words Hastur sang. They echoed in the Cathedral, bouncing, feeding on themselves to create a chorus; it strummed through him like he’d been made into a guitar string, burned in him like he was a wick set alight.

And after a moment, he realized John was singing, too. Slightly less… big. Less practiced. Less sure. But he was, in perfect harmony, and for some weird reason, when John sang, Arthur could feel the meaning of those words.

Sort of.

Worthy

Chosen

Sorry

Was that one real, or imagined? Probably the latter. There was absolutely no way Hastur would sing an apology in front of so many people.

Would he?

John’s hand clasped his, fingers threaded, and Arthur squeezed as if that were the lifeline keeping him from being swept out to sea.

Elevated

Honored

Mine

Okay, that one was loud and clear, and at this point, Arthur was seeing colors behind his eyes—gold, of course—flashing, mesmeric. It wasn’t marking again, no, but both of them were doing something to their marks, like they had fists in his heart, and it did not hurt, and it was almost too much, and it balanced in perfect torturous tremendous joy.

Arthur cried out. He… sang out?

Sang something, with them, though what he sang was lost to him even as it left his mouth. It felt like release, like the abrupt liquid melt of tension while making love, like the gasping delight of surfacing from deep water into cold and bracing air.

His knees gave out at some point; he didn’t quite remember when, but maybe it didn’t matter, because Hastur caught him.

It was quiet? How long had it been quiet? The last harmonious echoes faded away, and Arthur drifted, blissful, relaxed.

Not… quite as relaxed as in that pool earlier, fortunately. This robe would definitely not hide it if he—

“Do we all understand?” said Hastur, low and smoky.

Someone started clapping.

It caught on, spreading, rising like crackling flame, and Arthur let it wash over him like summer breeze in a field, limp and safe and not hurting.

“Dismissed,” said Hastur, simply. “Follow my Dancers.”

There… feast, John managed.

Feast?

Oh. Some. Party, or something. Maybe. “Oh,” said Arthur, and could not bring himself to care.

“The post-marking ceremony rarely includes the celebrant,” said Hastur softly, stroking Arthur’s hair. “Do you wish to skip it?”

“Sure?” said Arthur, not really clear on what they were talking about.

“Faroe will be there.”

Button pressed. “What? I’ll go. What? Where?” Arthur struggled to sit up.

Fucker.

“Yes, yes.”

You knew that would—

“I want to cement what happened here,” said Hastur. “Seeing him there, part of my family, will help.”

Fine, John complained.

“Besides,” said Hastur mildly, flying just quickly enough that Arthur’s loose clothes ruffled. “It’s not like you had any plans for after.”

John fell stubbornly silent.

Plans for after? What after? What could even come after something like that?

Well. Arthur had a few ideas, but there was no one to do that with here. Not really. Not someone who genuinely wanted to. If John—

(That memory, again, of tentacles creeping up his legs in the Wood)

If John actually wanted—

(The thought, traitorous, of John with a body like Hastur’s)

John didn’t want him. John wanted to feel some semblance of control in this body. It made sense; Arthur forgave him. But Arthur had no desire to feed that. To feed that Hasturian instinct to use.

Besides, his desires were like morning glories: they’d bloom briefly, then fade right away again before morning tea. They didn’t matter. “We can… what do I have to do?” said Arthur, struggling again.

Hastur helped him sit up, but didn’t put him down. “Enjoy your food and your daughter and relax.”

“Oh.” He could do that.

John was still quiet.

“Are you all right?” Arthur murmured.

Better than you have any idea, said John, but he was… distracted.

“Was this not what you wanted?” said Arthur quietly.

A pause. Arthur, said John, evenly. You have absolutely no clue, do you?

That did not clarify. “No?”

John sighed. It was better than I hoped. Everything I ever wanted.

“Without the stabbing and vomiting?” said Arthur, wry.

With you. John sighed again. Just… distracted by his stupid comment. Ignore it. I’m on cloud nine.

So was Arthur.

He felt sunlight on his face as they exited, and the breeze with Carcosa’s famous Tremolo trees in full bloom, and—

“Arthur! Dad!”

—Faroe, who made the whole day worth it, no matter what kind of day it was. “Here!” Arthur cried as Hastur put him down.

She hit him full-on, just big enough to damn near knock him off his feet. “That was amazing! That was beautiful!”

Arthur reddened. “You… saw?”

“I’ve never heard you sing like that.” She hugged him so tightly, pressing into his chest.

He stroked her hair. How had she gotten so big? It felt like it happened overnight. “He said there’s a feast.”

“There is! Come on, come on. You shall be seated beside me,” she added, imperious, and then giggled, distinctly not.

Arthur followed, dragged to what was undoubtedly a horrifyingly revealed place at the head of a table, but because he couldn’t see it, he could focus on Faroe, and on Odd (who’d apparently seen it too, and was very quiet for the first few minutes), and on Parker (though Sunny was quiet, but he had been for a while), and on Hastur, who seemed to be more than a little buzzed, and on John, who was—in spite of seeming lucidity—absolutely smashed.

Before long, Arthur got them singing bawdy sings he’d learned in the England of his youth, and forgot all about the crowd, and the spotlight, and relaxed into his strange, found family’s joy so thoroughly he forgot he was even scarred.

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

Notes:

Odd’s song inspired by the immaculate Danny Kaye

[hotcat37]

LATER THAN USEAL MOODBOARD DELIVERY 4 MY BELOVED POKÉMON LOVING MOOT HOTCAT!! :33

*🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁*

(Bojere! Pokémon cafe date cuz their very silly N adorable like them N that vid of Jere singing the Pokémon theme in Finnish got me out of writers block so yippee :D) get urself a fluffy blanket N ur fave snacks cuz I’m here 2 tell the story of the date that got our dear Bojci 2 propose 2 his man after waiting 4EVER 2 find a good time 2 pop the question: It had been almost a whole year by now since Bojan finally quit chickening out N asked the man with a weird haircut N a laugh that made his knees buckle N released a million butterflies straight 2 his stomach 2 be his boyfriend that memorable night which still comes back 2 him in his dreams even now,the man he was taking out on one of the last dates b4 he could hopefully call him his fiancé.The man in question was clad in one of Bojan’s various sweaters,same one he wore when they first made out wayy back in Tavastia after everything was done N the then brothers N maybe something more headed back 2 Jere’s 4 the night,a bouquet of dandelions in one hand which he hid behind his back till Jere saw the ever so familiar figure of his extremely gorgeous boyfriend.As soon as their eyes locked everything felt lighter,almost as if time had stopped right there so he could feel his Bojci’s lips on his own 4 however long the bowlcut adorning Finn wished,breaking the kiss only 2 catch some air N whip the large bouquet of dandelions from behind his back 2 give 2 his rakas (Bojan straight up lifted Jere N spun him around a few times cuz of how much he loved not only him but the gift he had been hiding all this time 🥰) putting the shorter man down N feeling him giggle into his chest,their hands intertwined N walked into the Pokémon cafe that Jere had been yapping on about 4 months.Finding their booth that Bojan had booked a week prior (while Jere got distracted by a set of Bulbasaur N Squirtle plushies that decorated the seats next 2 them which gave our lil Bojci time 2 check if the ring box was still in his pocket 4 later which he totallyyy didn’t check atlest 10 times tyvm :3).Meanwhile both men ordered N flirted 4 what felt like an eternity,staring deeper into his bby boos Disney princess esc eyes which made him almost forget why he chose this place 2 pop the question,as if his fragile ass nerves would let him tho.One by one their food was delivered with Bojan’s Rowlet shaped grill cheeses coming first then Jere’s Pikachu themed pancakes following after + the twos drinks,Jere’s being a Bulbasaur inspired hot chocolate with ALOT of foam N Bojan’s was an Evie themed latte with just as much foam as his boyfriends if not more (that kinda got all over his noise so Jere had 2 lick it off cuz yk he would but it’s not like Bojci’s complaining if its his beautiful,hot asf darling of a man doing it ☺️).When they both finished their meal N left the cafe Jere saw a stand filled 2 the brim with all kinds of flower bouquets in every colour,ribbon style U could think of,that was when Bojan knew he had 2 do it right there N then seeing how his soon 2 be fiancé’s eyes light up N how his smile could split his face in half if it was any bigger just by seeing the huge display made him stop questioning if he rlly wanted 2 marry the man who’s hands were pulling him with all the force he had 2 the stand so that’s just what Bojan did,as Jere turned 2 show his rakastani a beautifully decorated pink N yellow tulip bouquet he found it was on the floor as quickly as it was picked up,the sight narrowed 2 only the view of Bojan on one knee holding out a very expensive gold ring with two gems engraved into it,one pink N the other green when it all fell into place.HIS gorgeous,amazing,wonderful,lovely Slovene was asking him 4 his hand 2 set the promise of belonging only 2 the Finn forever in concrete,ofc he said yes N then they both cried into eachothers necks while hugging as if everything up until now would all disappear in a blink of an eye except the only thing that disappeared was then into a field close 2 the town where they could rlly set that promise in concrete if yk what I mean.

BOJERE POKéMON DATE THAT'S SO CUTE!!!!! The Rowlet grilled cheeses look fcking delicious ngl I would killll to have such a date with someone I love <3 The proposal too aggh they're too adorable!! I love how Bojan indulges Jere in his interests and them running off into a field together at the end is so sweet :') ❤️❤️ Thanks so much for the lovely moodboard and story as always 💚

[awesomesauce-abbie]

Hello hope I'm not bothering you but I saw a post of yours it was a billy hargrrove x reader and I liked it but I just wanna ask if you could do like reader works at a restaurant and really upset and tired because their having problems with a waitress and they constantly pushing sh*t on them and billy picks up reader and reader gets in the car and just says "drive please" and then the drive home is quit and they get home and billy just comforts them and being the protective bf he is, I hope you understand I'm writing this because I have trouble with a waitress and I'm a hostess (look it up for more info about being a hostess) and ya I just had a bad day sorry and you can do whatever to the end you want like h going to the restaurant later and confronting the waitress. Omg this is so long lol thx 🙏😊

A/N: I’m sorry you’re having such a hard time with your job, I hope it gets better for you soon. I know this is easier said than done but try to push through the negativity and carry on your day as best as you can and I hope this oneshot will somehow help!

HardWork Pays Off Eventually

Billy Hargrove x reader

You worked at Burger Town, one of the few restaurants in Starcourt mall. If the bright yellow and red uniform with the burger baseball hats wasn't annoying enough, your coworker was a right piece of work meaning that she didn't actually do any. The only time Kimberly Price lifted a finger was when she was in the back with her press on nails or dancing to whatever was on the radio whilst you attended to the lunchtime rush of Hawkins by yourself. What was most infuriating was that her dad was the boss so Kimberly was always getting extra days off with nobody to cover her shifts and always got pay rises. She was only a few dollars short of earning exactly as much as her father, day by day you were regretting not getting a job at the local pool with your boyfriend Billy Hargrove. Despite his bad boy attitude, he was more than happy to teach the younger children of Hawkins how to swim or save them from drowning. He suggested you get a job with him so you could see each other every day but you had already accepted the job at burger town before he suggested it. Today made you absolutely regret applying more than ever.

You quickly served a table of three with a tired smile and a quiet “enjoy your meal.” You rushed back to the kitchen and started preparing the next meal before only to dash to the counter a few seconds later to take another customer’s order. You had to force a smile as you heard Madonna blasting from the break room. The queue was leaving the restaurant and was almost outside of Scoops Ahoy. You actually saw Robin Buckley and Steve Harrington stick their heads out a few times to see what was going on. You spent over an hour running around like a headless chicken serving food, cooking food and taking orders before things actually calmed down which gave you the chance to clean up tables and bin rubbish. Kimberly walked past you with her jacket and bag on. “Where are you going?” She scoffed, glaring at you as if you’d offended her just by existing. “I have a date with Patrick, I’m leaving early. Remember to lock up and clean up properly, anything that’s done wrong won’t make daddy very happy. Oh and your covering my shift with Ben Woods tomorrow. No way am I working with that nerdy little freak ew! Don’t forget to clock me out at the end. Try and snitch on me, well we’ll see who daddy believes. A bumbling idiot who got this job out of pure luck or his precious little darling of a daughter?” Kimberly giggled before strutting away. “We’ve got six hours and tomorrow’s my only day off!” You yelled after her but she didn’t turn back.

You’d left an hour late, having to tidy up everything as well as lock up. If Steve Harrington hadn’t noticed you struggling with putting the tables away, you’d likely still be there. You stormed out to the parking lot and saw Billy leaning against his car with a lit cigarette and there were three cigarette butts not too far from his feet. “What the hell took you so long, I’ve been waiting for over an hour! I was about to come in and find you. I thought something happened.” He was worried, annoyed and exhausted from his own day of work but you got into the passenger’s seat silently. Billy scoffed, throwing away his cigarette before getting in. “You gonna talk to me or what?” “Just…Drive please” you sniffled. Billy rolled his eyes before starting the car and drove to your house. His dad and Susan were out tonight and Max was at Hop’s house for a sleepover with El so he was spending the night with you.

