#hope ya find somethin cool soon

[joelmillergirl]

Hot n' Cold

Word count: 4,898

Warnings: oral sex (f receiving), piv, unprotected sex, creampie, hard/passionate sex, cowboy🤠

Authors Note: It was hot, I wrote smut, what do you want from me.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

You had your curtains drawn, shielding your house from the violent light outside. It was officially Summer, and you were already hating it. 

Summer had always been your least favourite season, even before the outbreak when you had better access to fans and coolers. Now, finding a fan that wasn’t rusted and broken was rare, a reality you tried hardest not to think about.

You had resorted to laying down on your kitchen tiles, limbs spread out lazily in almost a desperate attempt to cool off. You prayed that someone here in Jackson would be able to get the old air conditioning units working, but given it had been a year of trial and error, you weren’t feeling too hopeful. 

With a huff, you sluggishly lift up your arm, checking the time on your old watch. It was just getting into the evening, and with no sign of the heat dimming down just yet, you accepted defeat. 

With no energy to do anything, you decided then and there that the rest of your day would look the same, you laying on your floor until it cooled down enough so you’d be able to have a decent amount of sleep. Your plans, however, were rudely interrupted by knocking at your front door. 

You lift your head up slightly, eyes training past your living room to the front entrance, “Are you fucking kidding me?” You groan, seeing a blurry figure waiting through the stained glass next to your door. 

Only when three more knocks echoed through the house did you grudgingly pull yourself up, almost limping to the front door due to your lack of energy. You were frowning when you opened the door, face to face with your closest friend. 

“I know.” Joel nodded, looking almost smug at your unamused expression. “How you handlin’ it?” 

If even possible, your face contorted further into a frown, shaking your head slightly at him. “I’m sweating from places I don’t even feel comfortable naming.” You deadpanned, biting your lip to smother a smile. 

Joel hummed, his eyes quickly raking over your figure before coming back to rest on your face, “Tommy’s got people working on getting the units workin’” 

You interrupt him, “Okay… Joel? Inside, please. The heat is literally hitting me on the face and I’m about to just lose my cool.” 

With a nod, he stepped inside the border of your house, gently closing the door behind him. “Do you even have any cool to lose?” He joked.

You glare at him for a moment before going back to your kitchen, slumping down on the floor. “They’ve been trying to get them to work for ages, I will go out there myself and get them to work if I do not hear that thing running anytime soon.” You point to the air conditioning unit in the living room. 

“They’ll get it sorted. Don’t think they particularly appreciate workin’ in this weather fixing somethin’.” He said, groaning as he sat down adjacent to you, head leaning back against your fridge. 

He suddenly frowned, looking over his shoulder slightly at the fridge behind him, then he was up, knees cracking beneath him as he moved to where you were, nudging you out the way. You looked at him confused. He nudged his head towards the fridge, “Go sit there.” 

You complied, moving to sit where Joel had been, an instant flush of cool hit the back of your neck. “Dammit, why didn’t I think of this.” You mutter, pressing your back against the cold steel.

“Heat‘s messin’ with ya, huh?” Joel chuckled, tilting his head slightly. You shake your head in response, gently closing your eyes and untensing your limbs. 

You met Joel four years ago when Tommy had introduced you to him. He’d just arrived at Jackson, and you’d been assigned to be his patrol partner which was only supposed to last a couple months, but you’d been such a good duo, Maria had decided to make it permanent. 

Over the past couple months though, your relationship with him had seemingly changed. With recent struggles brewing between him and Ellie, you seemed to always be by his side, for his comfort but also your own. You didn’t always have to talk with him, a lot of the time you’d sit comfortably next to each other, doing your own thing whilst he strummed on his guitar.

The boundary line was ever so slowly becoming blurred, feelings becoming confusing. But like a lot of topics that required confrontation, you push it to the back of your mind, adopting the quote; out of sight out of mind. 

“What’s got that head worked up?” Joel mumbled in front of you, dragging your mind back to reality. 

You looked at him for a moment, blinking slowly. “Nothing.” You plainly say, smiling at him gently before closing your eyes again. 

The next day wasn’t any better. 

The air conditioning still wasn’t working and your tactic of closing the curtains to deflect the heat, was now failing. Rather than lying on your tiles, moping all day, you had resorted to hanging out in The Tipsy Bison, a cozy makeshift bar in the middle of Jackson. 

The only reason you’d packed up the courage to be in such a social setting was due to the cold drinks offered there and most importantly, it had a big fan mounted to the wall that actually worked. It was a step up from how hot you were yesterday, and the drink in your hand was helping to cool your skin. 

The leather next to you sunk as someone sat down in the empty booth you were sitting at. You turn your head to your left, coming face to face with Tommy; Joel’s younger brother. “Hi,” He smiled, “Fuckin’ steamin’ out there.” 

You raise your eyebrow, a smile tugging at the corner of your lips, “Steaming?” 

“Yeah.” Tommy nodded, leaning over to peer into your glass, “Some people are out there, sweatin’ their gooch off, trynna get air working for lazy folks like you.” 

A pair of women next to your booth look over at his words, eyeing you and Tommy down. You quickly look away. “Can you not speak like that in public?” You huff, close to speechless. 

Tommy laughs loudly, finding himself hilarious, but suddenly his demeanour changes and he turns to you with a serious look. “So… How’s Joel?” 

You look at him for a moment before answering, “He’s your brother, ask him yourself.” You’re silent for a second before you smile, “Why’re you here bothering me? Go get the air working.” 

He shakes his head, a smile spread wide across his face, "Just have to get out the heat for a fuckin, minute. Saw you here... Haven't talked for a while."

"And the first thing you wanna do is ask how your brother is?" You ask, tilting your head slightly at him.

He looks away from you, sucking in a breath, "Feisty."

“Tommy, if it’s not cold in my house tomorrow I’m gonna kill you.” You warn, a warm breeze filing through the cracks of the windows.

"Jesus, woman." Tommy says, shaking his head slightly, “Venom.” He stands up and adjusts his jeans, “Every word you spit at me is laced with venom.” 

You laugh gently, gesturing your head towards the front door, "Go work some more." You watch as he walks away, an unexplainable pit in the bottom of your stomach. You avoid the stares coming from the booth again.

People talked a lot in Jackson. Usually it was all rumours, secret words whispered behind a hand as you walked by, it brought a sense of familiarity back, considering they were acting like they were in high school again. 

They noticed things, could see the little things, like how you and Joel were always together, seemingly always just alone. You supposed it gave them a sense of familiarity too, finally being able to talk about something other than the end of the world. 

Sometimes it made you feel good, knowing other people could see Joel was focused on you, watching as he turned down other women just to talk to you. Aside from the odd insult you’d hear every now and then, you weren’t bothered by the rumours. 

On your way home, you decided to stop by Joel’s. The side gate was unlocked, the hinges creaking quietly as it gently banged open and closed. Hot wind. Adding onto the heat. You could hear him before you saw him, the gentle strum of his guitar, a low hum. You round the corner, stopping by the edge of the house to watch him, a smile tugging at your lips. 

He sat in a chair he made himself on his back porch, he’d made you a set also, specialised carving in the wood. He had a leg crossed over the other, his foot jerking to the beat of the song he was playing, you vaguely recognise it being a Pearl Jam song. His hair’s getting longer, you can see the curls at the base of his neck, greying slightly.

You step up the little steps up to the porch, the floorboards under your feet creak, Joel flinches slightly, looking over at you. “Sorry,” You smile, brushing out the fabric of the dress you’d thrown on, “Keep playing.” 

He shakes his head slowly, gently lifting the guitar off his lap and placing it by his side, “No free shows here.” He smiles at you, leaning back in his chair. “So… Cooling ain’t on.” He’s trying to rile you up.

You roll your eyes, moving closer to him. “Don’t remind me.” A gust of warm wind blows past, a shiver of annoyance rushes through your veins. You move to the railing, the wood burns your hands for a second, having been exposed to the naked sun for so long. 

The chair creaks behind you, heavy boots thumped closer until he was standing beside you. You watched as he moved to grab onto the wood, he too flinched back slightly at the contact, you smile. “Ellie…” Joel starts, “Think she’s warming back up to me.”

“That’s good, Joel.” You can hear him breathing, deep and calm. He looks down at you and you look back, “I’m glad.” You add, stepping sideways slightly to bump into his side. You stayed at his house until the sun had set well past the horizon, different constellations appeared back into the clear, dark sky. Only then did you decide to go home, praying to yourself as you walked back that someone had fingers lucky enough to get some cold air working.

You’d always heard about ‘the third time, the lucky charm’, and you’d never given it much thought. But today, you decided you didn’t believe in it, because it was the third day of this mini heat wave, and it was even hotter. 

The sheets were damp beneath you when you woke up. Thin sheets, minimal clothing and the open window had done nothing to help aid the temperature; you were at your breaking point, further being pushed when you discovered the air conditioning had still not been fixed. 

You tried to remain grateful, understood that the people working on it had limited supplies, that they too had to endure the heat, and the pressure to get it done. Feeling bad for your frustration over something they could not control, you made some lemonade for them all, bringing over a jug and some empty cups to where they were stationed. A small good deed to redeem your attitude. 

“Fucking heat.” You mumbled to yourself, wiping your hands on your dress, stepping up to your front porch, reaching for your door. Before you could open it, someone cleared their throat behind you, making you jump. 

Joel laughed, moving up the stairs to meet you, “I scare you?” He looks down at you innocently, waiting for you to answer him, a little curl falls in front of his face. 

“Yes, Joel.” You huff, opening your door aggressively, “You scared me.” You step inside, waiting for him to walk in before closing the door. 

He shrugs off his shoes, leaving them by the entrance, “It’s actually cooler outside.” He points out, moving into your living room. 

“I don’t even want to think about that.” You shake your head, brushing past him to the kitchen, pouring two glasses of water. “Reckon we could sit out the back?”

Joel nods, gratefully taking his glass from your hand, “Lead the way.”

Your porch was small, a perfect size, filled with plants, two chairs and a little rug underneath. Joel went straight for his usual chair, sitting down with a grunt. You vacated the chair next to him, leaning back with your glass nestled in your hands. 

Joel was silent beside you, eyebrows furrowed and eyes zoning out into your small backyard. You followed his gaze, admiring the wooden fence surrounding your home. He and Tommy had built it for you after you’d complained for a week straight about the old rotted wood that once stood there, now you were blessed with privacy you’d once had years ago. You’d never kept your promise to pay them back with some of your cooking, you suddenly remembered.

A flicker of movement catches your eye, a small, grey bunny slips through a crack in the fence. You tut under your breath, shaking your head. Joel’s body moves; he’s laughing. “Don’t even start. It’s barely a crack, I’m not bloody fixin’ it.”

“I didn’t say anything!” You laugh back, but your eyebrows furrow slightly as you take in Joel’s posture. His smiles faded again and he’s back to zoning out. You nudge him gently, “What’s up?”

He suddenly stands up, placing the glass by your feet, it’s only then you noticed he hadn’t had any of it. He goes to your railing, leaning over it. “It’s gettin’ harder. Every day, I’m fightin’ it, and I don’t think I can anymore.” He starts, leaning his head to the right slightly, making sure you could hear every word. He sighs, “Don’t think I want to anymore.” 

You place your own glass down, standing up to join him. “I don’t understand.” You see him hesitate, his body tenses slightly, you can hear his jagged breathing. A warm wind blows past you both, you watch as the trees sway gently in it. 

Joel looks at you then, turning his whole body towards you. “Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me this isn’t mutual.”

You watch him quietly, almost taken back at his forwardness. “Joel…” 

“No.” He interrupts, taking a step closer, “Tell me this isn’t in my head. I mean, fuck, baby. I love how we are now, but god do I ever wish it was something more.” 

A conversation you’d fought so hard to push to the back of your mind, words you’d dreamt about saying, planning out the best sentences to say that would articulate your feelings best, yet you stand in silence. Something inside you tingles, something deep in your stomach that travels up your body to your head, something goes fuzzy. Then you’re moving to him and closing the space between you, your hands moving to hold the back of his neck as your lips connect to his. It’s sort of an awkward angle, your head tilted back to be able to reach his face, you’re almost on the tips of your toes.

He takes a second to react, his hands awkwardly hovering by your sides as you first press your lips against his. As you moved to pull back having sensed his hesitance, Joel reached out. His hands move to your back, pulling you back to his chest tightly, firmly pressing his lips against yours. You feel him harden against your abdomen and he moans into your mouth with exhilaration, teasing his tongue against yours.

You worry for a second, worry that things were moving too fast. You’d spent years pent up, hiding your deepest feelings and forcing yourself to keep your hands away from him, but with every little movement, every spark sent through your body, your worries slowly started to vanish. As his hands move down your back to fondle your ass, you finally decide you don’t care. 

He squeezes the flesh between his hands, slapping it gently before he pulls away from you, looking pained as he does so. You watch him carefully, waiting for his next move. “Can I taste you?” He asks gently, his hands moving to ball the fabric of your dress. He spoke the words with such softness, such innocence, you faltered, almost uncertain if he meant what you were thinking. His fists tighten further, pleading with you with his eyes.

You take a gamble and nod, you think you’d like whatever he meant anyways; he doesn’t wait another second. He gently moved you backwards, your back pushed up against the railing of your porch, using it as a stabiliser as he moved down to his knees. “Careful.” You mutter, acknowledging the tenderness and soreness he often experienced with his aging body.

He doesn’t respond, instead, he bunches your dress in his hands and shoves it up, exposing your cunt hidden by a slightly damp pair of underwear. You reach down and hold your dress up, clutching it tightly as he brings two fingers up to your clothed clit, rubbing it gently. The sensation tears a moan from your throat, your fingers tightened around the fabric of the dress. As Joel slowly circled your clit, you doubled back and remembered that you were outside, you’d have to try and be quiet. Joel, on the other hand, didn’t seem to care, he probably found it to be a competition. ‘How far can I go without informing the entire neighbourhood I’m fucking my best friend on her porch.’

He finally tugs down your underwear, leaving it hanging by your ankles as he gently spreads your knees further apart. He was taking his time, you noted, savouring every second. You didn’t have any patience for savouring. “Please.” You moan, one of your hands let go of your dress to move to the back of Joel’s neck, pulling him closer in between your legs. “Just do it.” 

You could see him debate with himself for a second, tease her more or give in. He decided to do the latter. He looked as desperate as you felt as he gripped the sides of your thighs, looking up at you once more before he connected his mouth with your clit. He used his tongue in replacement of his fingers, circling your clit as he used the rest of his mouth as a suction. You jolted in place, mouth strung open and eyebrows furrowed together as he worked his way through your body. You could feel every movement his tongue made, the slow pressure of release in your abdomen quickly built its way up, finally forcing another moan from your throat. You tightened your hand around Joel’s hair, tugging the curls at the base of his neck, eliciting a deep groan from him. 

You knew you weren’t gonna last long, not as he moved one of his hands to play with your clit as his mouth moved further down, his tongue pushed into you slightly as he fully engrossed himself in you. His other hand rotated between holding your hip and moving back down to your thigh, squeezing the flesh beneath his palm, the sensation somehow pushing you further into euphoria. You take your hand away from his neck, moving back up to your dress, you let go with your other hand, moving it down the base of your body to where his hand was resting on your hip. 

When he felt you hold onto him, he adjusted your hands so that he was holding yours, fingers gripping you tightly as his mouth moved back up to your clit, his other arm moved around to the backs of your thighs, pulling you closer to his mouth. He was moaning gently into your clit, you could feel the vibrations pushing you closer and closer to the edge. Your orgasm took you by surprise, arriving so suddenly you could hardly think as your legs began to shake and your fingers gripped so tightly around Joel’s hands, he winced. You don’t know how loud you were being, your senses were all out of whack. The high seemed to last forever, your clit throbbed gently. Your heart was beating out of your chest, the slight tremors in your legs not ceasing even after he’d slowly moved backwards, away from your cunt. 

“Fuck.” He whispered quietly, admiring you once more before he hauled himself up, giving you no time to react as he crashed his lips against yours, pulling you so tightly against his chest you struggled to breathe. “Fuck that was sexy.” He muttered against your lips. Resting his forehead on yours for a moment. Behind you, you could hear a back door open. The sounds of a quiet hum dragged you back to your senses, you’d forgotten to stay quiet. 

“Inside.” You mumble, dropping your dress back down and pulling up your underwear. He closed the door behind you when you walked in, you were still trying to catch your breath. It was hot inside, hotter than it was outside; your hair stuck to the back of your neck. Joel approached you quietly, brushing your hair away from your neck with the back of his hand. He laid a gentle kiss there, when he pulled away you could still feel his lips on your skin. 

You pulled your dress up over your head, leaving it to drop down next to your feet. You stood before him in nothing but your damp underwear. Joel inhaled deeply behind you, his hands hesitantly reaching out to turn you around. His eyes immediately dropped down, taking in every feature, every curve. You could feel every callous on his fingers as he moved his hands down your shoulders and over your breasts, teasing your nipples gently for a moment before moving back up your body, where his hand ghosted the front of your neck.

He tugged at his shirt then, pulling it off his body before moving to his jeans, his fingers fumbling with his belt. You smiled at him softly, brushing his hands aside and helping him out of the material. It was your turn to stare now. You traced your finger along every scar splattered across the length of his body. He watched carefully as you did so, bringing his hand up to your cheek. After what seemed like forever, you retracted your hand back to yourself and started moving backwards towards the couch. Joel followed you wordlessly, not taking his eyes off you. 

When you reached the couch, you gestured for him to sit down. He complied easily, leaning back into the couch, just watching you. You moved to stand between his legs, your nipples hardened further in anticipation. Slowly, you moved down and took your underwear completely off, throwing them somewhere behind you. As you did so, Joel moved to take his off, leaving you both bare and vulnerable. It seemed as if your body was moving on autopilot, everything started to seem so unreal. As you stood before him, his eyes wild and desperate, you found you couldn’t really remember how this had happened so fast. 

Was it just a buildup of hidden emotions? Or had something happened that made him snap? You breathed in deeply, debating with yourself. Telling yourself that you could still back out. Label what happened outside as two lonely people who got desperate. You caught yourself, pushing those thoughts to the back of your head. That’s not what you wanted to do, you couldn’t understand why you were fighting against it so hard. You recognised a glimmer of fear within the thoughts. Fear of opening up to someone, maybe. 

Joel called your name softly. You blinked, focusing back onto him. “Stop thinkin’ so much.” He said, sitting up a little straighter. “If you don’t want this, that’s fine. Don’t freak yourself out ‘bout it.” You furrowed your eyebrows, you did want it. You blinked again, internally scolding your brain for a second before you moved forwards. You straddled his lap, knees resting on either side of his thighs, your hands rested on his chest. He looked at you silently, searching for any sign of discomfort. 

“I do want this.” You whisper, “It’s just new.” Joel nodded slowly, leaning back into the couch. You smile softly, your fingers subconsciously trace patterns on his skin. It was getting harder to ignore the warmth in your lower abdomen, you could feel yourself getting wetter for him, more desperate for him. He was in the same boat, his cock lay firmly against his stomach, the tip of him a deep pink. You reached between your legs, grasping him firmly in your hand. He was big, for a second you hesitated, it had been a while. 

“We’ll take it slow.” Joel grunted, leaning his head back for a moment. You gripped him tighter, slowly moving your hand up and down, causing a deep moan to slip out his mouth. You teased him like that for a little while, watching his reactions curiously. After a few minutes, he leant his head back up to look at you, “Enough.” He practically growled. You smile at him in response, finally lifting your hips up slightly. You both watched as his cock slowly slipped inside you, small moans of pleasure and release sounded out into the room. The initial stretch hurt, you had expected it but it still caused you to completely stop. Joel stayed still until you were ready to keep going. 

After that you didn’t need to stop. Even if you did have to, you weren't sure if you could. You were fully sat on Joel’s lap, his cock nestled deep up inside you, his pubic hair brushed against your clit as you slowly circled your hips. Joel was gripping your hips so tightly, you could already feel them bruising, with every move, a small moan or grunt huffed from his lips. A couple minutes had passed of the slow circling, you had passed the point of desperation. With a slight sigh, you adjusted yourself so you were leaning more of your body weight on your feet before you slowly lifted yourself up the length of his dick, then abruptly sat back down, the sudden movement had Joel moaning loudly, his hands moved to the bottom of your ass to help you bounce up and down continuously. 

You fucked yourself on him hard, your ass connected with his thighs with a satisfying noise, your moans increasingly getting louder. At one point, you leant back slightly, resting your arms on his thighs as you continued to move on top of him. Joel took this opportunity to play with your clit again, his movements precise. You could feel sweat accumulating on your back, the hot environment mixed with this, you didn’t care. Not when Joel moved forwards in what looked like an uncomfortable manner, desperately connecting his lips with your breasts. “Fuck, Joel.” You gasp, feeling his teeth graze against your nipples. 

So caught up in the feeling of Joel inside you, you almost missed the sound coming from behind you. You faltered in your movements to try and listen out for what you’d barely heard over the sound of your own cries, Joel immediately sat up, his hands moved to your waist. “What is it? Are you okay?” You quickly shush him, furrowing your eyebrows. 

