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You Bring Me Home—Chapter Eleven: Water Under the Bridge (Finale)

a/n: welcome back my loves <3 It’s so weird to think that this is the final chapter of YBMH and I’m definitely having a lot of feelings about it (denial, mostly). I want to say a huge thank you from the very bottom of my heart for sticking with this story and these characters that I love so much. I’ve had the most fun over the past few months talking to some of you and hearing your thoughts; I cherish it more than you’ll ever know. With all of that said, I’m going to miss this era so so much but I would still love to hear from you lovelies, so please feel free to drop by my inbox and let me know what you thought of this series!! Feedback, criticism, all of it is welcome :) Much love, Mel <3

Pairing: Hawai’i!Harry x Original Character (Halani <3)

Warnings: swearing, angst

Word Count: 6.7k

catch up on parts one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, and ten

January, 2018

A strand of hair tickles Harry’s nose and his eyes flutter open. The faint sound of car horns and traffic outside reminds him of his location when his memory fails. He gently slips out of the bed and tiptoes over to the window, careful not to wake the girl sleeping soundly next to him. A thick layer of snow blankets every building and surface in New York City as far as the eye can see, and the grey sky above signals another storm on its way. 

I’m going to die of hypothermia, Alani shivers, nursing her steaming cup of tea as she walks away from the office window and takes a seat behind her desk. Even after living in the city for a year, she still hadn’t adjusted to the cold weather and feared that she never would. Her boyfriend had joked on numerous occasions that you can take the girl out of the island, but you can’t take the island out of the girl. 

“Vanessa’s on line three,” her assistant calls from the doorway. 

“Thanks,” Alani nods before bringing the phone to her ear. “So, what did you think?”

“It was brilliant,” the editor admits. “Insightful, witty. I think they’ll love it,”

Alani smiles and spins in her seat to face the window again. “St. James has been on my ass about this piece for weeks. I hope it’ll shut him up,”

“It will, trust me. Hey, I gotta go, but I sent the revision notes and we can discuss more later,”

“Great, thank you so much. See you at dinner,”

“Ta-ta.”

Alani reaches for a pen and scribbles a reminder onto a pink post-it note nearby. 

Bloody five-star hotel, you’d think they could afford decent pens.  Harry grumbles to himself, shaking the ballpoint to no avail. 

“Where are you going?”

Harry freezes in his tracks and turns to the brunette stretching out her tired limbs. He has to clear his throat to keep from saying the wrong name. 

“Just a quick walk,” he explains with a tight lipped smile. “Go back to bed.” 

She flashes a wide grin and snuggles back into the covers, but he secretly hopes that she’s gone by the time he returns. 

The snow crunches under Harry’s feet and he digs his hands deeper into the pockets of his coat. He had never been very fond of the cold, but he did have to admit that Central Park looked unbelievably beautiful in the winter. His phone buzzes inside his pocket and he digs it out to read the message. 

Mitch: Me and Sarah are going to Bisous in ten. Meet us?

Harry: See you there. 

********

“French is such a pretentious language,” Maleah scoffs, taking a bite of her pastry. “But I’ll be damned if I have to give up my chocolate croissants,”

Alani chuckles lightly and traces the restaurant’s logo of a red kiss printed on her napkin. Going to Bisous at least once a day had become a tradition during her best friend’s visits. 

“I’ll have to smuggle a real one back for you and then you can tell me if this one’s the real deal,”

“When are you going, again?”

“Next month,”  

Maleah wiggles her brows. “Oooh, Valentine’s Day? Are you taking Mason with you?”

“No,” Alani says casually. “It’s for work,”

“Well, who says you can’t mix business and pleasure?”

“Literally everyone.”

“Okay,” Maleah sighs, patting her full stomach. “Let’s go now before I get sleepy.”

The two friends make their way out of the busy restaurant and Alani’s shoulder brushes someone next to her. 

“Sorry.” she apologizes, making brief eye contact with the other person before doing a double take. 

Mitch purses his lips and turns his head back to the other girl at his arm while Maleah drags Alani out the door. 

********

“I mean, what the hell was that? I could barely keep my drum kit together,” Sarah laughs gently, sipping her coffee. 

“Cause of death: rocking too fucking hard,” Mitch shrugs. “There are worse ways to die,”

Harry stirs his black coffee with a spoon and watches the mini whirlpool grow. “Rob said you could feel it in the balcony, too,”

“I’m surprised you didn’t die,” Mitch pokes. “Mr. defective lungs,”

“Heyyy, I can’t help the asthma thing, alright?”

“Well it’s the last night,” Sarah chimes in. “Are we gonna try to beat the Kiwi record and go for four times in a row?”

Harry shrugs, a soft grin on his lips. “Dunno. Maybe if it feels right,”

“I say we cut out the middleman and just bulldoze MSG ourselves. What difference does it make if the fans tear the house down or if we do?” Mitch suggests. 

“Oh yeah,” Harry nods. “I’m sure Irving would love that.”

“Some food for thought.”

The trio finish their breakfasts and excitedly continue their conversations about the impending show, but the entire time, Mitch is haunted by the knowledge of Alani’s presence in the city. He debates telling Harry, but is suddenly reminded of the intense aftermath of the pair’s falling out. 

********

“Where’s Alani?”

“Don’t fuckin’ say that name to me ever again.” 

Mitch’s brow furrowed. “What’s going on?”

And with a simple question, anger had subsided into grief. Mitch still didn’t  know all of the details surrounding their split, but he had pieced together sufficient bits from Jeff and, in part, from the lyrics Harry penned in the following weeks. The slump had lasted through the fall and winter of that year, but as spring rolled around and the album’s release drew closer, Harry pulled himself together enough to promote and tour. It felt good to be on the road, and he found himself revitalized by the energy of those who came to support. Tour itself had been relatively intimate, as he had actively decided to play smaller venues than the sold out stadiums he was accustomed to, but the enthusiasm of the crowds hadn’t changed from his band days. As Harry occupied his attention with music, Hawaii grew smaller and smaller in the back of his mind. Eventually, it dwindled into a dull ache at the center of his chest, felt only on particularly long nights coaxed with a little bit of alcohol in his bloodstream. For now, he tried to focus on his last show at Madison Square Garden. 

********

Alani’s stomach turns. Had she really seen Mitch or had it been a remarkable doppelgänger? She hoped it was the latter, knowing that if he really was in New York City, Harry wasn’t far behind. This was by no means the first time she had been reminded of her summer love turned sour, but it stung just as much every time. The first incident was last April when she turned on the T.V. only to find Harry performing one of his new songs on Saturday Night Live. It had resulted in the loss of her favorite mug as it shattered against the hardwood floor in her apartment. Since that day, Alani had seen his face on countless billboards in Times Square and habitually asked taxi drivers to change the radio station or turn it off entirely. After a while, she had gotten better at dealing with the sinking feeling whenever he was mentioned, it was easier to detach feelings for someone who lived on a screen. Running into Mitch, however, had blasted a hole straight through the fourth wall that Alani had erected,  and she knew that there was absolutely no way she could cope with a similar encounter from Harry. 

“Oh shit,” Maleah gasps softly, looking through the windshield at the hundreds of people lined up on the pavement outside of Madison Square Garden. 

“What?” Alani asks, head still spinning. 

Her best friend immediately turns to her with a nervous smile and shrugs. “Oh it’s nothing. Hey do I have something in my teeth?”

Alani glances out the window behind Maleah and her eyes bulge. “Woah, what’s happening there?”

“Oh it’s probably, like, Lady Gaga or something. Anyways, look at this random text I got the other day.”

But it wasn’t “Lady Gaga or something.” The marquee reads “Harry Styles—SOLD OUT” in bold lettering. Alani retches into her bag. 

********

“Oh, for fucks saaake!” Harry shouts playfully, the sound of his obscenities echoing throughout the large venue. 

Mitch and Adam chuckle beside him and continue setting up their equipment while Sarah offers a comedic “badum-tss” on her drum set. 

“Okay then at that point, stage lights will come down and it’s ‘Meet Me in the Hallway’,” the technical director speaks into his earpiece.

Harry nods and watches the screen behind him roll through the animation that will play during the song. 

“Alright, then it’s—”

“Wait,” Harry interjects over the mic. “Sorry, can we run it?”

“Run ‘Meet Me’?”

“Yeah,”

Mitch tenses listening to the conversation that filters through his own inner ear piece, but he continues fiddling with the strings of his guitar.  

“Running ‘Meet Me’,” the director affirms. “Sarah, stand by.”

Harry’s eyes dart over to Mitch and he nods as a sign to begin. The guitarist clears his throat and strums the opening chords. 

Meet me in the hallway 

“M’gonna go wait in the hall…”

Meet me in the hallway 

“Give you some space to think and then we’ll talk, yeah?”

I just left your bedroom 

“I never wanted to hurt you.”

Give me some morphine 

“I hope you got all the material you wanted.”

Is there any more to do?

“Please don’t go.”

Just let me know and I’ll be at the door, at the door

Hoping you'll come around

Just let me know I’ll be on the floor, on the floor 

Maybe we’ll work it out

********

“Maybe I shouldn’t go,” Maleah offers. “I can catch a return flight tomorrow,”

Alani sits up in her bed and shakes her head. “No, Mi, it’s okay. I’ll be fine,”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. It’s probably just a stomach bug or something,”

Maleah gives her friend a tight squeeze and pulls away to read her face. “Let me know if you need anything, I’ll come right back,”

“Thank you,” Alani says, forcing a smile. “I’m so sorry to put a damper on your last day.”

“Nah, there’s nothing to worry about. Feel better soon, Nani.”

The door closes softly and Alani burrows deeper into the covers. She tries to bury the emotion back under a lock and key, but a gentle sob fights its way up her chest. It wasn’t supposed to be this way, she cries, but maybe it was. Just as the sun rises and sets, so had Harry entered and exited her life, and maybe that’s exactly how it was meant to be. After all, Alani had gotten exactly what she wanted, hadn’t she? So why does it still hurt? 

The snow falls gently outside of her window, but the entire scene blurs into shades of white and grey behind her tears. It had snowed just like this on the day she moved to the city. Shortly after the article about Harry had been published by a small gossip site, Alani had contacted the publishers and threatened litigation if they didn’t take it down. Unsurprisingly, they had also been contacted by Columbia Records and thus, the piece was removed that same day. Despite the quick turnaround, Rolling Stone had caught wind of the storm brewing on social media and reached out to Alani a few days later. They had been impressed that the elusive Harry Styles granted her an interview, but they didn’t push the matter much further. Instead, they had offered her one piece of her choosing to prove herself. If the reviews were favorable, she would be given a regular contributor spot, unpaid of course. They would re-evaluate at the beginning of the new quarter and negotiate from there. When January of 2017 rolled around, Alani’s writing was making surprising waves in the Rolling Stone community, so she had been hired on as a junior writer and assistant to the Editor in Chief. The pay wasn’t great, but it was a leap in the right direction. 

Despite everything that had changed in a year, a string of random letters on a building that Alani passed a million times had brought her emotions right back to the day she had tried so hard to forget. Her phone buzzes under the covers and she reaches out a hand to locate it. Her editor’s name appears and she answers it quickly. 

“Hello?”

“Darling, hello! Where are you?”

“Oh my god,” Alani groans. “Vanessa I’m so sorry,”

“Is everything okay?”

Alani sits up and clears her throat. “I have food poisoning,”

“Christ, from where?”

“Bisous,”

Vanessa sighs. “Poor thing. Okay, no worries we’ll just reschedule,”

“I’m so sorry, I’ll make it up to you,”

“No need to be sorry, get some rest and we’ll catch up later!”

The call ends and Alani gawks at the time. 7:30 already?  She slumps back under the covers and sifts through her social media, wincing when she sees several of her friends posting about the line outside of Madison Square Garden. No, Alani decides sternly when the sudden urge to go stirs in the pit of her stomach, absolutely no fucking way. 

********

“10 minutes!”

Harry scans the crowd from the monitor backstage. He pinches his lower lip between his index finger and thumb as the nerves settle in. 

“The house is packed,” Jeff comments with a hand on the singer’s shoulder. “And there’s still a crowd outside,”

“We did it?”

“You did it,”

So why does it still hurt? 

“Thanks for everything,” Harry says, bringing his manager in for a hug. “Couldn’t have done it without you.”

Jeff pats Harry on the back. “All in a day’s work for the dream team.”

Before heading out, Harry stops one of the crew members and asks if any of the guests on his list have arrived yet. Names are read off, friends from different inner circles over the years, but there’s one name in particular that isn’t called. He offers a thumbs up and a forced grin before making his way to the stage.

It always surprises the technical crew at every venue that Harry has specific lighting requests for the house. Performers had their individual preferences, this wasn’t unusual, but no one made a bigger deal about being able to see the crowd like Harry did. He enjoyed being able to see each person and connect with them, especially when performing an album that was as personal as this one. But in every sea he searched, one face was always missing. Tonight’s audience, much to his disappointment, was no different. 

The crowd cheers as “Sweet Creature” fades out and the lights on stage dim. More than half of the show has already gone by and they’ve reached the point that is always a little harder to get through. Harry takes a swig from his water bottle and clears his throat to fight the lump that forms. He breathes in deeply and “Meet Me in the Hallway” begins, but no matter how hard he tries to focus on the technical aspects of his performance, it’s nearly impossible not to get dragged back into the moment when the song was written. 

“I should go back,” 

“H, I don’t know if that’s such a good—”

“I have to go back.” 

And so he had. After two hours of pacing the airport lounge, Harry had jumped into an Uber and sped back to the hotel. It had taken another agonizing twenty minutes to explain his situation to the front desk workers and retrieve his old room key, but it was no use. He was too late. The bed was still unmade, but there was no sign of Alani save for the faint scent of Baby Honey and a gold necklace tucked away between the sheets. 

The flight back to the mainland had already departed by the time Harry stumbled through the hotel lobby, and there wouldn’t be another one for three more hours. In the meantime, he decided to get some fresh air and clear his mind, hoping all the while that he would find Alani at the edge of the beach waiting to run back into his arms. She never did, and he was left with all the words he wished he had said. 

I walked the streets all day 

Running with the thieves 

‘Cause you left me in the hallway 

Just take my pain away 

Just let me know and I’ll be at the door, at the door

Hoping you'll come around

Just let me know I’ll be on the floor, on the floor 

Maybe we’ll work it out

********

“Great show,” praises Rob Sheffield, author of one of Harry’s favorite books, Love is a Mix Tape. “Drummer’s incredible,”

Sarah beams and Harry flashes her a grin. “Thanks. It’s Sarah’s band, really. I’m just the frontman,”

“Well she kicked ass. All of you did, and I can tell by the way the floor was shaking that I’m not the only one who thought so.”

“Thank you so much, that means a lot.”

More guests filter in and congratulate Harry and the rest of the band, but while he sincerely appreciates all of the love, he can’t help the way his eyes flicker to the door every once in a while in the hope that someone else will straggle in. He slowly loses that hope when the room empties and the night drags on. 

********

This isn’t ethical, Alani chastises herself, this is wrong on every level and you’re gonna pay. She runs her fingers over the Rolling Stone press badge in her hand and stares at the marquee towering over her. What the fuck are you doing? 

“Excuse me!” Alani calls when she sees an employee slip through a side door. “Hi, I know I’m really late but I’m actually here with Rolling Stone,”

The blonde-haired woman blinks and scans over the badge with an unamused look on her face. 

“Nice try,”

“No, wait,” Alani begs. “I have to get in there, please—”

“You and every other girl within a twenty-five mile radius.”

Alani takes a deep breath and re-groups. “You don’t understand. I really need to get back there, I’m working on an important piece,”

As the struggle continues, another woman in stiletto heels exits through the side door with a clipboard in tow. 

“My name is Alani Hale, see? Please just—”

“Wait,” the woman with the clipboard intervenes. The name sounded strangely familiar, probably from the blacklist, in which case security would need to be notified. “What did you say your name was?”

Alani holds her badge out and swallows hard. “Alani Hale, junior writer for Rolling Stone.”

The woman checks through the blacklist but the name isn’t registered. She does a cursory glance over the V.I.P section and her finger lands on a note that reads “Mahealani ‘Alani’ Hale—Code Carolina: escort backstage and inform Mr. Styles immediately.”

“Follow me, please,”

Alani trails behind, doing her best to keep up with the long strides of the woman with the clipboard.

 “Marta to security, I have a Code Carolina,” she murmurs into her ear piece. “Repeat, I have a Code Carolina.”

Alani’s heart races as they zig-zag through the arena. Did Harry know that she was coming? Had Mitch told him that they saw each other at Bisous? The answer was no, Mitch hadn’t told and Harry didn’t know. He had only hoped. Unbeknownst to Alani, her name was printed on the Madison Square Garden list and on every list of every show in all the countries scheduled. Through Paris and all through Rome, Harry had looked for her face in the crowd and he dreamed that one day his efforts wouldn’t be in vain. 

“Wait here,” Marta instructs, leading Alani to a back room with mirrors, a couple of couches, and a clothing rack. “Someone will be with you shortly.”

Before she can ask any questions, Marta is gone and the sound of her heels echo down the hall. Alani takes a deep breath and her lungs are immediately filled with the familiar scent of vanilla. Her eyes carefully rake over the scene and land on a familiar white shirt hanging on the rack and the words “Enjoy Health, Eat Your Honey.”

“Thief,”

“I meant to return it.”

Alani spins on her heel and Harry stands with his fists shoved deep inside the pockets of his flared pants, eyes cast down at the floor. She tugs on the sleeves of her coat and offers a shy smile. 

“It’s okay, looked better on you anyway.”

A brief silence follows and they size each other up like it’s a gunfight, each waiting to see who will draw first. His hair is longer and curlier, Alani notices, chest and shoulders broader, too. But there’s a familiarity in his creased brow and in the heart shaped curve of his cupid’s bow. Harry does his own inventory; dark, almond shaped eyes, check. Round face, cinnamon skin, check and check. Her long, wavy locks are now shoulder length, but he’d recognize the scent of Baby Honey anywhere. The two are absorbed in their own silent assessments for a moment longer, but Alani quickly gets the urge to flee after she counts too many similarities between this Harry and the one that left her with a broken heart. 

“I should go,” she croaks, taking a step back. “I shouldn’t have come—”

“Why did you?” Harry asks earnestly. 

Alani tugs at a loose thread on her sleeve before crossing her arms. “Saw your name outside and got curious. For a while there, I started to think that maybe I imagined you,”

Harry doesn’t know what to do with the knowledge that he had haunted her as much as she had plagued him. He had spent so long believing that he meant nothing to her, but nevertheless, a part of him left room for her return. 

“You did, this is a hologram projection,”

Alani smiles and her shoulders relax at his humor. It really was him. 

“Did you enjoy—”

“I didn’t see the show—” they speak at the same time, eager words overlapping. 

“Oh,” Harry laughs softly. “You didn’t miss much,”

Alani shakes her head and takes a single step forward. “No, that’s not true. I’m sure it was amazing,”

Harry offers a coy grin, the shadow of a dimple on his left cheek. One hand emerges from his pocket and his knuckle brushes against the tip of his nose. Alani catches sight of the silver rose on his finger and she still remembers how it feels under the pad of her thumb. 

“Are you hungry?” he asks softly, pulling her from her reverie. 

“What?”

“Have dinner with me?”

Alani blinks, her throat suddenly dry. “Oh. Well I don’t know, I don’t wanna interrupt—”

“Never an interruption,” Harry assures her. 

She nods and he takes a step back. 

“M’gonna go change,” he explains. “I’ll just be a minute.”

“What, you don’t wear custom Marc Jacobs suits to dinner?” She teases. 

He grins, amused, and continues backing away towards the door before correcting her. “It’s Gucci.”

Alani rolls her eyes and he disappears into the hallway. 

When Harry reemerges in a beanie, puffy coat, and light wash denim jeans, he leads them through a series of tunnels and exits. 

“Where are we going?” Alani asks, bracing herself for the snow outside. 

“It’s a surprise.” he offers and she doesn’t fight him on it.

********

“We’re not eating here?” 

A soft smile falls on Harry’s lips. He hadn’t realized just how much he missed her incessant questioning. 

“No,”  he replies, opening the passenger door with one hand and passing her the bag that contains their dinner. “Too crowded,”

“Oh,” 

It made sense that Harry would want to keep a low profile and avoid any possible paparazzi sightings of the two of them, but it still felt strange to worry about such things after they had lived so carefree in Hawai’i. But that was then, and this was now, things had inevitably changed. 

“D’you wanna play some music?” Harry asks, settling behind the wheel. The parallels between this moment and their first excursion together make her chest tighten. 

“How about,” Alani starts. “Your album? Since I didn’t get to hear it live,”

Harry’s breathing hitches. “Well, I dunno—”

“Please?”

He meets her pleading eyes momentarily and, against his better judgment, agrees. 

“What’s it called?” she questions. 

“It’s just my name,”

“Self-titled, very classy. I like it,”

“I thought about calling it Sign of the Times,” Harry reveals. “But it’s already been done before,”

Alani hums. “Prince,”

“Yeah,” he nods. “But then I also thought about going with ‘Pink,’ because, you know, when in doubt—”

“Go with the pink one,” they say in unison and Alani smiles softly. How had he remembered that?

“And it’s the only true rock ‘n roll color,” she continues. 

Harry beams. “Exactly. But then Jeff suggested that we just go with the name. Simple, but effective,”

“Okay, so now that we’ve got the background,” Alani pokes. “And you’ve sufficiently distracted me, can I listen now?”

He swallows and checks the GPS, still twenty-five minutes to go. 

“How about we hold off,” he suggests. “Just for now so we can listen to the full thing and really soak it in?”

Alani backs off. “Alright, deal.”

She presses shuffle on the playlist of her frequently played songs for the month and immediately regrets doing so. Clearing her throat, she goes to press skip but Harry stops her. 

“S’a good one.” he says gently, so Alani lets Adele fill the awkward space. 

If you’re gonna let me down 

Let me down gently don’t pretend 

That you don’t want me 

Our love ain’t water under the bridge

********

Harry opens the passenger door and Alani steps out, her eyes squinting to make out any recognizable landmarks in their surroundings. They remain a comfortable two feet apart and make their way to the entrance of what appears to be some sort of greenhouse. Alani is filled with more confusion, but she doesn’t ask further questions until they reach the white double doors. 

“What?” Harry questions. “Never been to the New York Botanical Garden?”

Alani’s eyes widen. “The—wait, you—we’re?”

“After you,” he chuckles lightly, opening the doors. 

“Are we even allowed? I mean is it open?”

“I pulled some strings,”

She enters cautiously, immediately met with an archway of blush colored flowers and string lights that takes her breath away. A long, narrow pond in the center reflects the image back and creates a kaleidoscope of pink, green, and golden hues. 

“How did you,” Alani begins, at a complete loss for words. “Who are you?”

Harry nods in the direction of an adjacent hallway. “There’s a ballroom set up for a wedding tomorrow night, but Jim said we could crash as long as we clean up after ourselves,”

“Jim?”

“The director.”

“Of course.” 

Sure enough, round tables with cream colored tablecloth and elaborate floral centerpieces are arranged around the room. A delicate, yet undoubtedly expensive, chandelier twinkles in the center of the room and casts such a warm glow that Alani momentarily forgets about the snow outside. 

“Dig in,” Harry instructs, setting the pasta on the table in front of them. 

Alani sits and gently sheds her winter coat as he does the same. Underneath his jacket, Harry wears a yellow shirt that catches her eye with the words “treat people with kindness” printed in black lettering. She freezes when she spots a gold chain with a sun and moon pendant nestled comfortably between above the words.

“How is everyone?” Alani questions politely to shift her attention. “Mitch, Tom, Jeff,”

“They’re good, yeah,” he nods. “How’re Freddie and your family?”

“They’re fine, and he’s living his blissful little life,”

“Good for him. Miss his cuddles,”

And yours, Harry thinks, but he pulls back. Alani offers a shy laugh and thinks about the elephant in the room yet to be addressed: the break-up. It’s worth discussing, but she sure as hell isn’t going to be the one to bring it up. 

“And how’ve you been?” Harry asks when the silence stretches out for too long. 

Alani chews and ponders the question. “Good. Been working a lot,”

“Where at?”

“Rolling Stone,”

“Really?” he beams. “That’s incredible, congratulations,”

“Thank you,” she replies graciously. 

Harry’s chin rests in his palm and he twirls a noodle around his fork. “So you live here?”

“Yeah, in the Village,”

“Wow. Greenwich Village, a real city-slicker now. Traded Stevie in for the Holland Tunnel?”

A bittersweet smile spreads across Alani’s lips at the memory of her beloved Bronco. “Sadly, yes. And you?”

“Malibu,” Harry divulges. “I hate the cold.”

“It’s not so bad. You can always cuddle up with the giant rats,” she jokes, which makes his nose scrunch.

“I’m just gonna pretend you didn’t say that,” 

“Speaking of pretend,” Alani wiggles her brows. “You were in a movie after all,” 

“I was,” 

“I didn’t watch it, sorry,” 

Harry feigns offense and Alani quickly back pedals. “I don’t like war movies!”

“And you hated my guts.” he teases, though it pains him that there might be some truth to his words. 

Alani shakes her head and fights the urge to reach across the table for his hand. “No, not really. It was kind of the opposite, actually.” 

Harry’s eye wanders to the outside of Alani’s wrist and a faint smile creeps across his face when he spots the black outline of a crescent moon. He wonders if there are any new inked designs that he isn’t aware of. Despite all the time that has elapsed, there is a familiarity in her presence that he hadn’t felt even in the comforts of his California residence. It was like kicking off your shoes in the doorway after a long trip. It was like coming home. 

They finish their meal and continue their light-hearted banter into the night. Harry tells his favorite stories from tour and Alani wishes more than anything that she could have been there. She details the events of her own busy life in New York and the highlights of working for Rolling Stone, one of which being the time that she got to meet Stevie Nicks in the flesh. 

“Did you tell her about your car?” Harry presses enthusiastically. 

“No way,” Alani chuckles, draining the last of her drink. “I wasn’t gonna embarrass myself in front of the Supreme,” 

“I think she would’ve found it flattering,” 

“Naming your child after someone is flattering, not a car,” 

Harry shrugs. “I think it’s cute,” 

“Yeah well,” Alani sighs. “You’re not like most people,”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” 

She mulls it over, studying the familiar sea glass irises that she never thought she’d see again. What had Alani meant by that statement? Truthfully, she didn’t know if she could put it into words, nor had she meant to say them in the first place. But something about Harry always made her feel brave, like she could speak her mind uncensored and he would understand without even trying. 

“I just meant that you’re, you know,” she starts. “Not judgemental. Like, I could tell you that I think I’m part alien and you’d probably try to help me find my home planet,” 

Harry laughs and leans forward with his elbows on the table, an unspoken challenge for Alani to continue her thoughts. 

“You make people feel seen and heard,” she says finally with a wistful look in her eye. “I mean, why do you think all those people lined up to see you tonight?” 

The last part of her statement is a deflection from what she really wants to say, which is that Harry makes her feel seen and heard. Despite all the time and space between them, it was still true and it terrified her. There was only so much bravery that Harry’s presence could evoke. The mood shifts suddenly when Alani’s phone buzzes and the name “Mason” with a pink heart emoji lights up the screen next to her glass of water. Harry hadn’t meant to look and he deeply regrets that he did. 

“You have a boyfriend,” he comments dejectedly, and though he hadn’t meant it to be accusatory, all words carry the sting of judgment when falling on guilty ears. 

“Oh, and I’m sure you’ve stayed celibate this entire time,” Alani bites back. 

