#i always thought that it was a strategic thing between them not to tell logan

[thebestandworstdayofjune]

I love the way you write Logan, it's so comforting! Can't wait to see more of your work, it's lovely💗

Idk if this would be your thing so feel free to ignore obviously!

How do you think Logan's dynamic would be with a reader having intense intimacy issues, to the point where they struggle to even think about doing anything more than make out with him? I really haven't found any fic like that and I think that you would a concept like that more than justice

I do see him having some intimacy issues himself (traumatized wet cat💀)

this is so sweet, thank you so much! My brain immediately supplied a list of head canons, I hope that you enjoy <3

~ So I am thinking about Logan from the original trilogy for these in particular ~ He definitely has some intimacy issues, more so on the emotional intimacy side than physical intimacy ~That is, until he meets you. You're a professor at the school, and while he can tell you love the young mutants with a large part of your heart, you remain physically distant from them. When the Youngers ones reach for a hug, you meet them instead with a fist bump or a high five. Never cruel, but always setting your boundary. ~The first time you catch him noticing your habit, you expect him to roll his eyes, or hit you with a judgy side eye. Instead, he quirks his head and resumes what he had previously been doing. ~Eventually, the two of you start spending a lot more time together. He will nudge a cup of coffee your way, and ask after you when you have a headache. He never encroaches on your space, despite being quite touchy with the other faculty.

~You spend a week working up the courage to confront him about it, strategizing the best way to ask for the reassurance you want but have trouble asking for. You expect him to blow you off, but when you knock on his door, he ushers you inside and lets you choose where to sit in the room, choosing his seat to be close enough to show he is invested but far enough away for your comfort. It isn't even a conscious thought for him, it's natural. ~You fumble through your question, doing your best to explain your line of thinking, before eventually just spitting out "do you hate me?" ~He is so shocked that he doesn't know what to say for a few seconds, which only makes your anxiety feel worse. ~He takes a few seconds, collecting his thoughts, and then you can see the typical Logan smirk start sparkling in his eye again. "Sweetheart, it's a little hard to hate the person you're acting a fool over". Your eyes practically bug out of your skull, and he chuckles to himself. He is twitching in his seat, and you can tell he is trying his best to not gather you up in his arms. ~You extend a hand out to him, palm upturned. He takes it instantly. He raises your entwined hands halfway towards his mouth, before meeting your eyes and waiting for your reaction. ~You nod, holding your breath and he drops a kiss on the back of your hand, before adjusting so that he can kiss your palm as well. ~When he hears your heartbeat stutter, he is quick to hold your hand again, resting against his knee. He confirms that you feel the same way, insistent on getting verbal confirmation. Your face feels like it is on fire, but you reply in the affirmative. "We are going to take this as slow as you need. I... I care about you so much, and your comfort always comes before anything else." ~You feel a few tears well up, and he moves to wipe them away as they begin to fall. Again, he pauses before actually making contact with your face, waiting for your gentle nod. ~From that day on, you are even more attached at the hip than before. Logan loves knowing that you are with him for more than his body, and he is constantly making sure that you know how much he values you. ~Overall, I just imagine him being very sweet and understanding and taking it as slow as you need. He is protective of you when you meet new people, often coming in between you and others who are not as considerate as he thinks they should be. Definitely sends his protective instincts into a bit of an overdrive, but you also appreciate having the scary dog privilege when you are out in public as well. People are definitely giving you a wider berth than you are used to. You always feels safe and taken care of with him, which is exactly how he wants it to be

[watchfuldeer]

you dirty little fucking slut

succession 3.02 mass in time of war

[lawbyrhys]

The Logan Paul v. Coffeezilla Lawsuit: Part Two

Here's a situation I never thought I'd be talking about, but here we are! Let's dive on in to Logan Paul's huge defamation suit against Coffeezilla.

Finally, the lawsuit itself! Let's get into all the details of what exactly is going on in this wild case between these two YouTube juggernauts.

By the way, I'll be referring to Coffeezilla as Findeisen in my work about this case because that's his legal last name, and I didn't pass the bar and get a BigLaw job to spend my free time dictating the word "Coffeezilla" into my iPhone as I'm stuck in LA traffic. I'm gonna do it the legit way. Sue me, or don't—you know I'll win. ;)

Check back for updates as the case goes on; I will publish them when I have time to work on them. Let's get into the lawsuit as it stands now.

Logan Paul is the plaintiff in this lawsuit, and he filed the case in the US District Court of the Western District of Texas—Federal Court. Findeisen is based in Texas, while Paul resides in Puerto Rico. The latter made an interesting choice by filing in federal court, as Findeisen can't use the anti-SLAPP laws afforded in Texas and applicable in Texas state court. A SLAPP suit—meaning Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation—essentially means you can't sue your critics into silence or otherwise use your power combined with that of the justice system to intimidate or censor them. This also means the Texas Citizens Participation Act, an act that allows defendants to file to dismiss such a suit that infringes their free speech. Both of these statutes save time and money for the defendant, especially the latter, which would halt the suit before it even enters discovery, but why would Paul want to spare Findeisen any expenses? He doesn't, so he didn't. We can thank the 5th Circuit determined these laws don't apply in federal court; Paul's counsel appears to know the law, so that's something.

Now to the actual lawsuit; like, really this time.

Paul alleges that Findeisen's comments about his CryptoZoo debacle "perpetuates a false narrative that CryptoZoo was a scam orchestrated by Paul," continuing that Findeisen, "knew he was making false statements when he published the videos." All of this started as soon as Findeisen started publishing his commentary content to YouTube in December of 2022. Paul commented at the time, "You led the charge to drive and monetize a narrative telling millions of people that I'm a fraud or I tried to scam my audience. That is patently false." At the time, Paul said Findeisen didn't reach out until December 24th for "the facts," but the latter claims he reached out in October of 2022, ultimately getting no reply. This was enough to get Paul off his back for the timing being, even prompting the would-be crypto mogul to praise the commentator for "bringing [the situation] to light." This wasn't enough of a white flag for Findeisen, though, and he told Paul he'd continue to watch the story and advised the latter that, "the right thing to do here is file refunds; that's what this has always been about."

Since Paul confirmed Findeisen was being truthful, where's the defamation? Besides, Texas has a one-year statute of limitations on libel claims; it's been nearly two years. So, what now?

Shortly thereafter, Paul announced his new "three-step plan" to fix things, and it goes as follows: he would burn his coins so he had no financial interest, offer a rewards program worth $1.5M for disappointed players so they cash in and get out, and finish and deliver the game. Some of his fans weren't happy with that, though, and so they sued him, going into arbitration and being represented by none other than AttorneyTom himself, Tom Kherkher.

Six months after all of this went down, Findeisen tweeted that Paul had blocked him, writing that "Paul is the type of dude to thank you when you expose his scam, then block you when you remind him to pay up." This tweet is the first real example of defamation given by Paul, alleging it as libel per se, or a statement so damaging on its face the plaintiff doesn't need to prove special damages; essentially, it's damaging enough as is.

Understanding what actual defamation means in a court of law—I have made a post about it as a general referential educational tool already—Paul claims that the above statement was damaging to his reputation, saying that "the accusation that Paul operated a financial scam is one that tends to harm his reputation, so as to lower him in the estimation of the community, or deter third persons from associating or dealing with him. The June 29, 2023 X post is libelous per se as it tends to affect Paul and his profession or occupation and accuses Paul of engaging in illegal conduct."

Interesting, though, as Paul's profession does not fall within the realms of development, finance or business, and rather within the social media space, the allegations of libel per se are applied narrowly at best in this situation. Regardless, though, Paul claims Findeisen knew CryptoZoo wasn't a scam, and posting otherwise would lead others to believe differently. Essentially, Paul is casting the blame onto his various business partners in the endeavor while claiming Findeisen's prior research and documentation validates the former in his role as a mere "hoodwinked" victim in all of this, too, but took it too far as the research swung out of Paul's favor and crept into territory that would "intentionally defraud people in order to increase [Findeisen's] own profile by continuing to attack a well-known celebrity."

A glaring issue with this, though, is not only would Paul have a hard time proving concrete damages as a result of Findeisen's claims, but he'd be hard-pressed to prove the latter's characterizations of him untrue, as everything stated by Findeisen was factually based in the reality Paul and his team had created. It's funny that everybody agrees CryptoZoo was a scam, and there's fault to be assumed; the question flying around is, who is actually liable to assume that fault? There's a lot of pointing fingers here.

On June 30, 2023, Findeisen released another video to YouTube, "Logan Paul's Scam Isn't Over," and Paul hit him with a libel per se allegation once again. This is essentially the same as above, with updated claims such as Findeisen's naming of CryptoZoo users as "Paul's victims," and the insinuation of Paul's guilt throughout the June 30 video expose.

Again, the plaintiff's claims here are essentially a reiteration of what is stated above, with Paul claiming Findeisen knew he was promoting false claims in his videos and the latter pointing out that despite Prime's multimillion dollar success, none of Paul's fans had been reimbursed thus far. Paul claims the beef could be squashed if Findeisen reached out to him instead of getting with his manager, while Findeisen says he tried and was met with Paul's criminal defense counsel instead.

The next post will be a continued explanation of this suit, starting with a total breakdown of what Paul's lawyer, Jeffrey Neiman, had to say in response to Findeisen's attempted contact. Important to not here, though, is Neiman "regularly defends individuals and corporations in white collar criminal litigations."

Check back for part three soon. What do you think of this case so far, though? Do you think the defamation allegations are accurate? Whose side are you on? Let me know all your thoughts!

[hageny]

What I took from the dating conversation was that Gerri was trying to be strategic, as always. She very clearly says that she is dating and that that needs to be "understood". Not, "You need to understand that." Obviously she is communicating that to Roman but what I got from it was, "I need everyone to know that I am dating." She is definitely drawing a line, but she is still playing the game as well. If Logan or Frank or Karl ask if anything is going on between them, then can both say, "Of course not," and they would not be lying because Laurie is the proof. Roman might make a joke out of it, but he is her megaphone. She plants that information in him and he spreads it around if it comes up, on top of the fact that it keeps him in check regarding whatever is going on between them. She clearly only sees what she can get out of former DOJ dude and maybe she likes him (though thats unlikely, since we don't even see his face), but we know she likes Roman more. She is being her smart self and as she said, weighing how dating can advance her position (and cover both of their asses). And perhaps Roman got the message too, because he accepted that she went on the date and didn't fuss too much. He teased and then moved on. Perhaps he sees the veil and accepts it, because he has affection for her and knows it is reciprocated to some degree and knows that it's real, so he follows her lead and trusts her moves as well.

This is a great theory and interpretation of the scene as well. I considered whether Laurie would be made known to her coworkers/ seen in the show, but the one hitch in that theory for me was the fact that Gerri is so private that I wonder whether she might really be the sort to tell her coworkers she's dating anyone. Of course, as you point out, she could do it as a last resort, to displace any rumors about herself and Roman. Also, as you said, she is shrewd enough to consider how dating someone powerful might advance her position--she did do about the same thing with Baird, from what we know--and Gerri is certainly manipulative and callous enough to use someone and not feel bad if she's only toying with them (though, of course, she may also enjoy Laurie on some level, enough to tolerate him, anyway). Roman no doubt follows her lead on many things, and it would make sense for him to do so now, given that they're walking a tight rope at this point in trying not to get caught. He's certainly got a wealth of emotional intelligence, but he's not savvy enough to screw her and not get caught. He's not as smart as she is in that way, and plus, Gerri has her experience with Baird to draw on, which is likely a sort of template for how to navigate a relationship at Waystar (and regarding her marriage I am always hoping we find out more). Too, it could be really interesting if Laurie is shown running into her and Roman at a function, and subsequently realizes he and Gerri are not exclusive. I doubt the show will play that angle--that's a little too "Dynasty" probably--but it would be fun to watch. Anyway, thanks for the ask; I always enjoy hearing others' thoughts on Gerri/Roman.

[logically-asexual]

I want to give you your grin

i made this for @loceitweek2021 Day 2: Crook/Aftermath

summary:

After Thomas chose to go to the wedding, Janus has a lot of work for his plans to work out, and that includes getting Logic on his side. Logan currently is constantly being left out. He is trying too hard (and failing) to make himself fit in with the others, so he will try anything to feel useful.

Janus decides to take advantage of this (and Logan's denied feelings for him) to get away with his scheme, but what neither of them expect is actually falling for each other in the process.

warnings: emotional manipulation, Logan is very insecure. let me know if i should add more.

Read on AO3

Chapter 3 (last)

| First | | Previous |

words: 2424

Janus was very satisfied with the progress he had made with Logan, and how the pieces of his plan were falling together. He had everything under control, and now that Thomas was driving back home from the wedding, he was ready for the final act. Something in him felt guilty about pushing Logic away and impersonating him again, but it was indispensable to his plan. Besides, it wasn’t him who was going to shut Logic down, he was just going to wait for an opportunity when the others did.

Janus couldn’t tell whether Logan’s recent support of him was causing the others to embrace Deceit or to reject Logan even more, but, frankly, he didn’t care. It wasn’t his problem, he just had one goal in mind and it was taking advantage of Thomas’ mood today to finally make him listen to reason. If that came with the little side-effect of Logan coming to him later for comfort, well that was just another advantage. It was always amusing to see the stuck-up teacher all emotionally troubled.

“What the f***, everybody?”

That was Thomas. It was showtime.

During the discussion, everything went as he expected. Logan was even showing up with the written support-facts quite often (if Janus had been the one to hint something to spark that idea, for Logan to show up instead of staying out of it, no one had to know). Having spent his time a little closer to Logan in the past weeks also helped Janus improve his impression of him.

He had been ready, and it was all perfect until he pulled Logan with his crook, because he definitely wasn’t prepared for what would happen afterwards.

✩ ✩ ✩

Logan didn’t fully process what happened when Patton pressed the “SKIP” button next to him, not until he felt his back collide with someone, and the pressure on his neck was relieved. It took a minute for him to be able to catch his breath, and to be able to focus on anything other than the pain of the bruise that was surely forming. Once he did, he almost stumbled backwards again, but a steady hand on his shoulder and the chest of the other Side behind him helped him recover his balance.

Still coughing lightly, Logan turned around to see Deceit, who seemed slightly concerned for a moment, before relaxing to a smug expression. The space he was in was pitch black, but with just enough light to illuminate him and Deceit, who was now proudly standing with a tall curve-shaped staff in his hand.

“Logan, darling, how are you doing?”

Logan rolled his eyes at the patronizing tone, and decided to simply turn around and walk away, looking for an exit. However, he was immediately stopped by Deceit’s crook (now on his shoulder), and once again pulled backwards to him.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Deceit’s low voice whispered in his ear.

“Back to work. In case you couldn’t tell, I was in the middle of something.” He pulled himself out of the other’s hold and faced him again, with arms crossed.

“Oh, right, because Patton and Roman are clearly thrilled to take your additions into account, as demonstrated by what just happened before you were brought here.”

“That doesn’t matter, I have to keep trying.”

“You don’t “have” to do anything. Why don’t you-”

“I don’t want to hear your suggestions. I just have to find-” Logan wouldn’t fall for Deceit’s games that easily.

“Find what?”

“Nothing, none of your business. Just let me go and get my work done.”

“You’re going to keep silently displaying information that no one wants to read?”

“No, I-”

“Or are you going to start talking without invitation for them to cut you off again?”

“No, there’s-”

“Or are you going to stay quiet until Patton calls you in and then go against your own values to say something that the others want to hear?” There was that displeased glare again that Logan just couldn’t bear.

“Look, there has to be an answer. I must find the way. I am Logic, I know there is a solution and if I don’t find it through conscientious strategizing at least I will through elimination of everything else that didn’t work!”

Logan moved to escape once again, but Deceit rapidly grabbed him by his arms and slammed him to a nearby wall, previously invisible in the darkness of the room. His hands moved to hold Logan’s shoulders, and another pair pinned his wrists to either side of his body. Logan struggled desperately against him, but to no avail.

“Logan, look at me.”

Logan looked up, but the tears that were building up for his distress made the image unclear.

“You’ll find your place, and how your role fits, but you have to just wait and let it happen.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

“I am not-”

“You are! I know it’s not true, and I know I’ve been in denial all this time, okay? I know it’s hopeless to think I can make myself useful again, and that I really am out of options. I have tried everything; to protest and to comply, to support them and to hold back, to have opinions and to state only facts from Thomas’ memories, to agree with them and... to agree with you, even.” He looked downwards at the gloved hands keeping him stuck, and continued quietly. “It all goes wrong, eventually. The problem is me.”

A fifth hand came to his chin, lifting his face to meet Janus’ gaze.

“Listen,” Janus was choosing his words carefully, “Thomas is changing, because he has to. Of course that will affect all of us, and it will be messy.”

Logan knew that. “But that means I have to-”

“Ah ah ah. As he finds himself again, you will find your own role. But you have to give him time, give him the chance to find the right place for you... hopefully on my team,” he added with a wink. After a pause, he went on, with a deadly serious tone Logan had never heard from him. “This is a change you can’t control, but it’ll pass. I’ll make sure of that.”

He moved the hand previously on his chin to the side, his thumb brushing against Logan’s cheek. Logan leaned into the soft sensation, feeling exposed but understood, in a way he hadn’t felt in years. At that moment he realized how close the two of them were, and how from this distance he could make out hints of yellow swirling in both of Deceit’s irises. Deceit’s eyes seemed to be studying his own just as meticulously while he slowly moved closer.

Janus was running out of time, and he had already missed a part of the conversation with Patton. He really couldn’t miss this opportunity and ruin everything he had planned. But there was something about the way Logan’s teary eyes were staring up at him, wide open and shaken, but so full of trust, that captivated him. So he leaned forward and kissed him without thinking twice.

The kiss wasn’t strong or passionate, Deceit only pressed their mouths together and lingered there. To Logan, it was perfect. Even with the softness of it, he felt almost overwhelmed, but closed his eyes and relaxed into it, and let the warm sensation wash over him for a moment. It quieted his mind in the only satisfying way he could imagine.

Deceit slowly pulled away, and studied his eyes for an instant. Before Logan could even take a breath in, he was gone. He just... disappeared. Logan tried to follow after him, before realizing that both his wrists were tied to the wall behind him.

He attempted to make the bounds disappear but nothing happened, so he tried to physically pull them off, which turned out fruitless, as well. He groaned in frustration. This was part of Deceit’s powers, after all. He could keep any Side hidden or silenced for however long he wanted. Logan just had to wait until whatever Deceit had planned was done or until he was distracted enough to let the effect wear out.

Logan thought that, unlike Roman, he would be immune to it, but the traitorous snake got away with using and taking advantage of his feelings, too.

... What feelings, anyway? What did Logan even feel for Deceit to make him act like this?

He groaned again. Of all the things that could have happened to him, he was left alone with his thoughts for an undetermined amount of time, to confront attraction and other sickening emotions he was apparently feeling but wasn’t previously aware of? Why couldn’t Deceit have left him with the Duke? The torture would have been less painful.

He leaned against the wall, ready to begin figuring things out, and noticed Deceit took his tie with him, too. He was clever, Logan couldn’t lie about that.

✩ ✩ ✩

Despite the unprecedented distraction, Janus carried on with his scheme, disguising as Logan successfully. He had been somewhat worried, because Logan is a lot more than just referencing studies and taking things literally, but lately it was all he showed to the others, so it wasn’t surprising that that was all he needed for the impression.

If everything went well, Patton would finally admit that he was wrong, and allow Thomas to relax, then Deceit could leave them all alone for a while and he wouldn’t have to face Logan.

Except it did not go well.

First, Logan showed up when he was about to reach a breakthrough with Thomas. Janus assumed it would ruin everything, since Logan would call him out for his tricks and derail the conversation, and it was embarrassing to see him either way. To his surprise, however, not only did Logan dodge the topic of what had happened between them, but he also interjected with an argument in Deceit’s favor. Well, kind of. Janus didn’t care about how “altruistic” Thomas could be, but the idea gave strength to Deceit’s proposal of self care, while being balanced enough for Thomas to approve of.

So that was awkward, but ultimately satisfactory.

After that, everything seemed to be going smoothly, up until Roman’s little dramatic episode. And yeah, Janus probably deserved it, but it was still annoying. Whatever, Thomas listened to him in the end and it’s not like he expected Roman, of all Sides, to respect him or his name. Patton or anyone else could deal with the petty Prince later. Once Thomas acknowledged that Janus was right and that he would take time for himself with less guilt and more often, his job was done, and the emotional turmoil left behind was an issue for the emotional Sides to resolve. He had more important matters to attend to.

That was, until Logan showed up unannounced in his room later that night.

Logan didn’t really know what he was doing when he went to Deceit after everyone had calmed down, but he was overthinking and that just wouldn’t be healthy. He had to take action to let out all those thoughts impending his focus.

“So... Janus?”

Janus didn’t look up from the snake he was feeding. “Wrong number, and we’re currently out of service, try again never. Thank you.”

“This is a presencial conversation, I’m not talking on the phon-”

“What did you come here for?”

Logan looked down, fidgeting with his tie. “I... I guess I never thanked you.”

That made Janus glance up. “Thank me?”

“I didn’t want to recognize it, but I have been forcing myself to fit into something that I am not. You are right,-“ Janus would never get tired of hearing that- “we’re all changing, and although I do like it when I can predict how things will happen, for this situation I will have to be patient, and wait until Thomas can make sense of himself, and then make sense of me.” Logan stepped closer to the other Side. “Realizing this lifted a figurative weight off my shoulders that I didn’t know I was carrying. So thank you.”

“So, you’re no longer going to be an exasperating people-pleaser?”

“No,” he chuckled, “you already showed me how distressing taking that to an extreme can be.” Yes, that was definitely what Janus was trying to do, to teach Logan a lesson and totally not to manipulate him to get away with his plans, of course not.

They both stood quietly for a minute, searching for something else to say.

“I guess if you can do it, I have to thank you, too.” Janus, finally said. “For helping me earlier.”

“Ah. I wasn’t trying to help you, really. But I do agree with you, and after having some time to think,” Logan paused for a moment to look accusingly at Janus, who smiled awkwardly, “I remembered reading about effective altruism, and I genuinely thought it was the best choice.”

Maybe Janus underestimated Logan, but he did know he was more valuable than what the others credited him for. “I think so, too.”

Janus still hoped that Logan would be on his side more often, now that they knew it worked well for them, but he couldn’t deny that the concept of Logan confidently debating him was exciting. So far, seeing Logan follow his lead was the best feeling in the world, but perhaps it could be pushed to second place by Logic finally speaking his own mind.