Then, a wooshing sound was heard and a cool breeze suddenly followed, flowing over your skin and cooling you instantly. You look at the air conditioner, a new little green light you’d never seen before was on. “Oh.” You say, now completely still in Joel’s lap. You were about to say something, but before you could, you were being manoeuvred around, taking the breath away from you. Joel lay you on your back, still sheathed fully inside you. It seemed that any sense of patience and tenderness had disappeared, instead, a more unforgiving and relentless version of him came out, he fucked into you hard, harder than you could ever expect from such a careful man. 

You threw your head back, wrapping your legs around his hips as he thrust into you, grunting in your ear. One of his hands moved up to palm your breast again, squeezing it roughly before he let go and moved further up your body, resting on your throat. His movements faltered for a moment, his eyes shut close before he resumed the pace. Grunts were replaced with soft moans, almost whimpers as his hips collided with the backs of your thighs. You barely had time to warn him, you managed to let out a strangled moan as you came, your body tightening around him. He came quickly after you did, his body practically collapsing against you as he shot his cum deep inside you, his heavy breath heating your skin. 

After a little while of him on top of you, whispering sweet things into your ear and kissing you gently on your neck, he sat up. You followed, glancing behind you at the air conditioning unit. “Thank fucking god.” You mutter, shaking your head. 

[danaduchy]

all texts from Judy

How's it going? ¡Hola! How you doin, V? Find those voodoo boys yet? * Sure did Hope you found what you were looking for? It was pretty interesting. Helped em out a little * That I did Helped them expand their turf, had a little run-in with netwatch, took a trip down cyberspace lane and met an AI * Didn't think you cared all that much… Course I do! After what you did for Evelyn… You're not just some rando anymore

* Not yet I can imagine * Been kinda busy As are all. Well good luck with your search * You know, same ol' same ol' Uhh… sure, alright O_O Dont really wanna get into details right now Sure, whatever works for you, but V… Take care of yourself, OK? I don't want you to end up like Ev * What about Evelyn? Any improvement? No changes. She's trapped deep in her brain somewhere. Must be goin through hell * It wont come to that Good to know Sorry, gotta run See ya

Ev's send off Hey Buried Ev today Colombarium near North Oak Thought you might wanna know * How do you feel? I intend to get thoroughly shitfaced today * Thanks for letting me know Right, no problem. Take care.

Got an idea Hey, V! Hey. Wanted to thank you again. Ya know, for helping me with Clouds Don't wanna think about what coulda happened if you hadn't been there Anywho, I think I got somethin that might help us Can't go into detes yet, but I'll holler at ya in a couple days Oh, and have a FABULOUS day! ;)

Morning! Mornin, sleepyhead Had to run, didn't wanna wake u Left you some breakfast. Eat up!

Thank you Knock knock Whatup? How's things? * I'm good * You know how it is Why? Somethin the matter? Had a great time in spite of the circumstances. All thanks to you Maybe we could do it again, just without spillin any blood :/ * Anytime Can't wait ;) * But thats what I'm good at… …True. Anyway, still waitin for Maiko to spill the detes on our meet Call you when I know more

Thanks again Heyo, V Everything ok? * Yeah, I'm good * Same as ever * Somethin happen? I'm all right… Thanks again. You know for what ;) You're a good friend. Just want you to know that Maiko still hasn't called. Should be anytime now Let you know when I get somethin fresh

All set Hey V. Maiko just called. We're all set. This afternoon, out in front of H8. Assuming you'll be there? Take care till then. And thanks… Again. It really means a lot to me.

Waiting on you Something urgent come up? Oh well, I'll just wait. Just be here before 8am

Come back Hey come back! I'm not gonna wait forever!!

We're waiting Still don't have time? We're waiting

Later then… Musta been in a real hurry… I'll try to come up with something, like, doable, but also fuckin mindblowing Be in touch. See ya soon

Umm… yeah So… looks like you weren't into it Oh well. Guess that's that then… About to finish packing and then I'm off. Buh-bye!

Bye Won't keep you long Ditching NC soon… I'm done with this sorry-ass excuse for a city Whatever you're up to right now - good luck [You have been deleted from Judy Alvarez's contacts]

Your payment Heeeyo! Sendin you the €$, just as I promised ;) Thank you, thank you, thank you for your help! Laterzzz!

WTF?! Nicely played, V. Very mature Whatever happened to the fearless merc named V? But you didn't have the guts to look me in the eyes Miserable * I was in a rush * I was really craving some fries Save it, V Don't message me again * Can we just talk about this? I'm sorry OK, I'll leave you alone. I'm really fucking sorry * You're really just gonna ghost me now? C'mon Judy, srsly? Fine, no means no I guess…

Our BD Heya, V Starting tuning our virtu - got me thinkin about you again. Got no idea how much Im digging this right now. Splicing two emotive tracks together is super hard - theres a lotta noise I need to filter out for this to come out baby-soft, but the contrast in our reactions… I mean, it'll give you shivers. Don't even have to amplify the emotional tracks. N O V A * Yeah.. sounds super cool No, it's fuckin AWESOME. And the best thing is, it's not pretentious or nothing. Totally relatable * Thats cute Cuteness has nothin to do with it, mi calabacita * Hehe, looks like someone's havin a good time Laugh all you want, calabacita. Its nova anyway * Calaba-wha? Nvm, nothing xD * Seriously? You callin me a pumpkin? Callin me FAT?! Noooooooo silly XD Nicer than callin you a gonk though Alright, I gotta go. Byeeee

Memory Hey calabacita! Still playin around with our virtu - found a still you might like

* Woah not bad Glad you like it * You enhance this? Just a teeny bit, nothin crazy Dunno, I like it. maybe I'll frame it and hang it up on the wall Could do the same for you if you want * Deffo. I'd love one Alrighty, I'll send it over when it's ready * Not really my thing, sorry Hehe, and you still ask why you're a calabacita <3 Okidokes, don't wanna keep ya. Catch ya later ;)

Helloooo Yooohoooo Know wat rymes with judy? BOOTY uh-huh uh-huh your so cuuuutee * Hey… you OK? You sound… weird * Lemme guess - you're wasted Jus out wit some ferns. frieends. * Okaaay, so you are drunk * Definitely drunk Weeeeeell… maybe jus a littl bit? * You could at least send me some stills * Just don't go too crazy, alright? * Pics or it didn't happen Sure <(((*> …fine, knock yourself out :D

I'm so sorry I'm sorry. And a little embarrassed -_- * How are ya? Sounds like you had a fun night Feel like some took a chainsaw to my brain * Maybe I should start putting you on a leash Start keeping my girl in line xD Try it, go ahead and I'll… I dunno. I'm too tired to come up with a comeback * Anything I can do to help? Nah, I'll be fine. I'm just tired. * I miss anything fun? Nah, not really. Just a girls night out. Couple substances, neverending tequila… you get the idea. Roxanne says hi, btw. Or did she? Talk to you later. Gonna go back to bed Before I forget, I got something for you. Sent it to your apartment. Sorry again… -_-' G'night

Got something for ya Heyoooo Got a lil somethin for ya. Should help get you get on your feet - who knows, maybe it'll come in handy down the line It's waitin for you over at mine - near the kitchen counter ;) * Awesome. Thanks Don't mention it :) * What is it? Not big on surprises, are ya? Nothin super special, don't get your hopes up. Couple of energy bars to keep your battery charged ;) Oh and I found a 12 gauge. Got it some time ago from the Mox. Don't really see myself needin it * Sounds great, I'll try it out * No such thing as too much iron Like a fly to ointment… Shoulda figured :P Watch out for yourself, OK? I know you've got shit goin on and that you're playin a high stakes game… But you're too young for me to be visiting your grave. Just sayin Welp, that got a little darker than I intended. Anyway, just be careful

Noticed something… Just opened my wardrobe and my favorite MaxTac uniform's gone! Someone's been naughtyyy! I'm gonna have to teach you a lesson ;) Hope at least you can put it to good use Errrr maybe I shouldn't say that. Especially when I'm not around ;) Nvm. Forget I said anything!

About the car Here's a good one - how do you know when NC's too crowded? When your ride disappears and you have to fuckin walk. ON. FOOT. Hope you enjoyed the ride. Next time just give me a heads up :P

Later V Hey V I'm leaving, V. For good. Can't stand it here any longer Wanted to tell you before, but you were gone. Sorry I guess it's better this way. Leavin everything behind, old hangups included. Once and for all Hope you come out of your thing in one piece Bye, V [You have been deleted from Judy Alvarez's contacts]

Hello from Oregon! Check this out

Hellooo from breezy Oregon!! * So is that the key to the meaning of life? The beach? xP Nah, more like sittin on my ass and doin nothin for once. It's relaxing Sorta. As much peace and quiet as you can get with my grams * Visiting your grams and gramps? Yeah showed up on their doorstep a few days ago. Dunno if they were happy or confused… Pretty nice being with family. Good people, good food, zero bullshit How's life in NC? Hangin in there? * Peachy as ever Still got that relic. But I'm workin on it * Could be better. Could be worse Still breathin. Guess thats somethin… You'll figure it out, V. You always do Gotta go. The elders are summoning me

On the road

Road's full of adventure

Hey from Seattle!

Seattle's calling! * Why Seattle? * What're you doing there? They got a pretty nova virtu studio here. Wanted to check it out from up close Maybe I'll rent out space for a couple days, play around with their tech, do some experimenting. We'll see But I'm not plannin on stayin long * Why not? Didn't leave NC just to end up right where I started. Least not right now Cuz otherwise it'll just be the same shit, different place * Where to after? Gonna head east. Roam around the country a bit Prolly wont have a sig for a while Hang in there, alright? * I'll try I'm sure you'll manage just fine * No promises Shoulda seen that comin. But I'm sure you'll manage just fine If I'm ever back in NC, we can crack some beers on the roof and you'll tell me everything And I probably won't believe any of it xP Anyway… Bye, V.

random ¡Hola calabacita! Thinking about you <3 Wanna guess what? * Wait, are you trying to sext right now? Because in that case, I'd better find a nice quiet spot… Wow what year is it, 2000? Please, you know braindance gets the job done muuuuch better. * Mmm, think you should show me sometime ;) You got it… Course, it's still not as good as realspace. * Ain't nothin' like the real thing baybaaaay Haha, true true * Yeah, think I saw something like that in an old movie once. Super weird :/ Aaaah, yeah, think I know the one. Classic. And yeah, nothin like the real thing ;) Now I forgot what I was gonna write. Ehhh, maybe it'll come back to me. Talk soon :) * Hmm… Wondering if I can do a double backflip with a full twist? The answer is yes. Good to know! But… no. Was just thinking if you were an animal, you'd be a dog. * Cause I'm cute and cuddly? Yeah, obvi… But you're also loyal. Woman's best friend and all that. * Cause I'm your fierce protector? Yeah. And the best friend I've ever had. * OK gimme a sec, there's gotta be a joke about tongues and licking in here somewhere… … you're the woooooorst I lvoe it xD Anywho, enough distractions, back to work for me * That if I were an animal, I'd totally be a dog. Because I'm cute, loyal and love to lick eeeeeverything wow Not sure if I should be blown away that you read my mind, or offended and disappointed at your crass attempt at a "joke" * Be blown away! I dunno, the licking… Please, you love it ;) I��� yeah I do xD * You're complex, you contain multitudes, you can feel both at once. Haha true, I can xD

God pls no Shit Shit on a fucking shit cracker OK so… I uh, I was talking to my grams and I accidentally told her about you I'm just warning you, she might try to contact you… I'm sorry -.- Didn't give her your detes obviously, but she's got mad detective skills for her age. Honestly don't know how she does it. I'm so so sorry. * shiiiit Exactly * Haha big oops. You think it'll be that bad though? Just picture the DataKrash, that's the sort of destruction she's capable of. * Don't worry, I got this. OK…. And I got my fingers crossed for ya You do realize you can't shoot your way outta this one, right? * Hilarious Learn from the best ;) * Ugh, you win Like I always do :P So what can I expect? Basically a 5 ft 2 pitbull trained in advanced interrogation techniques But she's really sweet once u get to know her! * So I can't just ignore her, right? I mean you could try, but… Not really possible with her. * Come on, no way it's that bad I mean it, your little ol' abuela can't be that scary. Yeah… positive thinking, that's the way. Let's just say you've been warned. Please please please be nice and let me knwo how it goes, ok?

So my grams * Holy shit, Ainara Alvarez is one tough cookie I know, just got off the holo with her * You weren't joking about your abuela * Still breathing! Just got off the holo with my grams * Hope she didn't datakrash me She loves you <3 * And? I think she's a bit sceptical. …but she's always like that so :P * Do I even wanna know? Nothin' to worry about Don't think you two really hit it off Man if you two ever meet, it's gonna be good O_O Thanks for talking to her, V. I know she can be alot You're the best Just talked to my grams wow is she pissed. Take it you just blocked her? Yeah, I'm sorry. Hm, ok… * I panicked and blocked her omg Now I get why she compared you to Maiko * I can't deal with this drama right now Drama? OK… I'm sorry Listen… I know you got a lot on your plate right now. My abuela's not your top priority I get it. talk later

<3 So V… I need to tell you something. * Shoot. Just gotta get something off my chest * You're an NUSA sleeper agent And you just got burned. Bad. All you can do now is wipe your files, cover your tracks and flee this city of broken promises, never to return. WHAT?! O_O Great story, but no :P * Sounds like the start of every breakup text I've ever gotten What?! NO! Shit, didn't realize how that sounded Anyway, it's just that… Ok so you know I'm not great with feelings and stuff… But I've been thinking about the past few months and I wanna say thanks, V. For being with me, for everything you've done. And just for being you You're great. Just wanted you to know that. But now I gotta go hide somewhere, I'm all flushed -.- <3 * Awwwww my sweet little vulnerable leelou bean Jesus christ stop xD it's not funny!!! * <3 :) * No YOU'RE great. Quit it with the charm bub You're making it worse!

Yo, what up? * All good The queen of curt replies -_- Ok, well you know where to find me and how to make up for blowing me off. I don't like being taken for granted. * Stuff's been going down - I'm on a super-weird gig in Dogtown. Kay, so two things to unpack - "weird" and fucking DOGTOWN?! Start with the first. * I thought that's what you found attractive about me? ;) I signed up for the full package, so can't complain :) Not even about the expiry date…? You're really good at distracting me from work -_-  We're all fucked in the end anyway, right? But I like to think that at any given moment we're both immortal - and those are the moments that count, every single time. Damn, that's deep * I like the idea of immortality in the now. It's like with animals - they don't know they can die until they're faced with real danger. Then they forget. * I don't think I'm in the same headspace rn because I'm working. I'll hit you up when I'm done :) Sure thing. Judy out. *  I'm just getting warmed up Cut the foreplay and spill the detes already You're really good at distracting me from work -_-  Oh, sorry Miss Professional-all-of-a-sudden I'm at work too - it's just sometimes I need to take my mind off it to not go crazy

* Can I text you when I'm done? * Glad to know I'm what's keeping you sane :) Sooooo… Whatcha doin? Nothing much - on a gig like any other Aaaand her highness has returned. I won't press for detes >.< * Probably shouldn't. Don't wanna put you at risk - better safe than sorry. Ok, putting jokes aside for a sec - sounds pretty serious. You sure its safe? Should I worry? Cuz you know, it's Dogtown - not exactly the safest place, is it? * You dont need to - I'm a big girl. Can take care of myself. I know, I know, I'll stop mothering you. If you say everything's fine, then I believe you :) * I'm chasing a promising lead for the biochip - it's worth a bit of risk. Ok, well, I'd assume that you've got a handle on things, so I won't lecture you. I'll just keep my fingers crossed. But if thinkin nice thoughts about you is any help, then just know that I am <3 Keeping me safe by sending positive vibes? A kind of hobby of mine. I take it pretty serious. Maybe something'll come of it. * Guess we'll see - maybe with your help I'll wrap up sooner…? * It works. Scientifically proven. Initiating transfer of "Positive Vibrations" Level: 500% xD Can feel something already - it really does work <3 Told ya! Lemme know when you get a free evening :* * I'll tell you later. Pros don't spill while on the job. Maybe over pizza and beer when its all over? * I'll let you know, but this one's lookin like a marathon. * You got it ;)

Got this thing… Hey, you ever hear of a case where someone disconnects from their wreath but gets stuck believin they're the person they were reliving in the BD? V, can't have this on my plate right now. Go to a ripper. What happened?? * Actually… nvm. It's nothin. False alarm Oooook, if you say so. But you know I'm here if any real alarm bells go off * So, hypothetically, say someone has trouble returning to their normal self after using a BD… that like a problem? Scale of 1 to 10 * Scratchin my head over here. New choom of mine had an accident recently. A localnet power surge overloaded his wreath and toasted the circuits. Guy's been livin his life thinking he's this BD star ever since * New choom of mine had an accident recently. A localnet power surge overloaded his wreath and toasted the circuits. Guy's been livin his life thinking he's this BD star ever since Sure, yeah, not unheard of. Could be a compulsive user, maybe a massive hardware failure… in my line of work we like to call it Dissociative Identity Defective 'Dance Onset. Or DIDDO for short If the condition doesn't sort itself out you need to use what we call the divided attention method. You show em one thing that's uniquely personal and another that represents the personality they've taken on. The resulting cognitive dissonance should snap em out of it (fingers crossed) Good thing you reached out. DIDDO can become permanent if you let it linger too long

You busy? Heeey, calabacita <3 What's goin on? How you been doin? * Hey, not bad. Same old stuff "Not bad" means "good" in my book! Which is great, cause I was thinkin… * Could be better. Been too long since we saw each other :( Oh no! My poor V, gazing out the window, pining after me! We gotta do somethin about that ;) * Yeah, fine. Johnny says hi Oh wow… didn't know Johnny was even aware I exist :P So anyway, why am I writing to you… Maybe I could come over to your place? * Of course!! Know my address in megabuilding H10? I think so… worst case I just ask a neighbor XD * Definitely! Know my apartment in Northside? Course I do. Watson's my home turf, you gonkbrain :P * For sure! Come to my pad in Japantown <3 Will do, just hope no tygers pounce on me XD * Preem idea! I'll be waiting at my apartment in the Glen! Ooh, the Glen? Swankyyy. Can't wait :-* * Yeah! Come on by my Corpo Plaza setup, y'know, downtown Hot damn, ok! Hope I won't be too underdressed XD * I thought you'd never ask :P I'm in Dogtown! Uhh… Dogtown? Seriously? Think I'll pass. Can we meet somewhere else? See you soon!!

Hola, V :D I've missed you. Can I come see you soon? Hey there :) Can I get another invite to your place? Hey hey <3 Y'know, got a little free time… Wanna meet up? Whaddaya say… Me? Your place? ASAP? * You have to ask?? Swing by my megabuilding apartment! Omw! * 1000%! Let's chill in Northside :) Be there in a millisec! * You. Me. Japantown. Now. Oh hell yeah! * Call your cab now and meet me in the Glen! * Umm, obviously. ;) Meet me at my Corpo Plaza place * If you wanna come to Dogtown…? It's not that I don't want to… I'm just terrified for my life is all. Maybe come back to NC to see me? * Sorry, but now's not a great time. Don't be mad, I'll see you soon, k? :) Oh c'mon, I ain't mad! But I'll hold you to that ;) * Mhm, calabacita… bet you know what I'm thinkin :P

I loved seeing you. Seriously. Thanks for finding some time for me. Gimme a holler when you find some more <3 * Thank YOU for being there for me :) Oh c'mon, stop bein so damn perfect all the time ;) * You know I will, prolly sooner than you think ;) Already got a countdown started :P * HOLLER Haha! Got me blushin so hard it feels like my cheeks are on fire Kisses, hugs and snugs! xoxo

Hey Jude :) Interested in hangin out? Ok, I'm all yours! Maybe I can come over? Can't just this sec, calabacita. Sorry :( I'll let you know soon tho when I'm free! You're the best! Whoa, V! Thanks for the preem ride! Where are we headed? And when?? Will we even fit inside?! Hahaha * Haha, who knows where the road will lead us! <3 * So you like it?? Phew… :D xoxo Thanks, V! This bouquet meant to symbolize our love? Y'know, lasts forever, non-biodegradable, that sorta thing? ;) Aaand you might just be the first person to ever compliment my calves… * It's criminal I don't compliment them more :-* Ok… haha, thanks for preem gift, V :) * And that's plain unacceptable! you ain't wrong there :P

Got a sec? * Hey Judy, doin swell, thanks for askin Sorry… just been shit day. Feels like nothing's going right. * No need to be sorry, was just messin with you * Maybe I can help with that, get your day back on track Where do ya wanna meet? * Sure do I'm at Lizzie's Talk to Mateo when you get here. I'll come up and join you. Roger that, see ya soon * Something wrong? No, why would you think that? Can name a few reasons First off, no enthusiastic "Hey calabacita!". Second, not one :) or ;) to be seen Third, it's rarely just one message and done with you. When Judy texts, my screen blows up in blue lolol xoxo ;) Oh V, don't you know just how to put a smile on my face :) * Dunno, just don't sound like yourself

Hey calabacita :P Thanks for a great night. Hell, thanks for everything you do. I really needed that, V. And I know you could see it… Prolly know me better than I know myself Let's do it again sometime, yeah? Sooner rather than later I hope :) * Anytime! * Can't take all the credit. Had preem time myself. Hard not to when you're around :) Just gimme a buzz when you get the time and the urge again Oh I will. But first… gotta shake this hangover… XD

Heeey, I've missed you! Interest you in a drink or a dance? Hopefully both? Hey hey <3 I ever tell you how fine you are? Whaddaya say, wanna make this city our bitch tonight? Psst… been thinkin about me lately? Cuz you're all I got on my mind ;) I'm free tonight… You? Wanna blow off some steam. Think you can help me with that? * You even have to ask?? Where we startin tonight? Meet me at Lizzie's! Just let Matteo know when you show and he'll ping me! * You know I can't say no to you. ;) Same as last time? Hell yeah! C u at Lizzie's!

