#i drove through an awful storm and had to stop halfway and wait for over an hour at this random place

[pucksnsticksnhockeyboys]

summertime mindset - pt. 6

stargazing & sexile

masterlist for summertime mindset

Timing is hard to get right and summer doesn’t last forever. You and Tyson learn the hard way.

word count: 1.9k

note from the writer: enjoy darlings this is really soft and lowkey a filler.

SUMMERTIME

You loved your family, you really, truly, did. But you were also twenty and being trapped under the same roof as them when you were used to having the freedom of your dorm and friends’ apartments while at college made everything feel a bit too suffocating.

It was late at night, and you were lamenting this to Tyson while you were curled up in bed and he was at his own house. You were about ready to give up and try to go to sleep, but then Tyson sent you a text and told you to meet him out front.

You tugged on a sweatshirt and exchanged your sleep shorts for leggings, slipping into your shoes before sneaking down and out of the house. Tyson was already waiting for you at the end of the driveway in his car, and he waved you over with his trademark grin.

“Where are we going?” You asked, though not knowing wasn’t stopping you from opening the passenger door and sliding inside. Tyson met you halfway over the center console for a kiss before he let you buckle up and he shifted the car into gear.

“It’s a surprise.” You chuckled at him, shaking your head in mirth. Turning in your seat, you admired how he looked in the low light.

“You expect me to just get in a car with you without knowing where you’re taking me? At eleven at night?” You teased, and it was his turn to shake his head.

“We’re going for a drive, you said you had to get out of the house.” Tyson explained. Your heart soared at the gesture, and if you weren’t constricted by the seat belt and conscious of Tyson’s less than perfect driving skills you would have leaned over and given him a kiss. Instead, you pecked his shoulder before unplugging his phone from the aux and playing your music. It was a rule between the two of you, passenger picks music. Still, he playfully scoffed as he watched you.

“Oh please, you kidnap me, I get to choose the music.” You huffed with a smile. Tyson chuckled, reaching over to thread his fingers with yours and set your conjoined hands on your thigh. You tugged, bringing his hand to your lips so you could kiss the back of his before leaning back into your seat.

This was undoubtedly one of your favorite moments of the summer so far. The windows were cracked and though it was night, the air that was blowing into the car was nice and cooled your skin that had been warmed from being in the sun all day. Your music was quietly playing and perfectly suited for the atmosphere of a late-night drive with Tyson.

He was your favorite part of the whole scenario, no contest. He was singing under his breath as he drove through the streets, occasionally stealing glances at you with a softness in his eyes that had you melting even more so into your seat. You were so distracted by him that you didn’t even realize he had driven to an open field until the car was in park.

When you shot him a confused look, he simply shrugged his shoulders and squeezed your hand before climbing out of the car. You followed his actions, your confusion only growing when he opened the back of the car and pulled out a picnic blanket and what looked suspiciously like the comforter off of his bed. It was only once he laid the picnic blanket down and laid down that you realized that he was taking you stargazing.

As soon as you laid down beside him he started to pull the comforter over both of your legs, only pausing to focus on the sweet kiss you gave him. You both pulled away grinning like fools, and there was a fondness in his eyes that you had never seen before that had you leaning in for another peck.

“Surprise.” He teased, laying back and folding one hand behind his head and the other moving around you to pull you into his side. You chuckled, snuggling into his side as your gaze studied the stars above you.

The view in the sky was beautiful, but the man lying beside you, running his fingers up and down your arm absentmindedly, was stunning.

PRESENT

You should have expected it, really, when your roommate texted you and said not to come back to the apartment for a while since she was having some guy over. The text had come in the middle of you getting dinner with some coworkers, so you were doing the most to stall going back.

Which was how you found yourself sitting in your car in your building’s parking garage, Tyson’s contact pulled up and the number about to be dialed.

You had tried to get a hold of Jon, you had made up since he stormed out of your apartment, but he wasn’t answering, and you really just needed to see if someone was willing to hangout. When you finally dialed Tyson’s number, it didn’t take long for him to pick up.

“Hey, what’s up?” His voice was cheerful, and you could hear people in the background of his line, but they were growing fainter, so you assumed that he was going somewhere quieter.

“Nothing really, I was just calling you to see if you were busy.” From the noises on the other end of the line, you knew he was doing something, but that didn’t stop you from being hopeful. “I’m sexiled from my apartment for the foreseeable future.”

“I mean, I’m just having dinner at Gabe’s and I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you came over.” You bit your lip at the offer, but as much as you wanted to take him up on it, it wasn’t his place to invite you over. You had met the captain and his wife a few times, and you really liked them, but you were in no way close enough to just show up at their house and crash a dinner party.

“I don’t want to intrude.” You replied, shaking your head despite the fact that he couldn’t see you. There was some shuffling on his end of the line, and you heard the people talking in the background get louder. Someone, JT, you think, asked who Tyson was on the phone with and he responded with your name.

“Landy come tell her she wouldn’t be intruding if she came over!” He yelled into the line, loud enough to have you pulling your phone from your ear. There was some more shuffling, and it sounded like a wrestling match for Tyson’s phone. Your suspicions were proven correct when the voice that spoke next decidedly did not belong to your brunette friend.

“I promise you’re invited.” Gabe told you, and you could just picture the shit eating grin he was most likely wearing as you heard Tyson complain about wanting his phone back. “You’re more welcome than Josty, if I’m being honest.” You chuckled at this, especially since you could hear Tyson let out an offended ‘Hey!’ from wherever he was on the other end of the line. You let out a defeated sigh, putting your key in the engine and twisting to turn your car on.

“What’s the address?”

Twenty minutes later you found yourself in an expensive neighborhood you would typically have no business being in. You were in awe of the large houses, probably as a result of the one too many HGTV shows you’ve watched. You texted Tyson that you had arrived and by the time you were walking up the driveway the front door opened, and he greeted you with a beaming smile and a wave.

You were swept into his arms the moment you were close enough, the familiar feeling enough to make you forget about your stressful day and how you really needed to look into finding a new apartment. Inside the house, you were met with the usual suspects: EJ, JT, Sam, Nate, Cale, Andre, and Mikko, plus any accompanying significant others. And, of course, the hosts, little baby Linnea catching your eye from the moment you entered the living room where everyone had gathered.

“Why are you dressed so fancy?” Sam teased as soon as you entered the room. You rolled your eyes, making your way to Mel, who was already asking if you wanted to hold her daughter.

“This isn’t fancy, they’re my work clothes.” You reasoned, gesturing towards your simple slacks and blouse. To be fair, it was more dressed up than the jeans and t-shirts he was used to seeing you in. “I had a late meeting, and then I grabbed dinner with some coworkers.”

“Tyson told us you got sexiled.” EJ grinned, and you hushed him, covering Linnea’s ears with your free hand as you kept her curled into you with the other. “What? She won’t remember this!”

“Yeah, but Cale will.” You chirped, sinking into the couch next to Tyson. His arm was resting on the back of the couch behind you but dropped around your shoulders as soon as you settled. The guys all laughed as you teased the rookie for his innocence, and Cale took the chirp in stride.

“I know that’s my baby, but you guys look like the cutest little family. You guys are so good together.” Mel commented and you felt your blood run cold. Part of you hoped she was talking about Andre and Mikko, who were sharing a loveseat on the opposite side of the room, but you knew your luck wasn’t that good.

“I, uh, have a boyfriend, actually. That’s not Tyson.” You coughed out after a moment of silence. Mel started sputtering out apologies, and the boys broke out in loud and obnoxious laughter. Beside you, Tyson chuckled, his heart clearly not in it but you elected to ignore it. That was a bit too much for you to unpack at the moment, especially in a room full of people.

“Gabe didn’t tell me.” Mel swatted her husband’s shoulder as she spoke, who in return raised his hands as proclaiming his innocence. You waved her off as best you could while still bouncing Linnea in your arms, but she shot you one last sorrowful look before thankfully Nate piped up with a story about something embarrassing that happened at practice that drew everyone’s attention off of you.

“Sorry if they made you uncomfortable.” Tyson whispered so only you could hear. You glanced at him out of the corner of your eye, spotting an unreadable look on his face. You smiled at him, a little too forced for reasons you couldn’t quite place, before turning back to the blue-eyed baby blinking up at you from your arms.

“Don’t worry about it. We always were told we made a cute couple, even back then.” You told him without really thinking. You tensed after you spoke, you never really talked about your past relationship and you weren’t sure what had coerced you into doing so just then. Tyson didn’t respond at first, and you risked a glance at him to see he was smiling faintly, that still unreadable look in his eyes that you couldn’t place. He leaned back into his seat, arm tightening over your shoulders just a tad bit more.

“Yeah, we got that a lot, didn’t we?”

[emmy-writes-sometimes]

Strep

You go to visit your brother, Tom, in the states, but you get sick and beg him not to tell your parents.

-

          “Are you sure you feel well enough to go?” Your dad asked you as you shakily made your way over to where your bags were sitting. You were about go visit your oldest brother, Tom, for the whole of summer break, but the past day you hadn’t been feeling well. You were sure it was the bad Indian food you’d had the night before, but you weren’t letting anything stop you. It had been four months since you’d seen him and he’d surprised you with a ticket without even asking your parents first. There was no way you were going to give it up.

           “Yes, Dad, I’ll be fine,” you said, “it’s probably just the food from last night.” He sighed.

           “Alright, then, load the car up.” You loaded your suitcases, bags, and backpack into the car for your dad to take you to the airport, only for a second barging into your only younger brother’s room to make him tell you goodbye. The others were gone on some weekend trip, so you’d said goodbye to them two days before and they’d tried to convince you that your plane was going to crash over the ocean, so it was better that you didn’t see them again.

           You said goodbye to your mom and your dad started driving you, letting you out at the closest terminal to yours. It wasn’t the first time you’d flown, you were basically an expert at it, even though it was the first time you’d actually been alone. Usually you had one of the boys with you if not your parents, so you were watching things a little more than usual. But you printed your boarding pass, checked your luggage in, went through security, got some food, and FaceTimed Tom.

           “Are you almost on?” He asked when he saw you’d already downed most of the tea you’d gotten.

           “Yeah, we board in a few minutes. It says I get in at nine tonight.”

           “Alright. I’ll be there, then, I’ll park and meet you at the baggage. Fly safe. I love you.”

           “I love you too.” His face disappeared when you shut your phone off. You didn’t hate flying, but you hated taking off, and turned your music up as loud as it would go. Thankfully your flight got in so late that it was pretty empty and you could pick a seat of your own. You made sure not to look at the map, since it only freaked you out that you were going over the ocean for such a long time, and you bought WiFi to watch a few movies.

           You started to feel sick again, but you were going through a storm and you were getting tossed all over the place, so that was probably it. You just opened the blanket you brought, noticing how cold the air on the plane had gotten, and reclined your seat as much as you could to sleep a little. And you were out for most of the rest of the flight – you let yourself look at the map when you felt the plane going down and realized you were about to land in Atlanta.

           “There she is!” You heard Tom’s familiar voice and tugged out your headphones, walking over to him and hugging him tightly. “How’s my favorite sister?”

           “Tired,” you responded honestly. He laughed.

           “Well, we’ll get your bags, I want to take you to get food, and then you can get settled in.” You nodded, looking at the screen that told you your flight was next for baggage. It would still be a few minutes, though, so you let yourself catch up with Tom and throw away all of your trash. You finally got your bags and he led you out to where he’d made Harrison keep the car waiting.

           “It’s about time!” Harrison called out, getting out of the car to help with your bags. He attacked you with a hug first and then playfully pushed you back away. “Hungry?”

           “Please,” you responded with a laugh as you got in the back seat. Tom shut the trunk of the car and let it settle before getting back in the front. “I missed you guys. I missed American soil.” Tom laughed as Harrison tried to pull away from the curb before the airport police would get pissed off at him.

           “How was flying by yourself?” Tom asked, looking behind you. You heard the GPS say something about a restaurant.

           “Not bad. Definitely easier than with Paddy and the twins.” He grinned.

           “Anything is better than flying with them. They have to go to the bathroom every ten minutes, all three of them.” Tom adjusted the hat on his head and turned back, letting you watch as Harrison drove through downtown. There wasn’t any traffic and they pulled into some drive-thru, ordering a shit ton of food, and passed it back for you to hold.

           “How much food do you get here?”

           “Are you surprised?” Tom asked as he handed you the third Styrofoam box. You rolled your eyes and tried not to gag. You didn’t know why, because the food smelled good, and you were starving because all you’d had was half a bag of goldfish you got from the airport so they were stale.

           You ate with the boys, more than you thought you would, showered off the airport smell, and went to bed. Tom didn’t have to go film for another three weeks, so you had some quality time with him for a few days. You’d decided to go to Six Flags the next day since it wouldn’t be as crowded on a weekday, so you woke up only a few hours after going to sleep. You felt drained, but a cup of coffee fixed it. You’d never had issues adjusting to new time zones, but this one had thrown you for a bit of a loop.

           “You good?” Tom asked you as you plopped down on the bar stool, head on your elbow.

           “Yeah, just tired,” you responded. He looked you up and down, sighing.

           “Are you sure you want to go?”

           “Dad asked me the same thing. I’m fine, Tommy.” Your nickname for him always made him smile and now was no different. He gave you some of his breakfast and the two of you ate while you waited for Harrison, and then you all headed out to go to the park.

           “It’s so hot,” you complained later as the Atlanta sun beat down on you. Tom could tell you were a little overheated, but he took the bag you were wearing from you and exchanged it with the giant water he got. Your throat was sore, it had been since you woke up, but you didn’t think much of it. You never did. Your body could just hate the fact that you were halfway around the world. You tried not to think about it as you and the boys wandered around the park for most of the day, but it got progressively worse until you could feel a clicking in your throat whenever you swallowed. But you were probably fine, so you ignored it.

           “I’m taking a nap!” Harrison called that night as you finally got back to the car. All three of you were sunburned and exhausted, especially because you’d consumed so many sugary snacks that by the time you got back to the car all of the sugar had left you crashing. You tried not to fall asleep, and Tom made sure to hit a curb on your side to wake you up.

           “Come on,” he said, shoving you after he pulled into the driveway to the house he was renting. You woke up and got out of the car, taking off your makeup and going to bed as soon as you could.

           You woke up the next morning feeling ten times worse than the night before. Your throat felt like it was on fire, but you could barely fucking swallow when you tried to drink some water. You looked over at Tom, who was still asleep. The house only had two bedrooms and Tom wasn’t about to make you sleep on the couch but he wasn’t going to either, so unless he decided to bring a real girl over you were sleeping in his bed as far away from him as you could. Your entire body ached and the last thing you wanted to do was go back to sleep, so you did.

           “Wake up!” About two hours later, at ten AM, you felt Tom pushing you back onto your side of the bed.

           “What?” You asked in a hoarse voice.

           “You sound like a smoker,” he responded.

           “I feel awful.”

           “Come on, I’ll make you something to drink,” he encouraged, pulling the covers off the both of you. You followed him anyway, and as soon as you started walking to the kitchen your head started throbbing. But you sat down at the kitchen counter and he started to make you some of your favorite tea. You wondered why he kept it around if you weren’t there – he always said he hated sweet teas, but your favorite was peach.

           “Thanks,” you said a few minutes later as he was handing it to you in a Spider-Man mug. He’d made sure not to make the water too hot so you wouldn’t die drinking it. It felt good coating your throat, but as soon as it left, you felt awful again.

           “I don’t have a thermometer,” he said as he walked over to you, putting his palm to your forehead. “You’re burning up.”

           “I feel like shit,” you complained. “I need a shower.”

           “Go take one. We can just relax today, okay?” You nodded and went to go take another shower. Your clothes were sticking to your skin from sweating, and you felt so bad that you changed the sheets on the bed. You came back out and Tom had ordered food, but the idea made you sick to your stomach.

           “Come get a waffle before I destroy them all,” a tired Harrison said as he was about to pour syrup all over the box full of waffles.

           “I’m good,” you said, taking a spot in the corner of the couch between the boys. You drank a second round of tea, but it wasn’t helping much. You could see your mom’s contact name on Tom’s phone and snatched it away from him.

           “I’m just going to call her and tell her you’re sick!”

           “And then she’ll come here or she’ll make me come home! I’m fine, Tommy, please?” You didn’t give him his phone back until he agreed not to tell your mom, and when he said he wouldn’t say anything you gave it back to him.

           “Your germs are all over it!” He said, wiping it off on his t-shirt. “If you’re not better by this afternoon, I’m taking you to an urgent care.”

           “Fine,” you agreed, “just don’t tell Mom. I’m fine.”

           “You’re lying, but okay.” He let it go, though, and even though Harrison went to run some errands the two of you stayed on the couch. You laid on opposite ends of the couch, your feet touching, like you were known to do at home. Even though you were right in the middle, you were Tom’s favorite and it was no secret. You and Paddy were roped into being together most of the time, so when you got to spend time with Tom you were always excited because he was Spider-Man, he was the coolest older brother ever, and you were always so excited to see what he was doing and hang out with him.

           “Feeling any better?” He asked you, poking your leg that was wedged between his and the couch a few hours later. You shook your head. He’d all but babied you for most of the day, and for the last few hours you’d been sleeping through episodes of New Girl.

           “No,” you replied. Tom sighed and sat up, so you did the same. You knew what he was going to say and you didn’t want to hear it.

           “Then I’m gonna call some place to take you, okay?”

           “No,” you begged him. “I’ll be fine.”

           “You’re sick and I don’t know how to help you. We’re taking you as soon as Harrison gets back. Go get some clothes on.” You did as he told you to do, not wanting to take the chance of your parents finding out, and pulled on some clothes. Harrison was back soon and handed the car keys off to Tom, who called an urgent care.

           You found out an hour later after about a million swab tests that you had strep. You groaned, looking over at Tom, and he just rubbed your back as they told you they were giving you some steroids. The nurse left you and you just looked at Tom. You were never sick, ever, and you had never even had to get tested for anything.

           “You’re fine,” Tom said with a sigh. “And you’re expensive. You do realize I don’t have insurance in this country?”

           “I’m sorry.” He just laughed at you.

           “I’m kidding. I don’t, but… It’s fine. I’m just glad I can take care of you. I’ll be outside.” You nodded and he pat your back again before taking his wallet out. The nurse gave you some steroids and let you go, but not before warning you that you were still contagious for a full day.

           “I’ll get you some ice cream if you’ll sit here for a few minutes,” Tom offered as he pulled into the Target parking lot. You nodded and he handed you a phone charger, leaving the car on for you while he went inside. He was back in a few minutes with your favorite ice cream, Americone Dream, and some other snacks that wouldn’t irritate your throat too much.

           You got back and got some of the ice cream out – you’d told Tom you would sleep on the couch, it was fine, and he’d tried to make it as comfortable for you as he could. He even bought you another expansion pack for the Sims without you even asking. It somehow got out in the family group chat, the one without your parents, that you were sick. Paddy and Harry were absolutely awful to you about it, but Sam, ever the sweet one, sent you a few private messages and carried on a few games of 8 Ball in iMessage because he felt bad for you.

           “I am officially not contagious anymore!” You said the next afternoon after the boys came in from where they’d been out by the pool. “So you can come within six feet of me.”

           “As if!” Harrison said, laughing a little bit. You loved him, but man he was mean sometimes.

           “Oh, fuck off!” Tom said, pushing him up the stairs to the bedrooms. Tom came back a little bit later to make some snacks and actually sat down beside you. “You look a lot better.”

           “I don’t feel a lot better,” you admitted. “I can’t sleep and my throat hurts and all I can keep down is tea and ice cream.” He sighed and threw an arm around you.

           “Come here.” He hugged you tightly and you hugged him back. You didn’t know how long you were there for, but you were almost asleep by the time that your parents called.

           “Oh, no,” you groaned.

           “Just stay quiet, I got it,” he responded. You leaned your face into his arm, shutting your eyes. “Hey, Dad!” Tom said loudly.

           “Hey, how are the two of you? Do anything fun yet?”

           “We’re good!” You said. Your throat felt scratchy and you hoped he couldn’t hear it, and Tom sighed before going on.

           “We went to Six Flags yesterday and it was super cool, today we just stayed inside mostly. Y/n got me on some new ice cream and it’s really nice,” he said. Usually he liked to walk around when he was on the phone, but now he was just staying with you.

           “That’s lovely,” your mother said. “The boys miss you, Y/n.”

           “Oh, no they don’t,” you replied, rolling your eyes. Even though all of you got along, you still had to pretend you didn’t. Just for street credit. Tom put his finger to his lips, shaking his head at you to shut up. So you did.

           “We’re actually about to go out, there’s a bar here that does quizzes and we were gonna go to the Disney one. So we’ll talk to you later?” All of you said goodbye and he hung up, putting the phone down on the coffee table.

           “Are you leaving?” You asked him. He laughed.

           “Don’t look so concerned. I’m not leaving you just because you have strep throat,” he promised. He put his arm back around you and kept playing his video game, letting you sleep a little bit before making fun of you some more for sleeping on him.

           A/N: I hope this was fluffy enough for you! As much as I love Tom and would love to cuff him for myself, I feel like he’s a great brother too! 

Taglist (if you’d like to be on it send me a message/ask!): @an-adventureland, @firstangeldragonranch, @ssebstann, @winterreader-nowwriter

[sylvanfreckles]

Okay, Who Had Natural Disasters On Their 2020 Bingo Card?

Awww, that’s two nights in a row, FBI guy! This time I only looked up how to correct a skid on an icy road!

Summary: Sam and Dean are stranded in a snow storm when their car goes off the road...good thing there’s an angel on their shoulder.

* * *

“Dean, we really should turn back,” Sam complained again.

“You doubting my girl?” Dean shot back. He patted the dashboard sympathetically. “Baby's seen us through a lot worse than this, Sammy. She'll get us through.”

“It's not the—the car,” Sam gasped, clinging to the frame as the Impala shuddered to the right again. “It's the road!”

“Sam is right,” Cas butted in.

“No backseat driving,” Dean retorted. He twisted just enough to give Cas a look before Sam yelped something about the road and he had to focus again. Jeez, not like he hadn't been driving since he was twelve. Plus the tires were new...well, they had been two years ago, and it's not like they drove around as much as they used to.

“Tree! Tree! Tree!”

“I see it,” Dean snapped. Sam wasn't helping. Bad enough that they were trying to make it back to the highway in the middle of a stupid blizzard, having Mr Doom next to him and Mr Pessimism in the back seat was just icing on the cake.

Ha. Icing.

“Just a few more miles,” he called over the howl of the wind. The highway would be in better shape that this little access road, and the kids in the car could stop whining then. They could make it to a decent town with a decent hotel, maybe even an attached bar, instead of going back to Podunk Sally's Rooming House for another night among the antimacassars.

It is a truth to be universally acknowledged...that black ice just isn't fair.

The Impala's front tires skidded sideways, and when he feathered the brakes to correct he felt the back end of the car keep drifting. Dean bit down on a curse as he frantically spun the wheel into the skid but it was too late. He thought he heard someone shout his name and they were spinning, sliding off the road.

There was pressure on his right shoulder, hard enough to leave a bruise, when the car finally slid to a stop nose-deep in the ditch. It was Cas, leaning up over the seat enough to brace a hand on Sam and Dean's shoulders, his own feet planted in the back.

“Thanks, Cas,” Sam panted out. “How do we get out of here?”

Dean was already cranking the engine again, not that it would do much. He couldn't drive out of a nose-dive into the ditch, but maybe they could have heat for the night. The engine revved and tried to turn over, but she just wouldn't start. He smacked the steering wheel and leaned his head back. “I'm out of ideas.”

“Wait here.”

“What?” Sam was already turning in the seat. “Cas, we're halfway in the ditch, you'll never...”

But the angel simply levered the door open, somehow, and vanished in a swirl of snow and trench coat. He didn't even bother to shut the door again. “C'mon, Sammy, never tell him the odds,” Dean quipped. Damn, this was worse than Podunk Sally's, even without the antimacassars. At least Sally had made a killer hot toddy.

The metal shrieked around them, and before Dean could fully comprehend what was happening the Impala was dragged slowly out of the ditch onto the road. He spun around in his seat, trying to see through the blinding snow to the solitary figure at the back of the car, but it was too dark.

Slowly, steadily the car was pulled out and around to the side of the road. It was still tilted at an angle—apparently Cas had opted for leaving her on the shoulder instead of the middle of the road, which was sensible—and the angel climbed back in the car. “We're no longer in the ditch,” he observed with typical flatness.

“No kidding,” Dean breathed. Cas didn't show his strength like that too often so it was easy to forget what exactly his friend was, but that was incredible. “Don't suppose you could push us all the way to the next service station?”

Sam slapped him on the upper arm. Yeah, that was probably rude. The dude had just expended a massive amount of energy pulling them out of the ditch. “All right. So. Guess we're walking to civilization?”

“There was an old mailbox about half a mile back,” Sam suggested as he twisted in the seat to look into the darkness behind them. “Even if it's abandoned it would at least be shelter. Storm knocked the phones out, but maybe we can call in the morning,” he added, waving his own device.

“I concur,” Cas said—because of course he concurred and couldn't just agree this time. “Even minimal structure will provide better protection from the elements. We should move quickly before the two of you are further exposed.”

Dean rolled his eyes. “And you didn't even buy me dinner,” he joked as he piled out of the car along with Sam. They stopped back at the trunk for the basics, and at Sam's urging he left most of the weapons behind and focused on what would help them survive a blizzard for a night.

Cas ended up taking most of the load, pulling the bags right out of Sam and Dean's hands. “We should hurry,” he said simply before striking off through the snow for the old mailbox Sam had mentioned.

“How do you know you're going the right way?” Dean called, fighting through the snow to keep up. “Maybe we got spun all the way around.”

“I don't get lost, Dean,” Cas replied. “I have an excellent sense of direction.”

Right, right. He'd heard that one before. Dean rolled his eyes at Sam, but Sam had his arms wrapped tightly around his middle and his brow furrowed in concentration. Probably calculating how much food they had and whether it would last them long enough to be rescued.

Maybe they could eat Cas. Did it count as cannibalism if he technically wasn't human?

Dean's thoughts were interrupted when he nearly ran into the angel in question. “Cas?”

“We have reached the mailbox,” Cas explained over the rising wind.

“Great!” Dean stuffed his hands in his armpits and stomped his feet. Damn, it was cold. “Which way to the house?”

Cas pointed. Dean craned his neck in that direction and thought he could see the vague outline of a building. “You sure?”

“It appears to be a dilapidated single-wide trailer,” Cas replied. “I do not sense any life forms beyond the expected vermin, so it should be safe for the night.”

Ew. Dean tried to smile, but the thought of spending the night with a bunch of rats made him miss Podunk Sally's even more. “Lead the way!”

Cas swiveled and started off at a right-angle to the road. Dean waited for Sam to start moving before falling into line behind his brother. Why hadn't he noticed Sam didn't have a heavy coat on before they left? The poor dude had to be half frozen by now.

The angel's predictions were correct, and before too long they found themselves in front of a half-rotted single-wide trailer. One end had some bad smoke damage, but on the plus side the windows were boarded up, so that meant it had to be a little insulated. Cas took charge as he had at the car and simply tugged the door open, stepping back into the snow to help the Winchesters climb into the trailer's dark interior. Dean would have protested that he could climb up on his own, but in truth he was losing feeling in his fingers and welcomed the assist.

The inside was...well, about what could be expected. There was no furniture except a couple of kitchen chairs with no seats, and the whole place smelled terrible. Still, it was out of the wind, and in that moment that was heavenly.

Somehow Cas got the door closed again, then moved around the brothers setting their supplies out. “You should change into dry clothing,” he said over his shoulder. “I will see about a fire.”

Dean nodded, though he wasn't sure he had enough feeling in his fingers for that. Inside the trailer was better than the outside, but that wasn't saying much. It was still cold, even worse since night had sunk in with prejudice. He was shivering so hard he was pretty sure he was gonna have whiplash after this.

Cas straightened up, seeming to realize their predicament. “Wait a moment,” he said, almost gently, and rested a hand on each of their shoulders. Dean felt a rush of healing warmth fill his body, banishing the deadly cold from their walk in the snow. He gave a sigh of relief as Cas's touch warmed his body without that awful pins-and-needles stage he usually felt in between.

“Thanks, man,” he said.

“Dry clothes,” Cas reminded him. “I apologize I could not dry what you are wearing.”

“Are you kidding?” Sam burst in. He was already stripping out of his wet jacket and shirts. “Cas, that was amazing. That was more than enough.”

“Sammy's right,” Dean added. He managed to shift around the clothes just enough to make sure Sam could get the warmest stuff. “This was big, dude.”

Cas tilted his head, but that was the equivalent of a long conversation to him. “I should be able to gather plenty of fuel from the damaged end of the trailer,” he said, gesturing to the part that was burned. “I suggest the two of you find the best place to fortify against the cold for the night.”

Dean threw him a salute. “On it!”

Sam rolled his eyes, of course, but as soon as he was dressed in the warm clothing Dean had sneakily picked out for him he joined his brother in investigating what was left of the trailer.

There was a small bedroom that was fairly undamaged, with only one window that was still pretty heavily boarded up. There were a few cracks between the boards, but Dean took care of that by just stuffing his wet socks into them. They could still feel a little of the wind coming through, but it was much better than it had been.

Cas returned with an armful of wood as the brothers were moving the bags into the small room. He studied it closely and nodded to himself. “I will return with an appropriate vessel to contain the fire.”

He was gone before the others could question him. Dean heaved out a dramatic sigh and tugged a blanket free of one of the bags, wrapping it behind himself so he could lean against the wall without touching it. “He's still such a weird little dude,” he commented.

“He's probably saving our lives tonight,” Sam retorted, a little sharply.

Dean waved in acknowledgment. “I'm grateful, yeah. Doesn't make him any less weird. I mean, he's pulled my ass out of the fire how many times? Guess he gets to add pulling it out of the ice now.”

“Is it even safe to build a fire in here?”

“Safer than freezing to death.”

They were quiet for a few moments before hearing the front door bang open again. Dean sat up straight and reached for his gun, which he realized belatedly was across the room, but it was just Cas. Cas and what looked like an old, battered barbecue grill.