Logan lowered his gaze to the snake in the tank next to them. It was bright yellow, and impressively big. He made a mental note to inquire about it another day, before looking back up when he felt Janus rest a hand on his shoulder.

“We are a good team.”

Logan could tell he was being sincere this time, and smiled up at him, his eyes again open and affectionate. He could let bitterness and anger take over him for how Deceit abandoned him tied up earlier, but if he was already going to be disturbed by strong emotions, it might as well be enjoyable ones. Besides, he had just come to terms with a crush, something he would have never pictured himself doing, so he couldn’t let it go to waste.

Logan reached out to hold Janus’ free hand, and leaned in to kiss him quickly.

Things were far from getting back in order, and there was a lot left to figure out, but at that moment, both of them knew that right here, next to each other, they fit in perfectly.

[bordeleaubeau]

when worlds collide - ryder donovan

chapter one wc: 5167

“and y/n, you’re paired with ryder.” mrs. wilson smiles as she reads off the final pairing of partners, and you can feel the color draining from your face. you turn to your left, looking over a few rows towards where ryder donovan sat. a near stranger right now, but he sure as hell wouldn’t be in a few days. “okay. so i just ask that everyone pairs up with their assigned partner and you sit together, and then i’ll go over the rules, got it?” 

the once silent classroom is then filled with the noises of chairs screeching against the tiled floor. your classmate, juliana who sits next to you, lets out a sigh. “well, good luck with ryder, y/n. you’ve sure hit the jackpot. make sure no girls steal your partner, okay?”

you give her a look as she grabs her book bag, standing up from her desk that was right besides yours. “yeah well, chances are i’m gonna be doing all the work. so yeah, lucky me right?” you roll your eyes. juliana gives you one last pitiful look before she’s off to her partner. 

you’re reaching down to pick up the strap of your book bag, but you glance up and see the blonde headed boy heading over in your direction already. you let your bookbag fall to the floor, and in a few short seconds ryder is taking the spot juliana had once sat in. 

“i’m y/-”

ryder cuts you off, a half smirk on his face. “i know who you are, smarty pants. no need to introduce yourself.” he says, placing his book bag down on his desk. “man, what even is this project.”

and it seems mrs. wilson hears him from across the room. “good question, mr. donovan. so as you’ve observed, i’ve placed you in male to female partnerships for this project. and i know you’ll all probably be ready to kill me after this, but i think it’s going to open your eyes to the real world.” you and ryder are already exchanging nervous glances with each other. “the baby project.” immediately, there are groans from all around the room, and your teacher starts to talk over them. “my job is to basically teach you to stay abstinent. and there’s no better way to teach you than this project. you and your partner will be a couple for the next two weeks - you can be ‘separated,’ ‘divorced,’ whatever you want. but you’re taking care of a child together. you have to maintain the ‘happiness’ of the child whenever he or she may start to cry by using a designated key. but failure to stop the crying after multiple attempts will result in an automatic five percentage deduction from your grade. now, choose between yourselves to decide who comes to pick up your baby.”

you and ryder are both blankly staring at each other, mouths dropped open wide. you’re sure nearly every girl in the class is jealous of you and for reasons you can quite clearly tell. ryder was attractive, smart, and a crazy level of popular. but that’s what you get as your school’s hockey team captain, right?

“uh,” ryder mumbles, eyes glancing down at the pencil he’s fumbling in his hand. “i’ll go pick up, the uh-”

“the doll, ryder. it’s not real. no need to get so spooked out,” you cut him off, letting out a huff as you lean back in the chair. ryder wordlessly nods and gets up from his seat and goes up to the front of the room. 

you’re minding your own business, pulling your phone out of your pocket when you feel a tap on your shoulder. you turn to see keira bradley, the captain of the girl’s lacrosse team. “so, y/n,” she smiles sweetly, placing her hand on your shoulder. you don’t have the heart in you to shrug it off, even if you’ve spoken maybe three words to the girl in all of high school. “cute outfit today! that color blue really brings out your skin tone. well, anyway, i was wondering to you maybe wanna switch part-”

“not happening, keira,” you hear ryder’s voice, and for once you’re grateful for it. keira lets out a huff. “nice try, though.” 

when keira turns back around, you look over at ryder. “what, wanna stick with a partner that’ll end up doing the whole project for you? strategic, donovan. real strategic.” you mumble, leaning back in your seat once again. 

“that’s not what-“ ryder sighs. “i just don’t think we should switch. mrs. wilson gave us our partners for a reason. but anyway, i think we have a girl, and then this is our worksheet for her name and stuff.”

you take the paper from ryder’s grasp, glancing over the questions you have to answer throughout your time with the baby. at the top, you write down yours and ryder’s names, stopping when there’s a spot for your baby’s name. “what do you wanna name her?” 

“uhh, what about, uh just saylor?” ryder looks up at you for approval after his suggestion of the pretty name. you shrug, writing down ‘just saylor’ down on your paper. “oh come on, smart ass,” ryder lets out a laugh, grabbing your pencil and paper away and erasing the ‘just’ you had written. you see his eyes lingering on the last name you had written for your fake baby. “hey, i like that last name.” he smirks, referring to the fact that you had written donovan.

“you did say ‘just saylor,’” you mock ryder, a soft smirk on your face as your eyes go back up to your teacher standing in the front of the room, trying your very hardest at ignoring the blush on your cheeks.

“so!” mrs. wilson exclaims, regaining attention from your class. “i don’t expect you guys to be together twenty-four seven. that’s not realistic as high schoolers. but i’d hope you both put in effort. maybe one of you has the baby one day, the other has it another and you alternate. but you have fourteen days.” ryder sighs, his hand raising and waiting for mrs. wilson to nod in his direction. “yes, ryder.”

“mrs. wilson, i have hockey like, every day. and games. home and away. i’d feel bad leaving y/n to do all of that.” you hate all of the eyes that turn to look at you. normally, you loved mrs. wilson and you looked forward to her class. but right now? you were ready to drop dead. as if the looks from the girls weren’t deadly enough already. they’d kill to be in your position. 

mrs. wilson smiles at you sweetly, and you know you’re in for a treat. “well, miss l/n is a sweet girl. i’m sure she wouldn’t mind going to a few of your games, right y/n?”

you force a smile, “right, mrs. wilson.” 

“but, ryder, i do appreciate your dedication to your team,” mrs. wilson adds on before she looks back up at the clock. “we can end here for the day. if you aren’t familiar with your partner, get to know them. if not, feel free to do whatever with your free time.”

ryder puts your project worksheet in his binder and you put your pencil away, leaving you to simply tap your fingers against your desk seeing as there wasn’t a point in taking out your phone. 

“so,” ryder speaks up pulling your attention away from your desk. “i can have her for the night. we had practice this morning so i can take care of her. and then you can just meet me at my locker tomorrow morning and we can switch off, and then you can go to my game tomorrow night and we can switch. how does that sound?” 

if you’re being honest, you’re skeptical. sure, you’ve talked to ryder here and there throughout your four years of school together, but as ryder got more and more popular the less and less the two of you talked. but you didn’t really have a choice - and you never really did talk in the first place. you didn’t even think he really knew who you were let alone your name.

“yeah, that sounds good. it shouldn’t be a problem.”

ryder gives you a smile just as the bell rings signalling the end of your class. “great. i’ll see you tomorrow morning then, y/n.” ryder picks up the baby carrier your fake doll is in and he slings his bookbag over his shoulder. you watch as he walks out, meeting up with a few of his teammates while you’re left to wallow in the thoughts of what’s going to be the worst two weeks of your life. 

-----------

“so you’re telling me you got paired with the ryder donovan. for a baby project. where he’s literally your baby daddy!” kennedy has no sense of an indoor voice as she basically screams in the cafeteria, her eyes wide and her palms pressed flat down on the table. “y/n! this is huge!” 

you roll your eyes at your best friend as you take a sip from your water. “you’re ridiculous, kenna. you sure you don’t wanna trade places with me? it’s just a project. it’ll be over in two weeks and then he’ll forget i ever even existed.” 

“or! or, you two realize you’re meant to be and you fall in love, just like you were always destined to be.” kennedy lets out a sigh of bliss, her chin resting in the palm of her hand as she gazes past your body with a soft smile on her face. 

“classic ken. hopeless romantic, as per usual,” josie says from beside you. you nod at her before looking back at kennedy who’s now pouting. 

“sorry i’m the optimistic one out of all of us. someone has to be,” the blonde mumbles, ducking her head as she continues to eat her food. 

you let out a sigh. of course you didn’t intend to make her feel bad, but sometimes kennedy got into her own head and made up her own fantasies. you would know, seeing as you had dealt with it since you were eight years old. “kenny, i just don’t wanna get my hopes up. with a boy like ryder, i’m lucky if i even end up as his friend after this whole thing is over. time will tell, alright? but until then, i need you girls with me at his hockey games.” 

kennedy’s eyes widen right away and you smile, knowing you’d get that reaction out of her. “like-like, logan anderson’s games too?” she sputters out, the fork in her hand falling onto the lunch table.

josie cracks up, “he plays on the hockey team, doesn’t he ken? and because he’s ryder’s best friend chances are when we wait for ryder after the game, logan will be with him too, and you can finally make your move.”

“yeah, you’re funny.” kennedy mumbles. “as if i’d ever make a move on logan? you’re funny, jose. really funny.” 

“oh come on, kenny! you two would be adorable. and if your far fetched fantasy of ryder and i getting together comes true, imagine all of the double dates we could go on!” you exclaim, your hand reaching across the wooden lunch table to rest on kennedy’s arm. she finally begins to smile. “there’s that smile!”

“okay, we’ll see, okay? just, it’s logan. i don’t wanna make a fool out of myself.” she admits sheepishly.

josie lets out a sigh, “well we’ll make sure you don’t and you’ll get the boy.”

-----------

later that night, you’re sitting at the kitchen table eating dinner with your mom, dad and your brother, william. “so, honey, how was school?” your mom asks, looking up at you from across the table.

you shrug, “well, i have a baby.” you say straight up, causing both of your parents to nearly start choking on their food. your dad goes to open his mouth to give you a piece of his mind, but you beat him to it. “please don’t freak. it’s a fake baby for my child development class. i’m partnered up with ryder donovan.”

your dad blows out a breath at the mention of ryder’s name, as he was the head coach for denfeld’s hockey team - aka east’s rival school. why you went to east, you couldn’t quite say. “now that’s something,” your father admits, mumbling down towards his plate. “so, tell us more. where’s the baby?”

“we’re doing a rotating schedule with it. he has it one day and then we’ll switch off. speaking of which, ryder needs me to go to their game tomorrow night so when i get the baby tomorrow i can give her to him that night,” you speak, looking at your dad for his reaction. you can’t quite read it.

whenever denfeld played east you always told your dad you were rooting for his team, but in reality you were actually rooting for your school. but you wouldn’t tell him that. but tomorrow night, now you would really have to root for east seeing as you wouldn’t want a grumpy ryder - and logan - after the game.

“well that’s gonna be something,” your little brother, william, spoke up from beside you. “y/n, it’s your turn for dishes tonight, by the way.”

after you finish eating and putting away all the dishes, you go up to your bedroom to see you have a few snapchats from none other than ryder donovan himself. you sit down on your bed and situate yourself before pressing on his name.

‘saylor misses her mommy’ was across one of the photos, where ryder had a forced pout on his face as he held your fake child. another one had ‘she won’t stop crying’ with his hand in the middle of running through his hair. finally there was one of him smiling, ‘just kidding, she finally stopped:)’ across it. 

you snap back a picture of yourself smiling with a thumbs up, ‘you’re a natural dono. if our baby is still in one piece by tomorrow morning i’ll be surprised’.

ryder sends back a photo of his mouth dropped open, ‘not cool, y/n/n. but anyway, what’s your number? it’s easier talking about this over text, not snap.’

you send ryder your phone number, and only a short few seconds later you get a text from an unknown number.

(218)-xxx-xxxx hey it’s ryder 

y/n:  i couldn’t have figured that out on my own or anything

rydes dono:  oh shut up. i just wanted to check up on my baby mama 

y/n:  i am not your baby mama, donovan.

rydes dono: well, you kinda are. anyway, meet me at my locker at 7? you know where it is right?

y/n: how could i miss it, you’ve got your own fan club of girls at your locker every morning.

rydes dono: oh lighten up, they all annoy me anyway. clara is bugging me to shoot around with her, so i’ll talk to you later?

y/n: yeah for sure.

to say the least, you fall asleep with a smile on your face and you pretty much wake up to it still spread across your face. you roll over, turning your alarm off before scrolling through your phone where you see you have a text message from ryder. 

rydes dono: good morning y/n/n, remember, meet me at my locker 

y/n: morning dono. really think i forget? or do you wanna get rid of saylor that bad

rydes dono:  just thought you’d forget.

you roll your eyes with a smile even though ryder can’t see you, and you leave it at that. you throw on a pair of black leggings and a baggy umd quarter zip sherpa along with a pair of low top converse. you grab your bookbag from the corner of your room and start to head downstairs, grabbing your car keys from the island counter in the kitchen.

“william! let’s go!” you yell, and only a mere few seconds later you hear the fifteen year old running down the stairs in the middle of fixing his tie that he had to wear on game day. 

“sorry, sorry,” william mumbles, looking up at your figure where you’re impatiently waiting for him. “okay, let’s go. what are you waiting for?”

you give your little brother a look before he’s following you out of the house and down to your car. you take the short ten minute drive to school, taking a five minute delay to get caribou for yourself and william, not bothering to get any for kennedy and josie as they had almost always gotten caribou for themselves as well.

“excited for tonight?” you ask, glancing over at william at a red light. “it’s your first game playing against dad. how you feelin’, bud?”

william looks up from his phone, his eyes widening slightly. “i’m a little nervous, not gonna lie. there’s a big difference in my game from last season to this season, and i don’t think dad has realized that just yet.”

you nod your head listening to him talk. william had been the hot shot freshman coming up that the entire coaching staff was excited for. william had just been cut short from the varsity team in 8th grade, but worked his butt off the entire summer. after his coach mike randolph at east saw his performance at summer tourneys, the excitement for the incoming freshman was surreal. as much as you hated to say it, they hadn’t been this excited for a freshman since ryder donovan.

“you just gotta kick his ass. and stay humble, too please. i don’t wanna be the girl with the idiotic brother, okay?” you say and william lets out a laugh but he stills nods. you know he would never do anything stupid, but still, it wouldn’t hurt to say anything. 

you pull into your parking spot, and almost immediately william jumps out to meet up with some of his teammates, which of course happen to be upperclassmen since william was the only freshman on the team - or rather, the only freshman that actually got ice time.

“bye y/n! have a good day!” william smiles, waving over his shoulder at you with a smile on his face.

“bye will, have a good day too. i’ll see you tonight at the game, buddy.” you watch as will walks away with his teammates leaving you to walk into the school alone. that was normal for game days, as soon as will saw some of his teammates he was gone. but you were okay with it, seeing as he had made such a close bond with his teammates regardless of how much younger he was.

once you get inside you head towards the senior locker bank, checking your phone to see that it was 6:59, and there wasn’t a single bone in your body that would doubt the fact ryder would give you shit for being even a minute late. you can see his locker even from all the way down the hallway. there’s probably about four girls there this morning, one being keira bradley from your childhood development class.

you have a tight lipped smile on your face as you approach the small group, where ryder, logan and ricky are standing with the girls. as soon as ryder sees you, a smile forms on his face. keira notices the smile and turns over her shoulder, her flirty smile turning into a grim one as she sees you.

“don’t worry, i’m just here for our baby,” you say rather awkwardly, trying to make your way to ryder. “morning, dono.”

“morning, y/n/n. here’s saylor,” ryder says, but then he unzips his bookbag and pulls out a sweatshirt. “and for the game tonight. gotta let everyone know who my baby mama is.” the smirk that’s on his face it lets you know he knows exactly what he’s doing. 

“oh my god, ryder,” you mumble, taking the sweatshirt from his hands with blushing cheeks. “i’ll see you in child dev.”

“see you, y/n/n,” he’s biting his lip slightly after he says it, only adding on to the blush of your cheeks as you walk away, trying to ignore the conversation between him and his friends. 

you walk towards your locker, holding saylor’s carrier in one hand and ryder’s hockey sweatshirt and your coffee in your other hand, that you’re sure has his name and number on the back judging by his comment. when you get to your locker kennedy and josie are already standing there waiting for you, and of course they both have caribou in their hands as well. 

“what is that!” kennedy screeches for way too loud at 7 in the morning, pointing right at ryder’s sweatshirt in your hand. “and why are you blushing!”

you lift your hand to cover your face with the hand that’s holding ryder’s sweatshirt and go towards your locker, only lowering your hand when you have to set the coffee on the top of your locker and placing the baby carrier on the ground. you put in your combo and right before you open it, you show josie and kennedy the back of the sweatshirt, donovan and the number 22 pressed on it.

“no fucking way, y/n,” josie says, reaching out to touch the sweatshirt like it wasn’t real. “do you know what this means, y/n?”

you give josie a weird look, and before you can respond kennedy beats you to it. “y/n/n. logan has told me before ryder doesn’t give anyone his sweatshirts. let alone his team one. or his jersey. are you sure he doesn’t have a crush on you?”

“there is no way he likes me,” you scoff, folding the sweatshirt and placing it in your locker for when you grab it at the end of the day. you grab your binders for your first few classes and put them in your bookbag before shutting it and turning to your best friends that are giving you looks. “what?”

“i think ryder likes you!” kennedy sings, and you’re quick to shush her to shut her up. her mouth closes immediately.

“we don’t need that spreading around, kens. that’s probably the last thing ryder would want, especially when pretty much everyone knows my dad coaches denfeld and i constantly get shit for it.” the three of you then begin to walk towards your respective homerooms.

“speaking of denfeld,” josie smiles, “how’s our secret favorite l/n? is he excited for tonight? nervous?”

you sigh, but there’s a happy smile on your face. “he’s a little bit of both for sure. he’s gonna feel bad no matter what tonight, and there’s gonna be someone that loses. it’s the first time will’s played against our dad’s team, so i guess we’ll just see what happens tonight.”

“something tells me ryder is gonna make sure he has a killer night, y/n/n.” kennedy says. “there’s no way he doesn’t. those two set each other up like, every game. mostly all of ryder’s points are because of william and most of william’s points are because of ryder.”

you shrug as the three of you finally reach your homeroom, “well, we’ll see tonight, yeah? see you at lunch, girls.”

-----------

when you walk into your child development class, the first thing you notice is that ryder is sitting in the desk next to you just like he was before class ended the day prior. it’s like he has a second sense when you walk into the room, and right away he looks up and gives you a smile. you try to bite back your smile as you sit in your seat, setting down your baby carrier down on the tiled floor. 

“how’s she been today? she didn’t give me a lot of trouble last night, only a little bit here and there,” ryder asks, leaning back in his chair and looking over at you.

“she’s been an angel. i think she may be broken,” you joke, glancing down at the baby in your carrier. that’s for the better, too, even if it feels impossible peeling your eyes away from ryder when he’s dressed up for game day and looking as good as he does. 

ryder shoots you a boyish smile, one that nearly makes your stomach do flips and you have to look to the front of the classroom to prevent yourself from blushing. “nah, pretty sure you’re just that good as her mother.”

“ryder donovan, what am i gonna do with you?” you let out a breath as you speak, and you’re practically saved by the bell as mrs. wilson begins to talk after the bell rings.

“good morning guys! hope you all had a good first night being new parents and i hope there weren’t too many complications. does anyone have any questions?” she asks, surveying the room to see if any hands shoot up. she nods when she doesn’t see any. “great. now can we go by group by group and share one thing we learned about your baby? who wants to go first?”

as if he couldn’t be more of a mr. perfect, ryder raises his hand and mrs. wilson nods in his direction. “it’s a pretty good replica of an actual baby and they’re just as sensitive. and rocking them also helps to stop them from crying, it’s not just trying to figure out which key helps with what.”

“very good ryder, that’s spot on.” you even have to say you’re impressed by ryder’s answer, turning to give him an impressed look, in turn you receive a smug smile from him.

you listen as one person from each group that had their baby for the night says what they learned or observed, until finally everyone in the classroom gives their answers. “okay, so here’s the part two to this project.” immediately there’s a few groans coming from around the room. “yeah, i know. but this part is a little bit more fun. because you’re supposed ‘teen parents’ you’re going to have a tighter budget than normal. you have to make do with eight hundred and fifty dollars. all fictional, of course. and make a budget of what you need for your newborn baby. and that includes a stroller, a highchair, a crib, diapers, anything you could possibly need for a baby.”

you and ryder both turn to look at each other. “is she serious right now?” ryder mumbles, glancing up towards mrs. wilson before looking back at you.

“i guess she is.” you sigh, crossing your arms over your chest as mrs. wilson begins to explain the second half of your project.

“do you think it would just be easier if one of us just goes to the other’s house?” ryder leans over to ask you quietly and you shrug. “that’s not a response, y/n.”

“well you always have hockey, donovan. one of us is gonna end up doing this entire portion by themself.” it’s not that you’re blaming ryder and his hockey schedule, because you’re not, it was just a bit annoying that the project was planned during the most hectic sports season at your school.

“i’m sorry, y/n. if we’re away for the weekend and you have her for multiple days i’ll make up for it, i promise,” ryder whispers, noticing the glances mrs. wilson is giving the two of you that’s silently telling you to stop talking. 

“now, let’s talk some extra credit.” all of the ears of the kids who needed a grade boost suddenly perk up, including ryder, who’s eyebrows raise. “you can make a family scrapbook. all you have to do is make a slideshow, put pictures of you and your little family and present it in front of the class if you so choose. like i said, it’s only extra credit and it isn’t necessary, but, it’s definitely a little more fun to do.”

“we’re doing that,” ryder whispers as quietly as he can, leaning in closer than he had before. “i have a high c in here and i need to get it up to a b.” 

you nod your head not risking mrs. wilson giving the two of you another warning look as she finishes explaining everything, which ends up taking up the rest of the class.

“so i’m gonna see you tonight, right?” ryder asks as he slings his bookbag over his shoulder. 

“of course, wouldn’t miss it for the world, donovan,” you smile at him, slinging your own bookbag over your back and picking up your baby carrier. as if on cue, saylor begins to cry and your eyes widen. “rydes.”

ryder turns around at the sound of not only the wail of his name, but also the robotic pre recording cry of the baby. “y/n, just pick her up. have you ever taken care of a child before?”

you sheepishly shake your head. you and william were so close in age you didn’t ever take care of him when he was a baby and you don’t remember him being a baby since you were so young. ryder steps in close to you, picking up saylor and positioning her in your arms. 