Harry’s brow furrows. “I wasn’t—I didn’t mean—”

“I’m sorry, this was a mistake,” she apologizes, standing with her coat. 

“Wait,” he jumps up. “What just happened?”

“I have to go—”

“Just stop for a minute, please,”

Alani stops in her tracks and turns back to face Harry slowly. His jaw is tight and the crease between his eyebrows is deeper than she remembers. 

“I’m sorry,” she begins carefully. “Thank you for tonight, but I really shouldn’t be here—”

Harry’s eyes clamp shut and he runs a frustrated hand through his messy curls.  

“Can you stop acting like you’re doing me a favor by leaving and just talk to me?”

“What do you want me to say?” Alani pushes back. “‘I’m sorry that I saw your name in flashing lights and I got caught trying to spy on you’?”

“Alani—”

“‘I’m sorry that I tried to move on’?”

“Stop apologizing—”

“I’m sorry that I fell in love and fucked it all up because I was afraid and I’m sorry that I betrayed the one person who meant everything to me,”

Silence falls between them and the only sound is the sniffling of Alani’s nose as she tries, and fails, to hold back the emotions that pour over. 

“That’s why I went,” she continues, voice wavering. “Because I’m selfish and I couldn’t stay away. Every single day, I’m reminded of how royally I screwed everything up and it tears me apart, so I went to try to make things right and take some of that pain away. Even though I hurt you and there’s nothing I can ever do to change that,”

Harry swallows hard and his eyes sting, but Alani speaks up again before he can respond. 

“So please,” she begs. “Please, just let me finally do something right by you and let me go,”

He takes a cautious step forward and shakes his head. “I don’t want to,”

They both hold their breaths, anticipating the other person’s next draw. 

“And maybe that makes me selfish too,” Harry adds. “‘Cause I went back that day, back to the hotel,”

Alani blinks. “You did?”

“Yes,” he nods. “Because I wasn’t mad that you published the article, I was scared that it was the only reason you were with me—”

“Harry—”

“But then I realized that I didn’t care,” he laughs dryly. “Because I still loved you, and I figured that having you— having just a little bit of your heart and your attention—was worth it, even if you didn’t really love me back,”

He takes another step forward and the toes of their shoes nearly touch. “And maybe I’m being selfish now by asking you to stay, but you’re not the only one trying to get rid of the pain,”

Alani takes a shallow breath and studies the eagerness in his eyes. The sight makes her chest pound. 

“I’m sorry that I ever made you doubt,” she whispers. “But I meant every word I said, you were everything to me. You were the sun that my life revolved around and I was terrified of losing you because the truth is that I hate the cold, too,”

Harry gently reaches a hand up to her cheek and Alani leans into the warmth of his touch. 

“Can I show you something?”

You and your goddamn surprises. “Yes.”

He leads them down several winding hallways before flicking a light on in the gallery. Alani’s heart stops when she sees it. 

“Not quite as impressive as the real thing,” Harry offers. “But Ms. O’Keeffe did a pretty damn good job,”

An original Georgia O’Keeffe painting of a waterfall, their waterfall, the one that Alani had mentioned all that time ago, is displayed proudly on the wall before them. A replica had hung above the bed they shared on many nights and all at once a faint memory resurfaces. 

“Where did you say the original was?”

“New York Botanical Garden,” 

 “M’gonna take you one day,”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

Alani takes a step closer to the artwork and examines the details of the oil on canvas. A few steps behind, Harry is only concerned with her reaction and pays little attention to the piece of art on display. As far as he was concerned, Alani was the only one worth admiring. 

“Do you remember what you told me when I asked why you went to the falls to write?” Alani asks. 

Of course Harry had, but he remains silent to let her continue. 

“You said that you liked going there,” she adds, deliberate. “Because it made you forget about every bad thing that ever happened to you, because none of it was real in comparison to the feeling of standing in front of that waterfall,”

Harry nods gently, but he still doesn’t speak. 

“Do you know what that feeling is called?”

“No,”

“It’s called home,” Alani says softly, turning to face him. “It’s what I felt, what I feel, when I’m with you,”

His breath hitches and he stands frozen as she carefully walks toward him.

“And while we’re making wishes come true,” she smiles delicately. “I never told you what I wished for the day we saw that rainbow,”

“What did you wish for?” Harry searches. 

Alani’s eyes fall to his parted lips. “That you would kiss me.”

His mouth curls at the edges and he releases a long breath. “Think maybe I can deliver on that one, too.”

Harry leans in, ever so slightly, and Alani closes the gap. They had been standing mere inches apart, but the meeting of their lips bridges an entire chasm. Over and over again, like waves against the shore, their mouths collide desperately as they pull each other closer with no intentions of ever letting go. 

********

February 14, 2018

“Comment est le temps?” 

Alani peers up at Harry and shields her eyes from the sun behind his back. “What does that mean?”

He grins softly and kisses the top of her head before taking a seat on the balcony next to her. 

“Means ‘how’s the weather?’,” 

“Oh,” she leans over, lips puckered for a kiss. “Full of perfectly Parisian sunshine,”

“Try sayin’ that ten times fast,”

Alani swipes his pink, heart shaped sunglasses and slips them onto the bridge of her nose with a contented sigh. Ahead, the Eiffel tower stands proudly in the distance and the lenses of her glasses tint the entire scene in a picturesque rosy glow. 

“La Ville de L’amour,” she hums. “Did I say that right?”

“Oui,”

“Hey, you know what I saw on the room service menu?”

Harry shakes his head. “No, what?”

“Piña coladas,” Alani wiggles her brows. “Think they deliver at midnight?”

He chuckles lightly and his hand takes purchase on her knee. “They better,”

“Never had a Parisian piña colada. Sounds romantic, though.”

“Sure does, sweets.”

Alani stands and reaches for Harry’s hand. He accepts and rises to his feet, pulling her close. Below, the sounds of the city serenade them as they gently sway in the chilly breeze. When Harry feels Alani shiver, he hugs  her to his chest and rests his chin comfortably on the top of her head. She feels his steady heartbeat against her cheek and smiles softly, fingertips smoothing up and down his back. 

“Are you ready for Valentine’s Day surprise number one?” he asks, pulling away slightly to meet her eyes. 

She narrows her eyes. “Where are we going?”

Harry pulls back with a mischievous smile, hands still attached to hers, and leads them back inside.

“Wouldn’t you like to know.”

Alani giggles but she doesn’t push. Instead, she happily follows him out of their room, down the hall, and into the bustling streets of Paris. 

We don’t know where we’re going 

But we know where we belong 

And oh we started 

Two hearts in one home 

It’s hard when we argue 

We’re both stubborn 

I know, but oh

Sweet creature, sweet creature 

Wherever I go, you bring me home 

Sweet creature, sweet creature

When I run out of road 

You bring me home

[puckngrind]

Skating Lessons part 7

Summary: Reader has a coffee date with Amy Jones and the bestie asks all the Josh questions.  

Warnings: swearing, mentions of sex...

Word Count: 1992

Series Masterlist

“CBJ...CBJ...CBJ...”  Mason is yelling at the tv while in his Anderson jersey and pajama pants.  “Momma, look, Josh just did our special signal!” Mason was bouncing around while the commentators talked over the pre-game video.  Sure enough, Josh was standing there laughing with Seth and hitting pucks.  He then stops, does a spin and touches his head.  You laugh as Mason does the same thing.

“That’s awesome Sweetie!”  You laugh and take a video of Mason doing the move again to send to Josh.

Bethany plops on the couch next to you with coffee in hand and a look on her face.  “When did you and JOSH come up with this move, Maze?”  Your best friend had called Mason this since he was a baby.

Mason jumps on the couch between the two of you and announces that they came up with it a few skates ago.  You had witnessed this move before but didn’t realize your boys would do it every time you were at the ice.  NOW you realized Josh was connecting with Mason even on road trips.  Bethany shot you another look you could read without words.  She was annoyed that you hadn’t told her about any of this Josh stuff.  You bring your legs up causing your shorts to ride up.

“Momma, you are hurt.  What happened?”  Mason stops bouncing and hugs you.

“Uh, I ran into something at work.  I’m fine, Baby.  First score and you are headed to bed okay?  You can watch the game tomorrow.”  

Your face turns bright red as you here Beth say under breathe, “yeah, you fell on Josh’s face, huh?”  

“What Auntie Beth?”  Mason turned his attention to Bethany and you gave her a death look.

“Did you see Josh’s face?”  Beth recovers from her comment and you are sure she can feel your thoughts as she continues.  “I bet he scores first!”  She survived that slip up and Mason’s full attention is on the game.  Sure enough Josh has the puck and sails it to Seth who shoots it into the net.  

“GOOOOAAAALLLL” Mason shouts.  And with that you put Mason to bed and crashed on the couch to hear all the questions Bethany had about your relationship with Josh.  You answered the basics while watching the game.  The main question she asked was why she hadn’t heard about it and you avoided all her questions about how good the sex was.  

“That’s fine.  I can only imagine how mind blowing it is.”  Bethany pats your leg where Josh had marked you up.  You tuck your knees under your Anderson sweatshirt and you sit your coffee cup on your knees.  “So, what’s it like dating a professional athlete?”  Beth continues her questions as you stare at the game.  Thankfully the Blue Jackets were up by 3 and Josh had 2 assists so far.

“Beth, I’m going to be honest.”  You took a deep breath but kept looking at the game.  “When we are together I don’t even think about the fact that he plays hockey for a living.  Like he’s just Josh.  Obviously I KNOW he’s a professional athlete but he’s so much more than that.  And the other guys are so down to earth and they all love Mason so much.  He was star struck for a second but he’s so comfortable with them.  It’s weird and amazing.  YES!  BABY!”  Your confession is stopped by Josh landing one in the back of the net with 5 minutes left of the 3rd. 

Bethany brings you right back to the conversation as she takes in your celebration, “So you are really watching the game huh?”  You just shake your head as the minutes tick down.  “And you’ve hung out with the team?” “Well, we went down to the family room after the game...you know the one that someone took our pictures...” Your words catch in your throat but you continue,  “and a few of the guys came to the zoo with us Sunday.” “Wait, you got his teammates to go to the zoo with you three?”  Beth’s face was squished up trying process all of this.  She was not use to you dating at all and now this.

“Well, Josh invited a few of the boys so it didn’t look like a date after the social media stuff.  I’m meeting Amy Thursday because I have questions and Seth suggested we talk.” “I know I’ll get use to it but the fact that you just talked about the queen of hockey moms and her All-Star son like they are Sally and Jay next door is pretty crazy.”  You laugh because you hadn’t noticed it yourself how you weren’t starstruck by any of them.  Your phone vibrates and you see a text. 

Josh: I’m glad he saw it.  He looks adorable.  Is Bethany still there?  I want to Facetime when I get back to my hotel room. 😉

You: I’m not sure what you are planning but yes, she’s here but leaving.

“Ew, are you two...sexting?”  Bethany laughs but her eyebrows are furrowed.

“Um...no...”  You answer and she’s not convinced.  Beth leaves and you plop on your bed waiting for Josh to facetime you.

“There’s my girl!  Say hi to PL, (y/n).”  Josh gives you the look and pulls his phone back to see PL sitting behind him on the couch.  

“Hey Luc!  Mason asked when you were going to race him on the ice today.  I told him you might lose after all that ice cream.”  You giggle and PL just shakes his head.  

“So...the hotel messed up our block.  We are have roommates regardless...and PL called me.  I think he knew I’d call you.”  You see Josh look over at him and then his eyebrows moved to tell you more.  “Beth okay with everything?” “Yeah, I mean I was questioned the whole game.  I did see your three assists and goal Babe.  Nice job.”  Josh’s face turned red.  While you started watching more hockey on purpose you really never talked hockey with Josh much. He talked to Mason but not you which may be why you never thought about the fact that he was who he was when you were together.

The two of you talked a little more before PL started whining he couldn’t hear the movie he put on so you hung up with Josh.

“You must be (y/n)!” you here from behind you as you sit at a high top table in the corner of the little cafe down the street from the arena.  Amy Jones had her hands up coming in for a hug.  “The boys have told me so much about you already!  I was so excited to meet the girl who has stolen Josh’s heart.  He’s been waiting for you for so long you know.”  Amy was exactly what Bethany described her.  The queen of hockey moms and she was easy to talk to.  You talked all about her boys and how she was thankful social media really wasn’t a thing when they were growing up.  Being in the spotlight with kids and the lifestyle Josh, Seth, and the other boys have.  She was exactly what you needed.  

“Sweetie, I know you are worried but you just have to follow your heart and trust your gut.”  Amy puts you hand on yours as you swirl your spoon around your coffee.  “From everything Seth has told me, you are the most amazing mother and clearly you’ve done an amazing job.  Now am I saying Mason won’t find his way to some craze fans rant?  No.  It may happen but let Josh and his people deal with the crazy people.  Just love both of your boys and constantly make sure you are there for each other.”  Your eyes started to fill with tears at the thought Amy was putting in your brain.  “Plus, I’m always here for you too.  And Shelly will love you too.  She told me she cannot wait to meet you this weekend.”  You gulp at the thought of meeting Josh’s parents and Amy laughs.

“Are you sure?  I haven’t exactly met parents in awhile.”  You look down at your drink then up at Amy.  Her head was tilted to the side and she smiles.  

“Um, duh!  I’m just mad Seth didn’t see you first.”  She laughs and you feel yourself lighten up.  “Do you like pedis?  Maybe we can before I head out next weekend?  I usually drag Seth and Josh but I’d love a girls trip.”   She pops up and hugs you tight before dropping her hands to yours.  “Josh loves you and so will his family and all the other stuff with fall into place.  Just take it all in stride.”  

With that you leave with less questions about being with Josh and more dates with his world.

Josh: How did coffee with Amy go?

You: Amazing.  I cannot wait to see you tonight.

Josh: Tell Mace I added an extra move for you to our secret signal

You: Oh really?!?  Thankful the game starts at 5pm btw.  Mace will be able to catch most of it.

Josh: And I’ll be home sooner.  I gotta go.  ILY.

Just like Tuesday, You and Mason watching the game.  You mentioned to Mason that Josh put a new move on their signal that was meant to you.  Mason was intently watching and then Josh did it.  He spun around put his hand on his head and then drops it down to his heart and pumps it.  You are thankful it’s just Mason watching the game with you because your face immediately flush with Josh’s public declaration and you were turned on because while it was public no one really would knew what he’s doing.  The boys did funny things like sweep or pretend to fish so Josh’s spin move would be seen as nothing more than him being silly.  The signal would be special to just you and Mason.

The game started and it wasn’t going well.  While the boys were playing as hard as they were but calls were missed and shots were just not going in.  You put Mason to bed after the loss and waited for Josh’s text.  He didn’t so before you slid into bed you put a key under the mat and sent him a message about it.

You have no idea what time it is but you the covers move and Josh’s warm body slides in behind you.  He wraps his arm around you and pulls you in.  You moan is groggy as you rub your eyes to wake up.

“Go back to sleep, Babe.”  Josh whispers into your hair followed by kisses along your neck.  “I just want to lay like this with you.”  You turn slightly and reach your hand to his face.  He kisses your lips slightly.

“I’m glad you are back.  I missed you.”  You kiss him again and he groans.

“So my parents want to have dinner tomorrow.  With us and Mason.  I said it was fine but needed to check with you” Josh rubs your arm and goosebumps run right along with his fingers.

“Yeah, I guess.  And you can stay here tomorrow if you want?”  You say with ease.  Josh’s arms flex around you.

“Are you sure (y/n)?  What about...”  You place your lips on his to stop Josh from finishing his sentence.  

“I think I’m okay with it.  I’m pretty sure Mason is.  Plus I want to spend every moment I can with you.”  He kisses you again and you feel his lips curl up into a smile.

“That’s exactly what I was hoping for.”  Josh caresses your face.  “Now let’s get some sleep, okay?”  You nod in agreement and flip your body so your back is pressed against Josh’s naked chest.  “Maybe we can get up early and...”  With that you gave Josh an elbow into his abs and he chuckles.  “That wasn’t a no was it?”

It wasn’t...

[justasuicidecase]

Smoke and Guns (Part 3) - Switz

Warnings for: violence, fighting

Cameron woke up to a hand on his shoulder, shaking him hard. "Wake up, Cam. Someone's fucking here," the deep voice of Eric loudly whispered. He opened his eyes, adrenaline pumping through his body for the second, and hopefully last, time today. Eric's hand covered his mouth, disabling his speech.

"Listen 'kay? A group of three guys were scouting the house and, no, I'm not being paranoid. They were walking around the house and looking through the windows. I don't know why they're here so, we need to get you and everyone else out of here." Eric forced him out of his bed and onto his feet.

The two remained silent as they crept through their own home. With all the lights turned off, it looked and felt like something straight out of a horror movie. The light of the full moon outside in the jet black sky, accompanied by thousands of little white stars, cast a barely visible blue glow on everything it touched.

Normally, Cameron loved the night. It was the only time in a long day where he could abandon his cold, unfeeling facade behind and be himself with his friends. But, tonight was different. Tonight, people threatened to shatter his well-deserved happiness.

Going down slick glass stairs in the almost pitch black was a lot easier in theory than in real life. It might have been easier if Cameron weren't a six foot five giant being lead by his five foot nine bodyguard. He kept a steady hand on Eric's shoulder, squeezing it every so often as a nonverbal cue to slow down and help him, and his other fully outstretched, grazing the cool wall beside him. After what felt like an eternity, they eventually reached the first floor.

Their march to the front door went a lot smoother than before. With Cameron slightly behind him, Eric cautiously twisted the knob and gingerly opened the door. When his eyes adjusted to the outside that was slightly brighter than their house, Cameron noticed the person. They weren't as tall as him, no one ever was, but still a couple inches taller than Eric. He could make no other features of the mysterious trespasser out because of the shadows from the night and their hood gave them a perfect disguise.

Then he spotted the glint of a blade in their right hand.

Reacting out of instinct rather than logically thinking out his actions, Cameron tried to rush forward and pull his bodyguard out of harm's way. Unfortunately, his foot caught on the edge of an unknown object. Pain shot through his front as his lanky body as he contacted the freezing hardwood floor.

The sudden thud caused Eric to snap his head towards its source. The attacker raised the knife more, ready to execute their newest target. Cameron saw the warm light cast from the street lamps in front of the home reflect off of the small blade. He didn't have time to think anything through; he had to react or Eric would pay for his mistake.

Taking a leap of faith and hoping for the best outcome, Cameron threw out an arm. His fingertips brushed against his clothed ankle. Hooking his long fingers around shorter man's leg, Cameron sharply tugged at it. Eric only let out a small gasp of surprise as the strength of his fallen employer knocked him to the ground, face first.

The attacker's figure suddenly fell to the ground as another shadow tackled it to the ground.

A familiar voice came from one figure on the ground, "Mind helping me?" Cameron pushed off the ground and charged towards the two wrestling outside the door on the porch. Everything was much clearer with the combination of the little natural shine from the sky above and the artificial glow of the tall street lights several meters in front of the three.

On the ground, Cameron saw someone had never met in his life and an unofficial member of the Misfits. The young 18-year-old was gripping the attacker's wrist that held the small blade far away from his torso and roughly pressed it into the concrete. His arm shook with the effort, the muscle visible. His poofy brunette hair covered his dark eyes in a way that Cameron wasn't sure if he was focused on the person below him or if he was trying to ask his unofficial boss for help. Cameron decided it would be safer to assume the latter

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Eric lifting himself off of the house's floor, hand gripping the arm of the couch to assist him. Cameron disarmed the hooded figure with ease, "Get off 'em, Racc." Ezra slowly released their covered wrists, then he stood up entirely. The hooded figure stood up suddenly. Before the intruder could run away, Eric appeared behind them and grabbed their wrists, tightly holding them in place.

Guilt flooded through Cameron when he saw his precious bodyguard's face. Dried blood coated his face, most likely from his now-broken nose. His dark brown hair matted and unkempt from his rush to find and protect Cameron, from trying to do his job.

"How many are there?" the anger in Eric's rough voice broke him out of his self-centered pity party. Several moments passed, silence filled the air that no one dared to break. "Answer the damn question!" Eric shouted, the person visibly flinched. From the bodyguard's yelling or his tightening grip on their wrists, Cameron had no clue.

The group heard footsteps. "Okay, fuck this. We have to go, now," Ezra said, eyes darting from side-to-side. Eric didn't move, "He's right, Swags, we have to go." Still no movement, "C'mon, we're going. All of us are," Cameron purposely emphasized on his words.

Ezra ran inside the house and appeared outside in a heartbeat. A silky cloth artificially dyed a deep shade of blue in his hand. With Eric holding them still, he tied the fabric around their head, covering their eyes completely. “That should work.”

Eventually, the group, with their attacker-turned-hostage in tow, quietly sneaked to their designated meeting spot. The spot, unanimously chosen by the Misfits, never had a reason to meet there before that night. No one ever dare threatened their group, let alone go to their home.

They shared no words, even after they were several blocks away from the Slaughterhouse. Cameron decided that it was around four in the morning, judging by how dead his whole body felt and the sky turning a little lighter every block they passed.

The air gradually rose in temperature, but the hairs on Cameron's arms still rose. Every house they passed looked abandoned with their lights turned off. The group kept looking over their tense shoulders, mentally and physically preparing to face more attackers with every step.

The shapes of several familiar people stood under the dim streetlight. "Yo, Cam!" Mason patted Cameron's back as they hugged. Once they parted, Mason's eyes went to the mysterious fourth member of their traveling party. The young boy pointed towards them, "Who the fuck is this cunt?" Toby harshly elbowed him, signalling Mason to stay quiet.

"Don't know." Cameron had a suspicion on who they were and why they were after them. "But we'll figure it out." The rest of the group nodded their heads as a sign of approval. Matt stepped forward, "Now, where do we go from here? Can't go home, unless we want our asses handed to us. I can't think of anyone who'd want us at four in the morning. You have anything, Fitz?" The second-in-command strategized. Cameron stood there for a second with slight panic quickly rising in his chest with everyone's eyes on him.

"What about Kryoz's?" Ezra's calming deep voice came from behind him. Cameron nodded, "Yeah, Kryoz is a good idea. He has to take us in, and he could help us with this one," he said, nodding along to his own words and rubbing his chin in thought. Everyone else murmured their own agreement. Matt sighed and walked down the street toward John's home.

[rhosavirgoart]

Pay Your Dues, Part 14 (Finale)

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

WARNING!!!! Trigger warnings for all the things, especially: blood, gore, violence, past trauma, and character death. The rest of the series has stuff too, but this chapter gets more brutal. 

There will be more to this story, but this section is done. 

  "No!" Myrn screamed, clawing frantically at the ground where Agondrae had vanished with Phelan, the last traces of magic dispersing into nothing. "No, no! Don't let this happen! Not to her, please, no...not to her...." 

  The words echoed in his head. Maebh, Domina mea, audite orationis meae! Maebh. Myrn didn't speak Sidhli, could barely understand simple phrases in the language. But he knew that name. Maebh. A sidhe queen head and shoulders above the rest. Agondrae was giving his sister to her. 

  The panic deepened, but it was joined by an almost giddy sense of purpose. There was a definitive place to start. 

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

  Lycaon sank down, despair settling deep in his gut. Everything had gone wrong. It had all backfired. There was no way he could fix this. There was no getting Phelan back. When Agondrae took someone, when the fae queen he served took them, there was no getting them back. She was gone forever. 

  Lycaon barely reacted when the elf descended upon him. Light kicks, nudges to get him moving, not to hurt. "Faerie ring. Nearest one. Where?" The words were weirdly garbled.

  "Fa-faerie ring?" What the hell was he talking about? Phelan was gone, why was he bringing up toadstools?

  "Large stones. Unnatural trees. Circular formations." Myrn was definitely grinding the words out like he was talking around a mouthful of water.

  "I don't---- Mason's Folly!?! Big crescent of rocks. Always cold. Nothing grows there." 

  "Yeah-sh." Slurred. Lycaon was sure he heard liquid hit the ground. 

   "That's very close, about a third the way to Sainne."

  "That be it."

  "I-is- that's where-?"

  "Faerie realm. Summoning. Hurry!" And the elf was off, skidding and limping haphazardly down the pitch black tunnel. Lycaon double check it was the right direction, and followed after. 

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

  Phelan was not a happy camper. Disoriented and sick, head reeling from the sudden shift in space. From the absolute darkness of the cave to the relatively bright sunset, surrounded by cold damp grass and a chilly breeze. She couldn't hold the vertigo down and vomited across the large, flat rock she landed on. 

  "Pull yourself together mutt," Agondrae's voice rasped. "You're about to meet a queen."

  Phelan snarled and bolted, paying no heed to direction, just to putting distance between herself and the draeken. A whisper trailed behind her. "Dona mihi magicae tuae." She stopped. Couldn't move. Joints locked in place. Her limbs simply refused to work; her own body wasn't under her control anymore. 

  Agondrae dragged the paralyzed werewolf back the few feet she had managed to get. "Kneel," he ordered and her limbs (if not her will) obeyed, forcing her to her knees before the large flat rock. Which she now realized was some kind of altar, with runes carved all along it's sides, and a door-way shaped of three long stones set atop it. She felt a tinge of satisfaction when the draeken noticed the mess she made and grouchily had to clean it up before moving on to the next part of his nefarious plan. 

  He was breathing heavier than before, had used a lot of magic. Maybe he would use too much and she could break free. He pulled a bottle of what looked like herbal oil from beneath his outer robe and poured some on his palm. It smelled strongly of mint and cinnamon. Phelan struggled internally to pull free of his hold as the wicked draeken began annointing the runes and chanting under his breath. 

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

  Each moment stretched into years. If there was any chance, it was now. Before Agondrae could breach the thin barrier between the realms of Faerie and Gaia Draconis, before he could bring himself and Phelan into that land, or worse bring his patroness into theirs. That barrier was there for a reason. 

  Lycaon grabbed Myrn's arm, pulling him back. "Careful, careful! We're quite close. Let's maybe be stealthy." Myrn looked over at him, nodded, and Lycaon was very glad when the elf turned away again. He had gotten one good look at the awful, gross black streams down the elf's cheeks and chin, mixing with the crusting blood. Yeah, no. Nope.

  "How fast can you run?" Myrn asked. "W-we aren't going to be able to handle this. Get the others. Please. That's--- I'm gonna try getting Phelan away enough for us to flee, but really? Agondrae's too much to handle. Get the others, quick." He wasn't trying to hold the weird ichor back and it hit the ground with each word. The grass shriveled up where it landed. 

  "I--I--" Lycaon hesitated. He wanted to stay, to fight Agondre, to get Phelan away from danger. But he'd frozen up in his presence. He knew how powerful the lizardman was. He had seen what became of those who stood in his way. They needed help. "Yes."

  "I--Just--get away. Run. It's the only chance."

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

  The symbols glowed in a sudden, blinding flash of blue light before fading to a softer glow. In the space between the upright stones was a shimmering, watery distortion in the air. A tear in the veil between realms. 

  Too tall, too thin, like a taffy-pulled elf, the feminine creature stepped out onto the stone slab. The air became unbearably cold, all warmth dragging away to her silver and sapphire draped body. Three sets of blue dragonfly wings flickered open and closed behind her as she took a deep breath of the now frigid air. She smiled, eyes flickering from the werewolfess to Agondrae and back again. 

  Phelan stared hard at the ground, pulse pounding. 

  Efelda was one of the few places where the realms of Faerie and Gaia Draconis were physically bridged. Born and raised there, Phelan knew exactly who this creature was. Maebh. Elder fae and most notorious of the Unseelie Queens. A sidhe with power and sway enough to rival any of the four Fae Kings, with just her one court. Maebh's other name, Goddess of Dreams, was misleadingly benign; nightmares were also dreams.