“It's not ideal,” Cas explained. The grill—one of those round ones on the little tripods—had definitely seen better days. Cas efficiently knocked the legs off and pried the lid away, leaving them with a metallic bowl a little more than a foot across. Cas immediately began layering kindling and pieces of wood in the old grill.

“Do you have a lighter?” Sam asked, patting at his pockets frantically. “I don't have mine.”

Dean swore. “Might be with the wet stuff in the main room,” he said, struggling out of the blanket.

Cas rested his hand on the pile of wood in front of him, and when he pulled it away there was a small fire burning away.

“Dude!” Dean leaned back with a laugh. “You some kind of Boy Scout?”

Cas tilted his head, but Sam interrupted before the angel could react. “This is awesome, Cas. Thank you so much.”

Sam leaned forward, holding his hands out to the small flame. The fire grew to consume the wood in the old half-grill, but didn't spread out of it to the room beyond. Smoke might be a problem at some point, but Dean was pretty sure there were enough holes in the rest of the house that they'd be fine. Just have to set a watch to make sure no one got sick.

“Thanks man,” he added after a minute, looking up at Cas...who looked terrible. Snow was melting on his coat and his face was almost gray. He was hunched over himself, staring at the growing flames of the campfire. “Cas?”

It seemed to take some effort, but Cas finally looked up at him. Dean understood. Pulling the car back onto the road, forging the way through the storm, then everything he'd done to warm the brothers up since...Cas was beat. “Looks like you need some dry clothes,” Dean observed.

Cas stared down at what he was wearing, his frown deepening when he realized it was still wet. “I merely need a few minutes to rest.”

“We're not going anywhere until morning,” Sam cut in. “There's plenty of dry stuff here, you might as well be comfortable.”

Cas hesitated, but finally accepted the duffle bag Sam pushed toward him. He changed so fast Dean was pretty sure he'd just mojo'd the dry clothes on, but at least he looked a little more comfortable.

“All right, I got first watch,” Dean said after a minute or so. “The two of you get some rest.”

“I don't require sleep, Dean,” Cas replied.

“Just...humor me?” Dean waved a hand. “You've done all the heavy lifting—literally. Just take a couple hours to recharge, okay?”

Cas frowned down at his own knees, but that was probably the best Dean was going to get. Sam was already wrapping himself up in a couple of blankets until he looked like a moose burrito. “Wake me in four hours,” he said. Cas started to protest, but Dean agreed before the angel could say much of anything.

“Sleep tight, Cas,” Dean insisted when the angel showed no sign of moving. “I've got it from here.”

[that-one-jasper]

TFP Miko X Pansexual! Reader

(To make things easy, I'm making the read pansexual for this story.)

Regular. P.o.V. (Friday Lunch at School) ----------------------------------------------------

           You never tried hiding the fact that you have been attracted to women, or really, anyone. You were very open with your sexuality, and your friends loved that you were able to feel comfortable with yourself. You were very shy and sensitive with your crushes, so you made sure to only mention them to your closest friends, which happen to be Miko, Jack and Raf. The four of you would always hang out on the weekends you got free from work, or during lunch, as well as sharing some classes as them too.       Though somewhere along the line, the feelings of friendship you held for Miko soon grew into something more, and that certainly scared the hell out of you. You didn't want to ruin what you had with her, so you always buried your feelings when you were around her. Jack and Raf had both noticed a slight change in your behaviour, small glances you'd take or your almost constant blushing when around your friend. When they asked you about it, you hesitated to tell them, but after they promised not to let anyone else know, you admitted about your crush on Miko, not aware of a certain someone standing near the table you were sitting at.

       "That's great Y/n!" Jack smiled at you, so did Raf. "Thanks for telling us, we promise she won't know," Raf answered. You sighed in relief, "Thanks guys, I was kinda stressing about it for a while." "Stressing about what?" Miko's voice cut into the conversation, causing you to clamp up a little more. "N-Nothing, I was stressing about nothing," you answered hastily, suddenly finding the ground interesting. "Aw c'mon, you can tell me!" Miko encouraged, poking your sides. You looked towards Jack, who looked towards Raf who then looked back at you. "I have a crush," you chirped out quickly, hiding your face in your hands. Miko squealed and jumped excitedly beside you. "Oooo! Y/n you have to tell us who!" Miko exclaimed, amusement showing in her eyes. You shook your head though, "Sorry Miko, it's super private," Even though she whined, she accepted your request and left it alone for the moment.

      Soon enough the bell rang, signalling the end of lunch and the start of period 3. You waved goodbye to Jack, Raf and Miko and was about to head over to your locker when Vince cut you off. You stood stiff and looked away from Vince's harsh gaze. "So I heard you like that weird girl you hang out with," Vince practically snarled at you. You shakily nodded your head, "H-her name is Miko, a-and what about it?" "If you don't want me to spread it around the school you'll be happy with doing my homework this weekend." Your once timid look turned into a glare as you narrowed your eyes at him. "Why? You too dumb to do it?" You shot at him. He looked angry for a flash but kept his temper in check. "Fine, then your secret is being spread around the school." He turned and was about to walk away before you gave in again and asked him to wait. "I'll do your stupid homework. Just, don't tell anyone." You grumbled. Vince turned around and smiled a fake smile at you. "Then I'll be at your locker with my homework at the end of the day."

       Your next two classes went by much faster than you hoped, you didn't bother bringing up what happened with Vince to Jack or Miko, and just mainly tried acting on as if nothing happened and that you don't have more than 10 sheets of homework to do now.        You knew Jack would've been busy this Friday due to his work, and the same with Miko since she had detention. You didn't know what Raf did after school but you assumed he just went straight home. Keeping with his word you saw Vince stand cockily at your locker, a stack of homework in his arms. "How the hell do you have this much homework?" You frowned. He shrugged, "I guess I told some other kids that you'd do their work and they all happily chipped in." You glared at Vince and debated kicking him in the balls. "What if I can't get everything done? I do work." Vince shrugged, "not my problem Girlie," and with that, he sauntered off.

        You had finally managed to get home after a fairly long walk from the school, and threw all the homework and textbooks out of your bag and onto your bag, immediately getting to work on the giant pile of questions.     A few hours had passed and you have gone through about half the stack of work Vince decided to hand you. Looking at the time on your phone you noticed it was 5:00 and decided to go grab something for dinner, seeing as your mother would be working late again tonight.       You drove down to Jack's work and ordered, waiting in the drive-thru. You never drove to school since 1. You'd have to pay for parking and 2. It would draw way too much attention to you. You drove your dad's old motorcycle, which was a sleek black sports motorcycle. Pulling up to the window, you lifted the visor on your mask and smiled and waved at Jack. "Hey, Darby!" You greeted excitedly. "Hey Y/n, going out for a spin?" You nodded, "Of course I am, though I should probably head home, I have a ton of homework." He nodded in understanding as he gave you your food. "See you later then, Y/n," "Bye Jack!" You switched your visor down and drove off.

       On your way back, you noticed a bright red car trailing you, though you paid no mind to it, you'd see fancy cars like that once and a while so it didn't concern you. You watched as you pulled into the driveway of your home, and the red car seemingly slowed down before turning a corner and disappearing from your sight. Parking your bike into the garage, you went and spent the rest of the night doing homework and eating fast-food.

               The weekend was spent doing more homework than anyone needed, and about halfway through you said "fuck it," and wrote down random answers on the pages, knowing that the answers would be wrong. Vince had met you at the front of the school and you handed him the stack of homework back, though he didn't even bother to check the answers at all, so you seemed to be in the clear.     Grabbing your stuff from your locker you begrudgingly make your way to your first-period class with Jack. "So I half-assed everything else," you were explaining what happened with Vince to Jack since the teacher gave you some extra time to pair off and work in groups. "That sounds horrible," he answered, "oh, trust me, it was. But they'll get what they deserve. I was just worried he'd spill the tea, y' know?"       Soon enough the bell rang and you went off to your second class, which you shared with Raf and unfortunately Vince. When you walked in, you saw the teacher already giving Vince hell for his homework, which was half-assed with no effort into it. You quickly take your seat next to Raf, and briefly explained the situation to him. "Y/n you better be careful around him," Raf warned, making you nod. Just as you went to turn your attention to the front, Vince locked eyes with you and sent a harsh glare your way, making you shrink back into your seat. "Raf I'm so dead at lunch" You whispered over to your friend, who gave you a concerned look.

         Lunch drifted around slowly, though you didn't care about that, all you knew was that the sooner lunch came, the sooner your ass would get kicked. "Do you want me to go to your locker with you, Raf asked, seeing Vince storm about of the classroom. You shook your head, "no, you shouldn't risk it. I decided to mess with him after all,"  Raf nodded and walked out of class with you before going separate ways.     You looked around your locker and gave a breath of relief when you didn't see Vince anywhere near your locker. You put your binders away and grabbed your lunch, making your way to your usual eating place. Your heart got caught in your throat though when you saw Vince standing a little far off the side from the table where you'd sit with Miko, Raf and Jack, and tried to seem inconspicuous when going to sit down. Though that didn't seem to be the plan, fate decided.

        Vince stood up on the table in the cafeteria and cleared his throat. "Can I have everyone's attention!?" He shouted, causing the cafeteria to go quiet. "I seem to have heard, that Y/n L/n was in love with Miko Nakadai!"  Your heart stopped, and your blood ran cold. Everyone in the cafeteria looked over to you, and Miko didn't say anything.      "Oh? Doesn't she like you back? Too bad," Vince taunted, tears welled in your eyes from the anxiety, and finally, you stood up and bolted for the door, racing down the hallways until you were out of the school, though that didn't stop you at all. You could faintly hear the shouts and calls from your friends, though you blocked them out after getting outside.     Running down the street and into a more sketchy part of the town, you came to a stop, lungs burning as the adrenalin pumped through you. You sat down in the front of an alley so you'd at least have some shade and cool off from your sudden sprint when that red car you noticed from Friday pulled up and came to a stop in front of you.

        The door opened, and a guy with red hair slicked back wearing a red racing outfit moved towards you. "Get in the car." He demanded, practically looming over you. "And what if I don't?" You demanded, standing up. As soon as you said that though another car, pulled up on the other side, and another male stepped out. He had grey coloured hair and an eyepatch over one of his eyes. "Or you'll have to deal with both of us beating you senseless," the second male snarled, and that seemed to be all it took before the first male forced you easily into the red car, before getting into the front. "What do you want with me?" You questioned, looking back outside. You didn't want to show you're scared if you did they could use that against you. You didn't get an answer, however, the male that forced you in seemed to disappear, and the car started driving on its own.      "O-Okay, what the fuck is going on," you stated, getting out of your seatbelt. "Be quiet, fleshy. You'll learn all you need to when Megatron sees that you've been obtained." The dashboard lit up when the voice spoke, and you connected that the male was the car. "I don't think so, pal," you growled, before moving and yanking the wheel, causing the car to drift off the dirt road and almost tip over. "Get your hands off me!" The vehicle screeches, and he balances himself out. "K.O you okay? What's with the swerving?" A voice crackled over the static radio. You could hear K.O's voice waver a little. "Y-yeah Breakdown, we're fine. The fleshy tried to crash but I've handled it."       There was something about this interaction that made you calm down, however only very slightly. "Y/n." You stated. "Pardon me?" K.O answered, sass evident. "It's my name. You keep calling me fleshy but my name's Y/n." You mumbled, hearing a small chuckle from him. "Well Y/n, you seem calm for someone who's in danger." You stayed quiet, not wanting to say anything else. Ten or so minutes went by and a green swirly type portal showed up and the two cars zoomed through it.

               You stepped out of the car the kidnapped you and was roughly picked up by a large red robot. "We have the fleshy, my Liege." He held you out to a much larger grey and purple robot, you felt your anxiety rise when he also yanked you roughly out of the palm of the other. "Good. Prime needs to know we're not joking around." he snarled out. He walked over to some computer, and another giant robot had appeared on screen, and you were shown up to the screen. Faintly, on the other side of the screen you heard, "Is that Y/n?" and you immediately recognized it as Miko's.     Forgetting where you were for a moment, you called out, "Miko?! Are you there?!" A chorus of gasps could be heard and the red and blue bot looked surprised. "Ah, so you do know them," The one holding you growled. "What're you doing with a human, Megatron?" Though, he merely grinned down at you. "Knockout wanted to test some newfound chemicals on it. It'd be a shame if it died on your watch, Optimus." Your eyes widened, and you started shaking. "No! Let me go!" You rebelled, though his grip tightened around you. "Shut up! You're lucky I don't kill you here and now," you wheezed against his grip, not getting enough oxygen. "He's hurting her!" You could faintly hear Miko's voice. "Come get your human, Prime. That is if you can find them." Megatron turned the computer off and only faintly loosened his grip, though you continued to struggle against him. "It's certainly a rebellious one, my liege," K.O noted, grinning the same menacing grin down to you. He nodded. "You should fix that, Knockout. Tell Shockwave as well we have a fleshy and see what he can do." He thrusts you towards Knockout and carelessly drops you into the open palm.

               You're taken to a what seems to be a lab and strapped down to a table, the purple one named Shockwave stares at you and your movements intensely. "You'll make a fine specimen," his robotic voice held no emotion, and you felt hopelessness rise in your chest. He took a scalpel and dug it into your arm, making you cry out in pain and start to sob. "Weak armour," he muttered. He did this in a few more areas, the pain becoming too overwhelming to you, you were starting to blackout. He moved away, though only came back with a long needle, and through all your movement, injected it into your side. Slowly, your movements slowed to a stop and your eyes drifted close, no matter how hard you fought to keep them open, and soon you're in nothing but dreamless sleep, left defenceless to whatever testing he was planning.

-----With the Autobots-----

               "They have Y/n!" Miko shouted, the computer turning off as Megatron cut off the communications. "You know her?" Bulkhead questioned, looking down at his charge. "Yeah! She's one of my best friends! She hangs with Jack, Raf and Me at lunch and during classes!" Miko was freaking out, the anxiety of not knowing if you were okay was stressing her out massively. Jack and Raf looked at each other as well, frown's on their faces and they got up to give Miko a small group hug. "You know Y/n, she's strong," Raf answered. Jack nodded. "She's a fighter, if I know her she'll make it out of this." Miko narrowed her eyes. "How can you be so sure?" "To send us that communication, Megatron had to let the force-field around the Nemesis down, so we have their last known location," Raf said matter of factly.

      Optimus looked over at Ratchet. "We do have their last known location, it'll be risky to bride you all onto that ship, however," The medic explained. Optimus nodded. "We'll have to take that risk if we want to bring Y/n back." "We'll send Arcee, and Bumblebee to go with you Optimus, Bulkhead will stay here if there is need for reinforcement." Ratchet explained and started typing in the coordinates, the swirly vortex opening up. "I'm coming with you!" Miko shouted, though as she went running ahead Raf and Jack held her back. "You can't Miko! It's the Decepticon's warship, no place for a human!" Jack tried to reason with her. "All the more reason I should go to help find Y/n!" She struggled against them, to no avail.      Optimus looked down at the distressed human, "I promise we will do whatever it takes to bring Y/n back, Miko." She stopped struggling, and with tears in her eyes she looked up to the Leader of the Autobots. "I-I'm holding you to that, Optimus!" Said bot merely nodded, and turned around to Arcee and Bumblebee, both ready to depart. "I'll keep the comm-link open, be sure to keep a low-profile for as long as possible." Optimus briefed, to which both nodded, and all three departed into the vortex.

------Back to You------

       Even in your sleep, you seemed to be able to feel the pain, and after another adrenalin shot, you were awake and fighting against your restraints, though your struggles only got you another deep slash on your leg, blood pouring out of it as it did on your arm and multiple other places. It seemed like a miracle that you weren't dead from blood loss yet.     The mad scientist came back and injected a bright pink liquid into your system, forcing another scream to erupt from your throat, though after a few minutes, you felt a new emotion.

       Shockwave had injected you with....something. It made you feel powerful and destructive. Whatever he gave you, you noticed gave you more muscles, so it obviously enhanced your strength, but what else? Something else still felt off. You were still restrained, however more heavily now. All down your arms and legs were metal clasps restraining your movement, as well as a larger one going over your torso. "Shockwave!" Megatron's voice sounded throughout the room. "Yes, Lord Megatron?" Said dictator sauntered into the room, and a menacing grin crept upon his face when he saw you restrained. "What're you experimenting for?" Shockwave looked over to you. "So far, my liege, all I've done is enhanced strength. However soon I predict that we'll be able to create an unbeatable superweapon." He answered. All you felt was exhaustion, your body wanted to shut down now. Shockwave moved over to you, a new chemical in the needle he injected you with, this time near your neck.       "Let me demonstrate, my liege."  

------Your. P.o.V-----

  I felt another power surge injected into my brain, and my heart picked up its pace. I let out a blood-curdling scream and wrestled with my restraints, to no avail. My once soft flesh was becoming hard and cold, like metal, however, it hardly looked any different though. I calmed down for a moment and Shockwave walked over to me once again, this time a small scalpel in hand. he dragged it across my skin, though the blad should've cut through me, it didn't. I panted and felt like passing out once more. Shockwave filled something again in the syringe and tapped it a few times. "No need to worry, this will be the last test for now," he informed, once again making the path to me.       Instead of my neck, or my torso, he injected it into my temple, and a sharp pain went through me. I screamed out, though it was mixed with pain and something else. My eyes shot opened and my pupils dilated, and a chilling shriek left my throat, and I fell into attack mode, my newly found powers being put to the test. With a rush of adrenalin, I broke free of my restraints, and just as I did a red alert blasted throughout the ship and a vehicle rushed towards Megatron. "My liege! Autobots have been spotted on the ship!" He reported though I paid no mind. Megatron lashed out in anger and demanded them to be caught.      As those two left, Shockwave looked back at me to try and restrain me again, but I was too fast. I had more strength now, let's see what else I could do. Shockwave went to grab me again. though this time I made the scalpel he held earlier pierce through it, causing him to grunt in surprise. "Telekinesis too? A nice touch!" I growled out, before bolting and escaping the lab.      "Autobots!" I howled, looking for them to find me. "Y/n here!" My voice echoed along the empty hallways, and as I turned the corner,  I was faced to face with a blue bot with blasters out. "Autobot?" I asked, scaring her. "Yeah, You're the human." "I am. When do we leave," I asked, though it sounded more like I was demanding it. "Optimus, I have the human, tell Ratchet to open a bridge," She declared, probably through a link. She tried staying the relative area, with me in her hands while we waited for the other two, Optimus and Bee.    Luckily we weren't there for long, and a portal opened up and they went through, eagerly I jumped from Arcee's hand, causing shouts of surprise and concern. Though I stood up perfectly fine, my new strength and tough skin make me a tough opponent. "How are you not hurt?" Arcee questioned, though I didn't care, I was too busy looking around for Miko. "Miko?" I called out, looking around, though I was met with silence. As I was looking around, Bumblebee picked me up. "Bulkhead took them out for a ride to calm their nerves," A white and Orange bot told me. "What did Shockwave do to you?" Finally, I calm enough and looked around at the bots, and sat comfortably on Bee's hand. I shrugged, "he shot me up with a bunch of different things, but I've learned that I have super tough skin, heightened senses, and I used telekineses at one point. He was going to use more, to make me the ultimate bio-weapon, but you guys raided the ship just in time." I explained. Ratchet started mumbling to himself and picked me up carefully, before hooking me up to a bunch of wires. "I'm going to run a diagnostic to see exactly what it was that he gave you," I nodded in understanding. "Do any of you know when Miko will be back? I don't want her to worry." Arcee and Bee seemed to let out chuckles and whirls of amusement to your comment.  "Don't worry, I've already contacted Bulkhead," Bumblebee whirled. I nodded and smiled, "Thanks, Bee!" I beamed, and the room fell quiet again. "You understood him?" Arcee questioned, to which I nodded. "It probably has to do with whatever I was given," I reason. "I never got to thank you guys for rescuing me, though. So, thank you." I shifted my gaze between all of them. "You're welcome, Y/n," Optimus replied. "Do any of you know why Megatron wanted me? I mean, he had K.O and another pick me up in an alleyway, but they never really told me why." Optimus nodded, "He thought you knew of us since you knew Miko." I made a sound of acknowledgement. "Just wait until Jack and Raf hear about this, kidnapped by a bunch of evil robots because I was friends with Miko."  I giggled, but Arcee and Bee looked towards one another. "Oh Don't tell me they were with Miko too!" I gasped. The two nodded, and Arcee chuckled. "Y/n, I do have to tell you that you can't let anyone know that we exist. I'm assigning myself as your guardian." Optimus declared. "Guardian? So you'll watch over me? And I'm going to assume you two," I motioned to Arcee and Bee, "are Jack's and Raf's guardians?" They nodded and Optimus went to reply. "In a way you're correct. I'll be picking you up from school and escorting you home or to the Base." "Makes sense."

      A few minutes of chatting and Ratchet running a few more other diagnostics that Bulkhead had came driving into the base, Miko, Raf, and Jack inside his alt mode. Within minutes of spotting me Miko's eyes light up. "Y/n!" She shouts excitedly. I get a little too excited and quickly disconnected from the wires and jumped down to give her a hug, though not before she let out a scream of fear when she saw me jump. "Don't worry! I'm okay! That stuff Shockwave gave me made me a superhuman!" I giggled as she engulfed me in a hug. "Y/n! I'm not done you're tests!" Ratchet scolds. I look over sheepishly. "Sorry, Doc-bot." I looked back to Miko and my two other friends who stood behind her. "You guys knew about them all along, huh?" I question, to which they nodded.    "We wanted to tell you! But, You know..." Jack trailed off and I nodded. "Yeah, though it seems like that didn't even keep me out of trouble." The next few hours were spent with me explaining what Shockwave did to me again as Ratchet re-hooked up all the wires I previously disconnected, and how I could understand Bee and had telekinesis. After a while though,  the conversation switched to what happened today at lunch, and Jack and Raf were polite enough to give Miko and me some space.    

       I looked towards the ground. "I know being called out in front of the school today probably made you really uncomfortable, and I'm sorry for that." I apologized. Though, her reaction was one I didn't expect. Miko started giggling and shook her head. "It's alright, I was shocked at first, but, I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel the same.." She trailed off, a light blush over her cheeks. "You mean..?" "Yeah," She nodded her head. A large smile graced my features and  I engulfed her into a hug, which he happily returned. "So..What does this make us?" She asks. I thought for a moment, "Miko, would be so kind as to go on a date with me this Saturday?" I chuckled at my own formalness. "I would love to, pick me up at 5?" She replied also giggling. "Sounds good."

-----Bonus (Regular P.o.V)----

           Thanks to the test Ratchet was running, he learned what Soundwave did to your system, and though he can't reverse the effects, he's been documenting your powers and the human body and nature. Vince doesn't mess with you as much anymore, especially now since you've been using your telekinesis to scare him off. You spend most of your time at the base, though you do usually drive yourself with Optimus driving behind you.       You and Miko have been dating for a few months, and you've decided that if you had to go through everything again, you would, just for her.

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This was a longer chapter compared to the ones I've recently been doing. I really hope I did the request well, and I added my own small spin to it.

[radikylie]

Today was kind of a sucky day but tomorrow will be better.

[darkestdesired]

How to Date a Psycho PT.1

Summary: The reader is Richie Tozier’s big brother,but how will he react when a certain School Psychotic pervert takes an interest in him?

Warning:Smut,R18,Male x Male,Blowjobs,Anal,Patrick just being a perverted asshole,Obsession,Swearing.

Rumours spread around that the new kid was super badass and scary,and of course those rumours made it to the bowers gang.They decided to see it for themselves,they waited in the parking lot and looked around for someone that matched the description.Victor saw the new kid first,"Guys holy shit." The other boys looked at where victor was pointing.Across the school yard was the new kid,but what threw them off was,yes i was scary and intimidating looking,But i was giving Richie a piggy back ride while i walked with the losers club.Patrick's eyes widnened,'Mine' he thought."The fuck is the new kid doing with those losers?" Henry asked a passerby.The kid look terrified,"T-That's (Y/n) Tozier,Richie's older brother..h-he just got back from home schooling." Henry glared at me."So he's just a big pussy like his little brother." Henry scoffed and headed towards me as the other's followed."(Y/n) look out,bowers gang is coming over." I raised a brow at mike before setting Richie down."Kick his ass (Y/n)!" Richie yelled as i met henry halfway,the kids watched from behind."So you're the new kid?You don't look too scary to me." I smirked."Thanks? I must say,love the mullet,really adds to the 'I'm a dipshit' aura." Henry's eyes widened."The fuck did you say to me?!" Patrick licked his lips as he messed with Beverly's hair,i grabbed his arm and pushed it away while beverley hid behind Bill and mike"Don't touch her." Henry went to punch me but i grabbed his wrist and twisted him around before kicking him forward onto the ground face first.The other's stared at me wide eyed as Henry scurried to get up,"Don't just stand there! GET HIM!" He yelled.I smirked and glanced at the kids."Meet me at my car,i won't be long." Richie laughed as they all hurried to the parking lot.Belch tried to grab me from behind but i used him as leverage and leaned against him as i kicked Victor's chest.Patrick watched and stalked around me like a vulture as i punched belch and Henry.I felt him grab my waist,"That was so hot baby,look at all that blood on your pretty little fists." Patrick was a bit surprised when he saw the blush on my face."Aww,you like that baby,i can make you feel real good." I elbowed him in the stomach and slipped away."Thanks for the offer,maybe some other time,baby." Patrick held his stomach and licked his lips at me as i ran to my car where the kids were already piled in.They watched as we pulled off and drove away,"I'm gonna kill that piece of shit." Henry growled.Patrick stood up,"He's mine." Henry gave him a confused look not realizing what Patrick meant by ’mine’.Henry huffed "Whatever." before everyone headed to the car,Patrick licked some of my blood that ended up on my hand and grinned.”All mine.”

It was like this the next few weeks,Patrick would shamelessly flirt with me and touch me.I had enough of him thinking he could do that without any consequences,i was getting changed in what i thought was an empty locker room after gym when i felt a hand grab my ass."Damn,Your ass is so fat Tozier." I heard Patrick growl into my ear.I bit my lip,"Stop touching me CockSweater." Patrick chuckled and licked my shirtless body from the side of my neck to my cheek.I shivered from the sensation."Come on baby,i know you like it." I grabbed onto the locker as he began dry humping my ass.I tried to hold back a moan,"Y-You pervert.." Patrick left a few hickeys on my neck and back."You taste so good..it makes me wonder what-" he grabbed my bulge that was showing through my boxers."This tastes like.." I couldn't stop a moan that erupted."Mm,yea baby,moan for me." He slid his hand under my boxers and started pumping my dick."Why don't you let me have a taste baby,i promise i can make you feel so good." Against my better judgement i turned to him,he grinned and held my chin up to kiss me.I wrapped my arms around his neck as he led me down onto my back on a bench.He kissed his way down my stomach until he pulled my hard dick out of my boxers,he licked his lips before trailing kisses down my shaft.I moaned and ran my fingers through his hair,"Patrick.." He licked the tip,and without so much as a second thought, he slid my whole dick into his mouth.I moaned out in pleasure as he bobbed his head up and down,after a bit i came down his tight throat.Patrick swallowed and sat up before grabbing my thighs and pulling me towards him,he pulled off my boxers and wrapped my legs around him."I'm gonna fuck you real good baby,You'll be begging for more." I held onto his shoulders as he pulled out a bottle of lube,My eyes widened as he slipped a few lubed fingers into my whole.I covered my face with my hands as soon as i felt the tears rolled down my cheeks."Aww,It's okay baby,It'll feel good soon i promise." He pulled my hands away and licked my tears."You taste so good,I'm gonna get addicted to you." He growled and pulled his finger out,I felt my heart beat skip a beat when i saw him pull his dick out of his pants.He licked his lips and pressed the tip against my entrance,"Relax baby." I clenched my eyes shut as i felt him slide inside,He grunted and gritted his teeth."You're so tight and warm,I wanna stay in here forever." He leaned down and kissed me passionately."You're all mine (Y/n),No one will be able to take you away from me." He growled and licked my throat.He sat and pulled me up with him,I buried my head into his neck as he wrapped me in a tight hug,I bounced up and down,I initiated a kiss and ran my fingers through his hair. His thrusts became uneven and i knew he was close,i felt myself growing close as well."Let's cum together.." I whispered.He grinned and held me close,We both tensed up as I came onto our bare stomachs and he came inside of me. "fuck baby.." He said breathlessly.I rested my head on his shoulder as he rubbed my back gently,I fainted for a bit and when i woke up i was dressed and being carried outside.I slowly opened my eyes and noticed basically everyone was gone except for my brother,his friends,and the rest of the bowers gang.Richie's eyes widened and he screamed at Patrick,mike and bill struggled to hold him back."WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO HIM?!" Patrick smirked."I don't know what you're talkin’ about,He fainted in gym class so i offered to help him out." Nobody bought it,they could see the bite marks and hickeys on my neck.Henry smirked as he looked over at the losers club,"Looks like Patrick broke your brother." Richie tried to run at Henry but i spoke up weakly."Enough Richie." Richie stared at me in shock as Patrick set me down."But He-" i cut him off."You'll understand when you're older,now get your asses to the car Now!" Richie stared at me for a minute before storming off,the others followed after him.Patrick grinned,"Aw i think you hurt the little shits feelings."I shot him a glare."Stay the fuck away from me and my brother Hocksetter,or else i’ll be your worst nightmare.” I growled and went to walk away but Patrick grabbed my wrist. “I don’t think you understand baby,You’re mine.No matter what you do or where you go,you will always be mine.” He growled with a sick grin.I pulled my hand away and stormed off to my car,i slammed the door and sat there for a minute gripping the steering wheel.Eddie put a hand on my shoulder,”(Y/n)? Are you okay?” I took a deep breath before smiling at everyone,”Who wants ice-cream?”

[purrincess-chat]

Marinette and the Lost Temple CH2

Here is the next installment of my Marinette March fic!

Read on AO3

Chapter 2

“Do you know what you have to do?”

Plagg lounged on his side on Master Fu’s mattress next to a large plate of cheese. He caressed a wedge tenderly before stuffing it down his gullet and shrugging.