The ride home was silent except for the quiet buzz of music from Billy's car radio. He noticed a few tears run down your face but for most of the journey, you faced away from him and didn't utter a single word. He parked in your driveway with a sigh and turned you, placing a hand on top of yours. “Please tell me what happened today. You've never been this late from work and you're usually pissy yeah but never crying. What happened?” You looked at him, drying your eyes as you tried to find the words. Billy leaned forward and kissed your forehead, cupping your cheek with his hand as he wiped tears away with his thumb. “I’m just tired, I had a really shitty day. Kimberly walked out six hours early and I had to do everything by myself again! I’m supposed to have a day off tomorrow but she dumped her shift on me instead.” Billy let out a harsh sigh and clenched his jaw, this wasn’t the first time you had complained about Kimberly’s laziness and he was sick of her upsetting you. “You need to leave that shit hole, there isn't anything at the pool right now but at least go work with fucking Harrington! At least I know he's not a total asshole like that Kimberly bitch” he huffed. “Though if he even thinks about hitting on you, the only thing he'll be eating is ice cream cus he won’t have the teeth left to chew!” You couldn’t help but chuckle and Billy grinned. “There’s that sexy smile” he kissed you before you both got out of the car. “I’ll help you out

Billy helped you write out a resignation letter as well as help you get your paperwork sorted so you could apply for another job. “If anything comes up at the pool, you’ll be the first to know. She won’t get away with this shit either, I know it’s hard but we’re gonna get out of this shit hole town. I’m going to take you to California, teach you how to surf. We’ll have our own place, the shit bird and her loser friends can visit in the summer. It’ll be perfect, I promise” he smiled, stroking your hair as you leaned against his shoulder. “Think the kids will bury Steve in the sand?” Billy snickered just at the idea and kissed your temple. “Yeah, maybe we’ll leave him there overnight for the fully beach experience” he chuckled before getting up and heading to the kitchen. You cuddled up together with a bowl of popcorn and watched The Terminator with a promise that Kimberly would be sorry for pissing you off.

The next day you turned up at work but Kimberly was there and so was her father? Kimberly was in tears, hr dad was red in the face and his eyes filled with anger but he calmed down slightly as he noticed you walk in. “Ah, sorry. I was meant to call. I had a dozen complaints yesterday from customers who said you were working alone. Kimberly is working her shift today so you can go home, she’ll be working as she should be and her pay has been cut so she’s earning the usual rate which she’ll be using to fix her car. I walked out the house to see the windshield smashed and the doors all scratched and dented” Kimberly merely sobbed at the mention of her car and was even more hysterical after you handed in your notice, she’d be picking up your shifts as a result.

You walked out to the car park, Billy was still there with a smug grin. “Her car? Seriously?” “Told you she’d be sorry for messing with you” he chuckled as you let out an amused sigh. “What would I do without you Billy Hargrove?” “Crash and burn obviously.”

[charley-and-the-swap-machine]

CATSM: RE-INK’D (Chapter 5, Part 3)

fools of April, but this is no joke.

The Voice Of Joey Drew

Listen, Tommy, I know you boys over at Gent are doing your best...but I'm paying for living attractions, not weird abominations!

Whatever that screaming thing was I saw destroying your office, you better keep it locked up tight!

I realize it was a first attempt at Barley, but imagine if the press caught sight of it! Might scare off investors!

And in response to your previous memo:

If you claim that your failures are because these things are soulless...then, damn it, we'll get them a soul!

After all, I own thousands of them!

────────────

"BETRAYED! ABANDONED!"

Wielding an axe, Sammy violently burst through the boards blocking the entrance. "I TRUSTED YOU! I GAVE YOU EVERYTHING! AND ALL I RECEIVED WAS NOTHING! NOTHING!!"

Henry slowly backed away from the raving prophet. "Y-You...you're supposed to be...?"

"HE SAID HE'D SAVE ME. HE SAID HE'D SET ME FREE. AND WHAT DID HE DO? LEAVE ME TO ROT!" He whipped around to stare at Henry, yellow eyes glinting with rage.

"I offered you to him, little sheep. Why did he not accept my humble sacrifice?" His voice had lowered to a somewhat calmer tone as he questioned him, turning away and pacing around. "Have I done something wrong...?"

He slumped down, then immediately perked back up with a snap of his fingers. "...Of course! I must have done the ritual incorrectly...!"

Laughing, the prophet turned back around with a slasher smile adorning his face.

"THE TIME OF SACRIFICE IS UPON US, CREATOR! NOW, COME PUT YOUR FACE IN MY AXE!"

Upon him saying that, Henry jumped back as Sammy lunched towards him, weapon swinging.

-

-

-

It quickly turned into a wild goose chase around the makeshift city as he frantically avoided the attacks of the raving prophet that followed close behind.

"W-WAIT!" Henry turned around to look as he made an attempt to reason with him.

"I-I TRULY DON'T UNDERSTAND! I REALLY DON'T WANT TO FIGHT YOU-"

He was cut off as he flinched at Sammy swinging straight for the middle of his head, and he made an attempt to dodge to the side.

The axe soon nicked the side of his face, and Henry felt his cheek sting as a warm fluid trickled down his chin.

Blood.

...

It'd been a while since he'd seen his own blood, hasn't it?

..No, no, he couldn't get distracted now. Reaching for the looking glass, he held it in his hands like a dagger as the prophet readied to attack him once more.

"Ahhhh...so now it's a fight, isn't it?" Sammy commented, his cheshire cat grin widening as he gripped harder on his axe.

"...I...I really don't...want to do this, you know." He breathed, still gripping onto that shard of glass.

But it looks like it's come to this, hasn't it?

...

"LIES! OHH, IT'S NOTHING BUT LIES THAT COME OUT OF YOUR MOUTH, CREATOR!" The prophet began to laugh again as he prepared to attack Henry once more.

"I'LL CUT THAT LYING MOUTH RIGHT OFF OF YOUR FACE AND END THEM ALL FOR GOOD!"

As soon as he lunged for Henry again, he instinctively jammed the makeshift dagger into whatever he found to be closest to it.

.

..

...

Which just so happened to be the prophet's left eye.

"SH-SHIT! I-I'm sorry, I-" Henry immediately blurted out an apology as Sammy screamed out in agony, turning away from him and kneeling on the floor as he held onto his injured eye.

What appeared to be the prophet making quiet sobs soon turned into a manic cackle as he snapped back around to grab for Henry's neck, forcing him down to the ground.

"HA! HE LIED TO ME, CREATOR, JUST LIKE YOU'VE LIED TO US FOR ALL OF OUR PAINFUL EXISTENCES. HE SAID HE WOULD SET US ALL FREE." Sammy loomed in his face as he spoke, then rose up above him.

"WELL...I'LL GO AND FREE YOU, NOW. FREE YOUR HEAD RIGHT OFF OF YOUR SHOULDERS!"

He was holding his axe in both of his hands now, his smile at his fullest.

"Sheep, sheep, sheep..."

...

The axe was lifted further and further above his head.

"It's time..."

...

Henry couldn't tell from where he was, but he swore that something, or someone, was approaching from behind Sammy.

"For..."

...

The figure was slowly getting closer and closer now as the prophet prepared to administer the final blow.

"Sleep."

Before he could get a single strike in, Sammy seemed to almost freeze in his place. Arms going limp, he dropped his weapon as he fell down to the side with a soft thump, his pupils rolling back and his eyelids fluttering shut.

It was silent after that.

...

"...Time for sleep."

From the ground, Henry watched as a familiar face took an axe out of Sammy's back, looking down at the corpse with an uneasy expression.

"...Barley?"

The sailor seemed to notice Henry as he said that, and he walked over to him, axe in hand.

A moment of silence passed as the two stared at one another, still processing the events of what had just happened. The stillness from the both of them was soon broken by Barley extending a hand to him without a word.

He obliged to the offer, taking a hold of it and pulling himself up from the ground.

Not a single word was exchanged, but in that moment, there seemed to be a mutual agreement between the two as the sailor gave a small smile to him.

...

"Henry!"

He turned at Alice's voice to find the others waiting for him on the docks of the town. "There you are! We've been looking for you..." She called.

"Yeah!" Bendy added, poking out from behind her. "Where the hell have you been, anyways? Didya give us the slip or somethin'!?"

"He didn't give anyone 'the slip', Bendy." Boris said, "I let him out."

"WHAT!? That's a shocker!"

"Bendy..."

As the group began talking amongst themselves, Henry couldn't help but gaze back down at the body of the prophet.

"...He's really gone, isn't he?"

He nearly jumped at Barley's sudden words, then calmed himself down as he continued to stare at the corpse.

"I suppose he is..." He trailed off, before adding:

"Maybe it was better off this way for him."

...

He froze up as he felt a hand placed on his shoulder, and he turned to see Boris standing right behind him. How the hell did he get here so fast?

"...What exactly is it that you are looking for...Henry?" He paused before pronouncing that last word, as if his name was something from a foreign language he had never spoken before.

...

...He thought about that question for a bit.

How long had he been here? What was his goal anymore? So many things had happened, and he was unsure how to feel now...

"I..." He finally broke the silence. "I guess...I just want to get out of here."

Boris seemed to process his words, then took his hand off his shoulder and walked forward a bit, stopping to turn his head back at him.

"...Well? Are you coming, or not?"

"W-Well, um..." Henry stammered out, a bit surprised by the turn of events.

"...If you know what to do, then...lead the way."

"Hey, Boris!" He jumped at Bendy appearing out of seemingly nowhere. "Where are we goin' now?"

"Somewhere. Now get moving."

"Awh, come on! What're you bein' so secretive about?"

The group moved forward as Bendy and Boris began to bicker between themselves again. Taking a final look at Sammy, Henry turned away from him and followed everyone else out of the town…

[princesspuresarahk]

An Ann n Anny's Big Picture Show Adventure

Waring for some language 

Chapter 1: Awoken rage and dreams

It’s been an hour and a half since the Ans ran away from the cul-de-sac away from the teens and hitched hiked the train to fully escape the coming storm and fell asleep in the process tired from all they went through as they slept An was dreaming but it wasn't a good dream. The crack of lightning shook the boxcar like a cheap toy, waking An. An's head whirled, eyeing the spots where her compadres once rested, where they no longer could be seen. She rallied herself out of her resting spot, and called out, "Annie, Double N? Where are -" As she spoke she tripped over something. Smacking her head on the floor with a loud thud, though unaffected, she said, "Pardon me, Miss." Looking to see what there was, An spotted something that triggered a memory from within her. The blade with which she fought the foulest enemies one Halloween, years ago. Its black handle and flipper-like blade reflected the dim moonlight before glowing from a bolt of lightning. An raised her mighty blade, kissing it. She swore an oath, "This sword will guide me to my friends, and stop any from extruding their souls!" An pressed, on pushing past the door and boarding the train's adjacent car. What An saw before her stopped her momentum, making her eyes bulge out. Two vicious, giant lizards locked in some preternatural courtship, dripping venom from yellowed fangs. They soon become aware of An, and stand up, letting out a horrendous cry. An's resolve could not be squashed so easily, and she pulled the mat out from underneath the two reptilian enemies, and as they fell she cast them aside with her blade in a single sweep. Causing the slippery reptilians to fall to the ground comically as An ran to search for her friends all the well giving the serpents a good snack with her swords on their behinds “ANNY! DOUBLE D! Where are you!?" As she opened the next she heard four terrifying familiar voices coming from the distance behind her ‘The Mean Teens!’ suddenly she heard a voice “Uh Anny's not here right now!” it was Anny and Ann’s crying but where was she? “Come over and let me clobber you! An looked around looking for Anny's voice but couldn't find her in this nightmare "Anny! Double N! Where are you guys?" A cold sweat on her brow to try to control her breathing looking around and panicking she was relieved to see that her two best friends were still there lying down next to her still asleep (thank goodness it was just a really scary dream and not real oh I was so scared.) An thought as slight tears were peeking from her eyes and she was shivering still shaking up from the bad dream " Remember what Double N taught you to count backward to 10 and take deep breaths to calm down." she told herself she slowly took deep slow breaths and counted backward once she felt settled down she crawled back down next to her friends into the quilt letting the pit patter of the rain soothe her back to sleep as the train continued moving across the railway.