  Agondrae gave a low bow, laying out his cloak for the sidhe queen to walk on instead of the muddy ground. She ignored it, hopping off the alter with a tittering laugh, splashing into an icy puddle. The folk tales were based in truth of course; in the area where a powerful fae resided, the seasons changed to suit them. Maebh obviously preferred winter to the early autumn that had naturally settled over Imptula. 

  "Oh, he's delightfully hideous."

  "She." Phelan automatically corrected, daring to meet the queen's eyes. Clearest crystal. Palest blue. She couldn't look away. 

  Again the queen's bird-chirp of a laugh rang out. "Yet you offer no fight at being called ugly? Ooooh, methinks I like you, wolf-child."

  Slender fingers, much longer than they should be, patted her head. She wanted nothing more than to accept the cool, comfortable touch. A faint thought whispered that she shouldn't be at ease. Long nails scritched behind one ear and whatever alertness was stirring melted away. Phelan leaned against that kind hand, tail thumping happily on the cool grass.  

  "Tell me, what's your name?"

  "Mmmmmmmmmmm" She hummed contentedly. "Phe."

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

  "Get the hell away!" 

  Maebh's head snapped up, startled. She stared for a split second, taking in the haggard elf limping toward her, using a longbow as a cane, wiping runny eyes on his sleeves. An avaricious gleam came to her eye for an instant, only to be chased away by common sense. 

  "Too old. Such a shame." Wings buzzing to assist her, she hopped up onto the rune-carved stone. Hurriedly, nervously making for the tear she came through. The fae's gaze broken, Phelan scrambled away. Frightened. The enchantment, the lulling charm was gone in a flash. Maebh ignored her, pausing on the threshold of the gate. "Agondrae, there's no point in collecting this one. It's been allowed to mature too much. Kill it. Kill it quickly." And she slipped back to her own realm, the rip fizzling from existence behind her. The runes fell dull and empty once more. 

  "A blessing in disguise then," Agondrae purred, turning a baleful eye to Myrn. "She wouldn't have wanted you after-all, and I'd have needed to get the wolf anyway. This saves time." He waved a hand dismissively at Phelan, sprinting and stumbling in the opposite direction. "I've tasted her scent now. There is nowhere she can run I will not find her."

  "Now please, just be still." Myrn shivered, the chill not coming from the frigid air alone. There was definitely something in that voice. Something wrong. Agondrae strode forward confidently, hand slipping beneath his robe. "I promise this will be quick." 

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

  It wasn't natural, how those words wheedled in. What Agondrae was reaching for was a dagger. He knew it was a dagger, could see the shape of it even as it was drawn, but he couldn't move away. What the hell was wrong with him? He couldn't fucking move. 

  Agondrae chuckled, claws digging into the elf's cheeks as he forced his head back, exposing his throat. Myrn twitched, the only external sign that he was struggling to get loose. The draeken was unaffected, long tongue snaking out to taste the fear radiating off the frantically squirming but ultimately immobile elf.

  Sharp and cold and laid across his throat. Myrn swallowed convulsively. It was all he could do. 

  THUNK! THUNK! thwip THUNK! 

  One arrow missed, sinking into the ground between their feet, but the other three hit Agondrae in the side and back. As before, they did no real damage to his heavy hide, but it was a distraction. He swung around to roar at Phelan as she drew another shot back and Myrn wrenched the dagger from his claws, scrambling back. 

  "Damn it," the lizardman hissed. His voice lacked the ability to command like before. 

  The blade scraped uselessly off Agondrae's scales, barely leaving a scratch. Not even bruising like the arrows did. Myrn grunted with surprise. Those missing scales, the ones he had rotted away in the cave were back; healed fresh and shiny, no doubt by Maebh before he'd reached them. His plan to strike there, get the knife in and cause serious damage, flew away. He locked eyes with Phelan and ran, in the direction of Sainne. Claws ripped across his shoulders, snagging in his shirt, yanking him back. Teeth, so many teeth, and claws, and teeth; gnashing, biting, ripping, rending, hurting, bleeding, overwhelming. He turned his head away, shoving back desperately to keep the snapping maw from closing on his throat. Instead the teeth sank into his arm and crunched down. He screamed, gargling on the liquid filling his mouth. Wait. The liquid. 

  Agondrae let go an instant later, snarling. Blinded, possibly for good, the scales on his face melting away with a sickening hissing sound. The ripping hands were off him. Myrn kicked hard, pushing and shoving again to get loose, but the draeken's weight still held him pinned. In the desperate scrambling, a large scale near the lizardman's throat caught in his nails. Myrn latched onto the scale, working his fingers under it and getting a good grip. It came off with a gross ripping sound, exposing the soft, bleeding flesh beneath. Agaondrae roared, raking his claws across the elf's chest as he tried to get off and away from the pain. He swung, hard.

  Myrn took another scale with him to the ground but was knocked prone. Agondrae wiped the rotting magic from what remained of his facial scales, absolute hatred burning in his sadly uninjured eyes. Myrn snatched the dagger from where it lay beside him and curled up into a tiny defensive ball as the lizardman started back in with a new frenzy. 

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

  Phelan skittered to and fro, trying to find an opening, howling at regular intervals to give their location. Surely she'd have been gone long enough by now. Surely someone would have found her note and headed out to find her. There wasn't much she could do to help in her humanoid form, even with her bow; she'd be as likely to hit Myrn as the draeken. There was nothing for it now, just the awfulness of transformation. Bones cracked and shattered, flesh and skin tore apart only to reform in another shape as she turned herself over to the wolf side of werewolf. 

  Agondrae stumbled forward, the force of the large grey wolf slamming into his back knocking him off balance and straight onto the knife Myrn was striving to fit past the scales. He roared, shoving back onto his feet, breathing heavily and grasping the knife that was now wedged firmly in his belly. It was too far to the side; no organs were hit, and the blade was keeping him from bleeding too fast. A demented smile cracked over the grimace of pain. He spread his arms out wide and called once more for his patroness to aid him. To heal him. To lend him her magic.  

  "Let's go!" Myrn yelled to the clothed wolf at his side, rolling up and mad-dashing towards the ocean, the shore starting not far from the base of the Faerie Ring's hill. Maybe they could get away. Maybe the draeken was too hurt to pursue. Maybe was a slim, hopeless chance. 

  Myrn cried out, stopped in his tracks by what felt like a branch smacked him in the waist, knocking him down. But it wasn't a branch, and now the thick rope of  solid shadow had him pinned to the ground as it wrapped further up his body, crushing first one arm and then the other against his sides. Phelan had heard him and was running back up the hill as fast a possible, but even if she could have done anything she would have gotten there too late. Agondrae didn't bother with even a gloating smirk as he yanked the dagger from out his side with one hand and snagged Myrn's scalp with the other. 

  Myrn could feel Maebh's energy receding after the massive out-pour this trap had taken, the subtlest weakening in the shadow's hold. Not that it mattered. 

  Agondrae got in two powerful, gouging slices to his prey's neck before Phelan was upon him. He was absolutely exhausted and didn't fight her off as her claws raked against his scales. Instead he gathered what little strength remained to vanish into the ground as before, to flee to a safe place to lick his wounds. The gore covered knife all that remained behind. 

  Myrn's lifeless body, no longer held by Maebh's ethereal arm, began rolling down the hill a short way before being stopped by a heather bush, blood still gushing out. Earth Children were hard to kill, but there was no coming back from decapitation. Phelan's face was blank as she numbly shifted back to her human form. There wasn't anything for her to do, but she was hardly rational at that moment. Frantic movements, expressionless as she tried to hold the wound closed, to will life back into what was now an empty husk. 

  She laughed deliriously and picked the body up, the head lolling back in a horrid way from the half-severed neck and she tried not to look. She began to walk aimlessly from the spot, ultimately towards a village, but lost for the time; just shambling forward, feet slipping on the blood-soaked grass. 

  She felt a horrible twitch and impulsively let go. No. No way. It couldn't be. How? Myrn crawled toward her, arm reaching out, torso drenched in the blood from the wound that nearly separated his head from the rest of the body... It was too much. Horrifying images and sounds and smells rushed back through her head, to the first time she'd seen the dead rise again; old family members and friends long buried clawing their way to rip the living to shreds. 

  She couldn't do it again, didn't have the will to. Phelan sank down, wrapping her arms around her knees and sobbing, cringing and sobbing harder when the inevitable happened and the grasping hands finally reached her in grotesque mockery of her brother's hugs.

  "Phe. I-it's okay," Myrn croaked, feeling the shudder that ran through Phelan's shoulders. She curled into herself further, screaming at him to shut up, that it wasn't real. "Not dead. Not yet, I swear." He took a deep breath, the air stinging the newly healed trachea. "Just tired. I'm....I healed. Didn't go all the way through. I'm fine."

  Phelan took a shuddering breath, shakily hugging back. Warm, not cold, not dead. They were still there, leaning on each-other in exhaustion and a need for contact when Lycaon finally came back, panting and leading the cougars to the half-circle of rock. The rest of the night passed in a hazy blur of exhaustion, and relief, and worry. A walk-limp-carry back to the safety of Rhosa's home.

[chungledown-bimothy]

Trust Me: Chapter 9

I cannot thank y’all enough for your patience. Hopefully the fact that it’s a relatively big chapter a little bit kinda makes up for the wait? Either way, thank you so much for reading, and I love you <3

Chapter 1 Chapter 8 AO3 Chapter 10

Warnings: A brief mention of the wounds from previous chapters’ violence, very briefly implied nsfw/daddy kink (to skip it, just don’t read the text messages after “Aww, you’re so sweet!”

Author’s Note: Again, the cipher is crackable with the information you have. (I’d argue that this one might be a bit harder, because I gave you fewer/subtler clues, but if you get how it’s encrypted, decoding it is a lot easier.) Shoutout to y’all who got last chapter’s! <3

Word Count: 3,660

Tag List: @ccecode​ @emo-sanders-sides-loving-unicorn​ @ren-allen​ @ilovemygaydad​ @bloodropsblog​ @funsizedgremlin​ @raygelkitty​ @roxiefox23​ @thomasthesandersengine​ @spookyingarbageisland​ @band-be-boss-blog​

"The truth, however ugly in itself, is always curious and beautiful to the seeker after it," Virgil muttered. Running his hand through his hair, he looked up to see that it was 8:30. He'd been at his desk staring at a copy of the note for over two hours. There was something familiar about the phrase; the feeling that he'd heard it before played in the back of his mind, just out of reach. He was sure that it was the key to solving the entire thing.

God, I wish I remembered more from that cryptology class I took in college. Okay, time for a new approach. Clean slate, let's go through what we know about him, Virgil thought.

He's a man in his late twenties or early thirties. He's highly intelligent and well-educated, likely with a medical background of some sort. He's a mission-based killer, set on punishing people he feels got away with things, things the system should have punished them fore. Before Jason Dean, it seems. That change in victimology must be connected to why he sent this note, so I'll put a pin in that for now; I'll talk to Vincent about the autopsy report when he's done with it. 

He seems divided; some of the torture is methodical, but some of it seems more motivated by rage than purpose. And then there's how he treats them. Mission-oriented killers don't often torture their victims; the payoff is from the kill itself. But he's feeding them, keeping them alive for a while so he can torture them.

Does he want them to know what he's done? That's it. He wants them to recognize their 'sins', perhaps even repent for them. He needs the validation that comes from them acknowledging his power and that he is correct.

Everything he does has a literal meaning and a symbolic one, he continued. Nothing has only one meaning. On the surface, he's saying that he knows that what he's doing is wrong, legally at least, but he finds it beautiful. Interesting choice of wording. Not right, not just. Beautiful. It feels like he cares more about the torture than the mission. But then why the remorse with the pseudo-burial? He's so full of contradictions. And then there's the bit at the end. "Publish me", he said, not "publish this". Which goes back to the fact that he's got one hell of an ego; he wants the focus on him. Which directly flies in the face of most mission oriented killers- they want the focus on their message. 

I would almost think that there might be two unsubs, but two people being this organized and methodical is extremely unlikely. He's way too egotistical to cooperate with a partner, however submissive said partner might be. 

So, we've got an incredibly smart unsub who knows it and feels like he isn't getting the attention he deserves. A younger child, maybe? Not that that would help us find him. Round up every smart, egotistical younger son in the city. We'd get the founders of every tech start-up in the city; it'd be Gentrifiers-R-Us. Virgil shook his head to clear out the unhelpful thoughts. Focus, Virge. You're on a clock. So, what kind of encryption does someone like that send? What kind of encryption has each word represented by three numbers? It's not a trifid cipher; none of the numbers would be bigger than three, and these numbers range from 1 to 192. Most number ciphers assign a number to each letter; no way in hell all of the words are three letters, and 192 and 26 do not play well together mathematically. Think, Virgil.

Fuck. Okay, let's try another new angle. The series of numbers at the end. Clearly not part of the message. 10 digits, but clearly not a phone number. 055 certainly isn't a US area code, and the number isn't long enough for a foreign dialing code plus the rest of the phone number. Wait. Maybe it's backwards? 310 is Los Angeles. 

Virgil took out his phone and dialed 310-053-3550, heart in his throat. It rang twice before an automated voice informed him that "the number you have dialed is no longer in service". Damn. His heart started beating in an entirely different way when he saw that he had some new texts.

6:22 [Patton]- Hi cutie! Are you free, by any chance? It's been a really bad day, and seeing you always makes me feel so much better. <3

6:50 [Patton]- I was thinking we could get some dinner and then watch a movie or something at my place

7:48 [Patton]- Virge?

Virgil's stomach dropped. Oh god do they think I'm ignoring them? Oh shit. He quickly typed out a reply.

8:53[Virgil<3]- Hey, Pat, I'm here. I'm so, so sorry you're having a bad day. I can't hang out tonight, though. :'( I'd be with you if I could, though. It's been a rough one for me, too. Wanna talk about what's been bringing you down?

Their reply was almost instant.

[Patton]- Virgil! :D Aww, stormcloud, it's okay. Life happens; it wouldn't be healthy for either of us if you dropped everything when I'm just a little down. Besides, it was nothing, really. Just me being dramatic lol

Virgil felt himself blush at the endearment, but his brow furrowed reading the rest of the message.

[Virgil<3]- You sure? It also isn't healthy to bottle up your emotions. I care a lot about you and am always here if you want to talk about anything.

[Patton]- God, you're the sweetest! <3 I care a lot about you too. I promise, though, I really am fine. Do you wanna talk about what's bumming you out?

[Virgil<3]- I really wish I could, but I actually have to get back to it. I'll message you later <3

[Patton]- okie dokie. Don't work too late, okay?

He chuckled as he put his phone away and looked back at the note on his desk. Heather and Kurt are obviously people, Ram probably is too. Who are they, and what do they mean to him? The phone on his desk started to ring; Virgil jumped.

"H- hello? Detective Mason here." Virgil cursed himself for the shaky greeting.

"Virgil! I'm glad you're still here. It's Vincent. You said you wanted to know as soon as the autopsy was done; I'm waiting for a couple of particulates to come back, but the bulk of it is ready for you." 

"Vincent, you are a lifesaver. I'll be down in a minute."

"Did you know that the candy Life Savers was invented in 1912 as a summer confectionary alternative to chocolate, which has a melting point of approximately 86 degrees?"

"I definitely did not know that, but I did know that they started as mints and didn't become the fruity candy we associate most with the brand now until the mid-1920s."

"Fruit flavors were introduced in 1921, to be exact, but they did not have holes in them like the mints did until 1925, which is probably the date to which you were referring."

Virgil laughed. "Damn, I thought I had you. I'll be right down." He hung up the phone and left for the morgue. 

Three minutes later, he found himself being hugged by Dr. Nigel-Murray.

"I'm as touch-starved as the next gay, but why the hug? We just saw each other, like, five hours ago." Virgil looked slightly down at Vincent with a small smile.

"I'm sorry, I'm trying to curb my workplace-inappropriate tendencies, but, barring once during a time of great stress, people in general don't respond in kind to my facts." Virgil's heart broke for the vulnerability and pain in his voice, and he made a mental note to learn as much trivia as possible.

"That's a damn shame. You're a great guy, Vince- let's get coffee or something once I've cracked this damn code."

"That sounds quite lovely, actually. What code, if I may ask?" Vincent's smile was appropriate for the fact that they were at work, but Virgil could tell that he was practically bouncing with excitement internally.

"Our killer sent a reporter a coded message. I've got about 21 hours to crack it if I want to get this guy to come to me."

"Not to overstep, but I've dabbled a bit in cryptography; perhaps I could be of some assistance?" 

"I'd love another set of eyes on this, actually. Thank you! Here, give me your number, and I'll text you a picture of it once we've wrapped up here." Virgil pulled out his phone and unlocked it to find that his messages with Patton were still pulled up. He tried to stop himself from smiling, but he couldn't.

Vincent chuckled. "He must be pretty special, to get a smile like that out of you." Virgil blushed.

"Uh, yeah, they are. At least, I think so. I hope so." Virgil fidgeted with the hem of his shirt, refusing to make eye contact.

"Sorry about the pronoun flub. So, tell me about them!"

Virgil hesitated; opening up about his feelings certainly wasn't one of his strong suits, but he liked Vincent and wanted to be his friend.

“They’re incredible. Their name is Patton, and they run We Hart Coffee just a few blocks from here. They’re so funny and kind, and I’ve never seen a smile like theirs. It’s so genuine and infectious. The world genuinely is a brighter and happier place around them.”

“You really love them, huh?” 

“I- What? No. No way. That’s way too cliche. We meet in a coffee shop and are in love within a couple of weeks? This is real life, and stuff like that only happens in movies and fanfiction. And completely unrealistic. What?" Virgil snapped, seeing the grin on Vincent's face.

"Trust me, Virgil. My first doctorate advisor, Doctor Brennan, was in deep denial of her love for her partner, Agent Booth. They're now happily married with two kids. I know what repressed love looks like, and you, my friend, have it in proverbial spades."

"I'm not sure that that's the right use for that cliche, and besides…" Virgil sighed, running a hand through his hair. "So what if you're right? Even if I did love them, which I don't, they don't love me back."

"Not yet, perhaps, but you're a great guy, Virgil. Smart, funny, caring, and quite handsome. If I were into men, I'm certain I would be half in love with you, myself. Just give them time."

"Christ, Vince, I'm gonna cry at work and ruin the tough-guy aesthetic I work so hard to maintain."

Vincent hummed his disbelief. "As much as I love chatting with you, I believe you're here about a murder. Follow me, if you will."

"Right. Murder." Virgil muttered before following him into the lab.

"So, you know who he is. 18 year old Mission High student Jason Dean. You saw the burns, frostbite, and acid damage. We were able to determine that the frostbite was caused by liquid nitrogen, and the killer used hydrochloric acid. We also found that while he was less dehydrated than the part victims, likely due to being held for only about a week, as opposed to two or three like previous victims, he was far more malnourished than the others."

"God, why is he changing so much? A kid, a shortened timetable, not feeding him. What was the cause of death?"

"Strychnine poisoning."

"See, that's a huge departure, too. All of the previous torture was from knives and hands. Why the sudden change to substances? Did he get injured, or is something else limiting his manual dexterity?"

"I don't know about any of that, but strychnine is a fairly popular poison in popular culture; Agatha Christie used it three times- in Mysterious Affair at Styles, The Coming of Mr. Quin, and How Does Your Garden Grow?, and Arthur Conan Doyle used it in-"

"Oh. OH. Vincent, I love you, you know-it-all." Virgil started pacing, running his fingers through his hair.

"I beg your pardon?"

"The Murder of Roger Ackroyd."

"What? Strychnine wasn't used in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd; Ackroyd was stabbed."

"Yes, I know. The note the killer sent. At the bottom of the code, he wrote 'the truth, however ugly in itself, is always curious and beautiful to the seeker after it'. It seemed so familiar, but I couldn't place it until you just brought up Agatha Christie. Poirot said it in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. The number. I'm an idiot."

"Breathe, Virgil. I assume that you just cracked the code?"

"Not quite. But I cracked our unsub. I knew it. I knew he'd hand me the answer. I can't believe it took me this long to figure it out."

"Okay, so how does The Murder of Roger Ackroyd help you?"

"Under the quote is a thirteen digit number. I'd bet my life that it's an ISBN for a specific printing of the book. It's an Arnold Cipher. Each series of three numbers is a page, line, and word. It was staring me in the face. I truly am Boo-Boo the Fool." Vincent was puzzled by Virgil's last sentence, but Virgil was far too agitated for questioning it to be prudent.

Virgil took a deep breath. "Okay, sorry about that. So, back to Jason?"

"Oh, right. Jason. Um, the only other thing of note that we have found at this point are fibers from a 1950s Volkswagen Beetle."

"That's gonna help a ton, as well. Vincent, you are my hero!" Virgil scooped him up into a big hug before leaving the morgue, leaving Vincent speechless for the first time in his life.

Virgil ran back up to his desk, furiously typing in his password. It took him three tries to correctly enter the number into the San Francisco Public Library website's search bar. He eventually got it, and there it was. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie. And two copies were available. The library didn't open until 12 pm the next day, however, so he went home after setting an alarm on his phone and sending a quick text to Patton.

9:52 [To:Patton]- Hey, wanna get dinner tomorrow night?

He was ecstatic to see a message from them when he got home.

9:55 [Patton]- Absolutely! You got the problem worked out? :D

10:10 [Virgil <3]- I found the solution, and will get it resolved by the end of the week. I'll pick you up on Friday at 7? We'll take a walk in the park and then House of Prime Rib, on me?

[Patton]- Are we celebrating something? Or are you trying to tell me you want to be my sugar daddy? ;P

[Virgil <3]- Trust me, Pat, if I had sugar daddy money, I'd love nothing more than to spoil you rotten. But nah, it's a combination of a small celebration and an apology for being unavailable today and for the next few days until Friday. (and i may or may not be buttering you up in hopes you'll share what's bringing you down)

[Patton]- Aww, you're so sweet! <3 (Can I call you daddy anyway?)

[Virgil <3]- Only if you want to be rewarded, baby. ;)

[Patton]- I'll be a good boy for you, daddy, I promise. 

Virgil noted their preferred appellation and responded in kind with a wicked smile.

--------

The next morning, Virgil woke up half an hour before his alarm was set to go off, feeling more relaxed than he had in months. I'm finally going to get this guy.

Figuring there was no point in just waiting around, he got ready and went right to work. He knew Captain Sanders would want a breakdown of the previous night's findings before he could start following the leads he had gotten from Vincent the previous night.

He got to the station and immediately started looking into Jason Dean and the possible claim that he was a murderer. It didn't take him long to find that three Mission High students committed suicide 2 months prior named Heather, Kurt, and Ram. Virgil tracked down the police reports for the deaths. By all accounts, they appeared to be through-and-through suicides. If Jason did kill them, the killer would need to be quite close to either one of the victims or Jason himself. Linking the suicides would imply that he's close to all of them. Maybe through school? Science classes are more than likely to have liquid nitrogen and hydrochloric acid. Any teacher would have access, but I'll look more into science teachers in particular. He's displayed some anatomical knowledge as well. 

Captain Sanders walked into the precinct, calling for Virgil to follow him into his office.

"So, what do you have?" he asked, after they'd arrived and shut the door.

"The note is a book cipher based on Agatha Christie's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. The library has a copy of the specific edition I need to crack it, so I'm going to pick that up at noon, as soon as the library opens. Looking into the 'murderer' thing, there were three suicides at Mission High 5 months ago, whose names match the three not-coded words in the note- Heather, Kurt, and Ram. If they were murdered by Jason, that means the killer is close to one of them, most likely Jason himself. I think that's what the killer is alluding to in the note, but we'll see once I've decoded it. Add in the liquid nitrogen, and it points to a teacher, likely a science teacher. So I'm going to crack the code and look for other insights into him and look into Mission High science teachers. I have an updated profile, and I'll email that to you right away."

"That sounds wonderful, Mason. You've been doing excellent work; we're glad to have you."

Virgil shifted his weight from foot to foot. "I'm just doing my best, sir. If you'll excuse me, the library is about to open, and I'd like to get the book as soon as possible."

"Sounds great to me! Just send me that profile before you go."

"Will do, sir. Thank you." Virgil turned and left the room, hurrying to his computer before rushing to the library.

--

A short while later, he was back at his desk with a battered copy of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. It wasn't difficult to decode the message, but it did take a bit of time and a lot of counting and re-counting. Word by word, the message became clear: He killed Heather, Kurt, and Ram. Find the weapon; I know he had it. It is your evidence.

Virgil sat back in his chair once he'd finished, puzzled by what the note revealed that he hadn't already deduced. 'He' has to be referring to Jason. He knew we'd find out the reasons for him choosing the previous victims, but he needed to be sure we'd know why he thinks Jason deserved to die. I looked at the police reports for those deaths; the gun used to kill Ram and Sweeney was recovered on-site and is in police custody. He's obsessed with his mission, though. He wouldn't make this claim if he wasn't sure. I'll look into that once we've caught our killer. For my peace of mind, at least. Virgil cracked his knuckles and picked up his phone.

"Roman Prince, SFGate, how can I help you?"

"Roman, it's Detective Mason. Can you come down to the station right away?" The responding scream was so loud, Virgil had to move his phone away from his ear. "I'll take that as a yes?"

"Absolutely, Detective. I will be there as soon as physically possible."

"Don't break any traffic l-" The line went dead, cutting Virgil off.

--

Far sooner than could have been legal, Roman skidded to a stop in front of Virgil's desk.

"HelloVirgildidyoucrackthecode?DoIgettowritearesponse?CanI-"

"BREATHE, Roman." Virgil stood, grabbing him by the shoulders. "Yes, I cracked the code. Yes, you will publish a response tonight. But I'm writing it. I assume your laptop is in your bag?" Roman simply nodded- he knew that if he tried to speak, he'd start rambling again. "Fantastic. Let's get going."

45 minutes (and one call from Captain Sanders to Dan Humphrey about how not allowing it to be posted immediately would be obstruction of justice) later, a new post was live on SFGate's website. It was 4:02 pm, two hours before the deadline.

An Open Letter to U N Owen

It was a pleasure hearing from you. While I obviously cannot condone your methods, you are correct that our justice system is imperfect, and those imperfections need addressing. You gave me quite a puzzle, and I enjoyed solving it. It was clever, but not clever enough. I hope you'll forgive me for not following your directions; please let me know if this is inadequate.

Vq rwv kv dnwpvna, aqw'tg ytqpi. Jg fqgup'v jcxg kv, yg fq. Yg'xg jcf kv htqo vjg xgta dgikppkpi. Dwv aqw cntgcfa mpqy vjcv. Aqw'tg hct vqq engxgt vq jcxg pqv mpqyp vjcv. Wpnguu K'o qxgtguvkocvkpi aqw, yjkej ku c fghkpkvg rquukdknkva. Aqwt qvjgt cuugtvkqp jcu dggp pqvgf, cpf K uygct vq aqw vjcv K yknn rwtuwg vjcv qpeg yg ugvvng vjku ocvvgt dgvyggp wu.

Hqt pqy, vjqwij, aqw ujqwnf mpqy vjcv aqw'xg iqvvgp unqrra, cpf vjcv kv'u qpna c ocvvgt qh vkog dghqtg K hkpf aqw cpf tgrca aqw kp vjg ngicn hqto qh vjg eqkp aqw icxg vjgo. Aqw yknn (ogvcrjqtkecnna) jcpi hqt vjku.