“You want me to take the kid to the old temple grounds,” he said around a mouthful before swallowing.

“Yes, but not right away,” Master Fu corrected. “Let her enjoy her vacation a little. I fear that what happens there might impact the rest of her visit.”

“You humans are so fickle,” Plagg said, patting his swollen belly with a belch. “So easily influenced by your emotions.”

“I have often wondered if I would get to see her through this journey, and the time has finally come,” Master Fu traced his fingers over a small lanyard fondly. “I only hope she can forgive me.”

“For what?”

“For what I did all those years ago,” Fu said somberly, tucking the charm back into its box. “The time has finally come for her to learn.”

“Do you really think it’s going to change her opinion of you that much?” Master Fu flicked his gaze to meet Plagg’s, and the kwami’s ears flattened.

“I think it’s going to break her heart.”

***

“Ah, Sabine, Marinette!” Aunt Jie smiled as they approached from the terminal, stretching her arms out to embrace her sister. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen you.”

“I’ve missed you,” her mother hummed before pulling away and placing her hand on the small of Marinette’s back.

“Don’t tell me this is Marinette? She’s gotten so big since you last visited,” Aunt Jie gasped, placing a hand over her throat.

“Hi,” Marinette waved shyly, tugging at her blazer.

“You resemble your mother a lot, Marinette,” Aunt Jie said with a proud smile. “How old are you now?”

“14,” Marinette replied.

“Time flies,” Sabine chuckled, and Aunt Jie cupped Marinette’s cheek fondly before turning and gesturing them to the stairs.

“Baggage claim is this way,” she said, and Marinette fell in line behind her mother.

“Are we there yet? I’m hungry,” Plagg poked his head out of Marinette’s purse with a groan, and Marinette quickly clamped her hand over him.

“Did you say something, dear?” Sabine asked, turning over her shoulder.

“I, uh, I’m hungry. Are we going to stop and eat soon?” Marinette said, fastening the clasp on her purse.

“Mom has prepared a meal for us at home. We wanted to welcome you both properly and give Marinette a taste of her heritage,” Aunt Jie said, and Marinette nodded appreciatively, shooting a glare at Plagg through her purse when they both turned back around.

She wondered if Plagg caused this many problems for Chat Noir as well, or if he was just acting out for her. They were going to have a long chat later about staying out of sight. Hopefully the Camembert Master Fu and Chat Noir arranged for him would arrive soon.

After claiming their baggage, her aunt drove them to their family home in a small town just outside the city, and Marinette gazed out the window in awe at all of the unfamiliar sights. When they pulled up to the house, several people stood on the front porch waiting, and she felt her stomach flip as Aunt Jie shut off the engine.

“We’re here,” she said, smiling over her shoulder at Marinette in the back seat.

A small old woman appeared in the doorway as they climbed from the car, and Marinette followed her mother's lead, bowing respectfully. Her grandmother smiled, carefully stepping from the porch as they paced to meet her halfway.

“Hello, mother,” Sabine said in Chinese, one of the few phrases Marinette knew.

“Um, ni hao!” Marinette said, cheeks flushing.

“Bonjour, Marinette. It's good to see you,” her grandmother greeted in perfect French which made sense considering she was half French herself and had grown up in Paris.

“My beautiful, Sabine!” Grandpa Cheng called from the porch.

“Come inside, we've prepared lunch. You two must be hungry,” Grandma Cheng urged, and Marinette followed behind her mother like a baby duckling.

“How was your flight?”

Marinette let her mother do most of the talking as they entered their family estate, and Marinette heard the distant caw of a rooster. She knew her family owned a little land, but she hadn't anticipated so much room and found herself wishing they lived in the city instead of the countryside. So much open space made her feel exposed and vulnerable, and she curled her shoulders a little as they made their way to the dining room.

“You should show Marinette the garden after lunch, mom. Sabine tells me she has quite the green thumb,” Aunt Jie suggested while they ate.

“Ah, yes, I can show her, her tree,” Grandma Cheng nodded, and Marinette tilted her head to one side.

“My tree?”

“Your grandmother planted an apple tree in the garden the day you were born,” Aunt Jie explained. “She believes that if she takes care of it that you will be healthy.”

“It is my way of keeping in touch. I know that if the tree is flourishing then so is Marinette,” Grandma Cheng said, retrieving an apple from the bowl in the center of the table. “She has produced well this year, so I see that you have had a prosperous year.”

“It's been...exciting,” Marinette said thinking back to the first day of school with a wince, shoving a piece of shrimp into her purse when no one was looking.

“Marinette won a design contest held by her favorite designer, and his son modeled her hat at a fashion show,” Sabine explained proudly, and her grandmother nodded knowingly.

“I sensed greatness in her from the very moment I planted that tree,” Grandma Cheng gave her hand a squeeze, and Marinette smiled, a sense of pride swirling in her chest.

After lunch, Marinette accompanied her grandmother out to the garden while Sabine and Aunt Jie caught up. Things were much quieter there allowing her to hear the rustle of leaves when the wind blew or the wings of birds as they flitted from branch to branch. Everything was so tranquil, and the once daunting silence now brought her a sense of calm she never got in the city.

“I see why you live out here now,” she remarked, leaning her head back to let the sun kiss her cheeks.

“City life is exciting, but in my old age I find it a bit too exciting,” Grandma Cheng said. “Your grandfather and I used to love Paris. It was our home, but when his parents grew ill, we knew this was where we needed to be. Now I can't picture being anywhere else.”

“It's beautiful here. I've never seen so much green before,” Marinette gazed around at all of the trees and crops growing in their vegetable garden until her eyes settled on a small tree set apart from the rest.

“This is my Marinette,” Grandma Cheng said, running her hand along the bark. “I've noticed her losing more leaves than usual lately which isn't common this time of year. You are under a lot of stress.”

Marinette bit back a wince. It wasn't like she could tell her that she spent a lot of time fighting supervillains and juggling school, but Marinette sensed that her grandmother could tell something was going on in her life.

“I just stay busy, that's all,” she shrugged.

“I can tell you have a great responsibility on your shoulders, but I know that you will overcome it. You are strong,” Grandma Cheng said, and Marinette stared up into the leaves with a small smile.

“Thanks, Grandma.”

“Why don't you take a walk around? I find that a bit of fresh air helps clear my head,” she suggested, turning back to the house. “I'll put on some tea for you when you come back inside.”

“Okay.” Marinette waited until she was out of sight before treading down the small path to the stream, and Plagg emerged from her purse.

“Your grandma is a wise woman,” he said, stretching his limbs. “That shrimp she made was almost as tasty as Camembert.”

“We need to figure out a way to sneak off to find that place Master Fu wants me to go,” Marinette said, retrieving the slip of paper and reading it once more. “We may have to sneak out tonight after everyone goes to bed.”

“Ugh, we just got here! Can't we take a break for a while? This is a vacation after all,” Plagg whined.

“Master Fu instructed me to go here, and he wouldn't have done that if it weren't important. The sooner we go, the better,” Marinette said, tucking it back into her purse decidedly.

“Oh, c'mon. Don't you ever take a break?” Plagg said, crossing his arms over his chest. “Your grandma just told you that you should destress, so why not rest up for a few days before you go? Need I remind you, you don't even know what it is. You may need all of your strength.”

“You think it's something dangerous?” Marinette shrank a little.

“I'm not saying it isn't dangerous,” Plagg shrugged.

“Are you only telling me that so you can lay around and do nothing for a few days?” Marinette quirked a brow.

“I'm insulted that you would even suggest such a thing!” Plagg scoffed. “But...considering you do save Paris every day, don't you want a break?”

“Well…” Marinette curled her shoulders.

“The thing that Master Fu wants you to see has been there for centuries, and it will still be there in a few days. Trust me, I was there when it was built,” Plagg said, placing a small paw on her shoulder. “You need to unwind.”

“I guess a couple days couldn't hurt...It gives me time to find my way around,” she tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Fine. We'll relax for a few days, but don't think you're just gonna get to lay around and do nothing, lazy bones. If it is something dangerous then I need to prepare for it.”

“You're the worst person to vacation with,” Plagg griped, floating back down to her purse, and Marinette puffed out her cheeks before storming up the bank.

[imagines-r-s]

Childhood Memories (PT. 1)

TW: abuse, angsty teenagers, and I think that’s all

OC x Sweet Pea

Please note : I apologize for this taking forever. I just was worried about quality of it because I wasn’t into writing as much as I was before. But luckily that only lasted a little.

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

I never imagined that me and Sweet Pea would actually be okay together. Especially, when all the odds are against us. It was hard. Our worlds were completely different from each other. No one expected a ghoulie and a serpent to be together.

Sweet Pea and I met when you were kids. As daughter of the leader of the Ghoulies, my dad wanted you to learn how to lead, so he would take you to any Ghoulie business, which included drug deals and attacks to the Serpents. The Serpent vs. Ghoulie feud wasn’t always as brutal as it was no and days. Usually it was just to finish deals and things with FP.

During most of the meetings, I would just walk around Sunnyside Trailer park for the fun of it. Dad honestly didn’t care, he was more worried my brother, Malachi, was watching or not. One day as I was walking around, I saw a serpent who looked to be around my age and he was honestly really cute. He was sitting on the stairs to his trailer and I could tell he had been crying. I walked up to him and as I got closer, I could hear yelling from inside his house.

“Hey. I’m Makenzie Martinez”

“Hi, I’m-” he was interrupted by the sound of glass breaking. “ S-Sam Porter. Can we go somewhere else, please?”

“ Yeah, of course.”

That was the first time that me and Sam ever talked. We became really good friends after that. We had been there for each other for the past 3 years, but then things started getting harder when we both turned 13. We were best friends until we were 13. After that, my dad wanted me to be more active with the ghoulies and when Sam’s dad became more abusive. But we always had our usual spot at pop’s.

“Mack, I can’t do this anymore.” Sam looked sad and I felt awful because I couldn’t do anything.

“ Why don’t you just come stay with me? I can talk to my d-”

“I can’t do that to you. Plus, if my dad found out that I became a part of a drug dealing, no good gang member he would kill me.”

I didn’t know how to respond. I know he didn’t mean that towards me, of course. But I still was really hurt by his comment. I couldn’t say anything, so I just sat there.

“Mack, you okay? I wasn’t meaning that towards you.” Sam could tell that it hurt me, but all I could do was sit there.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I think I’m going to go, Sam.” I got up to go and I could feel his eyes follow me. I decided to walk home that day. I don’t know why I got so emotional. But he disrespected my family and it just really hurt me.

After that, me and Sam started to become distant and we never really saw each other outside of school. He made new friends and so did I. I started to get more into ghoulie business and I heard rumors of him becoming a Serpent.  That was all. Once we started high school at Southside High, Sam and I had a few classes together and we had lunch together. The only issue was that the rumors of him becoming a Serpent were true, and the name Sam turned into Sweet Pea.

It was the first day of sophomore year and my first class was AP biology. I knew I would probably be the only Ghoulie in that class considering the fact that a lot of the Ghoulies didn’t want to do anything other than drug deal, but I wanted to make something of myself and leave Riverdale as soon as I could. I want to keep my 4.0 GPA and not let any of this follow me into my future. I couldn’t do that. I got settled in an empty seat in the back and as I was getting ready I saw him. Sam probably wanted the same thing I did. Especially with the issues with his family.

He sat by me, which made people look. They knew I was a Ghoulie and that he was a Serpent and they were just waiting for something to start.

“ Hi Sam.”

“ Hi Mack.”

“ I see you joined the Serpents? Glad you didn’t get stuck with the drug dealing, no good Ghoulies,” I smiled a very sarcastic smile.

“Still sarcastic as usual, I see. Is your dad still leading or is Malachi?”

“Malachi. My dad was killed over the summer in a shootout.”

“Ma-”

“No. I don’t want your pity.”

Class had started and me and Sam got assigned as lab partners. We started getting closer over the school year. I would tell him about Ghoulie business and he told me about Serpent stuff. It was basically like old times, we were good about hiding it until someone snitched on us to FP and Malachi at the end of sophomore year.

“ Do you understand why I’m mad, Mackenzie?” Malachi started yelling at me as he drove me home.

“ Not really, to be honest.”

“ You can’t be friends with that Serpent boy. I know you used to be when dad was alive, but things have changed.”

“No, you can’t choose who I’m friends with.”

“ If you want to be an official member of the Ghoulies, then yes you will.”

“ Wowwww.”

I stormed off into my room, locking the door, and then I started crying. I can’t lose him again. It’s not fair to either of us.

SERPENT BOY: hey mack. Idk if you still have this number

ME: yeah. Hey

SERPENT BOY: do you want to hangout with me at Pop’s?

ME: usual spot?

SERPENT BOY: of course

I had to sneak out of the window, so that way I could start walking to Pop’s.

SERPENT BOY: are you walking?

ME:yeah. Why?

SERPENT BOY: i’m close

After he said that, I heard the roar of a motorcycle. He stopped and handed me a helmet. I stood there in awe.

“Why do you seem so confused?” he asked laughing.

“I just never expected the Sam Porter to have a motorcycle.”

“Yeah, but Sweet Pea does.”

I put on the helmet and we went to Pop’s. It felt like old times, we took off our jackets so that way it was just us, no gangs. I was so happy.

“Mack, can I be honest with you?” We had just ordered our food so it would be a little while before we got our food.

“Yeah, I guess,” I say sipping on the straw of my strawberry milkshake.

“I’m really sorry for what I said a few years ago. I just wasn’t thinking.”

“No, it’s whatever. Don’t feel bad for it. Now that Malachi is in charge, I actually agree with it.”

“Why?”

“All he wants is the money, dad was in for the unity of it all, nothing else really. We just had to do what we had to do. Now, Malachi just wants to sell JJ. “

“I see. I see. Hey Mack, I really missed you.”

“ I missed you, too, Porter.”

“Mackenzie. Ummm.-” “What?”

“Why are there a bunch of Ghoulie bikes pulling up?”

Fuck. You looked at your phone and saw a bunch of messages from Malachi. I would run to the bathroom, but the bathroom was by the front door and you were in the corner.

“Sam, I have to hide.”

Sam whispered something to Pop and he let me hide behind the counter. I was stressing. He couldn’t find me in the place he told me I couldn’t be.

“ Mackenzie, I know you’re here. I saw your jacket on some Serpent bike. You better come with me now or else something happens to your boy over here. “

SERPENT BOY: stay back there mack. I’ll be okay.

ME: no i can’t have you get hurt because of my mess.

I heard Malachi and Sam talking and then, I heard them leave. I was about to step out when Pop told me to wait. Both Sam and I had gotten closer to Pop over the years, so we knew him well. I waited a while and I heard the door open. Pop told me I could get up because it was just Sam.

“Omg, Sam.”

“Mack, it’s fine.”

“No, it’s not. Because it’s my fault. At least let me take you home and clean you up?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

We left on his bike and I felt awful for how that all went down. He took me to Sunnyside Trailer Park and then to his trailer. It was different than the one I met him at. But I could tell it was just him that lived here, but I didn’t want to ask him about it.

“ Where is your first aid kit?” I asked looking in the bathroom.

“Second drawer on the left.”

I got it and I came out to the kitchen. I pulled out one of the chairs he had.  

“Sit.”

“Mack, I’m fine. I can do this myself.”

“Sit,” I said, more assertively. “I’m so sorry. I should have gone back out -”

“No, it’s fine. I’m okay.”

“No, you’re not okay you literally have a bunch of scratches and bruises on your face because my brother got all pissy.”

“Why was he so mad anyways?”

“ He told me, he doesn’t want me messing with a serpent. But it’s okay, you’re my best friend so I’m not letting it happen.”

Sam and I were really close now. I could feel his breathing on my neck as I cleaned up a scratch on his forehead. I could tell when it hurt him to put the peroxide on it because he grabbed the back of my leg, when they sat on his knee. I had finally fixed up his scratches and stuff. The clock on the microwave read 10:38 once I had finished.

“Do you mind if I just stay here tonight? I doubt I will be okay at home and I don’t want to see my brother. “

“Yeah, totally you can stay as long as you need.” Sam said. He seemed extremely anxious though and I wasn’t sure why. “You can take the bed and I’ll take the floor.”

“No, I can’t kick you out of your own bed. Either we’re both on the bed or I’m on the floor.”

“Fine. We can both have the bed,” this wasn’t the first time we had done this though. When things got bad at home or things with Sam’s dad got too bad, I would stay over to make sure he felt okay.

I kept getting messages from Malachi, so I just completely turned off my phone, I couldn’t take it. Sam fell asleep, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t help, but think how much pain I would cause Sam if anything happened. I couldn’t let him get hurt because of me. Halfway through the night, I got bored so I turned on my phone. I had gotten a lot of texts from Malachi asking where I was, who I was with, and what would happen once I got home. I turned my phone back off after that. I tried falling asleep until Sam had gotten up to go to the bathroom. I could hear him talking to himself through the door.

“ Why are you so scared to tell her? She should know. But if she finds out she probably won’t feel the same and she’d completely drop me as her friend. I can’t just be like Mackenzie, I’ve liked you since we were 13. I can’t just say that.”

I had to fake like I was asleep or I could confront him? Fake sleep it is. I couldn’t just tell him that I’ve felt the same. So I just tried to fall asleep shortly after.

I woke up to an empty bed. I got up and headed to the kitchen to see 4 people in Sam’s living room. None of which I knew and all of them being Serpents, but they all seemed to be around my age.

“Oh, I was just leaving. Sorry to interrupt.” I said, almost running for the door.

“You don’t have to leave, Mack.” Sam said.

I could see two of the other Serpents that I had seen around school talk amongst themselves.

“Mack? Do you know her, Sweet Pea?” the girl on the far corner said.

“ Wait, Mack as in Mackenzie? Mackenzie Martinez?As in Ghoulie leader’s sister?” the boy said, in complete awe.

“Yeah, umm, that’s me. Anyways, Sam, I better g-”

“Sweet Pea, how do you know her? And why does she call you Sam?” the girl said.

“We’re umm. Childhood friends. She’s not like her brother, I promise,” Sam said.

“ I was just born into a gang of drug dealers, so please don’t mind me.”

“I’m Toni,” the girl said.

“I’m Fangs,” the boy said.

“I would love to stay and chat, but I think my brother is about to kill me,sooooo. Anyways, Sam, I might have to come back later if that’s ok.”

“Yeah, that’s totally fine, Mack.”

SAM’S POV

I sighed as she left. I hated to have to see her go back to where her brother was.

“Dude, why didn’t you tell us you and Martinez were friends?” Fangs asked.

“ I just was afraid of something happening to her. She already gets enough at home, plus she’s been there for me all this time. I couldn’t let anything happen to her. “ I say, feeling like I should tell her this.

“You totally like her. I mean I don’t blame you. She’s hot.” Toni says.

“No no no. I don’t.”

Toni and Fangs shared a look saying they knew, too.

“ Fine, I do. But I can never tell her.”

“Why not?” Fangs asked.

“We were already not friends for a while. I can’t go through that again. Plus, everything is against us.” I said, planting down on the coach.

MACK: i just got home. I’ll text you after to see if i’m coming back or not.

ME: okk

“Is that her?” Toni asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Yeah, it is. Leave me alone.”

“Guys, we have to go to the Whyte Worm for the meeting. So let’s go. “

As serpents, we would meet at the Whyte Worm whenever FP said we needed to. Most of the meeting, I wasn’t even paying attention. I was thinking about if Mackenzie was okay or not. She’s been through so much, especially with the fact that she’s only 15. As FP was discussing something, I get a text.

MACK: we need to talk

ME: how serious?

MACK: about two things.

MACK: three things actually. Meet me at the house of the dead.

ME: i can’t go there by myself.

MACK: ok. I obviously won’t be alone either.

I asked Toni and Fangs to come with, because I didn’t trust the Ghoulies.

MACKENZIE’S POV

As soon as I got home, I regretted it. Malachi started yelling at me and he actually hit me

this time which I honestly didn’t expect. I was hoping he would never succumb to that. But I knew it was coming. Nothing else happened, so I just went to my room. As soon as I got there, Malachi came barging in.

“Mack, give me your phone.” He said, holding out his hand.

“Ummm. Why?”

“I want to text your little Serpent Boy.” Malachi said, but he had this devilish look in his eye  

that scared me.

“No.”

“Mackenzie, just understand, you’re involved in this plan either way. So either agree or don’t.”

“Yeah, umm I don’t agree.”

“Ok. Come here, Drew. “

“Malachi, what are you doing.”

“ Give me the phone or you’ll see. “

“I’m not giving you my ph-.”

Before I even knew what was happening, Drew had started punching me as if it were  

Ghoulie initiation and I was a serpent. Malachi walked out as soon as Drew gave him the phone. You laid there in pain, and just waiting for another hit to come to you. After a few minutes, Drew and Malachi came back in and practically dragged you out to the couch outside of the house. Malachi had Drew and another Ghoulie named, Michael, hold me down for a while and of course they had to force me to have jingle jangle .

“Why are we out here?” I said, sounding exhausted.

“Waiting on your Serpent boy to come to the rescue. “ I didn’t even realize that’s why he would have wanted my phone, but I was so scared of what was coming.

I saw Sam pull up with his motorcycle.

“SAM GO IT-” I got interrupted by Michael putting his hand over my mouth.

“I’ll be okay, Mackenzie.”

“Well if it isn’t good old Serpent Boy?” Malachi said, he started to grab his bat and I got so scared for what was coming.

“I just want Mackenzie. That’s all”

“Awwww. How cute? Serpent Boy wants Mackenzie back.” Everything started to go foggy and hazy. I couldn’t focus on anything that was going on in front of me. Once the fight started, everything went to black.

[letspartyrightnowplease]

When the Storm Ends

ao3!

This would literally only ever happen to him. Dan slumps against the steering wheel and sighs, heart still coming down from the whole incident. It’s quiet, save for the blood rushing in his ears.

Of course he’d literally almost die days before Christmas. Maybe he shouldn’t have driven again in the first place. Maybe he shouldn’t have looked away from a road that was solid ice and then driven off of it. Seriously, wrapping his car around a tree really wouldn’t be part of this whole “Christmas spirit” thing he’s been trying out. Dan sits back and looks out at the bright, white snow all around him. Yeah, he definitely shouldn’t have been driving today; there have been alerts for days of a snow storm and it looks like Dan’s caught in the middle of it. He takes the car out of park and slowly hits the gas, but the car doesn’t move. He presses harder and Dan hears the awful sound of his wheels turning in mud. Damn this weather. He angrily gets out of his shitty, old car and walks around to see his tires stuck in mud and ice and some gross-looking sludge. He wraps his arms around his freezing-self, breath fogging out of his mouth as he sighs deeply. Could this get any worse? He gets back into his car for warmth and to maybe think up a plan. God, the last house he saw was probably a few miles back, and that’s too damn far for him to walk in this freezing cold. He pulls out his phone, and, yeah, no service. Fuck. Looks like he’s really doing this. - His cheeks burn in the cold, and his fingers can’t be shoved any farther into his pockets. He had grabbed his thickest sweater and put it on under his big coat, a scarf, that was probably in his car for ten years, wrapped around his neck and mouth. He thinks his toes fell off maybe a mile back, and at this point, the shivers have become so intense that his entire body is vibrating. He decided against carrying his suitcase, but grabbed the essentials, which was actually just his charger. He made sure to put anything else valuable under his seats and then locked his car. Every once in a while he checks his phone for service, but something tells him he won’t find any out here. He keeps walking. There’s something about being alone with yourself for so long, without much to do but walk and be in your own thoughts, that really just makes you think. Everything is still and quiet out in this open area, but his thoughts are loud and go as quickly as they come, and he can’t help but go back to what’s been keeping his mind occupied lately: going home. He thinks about his nana and how happy he’ll be to see her. But then he thinks about his mum and Adrian, and, guiltily, feels less happy about it. Not to even mention his dad, who probably won’t even be able to make it. Why does that make his chest feel less tight? There’s nothing wrong with his dad, or his mum and Adrian for that matter, but seeing them all and being back in that house causes this sort of shadow to fall over him. Bad things generally happen when he comes home, but usually not to this extent. To think he thought this time would be any different.

So far it’s been pretty shit. God, he can’t believe he was so stupid that he literally ran off the road! And now he’s freezing his fucking tits off, most likely getting frostbite, and thinking about the same old thing he’s been dwelling on for weeks. Alright, maybe that’s enough thinking for a bit. He pulls his stiff hands out of his pockets and pulls his hood tighter around him. He’s breathing heavy, the walk long and tiring, especially for someone like him who skips out on exercising even when he knows he shouldn’t. He digs his hands into his pockets and looks up, the snow around him thick and dense and blocking his view. It’s too beautiful for its own good, Dan thinks, little snowflakes falling on his mostly frozen cheeks.

In his limited vision, a small silhouette appears in his line of sight. Dan squints his eyes and tries to make out what it is through all the snowfall. He breathes a sigh of relief when it looks to be a house. Dan remembers driving past it, not knowing that it would most likely belong to his savior. He happily speeds up his walk, wanting warmth as soon as possible, and when he’s halfway there, he slows down and let’s what he’s about to do sink in.

God, what does he do? Obviously he needs to explain to them what happened, but how? Anxiety licks up his stomach and squeezes his chest, something in him telling him to turn around and forget about it, but he literally can’t do that.

He rolls his shoulders back and takes a deep breath to calm his suddenly racing heart, and he continues walking towards the house, words and sentences swirling in his head about what exactly he plans to say.

He walks along the path, towards the door, and eyes the half-deflated Christmas decorations dawning the lawn. Hopefully he doesn’t get murdered.

Dan takes a deep breath in and knocks when he reaches the door. He steps back and waits.

And nothing.

He panics for a second, wonders if maybe no one’s home, or if they are, maybe they’re asleep, but then he remembers it’s like three in the afternoon. Just when he’s about to make a run for it, the door opens to a frazzled, wide-eyed man.

Dan forgets to speak for a second and watches the man’s face turn to confusion. “Uh, hi.” Dan says, then takes a deep breath and shakes his head. “I got my car, um, stuck and I have no service, and I was wondering if I could make a call? Maybe have somebody come and get me?”

“Oh! Well I really would love to do that, but everything’s been out for a few hours now. But please, please, come in. You look frozen!”

The man steps back and opens the door wider, and Dan can’t help but smile thankfully and walk inside. He’s immediately wrapped in warmth and the scent of burning wood. He shakes the snow off his shoes and wonders if maybe he should take them off. He looks to the man for guidance, but he isn’t helpful.

“Thank you, really, I feel like I’ve been out there for hours.” Dan says, the both of them still standing in the entrance way. It’s lit by a torch sitting on a little table, and Dan curses the weather once more.

“Ah, yeah. I’m really sorry about that. I basically live in the middle of nowhere so there’s not a lot around here. Do you know where your car got stuck?” He asks, gesturing towards an entrance into the kitchen.

“Some road with a really long name. I drove off it and slid right into a ditch.”

“Oh, my God! Are you okay?” The man asks, looking genuinely worried for someone he just met. Dan just waves his hand.

“Worst thing that could’ve happened was a heart attack, but I’m fine.” Dan explains. He watches the man pull out various things from a cupboard. When he looks at it, he can’t help but smile. “I’m Dan, by the way. And like, I know I’ve said it, but thank you again.”

“Phil.” The man supplies and turns to finish what he’s doing. “Okay, we’ve got water and cereal for now, but later, I have stuff for sandwiches.”

“No milk?” Dan asks, the filter in his brain seemingly disappearing and he immediately wants to apologize. He’s barely said ten words to a man he’s just met and now he looks like an entitled twat. Nice. He watches Phil blush and grab the back of his neck, eyes looking away from him.

“I’ve actually been out of it for like a week. Like I said, everything’s pretty far away from here, so I usually only go out when I really need to.”

Dan laughs. “No worries. But they do have ways you can do that online.”

“Costs too much,” is all he says and shrugs. Dan wants to laugh at that. He seems pretty well off, at least according to the house and the huge decorations and the amount of nick nacks littering just the kitchen and entrance way. He wonders if Phil pays the bills here alone, if he wakes up alone, and if he spends his days in this house alone.

Maybe Phil gets lonely like he does, and that’s why he was so willing to let a complete stranger into his home, and why his first instinct is to feed him what’s left of his already depleting groceries. Or maybe Dan thinks too much about everything and should take the glass of water and bowl of dry cereal that Phil is offering him.

“I don’t mean to assume anything, especially since this is such a strange situation, but please, anytime you want me out, I’m out.”

They walk to a table in the kitchen and sit across from each other. Phil starts to eat the cereal with his fingers, so Dan does the same.

“Oh, God, don’t even worry about it. Please, you can stay here as long as it takes to get a hold of someone for help. This must be such a mess for you.” He stops to laugh a bit and Dan can’t look away. “I have nothing better to do anyway.” Phil smiles at him and the warmth must be getting to him because he melts a bit.

Dan takes a drink of water. “You aren’t going to see any family?” Dan asks, the question seemingly fine, but then he kind of wants to take it back. Maybe he has a rough time going back home, too.

“I wish.” Never mind, Dan thinks. “I was going to head out there, but my plane got canceled.” He seems bummed about it, and Dan hates that he brought it up. “But what about you? Were you heading to your family’s?”

“Yeah, actually. Thought I’d make the trip for Christmas for once, but turns out no matter how hard I might try, something's always keeping me back.”

“Sounds like fate to me.” Phil says, a small smile on his lips.

“How so?��� Dan challenges. He’s never really believed in fate before, never really wanted to.

“Think about it. What if my plane didn’t get canceled? I’d be with my family. Where’d you be? Probably still looking for a place to warm up and get into contact with somebody. What if you hadn’t decided to spend Christmas with your family? I wouldn’t have anyone to help me get more wood for the fireplace.”

“I feel like I’ve been tricked somehow.” Dan says and Phil laughs like he just said the funniest thing in the world, and, honestly, Dan believes it.

“But seriously, like, I have no idea when the power will be turned back on. Looking at this storm, it might be awhile. I’ve been saving my laptop battery for a movie later tonight, and I have way too many board games to even keep track of, so you’re the one who’s gonna have to probably sneak out when I come back in for more cereal breaks. So don’t worry about anything. What do they say? Mi casa, su casa?”