A short trip came up Hey, got somethin of a short trip comin up. Won't be in town for a bit. A month max Seriously? :( well, shit, miss you already * But think how happy you'll be once I'm back ;) True, guess that helps… a little :P * The time's gonna fly by, then you'll get to see the new me Like, literally What's that supposed to mean? Fill ya in when I'm back in town. For now, gotta go.

Pick up! C'mon pick up Hellooooooooo Pick up, pleeease V? Hello? Please just pick up! Wanna go somewhere? Yo, V, you ok? Been a sec since I got a buzz from you Got some time on my hands and thought maybe you'd wanna meet up? There's this preem lookin exhibit on 20th century tech. Prolly the only chance in our lives to lay eyes on a VCR :P There's that, plus someone kinda misses you… ;) Helloooo? Can you answer please? Even one word? Got me worryin V? Said you'd be gone a month and it's already been, what, four?… What's goin on, V? Why didn't I ask where you were goin… Said you'd come back 21 missed calls from Judy Alvarez

[whatyadrawin]

The Fruit After The Flesh 18+ -Chapter 3-

Minors DNI!

Masterlist

Approximately 2,682 words

Pairing: Thomas Hewitt(HeadCanon) x AFAB reader

This chapters Warnings: Strong language, use of derogatory terms, sexually suggestive language.

A/n: Two drawings took me so long, I feel very pathetic and unproductive but I am so happy to get the ball rolling. I can't wait to illustrate and submit chapter 4 because oooooh lord Tommy boy gon look good in it. I am also so excited to get writing the next few chapters, I have the fire in me and I don't want it to go out until I get a bunch of writing done lol. Please check the masterlist linked above for updates on progress.

Tag list: @fan-goddess

Chapter 3

The day begins with the sounds of birds happily chirping in the tree shading your backyard; a gentle breeze is washing over the land, cooling the heat away from the ground. You feel good today and decide it’s time for a cute yet practical outfit, so you grab some jean shorts, and a bright yellow tank top with a reliable pair of boots, you were ready to get things done. After eating some oatmeal purchased from Luda Mae’s store, you get your things ready to go drive to the next town and do some serious food shopping.

The car is packed with some water and a snack or two, but before you hit the road you take a trip down to see Dover the farmhand to try and appease him one more time. The morning seems to be the best time to catch him, and you can see him watching TV through a window so you knock on the door gently and hear a groan, he answers the door and when he sees you, he rolls his eyes and says rudely,

“Whadya want?”

You put on a sincere smile and reply “Good morning, I hope I didn’t interrupt anything?”

“Ya interrupted my peace, now what the hell d’ya want?” his tone is aggressive, but you continue,

“I just thought I might interest you in some new stuff for your home? I know you like how things are but I wanted to see if I could make it more comfortable, like a new T.V, or a new bed or whatever else.”

He throws his head back and sighs “Ya just don’ get it do ya? I don’ want yer fancy shit from the city, I don’ need nothin’ other’an this here orchard n’some peace! Why don’t ya just go play dress up with the Hewitts again, see if their retard son will play tea party with ya”

He slams the door on you. You feel sick with anger and knock again, this time more loudly.

Dover opens the door and screams “The fuck is yer problem?”

You try to keep your cool as you reply through gritted teeth “Why are you so mean to me? What did I ever do to you other than be kind and offer you help or nice things! You don’t even know my name!”

Dover’s eyebrows furl into and angry frown “This here land belongs t’me, stupid little girl. I worked fer years under that bitch Tilly, and the fact that she left everythin’ to some no-good kid who don’ deserve it, makes my skin crawl. If I had my way, this place’d be mine”

You look visibly confused “What is that supposed to mean?”

He then pauses and gets all flustered “Nothin’, nothin’ at all. You just let me do everythin’ here, soon ya gon’ realize ya don’t belong here and leave, if ya know what’s good fer ya. Now never come back to this house ever again or I’ll give ya somethin’ to cry ‘bout”

He slams the door again and you are shaking with rage, your eyes begin to well up with tears as you walk away back to your car. You set out on the drive to the next town and it feels like it lasts forever, the road is straight and flat, and the surroundings are just large swathes of yellow grass and wheat rushing past you as you speed up to shorten the distance. The sky is cloudless and the sun is blaring down on you causing your eyelids to weigh down, you decide to put on a playlist that only has bangers to energize you. Eventually you see the welcome sign for the next town and feel a sigh of relief.

 The town is small but you are able to spot a large Costco in the distance -Oh hell yeah, I can really stock up now-. You find a parking spot close to the door and as you walk in you get blasted by the air conditioning which feels so nice after that long, hot drive. You take your time through the aisles grabbing as many bulk items as you can, finding preserved goods that won’t immediately go bad, and some produce that would be able to last a little longer than others. Once your cart is fully maxed out with goods you head to the cashier who looks at you funny due to the number of things you are buying. They greet you,

“Hi Ma’am, all this for you?”

You smile, feeling a bit embarrassed “Yeah, I don’t live nearby any stores, just stocking up.”

They smile back “Oh yeah? Where ya comin’ from?”

You reply “Fuller”

The cashier squints her eyes in curiosity “Fuller? Where’s that at?”

You are a little surprised by their response, but with how desolate the town is their response makes sense, you say,

“It’s a... um, well…a dead town near the Oklahoma border”

They tilt their head as they scan your Costco card “Must be real dead if I ain’t never heard of it.”

“Yeah, it is” you give a little chuckle and they continue,

“Well, alright then, I’ll get yer stuff boxed here and you can be back on yer way to the dead town.”

You finish paying and thank the cashier, then you start wheeling your cart back to the car when a very old man approaches you.

“You came from Fuller?” he says

You reply “Yeah, do you know it?”

He pauses, then says “I know it. That town used to have a lot people go missing after the businesses left. Why’re you out there?”

“I inherited an orchard” you say quietly

He places his hand on his chin “Oh? So, there’s still somethin’ left huh. Be careful ma’am, that town ain’t safe from what I know. The people ain’t right, if there’s any people left.”

You feel extremely confused “Ok, uh, thanks?”

You open the trunk and fill it with the bags wondering what he could possibly mean by people going missing, and the citizens being not right.

The drive back felt a lot faster; you were running what that old man had said through your head, -he must be talking about Dover, or maybe some urban legend-. You have experienced gossip and falsehoods about your own town back home before, so it didn’t seem so absurd to have a random stranger tell you something odd. You arrive back at the house by 1pm, happy to have been so productive today, you begin to unload the car and get everything into the house.

All the groceries get put away and you decide to start baking a batch of chocolate chip muffins for the Hewitts since they have been nothing but nice to you, and it’s the first time in a long while where you feel comfortable around other people; you are hopeful of making new long-term friends with the Hewitts. You bake 24 muffins since you assume that Tommy likely eats a lot and maybe hasn’t had a baked pastry in a while. When the muffins are done baking you take them out of the oven and put them in the little basket you brought the fruit over in, you cover the muffins with a cheesecloth and make your way over.

You walk up the driveway and look to the barn but don’t see Tommy there, just a group of chickens clucking around. You knock on the door which gets answered by Charlie who says,

“Well, well, well, what we got here? Bringin’ us somethin’ good sweetheart?”

You blush and reply “Yeah, I baked some muffins for all of you”

“Well, ain’t you sweet. Come in girlie, Luda’s gonna wanna say hi” he waves you in

You didn’t like how he stared at you but he seemed mostly harmless, he calls out into the house

“Luda! The neighbor girl is here!”

Luda Mae comes out from the kitchen drying her hands with a towel “Oh hi dear! What a welcome surprise to see you. What brings you by?”

You smile, Luda Mae is such a welcoming and kind person, you say “I baked some muffins for everyone, as a thank you for inviting me over the other day, and kindness you have all shown me”

“That is so thoughtful of you! I hope you know you’re welcome to come by anytime dear, you don’t need to bring gifts every visit, your company is enough” she says sincerely.

You feel very accepted among this strange small-town family you say “It was no big deal really, I went to the next town over to get groceries and picked up some ingredients to make sweet things to share”

Luda Mae tilts her head and smiles indicating how impressed she is by your kindness and generosity, she follows with “Well Tommy will just love these, I guess you must’ve known that he doesn’t get to eat baked goods often”

She calls out for him to come upstairs and you immediately get butterflies in your stomach, they make you feel nauseous and excited. You hear heavy, thudding footsteps and the house gently rattles as Tommy makes his way up to the living room from what you assume is the basement.  He stops in his tracks the second he looks up and sees you; his eyes were shrouded in shadow from his hair and thick brows but despite the darkness, the brilliant blue looking back at you was vivid and bright; his long hair was roughly tousled and draped down to the nape of his neck in curly dark brown tendrils.

You finally got to see him even closer and you lose your breath with just how incredibly huge this giant of a man is compared to your own height, his chest is so wide it would enshroud your entire body if you hid behind it, his thick pectorals heaving with every breath under his worn-down short sleeve blouse. His legs were massive and covered by a pair of very worn and dirty jeans, they were hanging onto by a worn belt that had a large belt buckle, oxidized by time. You immediately felt a tinge of ancient animal fear from the obvious difference in power his body displayed, he could kill you in seconds if he wanted to but beneath his brutish exterior you could sense there was someone worth taking a chance on.

You wished to be able to see the rest of his face but it was hidden behind a dark leathery mask which was tactfully sewn together, there was only a small slit near his mouth for air to pass through, you wondered what he was hiding if he was already this impressive.

Luda Mae sighs and says,

“Thomas, don’t be shy, Y/N brought us some sweets, say thank you”

He holds his stare on you, he had never seen someone as breathtaking as yourself and your clothes did nothing to hide your robust, curvaceous figure, you didn’t look like someone who could easily break if he were to touch you but your height was barely a third of his own. He couldn’t help but find you simultaneously gorgeous and cute which was a perplexing and new feeling he welcomed. He suddenly snaps out of his trance when Luda Mae clears her throat, he then nods slowly as he shifts his eye contact from you and turns to leave quickly back down the stairs.

Luda Mae shakes her head “Excuse him, he takes a bit to warm up to people he likes”

“What about the people he doesn’t like?” You shocked yourself with your comment, it seemed to have just come out against your will.

Luda Mae looks at the floor and clenches the towel “Oh… haha well, don’t worry yourself about that hun. He likes you; one can tell that plain from the way he’s behavin’ ”

You let out a giggle and try to hide from the heat building up in your cheeks, Luda Mae notices this and smiles, Charlie sees this too and rudely barks in,

“Good thing y’got a crush on him because the people who don’t like him? Well, Girlie, you don’t wanna be them.”

Luda Mae drops her smile and snaps “YOU HUSH UP RIGHT THIS SECOND! THOMAS AIN’T DONE NOTHING WRONG!”

Charlie just laughs and wanders off, Luda Mae looks at you and says,

“I’m so sorry ‘bout him dear, he’s got such bad manners, does whatever he wants.” She places her hands on her hips and squints in the direction Charlie wandered off.

You reply “It’s alright. You know, Thomas seems to not want to be around me every time I come here. I hope I am not seeming like an intrusion to him.”

Luda Mae gets a worried look and says “Oh sweetheart, as his mama I can tell you with full certainty that he likes when you come over. He asked about you the other day, wondering who you are”

You try to suppress the smile forming on your lips, “I didn’t know he spoke. I would love to get to know him better” for some reason you kept saying bold statements despite your mind protesting the revealing honesty.

Luda Mae smiles at you “He speaks to the people he feels comfortable with, so far that’s only been me and sometimes Charlie. I think you may have to make an effort with Thomas dear, he is going to be like taming a wild animal, so you have your work cut out for you”

You continue a bit of small talk about the town you visited and then take your leave back down the drive way to home. The walk back makes you think of so many scenarios in which you would be able to speak with Tommy, he seemed like he would have a lot to say. The prospect of making Tommy trust you and having such a unique friend was overstimulating and got you so excited that you didn’t notice Dover come out of the bushes next to you, making you jump from being startled. He gives you a dirty look and says,

“Seems like yer makin’ friends with them Hewitt folk. What a stupid girl ya are. You know their sons a violent sort dontcha?”

You have had enough of Dover and his cruelty, you reply,

“I thought you wanted to be left alone? Besides, Thomas is really shy, he doesn’t seem violent”

Dover laughs “Ya really are dumber’n ya look! That retard would string ya up and eat ya alive if you don’t get the hell outta here”

You stop walking and face Dover “Why are you telling me this? It seems like you don’t care if I live or die so what would it matter to you if he DID eat me alive?”

He stops and looks at you “I DON’T CARE IF YA GET BURNED ALIVE!”

You stare at him, saying nothing, and he awkwardly looks around, expecting you to get mad, he follows

“Ya like that fool dontcha? Yer fixin’ to have him split yer birthin’ bits in two huh?”

You sneer at the crass statement “What is wrong with you? If you don’t need anything from me then please just go find the peace you claim to want, and let me live my life”

You continue walking away and he yells back after you “Those fuckers ate people ya know! Next theyr’ gon’ eat YOU! Have fun fuckin’ a cannibal man, ya dummy!”

You keep walking and make your way to the front door of your home, the words said to you by Dover were heinous but they did make you think, -He might be right, Luda Mae and her family say some really weird things a lot and seem to change the subject when things get too suspicious. At this point, I don’t care anymore… this is my only chance to have a normal life and have friends, maybe even family. I’m going to continue Tilly’s legacy, if not for her… then for all the people who seem to actually care about me-

Next chapter-

[all-eyes-lead-to-the-truth]

All Eyes Lead to the Truth | Trevor (6x17)

Jasper, Mississippi

1992

A shrill scream rips through the paper thin walls of the house. 

“June!” Jackie pounds on the door. When her sister had called in a panic, Jackie hadn’t thought twice before breaking every traffic law there is to get here. “Pinker, leave her alone!”

The door flies open with Pinker glaring down at her. The asshole’s barely out of work and already abusing June. “Stay outta this, Jackie,” he barks.

Behind him, her sister’s crying on the floor, cradling her pregnant belly. 

“Never.” Anger urges Jackie on as she shoves her way past him. “June, you okay?” 

“She’s fine,” Pinker interrupts. “Stupid for threatenin’ to take what’s mine, but fine. She ain’t keepin’ my kid from me. Are ya, June?”

June shakes her head, trembling within Jackie’s arms, but Jackie has had enough. “You’re a real bastard, Pinker.”

He laughs and takes a swig from his beer before slamming the front door. Both women hold their breath until they hear his Buick revving in the driveway and the sound of its tires screeching down the road. 

“June, you have to leave him,” Jackie pleads. “You have to.” 

“How? If I run, yeah he might forget about me for a while. Even find a new girlfriend. But he’ll never stop lookin’ for his child. Never.” 

“If you don’t leave soon, he could end up killin’ you both!” Jackie fights back tears as she presses her palm to her own achingly flat belly. The small bump where her tiny baby once lived before she lost it is now painfully, depressingly, gone. “June, please. I can’t lose you, too.”

“Jackie, you know I never planned for—” June points to her pregnancy. “This. To be a mother. Pinker, though… he really wants to be a father. And that scares me more than his temper ever could.” 

“That’s why you gotta leave! There ain’t nothin’ good about staying with Pinker Rawls.” Jackie wants to just throw clothes in a bag and drag her sister out of here. But she knows from experience that leaving has to be June’s choice. 

“Might not need to. Pinker says he’s got another plan to get quick cash,” June whispers. “Somethin’ risky. But he doesn’t know I have a plan of my own.” Her bloodshot eyes water as she squeezes Jackie’s hand. “One I hope you’ll agree to help me with.”

As frustrating as it is to watch helplessly as her sister suffers time and time again, Jackie can deny her nothing. “Always, June...” 

***

Jackson, Mississippi

1999

He’s a killer, Jackie thinks as she listens to June cry behind the locked pantry door. He walks through walls and kills people. This isn’t the run-of-the-mill controlling man slapping his woman around. This is something very different.

And it sure as hell isn’t good. 

“It's all right,” Pinker tells a stunned Trevor. He appears terrified when Pinker pulls up a chair beside him after watching his Aunt June being screamed at by a strange man and thrown in the pantry. “It's gonna be all right. D-d-don't be upset. I ain't mad at you, buddy.”

Jackie’s son has never seen violence against women before. She’s made damn sure of that, and her teeth clench at the sight of her sweet boy frozen with fear. June was right nearly eight years ago. With Pinker in their lives, living in fear is never gonna stop. Never. 

Unless someone finally forces him to.

“It's okay, Trevor,” Jackie soothes. “Mama's here, okay?” 

Pinker says he wants what’s his, but Trevor’s not a possession. He’s a smart, sensitive seven-year-old who knows nothing of clenched fists, screaming fits, or having to ignore bruises on his mama’s skin that his daddy gave her. All Trevor knows is unconditional love. 

And that has absolutely nothing to do with Wilson Pinker Rawls. 

“You got some stuff you want to pack up? Some toys and stuff?” Pinker asks. He’s trying to keep his cool with Trevor, but real dads — real men — don’t frighten their sons and yank women around by their hair. “Trevor...? Jackie?”

He’s desperate now. Dangerous. But so is a mother protecting her child.

”Trevor, go. Go and pack some stuff, okay?”

Her son is nervous as he stands to walk away, “Okay.”

“He's a good boy,” Pinker praises. Like he’s proud of someone he, thankfully, had no hand in raising. 

While she stares down at the boiling soup, the memory of June placing a newborn Trevor Andrew in her arms, asking her to be his mama — to love and protect him — flashes before Jackie’s eyes. Her fingers wrap around the pot’s glass handle as she continues fulfilling the promise she’d made all those years ago… 

Always.

Jackie flings the boiling soup at Pinker. And it passes right through his face. 

The panicking thud of her heart fights against her ribs, but she can’t afford to fall apart. Jackie reacts to the look of fury in Pinker’s eyes and swings the pot upward, bouncing the glass off of his skull. 

“Trevor, run!” Jackie yells as she fights for their lives, whacking Pinker in the head again. Then she’s suddenly on the floor, screaming as his fist slams into her face.

Everything goes black… until someone is shaking her awake. “Jackie? Jackie, wake up!” 

Her jaw hurts and the copper taste of blood coats her tongue. Jackie’s eyes flutter open to see June hovering above. “Trevor—”

“Pinker won’t get him. I promise.”

Jackie’s eyes roll as the room spins. She’s about to pass out again. “I’ll fuckin’ kill him, June,” she slurs. “I swear…” 

“He won’t touch Trevor,” June says so seriously that Jackie instantly believes her. “This mess is my fault. A mess I helped make years ago. I’ll be the one to clean it up.”

And for the very first time, Jackie is the one trusting in her sister to keep her son safe.

Read the rest of All Eyes Lead to the Truth on Archive of Our Own!

@monikafilefan

[thetreehousechronicles]

What They Do at Home When the Others Are Gone

Even though they love spending time together, sometimes one (or even two) of them have to be away. When that happens, the house just doesn’t feel the same. Each of them has their own way of dealing with it���some pretend they’re fine, others get lost in distractions, but deep down, they all miss each other. But the best part? That moment when they finally reunite—because no matter what, they always come back to each other.

Wally Home Alone

Wally hates being alone. Without Kuki’s endless energy or Hoagie’s steady presence, the house feels way too quiet. He paces, trains, and watches action movies, but he still finds himself looking at his phone, debating if he should text them. (He does. He always does.) If it’s night, he might even steal one of Kuki’s stuffed animals for "extra punching practice"—but really, it just helps him sleep.

When Kuki & Hoagie gets home, Wally tries to act cool, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed like he totally wasn’t counting the minutes. "Took ya long enough." But the second Hoagie steps inside, he immediately yanks Wally into a bear hug. Wally stumbles, blushing furiously. "Wha—!? Geez, warn a guy!" Kuki giggles and joins in, smothering him in kisses. Wally grumbles, but he definitely melts into them.

Hoagie Home Alone

At first, Hoagie enjoys the rare quiet time. He tinkers with his inventions, tells jokes to himself (that he swears would’ve made Kuki and Wally laugh), and gets lost in a new project. But soon, the house feels too empty. Without Kuki’s singing or Wally’s random shouting, the silence just isn’t right. He finds himself setting out extra plates for dinner and sighing when he realizes it’s just him.