Sincerely,

Det. Mason Poirot II

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

Logan refreshed SFGate.com for the thirteenth time that day and was finally rewarded for his tenacity; the post was less than five minutes old. He read it twice, rage simmering in his chest and a smile on his face. "Detective Mason," he said to his empty apartment, "a worthy adversary indeed. The game is on."

[eng-hypnosismic]

Division Rap Battle- 2nd LIVE report

Division Rap Battle- 2nd LIVE report by Numan <-- Click for pictures of the live!

HYPNOSIS MIC -Division Rap Battle- 2nd LIVE @ Shinagawa “Rhyme Tournament” Original Scream Report!

Rap project “Hypnosis Mic” features 12 male voice actors. The first time ever such a luxurious cast featuring Kimura Subaru, Asanuma Shintaro, Hayami Show, and Shirai Yusuke attended the 2nd Live, which took place at Shinagawa Stellar Ball on Aug 26th, 2018. We will report to you the hot live where the results of Battle Season were also announced! Ladies of Chuuoku, are you ready?!

Be Carved in History, Our Style! Getting Hyped by the Anthem Songs!

Kimura Subaru san, the voice of Yamada Ichiro, was the announcer before the show! He gave a few tips on how to enjoy “Hypnosis Mic” (“Hypmic” hereinafter) hip hop music, and the audiences were already very hyped!

And that’s the opening. Each Division, enter the stage!

First, dressed in red, blue, and yellow were Ikebukuro Division’s “Buster Bros!!!” Kimura Subaru-san (Yamada Ichiro), Ishiya Haruki-san (Yamada Jiro), and Amasaki Kouhei-san (Yamada Saburo) welcomed by a lot of cheerings.  

Then came Yokohama Division, with a blue Hawaiian shirt and just the right vibes, is Hama’s mad dog Asanuma Shintaro-san (Aohitsugi Samatoki), Slim-fitting black pants with suspenders, a black shirt and tie, alongside with the side part hair and glasses, is Komada Wataru-san the splitting image of his character Iruma Juto, and Riou Busujima Mason’s voice actor Kamio Shinichiro-san entered the stage in a military jacket. “Mad Trigger Crew” takes coolness to the next level.

Next was Shibuya Division. Shirai Yusuke-san (Amemura Ramuda) in a pop, Shibuya-style patterned shirt, and Nozuyama Yukihiro-san (Arisugawa Dice). “Fling Posse” is just CUTE♪

Lastly was Shinjuku Division! Hayami Show-san (Jinguji Jakurai) in a long white jacket, Kijima Ryuichi-san (Izanami Hifumi) donning a black jacket, and Itou Kento-san (Kannonzaka Doppo) in a striped blouson. The three of “Matenrou” is full of the appeal of maturity.  

Without further adieu, after everyone got on stage, they began with their first number “Hypnosis Mic -Division Battle Anthem-” right away!

The audience was fired up to the max from the very beginning of this song; which is the anthem song of Hypmic’s Battle Season!

And before you know it, without any time to catch a breath, came the second song “Hypnosis Mic -Division Rap Battle-”.

Amongst the red, blue, yellow, and white ring lights from the audience, the vibes also got brought to max intensity in the heated calls! It really was an opening that would “be carved in the history, our style”.

After the stage was fully warmed up, under Kimura Subaru-san’s MC, the performers greeted the audience again.

“Let’s all take a bath later ♥” -Amasaki Kouhei-san prompted the audiences with his full-on youngest son vibes.

“So you want to be arrested!” -Komada-san also fired up the audiences with Juto’s line. 

“Food catering is curry, so get excited!” -Kamio-san. “Onee~san~♪” -Shirai-san cutely greeted and Nozuyama-san imitated him (laughs).

“Tonight, I’ll heal all of you, my patients” -Hayami-san followed by Kijima-san greeting with his appealing voice, “We finally meet, little kitten ♥”.

After the free-style greetings of the performers, “Shibuya Division’s liar”, Yumeno Gentaro (Saito Soma-san) who unfortunately couldn’t make it that day, delivered a video message. The lip-syncing, subtitles and speech of this message didn’t match each other, such details is really fitting (?) for the liar!

The subtitles wrote, “Every single word is true,” but Gentaro only spilled his catch phrase, “Well, it’s all lies”; all the audience could do was laugh.  

Then Saito Soma-san also delivers a message as himself. A Saito-san clad from head to toe in Hypmic fashion with sunglasses. Regarding the message that is a bit sly (?), Shirai-san commented, “What are those glasses” (laughs).

And then amongst the 12 people who are there in spirit (laughs), each Division sent a representative to say some words of encouragement.

From Ikebukuro is Yamada Saburo (Amasaki Kouhei-san), “The prodigal son has returned!” (laughs). Yokohama started with “Yo, you bitches!”. Samatoki-sama (Asanuma-san)’s message was “If you don’t feel well, please tell the person next to you. Don’t push yourself too hard okay,” it was so unexpectedly kind that the audience screamed. Shibuya’s message was “Everyone in the center block!  Be bold!” yelled Dice (Nozuyama-san), and Shinjuku’s was the bewitching words of Hifumi (Kijima-san), who got put on the spot by Jakurai-sensei (Hayami-san), “I’ve been longing to meet you little kittens 💛 Let’s have lots of fun!”

Ikebukuro VS Yokohama! The scream of Hama’s fans…?!

And then began a nonstop number of familiar songs…!

First from Ikebukuro Division, Jiro (Ishiya-san)’s “Sensenfukoku” followed by Saburo (Amasaki-san)’s “New star”.

“Today behind me I have Ichi-nii. And with him is Jiro. This performance is to prove that the three boys of Ikebukuro are number one. It’s not a challenge, winning is just natural. We are destined to be the number one. Let’s aim for the top? Okay?” were lyrics that were very Saburo-like.

Then Ichiro (Kimura-san) performed “Ore ga Ichiro”. As expected from Ichi-nii, who shouted with passion, “The best! My little brothers are by my side, my best friends are also here - isn’t this the happiest thing!!”

Finally, Shinagawa got transformed into Ikebukuro West Gate Park? “IKEBUKURO WEST GAME PARK”!

Moving around the stage, firing up the audience, the three brothers of Ikebukuro are without a doubt “Buster Bros!!! STILL NO.1!”

Following up from Yokohama Division, was Riou (Kamio-san)’s “What’s My Name?”. When asked “What’s My Name?” the audiences responded in unison “Riou!”

For “Bayside Smoking Blues”, Juto (Komada-san) got a cigarette in his hand, which is fitting to the “smoking”. Pale smoke swirled around Juto at the beginning of the intro... a perfection!

After he finished singing, Juto approached Samatoki (Asanuma-san), who also had one in mouth, closely…, and quietly lit his cigarette with his own!

The audience erupted in screams due to the performance!!!

(*Just for the performance, the cigarette wasn’t lit” )

Samatoki’s “G anthem of Y-CITY” came next preluding MAD TRIGGER CREW’s “Yokohama Walker”. Compared to Ikebukuro who moved around the stage a lot, Yokohama didn’t have a lot of movements from start to finish, giving a sense of ease as adults. Especially, Samatoki’s presence of contained madness - only him could pull it off!

After Ikebukuro and Yokohama performed their songs respectively, both divisions came togehter for “WAR WAR WAR”! That’s right, it’s the battle song of Ikebukuro VS Yokohama! An intense battle of crackling scattering sparks unfolded on top of the stage.. After the intense rap battle ended, they gave each other a pat of the back for the good fight, and Samatoki and Ichiro’s fistbump got the audience to once again scream.

Shibuya VS Shinjuku! The Random Pounding of Candy and Champagne?

Appearing on stage across from special guest EGO-san, it’s Shibuya Division’s turn.

Shirai-san, being Ramuda, came on stage with a lollipop!

After singing “3$EVEN”, Dice (Nozuyama-san) was also handed a lollipop, for Ramuda’s solo song “drops” performance.

Following “Shibuya Marble Texture -PCCS-” were the lyrics “What are we gonna play today”, when all of a sudden a selfie stick with a smartphone attached popped out, “selfie time!” - a truly Shibuya-like style of random excitement.

Last but not least was Shinjuku Division!

Each member entered the stage with a Matenrou towel (!) with perfect teamwork.

Then, came what everyone was waiting for! Hifumi’s (Kijima-san’s) “Champagne Gold”! The call alone was more than enough to hype up the audience. Kijima-san’s change in tone for the line “Become mine” again got the audience in an uproar.

Next, with a monochromatic commuter train displayed in the background, was Doppo’s (Itou-san’s) “Tigridia”.

And then came Jakurai-sensei’s (Hayami-san’s) “Labyrinth Wall”. The flowing lyrics without stagnation was certainly like a spiritual experience created by the hypnosis mic. Drawn into Shinjuku’s fanbase in one breath!

“Shinjuku Style ~Don’t Make Me Laugh~” was a performance by Matenrou in which they showed their team spirit.

And, of course, the two divisions appeared on stage for the battle song “BATTLE BATTLE BATTLE”! Matenrou and Fling Posse’s cacophonous punches of an intense battle!! The sudden change to low-voice Ramuda raised cheers from the audience!

Kadenokouji Ichijiku Enters the Stage! The Results of the Battle is Yokohama VS Shinjuku!

Across the stage of special guest KEN THE 390-san, where all performers once again appeared on stage, suddenly from the 2nd floor seating “Women of Chuuoku”, Assistant Prime Minister and Director General of the Administrative Inspectorate Bureau of the Metropolitan Police Department, Kadenokouji Ichijiku (CV: Takahashi Chiaki-san) appeared!

Ichijiku (Takahashi-san) announced the results of Hypmic Battle Season.

Ikebukuro VS Yokohama, Shibuya VS Shinjuku, the victors advancing are…?

Ikebukuro: 32812 votes VS Yokohama: 32943 votes

Shibuya: 35479 votes VS Shinjuku: 40936 votes

Thus, next time the Final Battle is, Yokohama MAD TRIGGER CREW VS Shinjuku Matenrou, and the CD release date has been set for November 14th!

Asanuma-san, from the victorious Yokohama Division, said “To be honest, I was wondering what I would do if Ikebukuro didn’t win. Subaru has always lead us through the contents of Hypnosis Mic. For us that had never done rap, he always there to guide us. Even for the raps in the drama tracks, he always helped us. ‘What would I do if this guy didn’t win’ - I couldn’t tell the two of them (Komada-san, Kamio-san) but I was always thinking about it. But, because we won… I will do my best until I die. Thank you Buster Bros!!!!” He then shook hands with Kimura-san. As he said, “100%, I will bring your passion with me as we move forward!!!”, the audience’s emotions spilled forth.

Then, from Shinjuku Division, Hayami-san said, “ The three of us, through Shinjuku, we’ve became a very fine team that I would like to keep fighting with for just a little more,” like this year’s Koshien, I want to be number one! Hayami-san appealed.

Then came the long awaited ending of the live.

The Division leaders gave a brief response each.

From Yokohama Division’s Asanuma-san, “To the women of Bukuro, and to the women of Shibuya, I know it’s frustrating. So there are parts that I cannot celebrate, but I am truly happy that, here at this live venue, no matter the division you came to cheer for, when Yokohama sang, the red rings, the yellow rings, and the white rings were moving along like crazy. That made me very happy. I think everyone else thinks the same thing. Everyone, let’s get Hypnosis Mic fired up!”

From Ikebukuro Division’s Kimura-san, “Hip hop is fun isn’t it?! The feelings of frustration and the feelings of joy, all of this is hip hop! That’s because hip hop is a lifestyle! That’s right, I’ll push aside the frustration and return to rap, so please keep supporting us from here on!”

The last song featuring special guests EGO-san and KEN THE 390-san alongside the rest of the performers was “Hypnosis Mic -Division Rap Battle- SP version”.

The special guests added in their own division for this special version of the anthem song closing the curtains on the heated live show。

≪Set List≫

M1: Hypnosis Mic -Division Battle Anthem- / Division All Star

M2: Hypnosis Mic -Division Rap Battle- / Division All Stars

M3: Sensenfukoku (War Declaration) / Yamada Jiro (CV: Ishiya Haruki)

M4: New star / Yamada Saburo (CV: Amasaki Kouhei)

M5: Ore ga Ichiro (I am Ichiro) / Yamada Ichiro (CV: Kimura Subaru)

M6: IKEBUKURO WEST GAME PARK / Buster Bros!!!

M7: What’s My Name? / Busujima Mason Riou (CV: Kamio Shinichiro)

M8: Bayside Smoking Blues / Iruma Juto (CV: Komada Wataru)

M9: G anthem of Y-CITY / Aohitsugi Samatoki (CV: Asanuma Shintaro)

M10: Yokohama Walker / MAD TRIGGER CREW

M11: WAR WAR WAR / Buster Bros!!! VS MAD TRIGGER CREW

M12: Bounce~PINEAPPLE JUICE / EGO

M13: 3$EVEN / Arisugawa Dice (CV: Nozuyama Yukihiro)

M14: drops / Amemura Ramuda (CV: Shirai Yusuke)

M15: Shibuya Marble Texture -PCCS- / Fling Poss

M16: Champagne Gold / Izanami Hifumi (CV: Kijima Ryuichi)

M17: Tigridia / Kannonzaka Doppo (CV: Itou Kento)

M18: Labyrinth Wall / Jinguji Jakurai (CV: Hayami Show)

M19: Shinjuku Style ~Don’t Make Me Laugh~ / Matenrou

M20: BATTLE BATTLE BATTLE / Fling Posse VS Matenrou

M21: Funk U Up / KEN THE 390

M22: Hypnosis Mic -Division Rap Battle- SP version / All Cast

Summary

The performers, the guests, and the audience… everyone got excited as together, that excitement was large enough to shake the venue. Comicalization and collaboration, Hypmic continues to spread more and more. The final battle CD release date and 3rd LIVE location has been decided. Don’t miss out from here on!

“Hip hop is a lifestyle”

—Kimura Subaru-san’s words will stay carved on our hearts! PEACE!

[jess-the-vampire]

Sky And The Forces Of The Multiverse, Chapter 14

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Being tailed was probably not part of the plan, but luna was right, sky could just use magic to get out of this. The problem was just well, her wand was faulty. I guess compared to other spells these were simpler but sill, what if something went wrong? Though, it was still their best bet more then anything. If luna couldn't follow her it was up to sky, and if it is up to sky then she has to do something to make sure she got away with this. And magic was the only way.

Guess it was worth a shot, luna would not be happy if she showed back up empty handed. She went on her way till she was as close as she could find herself to the crime scene without ticking off the guard behind her. She pulled out her wand and kept it from sight as she whispered among herself, "Easy peasy time freezy!". For a second it didn't seem to be working, until sky realized all sound had stopped around her. She turned around and just as planned, the guard was actually frozen, it worked! Sky sighed in thanks before bolting it, she needed to move as fast as possible before father time started moving again.

The guy was unpredictable, and that mean he could either return time in a few minutes or a few hours if he wanted to. Sky suddenly felt an urge of regret, as this could delve into a lot of problems if things went wrong. Oh god sometimes she wanted to punch luna. She could only hope this time around she'd be lucky, that and, all her years running around the lucitor castle with the princes paid off in the end. She kinda felt a bit like a spy, except less cool and more unskilled. She found the room she was looking for quickly, thank god for being friends with the lucitors, and like as expected, it was filled with guards. Talking to each other. searching the scene, and carrying weapons in case of an attack. Sky just needed to take a look around and leave, simple. She hadn't exactly been in this room mcuh in her lifetime so she could only hope the walk was short. Stepping around the chamber carefully, it was fairly easy to find the display that was broken, glass on the floor and tape around the scene. Sky took a look at it, only to find the display did not have any markings indicating what was missing. The whole room in itself was filled with artifacts, some sky knew, others not so much, all in cases or perhaps under more maximum security cases. But much to the dismay of sky, in addition to no label, there wasn't even a map to help her out in here. Then again, this was not some museum, this was a place to keep these things safe. What to do though? She pulled out the compact quickly before snapping a pic of the case, her eyes wandering around the scene as she got some snaps of her surroundings. Man the lucitors had more stuff then she remembered, in fact, most of this she could've sworn she saw during some of their presentations to previous balls. Memories flooded back as she finished taking pics and quickly started making her way back, she couldn't leave evidence behind and she carefully made sure not to touch any of the guards on her way out. God, if her mom could see her now. Surprisingly, the ordeal turned out better then she thought it would have. Guess judas really did have a point when telling her just how powerful her family was. Sky probably could've stolen stuff this way if she wanted to and no one would've been any wiser. Just as long as she made sure there was no way afterwards for anyone to trace the incident back to her. Sky then suddenly had a thought, one which she dismissed entirely as there was no way her mom did this. Right? Right. She needed to stop letting luna get to her, no one knew her mom better then HER mom after all. She needed to focus just now on getting what she needed to continue the investigation and then scram before things got worse. She shook away her thoughts and kept a move on, thankful for the annoying dance lessons she had been getting for years. It at the very least kept her light and limber, so she could easily avoid the frozen bodies without difficulty, especially since she was small anyway.. However, her carefulness got the best of her when she felt herself slip and fall on the floor. Clearly slipping on some mopped spots around the area, welp, so much for being stealthy. She got up quickly, she needed to get a move on and she didn't have the time to lollygag. She picked up the pace and ran, and to her worry, time was starting to move again and she hadn't yet returned to the guard. She found her way back to the hallway and to her dismay the guard reanimated back to himself immediately. curse father time. He blinked at the sight of sky being a bit further then she was and sky knew it must've looked as though she teleported in his eyes. "Uhhh....". "Princess Butterfly?" But that last one didn't come from the guard. "Sky?" Sky turned as two familiar figures came down the hallway. A human queen of the underworld, and a pink demon about her age standing next to them. Landon looked surprised to see her, but probably more surprised she wasn't with judas and instead was in the middle of the hallway. Sky was panicking a little, was she busted? until the queen stepped forward in delight, "Sky! Your moms didn't send you here, did they? Though It's very good to see you nonetheless...". "No no no, my moms didn't send me, i just heard what happened and came over. Uh....what were you doing?", marco eyed their son, "We were just checking up on lucy, her nose is a bit iffy and i think she needs some times for it to clear out, she'll be ok.". Landon shrugged, "Our rabbits and horses and well..whatever mason is secretly keeping will probably be fine too after we get them all some treats.". His mother patted him on the back as they smiled to sky. " I assume you're here for us...", marco noticed the guard in the hallway and urged him to move, telling them they didn't need their assistance anymore to watch sky. The guard looked as though they wanted to say something, but complied and walked off, giving sky the eye on his way out. " Well yeah uh....hope you don't mind, I have a friend with me. She went through the precautions of course! She's perfectly safe and judas vouched for her!". Landon's expression told sky enough he knew who she was talking about. "Alright.", marco said, "But next time, don't bring someone new in after something as bad as a break in......we're all a little on edge and last thing we need is people we aren't too familiar with just waltzing in, got it?". Sky nodded, making it clear she understood under the human's stern gaze. To an extension tom and marco were her parents too, at least, sometimes they felt like it judging by how they scolded her and took care of her at time when she was over. it wouldn't surprise her if her own parents gave the two permission to ground her themselves. Marco led the way, sky trying her hardest to not look like she'd just been snooping around as landon continued giving her the eye. Landon clearly did not entirely believe her story and honestly it was possible marco didn't either. Sky getting herself into trouble was too well known for the closest of her friends and family to not catch on how prone she was to getting in trouble whether she wanted to or not. Landon eyes to her as she looked away until they made their way back to the safe room. Thank freaking heck marco walked in, how sky was going to explain herself teleportating would've been crazy. Though hopefully that wasn't going to bite her in the future. At least she had the pictures she needed, pulling out her compact and sending them to luna's new compact, making sure to text her mothers of where she was before pocketing her compact.  Hopefully the situation wasn't going to force her down here the rest of the night, hopefully. Though as she re-entered the room, she stopped in her tracks. Luna and Judas were still head on in their game and much to her surprise the remained of guests were surrounding them and cheering them on, even celeste, it was like they were watching a tournament. Luna was not as good as judas and it showed however, but she did decent holding against her own, guess sky shouldn't have underestimated her so much. Judas luckily hadn't lost his cool, he was in his element after all. Judas was no sore loser, if anything he preferred a little competition. He was winning, but only to 3 points. Tom sure looked proud and marco rolled their eyes at the sight before approaching tom and questioning if this were his doing, which was followed by a playful push on their end to their husband. Landon looked to sky with another look before joining the group, though clearly only because he was bored, leaving sky to find a place to sit for now and just watch the show. One of the couches was free and she found a plate of nachos out, taking a few and munching on them. It had been a long day hadn't it? Though there was something rather nice about seeing everyone laughing and having fun together, especially all the girls. She felt her eyes droop, and she found herself falling asleep right then and there.

She awoke with a shake to her shoulders, blinking her eyes open to find judas above her, as well as everyone else. Looking very concerned, as though she had three heads or something. Then sky realized her head hurt, and she wasn't on the couch anymore, instead on the floor. She felt her head, "Ugh....guys....did i like, fall off the couch?". Judas nodded, "Yeah it kinda seems so, are you ok? we were worried you got seriously hurt, you were still asleep.". "Oh uh.....sorry....I guess maybe i passed out and slipped off in my sleep uh......did i miss anything?", judas stood up, helping his friend stand as well. "You don't have to worry about that, you sure you're ok?", sky nodded, "you can relax, i didn't die or anything, just a bump.". Tom and marco then stepped forward, marco handing her an icepack, "Glad you're ok butterfly, maybe we outta send you back home to your moms though, it'll be getting late and i'm not sure if they want you stuck in here all night.". "Queen lucitor, i'm not dying-" "I'm aware, but i don't think we are allowed to keep you here unless we speak to them, we're all only here for the night just for safety, but you have other places to be. I'm going to send word to star, you just lie down for a second.", marco left and the groups disbanded as sky sat back down on the couch. Actually, she fell rather far from the couch didn't she? Whatever, luna took a seat next to her, indicating she got what she needed. "When I've visited the lucitor castle, i've never seen something in this display, guess we're going to have to question your friend.". "We could've done that from the beginning..", Sky grumbled. "Judas didn't know either, but now, he can tell us....oh, and delete those pics from your compact, can't leave any evidence."., she stood up, leaving the girl groaning as judas now took a seat next to her. "Hey, well, i think me and luna are gonna save the rest of the game for later, we were...well, we were more worried about you. For the record, i was still in the lead.". He poked his tongue out at her in attempts to make her laugh, sky took it, at least sending him a smile, "Well at least you had fun....uh....hows the band by the way?". Judas stopped smiling and rolled up his sleeve, showing off the shock band. "Luckily i haven't had to use it, but, i think the fact it reassures me help my parents relax a little...and well, you know my grandpa is super happy about it. Maybe if i'm lucky this'll be the one.". Sky thought about the conversation she had earlier about his arm and sighed, "I hope. But hey, you're doing pretty great so far!". Judas seemed to appreciate that before sighing, "That reminds me, i want you to have this...". He pulled something from his pocket, a small remote. "You should have this....everyone has one, in case i....y'know...". Sky didn't even refuse, whatever made judas feel safer honestly. He smiled, nodding before there was silence between them, silence despite the room being filled with people who were talked to each other. At least they were giving the friends their space, at least that was appreciated. "Katrina says hi." Judas looked up, "Wait, you saw katrina? Aw man, I miss her. How'd you find her?", then he got it spoon after he asked, "She was in work today huh? I'm sorry I missed her, i miss her gumbo so much. Wish I had some, the servants don't make it like her place does.". "She's planning on coming, to well, your crowning." "She is?", he sounded touched at the sound of that, probably because he knew how busy katrina was as is. "Yeah dude, she's totally coming, she wasn't gonna ditch one of her favorite little buddies on his special day.", judas hit her lightly, "Oh don't start with that! But yeah, if she's really coming i'll make sure my folks reserve her a seat. Honestly i'm sure they delight in anyone they can invite considering how busy everyone is these days, mom is still struggling to get some of their family down here but i think the idea of being in a dimension underworld with a bunch of demons is uh.....not for everyone.". "Oh yeah, didn't your great grandma freak when she found out your mom was dating your dad?". "Well, at first she was but, my dad sorta grew on everyone after awhile. But it wouldn't matter regardless, i mean, maybe mom can figure out how to live down here, but that doesn't mean every human can. Doesn't help that most of my family are on different parts of earth anyway. But it's ok, i mean, most of the people going are the ones closest to me anyway. You know my grandparents have no problem coming all the way from earth to my ceremony, though mom worries they'll go overboard with the pictures.". "How overboard can they get?". "My family has a room solely dedicated to the paintings of me as a BABY. When they choose to go overboard, they REALLY choose to go overboard.", he smiled, "Don't worry, my folks will try to keep them down i'm sure, let's just hope they don't get too ahead of themselves.". Judas seemed to be reminiscing about some of the nicer parts of his family, the ones who weren't judgmental about race or the marriage of his folks or grand folks, his family was complicated, but at least he still loved them. "Hey sky?". "Yeah?". "Thanks for coming over, it's nice to talk to you about something normal for a bit, even if we're uh....locked in a safe room.", sky snorted, "Remember the time we got trapped in a cave cause i was chasing a stray cat? And turns out it sealed itself until we freaking had to meow our way out?". Her friend smirked, "Well, we were in the cats with human faces dimension, so honestly i dunno what you expected, we honestly should've tried that from the beginning.". "Oh don't you dare, you did nothing too!! You literally thought you could dig your way out!", the demon's three eyes only dimmed, "You know, when you're trapped in a dark cave, you need to consider all options of escape, our parents would've lost their neck if we never got home.". Sky shook her head, "You're weird jude.". And his response matched the girl's tone perfectly, "You're one to talk Princess Skyler Butterfly, you do wander around with monster hats on after all.". "Oh don't even, horn head." "Hate to break it to you sky, but i can't exactly take my horns off! Clearly you're working on your halloween costume 24/7 with clothes like those!". The two started laughing when marco approached, finally getting word from sky's parents on the situation at hand. "Well, star apparently sees this as somehow a sleepover so i guess that means you really are staying in here tonight.", marco sounded annoyed, but not at having sky over, but probably more at star for her reaction. "We'll call on some blankets, in the morning everyone will head back and things should be in order, and you won't have to be under guard, in the meantime, don't get into any trouble in here. This is still a very serious matter.". Marco patted their son's head before heading off to tell the other kids, allowing judas and sky to continue their talk. "Well i though your next sleepover event would be with melaine...but well, this works too. So tell me, what were you really doing when you claimed to be getting landon?". If sky had any water in her mouth she'd probably have spat it all over the lucitor's nice carpet. Judas was no fool, of course he was suspicious that she had been doing something else. "Uh-". "You can't lie to me sky, i know luna was plotting something and you were in on it. Spill it, you snuck to the scene didn't you?', Sky pressed a finger to her lips, "Look, we'll talk about it....later, after everyone is asleep, ok? Not out in the open where your parents are?". Judas raised an eyebrow but complied, "As long as you didn't make things worse or get yourself in trouble. You didn't did you?". Sky bit her lip, "Uh, probably not?", but her answer didn't satisfy judas. "What do you mean...."probably?". "I'll tell you later ok? First, sleep.".