Dan thinks about maybe tearing up. He looks at the crinkles in Phil’s eyes as he smiles at him, plopping more cereal sloppily into his mouth, and thinks maybe he died when he swerved off the road and this is heaven. “Anyone ever told you that you’re probably the kindest person ever?” Okay, maybe he didn’t mean for that to slip out, especially so fondly already, but it did, and he kind of wants to see where this goes for him. He’s not expecting anything, but he wouldn’t be disappointed if Phil were to flirt back.

“A few.” He shrugs. Dan can’t tear his eyes away from the smirk on Phil’s face.

-

There’s something about meeting a stranger and feeling closer to him than anyone else in your entire life. Dan thought connections like this were made up from fiction. He’s longed for this feeling since he was a teenager, when he felt alone and like he’d always be alone. He wishes that he could tell his younger self that it’s fine, that he found the most amazing person in the world who’s just like him but yet so, so different.

He gladly accepts Phil’s proposals of board games and card games and chatting about anything and everything. He nods happily when Phil yawns and asks for a nap.

It’s basically pitch black now, the days so much shorter. Lit candles dot Phil’s living room, the fragrance somehow comforting and not unbearable.

He can’t describe how guilty he feels though. As he lays with his head on Phil’s pillow, on Phil’s sofa, he feels the ache of doing something wrong deep in his chest. It’s light and not as heavy as his brain thinks it should be. He should be with his family right now. He should be with his Nan. He should be rolling his eyes at Adrian. He should always be doing something other than what he’s actually doing.

Dan rolls onto his back and sighs loudly. It’s too quiet. Phil went to his room, but not before making sure Dan literally had anything he’d need, which consisted of Phil’s softest blanket and favorite pillow. He wonders if he’ll ever see Phil again after this. Maybe in passing. Maybe if he decides to see his family more, he could stop here on his way.

He doesn’t want the storm to end.

He’s tired. He woke up early this morning for how late he went to bed the night before. He doesn’t normally take naps, but it’s the atmosphere of Phil’s place. It’s cozy and dark and they kept yawning when they played Clue.

“Do you nap?” Phil had asked.

“Yeah.” Dan had lied, thinking they’d nap together somehow. Weird feelings of want took over him, but Phil stood beside him one last time before excusing himself to his own room.

He hopes Phil is sleeping well. Or awake and thinking about him. Dan shakes his head, a smug smile taking over his face before he can control it.

They’d flirted a lot. Dan smiles thinking about it. He’d sat with his shoulder pressed firmly to Phil’s, his knee rubbing against Phil’s thigh.

He stops thinking when he hears a creak and then footsteps following. He almost pretends to be asleep, but then he sits up when Phil comes in.

“I didn’t wake you, did I?” Phil asks, wincing, standing on the tips of his toes.

“No, not at all.”

“Couldn’t sleep?” He asks, taking a seat next to Dan when he puts his feet on the floor.

“Yeah, something like that.” Dan agrees, looking down at Phil’s cute, socked feet.

It’s quiet for a minute, both of them not knowing what to say or do. They’ve known each other for maybe three hours tops; the awkwardness was bound to catch up soon. Dan thinks about leaving and walking back to his car, but immediately rejects the idea. He’s about to say something when Phil sighs and smiles at him.

“How about we get the wood for the fire, before it gets freezing, and then watch a movie. I think I have some wine somewhere. I could bring it out?” There’s something behind his eyes that Dan likes very much. He nods and they both get up to head outside.

Phil grabs a torch and Dan follows him out the door. “You’re lucky I chopped this wood earlier. That’s definitely not something you’d want to see.” Phil laughs.

“I definitely disagree with you. That sounds like something I’d love to see.” Dan says, the cold already getting to him.

They near the wood pile and Phil hands Dan the torch. “You say that now, but honestly I’d probably just chop you up. Totally by accident, of course.”

“Oh no, is this what my mum warned me about all those years ago? Something about never trusting a stranger?”

Phil shrugs. “I think it’s worked out for you well enough.”

Dan looks at Phil as he picks up some wood. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“Okay, now put the torch on my stack and get your own. But hurry! I’m freezing my arse off!” Phil says, his teeth chattering.

“Oh, really? I had to walk literal miles to get here. You can wait five minutes before going right back into warmth.”

“I will leave you, Dan. I will run back inside and lock the doors.”

“You wouldn’t dare.” Dan challenges, eyeing Phil.

Before Dan can even comprehend it, Phil drops the wood and starts fucking running. A smile erupts over Dan’s face and he quickly starts moving too, picking up some snow with his bare hands and packing it into a ball. He tosses it and hits Phil right between his shoulder blades.

“Oh, you bastard!” Phil shouts, laughs taking over both of their bodies as they continue to chase each other and throw snowballs. “I cannot believe you!”

“This is all your fault.” Dan says, covered in snow. Phil isn’t much different. Their fingers are freezing and now they’re both wet. They definitely weren’t prepared for such a fight to start, but honestly it was worth it. Dan’s sides ache from laughing so much, and he gets to look at Phil’s pink cheeks.

“Fine. But you threw the first ball!”

“Wow, Phil. Such a naughty mouth. Santa’s bringing you coal this year.”

Phil shakes his head, too fondly for Dan’s heart not to stutter, and then he smiles at him. “Let’s grab this wood and get inside.”

-

“I have maybe a thousand movies, so just pick whatever you want.” Phil says once they’re inside and most of the wet clothing is removed. They set the wood by the fireplace and called it a job well done. “I’ll grab my laptop and some pajamas for you, yeah?”

Dan turns and looks at him with a smile. He can’t help it. “Yeah.” He walks over to Phil’s movie case and glances over them. They really do have too much in common, huh? He picks one from the top row and goes to sit on the couch, waiting for Phil.

Dan doesn’t want this day to end. He’s having way too much fun, and he feels like he hasn’t lived before tonight. It’s crazy—this feeling in his chest. It’s light and airy and such a deep contrast to how he usually feels around this time, how he he felt earlier today even.

He leans back into the sofa. He’s cold and tired and too damn happy for there to be a reasonable explanation for it, but he doesn’t need one. Or maybe he can chalk it all up to Phil, for being such a lovely stranger.

Phil comes back down then, laptop and clothes in hand, already dressed in his own PJs.

“What’d you pick out?” He asks, setting his laptop on the table. Dan shows him the movie and smiles with pride when he hears he made the right choice. “I love Thor! He’s my favorite Avenger. How’d you know?”

“Guess you’re not a stranger anymore.” Dan shrugs.

Phil rolls his eyes, tossing the PJs at Dan. “Get changed and help me make a comfy bed out of blankets and pillows by the fire.”

“Isn’t that, like, a hazard?”

“Go!”

-

They’re sat back against the couch, surrounded by blankets and pillows. Phil made them sandwiches and poured them hearty glasses of wine, and now they’re watching Thor on a laptop balanced on both of their thighs. Dan thinks this couldn’t get any better.

Until it does.

The movie ends and Phil moves the laptop, grabbing the rest of the wine bottle to top them off.

“So, you were heading to spend time with your family. Can I ask about them?” Phil asks. They're still sitting close, side-by-side on their makeshift bed, and Dan can smell the wine on is breath. He smiles sadly at Phil and sighs out deeply, letting the wine warm and loosen him up.

“Uh, yeah. I have a little brother, Adrian, and my mum and my dad, and my Nan. My parents are separated, my brother and I are still in that awkward phase, and I was really only going for my Nan. She’s the only one who seems to get me.” Dan explains, he waits for something like but your family is family , but it never comes. He looks to Phil who’s looking at him with something in his eyes like curiosity. “What?” Dan asks, smiling at Phil and taking another sip of wine.

“Nothing, nothing. Just, do you normally go there for Christmas?”

“Not in like three years, I think. Nice to see what happens when I actually try, huh?” He lets out a dry laugh, and turns to look at the fire. It’s the second most captivating thing in here, right behind Phil.

“I’m really glad I met you.” Phil says quietly. “There’s something about you that just screams I was meant to find you, or like, I was meant to think you were some pizza god at my door when I opened it, only to find you.”

Dan stares into his eyes. “Must have been disappointing.”

“Quite the opposite.”

It’s quiet. It always is when it snows. Each snowflake muffles every sound outside, and the only sound Dan can hear is the beating in his chest and the crackling of the fire as he stares right at Phil as Phil stares right back.

“I don't believe in fate.” Dan says for some dumb reason. He sets his wine glass down and Phil follows. “I believe in chance. I believe that it was incredibly dumb for me to be driving today, but I did it anyway. I believe it was incredibly dumb to walk outside for miles in the freezing snow, and I especially think it was dumb to knock on your door. But I did. I chose to. That’s more powerful to me than any fate could ever be.”

Phil stares. “Anyone ever told you how incredible you are?” He places his hand on Dan’s cheek and Dan smiles so wide it hurts.

“A few.” He repeats. They lean in. Dan expects for the power to turn back on in that moment, something cliché to ruin it, but that doesn't happen. Their lips meet softly and Dan can't take it, so he pushes forwards, his own hand coming around to wrap around the back of Phil’s neck.

They kiss and its wonderful and he doesn’t want it to stop. He licks Phil’s lips and is met with them parting for him. That does something to Dan. He feverishly kisses Phil, getting to his knees and leaning him back against the couch. He straddles Phil’s lap and Phil’s hand moves to rest on his hip. It’s warm. Maybe it’s from the wine or the fire, or maybe it’s the burning of Phil’s hands on his cheek and hip.

Phil leans back, pulling way, and takes Dan’s breath with him.

“Fuck.”

Dan laughs, hiding his face in Phil’s shoulder.

“My thoughts exactly.” He sits in Phil’s lap, leaning back to look at his face. “Is this okay?” He lets his hand play with the hair on the back of Phil’s head.

“More than okay. Been thinking about this all day.” He moves in and kisses Dan on the cheek and then his jaw, and Dan closes his eyes as he works kisses onto his neck. He pulls Dan closer by his hips, wrapping his arms tighter around him. He kisses down to Dan’s collarbone and bites.

“Fuck.” Dan sighs out. He’s getting hard and he can feel that Phil is too. It feels too good to have someone do this to him, but he loves it even more because it’s Phil that’s hitting all his sweet spots.

He pulls Phil’s lips back to his and licks into his mouth hotly, tasting the wine they’d drank mixed with the taste of Phil. He bites Dan lips and sucks it into his mouth.

“I want you.” He whispers, lips going back in to take over the kiss and lick into Dan’s mouth. His hands tighten on Dan’s waist and move down to squeeze his ass through his PJs, his hips bucking up into Dan.

Dan can’t help but lose all sense of what he should be doing, mind going blank. One thing pops in his head though. “Can I suck you?”

Phil seems to vibrate underneath Dan. He kisses Dan hard on the lips and nods his head. “Only if I can do the same to you.”

Dan peels Phil’s shirt off and runs his fingers through his dark chest hair. He thumbs his nipple and feels him buck his hips while he moans. He scoots back so Phil can lay down, and Dan kisses his lips sweetly, smiling as he follows the dark trail under his belly button with his fingers and reaches his hand underneath.

“Can I touch you here?” Dan asks cheekily.

Phil tosses his head back with a moan. “Please.”

Dan wraps his hand around Phil’s cock and watches his face contort in pleasure. He kisses down his chest, stopping to suck a nipple in his mouth and feel his cock throb in his hand. He squeezes the head as he nears his happy trail and his mouth waters with anticipation.

He hasn’t had a cock in his mouth in so long.

He wraps his lips around Phil’s tip and lightly presses his tongue on the head and sucks. His hand pumps what his mouth isn’t reaching, and he feels Phil get even harder in his hand.

“God, you were made for this, huh?” Phil blabbers, one hand resting on the back of Dan’s neck, the other tightly wound in his own hair.

The praise makes Dan sink all the way down Phil’s cock and rest there, letting his throat flutter around the head. Phil’s hand tightens on Dan’s neck, his hips bucking up just the tiniest bit.

When he can’t hold his breath any longer, Dan pulls off, taking in a deep breath and then going back down. He sucks Phil’s cock, spit dribbling onto his fingers and down his chin.

“Fuck, I’m gonna cum.” Phil says quickly. He looks down at Dan and Dan looks back up at him. Dan pulls off, ignoring his whines, and takes Phil’s PJs and pants completely off. He gets between Phil’s legs and takes him back in his mouth. He bobs his head and wraps a hand around his thigh, the other hand going up to tweak Phil’s nipple. “You’re killing me.”

“Fuck my throat.”

Dan feels both of his hands twist into his hair. He stares up into Phil eyes, deepthroating him. Phil, the gentleman, languidly bucks into Dan’s mouth, moaning deep and loud. He watches Phil bite his lip and feels him pull his hair tighter. “Yeah. Fuck. I’m cumming.” He tries to pull Dan off, but Dan only grabs Phil’s hands and holds them against the ground. “Dan.” He breathes out.

Dan sucks Phil through it. He tenses up and then completely relaxes, body sinking into the blankets. His cum shoots into Dan’s mouth and his hips move into it. When he’s done, Dan pulls off, only to look Phil in the eyes and show him the cum in his mouth before making a show of slowly swallowing.

Phil just drops his head onto the pillow, breathing in and out deeply. Dan sits up between his legs, admiring how he looks naked. “You have a really nice cock.”

“Do you say that to all the strangers you meet?” Phil says. Dan would be offended if it weren’t for the completely lax expression on his face.

“Only the ones named Phil.” He says. He aches in his pants, wants nothing more then to reach his hand down and get himself off, but he can wait. It looks like he sucked everything out of Phil and he can give him a minute to regain his composure.

“How is anyone supposed to live up to what you just did to me?” Phil asks, sitting up and beckoning Dan closer. He crawls up Phil’s body, sweating, still clothed, aching.

“I believe in you.”

“Lay down.” Phil says. And he does. He lays back against the pillows, one knee pulled up. Phil gets in between his legs and pushes his hands up under his shirt. “Off.” His hands go up, Phil pulling his shirt over his head. He kisses Dan’s lips, pecks them over and over again before he licks into his mouth and sucks on his lips for what feels like hours. He throbs in his pants, wants Phil to undress him completely, take him apart bit by bit.

“Please, just make me cum already.” Dan begs. He feels like if Phil doesn’t get his mouth on him now, he’ll cum in his pants.

Phil kisses down his neck, sucking a mark there. Dan moans and exposes his neck instinctively, but Phil is already heading down. He licks both nipples and kisses down the middle of Dan’s chest, looking up into his eyes. Dan can see the way his lungs move as he breathes heavily, awaiting for Phil to suck him so, so good.

Phil’s nimble fingers curl under his waistbands and tug them down until he’s completely naked. His cock curves up and rests on his stomach. Phil looks on with glazed eyes.

“I swear, I could cum just looking at you.” They both watch Dan’s cock twitch at that. There’s nothing Dan loves more than being praised. It gets him going faster than anything else.

Phil wraps his hand around Dan’s base and pumps his cock twice before going down on him. He’s much faster than Dan was, maybe sensing Dan’s eagerness to finish already. His mouth his hot and warm and Dan can’t get enough.

He drops a hand into Phil’s hair and tugs, feeling Phil moan around his cock. Dan bucks up and listens to the wet sounds of Phil blowing him. It’s like he knows that Dan likes it dirty. He pulls off and bites onto Dan’s hip bone, lips slick with spit.

“Taste so good for me.” He says and then continues to bob on Dan’s cock. He feels it building up fast, his orgasm starting to spread through him.

“I’m about to cum, Phil.” He says, hand coming up to cover his mouth, the other hand squeezing Phil’s shoulder, trying not choke him with his cock.

Phil grazes Dan’s head with his teeth and that’s when Dan cums, hard . His toes curl up and he moans out, Phil’s name spilling from his lips over and over again, hips rolling slowly into his mouth. Phil stays on him, milking him of every last drop, and then swallows.

He kisses Dan’s knee and then smiles at him before kissing his lips. They taste like each other and it’s intoxicating. Dan doesn’t think he’s ever felt like this before. They kiss and kiss and kiss, and then Phil lays next to him, his head on Dan’s shoulder. They watch the fire and the way it contours their naked bodies.

“Is it bad that I’m so fucking happy I ran off the road?” Dan asks after a while. They’re facing each other now, hands touching any skin they might’ve missed, lips finding the other’s no matter how many times they’ve kissed already.

“Maybe a bit, but me too.” Phil says. He’s sleepy. Dan can tell. He didn’t nap, and he’s yawning, but Dan thinks it’s so cute that he wouldn’t ever tell him to go to sleep.

“What happens when the power comes back on?” Dan asks. He's scared, but not really. He’s pretty sure Phil is in the same boat as him.

“Whatever you want to happen.” Phil says. “You can go spend Christmas with your family. Or with me.”

“You’d let me stay?”

“Of course.” Phil says, hand finding Dan’s and intertwining their fingers. “I’ve let you stay this long, haven’t I?”

They laugh, then kiss for a while. Dan feels something unexplainable deep in his chest, an ache but a good one. One that makes him want to hug Phil to his body for years and never let go. He’d like to explore that more. He wants to get to know each and every quirk Phil has, whether he loves or hates them, and vice versa.

“I’d like to stay.” Dan says.

Phil grabs a blanket and puts it over them. It’s warm and they don’t need one yet, but it’s nice. “Okay.” Phil says. “You can stay.”

[ecfandom]

PSI Clexa maybe like once CJ is there they’re in Colorado for christmas and maybe Lexa is on a work trip and can’t get back because of a blizzard and they just wanna spend Christmas together. But everything works out fine :))

MAN. This took forever. Here you go!

If you like it and you can, consider giving to my Ko-Fi page! I will be without a paycheck for a little while because of the holiday break, and things like Ko-Fi really help me be able to take the time out to write!

The snow came Monday and refused to stop. By Wednesday, it blanketed the whole of the East Coast in a record-breaking accumulation that halted cities entirely and sent even the heartiest mountaineers retreating indoors. Clarke stood by the tall front windows of her mother’s house and watched it come down around her, unable to appreciate the beauty that kept her wife confined to a defunct airport halfway across the country. Christmas carols played softly through the house, and the fire in the living room crackled and popped. The indistinguishable chatter of her family wafted in from other rooms while cookies baked and sweetened the air, but with each passing day that brought another phone call with disappointing travel news, it grew harder and harder to get into the spirit of things. With CJ preoccupied by the recent arrival of her fellow toddler companions in the form of cousins, Clarke took the rare moment of solitude to wallow.

“Practicing for your album cover, or?” Robby, the youngest Griffin sibling by twelve years, but taller than his big sister by a head, stood in the entryway to the living room and grinned at her when she turned at the sound of his voice. He frowned at her sympathetically when the joke failed to make her smile. “No luck?”

Clarke turned back to the window and shook her head. She watched CJ tumble around in the snow, smiling briefly as she watched her disappear into a snow drift and pop back up, shaking herself off like a wild puppy in their first snow. It was hardly CJ’s first snow, but she reveled in it as if it were every time. Her unbridled excitement helped to ease the sharp edges of longing Clarke felt inside her chest.

“Christmas is Lexa’s favorite holiday and she’s going to spend it away from her family in some dingey airport surrounded by awful businessmen.”

“She is a businessman,” Robbie added in an attempt at humor, but Clarke stared out the window as if he’d said nothing at all. “Come on, don’t be bummed, Clarkey. She’ll make it. And in the meantime, you’ve got all of us who love you and never get to see you.”

Guilt added itself to the sadness and self pity. It had been nearly two years since Clarke had been home. They’d gone to Kongeda the Christmas before and Clarke had been shooting over Thanksgiving. She had a new niece, Robby had a new girlfriend, and CJ was finally old enough to start really interacting with family. She should be enjoying this rare chance to spend time with them. She wanted to be enjoying it with them, but she couldn’t stop herself from thinking about her wife, all alone on the other side of the country

“Mom’s making eggnog,” her brother tried, ruffling her hair.

She gave an inch and turned to study him. “Homemade?” She asked, a hint of twinkle to her tone.

He grinned. “Oh yeah.”

***

Lexa pressed her phone to her ear and closed her eyes against the sound of Clarke’s mighty attempt at masking her tears. For an airport virtually shut down, the buzz of frustrated, panicked travelers was deafening. Lexa squeezed herself further into the corner she’d found, and waited for Clarke to catch her breath.

“I’m sorry,” Clarke sighed, shuddering audibly, “I don’t know why I’m feeling so emotional.”

Lexa smiled sadly and shoved the hands that longed to hold her wife, into her pockets to keep them still. “Have you caught up on your sleep? You flew straight from shooting.”

“I’m sure I haven’t.” Clarke chuckled wetly and Lexa imagined she could see the way she must be running the back of her hand across her runny nose as she always did at the end of a good cry. Though she hated to see tears running down those pretty cheeks, Lexa had alway found Clarke’s ability to express herself so openly, so fully, to be breathtakingly beautiful. Her hands formed tight fists of frustration inside her pockets at the inconvenient storm between them.  There was nothing from the other line for a moment, then a whisper so soft, Lexa nearly missed it beneath the roar of the white noise surrounding her.

“I just miss you so much.”

It broke her heart, but Lexa forced her voice steady, not wanting to add to Clarke’s misery. “I know, Sweetheart,” she said, gently. “I miss you too. I’ve got a room at the airport hotel so that I can be close by if anything goes out.”

“Where are you now? It sounds loud.”

“I’m at the airport. I heard they might get a few planes off the ground if they can get them up during a break in the storm around midnight. If I can at least get out, I can then get a train or drive up to you. The biggest issue is that nothing’s leaving from here and nothing’s landing in Colorado. But if I can catch one of these red eyes I may be able to make something happen.”

“You’ve been scheming.”

Lexa laughed and ran her hand over her face, trying to wipe away the fatigue. “I’m doing my best.”

“You sound tired, baby.”

“I’m alright.” The truth was, Lexa hadn’t been so exhausted in a long time. It was an emotional exhaustion more than anything. She’d been in two straight weeks of intense merger meetings before the storm had hit, getting through them only with the promise of seeing her wife and little girl at the end of it all. When that’d been unceremoniously ripped away from her with the twenty six inches and counting of snow the sky dumped on the East Coast, fatigue had raced in to settle deep in her bones like an opportunistic parasite. When she’d called her wife, she’d learned mountain country hadn’t fared any better, and the despair began to set in.

She instantly brightened at the sound of her wife’s faraway voice speaking to someone–a someone that had to be their daughter by the sounds of it. Lexa pressed the phone more tightly to her ear and strained to hear. She caught snippets of a tiny voice recounting something about cousins and snow angels, a whine of cold footsies, and a request for warm milk before the voices turned to whispers and she could no longer hear. Just as she was about to call out, to make sure she hadn’t lost them, Clarke spoke.

“I have a little one here dying to talk you. Can you stay on?”

“Yes of course. Put her on.”

“Alright. Here she is. Make sure I get you back!”

“I will.” Lexa waited with bated breath as she heard the rustle of the phone being passed. And then came the sweetest little voice that made her eyes instantly water.

“Noni?!”

Lexa closed her eyes and sank into the wall, determined to break the laws of physics with sheer determination. It was decided, she would teleport if she had to. One way or another, she was going to get home.

***

Droves of blonde haired, blue eyed masses filled the large Colonial house at the end of the road as Griffins from all over the country continued to arrive. With each added family member, Clarke struggled to balance the joy of seeing her family with the bitterness of knowing they’d managed to get lucky in their travels, able to spend their holidays in a warm home surrounded by loved ones simply because, at some other point in time, they’d made travel arrangements on the right side of the unforeseen storm.

Three days had passed and Lexa’s initial hopes for a redeye had been dashed by surprise hail and strong winds. Clarke did her best to remain pleasant for those around her, but as even CJ’s mood soured and her anxiety began to climb, it grew harder and harder for the Griffin-Woods family to partake in the Christmas cheer.

Clarke held CJ against her chest, rocking her in the aftermath of a tantrum at the dinner table that had nearly left both of them in tears. At another time, in different circumstances, it may have worried Clarke how much they both relied on Lexa for their sanity. For now, she simply didn’t possess the energy to care. She wanted her wife, her child wanted her parent, and no one could blame them for their longing. It hurt to be the only incomplete family at the table on Christmas Eve.

Clarke shushed and sympathized, patted and rubbed and kissed until the tears began to dry on puffy, flushed cheeks.

“My sweet girl,” Clarke cooed, holding her baby close. “Should we try Noni again?”

CJ nodded against her chest and Clarke shifted them, fishing into her back pocket for her phone. They huddled close as it rang, but like that morning, there was no answer.

“You know,” Clarke said, brushing away a stray tear on CJ’s cheek, “I bet Noni is with Santa helping him get all the gifts ready.”

At that, CJ pulled back and stared up at her, studying her with a thoughtful look that was so much like Lexa it made Clarke’s heart ache. She smiled at her little girl and traced the furrow of her brow with her thumb, caressed her soft cheek, and ruffled her delicate, blonde waves. “She’ll be here soon,” Clarke whispered.

***

As a rule, Lexa did not run outside of the gym or her morning cardio. It was not professional, nor decorous. It was highly inadvisable for someone of her height, in Oxfords and a three-piece suit to do anything other than a brisk walk. There were few occasions where anything faster than that was appropriate. Attempting to catch the last airplane out of the tiny airfield in nowhereville Georgia, the only airport she’d miraculously managed to connect to from New York, happened to be one such occasion. Thus, Lexa found herself sprinting through the nearly deserted airport, frantically checking her watch and picking up her speed at each tick of the long hand. She had five minutes before the doors closed to her last shot at a chance of reaching her family in time for Christmas.

***

“Where are you?” Clarke muttered, trying Lexa’s cell for a third time that day. It wasn’t like her wife to not respond. Glued to some form of technology at all times, Lexa was almost always accessible. For a studio executive, she was surprisingly responsive, and it was one of the things Clarke had loved about Lexa from the start. No ghosting, no games. There had been years worth of childhood trauma to contend with at first, but Lexa had never lied about what she wanted. Clarke may not have liked the truth, but in retrospect, she appreciated that Lexa had always been upfront with her intentions. She had never left Clarke to wonder. Now that Clarke was wondering, it was entirely new territory.

“Clarke?”  Abby stood in the doorway to the den, concern etched into her features. “We’re getting ready to leave. Are you ready?”

The comically large Griffin clan piled into two vehicles and drove into the small, but quaint city center of Breckenridge, Colorado’s premier ski town. Packed with visitors looking for a white Christmas, Abby navigated the minivan through the traffic with the ease of a year-round local, Robby following behind in his SUV.

The main road was already blocked off for the occasion that brought them into town. White paper bags line the street on either side, leading to a large Christmas tree that remained lit from a few days before at the tree lighting ceremony. At the stop of the tree, instead of a star, sat a large, unilluminated X. They were there, of course, for the annual lighting of Santa’s landing strip. The Griffins had been attending for as long as Clarke could remember. Longer even, beginning the tradition when Robby, the oldest Griffin sibling, had turned two. Clarke was excited to share it with CJ, but the excitement was dulled by the pang that twisted in her chest once again knowing that Lexa wasn’t there to experience it with them.

With all of the ski season tourists, the crowds inhabiting the town streets were sizable. From the back seat of the van, Clarke took stock of the numbers, sound levels, and various stimuli they would encounter, and sat back to gauge her child’s reaction to it all. She watched CJ take everything in through the window, watched as her little forehead furrowed and her eyes danced from one thing to another. The stimming started slowly, subtly in the gentle fiddling of the large, colorful beads around CJ’s wrist. It was nothing that concerned Clarke yet, but it was enough to tell her precautions would need to be taken.

She dug into the bag she always had with her and pulled out CJ’s earmuff hearing protectors. Invented for concerts and other loud events, Clarke found them particularly good at muffling and dampening stimuli to tolerable levels for her littler girl. Since they’d begun using them, the tailspins into nonverbal episodes had been cut nearly in half.

“You ready to get out, munchkin?” She began unbuckling CJ from her carseat, careful not to interrupt the comforting movements of CJ’s stimming. She tugged on CJ’s winter hat, then slipped the ear muffs over her head, watching as the stimming slowed and CJ looked up to meet her eyes. Clarke smiled at her, chest warming at the beaming grin she got in return.

“Okay?” She signed.

CJ nodded and reached out for her, hanging onto her mother’s neck as Clarke lifted her out of her carseat and brought her out onto the sidewalk with the rest of the family. Safely secured in Clarke’s arms, CJ looked around at her surroundings, head on a swivel, taking in all of the sights and sounds. With the help of the earmuffs, she observed all there was to see with excitement and joy, comforted by the filter of the earmuffs and the sure press of her mother’s arms around her.

She looked at Clarke, a toothy grin plastered to her face. “Santa Clause?” She signed, using her little hands to make the outline of Santa’s beard in front of her face.

“Soon! One more night.”

“Noni?”

Clarke’s face fell as she watched the little fingers spell out the name of the beloved member of their family still missing from the festivities. Clarke wrapped her hand around CJ’s and brought to her lips, kissing her cold skin. She smiled at her, trying and likely failing to keep the sadness from her face, and tried to think of something to say.

***

Lexa pulled up to the two-story, white colonial that sat majestically at the end of the block. The candles in the windows were lit, framed by the mini wreaths, and the large wreath on the front door glowed beautifully against the falling snow. The porch light was on, but Lexa could tell immediately that the family wasn’t home. She sat in the driveway with the engine idling, fatiguing dripping from her limbs, her eyes scratchy and dry. She wracked her brain for a coherent thought, but struggled to even identify what day it might be. Her phone was still dead, and she could only imagine how often Clarke had tried to call her in the last twelve hours. With her luggage lost, and no store open in sight, she had no charging cord, and no way to get in touch with her family.

She let her head fall back against the seat and closed her eyes, trying to think through the last forty-eight hours. She left on the 22nd. Or was it the 23rd? It was nearly midnight when the plane took off from Laguardia to land at the private airfield in Georgia. That would have made it late on the 22nd, early on the 23rd when she’d landed. A plane from there to New Mexico would have taken all of the 23rd, and she’d gotten in the rental and began driving immediately as soon as she’d landed. She looked at her watch and ran the last leg of her journey through her mind. It was fourteen hours since she’d left. The beginning of her drive had been in the dark, and she had a blurry, but certain memory of stopping at a Starbucks around 3 in the morning. It had to be the evening of the 24th. Christmas Eve. She ran her hand over her face and sighed. Where would her family be on Christmas Eve?