When Kuki & Wally gets home, Hoagie doesn’t even hesitate—he immediately pulls them into a hug before they can even take their shoes off. "C’mere, I missed you two." Kuki hums happily, melting into him, and Wally flails for a second before awkwardly hugging back. "Dude, at least let me walk inside first." Hoagie just squeezes them tighter. "Nope. You both gettin’ all the affection I saved up while you were gone."

Kuki Home Alone

Kuki thrives in alone time—at first. She dances around, sings, and does facemasks. But after a while, the silence gets to her. Without Hoagie’s warm laughter or Wally’s chaotic energy, the house feels too still. She starts texting the group chat things like "Miss uuuuu!!! (╥﹏╥)" and sending random selfies, hoping for a response.

When Wally & Hoagie gets home, she doesn’t even wait—the moment she hears the door, she sprints across the house and jumps into their arms. "YOU’RE BACK!!!" Hoagie catches her with ease, spinning her around. Wally, trying to act cool, smirks. "Wow, it’s almost like ya missed us or somethin’." But then Hoagie yanks him into the hug, too. Wally yelps, "DUDE, at least gimme a—" but he shuts up when Kuki starts kissing his cheeks.

Wally & Hoagie Home Alone (Kuki Gone)

Without Kuki, the house is way too calm. There’s no random humming, no excited storytelling, and no stuffed animals mysteriously appearing in different places. At first, Wally and Hoagie joke around, playing video games and eating junk food. But as the hours pass, Hoagie finally admits, "Kinda miss her energy, huh?" Wally grunts, "Yeah… kinda."

When Kuki gets home,before she can even step inside, Wally charges at her and scoops her up, spinning her around. "You're HOME!!" Hoagie, watching fondly, shakes his head and then joins in, hugging both of them. "Guess this means we’re back to chaos, huh?" Kuki just giggles and smothers them both in kisses.

Kuki & Hoagie Home Alone (Wally Gone)

At first, things are peaceful. Kuki and Hoagie paint, cook, and watch movies without constant interruptions. But after a few hours, they start noticing the lack of Wally’s random shouting or complaints. Kuki absentmindedly punches the air and sighs. "Fighting’s not as fun without him." Hoagie nods. "Yeah. House is way too quiet."

When Wally gets home,he moment Wally steps inside, Hoagie immediately pulls him into a hug. "Oh, thank GOD, I missed our loud gremlin." Wally sputters, "Dude—what—warn me first!!" Kuki giggles, joining the hug, and Wally pretends to resist but doesn’t actually move away.

Kuki & Wally Home Alone (Hoagie Gone)

This duo alone? Pure chaos. They forget chores, eat way too much candy, and turn the living room into a pillow fort. By the time the day’s over, they’ve made multiple messes, and Wally just shrugs, "Meh. Hoagie’ll be fine." (Spoiler: He will not be fine).

When Hoagie gets home,Hoagie walks in, sees the disaster, and immediately facepalms. "I was gone for ONE day. ONE." Kuki and Wally exchange a guilty look before lunging at him in a hug. "HOAGIEEEE!!!" He lets out a dramatic sigh but immediately melts into their arms. "You two are so lucky I love you."

[ordinariums-a]

@h-osborn asked: 🩸 - From Spiderverse Harry to Peter B. Parker? ⤷ Send 🩸 to find a wound that my muse was trying to hide

Okay, okay, this one was actually a bad one. Still fresh, and for once, Peter had had to retreat, calling upon some other Spiders from the Spider Society to help clean it up. Landing on a nearby balcony, he pulled off his mask and took a breather, close enough to sorta see the chaos happening, but far enough to hopefully recover enough by the time they had wrapped up. Okay, so maybe it hadn't been a good idea to go at it alone. Noted. He'd have to smooth that one over with Miguel later.

Pressing his hand against his stomach, he assessed the damage. Still blood. A lot of it. Kinda concerning, if you ask him, but he's sure he'll be fine. And before he could get any further, a faint alarm bell went off in his mind, and he instinctually pulled down his mask, turning to look at the newcomer. Wasn't really a spider-warning, but anyone seeing him like this wasn't exactly in the cards. Especially outsiders, especially this universe. But the -- face wasn't exactly what he had expected to see, and after being very restrained with his reaction, he gave a little wave.

"Sorry-- sorry, just takin' a breather, you know how it is." This was Harry. Oh, boy, let's really hope he hadn't seen him with his mask off. The suit he'd be able to explain away, maybe, possibly, but the face? When his counterpart was dead here?

"-I'll get out ya hair." But as soon as he rolls his arm back to shoot off a web, he let out a pained sound, hand moving back over his wound. "Okay, okay, this is cool, I'm fine." He addresses Harry, holding up a hand towards him. "I'm fine. Looks worse than it is. Super healing, all that jazz, hey- why don't ya head back on in? Put on a movie or somethin'? I'll be like, five minutes, tops, yeah?" Knowing his own Harry, would he get away with that? No fucking way. But what else could he say or do?

[rockstar-roxie]

Ah! So you're Bede's poison type trainer friend from Unova, yes? I'll admit, even I was surprised when he told me he was going to the Wild Area to catch someone a Toxel. Though it saved me the trouble of ordering him outside, ohoho!

Gym Leader Roxie... well met! You seem to have quite a unique style. Perhaps we will cross paths someday, and I might get to meet your darling Koffing... that would surely be nostalgic for this old woman~

I hope you might be able to broaden Bede's perspective a tad when it comes to other pokemon types. He hasn't given you much trouble, now, has he?

@ballonleastadiumofficial

Oh shhhhoot—

Ms. Opal!

I really didn’ expect ta see you in my inbox today. I gotta admit I didn’t know a fu— freakin’ thing ‘bout ya before I met Bede. Decided ta do some research on ya after I made his acquaintance. Ya seem like a pretty cool trainer!!

Anywho! Yah! I’m the Virbank City Gym Leader here in Unova! Poison Type specialist, as ya said. An’ between you an’ me I might be in Galar at some point soon, so maybe ya will be able ta meet my Koffin’ HAHA!!

Been tryin’ ta show Bede that other ‘Mons ain’t that bad. Dunno if it’s been workin’, but he has got a Budew now, so I guess it did somethin’!

Nah, he ain’t too much trouble HA! I find it pretty easy ta break through people’s rough exteriors! He’s a good kid, despite what people may think… Hope he’s alright. I ain’t too good at comfortin’ people, but tell ‘im that he’s got me ta confide in if he needs.

[sunny6677]

Spookytale

(An Undertale x Spooky Month crossover)

Chapter 10: Napstablook.

Summary: After an incident involving the whole town getting hypnotized(besides Skid) and falling into a hole, all of them find themselves in a place that will change their life forever.

TWS: NONE.

————

The next room they had walked into had been fairly simple, holding the same purple brick walling. There were two cut short pastel purple paths, both at the entrance and at the exit. The middle of the floor was dark purple. And.. for whatever reason, there appeared to be what looked like cheese on a small wooden table near the right wall.

As the group noticed the cheese which had been on the table, Streber opened his mouth to speak. "Hey.. look! There's a block of cheese over there." Ethan seemingly noticed, and glanced over, though he(along with Streber and the others) did not stop walking. Ethan simply mumbled, "Oh.. hey, there is."

"You.. think we could use it for food or somethin'? I'm kinda starting to get hungry after being down here for so long." Streber grinned nervously, looking up at Ethan as he walked ahead with the group. "Mmm.. maybe not. Who knows? That might not even be cheese." Ethan stated. Streber paused, before sighing, "Yeah, I guess you're right. Maybe we can see if Toriel has anything when we finally find her."

Robert glanced over to the left for only a moment, but then he paused briefly, widening his eyes slightly. In a soft voice, he spoke, while gesturing to the area, "He—hey! Dude's.. there's a little mouse in that hole over there!" While Ross and Roy did not cease their walking, they glanced over to where Robert was gesturing to. "Oh.. there is. How do you think a mouse even got down here?" Ross remarked, seemingly a little surprised.

"I dunno.. but its pretty friggin' cool!" Robert smiled, shaking his hands a little. Roy opened his mouth to speak, rolling his eyes, "Well, I think it's pretty—"

"Boy's! Dont just stay down there! We'll lose ya!" John was heard yelling near the exit as the group seemed to be approaching it. The three looked over to John, who had been standing there with his face slightly turned to where they had been standing. Robert called out, "Uh.. okay! Sorry, uncle!"

As Ross walked back over to where Jaune had been(Jaune pulled him over close once he did, and had seemingly murmured something to him, along the lines of, "Hey, don't worry off from my sight now, okay?"). Roy walked near Robert, seemingly rambling on about the place. In his raspy voice, he remarked in a grumpy manner, "Geez.. this place is so boring.. I hope we find that weird goat lady soon.."

Robert paused, before hesitantly saying, "Yeah.. me too."

Robert walked alongside Roy still, forming back with the group. And yet, he glanced back at where the home was for a moment. He could have sworn he had seen a twitching nose from a small gray muzzle in the darkness of it, along with shiny beady little eyes that were barely visible due to the shadows of the hole.

Robert smiled. Knowing that the mouse might one day leave the hole and get the cheese.. it filled him with Determination.

After a few seconds, he eventually turned away, and walked off with the others.

————

"What in god's name.."

That had been the first few words John had uttered once he had walked into the next room with everyone, confusion and anxiety present in his gruff masculine voice.

The room had not been too complicated. Simple dark purple brick walling, along with a pastel purple path that was cut short at the entrance, and another pastel purple path that was cut short at the exit. There appeared to be some red leaves in the middle of something that almost resembled a doorframe with the way it was shaped, though of course, no door had actually been there. If there had been though, a door would fit perfectly inside. A rather giant door, anyway.

But what was curious was the white, transparent figure laying upon the red leaves.

From what it appeared.. it was a ghost.. perhaps? It had a mouth, and what looked like eyes, but.. it had no nose, and no legs. It looked like a stereotypical cartoon ghost you would see on a Halloween special of a cartoon animated show or something.

"What in the hell is that?" Jack muttered to himself, his expression appearing to be pondering the transparent figure right before he and John. As the others stepped in, their eyes widened and their lips quivered in disbelief. Truly, this place could not get much stranger.. right? "I.. I dunno, it looks like a ghost.." John muttered, gazing at the strange monster before he and his partner. A few took some steps back, weirded out by the sight despite the many monsters they already encountered.

"A ghost?!" Skid grinned, popping out from the group of people suddenly with an excited smile formed onto his innocent face which was hidden by the skeleton mask. He shook his hands, beaming, "That sounds so spooky!"

Pump popped out as well, yelling, "It looks spooky too!"

Skid turned to Pump, saying innocently, "Let's get a closer look!"

Skid and Pump began to attempt to walk foward to the creature, seemingly prepared to make the barrage of crashing sounds which would be made anytime they even ran. But before they were able to, Lila pulled Skid back into the crowd with an anxious look upon her face. And Susie forcefully dragged Pump back into the group, saying snarkily, "Oh, no you dont!" ("Wha—hey!" Pump was heard saying before Susie dragged him back in).

"Mom! Can't I go and see the ghost-thing?" Skid begged, while Lila held him gently in her arms. Lila sighed, saying, "No, son.. I don't think you can.." Skid merely mumbled with his arms drooped out, "Aww.." (Kevin shot an irritated glance at both of them. Had Susie and Lila not dragged either of them back in, he most likely would have dragged them back himself. But even so, he remained annoyed. Silently, anyway.)

Lila then turned back to the officers. She asked politely as she held her son, "Well.. what do we do now, officers? Do.. you know what we should do?"

"Well, ma'am, I don't really know.. but we'll try and deal with it. Just hang on tight over there." John grumbled, and then turned back to the figure before he and Jack.

Jack then cleared his throat, trying to say while keeping a stern but soft expression, "Uh, hey, can you mo—"

The ghost interrupted him, by saying 'z' out loud repeatedly. By the looks of it, they were pretending to sleep. "Are they gone yet?.." The ghost mumbled while pretending to sleep still, it's voice echoing slightly as if the room had been bigger than it actually was.

John and Jack merely looked at eachother, both with confused expressions. John tried to say, "Uh.. hey, we know you're—"

...alas, the ghost interrupted him, continuing to say 'z' out loud repeatedly. The two gained slightly irritated expressions. They just wanted to get this ghost to move out of their way so they could lead everyone to safety! They knew what they were doing as officers. And they had come across many irritating encounters in their careers. But how exactly would they deal with this?

"...should we force it outta the way?" John inquired, looking at Jack.

In a deadpan voice, Jack merely replied, "..yeah, probably."

The two began to take a few steps foward. Streber slightly widened his eyes, raising his brows a little. Trying to speak, he stammered out, "He—Hey, maybe you guys shouldn't—"

It was too late. They began to push it, trying to move it with force. But.. like many of you were probably expecting, their hands would go through it, not being able to actually push it. John and Jack shivered, feeling the coldness of the transparent figure send a chill up their spine.

Then, the ghost or transparent figure or.. whatever the hell it was, began to slowly rise up, floating mid-air. "Wh—What the.." Kevin was heard muttering from behind as he took a few steps back. Along with a few others, and Jack and John.

But.. instead of seeming a little menacing like the other monsters so far of which had been encountered(not exactly menacing, though. Mainly just.. strange or mysterious.), the ghost looked upon them with glistening 'eyes', of which seemed like it had been about to cry. In fact.. tears actually began to trickle down from the corners of its shadowy 'eyes', dropping down onto the ground. The sight had added a hint of confusion to the room now. Some faces softened, and others raised a brow.

The ghost only mumbled out in an echoing, miserable voice, "...oh.. I'm sorry.. I wanted to be left alone... but I ignored you all, didn't I?"

John paused. This had been unexpected. "..yeah, you kinda di—"

He then heard his speech being interrupted by Streber's voice. "Why.. are you crying?" His voice sounded somewhat softer than it had before, he seemed to be directing his question toward the ghost in question who had still been floating. Ethan commented, "Yeah, you look like you've seen a ghost."

...

Everyone stared at him in silence. For a moment, he glanced around, confused. "What?" He uttered. And then he realized.

Silently, Ethan only muttered, "..oh."

The ghost only continued to sob quietly. For what it seemed, this ghost didn't seem to have a sense of humor. As he continued sobbing, his tears began to.. float around. They began to fly in the direction of the group, which caused Jack and John to let out surprised shrieks. "Agh!" They both screamed quietly. They dodged narrowly, along with a few others who nearly got hit. The faint odor of ectoplasm nearly permeated the vicinity.

After dodging a tear, Streber stood back up. For a moment, he stared at the ghost. He seemed to ponder it, watching as it cried, and watching as John and Jack seemingly began to try and calm it down. He could barely hear what they were saying, for it was muffled to him. It.. seemed so miserable and sad. For whatever reason, he could not help but.. feel some sort of pity for the ghost. His face softened, and for a moment, he stared down at his hands.

A look of Determination then flickered onto his face.

He then took a few steps foward, ignoring Ethan's confused voice. "Where are you going?.." Ethan inquired.

Streber did not walk close to the ghost. He stood merely a few feet in front of Ethan, and behind Kevin. After pausing for a moment, he finally uttered, "Hey.. uh.." He felt all eyes on him, and yet, hesitantly, he continued.

"...I don't really know what's upsetting you, but.. we're not.. mad, if that's what you're thinking. I'm sure you were just scared. It.. isn't your fault for feeling scared, alright?" Streber spoke, trying to be gentle with his approach. The ghost glanced at him, its 'eyes' glistening with curiosity and surprise. "And.. whatever any of us did to scare you, I'm.. I'm sorry." Streber said. He didn't exactly know if what he was doing was the right approach, but..

"Heh.." The ghost laughed.

...if it seemingly made the ghost laugh, then.. maybe it was. The ghost seemed just a little bit better. Streber couldn't help but smile. The others still remained completely silent, even Jack and John. Roy opened his mouth, seemingly prepared to say something rude, but Ross placed a hand on his shoulder as if to tell him to stop without actually talking. John froze, unsure of the approach. But he then turned around to face the ghost, and said, "..uh.. yeah.. we're sorry for, uh.. scarin' ya. We just wanted to get through, and you weren't movin' so.."

"..oh.. I see.." The ghost replied, "..that was rude of me.. I'm sorry.. I really shouldn't have ignored you.." The ghost still softly sobbed. Strebers face softened with pity again. Why on earth was he feeling bad for this ghost? He couldn't help but feel bad for it, for whatever reason. Natural sympathy sunk into his heart. He had to do something.

A few words(most likely formed by the ghost) had then suddenly popped up, right above the ghost. Though many were surprised by it apparently being capable of spelling out words, they managed to read it as it slowly appeared. It had read: "REALLY NOT FEELIN UP TO IT RIGHT NOW. SORRY."

...

..geez, this ghost was a downer.

Regardless, Streber stammered out while nervously smiling and taking at least one step closer, "Uh.. hey, you know where the ghosts bedroom is located?"

The ghost paused. "..uhh.. a house?"

Streber only replied, "No, no.. down the hall-oween."

...

"Heh.. heh.." The ghost laughed. Ethan stared on in disbelief. Ethan silently asked, "..hey.. why didn't anyone laugh at my joke? I know I said it on accident, but—"

Streber noticed that the ghost was still beginning to sob again, though a bit less this time. At the very least, the joke seemed to improve the ghosts mood a little. As it's tears began to fly in the direction of the group again, they narrowly dodged. Streber ducked under one which nearly hit him in the head, miraculously not being hit. He dodged another one, which nearly hit him in the leg. He let out tiny gasps of surprise.

But seeing the ghosts improving mood.. filled him with too much Determination.

Afterwards, he then said, "There we go.. you're doing great! Even when you're sad, you're not afraid to show that you found a joke funny. And you've just met us!" He paused, and then patiently smiled. "..I'm really proud of you."

The ghost paused.

"...I want to show you all something.." The ghost smiled softly, sniffling a little still. At the very least, it seemed to be a lot better now.

Jack then asked, "Uh.. and what's that?" He seemed a little less good with this situation than Streber had been, though he had to admit, Streber was doing a weirdly good job for cheering up some random ghost.

"...let me try.." The ghost mumbled. Then.. it began to cry again, but.. this time, it's tears flew upwards. Astonishment filled everyone's gazes, and shock as well. Their eyes widened, their mouths went nearly agape as they watched the sight. Then.. gradually, they noticed that the tears were forming.. a hat. Well.. a weirdly water-y looking hat anyway.

"I call it 'Dapper Blook'... do you guys like it?" The ghost inquired with its wavering voice. It seemed to be eagerly awaiting a response, but mostly from Streber.

Streber opened his mouth to say something, but he found himself being cut off by Ethan. Ethan, who had then said in an oddly flirty tone in an attempt to cheer the ghost up, "Looks pretty good, hot-stuff~"

...

Everyone in the room, including Streber, slowly turned to Ethan, cringing visibly.

"..oh no.." The ghost then muttered aloud, letting out a few tears. Streber was about to shoot a look of disapproval at Ethan, mistaking the ghost for being saddened. He nearly whisper-yelled, "Ethan!" But he was then interrupted by the ghost slowly lowering onto the leaves.. though it did not lay down.

The ghost said, "I usually come to The Ruins because there's nobody around... but today, I've met some nice people.." The ghost gave a soft, yet small smile. A few people in the room(specifically Streber) could not help but smile back. Streber could have sworn he heard someone utter aloud, "..awww.."

The ghost paused. "...oh, I'm rambling again. I'll get out of your way.."

Before any of them could say anything, the ghost then vanished slowly. A few would be surprised, but then again, it was a ghost. It shouldn't have been that surprising.

"...well that was weird." John commented aloud.

There was a moment of silence.

"..uh, well.. come on, everyone. Let's get going.." Jack spoke aloud, turning back to everyone and gesturing to the exit of the room. After a few seconds of hesitation, the group obliged, and began to follow behind Jack and John yet again. Though Jack seemed to attempt to step over the leaves, a nervous line of sweat dripping down his face.

Ethan walked over to Streber as they began to exit. The group conversed quietly with others who were near, and seemingly, Ethan was coming to converse with Streber. He asked quietly, raising a brow, "What was that?"

"..I.. I don't know. Something in me just felt.. bad for that.. thing." Streber answered, clenching his fists a little as if to gesture, though he did not seem angered whatsoever. He seemed almost hesitant whenever he called it a 'thing', as if it hurt to call it that.

Ethan paused. "Well.. I don't blame you. The monsters down here seem.. weirdly nice."

There was a second of silence.

"Let's just go up on ahead, okay? I'm sure there'll be more things to deal with." Ethan tried to say, smiling.

Streber hesitated, before sighing and saying, "...yeah. alright."

The group began exiting the room, though Streber couldn't help but think about the interaction that had just happened between him and that ghost.

He tried to shake his head, tried to shake away his thoughts. There were more things to be dealt with. He couldn't keep his mind on one simple ghost when the most important thing down here was their possible survival.

....right?