Meanwhile, back at the Lane in Peach Creek, the teens were slowly beginning to wake up from their unconsciousness with a groan Kevin slowly opened his eyes the rain hitting his face"Ooh hell my head hurts." Everything hurt as he slowly pushed himself up footsteps could be heard approaching “What the hell Kevin is that you?” he turned to see it was Karrie his twin sister he forgot she was visiting them this week before her cruise trip to Hawaii  “Ouch. what happened here? You guys look like you went through hell. ”As Kevin pick himself up his back cracked making him groan again “Ah damn that hurts .” he then notice “Nazz!” quickly run up to her “You ok babe?” he asked lifting her he suddenly noticed her head “Oh damn Nazz..your hair!” Nazz still groggy from what happened got her mind clear when she heard Kevin's voice " Kevin?..ow..oh Kevin what the heck happened my whole body hurts oh I think my nails are chipped and.. wait what do you mean?.. what's wrong with my hair?." She asked panicked as she slowly raised her hands to her head to feel what happened to her hair Karrie pulled out a hand mirror from her purse handing it to Nazz slightly wincing at what Nazz was going to see through the reflection as she let out a horrid gasp No her beautiful golden blonde hair looked as if it was cut by a chainsaw and covered in sticky black paint and covered the rest of her body giving her a weird messed up mohawk even Gothic and metal rock stars would think is awful tears welled up in her eyes but didn't fall, as Karrie tried to comfort her, Kevin went over to help up Rolf and Johnny as they woke up groaning " oh Plank I felt like we got hit by a canoe and chattering teeth !" He lifted Plank to see how his buddy was doing " Oh man Plank you look awful I hope nothing is broken buddy.!" Nothing but silence from the wood “You say nothing's broken oh thank goodness buddy I was worried you cracked a rib or something." Johnny cried relief as he gave Plank a very gentle hug to not hurt his friend or himself on their already bruised bodies " Hey Rolf, you okay man?” Kevin asked helping lift the farm boy to his feet as he winced in pain from pulling him up. Letting his joints crack to relieve the stress Rolf looked to Kevin before he responded “Rolf feels so much hurt as if was trampled by a raging yak.” As everyone was checking on each other Johnny once again turned to his buddy as if Plank wanted to ask him something "What is it, Plank?" Pressing plank to his ear he listened as the piece of wood told him what was missing "What you mean you can't see them anywhere .? " He looks around and notices that three certain Ans are missing the ones responsible for this mess so he quickly calls out to the others "Hey guys !" everyone turns to him “Yeah?” Kevin raised a brow as responded to his question Johnny  “Have you guys seen the Ans? I don’t see them anywhere?” That's when everybody noticed the Ans were missing as they looked around but no An was in sight as pure anger and rage were now boiling in the teen's blood! The Ans now have done it this time.! This was the last straw with their damn shenanigans and scams! “Those twerps!” Kevin growled as he saw red Nazz was fuming as red rage was flushing her cheeks “This has gone too far look what they did to my hair and everything!” Karrie agreed seeing how much crap they put her brother and the others through these tramps needed to pay and she’d enjoy watching them suffer and make her week more exciting “We have to go after them.”Johnny and Plank agreed Both angry as Rolf shifted and cracked his body muscles tensing the same rage " Beware for you will feel Rolf's fury An-Girls!" but Nazz realized something “But guys we don't know like where they could be?” putting a hand on Kevin’s shoulder he looked into the cul-de-sac “come on they couldn't have gotten far we'll check their houses!" Kevin bellowed the teams were out for the Ans' necks. The first place to check was An’s room headed to her basement window with Nazz crawled in to see any sign of them as she looked around everything was quiet and a bit of a mess but there was no sign of An crawling out of An's basement window Nazz called out to the others " They’re not at An's !" then her Karrie Johnny and Rolf went to Ann’s looking around she realized this is the first time they  got a good look at Ann's room as everything seems so tidy as Karrie observes “seems clean.” Or more like a neat freak to her even things that looked messy looked clean then Johnny sees something “What's that piece of paper?” a pile of folded up crumbled pieces of paper near Ann's desk Nazz walks up to it and takes one of the goodbye notes. When she tried to read it she hardly can't make out anything with all the tear stains and straining scribbles from trying to write whatever happened today must have scared the Ans out of their minds that Double N couldn't even write a proper letter tossing it back into the bin she, Karrie, and Johnny climb out of the window back down to let the others know the smartest An wasn't at her place either annoying Kevin more as rage was now boiling in his veins as he leads the others to Anny's front door they have to be there it's one of the only places they would go to as they start kicking and banging on the door trying to barge it open not worrying about them getting in trouble as Anny's folks aren't at home allowing them the opportunity to beat those three tramps into next summer as the door bursts open "Lemme through! End of the line, dorks!" 

Kevin shoves Rolf and Johnny aside as the four angry teens and a piece of wood search the house "Rolf's vengeance will be slow and painful, like Papa's charcoal anecdotes, An-Girls!" Rolf called out as he crashed Anny's bedroom door from the living room the kitchen bathroom to Anny's room and upstairs yet there was no trace of them anywhere they were so full of region on bent of revenge that they didn't notice the carefully hidden door that led to Anny's Big Brother's room as they stepped out of the house  already frustrated as they couldn't find the An's in each of their homes suddenly Nazz saw three silhouette shadows running into the distance thinking it might be the Ans " They're getting away guys!" They look to see the three silhouettes getting farther away Rolf, meanwhile lets out a piercing whistle and his pig Wilford gallops up Rolf is ready for the hunt "Peel your onions, An-Girl!' he growls "and cries." Getting on Wilfred “There’s no escaping the son of a shepherd!" Kicking Wilfred’s side like a horse he rides off in hot pursuit. Kevin gets the same idea "Right behind you, man."Running off to get his motorcycle Nazz follows him as she slams the door close behind her as Kevin takes off after Rolf. As Sam and Julie peek from behind the house to all the commotion was hear how angry the steam sounded Sam excitedly grabs Julie's hand “Let’s go check it out, Julie!" Blushing slightly from holding Sam's hand erase to the sidewalk just in time to see the teens go by being led by Kevin, on his motorcycle; Rolf; and Nazz running after them as Sam gleefully watches " Damn! Whaddya think they did it this time, Julie!" bringing up his sister's odd panicked behavior before she left who knows where " Whatever it was, it must be worser than ever!" She slightly giggle whatever happened the Ans were in big trouble with how angry everyone looked whatever happened she hoped the Ans at least get what was coming to them. Unknown to the teens would be unexpectedly led on a wild goose chase. As Kevin shouts out   After chasing the three figures all over the neighborhood it is revealed that the three silhouettes were wild geese that were trying to get away from the commotion but when the teens mistook them as the Ans started chasing them it startled them so much into a panic that it caused them to start running away in a frenzy the teens chasing and yelling with Johnny throwing Plank to attack them shouting "Let’em have it, buddy!" until they eventually made it to the playground where they jumped on the equipment to fly away as causing everyone to suddenly halt and crash into the playground equipment into the merry-go-round causing it to spin out of control and spreading them all over the playground As centrifugal force is quick to act on the merry-go-round, as the teens are pushed away from it. "Curse you An-Girls!" Rolf yells as Wilfred is the first to fly off. "Hang on buddddyyyy!" Johnny cries and Rolf, Nazz, Jonny, and Plank fly away. "Those dorks ain't seen the last of me!!!" Kevin yells at nothing and is torn off by the pressure, and he flies off, slams into the slide and falls on Rolf. Kevin at the end of his frustration and temper red iron hot runs into the end of the playground, carrying a metal pipe yells his rage into the sky "DOOOOORRRRRKKKKKKKSSSSSS!!!" As he throws the pipe away in frustration Kevin screams at the sky, the teens spread among the park get up again from the impact as Nazz calls out to him "Kevin!" Johnny who is stuck in a hole in the road escapes it “Kevin! Where are you?!" Once she found him Kevin was still ranting "I can't believe it! I thought we almost had em! We can't let this go, man. Not after what they did!" Sam and Julie tiptoe up to watch the show. As Nazz still hurting and in tears from the frustration reaches for his hand "What do we do now? Wait for them to come back?" She asks as Kevin helps her up."Cause I got like a million things to do! Hair extensions, exfoliating scrubs, spray tan, fingernails glued and polished a pustule of–" Before she can finish Rolf catches up with "Shed tears no more, fuss bucket Nazz-girl. Rolf will unearth the An-Girls and squash them like the parasite that infests Wilfred's tuchis! This is Rolf's word! Dawg?"  Fuelling everyone's energy “Preach, Rolf!’’ Karrie declared her sadistic smirk on her face enjoying the rage of the teens “They're gonna wish they never messed with Nazz Van Bartonschmeer!" As Kevin grind his teeth in fury "Come on they're still out here somewhere this rage train isn't stopping until I beat those three twerps and we're not going to stop looking even if it's going to take us all damn freaking night!" With their adrenaline kicking in again they headed off to go search the other places as they headed to the junkyard Johnny was talking to Plank "I ain't goin' near that one with a ten-foot pole, buddy." With Plank telling him something "Say what?" Jonny pressed his ear to Plank to hear his whispering "You're reading my mind, Plank! It's time to call in the Special Forces." As Kevin continued "Those thieves couldn'tve got far. I'm getting my bike!" He quickly starts walking off to fetch his motorcycle that was left in the abandoned construction site. Rolf agreed to do the same "Yes!Rolf will draw forth the–" Before he can finish Nazz decides to go with Kevin "Wait up, Kev!" She hurries after him with Karrie following behind them to head back to the house giving Rolf the chance to finish his words "Rolf will draw forth the pitchfork of retribution!" As Jonny sneaks away."The An-Girls shall riddle Rolf's rind no more! Wilfred! To the shed!" Wilfred hearing his master's call pops out of the ground and heads towards Rolf, squealing. Sam and Julie watch with cringing in discussion "Pigs are so gross." While Julie was curious about what was going to happen to the three Ans "Golly gosh, Sam, they're gonna hunt down the Ans! What on earth did they do?" Sam responded, “I don't know, Julie." As Julie ran images in her head "Think of what they'll do to them, Sam! It'll be worse than soap in your eye! Worse than polyester chafing!" Then Sam got an idea to enjoy watching the Ans get  busted "Let's have a picnic and watch!" Julie after a pause "Oh yay, Sam! I wouldn't miss this An-thrashing for all the shoulder pads in the world!" And enjoys seeing her secret rival Ann get ruined by the teens while she gets to enjoy the show with Sam her best friend and long-secret crush as the two giggle and walk off to go get a picnic basket ready and follow the teens. With him, Nazz and Rolf going to go search in the junkyard as Johnny and Plank sneak away to his house “ Those three are gonna pay!”

For hours they searched the junkyard high and low and the van with flames where they usually like to hang out sometimes even looking in some of the piles of garbage at the ends for nowhere in its site in the junkyard but Kevin refused to give up told them to go check in the woods and creek they searched high and low still the Ans were nowhere in sight searching in every tree bush even under rocks and in the creek they even thought of looking in the sewers but the heavy rain that happened earlier had already filled of the entrances so they couldn't be in there so they decide to go check the one place where they think they wouldn't be at the trailer park while they were climbing Sam and Julie walked past Anny's house, carrying a basket trying to catch up to them to hopefully watch them catch the Ans, when they enter the lane the others were already over the fence. Sam instructed to get the basket over "On three, Julie. One..." Sam and Julie start to swing it "...two...three!" tossing the basket over the fence into Peach Creek Estates. They then pick it up on the other side and continue to run, giggling. This continues until they enter the woods, where Julie slows, then stops when she suddenly recognizes the area very afraid. When Sam noticed she wasn't following he got slightly annoyed as he didn't want to miss anything "What's the matter, Julie?" Julie didn't want to upset him for not slowing down but she had her reasons "I'm not allowed to go in there, Sam. I still have bad dreams, and my mom had to buy a mattress cover!" which were true especially of 'THEM' and the place their going is where ‘THEY’ live The Kankers! and the trailer park was practically their territory of horror Sam rolling her eyes but he understood his best friend's fear and if she didn't want to go anymore that alright but he wasn't scared of those dump Kankers and they weren't gonna get in his way to watch An and her dump friends get a beating of a lifetime! "Okay, but you're gonna miss a hell of a doozy!" and he continues off into the trailer park.

Meanwhile, the Kankers were doing laundry Mars the middle Kanker was carrying a large basket of their boxers “Hey Leo where do you want these?” Leo the oldest who was hanging the laundry “Over there with the pictures of my baby.’’ Pointing to the side of a locker they used as their tool shed the inside with pictures of the Ans they secretly took in their prettiest moments and from picture day it's also where the rest of the clean laundry was set as Mars put it down then helped Leo wash the next load as he got up letting out an “Ahh.” as he stretched his arms behind his back the sound of cracks letting out the tension from his strong back and hard muscles until it let out a satisfying POP in his joints as they were a bit worn out from doing their chores all day Maz does the same after gathering up all their dirty cloths “ this is the life.” Happy they managed to get everything done like they promised their dad unknown to the three that Julie was heading towards their direction without realizing it after a moment of contemplation when she wanted to see the Ans big beating "I hope Kevin knocks Anny's teeth out!" as she follows Sam down the trail. "Wait for me, tank!" she called out cheerfully not unaware that the path forks with Sam taking the right fork, but Julie losing sight of Sam chooses the left unknowingly heading into the wolf's den of the Kankers!