***

Clarke bounced CJ on her hip as they milled about through the crowd, taking in the various Christmas Market booths while they waited for the runway lighting to start. CJ kept her head tucked into the crook of Clarke’s neck, safe and warm in her mother’s embrace.

Abby came up beside them and bowed her head to smile at her granddaughter. When she got her eyes, she signed to her. “Do you want to look at the toys?”

“Yes!” CJ chirped, kicking her little legs as if to urge her steed forward.

The adults laughed and they cut their way through the crowd, stopping at the hut with all of the hand-crafted, wooden toys. Clarke smiled as CJ lowered her ear muffs and wandered around the small, log-cabin style pop-up building, her little fingers trailing behind her along the shelves of toys. She was so gentle, and so very little, no one worried about the accidental knocking off of fragile items.

She stopped in front of one shelf and hesitantly looked back at Clarke, expressing her quiet interest. Clarke came up beside her and knelt down. She ran her hand along CJ’s back, atop her puffy coat.

“Do you like these?”  She asked, holding one of the small Nutcrackers out for CJ to hold.

CJ grasped it in her tiny fingers and turned it over and around, checking out all of the colors and materials. She transferred it to one hand, and began signing with the other. Clarke watched her little fingers move, spelling out, K-O-N-G-E-D-A.

“They do look like the ones from Kongeda, don’t they?”

CJ nodded and held the wooden doll to her chest as Clarke ran her hands through her hair and soothed the frown on her little girl’s face, knowing that she was thinking of Lexa and the little wooden toys they’d played with on their last visit to Lexa’s hometown.

“For Noni?” CJ asked, holding it out for Clarke to assess.

“You want to get this for Noni?”

CJ nodded, watching her closely as if trying to gauge whether Clarke thought it would be a good gift.

“I’m sure Noni would love it, Sweetheart.”

“I know she would,” came a voice from behind them.  

Clarke whipped around at the sound of Lexa’s voice, tears of surprise, of joy, nearly springing to her eyes. CJ’s squeal of glee was perhaps most exuberant of all as she launched herself into Lexa’s center mass.

Lexa laughed softly as she hugged CJ close, and Clarke could hear the unmistakable note of exhaustion in that beautiful sound. Their eyes met and Lexa’s gaze softened impossibly further as she opened her arm to draw Clarke into the embrace. Clarke kissed her neck and breathed in the smell of the cool, fresh air clinging to her warm skin.

“How did you know where we were?” Clarke finally asked, pulling back to get a good look at her wife.

Lexa helped her to her feet and scooped CJ into her arms.  “It took me a while to figure out what day it was,” she said quietly, that little, lopsided quirk Clarke adored so much settling onto her face. At Clarke’s confused look, Lexa chuckled. “It’s a long story. The short version is, when I realized it was Christmas Eve, there was only one place I knew the Griffin clan would be.”

Clarke laughed and leaned into her, wrapping both arms around her family. They paid for the Nutcracker doll and CJ spent the rest of the evening dancing the doll across Lexa’s shoulder and chest, completely content in her arms.

“I can’t believe you drove through the night. In the snow of all things!” Clarke squeezed Lexa’s hand, physically ill at the idea of what could have happened as Lexa relayed her last forty-eight hours.

Lexa shifted CJ to one arm and tucked Clarke under her other. “I’m here now.”

“Yes,” Clarke sighed, “thank god.”

CJ tugged on the lapel of Lexa’s coat and signed at her. “Did Santa Claus bring you?”

Lexa blinked, unsure if she’d read that right. “Santa Claus?”

“I told her you were probably with Santa and that’s why you weren’t answering your phone,” Clarke supplied, chuckling.

“Oh I see.” CJ stared up at her, eyes expectant. “Yes, I was,” she signed, smiling when CJ pushed her ear muffs off and wiggled herself up in her grasp until they were eye to eye. CJ took Lexa’s cheeks into her hands and squeezed, demanding absolute seriousness.

“Santa Claus?!” She squealed.

Lexa smiled and let her face be squeezed, unperturbed and unimaginably happy to finally be with her family. “He said you have been a very good girl. Is that true?”

CJ beamed and nodded vigorously.

“Shall we go help get his runway lit up then?”

“Yes!”

“Alright then.” She gave Clarke a squeeze and the family ventured onward as a light snow began to fall, and Christmas grew one step closer.

[buoyantsaturn]

I’m in Hell (3/?)

summary: How much longer can Nico and Will survive the tension between them? (Also: there’s Valentine’s Day inside!)

word count: 14,432 (45,807 total)

read on ao3 (do this i made edits on that version) | read part two | read part one

Will had been given greater opportunities at work - chances to study under visiting surgeons, invitations to watch some of the more complicated surgeries, and even performing a few surgeries on his own. However, this meant that he was spending more and more time at the hospital and away from home; hours upon hours upon hours. He was lucky to get any sleep at all during that time.

He had dropped Bianca off at school one morning on his way to the hospital, anticipating that he would be home for dinner that night, only to get caught by one of his attendings who offered him a seat in the gallery of his next surgery. After the surgery, there was a call for an incoming trauma just as he was about to leave. Then, he was invited to assist on one of the surgeries that resulted from the trauma. Before Will knew it, the sun was starting to rise, and he’d been awake for at least twenty-four full hours.

He finally managed to get out the door, into his car, and drive most of the way home before the exhaustion hit. For a few moments, Will considered pulling over on the side of the road and taking a nap, but figured he would survive the last five minutes of the drive. His steering wheel probably wouldn’t make for a good pillow, anyway.

Will was mid-yawn when he walked through the door, catching Nico and Bianca in the entryway as they pulled on their coats and shoes. Nico looked surprised for a second before he raised an eyebrow, one corner of his lips quirking up in the tiniest of smiles. “Good morning, Sunshine.”

“Is it time for school already?” Will asked, barely able to keep his eyes open. “Alright, I’ll drive.”

“Uh, no you won’t,” Nico said. “You’re practically asleep standing up. Go to bed, I’ll take Bi to school.”

“But--”

Nico grabbed Will’s arm, not giving him a chance to take off his coat or shoes before pulling him out of the doorway and starting to march him down the hall. A giggling Bianca called after them, “Bye, Daddy!”

“I’ve got it all handled, Solace,” Nico told him, walking Will all the way to his bedroom and even opening the door for him. “We had breakfast, her lunch is packed, and I will make sure she is properly buckled into her carseat. Now, sleep.”

Will started into the room but paused, turning back to Nico and resting the side of his head against the doorway. His eyes were half-shut and he was too tired to form a full smile. “Thank you, Nico.” He walked the rest of the way into the room, shutting the door softly behind himself before shedding his coat and shoes. He stripped out of his scrubs, crawling into bed in only his underwear, too tired to find pajamas to throw on before falling asleep.

Nico, after dropping Bianca off at school, returned to the Solace household where he left his backpack. He intended to pop in, grab his stuff, and head home, but upon considering the fact that Will could very easily sleep for a solid eight hours and might not wake up in time to pick up Bianca, Nico decided to stay.

He curled up on the couch with his laptop, putting his glasses on before opening up a new document for one of his assignments. He’d just started what he hoped would be his last semester of college, and one of his classes was requiring that he have an entire manuscript turned in at the end of the semester. Luckily he already had some ideas, so he wasn’t starting entirely from scratch.

He worked for about three straight hours before he started to get hungry, but he chose to ignore the feeling in favor of the outline he was about halfway through. He wanted to get the outline finished, even if it was incredibly rough, before he took a lunch break to clear his head for a little while.

By the time he did finally set his laptop aside, his stomach was growling and his head was starting to hurt. He hated walking around with his glasses on, but he knew that taking them off would just make his headache worse.

It was just after two o’clock when he had a small stack of chocolate chip pancakes made - probably just too many for him to eat on his own. Nico plated a few of the pancakes and turned to take a seat at the table when he saw Will walking into the room, hiding a yawn behind his hand. Nico thought his heart skipped a beat at the sight of Will in a plain white undershirt and plaid pajama pants.

Nico cleared his throat and said, “Pancakes? I probably made enough for the both of us.”

This time when Will smiled at him, it was full-force. “Thanks.”

Once the two of them had their plates of pancakes with syrup, they sat down at the table across from each other.

“So, not that I mind you making me breakfast,” Will started as he cut into his pancakes, “but what are you still doing here? I would have thought you were going home after taking Bi to school.”

Nico shrugged, waiting to speak until after he’d swallowed his bite. “I was going to, but I left my backpack here. And then I figured that you might not wake up in time to pick Bi up, so I thought I’d hang around. I can...leave, if you want me to.” Nico felt his shoulders hunch up, shrinking in on himself as he waited for Will’s response.

But Will didn’t even seem to have heard him. He was staring down at his pancakes with wide eyes, and then looked up at Nico, practically awestruck. “Are these chocolate chip? They’re delicious!”

Nico felt himself relax, allowing a smile to creep onto his face. If this was how Will reacted to chocolate, Nico would have to bake more often.

Nico was starting to get a little stir-crazy, almost only leaving his apartment to go to Will’s and vice versa, or taking quick drives to Bianca’s school once or twice a day. He needed to do something that wasn’t sitting alone in a room with his laptop, and a simple trip to the grocery store didn’t seem like it would cut it.

Then, when he picked Bianca up from school, she wouldn’t stop talking about the movie that her friends had all scene. Instead of taking a left out of the school parking lot to go home, Nico turned right and drove them to the nearest movie theater. A two-hour movie should be a nice break for the both of them.

After the movie they stopped at the store so that Nico could pick up something for dinner - the surprise trip to the movies didn’t give him a chance to plan for a meal or set out out chicken to thaw. He bought an assortment of vegetables and a few unfrozen pieces of chicken, already picturing the stirfry he would make in his head.

He got to work on dinner as soon as they got home, and Bianca sat down at the table to work on her homework. It wasn’t long before Will walked through the door, and Bianca jumped out of her seat to hug him - she had a lot of pent-up energy after sitting all day.

“Hi, Daddy!” she exclaimed. “Nico took me to the movies today!”

“Really?” Will replied, hanging up his coat. “What movie did you see?”

Bianca bounced away from him, throwing her arms up enthusiastically as she announced, “Spiderman!”

Will gasped - Nico figured it was maybe half-genuine, half overdramatic for Bianca’s sake. “You saw Spiderman without me?” He took a single step toward her, which caused Bianca to squeal and run away into the living room. Nico watched with a smile as Will chased after her.

He went back to chopping up vegetables, listening to the pounding of footsteps throughout the house and the peels of laughter that sounded every few seconds. After a moment, Nico looked to his left to see Bianca in the hallway, peeking around the corner into the living room. Then he looked to the archway that connected the dining room to the living room and saw Will pressed up against the wall, grinning at Nico and pressing a finger to his lips. Nico caught himself smiling back for a second before ducking his head and returning to his chopping.

The next thing he knew, Will was gone and Bianca was running down the hall, straight towards him. She was giggling up a storm as she ran behind him and used him as a shield, forcing Nico to set the knife he was using down in caution.

As soon as Will stepped into the kitchen, Bianca exclaimed, “It was Nico’s idea!”

Nico’s eyes snapped up to meet Will’s. He had just a second to think before Will lunged at him. Nico stepped around Bianca and tried to turn the corner around the island, but his socks slipped on the tile floor, giving Will just enough time to catch up. He wrapped a hand around Nico’s wrist, pulling him close until they were nearly chest to chest. He grinned down at Nico victoriously before his expression dropped at the sight of Nico laughing out loud, and he stared down at him in awe.

Nico searched the room for Bianca, who had run to the other side of the kitchen. “She’s the one that chose the movie!” Nico said around his laughter, pointing toward Bianca.

Will couldn’t care less about the movie. With Nico so close, Will could finally make out the difference between the dark brown of Nico’s iris and the black of his pupil, and even little flecks of copper mixed in. He could feel the puffs of air from Nico’s laughter on his cheek. He could swoop down - maybe an inch, maybe two - and press his lips to Nico’s without a second thought. He wondered if Nico’s lips tasted sweeter than chocolate chip pancakes.

“Solace?” Nico said, just above a whisper, and Will dropped his wrist like it had burned him.

Will took a couple of steps back. “Um--”

“Daddy!” Bianca called, and Will’s attention snapped toward her. She giggled and took off toward the living room once more, and Will hurried after her, desperate to run away from whatever he had been thinking.

Nico stood frozen to the spot as he processed what had just happened. Had he imagined the look in Will’s eyes? Did Will want to kiss him just as much as Nico had wanted to do the same? How long would Nico be able to handle these untouched emotions between them before he snapped?

Bianca ran into the kitchen with a shoebox in her hands, shoving it into Will’s hands as soon as she saw him. “Daddy, can you cut a hole in the top of this like that?” She traced a finger across the lid, indicating where she wanted the hole.

“What’s this for, Bi?” Will asked, setting the box on the island.

“It’s Valentine’s Day!” Bianca told him. “I need a box to keep all my valentines in.”

Will opened one of the drawers in the island and pulled out a pair of scissors, using them to cut a slit in the box’s lid, just big enough to slide a piece of paper inside. “Are you going to decorate this?”

She nodded. “We’re gonna do that in class before we hand out valentines.”

Will frowned. “Do you have valentines to hand out?”

“Yeah, Nico bought them for me. They’re pink, and they have princesses on them!”

Will smiled, though it was a little sad. He was happy to see his daughter so excited, but he hated feeling like he was missing out on Bianca’s life. And...his own, in a way. Valentine’s Day was supposed to be spent with the person you love, but Will didn’t have anyone.

As if to remind Will of how single he was, Nico walked into the room, still enough to take Will’s breath away despite the fact that he had just rolled out of bed.

“Nico, can you make pancakes for breakfast?” Bianca asked when she saw him. “And can you make them heart-shaped for Valentine’s Day?”

Nico paused, looking like he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t, his cheeks growing pink as he said, “Is that today?” Bianca nodded. “Oh. Uh, Solace, are you sticking around for pancakes?”

Will checked the time and decided, “Yeah, I can stay a little while longer.” He started up a pot of coffee while Nico gathered ingredients for pancakes.

Bianca watched as Nico started making the batter. “Do you think I’m gonna have a Valentine?”

“You’ll get a card from everyone in your class,” Will answered as he pulled two mugs down from the cabinet.

“No, a Valentine,” she said again, though Will still didn’t seem to understand. “Nico, do you have a Valentine?”

“Nope,” he answered, moving to pour the batter into a pan on the stove.

“Will you be my Valentine?” Bianca asked, standing directly next to him as he tried to shape the batter into a heart.

“I would,” Nico started, grinning down at her, “but I think that would make Daddy jealous.”

Will flinched as he tried pouring coffee into the mugs, accidentally knocking one of the mugs over and spilling coffee onto the counter. He kept his head ducked as he cleaned up the mess to keep Nico from noticing the blush rising on his cheeks.

Bianca sighed. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. You should be Daddy’s Valentine, Nico!”

His hand slipped as he tried to flip the pancake, tossing it out of the pan and forcing his fingers against the hot metal. He hissed as he pulled his hand back, biting his tongue to keep himself from swearing in pain.

Will was there in a second, gently taking Nico’s hand in his own to assess the damage. “Are you alright?” he asked, and Nico had to hold himself back from saying that he felt better already.

“I’m good,” Nico said instead, and stepped over to the sink to run his hand under cold water for a moment. After that, he went back to making pancakes, deciding to add chocolate chips to Will’s at the last second.

When Nico had taken Bianca out to buy valentine’s cards for her classmates, she’d brought up that Will’s birthday was about two weeks away, and the date had been stuck in Nico’s head ever since. Was he supposed to get something for Will? Would that be weird, especially since Will hadn’t been the one to share his birthday? What would Nico even get him, anyway?

He knew exactly what to get him, actually. He looked up a recipe one night when he was supposed to be working on his manuscript and gathered all of the necessary ingredients to bake a practice cake. He wasn’t about to give Will a cake that Nico hadn’t even tasted before.

Nico generally prided himself of his cooking and baking skills, but he would admit that this cake in particular was a test of his abilities. He felt the most overwhelmed, however, when both of his hands were occupied mixing two different things, and his phone started ringing across the kitchen.

“Hazel!” he called out, hoping that his sister was somewhere in the apartment where she would hear him.

“What?” she shouted back.

“Come answer my phone for me.”

He could practically hear the eye roll from across the apartment, but soon his phone stopped ringing, and Hazel was answering it with a, “Hey, Annabeth.”

“Put it on speaker for me,” Nico requested.

“Nico, I haven’t heard from you since the New Year’s party,” Annabeth said, voice distorted by the phone’s speaker. “I was expecting an update.”

“I didn’t get fired,” he said, struggling to add more ingredients to one of the mixing bowls while stirring them both constantly. Why hadn’t he brought out the electric mixer? “Was that all?”

“You’re not going to tell me what happened?” Annabeth pressed.

“I was here and I don’t even know what happened,” Hazel said.

Nico looked over his shoulder and glared at his sister. “If you’re just going to sit there, then make yourself useful and grab the electric mixer for me. And no, Annabeth, I have nothing else to say.”

“Hazel, what do you mean you were there? Did he show up at your place?” Annabeth asked.

“I invited him over,” Hazel answered. She dragged the big electric mixer out from one of the cabinets and brought it over to Nico, setting it on the counter and plugging it in. “And it’s a good thing I did, because I doubt Nico would have ever gotten out of bed if I hadn’t.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “Sure, and all those cookies just magically appeared that morning.”

“You’ve been over there every day, then?” Annabeth asked, getting them back on track.

“Just about every day, yeah. Every day that Will has to work, at least,” Nico answered.

“So that means you were there on Valentine’s Day.” Nico could hear the smirk in her voice. “Does that mean you finally confessed your love for him?”

“No, I did not confess my love for him, because I’m not in love with him,” Nico told her, though as soon as he said the words, they felt like a lie. They weren’t even together, Nico couldn’t be in love with him.

“Then what’s with all the baking?” Hazel asked. “Are you going to make him a cake that says do you like me? Check yes or no on it?”

“I’m not a child, Hazel. I am making a cake, and yes, it’s for Will, but only because it’s his birthday next week and I just so happen to know that he likes chocolate.”

“Oh my god,” Annabeth said. “You know, normal people just ask people out, right?”

“I’m not trying to--”

“This is some kind of weird courting or something, isn’t it?” Hazel teased. “You’re trying to butter him up so that he’ll ask you out!”

“You’re absolutely right, Hazel,” Annabeth said. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of that myself.”

“You’re even using a recipe! You never use recipes,” Hazel said. “That means this is something you’ve never made before! Oh my god, when the two of you get married, he’s going to get so fat from all of your baking.”

“We’re not getting married!” Nico nearly shouted. “We’re not even dating yet!” “Yet?” Annabeth repeated in a voice about two octaves higher than her habitual pitch.

“Oh my god, I was joking!” Hazel screeched. “You’re actually courting him!”

Abandoning his cake batter, Nico leaned his elbows against the counter and buried his face in his hands. “I hate both of you so much, oh my god.”

“Don’t lie, Nico,” Annabeth said. “You love us.”

“But you love Will more!” Hazel cried, almost knocking herself over with the force of her own laughter.

Nico left the kitchen, taking his phone with him and ending the call.

He hid in his room for about twenty minutes before venturing back out to finish up the cake. The consistency of the batter was essentially ruined after being neglected for so long, and it resulted in an oddly textured cake. However, it tasted better than Nico expected, so he bookmarked the recipe to use again later. Then, he went online to search for anything that might make the cake even better - nicer, more expensive chocolate, in particular.

Nico didn’t want to risk waiting until the last second to make Will’s birthday cake, just in case he wasn’t invited over on the actual day. So, three days before Will’s birthday, Nico brought over all the supplies he needed and had Bianca help him bake.

He’d timed everything perfectly: the batter was poured into the cake pan just before Will texted to let Nico know that he was on his way home, which meant that Nico would be taking the finished cake out of the oven just as Will was walking through the door.

The look on Will’s face when he saw the cake was priceless. It was like he was experiencing heaven on earth just from the sight and smell of so much chocolate. “What is that?” he asked in an awe-filled voice.

Nico tried to rein in his proud smile. “A chocolate lava cake.”

“But...why?”

“Bianca told me your birthday’s coming up,” Nico answered simply, shrugging.

As if she’d heard her name, Bianca came running into the room, immediately attaching herself to her father’s legs. “Happy birthday, Daddy! We made you a cake!”

“I see that,” Will replied, crouching down to give her a proper hug. “It looks delicious, thank you.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead before straightening up.

“Nico did more than me, he gets a kiss, too!” Bianca insisted.

Will glanced toward Nico as if to ask permission - Nico was sure that his cheeks had developed a noticeable red tint, but he didn’t say no. Will stepped closer, set his hands on Nico’s arms just below his shoulders, and pressed a kiss into the hair that fell over Nico’s forehead. “Thank you, Nico,” he said softly, his smile appearing so much brighter at such a short distance, before stepping away.

With all of his focus on the cake, Nico hadn’t had time to whip up an equally impressive dinner, so he settled for spaghetti with broccoli instead. A short while after they had finished their dinner, the cake was served - after Nico had reheated it to make sure the lava was still melted, of course. The cake was eaten, paired with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and once they’d all finished their desserts, Bianca was sent off to get ready for bed. Nico was sure that so much chocolate wouldn’t help her to fall asleep, but he had other things to focus on for the time being.

Other things like the little smear of chocolate he could feel on his lower lip, Will standing beside him, and the dishes they were washing.

“You don’t have to do the dishes,” Will told him for probably the third time. “You cooked and baked, I can handle the dishes.”

Nico reached past him, brushing his arm against Will’s stomach as he did so, and grabbed a dish towel. “I’ll wash, you dry.”

Will huffed. “But--”

“You’re not washing dishes on your birthday, Solace,” Nico insisted, turning to face him fully, and tried not to smirk when he saw Will’s eye catch on the chocolate on his lip.

“It’s not...um--” His eyes flickered back up to Nico’s before sinking back to his lips. “You... There’s--” Will tapped his own lip.

“What?” Nico asked. “Is there something on my face?”

“You’ve got chocolate…” Will tried again.

Nico kept his eyes locked on Will’s as he swept his tongue along his lip, carefully avoiding the spot where he knew the chocolate was. “Did I get it?”

He could have sworn he heard Will whine. Will took a single step closer, raising his hand up. “Let me get it.” His fingers brushed against Nico’s cheek as his hand moved to cup Nico’s jaw, his thumb poised to wipe the chocolate away. Will’s eyes met Nico’s, flickering back and forth to his lips. Will seemed to be leaning in, almost unknowingly, and Nico let his own gaze drop to Will’s mouth for just a second, which seemed to be invitation enough for Will to finally push forward. He pressed his lips to Nico’s, his tongue swiping out to gather up the chocolate from Nico’s lip, and then relaxing into the kiss for just a second--

Will threw himself back, so quickly, so forcefully, that he backed straight into the counter, banging his head back against the cabinet behind him. “I’m sorry!” he exclaimed. One of his hands came up to rub at the back of his head while the other gripped the counter so hard that his knuckles turned white. “Shit, ow! I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!”

Nico ducked his head to hide his smile before he realized that he didn’t need to. He looked up to meet Will’s gaze, smiling brightly up at him. “Will,” he said, and saw Will’s eyes widen at the sound of his first name. “Sunshine, you have nothing to be sorry for.” His lips felt like they were tingling from the kiss. Had he actually courted Will with a chocolate cake? He couldn’t let Hazel find out about this, he’d never hear the end of it.

“I-- I don’t know why I--”

“Maybe because you wanted to?” Nico offered. He stepped forward, planting his feet in between Will’s, and brought his hands up to frame Will’s face. It didn’t seem like Will was breathing, like he was holding his breath in anticipation for what Nico might say next. “I wanted you to, if that helps.”

“You did?” Will whispered.

“Only for the last… I dunno, three months?” Nico said, and couldn’t stop a laugh from escaping with his words. He was so happy, and this entire situation was so ridiculous.

“Three months?” Will repeated, and his entire body relaxed when he exhaled. His forehead dropped to rest against Nico’s, and he wrapped his arms loosely around Nico’s waist. “Try six.”

“We’ve only known each other for six months,” Nico pointed out.

“I know,” Will whined.

“We’re hopeless,” Nico said with another laugh. “I guess we have a lot of time to make up for, then. Can I kiss you?”

“I seriously thought you would never ask,” Will told him before tightening his hold on Nico’s waist and drawing him in for a kiss.

They stayed like that, pressed against each other until they were out of breath, and Will knocked his forehead gently against Nico’s to break the kiss.

“Stay?” he whispered.

Nico felt like his head was in a cloud, his thoughts foggy and still focused solely on the heat of Will’s hands on his waist, the feeling of Will’s lips moving against his own, the dizziness from a lack of air. “Huh?”

Will smiled, rolling his forehead against Nico’s so that their noses bumped into each other. “Will you stay here with me?”

“Tonight?” Nico asked. “Or, like, forever?”

“Either one is fine,” Will replied.

It shouldn’t have been so difficult to form a coherent thought, but his proximity to Will was intoxicating. “I can’t, tonight. I told Hazel I would be home.”

Will sighed, and Nico could see the disappointment in his eyes. “Alright. That means forever is still on the table though, right?”

Nico groaned and fell forward, hiding his face in the side of Will’s neck. Will laughed as he tightened his hold on Nico. “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

Nico had a hell of a time trying to pack up all of his baking supplies to take back to his apartment - it didn’t help that Will couldn’t seem to go five minutes without kissing him. He almost changed his mind about leaving when Will pressed him up against the door and kissed him within an inch of his life, but Nico managed to stand firm in his decision.

“I’ll be back soon, Will,” Nico reminded him.

“You should come back in, like, an hour,” Will said before pressing their lips together once again.

Nico pushed him back gently and held him at an arm’s length, smiling as he said, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Will pouted. “Alright, fine, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Nico opened the door and took his baking supplies outside with him, starting out toward his car. “Text me when you get home!” Will called after him.

“Goodnight, Will,” Nico called back.

He pulled out of the driveway and saw that Will didn’t close the front door until Nico had started to drive away.

Nico couldn’t stop smiling the entire drive back home, even as he lugged his baking supplies up the stairs and into his apartment. It didn’t even falter even as Hazel said, “What’s got you all smiley?”

He ignored her as he took the baking supplies into the kitchen, dropping them off on the counter and shooting a quick I’m home text to Will before rejoining his sister in the living room. He sat down on the couch beside her, and Hazel paused the show she’d been watching. “No, seriously. You’re starting to creep me out, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile this much.” Nico opened his mouth, about to respond, but Hazel beat him to it. “Oh! It’s about Will, isn’t it? The courting’s going well, I take it?”

“I’m not courting him,” Nico said with a roll of his eyes. His cheeks were starting to hurt - maybe if he smiled more often it wouldn’t hurt so much.

“Oh my god, just tell me, please,” Hazel begged.

“He kissed me.”

Hazel gasped.

“And then he apologized a few times,” Nico continued. “And then he kissed me a bunch more times.”

“Oh my god, you actually courted him. Your courting actually worked!”

Nico ducked his head. “Yeah, I guess it did--” His head snapped up as he realized what he was saying, his smile finally falling away in favor of an embarrassed blush. “Uh, I mean--”

“You admitted it!” Hazel screeched. “Oh my god, what are you even doing here?”

Nico frowned. “I live here.”

“You two admitted your love for each other--”

“We did not, we just kissed, there were no declarations of love!”

“--and you came back here instead of spending the night with him? Why on earth would you come back?”

“I don’t know what you’re trying to get at,” Nico said, his blush now at full force and his gaze averted. When Hazel didn’t say anything, Nico glanced up to see that she was giving him a look. An I know you know, just say it already and get it over with look. Nico sighed and started down at his hands in his lap. “I didn’t want you to think the cake got me laid.”

“Would it have?” she asked without a second of hesitation.

“Hazel!”

“Would it have?”

Nico crossed his arms and slouched back against the couch, looking like a mirror image of his fifteen-year-old self. “Maybe.”

“He asked you to stay over, didn’t he?”

Nico’s shoulders hunched up self-consciously. “Maybe.”

“Oh my god, what’s the matter with you?” Hazel shouted, grabbing a pillow from beside herself and whacking Nico in the chest with it. “What happened? Tell me everything.”

“He just asked me to stay over!” Nico shouted back as he tried to rip the pillow out of her hands. “He… He asked if me staying forever was on the table.”

“Oh my god!” she screeched, almost at a frequency that only dogs could hear. “Pack a bag, I’m kicking you out. You live with Will now.”

“Hazel--”

“Why do you always have to be so difficult? If that happened between me and Frank, you know I would have told you everything without even being asked!” She gasped. “Oh, Frank would love to hear about this, I’m calling him right now.”

“Hazel, no--”

“You’re right, he’s probably sleeping, or training, or...whatever they do at West Point. I’ll call Annabeth instead.”

“Don’t you dare--”

“It’s already ringing!”

FROM: Will; I don’t want to go to sleep. I feel like I’ll wake up in the morning and this whole day will have been a dream.

TO: Will; when i kiss you tomorrow, youll know it wasnt a dream. go to sleep, sunshine.

Will called Nico the next day during his lunch break as he made his way to Lou Ellen’s room. She hadn’t been there for about the last month, but she had a follow-up surgery scheduled for later that day. She couldn’t eat lunch with him, but Will figured she would enjoy the update.

Nico picked up the phone and said in his adorably sleepy voice, “Good morning, Sunshine.”

Will couldn’t keep the bright smile off his face. “Actually, it’s about twelve-thirty.”

“Mhm,” Nico replied. “What’s up, babe?”

Will’s pulse skyrocketed. He had to take a few deep breaths before he said, “Um. I, uh. Can you pick Bianca up from school?”

“Of course. Was that all you wanted?”

“I can’t wait to see you later,” Will said in a voice close to a whisper, like he didn’t want anyone to overhear.

“Me too,” Nico said. “Get back to work, Will.”

“Okay, sure.”

Will felt like his face was on fire as he walked into Lou’s room.