Sleeping bags lined the floor, guards were outside the doors, and magic spells for protection were all around. Marco made an effort to make sure everyone was tucked in and was perfectly warm down in the underworld. Tom's parents had still not returned but were reported around the kingdom doing some of their own investigating. Though in judas's mind he could only assume his grandfather was meeting with more of his spies in order to have them figure out who broke in. It sounded way more like his grandpa then anything else, though hopefully he knew what he was doing. Judas shifted in his sleeping bag, wishing to leave but was totally unable till morning thanks to his own parents. He had to wait till everyone was asleep, and luckily sky and luna were right next to him. Mason of course was a little upset his parents thought he should sleep in the bag and not on the ceiling and upside down like he wanted. But he passed out fast, wings wrapping around his body. His parents had called him "Little bat" as a baby after all. Judas slept on his back of course, he wished his had his special pillow for his horns but this was what he was stuck with tonight. He found himself moving a ton, trying to get comfortable in his spot. At least it kept him awake to speak to everyone, after his mom went to bed, right next to tom of course. He felt a tad relieved, now, he just had to wait. He was dozing off by the time sky and luna got his attention of course. Them motioning for him to follow them into the bathroom. At least the bathroom was soundproof, quiet, and well....bright. Too bright in fact, the sudden light almost being blinding after being in the dark for so long. He blinked his way through it as he sat down on the cool tiled floor next to his friends. He was cold, but only briefly till his part demon body heat helped him. "Ok girls, you better tell me what you were up to, wandering around our castle at this time was not exactly a brilliant move, and you really could've gotten hurt.", he crossed his arms, sighing. "Judas, what was in this case?", sky ignored his question to instead shove the picture on her compact right into the demon's face. "Wait? You took pictures too? How the heck did you even get this close?! Is our security REALLY that bad all of a sudden?". Sky waved her hands out in front of her though, "No no no! It's more like...I froze time for a little bit, i mean, luna sorta told me how so I did it and it worked, but i guess father time got back to wheeling cause time came back soon after..". "You FROZE TIME?". "Honestly it's not that hard of a spell, i'm surprised she hasn't used it sooner", luna added in, bothering judas further. "Besides, it worked, and no one will even know she was there now. Now, back to our question judas, what was in that case?". But judas was still processing the fact his friend used a spell to freeze time, perhaps thinking of ALL the times that could've come in handy in the past when they got into scrapes. "Prince lucitor? We need to talk about this before everyone wakes up and finds us here, if anyone would know about this it would be you.", judas bit his lips before looking at the photo again. There was silence before a smile pressed to judas's lips, "Oh, that makes sense....". The girls shared puzzled expressions, "Whoever was stealing from us, was no ordinary guy, he must've been keeping track of all the artifacts we showed. Which were never to the public but to other royal families.". Sky snorted, "So you mean this was one of the artifacts your dad showed off? Was it the still-beating heart or something?". Luna raised an eyebrow, "And what's with the expression, you look way too happy?". Judas's smile faded and he seemed to be thinking of something before he spoke again, "I-I'm not allowed to really talk about this i'm afraid, but just know my dad was right, it's not anything to worry about. ". The puzzled looks of the girls didn't change, judas wasn't making any sense. Why would there be nothing to worry about? If someone went through all this effort to steal it it had to be worth something right? Either way the girls were not pleased with his answers. "Judas, c'mon, be serious-". "I am being serious sky, and trust me, we're good.". "What, are you forbidden to talk about it?". "Something like that yes." "It can't be THAT important, this is an artifact!!" Judas wasn't letting up though, "I'm sorry gals, but trust me, if it really mattered, i'd say something. You guys gotta trust me on this, i know you're starved for information on this but this is nothing you need to worry about, regardless, i'm at least happy knowing what was stolen. I'll have to confront my dad more on it later.". Luna was not going to give up and if she could sky would not be surprised if she tried to use magic on the demonic prince. Then some knocking could be heard on the bathroom door, diverting everyone's attention to it. At first it was hard to hear who was on the other side, but they eventually could hear it was tom. Woops. Looks like he had to use the bathroom at night and found the kids.  The kids got up, grabbed everything and as tom finally opened the door they darted out and made their way back to bed. Getting out was really their only plan anyway, hopefully tom was too tired to notice.

Nothing was mentioned about the ordeal till morning, and even then it was hard to sleep after something like that. They were almost caught, and no doubt because of judas of course. If he wasn't keeping things from them this could've wrapped up way sooner and answered the questions the girls wanted to know and still had no answers about. Guess if anything judas was at least happy to finally get some rest, the guy looked like he may pass out when he got into the bathroom anyways. That made one of them. Sky was annoyed with him for not being truthful about what was going on. He was probably right in that whatever was stolen was not a big deal but at the same time telling her would at least make her feel a bit better about the situation. Though the only one less satisfied was of course luna, at least sky could understand if it was a thing he was not allowed to talk about because of his parents, but luna considered the situation a possible matter of life or death and hiding this info could lead to future issues. Honestly to Sky, Luna and Judas seemed to share so much in common, both being responsible and determined rulers who had their issues. But if anything, this kinda told her judas was much more laid back and was more accepting to failure then Luna was. Luna got on edge when something went wrong while jude learned to deal with it. Whether it had to do with years of his arm or not sky at least had to give him credit for his loyalty to his family despite luna's reaction. The morning was spent grabbing some snacks and allowing everyone to go home as the adults went to speak with the guards. Sky pulled luna along quite quickly, galexia following a long behind them as she waved to judas and her friends. The Sooner she kept them from starting another fight the better, and honestly she just hoped luna would just take judas's word on the whole matter and allow it to ease her mind. But that was easier said then done. This was a scary time and anything that happened put her on edge, sending her off to continue her knight training each day was worrysome in itself if luna wandered off and maybe started doing her own work. Even as days past and luna seemed to calm down it didn't make sky worry less that she may be up to something on her own. In fact, her not freaking out anymore was a sign that she may of found a less then suitable way to remove the anger she had. Though after some time of this, as in, a few days, the sleepover sky had been planning with melaine was nearing and that at least gave her something to sorta look forward to. Plus Bernard was apparently being dragged along with her so at least landon could talk to him face to face. Though what happened next was unexpected, sky found herself after another session of spellcasting with her mother, another failure of one as the green magic started adding more worry to the queen. And Star did not hesitate to spit it out. "I invited nora and coral!!" Sky froze. The sleepover was not exactly just for fun, it was an excuse for the whole group to discuss the stuff going on and provide their findings. But considering her mom didn't know that, of course she added two more girls who had nothing to do with it! Coral was normally playing video games and sky could only assume the girl got roped into it by her own folks just wanting her outta the house. And Nora was so shy she could only assume it was something along the same lines as long as the current rulers made it clear she didn't do anything "Unsafe". Though considering they typically spent time curing illnesses with their goop, nothing at this party could've ever been more unsafe then their lifestyle in the first place. It wasn't that sky didn't like nora, she did. Nora was socially awkward and acted funny sometimes around her and judas but she was sweet at all the events she met her in. But it's more that her being here was only going to make things worse and keep them from speaking about everything. Though coral may be easier to shake off since she prefers isolation, nora would not likely ever leave their sights throughout the entire night and that was an issue. "But mom-". "Sky, nora's a lovely girl and her folks personally requested it, they want her to start making some friends and well...you and your friends are around the right age range. They're a bit iffy on judas and the boys but i'm sure she'll be fine. Besides, think of it as...a fun girls night! This time, instead of a ton of princesses, it's just two, and all of your other friends! That's an improvement right?". Sky grumbled, they were already too old for sleepovers as is, this was not helping. "Mom, i told you i don't like you inviting people to my parties like that...". "C'mon Sky, you're great at making friends!". Sky grumbled to herself, "No mom, YOU are great at making friends. I'm great at making people want to stand at least 50 ft from me whenever i pick up my wand!". Star crossed her arms at her daughter, "Skyler Butterfly, c'mon now. You're going to let these two girls spend the night with you, it'll do you some good to talk to some other leaders besides judas! Think of it as......more queen training!.". And with that, the lesson for today was over and sky found herself in her room sulking. Yeah, of course her MOM had an easy time being everyone's friend, because why not? Like her mom was going to understand the difficulty of making friends when she spent most of her life getting along with everyone she came into contact with. Just another thing her mom did perfectly that sky couldn't seem to do, ugh. Her mom made it so easy, even as an adult, people were just drawn to her bubbly personality, something sky didn't seem to have inherited. "Anything else you wanna tell me about how great you are mom?", sky mumbled on her bed, Guess whether she wanted it or not she was stuck with two more guests for the "Sleepover".  And that meant she needed to tell the others as she reached for her compact. Melaine was excited, Luna's reaction of concern and anger remained and judas sounded rather happy instead of worried like sky expected. His face seeming more hopeful then anything on the screen. "Nora well, she's been quiet, hasn't been answering my texts so...well, i think it's a good a time as any to really talk to her and y'know, maybe hang out!", sky smirked, "Got a crush judas?". Only for him to give her a look, "Very funny, no it's just...well, we've known her for years and we haven't ever spoke much to her and I think...well i think we should maybe invite her to spend time more often. She's well, she's really sweet and she needs company so...i figured..". "Jude, we didn't really talk to her much before because she kinda used to hide behind her folks or run off when we were around. Nora was just well..never much of a talker herself, and her folks sometimes were a little....yeah.". She wasn't wrong, and the part demon knew it, but he continued to still explain, "Well, the last few years she's gotten better, i think she's starting to come out of her shell and maybe we should help her a little, make her feel comfortable socially.". "We're not exactly socially comfortable either jude." "I know i know, i just meant well...i think she should have other to talk to then her books, and well....she seems to like us pretty well. Plus i kinda really appreciated what she did at the ball for me.", he recalled the ball fairly well, and how much the monster girl was happy and comfortable around him and his family, "I know it makes us talking all the more difficult, but it might do us good to get along with her. Who knows, maybe she saw something to do with our little problem herself, or maybe she could help us!". "Like-?" "Sky, i can't provide you with a dozen examples right off the bat. Just trust me when I say that talking to her and having her hang out with us more often might not be as bad as you think it is! C'mon, we'll figure out a way to still talk, don't worry.", he smiled at her sweetly and his friend groaned before accepting, "Ok fine, I guess i can put up with it, i'm just sick of my mom trying to force me to make tons of friends, it's really weird and kinda uncomfortable.". "She's just trying to help you get to know the other royals some more, can't say I blame her. We've been around these kids for years and don't really know much about them, guess it's as good a time as any to start making closer bonds with them y'know? I mean well, better then the ones we have with loki or angel or anything. I guess if anything your mom thinks the sooner you get to talk to them the better it'll be when you're queen and you need to speak to them as a leader!.", he rubbed his arm, "I'm sorta the only real other royal you talk to.". "Well, you had the advantage of our parents making us hang out since we were kids. I don't think we can put them all on the same level. Like nora's parents sometimes get worried about you and loki's folks don't care a bit about him and angel's just a mess in general.". Judas was about to say something but sky cut him off, "Yes, i know there's princess pigeon, the musty mountain caves and a number of other places, but i can't exactly be expected to have long-standing friendships with 50 kingdoms jude. Like, how well do you know the smaller kingdoms in the underworld or their royalty?". Jude didn't answer and sky gave him a knowing smile. "See?!". "Well, regardless, it's still a good idea. Don't worry sky, it won't be as bad as you're making it out to be, promise.", and with that judas had to leave, other business in hand. Sky was left to her thoughts and felt her eyes droop as she decided to take a nap. Upon awaking she found non other then galexia above her, being as odd as always. Sky was less startled these days though, she had grown expectant to lexi surprising her, in fact they all did. "Hi SKY!". "Oh....hi..". She couldn't recall what she had been dreaming but it was kinda preferable then being back in reality. As her room was now filled with galexia's new drawings, a lot of them of the same subject in fact, seems lexi had been keeping herself occupied. Though all sky could think about was how she was going to have to clean this entire room of her drawings now, well, or she could make a servant do that now that she thought about it. Either way, work her mom wanted too be done. "You were asleep!". "Yep.". "How was it?" Sky's eyes dimmed, was she sure galexia was a couple years older then her? "Great uh lexi.......what are you doing ?", she acknowledged the drawings lexi was leaving and the girl smiled, "Oh! I was drawing my dreams! I wandered in here and wanted to move them around, you don't mind do you!?". Sky grumbled, "No, i guess not.....", she took a better look around her room at galexia's scribbles as she sat up on her bed. There were all kinda of stuff, repeated over and over again across other drawings, mason's plants, a face, even some of the other girls and guys she knew. "Those uh...they look nice.", galexia beamed at her, "Thanks!!! I like drawing my dreams! I get to draw and draw and remember.". She held her legs against her and started wandering off into space, "Back home i'd draw all the time, i had lots of free time to draw while my folks were away! So i could just scribble away and all over my room..". Sky raised an eyebrow, "Really? How often are they away? Can't be that much, they gotta like...rule the kingdom or whatever". The girl hummed to herself, "Well, they're gone all the time usually, the kings and queen of the underworld get to see my drawings ALL the time though!!!". Sky found herself surprisingly more interested as she scooted her way over to the smiling brunette. She never really thought much to listen to lexi's world, even though lexi was clearly open to sharing anything she wanted to, but maybe it had to do with sky not being sure if she could believe anything she was saying. Nonetheless, her ears pricked up and she suddenly found herself curious about what exactly went on in the version of mewni galexia came from. "Wait, your parents aren't usually home? Who takes care of you then?", Lexi just smiled, "The kings and queen of the underworld of course! They take care of me all the time so i spend a lot of time in the underworld! It's fun, I get to hang out with their kids and everything.". Sky, felt a little more awake then she was before,  and she gave galexia a once over as she thought to herself. So Galexia's parents didn't really take care of her? Even their shared mom?. "But... don't you miss your parents?" Lexi turned to look at her, as if confused, "Why would i miss them? They come back sometimes, they're just busy." Sky just blinked at her in disbelief, lexi was strangely optimistic, i mean, sunny and mason were too but even then showed signs of sadness and concern. Lexi just seem oddly too happy about her folks leaving her so much, and sky suddenly was riddled with questions regarding lexi herself, was she...ok?. "Lexi? Uh.......so does that mean you er....live in the underworld most of the time?", and as expected, lexi continued to sound chipper as usual. "Yep!" Suddenly lexi's interest in the underworld made a little more sense, and she smiled dreamily. "So, does that mean your mom doesn't teach you spells, or how to run the kingdom or...any of that?", galexia appeared to not entirely understand what the girl was saying as she finished asking, a slight blank expression on her face, "Mom gave me the spellbook, says to do what i want with it.". But the blunette still didn't seem happy with that answer though, still curious about this universe where her mom ditched her daughter. "So...your mom just lets your do whatever you want, all alone, by yourself?", she could hear herself kinda getting a little angry, and she didn't know why. It was an alternate universe right? She couldn't have really expected her mother to have been perfect in every universe, could she? Or had she really been expecting her mother to have been the great queen she knew her as in her dimension in every single one of the girl's dimensions? It sure felt that way. Despite everything, she could never see her own mom well.....practically abandoning her. Lexi didn't seem to care though, that her mother wasn't always home and she wasn't preparing her to be the next queen. God, if judas knew about her parents leaving her alone like that he'd be REALLY upset, probably more then sky was. It really got to him when parents mistreated their kids, probably because times in the past he felt very let down by a ton of adults due to his condition. Sky couldn't blame him, people being mistreated got to him quick considering the stuff he went through. "sky?". "Sorry it's.....it's weird that you drop this on me and well....don't seem...to care?", lexi twirled her hair in her fingers, "Why would i need to care? I got the lucitors and my friends back home! They make me happy enough all the time!". She blinked at her before putting an arm around her, "Those guys must be pretty darn awesome aren't they?". The girl nodded and stared back at her drawings longingly, she had to have missed them, even if she didn't look it. Sky suddenly felt a bit of affection for the strange girl then she did before, holding her a bit closer in comfort. "We're going to get you home lexi, promise, we'll make sure you see them again.".

"I can't believe this....", sky grumbled into her pillow, trying to hide her face as the boys and girls entered her room, in pjs. Nora, Melaine, Bernard and Coral had not arrived yet and Sky already wanted to hide in her closet and never come out for the rest of her life. A freaking sleepover, a sleepover? What was she? 12? Did her mom still think she was 12? There was an entire reason these things stopped and it was cause they were all getting older and boys and girls traditionally didn't have sleepovers by this age. and it only got weirder since the audience was surprisingly big now thanks to the guests sky didn't ask for, the girls. all in hand-me down pjs and ready to pass out before the rest even arrived. As long as they didn't touch her bed, sky was fine with that. Sunny looked thrilled to met knew people though, then again sky had to guess in her universe these people were probably never born. Which honestly only raised more questions as the girl talked excitably about the guests and asking sky questions about them. Guess sunny was probably very popular back home with the citizens, she always seemed to be interested in being friends with somebody. A smile brightening up her face and sky was almost worrier her covered cheek marks would start glowing. Landon also looked anxious, but for his own reasons. He hadn't talked to bernard face to face since that first time and he was probably shaking in his slipping, worried if Bernard would even have a good time at all in a place he's never been to. Though at least landon looked like he wanted to be here this time around, instead of him looking as though he just got out of bed and listening to music through his headphones during what was supposed to be important meetings. Thank god his parents were cool. Judas, following the tend, looked excited to see nora. Regardless of all the teasing, judas was just anxious to talk to the girl once again. Have a proper conversation with her and maybe he could have a new friend to spend time with, as long as her parents didn't freak out and allow her to spend more time outside of her own kingdom. Honestly as long as he remembered her being here, she hadn't been one for much social interaction, usually always watching from afar and speaking minimally to anyone she approached. Hopefully this time around she might be able to make more friends, as long as she didn't grab a book and isolate herself from the rest of the group. Judas hadn't been to something like this for a long time, and he couldn't help but feel awkward, but excited at the same time. Reminded him of when they were all still kids, staying up late to play video games or sneak out of the castle to watch fireworks from the monster village nearby. Though back then there wasn't usually a room of 12 people. "Hey?" Luna tugged jude's sleeve, watching out for anyone listening before talking to the prince. "So, all of this? What exactly are we planning on doing all night? ", jude gave her a questioning look before giving her a once over, "Well, it's just a sleepover, we just hang out, then go to bed, we can talk more later. To be honest, me and my brothers didn't have to show up, but well, landon's friend is coming, mason seems to like you guys and well.....i have multiple reasons to want to be here. One being it's a good excuse for us to talk more about...it, cause I know you won't stop asking till we do.". He still wasn't going to say, but it seemed best to give luna a better explanation then he did. Not to mention she probably had conducted some new theories upon further investigations of her own by this point. It was a wonder how come she hadn't gotten caught yet. As long as she left his parents out of it. "How soon can we talk about it?", the girl sounded impatient about this whole thing. Not a surprise, as she wasn't known to relax at all since they met. "When we can, for now, just have fun i suppose, at least this whole thing allows us some time to hang out with each other without having to worry too heavily about something. I kinda missed stuff like this, i don't know how often we'll get time like this when we're running mewni, do you enjoy sleepovers?", he leaned back against the wall and places his hands on his stomach, watching mason talk to sunny and lexi excitably, probably about all the stuff they were going to do tonight. It was refreshing seeing the girls feel more at home around here, even if they all knew they missed their homes dearly. Though judas couldn't help but worry the attachment to the girls everyone was getting would only make them leaving more jarring. Mason had no idea especially and him waking up to find his knew friends gone was bound to crush him. Judas's thoughts suddenly became dismal before being awoken by the blonde's answer. "Never had one.", luna said matter-of-factly, "Was just not my thing.". she leaned next to him, crossing her arms, "I had much more important things to take care of then sleepovers.". Judas seemed half surprised, half not surprised at hearing this, "What kind of things exactly?". Luna closed her eyes and tried to relax, "Just queen stuff, you're never to early to prepare you know, you have to train as early as you can to get where you need when you're crowned.". "True, but there's nothing wrong with having a little fun you know? We all need a break from work otherwise we might all go mad. Plus, it's good to have fun, might as well enjoy being a kid while it lasts after all.", but luna did not seem to agree judging by her tone. "It's not that simple, one could become a queen at any time, and if you're not ready for it, you're doomed to fail, if something happened to my mother and i wasn't ready to take my place, oh god.". "How long have you been...y'know?", judas asked in curiosity, without thinking. "Pardon?" Judas quickly corrected himself, "I mean, how long have you been preparing to become queen?". Luna blinks at him before shrugging, "Forever i suppose, was always just my passion to be as great as the queens who came before me.". Judas looked her over in fascination, wondering to himself just what home life was like back where she came from. Did she even have many friends back home, or was the people she talked to mostly servants and associates, was star strict back there? Though, regardless, no wonder luna seemed so....well, stiff. Judas felt like he should say something, but quieted himself instead, and only a few minutes later a portal opened. Judas at first lightened up, until he realized who entered through it wasn't a half monster princess but instead two humans, one with dark skin and curly hair, and another with a bunch of piercings and handsome face. Melaine, as expected, immediately lunged and hugged sky, clearly more then excited to spend the night with her alien pen pal. Though bernard was a little speechless to say the least, looking at the room full of strange looking characters, inside of a magic castle. Guess even as someone who was getting used to the idea of this world he still wasn't entirely over it. Though that didn't last long as landon stumbled forward, immediately trying to calm himself enough to make it look like he hadn't been waiting for bernard to show up for hours now. Though judas knew quite well his brother spent hours in front of a mirror trying to fix his hair and practice talk to Bernard earlier that day. His brother had it bad, even if he wouldn't admit it. "H-hey!", landon started, before realizing how he sounded and trying to correct it quickly, "I mean, hey dude, how uh.......how are you doing?". But the human didn't even get a word out before mason pounced on him in excitement, "HI!!!". At least the human didn't seem to mind really, laughing a bit, "Oh um, hello....mason right? Sorry, i'm not exactly very familiar with most of the people in this room and it's been awhile since I saw you outside of the diaz house." "Eh, we'll show you around, you got all night to meet everyone I guess.", sky said through tight Melanie hugs, "Er guys, this is bernard, landon's weird friend, just uh.....don't hurt him.". By the look on the boy's face, he hadn't been expecting this hangout to be well...full. Guess it must've read on his face that he was surprised cause he removed mason from his hug to quickly explain himself, "Ah, sorry, It's just when I was made to come, I well...I had no idea you had so many other friends coming.". "Sorry about that, things uh well.....things happen, and well.....two more people are coming soon.", the human took a moment to process that before moving to landon, who awkwardly helped him find a spot in the roo where they could talk in private. Melaine had finally stopped hugging sky to resume her usual nonstop talking about her current theories and discoveries, though this was quickly interrupted by luna, who got up from her spot to immediately butt in and be her usual party pooper herself. Guess Melaine talking about how the goverment is wiping out minds from seeiing aliens or creatures didn't sit right with her and sky snickered as she snuck away to see judas. At least meliane's talk seemed to have drawn most of the others to watch, as melaine's insane ideas always did. Judas never liked melaine's stuff, one of the main reasons they never got along, sky at least found a lot of melaine's stuff to be funny and plausible but jude in general seemed to think the girl was crazy. Probably had a bit to do with marco being one of his parents, as marco would gladly dismiss some of these silly claims melanie talks about happening on earth. Sky sure knew her own moms would be either the types to egg on this stuff as being real, or at least try and prove it was real. They were not skeptics and sure weren't the type to dismiss claims like it, even if they've been on earth themselves enough to probably dismiss it. Either way, sky could spot the demon shaking his head at mel. " I know you think it's funny but the girl needs more sense then this.". "Aw c'mon jude, at least she hasn't hurt anyone ye-." "She literally tried to hurt me with a cross and holywater the first time we met and several times after." Well, can't exactly argue with that. "Well, she's still cool, even if she goes overboard. I mean, no one know more about pop culture then Melanie." "Hey, i know about earth pop culture too!", he argued back, "Well, not the trashy stuff she usually finds but still! Anyways i know she likes coming up with these crazy ideas, but sometimes she takes it too far and you know it.". His friend rolled her eyes, flipping her hair back "Don't take her stuff too seriously jude, she just likes discovering stuff and she has cool ideas! I'm sure she doesn't mean to ACTUALLY harm you.". Judas gave her a look, "Magical world or not, she's lost in her fantasies and you don't know what that can do to her.". "Relax bud, i know i gave her a compact and scissors and stuff but trust me, i'm sure she's not getting into anything....bad. I mean, can't be any worse then the time i found you sneaking out to the-". "ANYWAYS..", the demon added on, eager to change the conversation, "I'm glad landon is talking to someone, i don't think he's even had something like this for years, and not without someone like one of us either.". Sky punched his elbow, "well, it's better then him spending the whole night by the snack bar like he usually did. Though you think he's actually gonna even try asking him out?". The boy laughed to himself, "Probably not, but mason will try to push it till he does regardless, but honestly it's cute.....seeing Landon get like this.". "At least it'll keep Bernard VERY busy tonight if they're spending it together." Judas then paused at her last sentence and gave her an amused and estranged look, "Sky, I swear if you're implying those two are gonna.....oh god please don't.". Sky shared a similar face as she suddenly realized what he was thinking, "Jude what? God what's wrong with you doofus?! Dude, shhh, c'mon, we got kids here. Gross man.". They both giggled. "By the way, how are the plans going, for uh....you know, the ceremony?", jude blinked at her before recalling what she meant, "Oh it's coming, i've just er been telling my folks to keep things normal. Y'know.". His friend snorted, "Normal, right. Mom told me you didn't want to really customize your big day cause you're worried people will freak out.". Judas suddenly found himself flustered as she said this, "Well, yeah! What's wrong with that?!". Sky looked him up and down, concerned, "Uh, nothing, it's your day....are you ok dude?". Judas suddenly realized he got defensive for no reason and calmed himself down, "Sorry sorry, i shouldn't have lost my cool like that.". Purple hands ran through his dark brown hair, avoiding his horns, "I know I've been trying my best to prove i'm right to be king, but my parents seem hurt that i don't wanna make my event suited to me.". Sky bit her lip, suspecting something, "Look, the people who freak out cause of you are scummy, and i know you wanna be "Professional", but is this party about you or them?". Her friend was quiet. "Jude, my dude. You can have a normal traditional party if you want, but i think your parents are just worried you're letting a bunch of jerks force you to do things you don't want to do. I mean, my mom sure didn't have a traditional party and everyone loves her.". Judas hugged his legs, "I know sky, but it's not the same thing and you know it, your mom is popular, and loved, and has this bright personality that people seem to like. I don't have that benefit, i'm part monster for one, during a period where part monsters are disliked!". He threw his arms up as he continued talking, "And then when i'm cursed, the eyes of judgment are even worse on me! It's not that i like catering to them, but i'll never be taken seriously otherwise.". Sky's eyes then darted to luna a bit, "Well, I know it means a lot to you to be an amazing ruler, but well....you should also have fun as well. It's your day, you can keep the traditions if you like, but maybe.....put your own spin on them! It's what your dad did I think.". "Well, my dad had my mom, and he wanted everything to be special for them as well...since they got married after it. I just can't risk it sky....", he hung his head low. So he did want to make the party to his own design!? Geez, poor jude, Sky couldn't help but feel bad. Jude was just so limited sometimes, she could even remember when they were young, so many kids refused to even dance with him at balls due to thinking his arm would attack them, and his parents were forced to accept their decision. It made jude so sad when he talked about it too. "Hey well, i'm sure it'll be fun anyway!", judas turned to sky, "Imagine how cool it'll be once the underworld has to listen to you from now on! You can literally do anything you want, go anywhere you want, eat anything you want...". That seemed to make judas feel a tad better, which wasn't a huge improvement, but something nonetheless. "Yeah, that's something...", sky probably knew it was best to drop it, allow her friend to focus on the stuff he clearly wanted to be thinking about instead. And like a miracle, a portal opened up and a reluctant ponyhead using a game console and a slimy girl in a nightgown stepped in. Coral didn't even acknowledge the room full of people and nora reacted as expected, surprised and suddenly very nervous. She didn't know most of anyone in the room except for those she say at royal events and it didn't help that a few of the strangers were walking up to introduce themselves. Judas though, sensing what was up, immediately go up to walk over to Nora himself, getting in the way of some of the other guests. Nora felt a sudden sense of comfort in seeing him as he greeted her. "Nora! I uh....I'm glad you came! Sorry, we had no time to warn you about all the guests coming but i'll uh..introduce you...", she tried to hide behind her hair as she politely took the boy's hand, "I-I uh...didn't know you had so many friends.". Judas was careful as he moved around the room of talkative teens, pulling the shy girl alongside him as he mumbled out names and explanations for their current situation. "Well, it wasn't exactly.....intentional, this is actually still a recent thing, but, i'm sure it'll still be fun regardless..", he could spot sky giving him a thumbs up nearby and he grunted. At least things hadn't seemed awkward since he and nora had a harder time communicating recently, that or, nora herself had been talking to him less and less on purpose. The girl herself didn't look comfortable at all around the group and even as judas introduced everyone, it was clear maybe this big group should separate into smaller groups. Sky made her way to bed, standing on it and getting everyone attention as she raised her wand. "Ok so well, my mom sorta forced me to have a sleepover and it's getting a little too crowded in here so how about we just split into different rooms, sound good?", somewhere in the crowd melaine whiled and cheered , a snort coming from celeste as she did so. Sky cleared her throat, "I mean, let's not go TOO far from each other, you guys probably wanna get to know each other, but my room is kinda tiny and stuff so.....". Then mason raised his hand, "Can we watch a movie in your lounge?". "Uh....sure?". And like that, mason got up, followed by lexi and sunny, who probably were talking about the movie earlier with him. Celeste, clearly unsure where she wanted to be, followed, and coral came with, eyes not even leaving her game. Leaving Sky, Judas, Landon, Melaine, Bernard, and Luna left in the room. "Well, that worked....", sky said in relief, "I hope we can keep track of everyone. Mom will kill me otherwise.". Then she heard bernard and landon speaking to each other before standing up, "Uh, we're gonna be in landon's room a sec, he wants to show me his instrument. Is that ok?". "You're already ditching us to go to the underworld?". "We're coming back, I don't think we're gonna missing THAT fast.", landon put his hands on his hips and sky rolled her eyes, "Alright dweebs, go have fun, just make sure to come back within the hour cause my mom is probably gonna check on us and if you're not here she'll freak.". Landon seemed to understand as he quickly, and red-faced, grabbed onto his friends's arm, "Don't move when the fire shows up, and you'll be fine.". Bernard then gave him a look, "Wait, fi-?". But landon had snapped and bernard forced himself to stay still as flames erupted and they vanished from sight. And then there were 4. Nora seemed a little more eased, so that was a good thing, though she didn't seem too comfortable around the much more talkative and social Melaine, who had already begun to take interest in nora and her strange slimy hair. Judas quickly and quietly told her to knock it off, though as per usual mel was not interested in what he had to say until sky butted in. "Sorry mel, but nora here isn't well....she's not too good with people, i don't think you should be looking at her so much, she's nervous.", then the girl immediately seemed to feel a tad bad before backing off. Then sky quickly wondered if what she said was offensive to nora, speaking for her like that, but nora said nothing. She must've been uncomfortable being forced to be here by her folks, but then again her folks tended to make her decisions for her since she wasn't the type to speak much for herself. Probably didn't help she wasn't used to being around too many kingdoms, she'd rarely been outside of the event rooms, and sky was sure she was having flashbacks to the princess sleepover party her mom threw years back. Nora tried to hide behind her hair some more and luna looked to judas. Since mel was in on the team, nora was the only one in this room they could not talk in private with, and luna clearly wanted them to find a way to have her distracted. Luna clearly just wanted to speak specifically to sky and judas, but jude knew more then anything that either sky or him had to leave if nora were to go anywhere, so luna was a bit out of luck in this situation. Eh, the night was still young anyway. "Well, i think, we outta show nora around the castle and maybe join the others, sky? Care to join?". Sky, ignoring luna's annoyed face, gladly nodded, "Yeah, sure, c'mon nora, let's go for a walk.....". Sky turned back to mel as judas stood up and helped nora up, who was mostly just following along. "Oh mel, lemme tell ya, luna here. She is all about finding out mysteries and being all knowledgeable. We'll be back in a sec, but how about you chat with her a bit? Trust me, she would love to hear your ideas!". Luna was about to say something when mel gave sky the thumbs up, "AWESOME!!, great to FINALLY meet another theorist around here!". The door closed, followed by giggles and snickers.