As she was picking up speed to catch up she accidentally tripped over a piece of machinery and flew into a lawn chair. Bouncing off that, she flies into the air falling into a wheelbarrow full of dirty clothes. As the wagon tips over, spilling its load behind Maz the youngest Kanker gasps out "Huh?!" in confusion at the sudden noise behind him causing all three Kankers to look up. Mars groans "Oh, way to go, Maz!" annoyed by their laundry getting dirtier because of Maz's clumsiness making Leo pissed as well now it was going to take them longer "Yeah! hell as if our laundry wasn't dirty enough! Quit holding up the line!" he slings a bucket of clothespins at Maz who quickly ducks "Watch it, Leo!" as the bucket hits the wagon and boomerangs back to hit Maz in the back of his head. "That didn't even hurt besides it wasn't me." slightly rubbing his head Mars hits him with a bottle of soap ”No but this will ! Come on himbo my boxers aren't gonna wash themselves." he yelled as he tossed in more cloths starting the washer again as Leo grinned his mood lightening by Mars's joke "Heh. himbo good one Mars." he chuckled as Maz picks himself up off the ground. Julie peeks out from under the dirty clothes in fright trying to ignore the heavy smell of heavy cologne, sweat, body odor and something else but she doesn't want to know as she sees Leo pin an undershirt to the wire shooting them out like a bullet with his mouth. while Maz complains after being hit twice "If you guys weren't such fashion hogs, there wouldn't be all this laundry to do!" picking up the clothes and blindly reaching to Julie's hiding spot grabbing her by her shirt as Julie whispers out "OH no!" as he pulls Julie out from the pile, letting out a "Eeep! ' surprising Maz "Oh, please! Don't hurt me!" a grin appears on his face "Hey looks like someone left something in their pocket!" Mars turns to see Leo doing the same "What is it?" Mars jumps off the washer “I wonder what it is!” getting closer he grins like a cat recognizing Julie from the cul-de-sac making Julie more terrified "Looks like it's whats-her-face!" grabbing Julie from Maz tossing her to the ground not caring to remember her name nor does Leo or Maz but he had a fun idea "Let's call her Dutchie." as Leo leers at the puff haired teen remembering how she seems to cry a lot what was a little preppy sheep like her doing on their territory "A little far from home, aren't ya, Dutchie?" he asked as he Mars and Maz's shadows fall over Julie making them more chilling and menacing like a pack of aggressive wolves, Julie felt like she was gonna faint. Sam was still walking when he was about to tell Julie to hurry turning to yell out “Hey..!” but noticed Julie wasn't following and must've gone the other direction by mistake as he headed back the Kankers were busy messing with Julie "Uh-oh, looks like Dutchie needs a blanket !" Maz teased noticing the girl shivering like a leaf as he grabbed a blanket from the clothes pile before Julie could protest "I'm fine, really, I am!"  Maz wraps her up like a swaddled baby as she tries to struggle out from the tight cocoon feeling humiliated but Leo suddenly grabs her lifting the petite teen up like a rag-doll "Dutchie ain't a baby." he removes the tight cocoon holding her to her relief buts gasps as he throws Julie down. "she's a grown young lady." giving a eerie tone to scare her even more for laughs Julie she could hear wolf howls in the distance from her state "I bet she wants a date." after a few moments he yells to get a scare out of her "WHERE'S MY COLOGN DUTCHIE ?!?!?" chuckling in delight as Jimmy lies on the ground, twitching from Leo's roar. When suddenly Mars grabs her picking her up "Aw, my gal doesn't need to give me any cologne" he drops her by the washing machine. "she just needs to do my laundry. Knock yourself out, Dutchie." he stuffs some dirty clothes into her hands but before she does anything she is again grabbed by her arm by Maz "Babies don't do laundry!" but is then grabbed by Leo taking hold of her arm " she's mine I can make her useful by cleaning the rest of our chores!" but then Mars grabs her taking Julie's other leg "Laundry maid's all mine, guys." but Leo disagreed "Back off Mars." Maz did the same "Baby's mine!" Julie panicked even more as the three tugged at her, stretching her body and making her awfully unconformable by the three strong grips pulling at her limits "I'm getting stretch marks!" when she suddenly felt a pop and crack in her joints she couldn't take it "Stop! I just wanted to see An, Ann n Anny get clobbered!" she cried fanning herself from the stress when she has immediately dropped landing on her poor bottom but relieved that they stopped but when she looked worry filled her when she saw their shocked then menacing expresses realizing her mistake! 

"What did you say about our girls?" Leo growled grabbing Julie by her blouse what did this little creampuff squirt know about their babes?! Julie started sweating oh no 'Why couldn't I keep my mouth closed?" when it came to the Ans the Kankers are protective of them threatening anyone who tries to hurt them or getting aggressive when seeing competition for the girls' affection despite the Ans trying to get away or avoid them due to their strange hormonal obsession with them ever since they meet not knowing why they like the An's so much but before Leo could ask 'demand' about the Ans whereabouts he was interrupted by a yell "None of your damn beeswax!" the Kankers turning to the fiery-headed newcomer. Sam who finally found Julie when he heard her cry out found her with the Kankers he saw red nobody hurt his best friend setting the basket down as the 16-year-old seethes with rage. Tears of gratitude fill Julie's eyes. "My hero." Sam will save them but her happiness drops when the Kankers jump her hero. Oh No! Sam yelled at the attack "Leave him alone!" she cried crawling towards her body still sore from being stretched like a worn-out gummy-worm as Sam struggled "Ah ah AAAAHH!!!" not her Sam "What'd he ever do to you?" she begged as Mars pins Sam to the ground. "Get off me, lemme go!" Sam growls struggling to get out of their grip even though he is tough, strong and has the muscle for a fight the Kankers were older and thus were bigger and stronger than him and wouldn't let him let go he wasn't as strong as he thought there was nobody else to help them. Mars chuckles in delight as Maz grabs his head holding it in place "So none of our damn beeswax huh?, What a shame." Leo replied a devilish smirk on his face opens her mouth and stuck his finger in. When it comes out, it is covered with spit. Maz giggles in anticipation, and his bros join in. Maz then turns Sam's head on its side, as Leo holds his finger above Sam as spittle drips onto his cheek Julie tears up more this is not gonna end well until Leo jams his finger into Sam's ear, swishing it around in a Wet Willy! "Ew, that's so gross!" he cringed kicking and pulling his arms desperately trying to get loose as Julie cried "A Wet Willy! Oh, the horror please stop!" But they refused to listen to Julie's cries as Leo works his finger "So tell us, twerp–" making Sam look at him in his dark cold blue eye as Maz finishes the question "–what do you and Dutchie know about our girls!" When Sam refused to answer cringing at the sloppy torture of his ear it went deeper making him wince but his stubbornness refused to give "Like I said it's none of your damn beeswax you trailer trash bastards!" He yelled and tried to bite Mars's hand but missed as Mars in retaliation and pissed by the hotheaded twerp gave him a hard flick to the nose causing it to slightly bleed by then Julie couldn't stand it anymore! "Stop! Enough!" Making the torture stops as Julie comes running up. "The Ans did something really bad! Something big happened because everyone was angry, chasing after them to give them their just desserts!" crying in shame she couldn't believe she had done it again "Ahhaha, I'm such a snitch!" As she cried on Sam's shoulder now free from the Kanker's iron grip he tried to pat her on the back in comfort while the Kankers were trying to figure out the news about their Ans "Did you hear what Dutchie said?" Maz questioned panic on his face his beautiful sweet tall pumpkin was in danger Mars had an angry look "Ain't nobody beating up on my woman!" Not his lovely Ann-muffin as she only deserves the best love and kisses from her lover if that shovel chin-ass Kevin or any of the other losers even lays a finger on her and her friend there's gonna be hell to pay! Leo meanwhile was in deep thought his hand on his chin rubbing against his light stubble as his deep blue eye darkened "Grab the two squirts, guys. We're gonna need 'em." Cracking his knuckles in determination as Sam and Julie look at each other, worry in their eyes. They were on a rescue mission to save their gals and they were gonna search until they found them even if it took all night!

Meanwhile, later about 10 hours away on the train the Ans were waking up from their long nap An was the first to wake “morning.” a cheery look on her face Ann was up rubbing the sleep from her eyes and checking her watch as she stretched "Yawn..I'm afraid it's midnight An. Oh dear! Have we been asleep that long?" She gasped as Anny got up the stretch giving her back a satisfying pop “Well, I feel like a new woman.” She looked around she saw there was a ton of hay and a couple of crates in the boxcar they were in including a hayloft with a top door open and the moonlight peeking out from it shining a silvery light. An and Ann looked to see where Anny was pointing to the roof as Anny climbed up to see taking hold of the sliding door and opening it all the way revealing a silver moonlight “What a beautiful moon.” Suddenly a voice was heard “Excuse me? I seemed to have lost my dog?” Surprising and scaring the girls Ann yelled “What the..who said that?" looking around “I did. over here next to you.” From the other side of the haystacks, a figure appeared Ann jumped to her feet as did the others shocked and scared to see the old woman's unexpected presence was she here? before how did she get here? “How did you get here and who the hell are you, lady!?" Anny demanded as An looked around to see said dog “Really. what's he look like?” who suddenly jumped out from the hayloft spooking the girls again revealing itself to be a cute little Chihuahua with a little worn pink ribbon on its neck sounding a cute little bark as it jumped into the woman's arms " Oh there you are Pippa!" kissing her little dog the Ans awestruck An cooed “Aww!” as Anny did the same “so cute.” But suddenly Anny then shook away from the cuteness she still had questions "Okay as I was just saying who the hell are you and where did you come from lady!?" the old woman smiled petting her dog “I’m taking the train to meet my nephew.” Ann looked at her curiously “On the train like us? But what would you rather be in a car or a plane Mrs.?'' the old woman had a little sad look in her eye “he lives so far away I can't drive so I take the train plus it’s pretty cheap haha.” “Oh," An replied as the woman chuckled “I am Mrs.Miel.Sofía Miel and you already met my sweet Pipa who are you Mis queridas?" She asked as the girls settled down after realizing she wasn't harmful “I’m Anny the leader of this trio.” Anny declared proudly as Ann shyly went next “I'm Ann but my friends call me Double N.” An waved excitedly “Hi! I’m An.” As Mrs.Miel chuckled at the girl’s introduction  “Oh I see you three share similar names how interesting." Pippa barked in agreement “Thank you.” Ann replied as the Ans were surprised by this kind woman as this was the first time in a long while someone was kind towards them when Suddenly Mrs.Miel reached in her bag searching for something clutching something in her hand as she pulled them out “Here queridas I’d like to give you something you'll need these for your trip.” She hands the girls something as they look to see what it is, they were stone beads of jade, rose quartz, tiger eye, turquoise, pyrite, fluorite, and amethyst held/tied together in ribbons the Ans were amazed by the beautiful gifts “What are they, Mrs.Miel?” An asked curiously as Mrs. Miel by the ginger’s innocent curiosity “There Odyssey bracelets.” Their eyes widened in more curiosity “Odyssey bracelets?” Mrs. Miel smiled brightened knowing these girls were special “They tell where your destination is and will help you on your journey wherever it may take you.” An had aww in her emerald eyes "How can they do that Mrs.Miel that's amazing!?" before the old woman could answer a sudden jolt came out of nowhere as the train came to a stop it whistled out a screech the train’s conductor called out “Last stop!” Mrs.Miel then gathered her things “Oh this is my stop your girls better stay hidden I suggest the hayloft they won't suspect you there I wish you girls good luck on your journey if you're wondering keep staying on this train it will lead you to New York come Pippa!." Waving the girls goodbye the old woman climbed down the train cart the girls waved goodbye and quickly grabbed their stuff to hide in the hay as the conductor was checking rounds after a while they heard the train start again as the conductor shouted out "All aboard next shipments stop New York.!" The train gave a loud whistle the train moving down the tracks once again as the girls jumped out covered in hay Anny got an excited look on her face “ New York so that’s where this train’s going hell yes! We’ll be city girls! But Ann suddenly questions this “But Anny even if New York offers sanctuary for us what if the teens try to find us there?" Causing Anny to stop " Relaxe Double N Anny ever steered you right.?.." before she could respond Anny continued "Besides If we're going anywhere, I know a place so out of the way it's practically invisible!" She waited for An and Ann to ask with a grin "Dare I ask?" She clutches her forehead before turning back to Anny, "And?" An doing the same "Yeah, Anny. And?" Anny grinned "And..." clutching them close "If any of those losers find us there, we'll be so far off they will give up in a heartbeat." An is excited "Where we goin, Anny?" Anny walks a few feet away before delivering her announcement. "My great grandpa's cabin in Alaska!" Pulling out the map from her bra “Ta-Da!” An and Double N were surprised "I didn't know your family owned a cabin in Alaska since when were you going to tell us this Anny?” Anny just smirked “Just now.” Ann was still unsure “Really? And to Alaska?” Anny continued “Yes.” After Anny announced their destination, the trio settled back down as Ann read a magazine that Anny brought, An was folding up her quilt and getting it back in her bag when she and the others felt their tummies rumbling as it had been a long time since they went on a train having skipped breakfast when they were working on the scam that she pulled out a baggie holding her three pieces of toast she made before they ran away all golden brown with lightly spread butter "Still warm from the toaster here Anny here Double N one for each of us." She declared happily as they sat together on the train and it continued to move, an hour had passed since they met the old Lady who left and Ann checked her watch and Anny's map calculating that they had 8 hours to go until they made it to the Big Apple in the meantime the smell of the warm toast with melted butter made their mouths water as they take the toast. Anny took a bite "Looks good An this from your homemade butter?" She asked taking she never knew butter toast tasted this good when you're really hungry An smiled proudly “I made it myself.” Ann took a bit of her toast "Oh this is very delectable An your skills in culinary class paid off." Taking another bite as Anny took a sip of water from her water bottle An did the same “Thanks.” Anny then lays out the map “We'll stay in New York for a few days as we make our way to the nearest state we can't stay in one place for long so we'll head to I think Ohio or West Virginia.?” Ann looks over the map her brain calculating their best option “Over there.” Her index pointing to West Virginia " By my research and calculations it will take us 152 hours by foot while it take us 181 hours to Ohio so our best chance ladies by the time we leave the Big Apple we'll head out and making way to the mountain state as our best possibility." An was amazed “Ooh that’s a lot of walkin! will it take a long time Double N?” she nodded “I’m afraid so An.” Taking another stretch Anny leans back into the hay in a relaxed position "Those chumps'll never catch us now! From here on out, it's nothing but smooth sailing! So for now it's relaxation for the next 8 hours girls " The Ans settled back down as the train whistled into the night. 