“Hey, Solace, what’s with the sunburn?” Lou asked immediately upon seeing him.

Will took a seat in his usual chair, popping open the salad he’d bought in the cafeteria as he internally debated whether he should try to play it cool or not. He knew his composure wouldn’t last. “I kissed Nico last night.”

“Oh! No shit?” Lou Ellen said. “That’s wild, man, nice job.”

Will frowned with a bite of salad halfway to his mouth. “Why are you talking like that?”

Lou shrugged. “I dunno, thought I’d try it out. Not good?”

“Not good.”

She hummed. “Alright, let me take that again. Set me up.”

“Um. I, uh, I kissed Nico last night?”

“Oh my god!” Lou shrieked, startling Will so much that he nearly dropped his salad. “That’s amazing! I’m so happy for you! You have to tell me everything!” Will winced, and Lou said in her normal voice, “That one felt too far on the other end of the spectrum. Why don’t you talk, since you’re the one with stuff to share.”

“What’s the matter with you? Did you hit your head since the last time I saw you?”

“No, I’m just super bored. I can’t go anywhere, I can’t even eat anything. This is the most entertainment I’ve had all day. So, what? You’ve been bright red since you kissed Nico last night? Get talking.”

Will shook his head. “No, I just called him. He called me babe. I thought my heart was going to explode.”

“You’ll be dead by the end of this week, if you keep that up,” Lou told him.

“Hopefully I’ll get used to it,” Will replied offhandedly, and then seemed to realize what he said, and beamed. “Could you imagine? I might get used to him calling me babe!”

Lou rolled her eyes tipped her head back to rest against her pillows, flinging an arm over her eyes dramatically. “Never mind, this conversation has bored me. I need new entertainment.”

Will paused. “Seriously, are you taking acting classes or something? What’s going on here?”

When Will got home that night, Nico greeted him in the kitchen with a kiss. Will thought he might melt, but his heart nearly stopped when Nico said, “I have a concern.”

“What is it?” Will asked cautiously.

Nico bit his lip and started fiddling with a ring around one of his fingers - he’d started wearing it after the start of the new year, and Will wondered if it had been a Christmas present. “How are we going to break this to Bianca?”

Will’s heart restarted as he felt all of the tension flood out of his muscles. “Oh! You had me worried for a second there, Darling.” The nickname had slipped out unintentionally, but Will grinned at the blush that developed on Nico’s cheeks. “I’ll take care of that.” He pressed a kiss to Nico’s cheek before stepping around him and heading into the living room.

Nico had left Bianca watching TV on the couch, so Will walked up to her and asked, “Bi, can I pause the TV for a second?” When Bianca nodded, Will paused her show and sat down on the coffee table in front of her. “Can I tell you a secret?”

“You have secrets?” Bianca asked, eyes widening in surprise.

“Just one. You know how someone in your class might have a crush on someone else?”

She nodded. “Mary told me she has a crush on Jimmy because he shared his french fries with her once.”

Will smiled. “Well, my secret is that I have a crush on Nico.” He looked up and met Nico’s eyes from where he was leaning against the archway leading into the living room.

“You do?” Bianca asked.

“Yep. And I think Nico has a crush on me, too. I wanted to tell you before I told Nico so that you won’t get grossed out when we start doing grown-up stuff.”

“What kind of grown-up stuff?”

Will shrugged. “You know, like, hugging and kissing.”

“Gross!” Bianca said and scrunched up her nose. Then she said, “But...I hug people too, and I’m not a grown-up.”

“That’s because you’re very mature for a six-year-old,” Will told her. “But that doesn’t mean you’re allowed to kiss people, alright? No kissing until you’re an adult in the eyes of the law.”

Although she clearly didn’t understand what Will meant, Bianca said, “Okay Daddy.”

“Great!” Will said, and rose to his feet. “You can go back to your show now, and I’m gonna go tell Nico that I like him.”

He walked around the couch and back towards a pleasantly surprised Nico, who pulled Will back into the kitchen with him. “That went a lot better than I was expecting it would go.”

“See? Nothing to worry about,” Will told him, darting forward for a quick kiss. “Now, can I help you with dinner? Or set the table?”

“Oh, uh, I put a casserole in the oven. It should be done in, like, twenty minutes.”

Will beamed down at him. “You’re amazing, you know that?”

“Why? Just because I’m making dinner?” Nico asked with a laugh.

“No, you just are.”

Each night since their first kiss, Nico went home just as Will was starting to get tired. Will always asked him to stay, but Nico kept turning him down by saying, “It’s not your birthday yet.” Not because he had anything planned, but because he had nothing planned. How was he supposed to know that baking Will a cake would be enough to get them together? And how could he throw something together in three days that could top that?

It was the night before Will’s twenty-ninth birthday, and the three of them had ended the day with a couple of movies. At the end of the first, Bianca was sent off to bed by Will as Nico refilled the popcorn bowl, and soon the two were meeting back on the couch for a less kid-friendly movie - hopefully something that would keep their interest a little better.

Nico was curled up against Will’s side, one of Will’s arms wrapped around him, the popcorn bowl resting somewhere between their laps. Nico could feel as Will started to fall asleep beside him when they were only about halfway through the movie, so he straightened up from his slouch and watched as Will’s eyes blinked open. Nico reached up, brushing his fingers against Will’s jaw and turning his head until Will was facing him. He was clearly fighting to keep his eyes open.

“You’re falling asleep,” Nico told him.

“No, I’m not,” Will argued.

“Will--”

“I’m not falling asleep,” Will insisted, even as his eyes slid shut. He leaned forward, pressing his forehead to Nico’s. “I don’t wanna fall asleep, because if I do, then you’ll leave. I don’t want you to leave.”

Nico nearly melted at his words. He sighed, his fingers starting to stroke along Will’s jawline. “Well, it’s still not your birthday yet, but I guess I can stay over tonight.”

Will’s eyes cracked open as his lips curved into a smile. “Really?” He slumped against Nico with a sigh, relaxing fully against him. “Thank god, I’m so tired.”

Nico tried to shove Will’s weight off of him, but Will had gone completely limp. “Well I’m not sleeping on this couch ever again, so you had better get up and lead the way, Sunshine.”

Will huffed before sitting back up, slowly making his way to a standing position and stretching his arms over his head. Nico shut the TV off before getting up and walking around Will toward the bathroom to brush his teeth, Will joining him a moment later.

After they’d brushed their teeth, Will grabbed Nico’s hand and intertwined their fingers, pulling him towards Will’s bedroom. As soon as Nico stepped over the threshold, he froze. He’d never made it a habit to spend the night with the guys he’d been seeing, and he’d certainly never slept over after a one night stand. What if Will snored, and it kept Nico awake all night? What if Nico was too clingy in his sleep, and it pissed Will off? Were they jumping into bed together too soon? He knew that phrase meant sex and not sleeping, which was all they would be doing, but did it still apply?

“Nico?” Will was already pulling back the comforter and getting ready to crawl into bed when he looked up and saw that Nico hadn’t moved.

“I don’t have any pajamas,” Nico blurted, like that would be a good enough excuse to not spend the night.

Will pointed toward the dresser beside Nico. “You can borrow some sweatpants, third drawer down.”

Nico moved slowly, hoping to keep his anxiety from being on full display, and he grabbed a pair of sweatpants at random. He turned back around and saw Will sitting up on the bed, looking at him with something between a frown and a pout.

“Are you alright?” Will asked. “Do you...not want to sleep over?”

“I do,” Nico answered immediately. “I just… I’m...nervous, I guess.”

Will appeared to relax. “I’m sure if I weren’t so tired, I’d be just as nervous. Why don’t you go change, and when you come back, we can just lay here and talk until we fall asleep?”

Nico nodded and turned to leave, jumping back into the bathroom to change before returning to Will’s room in less than a minute. He slipped into bed beside Will, who immediately wrapped an arm around Nico’s waist and pulled him in for a kiss. In a second, all of Nico’s worries left him, and he relaxed into Will’s hold, throwing an arm over Will’s shoulders as Will tucked his head under Nico’s chin.

“What d’you wanna talk about?” Will asked, his voice taking on a Southern twang in his tired state.

“Nothing,” Nico answered. “I’m okay now. Goodnight, Sunshine.”

“G’night, Darlin’,” Will replied, and in seconds his breathing had evened out as he fell asleep.

Nico surprised himself by waking up before Will, but he was glad to have the chance to see Will’s sleeping form beside him. With the sunlight beaming in through a crack in the curtains, shining directly over Will and into Nico’s eyes - that’s probably what woke him up, actually.

Nico reached up to run his fingers through Will’s glowing, golden curls, and Will leaned into the touch like a cat. His eyes opened slowly, blinking a few times before he registered Nico in front of him and grinned.

“Good morning, Sunshine,” Nico whispered, and Will pressed forward for a kiss.

“I love it when you call me Sunshine,” Will told him.

“I thought you might. Happy birthday, Sunshine.”

Will captured Nico’s lips in another kiss, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him as close as he possibly could. “Best birthday ever,” Will mumbled against Nico’s lips.

“We just woke up,” Nico pointed out.

“I know,” Will said, reaching out for one more kiss. “I could get used to waking up like this.”

“I couldn’t,” Nico said, and Will leaned back from him with an affronted look. Nico followed after him, curling up against his chest, and said, “It’s way too early. Let’s go back to sleep for a couple more hours, and then maybe I could get used to it.”

Will huffed, wrapping an arm around Nico’s back, and smoothed his hand up and down Nico’s spine. “You’re lucky you’re cute.”

“Oh yeah?” Nico asked. “And why’s that?”

“I might’ve had to break up with you for a trick like that.”

Nico peeked up at him. “So there’s something here to break up?”

Will hesitated. “If that’s okay with you?”

Nico smiled and relaxed back into Will’s chest with a contented sigh. “Of course it is.”

Will soon learned that he loved to listen to Nico talk. It didn’t matter what it was about - Will could still listen for hours. He also realized early on that he couldn’t stand too close in order to protect himself from Nico’s flying hands, so he tended to watch and listen from just out of arm’s reach as Nico shared stories about his friends or ideas for his writing assignments.

He was leaning against he island as he watched Nico cook - he was forbidden from helping after burning the chicken Nico had left him to look over about a week before - and had gotten lost in Nico’s melodic voice and fluid movements through the kitchen. Will was pretty sure that Nico was telling a story about his cousin Jason’s terrible cooking, but Will would admit that he’d zoned out for a moment, just letting Nico’s voice wash over him.

He was brought back to the present when Nico said, “Babe, can you get the paprika for me?”

Will walked over to the cabinet and took out the paprika. He set it in Nico’s awaiting hand as he pressed a kiss to Nico’s cheek, and then stepped away before Nico could restart his dangerous gesticulations.

“Grazie,” Nico said. “Ora, dov’ero?”

“Huh?” Will said, figuring he just hadn’t heard Nico correctly.

Nico glanced at him over his shoulder with a smile and spoke again, though it was just as incomprehensible as the last thing Will heard. He frowned, and Nico rolled his eyes.

He stepped away from the stove for a second, walking up to the island and reaching over to grab one of Will’s hands. Nico pressed a kiss to Will’s knuckles and said, “Il mio sole, tesoro--”

“I have no idea what you’re saying,” Will cut in, and Nico’s smile fell away, replaced by a forceful blush and look of embarrassment.

Nico returned to his cooking. “Um. Sorry, I didn’t mean to-- I meant to say--”

“No, wait,” Will said, stepping around the island and stopping at Nico’s side. He set a gentle hand on the small of Nico’s back. “What were you saying? Was that Spanish or something, because it definitely wasn’t English.”

“Italian,” Nico replied, though he kept his head ducked and his eyes trained on the food he was cooking. “I, uh. I was born in Italy. English is my second language.”

“Oh, wow. That’s--”

“Embarrassing, I know.”

“--really hot.”

Nico’s head snapped up. “What?”

Will grinned. “I said I think that’s really hot. The speaking Italian part, not necessarily the living in Italy part, not that that’s not cool--”

“You don’t think it’s embarrassing?” Nico whispered, peeking up at Will, and then blurted, “I speak French and Spanish, too. Not fluently, but they’re close enough to Italian that I picked it up pretty easily.”

Will’s cocky grin fell away to a look of genuine surprise. “That’s amazing! I don’t think I’ve ever met someone that speaks more than two languages, and now I’m… I’m seeing someone who speaks four!”

“Boyfriend,” Nico mumbled, causing Will to lean in with a hum. Nico hesitated before saying louder, “Your boyfriend speaks four languages.”

Will felt his entire body heat up at Nico’s words as a bright, beaming smile bloomed on his face. He moved to stand behind Nico, wrapping his arms around his waist and pressing a kiss to his cheek before he set his chin on Nico’s shoulder. “Oh? Boyfriend, huh?”

Nico tensed in his arms. “Yeah. That’s what we are, right? Boyfriends?”

“I’d love that,” Will whispered into the side of Nico’s neck. He felt Nico relax and return to his cooking, but Will didn’t let him go. “I have a boyfriend who speaks four languages. Wait, what were you saying earlier?”

“Hmm?” Will could see color rising on Nico’s neck and up to his cheek.

“You were speaking Italian, don’t tell me you forgot already,” Will teased. “You said something like, my soul, and...Tesla?”

Nico snorted, and turned in Will’s arms to face him as he spoke. “I said, il mio sol, tesoro. My sun, and my darling.”

“Aw, babe, you’re cheesy in Italian.”

“What, you can call me darling in your first language, but I can’t call you darling in mine?” Nico asked with a huff. “Darling is only the… the implication of the translation! The direct translation is closer to treasure, anyway!”

Will dipped down to press his forehead to Nico’s. “You think I’m your treasure?”

“I--” Nico couldn’t meet Will’s eyes. “I guess.”

Will pressed forward for a kiss, reaching one hand up to brush a delicate thumb across Nico’s cheek. “That’s adorable,” Will said. “And you’re very cute when you’re angry.”

Nico rolled his eyes and turned back toward the stove. “Whatever.”

“You’re my treasure, too,” Will told him before pressing a kiss to his cheek, then stepped back to lean against the counter once more in preparation for an encore of Nico’s wildly gesticulated stories.

Nico had no idea what was supposed to happen at a parent-teacher conference. Will had asked him to take Bianca up to the school and promised to meet them there, but by the time they’d arrived at the school, Nico still hadn’t gotten a text from Will saying that he’d left the hospital.

Bianca led Nico toward her classroom, stopping at a check-in table at the start of the first grade hallway. Bianca greeted the woman at the table.

“Hello, Bianca,” the woman replied, and then smiled up at Nico. “And you must be Doctor Solace! It’s great to finally meet you.” She marked something on a sheet in front of her, probably checking them in.

“Oh, uh, no, I’m not--” Nico stuttered, and cleared his throat before trying again. “He’s supposed to meet us here, but he hasn’t gotten off work yet.”

“Sorry, you must be his husband, then! I’m Bianca’s art teacher, and last week she made this adorable drawing of the three of you. Congratulations on your wedding, by the way!”

“Um. Thank you,” Nico said quickly, and led Bianca past the table. Once they were a considerable distance down the hall, Nico crouched down in front of her and asked, “Bianca, did you tell people that me and your dad are married?”

“Yes,” Bianca replied.

“Why would you do that?”

“Because you are married.”

Nico sighed. “No, Princess, we’re not.”

She frowned. “But… You kiss like married people do.”

“Bi--” Nico bit his lip in thought. “You know what? Your dad is way better at explaining stuff than I am, so let’s talk about this with him, okay?”

Bianca nodded. “Okay.”

Nico stood back up. “Cool. Now, which classroom is yours?”

They walked a little ways down the hall until Bianca pointed out her classroom where groups of parents and children were clustered around the closed door. It looked like Will would have plenty of time to get there.

Nico took a seat on the floor on the wall opposite the door, and Bianca sat down beside him. After about a minute, Nico pulled out his phone, checking the time and for any possible missed texts. Nothing, yet Will should have gotten out of work at least twenty minutes ago.

“Is Daddy gonna be here?” Bianca asked.

“I’m sure he will,” Nico replied, though he wasn’t so sure himself.

It was then that the classroom door swung open, and a couple emerged with their son, followed by Bianca’s teacher who pulled another family into the room. Both parents glanced at Nico and shared a look of disgust before the mother led their son away quickly. The dad hung behind and said, “Are you even old enough to have a first grader?”

“Biologically, yeah,” Nico said, unfazed. “Oh, you must’ve been a late bloomer, huh? Better hope that’s not genetic.”

The man practically snarled down at him. “How dare--”

“Also,” Nico cut in, tipping his head toward Bianca, “biologically, not mine. Thanks, though, not that I asked or care what you have to say.”

The man seemed at a loss for words, so angry that all he could do was stomp away with his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

Nico grinned as he watched the man leave, and as he was staring down the hall, Nico saw a familiar blond walk up to the check-in table. He nudged Bianca gently with his elbow and said, “Hey, Bi, look who’s over there.”

Bianca looked over and immediately jumped to her feet with a cry of, “Daddy!” as she ran down the hall to meet him.

Will caught Bianca and swung her off her feet in a hug, carrying her back down the hall. Bianca reclaimed her seat at Nico’s side as Will sat down on his other side, wrapping an arm around Nico’s shoulders and pressing a kiss to his cheek. “Why did that lady tell me that my husband was waiting for me?” Will whispered.

Nico leaned in to Will’s touch. “Bianca thinks we’re married.”

Will paused, as if waiting for Nico to say something else. “And? You told her we’re not, right?”

“Of course I did,” Nico said. “I don’t think she got it, though.”

Will smiled teasingly. “I don’t think it should be that hard to explain.”

“After you.”

Will leaned forward to look around him, his mouth opening like he was about to speak, when suddenly a voice in front of them said, “Ugh, disgusting homos.”

Nico looked up to see the woman that had flirted with him during career day - Jessica’s mom, he was pretty sure.

“Oh, I’m not gay,” Will said to her with his usual bright smile.

“I am,” Nico said, sinking further into Will’s side. “But you know what they say when you assume.”

The woman scoffed, leading Jessica away quickly as Nico and Will fell into a fit of giggles.

“Doctor Solace,” Mrs. Johnson said, suddenly appearing in front of them. “I’m glad you could make it tonight, I know Bianca was anxious about it. Please, come with me.”

Will stood up off the floor as Bianca did the same, but Nico didn’t move.

Mrs. Johnson raised an eyebrow at him. “You too, Nico.”

Will grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet, and the four of them walked into the classroom. Mrs. Johnson sat behind her desk while the others sat in a row of chairs opposite her.

“So, um,” Will started, “how is Bianca doing?”

“She seems to be progressing well, on the same track as her classmates,” Mrs. Johnson responded. “Especially compared to the records I have from her kindergarten class in Nashville.”

“That’s great!” Will exclaimed, beaming down at his daughter.

“I do have one concern, however,” Mrs. Johnson continued, and Will glanced back up with a frown. She reached into her desk and pulled out a large sheet of paper, then set it on the desk for them to see. Nico leaned closer to get a better look at it: a finger painting of three stick figures, one short and two tall, with the words Daddy and Nico got married!!! at the top.

“I suppose congratulations are in order,” Mrs. Johnson said, “but I must say, from what I’ve heard from Bianca, the two of you did get married awfully fast. Not that that’s any of my business, of course, but I do have Bianca’s best interest in mind.”

“No no no,” Will said quickly, “we’re just dating! We… We just started dating!”

Mrs. Johnson raised an eyebrow. “Well, I hope you know that Bianca would benefit from two steady parents. What she doesn’t need is for the two of you to break up in a month or two and upset her entire world.”

“We have yet to go on a single date,” Nico commented, “but thank you. We’ll keep that in mind.”

Mrs. Johnson nodded. “Wonderful. Now, unless you have any questions for me, you three are free to go.”

Will had a late shift that didn’t allow him to get home until almost midnight, yet when he was walking down the hall toward his bedroom, a light in the living room caught his eye. Nico was sitting on the couch, his face glowing in the light of his laptop. In the amount of time that Will stood watching him, Nico pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose twice.

Will walked over to him, resting his forearms on the back of the couch beside Nico’s shoulder, and peeked at the screen. There were large blocks of texts with a lot of red lines that marked misspellings.

Nico glanced up over his shoulder and grinned at Will, stretching up for a kiss.

Will complied. “What’re you still doing up?”

“I was waiting for you,” Nico replied, shutting his laptop and standing up to stretch his arms over his head. “Did on some homework while I was waiting.”

Will walked around the couch until he and Nico were toe to toe. “You didn’t have to wait up for me.”

Nico set his hands on Will’s hips to balance himself as he rose onto his tiptoes for another kiss. “Maybe I wanted to. Besides, I feel like you’re never here anymore.”

“Funny you should mention that,” Will said. “I asked for Friday off. I was kind of hoping you might like to, maybe, go out with me?”

“Are you asking me on a date, Sunshine?” Nico teased.

Will cocked his head to the side. “Nah, I just thought we could hang out. Maybe invite a few more dudes, have a guy’s night.”

“Are you--”

“No, I’m not serious, Nico,” Will laughed. “I want to… I want to go out to a fancy restaurant with you and have a nice dinner. We’ll do something cheesy, like share a dessert after dinner, or take a walk through some park. Maybe come back here to watch a movie and try not to fall asleep on the couch.”

Nico’s smile turned soft. “Who knew you were such a romantic.”

“Is that a yes?” Will asked. “Seriously, I need to know so I can find a babysitter for Bianca.”

Nico’s eyes widened in surprise. “A babysitter?”

“You didn’t expect me to bring my daughter on our first date, did you?”

“I dunno, I guess I just assumed…” Nico replied. “I could ask Hazel, probably. I bet I could convince her to watch Bianca overnight. You know, if you’re, uh, interested in having the place to ourselves?”

Nico was sure he saw Will’s cheeks turn pink. “Oh! Uh, yeah, yes, I’m interested.”

Nico snorted. “Alright, I’ll ask Hazel in the morning. In the meantime, where did you have in mind for dinner?”

“I mean, I didn’t really think that far. I was thinking someplace pretty fancy, but since we don’t have a reservation we might not have very much luck with that. I haven’t really had the time to look around the city, either, so--”

“So, I’ll take care of the restaurant,” Nico cut in.

Will frowned. “No, wait! This is my idea, you can’t steal it!”

“You can take the credit and I’ll pick the place. You’re going to want to bring out your nicest clothes.”

“You don’t even know where we’re going yet.”

“I have idea.” Nico pulled himself away from Will and started toward the bedroom. “I’m gonna head to bed. You coming?”

Hazel had agreed to watch Bianca overnight, and Will had made sure that Bianca was comfortable with staying the night with Hazel. He packed an overnight bag for her - which included a printed copy of her allergy list - and then got dressed for his date. He still wasn’t sure where they were going, but Nico had insisted that Will wear a suit and pick Nico up at his apartment to make it a real date.

When Will and Bianca arrived at Nico and Hazel’s apartment, Nico opened the door looking absolutely stunning. His suit was a rich black, well-fitted with a gray shirt and silver tie, his hair styled for once instead of its usual messiness. Will couldn’t stop himself from leaning in for a kiss immediately after taking in the sight, but Nico stopped him with a hand on his chest and a, “Woah, at least buy me dinner first.”

Will pouted but Nico winked back to let him know he wasn’t serious, and then Nico led Bianca into the apartment. Bianca would be sleeping in Nico’s room that night, so that’s where Nico left her bag. They came back out into the living room to see that Will was insisting that Hazel put his number in her phone and to call if anything happened. Nico had to practically drag Will out the door after they both said goodbye to Bianca.

Nico still refused to tell Will exactly where they were going even as Will drove them to the restaurant, finally pulling up to the valet for what had to be one of the finest restaurants in the city. As they walked inside, Nico stepped right past the waiting couples to the maitre d’ and said, “Nico di Angelo. I believe Chiara set a table for me in the back.”

“Of course, Mr. di Angelo. Right this way,” she said with a smile, and Nico waited until Will grabbed his hand before they started through the restaurant.

The place was completely packed, which made Will wonder how Nico had ever gotten a reservation, let alone with only two days’ notice. They were led all the way through the crowded main room and into a separate, smaller room with fewer scattered tables. They sat down across from each other at one of the tables as menus were set down in front of them and the candles between them were lit.

“This is…” Will started, glancing around the room. “How did you…?”

Nico reached across the table and took Will’s hand, stroking his thumb across Will’s knuckles. “I know the owner.” He offered a half-shrug. “We went to summer camp together.”

Will cracked a smile. “Of course you did.”

He opened up his menu, and the conversation hit a lull. What were they supposed to talk about? It was their first date, technically, but they already knew so much about each other - definitely everything that would normally be covered on a first date. He didn’t want to talk about work or Bianca, and he wasn’t so sure that he should ask about Nico’s classes. What was Will supposed to say to get to know more about Nico? He needed to think of something before this awkward silence stretched on too long.

Will cleared his throat. “The last time I went on a date, we went to see a movie. She was texting the entire time, and I peeked at her phone to see that she was flirting with somebody who had like, every heart emoji attached to his name.”

Nico snorted. “I went on a date with this guy once who complained about his ex all through dinner, and then snuck off to the bathroom right before the bill got dropped off. He never came back.”

“That’s terrible!” Will said as he tried to hide a laugh. “Hang on, I’m sure I can think of another one.”

As the two continued to share terrible date stories back and forth, laughing at each other’s misfortune, Nico ran the toe of his shoe up and down Will’s leg under the table. Will traced his fingers along the lines of Nico’s palm while they waited for their dinner to be brought to them. They split a slice of cheesecake for dessert and left the restaurant with linked hands and matching smiles.

They drove back to Will’s house afterwards. Will didn’t think he’d ever seen Nico smile for so long, and wanted to do whatever possible to keep him smiling for as long as he could. It wasn’t until they’d walked into the kitchen that Nico finally pulled him in for a kiss, and Will felt like he might melt under the touch. It hadn’t even been a full day since they last kissed, yet it had been far too long.

“So,” Nico whispered, drawing out the word. “We have the house all to ourselves. Whatever should we do?”

Will hummed. “I suppose we could watch a movie and see where things go from there.”

Nico threaded his fingers into Will’s hair. “Or we could skip the movie and head straight to the bedroom.”

Will wound his arms around Nico’s waist and pulled him close. “I like your idea better.”

With Nico’s free hand, he tugged on Will’s tie, both to loosen it and to draw Will close enough to kiss. He dropped Will’s somewhere on the floor before he started shoving at Will’s coat. They started stumbling down the hall toward Will’s bedroom, losing Nico’s coat somewhere along the way. Nico slid Will’s shirt of off him before giving him a light push toward the bed. Nico dropped his own pants before he climbed onto Will’s lap, straddling his hips as he laid Will down against the pillows.

As Nico started to trail kisses down Will’s neck, Will gasped out, “I, uh-- I haven’t done this in a while. I might be rusty.”

Nico brought his hands up to Will’s jaw, stroking his thumbs across Will’s cheeks. “It’s been a while for me, too. Don’t worry about it, Sunshine.”

Will’s fingers were slowly working on unbuttoning Nico’s shirt. “How long?”

“Hmm?”

“How long has it been? For you?”

Nico bit his lip in thought, and Will had the sudden desire to have Nico’s teeth on him. “Almost a year, I think,” Nico said finally, almost sounding embarrassed.

“Oh.” Will’s hands froze on the last button.

“What?” Nico asked, brow furrowing in concern. “How long has it been for you?”

Will couldn’t make himself look Nico in the eyes. “Since...Bianca.”

“Oh.” Nico pressed a soft kiss to Will’s lips before sliding his hands down Will’s chest, slipping his fingers underneath the waist of Will’s pants, thumbing at the button holding them shut. “We’ll just have to make up for lost time then, huh?”

When Will finally looked back up, Nico was smirking down at him.

For the first time, Will thought he was falling in love.

Will woke up one morning - a Sunday morning, where he should’ve been able to get at least another hour of sleep - to the feeling of his mattress shaking and cries of, “Daddy, Nico, I know what I want for my birthday!”

Will cracked his eyes open just in time to see Nico sitting up and pulling Bianca down into his lap. “Don’t jump on the bed, Bi, you could break it,” Nico told her softly.

Bianca gazed up at him with a frown. “But I’ve heard you and Daddy jumping on the bed before.”

Nico’s eyes widened, face burning bright red, and Will tried to hide his smile in his pillow. Nico opened his mouth to speak, but shut it again so quickly that Will heard his teeth click.

Will sat up, lifting Bianca off of Nico’s lap and setting her between them. “Nobody’s gonna be jumping on the beds anymore, okay?” Will said. “Now, what is it that you want for you birthday?”

“Earrings!” she cried.

Will frowned. “Bi, if you wanna wear earrings then you gotta get little holes poked in your ears.”

“My friend Zoe has earrings,” Bianca told him with a pout. “I want earrings, too!”

Will glanced up at Nico, who was now significantly less red than before. “I’m not even sure I know where you can get your ears pierced.”

“I do,” Nico said, and quickly followed it with, “Your birthday’s not for another week, though, Princess. How about we do it on your actual birthday, not right now.”

“Okay,” she agreed with a nod. “Will you make breakfast soon, Nico?”

“Sure,” he said. “What do you want? Pancakes?”

“Yeah!”

“Why don’t you start pulling the ingredients out, and I’ll be out there in just a minute.”

“Okay,” Bianca said, and climbed over Nico’s lap to get out of bed.

As soon as she was out of the room, Nico held his head in his hands and groaned loudly. “Oh my god, I’m so embarrassed.”

Will wrapped his arms around his boyfriend and pulled him close. “It’s not like she knew what we were really doing, babe, she’s six.”

“I don’t care,” he moaned.

Will laughed, pressing a kiss to the top of Nico’s head. “How do you know where to get ears pierced, anyway?”

“No reason,” Nico muttered after a short pause.

“Oh my god,” Will started, cupping Nico’s cheek and turning his head to face him. “You had your ears pierced, didn’t you?”

Nico’s cheeks grew pink again. “Maybe.”

“You did!”

“Fine, yes, I did,” Nico told him, rolling his eyes. “But the holes closed up a few years ago.”

Will pulled him in for a kiss. “That’s a shame, you know? I bet you’d look really hot with earrings.”