“just like that,” ryder mumbles, reaching into the carrier to grab the set of keys that would assist in stopping the crying. “i fed her this morning, so she probably needs a dirty diaper change.” ryder mumbles to himself, grabbing the yellow colored key and holding it over the baby’s chest where the sensor was. and just like that, she stops crying. 

“how are you so good at this?” you whine, placing saylor back in the carrier and covering her with a blanket. ryder shrugs, a shy smile on his face.

“i have four other siblings, y/n. i may be the forgotten middle child, but i picked up a few things with my younger siblings.” ryder says, helping you cover up saylor, your hands brushing over each other’s. the warning bell rings, and that’s when you realize your chances of being late to lunch are now extremely high. you look up at the clock and curse under your breath. “what’s up, y/n/n?”

“just gonna be late to lunch, that’s all. kennedy probably stole my seat,” you roll your eyes, picking up the carrier as the two of you begin to make your way out of the classroom. but your eyes catch mrs. wilson, and the younger teacher grins at you, making you smile shyly with blushing cheeks.

to say the least, she knew what she was doing. 

“lunch? try econ with gates, if i’m late to his class i’m gonna have detention for a week.”

you shrug your shoulders, “better get running then, dono, or your ass is grass.”

“yeah, yeah. i’ll see you tonight, y/n. and you better be wearing my sweatshirt.” ryder says and he begins to walk the other way. “oh, and y/n?” ryder asks, and you turn around to see him walking backwards so he’s facing you. “ don’t forget to tell your dad they’re going down tonight.”

chapter two

[al-pomegranate-seeds]

Warm food and warm hearts

“He wouldn’t say he was anxious. Or, yes, maybe he would say so, but it wasn’t...Bad. It was like when he was a child during Summer’s End, awaiting for father to finish preparing the bonfire so they could eat meat pies and drink hot chocolate with honey (it was one of the only days where he could drink honey besides right before his bedtime), and then mother would dance while holding him in her arms before putting a tiny drunk child to sleep.

Or: Logan's boyfriend invites him to stay the night in his apartment.“

Pairings:Logince, eventual DLAMP.

Urban fanatsy.

Tags: Fluff, First Kiss, a lil bit of angst, trans man!Roman, genderfluid!Logan

Warnings: A whole food discussion.

Characters: Logan Sanders, Roman Sanders, Remus Sanders, Dot(Cartoon Therapy)

Sequel to my fic “The hands they held”(https://al-pomegranate-seeds.tumblr.com/post/635778410466197504/the-hands-they-held-roman-looked-at-the-flower) and second installment in my “Unicia” series.

Archive of our own: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27737170

I

Logan let out a sigh as he closed the glass doors of the shop. Today had been especially taxing, it seemed. More customers than normal had showed up, right on the day when he felt his social battery had started lower than normal, and Roman hadn’t been able to come visit, having three long appointments to start.

Logan could feel his cheeks heat up(and see his glittering reflection on the glass) as he thought about that last one. It felt a bit ridiculous that Roman’s mere one day abstention was a factor in his mental exhaustation, but he couldn’t bring himself to feel bad about it. Roman had truly been a blessing, appearing on the shop’s first day of existing in that specific location, initiating a conversation with Logan and quickly establishing something they had in common. And then the friendship, which was more than Logan ever expected, going on for a approximately seven months of them sharing their interests and listening to each other ramble about things they didn’t necessarily understand, all of this during work breaks and in their respective places of work.

And today, Roman had invited him to spend the night in his apartment.

Logan wasn’t foolish, he didn’t expect them to go very far. Hell, three weeks and a half of dating and they hadn’t even kissed yet! But it was a big step, to be allowed into one’s home. And besides, Remus wouldn’t be there, occupied with some sort of date (“it’s a booty call, nerdy Wolverine”), and they wouldn’t be exchanging soft compliments and hand kisses on neutral ground.

He wouldn’t say he was anxious. Or, yes, maybe he would say so, but it wasn’t...Bad. It was like when he was a child during Summer’s End, awaiting for father to finish preparing the bonfire so they could eat meat pies and drink hot chocolate with honey (it was one of the only days where he could drink honey besides right before his bedtime), and then mother would dance while holding him in her arms before putting a tiny drunk child to sleep. She hadn’t been able to hold him anymore after he hit puberty, but they still danced the night away, drunk on honey and alcohol and love.

So maybe a better word to describe how he was feeling would be that he was excited.

“Oh come on kid, leave the cleaning up to me.” Logan heard mother say behind him. He spinned quickly, and she was smiling at him like she knew something he didn’t. She probably did.

“Absolutely not, I cannot allow you to clean everything up alone – “

“Logan.” She said firmly, and Logan shut up. “You’ve been staring at that damn tattoo parlor for eight minutes. Go see your pretty boy, I’m not too old to clean a damn shop.”

Logan felt his face heating up again, the light of his freckles lighting up mother’s face.

“I – ok. I’ll go. But promise not overexert yourself.”

“Fine, fine, I promise, mother hen.” Logan rolled his eyes, before kissing mother on the cheek and grabbing his bag, going for the backdoor.

When he stepped inside the tattoo parlor, he could see that Roman and Remus were already turning off the lights, Roman’s curly, long, cardinal red hair pulled up in a bun, his tanned skin stained with ink, and Remus’ hair as unkept as always.

Logan wouldn’t ever admit it, but he would always melt when Roman smiled at seeing him.

“My love!” Roman exclaimed, running up to Logan and picking him up only to spin him in the air.

Logan would normally feel awfully embarassed at such a display of affection, but when there was only them and Remus, who might as well be his friend at this point? He couldn’t manage to make himself embarassed enough to reprimand his red haired love.

Love. By the stars, love. They were going awfully quick, weren’t they? He couldn’t bring himself to care.

Roman finally put him down, only to grab his face with both hands and start peppering kisses all over it. Logan was almost drunk enough on the kisses to not notice Roman was following his freckles with his lips.

“This is cute enough to make me want to take my eyes out with a spoon.” Logan heard Remus’ voice, and Roman groaned, dropping his face on Logan’s shoulder. Logan could see Remus was wearing ripped black skinny jeans over fishnets and a bright green crop top.

“Oh, fuck off, go rummage for trash you fucking racoon.”

“I have already rummaged, bitch brother of mine, tonight I get to eat the trash.”

“Oh for the love of the ghosts, I literally hate you so much – “

“Sure, sure, hey Logan, bye Logan, use protection!” Remus said as he walked out of the parlor’s doors, mounting his bike and finally going.

“Fucking trash eating little gremlin.” Roman murmured, before kissing Logan’s shoulder(well, his shirt, but it’s the thought that counts) and raising his head to look at Logan, big smile already back on his face. “So! Are you ready?”

Logan, still flustered by the kisses, simply nodded.

“Alright, my apartment is just up those stairs, you can go up and settle down while I finish closing the shop.” Roman said, before laying a final kiss on Logan’s cheek and walking towards the doors Remus had left unlocked. Logan went up the stairs, face still hot, and as he went to open the door that sat on top of them, he couldn’t help but feeling that awfully warm and fuzzy thing inside his chest when he touched the doorknob (thankfully made out of copper), as it finally hit him that yes, Roman was actually letting him inside his home without caring about what Logan could do while he was absent. If any fairy(specifically the fairies Logan grew up around) had done something like this, it would be seen as foolish, if not downright scandalous.

Logan shook his head before finally opening the door.

The apartment was...Not exactly what Logan was expecting(with the level of average drama between Remus and Roman combined, he almost expected for red theatre curtains, swords, thrones and life sized statues), but he couldn’t deny that it did fit both of the twins.

The first thing Logan noticed was that, while there weren’t any theatre curtains, there was a fair amount of red and green decoration, including but not limited to a golden and red peacock statue and a green hand showing the middle finger statue. The floorplan was open, with a living space decorated in whites and blacks right in front of a tiny kitchen decorated in the same color scheme. It probably wouldn’t fit the two brothers if there weren’t paint stains all over the furniture, along with various papers with drawings that Logan assumed were possible tattoo designs covering the walls and the fridge.

Overall it seemed like Roman and Remus had taken something that wasn’t theirs...And made it theirs.

Logan noticed there was a fireplace sitting adjacent to the couch, and there were small amounts of clutter there, like a bunch of unopened letter, a clear glass chocolate jar, silver and gold jewelry and two wands.

He set his overnight bag on the side of the couch and sit down, analyzing the drawings covering the walls while he waited for Roman.

Aproximately ten minutes later, he heard the door opening and Roman’s voice rambling.

“Well, that’s it, the shop is closed, the equipment is clean, the lights are turned off and – wow, is that a cutie sitting on my couch?”

Logan raised one eyebrow, but Roman kept looking at him expectantly. He simply sighed before saying with a smile “Yes, dear."

“I knew it, my suspicions are confirmed! The most gorgeous being is indeed inside my apartment!”

“Oh you – you are too kind.” Was the only thing Logan could say, still not used to having those exhuberant words directed at him, but not at all displeased by them.

“On the contrary, I am not kind enough!” Was the answer he received, as Roman jumped to sit on his side and grab his face with both hands. “For example, I have yet to tell you how stunning your freckles look today, they look like you were carved out of a giant diamond then strategically painted over with the finest pigments one could find – “

“Oh – Roman.“Was all Logan could say, as he felt his stomach fluttering like it was full of living snap-dragonflies, and Roman’s entire expression went too soft for him to handle. Luckily, Roman bent down to kiss his cheek before Logan had to decide what to do to hide his undoubtedly lovesick expression. The peck on his cheek went on for long enough that he could calm down. Roman looked at him before leaving a final quick kiss on the other cheek and retreating.

“I have vegetable and mushroom pie, butterscotch pie, linean bread, and cinnamon rolls in the shape of a bunny. Do you want to eat before watching the movie or after?”

“I’d like to eat before. It’s hard for me to concentrate on the movie if I am eating.” Logan responded, trying not to get distracted by Roman’s hand on his cheek.

“Ok.” Roman said, before letting go of him and getting up. “ You can go change while I set the table, if you want. The bathroom is that door on the left.”

Logan nodded and got up, going in the direction of the bathrooom as Roman went in the direction of the fridge.

The bathroom was a small, simple one, with slightly off white tiles on the walls and floor, a normal toilet, sink and shower. He set the bag down on the toilet to grab his pajamas, a knee length, dark blue pajamas skirt and a black baggy t-shirt. He put on simple black socks before closing his bag and getting out of the bathroom.

Roman had already set the table, it seemed, as he was getting out of what Logan assumed was his bedroom, finishing the process of putting on a red tank top over white sweatpants.

“Hey.” Roman said, grabbing Logan’s hand and leading him to the small square glass table on the space to the side of the living space, on which was laid out all of the food he had mentioned before. “What do you want?”

“I’ll have the vegetable pie, and I want to try the bread, I’ve never heard of it.”

“Oh, then you’re in for a treat, my love, it’s bread made in Linea, the elf nation I – that is, the elf nation my mother comes from. It’s made with ground lineo and mock-turtle milk, so the texture is different from wheat bread, and it’s savory.”

Logan simply nodded, grabbing butter and spreading it on one of the orange colored slices of bread that had already been cut, before cutting out a slice of the vegetable pie.

He went for the bread first, and it was...Delicious, certainly, but also not what he was accustomed to. The texture was less starchy and more smooth, more, well, damp, than wheat bread. It tasted like a mixture of ground beef, chicken, lentiles, and was almost spicy, the saltless butter balancing out the savory taste.

“This is delicious. I’ll have to introduce you to a dish to thank you for it.”

“Oh hell yeah, I can’t wait to find out what fairies eat.” Roman responded, grabbing a slice of the butterscotch pie and two cinnamon buns. Logan looked at him, amused, before saying:

“Oh, you’ll probably like it, there’s enough sugar in a single meal to rot your teeth. My favorite drink is hot chocolate with strawberry sugar and honey.”

Roman smiled like was planning something, before finally saying “Ah, explains how you’re so sweet then.”

“I – Roman.” Logan responded, slightly out of breath and only able to reach for the other’s hand so he could hold it while eating, just like the day Logan brought him to the shop’s kitchen and they – well, confessed wasn’t exactly the right word. Caught up to each other, that fit better.

“My father used to cook plenty of meat with honey for – well, it wasn’t dinner, exactly, we ate right before going to sleep, it was the only time I was allowed to ingest honey in any way, lest they had to deal with a drunk seven year old that wasn’t going to sleep soon.” Logan smiled softly while allowing his gaze to go unfocused with nostalgia for a few moments. “Now I cook too, and I couldn’t be more grateful for him.”

“Did you grow up around fairies?”

Logan’s smile widened a bit. “Yes. Mother, father and I grew up around my grandmothers, my father’s mothers. They were both fairies, and one of them was my stepgrandmother. We lived in quite a cold location, so the food was always very heavy and full of calories for our bodies to burn. By the moon, I...I miss them so much, I loved them so much.”He smiled softly at his hands, caressing Roman’s wrist, before looking back at him.” What about you, did you grow up around elves?”

Roman’s hand suddenly tightened around Logan’s own, and Logan saw an aprehensive look on his love’s face for about two seconds before he relaxed.

“I...No. Remus and I grew up with my father and stepmother. I don’t...Have the best memories about them, because well...”He trailed off, biting his lip while looking lost in thought.

“You don’t need to tell me, if you don’t want to.” Logan said, squeezing his love’s hand. Roman squeezed back, smiling at him with that besotted smile that still left Logan quite breathless.

“It’s not that, I do want to tell you. Um. Hey, love, did I ever tell you how my birth name isn’t Roman? It’s actually Valerie.”

Logan was startled enough to stop caressing Roman’s hand for about one second before he came back to himself and his task.

“I see. So I take it neither of us is cis?”

Roman let out a shaky breath, before smiling. “Yeah.”

Neither of them had felt like watching the movie, after that, and when Roman put on some romantic Disney songs, Logan couldn’t bring himself to resist the invitation to slow dance in their pajamas in the middle of the living room.

“So this is love, mmm, so this is love...” Roman sang into Logan’s neck, while the fairy traced the lines of a tattoo he had in between his shoulderblades, a red crest that depicted a castle standing before a sea and under a spiral sun. “So this is what makes life divine...”

“I cannot believe I’m the one saying this, but you, sir, are a giant nerd.” Logan said, his voice far too soft to be mocking. He then sighed “Love, huh? We are going awfully fast.”

Roman raised his head, his expression way too worried for the fairy’s taste.

“I don’t intend on stopping it. It’s...Scary, maybe, but I’m nothing but sure in what I feel for you.” Roman looked a little bit like someone had punched, before asking:

“May I kiss you?”

Logan felt like he had been punched, then, punched by how much he loved the man in front of him and wow, he was really head over heels huh.

“You most definitely may.”

The kiss wasn’t how it happened in movies. It wasn’t desperate and full of passion. It was calm and gentle and only warmed up slightly when Logan introduced tongue, and he was almost overwhelmed by how much love he could pouring from Roman and himself.

They kissed until they needed to breathe, and considering the both of them could hold their breath for longer than most species, it took a good two minutes before Logan had to break away with Roman chasing him, only to settle for kissing his neck.

Logan let out a shaky sigh as he felt Roman’s lips leave soft, gentle kisses on his skin, and he simply stood there until Roman was satisfied. When he was, he raised his head, looking at Logan with na aprehensive expression that didn’t fit the occasion.

“I...I hope the neck wasn’t too much. I could stop myself from kissing you as easily as I could stop the sea waves.”

“It was perfectly fine, dear.” Logan said, a little breathless. “But maybe we should go to sleep now. Tonight has been full of...Emotions.”

Roman smiled, before kissing Logan quickly on the lips and pulling him by the hand toward his room.

[sleepless-in-starbucks]

Here, have a free pass to ramble about losleep!! -space anon

LOSLEEP RAMBLING YOU SAY

today’s losleep rambling sponsored by @blinksinbewilderment who gave me a prompt thingy to talk about: prince!Remy and knight!Logan losleep. also she looked it over (which is code speak for I wanted someone to read it while I couldn’t post it and she also did some editing while she read it and I believe in credit where credit’s due)

Warnings because I wrote this while my tumblr was nerfed so it got REAL long: Mentions of war/fighting/blood/injury, (false) belief that a main character is dead, not eating/sleeping, grief, but all and all a happy ending because Me

    -So Remy’s a prince

    -He’s as expected- slacker, not very interested in running a kingdom, mostly messes around in his room and goes between sleeping (rarely) and reading (excessively, since no twitter to scroll through in these times)

    -Logan’s a peasant in one of the towns under the monarchy’s power

    -He wants to be a scholar, but like I said… peasant

    -He can’t afford proper teaching

    -He also can’t read or write

    -He’s very smart, of course, but there’s only so much you can learn from village elders and the such

    -So Logan applies to get proper teaching from royal teachers

    -No one accepts him, of course- he’s a peasant, why would they?

    -He’s hanging around the area near the castle a lot, though, and eventually someone mentions to him that the only job he’d ever get at the castle would be as a guard

    -So Logan figures, hey, at least with that he’d be in proximity of royal teachers and such

    -So he becomes a guard

    -Well

    -Guard in training

    -But, like with everything else, he takes very well to learning the sword

    -And reflexes and fighting and protecting and all of that

    -He ends up at the top of the ranks, tossed in with the group being considered for a new head of guard

    -Head of guard not only organizes the squadrons and their patrols, but is also personal guard to the prince

    -The most recent one was thrown out after being found conspiring against the prince, so this time, the prince himself will be helping to select his head of guard

    -For reasons of trust and such

    -Remy comes mostly before a dozen or so strong men fighting for the right to spend time with him can’t be that bad of a time, right?

    -Logan catches his eye, not just because of his muscles (though that does help) but also for his skill- in his battles, he never has the physical upperhand… but he always wins with the strategical one

    -Remy catches him in between battles, moving and speaking with ease and charm

    -Most of the guards bow easily and greet him warmly, looking to be favored

    -Logan doesn’t

    -His bow and greeting are perfunctory, done of duty and training alone

    -He keeps his eyes on Remy, but they’re bored, and Logan’s stiff. The prince does not excite him, especially not just by existing

    -Remy should be offended

    -But he isn’t

    -He’s… intrigued

    -‘so. looking to be head guard?’

    -‘I’m looking to be whatever you need me to be, my highness’

    -‘well then, would you be looking to be my head guard if I asked you to?’

    -‘of course, your highness’

    -‘and what if I told you to be head guard you had to call me beautiful?’

    -‘then I suppose I wouldn’t be head guard, your highness’

    -Remy just smirks

    -He can work with this

    -So Logan becomes head guard

    -He’s only thrilled a little since being around the castle will likely mean more chances to hear information, to learn more

    -But he’s mostly stuck with the prince who, in his honest opinion, is a moron

    -Prince Remy’s flighty and daydreamy and cares more about his looks and flirting than the kingdom

    -Logan will give him half points for being pretty enough to warrant part of his confidence but that’s about it

    -The problem, however, is that for how much Logan dislikes Remy?

    -Remy just loves him

    -Not romantically though (not yet anyways)

    -But he loves Logan as a person. Loves his stubbornness and his principals and his looks and his muscles and his brain

-Especially his brain! Logan may not know much (or speak much) but when he does, it’s always so… refined, especially for a peasant

-Remy just knows there’s more to him than meets the eye

-So he drags Logan around the castle, walking beside the head guard as he talks endlessly, mostly jokes and flirts and compliments

-Logan mostly ignores him or gives him odd stares, but every once in a while…

-Well

-Seems not even the ‘emotionless’ guard is completely impervious to his charms

-Logan, if asked, would say he is

-(But he’s a liiiiiii-arrrrrrr)

-It all comes to a head three or four weeks after Logan is promoted to head guard

-Remy’s strolling them through a garden

-Logan’s focusing between the flowers and the area past the garden walls, looking for security threats

-That is, at least, until Remy completely catches his attention

-‘And you see, here, the common poppy, also known as the papaver rhoeas, or as I call it, the sleepy bitch flower-’

-‘wait. say that again’

-(no ‘your highness’ because Remy got sick of that within two days. He told Logan to call him ‘Remy’ or any variation of ‘beautiful’ he liked, but Logan seemed content to simply use neither)

-‘sleepy bitch flower?’

-‘no, no- the, the name you called it after ‘common poppy’’

-And Remy tilts his head with some confusion before he repeats the scientific name

-Logan’s eyes light up

-‘how do you know that?’

-‘well… I am a prince. I’ve had an expensive education’

-‘can you-’

-Logan cuts himself off before he can finish his thought, shaking his head mostly to himself and going back to looking for threats

-Because he wanted to know if Remy could teach him, make this worthwhile, let him actually get at that knowledge he had been seeking for as long as he could remember

-But Remy was a highly educated prince. Why would he want to help teach some peasant who’s quick with a sword?

-But Remy isn’t letting this drop

-‘can I what?’

-Logan doesn’t respond. Remy frowns

-‘guard, I’m ordering you to tell me what you were going to say’

-And Logan grimances, because he can’t defy a direct order, as much as he’d like to, so he sighs and finally turns back towards Remy

-‘can you teach me’ he says, lamely, not even a question, really, hoping that Remy won’t respond to it, especially since Logan could already feel his reactions: anger, disgust, maybe amusement as if it were some sort of impossible joke

-That wasn’t his reaction

-Instead, Remy smiled, and tilted his head even further

-‘I’d be happy to, if you really want, hun’

-Logan’s… surprised, to say the least

-‘you… really? No jokes?’

-‘none. swear it on this patch of sleepy bitch flowers’

-So Logan starts getting an education

-Instead of wandering all day long, he and Remy sit down in Remy’s room, where he’ll pull a book at random off the shelf and start teaching Logan from it

-It’s not easy, at first, especially with having to teach Logan how to read and write

-But they do have a lot of time, so eventually, Logan has the alphabet down, and he’s starting to be able to spell all those complicated words he can say with ease

-It’s about two weeks into all the learning that Remy breaks the schedule they had fallen into

-‘y’know, Logan, all this has been fun, but I’m starting to feel a little taken advantage of’

-‘…how so?’

-‘well, babes, I’m teaching you all this stuff, and yet getting nothing in return. I think that’s going to have to change’

-Logan’s not sure what Remy could possibly want from him. He’s just a peasant guard, after all, he has no riches that the crown cannot outmatch with ease. All he really has is himself and… oh

-‘I’m not entirely sure why I would be your first choice for, eh… such, um, matters, your highness, but if that is, eh, what you… require, than, uh, I-’

-Remy raises a hand and silences Logan

-‘firstly, sugar, I think I told you to stop calling me ‘your highness.’ secondly, I was gonna ask you to teach me the ways of the blade or whatever. What were you thinkin’?’