Meanwhile, back at the Cul-de-sac, the teens were slowly and exhaustively making their way back from searching all over Peach Creek for the Ans it was past midnight and they were very tired, worn out and grumpy especially Kevin who was still pissed over not finding the tramps though his body was screaming at him to rest, his stubbornness was refusing to stop Nazz was at her limit “How much longer?!” Her feet were burning from running around and her legs felt like jelly both her mind and body were extremely tired and wanted nothing but a long hot bath and cozy bed as Rolf and Johnny in his Captain Melonhead gear looked like they were thinking the same thing. Rubbing her tired eyes she noticed a black smudge on her palms “My makeup is running.”  a hand ran over her forest green eyes mascara smudging it worse  making her have darker circles on her already tired eyes " Indeed..huff.. Nazz-girl ..pant..for Rolf..pant..believes ..pant..he can't..pant.. go any..pant.. further! ..pant.." leaning forward to rest on his knees as Johnny and Plank flop to the ground too tired to move another inch "I can't go any further Plank I am so tired I think my legs fell asleep ." just then Karrie came by holding a bag of bottles “Water...” Johnny called out  noticing her brother and his friends return looking even more crappy so on another rare occasion of kindness came outside to bring them some bottled water each took one and gulped it down like it was the first drink they had in a very long time as Kevin took slow sips from his drink a still grumpy look on his face as his sis asked him how it went “Any luck?” Kevin took a big gulp before answering "Not a damn thing ." As he took off his cap pouring the rest of the water over his head to cool himself " But it's not over not this rage ain't stopping until I trash those three Bitches!?" He growled squeezing the bottle in his hand that's when Nazz realized after getting hydrated Kevin was not gonna rest and that's not good for your health, especially with the way Kevin's acting up right now. “Hey, shouldn't we rest somewhere…?” But Kevin wasn't paying attention since he was trying to figure out where the Ans could be as she called his name “Kevin.” No answer “Kevin babe.” Again he wasn’t paying making her frown slightly Rolf and Johnny noticed that Nazz’s patience was thinning as she called this time louder "Kevin!" Kevin broke out his thought stunned by Nazz’s yell “Huh?” Putting a hand on his shoulder she took a breath  "Listen it's been a long day we're tired and exhausted we're in no condition to keep going like this look at us." Extended her hands to show that they still looked like hell covered in dirt and grim with cuts and bruises "Right now we need to go home and recover I'm sure we'll find the Ans soon but right now let's just go get patched up and get some rest ok.?" Giving him her warmest smile that can convince anyone Kevin give a grown in frustration but also winced in slight pain as he felt the bruises adrenaline fading knowing that Nazz was probably right, he gave out a low “Fine” Nazz relaxed still smiling "Come on guys I have a first aid kit at my place." Gave Kevin a quick kiss on his lips and led them to her house her mom was out of town at the moment so they had the place all to themselves in the meantime she ordered them some takeout after going through a whole day of pain and searching for the Ans they were famished, as she got out the first aid kit and the boys settled in the living room getting her phone "ok who wants pizza?"

Sam and Julie were going through hell with the Kankers, as Mars yelled out a demand “Faster!”  Sam strains against bonds that tie his back. he and Julie have been forced to drag the Kanker's wheelbarrow along, acting like horses for the Kankers. Julie falters falling to the ground after the strong force of Mars's grip pulling along their waists tied tight to dog leashes to prevent them from escaping as Sam helps her up "You've gotta get up, Julie!" He'd been trying to figure out a way to escape these losers "I'm not gonna make it, Sam!" The long walking and heavy weight of the wheelbarrow were wearing her out but before Sam could say anything else he was grabbed roughly by his shirt facing Leo "Quit you’re squawkin and keep it movin'!" Barely seeing his cold dark blue eyes hidden from his bangs Sam groans “My arms are aching.” Leo rolled his eyes "Who cares twerp now move it!" turning Sam back giving his behind a kick with his boot to get going "Yeah, you heard him. We got girlfriends to save." Mars called out pulling out a croissant from the picnic basket the trio decided to take as a free meal eating most of the meals they packed containing their croissants, fruits, cheeses and crackers, salami slices and chocolate bonbons with bottled sparkling apple juice and soda that Julie worked so hard preparing with most of the food eaten and drinks half empty as Sam gasped out “Hey!” by the kick making Sam growl, but then gets an idea. He smiles to himself sinisterly before turning around, a more sincere smile on his face. getting the Kanker's attention Mars stopped at mid-chew “huh?” what’s the brat up to? it looked like he had a question as Leo looked at him questioningly “What?” Sam had to think of something as he noticed some of Leo's tattoos and piercings “Gee Leo. I love your tattoos.” Leo raised an eyebrow lifting his shirt as well as Mars and Maz revealing their muscle features of hard abs and strong bodies making Julie slightly blush a pale pink as the boys showed off their tattoos Leo had an anchor with chains around it, and Mars showed a mechanical theme by his arm and abs, and Maz revealing a dreamcatcher tattoo on his strong back. Sam carefully kept his cool “Uh..I want a tattoo too!” Leo smirked a bit so the brat wants a tattoo eh? "Isn't that adorable? The kid wants to be just like us! Aww." Chuckling as Maz agrees "Who doesn't?" But Mars gives a questioning stare while eating croissant "He's kinda homely, if you ask me." Leo ignores him unaware of Sam's plan "Nobody's asking, Mars!" he turns to Sam with a bottle of temporary tattoo ink. "Here, kid. Knock yourself out." Handing Sam the bottle as the teen got ready to strike Sam yelled out “Golly gee willikers, thanks, Leo! “Sam grabs the heavy bottle and with all his strength and speed proceeds to slam it down onto Leo's hand. as Leo lets yells in pain."YEEOOWWCHHH!!!" Sam brings the hard bottle up to Lee's chin. hard! causing it to burst and spray all over Leo's face making him lose his balance from the sudden shock of ink in his face as Leo went flying backward."SON OF A..gah..We got chiseled, guys!" he roared trying to wipe the ink of his face as Sam quickly released his and Julie's's chains free "Move it Julie!" as Mars went to grab them "I got em, Leo!" Maz joined in with his slingshot "Wait Mars–" as Mars dived at them with the brute force of a cougar ready to attack, however. This sudden force knocks them forward providing the wheelbarrow with momentum. Unfortunately, it also knocks Maz off balance so that he can't aim his slingshot. Maz tumbles off, " Oh crap!" and the wagon sails forwards towards Leo. As Sam gets Julie out of the way "Julie!" grabs Julie's legs and manages to pull her free. The wheelbarrow continues forward, Mars still on it, and hits Leo. They slam into a tree and stay there, tangled in limps from impact. Leo was now very pissed "Why, you damn little brats! Teach 'em a lesson, MaZ!" Maz who got out of the way in time acted on Leo's demand and began to chase them in circles. "You bet, Leo!" he yell trying to grab the brats as Julie panicked "Ow, ah!" as she and Sam desperately tried to avoid the blonde Kanker's grasps running as fast as they could Maz reached to grab them "Get back here ya little brats I gotcha! I gotcha! I gotcha. I gotcha!" before tripping over a root falling on his face giving the two a chance to escape into the trees "ahh damn it! how are we supposed to find our girlfriends now!?" Maz groaned rubbing his chin from the fall his poor tall An, picking himself up and running after them again when he heard Leo calling for him back “I miss An.”

Meanwhile, back at Nazz's place, the group was putting on the last of band-aids and wrappings after treating their injuries from the big scam thankfully nothing was serious just cuts, scraps and bruising which were treated with healing ointment, painkillers and some headache relief as Kevin had a big one taking a jug from his water Nazz gave him "Here Kevin it will help" she smiled sitting next to him and grabbing a slice of pepperoni pizza as the others were relaxing enjoying their slices the tv on as they relaxed letting the medicine help them heal after the very very tiring day they all had, suddenly Nazz’s phone ring revealing it to be her mom as she answers " Hey mom what's up?" She asked in her chipper tone hiding her slight pain "Hey sweetheart just wanted to let you know that this business trip is taking longer than I thought and I might have to stay over the weekend so you'll have the house all to yourself and I should be back by Monday evening is everything okay .?" Nazz had a feeling it was just best to lie as she didn't want her mom to worry about her besides this business trip was important for her mom's job " everything is okay Mom just chilling at home enjoy the business trip and I'll call you later tomorrow ." Thankfully her mother bought it as Mrs. Van Bartonschmeer continued “How about I take you and your little friends for ice cream when I get back?” Nazz shook her head her mom was always sweet as ever "Yeah that would be a nice thing Mom have a good night see you Monday." With that, she hangs up “Looks like I got the house to myself, you guys are free to stay the night." She declared as she snuggled up to Kevin and from the looks of it, Johnny yawned the four of them were far too tired to leave for their homes tonight as they all settled down with pillows and blankets continuing to watch some endless Netflix shows and movies after that by 2:30 a nature documentary started playing the group had fallen asleep with Nazz and Kevin on the couch snuggled up, Rolf sit up on the recliner, and Johnny holding Plank close to him on the love seat. Later that night Kevin has a nightmare about the Ans, in the dream he was chasing them full train rage “Can’t catch us! We have your girlfriend!” a call from An giggling “This is what you get shovel-chin !” before the sound crashing and thunder exploded as Kevin awakens in a cold sweat once he calm down he looked around realizing that everyone was still sleeping with Nazz curled up beside him as they laid on the couch “phew.” Looking at the clock he saw that it was 3:00 am and still felt the tiredness in his bones so carefully bringing Nazz closer he brought himself back into an uneasy sleep until he was passed out in a dreamless slumber.

Meanwhile, Sam and Julie had finally made it back to his house after escaping the Kanker's grasp an hour ago "Pant..pant...we..pant..made it..Julie..pant..!!" Julie nodded “Water.” She whispered Getting the hidden spare key under the fake rock next to their door and heading inside thankfully the driveway was still empty and his mom wasn't home yet “Phew.” Entering the house and locking making it to the living room Julie felt like jelly "Pant..did..pant..we..pant..lose..pant..them..pant..Sam..pant?" Tiredness in her voice as Sam turned to her “Yeah.” Relief was on her face "Oh thank goodness I don't think I can move another inch!" Plopping herself to the ground then Sam felt his phone vibrate as he got a call from his mom " Hello" "Oh Sam sorry to wake you sweetie" his mom thought he was sleeping " I just wanted to let you know my car broke down at your Aunt's and will be staying over tonight until the mechanic shows up in the morning or so, so I probably won't be home until tomorrow evening there's plenty of money for you and An for dinner I will see you soon ok love have a goodnight kisses." He felt relief at that moment as he said ok once he hung up he realized Julie had fallen asleep making him realize how truly tired he was he grabbed a blanket putting it on his best friend before the next thing he knew he fell asleep as well on the couch pillow on his head as the two drifted off to Dreamland.