Nico ducked his head and shoved at Will’s chest just enough for his boyfriend to release his hold. “I have pancakes to make.”

Sometimes, Will hated his job. Only sometimes, but when those few times came around, he really hated it. Like when he was scheduled to work on Halloween, or when he couldn’t go to Career Day at Bianca’s school. Or when he specifically asked for a certain day off, but somebody called in sick and Will was the only person that could take over for them.

Those were the days that Will’s job sucked the most.

When he told Bianca, she started crying.

“But it’s my birthday, Daddy!” Bianca pleaded. “You can’t go to work today, you have to come with us!”

“I wish I could, Bi,” Will told her gently, “But I have to go help people. I promise, I’ll meet you somewhere for dinner or something, okay? And maybe you can invite one of your friends to go with you. That sounds like fun, right?”

“I want you to go with us!” Bianca shouted before turning around and running out of the room. Will froze where he was, kneeling on the ground, and flinched when he heard Bianca’s bedroom door slam shut.

Will rose slowly, head hanging, and went to finish getting ready for work. Nico stopped him in the kitchen, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend’s waist and tucking his head under his chin.

“I love my job.” Will’s voice sounded hollow, like he wasn’t even trying to convince himself anymore.

Nico tipped his head up so that Will could rest his forehead against his. “You’re allowed to hate it sometimes. Now’s a pretty good time to hate it.”

“Why today?” Will complained, twisting his fingers in Nico’s belt loops just so that his arms weren’t hanging limp. “Why not yesterday? Or tomorrow?” He squeezed his eyes shut. “God, she probably hates me.”

“She doesn’t hate you,” Nico assured him. “She’s just upset. She’s a kid, you can’t take what she says to heart.”

“But she’s my kid,” Will started, only for Nico to cut him off.

“Exactly, she’s your kid, so you know she’s gonna love you no matter what,” Nico told him. “She’s upset now, but she’s gonna be fine. Maybe later today, maybe tomorrow. She’s not going to be angry forever.”

Will wrapped his arms around Nico’s back, pulling him in for a hug and setting his forehead on Nico’s shoulder. “Thank you, Nico,” Will said. I love you, Nico, he wanted to say, but now didn’t seem like the right time.

Will left for work, and about an hour later, Nico had gotten Bianca calmed down enough that they could leave for the mall. He hadn’t set foot in a Claire’s since he was sixteen; he’d felt out of place then and he felt out of place now. He would have felt much more comfortable taking her to a tattoo place, but he wasn’t sure they would pierce a six year old’s ears.

They walked right up to the counter at Claire’s anyway, and Nico said to the girl standing there, “Is there any way she can get her ears pierced today?”

The girl glanced over the counter and smiled down at Bianca, who was gripping Nico’s hand tightly. “Absolutely!” She reached under the counter and pulled out a paper and a pen, setting them down in front of Nico. “We just need a parent or guardian to fill out this form.”

Nico took the pen, freezing at the sight of the form. He most certainly was not a parent or guardian, but he couldn’t break Bianca’s heart twice in one day.

“Everything alright?” the worker asked, eyeing Nico suspiciously.

“Yeah,” Nico said with a start. “I just, uh, wasn’t expecting such an extensive form.”

She nodded, keeping her eyes on Nico for a second longer before smiling down at Bianca again. “Do you want to come with me and pick out your first pair of earrings?”

Bianca looked up at Nico. “Can I?”

“Of course, Princess, just don’t leave the store,” Nico told her, and Bianca ran off to follow the worker.

He filled out the form as best he could, but for the life of him could not remember Will’s address. After practically living there at this point, he thought he would have it memorized, but apparently not. Why did stupid Claire’s need their address, anyway?

He slipped his phone out of his pocket, scrolling hastily through his emails until he found one of the first emails Will had ever sent him, listing his address and a few other details that Nico could add to the form.

He scribbled everything onto the paper, dropping his phone back into his pocket just as Bianca reappeared with the worker.

“Any problems?” she asked.

“Nope,” Nico told her, handing back the paper and pen. “Just finished.”

The worker pointed over Nico’s shoulder to a tall chair sitting up against the wall. “If you two want to wait over there for a few minutes, someone will be right over.”

Nico led Bianca over to the chair, lifting her up into it. Bianca started swinging her legs excitedly, staring down at the earrings she’d picked out - pearls, it looked like.

“How does it work, Nico?” Bianca asked.

“See how the backs of the earrings are pointy?” he started. “They take a little thing that looks like a hot glue gun and they poke a hole right through your ear.”

Bianca’s eyes widened. “Does it hurt?”

Nico shook his head. “Not really. Maybe for a second.”

Bianca’s eyes dropped back to the earrings in her hand, a frown growing on her lips and tears forming in her eyes. “Nico, I don’t wanna do it if it hurts!”

“It’s not bad, Princess, I promise,” Nico told her, but when she didn’t appear any less afraid, Nico said, “What if I do it, too? Then you can see that it doesn’t hurt.”

Bianca nodded.

“Okay,” Nico said, holding back a sigh. “Why don’t you go back to where you found those earrings and you can pick some out for me.”

“Really?” Bianca asked.

“Yeah, why not,” Nico answered. “Something you think I’d like, though. If they’re pink, I’ll find my own pair.”

Bianca laughed. “Okay!” And Nico helped her down from the chair. She ran off to find the earrings again, and Nico returned to the counter where the same girl was still standing.

“There’s a slight change of plans,” Nico started, planting his hands on the counter. “She’s a little bit scared, so can I get my ears pierced first, so she can see that it’s not a big deal?”

The girl smiled. “That might be the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard. Of course you can!” She pulled out another form, similar to the first but not quite the same. “Here’s a form for you, and when you’re done, we can pick out the earrings you want.”

“Actually, she’s picking them out for me,” Nico started, already scribbling his information down on the form, “and she’s probably going to need some help with that, if you wouldn’t mind?”

“No problem!”

When Nico first got his ears pierced when he was sixteen, it was part of some teen-angst-rebellion thing he was doing, and he’d done it himself in his bedroom with a needle, because his father wouldn’t sign the waivers.

The second time was the day he turned eighteen and Jason had said he’d get Nico whatever he wanted for under a hundred bucks, so Nico got an industrial piercing that looked like a sword going through the shell of his ear. He thought that one looked pretty cool until somebody told him it looked like one of those toothpick swords that hold sandwiches together, so he stopped wearing it.

Jason still had some money left over after that, so Nico got a lip ring while he was at it.

The last one had been on his twentieth birthday, when Percy convinced him to get his tongue pierced, and then made fun of him for it for about a month. Apparently the guy that did the piercing did it too far forward, so it ended up giving Nico a lisp. He didn’t keep that one in very long, but he was pretty sure the hole was still there.

So now here he was, getting his ears pierced once again with a pair of tiny silver studs that Bianca and picked out for him. He barely flinched at the little sting of pain when the earring poked through his skin, more startled by the loud puff of compressed air coming from the earring gun.

He was done in no time, so he hopped out of the chair and knelt down in front of Bianca for her to see.

“Pretty!” she exclaimed.

“It’s your turn now,” Nico reminded her. “Ready?”

“Promise it doesn’t hurt?” Bianca asked.

“Did it look like it hurt?” he asked, and Bianca shook her head. Nico took one of her hands and lightly pinched the back of it with his fingers. “It’s like that. It’s nothing, right?”

Bianca nodded. “Okay. I’m ready.”

Nico lifted her up into the chair and the worker started rubbing at her ears with sanitizing wipes.

“Will you hold my hand?” Bianca asked, making grabbing motions in Nico’s direction.

“Of course, Princess.” He took her hand, and she squeezed it when the first earring went through.

“That hurt more than you said it would,” Bianca complained.

“But it’s not too bad, right?” Nico asked, squeezing her hand gently, only for her to squeeze back when the second earring when through.

“All done!” the worker said, stepping back. “You can come pay at the counter whenever you’re ready.”

Nico lifted Bianca out of the chair, kneeling down in front of her, brushing away a tear before it rolled down her cheek. “Now you really look like a princess, Princess.”

Bianca beamed at him through teary eyes.

Will was still at work when Nico and Bianca returned home from the mall, which meant that Nico had time to dig through his backpack to see if he happened to have any of his previous jewelry on him.

Luckily, through a thorough search of the bag’s contents, Nico found a tiny box that contained his favorite pair of earrings (which had been his sister Bianca’s), the sword he wore through his industrial piercing, the lip ring he could no longer wear because the hole closed up, and finally the single black stud that always sat too far forward on his tongue.

He stepped into the bathroom, remembering to grab the Claire’s Earring Solution on his way, and let the jewelry soak as he tied his hair back; it had just grown long enough to fit into a stubby ponytail. He rinsed off the sword in the sink before carefully placing it through the shell of his ear, and repeated his actions when he set the stud in his tongue.

It felt weird to have both pieces back in place after a few years. Nico could taste the residue from the earring solution on his tongue, but when he looked at himself in the mirror, tongue sticking out to show off the stud, he couldn’t help but grin.

He stepped back into the hall, he could see Bianca sitting on the ground in front of the couch as she colored in a picture on the coffee table. Nico sat down across from her, asking, “Can I have a picture to color?”

Bianca nodded, pushing her coloring book toward him. “You can pick one.”

Nico took the book - it was full of Disney characters, it seemed, though nothing later than 2009, probably - flipping through the pages quickly until he settled on a simple picture of Mickey Mouse. “Can I take this one?” he asked, doing his best to ignore the slight lisp his tongue ring gave him.

Bianca nodded again, taking the book and ripping the page out, handing the single sheet back to him. As Nico picked up a crayon and started to color, Bianca said, “What’s that in your ear?”

Nico smiled at her. “An earring, like what you have.”

“But it’s different,” Bianca pointed out. “You didn’t have that earlier. It’s like you’ve got a sword in your ear!”

“I do.”

“Can I see it?” Bianca asked, and Nico leaned over the table, ear first, so that she could get a better look.

“It hurt to put in, like your earrings did, so be careful,” Nico told her, making a face at the way his voice sounded to himself with the stupid lisp.

“You’re talking funny, too,” Bianca said as Nico sat back to look at her. “A sword in your ear shouldn’t make you talk funny, right?”

Nico thought for maybe half a second that he should scold her for making fun of the way he talked, but figured that since he couldn’t even properly say scold, he shouldn’t bother. “Nope, not the sword,” he told her, and he stuck his tongue out at her.

“Whoa, cool!” Bianca cried, eyes widening. “Is that like an earring in your tongue?”

Nico nodded, closing his mouth.

“Can I get one of those, too?”

He laughed, reaching over to ruffle Bianca’s hair. “Maybe when you’re older, Bi. Now, how about you tell me what you might want for your big birthday dinner?”

Nico was cooking when Will got home, which usually seemed to be the case. Bianca had wanted homemade macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes, which was a strange combination, but Nico was happy to make it for her. He had just set both pots to boil when Will walked in the door.

“Is she still mad at me?” Will asked in lieu of a greeting, staring off in the direction of the living room.

Nico shrugged. “Probably not.”

“Nico,” Will whined, but froze when he glanced over at his boyfriend. “Is that-- Did you…?”

“Maybe,” Nico said with a grin, turning to face Will fully. He reached up, cupping Will’s cheek and dragged him down to his level. “But wait,” he said, and drew their lips together in a kiss, slipping his tongue past Will’s teeth and letting the stud swipe against the roof of Will’s mouth.

When Nico pulled back, Will looked - for lack of a better word - surprised, and maybe a little bit turned on, though his voice seemed almost shaky when he asked, “What was that?”

Nico stuck his tongue out for a moment before saying, “Well, you seemed so interested this morning.” His lazy grin fell away almost immediately as he realized what he’d said - how he’d said it, lisp and all - and turned away quickly as his cheeks started heating up.

“Oh my god,” Will breathed, wrapping his arms around Nico’s waist from behind. “Say that again and tell me I’m not dreaming.”

“No,” Nico refused, busying himself with shredding a block of cheese into a dish for after the pasta was cooked.

“Please?” Will tried again, chin resting on Nico’s shoulder.

“Leave me alone, Solace,” Nico said, realizing his mistake as soon as the words were out of his mouth.

“Oh my god,” Will said again, pressing a smiling kiss to the side of Nico’s neck. “I can’t believe it. I cannot believe that my boyfriend - my hotter than hell boyfriend - is also the most adorable man on the planet.”

“Go away,” Nico laughed, trying and failing to shove Will off of him. “Or no dinner for you.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Will gasped, pretending to be shocked.

“I would,” Nico insisted. “Besides, dinner won’t be anywhere near as interesting to you when I have to take the stud out.”

“The thud?” Will teased.

“Shut up, oh my god.”

“Fine, fine,” Will relented, though he didn’t move away. After a short pause, he said, in a low voice, “You know, I wouldn’t be opposed to you wearing that to bed tonight, if you know what I mean.”

Nico turned around in Will’s arms, staring up at him with a dead-serious look in his eyes. “We don’t jump on the bed anymore, William.”

Will lasted only a few seconds before his lips cracked into a smile and he dove down to peck Nico on the lips. I love you, he wanted to say, over and over and over again until he didn’t have any air left in his lungs. Instead he settled on, “You’re a dork.”

thanks for reading!!

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[danfanciesphil]

Some Kind Of Folliful (New Chapter)

Edgelord!Dan x ObliviousBisexual!Phil AU [CHAPTER NINE] (based off the 80′s classic Some Kind of Wonderful)

Synopsis: Dan has one friend, and only because he was forced into it. Phil is loud, excitable, and irritatingly happy all of the time. Phil seems to find Dan’s perpetual attitude funny, and despite Dan’s best efforts to shun him and everyone else, wants to be around him all the time. That is, until Phil starts talking about Amanda Jones. Word Count: WIP (Estimated 12-15 chapters) updates every Tuesday Rating: Explicit Warnings: Smoking, swearing, heavy drinking, drug mentions, implied prostitution, broken home, class divide/classism, pining, light homophobia, sex

[Chapter One] [Chapter Two] [Chapter Three] [Chapter Four] [Chapter Five] [Chapter Six] [Chapter Seven] [Chapter Eight]

[Ao3!]

Phil paces up Dan’s driveway slowly, the car keys digging into his palm. He’s sweating with nerves already, making his t-shirt cling to his shoulders. It’s only a few degrees outside, but he’s warm through and through. He glances behind him to check once again that the car looks unscathed.

He takes a moment to psych himself up, then knocks on the flaking wooden pane. There’s a muffled woman’s voice yelling from inside, telling someone to ‘get the bloody door’. Nobody answers her. Then, footsteps stomping, and the door is wrenched open, revealing a woman, her straw-blonde hair pulled into a messy ponytail. She’s wearing a onesie, pushed down so it’s bunched around her hips, and a ‘Blondie’ t-shirt. At first, Phil assumes she must be a lodger, or a guest, but then he catches sight of her chocolate brown eyes, and the chestnut colour of her roots.

“Hi,” says Phil. “Are you Dan’s mum?”

“Unfortunately,” she says, looking Phil up and down. “Who’re you?”

To begin with, Phil had found it strange that he’d never met Dan’s mum, considering the amount of times he visited Dan’s house. Dan never liked bringing him over, always preferring to meet up elsewhere, or at Phil’s, but he couldn’t always make an excuse. Each time Phil managed to weasel his way into Dan’s place, his mum was nowhere to be seen. Phil learned, eventually, after pressing Dan, that his mum worked night shifts in a care home, meaning she slept in the day. He notes the dark, purpling circles underneath her eyes now, and swallows guiltily.

“Sorry,” Phil says. “I hope I didn’t disturb you. I’m Dan’s friend. Is he here?”

She frowns. “Dan’s friend? He’s never had no friends come round before.”

Phil doesn’t know what to say. She sighs, wiping a hand across her exhausted face. “Look, I dunno where he is. Haven’t seen him since-” She stops, latching onto something in the distance, beyond Phil. “Bloody hell, is that Ricky’s car? Did you bring that here?”

“Um, yes,” Phil says, nervously. He unfurls his fist, revealing the keys and holding them out to her. “I’m returning it.”

“Returning it from when you stole it?” She’s quick to anger, Phil realises. “You’ve no idea what I’ve had to put up with, Ricky’s been ranting and smashing shit. Dan thinks he can do whatever he likes, treating this place like a hotel- I should throw him out for this.” She snatches the keys from Phil, face growing crimson. “And you’re the accomplice, are you? Fuck’s sake, and he’s sent you here instead of facing up to me himself, is that it?”

“Actually,” Phil says softly. “I haven’t seen him since last night. He left Prom early. I don’t know where he went. A friend drove me home.”

“Well, when you see him you can let him know that he can deal with his brother when he shows up here,” Dan’s mum says with a snarl. “If he thinks I’m gonna hold Ricky off, he’s got another thing coming.”

Phil frowns, shifting from foot to foot as he struggles for a response. She doesn’t seem to care that Dan hasn’t been heard from all night, and it’s baffling to Phil. He imagines his own mother in the same situation - she’d be frantic with worry. He senses Dan’s mum staring at him, as though she’s puzzling over something. He meets her quizzical eye, self-conscious.

“Oi, haven’t I seen you before?”

“I don’t think so.”

She stares a while longer. “Hang on, you’re the little rat I saw sneakin’ out of Dan’s room the night before last.”

Phil flushes bright red, a load of gibberish beginning to spill out. He’d thought nobody had caught that shameful moment.

“You his boyfriend? Or just a quick shag?”

Phil’s cheeks burn. “We- we’re just friends.”

She snorts, then reaches into her pocket for a crumpled pack of cigarettes. “I know a walk of shame when I see one, love.” She shoves the cigarette between her lips. The movement is startlingly similar to how Dan does it. “Don’t blame you. That boy’s a fuckin’ nightmare.”

The obvious disdain rips through the soft, supple skin of Phil’s heart. Hearing Dan’s own mother talking about him this way is awful. If this is what Dan has to endure on a daily basis, it’s no wonder he hates being at home. Phil had always assumed that it was more to do with Ricky, but having this on top must make it near unbearable for him. It makes Phil want to wrap Dan in his arms, to yank him out of this house, and keep him safe somewhere, perhaps sat at the stool of his piano that Dan quietly loves so much. Or in Phil’s bed, dressed in a stupid big t-shirt, sipping hot chocolate his mum makes. The guilt surges up inside Phil’s body, choking him from the inside out. What scum he is, for adding to Dan’s pain.

“He’s fucking awesome, actually,” Phil finds himself blurting out, voice louder than he initially intends. “I’m lucky to be his friend, let alone anything else. You should be grateful Dan turned out as selfless, and intelligent, and sensitive as he is. Because he obviously doesn’t owe anything to you.”

He sees the furious retort brewing in Dan’s mum’s throat, but he doesn’t wait around for it. He storms away, blood roaring in his ears, drowning out whatever she might be yelling after him. It only occurs to Phil as he’s halfway back to his own house, that he potentially just made it even more difficult for Dan to return home.

*

Three nights after Prom, and Dan hasn’t slept in his own bed once. He’s stopped home briefly, during the hours he knew his mum and Ricky would be out or asleep, to gather a load of belongings – changes of underwear, a jacket he’d forgotten to take on Prom night, a toothbrush, etc. To his mild intrigue, he noticed that Ricky’s car had been returned to the driveway. Lee must have dropped it back there, after dropping Phil and Amanda home. At least Dan won’t have to track it down.  

The Ozone band is shit tonight. Maybe the out of tune, dissonant noise blaring out of the speakers is the fault of the tone-deaf bassist on stage. More likely, it’s due to the fact that the sound technician currently has his tongue down Dan’s throat. He’s not that attractive, but Sam is easy, and lusts after Dan like a bloodhound. Right now, all Dan wants to feel are grabby, insistent hands and the clack of teeth against his. He needs violent distraction. Sam is all too happy to supply it.

It’s a shame he tastes so vile. Like the cinnamon vape stick constantly stuck between his lips, and warm, ashy beer. Dan pulls back once he can no longer stand it, and shoves Sam’s head into the crook of his neck.

“Bite me if you want,” he mutters, swigging the beer Sam has left on the sound desk. “I don’t give a shit.”

With a grunt of acknowledgement, Sam sinks his teeth in. Dan shuts his eyes as the pain lances through him, picturing the blood vessels bursting, purpling his skin, obscuring the mark that Phil left, that refuses to fade, covering it with something darker, worse. 

And then, in an instant, Sam is being wrenched off him, pulled back with such force that Dan nearly slips off the desk entirely. Sam yelps, not expecting it, and falls flat on his ass. Bleary and vaguely nauseous, Dan fixates on whoever it is that has so rudely interrupted them. Phil stands there, the lines on his forehead pronounced, club lights dancing across his blue eyes as they flick between Sam and Dan, not quite sure how to proceed. Sam is struggling on the floor, clearly too wasted to haul himself up again in the tight space of the sound booth.

“What the fuck’re y’doing?” Dan spits.

“Me?” Phil asks, incredulous. “What about you?! Who even is this guy?”

Just then, Sam manages to wrench himself back to a standing position. He shoves Phil in the chest, hard. Dan rolls his eyes. If he has to jump in the middle of this to prevent a fight, he’ll punch Phil afterwards for making him.

“What’s your problem, dickhead?” Sam yells, spittle flying from his lips.

Phil takes a step backwards, but doesn’t flinch. He ignores Sam, eyes furiously boring into Dan’s. “Come with me.”

“Uh, no.”

“Dan.” Phil’s voice is a warning. Dan’s never heard him sound so serious. It might almost be funny, in another context.

“Listen, pal,” Sam butts in, chest puffed out as he gets closer to Phil. “I dunno who you think you are, but the kid’s not going anywhere, alright?”

“He’s not a kid, you sick fuck,” Phil snarls.

Sam grits his teeth, and Dan can see the flash of fury in his eyes. “You asked for it, ponce.”

Sam grabs Phil by the lapels of his bomber jacket, seething. Dan’s heart leaps into his throat. Mind whiting out, he lurches forwards, shoving himself in between the two of them before Sam has a chance to do anything more.

Facing Sam, Dan uses his body as a barricade. He stares straight into Sam’s eyes, heavy and firm. “Don’t touch him.”

In the back of his mind, Dan wonders vaguely how many instances there will be where he’ll willingly put his own health at risk to defend Phil Lester. Infinite, probably.

“You told me you’re mine tonight, kid,” Sam growls. “I’m doin’ you a favour. I don’t like being messed about.”

Dan grimaces, unmoved by this vague threat. Dan towers over Sam, despite their age difference. It wouldn’t be the best idea in the world to get in fight with the sound tech at his favourite club, but if it came down to it, Dan could definitely take him. 

“Tuck your dick away for five minutes while I deal with this,” Dan tells him, irritable. “You’ll survive.”

Then Dan turns, grabbing Phil by the wrist and pulling him away from the booth. He’s looking for Ben, the security guard, hoping to hand Phil over to him, but Phil isn’t having any of it. He tugs free of Dan’s grip once they’re at the edge of the dancefloor, forcing Dan to spin around.

“Dan, just stop a minute,” Phil says, loud enough to be heard over the music. “I need to talk to you.”

“Well, I don’t wanna hear it,” Dan says. 

His voice is slurring a bit, but he’s sober enough to know he needs to get out of this situation. Talking to Phil is an ache. It aches more than the bruises on his face, more than the cut on his lip, or the soles of his feet from spending three nights on a dancefloor. He can’t stomach the pain of it, can’t bear the thoughts that plague him, so he needs to get Phil away. Again, Dan scans the immediate vicinity for Ben, but in the dark, swirling lights and packed bodies, he’s nowhere to be seen.

“Why are you doing this?” Phil asks, apparently incredulous. “That guy is a creep!”

“What the fuck do you care?”

“I care! I care about you.” Phil tries to reach out and touch him, but Dan is quick to move out of his path. “That’s why I’m here,” Phil persists, “because I’m worried. Because I want to make sure you’re okay-”

Dan steps closer to him, and whatever Phil sees in his face makes his sentence fall away. “No,” Dan grits out. “If you cared about me, you wouldn’t’ve stuck your hand down my pants and then pretended it never happened. You wouldn’t’ve coerced me into hauling your ass around town all night so you could get with some other girl.”

Phil’s eyes, usually bright and exuberant, grow dull; he looks dreadful, Dan notices for the first time. His eyes are bloodshot, surrounded by dark circles. His hair is lank and messy. His clothes look a day old.

“Please, don’t,” he says quietly. Over the music, Dan can barely hear him. “I’m sorry.” He bites his lip, and Dan’s gaze falls to it. “I’m so sorry.”

Some small chip of ice flakes away from the block encasing Dan’s heart. He feels his resolve breaking, feels the traitorous affection he feels for this one, infuriating person melting his anger. And then, Dan is being grabbed by the arm, yanked away.

He sees Sam at his side, grumpy and livid. “Right, time’s up. You’re mine now.”

Dan’s about to shrug him off, to placate him with promises he’ll make it up to him later, but then a blur rushes past, and Sam is being tackled. Dan’s mouth falls open as he watches Phil pin Sam to the sticky, disgusting bar floor. Snatches of the things he’s shouting bounce off Dan’s ears, partially drowned out by the terrible band.

“…not fucking yours… your grimy hands off him… taking advantage… my best friend…”

Clumsily, Dan reaches for him, grabbing Phil by the upper arm and pulling. At first, he doesn’t move, but then a second pair of hands join him, then a third and fourth, and Dan looks over to see Ben, along with two other bouncers Dan vaguely recognises, hauling Phil to his feet. They grab Dan too, shoving them both through the crowd towards the fire exit door.

“Ben, mate,” Dan tries to garble as he’s being marched. “Listen, I’m sorry about him, he’s just wasted, you don’t need to kick us out-”

One of the bouncers open the fire exit, holding the door wide. It leads out into a narrow alley at the side of the club, where the bins are. It’s certainly not Dan’s first time in this alley, but he prefers to visit it of his own volition. Ben shoves Phil out first, sending him stumbling against the far wall. He turns to Dan, one hand firmly gripping his shoulder. “Don’t come back here for a while, Dan. You’ve been causing trouble for three nights running. Get your shit together.”

He gives Dan a push outside, then slams the door shut, leaving he and Phil alone in the cold night.

“Fuck!” Dan kicks one of the wheelie bins, and a loud clatter of glass bottles echoes through the alley. “For fuck’s sake, Phil! What the fuck am I gonna do now?”

“Go home?” Phil suggests, panting. He’s leaning against the damp brick wall, catching his breath.

Dan falls back against the opposite wall, head in his hands. “Oh, right, yeah. I’ll just barrel straight into Ricky’s fist, shall I?”

Phil is silent for a while, then Dan hears him step across the space between them. He takes one of Dan’s hands and moves it away from his face. Dan pulls out of his grip sharply, but it doesn’t seem to deter him.

Phil sucks in a breath once he catches sight of Dan’s face, the lines around his eyes crumpling. “Shit, Dan,” he says. 

For a moment, Dan doesn’t know what he’s so upset about. Then he remembers the bruising. From the light of the street lamps lining the road beyond the alley, it’s probably all too easy to see what a mess Dan is right now.

“Yeah,” Dan shrugs. “Hardy’s lacking brains, but he’s got some brawn, I’ll give him that.”

“You should see him, though.” 

Dan lifts an eyebrow. “Yeah?”

“Yeah, you fractured his nose.”

“Seriously?”

“That’s the rumour. He’s got a bandage over it.” Phil’s eyes remain fixed on the right side of Dan’s face. “Two black eyes. He’s going around school telling everyone it’s a ‘gym injury’, but pretty much everyone saw you beat him up, so...”

Dan stays silent. This is the first good news he’s heard for days, and he doesn’t even feel anything other than self-loathing for it. Beating up some rich kid is nothing to be proud of. Even if he absolutely had it coming.

“Is he giving you any more trouble?”

Phil shakes his head. “What did you say to him? He won’t even look at me anymore. Or Amanda. Just scurries off if he sees us in the halls.”

Amanda’s name is a sharp stab in Dan’s left side. He lifts his gaze to Phil, wondering if he should tell him the truth. In the end, he can’t be bothered to lie. 

“He got a boner.”

The look of pure astonishment on Phil’s face is almost incredible enough to make Dan smile. Almost. “What? When?”

“When I punched him,” Dan replies. This time, a smirk manages to creep onto his face.

“Fucking hell,” Phil says, blowing a puff of air upwards. He has an odd look on his face when he settles back on Dan. “You’re not…” he trails off.

“What?”

“You’re not, like… into that, are you?”

Dan makes a retching noise. “Fuck off, we’re not all into snobby douchebags.”

Phil frowns, looking away.

Dan runs a hand through his hair. “Sorry.” 

“It’s okay.”

Dan pushes off the wall. He’s already feeling a chill, and he left his jacket and bag in the club. He’ll have to beg Ben to let him in to grab it tomorrow. He shoves his hands in his jeans pockets and starts picking through the litter to the end of the alleyway.

“Where are you going?” Phil calls after him. There’s a clattering sound, so Dan knows Phil is following him.

“No idea,” Dan says. “You ruined my plans for the night, so I’ll have to make other arrangements.”

“If your plans were to let that creep take you home with him, I’m glad.”

“Look, you don’t get to be jealous of me,” Dan spits, bitterly. 

Phil swallows, eyes fixed to the floor. “You deserve better, that’s all.”  

“Sam’s not that bad,” Dan says in a sigh. He’s on the pavement now, stood under the yellow glow of a streetlight as he fumbles for a cigarette. “He lives in his parents’ outhouse. Hardly dangerous.”

“So what?!” Phil says, approaching him. Dan sticks the cigarette between his lips, fingers shaking with cold. “He doesn’t get the right to touch you just because he’s willing to let you sleep over after you- you-”

Dan waits for the sentence to end, one eyebrow raised. “Fuck?”

The flush whips onto Phil’s cheeks. It makes Dan laugh, hollow though it is.

“No guys should get to touch you unless you really want them to,” Phil says softly.

Dan finds his lighter at last, then looks Phil in the eye as he sparks up. “Oh right, and you’re the exception to that rule, are you?”

It’s as if Dan struck him across the cheek. He doesn’t try to defend himself, for which Dan is both grateful and annoyed. He has more argument in him. He’s pissed at Phil right now, for a plethora of reasons, and would love the opportunity to drag him across the coals for all of it, but at the same time, he never wants to witness the hurt little look on his face again.