-Logan doesn’t answer, just staring at Remy as his entire face steadily turns a very bright shade of red

-Remy stares back, still confused, until his eyes widen in understanding. His face quickly also becomes red.

-‘…I see. uh, please… please never think that, just uh, never, ever think that again. um. yes’

-So, horrible miscommunication and following insane awkwardness aside, Remy is now getting sword lessons!

-They can only practice at night, however, because Remy’s parents and kingdom are based on a foundation of peace

-The prince should look pretty and be smart and uphold peace, not be weapons training

-But it’s fine, because Remy’s already used to nighttime environments and Logan say it’ll help with his night vision/night fighting, should he ever need it

-So now they’re learning by day, fighting by night, and sleeping during dawn and dusk

-All sounds good, right?

-Well it gets even BETTER

-Because, really, there’s only so much time two pretty gays can spend around each other and remain uninterested in the other

-Helps that Remy’s never been exactly ‘uninterested’

-And that, for all he protests it, Logan has always found an odd sort of charm to Remy’s… Remy-ness

-So things, as they are ought to do, start happening

-Hands brushing more often as Remy passes Logan papers and quills, his smile never changing no matter how many times he saw Logan’s eyes light up as he learned something new, Remy always congratulating Logan on a day well spent in a soft tone matched with a sincere smile

-Remy constantly seeming to need Logan to readjust his grip on his sword, Remy favoring moves that forces him and Logan right beside each other as they trade blows, Remy still stumbling despite being such a quick learner (but he only ever stumbles when Logan can catch him, and he always seems to linger in the soldier’s arms. doesn’t help that Logan lets him)

-The trip back to his sleeping quarters seeming to become more tedious every time Logan has to make it, one time even falling asleep for a minute halfway there, making it easy for Remy to convince him that it’s quicker, and safer, if Logan just shares his bed when it’s time to sleep. to protect him better from attacks twenty-four/seven Remy says

-Because it’s just for protection, really, when Remy curls up against Logan, and Logan wraps his arms around him, just protection to hold him close, because if there’s an attack he’ll be able to get Remy moving as quickly as possible, and like this he’s blocking attackers from getting to the majority of Remy’s torso, which is very important

-It’s also important to be warm

-And to be able to nestle his head on top of Remy’s

-And to listen to Remy mumble in his sleep quietly and nonsensically and yet beautifully

-But that’s still all for protection, clearly, since a warm, talking Remy held close to Logan is a safe, living one

-And those are the only reasons he’s doing any of this

-Clearly

-Things continue like that for a few months

-Fleeting glances, prolonged touches, too much sincerity in what should be harmless flirts and pet-names

-Talk starts up, of course, between the guards and the lords and such

-Talk of the head guard who has a much too close relationship with the prince

-The two of them spend all day with each other, they whisper, and they spend all night out and about doing something, something explicit, likely

-Logan’s not even reporting to the barracks, anymore; stopping by in the mornings to assign their stations for the day, but never for bed, never to sleep

-It doesn’t take a fool to guess where he must be sleeping instead

-Remy and Logan mostly ignore it

-They don’t care, after all

-Logan is still the guard Remy’s chosen and trusts

-Logan still protects Remy, and he would do so with his life if it came to it

-The king and queen, luckily, also don’t mind

-It helps that Remy has made it clear to them, multiple times, that he and Logan are close, yes, but not like that

-They’re just friends, he says, and he’s not lying, even if he almost wished he was

-So they allow it

-But it’s a grim reminder, the day Remy finds a book of royal etiquette left in front of his door, a very specific page marked

-Royals marry Royals or Nobles

-They do not hold relationships with peasants

-And they are never officalized

-Ever

-‘it’s not pertinent information to us’ Logan says when Remy drops it on the table

-‘nope.’ Remy agrees. He smirks at Logan, but it’s slightly more flat than it should be, doesn’t carry the right weight with it. ‘thought if you fall in love with me, let me know’

-Logan smirks back at him, but it’s also flat, also wrong

-‘not a problem’ he says

-But it already is

-But it’s alright

-They’re alright

-They still have their lessons

-Logan still protects Remy (from day to night, and from dusk to dawn)

-Remy’s still… not dead

-So they’re fine

-It’s fine

-Everything’s fine

-Until it isn’t

-There’s an attack from a western nation

-The kingdom’s thrown into war

-And they need soldiers

-When they say that they have to take Logan away for the fight, Remy protests as much as he possibly can

-He needs a head guard! There are plenty of men who can go! Why must it be Logan?

-Because Logan’s a strong fighter. He’s tough. He’s one of the best guards they have. They’ll replace him with five guards, Remy will be safe, they promise

-When Remy spits at them that they know that’s not why he’s upset they just look away from him and say they’re sorry

-It hurts to say goodbye

-Logan tries to tell Remy he’s going to make it back, tries to promise that he’ll return

-Remy just shakes his head and asks him not to

-Because they both know he can’t promise that

-And Remy can’t take that false hope

-So they just say goodbye

-And pretend neither of them want to cry (because they do, but Logan’s a head guard being sent to battle and Remy’s a prince with an image to maintain)

-And Remy pretends he’s just staying by the gate as long as he can see the troops marching off for the fresh air

-And Logan pretends that he just keeps glancing back as long as the castle’s within sight to check that all the men are keeping in file

-The time they spend apart is… hard

-Remy doesn’t sleep as well, the bed colder, and his dreams always nightmares now, bloody and much too realistic

-In the middle of a warzone, Logan isn’t sleeping any better

-Remy has nothing to do with his time anymore, no lessons he can teach or learn, his love for books gone sour without Logan

-Logan is constantly thrown into battles, fighting not necessarily for his life but for the one he had with Remy, fighting to get home

-After six months, Logan is taken captive in battle

-He’s only a prisoner for three days, however- the troop that caught him is unorganized, mostly untrained; his bindings are loose, his guard is easily distracted, and by the nightfall of the third day he’s gone

-But Logan’s injured, a bad leg cut alongside the common scrapes and bruises

-He makes it to a forest near the battle zone, and gets as far into it as he can, because he knows he won’t survive trying to cross the warzone to get back to his squadron

-He makes his way through the forest instead, surviving on plants he knows are edible thanks to his lessons with Remy

-But by the time he gets to the other side… his squadron is gone

-Moved on to a new fight

-And he’s officially MIA

-Back at home, Remy knows none of this

-His parents are getting updates from the war, but they refuse to tell him anything but vague details of general stats

-Remy almost prefers not knowing

-If Logan really was hurt or a prisoner or…

-Well

-Remy’d just rather not know

-At seven months, the nation warring against them offers to establish a peace treaty

-But only on one condition- that Remy is the one to negotiate with them

-It’s clearly a trap, the nation clearly hoping that the inexperienced prince will be a poor negotiator

-But Remy agrees, because he doesn’t care what it takes

-He wants peace

-He wants Logan home

-They meet at a neutral point, beside the road that is between both their territories

-Each bring the same amount of guards, who all station themselves at equal points around the area, to serve not just as protection but also as witnesses to the deal to be made

-Everything goes fine enough at first

-The nation’s king makes a demand, Remy matches with something lower, they come to a compromise and move on

-Remy knows he could probably be bargaining harder, longer, for better peace and better benefits for his kingdom, but he doesn’t care. He just wants this all over with

-Eventually, however, things go south

-The warring king makes too high of a demand, and Remy can’t offer him anything he’ll take

-He gets frustrated by Remy’s offers and he draws his sword

-The warring king shouldn’t even have had the sword on him, not at this meeting of peace, but Remy’s not surprised when he draws it. No one brings a sword to a peace meeting and doesn’t use it

-His parents hadn’t allowed him to bring his own, but that’s alright

-Logan had known he’d never be given a sword

-So it’s more instinct than thought when he reaches over and steals the sword of the guard beside him, the move one he had practiced many a time before

-He takes a single step back as he does, avoiding the jab the warring king makes at him with ease

-It’s three slashes to get the king’s balance thrown off, the sword thrown behind him and barely in his grip

-Remy turns to the side just enough to elbow the king in the chest, hard

-The king stumbles, falling, his sword fully slipping out of his grasp and sliding across the ground

-Remy puts a foot on the king’s chest, presses the tip of his blade to the base of his throat

-None of the guards move

-It is clear that the battle started is a problem of the negotiators, not them

-Remy leans down, putting more weight on the king’s chest as he does so, sword tipping moving up to rest uncomfortably close against the top of his neck, just below his chin

-‘this war ends tonight’ he says, voice low and and serious and deadly. ‘the only choice you have left in the matter is whether or not I seal the peace treaty with your blood’

-The king agrees to a peace treaty that easily favors Remy’s kingdom by an insane degree, but he does walk away with his life, so it balances out in the end

-The troops and soldiers and guards come home

-Remy is ecstatic

-Ecstatic until it’s been two hours of men straggling home and nowhere amongst them is Logan

-His parents eventually pull him aside and tell him the truth

-Logan’s been missing for a month and a half, last heard of as being a prisoner to the other side

-He’s assumed KIA, but officially he’s just MIA

-Remy’s… well, Remy’s a lot of things

-Angry, at first, that they never told him, that he didn’t have a chance to force a peace earlier, to find a way to help him sooner

-Then desperate, talking to every soldier he can, hoping for any hint, any information, anything that might lead him to Logan, to even lead him to believe he’s still alive

-But no one has any good information, nothing to put him at ease, nothing to help him, only to hurt him even more

-So then he’s just… well, sad isn’t quite it

-He feels more numb

-Empty

-As much as it hurt to exist away from Logan, it hurts even worse to be forced to exist without him, likely forever without him

-He no longer has nightmares, but he doesn’t dream, either, just sleeping and waking and barely recognizing the gap in time

-Remy wanders the palace, because there’s nothing else to do, and sitting still just makes the void in his stomach settle in place and hurt worse, so he keeps walking, endlessly in circles with little regard for how long he does for any stretch of time

-It’s been two weeks since the soldiers returned home

-Remy’s out in the garden

-It’s late, but what does he care?

-Day, night, light, dark… it doesn’t matter anymore

-None of them have Logan in them

-So he’s in the garden, wandering past the flowers and plants with very little care

-He stops by the patch of poppies, still alive and blooming even though it’s been roughly a year since Logan asked Remy to teach him

-He brushes his fingers against them

-‘Common poppies’ he says, because Logan liked it when he’d list the plants and flowers and their names, common and scientific, because it was knowledge and learning and Remy loved it too because his eyes would always light up and-

-‘Common poppies’ he repeats, voice now sounding choked as he fights back tears, ‘also known as papa- as papaver rhoeas’ he manages, and he’s stumbling over the words and the pronunciations are wrong but that’s okay, really, it’s not like anyone cares now, especially not now that- that-

-‘I think I prefer to call them sleepy bitch flowers’

-Remy turns so fast his vision blurs (which might also have to do with the lack of sleep and his non-existent appetite and the tears he’s one hundred percent sure are in his eyes and running down his face)

-He almost doesn’t believe his eyes

-But that tone? That reference? That voice?

-Remy knows it even before he sees him standing there, in the middle of the garden, looking dirty and tired but alive, oh so very alive

-It’s Logan

-He’s next to him before either of them can so much as blink, holding Logan’s face in both of his hands, looking him over

-‘Are you alright?’ he asks, because that’s what matters first, matters now that he’s here and with him

-‘More than’ Logan answers. He’s tired, yes, and there’s still a healing scar on his leg, but it’s been two months and he knows how to take care of himself, knew how to get what he needed as he fought his way home, giving up on finding his troops and instead focused on finding his way back to Remy, on finding his way back home

-And now that he’s here, now that he is home… he’s almost certain he could fly

-Remy nods to himself, glancing over Logan again, finding him dirty and ragged and a little bloody but he really is okay, really is alright, and he looks back up, finally, looks in those crystal blue eyes that he’s been missing for too long, and it’s not a choice so much as a need when he pulls Logan forward and kisses him

-It lasts for a mere second, Remy pulling back almost immediately after he moved forwards

-They pause, looking at each other, eyes wide, both surprised

-And then they kissed again

-It lasts longer this time, like it’s meant to, the kiss filled with desperation and fear as if the other will suddenly disappear again, as if this isn’t the beginning of their forever but instead the end of it

-But it’s also filled with hope, with hope and promise and love, filled with every bit of wishful thinking and misplaced hope that they had throughout it all, all of it building up to one thing, to one moment- this one, right here, right now

-When they pull away this time, they’re breathless

-Logan’s hands had moved to hold Remy’s waist, while Remy’s still cradling Logan’s face, and even when they pull away they press their foreheads together because they just can’t let there be space between them not now, and likely not for a long time

-‘I’m going to marry you’ Remy promises, fervently, and maybe hastily, but he really can’t bring himself to care at all

-Logan laughs, and it’s watery but it’s genuine, ‘I don’t think you can do that’

-‘Don’t care. I’m going to marry you and make you my king and you’re never going to get sent away to any stupid war ever, ever again and I’m not going to- I’m never going to lo- to lose you again because I- I can’t-’

-Logan’s arms slip from their place at Remy’s hips to wrap around his back instead, holding him close as Remy sobbed into his shoulder, and Logan cried too, Remy’s arms moving to hold Logan too

-They stayed like that for several minutes, holding each other and crying, every once in a while murmuring something, sometimes a promise or partial sentence but mostly just the other’s name

-Eventually they start to sag even more heavily against each other, Logan tired from his journeys and the remnants of his injuries, Remy tired from sleepless nights and feeling so empty for so long

-They stumble to Remy’s room, to Remy’s bed, to their bed, still holding each other even as they fall onto it, curling into each other as they get comfortable

-In the morning, Remy will call the court doctor and make sure Logan’s truly okay, and wrap and bind and take care of whatever they need to

-They’ll then go to face Remy’s parents, together, still holding each other, as Remy declares he’s going to marry him, regardless of what they say or think

-His parents will protest it for a moment, but not long

-And they’ll begin the wedding preparations as soon as possible

-But for now, they’ll sleep, holding each other close, finally warm, finally close, finally whole again

[lycanthrop-ee]

Sires and Sons

Chapter 4 of ?

First chapter, previous chapter

A/N: I definitely missed the right day for this one, but the last week hardly even happened and time is an illusion so whatever! Anyway this chapter’s full of Lore and a Twist so have fun losers /j

Synopsis: When the twins split two years ago, Janus was tasked with raising Remus. His only help was the evasive and sullen Virgil- who he already had to wrangle like a stray teenager. The endless days in the Dark Side’s Mindpalace were broken only by monthly catch-ups with Patton, and the only thing that ever changed the stories that Janus used to get Remus to bed. This time, though, something was different: secrets were slipping through Janus’ lips- and past the divide between Dark and Light.

Ships: Moceit (probably just bg but I don’t actually know can you tell I’m a professional-)

Word count: 1122

That afternoon, after Logan and Patton had left- without Virgil- Janus faced a thousand questions at the tiny hands of Remus. 

“Who were they? Where’d they come from? What were they doing here? Are they the ones you go on work meetings with? I thought there was only one? I know you like him!”

Virgil was no help- he’d shut himself in his room the moment he’d been let off of Remus duty. Janus knew he should check on the dreary side, but the leftover frustration from the earlier argument still fizzled in his chest, snapping at anyone who dared to set him off- and it had found an easy victim in Virgil.

Janus sat his kid on the stiff couch.

“Remus. Let me answer.” 

“Why were you angry at them? Why’s Virgil angry at you? Who should I be angry at- am I supposed to be mad at you, Jan? I can do that, watch-” The side twisted their face into a scowl. Janus sighed.

“Remus.” 

“I don’t like that tone, Mister!” 

“Remus.”

The kid’s face fell like a kicked puppy’s, but Janus didn’t relent. “Listen to me,” He stressed. “You’re being immature.”

Remus scowled for real this time. 

“Well, what if I don’t wanna hear what you were gonna say anyways!? Cause I don’t if you’re gonna be mean.”

Janus gritted his teeth, forcing the irritation nipping at him to still. He apologized to Remus, trying to think of a way to make Remus actually focus. He sighed as he fell on the only answer.

“Before the Light Side was a stable, loving kingdom, when King Thomas was just a Prince- there was turmoil.” Remus, as much as he tried not to show it, was interested. “The Prince had six royal helpers. The baker, the archivist, the advisor, the prophet, and the inventor.

“Of course, back then, life was a game. They were children, you see, and had given themselves fancy names and titles- but at that age, in that environment… it’s easy to get lost in the story. 

“The first two children you know- the archivist was one day to become the advisor, and the baker stayed true throughout the years.

 “The prophet was quiet as a mouse, creeping about as though he had already lost his seat at the table. When the others asked for his input, he was always surprised. He pointed out every possible outcome, turned over stones to see what malicious grubs crawled underneath. He brought the game to truth, added pressure until the scale tipped into fear- Prince Thomas grew to live in the future, trying to solve the kingdom’s problems as though the responsibility already belonged solely to him.

“The advisor of their time had a mastery of strategization, especially navigating the give and take between rulers to keep balance between kingdoms. He knew-”

“Why is everyone in your stories a he?”

“...”

“Jus’ seems kinda bias to me, that’s all.”

“...He knew what time and supplies they could bear to part with for the benefit of others, but he also kept in mind the limits of the kingdom, the needs that must be met to keep their own people strong. The Prince, however, always kind, often vetoed the advisor’s calculations in favor of giving more than they should. The pâtissier believed, in his unwavering efforts of peacemaking inside the castle and out, that their supplies and strengths were best given away. 

“Thomas had a strong platonic relationship with the bubbly pâtissier already, and thus trusted his judgment more than his advisor’s. Because his own nature agreed with the pâtissier’s as well, he found less and less of himself urging to consult his advisor in times of division. 

“His archivist, too, he found trust in- each time he chanced a meeting with the boy in the royal library, he would answer any question the Prince could think to ask with nothing but unbiased fact. Thomas would eventually find his way into the man’s affections- as happened often with the kind Prince- and once he was close enough to see his vulnerabilities and opinions he found they quite matched up to his own. From then on the archivist was his true, unofficial advisor, and the previous was pushed to the side by the Prince’s altruistic morals.

“His closest friend, though, was the inventor. Excitable and imaginative, he helped the Prince think outside the box, push past the politics of a situation to find the beating, bloody heart of the humanity he was trying to protect. He was brave and daring, and had no qualms like that of the pâtissier’s about going too far. As the Prince’s dilemmas grew more complex, however, the inventor’s habit of flitting from opinion to opinion made him unpredictable and sometimes rash. 

“The Prince stayed up each night debating and worrying, pushed by the prophet into urgency and almost never reaching a singular conclusion- every debate turned to an argument at the hands of their many differences. The archivist and the pâtissier watched as the endless battle to form opinions, ideas, and solutions spiraled, the lack of sleep effecting every facet of his life- his childhood, really- and soon found that something had to be done about it. 

“They decided to narrow down the amount of helpers in the Prince’s court, lest the goal of assistance be lost in numbers. What they failed to take into notice was that the true plague was but a bacterial dissonance, not an infectious wrongdoing.” Remus’ face was scrunched up in effort, and Janus dialled back on the long words. “The personalities and flaws in the Prince’s court weren’t the underlying issue. It was the unwillingness of some to see the perspective of others that drew them apart,” he remedied. 

“The pâtissier and the archivist, however, couldn’t see that. They held counsel with Prince Thomas and ruled that some of his attachments were doing more harm than good- that some of them were infectious, that they’d only spread their illness to those around them. They ruled that some of his friends had to be sent away.

And that is the story of how the archivist became the advisor, and of how the prophet’s chair at the table was finally pulled away.

The inventor, however, stumped the pâtissier. While he was brave and powerful, he wasn’t as guarded as the others thought he should be. He had been unchanged by the pressure to conform, and the advisor was afraid that his lack of a polite filter could influence Prince Thomas, something that they saw as potentially catastrophic to his political stance. 

Finally, they raised the problem with the inventor himself- and he had an out-of-the-box, unfiltered idea. Ironic, really, that they took him up on it.”

TAG LIST

@dolphin-squirrel, @thenaiads

[need-a-fugue]

We Grow Together (4)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x OFC

Summary: Relationships can be tough, especially when one person is a recovering-from-being-brainwashed-and-tortured former assassin and the other is an overworked mutant scientist. But hey, every couple has their struggles. Right?

Warning(s): some angst, some emotional and mental turmoil… some bad language words… much fluff

Chapter Summary: Rescuing hostages from a cartel stronghold deep in hostile territory... what could possibly go wrong?

The debrief only lasts about an hour, the plan seeming fairly simple. “It’s a basic hostile extraction,” Steve tells them all, as though that’s supposed to mean something to her.

She raises her hand. “Non-military personnel requesting clarification, sir,” she says with more than a hint of sarcasm.

He rolls his eyes rather dramatically. “We go in, fight the bad guys, and get the family out.”

“Yeah,” she drawls. “I kind of assumed that was the plan. What do you guys do in here for hours on end if it’s not planning a mission? Are you just hiding away, playing Call of Duty or something?”

“I don’t know what that means,” Steve tells her as he starts to pull up multiple screens at once.

The center of the table is alight with various holograms when Bucky leans over and whispers to her, “Stevie’s very thorough. If a plan is what you want…” He leans back and indicates the satellite images and redacted official files on display before them.

As it turns out very thorough is a bit of an understatement. The hour they spend going over mission details is very possibly the most chock-full-of-information-she’ll-never-remember hour of Tessa’s life. And she went to medical school. But everyone seemed to at least have an idea of what they needed to.

The missions she’d done with the X-Men – and frankly it feels wrong to refer to them as missions as they always seemed more like random pop-up battles or peace-keeping initiatives – were very different from this. For one thing, their mission planning sessions usually consisted of Logan and Scott arguing about the best way to get there as everyone else watched in annoyance. Winging it was more their style. Maybe it was because they had powers that, for the most part, were difficult to counter. Maybe it was just because none of them had ever been in the military, let alone led soldiers into battle. Whatever the reason, the fighting style that had been bred into her stood out in rather stark contrast to that of her current cohorts.

“Here,” Bucky utters absently as he hands her a 9mm. He’d been loading every nook and cranny of his suit with weapons while Tessa stood nearby, leaning on the wall of the jet, waiting not-so-patiently for them to get the show on the road.

She glances down at the gun in his hand, but makes no move to take it, her arms still crossed over her chest. “No thank you,” she says simply.

He seals up a hidden pocket near his ankle where he just tucked away another small dagger before turning to face her with a confused look. “What do you mean no thank you?”