In the meantime the Kankers were heading back to their trailer after searching for those two brats both were also tired and pissed off after searching and nothing especially Leo who is still wiping ink off of himself. "Damn those little brats!' he growled kicking the door open with his boot as he, Mars, and Maz made their way inside Maz still carrying the picnic basket they took from Sam and Julie. Maz wondered (where are they?) he wasn’t thinking of the brats he was still thinking about the Ans wondering where they were out there all alone "What we gonna now Leo?" He asked curiously what the oldest Kanker what to do now that the brats were gone and ran off before they could find answers to find the Ans while Mars plopped down on the couch as Leo went into the kitchen to grab the three of them a drink and to be honest he didn't know as he turns the tv on a movie was on as the opening credits to Into The Wild started as Maz sat down to join Mars as Leo decided to head upstairs to take a nice long shower and get rid of the rest of the ink off himself.  Entering the bathroom Leo couldn’t help but grumble about the ink still in his locks “This is ridiculous.” Turning on the water he stripped off his clothes until the shower was steaming with hot water entering as he letting out a groan as the hot water hit his tired body spreading over his muscular build and soaking his red curls in a dark shade of crimson grabbing a bar of soap he proceeded to scrub himself clean of ink sweat and dirt getting every inch of himself until his skin felt a bit raw smelling of cedarwood and earth as he thought about Anny from her long pink hair to her thicc peach hourglass figure and icy blue eyes that are cold yet sparkle with her wild and sassy attitude he couldn't help but grin slightly thinking of her always coolig his mood and hopes that her and her friends are alright hopefully they'll go look for them tomorrow no matter what they will keep them safe from the teens if they lay a finger on them..he couldn't help but grip his fists the sound of his knuckles cracking tight but then relax as he remind himself to cool off and think of his Anny as he turned off the water grabbing a towel wrapping it around his waist and headed back downstairs to get some boxers and jeans from the basket of clean clothes they brought in before they made the brats search for the Ans, Mars and Maz were still on the couch watching the movie Maz spoke up “they couldn't have gone far.”  Mars brushed his hair back giving Maz a sympathetic gaze they knew what he was feeling as Leo gave a nod in agreement “We’ll continue tomorrow guys we'll find and rescue our girls before we know it not before giving those losers hell from trying to hurt them I promise ya’ll that." He declared as he, Mars, and Maz clink their bottles together in agreement from hell or high water they'll find their girls wherever they are.

End of chapter 1 credits to the lovely and amazing https://www.tumblr.com/ataraxystar and https://www.tumblr.com/cooldelicatestudentpeanut for helping and being a part of this fanfic 

[moby-writing-and-stuff]

The Poke-Zoo: Haupix (NSFW)

The Poké-Zoo: Haupix

Kamon smiled as he walked through the main floor of the former gym, checking on every single plant and object, making sure that every plant was watered, every single chair was set up correctly, and that of the Pokémon had enough food. As he was doing this, however, his attention was drawn away from his task by a beeping from his wrist. Sighing, he lifted his sleeve, revealing a bright red watch-like device, with a rather large screen. Flashing on the screen, in bright red color were the words ‘Father’. Sighing, he pressed the big button beneath the screen, an image of a man wearing what seemed to be a black and magenta military uniform, and a short, buzz cut. Laying at the man’s feet was a large, cat-like Pokémon, which was purring loudly as the man ran his fingers through its fur.

“Hello son,” the man said, his voice deep and carrying an unspoken threat.

“Hello, father,” Kamon said, giving the man a smile, despite the threatening demeanor he was receiving.

“I need an update on the status of the project,” the man said, lifting his hand off the Pokémon “How is the cover working?”

“Good” the young operative reported “The last shipment of Pokémon that you sent arrived yesterday. Combined with the Pokémon from subject A, we ready to open the Zoo to the public”

“Perfect,” his father said, crossing his legs as he got comfy “What about the project itself?”

“Working as intended” Kamon said with a huge grin. “Subject A hasn’t broken the hypnosis at all. All traces of the trainer are completely gone, and all that remains is the obedient PokéBoy”

“Very good,” his father said, the tone of his voice rising slightly, which made a small smile form on the redhead's lips. He knew his father was not a man to show a lot of emotion, but he had learned a long time ago to see small inflections like that representing his happiness or his anger. The man in the meantime pressed a few buttons on his chair’s armrest “The reports from both from you and other operatives, prove that the zoo is working. I sent you an updated list of people of attention”

“Yes sir,” Kamon said, nodding “I hope they're just male though, sir. The process doesn't seem to work on women for some reason. The scientists haven’t been able to figure it out”

“I see,” the man said, crossing his arms “Luckily, that shouldn’t affect this list since all of them are male. Now, I want you to open the zoo as soon as possible. We’re in need of more funding, and the grand opening will boost our income quite considerably.”

“Yes sir,” the redhead said, giving the man a quick salute. The signal cut off without another word, leaving the boy staring at a blank screen. Kamon sighed, running his hands through his scarlet locks. “Sweet Arceus… That was an awkward conversation…” he shook his head and turned around, walking down the dirt path, smirking as he saw many Pokémon dashing from tree to tree, including a small yellow rodent that made the smirk turns into a full-on smile as he exited the artificial jungle and walked to the large wall at the back. The boy walked to a blank looking wall, and felt around it, stopping when he felt the wall dip slightly. He brought hands and pushed the area, the stone dipping into the wall. As soon as he did so, a large chunk of the wall suddenly dipped down to the floor, revealing a metal staircase, with a bright red R stamped on the walls. “Alright then, let’s go take a look at this list…” he muttered, walking down the metallic stairs. The further he went down, the natural light of the zoo disappeared, replaced by the cold, surgical light of the secret facility. Soon, he reached the bottom of the stairs, walking into an enormous round room, with glass cases, all of them the size of a rather large bedroom, lining the walls of the chamber.

He walked in front of the cases to his left, though almost all of them were completely bare. But that wasn’t the case for all of them, as he soon reached the final case of the line, one that was set right next to a very large console. He smiled and looked inside of a room.

The small enclosed space was completely green. Fake grass, leaves, and moss-covered the floor, with a couple of fake trees hanging near the back and a rather large one right in the center, with its branches completely covered in leaves

“Pasi!” came a squeal from inside the enclosure. Suddenly, the leaves of the center tree began shaking violently, and suddenly someone popped out from it, hanging upside down from a branch. It was Kamon’s last subject. The boy was formerly known as Ash Ketchum. The PokéBoy’s face was split by a huge smile as he saw Kamon walk close, and he jumped off the tree, landing on his bare feet without issue, before dashing over to the glass, giving his master a look of complete adoration.

“Hello, Pasimian,” Kamon said, looking at the PokéBoy’s eyes “Happy to see me?”

“Simian!” the PokéBoy exclaimed, nodding rapidly. Kamon chuckled as his eyes traveled downwards, seeing the snow-white rod sticking out and twitching from between the PokéBoy’s legs

“Hehe, I can see that” Kamon giggled. Pasiamian smiled and rubbed his crotch against the glass. The smile on the redhead's face grew even bigger as he cooed at the boy “Oh, alright. I’ll let you out” he reached the wall over to the left, pressing a large blue button. The glass separating Kamon and Passimian began to lower, clearing the way. The PokéBoy didn’t wait for a second, he jumped out and began nuzzling Kamon’s legs. “Hehe, I love you too boy,” he said, reaching down and rubbing Pasimian’s twitching erection, making the rubber-coated boy moan loudly, his eyes rolling into the back of his head as pleasure ran through his body. “Who’s a good boy?”

“P-Pasi!” Pasimian chirped through the arousal, giving his master a toothy smile.

“That's right! You are!” Kamon exclaimed, taking his hand off the twitching erection and running it through the white hair of the PokéBoy. Pasimian smiled and leaned into the hand, a dopey smile on his face. “Now, we can't play for too long, Pasimian”

“Simi?” the PokéBoy asked, pouting slightly in disappointment

“I know” Kamon cooed, running his hands over the PokéBoy’s rubbery body, making him moan loudly “But I have to work today, but if it all works out, you’ll have a new friend to play with!”

“Pasi!” the rubber-coated boy cheered, before his eyes locked onto Kamon’s crotch. Giggling, the redhead boy patted his pet’s head

“Not right now, Passimian,” he said. He led the boy back to his room and closed the glass by tapping on the red button “Hmm, maybe I should get you some toys to play with while you're alone” he muttered as he walked away, the PokéBoy turning around and climbing the tree. Kamon smiled as began typing on the console, the monitor lighting up and showing that he had just received files. He opened it and whistled at the size “Damn… Looks like we’re going preemptive this time around…” he typed away as more and more files were transferred. After around a minute, he had the complete list of his persons of interest. “Alright, let’s see who we’ve got… Gary, Ritchie, Paul… Quite a good few boys in here” he muttered as he opened up another window, showing his inventory of suits. All of the vats, except for the one currently being worn by his pet, were flashing green “Well, looks like this might be a big job” he smiled as he minimized the window and turned around, heading back to the zoo proper. “I’ll see you tonight, Passimian!” he called as he left. The PokéBoy wasn’t really paying attention, as he was sucking on his toes as he jerked off. The lights outside the small enclosure turned off, leaving the small glass box to be the only source of light. Kamon smiled as the large stone wall covered the entrance back up, and he looked over the whole area.

“Welp,” he said, beginning to walk through the plants “Guess it's time for the grand opening”

/=======Two Days Later======\

“Wow!” the green-haired boy exclaimed as he leaned window of the train, a huge smile on his face as he saw the trees fly past his face, and a few bird Pokémon he had never seen fly past.

“Excuse me sir,” one of the crew members said behind him, “But you're not allowed to that”

“Oh right,” the boy said, smiling as he pulled back and looked at the man “Sorry, I got a bit over-excited”

“Oh? Have you ever been to Veridian?”

“Nope,” the boy said, shaking his head. This was Hau’s first time ever outside of Alola, actually. His grandfather recommend Kanto since it was the closest and cheapest to reach by boat. After Hau beat the island challenge, he tried to convince his grandad to let him become the new Kahuna. However, he told him that he wasn’t ready to do it and that he hadn’t seen enough of the world to truly achieve the position. He suggested he go and compete in a Pokémon league of another region and see more of the world.

The dark-skinned boy was more than happy to accept and he hopped on the first boat to Kanto, landing in a port city called Vermillion, where he battled his first gym. After that, he had hopped onto the train and sped down here, ready to battle for his new badge.

“I’m from Alola” he explained to the man “I came here to compete in the season’s Indigo league”

“I see,” the employee said with a smile “So, have you beaten any gyms yet?”

“Yep,” Hau said as he rested his hands on the back of his head “Just beat that Surge guy back in Vermillion”

“Nice, Surge can be kinda tough for first-timers to the gym circuits”

“Yeah, that garbage can puzzle was a pain” the green-haired boy muttered, shaking his head “But now, I’m ready to deal with the next gym in Viridian!”

“Oh, you don’t know?” the employee asked

“Know what?” the dark-skinned boy asked, looking up at the man in confusion

“There isn’t a gym in Viridian City anymore” the man admitted

“W-What? Why not!?” Hau asked

“The gym leader turned out to be a crime boss and they never managed to get someone else to become the leader, so they decided to sell the building and be done with it”

“Aw man, that sucks!” Hau groaned, throwing himself against the chair “I got on the train for nothing then!”

“Not necessarily,” the man told him with a smile “Viridian is really close to Pewter, so you can head over there to continue the gym. Plus there’s the zoo”

“Zoo?” Hau asked, perking up a bit “What zoo?”

“Well, they decided that tearing the old gym down was too expensive, so they sold it to a guy who turned it into a Pokémon zoo. They were having a grand opening for these past few days, actually” the man pulled out a small paper from his coat “Here, they gave us a bunch of these to hand out”

“Oh, thanks,” Hau said as he took the paper and quickly skimmed over it. “Grand opening…” he read “All are welcome…. Trainers enter free… Wow, that’s really nice of them!”

“It is” the employee said with a nod “Since its the first-ever zoo opened here in Kanto, they really want to make sure that they get a lot of good business” before either of them could say another word, the train’s wheel’s screeched as a deep voice rang through the train’s PA

“Attention passengers,” the conductor said “We have arrived at the Viridian City station. Please keep the halls clear so that people may leave without issues”

“Oh! Guess I’m getting off” Hau said with a big smile on his face as he hopped onto his feet and gave the man a quick smile as he ran out of the cabin “Thanks for the info, man!”

“No problem,” the man said, waving him goodbye. As soon as the boy had left his sight, the man stepped into the cabin and shut the door behind him. He pulled out a small walkie talkie and held it up to his face. “Target has arrived in Viridian. Bait has been planted, waiting for a response, over”

“Understood, Gatekeeper” the young voice of Kamon rang through the speaker “Awaiting contact. Maintain your post. You will be informed when a new target is on approach”

“Understood,” the man said, pocketing the Walkie Talkie and walking outside the cabin, smirking as he saw Hau running down the street from the window.

/=============\

Hau’s face was split into two by an enormous smile as he walked in between the large buildings of Viridian City.

“Woah” he muttered as he weaved from one to the other, crossing the streets and every once in awhile bumping into people. But after walking around for a while, he came to a stop in a big stone plaza with a big fountain in the center. He took a seat on the rim of the thing and looked around, seeing a rather large building close by, where a group of people was walking away, a couple of kids holding balloons

“That was a ton of fun, mom!” one of the kids said, skipping next to his mother “Can we go back to the zoo tomorrow?”