[pain-somnia]

Can I Be Yours? [3/?]

Rating: M

Summary: In which one of our heroines is very distracted

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Chapter Three: Jumbo Slices and Metro Fares

As much as Satsuki enjoyed painting and welding, her favorite thing to do was lampwork. She found it relaxing to mold glass into the intricate sculptures she designed. To use fire to bring her ideas to life.

“A fairy?” One of the students observing her asked. She gave him a slight nod, keeping her eyes focused on her heated glass rods.

Satsuki didn't work with assistants but occasionally some of the apprentices would come observe her at work. Because she was mainly a private artist and worked on the commissioned pieces at Glass & Iron, she worked on pieces that were more enjoyable to observe being created.

It was good learning experience. The apprentices would learn new techniques they wouldn't typically use for the stuff they would make for Glass & Iron. At least not for a long, long time.

“Did they ask for a pink haired fairy?”

Satsuki blinked rapidly, trying to process what the apprentice had said. Considering how focused she was she couldn't believe that she had used the pink glass rod for the petal dress on the hair of her fairy sculpture. The original plan was all clear glass with the only color being on the dress and wings.

“It looks nice. Prettier. More girly?”

Satsuki raised a brow at the boy. He flushed red and stammered out an apology.

Everyone knew she was sensitive about the fact that she was one of the only women that worked at Glass & Iron. One of them worked in welding and the other woman occasionally assisted on large commission pieces but mostly worked on making the colored glass they used in the shop.

There once was a rumor that Satsuki got the better jobs because she was sleeping with Kakashi. It had infuriated the other women. It was insulting. Satsuki mostly found it annoying.

She didn't care what people said about her personally. Her skill spoke for itself and the men in the shop were just jealous that they weren't as talented.

It also didn't really affect her that people thought she was sleeping with her old teacher. She knew it wasn’t true and so did Rin, Kakashi’s wife. It only irritated her when Kakashi caught wind of it and burst out laughing. He patted her shoulder and sighed out the rest of his laugh.

“Are you even interested in men?”

Satsuki prepared to seal her fairy by running it in the kiln. From what her client had told her of her daughter she knew that the pink hair would be a nice surprise.

“Are you done for the day? Want to go grab a bite?”

Satsuki paused in the middle of cleaning up her work area and noticed the younger man still hanging around. There was a blush dusting his cheeks and she groaned inwardly. She had assumed that his attention was purely professional. It wouldn’t be the first time she had caught the eye of one of the apprentices. At her age it wasn’t new anymore that she attracted people with her looks but it didn’t make it any less unwanted.

“Are you even interested in men?”

Satsuki couldn’t really say she wasn’t interested in men. She could at this moment to deter the hopeful apprentice but it wouldn’t be entirely truthful.

She just never really thought about them. It was the same with women. It was odd how high her libido was considering she wasn’t attracted to either gender sexually. Usually whenever she was in the mood she didn’t really know where to turn to.

Like being hungry and opening the door of a full refrigerator and finding nothing to eat, her older cousin Shisui had joked once.

Satsuki avoided relationships because she wanted to avoid sex. Yes she had a high libido, but she couldn’t just sleep with someone and she knew it could cause a strain in a relationship with someone. There wasn’t a guarantee that she would engage in a sexual relationship with a person just because she entered a romantic relationship with them. She had never felt comfortable enough.

Correction: she never felt comfortable before.

There was comfort the other night apparently, Satsuki thought dryly.

When Satsuki calmed down from her─not so─minor moment of panic she had curled up on her side under her kitchen table and looked back on the events of that night that she could remember.

She remembered:

Pretending she didn’t already know Sakura Haruno’s name.

Drinking whiskey like it wasn’t god awful without Coke, feeling like she had something to prove to pretty green eyes and a pleasant smile.

Soft fingers down her bikini bottoms and really dirty words falling from a cute mouth.

Satsuki had gotten drunk around rather friendly people before. Sometimes she wondered if Kiba even knew what he was humping when he drank. But she never fucked anyone that wasn’t herself while inebriated.

But apparently she got well acquainted with Sakura who had previously just been a pink haired stranger.

A stranger who had at some point had her face between Satsuki's thighs.

The more Satsuki tried to will more memories all she could imagine were a pair of green eyes shimmering with mischief and a saucy grin before said grinning mouth lowered to give long teasing licks, humming in delight as a small pink tongue added pressure with each stroke.

Satsuki felt heat crawling down her face to her neck. She didn't want to analyze the fact she was probably fantasizing more than recalling memories.

“I'm going home,” she announced to no one in particular, nodding to herself and with her hands on her hips.

She grabbed her canvas one shoulder sling backpack and her utility jacket and left her studio. She shut the door and locked it preparing to stay out of Glass & Iron until her head was cleared of any intrusive thoughts.

“Okay…?” The apprentice stared dumbfounded through the studio’s windows as Satsuki just left, completely forgetting he was in the room. . .

Satsuki glared at the strip of paper in her hand with its cutesy fox design. No matter how adorable, the single day fare card was no replacement for her metro card.

She had filled her card with twenty dollars before she lost it and owning the pass gave her discounted trips. Which she forgot about when she bought the ticket. Satsuki hadn't put enough money on it and couldn't leave through the exit stall.

Groaning, Satsuki dragged her feet to the insufficient funds machine so she could put more money on her ticket to pay off her fare.

Satsuki would have reported her card missing if it weren't for the fact that she had procrastinated registering her card and couldn't get a replacement with the funds she had added. She had a problem with procrastination. Satsuki could make orders and complete them ahead of schedule, her focus intense on her projects, but everything else fell through the cracks.

As she approached the surface she debated whether she should finally go grocery shopping or order takeout again. As the escalator ride was approaching its end she decided that she wanted to go to Jumbo Slice. Her mouth watered thinking about the cheese and the tomato sauce. A pizza slice bigger than her face would be the perfect end to her day.

After she purchased her slice she rolled it into a burrito shape and wrapped it in the foil they served it in to protect her hands from getting sauce all over them. She didn't mind the heat.

Munching on her pizza burrito she thought back on Sakura. It was an intrusive thought. Satsuki was meant to try and forget her but she couldn't help but picture Sakura in her pretty, neat clothes grabbing a greasy slice of pizza in the middle of the night.

Satsuki rolled her eyes and shook her head of the image. It was highly unlikely to happen. Sure it would make sense that someone like her with her busy schedule would stop for a quick bite to eat but that didn't seem like Sakura.

Satsuki felt safe making that assumption remembering an inebriated Sakura talking about her meal prepping and how she found mason jar salads to be super cute.

Satsuki snorted. Once that girl started rambling it seemed like she would never stop. She just flowed from one topic to the other taking up most of the conversation, something Satsuki was grateful for.

Satsuki was awkward and never knew what to say. Whole conversations could go by without her saying anything just for lack of knowing how to jump into the conversation properly.

It was something her older brother Itachi never had a problem with but apparently didn't get carried on to her. Itachi was aloof when he was a lot younger, unable to get along with kids his own age. He grew out of it as he got older and was actually quite charming.

Satsuki was not. The hardest part of her apprenticeship with Kakashi wasn't learning any techniques but learning how to speak to clients. She appeared aloof to many people but it was more anxiety of having to be around others than her being cold and distant.

She was a happy and friendly child according to her family. She was just horribly shy with strangers. Satsuki spent most of her youth hiding behind Itachi or her mother's leg.

Which may explain why her first instinct was to bolt when she noticed she was naked in bed with an equally as naked Sakura.

Not equally as naked. Didn't look anywhere the same when they were naked. Sakura was softer. Curvier. With a much nicer--

Satsuki choked on a bite of pizza.

What a great time to start noticing stuff like that.

Satsuki finally reached her apartment and punched in her code to buzz into the building. One of the first things her father insisted on when she moved out was an apartment with good security. He said he was even willing to help with rent if it meant she would be properly secure.

Satsuki refused the offer. She didn't need a doorman or a security guard at night. Especially not with all the training she had gotten growing up from her father who was a combat specialist.

God, she was glad to be in her own apartment, her own place where her father wasn't around to make her workout all of the time. She hated exercise so much. She preferred sketching with her mother over running miles and weight training.

“Hey Artemis.” Satsuki greeted her cat. Artemis rolled on his back and let out a big yawn. “Bet that's all you did today.”

Satsuki shuffled into her kitchen and put her kettle on the stove. Artemis followed at her heels, meowing loudly. He rubbed against her ankles when she stood in front of the cabinet that housed Artemis’ wet food cans and treats.

“A diet is a diet Artie.”

Satsuki let her tea leaves steep longer than necessary, making it strong and bitter. She poured her tea into a glass mug and carried it over to her balcony. She cringed as she took a seat, eyeing the way her potted forsythia was withering away, the yellow petals now brown and littering the concrete. Satsuki told Yamanaka that she wasn’t good with plants but she wouldn’t hear any of it and insisted Satsuki needed something other than her succulents to brighten up her little deck.

Yamanaka’s friends with Sakura…

Satsuki stared blankly into space. It was starting to get ridiculous how easily her mind drifted in her direction. She didn't want to think about her. Thinking about her made her think about how she wasn't suited for relationships and how she sort-of-kind-of wanted to be in one but there was no hope for someone like her.

Satsuki scowled and drained the rest of her tea.

I'm going to go to sleep and that's the last time I think of a pink haired cutie.

Satsuki pinched the bridge of her nose and muttered a string of curses. It was going to be a tough task. . .

Satsuki was ready to bang her head against something. How did she lose her fare ticket? She was so sure she had put it in her wallet.

What's worse is that she put the exact amount she was going to need and hadn't made any mistakes in the total fare.

Sighing, Satsuki dragged her feet to the fare card dispenser, ready to press the buttons more aggressively than necessary to purchase a new ticket.

Before she could pay for the card there was a breathy voice trying to catch her attention.

“Excuse me?”

Satsuki shut her eyes tight and turned around slowly. She opened up her eyes and almost screamed when she saw that Sakura was standing there holding out a metro pass outstretched in one of her pretty manicured hands.

“I think this belongs to you.”

Satsuki was sure there was a God of some sort and that they hated her.

[mitchbeck]

CANTLON: PACK BEAT PROVIDENCE BREAK LOSING STREAK

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings MARLBOROUGH, MA - The Hartford Wolf Pack marched into the New England Sports Center and erased a nine-game winless streak by toppling the Providence Bruins 4-2 in an old-style, physical Providence-Hartford meeting. The Wolf Pack record improves to 4-6-1-0 (9 pts). Providence’s record drops to 11-3-1-0 (23 pts) and is still tops in the Atlantic Division by 14 points over Hartford. The Wolf Pack face-off against the 3-7-0-0 (6 pts) Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Saturday at 1 PM at the XL Center. All the tweaks to the Wolf Pack lineup had their desired effect in what was their most complete game since the start of the season.

PACK DOMINATE FIRST PERIOD

The first twenty minutes added up to the best period since their opening game and where the Wolf Pack did their most damage of the day. The team's moribund power play, which entered the game operating at 12%, awoke scoring on their first two chances. Rookie James Sanchez scored his first professional goal as he got the puck back after a shot on goal. Paul Thompson dislodged it from Bruins starting netminder, Jeremy Swayman. He couldn’t cover the puck, and Sanchez swooped in and jammed it home at 8:03. Just 2:01 later, the Wolf Pack cashed in on an instigator penalty that was issued to the Bruins' Ian MacKinnon in a wrestle/scrap with Patrick Sieloff. Tarmo Reunanen cut to the middle of the ice just below the blue line and made a high-end, behind-the-back pass to Anthony Greco at the right point. Greco sent a low shot on the net. Morgan Barron was positioned in front and deflected the shot off the crossbar for his sixth goal of the season. The offensive roll for the Pack continued in gaining a 3-0 lead with a solid transition play. Justin Richards got Tim Gettinger moving. As he crossed the Bruins blueline from left-to-right, he was tripped by Urho Vaakanainen and a penalty was called. During the delayed penalty, Gettinger was on the ice and swept the puck back. Ty Ronning quickly got to the loose puck and picked it up and swept across the net. He snuck a backhander past Swayman to the short side for his third goal of the season at 17:22. The Pack outshot the Bruins 16-5 in the period and were committed to stepping in front of pucks and blocking shots which benefitted goaltender, Adam Huska, who made his first start since February 27th, just his fifth start of the entire season, who also looked solid throughout.

LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE

After having already played each other eight times to this point in the season, in the third-period tensions spilled over and the gloves came off.  The Pack's 6’7 rookie, Auston Rueschhoff, outdueled Matt Filipe in the first pro fights for both players. Mason Geersten was battling in front protecting Huska when the Bruins' Jakub Lauko took an extra swipe at the puck. That act sent the two to pair off for a battle. Lauko, a rookie and a willing combatant, fought the much larger Geersten who scored a TKO as he cut Lauko open, sending him to the locker room for repairs. With 2:09 left in the game and a screen in front of Huska (23 saves), Robert Lantosi's snapshot found the back of the net spoiling the shutout for the former UCONN Husky netminder. It was his first win since playing in Slovakia. Before the goal was scored there was a final eruption of hostilities. The officials prevented it from turning into a major melee with MacKinnon trying to go with Huska and everybody paired off. No punches were thrown and MacKinnon was tossed at 14:56

SECOND PERIOD

The Wolf Pack managed to avoid their season-long second-period blues. They did so by widening their lead and surrendering just one on a power play. They exited the period up 4-1. The Pack clamped down on the Bruins, holding them to just two shots on goal in the first ten minutes of the period, and made it 4-0 on Barron's excellent effort. Barron received a pass from Reunanen in the Pack zone. He took that pass and went upright, thru center unchecked. Barron gained entry into the Bruins' end of the ice and ripped a 35-foot wrist shot past Swayman (27 saves) for his second goal of the game and seventh of the season at 11:57. The loss was Swayman's first of the season against seven wins. The Wolf Pack had to kill a roughing call to Geersten, who was roughing it up with MacKinnon in front of the Wolf Pack bench. The Bruins took advantage after Brady Lyle's first shot was blocked by Richards, he launched another from the left point. Huska made the save, but Anton Blidh, who was alone in front, jammed in the rebound for his third goal of the season at 14:33 to make it 4-1. With 25 seconds left in the period and the Wolf Pack again on the PK, Greco had a shorthanded breakaway bid late in the PK, but Swayman stopped him. Huska responded for the Pack with a big and timely stop on Alex-Olivier Voyer with two seconds left in the period. Filipe made a strong play on a pass from behind the net, but Huska kept the advantage to three goals. There was some rough stuff as the period ended between Thompson and Voyer, the Bruins Josiah Didier with Sieloff, and a Euro shoving match with Reunanen and Vaaakanainen.

LINES

Newell-Barron-Greco Richards-Gettinger-Ronning Khordorenko-Thompson-Whelan Sanchez- Rueschhoff-Geersten Raddysh-Crawley LoVerde-Reunanen Giutarri-Sieloff Huska Wall

SCRATCHES

Gabriel Fontaine (upper-body injury) Jeff Taylor Will Cullye Michael O’Leary Ryan Dmowskinewly Zach Bezzola Michael Lackey Francois Brassard

COACHES

Pat Boller Jeff Malcolm Brook Ballard It was Boller's first time, since 2016-17 when he was an assistant to Ken Gernander, that he was behind the bench. He's coaching his third game since head coach Kris Knoblauch and associate coach Gord Murphy were recalled to the New York Rangers last Wednesday after David Quinn and his entire staff were subject of COVID protocols. Malcolm, the team’s goalie consultant, and a Yale grad is handling the defensemen, and Ballard is one of the Rangers skills coaches.

THREE STARS

- Morgan Barron (2 goals) - Tarmo Reunanen (2 assists) - James Sanchez (first pro goal)

HONORABLE MENTIONS

- Ty Ronning - Patrick Sieloff - Darren Raddysh

NOTES

The Wolf Pack adds another defenseman as Hunter Skinner is recalled from his loan to the Utah Grizzlies (ECHL). Skinner, 19, was a fourth-round (112th overall) selection in 2019 from London (OHL). Since the OHL has not been in session, the 6’3 200-pound rearguard has been playing in Utah. Boston recalled goalie Callum Booth (Salisbury School) to their taxi squad and simultaneously reassigned both Swayman and defenseman Vaakanainen to Providence. Ex-Pack captain, Steven Fogarty, was recalled by the Buffalo Sabres from the Rochester Americans. He has five goals (four on the power play) and eight points in ten games, which is good for the second-best on the Americans roster. Heading back to Rochester and three others is ex-Wolf Pack goalie, Dustin Tokarski, after returns after two NHL starts, one of them against the Rangers earlier this week. The Avalanche returns ex-CT Whale, Jayson Megna, to the Colorado Eagles. Philadelphia recalls goalie, Alex Lyon (Yale University), from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms to be on their taxi squad. The same thing for Mark Kastelic, the son of former Hartford Whaler Ed Kastelic, as he is recalled from the Belleville Senators by Ottawa. Mike McKee (Kent School) is loaned to the Tucson Roadrunners (AHL) by the Tulsa Oilers (ECHL). Marc Johnstone, the captain for the last two years at Sacred Heart University (AHA), signs a deal with the South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL). Former Wolf Pack great, Derek Armstrong, saw his youngest son, Easton, lace them up with the WHL's Regina Pats. They are in their limited hub city playing a 25 game schedule with Regina’s Brandt Centre being one of the sites. The team GM and VP of Operations is Wolf Pack great, and AHL Hall of Famer, John Paddock. The younger Armstrong is pointless in five games though he played earlier this season with brother Dawson for six games tallying six points with the Utah Outliers (USPHL-Premier). The team did go to the league national finals losing in the quarterfinal round to the Chicago Cougars in Virginia Beach, VA, the home of the USPHL's Hampton Roads Whalers. The team did win the Mountain Division title beating the Pueblo (NM) Bulls 5-3 back on March 14th. Dawson Armstrong finished the season with 15 goals and 31 points in 45 games, second on the team while sporting the very familiar number 17 jersey that his father Derek wore with the Wolf Pack. That very same 17 is one of three numbers that should be retired by the organization. GAME CENTER HOME Read the full article

[junker-town]

Keep updated with the latest NFL coach firings right here

Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Who’s staying? Who’s going? And wither Ron Rivera?

The 2019 offseason was a rough one for NFL head coaches. Eight teams — a quarter of the league — went looking for new playcallers to replace inexperienced and veteran coaches alike.

The 2020 offseason probably won’t see as much turnover, but the coaching wheel started turning midseason. Washington showed Jay Gruden the door in October, while Carolina waited another eight weeks before canning Ron Rivera despite his 76-63-1 career record. More big names will follow — but they won’t include Adam Gase, Matt Patricia, or Dan Quinn.

Who is on the move? Here are the coaches and general managers who’ll be searching for new jobs this winter.

Head coaches who are gone

Pat Shurmur, Giants

Giants record: 9-23

Playoff record: 0-0

How’d they get here: Perhaps the only stat you need to know about Shurmur’s tenure in New York is that it ended with the same exact 9-23 record that got him fired in Cleveland seven years earlier. The veteran assistant was hired by the Giants to oversee the team’s transition from the Eli Manning era. While 2019 top draft pick Daniel Jones showed flashes of brilliance behind center this fall — he’s one of three rookies in NFL history to have three games with four or more touchdown passes — it wasn’t enough to keep his club from a 4-12 campaign.

The Giants ranked just 23rd in offensive efficiency, per DVOA, and fell to 27th on the defensive side of the ball thanks to a unit that allowed more than 28 points per game. That left little help for Jones, whose growth may have been ultimately stunted by a shoddy offensive line, a perpetually-hurt receiving corps, and a subpar season from Saquon Barkley, who dealt with injuries of his own throughout the year.

The end result was a team that failed to beat anyone who finished 2019 with a winning record. That was all owner John Mara needed to see from Shurmur, who’ll likely return to the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach ranks after his latest failed stint at a top job.

What’s next: The Giants need a head coach who can enhance all of Jones’ positive attributes while sorting out the problems that ultimately doomed his freshman campaign — namely the 17 fumbles the marred his 2019. Jones and Barkley are a solid young duo around which a new coach could build, but there are plenty of other problems that need to be addressed in northern New Jersey before this club looks like a contender again.

New York will also have to make a decision regarding general manager Dave Gettleman. While his decision to swing for the fences and draft Jones (mostly) paid off, his other high profile acquisitions — namely left tackle/turnstile Nate Solder — have yet to provide ballast to the Giants’ sinking ship. Shurmur inherited a bad team in 2018. Whomever takes over for him in 2020 will take over a roster that isn’t much better.

Freddie Kitchens, Browns

Browns record: 6-10

Playoff record: 0-0

How’d they get here: Cleveland knew it was taking a risk when it hired Kitchens. He had never been more than an interim coordinator at any level of football in his two decades as an assistant, and that came over a successful eight-game stint that closed out the Browns’ 2018 season.

That was enough to convince owner Jimmy Haslam to roll the dice and promote from within, but Kitchens was unable to handle his new title. Despite lofty expectations, Cleveland got off to a worse start in 2019 (2-6) than it did in 2018 before Hue Jackson’s firing (2-5-1). Baker Mayfield regressed badly in the process, even with the addition of Odell Beckham Jr. Shoddy blocking, questionable decision-making, and undisciplined play doomed the Browns to mediocrity. The end result? Cleveland’s 12th straight losing season.

What’s next: On paper, the Browns have one of the most appealing rosters in football. Mayfield, Beckham, Jarvis Landry, Nick Chubb, and a healthy David Njoku give them one of the league’s strongest starting lineups of skill players. Myles Garrett was a Defensive Player of the Year candidate before whacking Mason Rudolph with his own helmet (his status for 2020 is still yet to be determined). Other players like Larry Ogunjobi, Joe Schobert, and Olivier Vernon could make up the backbone of an intimidating unit.

Alas, this is still the Browns. Anything that can go wrong does go wrong — and no coach has been able to escape that legacy since the franchise’s reintroduction to the NFL in 1999.

Ron Rivera, Panthers

Panthers record: 76-63-1

Playoff record: 3-4 (one Super Bowl appearance, 0 wins)

How’d they get here: David Tepper waited more than a year to rebuild the Panthers in his image after purchasing the franchise in 2017. That included firing Rivera following an uneven start that’s doomed Carolina to its first back-to-back losing seasons since 2012.

Rivera stuck around after injuries to Cam Newton derailed his 2018 season, only to see another injury to his former MVP quarterback sidetrack 2019. He groomed second-year passer Kyle Allen into an above-average passer, but that success was fleeting as Carolina went from 0-2 to 4-2 and then the 5-7 start that precipitated Rivera’s ouster.

What’s next: Tepper held an hour-long town hall meeting after Rivera’s firing to discuss his plans for the team going forward. It sounds like he’s interested in someone built from the Sean McVay mold:

The new Carolina Panthers head coach will likely be... - An offensive-minded coach - Who loves analytics - And is fine with an arranged marriage with GM/assistant GM - But may not have an answer on his QB when he takes the jobhttps://t.co/hTShURAevu

— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) December 4, 2019

That new coach will have to figure out what to do at quarterback. That could mean with Newton — who’s suddenly become injury prone after turning 30 and could be released or traded with $2 million in dead cap behind — or a QB room otherwise built around Allen and Will Grier.