She pushes off of the wall as Sam sneaks by and she can’t help but check out his flashy new wings. Tony just can’t stop himself from innovating and upgrading everything that the team uses. It almost makes her wish she went into engineering or robotics instead of medicine. “Hm?” she mutters, turning her attention back to Bucky. “Oh, yeah. I don’t need that.”

“Yes you do,” he says definitively as he takes hold of her hand and places the handgun in it.

She turns it over in her hand, gives it a little bounce to feel the weight of it. “I really don’t,” she says shaking her head and extending her hand back out to him. “It’s heavy,” she says absently, holding it out for him to take.

“It’s a 9-mil,” he says confusedly.

“Okay.”

“You’ve never held a 9-mil before?” he asks her, as though everyone in the world has surely used a gun at one time or another.

“A 9-mil? No.” She reaches out and takes his metal hand, deposits the gun into it just as he had done to her a moment before. “I’ve never held any gun before.”

Sam’s the one who speaks next, whipping around to face her. “You’ve never held a gun before?” He turns to find Steve, who’s up in the cockpit, punching in coordinates. “Steve!” he calls out. “Do you hear this?”

“You can’t be serious,” Bucky says, voice low and disbelieving, mouth agape.

She shifts her stance and pulls at the tight almost leather-like fabric of her suit as it suctions to her shoulder. “No, actually, I did go skeet shooting once. I think. Maybe I dreamt that…” Her thoughts begin to wander as she snakes her hand down in between the suit and the top of her shoulder. “Flame retardant is nice, but he could’ve made this a little bit more… malleable,” she mutters to herself. The suit makes a slight popping sound as her fingers work beneath the fabric. “Is it too tight?” she asks Bucky. “It feels tight.”

He simply continues to stare at her, dumfounded.

“Steve,” Sam starts as the captain makes his way over. “She doesn’t know how to fire a weapon,” he says, voice more serious than she’s ever heard it. “Did you know that?”

“She’s fine. She doesn’t need a weapon,” he tells Sam, slapping him on the shoulder. “Now, if we’re all geared up, let’s do this.”

Tessa moves to take a seat as Steve heads back to the cockpit. Sam and Bucky are left lingering in the back, matching looks of horror on their faces. “But,” Sam murmurs, “She doesn’t have any gear.”

                                             000

The group moves in under the cover of darkness, dense tropical forest flanking the compound on every side. Bucky is able to rather quickly find a safe spot on higher ground where he can see over the walls and into the courtyard. He sets up two high-powered rifles, just in case.

Sam sets out to do some recon, but he’s limited on how lose he can get as floodlights are strategically placed at every corner of the compound. “I can’t get a great view,” he says, his voice filtering through their earpieces. “But if the layout’s the same as what was in the plans, then you two need to head for the southeast corner. It should be easier to get over the wall there.”

“Negative,” Bucky replies as he scans the area with his scope. “I’m blind to that corner.”

“I thought you found a good spot.”

“I did find a good spot. You’re choosing the one area blocked by overgrowth.” The very clear annoyance in his voice makes Tessa chuckle despite herself.

“Sam,” Steve pipes up, “If we head in through there, do we have a clear path to the hostages?” The hostages should be in a small interior room just off of the main kitchen, which is buried at the very center of the compound.

“I can’t tell for sure,” he says, dialing into the new tech in his visor as he goes in for another flyby. He can’t see actual bodies from the angle he’s forced to fly at, not with the way the roofs meet. So he switches over to infrared to search out heat signatures.

“I don’t like this,” Bucky mumbles across the comms.

“You worry too much,” Tessa says as she carefully navigates the terrain just behind Steve, methodically stepping into the giant footprints he leaves in the soil.

“Yeah, man,” Sam lets out. “They’ve got this.”

An odd grumbling sounds through the earpieces, and Steve and Tessa share a quick look and a laugh. “How long you think it’ll be before he shoots Sam down?” Steve asks.

“Five minutes, tops.”

“You know I can hear you, right?” Sam questions as he swoops down just above them.

“Try not to antagonize the sniper,” Steve says, his voice returning to the all-business captain. “What do you see?”

“You should be good,” Sam tells them. “Two guards at the corner. Take them out and you’ve got a clean path to the courtyard.”

“That courtyard’s filthy with hostiles,” Bucky intones, his voice calm and low as he continues his monitoring. “Even if we can distract some of them, you’ll still probably have to fight your way through. I’ll take out as many as I can when you come up.”

“Only take someone out if you have to,” Steve directs. “No unnecessary causalities.

“Steve,” he argues, words brimming with irritation, “There are at least fifteen guys in there and they’re all packing heat. Mostly Kalashnikovs, but I see at least two Uzis. Uzis, Steve. They’re not gonna let you just punch your way through.”

“Just use discretion,” he tells him in a huff. Then, “We’re moving in.”

The plan is to get in and out in no more than five minutes. Ideally, unseen, but unless they can manage a distraction big enough to get everyone out of the courtyard surrounding the house, and also clear out the house itself, that was unlikely to happen. That being said, a distraction of some sort is exactly what they need.

Sam sets down just outside of the exterior wall on the north end of the compound. He hunkers down next to some trees, just far enough away from the floodlights to remain cloaked in darkness. “I’m ready when you are,” he says.

“I feel like I’m going to regret this,” Tessa mumbles as she commando crawls to the compound. Between the black suit and her dark hair, she’s pretty well hidden. But in addition to the two guards inside the wall at this corner, there are two armed men patrolling from a balcony that runs around the third floor. If the light hits her right as one of them glances down, it’s all over.

“Don’t worry,” Steve says through the comms, still hanging back in the trees as she snakes closer. “I’ll be gentle.” There’s an unmistakably playful quality to his voice, and it in no way eases her concerns.

“I’ve heard that before,” she whispers, positioning herself about two feet out from the wall.

“Hold,” Bucky mutters as he keeps watch on the guards in the balcony. The moment they disappear around the southwest corner, he says simply, “Go.”

Tessa pulls herself up into a tabletop position and Steve sets off at a full run from the tree line. She closes her eyes and braces herself, and a small terrified squeak resounds through the comms as Steve zooms in. He bounds off her back, using the step she provides as leverage to make it to the top of the wall. He lands like a ninja, completely silent, and neither of the two guards below look up.

He’s just out of the light, but the men on the balcony will easily be able to pick him up – and pick him off – when they come back around the corner, so he’s got to move fast. He leans down over the wall, extending his hand as low as it’ll go and he nods at Tessa. She’s already about twenty feet back, readying herself to run full speed and at least try for a flying leap. She manages to get just high enough to grab onto his fingertips, but her feet lose purchase and quickly slide off the wall.

Steve’s grip is solid. He grasps her hand, holding tight, even as her body slams into the wall. He cringes and tosses a glance back behind him to see if the guards heard anything. But the wall is so solid that her relatively small frame barely made a sound in the collision. He hauls her up and takes just a second to steady her on the wall before finding his target. He drops down on top of one of the guards and puts him in a sleeper hold. The other turns to him, gun raised and ready to fire.

Without warning, the man drops. His body going limp and collapsing to the ground as though all the energy had just been drained from it. Steve looks up at Tessa and sees her sitting atop the wall, hand outstretched toward the prone man, a hint of blue sparks emanating from her fingertips.

“Thanks,” he says, dropping the now unconscious man from his hold and moving over to her. He opens his arms and she drops down into them.

“No problem,” she returns in a nasally voice. Blood is gushing from her nose and she’s blinking rapidly, trying to regain focus as she pinches it at the bridge.

“I hope you’re moving,” Bucky says with a sort of calm urgency.

Steve takes Tessa’s arm and pulls her over to an interior wall where they’ll be hidden from the guards above. “You okay?” he asks, hissing in pained solidarity as she slowly repositions her nose. There’s a long grind followed by a sharp crack, and she drops her head to his shoulder for just a moment to try and regather herself.

“Solid,” she mutters into him, her breath hitching.

“What happened?” Bucky asks, previously calm voice now peppered with concern.

“We’re good,” Steve replies simply. “Sam, we’re ready for you.”

“Copy that.”

An explosion is heard from the northern side of the property. Steve and Tessa huddle close together along the wall as shouts ring out from inside the building. They feel a breeze blow past them and look up to see Sam swoop down to land on the exterior wall they just came over. He points in the direction of the explosion, directing them to move through the path leading to the center courtyard. Steve squeezes Tessa’s hand in a silent you good? She returns the gesture, and the two start out along the path.

“We’ve got five remaining in the courtyard,” Bucky’s voice filters in through their earpieces.

“I can handle five,” Steve whispers.

“No you can’t,” he replies, watching and waiting for them to turn the corner. The minute he sees them in the periphery, he begins taking shots, nothing but a slight hiss emanating from the silenced rifle. He’s got two down by the time Steve’s actually in the courtyard, and he takes out a third while the captain disarms the other two men in rapid succession.

Steve looks back at the fallen targets. “Damnit, Buck, I told you I had them.”

“If one round got off, the rest of them would turn back and be on you in a minute flat,” he defends from his position on the hill. “Just get moving.”

“Who’s giving the orders around here?”

“Sorry,” he counters sarcastically. “From my vantage point, it seems like a good idea for you two to get moving, sir.”

Steve shakes his head and chuckles as he turns back to Tessa. “You know what to do?” She nods. “Just let me know if you see anyone coming my way.”

Steve’s on his own once he enters the house. They’re down to two minutes for the extraction, and that should be plenty of time provided the layout is as expected, the hostages are where they think they’ll be, no one catches him off guard as he moves to them, and they’re all mobile and capable of following his lead out the rear of the compound. So really, two minutes may well be next to impossible.

Tessa maneuvers out of the courtyard and around to the south side of the building where they plan to rendezvous for extraction. Bucky has a mostly clear view of that side, but he’s more focused on peering in the wall of windows as Steve makes his way through to the center of the home. “You look clear,” he tells him as he stares down his scope.

“Shit,” he hears Tessa mutter through the earpiece. He turns quickly to get her in his sights, and he sees a crazed looking man barreling towards her, rifle raised. Bucky panics and without taking proper aim, fires a single shot.

He misses completely – “Damnit” – and watches as the man collides with her. She gives a swift kick to his shoulder as they awkwardly go down, and his AK goes flying. For a brief moment, Bucky’s filled with pride. But it’s short lived. He watches as the assailant elbows her in the face, and he hears her pained grunt sound out over the comms as she fights back.

They’re just a tangle of body parts now, so he knows he can’t get off a good shot. He’s about to tell her to stand down, thinking that if she stops fighting maybe the man will sit upright and he can take him out. But before he can, the guy rolls off of her and scurries over to his felled rifle. He moves into a blind spot – “Shit” – where he’s partially hidden behind a row of pillars. Tessa pulls herself up and darts after him. “Wait!” Bucky calls out, knowing he’ll lose her back there too. “Get him out so I can get a shot.”

But she doesn’t get a chance to modify. She skids to a halt, stopping just between two pillars. He has a clear view of her, which means he also has a clear view of the muzzle of the AK-47 that’s pointed directly at her head, so close it’s nearly resting in her hair. He feels himself panic, those few seconds stretching out into a million. He’s desperately searching for a shot, but there’s nothing. He can’t find the target at all. All he can see is Tessa kneeling, gun at her head. He hears her let out a small, strained chuckle and his heart leaps into his throat.

Bang, bang! Two shots in rapid succession, fired right into her. His breath catches, heart stops.

“What was that?” Steve’s voice filters through the earpiece. “Report!”

Bucky moves the sight around, desperately searching for Tessa. He stills on blood pooling out from behind the pillar, moves the sight hesitantly, just barely, and sees the man’s seemingly lifeless arm on the ground. “I’m good,” he hears her say, not an ounce of fear to her voice.

Sam chimes in, and Bucky can see him swooping down from where he’d been perched on the roof. “Did you see that? Did anyone see that?!” He lands beside her and pulls her away through a separate doorway, fully aware that the gunshots will bring more commandos out of the compound. “That was… what did you do?”

Bucky can no longer see them, but he can almost hear the smile in her voice when she says, “Just because I’ve never fired a gun doesn’t mean I can’t use one.”

“She can redirect bullets,” Steve says sternly. “Now can we get back to business?”

Bucky, still barely breathing up on his hill, slowly moves his rifle back to the house to search for Steve. Just as he gets the sight pointed at the door, he sees Steve open it and peer slowly around the corner. There are two armed men quickly approaching from the rear. “I’ve got you,” Bucky says as he takes aim. Two quick, solid shots and they’re all clear.

[shesawriter39049]

|FAMILY TIES| M| MAFIA AU| 5.1

MOB/MAFIA AU

(Can be read as a stand-alone...it’s a solo one-shot within a series.. BUT there will be subtel hints/foreshadowing which could be useful in the future chapters)

-NOTE- Tae is a HEALTHY lol shade of blonde now

UNDERBOSS TAE & OC

1.3K cheeky little sneak peek the full thing will be between 5-6k

There both sassy/snarky/and boujee AF

IF your new here....there both from Boston...the OC’S accent is A LOT thicker than Tae’s though....

****Tae and the OC are apart of the same alliance..and the pair are a slightly dysfunctional FWB situation that’s lowkey trying to transition into more…

ABOUT- While headed to the aiport for a trip to Vegas, to celebrate Tae’s restaurant’s grand opening, Mel lets Luxx know shit’s feelin a little off with one of their allies over in China. Then, Tae surprises Luxx, on the flight, they have slightly tipsy, needy sex in the bathroom of his PJ....with all of there friends sitting the main area...they also pop into Luxxy’s club at like 1am...were of course nothing’s going to plan!

***Mel is one of Luxx’s launders and Luxx is the OC’S NICKNAME, and Joon who is mentioned briefly is Luxxy’s bodyguard/right hand! ****

WARNINGS: In this sneak peek  just...dirty talk/phone sex ish but not really but kidna

FINAL NOTE (OPTIONAL) -If your familiar with the series your prob scratching your head as to why it’s 5.1 because your all waiting on part 5! BUT at the end of part 5, it will be noted that there's about a 3-month gap between 5-6..meaning shits kinda.. “normal” for a little while. So in between that...I decided if I had the time and inspo I’d write mini one shots..smut mixed in with plot. There will ALWAYS be mob influences..it’s just apart of there lifestyle. The point is nothing crazy(Shootouts don’t count..that’s noraml lol)  will take place during the gap between 5-6 ...

I'm starting with this because I haven't written about them in damn near 3 months! So this allows me to get reacquainted with the pairing in a “lighter” setting because part 4 &5 are angsty AF…

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

5:30PM in route to Boston Logan International -

OPERATION: Taehyung’s Las Vegas Grand opening

Boston to Vegas

“Okayyy..sooo what are you trying to say?” Glancing up slightly in between sorting out the multiple stacks of 20’s,50’s,and 100’s along the backseat of the blacked out truck. Both Mel and yourself alternating between running them through the money counter, double checking the amounts and the authenticity. Sorting the money into briefcases to be picked up by one of your guys before you board your flight within the next 20 or so minutes.  

“FUCKIN HELL! Can we NOT play fuckin bumper cars Chris!? Not like I’m doin shit back here or anything... ” Nothing subtle about the bite within your voice in complaint to that wide ass turn he took, making the stack of twenties slide off you lap and onto the floor. Eyes attempting to slip through the partition and lock with hsi though he was desperately avoid you at all cost! Reaching down with a grunt, also managing to knock your hot pink Birkin off the seat as well “Yup, let’s just toss a 6 figure bag on the ground too while we're at it!” Eyes rolling to the back of your head more times than you could count!

“Yeah, let’s totally ignore all the money that fell.and now needs to be recounted.....the bag is more important...” The crass more than evident in Mels voice as your eyes narrowed into tiny slits. Daggering in her direction

“Eat my ass Melissa!”  The words slipped out of your mouth on almost autopilot...not even giving it a second thought which only earned an amused chuckle. Mel’s known you far too long to take anything to heart.

“I mean I would butttt...not too sure how Tae would feel about that.” Shrugging a little too noncohlant and smug for your liking!  

Grabbing the band of twenties to your left and chucking it directly at left boob, yet you still didn't wipe the smirk off her lips! “Count…now!”

“Ask nicely..” The pout in her voice let you know she was pushing all negative 2 of your buttons…earning an exaggerated sigh in response.

“Did you know Chanel makes garter belts?” Brow arched at your own implied question only to be greeted by a slow nod. “Hmm well now you know...wanna take a wild guess at what I’m hiding in mine?” The playful tenor within your voice was riviling a more..dominant one..which let Melissa know how much room she had to play..and she could tell she was running out of leeway right now!Assuming her lack of sass menat she was finally silently waving that white flag….

“Now let’s try this again...what the fuck happened in China that has you so damn spooked?”

“Oh fuck off don’t say it like that..I’m not spooked I’m a Mangjuhl for fucks sake! It was just odd..that’s all! You would have sworn I was just some random bitch off the street with the way they were damn near stalking me the entire time…” There was a slight pause as she threw the band into the briefcase. “Ahh fuck!How much money is in here already?” Tone hopeful because Mel really wasn’t trying to recount all that damn money!

Brow arched instantly in curiosity “Mmmkay, how about you define ''Stalking” ? And there's...1...2...6...ugh..12k in it right now...that one's going with Yoongi so it has to cap out at 16!”

“Exactly that, it was all eyes on deck 24/7 every time I moved through the compound someone was over my shoulder, I wouldn't be surprised if they were outside the door when I went to take a piss. But I mean...I didn't really say shit because I didn't have anything to hide, but it’s just odd.I’ve been dealing with them for damn near 6 years and it’s never been like this…”

A low hum left your throat at that, the first thing that comes to mind was the last conversation you had with Henry where he admitted to killing Wei in self-defense. Granted as far as you know they still don’t know about it and that alone just feels grimy as fuck, considering the relationship your suppose to have! But, the day that secret comes rises to the surface..the repercussions alone would inevitably start a war that your not ready to fight just yet! So regardless of how your heart feels about the situation, your brains leading you in the smartest direction right now. You're already shielding Marco...you guys can’t handle another war, you're not BURYING any more bodies anytime soon!

It just clicked that Mel’s been the first one back in China alone, since the funeral ...which has you more than curious if maybe they know more than their leading on. You’d never forgive yourself if something happened to her because of a mistake one of your men made...even if it was an “Accident” you don’t lead your soldiers blind! But at the end of the day, this was a decision far bigger than you! If it was going to be known within the alliance that Henry Killed Wei Zhao, who was apart of your most SOLID and trusted Chinese alley.,either your father or Taehyung’s had to make that call..NOT YOU!

“Mel..I-fuck…” A deep sign leaving your chest, there was so much you want to say that you couldn’t “Alright, when we get back I’ll brainstorm with my dad...I mean yeah I wanna blow your left tit off 90% of the time but I love you . I I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable, maybe we can see if Hoseok can do that route or fuck I dont know man...” Towards the end of all that your tone ended up coming  coming off more biter than indented and she picked up on it instantly.

“Whoa, Luxx stop! I’m not sitting here bitching and moaning I’m a big girl, I can handle myself, I don't need you to change my route! I just felt like I’d be a shitty friend to not at least let you know that the vibe was off..that’s all..” God did she really HAVE to take it there!? As if you needed to feel even worse! “I’m still fine to go next month...relax and hand me that last case”

Melissa’s tone was warner than you wished right now because it just made you feel like trash, there was no way in fuck you were letting her make another drop to China until you had a better feel of the situation! If you can't tell Melissa the issue you were going to protect her in the only way you knew how which was keeping her OUT of their terrority!

Like she said..she's been doing this for years...why now the cold shoulder all of a sudden? Everything is done for a reason. Every vibe is strategically set, if she felt uncomfortable or watched it’s because they wanted her to feel that way!

“No, I know, I’m sorry I’m so damn snappy I’m just tired and fuckin stressed...” Pausing slightly, for some reason you actually felt like you wanted to cry, hastily raking your fingers through your scalp. You’d barely been sleeping,partially because you’d been reworking deals and partially because you’d gotten used to sharing a bed with Kim Taehyung. Who hasn’t been around, so your bed feels empty..but we will leave that part between us!

“Let’s just talk about this later okay? Right now I need to make sure this money is solid for pickup, and get you all squared away before we board this flight…”  Your smile was forced but she didn't press the topic, the two of you worked in silence, and just like clockwork your phone buzzed against your right boob. Currently sitting stuffed between the silk cup of your dress and your skin...your earpods letting you know it was Tae.

Almost as if he could sense something was wrong…..

“Will be at the plane in like 15, I think we’ve actually been stuck in traffic......I’ve been to busy to really pay attention but the flights barley 5 hours. I should be to you by at least midnight…” You swore you could almost hear him rolling his eyes through the phone, the huff that left his throat proved that was the wrong answer...

“I’m sorry at what part of me breathing on the other end of the line said, “Where the hell are you!?” His tone indicated he really wasn’t looking for a response but well..your you sooo..

“You may not have asked YET,  fuckin smartass! But I know you..you're impatient so I already knew it was coming...” Throwing the last band of hundreds into the briefcase to your right before snapping it shut, sealing the deal with the passcode!

“K, Are you done making up unnecessary excuses for why you felt the need to explain yourself orrrrr….” Purposely letting the last symbol just rollllll off his tongue, just enough to erk you!

A dry scoff leaving your lips at that, god you hated and loved him all at the same damn time!

“You really must not want to get your dick wet tonight huh?” There was still a smile in your voice though, you couldn't even help it. Mel's eyes narrowed in your direction with a smirk, not even remotely phased by the two of you anymore.

Nothing but arrogance laced within his laugh as it fluttered up to his chest “Yeah, okay good luck with that, you could bring every toy, get yourself off all night in every hole and it wouldn't be enough because it ain't me!”

Why was he right?! God you hated that he was right….

“ It’s s been a week, your bodies not use to that anymore, not when you usually get it whenever and wherever you want. Actually, that’s probably why your all angsty to begin with…”His tone was just as much condescending as it was sensual effortlessly slipping into his bedroom voice.

“Fuck..remind me to buy Namjoon as many drinks as he wants this weekend..he’s been stuck dealing with your bratty ass all week without me to keep you in line...”  This may or may not be true...you may have ran that poor man ragged but luckily Joon loves you..but your not in a position to confirm or deny! Though that’s probably why he’s sitting up front with Chris right now instead of with the two of you….

“Alright,fuck you Kim Taehyung…” Even if he couldn't physically see you, you knew he could still “see you” so you didn't hesitate to let your eyes flutter to the back of your head multiple times.

“I mean yeah baby that’s the plan if you’d stop being a fuckin brat and get your ass on that damn plane. So yes, to clarify I’m still getting my dick, tongue, face, and fingers wet...unless you have some sort of rebuttal and it doesn't sound like you do. You're probably too busy squeezing your thighs together right now to focus!”