“I don’t think we can tomorrow, Joey,” the woman said with a smile, “We do have to go shopping tomorrow. And I’m gonna get you a new pair of shorts”

“Yay!” the boy squealed as the pair walked away, making Hau giggle a little

“No matter what region you go to, there’s a kid obsessed with shorts” he muttered as he looked at the building where the two had come from. It was a tall, brick building with a large white staircase in front of it. The Alolan boy pulled out the flyer he had been given and skimmed over it, seeing a picture of that very building printed on it. “Guess that’s the zoo…” he muttered as he looked at it before a big smile broke on his face “Welp, I did come over, might as well see it!” he hopped to his feet and jogged over to it. As he approached, he saw small groups of people moving back and heading away from the building, chartering and smiling between them, a lot of kids happily skipping with their parents, big balloons in tow. “Man, this place must be doing really well,” he said as he approached the stairs. As he reached the top, he saw a boy around his age standing there, with a mop of bright red hair and a pair of overalls, which were completely caked in mud

“Thank you for coming!” he called to the people leaving, waving happily “Come again! I hope you enjoyed your time here!”

“Wow, you're running the place?” Hau asked as he approached the boy

“Pretty much,” the redhead said with a smile, “I’m Kamon, nice to meet you”

“I’m Hau,” the alolan said, “Nice to meet you too.”

“Anyways, yeah. My dad technically owns the place, but he’s away so often, I’m pretty much the owner of the place”

“Wow, that’s a lot of work for you alone…” Hau muttered as he walked to the door

“It can be a bit much sometimes, yeah” Kamon admitted “But most days, I really enjoy it. So I really don’t mind too much” he looked at Hau “Hey, are you a trainer?”

“Yeah” Hau said with a nod “I though the gym here was still open”

“Hehehe, you're the second one I’ve gotten recently” Kamon admitted as he went inside “Come on, trainers get in free, after all”

“Oh right! I forgot!” Hau exclaimed as he walked inside. His eyes went wide as he saw the place. Trees completely covered the area, with hundreds of Pokémon moving from one tree to the other. He even heard the telltale sound of splashing water he was extremely familiar with.

“Impressive, right?” Kamon asked, a proud smile on his face

“Yeah” the dark-skinned boy muttered, his mouth hanging open “This place used to be a gym?”

“Yeah,” Kamon said as he led the green-haired boy through the wooded area. Pikachu, Toucannons and hundreds of other Pokémon that Hau didn’t recognize skirted around above them. As they walked Kamon walked to a rock and tapped the top of it, with the side cracking open with a hiss

“Woah! That’s awesome!” Hau exclaimed as he saw the other boy pull out a big bag of what seemed to be food

“Yeah,” the young zoo-keeper said as he tipped the bag on the ground, releasing a pile of poke-kibble onto the floor “Dad wanted the place to look as realistic as possible, so almost everything in here is disguised as either a rock or a plant or something like that”

“That’s so awesome!” Hau said, turning around and walking a little ways from the other boy, into a small thicket. As he approached, he heard the ruffling as a small yellow Pokémon poked its head out. “Aww, hey there little guy” he cooed as he petted the Pikachu’s head. The Pokémon chirped and leaned into the hand, enjoying the sensation of a human’s hand running through its fur. “This guy is really nice. Most wild Pokémon are skittish around humans”

“Yeah, he’s a bit special,” Kamon said as he poured food right next to Hau “the first visitor to the zoo wasn’t able to take care of him anymore, so he left him here to live happily”

“I see” Hau muttered as the Pikachu jumped to the food and began chowing down happily.

“Hey, could you do me a favor?” Kamon asked. The alolan boy happily nodded “Thanks, man. Could you go leave this bag over on the disposal area?” he handed the empty burlap sack to Hau, who stood back up and looked around

“Where is that?”

“Oh right, sorry,” Kamon said with a blush. He pointed at one of the trees on the other side “That tree there isn’t real. The lowest branch is a lever that opens up the chute for garbage.”

“Ah, got it,” the green-haired boy said with a smile. He walked over to the tree and tightly wrapped his hand around the branch. He pulled on it, hard. The branch moved downwards with a loud click.

Hau looked down, expecting a hole to open up on the ground, but instead, something else happened. He didn’t see as two nozzles popped out of the tree and sprayed a shiny dust into his face

“GAH!” he exclaimed, as he stumbled on his feet as the dust flew into his mouth and nose. As it entered, a strange sense of drowsiness began to flow over him. “S-Sleep…. P-Powder….” he muttred as he fell back on his but.

“Yep,” Kamon said as he walked closer. Looking at the boy, Hau’s eyes went wide as he saw that his mouth was covered with a facemask. The redhead didn't say anything as he pulled the branch back into position “Sleep Powder works great for making people fall asleep”

“W-Why are you….” the Alolan boy muttered as his eyebrows became heavier and heavier. It was starting to become a challenge to keep them that way.

“Shh, that doesn't matter right now, Hau” Kamon whispered, “Right now, sleep.” Hau wasn’t able to say another word, as his eyebrows slammed shut and he fell backward onto the grass, falling into a deep, dreamless sleep instantly.

/=============\

“GAH!” Hau gasped as he sat up, his eyes going around wildly as he panted. He wasn’t in the zoo anymore, instead, he was in what seemed to be a completely metal room, with the walls a deep shade of purple, nearly pitch black. The only break in that was that to his left was a large, scarlet-colored R.

“Oh good, you're awake!” a familiar voice said. Looking ahead, Hau frowned as he saw Kamon walking closer to him, but he was wearing something completely different. Gone where the overalls and boots, instead the boy was almost completely naked, wearing nothing more than a shiny black speedo with a red R, like the one on the wall, plastered right on top of the boy’s crotch. Despite his anger at the situation, Hau’s cheeks lit up scarlet as the boy approached him.

“W-Where are your clothes?” Hau asked, trying his hardest to not stare at the only bit of clothing his captor was wearing

“Really?” Kamon asked with a nasty chuckle “You wake up in a metal room tied to the wall after you get drugged and your first question is why I’m wearing a speedo?”

“Hey!” Hau shouted, jumping to his feet and charing to the boy “Shut u- GAAAH!” he cried as he tumbled back onto the floor, coughing violently as he felt something stop him by the throat. He spat a little as he got to his knees and looked to the wall, seeing a thin, black cable winding from it and towards him. Reaching up, he felt a thing metal clamp wrapped around his neck and tethering him to the wall.

“I did say you were tied to the wall, Hau,” Kamon said with a smile as he walked around the boy “Guess you aren’t the best listener, now are you?”

“W-Why are you doing this?” Hau shouted, tugging at his leash as the boy walked closer to him “I-I haven’t done anything!”

“Oh, I know,” Kamon said, giving Hau a smile that sent shivers down the alolan boy’s spine “Thing is, this has more to do with who you are, rather than what you’ve done”

“W-What are you talking bout?” Hau stammered, looking at the boy standing over him

“You're the grandchild of the Kahuna of Melemele Island” the redhead explained “And my father’s agents in Alola have confirmed that he’s grooming you to become his replacement.” he turned around and smiled at Hau “So, he determined that you were too much of a threat, as all the effort of planting agents and spies around Hala would have gone right out the window, the moment you took charge. So, he decided it would be faster to just get rid of you and keep whispering into your grandpa’s ear”

“S-Spies? Agents?” Hau gaped, his eyes going wide at the implications of what the other boy was telling him “A-Are you going to kill me?”

“Kill you?” Kamon repeated, a look of disgust coming over his face “Of course not! My father is a lot of things, but he doesn't assassinate people!”

“W-Who is he?” Hau stammered out, his eyes going around wildly as he tried to see a way to escape his bonds

“You really don't know?” Kamon asked, shaking his head, “You really didn’t do a lot of reading about Kanto before you came over, did you? My father is the leader of Team Rocket” Kamon smirked as he pointed at the giant R on the wall

“T-Team Rocket?”

“Yes. And before you compare them, they are nothing like that gang of losers that like to bum around Alola” Kamon said with a glare “Team Skull is a bunch of morons with no future. Team Rocket, on the other hand, is an actual organization preparing to go international. We have a tight grip over Kanto, and we’re making good progress into Johto. Sure, there were a few…. Setbacks in Unova recently, but that doesn't matter” he crouched down, looking at Hau right in the eyes “And your grandpa is unknowingly the perfect pawn for us to get into Alola. And with you out of the way, we can convince him to have a new, more agreeable protege to make Kahuna”

“Y-You-” Hau tried to say as tears began to form in his eyes “You won’t get away with this! M-My grandpa will come looking for me!”

“Oh, he won’t,” Kamon said, patting the boy’s head before standing up and walking a little further back “You see, we managed to get a sample of your handwriting from your bag. It shouldn’t take too long for a few of our people to master your writing style, and then we just need to send a few letters explaining how you decided to stay in Kanto, working at a gym. He’ll never suspect a thing, just thinking you grew up and went your own way.”

“N-No…” Hau whispered as what his captor said sunk in. It was a perfect plot, as long as they managed to keep him from escaping his grandpa would never know it wasn't him sending letters. Tears began to flow out of his eyes as reality sank in

“Oh, don’t cry,” Kamon said as he walked back, a bucket in one hand, while the other was clad in a weird-looking, skin-tight glove

“Why shouldn't I!?” the boy cried, his eyes red from tears “I can’t go back home, you took all of my Pokémon, and you're going to do Solgaleo know what to me!”

“Well, I’m gonna make sure that you're not sad anymore,” his captor said with a smile as he reached over to the wall. Looking over, Hau’s eyes went wide as he saw what seemed to be a control panel of some kind. “I think you should get back on your feet for this one”

Before Hau could respond, his captor slammed his hand on the biggest button. Hau gasped as he felt the cable attached to his collar begin to quickly recede back into the wall, and tugging roughly at the collar as it went

“GAGH!” he choked as he dashed back to the wall, trying to make sure the collar didn’t choke him too much. He ended up flat against the wall, the collar not letting him move an inch from that position

“There we go! That’s perfect!” Kamon said with a nasty smile as he set the bucket down and slipped on another latex glove. “Now, let’s see if these things work…”

“S-See if what works?” Hau coughed, as he looked at his captor reach into the bucket. Kamon smirked as he pulled something out, a rather disgusting squelching sound ringing through the whole room as he did so

SPLLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACH

As his hand left the bucket, Hau could see what it was. It was a ball, around the size of a malasada, and colored a weird, pale red. The thing was dripping rubber as Kamon lifted it up and smiled at Hau

“Batter up!” he exclaimed, before throwing the ball at Hau.

“AAAH!” the boy screamed as he felt the thing splat right onto his arm. He shuddered as the goo wrapped itself around his arm, and seemed to bond with his flesh, sending waves of strange sensations through his body. They coursed through his whole body and went right to his crotch, forming a small tent in his bright yellow short “Gyah!” he gasped, looking over to were the goo hit him. It was completely solid and shiny, which seems to be a piece of larger latex suit. It was the same soft shade of red as the ball. Before he could react, another glob smacked into him, this time, in the chest. “Gyah!” he moaned loudly as he felt more sparks of arousal flowing through. He glanced down, his eyes widening as he saw the thing eating away at his T-Shirt. It completely dissolved the black cloth, leaving only the latex clinging to his skin

“Wow, these things do eat through clothing” Kamon exclaimed with a nasty smirk as he looked at the bucked, before reaching in with both hands “Let’s speed this up a bit, shall we Hau?”

“Guaah” the bound boy moaned, unable to make a coherent response. Kamon simply shrugged and kept on throwing globs at him. The Alolan boy’s eyes rolled into the back of his head. He had never, in his entire life, felt this much arousal and pleasure. As more and more globs hit his body, dissolving his clothes and sending more and more heat to his twitching member, he began to pant.

As more latex stuck to his body, his clothes were slowly completely destroyed. After a few minutes, his black t-shirt was completely gone, replaced by a shiny, light red coat of latex with his chest and stomach being covered by a light cream shade, which began to creep downwards towards his pants, which were tensing under the strain of his ever hardening dick, which twitched more and more as heat coursed down to it, the latex making the pleasure centers of his body go into overload. The tent on what remained of his pants was extremely strained, especially as more of the bright yellow cloth around it was eaten away by the shiny rubber, which hugged his legs perfectly. Soon, the only piece of cloth left was the small patch of yellow that was holding back his penis.

“Wow, you’re really pent up, aren’t you?” Kamon asked, a nasty smirk on his face as he looked at the collared boy.

“Gah… gah…” Hau panted, shivering as more pleasure coursed through his body.

“Yeah, I can tell” Kamon giggled, pointing at the huge tent on the small patch of clothes that remained on the boy. Hau’s face went even more red, shame flooding through his whole body “Don’t worry. I’ll fix it” the redhead boy said with a nasty smile as he lifted another glob of latex. The bound alolan’s eyes went wide as his captor threw the latex

SPLAT!