///////////////////

E

[aeternxm-aa]

❛ even if you feel alone, i am always thinking of you and wishing you well. ❜

-- shit, she doesn't even realize how much that MEANS to him, truly. it has him all sorts of emotional -- and he doesn't quite know how to FEEL about that. to get to emotional over a sentence, a piece of JEWELRY-- but it's like lily knows, somehow she knows that THIS is what takeshi needed.

if only she knew the reasons why.

the words are right there on the tip of his TONGUE. he could let everything out and know, just KNOW, that lily would never judge him, wouldn't think LESS of him. but that's such a scary thought -- being open and VULNERABLE with anyone because there's that nagging voice in the back of his mind that tells him that what he has to say will be too MUCH for lily - and how could he possibly ever blame her for that? takeshi knows he's got some serious baggage, enough that most people would run and hide at the mere MENTION of it.

but lily seems to UNDERSTAND that -- like she's got some baggage of her own. it's a weird thing to bond over, he KNOWS that, but at least it's something. at least, maybe together, the two of them would actually be able to move PAST all that shit and just be lily and takeshi -- takeshi and lily.

there's HOPE there -- light at the end of the tunnel.

takeshi's fingers reach for the pendant, running his finger over the cool metal and somehow, almost like she's put some sort of SPELL on it -- he feels like he could open up, finds the courage to actually tell her something about him that he's been SCARED to talk about from the moment they met.

❝ i... ❞ a pause, he tries to meet her gaze but can't hold it. his heart is racing, there's a tremble in his voice that he can't HIDE though he's desperately trying to.

❝ there's somethin' i gotta tell ya-- ❞ he realizes how that SOUNDS as soon as the words leave his mouth and he's quick to FUMBLE over them as he tries to reassure lily that it's nothing about the two of them. ❝ it's nothin' bad! well -- i mean, it IS, but it ain't about US. wait, i guess it kinda is too no -- i just -- fuck. ❞

deep breaths, takeshi. you can do this -- ain't nothin' to it!

❝ s'about me, i guess. ❞

lily let out a giggle and smiled at him. now waiting for him to open it. once he did, and seeing his reaction, it made her even happier that she had gotten it for him. though she didn't exactly know the whole story, she knew that he needed strength--and maybe she put her own little goddess blessing on the pendant to give him that courage to do what he needed to do. the kiss to the cheek made her beam more.

"of course." taking it and bringing the chain around his neck, she brought the clasps together and set it there. it hung low enough that he could wear it under his shirt or it would lay in the perfect spot for an opened shirt. she moved to look at it better and nodded.

"perfect and it will bring you strength and courage. like a little cheerleader because i can't always be around to cheer you on."

she moved close to him and pressed a kiss to his lips. "i love you and just know that i am always with you in spirit, alright? no matter what. even if you feel alone, i am always thinking of you and wishing you well. i don't mind ever giving you a large piece of my strength and courage." which she had done for him and she would do it again.

[chocolatemilk-mob]

bro where do u go to find ur bones r they just like on the side of the road .. ive only ever found like shitty halfgone deer bones where im at

1. Grave digging your pets

2. Pits of toxic slutch in the woods

3. Backyard has a lot of places for rabbits to hide. And die

4. New puppy likes to hunt and bring back presents

5. Lone deer skulls on a secluded railroad like the wild west

[supernaturalgirl20]

Happy Joel!!! Post apocalyptic happy Joel that’s what I wish to see!!! Happy horny Joel with major breeding kink because Ellie is already grown up and he need to take care of somebody and Jackson is safe enough for family. Imagine this big hands holding little babe

Aww yes nonnie, loved this request so much. Joel getting to have a family again is everything. Hope you enjoy 😉

Maybe Now

Pairings: Joel Miller x f!reader

Warnings: Smut 18+, explicit, unprotected sex, PinV sex, breeding kink, mentions of loss, sadness, talks about life before, mentions of pregnancy, giving birth, breastfeeding, soft Joel, small glimpses into Joel’s life with his new family.

A/N: still have two Joel requests I’m working on, hoping to have them out this week. My requests are only open at the minute for Joel, but I will be opening them up across the board very soon 🥰

Comments and reblogs really appreciated 🥰

Music played in the background as you stirred the sauce for the chicken, hips swaying to the beat as you hummed along to the song. 

“Oh,” you gasp as a pair of arms wrap around you from behind. 

“Somethin’ smells good, darlin’.” He breathes in the aroma as he rests his head on your shoulder. 

“Just a new recipe I’m trying out. How was the patrol today?” Joel’s arms tighten around you, and you can feel him hard against your ass. 

“Was ok. Nothin’ to excitin’. Missed you though.” His lips begin to leave a trail of kisses along the skin of your neck and shoulder. 

“Oh yeah?” You tease as you switch off the stove and turn in his arms. He nods, eyes taking in the curve of your lips before meeting your gaze.

“God, you’re beautiful, baby.” His voice is low, almost a whisper but the deep timber of his voice set the spark of arousal alight. 

His lips crash hungrily onto yours and you moan as he slips his tongue inside your mouth. What’s gotten into him tonight? You think to yourself as his hands move to cup your ass. 

“Need you, darlin’,” he mumbles into your skin, and you shiver. 

“What about dinner?” You ask, a strangled moan passing your lips as he pulls the top of your dress down, exposing your breasts to the cool air. 

His teeth nip at the pebbled peak of your nipple, and he groans into your skin as you run your fingers through his hair. “Can’t wait, darlin’, I can’t.”

His tongue licks around your nipple before he sucks it into his mouth. “Oh, Joel. Oh god…fuck…yes, dinner can wait. Take me to bed.” 

He pulls back with a devilish smile on his face, pupils blown wide with lust. “Thought you’d never ask.” 

His hands grip the back of your thighs and with a squeal, you're lifted into his arms. “Joel, what are you doing? Put me down, your back.”

“Trust me darlin’, ain’t nothin’ ever gonna stop me from havin’ my way' with you.” 

He carries you towards the bedroom, kicking open the door he gently lowers you, his mouth devouring you as he walks you back towards the bed. 

“Take it off,” he commands as he stands staring at you through lust-hooded eyes. The authority in his voice has you quivering with need. 

You lift the dress over your head and let it fall to the floor with a soft thud. He growls as he takes in the sight of you naked. “Fuck darlin’ you been walkin’ around all day with nothin’ on under that dress?”

“Hmm, Hmm. Wanted to be ready for when you got home,” you say softly before biting your bottom lip. His eyes rake over your curves as he starts to strip.

“You gonna take what’s yours Miller or do I have to go find someone else?” You tease and before you can go anywhere, he grabs your ass and lowers you onto the bed. 

“You’re mine. Ain’t no one else allowed to touch what’s mine, ya hear?” He growls, hand gripping your face before he lowers his lips to yours. 

“Gonna show you whose pussy this is, case you forgot while I was gone.” He grabs his cock in his hand and runs the tip along your slick, coating himself in your arousal before he notches the head at your entrance and thrusts in. 

God, you loved when he got like this. Possessive. Feral. It was also the only time he truly let his guard down. 

“Fuck, darlin’. You’re so wet…so tight. Always so tight.” He rolls his hips into you sheathing himself completely within the heat of your walls. You’ve never felt so full. 

He rocks himself into you over and over, his mouth swallowing your soft whimpers as he kisses you passionately. Your joint moans fill the space around you as he works you towards your climax. 

You can feel yourself teetering along the edge and just as you’re about to fall he pulls out causing you to groan in protest. “Joel what….”

He lays himself back on the bed and grabs you so you’re straddling him. “Wanna be able to see you, darlin’. Want you to ride me.” He stares up at you, eyes blown wide with lust, and he watches as you slowly sink onto him. 

He groans, head pushing back into the pillow as he grips your hips. “Never gonna get used to the size of you, Joel. Fuck.”

“Need you to move now, darlin’.” His voice is husky with need and when you move your hips above him, he groans loudly, eyes closing as he feels you slide up and down his cock. 

“That’s it darlin’…just… just like that. So beautiful like this…. takin’ me so well.” Your head falls back as you come around him, a breathy moan passing your plush lips.

“Fuck…I can feel you coming baby…squeezing me so damn tight.” He groans as he starts to thrust upward meeting your movements and you can feel yourself coming again. 

“Oh god, Joel…. I’m…fuck I’m gonna come….” you cry as you flutter around him again. His fingers dig into your hips as he grunts loudly. “God damn, darlin’. You’re so pretty when you come. Gonna look even prettier, round and swollen with my baby.”

Baby?! 

“Joel what are you…” He sits up, wrapping his arms around you, holding you tight as he fucks up into you. 

“Ya heard me, darlin’. Now you need to hush and let fuck you full of me, ya hear. Wanna have you nice and round with my baby.” His breathing was becoming laboured as he neared his release. You came again with a flutter of your cunt at his words, and it sends him over the edge. 

His head rests on your breast as he calms his racing heart. Your mind is racing from what just happened. He came inside you. Something he never does. “Did you mean it?” You ask nervously, hoping that he hadn’t just said it in the heat of the moment.

 Running your fingers through his hair, he hums, a contented sigh falling from his lips. He pulls back a little so he can look at you. “Meant every word, darlin’. I’ve been thinkin’ about it a lot lately. I mean we’re safe here in Jackson. We got family, friends who would help us with the baby.” 

He kisses the edge of your mouth. Once. Twice. 

“I never thought in a million years I’d want this. Not after Sarah. Not with the way the world is but then I found Ellie, found you and now it’s all I want. I want nothin’ more in this fucked up world than to have a family with you.” His fingers caress your cheeks as he stares intently into your eyes. 

A single tear falls down your cheek and you give him a watery smile. “Are you sure?”

“Never been surer about anything, baby. So, what'd ya say?” His eyes flicker between your own and when you nod at him, he pulls you into a heated kiss.  

“Best eat that dinner now because I ain’t lettin’ you leave this bed until I’m sure I’ve fucked a baby into you.”

***

Joel was a man of his word. 

He had kept you in that bed for days before he went out on patrol again. Making sure he had you full of him. 

And sure enough, a month later you had missed a period. Something that never happened. You didn’t even notice at first until you began to feel nauseous all the damn time. 

Maria had laughed when you heaved at the smell of her cooking. Some fish dinner Tommy loved, and she had jokingly said ‘you’re not pregnant are you’. 

“I think I might be.” 

“Oh, my god. Really? This is amazing. Ok ok…eh, I think there are some pregnancy tests over at the Johnsons. Let’s go.”

She pulled you by the hand and led you to the house across the street where she asked Lauren for two tests. 

“Here. You want me to come with you while you take them?” She asks, looking down at your slightly shaky hands. 

“No. Thanks but if it is positive, I want Joel to be the first to know.” Maria nods in understanding. 

“Ok but then you gotta come find me and let me know.” She stares at you with a pointed look. 

“I promise.”

***

3 minutes.

The longest three minutes of your life. You pace the length of your bedroom as you wait for the result, too caught up in your own head to notice that Joel has come home and is calling for you. 

The door slowly creaking open startles you and you whip your head around to find him looking at you, face full of concern.

“Hey, what’s wrong darlin’?” He asks, voice low as he slowly makes his way to you. His arms slide over your hips to wrap around your back, pulling you close. 

His eyes look down at you and you can make out the concern in them. “I-I uh…. I’m late. And I haven’t been feeling too well lately so I…” You worry your bottom lip and tilt your head towards your bedside locker where the white stick is placed. 

His eyes drift to where you’re looking and when he sees it his gaze flickers back to you quickly. “Are you?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t looked.” 

His fingers move up and down your back in a soothing manner and he smiles down at you. “Let’s look together then. Come on,” he says as he grabs your hand gently in his and leads you to the bed. 

Grabbing the stick he looks at you, his face full of love and adoration and you instantly calm. “Ready?” He asks, eyebrows raised in question. 

“Yeah.” God, you hope it’s positive. You hope it isn’t just some bug or something. Joel looks so happy right now and you don’t even know if you are yet. 

Two pink lines.

Pregnant.

“Does that…. are you?” He gulps nervously as his eyes shift from the stick in his hand to you.

“I’m pregnant. We’re gonna have a baby.” You say with a smile. His eyes instantly light up and you huff out a breath as he pulls you into, both of you falling back on the bed. 

His lips are on you the minute your back hits the mattress and his hand rests on your stomach. “Our baby’s in there.” His voice is almost a whisper but it’s full of pride. His face is a myriad of emotions, and you think you can see tears well in his eyes. 

“Hey,” you say softly as you cup his cheek in your hand. “You, ok?”

His eyes linger on your stomach for a moment before his gaze meets yours. “Yeah…I- it’s just…Sarah would have loved this. She always wanted a brother or sister just…. I just never found the right person.” He chokes in his words as he tries to hold back the tears. 

“She’s still here, Joel. In here,” you say as you point to his heart. He nods. A smile edged its way onto his face. 

“Yeah. She woulda liked you. And Ellie.” He trails off as he stares down at his hand on your stomach and your heart breaks for him. Placing your hand atop his, you squeeze it gently. “And we would have loved her. How about, if this baby is a girl, her middle name can be Sarah. To honour her big sister?”

A watery smile adorns his face as he looks at you and nods. “I’d like that.” His hand rests on your cheek, his thumb rubbing against your bottom lip. “I love you.”

“I love you too. We love you.”

***

Ellie was over the moon when you both told her. Delighted to be becoming a big sister and between herself and Joel, they wouldn’t let you do much. 

The protectiveness has only gotten worse as time goes on and you start to show. You’re five months along and your bump has finally popped, something Joel is very proud of. 

You’ve seen another side of him since becoming pregnant, a softer side and you wonder if this is how he was before the outbreak. 

“Morning baby girl. Hope you slept ok?” His soft voice stirs you from sleep and it takes you a moment to realise he isn’t talking to you. He is talking to your baby.

“Hope you didn’t kick up a storm and keep your mama awake. She needs all the rest so you can grow big and strong. This world is a big scary place, but you don’t gotta worry, because your old man is gonna keep you safe. I’m not gonna fail this time.” His voice cracks a little and you can feel tears building behind your eyes. You want to reach down and comfort him, but you know he needs his time with your baby, so you wait.

“You got so many people here who love you. Me and your mom for one but you also got a big sister who is very special, and she is gonna look out for you no matter what. Then you got your uncle Tommy. He’s an idiot. Don’t tell him I said that. He’s a good man though and he can’t wait to meet you and tell you stories about me and him when we were younger.” He laughs quietly as he rubs his hand over your bump. 

“Hopefully not all of them.” He continues to talk about the community in Jackson and when he trails off you reach down and run your fingers through his hair. He releases a contented sigh and lifts his head. “Morning darlin’. You sleep ok?”

“Hmm, best sleep ever. What are you doing?” His face blushes and his gaze drifts to your bump. “Just havin’ a chat with my baby girl.”

“Mmm, and what if it’s a boy? What then?” You say with a smile. His gaze meets yours again and his smile makes the butterflies in your stomach dance. 

“Nah, it’s a girl. I can tell.” 

***

You weren’t entirely sure when your due date was exactly, but the local doctor had it narrowed down to a certain week. Joel was on patrol for the next two days even though he was supposed to be home. Jason had gotten sick, and they needed an extra hand, so he agreed reluctantly. 

Ellie and Maria had assured him they would look out for you until he got back but you could see the anxiety in his eyes when he left. 

That was three days ago now and you were beginning to get worried that something had happened. Not only that, but you’d started to get pains across your lower back and you were worried you’d go into labour without him here. 

“Hey, you ok? You don’t look so good.” Ellie asks as she walks into the kitchen. You nod your head but then a sharp pain erupts across your stomach, and you bend over with a gasp. Water pools on the floor between your legs. Oh shit. 

“Ok. You’re not ok. Let’s get you into bed and then I’m going to get Maria and doc.” She leads you slowly to your bed, helping you in and propping you up with pillows before she rushes out of the house. 

You pray that Joel comes home soon. He’ll be so annoyed if he misses this. You hope he’s ok. 

“Hey. Ellie tells me you're in pain. Where does it hurt?” Jessica the local doctor asks as she comes to sit on the bed beside you. 

“Along my lower back and across my stomach. It’s been on and off since this morning but it’s getting worse.” You clench your teeth as another pain rips through you. 

“Ok. I’m just gonna have a look and see how everything is, ok?” Jessica helps remove your trousers and underwear and begins to examine you. Maria and Ellie are standing on either side of the bed and you turn to Maria who smiles down at you. 

“Any word? Are they ok?” 

She shares a look with Ellie before smiling down at you. “Hey. They’ll be ok. It’s Joel and Tommy, ain’t nothing gonna happen.”

“I need him here. I can’t do this without him.” Your face scrunches in pain as another pain shoots across your stomach. 

“Ok, so you’re 5cm dilated. You need to be at ten to push. Unfortunately, I don’t have anything for the pain but I’m gonna be here the whole time, ok?”

You nod.

“You need to breathe through the pain. In and out. In and out.” Jessica breathes in deeply to show you and you imitate her. “Good. Hopefully, we’ll have a baby soon.”

Jessica orders Maria and Ellie around, getting them to gather supplies and then you all just wait. 

It gets harder and harder to stay quiet through the pain and eventually your cries of pain echo around the room. 

“Go to the gate and see if they’ve heard anything,” Maria asks Ellie and then she’s gone. You turn to Maria who smiles and holds your hand. “I need him.”

“I know. He’ll be here, I promise.” She hopes. 

***

“Ok Y/N, I’m gonna need you to push now, ok?” Jessica asks and you shake your head. 

“No! No, I can’t. Not without him. I need to wait.” You cry in pain as another contraction spikes. 

“I know but the baby is ready to come now. We can’t wait.” Jessica looks at Maria and gives her a knowing look. 

“Y/N, Jessica is right. The baby is ready to come. You can do it; I know you can. Joel would want you to.”

Suddenly the door opens, and all eyes are on the intruder. Joel. 

“Joel!” You cry as you grip Maria’s hand tight, face scrunching in pain. 

“It’s me, baby. I’m here.” He rushes to your side thanking Maria for being there for you. He leans down and kisses the top of your head. 

“I thought you were dead.” You sob as tears begin to fall down your cheeks. He rubs the top of your head gently, soothingly. 

“I know, baby. But I’m alright. I’m here and I’m ready to meet our baby girl.” He turns to Jessica, “is ok if I get on the bed with her?”

“Sure. It might even help.”

Joel takes off his dirty shoes and removes the pillows from behind you, taking their place. He kisses your cheek and holds your hands in his as he whispers words of encouragement. 

“That’s it, baby. Just a little more. You’re doin’ so well.”

You push and push and push and then the room is filled with the cries of a newborn. “Congratulations you two, a beautiful baby girl.”

Jessica hands your baby to Maria who is cleaning her as she cuts the umbilical cord. “I told you it was gonna be a girl, darlin’,” Joel whispers into the shell of your ear as he kisses your neck. “You did so well, baby. I’m so fuckin’ proud of you.”

“Guys she is gorgeous,” Maria coos as she hands you your daughter. She is the image of Joel with her brown eyes and a mop of dark hair on her little head. 

You cradle her in your arms and Joel holds you both from behind. A strangled sob escapes his lips, and you turn your head to look back at him. “You, ok?”

He goes to speak but his voice cracks. He closes his eyes for a moment before meeting your worried gaze. 

“She’s beautiful. She looks…. she has Sarah’s eyes.” You smile at him before shifting your gaze to her again. 

“I forgot how small they are,” he whispers from behind you. “Thank you, darlin’. You’ve given me everything today. I still feel like I don’t deserve it but I’m so fuckin’ happy.”

“Can I hold her?” Ellie asks from beside you and you nod your head before handing her gently to her. 

“Mind her head,” Joel says, his face serious as he looks at Ellie. “Don’t worry, I got this.” She beams.

Later that night after you’d delivered the afterbirth and got cleaned up. You relax back against Joel in your shared bed, which is now clean thanks to Maria and Ellie.

Your baby girl is suckling at your breast as you gently rub her cheek. Joel holds you both close as he rests his head on your shoulder. “Ellie is gonna call back in the morning and help make breakfast,” he whispers, trying not to disturb the moment. 

You hum. 

“What are we gonna name her?” You ask, gaze focused on your daughter. 

“Whatever you want darlin’.” His hand rests on your daughter's leg, rubbing soothing circles into her skin. 

“How about Olivia Sarah Miller?” You hear him suck in a breath and you turn your head slightly. 

“I love it, darlin’. Sarah she…. she uh…she loved the name, Olivia. Always said if I gave her a sister that’s what she wanted her to be named.” His eyes are glazed over, and a single tear runs down his cheek. 

“Then it’s perfect.” You look down at her once more and smile. “Welcome to the world Olivia.”

***

6 months later…

You wake with a start, hand brushing over to reach your husband only to find the bed empty. Throwing on one of his shirts you make your way next door to check on your daughter but she’s not there either. 

Panic floods you. 

As you make your way downstairs the deep timber of his voice calms your racing heart. Without making a sound, you make your way towards the open door and lean against the frame as you take in the sight of Joel on his rocking chair, Olivia nestled into his side. 

The sight of him with your daughter has your heart racing and the butterflies fluttering within your stomach. Seeing him like this makes you love him even more. 

“I’m gonna build you a swing set right there,” he says as he points to a certain point in the garden.

“Watch you playin’ while me and your momma sit here with our cups of coffee.” You can’t help the snort that passes your lips, and he turns in your direction with a smile on his face.