“Ya know..I’m currently painting very vivid picture of me smothering your face between my thighs until you pass out!” Just as much a threat as it was a promise, but the hits of flirtation laced within your voice only added fuel to the flame…

In true Kim Taehyung fashion he made sure you heard the deep breathy moan that fell from those pouty lips of his! “Mmm..ya know I’m having the same visual Luxxy...my face between your thighs until your coming down my face…”

Fuckk...

You had to bite your lips so damn hard to suppress the moan that was rolling up your throat, almost forgetting Melissa’s to your right! Fuck, why do you do this with him!?

“On that note, I have a really important business call to get to on the other end so ugh, yeah..I’ll see you in a couple hours baby...have fun..to Mel I said hi..”

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

Ahhhhhhhhhhh I know lol I know.it’s been a minute ...if you liked it...like it! Come lemme know..the goal is to have this up by the end of the weekend...and to roll right into finishing part 5 which is why I did this...as a way to get me back into the groove!

Also, note there will be a little more plot prior to Tae bending her over the sink lol they havent seen each other in a week...he’s been away for business! They also pop into Luxxy’s stip club which Kook manges...he’s getting ready for a drop night tomorrow...so..of course there will be a little drama there...because nothing goes to plan!

[omgjasminesimone]

Juvenile Delinquents Part 3

Logan x MC (Ellie)

Previous Part: Part 2

Next Part: Part 4

NSFWish (implied)

Word Count: 3000

When he lets himself, Logan can almost feel her fingers threading through his hair. The feel of her plump, full, and somehow fully moisturized despite her imprisonment, lips on his. The way she bit down softy on his lower lip while simultaneously tugging just hard enough on his hair.

The feel of her body pressed up against him, pert breasts pushed right up to his chest. The way she’d looked at him when she pulled away.

Logan wakes with a start and groans when he sees he’s hard, again. While he’s in juvenile detention it’s not like he can take care of that in any enjoyable way. Not with his cell mate Gabriel in the bunk below at any rate.

Logan squeezes his eyes shut, thinking unsexy thoughts.

Dead puppies. Elderly people. How hard and uncomfortable this prison bed is. How Ellie never looked back as the guards took her away.

He frowns, remembering that important detail. Did it even mean anything to her? Unlikely, since he hasn’t gotten any letters or emails from her since she was released.

He knew she couldn’t visit, as a condition of her parole, but she could have written. He would have loved to hear from her. The last two weeks in detention were almost unbearable without her bright smile and witty commentary to get him through the long days.

He passes most of the time thinking about the kiss, thinking about Ellie, wondering what she’s up to. He’s hopeful she’s staying out of trouble, but he knows her well enough at this point to know she’s probably not. He wonders if they’ll reunite when he’s released. He tries not to get his hopes up.

…

There are few bright spots to Ellie being gone, like how much better he can focus now. Although a welcome distraction, she was definitely a distraction nonetheless.

Without her around, Logan really buckles down on his GED studying.

He also spends more time cultivating strategic relationships that might be useful once his fellow detainees are back on the streets. He’s still worried about Kaneko letting him back into the crew, Logan thinks things might go better if he has valuable connections to offer.

He also starts working out more, desiring to be bigger, stronger, scarier. The kind of guy no one is going to want to mess with, coupled with his new street cred from being incarcerated.

 The days pass slowly, but eventually Logan serves his four months and gets a release date.

…

“Sign here, and here.” The correction officer instructs.

Logan signs his full legal name and is then handed his property. He thanks the officer with a nod of his head before going into the bathroom to change back into his civilian clothes. They feel oddly unfamiliar after so many months in the juvie issued greys. Logan slips his wallet back into his jean pockets and puts his sparkplug necklace back on. His thumb drifts over the jewelry, glad to have that reminder to be careful and stay in control back in his possession.

He heads towards the door.

“Sanchez!” CO Thompson calls. “Stay out of trouble. I don’t want to see you back here.”

Logan flashes her a charming smile. “I’ll try.” He promises as he pushes the door open.

He turns his face upwards to the sky and breathes in the fresh air. It’s a beautiful sunny day in Los Angeles, and Logan feels optimistic about the future for once. He closes his eyes, just enjoying the warmth of the sun after so much time locked away.

“Logan!” She calls out, and his eyes immediately fly open.

She’s wearing a white dress, making her look much more angelic and innocent than she actually is. She smiles brightly at him before launching herself into his arms, her legs wrapping around his waist. He catches her instinctively.

Before he has time to comprehend anything that’s happening or ask her why she’s been radio silent for the last month, she’s kissing him. At first, it’s rough and hard, but then they gradually both start to calm down, playfully nipping at each other’s lips, tongues lazily twirling around each other.

He digs his nails into the bottom of her thighs when she rolls her hips against him, giggling when he groans. “I’m still…half expecting…someone to…yell…at…us.” Ellie reveals between greedy kisses.

Logan smiles against her lips, readjusting his grip on her a little to bring her up higher. “It is very weird to be able to touch you as much as I want.” He murmurs against her strawberry lip gloss covered lips.

Ellie gives him one last lazy kiss before pulling away, one hand moving away from the grip she has on his neck to tangle in his hair. His eyes fall to her slightly swollen lips, and he aches to make them plump further with more kisses and teasing bites. “This is all the touching you want?” She asks suggestively, rolling her hips against him once again.  

“Fuck Ellie.” Logan mutters before he’s kissing her again, one hand moving from her thigh to cup her backside and give it a firm squeeze.

The amorous pair is interrupted by Kaneko clearing his throat. “Logan.” Kaneko greets.

Logan sheepishly allows Ellie down to the ground. “Hey Kaneko.”

“Did you still want that ride? Or is your friend here going to drive you?” Kaneko asks, raising a brow.

Ellie offers her hand for a handshake. “Ellie Wheeler, and I can’t drive so a lift would be great!” She says cheerfully.

“Wheeler? As in famed LAPD Detective Joseph Wheeler?” Kaneko asks, a hard edge to his voice. He cuts a look at Logan, wondering what this girl knows. Logan responds with narrowed eyes, communicating that he’s not stupid and he hasn’t told Ellie anything.

“Ahh, I see my reputation precedes me. But nothing to fear if you don’t like my dad. I don’t like him much either, so we have that in common.” Ellie quips.

Kaneko gives a small smile, eyes calculating. He’s clearly considering ways having Ellie around might be handy for him and the crew. Logan shuffles uncomfortably, not liking how his boss is looking at his…. what exactly? Girlfriend? Friend with benefits?

Logan’s thoughts are cut off by Kaneko’s suggestion. “Well Ellie, I wouldn’t want to cut your reunion short, but I need to get back to the garage. Why don’t you come along?”

Logan is about to object, but Ellie is faster. “That sounds great! I can finally see the car Logan couldn’t shut up about.”

…

After introductions to the crew (and Colt, who is still around and refusing to go to college), and what was supposed to be a quick stop to see the car that ended up being an hour because Logan needed Toby to explain every single thing he’d done to his most precious possession, Logan finally brings Ellie up to his loft.

“Well, this is it. Home sweet home.” Logan says as he closes the door behind them.

Ellie slowly peruses his room. “This is a nice view.” She notes at his window.

“Right? I can see any cops coming from both Western and 92nd.” Logan brags.

Ellie laughs, walking back over to him and wrapping her arms around his torso, burying her face into his chest. “That is so not what I meant.” She stretches up on her tip toes and he leans down to kiss her.

This kiss is different than any of the ones they’ve shared before. It’s the first time the two are truly alone together, not out in public, with no one to interrupt their intimate moment. The kiss is slow, passionate, it communicates without words what’s about to happen next.

Ellie takes the lead, walking him backwards to his bed and then giving him a hard shove so he falls back onto it. She promptly climbs on top of him, straddling his waist. She leans down to kiss him again and starts tugging at his jeans.

Logan turns his head away to break the kiss, gripping both of Ellie’s hands to stop her.

Ellie looks confused as she puts some distance between them, sitting back up. “What’s wrong? Do you…. not want to?” Her voice sounds more hurt and vulnerable than she wanted it to.

“Of course I want to Ellie. I’ve never wanted anything as much as I want you.” Logan insists.

“Then we seem to be on the same page, so what’s the problem?” Ellie asks again.

“Why didn’t you write to me after you got out? How’d you even know I was getting out today, since you basically went MIA on me?” Logan questions.

Ellie’s eyes widen. “I did write you. And email. Did you not get any of those? I was wondering why you weren’t replying, thought maybe you lost your letter privileges or something. I had to look up your release time on the public records site since you never responded to my email asking about it.”

“So, you did care then?” Logan asks hopefully.

“Of course I care Logan, can’t you tell?” Her eyes narrow as she puts everything together. “My dad. That asshole. I bet he’s behind none of my letters getting through. Well, fuck him. He can’t stop me from being with you.”  

“Ellie, I don’t want to be some guy you fuck just to piss off your dad.” Logan reveals, looking deeply into her eyes for her reaction.

“If I wanted to piss off my dad, I would fuck you in his bed.” Ellie counters. Logan rolls his eyes at her making light of the situation. “Hey.” Ellie soothes when she sees that she’s irritated him, placing a soft hand on his stubbled cheek. They wouldn’t let him shave in juvie. “This has nothing to do with anyone besides me, and you Logan. I really like you. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. I can see a future with you.”

Logan can see a future with her too, and that’s scary. He’s always been on his own, nothing tying him anywhere, free to run whenever he needed to. But he doesn’t want to run from her, even though he knows he should for her own good.

He puts those troubling thoughts out of his mind when she leans down to kiss him again, and this time he doesn’t stop her when she reaches for the zipper of his jeans.

…

The afternoon sun casts a glow through the skylights of the loft. Logan lazily traces patterns into Ellie’s bare back as he stares blankly at the wall, the crumbled sheets wrapped around their waists haphazardly.

“I’m hungry.” Ellie reveals, breaking the silence that’s descended on the room.

“I don’t think I have any food here.” Logan reveals.

Ellie turns her head up to look at him, kissing his jaw. “Let’s go grocery shopping then. I’ve been dying to see you drive anyway. Just make sure not to get us caught in a high-speed chase from the police.” She teases.

That’s what he eventually told her about his arrest. He left out details about the crew, the gang, saying that he had just been illegally street racing, and then tried to outrun the cops.

“I’d never get caught with such precious cargo.” He flirts, kissing her lightly. He tries to deepen the kiss, but she slips out of his bed, throwing her dress back on.

“No more sex until you’ve fed me.” Ellie insists, offering him a hand to get out of bed.

He accepts the help, and quickly pulls his clothes back on. He hesitates for a second, but then he offers Ellie his hand. She smiles up at him as she intertwines their fingers, giving his hand a comforting squeeze.

Logan leads her back down to the garage. They weren’t exactly quiet earlier, and Colt shoots them a knowing look from the kitchen as they make their way to Logan’s car. Logan blushes a little, but Ellie just smirks at Colt in a challenging manner.

Logan opens the passenger side door of his Devore GT for Ellie, who rewards him with a winning smile before he gently closes her door and hops through the open driver’s side window. He’s still got it.

…

He drives in a manner people likely think is reckless, but he’s completely in control as he cuts through LA traffic smoothly. Ellie seems to like it, judging by how she climbs into his lap and kisses him hungrily when they make it to the parking lot.

When her stomach growls, they end their make out session and enter Kelso’s, one of the crew’s favorite lunch spots. Ellie seems very impressed by the quality of food for the price. She doesn’t normally frequent this side of LA, and she seems to be taking in the different types of people as the couple eats, soaking it all in.

“You’re looking at him like he’s an animal at the zoo Ellie.” Logan critiques when she looks at a heavily tattooed and heavily pierced man for too long.

She blushes, averting her gaze. “Sorry. It’s just very different.” She finishes her food and then moves across the booth to cuddle up with him as he finishes his last few bites.

After Logan pays, the two head off to the grocery store so Logan will have food back at the garage.

Logan’s eyes narrow as he watches Ellie stealthily slip a granola bar down her shirt. He walks up behind her, gripping her arm. “Put it back.” He murmurs, voice low.

She gives him her most innocent expression, turning back to look at him in surprise. “Put what back?” She plays dumb.

Logan sighs. “Come on Troublemaker, I mean it. Don’t mess up your parole over something so stupid.” Logan presses.

Ellie rolls her eyes but fishes the granola bar out of her shirt discreetly, tossing it into his basket so Logan can pay for it if he wants to so badly.

“You’re acting like my dad.” Ellie criticizes.

“I just don’t understand why you would steal something you can pay for.” Logan counters.

Ellie raises a brow. “Why would I pay for something I can steal?”

“I don’t know, maybe because it’s wrong? And could get you locked up again?” Logan mocks.

“Says the illegal drag racer.” Ellie retorts as they head for the cashiers.

“Ellie, I’m just trying to look out for you. Because I care about you.” Logan insists.

Ellie sighs, irritation dispelling at the emotion behind his words. “I know. But just remember I don’t need you to look out for me. I know what I’m doing Logan.” Ellie insists.

He doesn’t bother to tell her she actually has no idea what she’s doing, associating with known gang members and potentially ruining her life.

He knows he should bring her home soon, but first, he wants to show her the sunset from near the Hollywood sign. He drives his car through many roads marked not accessible to the public, parking it just as the sun starts to dip below the horizon.

He takes a seat on the hood of his car, and she gingerly sits beside him, resting her head on his shoulder. After a few moments of silently watching the sunset, Ellie speaks. “Do you bring girls up here a lot? Does it get them all hot and bothered, and then they let you have your way with them in your car?” She’s teasing, but there is some actual jealousy in her tone.

“Nah, I don’t have to put this much effort into getting a girl hot and bothered.” Logan answers cockily, winking at her playfully.

“You’re lucky you’re hot, otherwise you’d never get away with being so undeniably full of yourself.” Ellie retorts, but she’s smiling fondly.

“Yeah? How’d you like to be full of me?” He drops another line, and Ellie can’t help but scoff.

“You were hotter when you were going for that whole dark, broody, mysterious bit. Now that I know what a dork you are, you’re going to have to work harder.” Her actions contradict her words though, as she slips off the car to slip into the back seat.

“Noted.” Logan replies as he follows her, maneuvering so he’s lying on top of her in the cramped space.

After round two, the teens shimmy back into their clothes before climbing back into the driver’s and passenger side seats. “What’s your address? I should get you home before your dad starts to wonder where you are.” Logan reluctantly says.

She gives him the address, and he takes her home. She sighs when she sees her dad’s patrol car parked in the driveway. “I was hoping he’d be at work.” She reveals. “Well, I guess we’re in for another famous Wheeler house shouting fest.” She mutters, dabbing some concealer onto a hickey he’s left on her neck. She starts to get out of the car.

“Wait! What’s your number?” Logan asks. Ellie chuckles when she realizes that she almost forgot that they’ve never exchanged numbers, taking his phone and typing in her number. She then texts herself a series of emojis, so she’ll also have his number.

She gives him a hard kiss goodbye, tugging not so gently on his hair, which causes him to let out a pleased groan. She smirks at him as she leaves him wanting, hurrying into the house.

He glances down at the text she sent.

To: Ellie Wheeler 💘😈🚗 😘👮🏽‍♂️👫

 …

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[the-blind-assassin-12]

Oblivion

PART ONE: RICH BORED KIDS

A/N: First of all lemme just say that it was my original intention to finish I See You before I dove into Oblivion, but Logan and my brain had other plans. So, proving once again that I am a slave to the characters that control me, here we go. This all takes place just before Logan takes William to the park for the first time, and the whole series is based on the song of the same name by Young the Giant.

Warnings: language, zesty cowboy times, all the horrible things that WW lets us get away with

Word Count: 2,015

You sighed with a roll of your eyes as she approached, the fingers of one lace gloved hand caressing her lips, the other perched on her hip. She was absolutely irresistible- to most visitors, on their first time in. But you’d seen it all before, and you had your eye on something else; someone else. You turned to the bartender who was in the midst of pouring your bourbon, and shook a finger at him. “Don’t waste the glass old timer,” you said as he paused, overgrown eyebrows raised questioningly. “Just leave me the bottle. Easier that way.” You reached across the polished wood bar relieving the old man of the bottle with a wink, and adjusted the wide brimmed black wool hat on your head. He nodded and shuffled off to wipe down glassware between serving other patrons. You turned back towards the room and leaned against the bar taking a long pull from the bottle in your hand, urging the amber liquid to do its job quickly so you could start enjoying yourself.

She continued to approach you- she had to, after all- the shiny material of her skin tight bodice picking up the dusty afternoon light filtering in through the thick window panes. You looked right through her, focusing on your target as she started delivering her spiel. She reached out, fingers grazing your shoulder with the grace of a ballerina. “You’re new,” she began, her sultry voice dripping from plump lips. “Not much of a-”

You held your hand up pressing two fingers to her mouth to silence her, all the while keeping your eyes locked on the man who had just emerged from a back room, still adjusting his fly. “Not this time, doll,” you said to the fishnet clad prostitute. This time I’m playing a different game. The girl smiled sweetly and left you to go after another prospect, and you smirked as your target made his way to a card table. Even though in here you couldn’t rely on clothing or jewelry to convey wealth or status, you could tell that he was from money- very old, very deep, very dirty money, you guessed. You could always pick a rich, bored kid when you saw one, always knew what it looked like when someone was spending that kind of money; you could see it in their eyes. No matter how alluring they may be, how attractive or confident or important they may seem, there was always a hollowness in their eyes. You knew because you owned a mirror and had seen that quality in your own reflection. He took a seat and reclaimed a tumbler of whiskey he must have left before abandoning the poker game for whatever game he was playing in that backroom. It was hard, but you peeled your eyes away from your target and trained them on the door, curious to see what brand of pleasure he’d been seeking back there.

You expected it to be that perky blonde one you’d seen at the Mariposa before- all tits and teeth as she flashed both around the room. You watched as the door knob twisted, and saw that you were right. Well, partially right. The perky blonde came out first, adjusting her corset strings, lipstick smudged from where your target’s thumb had been. But right behind her was an olive skinned woman with bony hips and long, slender legs, as well as a strapping brunette man, dressed mostly in black leather. Your smirk gave way to a full blown grin as you bit your bottom lip, gaze returning to your target. Oh, you thought, as his jet black eyes locked with yours. Oh, he knows how to play, alright.

You took another long pull from the bottle in your hand before pushing off from the bar with your elbows. Your boot heels clicked against the hard wooden floor as you sauntered towards him, enjoying the way his focus was falling from your eyes to your chest- to the way it was nearly spilling out of your black bodice- to your legs- carefully encased in black leather pants. You smiled at the way his eyes scanned the holster on your hip, at the way his grin spread when he noticed the bottle in your hand before coming back up to your throat, hidden behind a gingham neck scarf. You tilted your head strategically so that your long, thick braid would fall over your shoulder, and saw his eyes widen at the realization that he’d have something substantial to pull on. You pulled out the chair next to him at the green felted poker table and twirled it around so you could straddle the seat, resting your arms on the back. You set the bottle down on the table and looked right at your target. “You wanna deal me in, cowboy?”

He hadn’t realized that his mouth had fallen open, but you had, and you reveled in the little snapping sound as he bit the air to close it. You watched the muscles in his jaw clench, his neatly trimmed beard obscuring the view just a bit. “That depends, sweetheart,” he started shuffling the deck of cards with his deft, long fingers. “Can you afford the buy in?”

You licked your lips and narrowed your eyes at him. This is going to be fun. You’d been to Westworld plenty of times before, and at this point the whole thing was starting to become dull for you. Everything scripted. Everything controlled. It was still better than enduring the stiff boardroom meetings that your father and Erik were currently engaged in, which is why you always opted to spend your time in the park when they came to check on their investments. But the games were getting old, the storylines tired. There were lines of dialogue you had memorized by heart. You’d played the good girl and the bandit. You’d played the damsel and the daring hero. You’d spent time in Sweetwater and Pariah; hell, you’d even joined Ghost Nation out in the plains. Everything this place had to offer, you’d already tasted- shooting, fucking and drinking in every conceivable pattern. There was nothing you hadn’t done with or for or to a Host. A human, though, was something you hadn’t tried on any of your little adventures in the park.

You leaned forward further over the back of your chair to emphasize your full breasts, and dropped your voice. “I ain’t a sweetheart, sweetheart,” you lazily reached one hand up to tilt his hat back, getting a better look at those coal black eyes of his, as a low groan emanated from his lips at the forwardness you were showing. You had to be forward if your little game was going to work; you had to be just like one of them if you were going to get this lothario to fall for it. “And I can afford any ante.” You ran your fingers around the brim of his black stetson. “You callin’ my bluff, cowboy?” You let your voice drop even lower, laying it on thick, just like the Hosts were programmed to do when the target took the bait.

It seemed impossible, but his eyes darkened further, flashing obsidian as he reached up an wrapped his fingers around your wrist. You parted your lips and let them draw into a tantalizingly slow smile as he tightened his grasp. “How about we forget the cards altogether, sweetheart? I know a different game we can play.”

You rose from your chair, pushing your hips backwards to step over the seat in one fluid motion, your target’s eyes snapping to your ass just as you wanted. “Name’s Miranda, cowboy. I told you...I’m no sweetheart.” You turned towards the door to the backroom you saw him exit earlier. “How bout you, Cowboy? You got a name?” You looked over your shoulder at him, your braid falling down your back like rope. “I like to know who I’m fucking senseless, even if I’ll never see them again.” You licked your lips as he eagerly stood and dragged his chair out of his way.

“You’re gonna fuck me senseless, huh?” You could see the excitement in his eyes, but also in the tightening of his pants, and you nodded. “How bout you keep calling me cowboy...and if you make good on that promise to render me senseless, I’ll tell you my name.”

So he wants to play, too. “All in,” you said, using two fingers to knock over a stack of red and blue poker chips as you walked away from the table. The chips clacked together and spilled out across the table top as your target grabbed the bottle you’d brought over with you, taking a long swig as he followed you right back to where he’d just been.

As soon as the door was closed he’d grabbed you by the shoulders and pressed you roughly against it, lips finding the tops of your breasts as his fingers pulled at the knot in your scarf, shedding it so he could lick and nip his way up to your ear. His breath was hot and heavy with the smell of whiskey, and it made your eyes roll back and your chest heave.

“Thought I was the one supposed to be senseless, Miranda,” he teased, barely breaking contact with your skin, and you responded, swiftly wrapping one hand around the bulge in his pants, to which he hissed.

“Don’t rush me, Cowboy,” you whispered into his ear before taking it in your mouth.

He growled. “Yes ma’am.”