Rivera didn’t take long to land on his feet. He’s expected to become Washington’s next head coach.

Jay Gruden, Washington

Washington record: 35-49-1

Playoff record: 0-1 (0 Super Bowl appearances)

How’d they get here: Gruden managed to keep Washington mediocre despite years of roster mismanagement from his higher-ups. The former offensive coordinator followed Kirk Cousins out of the nation’s capital less than two years later after an 0-5 start in 2019. Gruden’s calling card was the ability to field an entirely forgettable team for the bulk of his Washington career; between 2015 and 2018 he never won more than nine games or lost more than seven.

What’s next: Washington is now in need of a nurturer who can turn Dwayne Haskins into the homegrown quarterback the franchise once hoped Cousins would be. While the rookie passer improved as the season went along, he was still the catalyst behind one of the league’s least efficient offenses, and it appears stalwart left tackle Trent Williams won’t be return to the team to keep him upright.

Washington’s head coach position may be the least appealing job in the NFL. It’s been 14 years since the team won a postseason game. Haskins and fellow 2019 draftee Terry McLaurin have made up a promising 1-2 punch to build from, but there’s not a lot of talent on this roster. More may be on the way — especially with a top-five pick looming — but keeping talented players both on the roster and healthy have never been a specialty under Dan Snyder.

The club’s top option, per reports, is Rivera.

General managers who are out

Bruce Allen, Washington

Washington record: 45-83

Playoff record: 0-1 (zero Super Bowl appearances)

How’d they get here: Gruden’s firing game way to Allen’s ouster months later. Although not yet official, reports about the longtime GM’s removal began to swirl in advance of his team’s final game of the season.

Allen’s inability to keep Washington stocked with talent played a major role in the team’s lack of playoff success in his eight years (2010-14, 2017-19) at the helm.

Allen was also the man in charge of the roster when Kirk Cousins played out his second year of the franchise tag and bolted to Minnesota. The former GM’s exit strategy was to trade for 34-year-old QB Alex Smith. Smith was merely average before a broken leg took him off the field (and continues to threaten his career), leaving Allen to rumble through a disappointing 2019 with Case Keenum, Colt McCoy, and rookie Dwayne Haskins in a 3-13 campaign.

What’s next: Owner Dan Snyder may be eager to promote from within.

Mentioned the internal candidates to replace Bruce yesterday in our story are Schaffer, Kyle Smith and Doug Williams. Could see a re-shuffle in responsibilities for all three. https://t.co/78G02pQFYz

— Craig Hoffman (@CraigHoffman) December 29, 2019

Anyone capable of transforming this club into a playoff team would be in consideration for executive of the year honors.

Declared safe for 2020

Adam Gase, Jets

Gase’s first season in New York saw flashes of potential amidst a backdrop of darkness. Sam Darnold made modest improvements in his second year as a pro, but while the Jets have improved in the standings, they’re still leaps and bounds from contention.

The Jets found a way to lose to both the Jets and Bengals this season, but that wasn’t enough to convince team owner Christopher Johnson to cut Gase loose after one season.

Matt Patricia, Lions

Patricia’s hopeful start fell to pieces following Matthew Stafford’s season-ending back injury (and the team’s curious decision to trade secondary linchpin Quandre Diggs to Seattle). A 2-0-1 start crumbled into a 1-12 finish to push Detroit out of the playoff race and toward the top of the 2020 NFL Draft order.

One of Detroit’s biggest problems under Patricia has been a deficient defense. He and general manager Bob Quinn will return for 2020, but they’ll have a short leash if they can’t show explicit improvement next fall.

Dan Quinn, Falcons

Quinn turned up the heat on his own position after getting Atlanta out to a 1-7 start. Then the Falcons put together a 6-2 stretch that included wins over the Saints and 49ers to convince team owner Arthur Blank to keep Quinn and general manager Thomas Dimitroff in town.

Former Buccaneers head coach Raheem Morris will take over defensive coordinator duties, a move Blank hopes will upgrade the league’s 22nd-ranked scoring defense.

[fandomlife-giver]

His Maid, Strongest: 1

Summary: My young master Ciel has another name. He's also known as the Queen's guard dog for his own in policing England's seedy underground. His small body houses great determination. You will marvel at the bravery he displays when dealing with the drug traffic in the ring. Also, feel free to admire my notable skills with the silver upon which I stake my honor as a Phantomhive maid.

Next time on Black Maid, "His Maid, Strongest"

You see, I am simply one hell of a maid.

Pairings: Eventual Sebastian x Demon!reader

Warnings: Violence, kidnapping

Word Count: 3585

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*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

A loud knock sounded throughout the house, followed by footsteps going towards the door as the knocking continued.

You walked to the main door and opened it, revealing several powerful guests of London, including Lau, Ran Mao, and Madam Red, Ciel's aunt, who were all associates of your previous master.

Madam Red's eyes widened as she saw you. "Good morning and welcome to the Phantomhive Estate." You greeted with a smile as you bowed your head.

"Oh my, (Y/N)!" Madam Red exclaimed as she ran to you and pulled you into a hug.

You froze and awkwardly patted her back. She pulled away from you and cupped your face. "We thought you had perished." She said with tears in her eyes.

"No, I was only serving the queen in my absence. However, I have resumed my position as head maid of the Phantomhive household." You informed as you pulled away from her.

"I thought that was you." The china man, Lau, said as he walked inside with the china girl, Ran Mau, clinging to his side. "After all, there is no other who can compare to your loveliness." He said with a smile as he wrapped an arm around your waist.

You flinched at his touch before Madam Red slapped his hand away. "Get your meaty paws off of her! She has been through enough without your groping!" She shouted at him.

"As entertaining as this reunion is, perhaps we should carry on to Lord Phantomhive." A man said from the door, that you recognized as Sir Arthur.

You smiled. "Yes, of course. If you follow me, I shall escort you to my master. He is awaiting your arrival." You said, before starting to walk, the group following behind you.

"We were told that it was you that delivered the message directly from the queen, yes?" Sir Arthur questioned.

"That is correct, when her majesty sent me, she wished for me to deliver the message to her guard dog." You confirmed as you led them down the hallway.

"What exactly was the message and why would she give it to you?" The man with the large scar asked as if you were the most irrelevant and least trustworthy human on the planet.

Good thing you're not human or you might've been offended.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Vanel, but I'm afraid that is between you and my lord." You replied as you glanced at him, he glared at you and scoffed under his breath.

You reached Ciel's study and you knocked. 'Enter' You opened the door and walked in, the group following after you.

"Sir, your guests have arrived." You announced to Ciel, who had his back turned to you.

He turned around. "Finally. (Y/N) go assist Sebastian in the kitchen, I will not be needing you as we will be in the Billiard Room."

You bowed your head. "As you wish, master."

You then turned, closed the door and walked down the hallway. You were close to the kitchen before a loud bang sounded and the whole manor shook.

You stopped and deeply sighed in annoyance. "What have those three imbeciles done now?" You questioned, before continuing to walk into the kitchen.

. . . *In The Drawing Room*

"Your tea. We have a special Darjeeling from Fortnum and Mason today." You announced towards Ciel, Madam Red, Lau, and Ran Mao as Sebastian held up the tea pot beside you.

"Smells lovely. Tea can be excellent when made well." Lau complimented with Ran Mao sitting on his lap.

You smiled and bowed your head as Sebastian poured another cup of tea while Madam Red's butler that stood behind you both, marveled at him from afar. "Grell." Madam Red called.

"Uh. Yes, my lady." The Butler responded after he regained himself.

"Learn something from (Y/N) and Sebastian." She coldly stated at him.

He frowned and looked down. "Uh, yes."

"Just look at them. I mean, Sebastian's physique!" She awed as she unexpectedly began to rub Sebastian's ass.

Sebastian froze while Ciel's and Lau's jaws dropped, Ran Mao only stared. "You both should quit this country job and come work with me in the city." She stated with a smile as you held an amused face.

Ciel leaned forward and cleared his throat. "Madam Red.."

She blushed and removed her hand from Sebastian's ass. "Oh, sorry. I couldn't help it, it looked like it needed a physical. Just a doctor's habiiit." She sung as she awkwardly rubbed the back of her head.

Sebastian finished pouring the cup of tea and handed it to you. You took it from him while smirking and placed it on the table in front of Ciel. Sebastian glared at you, but you ignored him.

"So do you believe the drug trafficker your after was one of your guests today?" Lau questioned as he stood up.

"Perhaps." Ciel replied as he laid back in his chair.

"Why not leave the extermination to Lau?" Madam Red asked as Lau walked over to Ciel and rested his elbow on Ciel's chair. "A rat knows best where a rat's nest is, doesn't he?"

"I'm but a tame guinea pig, dedicated to my lord." Lau stated as he placed a hand on Ciel's head. "If the Earl instructs me not to act, I'm bound to do nothing."

Madam Red suddenly shot out of her chair and grabbed Ciel. "Watch it! You best keep your filthy paws off my darling nephew!" She roared at him while Ciel hung loosely in her arms.

"You wound me." Lau said as he stood up. "I would never paw at him in his own home, dear Madam."

"Are you saying you would if you were elsewhere?!" She questioned, dropping Ciel. "Careful, you're on thin ice now, sir!" She yelled while pointing at him. Both you and Sebastian turned as they continued to bicker once you noticed Ciel was gone.

"Master?" Sebastian called.

"Sorry, I'm joking of course."

"You better be, I hope you understand how protective I am of my dear nephew—" They continued as you and Sebastian left the room.

You walked into the hallway to see Ciel standing in the middle while rubbing his head as the servants chased a few rats down the hallway. Finny was dressed as a Rat, as Mey-Rin held a box and Tanaka carried a net.

"Master?" You called as you both approached him. He turned around. "Today's dessert, it's a deep-dish pie prepared with fresh apples and raisins."

"It will be ready soon, would you like to eat with your guests?" Sebastian asked.

"Bring it to my study." He said before turning away. "I'm done here." He stated as he began walking towards his study.

"Certainly, my lord." Sebastian said, placing a hand on his chest as you bowed your head.

The rats ran by you again, followed by the servants. You gave an annoyed look, before swiftly sweeping the rats off the ground in a flash, instantly killing them, and dropped them into Tanaka's net.

"That's enough of that. Stop playing and get back to work." Sebastian said as you brushed the imaginary dirt off your hands while they stood in front of you, heavily breathing.

"Sir..." They sighed.

. . . *Knock* *Knock* Sebastian knocked on Ciel's study with a cart of tea and pie in front of him. "Young master, I've brought your pie and afternoon tea." He waited a few moments, but there was no answer.

"Master?" He called as he opened the door, but gave a surprised look to find an empty room with the furniture knocked over, the double doors open and books, pages scattered across the floor.

He gasped at the scene before him. "This is terrible...the refreshments will all be wasted now." He said as he looked down at the cart.

"And why is that?" A voice said from behind him. He turned to see you walking towards him. You froze with a look of surprise as you looked into the room. "Oh my."

. . . You both walked down the hallway, passing the now empty cart while Sebastian held the pie.

"Oh dear, this is most troubling. Where could the master have been taken?" You pondered aloud as you both stopped walking.

Sebastian put a finger under his chin as he thought for a moment. "Sebastian! (Y/N)!"

You both turned to see Mey-Rin running down the hall (again). "I just found a letter, yes I did." She yelled as she held up a letter.

"Addressed to whom?" Sebastian asked.

"Ah, 'To the Servants of the Earl of Phantomhive'." She read as she continued running.

You heard something click from outside the window beside you. Both you and Sebastian turned your heads to see a sniper, hiding in the bushes. You hummed and moved back just as Mey-Rin tripped (again), pushing Sebastian out of the way as the sniper shot through the window, missing and instead hitting the vase, shattering it.

The pie went flying in the air along with the silver tray as both Sebastian and Mey-Rin landed on the floor, Mey-Rin on top of him.

You walked up and caught the dish in the palm of your hand along with the pie. "Mey-Rin, the letter please." Sebastian said, ignoring the fact he was laying in broken shards of glass and vase with a cowering woman on his chest.

Her face was bright red as she looked up with a gasp. "Eh? Letter? Oh, yes sir!"

.  . . "'If you want to return your master safely, come to Nova garden Bethmal Green as soon as possible...'" Sebastian read aloud from the letter.

"Goodness, what a dreadfully written letter." You commented from next to him.

"Indeed it is." He agreed.

"Sebastian! (Y/N)!" Finny called as he and Bard walked up to you.

"What is going on here?" Madam Red asked as she, Lau, and Ran Mao walked up.

"Sorry for the noise my lady. We assure you nothing is wrong. Please don't concern yourself." You said with a smile as Sebastian folded up the letter and put it in his pocket.

They all looked at the shattered window. "Humph, nothing, are you sure?" Madam Red questioned.

"Everyone, we have business to attend to." Sebastian said as he turned to the servants.

"Would you mine cleaning this up?" You asked, handing Bard the pie as you and Sebastian walked away.

"Um. So, when you say clean uh... that means we can eat it, right?" He asked with a grin as he turned around, but you were both already gone. "...(Y/N)? ...Sebastian?"

. . . "Sorry, I missed!" The Sniper said on the phone as he and another man drove away from the manor on the dirt road.

'What do you mean you missed? You are complete idiots! Never should have hired-a scum like you. Just get back here.' His boss yelled over the phone.

The sniper looked back at the cloud of dirt behind them, noticing two faint figures in the distance. "Um, sir, something is off. I see something." He said with fear in his voice as the dark figures grew closer and closer.

. . . 'What's that!' Their boss heard through the phone while he leaned against his desk.

"Oh, what's-a wrong? You little girl see a bear in the woods?" He taunted, but was cut off by him screaming. "What is it? Did someone fined you? Talk to me." The boss demanded.

'Ahhhh! Hurry it up!'

. . . They turned a sharp corner and slammed their foot on the gas, but the figures only grew closer, now more visible with grins on their faces. "They're coming, closer." He said, fear clear in his voice.

. . . Both you and Sebastian continued running at an inhuman speed with matching sadistic grins plastered on your faces.

.  . . "That's it! I'd have enough of your games already." Their boss yelled, now getting angry.

'No good, they're here! Aghhhhh!' Both their screams erupted and filled the ear of their boss.

"Uh, hello? What's happened?" He questioned.

Ciel laughed as he lied on the floor, bloodied and bruised while tied up. "That's too bad. Sounds like your little game of fetch is over." He said, earning another kick to the stomach followed by a punch and kicks to the back. "Ugh!" He groaned.

"Just shut your mouth, you damn brat!" He yelled as he kicked him. He finished and picked the phone back up.

"You listen to me! If one of you don't answer right now, I swear I will kill you!" He threatened.

'Hello.' You casually greeted through static. 'Pardon us, but we represent the Phantomhive estate. We were wondering if our master might be available.'

Silence.

'Hello, is anyone there? Hello?' You asked once he didn't respond. He went to speak, but no words came out.

"Woof." Ciel barked as he faced the wall.

. . . "Very good, young master. We will come to get you momentarily." You said as you held the phone, before grabbing the cord to the phone and pulling it out.

"Thank you for the use of your field telephone. And now there are few things I'd like to ask you about, if that's all right. First, we'd like to know who you work for." Sebastian said as you both were kneeling on the hood of the car as it was balancing on the edge of a cliff, Sebastian still carrying the silver tray for some reason.

They both only stared at you in fear.

"Hurry up now. He's not exactly what you would call a patient man. And you do remember what happened to the Humpty-Dumpty, don't you?" You said as you glanced at the ground below.

"Ah, our employer's name is Azzurro Vanel. He has a hideout up in the city. It's in the East End." One of them frantically said.

You both gave a closed-eyed smile at them and stood up, so you were standing on the hood.

"We just work for him!" The guy said in desperation.

"But of course, we understand." You said.

"We our very sorry to have interrupted your work. We'll let you go now." Sebastian said with a bow.

"Have a safe trip." You said as you both jumped off the hood and landed on the ground.

You tossed them the phone, the guy catching it as the car tipped over. You both stared at them as the car went over the cliff, disappearing. You both turned around and you took out your pocket watch. "Oh dear, look at how late it's gotten." You said just as the car exploded from behind you, but you paid no mind to it and put your pocket watch away.

"If we don't move quickly, we shall never have dinner ready in time." Sebastian said and you both walked away.

. . . "Listen up, the Phantomhive boy has help on the way!" Vanel yelled at his guards. "Move it! Tighten at the gate! Not so much as a single rat gets through!" He ordered as hundreds of men went around the mansion, men on the balconies, men in the grand entrance, and men outside, all armed with guns and oblivious to you and Sebastian who stood behind them at the bottom of the steps.

"My, my, what a splendid home." Sebastian commented as you both looked up at the large mansion.

The men turned around and looked at you in confusion. "Hey, who the hell are these guys?" One of them said. You both turned around, only to be met with guns being pointed at you.

"Ah, our apologies. You see... we represent the Phantomhive household." You said with a devious look as you placed your hand on your stomach.

Meanwhile...

*Phantomhive Kitchen*

"Oh dear, we need Sebastian and (Y/N) here... Where did they go now?" Mey-Rin pondered as she rested her head on the edge of the table.

"I wish I knew..." Finny said as he also rested his chin on the edge of the table.

"I don't care where they are right now or what they're doin'." Bard said, also resting his head, before standing up and slamming his hands on the table. "This is all I'm worried about. Does 'clean it up' mean we can eat the pie or not?! I have to knooow" He cried as he placed his hands on his head.

"I'm sure just one bite each would be okay." Finny said.

"No, Finny! You know how they are! If we eat something we're not supposed to, they'll bake us into their next pie!" Bard shouted at Finny.

"You need to calm yourself down, Baldroy. A soothing drink might help. Here, give this a try!" Mey-Rin said as she stood up and slammed a bottle of milk on he table.

"Milk... not that it's gonna help me." Bard muttered as he crossed his arms.

"Milk is an important part of your diet! It'll help you grow strong bones, yes it will!" Mey-Rin yelled back.

Back to the servants of hell...

You stood next to Sebastian, gazing at the scene of all the guards that were outside, dead, or severely injured and on the verge of death. You heard a whimper and looked to your right to see a guard, shocked as he stared at the gruesome scene. "Oh, yes. I almost forgot about you." You said as you approached him.

He grabbed his gun and pointed it at you, but you knocked it out of his hand and twisted his arm, hearing a loud *Snap*

"My arm! She shattered the bone!" He cried as he held his broken arm and backed away from you.

"Now, I would be grateful if I were you, I could've done much worse as you can see." You said as you gestured to the many other victims, but he continued to scream in pain.

"Pardon us, but we're in a bit of a hurry." Sebastian said as he took out his pocket watch. "5:34."

. . . Sebastian turned the knob to one of the large wooden doors and opened it, the both of you stepping inside. It was a rather lovely interior and normally you would've admired it, however the men above you had other ideas and started to pelt you both with more bullets.

Sebastian quickly covered the both of you, using the tray as a shield. "Now I understand why you brought it." You said as you faced him.

"Yes, the tools a servant has can be very useful in more then one way." He said as he continued to block the bullets.

You both then moved and ran on opposite sides. Sebastian used the tray as a disk and threw it at the men, hitting a whole row of them. You jumped up and swooped up all the plates on the table, tossing some to Sebastian and kneeling down on the table as he jumped up and joined you. You both rapidly tossed plate by plate at the men, taking them out one by one.

"Move, damn it! Call in the boys in the west tower! We need to rip this broad and bastard apart!" One of them called to the men who ran.

"An entire swarm of rats...We'll get nowhere at this rate." You said with a sigh as you looked down at your pocket watch.

. . . "That's it! I'm goin' to eat it!" Bard announced as Mey-Rin drank the milk and Finny still kept his head on the table.

"Mey-Rin, tea! Finny, go get the silver!" He ordered.

"Sir, yes sir!" They saluted.

Finny opened the silverware drawer. "It should be right in here. What the?" He said as he stared into the empty drawer.

"Is something wrong?" Bard asked as he and Mey-Rin gazed at it.

"I don't understand. The silver supposed to be here, but I don't see a single knife or fork!" He stated.

. . . *Vanel's Manor*

Sebastian suddenly slid multiple butter knives from his sleeves into his hands. You rose an eyebrow at him. "Sebastian, is that our silver?"

He only smiled at you.

"Very well, then." You then released several hidden kitchen forks that slid down your fingers.

He gave you an amused look. "Well I couldn't let you have all the fun." You said before you both jumped up high and flung the utensils at the men, straight in the forehead.

"Who the hell are they?!" One guy questioned before getting hit with one of your forks.

"Now, now, if we couldn't do this much at least... then what kind of maid and butler would we be?" Sebastian said as you both soared down from the air with looks of pure amusement.

. . . The dead, lifeless bodies of Vanel's men who had been previously attempting to kill you were scattered all throughout the room. You looked over the scene as you and Sebastian hung upside down from the large Chandelier.

"Oh dear..." He said as he crossed his arms.

"That took longer than expected." You stated as you looked at him.

"Yes..." He said with a sigh before you both released your grip and dropped down, landing on the ground and standing up.

He took out his pocket watch and looked at it. "Already 5:43"

[thrashermaxey]

Ramblings: The fallout from suspensions, key injuries, Hughes signs and more (Mar 11)

Ramblings: The fallout from suspensions, key injuries, Hughes signs and more (Mar 11)

***

Now available for pre-sale – the 13th annual Interactive Playoff Draft List. Pre-order it here. It will be released the Friday before the season ends. If you bought the Ultimate Fantasy Pack in the summer, this will be included in that purchase. It is not included in the Keeper Fantasy Pack.

*

When Troy Terry picked up three points on Friday he became the first Anaheim rookie to do it in back-to-back games. He was shut out on Sunday but now is the time to go all in on the youngster, who has transitioned to the pro game very quickly and I think will have a productive campaign next season. Even Sam Steel is one to look at as well.

As an aside, I was looking at Steel’s Frozen Pool page and then I went to search on Google for his DobberProspects’ page when I remembered – Frozen Pool now automatically links the two. So I went to Info/Analysis on Steel and sure enough, there was the link. Research made easier. Steel has 34 points in 41 AHL games while Terry has 41 in 41. The Ducks are in transition now, whether they admit it or not.

*

Invasion of the Finns: never before has the NHL seen four Finns tally 30 goals in the same season. The last time three did it was 2005-06 with Teemu Selanne, Olli Jokinen and Jere Lehtinen. Right now Sebastian Aho and Mikko Rantanen are there, with Patrik Laine and Aleksander Barkov knocking on the door with 29. The next international tournament (be it the World Cup or the Olympics) will be interesting, with this country really making strikes over the last decade.

*

Quinn Hughes has signed with Vancouver! If what I understand is correct, he can’t play 10 games or he will become eligible for Seattle expansion. However, I would put money on him playing nine games and burning the first year of his three-year entry deal. I wouldn’t be surprised if he made an impact quickly. The Canucks are desperate for a puck-moving defenseman. I posted my Top 200 Fantasy Prospect Forwards rankings Sunday and will have the Top 50 Fantasy Prospect Defensemen up for Tuesday. Hughes is No.2 on that list (there’s a sneak peek for you).

Now over to you, Dante Fabbro.

*

Vladimir Tarasenko missed Saturday’s game with a UBI and now word has come out that he will be “re-evaluated” in 10 days. That pretty much says to me that he’s gone for at least three weeks and this could be something even more serious. Line combinations on Saturday, his first game out, looked like this:

#1

28.8%

O'REILLY,RYAN – SCHENN,BRAYDEN – SCHWARTZ,JADEN

#2

21.2%

BOZAK,TYLER – MAROON,PAT – THOMAS,ROBERT

#3

20.7%

SANFORD,ZACH – STEEN,ALEXANDER – SUNDQVIST,OSKAR

#4

10.6%

BARBASHEV,IVAN – BLAIS,SAMMY – MACEACHERN,MACKENZIE

  As for Jake Allen, he came off a shutout on March 7 and was put right back in there the very next game. I thought he played great Saturday, despite the OT loss – the Sharks dominated in the third and Allen was the reason it even went to overtime. Back-to-back Quality Stars for Allen and four out of his last five. The Blues really want to settle in on a goalie heading into the postseason, so Jordan Binnington (Winnington) will get the next start I’m sure – but he’ll be on a short leash. We’re closing in on the final 10 games and I feel like that will be the cutoff and one goalie will start eight of those 10.

*

Jakub Voracek has been suspended for two games for this hit:

{youtube}dub9ZwaR0gU{/youtube}

I’ve never seen a player get suspended for straightening up his back like that before and I have mixed thoughts on it. Yes, he saw him coming, but could that be explained away as trying to prevent getting pushed from behind? Did his elbow swing back and catch him? Could he have gotten out of the way? Just such a gray area. I guess if it was intentional and brutal it would have been five or more. Josh Bailey returned to the game.

Voracek played with Sean Couturier and Oskar Lindblom last game. Claude Giroux had been playing with JVR and Nolan Patrick. The line shuffling now will likely take Nolan Patrick off the Claude Giroux line and perhaps reunite Giroux with Couturier and Travis Konecny. But that’s purely a guess.

*

The news is crazy these last few days in terms of key guys missing time. Jack Eichel has also been suspended for two games for this hit to the head:

{youtube}vaTljDqCA-E{/youtube}

The initial Zadorov hit, while his shoulder missed the head – I think he planted his helmet on Eichel’s on purpose and he should have been suspended. Eichel’s suspension is cut and dried (unlike Voracek’s).

*

Samuel Montembeault, a goalie I have been a fan of for quite some time, now boasts a 2-0-1 record for the Panthers after starting two straight for them on the weekend. The team is playing well in front of him and he hasn’t been truly tested yet. But right now he is Florida’s best option in the pipeline and since this is a young team on the rise (yeah, I’ve said this for two years now but it’s gonna happen), this could end up being the perfect storm. Montembeault isn’t great, but he’s the team’s best at what could be the right time. The Cory Crawford, the Chris Osgood, or the Jordan Winnington.

Trading away Gustav Nyquist didn’t help Michael Rasmussen any. The rookie is still seeing nine minutes per game. They could be ruining him. I don’t like prospects who get stuck at nine minutes per game for an entire season. Rarely works out for them.

*

Jacob Trouba, a subject of the Top 10 list later Monday, saw 6:42 of PP time for the Jets on Sunday and came up empty. With Josh Morrissey and Dustin Byfuglien out, this is his time to show us a glimpse of what he can do.

While Trouba saw 6:42 on the power play alone, Jack Roslovic saw 6:45 of ice time, period. Roslovic, who is also a subject of the Top 10, had an assist in the contest.

*

After 19 consecutive games with a point, the mighty Bruins were stopped by the Penguins 4-2. Brad Marchand was minus-3.

Danton Heinen, who subbed in for David Pastrnak on the Marchand line, picked up two assists. He has 14 points in his last 16 games. He had 14 points in 39 games before that. Pastrnak is still out for another week.

With two points Sunday, Jake Guentzel has 53 in his last 51 games.

Jared McCann also had two points Sunday and he has eight in his last seven games. I remember poolies jumped on him really quickly when he surprisingly made the Canucks as a 19-year-old in 2015. He was rushed. The Stratford native (as am I) is now in his fourth NHL season, though he was mostly in the minors for one of them, so I consider this his third. He’s clicking with Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel. We’ve learned from Conor Sheary (and going further back – Colby Armstrong) that there is no guarantee with this plum placement when an entire summer disrupts the chemistry, I do have more confidence in McCann’s upside and pedigree than I had with Sheary. And ten times out of ten I would roll the dice on just the ‘chance’ that it continues on into next season.