“Mornin’ darlin’. Sleep ok?” 

“Yeah. When did she wake? I didn’t hear her.” You move off the door frame and walk towards them until you're pulled into Joel’s lap. He leans in and kisses you softly on the lips while your daughter giggles beside you. 

“Wanted to let you sleep, darlin’. You’ve been exhausted.”

“You, Joel Miller, are too good to me.” You say softly before leaning in and kissing him. “Will I take her off you now?”

He shakes his head. “Nah. We’re havin’ a good chat ain’t we baby girl?” Olivia coos at her daddy and your heart melts. 

“Ok, well I’ll go and make us some coffee. Be back in a minute,” you say as you stand, kissing Olivia on the cheek and making your way inside. The sound of Joel’s voice fills your senses, and you smile at his words. 

“I love your momma so much, baby girl. I don’t know what I did to deserve her but I’m so grateful she walked into my life and I ain’t ever letting her go.”

Everything: @maievdenoir @amneris21 @hnt-escape @elegantduckturtle @harriedandharassed @jediknight122 @ayrusss @hayley-the-comet @sherala007 @alexxavicry @scorpio-marionette @donnaa @practicalghost @tanzthompson @beskarprincessjenny @littlemisspascal @icanbeyourjedi @thatpinkshirt @maryfanson @sunnshineeexoxo @misspearly1 @misspearlssideblog @athalien @its--fandom--darling @sara-alonso @doommommy @browneyes-issac @trickstersp8 @nembees @kaitieskidmore1 @mswarriorbabe80 @allthe-ships @tintinn16 @hungrhay @rosie-posie08 @manuymesut @all-the-way-down-here @iccedays @tusk89 @graciexmarvel @pedrostories @musings-of-a-rose @untitledarea @your-voice-is-mellifluous @majestyjade

[blingblong55]

gaaahh I love your platonic TF141 x reader!! I was wonder if we could get some more, but for a Gn!Reader?

for context I find it hard to swap pronouns when reading, but if not that's fine lol!

and if you want, have some writing prompts!

-Southern!Reader gets drunk, acting like a fool, they're accent the strongest it's ever been, and TF141 is just "wtf are they even saying?"

-general shenanigans with Gaz and Reader, pranking ghost >:]

-SNOW DAY! the boys have the day off, and it ends up with a snowball fight, soap, ghost, and reader VS. gaz, price, and könig (yes I added him I am a simp for this man)

-Reader gets hit on in public, and 141 acts like big brothers + father and beat the crap outa whoever was unfortunate enough to pick on Reader

-DAD PRICE. just. him teaching Reader things, giving pointers, and being protective off-field

anyways sorry for the long ask! hope your doing well :]

Sweet Creature -141+König

ofc! I always try to make my readers comfortable when reading so never shy away for asking this!

This is a collection of moments your boys have been through with you...(there is mentions of an American reader, but if you please it can only apply to the first one.)

GN! Reader, Plantonic! Relationship

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

(I had to look up southern sayings so if this part doesn't make sense I apologize. (feeling too brit today..sorry))

After a much needed out in the town 141 had been deployed to, r/n decided it would be great to compete against Soap in a drinking game. Drink after drink, your once good basic American accent left your lips and was soon replaced with your souther accent. Price at first found it funny, until he couldn't tell exactly what you were trying to say.

Gaz: that was until I dropped it all

R/n to Ghost: That's 'bout as useful as tits on a bull, wouldn't ya'say?

Price: *chuckles* what does that even mean kid?

R/n: o' bless ya heart sir (apparently it means idiot,,,so don't come for me) y'dumber than a mule

*a woman passes by their table and Gaz starts checking her out*

R/n: look at him price, he's grinnin' like a possum eatin' a sweet tater

Price: seriously what does that mean?

Ghost: think they mean he looks like a dumb arse

Gaz stands up to try and talk to that woman

R/n: soap tell em somethin'

Soap: go get her tiger

R/n: No, no,,,you hold your horses now...she ain't even turn to ya and yo're hotter than hell al'ready?

Price: right...let's get you home r/n

R/n: I can take 'nother one....

Ghost: not today *he picks you up and off to base you go*

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

After an uneventful evening Gaz and r/n decided to annoy Ghost, a ritual Price had gotten used to, after Ghost came in to complain every week. Price would always discard them because he loved having his children smile and be young and happy.

There was one time where you placed syrup on his tea. Another time, you kept calling his phone, pretending to be some religious group, this went on for 3 months. One time you made him believe the whole base left him, you stole his phone and clothes, best believe you never saw the devil until that day.

2 weeks ago, Ghost was tricked into eating some expired MRE, that man got sick so easily, Gaz was tricked into taking the blame. Meanwhile you enjoyed some banana with soap as Ghost chased Gaz for 30 minutes, until you tripped Gaz and ran to price.

R/n: dumb bitch!*you ran so fast, soap swore it was you being chased*

----

This happened at 2 am, Ghost's room.

You and gaz know how much ghost hates dirty bed sheets. So you did this:

Gaz: r/n pass me the chocolate

R/n: why are we doing this again?

Gaz: its fun

R/n: how will this even work?

Gaz: it'll melt under his body and make it look like he shat himself

R/n: this is so cool

Gaz: shh

you two walked into Ghost's room, he was dead asleep, when he shifted to his left side, Gaz placed the chocolate near his bum, you two successfully ran out and waited outside all morning.

Ghost opens his door, anger flowing through him

Ghost: where are these little twats

That's when you and Gaz ran away to Price's office, he eventually caught up and complained to Price. (I'm picturing that office scene when Dwight and Jim are complaining to Micheal. Yes, the American one. )

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

This time the team was deployed to Switzerland, for everyone it all felt like home, spring and summer was quite lovely, that's until Price was told this deployment would be longer that expected. Winter rolled in, everyone was prepared for a harsh winter, except you, who had never experienced snow. You had told soap how every year when you're away from home, snow has hit hard, and that you had never seen snow in real life.

This had become a perfect opportunity for him to show you how much you meant for the team. So once he had told price about the sad story of yours, they planned an entire day out.

Soap: c'mon r/n its time for your surprise.

He bought you gloves and a scarf,( he knows how easily it is to get cold.) Once outside, you ran around screaming in delight. "This is awesome!" you said as you tackled soap onto the snow.

Gaz was the one who started the snowball fight. Price took his side. Ghost and soap took yours. Poor König was stuck in the middle, deciding who to join, until price dragged him to his side and that's when the fight seriously started.

(Picture that SpongeBob snowball fight)

Soap tripped multiple times, your face was covered in snow because you couldn't stop laughing at him. Ghost did most of the dirty work, he seriously took this serious.

He pulled you both down, "right, so while I get price, r/n you get König, he'll feel bad for throwing things at a midget and quit, gaz will soon give up, so soap he is all yours.

"That was mean man" you said but all he did was push you to the floor, where you got stuck for 2 minutes. He eventually helped you up and continued the fight.

Even though he was a trained soldier, König never threw anything at any of you, he was too afraid of getting anybody injured. Best believe this man walked out and waited until things became friendly. He eventually built a snowman. The same one soap ran through. "awh, my snow friend" he sadly spoke. (please imagine this with his cute little Austrian accent and his giant figure just looking down and picking up the sticks and hat from his snowman..)

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

This time around you encouraged the team to go out once more. It was September in some other country. After years of working with your boys you never expected them to be your guard dogs. You went up to the bar to order your drinks, until two people walked up behind you and sat at the stools beside you. (I'll let ya decided on the gender ;) )

"What is a cute thing like you doing around this place" one spoke, while the other got too close for comfort.

" Look whatever it is..I'm not interested" you answered,

The guys know you're able to fend for yourself, after all they've seen you kill men with your bare hands, but you had become their little sibling. They all swore to protect you no matter how big or small your problems were.

"You're just here by yourself love?" the other said, while reaching for you.

Price tapped that persons shoulder, "leave them alone," as price spoke to them, soap took you and brought you to the other side. "You stay here, understood?" he cupped your face in his hand.

All you did was nod. "good" he walked away and the four men took them out the back. "you don't touch them ever, or else I swear you'll go back home in a bag" Ghost towered over them,

"this is nonsense, they aren't even good looking!" one said.

(this is very...manners maketh man...vibes )

Price swung and hit ones jaw, "you fuck!" they said holding onto their face. "run you pricks" gaz threatened. "Soap hand me your gun"Price never took his eyes off of them. Ghost took out on of his pocket knives, he caressed it and looked at them. Gaz did too, man would he defend you.

But before soap handed his gun to his captain they had ran out.

Once inside, you sat there. Starring at them with those kind eyes of yours. They immediately went soft. "Got your favorite drink, kid?"

"yes, can I asked what happened out there?"

"nope...after this we can get some McDonalds, that's if you never ask about this again" man was he good at deals you thought.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

(For this one I'll put you as a 23yr old, who specializes in hand to hand combat, and demolitions, as well as a training sniper, mainly bc i feel you need a little background.)

Price never understood how his colleagues could afford love for their kids. He didn't get how one little human would change their ways of being. That's until you arrived at base. Fresh off boot camp.

The day he met you, he understood why his friends back home retired after having kids. It went from him sparring with you, just to test your limits to making sure you were getting sleep, (this man for sure tucked you in)

"Sir, you're telling me that if I boil that liquid it will actually turn into a quality beverage?"

"How do I change my tire?"

"wait..how do I check for my oil?"

"price? are you sure I can go home? I don't want to be alone."

" can you please kill it? I'm scared man."

After teaching you from the most basic things in life a father should teach to what a military dad would teach, he grew fond of you.

Around December he found you roaming base, all alone. The rest of the team (except him ofc) was sent back home, to spend time with family and friends. Once you explain how you had no family to go back home to, he made you pack your bags and head to his. Funny enough, Ghost was already heading to his, it had become a thing between them.

He told you about his wife, how she wasn't able to conceive and how excited she was to met you. Later that week, she called you her child. You and Ghost had found a forever home with him. "These are my children." she proudly said to anyone who asked about the two socially awkward people standing next to her.

A week before Christmas, he took you and ghost hunting, that day he let you have a puff off of his cigar. "be careful now, don't inhale too much." he pointed at you, like he was talking to a child.

After the holiday, you were allowed to call him dad, pops when you were at his place.

Out at bars, he would keep you close. And when someone would clearly flirt with you, it was in him to remind you "no person will ever be good enough for you, understand kid?"

He even cracked dad jokes with Ghost and you. He made sure to update his family portrait from him and his wife to one of the four of you.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Tags: @thatonesimpyknow

a/n: I know It really long..but I hope you did enjoy it!

REQUEST ARE OPEN!!

[0the-silent-artist0]

A h a h a g👀d sh❗t my dudes!!

[thereaderinsertlady]

Can you write a fic about King Dedede getting pegged? Totally cool if you don’t write about that stuff I just want his Dededussy 🙏🙏🙏 (pls) 🎃

Lol, I certainly don't mind writing this kind of stuff, but I left it at a very suggestive ending instead of writing straight up smut; I ran out of time since today was my birthday, but here's the link on ao3, and I hope you like it! I looove writing banter.

ㅤ

King Dedede x Reader - Pegging?

King Dedede stared at you with large eyes as soon as those words came out of your mouth, becoming incredibly flustered— which was certainly a new sight for you. “You want me ta, ta... You want to do what to me?” The longer he stared at you, the more puffed-up his fur was becoming. 

You softly pouted, sitting down on the bed next to a plastic bag— one that you’ve gotten from the newest sex shop in town. It was one of the first things that caught your eyes, and you knew you just had to buy it, even if it was just a little too pricy. It’s something you’ve wanted to try for a while now, but you’ve had a hard time finding certain items in non-sex stores. “It’s nothing painful, I assure you. I bought lube and everything that we’d need for this. It’s just something... different!” 

“Different,” the King began with a scoff. “It’s somethin’ different alright, that’s for sure. I hadn’t even heard of that term before ya mentioned it an’ explained it to me!” 

“Dedede...” You lowered your bottom lip before clasping your hands against your lap. “Again, I promise it isn’t painful. Just... please let me do this to you? Pretty please? I’ll let you do anything you want to me afterwards, I swear.” 

He stared at you for a long moment, seeming to think about it... before groaning loudly, beginning to take off his clothes. “Alright, alright... I’ll let ya try ‘pegging’ me. Once.” 

“Okay,” you said with a giggle, “What should our ‘safe word’ be, in case you want me to stop?” 

“Ehh, uh...” He rubbed his chin for a moment. “Maybe... feathers?” 

You let out a happy sigh while nodding, shifting through the bag to pull out the strap on you had bought... 

[binniesthighs]

cherry knot | reader x ryujin

a/n: you may be thinking to yourself, ro! a gg fic?? how unlike you!! well, boy do i have news for you 😂 truthfully, i’ve always been toying with the idea of writing a lil somethin’ (esp for ryujin god i love her) so i thought why not! if this isn’t your cup of tea, that’s totally okay <3 those who do read, thank you so much for reading and i hope that ya like it hehe and let me know what you think of it! :D (thank you @dom--minnie​ for enabling me too ;) 

cherry knot | reader x ryujin 

🍒 Pairing: self insert, female reader x shin ryujin 

🍒 Genre: fluff n’ a lil bit suggestive 

🍒 Tags: friends to lovers, high school au (everyone depicted is 18+), all girls school au, high school crush!ryujin, shy!reader, confession of feelings, that good, good makin’ out, ryujin being flirty and smug as hell bc i love her, yeah this is just me gushing about shin ryujin, ro trying new things on the blog :) 

🍒 Word count: 2.9k 

🍒 CWs: mentions of food and eating reader included

The grass felt sticky and uncomfortable under your crossed legs, and when you swiped your hand against the skin, you could feel the indentation from the blades. Your knee-high socks felt itchy too; everything felt itchy. Even the cotton of your shirt felt like it was suffocating, and the bow tied around your neck which hung loosely should have hung even looser. 

To distract yourself, you plucked up the blades of green and tied them into knots absentmindedly. It was easier to pay attention to your idle hands compared to paying attention to her. 

Could she even tell that you were looking? Could she see out of the corner of her eye when she threw her cotton-candy pink hair behind her ear? Could she tell that you watched as she gulped down the lemonade and caught a glance at the peachy fuzz of her neck exposed by her collar? 

Stop looking. Stop looking. 

Your other friends tied up their hair in clips and with lazy hair ties to free their sweating necks from the sun. No matter the sweltering heat, it was always tradition for your picnic just before the summer vacation. One of them had brought a cake and each of the girls attacked it viciously with small forks and smeared bits of frosting on each other’s noses. 

“Come here!! You’re next!!” They beamed while launching themselves in your direction to dot your nose with the white cream. 

A flurry of high pitched giggles peeled out from each of you once another frosting victim had been dubbed. Your cheeks felt furiously hot knowing that she was looking; and that she was laughing along with the rest of them. 

“Awwww cute.” She adored with a smile that turned her dimples into whiskers on her cheeks. 

You quickly wiped it off with a handkerchief that settled into your damp hand.  

She’s looking, she’s looking…

The other girls pranced around the checkered picnic blanket in their white socks--undoubtedly painting them with green that their mothers would scold them for later. Their careless steps made a mess of the food wrappers and canvas backpacks that held down the corners of the thin fabric. The joyous cheers of the girls seemed to harmonize with the song of the cicadas in the trees; both sounds reminded you of the coming of the summer and the humid weather that makes the air dense. 

One of the girls brought out her phone and played loudly from it one of her favorite songs which she knew every word too, regardless of the fact that her tone was far from the singer’s. 

You and your friends never cared much for how others would view you. Even at school when you would march through the hallways arm-and-arm, others would stare at the way that none of you batted an eye at those who would glare. 

They were just jealous was all. 

“Be careful!!” You found yourself scolding, “What if you fall running around like that?” 

In response, your friends promptly stuck out their tongues in your general direction. 

“Don’t worry about it,” Ryujin coolly popped another cherry into her mouth from the bowl by her crossed legs. “If they fall, let them! It's funnier that way.” 

She threw a wink right at you, which you almost didn’t catch because you had quickly averted your eyes to become much more interested in the tiny tea-cakes. 

“You’re always worrying Y/n! Its summer!”

“I-I do not.” 

Ryujin chuckled in that way that always made you feel like your heart was just about ready to leap out of your chest. 

“Lighten up! Come on!” 

Before you could process it all, your friend patted down the wrinkles in her skirt and threw off her shoes. She rose, and neared your corner of the blanket with hands outstretched. 

“Stop worrying about things or if people are watching!” She scolded you with a cute and tiny pout, “Get up!” Ryujin wriggled her hands with emphasis to show you that you could take hold of them. 

“W-what…?” 

The other girls giggled on, hardly even noticing the two of you over their singing. 

You grabbed onto her hands, already loathing how damp your own felt against hers out of your own nervousness. She still held onto you tightly, saying nothing of them and helped you to your feet. Immediately she brightened once you played along and started to swing your arms in tune with the song. Your friend lip synced to the rap part and you felt just about ready to swoon from how cool she looked saying the words with ease. 

“Dance with me!! Don’t pay attention to people walking by or anything like that!” 

Ryunjin led you by the hand to the patch of grass with little white and pink flowers laced into it. You really did try to pay attention to dancing, but everything else seemed to be distracting even when you tried hard enough. She brought your hand up higher to spin her, and when she twisted, everything seemed to happen in slow motion: the billow of her plaid shirt, her rosy-pink hair which swiped just at her shoulders, even the way that the sunset melted behind her into swirls of sunburst yellow and vibrant orange. It was like she was all a part of it. 

“Your turn!” She said, twisting you too. 

You didn’t realize that you would have been as dizzied by it as you were, but when you lost your footing, she was just as quick to help you with her hands carefully grasped onto your shoulders. 

“You okay?” Ryujin asked, out of breath, but still genuine. 

“I’m fine!” 

Your knees wobbled with barely any strength to them, but you mustered every bit of confidence that you had to keep being this close to her. You surprised yourself when you reached back for her hands to continue swinging them between you. 

The other girls collapsed back onto the blanket in a pile of shallow exhales and airy laughs that they exchanged between them. 

“No more dancing, I-I can’t do any more…” One of them announced while leaning against the shoulder of another one of your friends. 

“I forgot! I brought this!!” One of your friends with pigtail braids dove deeply into her backpack and pulled out nearly all of the contents before finding the small cube-case which was decorated with an obscene amount of keychains. “My camera! We have to take some pictures so that we can remember this!” 

The other girls squealed in agreement and ganged up on her to fit into the frame of the white Polaroid camera that she had also splattered with stickers. 

“Here, I wanna show you something.” Ryujin drew your attention back to the blanket where she settled back down with her own bag draped over her legs. 

“What is it?” 

“Ryujinnie! I wanna take your picture too! Your pink hair is so pretty…” One of your friends cooed with a sad downturn to her lips, “I hope that you never change it.” 

“Hmm, I don’t know. We’ll see. My cousin has been saying that she wants to see what I would look like blonde these days.” 

The small talk didn’t concern you too much, you were more concerned with what it was that your friend had to show you. 

“I’m going on a trip with my cousins soon so we’ll see what happens.” 

Your friend sighed, and skipped over the mess of the blanket to pull Ryujin by the wrist to the walkway a little farther off. “You’d look so cute over here!” 

She pardoned her, and stumbled after the eager girl to let her take a Polaroid of her. Even from far away, you could still hear the two of them admire the picture with happy little expressions of “ah! I told you that it would look good!” 

The two girls returned, and you began to worry if your friend even remembered what she had said in the first place. 

What is it? What does she want to show me? 

“Shoot!!” Another one of your friends huffed out while looking at her phone, “I forgot that I have to tutor the middle schoolers today!! I’m late!!” 

The girls went to action in a mere matter of seconds sweeping up the picnic assortment and shoving the leftovers into their backpacks. 

You helped them and tried to look over to your other friend who didn’t return your glances. Perhaps she really had forgotten. 

You let your imagination run wild for just a few moments, although the more that you did, the more it all just seemed preposterous. Maybe it was a confession letter, maybe she had written for you one of those poems like she had liked to do, maybe she had rather wanted to talk to you about something...say something that you wanted to say back…

“I’m going to stick around.” Ryunjin said suddenly with her hands on her hips. “Y/n, you’re welcome to stay too if you want. We don’t exactly have to go home yet since the sun’s still up.” 

Your friends looked to you for your answer, to which you stammered out an, “O-okay…” The best that you could. 

“See you later!!” They called after with their shoes only half-slid onto their feet. 

You waved them off, but the farther that they walked away, the more the realization started to hit you that you were alone with her. The sound of your heartbeat echoed in your ears, and you calmed it trying to think about anything else but the fact that now her attention was truly undivided upon you. 

“You said that you wanted to show me something?” 

Your friend nodded, and patted the grass beside her for you to join her. She gathered up the small bundle of cherries left behind and positioned them into her lap. 

“I learned this trick a little bit ago and I wanted to show you!” 

“A trick?” 

She nodded, and plucked from one of the crimson berries a stem which she put directly into her mouth. 

“What are you doing?!” On the surface, it didn’t seem like the most sanitary thing to do. 