The rest was textbook. You pulled out all the stops and let him take control, and the game became trying to keep it together and not lose yourself in it- in him. It was incredibly difficult, though, as you couldn’t remember the last time you’d felt an ecstasy this blinding. Erik hadn’t touched you in months and even when he did you cringed more than anything. His hands always felt like sandpaper on your skin, his body felt heavy and blunt, like stone. Your target’s hands were softer, and warm, and they knew where to go and what to do, his body worked in tandem with yours, pressing but never crushing. Where Erik’s tongue felt like a gag in your mouth, or a bullet, this stranger’s felt like a breath of life, and you hungrily responded, relishing the thought of Erik’s face when you told him you fucked a real live human in his absence; the Hosts he could care less about, but you knew his pride would take a devastating blow when you told him about Cowboy, here. Your thoughts were cut short as you ground your hips down and looked over your shoulder at him, one hand wrapped around your rope of a braid, tugging slightly as your name...no, not your name...the name Miranda left his lips in a moan. “Fucking, Hell!” he yelled out as he found his release, and a wanton grin crept up your cheeks. I won.

“Hell,” you panted, climbing off of him and turning to face him, baring your naked form to his eyes. “Hell is empty. All the devils are here, Cowboy.” You knew the Hosts’ dialogue was often supplemented with Shakespeare, so if you were going to play the part you were going to play it down to the quotes. You sunk back into the bed with him, his arms coming around your body as he pulled you on top of him to smother you with another bruising kiss. You let him until you felt yourself grow dizzy from lack of oxygen. You’d blacked out plenty of times and knew the line you were toeing. Just as your vision started to go white behind your closed eyes, you bit down on his bottom lip, breaking the kiss.

He let out a low sound from the back of his throat. “Logan,” he said softly, almost too softly. Softer than you thought someone like him would speak to a Host...to anyone. “Call me Logan.”

You kissed his shoulder. “Okay, Logan.” You rolled your hips against his, eager to keep the game going. “How about round two?”

@something-tofightfor @my-little-dumpster-fire @suchatinyinfinity

Let me know if you would like to be added or removed from the tags!

[multiverseofmiracleshq]

Upon learning that they would be able to make a move to save their captured teammates and strike out against the Phoenix Five, the remaining Avengers gathered together to debrief and strategize. They were joined by a few new mutant allies and a powerful but familiar face.

THIS IS THE OFFICIAL COMPLETE CHAT LOG COVERAGE OF THE IC

SAM WILSON: Things were rough. From the beginning there had been an expectation that this was going to be a difficult right, but this wasn’t just difficult. This was the impossible fight that they somehow had to make possible. Everyone in the debriefing room looked beaten and torn like they had seen better days – and they had. But at least they were alive at all. That was more than a lot of their friends could say. There were dents in his shield and a chunk missing from his wings but Sam Wilson was glad to stand before his remaining team at all. “I know it’s bad out there,” he cleared his throat. “More than half our team is gone. But we can’t quit now. We had some information piled on our current status. I know some of you are missin’ loved ones, but we need you to hold out to the end so we can get through everything. As it stands: the Asgardians have no leader. Odinson was taken hostage by Emma Frost and we lost Valkyrie on the moon to Wither. She’s in the med bay along with all of the other infected patients. Don’t touch them for any reason or you’ll get infected too. Prince Ahura is now King of the Inhumans after Namor killed Crystal. Other casualties include Lana Baumgartner and Nathan Summers at the hands of Magneto. Billy Kaplan was wounded by Magik but we managed to retrieve him from Antartica. Wolverine managed to survive a fight with the Phoenix Cyclops as well, but most of our fights against their hosts haven’t gone well. Confirmed hostages include Kate Bishop, Gwen Stacy, Scott Lang, Jessica Drew, Janet Van Dyne, Doctor Stephen Strange and Rikki Barnes among others. Susan Storm was last seen in Latveria but we’ve lost all communication since. We’ve also had some wins though. We evacuated the Hellfire Academy, Madripoor, Subterranea, Tymyr Peninsula and Wundagore Mountain. Our goal was never to take hostages but currently have the younger Scott Summers and Sebastian Shaw in custody. To those of you who have won your fights, congratulations. Our infirmary has filled up faster than we have room to accomodate. I know it’s a lot, but we don’t have a choice in all of this. Which brings me to my next point,” Sam sucked in a lungful of breath. “We have to bring more protection to Wanda and Jean if we’re going to beat the Phoenix. So far we’ve kept their location a secret but we’re running out of options. Carol and I have been talking and we trust you all enough to tell you that they’ve been in Citrusville, Florida. It’s the Nexus of all realities and we hope that’s enough to amplify their powers. Both Jeans and Wanda have been instructed not to leave but that clearly was not obeyed as last night the elder Jean Grey left Florida for Krakoa and hasn’t been seen since. We’re assuming her husband, Scott, has her so that’s one less option for solving this. Anyone have any suggestions?”

ERIK: “Jean and Wanda are not left defenseless.” Erik spoke up after Sam had finished. He had just been outed to the group as a murderer– which was completely true– but he steered clear of that topic for the moment. “The elder Jean trusted me with their safety, but I had not anticipated her departure.”

AHURA: Ahura sat at the table, arm in a brace from a sprain he received from his fight with Sebastian Shaw, who was currently held in his custody. He had his father and fallen king on one side and his cousin’s lead guard on his left. He did his best not to hold judgement on Dante for what happened to his cousin. “I understand stand that we’ve been trying to keep this as isolated and small scale as possible but I think we’ve all learned that’s not an option.” The new king spoke up. He was beginning to grow tired of Magneto and how everything appeared to revolve around Jean Grey to him, therefore he made it the center of everyone’s attention. “This is a war so let’s treat it like one. I have two armies currently at my disposal along with the most advanced inhuman technology, and I assure you both are eager to avenge their queen and those who died during the attack on Atillan. I’m sure the proud warriors of New Asgard feel the same and just seek a figure to lead them. What I’m saying is that it’s time for drastic measures and full scale offenses less we end up like the other half of our comrades.”

RIRI: “We were trying to do something.” It was the first time that Riri had left her room in over a week. She worked better alone and time kept slipping by. “Originally it was the create a vacuum to suck the Phoenix from its hosts. Still the plan, but we’re also trying to triangulate the locations of those who are missing. The mutants have to be holding them somewhere. Between all your murdering you didn’t happen to hear anything useful did you, Magneto?”

ERIK: “Not so much.” Erik winced, but his expressions remained steady. “There was not much chance of rumors reaching me since I was alone on Genosha. I was brought to Jean and Wanda and that’s the extent of my knowledge.”

LOGAN: “I’ll go after Jean.” Finally Logan spoke up. “She understands the Phoenix better than anyone. We need her.” And he needed to make sure she was okay.

CAROL: Carol was sitting near Sam, though she wasn’t participating as much as she should have been. Instead, she was slouched in her chair, picking at her lips, lost in thought. She’d been dealing with the guilt of allowing the Phoenix to possess the five mutants — she’d been trying to be pacifist instead of putting an end to it then and there, like she should have. Like she would have. But Carol had been trying to fill the shoes of Steve Rogers, and that meant going in with a steady head. “We screwed up.” She finally spoke, offering what input she thought was necessary, despite the leading conversation. “I hope you all understand that we have no friends on the other side right now.” She glanced at Erik, but let it pass. “If you’ve learned anything, it’s that they will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. That includes injuring and killing us. If you haven’t put your war paint on already, it’s time to start now.”

SAM WILSON: “No offense, buddy, but if she didn’t come back I’m not likin’ your odds and we’re short staffed as is.” The Captain folded his arms over his chest as he addressed Logan. He spoke once more after Carol finished. “Just in case it hasn’t been said, your majesty, we’re sorry for your loss. There’s too many of our men falling. The Asgardian’s don’t have a ruler but I’m betting they’re willing to avenge their King as well. Us having an army isn’t the problem. They just keep cutting them down. Who here’s gone up against a  host? What do we know about what they can do one on one?”

LOGAN: Logan might have sided with the Avengers, but he wasn’t part of the team. He didn’t have to follow their orders. So he tucked the idea of going after Jean away for later. “I did.” He spoke up again. “He kept goin’ on and on about how all of us were wrong, and that the five of them were going to change the world. He was overpowered and overdramatic.”

SAM WILSON: “You and Val went up against Wither, Dr. Brashear. Only one of you is here so we know it didn’t go well, but did you notice anything?”

JOHNNY: "Sounds about right.“ Johnny said from his place at the table, where he absentmindedly toyed with a pen. "So how are we going to get them back?” he looked straight at Sam, expecting an answer. “And how will we find Sue?”

BUCKY: “Why don’t we ask someone who actually took a hostage?” Bucky spoke up and looked towards Lorna, pointing at her. “She was the one I fought in Wakanda. And she took Rikki with her.”

ADAM: “I got the chance to examine Mr. Ford’s powers in great detail. I’d never seen something quite like it. It was fascinating.” He responded leaning in over the table, some of his injuries still remained. “What I did learn is that his powers now cause the atomic corrosion of any state of matter, including in its negative state, down to the subatomic level. In theory he can destroy anything. Furthermore. I trapped him in one of my opaque light field generators I made in order to protect the earth from threats the like of a supernova or world ending astroid and he was able to burst forth in less than a minute.” In truth, adam had never felt so overpowered by an opponent.

REED: Reed glanced between Johnny and Sam as Sue was brought up. But before he could add something to the conversation, Bucky brought something new to the table. “Right to the source– that’s always the best course of action. That’s how we’ll find her. So–” He turned his attention to Lorna. “You’ve been awfully quiet during this conversation. But it’s come to light that you have valuable information.”

FRANKLIN:  Franklin was sat next to his uncle Johnny. He was terrified about all of this. If this had just happened a little bit longer ago he probably could have just willed the phoenix into being a pigeon but now his mother was gone and his powers weren’t what they used to be. “I can’t find her. I keep willing it but I just can’t find her.” He said seemingly looking to the others for answers. “I’ve always been able to find my Mom since I was a baby and now. Now I just don’t know.”

LORNA: A call out. How lovely. Lorna had been mostly unsure about whether or not she should come. Word of her father switching sides hadn’t meant much to her. She had been working with Remy more than him anyway and all Erik had been as of late was a headache. If he had his little epiphany or whatever that was his own business. The only reason she was there was the mutants and the fact that they were no longer safe under the Phoenix Five. "No matter what your whack powers tell you, she’s alive. They all are. Even some of the dead ones. Not all of  them, mind you. We can just say that sometimes things look worse than they are. Krakoa didn’t want them to harbor hostages on him, so they got creative. What do you know about the mutant who took Sue out? Her name’s Blink and she’s… Well, she used to a good friend of mine before this. Definitely not the type to teleport the air out or someone’s lungs like she did your mother.”

TOMMY: Tommy couldn’t handle looking at his dumb face any longer. Erik killed them and he was just supposed to sit here and act like everything was kosher. Not happening. Even if it was petty and childish it would be worth it. Time seemingly slowed for Tommy as he began weaving around to the opposite end of the table. Taking a firm grasp on Eriks nipples through his shirt and twisted with gusto before returning to his seat and acting like nothing happened.

GWEN: Trouble trouble trouble. He was trouble. Gwen had been doodling out the hanger battle from Civil War in beautiful stick figures when there was a slight breeze. Cackling slightly she shook her head at the mini speedsters antics while she kept drawing. Half of the Fantastic Four were here and she’d have to lock lips with one at some point.

ERIK: Doing his best to pay attention but also keep quiet, Erik suddenly was caught up in a sharp pain. He winced, taking in a sharp breath of surprise and then laying a hand over his chest in confusion.

HANK: “Quite frankly I don’t care about whose friend they were or how good of people you once found them to be. They’re threats not just to the planet but the galaxy.” Hank finally spoke up feeling annoyed. “I understand wanting to end things peacefully but as Captain America stated, we have no friends on the other side, so let’s not act like we do.” Hank replied as he began fussing with his toolbot as few items came together. “Back to the vacuum concept. It’s promising if it works and that’s a big if. However, there are band-aid solutions that we can use to by time, to name a few, Quantum realm, neutral zone, negative zone and microverse. Banishing even just one there may by us the time we need to perfect a solution and test the effects of what happens to the phoenix when it’s split up between dimensions.” He said ignoring the fact that there was sentient life in most of the places he suggested. He thought it would be best not to bring up the topic of creating a man made blackhole and taking the phoenix five into them in hopes of shredding them to pieces.

REED: Reed huffed in frustration. “The fact that they are dangerous to the world doesn’t need to be debated currently. We need the hostages back.” He shot Hank an annoyed glance before turning back to Lorna. “Her mutation allows her to create portals for teleportation, correct? I’m assuming you wouldn’t bring her up if she hadn’t played a bigger role in this than we are aware of.”

LORNA: “Of course not. And I’m not saying we should go easier on her because she was a friend. I’m saying that that thing looks like Blink but isn’t. I’m no Phoenix expert but if it did that to her I don’t know what to say about the others.  Kevin was always a little more rough so I’m not as surprised. He and Clarice are more separate from Emma, Scott and Namor. They’re a team but I don’t think they’re as much in charge. Blink used her Phoenix powers to boost the mutation of Magik. Illyana controls Limbo so together they pulled part of the hell dimension to Earth. Consider it a nightmare realm. That’s where your friends are. Blink and Wither are currently guarding it and you saw what happened when he touches you. Maybe it doesn’t kill you at first but it doesn’t take long to spread completely. If you want your people back you have to get through both of them and Limbo. I’ve never liked humans or how our people have been treated, but too many of us agree that this isn’t the way to fix our problems. We’re making the world worse, not better. The entrance is Cape Dezhnev in the Bering Strait. As for the Phoenix vacuum, well, I think you’d have to talk to my darling big sister.”

TRAUMA: Trauma had been silent just about the whole meeting and finally decided to chime in. “I’ll go… Go to the Hell on earth or whatever you want to call it.” His powers were magical in nature and that’s all he really knew. Between that, his experience with fear, and being able to be the perfectly tailored opponent for any individual it felt like volunteering.

SAM WILSON: "I’m sure we can make a sign up sheet.“ Sam’s voice was wry. "We’re glad you’re here, Polaris. Gambit as well. This isn’t Avengers against X-Men anymore. It hasn’t been for a while. If we’re going to save the world we don’t have a choice but to work together here.”

REMY:  “Speakin’ of X-men,” Remy was standing near Lorna as he spoke, hot on the heels of her words. “It’s come to our attention that us mutants don’ all share t'e same ideals as Emma, Scott, and Namor. I know it’s hard as hell to go against people like you in support of people who not only aren’ like you, but also don’ like you, so I don’ blame t'e mutants t'at fought for other mutants, even if it were under Emma and t'e rest. However, Lorna an’ I will be givin’ t'e mutants t'at are left a chance to leave the Phoenix behind. It won’ be easy, but as many as we can get to go against the Phoenix Five will be more t'an we currently have.”

LORNA: Her head inclined towards Remy in agreeance. “We can’t get you onto Krakoa, but we can help you rescue the hostages and let you know what we do. I understand my father has stopped being a raging prick and you have most of the Grey-Summers dynasty as well. Between them and Wolverine you’ve already got an important chunk of the mutant leadership.” Lips twitched at the thought of everyone they were forcing to work together. “So we do our part. What are you doing to stop the Phoenix? If you’re taking the Limbo guards out you better have a plan.”

SAM WILSON: “We don’t have as much of a plan as we should.” Sam admitted. “These last few weeks we went through a lot to keep Wanda and Jean’s location secret in Citrusville, but between one of the Jean’s bailing we’re making exception to our rules. Wanda?” He looked to the door to where he knew she was waiting. “Your turn.”

ERIK: What Erik responded with was almost an eye-roll, but not quite. It wasn’t that he was annoyed with people bringing up his horrible actions as of late, but it made him uncomfortable. “I wasn’t in my right mind. It does not excuse anything I have done, but that part of me is gone now. My mind has been made right again.” He glanced over to his daughter, trying to express how sincerely he felt about it all. “Things will be different from now on.” That was all he had to say for now– and he let the room focus on Wanda and the task at hand.

WANDA: Leaving Citrusville for the first time in weeks hadn’t been as  freeing as Wanda would have hoped. Anxiety still knotted her gut and tensed her spine. She belonged back at the Nexus but instead she stood before the war battered group of familiar and foreign faces. It was a conscious choice to ignore her father, knowing that he had made choices she couldn’t condone but didn’t want to discuss. “Vacuuming the Phoenix will only work to a certain extent. I overheard Dr. Brashear say Kevin broke free quickly. It will do the same, and the power will condense itself.” It was hard to explain. Wanda wasn’t a scientist but this was something she felt. “If you go tomorrow to face two of them, send a group after a third. Isolate them. Jean and I will monitor the energy from Citrusville. We need more time.”

CAROL: “So we have two missions then,” Carol interjected. “Rescue the hostages and separate the Phoenix. We will send a team to rescue the hostages, and another to battle the Phoenix. Assignments will come at a later time, but be ready. As it’s been said, this is war.”

VISION: “It’s possible that we could track down the location of a Phoenix Five member.” From his place next to Wanda, Vis took a small step forward to address the room. “I’ve learned that it is best not to bore you all with the details, but there are methods at my disposal that could be utilized. But this meeting has gone on long enough– Wanda should be getting back.”

SAM WILSON: “Of course. We appreciate everyone takin’ time to come out at all, especially since it’s so bad outside.” People had families to protect while they could. “Lorna and Remy will be sticking around even though Erik will be going back to Citrusville with Wanda. Vis, if you could come see me after you drop them off that would be great. Assignments will be sent out tonight about where to go from here. We got any other questions before we wrap up?”

ERIK: “Let’s just be done.” Erik interjected before anyone else had a chance to answer Sam and keep them all here. He glanced back to Vis and Wanda and then swept himself quickly out of the room to wait for them outside.

SAM WILSON: "Your discretion will be appreciated.” Sam nodded his head towards the door. He waited a long moment before following behind. The lights clicked off and the latch turned. They made it through another day. Hopefully they’d be as lucky the next.

[shutterbug-12]

Succession S2E2 Thoughts

Overall: 

Much better than the terrible agony that was the first episode. 

I still want to wrap Kendall up in a hug and transmit some life into him by osmosis. Shiv...I’m sorry, but I know a lot of you really love her, but I...really don’t. I have some sympathy for her, because she is the person made by a very hostile father and a very hostile world. And there is an element of me being biased towards Tom (although I will admit--will list--all his horrible qualities; I’m just glad he has a decent handful of redeeming ones), but Shiv is a pretty cold person (and yes, I would say that about Logan as well, and Roman--them especially--so I’m not calling her cold simply because she is a strategic, smart woman. But I feel like she has the capacity to be a decent person, with a decent heart, but she will never allow herself to be that kind of person. And that’s the tragedy of her for me. 

Her and Tom’s relationship is, in my view, incredibly unhealthy and fucked up. It’s a one-way street, and they could really be so much better, but...I don’t think they ever will be, unless Tom somehow...takes over, but *snort*. Talk about a clown running the circus. Whew. But yeah, as long as Shiv has so much power skewed in her direction and she doesn’t hesitate to use it and hold it over him, theirs will not be a relationship composed of equals, but Tom will continue to think, in his demented brain, that somehow they mostly are? King and Queen? No, no, Tom. Nice try. But you’re not on that level. It’s true that I see very small, slivers of moments when they need each other, but I...have seen...honestly, I can’t remember seeing one moment where it was clear that Shiv really loved him, just that she needed him. And those are very different things, at least for me. My dream scenario is that Tom can work up the nerve to leave her and be with someone who actually deserves him, but...that’s a different show, certainly not this one. So I suppose I’ll have to sit back and watch this trainwreck. 

Actually, I find it interesting to see the relationship between Logan and Kendall, and Shiv and Tom. They are very parallel in some big ways. Logan and Shiv are both very dominant, both dictate the terms of the relationship, both steer it, manipulate the other person at will, are both strong-willed and strategic but can be cruel, and both place their own interests above everyone else’s. They’re the controllers. Kendall and Tom, at least in this season so far (Tom has always been), are the submissive ones, the yes-men, acting at the behest of their counterparts, both very insecure about their relationships with those counterparts, although, granted, Kendall has passed over into dead-eye territory, where Tom has some life left. I can see how being in their position might be at times comforting, not having pressure on them, kind of enjoying the freedom that being submissive and simply obeying offers. And, really, in the dynamics of both relationships, I really feel for Tom and Kendall. Shiv is, of all the children, most like her father, and was from the beginning, but I think she’s leaning more and more that way, which...is a bad way to lean if you want to cling to some part of your soul. So I...am a bit worried about both Kendall and Tom, but I know something’s going to give at some point. In some way. So I’m...interested. 

One last thing: what made this episode so much better than the first one, for me, is the attention paid to the absurdity of the characters and their lives. That is the glory of the show for me. When it tries to get me to truly sympathize too hard with characters who, by and large, are not very sympathetic, I...am very turned off. Because we’re talking about uber-rich douche-bags who only care about themselves and their power. The only sympathetic characters (and even the moments when sympathetic characters have sympathetic moments and aspects) are ones who show motivations other than power grabs and greed. BUT, when the show highlights the absurd nature of...this entire palace drama? It’s at its height. Its at its best. This episode had a ton of that, and I was very grateful for it. The Vaulter dude was always a great vehicle to highlight some absurdity, and he came through here. Greg, of course, highlights the absurd aspects of Tom and the Roys in general. Connor himself. Amazing. The absurdity bouncing around in this episode made it so, so much better than the first one. 

Overall, B+ episode. 

As I watched: 

Oh, yay, the theme park! Been looking forward to seeing these parts. 

Beavis and Crackhead. Nice.

Aww, MM, you’re getting gray and it’s so...weirdly cute. Damn it. Also I can watch you try to get popcorn out from between your teeth with your tongue all. day. long.

Hmm, Logan listening to Shiv. Roman sees what’s happening. He’s not as stupid as he seems. Which we knew, but it’s nice to see. 

Mondale! And the Mondale voice is back! Tom & Mondale might be my favorite friendship on the show. 

The amount of time Shiv spends looking at her phone instead of talking to and listening to her husband is...pretty fucking sad. She LITERALLY walks away from him when he’s talking. Cool. 

“It’s not really a thing.” UM. WUT. No it’s a huge thing. One partner wanting to fuck other people, while the other one clearly doesn’t really want to is...a huge thing. And not talking about it is going to make everything worse, but sure, okay, continue thinking it’s not really a thing. 