“GYAAAAAAAH!” Hau both screamed and moaned as the latex dissolved the cloth. His erect member bounced out, twitching and with a small bit of liquid already beginning to form on the head. The rubber didn’t stop there though, as it began to quickly wrap itself around the twitching rod, gently squeezing and massaging it as the goo began to stick to his skin. “G-Gyah!” he panted as he looked down at his cock. It was still twitching and dripping, only it was now the coloration of his torso. The top of his shaft was pale red, and the bottom area, along with his now latex coated balls, where the light cream color of his chest. He groaned as he felt the rubber move to his ass as well, entering it and completely coating his hole.

“There we go!” Kamon chirped, dropping the now-empty bucket and slapping the button on the wall again.

“Gah...Gah... Gyah!” the Alolan boy exclaimed as the wire of the collar loosened instantly, making him collapse to the ground like a crumpled piece of paper, his latex coated ass sticking upwards, exposing his twitching latexy hole to his captor.

“And now, for the final touches,” Kamon said with a big smile on his face as he looked at the panting alolan boy. Like his last victim, the suit didn’t cover the whole of Hau’s body. His arms were uncovered from his elbows and below, the same with his legs, the latex stopping right before the knees, and leaving the boy’s tanned skin and feet exposed to the world.

“F-Final… gah… touches?” Hau managed to pant out. Kamon didn’t answer, instead simply smirking as he walked to the same spot where he got the bucket and pulled out more things.

“Of course,” he said as he walked back to Hau, who was still too overwhelmed by the arousal and pleasure that was coursing through him to try and move. Kamon smiled and held up what he had grabbed. A silvery spray can, and a huge, puffy latex Vulpix tails. Six bright orange curled up shiny tails with a huge dildo sticking out at the base of it. His captor didn’t say another word, instead of crouching right next to Hau’s butt. Without another word, he shoved the tail-plug into the other boy’s exposed hole

“Gaaaaah!” the boy moaned loudly as the dildo slid inside of his latex coated hole. The phallic object sent even more waves of arousal and pleasure through his entire body as it slowly moved downwards. It stopped right before his prostate, the very tip a few centimeters from touching it. “Gah gah gah gah gah gah gah gah” the boy panted, his tongue hanging out. Kamon didn’t stop for a second, quickly getting back to his feet and walking to the head of the boy. He pointed the can at the boy and pressed the button on top of the can. A spray of bright orange mist flew out from it, as Kamon waved it over Hau’s hair. Whatever was in the can, it completely recolored his hair in a few seconds. His locks went from the dark green to bright orange, the same shade as his new tail.

“There we go!” Kamon exclaimed with a huge smile as he stepped back and took off his latex gloves. “You look a lot better like this!”

“U-Up yours!” the boy panted, glaring at his captor.

“Oh dear,” Kamon said, in sickly sweet tone “Looks like you need a little attitude adjustment” he walked back to the panel on the wall and pressed a few buttons. Hau gasped as he felt the collar around his neck heat up slightly and, despite the fact he couldn’t see it, a bunch of lights turned on it.

“W-What are you doing?” Hau stammered, stumbling to his feet, moaning as he did so

“Oh, nothing,” Kamon said with a smirk “Just making sure that you're a good little Vulpix” with a huge smile on his face, he smacked a button on the control panel. The lights on the collar turned bright red as a strong vibration went through all of Hau’s body. His eyes went wide as the vibrations and a few shocks went through him.

“Perfect” Kamon said as he looked at the panel. On the small screen on it, a small visual of Hau’s brain, along with a bunch of files “Perfect. Let’s get started on reprogramming!” he pressed another button, and an even stronger shock went through Hau’s body. His pupils dilated as his body became rigid. He stood straight as an arrow, lights now shining on both the collar and the cable connecting him to the wall. “Alright. Open folder”

“Folder open,” the latex bound boy said in a dead monotone “One file located. Hau.EXE”

“Good,” Kamon said, tapping a few buttons on the console. The lights changed to bright green as new info was uploaded into Hau’s brain

“New file detected. Vulpix.EXE.”

“Overwrite all of Hau.EXE with Vulpix.EXE” Kamon ordered. There wasn’t a visual response from Hau, but the flashes and beeps from the console in front of him made the young Rocket member smile.

“Understood” the boy droned “Names has been overwritten, Hau has been replaced with Vulpix. Movement has been overwritten, movement is now dependent on four legs. Memory has been deleted. Species has been overwritten, human has been replaced with PokéBoy. Obedience has been added. New master has been accepted, Kamon is now master. Master is to be obeyed. Sexuality has been overwritten, bisexuality has been replaced with gay. Love has been overwritten, family, Pokémon and malasadas have been replaced with cock, cum, master, and PokéBoys. Emotions have been overwritten. All emotions except happiness, neediness, and arousal have been deleted. Language has been overwritten, English has been replaced with- pix. Vul Vulpix pix vul” he stopped speaking understandable language halfway through his sentence, any trace of speaking the English language being wiped from his brain.

“There we go” Kamon said with a big smile. A bright green 100% flashed on the screen on the console. He tapped a few more and the collar snapped in half and fell to the metal floor with a loud clunk.

The newly made PokéBoy blinked rapidly as consciousness returned to him. He fell down to the ground, getting on all fours and smiling. His eyes locked onto the figure in front of him and a huge grin formed “Vul! Pix pix!” he exclaimed, dashing over to his master.

“Hehehe, good boy, Vulpix!” Kamon cooed as he ran his hands through the PokéBoy’s orange hair “You want to play?”

“Vulpix!” the PokéBoy yipped happily, quickly turning around and presenting his ass to his master.

“I’ll take that as a yes!” Kamon said with a giggled. He grabbed the large tail from Vulpix’s ass and pulled it out.

“Pix!” the PokéBoy moaned, a big dumb smile on his face as the dildo of its tail was pulled free of his butt. His master didn’t waste a second, throwing off his speedo and slipping his cock into the rubbery hole

“Gah! Oh yeah!” Kamon moaned as he thrust into the PokéBoy “This is amazing!”

“Vuuuuuuul!” Vulpix moaned loudly as he felt his master slap against his rubbery ass. This was everything the PokéBoy could ever want.

“Hell yes!” Kamon screamed as he kept thrusting “Man, if all of the targets on the list are like this, I’m gonna really like this job!” he buckled and came, filling the other PokéBoy’s but with cum. He smiled and pulled his dick out, still dripping with semen and patted Vulpix on the head “Well, let’s get ya to your room, Vulpix. I think I’m gonna have a lot of fun with you” he smiled as he saw the white liquid spilling out of the PokéBoy’s asshole “Hehe, guess I’ll have to mop up after I lock you up”

==================

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[calyxaomphalos]

The Ghosts of Windy Ridge

Turn #103, four components

location #14 - Spring Lake (1) neighbor #13 - Dani (3) item #3 - is handmade event #3 - unsettling news or gossip

Turn #104 is completely empty.

26 April 2022, Tuesday Evening

I'm not sure which way Zeb turned when he got to where Thompson Gap Road made a tee intersection with Main Street, but I turned right, back toward town and my rental cabin. Between Tina's weirdness in her basement with the rumors of Inge being a Russian spy and the strange urge to drive out to Foras' Lair only to find a triumphant Zeb with a mystery box of great value, it had been a weird day.

Thankfully I had a few easy to grab meals, so while I ate a veggie wrap, I thought about the turns of the day. The last time I'd seen Inge was when I found her at Tina's house last Sunday morning and she seemed to have forgiven me for whatever propaganda Pastor Mitchelson had lead her to believe almost two weeks previous. The first time I'd met Inge, though, was out at Spring Lake. She was using boulders as weight lifting equipment, moving and stacking them in some unfathomable pattern.

I decided I'd take my after dinner walk out around Spring Lake. Maybe I'd run into Inge there again. Maybe I could think of some clever question to ask her which would tip her hand, if she really is a Russian spy.

Spring Lake is a short drive from the cabin. It's on the other side of the highway, so to get there before sundown I definitely need to drive. I put together a small bag with a water bottle and a tarot deck, then got in the car. I could go either through some thrashed back roads, past Tina's house and around, or I could go the longer way, on nicer roads, past a few other landmarks.

I took the longer route which went past both Timmy's Diner and the Yellow Cross shrine. The diner seemed normally busy for a Tuesday night. The shrine was empty and I'm not sure whether there was even still a candle burning there.

Either route would have taken me through the crossroads, so I was ready with a handful of three pennies. Coming the long way had me turning left at the crossroads. As I passed the apex of the corner, I put my left hand out the window and dropped the pennies, saying a small prayer to the guardian of the crossroads to open the path before me, to help me talk to Mo again soon, to find the answers I need.

Parking at the spring was easy. One other car here and I've no idea whose it might be. I grabbed my bag and locked the car, then started out around the little lake in the easy direction, based on the two other times I'd been here. I hadn't gone more than maybe twenty yards when I saw a dark black person-shaped lump near the shore.

"Hello!" I called out, hoping I wasn't startling this person too much. I know I'd given Suzy quite the scare when I was here last.

Dani stood up and turned to me. "Yo, Serren. What up?"

"Dani, great to see you! Um, I have your cross. Not on me, of course, it's back at the cabin where I'm staying," I said. I wasn't sure how much I should just blurt out about my rather brazen Saturday morning break-in at the Church.

"Yeah. Great," Dani said in a very sullen tone.

"Is everything OK? I was hoping you'd be happy to hear I have your cross!"

"How happy should I be when you've made **this**?!" Dani nearly screamed at me. They had their left hand outstretched, holding a crude hand-made doll wearing all black.

"Okay. I'm sure when I say that this is not of my doing you will not believe me, at least not at first. I do have your cross. I took it from the pastor's office early Saturday morning. Just tell me how you want me to get it back to you and I will follow through." I kept my tone of voice as even as possible. I had no idea who may have made the effigy, but it was clearly supposed to be Dani.

26 April 2022, Tuesday Night

...

[clacefe]

Tower of strength

Part Two

James "Bucky" Barnes x reader

Summary: Reader comforts Bucky after a mission went wrong.

Warnings: Angst, angst, and some more angst. This is just an angst fest.

The light flooding in from the space under your door was enough to wake you up. Then there were the footsteps, which sealed the deal; you wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep for a while. 

Being a light sleeper was both a blessing and a curse.

You slowly rubbed the sleep out of your eyes and threw the duvet off of you. If you weren’t going to sleep, you might as well find out why someone was out and about at –you looked at your phone– 3 in the morning.

You opened the door of the guest room in the Avengers tower as quietly as possible; you didn’t want to wake anyone else. The team needed their rest after a particularly tricky mission that you –fortunately– weren’t chosen to participate in. 

The reason that you were in the tower in the first place was that you wanted to support those that needed help; be it physical or mental. That was kind of your place in the team.

You saw someone sitting at the dining table, his silhouette bathed in yellow light from the lamp at his left; the only lamp that was lit.

You knew that it was Bucky from the light that reflected back into your eyes from his metal arm. You tried to approach him as silently as possible in order to not startle him but knew that it was useless. His keen hearing would’ve picked up your movement as soon as you left your bed.

“Go back to bed, y/n.”

His voice was raw, it sounded like he’d been crying prior to speaking. You ignored him and pulled out the chair next to him and sat on it.

You noticed the glass filled with amber liquid in front of Bucky and slid it away from him.

“Hey, I was drinking that!” he protested 

“That is not going to solve your problems, Buck.” In a softer voice, you continued, “But maybe I can.”

He looked at you for the first time that evening. His blue eyes were rimmed red and glossy with tears. The usual spark in his eyes had been extinguished. He looked like he was at his breaking point, to be honest.

“Oh, Buck,” you whispered and drew him into a hug.

The man grasped at you as if you were his lifeline. And maybe, in some ways, you were. 

Deep, slow sobs came from deep within him, and you pulled him even closer than before.

“Shhhh,” you shushed him while stroking his shoulder-length locks. He withdrew from the hug and looked at you as if you were his tower of strength.

“Now,” you said in a quiet voice, “what happened?”

He started picking at his nails. “I- I don’t know. One moment I was running along with Steve, and–” he started hiccuping again, refusing to look you in the eye.

“And what, Buck? What happened?” you said while lifting his chin with your finger, forcing him to look you in the eye.

“And the next I’m covered in blood.” He shook his head fervently, “I completely blacked out, y/n! I’m a danger to everyone here. I don’t even understand why they send me on missions with them while I could very easily just murder them out of the blue and not know anything about it until days later!”

You stared at the man, who was taking deep breaths in order to keep calm. It was no secret that Bucky still had issues with the Winter Soldier. They had him out of Hydra’s clutches physically, yes. But mentally? Their grip just seemed to be even tighter than when they rescued him.

“Move in with me,” you blurted out. 

“What?” he looked at you, the frown between his eyebrows deepening.

“I mean… Temporarily, but… I don’t want you to be alone right now… So move in with me, get away from all of the missions, the tower in general. I’ll be your company while you go through this, and maybe we’ll even find a solution for you.”

And just like that, the spark in his eyes returned.