Ryunjin stifled a laugh and lightly hit you on the arm to chastise you. “Just wait a minute!” 

You watched in your confusion as her face contorted a little, and her eyebrows twisted like she was thinking. Her cheeks puffed a little too, and you could tell that she was doing something with it in her mouth--it was only then when you realized that you had been intensely observing her mouth. 

In your embarrassment you threw your eyes in the other direction, but it was no use one you heard her start to giggle at how flustered you had become. 

“It’s okay, you’re supposed to look.” She assured you. 

“What-what is it?” 

“Annnnd done!” Your friend proclaimed proudly and you struggled to meet her again without feeling like your whole face and the tips of your ears were burning up. 

Right on the pink of her tongue she had tied the stem into a tiny knot which she displayed proudly. 

“You...did that with your tongue?” 

“Mm-hm!” 

Your hands reduced back to their clammy state, and they found the grass between your own folded legs to find something to do. 

“That's...that’s pretty cool…” 

“I know right?!” 

Back came your friend's little dimples, and this time your chest started to feel like it was swelling with heat. 

Stop looking, stop looking…

“I can teach you how to do it some day if you’d like.” Ryujin’s tone dropped lower, and more serious in the way that some had thought to be intimidating. To you, there was nothing more that could make you feel the beat of your own heart more obviously. 

“Teach me? How??” 

The question felt like a butterfly in your lips, fluttering and ticklish, light and uncertain. You met her eyes the best you could; even though you knew that there was nothing about her that you didn’t already know, or that was threatening. 

Your friend tilted her head, inspecting you and the way that you could barely keep your glance away from her lips--stained just a little red from the cherries--then smiled. 

“W-what? What is it? Why are you smiling?” 

She sighed, and craned forward on one of her hands in the grass, bridging the distance between the two of you to caress down the side of your face, all the way to your jaw with the back of her fingers. 

“You’re just too cute.” 

“Hm?” Your chest threw itself up and down, and you could thinly feel the breath that tried to fill your lungs when she was this close. 

“I just can’t handle it any more.” 

“Me?” 

Ryunjin nodded, softening her eyes until they were nearly closed, and rid the two of you of all space, leaning over just so you could feel the weight of her chest nearly pressing into yours. At first, she placed the lightest of kisses into you, so light that it barely brushed against your lips, but merely imprinted upon them. She leaned back, leaving you with the ghost of a feeling of her upon you. It felt a bit unfair how fleeting it was, and how she looked at you like that: smug as ever, but as blissful as she always was. 

Your breaths tried to make sense of it all, if it had just happened, and what to think of it. As quick as it was, all you could want was to feel it again. 

“Ryu--” 

She cradled both sides of your face in hers, leaning in with more fervor and parting your lips with hers, leaving you to squeak from the sudden movement. You couldn’t figure out how to kiss back at first, or if you should hold her too. Your head felt like it was spinning in circles from your disbelief when you could taste the tiny tang of the sweet and sour cherries which lingered on her lips. She rubbed her thumbs into your cheeks, and angled you better to let her growing smile paint your own mouth from corner to corner. 

At last, you were able to find a rhythm which suited you, and you kissed her right back. She giggled at your stroke of confidence and the vibrations made your whole body tingle. Your feet had surely fallen asleep where you had folded them beside you, but the numb feeling of them dissolved once her hands fell to your shoulder where she held to you tightly. The pressure from the tips of her fingers made you shiver, and you too smoothed down the pink shine of her hair. 

The warm and ticklish feeling of her tongue grazed your lower lip where she changed her approach and deepened her kiss. The heat of tongues finally met in the middle testing and learning more of the other the closer that you became, and tiny airy gasps got stuck between both of your curiosity. In your lap, her hands found yours and they laced together and held tight; each digit wrapping the other and becoming one with the eagerness of her thumb rubbing little circles into the squishy parts of your hand. 

After the heat of your passion started to melt, you found yourself hiding your giddy laughter the best you could once she started to peck at your lips over and over until you felt like she had kissed you so close to the brim that you would overflow. 

“I said that you’re cute and I mean it!” She snuck the phrase in between a couple more kisses, eliciting you to fold up in your giddy embarrassment from the compliment. 

Ryunjin pulled away, and popped another cherry into her mouth from the bundle, then threw her arms around your shoulders. You simply let your hands rest in her lap covered by the plaid of her skirt; shaking from the release of the endorphins and the adrenaline. 

“Ryujin...I wanted to tell you that I’ve had a crush on you for a...really long time…” You shied, but she brought your chin back to look at her directly. 

“Good. Me too.” 

You couldn’t even process the combination of her words for them to make sense. White noise filled your ears, even though it should have been obvious from the way that she had kissed you like that. 

“Oh! Here. I wanted to give this to you too. Something to remember me by.” 

She reached for her bag, and pulled out a white-out pen from the front pocket. The Polaroid had faded into its full color, and she focused with her tongue peeking from her mouth as she wrote the message: 

see you soon <3 

- ryujinnie 

Over her head in the picture, she doodled a few hearts, then she blew on the ink to dry it. 

“For you!” 

You took the picture with your hands still thoroughly shaking, and all you could utter was a “thanks” while you took in your friend looking as gorgeous as she always was. You knew then that you would treasure the image forever, and the day which it was taken. 

“Who knows,” Ryujin started, and let her head fall to your shoulder where she nuzzled in, “This might be the last that you’ll see of my pink hair too.” 

You turned the picture over, already sensing how it made your heart feel like it was aching sticky and sweet, just like the cherries. 

~🌹~

Bunch of (Ro)ses! 

@minaamhh @dazzlehoseok @synnocence @jjewibeans @hyunsluvv @unexceptional-h @bobawithchaitea @lechanters @sailorhyunjinz @silencefavarchive @lunarskzzz  @yourdaddychan @bubblelixie @spnobsessedmemes @cherrychngkyn @iwanttobangchan @dom--minnie @waterthemoon @pastelracha @mistakensilence @hotgorloikawa @bowlofblueberries @lmhmins @eunaeiekim 

[theforgottenmcrmy]

After All (Part 5/?)

Pairing: Riff x OC Jet Girl

Warnings: Explicit Language, Racism, Suggestions of Violence

Summary: He’d been attached to her once, and here she was, still proving to be a thorn in his side even after all this time.

Word Count: 7300 ish.

DISCLAIMER (Please read before proceeding if you haven’t already done so.)

Please note that this is a reimagining of the film West Side Story (2021) and as a result is slightly AU.

Masterlist /// Part 1 /// Part 4 /// Part 5 /// Part 6

A/N: I know the GIF isn’t Riff, please don’t come for me. Thank you all again for the likes, comments, and support. I’m sorry about the length and the amount of dialogue in this one, but I hope the next part makes up for it. I’m so excited to get working on it. If you feel so inclined, please feel free to like if you enjoyed. :) You can find part 4 here.

Part 5: A Sign of Good Faith

The walk back to the shop was an unusually quiet one. Fortunately, they didn’t cross any Sharks. Who knows what might’ve happened if they had.

When they finally made it back to the shop, Riff muttered something about wanting to work on the shop’s books for a bit. He promptly headed upstairs to the apartment, and shut the door behind him firmly. The thud of it echoed throughout the otherwise quiet garage.

Action, Mouthpiece, A-Rab, Snowboy, and Diesel, and Gee-Tar, who had followed Riff back to the shop, stared up at the landing in silence.

“So, uh… what’s the protocol for this?” Mouthpiece asked no one in particular.

“What do you mean?” Action asked him. “Riff gave us an order. Roxie is no longer associated with us.”

“Right,” Snowboy acknowledged carefully. “But that was before-”

“Before what?” Action demanded, his voice raising. “Before she left to go to some fancy schmancy university and tried to forget where she came from? Some good that did her. She was gone for what, a year?”

A-Rab held up a finger hesitantly. “I don’t think-”

“She’s gone for a bit, and suddenly all’s forgiven? We’re just supposed to forget about what happened to Riff?” Action demanded hotly, looking at all of the guys expectantly. When none of them immediately agreed with him, he grew visibly angrier.

“Cool it,” Diesel quipped. “Riff’s told us a thousand times what happened. Don’t make somethin’ out of nothin’.”

“Takin’ her side, huh?” Action challenged, stepping up to Diesel, and wasting no time in getting in his face.

Action had the tendency to act first and think later; hence the nickname. When he thought he was right about something, he was quite likely to die on that metaphorical (or not) hill before he was able to even think about listening to reason. It was helpful in a fight, sure, but during down time, it left some of the guys walking on eggshells around him. Fortunately for Diesel, he wasn’t one of them.

“No,” Diesel denied firmly. He locked eyes with Action, and refused to stand down. Action made no move to stand down, either. “Look, all I’m sayin’ is Velma told me she saw in the paper that her aunt died a few weeks ago… she’s probably just here wrappin’ up her affairs.”

Another silence fell over the group.

Diesel put a hand on Action’s shoulder lightly, trying to diffuse the tension. “You really wanna start somethin’ with her now?” he asked him calmly. “I’m sure she’ll be movin’ on again soon.”

Action shrugged his hand off harshly, and straightened his jacket. “Ya know what? I’m gonna call it a night,” he told the guys then. “Ya want to play nice with the rat? Fine. Don’t come cryin’ to me when Riff gets pissed at ya for it. I’ll see ya boys around.” With that, he stormed off towards the side door of the garage.

“Come on, Action, don’t be like that!” A-Rab called after him, but it was too late. The door slammed shut.

Once Action was gone, Diesel spoke up first. “Listen, screw what Action says,” he proposed to the guys who remained. “It was Riff’s order, and it was from a long time ago. We don’t know what he’s thinkin’ now. We’ll follow Riff’s lead on this, however he wants to deal with it.”

Everyone nodded in mutual agreement to one another.

Mouthpiece and A-Rab headed out shortly after. Diesel, Snowboy, and Gee-Tar, who was a relatively recent tenant in the apartment upstairs, were all too awake to crash just yet. They mutually decided to clean up the shop a bit, hoping that Riff would be in a better mood in the morning if he noticed their efforts.

——————————————————————————

Riff sat hunched over with his elbows on the desk as his eyes rapidly scanned over the shop’s books. It was almost ironic that whenever he actually wanted to focus on the damn things, his mind wouldn’t let him.

Deep down, Riff knew he should probably just leave Roxie alone. Regardless of how long she was back for, he should just let her be. He was still more than willing to bet that she didn’t want to see him, even if it had been well over a year. The decision to break things off back then, and subsequently have the Jets cut her out, was for her. That hadn’t changed, at least not for him.

If they had stayed together, Riff was almost certain that she would have never gone to that university at all.

Roxie had left, and when she did, Riff felt better about his decision. He didn’t see her anymore, so that helped. Without seeing her, it was much easier for him to imagine the brand new life she was having without him. The thought of a happier life for her won over the guilt he felt on the occasional nights he found himself questioning what he’d done.

But now that she had come back, all of the guilt and doubt he’d pushed away were quickly creeping back. To put it bluntly, he didn’t care for it all.

How long was Roxie back for, anyways? It couldn’t be for long. Just long enough to settle whatever affairs the witch of her aunt had. Surely she had some fancy apartment to stay in over by the university, right? Although, she was heading into that apartment complex… if she was staying there, that didn’t seem to be just a temporary living place. What was wrong with her aunt’s apartment?

Something else was bothering him too. Roxie had lost her aunt, the last living relative she had. Riff could easily imagine how she felt, and could commiserate from his own experiences. When he thought back on it, he had always had Tony to fall back on… and her, of course. Did she have anyone to talk to about it all?

There were too many unanswered questions, and he needed answers. Riff doubted his ability to focus on the situation with the shop, not to mention the Sharks, if he didn’t get them. Damn her.

There’d been a reason Riff was hesitant to form attachments to people all his life. Naturally, he was attached to his ma, but she was long gone now. He was attached to Tony, and now he was upstate, far removed from the situation for at least the near future. Then there was Roxie. He’d been attached to her once, and here she was, still proving to be a thorn in his side even after all this time.

For god’s sake, the only attachments that hadn’t come back to bite him in the ass yet were to the Jets.

Speaking of the guys, what would he tell them? They’d probably start asking questions. They’d already caught his stunned reaction in the park earlier. Hell, they may even be discussing it amongst themselves right now.

Riff closed the shop’s books quickly and rose from his chair. As he walked over to the window, he watched the smoke from the factories rising in the distance.

He needed answers. The sooner he got them, the sooner he could clear his head and focus on the more pressing issues at hand.

Riff knew he couldn’t just approach Roxie outright the next time he spotted her on the street. He’d probably give her a fright, and when she recovered from it, she’d probably go right for his neck.

He could have someone hang out by the apartment complex to watch and see if she tended to leave at certain times of the day. Though, the thought of that made him a bit uncomfortable, and god forbid Roxie’s wrath if she found out about it. The poor Jet assigned to that duty could almost guarantee himself a night in the local precinct holding cell.

No, no… he needed an “in”. Someone who she could talk to about everything, first and foremost, of course. But, if that person was willing to give him the inside scoop on Roxie, all the parties would benefit from the arrangement, wouldn’t they?

It couldn’t be him, and it definitely couldn’t be any of the guys. His next thought was naturally Tony, but that wasn’t possible. There was also the fact that Tony wouldn’t have been likely to do it if Riff asked him to, anyways. Tony and Roxie had been close. He and Riff were closer, but Riff didn’t like his odds of keeping it that way if he unnecessarily forced Tony to pick a side on this.

Suddenly, the apartment front door opened, signaling that Snowboy, Gee-Tar, and Diesel had come up for the night.

Then it struck him, the person who’d be the perfect candidate for the job.

——————————————————————————

Nearly a week had passed since Roxie had come back to the West Side.

Her old boss at the factory had given her a job on the evening shift. As a result, she had hours of time to kill during the day before she even had to think about getting ready for work. Now, if only she had somewhere to go during that time… or people to see.

She was in her bedroom reading a book when there was a knock to the front door. Betty was getting ready for work, and hadn’t mentioned that she was expecting anyone. Roxie closed the book, left the bedroom, and walked over to the front door curiously.

Roxie opened the door a crack, and cautiously peered out.

It was Velma.

Roxie was stunned for just a moment before she regained her senses. She shook her head, and began to shut the door.

“Roxie, wait!” Velma pleaded, placing a hand on the door in an effort to keep it open.

Despite her best judgment, and the fact that she knew she could force the door shut if she wanted to, Roxie froze. “Is this some kind of shake-down?” she demanded quietly, mindful of the fact that Betty was still in the apartment.

“No,” Velma assured her, also lowering her voice.

“Some kind of trick, then?” Roxie hissed. “You just wanna get one last laugh at my expense?”

“No, it’s not like that,” Velma insisted fervently. “I just want to talk.”

“Roxie, who is it?” Betty called from behind the closed door of her bedroom.

Roxie glanced over her shoulder nervously. “Just a phonebook salesman!” she called, before looking back at Velma. “Listen, I can’t get into this right now.”

“Fine,” Velma relented, finally dropping her hand from the door. “There’s a new diner two blocks down from Doc’s. Meet me there tomorrow morning at 9 o’clock.” Before Roxie could protest, Velma turned on her heels, and headed down the hallway.

Roxie sighed in frustration and shut the door.

——————————————————————————

Roxie tried not to think about the encounter with Velma throughout the remainder of the day, but failed. She had thought about it throughout her shift. The work tended to be repetitive, and naturally her mind wandered. Even as she was walking home that evening, she still found herself thinking about it. What could Velma possibly want, anyways?

Once Roxie realized just how foolish it was to be distracted so late at night while walking home alone, she quickly came to attention. Her mind still raced, but now it was with every sound her ears picked up.

“Focus, focus, focus,” she repeated the mantra. She took a deep breath, and tried to relax. Just a few more blocks, and 10 minutes at most, she’d be at the apartment, safe and sound.

Then she heard it- the undeniable echoes of footsteps.

She paused, listening carefully, and refused to turn around and look behind her. The footsteps continued for a moment, before stopping.

Roxie let out a shaky sigh as she went through all the possibilities in her mind.

It could be a patrol officer. However, she wasn’t sure why they’d be on foot unless some incident was going on in the area, and she hadn’t seen any flashing lights nearby.

It could be someone else, just walking home from work as well. But, most of the factories in the neighborhood were on one street, and since it was factory work, the shifts almost always ran at the same time. She’d already walked home several nights from work, and no one else on the same shift as her had taken this same way back to their own home.

Roxie didn’t want to dwell too long on what the final, and most probable possibility was. Instead, she picked up her speed, walking in long strides with the utmost haste, and mentally prepared herself to begin running at any given moment.

In the back of her mind, she desperately hoped it was Tony. But that was impossible.

Wait.

She froze, and once again, the steps continued for a moment, before stopping. She waited for several moments in fear, waiting to see if the steps would pick up again and if the person would approach her. It was silent.

Roxie cursed under her breath. Those damn hooligans. Maybe the spontaneous visit from Velma was more than just that. Riff must’ve asked one of the Jets to follow her home.

As Roxie began walking once again, she determined more than ever to simply make it home without having a heart attack from fright, and she contemplated just how she’d express her anger about it to Velma in the morning.

——————————————————————————

The diner was new, like Velma had said. It was very nice- but it didn’t suit the neighborhood. The shiny metal framing on the exterior made the building look like it was from another planet when it was smack dab in the middle of the worn down stone and brick buildings covered in decades-old smoke stains.

When Roxie entered the diner, she saw that Velma had already grabbed a booth. She made her way over to the table and sat down, muttering a “good morning” under her breath. She was still angry about the experience she had the night before, and had barely gotten any sleep because of it.

Roxie didn’t have long to wonder whether Velma would be the first to speak. A waitress came up to their table a second later.

“What can I get ya?” the woman asked, withdrawing a pen and pad of paper from her apron.

“I’ll just have water,” Roxie answered neutrally.

Velma gave her an odd look, but didn’t say anything. She asked the waitress for a coffee, and the woman left.

“Are you going to eat?”

Roxie shrugged. “I don’t exactly have a lot of extra cash right now,” she admitted. Velma didn’t really need to know about her money problems, but if she at least mentioned it, maybe Velma would take the hint and drop it.

“Breakfast is on me, then.”

Roxie shook her head. “Look, I’m not sure what you’re hoping to accomplish with having me meet you here, but you’re not gonna do me any favors by pitying me,” she informed her irritably. She felt her stomach growl, but refused to acknowledge it.

“It’s not pity,” Velma rebutted.  “It’s called making amends.”

Roxie wasn’t quite sure how to respond to this. She sounded sincere, but Roxie still had reservations. “If you’re sure…” she responded carefully, giving Velma the opportunity to change her mind.

“Yes, yes,” Velma confirmed.  She picked up her menu, and analyzed it thoughtfully. “I don’t know about you, but I am absolutely starving,” she commented, and her eyes scanned over the breakfast options quickly.

The waitress dropped off their drinks, and took their food orders. When the woman left again, a silence fell over the pair. Roxie looked at Velma, waiting for her to make the first move. As far as she was concerned, Velma had called this meeting, so she could make the first move.

“I’m sorry for just dropping by your apartment like that,” Velma apologized.

That was a bit unexpected. “How’d you even find out where I live, anyways?” Roxie demanded.

Velma took a sip of her coffee. “Small neighborhood… there are eyes everywhere, you know.”

So, someone had seen her, even before the previous night. With her luck, it was probably the whole gang, and now they all knew where she was staying. Wonderful. Roxie ran a hand over her face tiredly. “And you just… knew which unit I live in?”

Velma shook her head. “No, I ran into your landlord in the lobby. He recognized me, you know. It didn’t take much persuasion to get it out of him.”

Oaf, Roxie thought bitterly to herself. “Alright, well, now you know where I live. That doesn’t explain why you felt the need to stop by, or why you wanted to meet with me here.”

The other woman looked at her for a few moments, and her gaze made Roxie feel a bit uneasy. Eventually, Velma sighed. “Look, Roxie… I read about your aunt in the paper a few weeks ago. I wanted to check on you, and to see how you were doing.”

“What does it matter to you?”

“Because you’re my friend. I worry about you.”

“Friend?” Roxie scoffed in disbelief. “Is that what you’ve been to me?” she asked her rhetorically. “Tell me, Velma, what kind of friend completely abandons the other just because some guy tells her to?” Roxie wasn’t sure if she was referring to Riff or Diesel, but at that point, she didn’t really care

Velma pursed her lips apprehensively. “I deserve that,” she admitted quietly after a moment, before looking down at the table. She wrung her hands nervously, playing with the bracelet on her wrist, and fidgeting with a ring Roxie recalled used to be her mother’s. Eventually, Velma sighed, placed her hands palms down on the table, and forced herself to meet Roxie’s angry stare once again.

“You know, I feel awful about what I did,” Velma confessed. “I let Diesel talk me into it. To tell you the truth, I could tell it didn’t sit right with him at the time, but you know how Diesel is… he’d do anything for Riff. When Riff gave the word, Diesel followed the order.”

Roxie remained silent, though she felt the anger that had to have been showing on her face slowly begin to fade.