Oh god, it’s kind of painful, how hard he’s trying to...rationalize that he’s okay with everything about their relationship. And trying to like...show he’s ready all the time, always down to fuck, just in case she was wondering. Heh. You can see the insecurity just coming off him in waves. 

Ha. I’m sorry, writers, but...an American wouldn’t say “cheeky” like that. Someone needs to check the British-isms. But it’s nice to see even a show like this mess up. ;) 

I mean, yes, this is a drool-worthy penthouse, but settle down Tom, or I’m worried you’re literally going to start fucking the sofa.

One of these days, Tom is going to actually...not roll over like a submissive dog. Maybe. 

*sings* Tom and Greg, together again, wheee! Tom and his punching bag. Tom, you better watch out, because at some point the bag is going to punch back. 

Um. Tom. I’d go easy on the creepy sexual metaphors. You can’t quite speak with the...disgustingness of Roman. Please stop trying.

LOL Name me one principle. Although, god, this is the ugliest side of Tom. How willing he is to compromise himself for advancement. He’s honestly...kind of a whore sometimes. And it’s his least appealing aspect of his character (his most appealing, of course, being his handsome, handsome cute face). 

By the way, non-Americans, real Americans don’t throw around this many “fucks.” And we don’t constantly speak in sexual metaphors. Granted, I’ve never been among these kinds of...terrible people, but still. 

OMG, her name is actually CYD PEACH?! Wow. No wonder you’re a badass bitch. With a name like that, who wouldn’t be? 

I kind of like this news lady, talking to Tom like the moronic asshole he is. Her sarcasm is just oozing out of her and I love it. This was such a great scene. 

Rough first day, Tom. But, hot damn, is he actually motivated to do...real work? Color me interested to see how this goes. 

Gerry, you’re amazing. You might be one of my favorite characters. 

IPAs that looks like run-off at the car wash. Ahahahahahha. Great line. 

OF COURSE CONNOR HAS AN EMAIL BULLETIN. Actually, Connor might be one of my favorites, too. He represents the most what I like about the show. The absurdity of it. It’s when the show strays too far away from pointing out absurdity that it gets...not nearly as enjoyable. 

Another great example of the absurdity: The conversation between Roman and Connor about the president. 

Ha, yes, Roman invited you to dinner because he’s learning your game, Shiv. He’s learning, against all odds, how to 

You did a thing. Mazel Tov. Another great scene with Roman and Tabitha. 

Oh, Tom, baby, you’re so nervous to...talk to your wife. Heh. That’s kind of sad. And ahahahhaah, you still think you’ve even in the uh, line of succession (too on point?) for CEO. Oh, Tom. You idiot. And, Shiv, you are...you don’t think Tom should get the big job, please. Come on. I wish she’d...be truthful about how much she wants it, at least with Tom, JFC. But honestly isn’t really in her vocabulary, so... ALSO, RAWR. Let me say how SHOCKED I AM that Shiv gets turned on when she thinks about herself being powerful. She gets off when she literally has Tom by the balls. Shocker. Shocker. 

AHAHAHAH, GREG’S APARTMENT SHOPPING. YES. LOL. THIS IS GREAT. Greg is the best. AWW, DID KENDALL JUST GIVE GREG AN APARTMENT? AWWWW, KENDALL! Aww, that awkward hug was probably the most physical affection Kendall’s had in...a long time. LOL. OMG KENDALL WANTS TO BE BUDDIES WITH GREG. YES. 

Oh boy. The most awkward dinner in history. Tabitha is so chill. OH NO, TOM AND TABITHA ALONE IN A ROOM. YOU SHOULD TRY SWALLOWING SOMETHING. OMG JKFDL;AJFKLAFJKSA;KJFDL. AHAHAHAHA. YEEEESSSSS. I like when the relatively powerless characters make a cutting power move. 

NOTHING IS WRONG WITH HIS BODY. DON’T YOU, EVEN. 

Okay, seriously, y’all stop making fun of Tom so hard. Jfc. My heart is going out to him here, honestly. Tom can be a dick sometimes, but this is cruel stuff. 

OMG OMG OMIG OGMD OSALJFSAL;FJSK TOM I’M SO PROUD OF YOU. I’M SO, SO PROUD OF YOU. FOR TELLING SHIV TO FUCK OFF. YES. I’M SO DAMN PROUD OF YOU. DKFLS;FJDKSAOMGGGGGGG. It’s nice to see the tiniest hint of backbone. 

Oof, this is what Tom and Shiv call “talking”? Meh, yeah, Shiv, you need him. You need a stable presence. You need a loyal sounding board. You need a yes man. Their relationship is so fucked up. Yiiiiiikes. They’re pretty much the WORST at open, real communication. 

Oh, boy, oh, boy. Poor Greg. Kendall, you dick. Making this your drug party. Ugh. I’m so fucking disappointed in you. (I’m still pulling for you, though.)

Guh, yeah, the scene in the car with Shiv and Gil...these kinds of scenes really show Shiv’s ugly side. (And Gil’s for that matter.) People needing the upper hand. People shitting all over each other. People needing to be right. 

Logaaaaaan, you’re such a dickheeeaaaad. A manipulative, awful dickheeeaaaad. Although, what a great line: make yourself at home. In...daddy’s office. 

Jesus, Kendall, you need a real car, man. 

AAAAH, IT LOOKS LIKE THE HUNTING EPISODE IS NEXT. AWESOME. 

[deepdisireslonging]

Family Found Part 46: At the Worst

The Secret that’s been keeping Y/N and the Raw roster on edge finally comes to the surface. As threatened, Dean is at risk of losing everything… unless he can fight back one last time.

Warnings/Promises: wrestling violence, reconciliation

Word Count: 3525

Note: Oh my gosh. I keep looking at my series plot list, and it’s a little freaky to see it with so few chapters left. Pretty much everything is already plotted out, and in a perfect world I’d just write it all in a weekend and queue it to go. Probably won’t happen, but eh. Thank you guys for sticking around for this personal test of mine. Please let me know what you’ve thought about this series. DMs and anon are always open. Enjoy!

Part 1: Welcome to the Team 

Part 45: Oncoming Storm 

Despite the ruckus he’d caused in your office, Elias was not available for Drew McIntyre to beat up. Because you hadn’t seen him. Nobody had. As a replacement, you placed Bobby Lashley and Dolph Ziggler in his path for a handicap match.

“That’s smart of Y/N,” Renee noted, “McIntyre practically hates Dolph, and Lashley is a strong challenge. Together they should be able to handle his rage.”

Corey wasn’t so agreeable. “Yeah, smart. I think that Y/N gave Elias too many chances; it’s gone to his head! First, he doesn’t fight last week. Then this week he can’t be found?”

“Well someone who will be found tonight will be Brock Lesnar. As Seth Rollins said last week, tonight is the signing of the contract for their WrestleMania match. All three of our competitors will get to face-off tonight.”

Renee harrumphed. “Debatable. No one’s seen him either.”

Each time Lashley or Dolph switched tags, Drew took a second to breathe. To reset. He was wearing the men down, instead of the other way around. If he could keep this up at WrestleMania, then Elias was going to be in trouble.

Just thinking the name summoned a guitar strum. Drew stumbled in his attack as he heard the guitar and saw Elias circle the ring. Elias wasn’t singing, just strumming, but it was enough to distract Drew from a series of coordinated moves. He roared and shifted his focus back. Calmly, Elias watched as Drew took control of the match again, eventually pinning Lashley.

McIntyre’s knuckles paled with his grip on the ropes as he stared down at Elias. It made his blood boil that Elias wasn’t even bothered to react. As the drifter walked away, Drew swore that he was going to regret every note and strum.

***

Lashley and Ziggler weren’t even out of the ring yet when Sami Zayn came out to the ring. He danced his way down the ramp, then took a mic. “How would you all like to see me put my life on the line?” It wasn’t what everyone thought he was going to say, but they welcomed the thought anyway. “Alrighty then.”

With a smart click of his heels, he turned to face the stage. “I’ve got something to get off my chest. Now I’m an NXT grown wrestler myself, and I’ll be the first to admit that moving up to the main roster isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, but when it comes to the ‘Authors of Pain’,” he said with quotation fingers, “I don’t see champions. I see puppets. First Paul Ellering. Then Drake Maverick. And now… Dr. M, whatever that means. So, I’m calling out you, AOP. Not your puppet master. I say that you can’t defend those titles without help. That you are not champions. And that you are cowards that hide behind someone else. That you hide because there are not two strategic brain cells between you-”

He shivered as their music interrupted. But he smiled. Everything was going to plan. They marched to the ring, circling it. They stood on the apron on the opposite side of the ring. Sami’s back was to the stage when the lights went out. When they came back up, Dr. M. was behind him inside the ropes.

“Those are some strong words, Sami,” his voice made Sami whip around. “But I know you meant every word. And I understand. You are a hypocrite. A coward that would never speak your mind out loud without Kevin Owens watching your back.” Slowly, Dr. M turned and faced Kevin Owens, who was just finishing his stealth climb into the ring. Unbothered, he turned back around. “You can lead a man to a hospital, but you can’t force him to medicine. So be it. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have other patients to see to.” Giving a strong eye to Kevin, he left the ring. He snapped and AOP entered the ring, dragging in a referee.

The match that followed was rough. Akam and Rezar did not appreciate Sami’s opinion of them, nor Kevin’s attempt to attack their manager. At the same time, Kevin and Sami were standing by their proof. Without someone telling them what to do, AOP was stalling before attacks. A lucky hit took Kevin to the canvas, where he was pinned. They left celebrating like NXT days, then slipped back into their more serious mood before leaving the arena.

***

Deep in thought, you weren’t watching where you were going. You collided with something hard and tall. Something that turned out to be a someone.

“No, Seth. I can’t talk about this.” You tried to move past him, but Roman stepped in to block your path too.

“We have to talk about something.” Roman let go of your shoulders, give you range to turn back to Seth.

“Whatever they’ve offered you, it’s not worth it. Trust me.” Seth pleaded with his eyes. You avoided looking at them and focused on anything else in the hallway.

“I didn’t do it for the money or the fame. Your story was lesson enough.” Your voice dropped, weary. “That’s not what they’ve got on me.”

Seth titled your chin up. “What are you talking about? Whatever it is, we can help you.”

“No, you can’t.” Why was it so hard to breath? “It’s my fault and I have to do what I can to work around it.” The statement distracted them enough for you to get by, but Roman caught you again.

He leaned down and did his best to look you in the eye. “Y/N?”

No oxygen. No thoughts. Just the words you didn’t want to say. “It’s a contract. I pitched it to Stephanie and Hunter and thought they liked it. But they added things. Things that would rip Dean apart and-“ You broke away from his grasp. “I can’t talk about this. I’ve said too much already. You’re just going to have to let me be.”

They stayed for a minute while you practically ran down the hallway. Blinded by the boil of emotions, you ran into someone else.

“Y/N, we need to talk.” Baron loomed overhead.

“I can’t. I’m busy.” You hissed as his arm flashed out to block your way.

“Make time. I want a match. Tonight. Now would be good.”

You sighed and looked behind you when you heard footsteps. Roman saw Baron and knew why he was there. He gave you a nod, which didn’t exactly please you, but it got both men out of the way so you could think. “Fine. You and Roman have a match tonight. Now.” You stood still while Baron gloated. He dropped his arm with a chuckle, giving you room to finally escape.

***

Both men weren’t going to give an inch. Even as their energy waned, the crowd was enjoying the display of power. Roman fell into the ropes on one side, trying to catch his breath. As he got back up and looked off into the crowd, Dr. M popped up in front of his face. Startled, he fell back into Baron’s next attack. He quickly recovered but was shaken. Dr. M had disappeared. Eerie laughter came from one corner, though nobody was there.

Baron fell to the canvas. Roman geared up for a spear. Dr. M appeared over his shoulder. Roman saw him on the Titantron and spun around to attack. Baron swooped in as Roman missed with a swing, beating him to the canvas and finally winning the pin. Then he got the hell out of the ring. No need to stick around when Dr. M was doing his thing. Dean and Seth ran by him on the ramp. They circled around Roman’s kneeling form.

With his eerie laugh in full force, Dr. M left the ring. He stood at the base of the ramp. And then he was gone.

Seth and Dean helped Roman to his feet and out of the ring. “Don’t worry about me,” he said, shrugging them off. “You guys have enough to worry about tonight. I haven’t seen him, but if Brock does show up, you need to be focused.”

Seth sighed. “I take that to mean you won’t be at the signing?”

“No.”

“Then what will you be doing?” Dean asked. He read the expression on Roman’s face. And disagreed. “Really?”

“I’m going to be watching Y/N’s back. Same way I watch yours.” He tried to walk on his own but limped up the ramp.

***

Ruby had issued another open challenge. With WrestleMania not even two weeks away, in her eyes, no one was going to be able to take the title from her. She laughed with Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan in the ring while waiting for her opponent. They all froze as “I’m not like most girls,” played through the speakers. Ruby was mostly silent, and she didn’t appreciate her girls’ giggles as they wished her luck.

Their giggles turned to worried hints and tips as Ruby struggled. Nia was taking no prisoners. Several times, the bell box readied to announce a new champion. Each time, Ruby desperately kicked out. The counts got closer and closer to three. Sarah and Liv jumped up onto the apron, ready to spring at a moment’s notice. Nia moved to knock them off. The referee was checking on Ruby, giving the Squad room to attack her without repercussions. Ruby saw her fall and took advantage, retaining her title.

Like a pack of hyenas, the women laughed all the way backstage.

***

Alexa Bliss inched around a corner. She breathed a sigh of relief and proudly took a step forward without looking. She bumped into Ruby, fresh out of her match. “Well hello there, Alexa!” she tried to dart away, but Ruby tossed an arm over her shoulder. “Didn’t Liv and Sarah tell you I was looking for you?”

Alexa gulped. Then disgusted, she removed Ruby’s arm from her shoulder. “Yeah. So?”

“Well, you kept harping on ‘unfinished business’… and I have to agree,” she sighed. “We’re not done. Now I just beat Nia, since you missed it lurking around backstage, and I am still without a match for WrestleMania. And it sucks, but you don’t have one either.” She talked over Alexa’s sputtering. “I know you’re going to be busy hosting, but why don’t we help each other out? I mean, I could always beat you up here and now, or I’ll just destroy you there. But you’ll have a chance. You game?”

As Ruby caught her forearm in a vice-grip, Alexa grimaced and grit her teeth. “What do you have in mind?”

Ruby smiled dangerously. “We have a match next week. Either way, you’re going to WrestleMania. But if I win, I pick the stipulation and you don’t know until the match starts. And if you win… well, I’ll still beat you but at least you’ll have a say in which way. Sound good? Great. See you next week.”

She was off like a shot, leaving Alexa to rub some feeling back into her arm.

***

As the new Raw Women’s tag champions, Bayley and Sasha Banks had a few things to say about the former champions. “They did what they set out to do,” Sasha said. “They brought our new tag titles to the forefront of the business. Last week they had the main event of Raw. They were dominant, beating any team that came their way. And the Riott Squad proved time and time again that the women’s division was something to pay attention to.”

Bayley nodded in agreement. “Having said that, they forgot one little thing. Nothing lasts forever. The women’s division is constantly moving forward. Evolving. Growing stronger and building momentum. Getting better and better. Their time is over. We are the future. We have been through NXT, Smackdown, Raw. The future is now. And it is standing here in this ring.” They held their titles up, then dropped them and fell into a fighting stance.

With their music, Natalya and Rhonda Rousey walked onto the stage. “That may be so,” Natalya said, “but as you said, nothing lasts forever. Prove that you are the so-called best of the business.” She motioned between herself and Rhonda. “You ladies up for a challenge?”

The Boss n’ Hug Connection shared a smile. Sasha nodded. “Sure. Are you?”

During the match that followed, Bayley and Sasha showed off. The high was still real, and they were capable of riding the adrenaline without making too many mistakes. Rhonda and Natalya, on the other hand, were struggling. Both were dominant in the ring. But when it came time to tag or to work together, cracks turned into fissures. One would reach for a tag, and the other would be missing. Then Rhonda was thrown from the ring. It took her eight seconds to wobble back to the ring. At nine seconds, she was reaching for the roes to pull herself up. At ten, she couldn’t get into the ring. Furious, she stepped back, dragging Liv Morgan out from under the ring.

On the other side, Sarah Logan attacked Natalya, knocking her to the ground. The former champions disappeared as quickly as they’d appeared. Thus freed, Natalya and Rhonda met back in the ring while Sasha and Bayley rolled out and watched from the ramp. The two women began to blame one another. Defending themselves truthfully to the Riott Squad’s interference, but neither was listening. The referee pushed them apart before it turned into another brawl. Natalya stomped off, breaking through Sasha and Bayley on her way by.

***

You focused on not letting your anxiety show. The ring had never felt so large an empty. Or so foreboding. It was time to address the WWE universe. “As you all know, in just thirteen days, WrestleMania will finally be here.” Their response made your cheeks twitch with a small smile. “There are one or two spots that haven’t been filled yet, but we’ve still got two weeks. That brings us to tonight. And to a contract signing.” You took a breath to call Seth and Dean to the ring, but Stephanie McMahon and Triple H’s intros interrupted in turn.

They calmly walked down to the ring. Stephanie carried the leather folder in one arm. She sent you a perturbed smile after stepping through the ropes. “Y/N, I found this in your office and figured you might need it. It’s kinda hard to have a contract signing without the contract.”

“Oops,” you halfheartedly gulped.

Hunter stepped into the ring too. You moved to the other side, using the space like an invisible barricade. “I would like to think otherwise, but it almost looks like you don’t want this match to happen as planned. Don’t you think Dean is mad at you enough?”

“Leave him out of this.”

Speak of the devil, Dean’s music sounded. You closed your eyes. This was a bad dream. Seth followed him out to his own music. And he had questions. “So, I noticed a large absence backstage. Care to explain that, Hunter?” He joined Dean on the far side of the ring, forcing you to stand in the middle.

“That’s right, Seth,” he mocked, “Brock Lesnar isn’t here. How observant of you. No, Brock signed the contract already, as witnessed by Paul Heyman. I’ll be signing as your witness.”

You stammered, “witnessed?”

The explanation was handed off to Stephanie. “Well, given the specifics of this match, we need to make sure that the competitors are willing to endure the consequences. And that they are doing this of their own free will.”

“Consequences? Free will?” Dean shared a look with Seth, then looked at you with a growl. “What is she talking about, Y/N?”

“Go on, Y/N, tell them what this is.” Stephanie waved the leather folder in her hand. Then handed it to you. Hunter stood behind her, daring you to rebel.

You swallowed. Hard.

“It’s a contract. For a triple threat match at WrestleMania for the Universal Championship.” The crowd initially cheered, but it faded into confusion. “You two against Brock Lesnar, and against each other.”

Dean and Seth shared a look. Seth shrugged. “So? This sounds like another one of your great ideas.”

“It was.” If you could keep your breathing even for a few more minutes, maybe you wouldn’t stutter. “When I pitched it to management,” you gestured towards Stephanie and Hunter, “it was a normal match with room for a no disqualification clause. But they… it developed into more. Another clause was added.” You licked your lips desperately.

“Keep going, Y/N. You’re just now getting to the best part.” Hunter stepped closer and patted you on the shoulder to encourage you. It did nothing but make you shiver.

“As the contracts stands, whoever loses the match has to leave WWE. Forever.” The crowd gasped, though Dean and Seth were still confused. “It’s not just whoever gets pinned, which was the original idea. It’s both of the competitors who lose.” The words began to pour out. “This means, Dean, that even if you pin Lesnar, Seth would have to leave too. Or you would if he pins Lesnar. Or both of you. The original plan was to create an opening to finally get rid of the Beast. I thought… I knew between the two of you that you could beat him. I thought…” you turned back to look at the Authority. “I thought I was doing what… what was best for business.”

Stephanie barked out a laugh. “What’s best for business? Brock Lesnar is one of our biggest assets. Why would we ever give you a chance to ruin that for WWE?”

“You guys are wasting your money to pay him to do nothing. Lesnar is not a champion. He may have had the title and the crown, but like an absent king, everybody knows where the real power lies. In the people.” Rage boiled in your veins.  “Dean and Seth are some of the best here. They just don’t grovel at your feet like you’d like them too.” The word hung in the air, freezing over under Hunter’s scrutiny.

Stephanie stepped closer. “No matter how many times you use that argument, Y/N, it’s not going to change anything. Now. Seth. Dean. The contract?”

You jumped as Dean placed his hand on your shoulder.

“It’s okay, Y/N,” he whispered.

“Please,” you shook your head, mic at your side, “don’t do this. It’s a trap. Please, no.” Your shoulders slumped as he kissed the top of your head and took the contract out of your hands.

Hunter smirked as Dean twiddled with the pen. Dean looked back, asking Seth if he was in it too. Seth accepted the pen as his answer, signing after looking at Dean’s signature. You covered your face and rubbed your temples, missing any silent conversation they exchanged. Seth handed the contract back to Hunter to finalize.

“See,” Hunter said, signing blindly, “that wasn’t so hard.” He took Stephanie by the arm and gave you the contract on their way out of the ring. You glanced at the signatures, resigned to hate that you had just-

Wait.

You looked up at Dean, who was smirking. Seth too.

“Mr. Helmsley?” Your voice caught in your throat for a second. “Are you sure you want this contract to go through?” Hunter stared you down as you fought not smiling. “You see…um. You signed the wrong line. You signed as one of the competitors.” A laugh escaped you. This had just gotten interesting. “As this contract states,” you flipped back a page, “any wrestler who competes under this contract and loses must leave the World Wrestling Entertainment company forever. If you beat Seth, who signed in the right place, Brock would have to leave and you…” you shrugged. “The lawyers could read through this and double check how much of this would apply to you, but at the base understanding, you would not be able to wrestle again. No more WrestleMania moments, no more inserting yourself into matches. And, at the worst, you would also have to leave the administration.”

Behind your smile, it felt like your whole being was glowing. You held the folder out to him.

“I may make the matches, but you still outrank me. You can dissolve this contract.”

Hunter snatched the folder away and looked closely at the signature and the clause he added. He pulled it out of the folder, flipping through and scanning for any way out. The crowd was deathly silent as he considered all angles.

They went wild as he tore the contract in half.

“We’re not done, Y/N,” he said, pointing at you.

“I understand, sir.” The threat could not defeat the proud smile on your face. Or the matching ones on Dean and Seth. Dean picked you up and spun you around once they were gone. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to get you into this mess.”

He ruffled your hair, despite your protest. “What else is family for?” He lightly tapped his fist against your cheek. “Can I get a match next week?”

“Against whom and how many?”

Part 47: Resigning 

Series Masterlist 

Masterlist 

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