*

The 3M line was at it big time for the Flames Sunday. Mikael Backlund, Matt Tkachuk and Michal Frolik combined for 11 points. For Frolik, the biggest beneficiary of this arrangement, he tallied four assists after having gone six games without a point.

After starting off with a bang, tallying 13 points in 11 games, Brandon Pirri has just three in his last 16 including a goal on Sunday against the Flames.

*

Goals in back-to-back games for Carl Grundstrom in his NHL debut for Los Angeles. The Kings picked up Grundstrom from the Leafs in the Jake Muzzin trade. He also dished out three Hits, though it seemed like more. He’s already drawing comparisons stylistically to Dustin Brown, and I suspect he can put up similar numbers at his peak (55-plus points, 250-plus hits). He didn’t look out of place and I think there is a spot waiting for him on the big club in the fall.

Read Grundstrom’s fantasy scouting profile and PNHLe graph here.

*

It’s as if signing the big contract has helped Jakob Silfverberg turn the corner. He now has points in five straight games, seven in that span. And that’s on a team that is really just not scoring. We know this song and dance already, though. Every year, without fail, in either the first or the second half he produces like a 70-point player but in the other half of that season he produces like a 20-point player. If only we could get an advanced heads up on which half will be which. With the GM coaching the team right now, I feel pretty comfortable with Silf continuing for the duration. Bob Murray needs to make his latest big signing look like a good one, and you can see it in Jakob’s minutes – both at ES and on the PP.

*

Frozen Tools update: A new stat has been added, as well as two new reports. The stat is PPPts/60 which, obviously, is a player’s power-play points rate if broken up into 60 minutes of PP time (to match the regular pts/60 stat). It gives us a great look at how effective players have been on the power play and in my case at least it helps me evaluate how a young offensive player is trending/developing.

Also, goalie home/away splits are in now. Just go to the Report Generator, select goalies, and one of the buttons is cleverly entitled “Goalie Home/Away”.

DobberProspects update: Each scouting profile not only has our upside and certainty ranking at the top, scouting observations in the middle and the Elite Prospects career stats at the bottom…but now it has Mason Black’s fun pNHLe chart at the bottom. It takes a player’s stats in a given league at a given age and averages it out against history, spitting out his NHL potential upside. This didn’t get up and perfected until middle of last week (though I had posted it in last Monday’s Ramblings).

*

See you next Monday.

    from All About Sports https://dobberhockey.com/hockey-rambling/ramblings-the-fallout-from-suspensions-key-injuries-hughes-signs-and-more-mar-11/

[justsportsgalore]

With the stop the Rockets had to have falling to James Harden's hands, he had one last chance. It was all he needed.

The Rockets were down a point and down to their final possession when Harden grabbed the rebound of Jameer Nelson's airball 3 and took off the other way.

When Harden put in his layup with 2.4 seconds left, he lifted the Rockets past the Nuggets, 125-124, on Monday, finishing with 39 points in a stirring comeback.

Harden added 11 assists and seven rebounds, with six Rockets players scoring in double figures and the Rockets getting huge fourth quarters from Pat Beverley and Eric Gordon. But the Rockets did not secure the win until Nene batted away a final pass to Mason Plumlee at the rim in the final seconds in a last stop in a high-scoring game.

The Rockets were not going to beat the Nuggets the way they did in Denver. That seemed clear from when they headed back to Houston for the rematch.

The Nuggets were not going to miss 18 layups. They were not going to miss 11 free throws. They were going to look like the team that has been the NBA's top-rated offense since the start of the New Year.

The Rockets generally don't mind a shootout, but had to climb back in the third quarter, erasing the Nuggets' 13-point lead and briefly going in front. But when the Nuggets scored 12 points in the final 2:02 of the quarter, it was clear how much work there remained to be done.

They got the shooting they were certain to need to open the fourth quarter. Eric Gordon drained a pair of 3s. Pat Beverley hit another. With 5:49 left, Trevor Ariza answered a 3 Gary Harris (who had a career-high 28) with another 3-pointer for a five point Rockets lead. By then, the Nuggets seemed able to answer any Rockets run.

The Nuggets were within four with less than four minutes remaining when Beverley put in another 3-pointer, giving the Rockets as many in the fourth quarter – five – as they made in the entire game in Denver. Moments later, Nelson pulled the Nuggets back within four and after a Gordon turnover, the Rockets were clinging to a 120-116 lead with two minutes left.

When Harden hit a jumper, Juancho Hernandez tipped in a miss. When Harden knocked down a 3, Barton answered. But when the Rockets did not get a shot at all, with Nene losing the ball in traffic, the Nuggets took the lead. Barton hit a jumper through a foul, adding a free throw for the lead.

Harden missed, but immediately instructed the Rockets not to foul, knowing they would have one possession left to go for the win.

As much as the Rockets enjoyed their Saturday night win, taken without the usual waves of 3-point shooting, they did not seem likely to get by that way for long.

They made 4 of their first 6 3s and built an early 13-point lead. With the Nuggets closing out hard to contest on the perimeter, they drove to the rim. They scored 35 first quarter before Harden got rolling.

They just were not stopping the Nuggets often enough to pull away or make that lead hold up.

When the Nuggets rolled through a rapid 20-5 run to end the first quarter and start the second, they overtook the Rockets and kept on scoring. With their customary outstanding ball movement and collection of 3-point shooters – even with Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler out – the Nuggets scored 37 second-quarter points, making 57.1 percent of their shots with Gary Harris making 7 of 9 shots for his 18 first-half points.

With the Nuggets switching on Harden and staying on the Rockets shooters as they had in Denver, Harden scored 13 of his 20 first-half points in seven minutes, usually by attacking the paint. But the Rockets 3-point shooting again deserted them.

They made 3 of 14 3s after that fast start, trailing 65-62 heading into the second half, with few signs that they could coax the sort of missed shots out of the Nuggets that were key to Saturday's win in Denver.

When they got the last stop, however, it was all the opening Harden needed.

[yahoo-the-dagger-blog]

Ranking the NCAA tournament title contenders, from 1 to 68

There are nine teams. That is all. Nine teams can win the 2017 college basketball national championship.

Given what we know about the unpredictability of March and the history of NCAA tournament upsets, that might seem like a foolish, perhaps preposterous statement. And sure, technically it’s not true. Technically, Mount St. Mary’s and North Carolina Central can win the 2017 national title. There is a non-zero chance of such an occurrence.

[Fill out your NCAA tournament bracket here | Printable version]

But who can realistically win it all? Nine teams.

Upsets throughout the college basketball regular season are always trumpeted as evidence of parity, and the phrase “wide open” gets used to describe the tournament field every year, but some years, that’s not the case. This is one of those years.

No matter what you may hear elsewhere, there is no parity in college basketball this year. The numbers have shown that, and still show that. The 2016-17 college basketball season was governed by an elite class of bluebloods that has refused to relinquish positions of power heading into postseason play. And heading into the tournament, the cut-off between contenders and pretenders is clearer than ever.

Below is a ranking of the teams most likely to win the 2017 national championship, all the way from 1 through 68, and separated into eight tiers, with some fun/analytical/informative notes here and there. But most importantly, it’s a look at the nine teams that can realistically win six games over the next three weeks and celebrate on April 3 in Phoenix.

TIER 1: THE FAVORITES

1. Duke (2)

Duke was the preseason No. 1, and is the best team in college basketball heading into the NCAA tournament, but those two facts drape a shiny cloak over what was one of the most remarkable and remarkably dysfunctional seasons in recent college hoops memory. All but two Blue Devil rotation players missed time this year due to injury, suspension or both. Some have been sporadically benched for simple inadequacy. There have been kicks and shoves(?), locker room bans and meetings at Coach K’s house, embarrassing upsets and serious back surgeries, and a whole lot more.

But after all that … Is Duke back?!?!? DUKE IS BACK.

In all seriousness, Duke is finally hitting the heights we always thought it could. The Blue Devil offense has scored a combined 1.17 points per possession over its last five games against North Carolina (twice), Clemson, Louisville and Notre Dame. Luke Kennard has found his November and December form. Jayson Tatum looks like he belongs in the NBA yesterday. Tatum shot 28-of-41 on 2-pointers at the ACC tournament, hit 23 of his 27 free throws over four games, and pulled down 7.5 boards per contest. He has become an irresistible force that careens toward the rim with majestic grace and control, blowing past defenders with ease. Frank Jackson has also provided a steady hand in the backcourt to complement and counterbalance Grayson Allen’s volatile game.

The fun thing — and at the same time the scary thing — is that the Blue Devils still have even more room to grow, and still have more time to grow between now and Phoenix.

2. Kansas (1)

The Jayhawks might have the best player in the NCAA tournament in Frank Mason III. They also might have the best NBA player in the NCAA tournament in Josh Jackson. And they have a coach who has won regular-season titles in one of college basketball’s toughest conferences 13 years in a row.

Now, you might say, Wait, doesn’t Kansas always choke in the tournament? 

The answer to that would be twofold: Yes, the Jayhawks have choked a few times in the recent past, most notably against Wichita State in 2015 and Stanford in 2014. But no, that does not mean Kansas always chokes. What the heck does 2014 have to do with this year’s team?

Last year, Self and Kansas reached the Elite Eight and lost a deathmatch by essentially one possession to the eventual national champions. This year’s team is different — weaker inside, more explosive on the perimeter — but probably just as good. This year’s team also has a different Mason, one who has developed into the most relentless attack-minded point guard at this level of the sport, and one who, more than anybody else in this tournament, is capable of single-handedly inspiring a title run.

3. North Carolina (1)

North Carolina is maddeningly inconsistent. Just look at the last week of its regular season: On Monday, the Tar Heels scored 43 points in an ugly loss at Virginia. Five days later, they scored more than twice that many in a high-flying win over Duke. Um … What?

Roy Williams is probably as confused as anybody. But there are a few things we know definitively about Carolina: 1. Its offense is outstanding, mostly because it crushes opponents on the offensive glass. 2. Its shooting percentages aren’t that high, and only two players, Joel Berry and Justin Jackson, are legitimate 3-point threats, but it gets so many more attempts than other teams because of its rebounding. 3. The Tar Heels weirdly aren’t as great on the defensive boards. Because they’re not, and because starting bigs Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks aren’t renowned rim-protectors, a team with elite athletes isn’t the elite defensive team it could be. A big part of that is the aforementioned inconsistency too.

[Related: Read Pat Forde’s South Region breakdown right here]

So what to make of UNC? The Heels can absolutely win a national championship. As a Tar Heel philosopher once said, “The ceiling is the roof.” But there’s also every chance the roof (or the ceiling?) randomly caves due to unknown causes in the Sweet 16 or Elite Eight.

4. Villanova (1)

It’s really unfair to Jay Wright and Villanova to slot three teams above them. It’s wrong. We’ll admit that. But it’s so tight at the top, and while all four teams in this tier have flaws, Villanova might be the one of the four with the lowest upside.

At the very least, the Wildcats don’t have the upside of last year’s title-winning team. They’ve effectively lost three players from a year ago, and that not only means Wright has one or two fewer weapons at his disposal, it means he has less depth in general. This year’s rotation is seven-deep. This year’s team is also smaller, physically. Darryl Reynolds is the only true big man, and his skills are limited. Villanova has no back-to-the-basket center like it did last year in Daniel Ochefu.

But enough with the negatives. The positives are plentiful. The Wildcats still play heartwarming fundamentally-sound basketball. They don’t foul. They run really crisp offense. They take smart, high-percentage shots. And, oh yeah, they have a National Player of the Year contender in Josh Hart, a big shot-maker in Kris Jenkins, and a Bob Cousy Award finalist in Jalen Brunson. Winning back-to-back national titles is, obviously, extremely hard, but this Villanova team is capable of doing just that.

(Getty)

TIER 2: THE CONTENDERS

5. Gonzaga (1)

Here’s the issue with evaluating Gonzaga’s national title hopes: It’s not that the Bulldogs are inherently a weaker team because they played a weaker regular-season schedule than most. It’s that their sample size of games against NCAA tournament-caliber teams is so small. It is six, to be exact, and three of the six came against one team, Saint Mary’s, with whom Gonzaga matches up really well. The small sample size means that Gonzaga’s potential points of weakness haven’t been thoroughly explored. For example, Iowa State had a lot of success with spread, small-ball lineups in the second half of a two-point loss to the ‘Zags in November, but no other team on Gonzaga’s schedule could follow up on the questions Iowa State asked of Mark Few’s team.

The Bulldogs aren’t especially vulnerable; they’re not overrated; their 32-1 record isn’t fraudulent. They are a very, very good basketball team. There’s just a lot we still don’t know about them.

6. Kentucky (2)

Kentucky goes as Malik Monk goes, and that means it is SO. DARN. UNPREDICTABLE.

It feels odd to say that about a team that will arrive at the Big Dance riding an 11-game winning streak, but the Wildcats have been so enigmatic all season. They’ll look startlingly ordinary for 25 minutes; then Monk will go into Malik Monk Takeover Mode — akin to playing “NCAA March Madness 07” on PlayStation 2 on “junior varsity,” and probably with cheat codes — and Kentucky will look like a Final Four contender. So who knows? With Monk and De’Aaron Fox in the backcourt and John Calipari on the sideline, a national title is all kinds of possible. But so is a second-round dud against Wichita State.

7. Arizona (2)

Finnish freshman Lauri Markkanen has transformed into the type of dominant big that can carry Arizona to the Final Four. He always had the sweet outside shooting stroke and feel for the game. Now he has the ability to do damage in the paint as well, and therefore has an inside-outside game that will give opponents fits.

Around Markkanen, the Wildcats have a nice blend of youth and experience, and they now have Allonzo Trier back at his best. After a rocky return from suspension in late January and early February, Trier has put up 22.1 points per game over his last seven outings. He’s also improved as a facilitator in his sophomore season — his assist rate has more than doubled while his turnover rate is down.

Arizona doesn’t have the top-end talent that Kentucky boasts, but it will be in any game it plays, and with a few friendly bounces could be snipping some nylon.

8. UCLA (3)

College basketball’s fastest major-conference offense is also probably its best, and is surely its most exhilarating. Freshman point guard Lonzo Ball is a wizard in transition, and might be the most exciting player to watch in the country. TJ Leaf is a skilled guard in a 6-foot-10 body, and because he is, he’s an offensive efficiency machine. Bryce Alford brings sharpshooting and significant NCAA tournament experience to the table — the last time he took this stage in March, he hit 14 of his 22 3-point attempts on a Sweet 16 run.

The one problem, of course, is that the Bruins have periodically seemed allergic to defense. Their pick-and-roll coverage is shoddy at best. With the defense they played for the first two-thirds of the season, they weren’t national title contenders. However, they’ve improved as of late, and have been effective in multiple zone alignments, which gives hope of some solidity in the tournament. That hope, in turn, breeds hope of a Final Four run, and perhaps even a national championship.

9. Louisville (2)

The Cardinals have been patiently waiting to break out all season, and … now the time has come, and the wait is ongoing. A noticeable breakthrough has not yet arrived. Donovan Mitchell is a star, the entire roster is experienced, and Rick Pitino is as good as they come on the sideline; Louisville’s offense still hasn’t fully clicked, though, and its defense, strangely, regressed slightly down the stretch in ACC play. The longer we wait for the Cardinals to take the next step and become an elite team, the more likely it is that that step never gets taken.

TIER 3: THE VERY GOOD … BUT NOT ‘NATIONAL TITLE GOOD’

10. West Virginia (4) 11. Oregon (3)

Oregon was sitting comfortably in Tier 2, and perhaps near the top of it, until shot-blocking stretch-forward Chris Boucher tore his ACL in the Pac-12 semifinal. The loss doesn’t ruin the Ducks’ tourney campaign, but it puts a damper on their title hopes.

12. Florida (4) 13. Notre Dame (5)

Last season, Mike Brey went to a two-point guard lineup in the postseason, and his Irish charged to the Elite Eight. This year, he made the move to downsize in early February, and since, his team has won eight of 10. Of the 52 teams below the top four seed lines, Notre Dame is the most likely to make a Final Four run.

14. Baylor (3) 15. Michigan (7)

What a story. The Wolverines — who, by the way, were a bubble team two weeks ago — escaped literal death on Wednesday, then went on to win four games in four days Thursday through Sunday at the Big Ten tournament. Now they aren’t just a feel-good story. They’re a damn good basketball story. With a top-10 offense, they’ll be an extremely tough out.

16. SMU (6)

[Fill out your NCAA tournament bracket here | Printable version]

The Mustangs haven’t lost since Jan. 12. Today, Monday, is March 13. Think about that for a second.

17. Purdue (4) 18. Iowa State (5) 19. Virginia (5)

Everybody loves Wilmington in this 5-12 upset. Why? Virginia will grind out possessions, take Wilmington out of its comfort zone, and ease to victory. The Cavaliers, in fact, are generally underrated because they don’t offer much in the way of excitement, but they’re still a staunch defensive team and an underrated offensive squad because they play so slow. They’re No. 7 in the KenPom rankings. Despite some truly ugly performances in February, they remain an Elite Eight threat.

20. Florida State (3)

TIER 4: THE LONG SHOTS

21. Oklahoma State (10)

The Cowboys are No. 1 in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency. They’re also wildly underseeded, just like the team below them on this list because they came up short on several occasions against the Big 12’s big four. It’s cruel that either them or Michigan will head home without a win.

22. Wichita State (10)

Gregg Marshall thought the committee might have forgotten about his team. Make sure you don’t make that mistake. Wichita State is dangerous.

23. Butler (4) 24. Wisconsin (8) 25. Cincinnati (5) 26. Vanderbilt (9)

Bryce Drew has done a phenomenal job in his first year in Nashville. The Commodores have 3-point threats aplenty, and have the No. 2 effective field-goal percentage defense in the nation. West region, beware.

27. Miami (8) 28. Minnesota (5) 29. Northwestern (8)

TIER 5: THE VERY LONG SHOTS

30. Maryland (6) 31. Michigan State (9)

It’s treacherous to place a Tom Izzo team this low, but he doesn’t have the talent this year.

32. Dayton (7) 33. Saint Mary’s (7) 34. Rhode Island (11)

If you watched any of Rhode Island in the Atlantic 10 tournament, then you know …  the Rams are on the charge. They shot 20-for-40 from 3 in the semifinal and final combined, and are playing confident ball. If you’re looking for a deep sleeper, this might be it.

35. Virginia Tech (9) 36. Arkansas (8) 37. VCU (10) 38. Seton Hall (9) 39. South Carolina (7) 40. Kansas State (11) 41. Wake Forest (11)

If you’re looking for a First Four-to-Final Four pick, the winner of Tuesday’s game is the way to go. Wake has an All-ACC center in John Collins, and a talented guard to complement him in Bryant Crawford. Kansas State has a stifling defense.

TIER 6: NO

42. Creighton (6) 43. Middle Tennessee (12)

Are you feeling lucky? And maybe a bit reckless and bold? And slightly ludicrous? Put Middle Tennessee in your Elite Eight.

44. Marquette (10) 45. UNC-Wilmington (12)

The Seahawks love to get up and down, have a quartet of talented guards/wings, and feature the most efficient offensive player in all of Division I, 6-foot-7 forward Devontae Cook (offensive rating: 141.9).

[Fill out your NCAA tournament bracket here | Printable version]

46. USC (11) 47. Providence (11) 48. Xavier (11) 49. Nevada (12) 50. Princeton (12)

Princeton hasn’t lost since Christmas.

51. Vermont (13)

Neither has Vermont.

52. East Tennessee State (13)

TIER 7: DEFINITELY NOT

53. Bucknell (13) 54. Winthrop (13)

Watching 5-foot-7 guard Keon Johnson put an entire team on his back is one of the most thrilling experiences in college basketball. Hopefully he has a run at Butler.

55. New Mexico State (14) 56. Iona (14) 57. Kent State (14) 58. Florida Gulf Coast (14) 59. Northern Kentucky (15) 60. South Dakota State (16)

Remember the name Mike Daum. Here are his points totals from the past 13 games: 42, 29, 33, 16, 38, 26, 22, 26, 51, 30, 33, 18, 37. The 37 came on 24 shots in a 79-77 win over Omaha in the Summit League title game.

61. North Dakota (15)

TIER 8: ABSOLUTELY NOT

62. Troy (15) 63. North Carolina Central (16) 64. UC Davis (16) 65. Jacksonville State (15) 66. New Orleans (16) 67. Texas Southern (16) 68. Mount St. Mary’s (16)

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BANTLON: (FRI) PACK LOSE IN OT TO BRIDGEPORT

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings BRIDGEPORT, CT - The Hartford Wolf Pack funk continues as they dropped their eighth straight game, 4-3, in overtime on Thursday afternoon to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. The Wolf Pack are now 3-5-1-0 (7 pts) and got the point for a regulation tie. They're just one point ahead of Bridgeport 3-7-0-0 (6 points) as they head into a nine-day layoff. The game-winning goal came 29 seconds into OT on the only shot of the extra session. Rookie referee Jordan Samuels-Thomas did not call a fairly obvious crosscheck from Otto Koivula to Anthony Bitetto, who played in his first game with the Wolf Pack. After the hit on Bitetto, Koivula moved around the fallen defenseman and got the puck to Mitchell Vande Sompel behind the Wolf Pack net. He backhanded a pass in front of the net to Koivula, who put it in past Pack netminder Tyler Wall for his first goal of the season. Koivula, who had a sheepish grin, knew he had gotten away with one. “It felt good to get my first goal. We won the faceoff. I cross-checked (Bitetto). We didn’t get a call there. We got lucky. Vande Sompel found me back door. We worked hard at coming back, and we needed a win.”

THOMPSON REACTION

“I’m happy for Otto in scoring the goal and the work he has put in,  and the compete, but I was very happy with his play away from the puck. The details, even in the game we lost (on Monday), he was moving, more intense, and I liked his response, and the goal tonight was cherry on top,” commented Sound Tigers Head Coach Brent Thompson. Koivula had a chat with Thompson and the coaching staff last week. It paid off as he was rewarded with his first goal in nearly a calendar year of play. “I had a good talk with Thommer about a week ago when I was scratched for a game. I’ve been pushing myself more, and I got the reward tonight, and that felt good," Koivula said.

THIRD PERIOD

At 1:05 of the third period, the Sound Tigers took the lead as defenseman Daniel Bolduc struck for his third goal of the year, all coming against the Wolf Pack. The Sound Tigers Dmytro Timashov was along the right-wing boards and caught Bolduc moving off the right point. The 6’3 rearguard moved to the middle and cranked a shot that got by Wall and gave the Sound Tigers a 3-2 lead. At 4:50, the Wolf Pack tied the game at three on Ty Ronning's second goal of the contest. Ronning is making a strong case to remain in the lineup with his third goal of the season. Zach Giuttari's shot went wide. The puck hit off the boards behind the net and came out in front.  Ronning was at the hash marks and tipped a shot by Darren Raddysh and put it past goalie, Ken Appleby, playing in his first game in over a year. Both teams had late chances to score the game-winner, but their goalies sent the game to extra time.

SECOND PERIOD

The Wolf Pack played well in the first half of the second period, but their play waned as the period progressed, as has become a pattern. Ronning scored the Wolf Pack’s first goal. He made a solid entry into the offensive zone and dished the puck to Patrick Khordorenko. He whistled his shot that Appleby stopped, but there was a rebound that Ronning collected and put in for his second goal of the season at 3:14. The Wolf Pack made it 2-0 as Anthony Greco, playing on the fourth line, used his speed down the left-wing and got the inside position on defenseman Carter Hutton. Greco threw the puck back out in front, and rookie Michael O’Leary jammed home his first pro goal and earned his first pro point at 6:31.

TIGERS RESPOND

Bridgeport answered back as Tanner Fritz came across the blue line and sent a sharp wrist shot that Wall blockered aside. The puck was down to Wall's right with the Pack's Tim Gettinger closest, Zach Giuttari on one side and Justin Richards on the other. Prized Sound Tigers rookie, Simon Holmstrom, managed to collect the puck past all three Pack defenders and put in his third goal of the season at 7:58. "I liked our response. We didn’t hang our heads on the bench. A lot of our older guys have been through this before and know how to turn the ship around in the right direction. They stayed the course, and we went hard to the net and got rewarded.” Thompson said of his team’s response to being down two goals. The Sound Tigers, who have failed to tally a goal at home on the power play in 15 attempts, finally did so. Bode Wilf was at the right point and sent a pass to the left-wing circle. Rookie Cole Coskey sent a rocket of a one-timer past Wall for his second goal of the year, both against the Wolf Pack, at 15:22, knotting the game at two. "I’ve been happy with our puck movement. We just haven’t taken enough shots. We’ve been working on situations, and I was happy to see Cosley get rewarded from at the top of the umbrella. He hit a cannon, and we had traffic in front," Thompson remarked.

FIRST PERIOD

The first period was evenly played as each team collected eight shots on goal. The Wolf Pack's best chance came while killing off their second penalty with 15 seconds to go in the period. Gettinger sent Greco on a clean breakaway, but instead of making a move, he opted to shoot from 15 feet out to be denied by Appleby.

LINES

Brodzinski-Newell-Barron Khordorenko-Ruesschoff-Dmowski Gettinger-Richards-Ronning Thompson-O’Leary-Greco Raddysh-Sieloff Anthony Bitetto-Reunan Giutarri-Taylor Wall Brassard SCRATCHES: Mason Geersten (two-game AHL suspension) Gabriel Fontaine (upper-body) Vincent LoVerde Will Cuylle Alex Whalen James Sanchez Michael Lackey COACHES: Pat Boller Jeff Malcolm Vincent LoVerde

NOTES

Since 2016-17 when he was an assistant to Ken Gernander, it was the first time for Boller that he was behind the bench in an AHL game. For Malcolm, the team’s goalie consultant, and a Yale grad, it was his first game as a coach. LoVerde became the first active Wolf Pack player to be an assistant in a game. It will likely be at least another week that Knoblauch and his associate coach, Gord Murphy, will remain in New York with the Rangers. They will need to be there while the COVID-19 protocols are adhered to as they wait for the coaching staff to have three negative tests as per NHL COVID re-entry policy. Until then, it will be a day-to-day situation. One of the game referees was West Hartford native Jordan Samuels-Thomas (#90), a former Quinnipiac University Bobcats player who skated his youth hockey with the Hartford Jr. Wolf Pack for the Canterbury Prep Saints (New Milford). After being scratched for the last seven games, Ryan Dmowski (East Lyme/Hotchkiss) played on his 24th birthday.

PLAYER MOVEMENT

Brogan Rafferty (Quinnipiac University) is loaned by the Vancouver Canucks to the Manitoba Moose, while former college teammate, Matt Peca, was reassigned to the Belleville Senators by the Ottawa Senators. The Toronto Maple Leafs return Ken Agostino (Yale University) to the Toronto Marlies. The Providence Bruins have signed Eduards Tralmaks from the University of Maine (HE) to an ATO deal. The 24-year-old C/RW just completed his four college career with the Black Bears after elimination in the first round of the Hockey East playoffs by the University of New Hampshire. Tralmaks becomes the fourth member of the conference to sign a North American pro contract and the ninth player overall from Division I and III to have secured a North American or European deal. In the Hockey East playoffs, the UCONN Huskies are still practicing after being eliminated by Providence College on Sunday in the hopes of a remote chance for an NCAA at-large bid for the regionals in either Albany or Bridgeport. HARTFORD WOLF PACK HOME   Read the full article