“When school got out, and I didn’t even see you in passing anymore, I realized how stupid it all was,” Velma continued. “I tried to fix it, but when you never returned my calls, I knew it was too late.”

Roxie did a double take, not sure she had heard her correctly. “What?”

Velma shrugged. “You know, when I tried to call you last summer?” she prompted. “I tried to get a new number I could reach you at from your aunt, but she wouldn’t give it up. I told her to let you know I had called for you. God, I must’ve left ten messages with that woman, if not more.”

It didn’t take Roxie long to piece together what must have happened. She shook her head, and smiled to herself in disbelief. If her aunt wasn’t above keeping messages from her, what else had she done that Roxie had yet to discover?

While Roxie was lost in her own thoughts, Velma realized on her own what must have happened based on her reaction. “Well…  now I feel a little bit better about why you never returned my calls,” Velma stated sheepishly. She hesitated, as if contemplating what she was about to say next. “Roxie, would it have made a difference though, if you had known that I had at least tried to call you?” she asked meekly, her voice watery.

Roxie sighed, feeling genuinely conflicted. “I… I don’t know,” she replied honestly, watching as Velma wiped away a single tear that had fallen with the back of her hand. After a moment of silence, Roxie added, “But, maybe.”

“I am so sorry, Roxie,” Velma apologized vehemently. “What happened to you was rotten, and I’ll always regret the part I played in it. I know that things can never go back to the way they used to be,” she acknowledged. “But, if you’re willing to give me a chance to prove to you that I can be your friend again… I swear, I’ll take out a loan from the bank just to be able to buy you breakfast every day for the next year.”

Roxie stared at Velma for a few moments, weighing her options. Was she still angry with Velma? Part of her was. Velma had chosen her relationship with Diesel and to save face with Riff at Roxie’s expense, after all. Her apology didn’t make her automatically forgiven, but it was still a nice gesture, and one that she had offered to Roxie of her own accord. She had sought her out just for this purpose. Roxie knew Velma could be spinning a tale about how she had tried to reach out to her, as the story was very convenient, and there wasn’t anyone able to vouch for it besides her. But, Roxie also knew that her aunt keeping messages from her intentionally was not out of the realm of possibility.

Plus, she would be kidding herself if she denied that she’d been lonely.

Roxie sighed heavily, and nodded slowly. “I’m not going to forgive what you did, Velma, and I know I won’t forget it,” she told her seriously. Velma nodded understandingly. “But, I’m willing to give you one more chance to be a friend.”

“You won’t regret it,” Velma assured her, giving her a relieved smile.

“Let’s hope I don’t,” Roxie replied airily. For both our sakes.

“I’ve missed you. Don’t get me wrong, the other girls are great, and we get along fine and everything. But you and me- you were my friend, even without the boys.”

Back in the day, Roxie had also gotten along great with the other girls- Graziella, Gussie, Natalie, and whoever else one of the guys would bring around the rest of the gang. Almost all of them came from other parts of town. For one reason or another, they were on the West Side one day when they ran into their respective Jet. The rest was history. Velma wasn’t like them though. Velma had grown up in the West Side, just like Roxie had. She knew what it took to hack it in the neighborhood. They had a mutual understanding that they would never have with any of the other girls- regardless of the Jets.

“I know what you mean,” Roxie agreed.

Their waitress dropped off their food. Roxie dug in immediately, her hunger quickly becoming more apparent as she started to feel considerably better about her decision.

Velma dug at her food with her fork for a few moments, but did not take a bite. It didn’t go unnoticed by Roxie.

“Was there something else?” she pried.

Velma's smile faltered a bit. “As a sign of good faith,” she began, resting her fork on her plate, “and to prove that I am making our friendship a priority, I do want to be honest with you about the full reason I asked you to meet me.”

Roxie placed her fork down as well, looking at the other woman evenly. “Alright.”

“I was asked to check in on you, and see how you were doing.”

Of course she had been. Roxie laughed once humorlessly, unsure of what to say. She couldn’t believe it- but then again, she could. Riff had an uncanny way of playing these little mind games with her, whether or not he knew what he was doing. Before they got together, they were almost enticing. When they finally got together, they caused arguments on the occasion. Now that they were relatively strangers, Roxie wished he would cut the crap and just bug off. He had made the decision to be done with her. Was he unable to stick to his own guns now for some reason?

“I was already wanting to meet with you, of course,” Velma promised. “But then Riff asked me too as well. I’ll tell him whatever you want me to- even if that is nothing at all.”

“I’m surprised, I would’ve thought he would’ve forgotten who I was a long time ago,” Roxie commented sarcastically.

Velma rolled her eyes disapprovingly. “Come on, Roxie,” she encouraged. “You know he cared about you.”

“Really?” Roxie gasped in mock disbelief. “Well, he had a funny way of showing it.”

“Well, you know guys are... especially our guys. They’re terrible at communicating their feelings. Diesel is god awful at it. I just had to learn what he actually means when he says something else.”

“Riff’s not ‘my guy’ anymore,” Roxie corrected, the words coming out a bit more harshly than she had intended, “ and I’m sure as hell not his girl. He made that very clear.”

“Do you want me to be honest with you?” Velma questioned. Judging by her tone, she was going to offer Roxie her opinion, anyways.

“Sure,” Roxie deadpanned.

“Can you honestly say that you would have even considered going to that university if you had stayed with Riff?” Velma asked.

There it was. The thought had crossed Roxie’s mind a time or two before, but it wasn’t something she enjoyed thinking about at all. “I don’t know,” she responded quietly, looking down at her plate of food.

“Well, for what it’s worth, I don’t think you would have gone,” Velma declared decisively. Roxie shot her a hurt look, and she quickly held her hands up in defense. “You were so loyal to Riff, Roxie,” Velma elaborated. “He wanted you to go and get out of here. I’m sure he thought you wouldn’t have done so unless he forced your hand.”

Roxie hated how much sense Velma was making. She wasn’t entirely sold on the idea- not unless she were to hear it from the horse’s mouth- but, it did make some sense. Or, at least it made more sense than any other reason she’d been able to conjure up over the past year.

“Even if what you said is true, he had no right to make that decision for me,” Roxie asserted, looking up at Velma once again. Whatever Riff’s reasoning had been, her opinion on that would never change.

“Oh, no, I completely agree,” Velma admonished. “But, that’s just my guess about why he did it. I ain’t a shrink.”

Velma finished off her cup of coffee, and politely waved at the waitress for a refill. “So, are you just back for the summer?” she asked then.

The question made Roxie hesitate. “Friends, right?” she asked deliberately.

Velma made a gesture somewhere along the lines of  “cross my heart and hope to die.” “Whatever you say stays between us.”

Roxie couldn’t help it. The isolation she’d been feeling the past few weeks was too much. Roxie told Velma about her aunt first. Then, the conversation naturally turned into one about how her classes went- and how her university scholarship had been revoked.

Velma shook her head disapprovingly. “How are people like us ever supposed to get out of this neighborhood?” she questioned. “As soon as we get a chance, someone throws a wrench in it and we get shipped back like it’s nothing.”

Despite that it was regarding her own situation, Roxie couldn’t help but chuckle at Velma’s description. “I’ve done the math,” Roxie added, “and even now that I’m working my shifts at the factory again, I still won’t have enough saved to pay for tuition in a few months, let alone the few months back rent my aunt owed the landlord.”

Velma gave her a reassuring look. “Well, there’s always the spring semester, right?”

If I’ve still got a place to live by then. Roxie shrugged. Everyone in the neighborhood had money problems; she knew it was redundant to keep complaining about it. “Enough about me,” Roxie insisted. “What have I missed?”

Velma hesitated, but the look in her eye suggested to Roxie that she’d be more than willing to share. “Where do I begin?” she asked herself.

Roxie glanced around, noting that the customers that had been in the booths on either side of theirs were now gone, and their dishes from the meals were piled neatly on the tables. Roxie leaned forward a bit, taking care to speak quietly. “Tell me about the rumble.”

Velma also glanced around, also confirming that they were out of anyone else’s earshot. “What do you want to know?”

“Well, the Egyptian Kings are gone now, right?” Roxie hadn’t seen any of them around.

Velma shrugged. “They’re done causing trouble, if that’s what you mean,” she answered. “I think some of them still live around here… but they haven’t been a problem since the rumble. Tony saw to that.”

“My aunt told me what happened. How’d Grazi take it?” Roxie asked. She remembered how she felt when Riff got locked up for a month. She couldn’t imagine if it had been for a whole year. Poor Grazi. While Roxie had been closest to Velma, she had grown close to Grazi as well. How could she not? Roxie had been with Riff, and Grazi was with Tony.

“Well, she was torn up about it, of course,” Velma answered vaguely. Velma looked as if she wanted to say more, but she suddenly found her cup of coffee very interesting.

“What is it?” Roxie prompted.

“Her and Tony called it off a few days before the rumble.”

“You’re kidding,” Roxie gasped. It was surprising; if the two had ever had problems, at least more than just the occasional couple bickering, they hadn’t let on at all.

Velma still looked like she wanted to say something else.

“Come on, Velma,” Roxie coaxed. “You can tell me. What else is there?”

Velma finally looked up from her cup of coffee. “You should know that Riff and Grazi are…”

“Are… what?”

“They’re sorta seeing each other,” Velma blurted, looking at Roxie apprehensively.

Oh. Roxie took a sip of her water slowly, feeling Velma’s eyes on her. She sat the glass back down calmly.

“Grazi says they’re casual?” Velma offered, clearly hoping that that fact would lessen the blow.

It was surprising. Honestly, it was a bit more surprising to Roxie than the fact that Grazi and Tony had broken up. Riff and Tony were brothers. Now, Grazi was apparently Tony’s ex. Did Tony know about Riff and Grazi? Hopefully he did. Riff would’ve told him, right?

Roxie knew she shouldn’t care about what Riff was doing these days, or who he was seeing, but she couldn’t deny that the thought of it bothered her, even just a little bit.

“I see your mind running a million miles an hour,” Velma observed.

Roxie rolled her eyes to diffuse the tension. “Listen, it’s none of my business.”

“But-”

“I’m fine, Velma,” Roxie assured her, though she couldn’t quite meet the other woman’s eyes. “Riff broke it off with me, remember?” Before Velma could respond, Roxie added, “When’s Tony getting out?”

Thankfully, Velma didn’t push the issue. “Diesel said Riff mentioned something about a few more weeks,” she answered. “It can’t happen soon enough, with how things with the Sharks are escalating.”

Roxie raised an eyebrow at her. “The Sharks?” she repeated a bit louder than she should have.

Velma shushed her immediately, and scanned the area once again, just to make sure no one was too close. Their waitress was across the restaurant, having a chat with the cook in the back through the order window.

“Yes, the Sharks,” Velma confirmed, looking back at her. “The Puerto Ricans.”

“I thought I saw some new faces around the neighborhood.”

“God knows who actually started it, but it's been going on for at least a few weeks now,” Velma sighed tiredly. She looked out the window beside the booth thoughtfully. “You may find this hard to believe, Roxie, but it was actually quiet for a few months there, right after the rumble with Egyptian Kings.”

Velma was right; it was hard to believe. When had things ever been quiet for the Jets? There had almost always been a rival gang to compete with. It was the Bishops first. Hell, the Jets had formed almost purely out of need after that gang first hit the West Side. After the Bishops, it was the Emeralds. Then, it was the Egyptian Kings. Now, apparently it was the Sharks.

“I used to walk home by myself, and I didn’t have to fret over Diesel getting a new injury every week,” Velma continued, looking out the window in almost a dream-like trance. “I remember thinking, and truly starting to believe, that there wouldn’t be any more trouble.”

Velma looked away from the window and back to Roxie. “Then the Puerto Ricans started to move in. Next thing I know, Diesel is warning me about a new gang called the Sharks and telling me that I can’t walk home by myself anymore.”

“Is there going to be another rumble?” Roxie asked, genuinely curious, and admittingly a bit worried.

Velma shrugged. “I hope not, but it feels like I’m watching the same movie, again and again. I’ve seen it several times, and I know how it always ends.”

Roxie knew how it would end, too.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to put a damper on things,” Velma said apologetically. “I hope you’re in the mood for an interesting summer.”

“Oh, I’m sure it will be,” Roxie agreed with a tired but knowing smile. “So, how are you and Diesel?”

Roxie’s belief that the question would cheer Velma up was quickly confirmed. Velma smiled into her cup of coffee as she took another sip. As she sat down the cup on the table, she answered, “Oh, you know…”

“No, I don’t,” Roxie replied with a laugh. “I’ve been gone, remember?”

“Right, right. Well, we’re still together. Though, it was a bit touch and go for a while after his ma kicked him out,” Velma recalled. “But, everything’s fine now. He’s crashing with Riff, and he’s trying to earn some extra cash by helping him out with the shop.”

“The shop?” Roxie asked. “Riff’s uncle’s auto shop?”

“The same. Riff’s uncle moved up north. It’s still in his name, but Riff runs it now and lives in the apartment.”

Roxie remembered when Riff used to work for his uncle at the auto shop a few years ago. She also remembered the awful falling out the two of them had. As a result of the fight, Riff had been kicked out on the streets. Thank god for Tony’s folks, who had let Riff stay with them after that. Roxie tried not to dwell on it too much over the years though, because when she had, she’d been so tempted to storm over to that auto shop and deck the bastard in the face.

It was hard to imagine the old man leaving Riff the shop to run in his stead, but maybe the guy had turned over a new leaf.

“I’m actually supposed to meet Diesel soon,” Velma announced suddenly, breaking Roxie’s train of thoughts. “But I really am glad you took a chance on me, Roxie. I promise I won’t let you down this time.”

“I’m glad I did too,” Roxie admitted.

“If Riff asks, what do you want me to tell him?”

The question threw Roxie off; she’d almost forgotten about that. After taking a moment to recall the scare she’d experienced the previous night, more than a few choice words for him came to mind.

——————————————————————————

It was a relatively calm day in the shop. Since business had been slow, it wasn’t very unusual. It was a bit odd that none of the other Jets had been by, and that there had been no issues with the Sharks, at least no issues that Riff was aware of. Regardless, he’d take the peace and quiet- even if it was just for a day.

Riff, Diesel, Snowboy, and Gee-Tar were giving a group effort to try and solve the transmission problems on a Chevrolet that had been brought in. Snowboy cursed as their third attempt was proven unsuccessful.

“Maybe we should just walk away?” Gee-Tar suggested to the group. “Let’s look at it with fresh eyes later. I could go for an ice cold Coke right about now.”

“I like the way you think,” Snowboy replied with a smile. “Let’s go to Doc’s.” He looked at Riff and Diesel, who were both wiping oil off their hands with spare rags. “You two in?”

Diesel shook his head. “Nah,” he declined, “Velma’s supposed to be meetin’ me here any minute.”

“Ah, buddy boy’s got a date, huh?” Gee-Tar teased with a snicker.

The cold look Diesel shot at Gee-Tar silenced him immediately.

Snowboy cleared his throat, and turned to Riff. “Want anything?”

Riff shook his head. “I’m gonna stick ‘round here. You two go ahead.”

As the two of them watched Gee-Tar and Snowboy head out, Diesel turned to Riff. “Do you mind keeping Velma busy for a few minutes when she gets here?” he asked him. “I’m gonna run upstairs and try to clean up a bit.”

Riff smirked. “Go,” he insisted, gesturing to the loft upstairs.

Diesel quickly bounded up the stairs, and Riff found himself smiling in amusement.

Riff remembered those days, though they seemed so long ago. He remembered how he used to fidget over his appearance in the mirror before a date, and how nervous he felt that he was overlooking some obvious flaw. He knows now that the effort was silly. Roxie had seen him through cuts, bruises, sprains, and the odd fracture or two. She’d never say a word if he had a small hair out of place.

He and Grazi, given their arrangement, had never really gone out on any dates and such… but maybe that would change.

Riff grabbed the pack of cigarettes he left on the workbench, and took one out. He felt around his pockets, trying to recall which one he left his lighter in. He smiled to himself when he finally found it, and lit the cigarette.

“He lost track of time, didn’t he?”

Riff looked towards the open garage door, and spotted Velma standing in the doorway.

“It was a joint effort,” Riff replied honestly, glancing at the Chevrolet. He took a drag of the cigarette as he crossed the shop, coming to a stop a few feet away from her.

Velma nodded understandingly. “I met with Roxie earlier.”.

Riff exhaled the smoke in a rough huff. That was quick. He hoped whoever was above that Velma hadn’t noticed the slip in his cool demeanor. “Oh, yeah?” he asked her then, trying to downplay his enthusiasm. As leaned against the doorway, he added, “What’d she say?”

Velma looked at him with a serious look. “I can’t tell you everything, because I swore to her I wouldn’t,” she informed him matter of factly. “She’s giving me another chance to be her friend again. How would it look if I stabbed her in the back the first chance I got?”

Riff frowned, but he had figured this would probably be Roxie’s reaction. He had taken a chance when he asked Velma to speak with her, and when he did, he knew it was a possibility that Velma would side with her. If he thought about it, he knew he wouldn’t be able to blame either of them. “Alright, what can ya tell me, then?”

“She said that if- and she stressed ‘if’- she decides she wants to see you, she will come to you.”

Riff nodded to himself, and took another drag of his cigarette. That sounded about right; that sounded like Roxie. It still didn’t answer any of his questions, though. “How long is she back for?” he asked then.

The apartment door opening and closing drew the pair’s attention to the landing, where Diesel, now dressed in street wear and looking significantly less greasy, was beginning his descent down the staircase.

“For at least the summer,” Velma answered vaguely as she flashed Diesel a smile. She turned back to Riff, and added, “Look, I really don’t know how much else I should say right now.”

“No, it’s okay, really,” Riff replied. He knew if he pushed the issue, Velma wouldn’t tell him anything else. “I appreciate ya talking to her, I really do,” he told her truthfully. “And… I’m glad she has someone to talk to now, ya know?”

“Just give her some time, boss,” Diesel suggested as he approached. He slung an arm around Velma’s shoulders with ease, and she gave him a kiss on the cheek in response.

“Yeah, yeah.” Riff rolled his eyes in mock disgust at the two. “This stays between us three, right?” he questioned, eyeing the both of them firmly.

“Swear on my Pop’s grave,” Diesel confirmed, elaborating his point with a very dramatic boy scout salute. When Diesel’s hand almost knocked Riff upside the head in his enthusiasm, Riff almost dropped the cigarette.

Riff smacked Diesel’s hand away from his face with his free hand, but he wasn’t too rough. “Get going, you two,” he urged, though he had a smile on his face as he took another drag of his cigarette.

As Diesel started to guide Velma out the garage, she suddenly stopped. “Oh, Riff! I forgot one more thing.”

“Yeah?” Riff asked as he exhaled the smoke.

“She asked you not to have anyone tail her anymore,” Velma told him. “She mentioned she heard someone the other night while she was walking home from work at the factory. If you know what’s best for you, I’d call it off,” she urged. “She was very upset.”

This caught him by surprise. “Right…”

With that, Velma allowed Diesel to lead her away.

Riff remained leaning against the doorframe and smoked the rest of his cigarette in silence. When he was finished, he tapped out the butt, and flicked it away.

As Riff headed back into the shop, the more his head began to turn as he thought about the last thing Velma had said. Something about it didn’t sit right with him at all.

He hadn’t followed Roxie home- hell, he hadn’t even known she worked at the factory again. Anybodys may have acted on their own accord, but he hadn’t asked anyone else to follow her home, either.

Who the hell was following her? 

——————————————————————————

When Roxie finally made it home from work that evening, she felt tired, but otherwise very satisfied. She almost felt happy, but perhaps it was too soon to know for sure. Either way, she wasn’t feeling lucky enough to risk jinxing it.

Her friendship with Velma was on the mend. If Velma kept her word, and if Riff listened to her, she didn’t have to worry about an awkward run-in with him. Most of the Jets wouldn’t make a move without Riff’s word, so they’d probably leave her alone, too.

So what if she was stuck in the West Side for now? That didn’t have to mean she would be inherently miserable, and maybe she could find a way to be able to make the best out of it.

As Roxie moved around her bedroom while getting ready for bed, she realized how warm the room was. If she was lucky, there could be a cool night breeze, despite the heat of the day. She’d gotten lucky with that same idea for a few nights so far. Plus, the unit was on the sixth floor. If anyone noticed the open window and tried to climb the fire escape, she’d hear them immediately, and have plenty of time to shut and lock the window.

Roxie walked over to the window and drew the curtains open.

She involuntarily flinched backwards as her eyes were met with something white. Roxie looked away quickly, trying to will herself to calm down. It’s probably just trash that blew up from the street, she told herself.

Once her heart rate slowed a bit, she looked back up at the window.

It wasn’t trash.

It was a piece of paper, and it was taped to the outside of the window. There was something on it too, written in bright red ink. Roxie forced her feet forward, though she trembled with every step. Hesitantly, she leaned in closer to the window to get a better look at it.

It was a pyramid. “Midnight Tomorrow” was scrawled underneath it.

A/N: Thank you for reading! Hope y’all like the cliffhanger. I’m planning to get the next part out on Sunday. If you enjoyed it, please feel free leave a like. :)

Part 6

Masterlist