“Come over,” Phil says. It sounds like begging. “I know you’re mad at me, I know you should be, and that I’m a dick, and every bit as bad as that douchebag in the club, and Hardy, and everyone else. But I won’t touch you. I just want to give you a place to stay. To make sure you’re safe.”

Dan takes a deep inhale, letting the nicotine wash the exhaustion from his bones. He wishes he had the privilege of saying no, but he has nowhere else to go. He nods once at Phil, then turns on the spot and begins walking back towards their side of town. For a moment, there’s silence, and then the distinct sound of Phil’s stupid nineties Converse All Stars patting the pavement behind.

*

Phil’s room is usually a safe space. It’s calm and quiet, with muted colours and familiar objects. It’s somewhere Dan doesn’t have to be anxious, or cold, or concerned with anything other than which Buffy episode they’re going to watch next. Tonight, he feels out of place here. Perhaps it’s to do with the fact it’s gone 2am, and the light is on, and Dan’s sat on Phil’s big bed, all alone. Perhaps it’s because when they crept in ten minutes ago, Phil had apologised, then moved a girl’s jacket off the bed to make room. Perhaps it’s because Dan doesn’t feel safe around Phil anymore, since four nights ago, when he’d reached into Dan’s well of insecurity, into the part of himself he hates the most, and torn out his heart.

Dan is staring blankly at the far wall. There are twelve photos tacked to it. Three are of Phil’s old rabbit Holly. One is of Phil and his mum. One is of Phil and his older brother Martyn, who moved to Australia before Dan ever had a chance to meet him. There are six of Phil and Dan. Annoying selfies mostly. Driving Susan around town. Sat in a Starbucks at Christmas time because Phil’s one of those ‘festive coffee’ kind of guys. Mucking about in the art studio, Dan annoyed because Phil is using Snapchat filters to give him kitten ears.

The last one – a new addition – is a Polaroid of Amanda. It’s one of those stupid small ones, from the cameras they sell in Urban Outfitters at an absurd cost. But it’s only of her, tiny and perfect, sat on Phil’s bed, right where Dan is now. Just then, the door creaks open, and Phil walks through. He’s holding a blue plastic bowl, moving slowly. There’s a bottle of disinfectant and a few washcloths tucked under his arm. As he sets everything down on the desk, he shoots Dan a questioning look.

“You’ve still got your shoes on.”

Dan looks down at his wet Doc Martens. “Oh. Yeah.”

Phil doesn’t push it. He places one of the cloths in the bowl and squeezes it out. Then he brings it over to Dan, along with the bottle of disinfectant.

“Hold still for a sec,” Phil instructs. He’s kneeling on the floor beside the bed, right in front of Dan’s knees.

Dan’s decidedly not going to picture any of the other times he’s seen someone in the same position, under entirely different circumstances. Instead, he thinks of the old piano in the corner of Phil’s room, imagines it being happy to see him. Nobody else plays it, as far as Dan knows. But then, maybe Amanda sat there when she came round. Maybe she’s a phenomenal musician, with perfect pitch, Grade 8 piano, voice like a damn skylark. Phil pours some disinfectant on a dry cloth, and rises up on his knees, bringing it to Dan’s face. Dan flinches back at once.

“I’m just-” Phil starts to say.

“Yeah, I know,” Dan says. “Sorry.”

Dan holds still this time, letting Phil dab the disinfectant on his split lip. He’s careful, and impossibly gentle, almost cross-eyed behind his thick glasses as he concentrates on the task. It stings, obviously, but Dan’s been feeling pretty numb, so he doesn’t make a fuss.

“You lost your lip ring,” Phil says, sadly.

“Is it gross?”

The corner of Phil’s mouth twitches. “No.”

He continues for a little longer, then sits back, hand falling away. Dan can taste the acidic, metallic flavour on his tongue. Phil picks up the damp cloth then, the one he’d dipped into the bowl on the desk.

“Here,” he says, then presses it against Dan’s face, over the bruises.

Dan hisses in surprise. “Fuck, it’s freezing.”

“Yeah, it’s ice water.”

“Oh.”

It’s surprisingly relieving. He imagines there must be some swelling, but he hasn’t looked in a mirror for a while. Phil presses it over his forehead, then his eye, then his cheek, taking his time with each area. He gets to Dan’s chin, then shifts Dan’s jacket collar and sucks in a breath.

“Did he get you in the neck, too? I didn’t see that.”

Dan stares, incredulous. “Are you joking?”

Phil just stares back, dumbly. He’s so close, it’s difficult to read him.

“You did that, you pillock,” Dan says.

It takes a minute or so for the realisation to hit, but when it does, Phil draws backwards, blushing. “Oh,” he says, then stands up to rinse out the washcloth. “I didn’t see it before… on Prom night-”

“No, I covered it up,” Dan tells him, sourly. “Thought you might not want Amanda seeing.”

The only response Dan gets is the tinkle of the water falling back into the bowl as Phil squeezes out the cloth.

“So how’s it going up on cloud nine?” Dan asks, though he really, really doesn’t want to know. 

Phil turns back to him, smiling sadly. He walks over and gives Dan the fresh cloth. This time, Dan holds it to his own face.

“It’s going really good,” he says, sitting down on the bed. “She came over yesterday. We just hung out. It was nice.” Dan looks towards the jacket Phil had moved, now slung over the back of his desk chair. “She left her jacket behind,” Phil says, answering the obvious.

“Cool,” Dan replies. He doesn’t bother hiding the bitterness.

“Shall we go to bed?”

Dan lowers the cold flannel. “I guess.”

As he unties his shoes, shucks off his jacket and jeans, Dan can’t help but notice how steadfastly Phil is not looking at him. He never deliberately averted his gaze all the other times Dan has changed in front of him. Too exhausted to read much into it, Dan just clambers into the bed, ensuring to keep a sizeable distance between their bodies. He’d be lying if he said it wasn’t entirely glorious to slip between thick, warm covers and fresh sheets.

“I’m sorry I got you kicked out of the club, Dan,” Phil says into the dark, once he’s switched off the light.

Dan sighs. “It’s okay.”

It’s not really okay. Ozone is  not just Dan’s favourite club, it’s the only place he can hide out indefinitely when there’s nowhere else to go, where he won’t be judged, and his family won’t find him. 

“And I’m sorry for…” Phil pauses. He sniffs. “For what I did. The other night. I never meant to use you like that. You trust me, I know you do, and I abused it-”

“Phil, it’s okay-”

“No, it’s not fucking okay.” Phil’s voice is raised. “I don’t know why I did it, Dan, it’s like… like I couldn’t help it. It sounds nuts, and I don’t expect you to understand it, or forgive me, but I promise you I’m sorry. I’ll never do that to you again, Dan. I’ll never be like those other guys who use you, who treat you like an object-”

“Phil, stop,” Dan says. He puts a hand on Phil’s shoulder, though it burns him to do it. He tries to keep his voice level, so as not to give away how hard he’s crying. “Please stop. You’re sorry, and I believe you. We can forget it ever happened.”

“We can?”

The lump in Dan’s throat shifts, jabbing its jagged edge into soft flesh. “Yeah. If you want.”

A rush of breath escapes Phil’s lips. “And we can go back to being friends?”

If he tries to answer, Dan knows a sob will escape. Instead, he rolls over, remaining quiet, and shuts his eyes, tight.

“Dan?”

(Chapter Ten coming next Tuesday at 8pm GMT!)

[coyotebombsquad]

Bikepacking down the California Coast

Words and photos by C.J. Foster

Prologue:

Last April, I was transitioning between jobs and scored nearly two weeks off; enough time to throw together an adventure -- something that would offer a moment to reflect, reset, and prepare for the road ahead.

I set out for the California coast. I rented a car and drove to Crescent City (20 miles shy of Oregon). This is where I would begin my real journey -- pedaling home to San Francisco -- a grand total of 420 miles and 32K of elevation, after all was said and done.

Leaving behind the city, I began to feel a quiet peace settle upon me. It was the sense that a chapter had ended and a new one was beginning. There were big changes to ruminate on, something that journeying through forests helps coax along, but still I was eager, anxious, and nervous about taking on a solo trip of this magnitude.

Day 0 (SF to Crescent City -- 355mi + 100 bonus miles due to rerouting )

Heavy rain was in the forecast; just what California needed to replenish our depleted water table and reservoirs. More roads were washed out with each downpour, serving a deterrent for this bike packing trip. Despite poor conditions, I retrieved my rental car, picked up some last minute provisions, and impulsively purchased a quality point and shoot while on a lunch pitstop at In N Out -- this wouldn’t be a road trip without it.

I crossed my fingers that the rain wouldn’t be too bad or last too long.

While on the road, worst case scenarios played out in my mind and doubts churned in my head. Questions about my fitness levels, on-the-fly bike maintenance, and my safety all nagged at me. I have taken numerous solo trips before, but I was still greeted by familiar doubts. I warded off these old friends and pushed the accelerator, willing this trip into fruition.

A landslide had occurred the night before just North of Leggett, which closed highway 1 (just North of where 101 merged with 1). I thought I could outsmart the landslide and the CHP by taking a route that I found on my phone, but the locals and tow trucks dissuaded me. There were potholes that my rental car wouldn’t negotiate successfully. A CHP officer suggested that I drive back to highway 20 and cutover to highway 5 and back on highway 36 -- an extra 7-8 hours of driving to get around one landslide. I was highly motivated to find an alternate route and was successful! There are some windy gravel mountain roads that cut through Covolo to Zenia off highway 162. They were sketchy, pocked with potholes, and many blind corners had cattle hanging around them. Nearly 4 hours and 135 miles later, I was dropped back onto 101. Just in time for a wild downpour to obscure my visibility nearly entirely for the last two hours of my drive. As the wipers whipped away, there were a few moments that I questioned if I should abort the trip and go find a B&B somewhere to lounge around and take it easy. Where’s the adventure in that though?

I made it to Crescent City after numerous bursts of sketchy downpours and 11 hours of driving. At a cheap hotel, I took the last hot shower that I’d have in several days and drank an IPA to settle all my nerves from the drive.

Day 1 (Crescent City to Clam Beach) -- 75mi/4.2k ft

https://www.strava.com/activities/948298792

When you roll out of bed and see your bike next to you, you know it’s going to be a good day. The storm had ended (for now). I returned the car at the world’s tiniest commercial airport after running a few last minute errands (patch kit and lighter are crucial). A polite and professional looking middle aged woman in a knee high skirt helped check the car back in. As I went to check the mileage a man with a mangled undercarriage came driving back up with a dumbfounded expression -- the cowling of the car was dragging on the ground, making an infernal noise. The rental car woman casually walked back in to grab a pair of tin snips. When she returned, she squatted down and removed the offending piece, then informed the man that he was all set. What service!

From there, I was free, off on my two wheels, fully supported. The day was sunny, dry, and a bit windy, but still gorgeous. The road felt solid under my self-propelled vehicle; my legs marginally ready for the physical challenges ahead. The cliffs along the ocean fell away like they had been cleaved by the great Paul Bunyan himself. The ocean would be my comfort, my well of motivation for the next several hundred miles.

The miles of coastline stretched endlessly in front of me. I rolled along undulating roads that led to tiny coastal towns; nearly forgotten, yet timeless. The forest stood sentry over the towns, over the coast, and over me.  

Several hours of headwinds and roughly 40 miles in, I stopped in Klamath Falls to admire the 40 ft tall Paul Bunyan and Babe the Big Blue Ox. It dwarfed me and my bike. My hunger had built, so I indulged in a plate full of chili fries and a sandwich at a nearby cafe in False Klamath; got to love being a cyclist, you can eat anything and it’s all considered fuel for the next ride. I had been cruising at 13 MPH, slow and steady, and this would be pretty much the fixed speed that I’d be moving at most of the trip.

After lunch, there were a few decent climbs: one up to Prairie Creek Redwoods and another out towards the stunning Patricks Point. A few lagoons loomed in the distance, they distracted me well enough for about 10 miles as I rounded my way to the campground.

I landed in Clam Beach State Campground after deciding to press on passed Patricks Point (my original stopping point for the day). The tent was a small project, as it was my first time pitching this new 1p tent, which proved to be a trivial task. The hunger was driving me to skip the backpacking meal and opt for some pizza at a local joint in McKinleyville. The kids working did not care if I brown-bagged it while eating a few slices in their store -- likely not their first dirtbag cyclist. Four slices and a 22oz of IPA prepped me pretty well for passing out. There was a slow ambling pedal along the airport road that led me back to camp. A few small planes landed during the sunset and I soaked in how light everything felt, nothing was tugging at me or compelling me to do or be anywhere, I was exactly where I needed to be.

Day 2 - Clam Beach Campground to A.W. Way County Park (Mattole Road) -- 75mi/5k ft

https://www.strava.com/activities/949287569 https://www.strava.com/activities/950851373

The first light of the morning woke me and I felt rested. I wanted to get an early start on the morning since rain was in the forecast, but not until afternoon. I planned on covering a fair amount of ground before the rain came (hah). As I packed up, my camp neighbors warmly offered me a cup of coffee, they lived locally and told me they were getting ready for work -- made me reminisce about camping up at Hawk Camp back home during a work night. The kindness of strangers would be a recurring theme during my trip.

Breakfast was eaten on the bike; the convenience of a breakfast burrito and a chocolate milk on the road. It conjures up an image of a train engineer shoveling coal into his engine to keep it chugging along. The morning was beautiful, I mostly pedaled by coastal farmlands and a smattering of small towns. The headwinds were ever-present, but I felt strong nonetheless. I caught up to another cyclist in Eureka who looked like he was out bikepacking with his loaded panniers, I excitedly asked him where he was off to. He was commuting to work and wasn’t on much of a journey. I wouldn’t encounter another cyclist until my last days of riding.

The farm roads gracefully lead me to Ferndale (my halfway point for the day) where I loaded up on provisions. While visiting a grocery store, I absentmindedly left my sunglasses on a rack and left for a pastry and coffee (I retrieved them). A local who had been in the store had noticed me down the street and flatly observed “you didn’t make it very far” when he saw me in front of the bakery. I’ll call that small town humor.

The climb out of Ferndale was absolutely brutal. It felt like hitting a vertical wall and only the powers of levitation would be able to lift me up the ridgeline that I was attempting. I was desperate to move quickly, but humbled by the aggressive grade and the howling winds at the top of the climb. The threat of rain was no longer merely a threat, I donned my rain gear quickly and prayed that I’d stay dry and cool enough to finish out the next 30 miles. From Ferndale, I covered about 4.2k ft in 35 miles. Brutal with packs, brutal without them.

Needle like rain stung my face for over an hour, my amusement during this section quickly changed. A sketchy winding descent led into Capetown, where I lost one of my water bottles and I narrowly missed being crushed under a dump truck’s wheels. The trucker that was just a tad too comfortable with the roads and cyclists on them.

Following the descent into a cove, a local in a green Tacoma stopped ahead of me and dangled a construction high-visibility vest out of his truck window and stated “dude, you need this!” His name was Oliver, and again, strangers with endless kindness had been looking out for me with safety and hydration (Oliver gave me a water bottle to replace mine, it was even alkaline, for sensitive stomachs). My flickering flame was ablaze for the adventurous path again.

A few miles ahead there was the town of Petrolia with a little gem of a bar called White Rose. I saddled up at the bar to wait out the storm. A beer would revive my sense of humor and the locals were entertained by my very presence. Who bikepacks in the rain, they asked? A few randos contributed to a hot shower fund in their own amusement since AW Way Campground had a coin-op hot shower. The kindness of strangers also contributed another gift from Humboldt county too, a special little doobie hand rolled under the bar. Despite the fact that it had only been two days of pedaling, I felt the beginnings of loneliness assuaged by strangers. I was striving to stay open to any experience along this road.

The campsite was a few flat miles from The Rose (as the locals referred to it), I even turned down several ride offers, told them that this was my journey to power. The campground boasted 30 soggy sites, they were all empty, so I had my choice. The hot shower was restorative, a bit of magic for a renewal that I would need for tomorrow.

Day 3 (AW Way Campground to Wright Beach 76mi/10.3k ft via Usal Road)

https://www.strava.com/activities/950851391 https://www.strava.com/activities/951928834

There’s always an odd sense of waking up in a campground without anyone else around; it’s a bit eerie, but also deeply peaceful. Rested, I packed up and hit the road, noticing a new lovely creaking noise my bottom bracket had developed due to all of the rain.

The plan was to take Mattole Road and connect to Usal road despite most people informing me that Usal road was still closed, but I felt that I didn’t have much of a choice since the reroute due to all the highway road closures would climb up and over Garberville and add an extra 70-80 miles (I had no idea how much climbing it would add). The folks from the White Rose had informed me that the Bryceland Market would be a good place to stop for food and road intel.

Still groggy with sleep encrusted eyes, I rounded a bend, and from the shoulder of the road a blur of black streaked ahead and veered into the center of the road and turned around to face me. It was a bull, of sizable proportions! He pawed at the ground as if to feign a charge. This frightened me, but I took comfort in the fact he didn’t have horns, nor did he have testicles (minor thing noted when he ran ahead of me), but I was leery of this 1500lb bulldozer and hoping he wasn’t too aggressive. I stopped about 50 yards away from him, facing him down like it was a standoff (it felt like a David and Goliath faceoff). I first yelled at him, then rang my bell, tossed small rocks in his direction to get him to move out of the road. He wasn’t budging. Then I thought to channel my inner cowboy spirit, and boldly rode towards him, yelling at the top of my lungs “GO ON, GEEEIIT!!”. This magically compelled him to turnaround and he trotted in the direction that I was rolling in. My inner childhood cowboy was giddy and terrified all at the same time. Such power I yielded. The bull veered off the side of the road before we got to a cattle catcher and I was free from my escort/keeper. I pedaled off to safety, and continued binging on serial killer podcasts, such a odd choice for a sojourn on desolate mountain roads.

Honeydew was a good restocking point where I pounded yogurt like it was water. They had a map of the area and informed me that Usal road was still closed, but I should check in with the BLM office in King’s Range. Just outside of Honeydew, there is a massive climb that aggressively stretches up to King Peak. It humbled me. I stopped several times to give my knees a break and to lube my chain. At one mini pitstop, a local named Grant stopped to check in on me, and I informed him that I was ok, and instead of speeding off to his day, he casually chatted with me for a few minutes. I inquired about Usal road, but he didn’t know much about its current state. The next several hours were a virtual elevator of careening ridgelines, towering forests, washed out roads, and serial killer podcasts.

Dropping into Thorn Junction, I crossed paths with Grant again, he was hauling a load in his truck, and chatted with me briefly and offered up an apple juice. I was thankful for the offer, and took him up on it. Each drop was refreshing, the kindness of strangers continued.

The BLM office was down the road another mile. There was one woman with a colleague there, they both heavily advised me not to take Usal, not that it was a fool's errand, but pretty close, saying that I needed a mountain bike or something beefier than my cross bike (on semi slick 32s). They weren’t exactly too far off, but I decided Usal was my best option, considering my current location and what I could physically tolerate (at this point I was 40 miles in and nearly 5k ft climbing).

There was a awkwardly situated cafe in a lumberyard called Caffe Dolce. Their pastries and sandwiches were exceptional. Both the fuel and the rest were a much needed respite. I was surprised at how busy the cafe was. There was a constant stream of people coming out to pick up a sandwich, I surmised that they were all potentially pickers at some of the farms in Humboldt county. I overheard an Aussie gal talk about going back to the farm.

Back on the bike, there was a smell of dank herbal piney resins wafting at me, I was definitely in Humboldt county. To punctuate that point, I was nearly at Usal road, pedaling along fern laden roadways, when a women walking along the road was most certainly on a different plane than I was. She stated everything is beautiful and asked me for a hug, which I complied and listened to her delve into hyper connected beauty and how we’re all one. I was grasping for an understanding of what all she was conveying to me. I pointed her the way that she should continue walking, and hoped that somebody would return her to wherever she had come from. Bizarre.

Usal’s beginning was a formidable muddy clay-like road, deeply rutted and pocked. The mouth of the whale that would swallow me up and eventually spit me out some ~30 miles and 4k ft climbing later onto highway 1. I ignored the closed gate and passed by. There were rollers that climbed and descended into expansive groves, with each descent typically requiring me to dodge pond-like flooded sections of the road. At least 3 cars were abandoned, a Honda Civic had no chance, the two trucks, despite having 4 wheel drive, succumbed to the relentless muck.

I pushed on. I was grinding away at 6-7MPH for the next 6 hours. I had to dig deep and find humor in the pain and to not let all the beauty wane. My nerves were starting to wear and my body was feeling tired of endlessly riding the brakes and carefully choosing my line, which was even harder with a load. The risk was high since both ends of Usal road were closed and I didn’t have any phone reception. A single mechanical issue could ruin the trip, a fall was a different story… actually, I laid the bike down on one slick descent and took a tumble. I was incredibly thankful -- no mechanicals or injuries.

After a few more hours of rocking out (fittingly enough to If These Trees Could Talk) and noting the descending sun, worry began to set in. I wondered if I’d ever get through this seemingly endless road. My strength was waning, but mentally, I was committed to getting through this. After rounding one of the innumerable bends, Usal beach revealed all its glory, just in time for the sunset. This helped to steady my nerves, as I knew there should be a camp nearby. Indeed there was a camp at Usal Beach, but I was pumped and ready to bid this road farewell, so I cranked on into the night. I climbed another 2k feet and rode another 16 miles in the dark. Thankfully, I had my headlight that was charged, but unfortunately, my taillight died on me. There were just a few cars that passed me (it was 9pm on a Thur night with a highway closed just North of me, hence why I decided to commit to Usal route).

Haggard and nearly broken, I arrived at Westport-Union Campground. I had been on my bike for nearly 15 hours that day. The campsite was on a bluff, the chill winds were refreshing, and helped to cool my nerves. What a day.

Day 4 Westport-Union Landing to Russian Gulch (28mi/1.5k ft)

https://www.strava.com/activities/951928593 https://www.strava.com/activities/953575322

There’s a smile that creeps across your face knowing that you accomplished something that most people wouldn’t dare to attempt, it’s not like I rode a 24 hour endurance race, but it still something to take some level of pride in the accomplishment. As the sun crept up and the ocean sang it’s morning chorus, I couldn’t help but reflect on the tough day; my body was spent. Thankfully, there was a short road to a recovery day, as I was meeting the rest of the Coyote Bomb Squad in Russian Gulch for two chill nights of camping.

I pedaled through Westport, a quirky little coastal town (more like a hamlet), with a tiny cemetery situated on the bluffs and some funky whale mosaic fountain. I savored my breakfast sandwich from a small market run by sweet earthy ladies and then slowly rolled towards Fort Bragg. Coming into Fort Bragg, I stopped in the local coffee shop before hitting the local bike shop, Fort Bragg Cyclery, and chatted with the owner, Mark. Later, I picked up some Teknu since I had managed to hit some poison oak on Usal road. After scarfing on the best pizza in town, Piaci Pizza, and sharing a surprise beer with Mark (bike shop owner), I cruised off to the campsite to meet up with my friends.

Several days on the road riding solo can be a great time for self-reflection and really stoke the fires of your inner hobo, but there are those moments when you’re inundated with gratitude for good friends and their adventurous spirits. I was happy I didn’t have to ride any further and more importantly, elated to be around the warmth of friends and the warmth of my first campfire of the trip. The sunset on the bluffs was of epic proportions.

Day 5 Russian Gulch Exploring, Canoeing, and Hardcore Chilling

Nothing is sweeter than sleeping in and waking up to the smell of hot buttermilk blueberry pancakes cooked on cast iron. Resting, chowing, and some mellow canoeing was on the agenda for the day. We gawked at the ultra-marathoners running through our camp; a funky route, and oddly enough, the canoeing location was the finish line.

Catch a Canoe and Bicycle Too was a quirky shop filled with collectors bikes suspended in the rafters, a series of beautifully crafted “toy” rockets, which looked like they could deliver at least a marmot to outer space, all run and owned by an idiosyncratic shopkeeper. He seemed half-wizard, half rocket scientist, and likely was the most intriguing person that I had encountered while on the trip. His knowledge of photography and rockets was astounding, and he ran a bike shop and a canoe rental business too. And these weren’t just any canoes, these were real works of functional art, just like one would imagine with a beautifully crafted bike, these were easily the most beautiful water-worthy canoes I had ever seen, not to mention the fastest; replete with outriggers for stability. I can’t recommend this experience enough; anyone can manage to enjoy a languid paddle up a gentle river in one of these. On the river, there’s a calm that’s induced that coaxes one to slow down to drink in all the fresh air and sights. Even a handful of seals with pups laid around without a care in the world. A few hours worth of this and it’s like hitting reset on your body. Just mellow; nowhere to be, but right where you are.

The remainder of the day was just chilling with friends, scarfing yet another burrito, and roaming around the bluffs followed by an epic paella cooked by the birthday boy himself, Youngblade.

Day 6 Russian Gulch to Bodega Bay (102mi/6.5k ft)

https://www.strava.com/activities/955648904

These are the types of days that most riders dream about: a good deal of rest, a pancake breakfast, and an epic tailwind that would leave most vikings envious. Despite the fact that the option to hop in a car was there, I opted to pedal the remaining miles back home in 2 days. This might have been one of my favorite days of riding. The hills were fast rolling, each corner plunged down toward the ocean and climbed back up along a coastal bluff. The farmlands added to the serene and bucolic views that elicited a smile. Such a beautiful coastline, such a simple life that calls you to standstill, reflect on a slower pace of nature and the simplicity of it.

Each descent propelled me closer to home and I began to squirm a little thinking about joining the fray again. I pushed on.

Point Arena is a small town that boasts having one of the oldest lighthouses on the coast. It’s a cute and quaint little pitstop close enough for a number of motorcycle riders to reach it from the Bay. A weird sight: hippy/coastal/biker community. California is filled with contradictory juxtapositions, but that’s one of the reasons I love this state. After a solid lunch, I caught up to a crew of riders bikepacking, the only legit riders I had seen! The trio were Canadians heading down from, well, Canada and going down to LA. I was impressed with the amount of beer they were loaded with and sad to turn them down to join them. I had hoped to finally exchange some road stories with fellow riders. There was a brief stop at Salt Point with them, but I felt great from that luscious tailwind, even after 75 miles, and decided to push on to Bodega Bay, about 30 miles down the road.

I rolled into Bodega Bay around 6pm and treated myself to a quality glass of wine and a massive fillet of halibut. So perfect, so nourishing. The campsite at the dunes was a windy one, and made it challenging to sleep despite wearing earplugs. No wonder it’s a favorite spot of windsurfers. Some peculiar dreams crept in that night. Maybe the corporate lifestyle or the dread of the routine that was right around the corner.

Day 7 (Bodega Bay to Larkspur to SF 65mi/3k ft)

https://www.strava.com/activities/956749405

The morning dew hung tightly to everything in sight, it limited my vision, and would eventually morph into a full rain. Undeterred, I knew a hot bath and a cold beer was at the end of my road, but first, I needed a solid breakfast. Estero Cafe delivered. Seated just outside of Marshall, it’s a quaint little organic farm to table type of place, but felt more like a cafe that you might encounter in anytown USA with the local sheriff stopping in and a few regulars just picking up their morning joe. The mist had built up to a sprinkle after I finished my last bite, so it would be a drizzly ride home. Another 60 miles of meandering through dairy farmlands and verdant hills. A  host of classic porsches from the 50s zipped along the same roads, they respected me and I certainly marveled at their classic contours.

Fairfax is always a favorite destination of mine, as many bikers can attest. There is a shared love for bikes in this upper-crust hippy town (seemingly contradictory). Gestalt was on my mind, after collecting rain in my shoes for the last 50 miles, I was ready for a beer and a sausage. Both were savored. I felt lonely and wanted to share my journey with someone like I had done the previous year after a longer tour, but nobody extended me the pleasantries. A tired and weariness settled in from the week of riding, yet there was a lingering satisfaction from knowing what I had accomplished.

I opted to take the ferry back to save a few miles and to soak up the bay and the bridge from a different perspective. The quiet Monday afternoon in the city made it feel like a distant stranger, as the streets were quiet. The city towered over the mouse in a familiar concrete cornfield. It felt good to be home; an appropriate way to close out one chapter and start a new one. The cycle continues, as does the adventure, it always will.

[shawmato]

Without a Trace/ 2

Word Count: 1,609

“Does he ever get off that darn phone?” Stewart said in a slightly louder voice than usual. We were all gathered round our usual table, at the usual diner. Shawn was on the opposite side, on the phone. “He’s been hooked on that thing an awful lot recently, that’s for sure” I said, looking over at Shawn. He caught my eyes and blew a kiss in my direction, before turning his back on us again. 

“Let’s just start without him, we are not going to get anywhere if we wait” Angie said as she sat forward and moved the notebook from where Shawn was sat, to in front of her.

She puffed her cheeks out and then let out an airy chuckle.

“We know where his interest lies” she said as she pointed at the top of the page. I leaned over to see a small sketch of ladies breasts. I sunk further back into my chair as they all chuckled and made comments. We had never told them that Shawn and I were seeing each other, but part of me suspected that they knew anyway.

Shawn finally returned and snatched the book straight away before even taking his seat. “Right, let’s get a move on and start this” Shawn sighed. Everyone exchanged raised eyebrows as Shawn rummaged in his pocket for a pen.

“We need to decide on the pairing this time round, and make sure communication is clear. If you ain’t happy with something then sp-” Shawn was interrupted by all of our phones playing the same ringtone. Another message from the Boss. We were instructed to head straight to his office.

“What if he asks us about our strategy? We don’t have a fucking strategy. We have no idea about what we’re going to do,” Shawn said as he gripped tighter onto the steering wheel. “Well if you hadn’t have spent so long on your phone, we would’ve had a plan by now” I responded without thinking. I remained facing forwards as the atmosphere turned silent whilst we approached a red light. Out of the corner of my eye I watched as Shawn’s knuckles turned white.

Before either of us could say anything to cut the tension, there was a honk of a horn.

We both glared to our left saw Blake and Damien in the next lane. They waved and Shawn reluctantly returned the gesture whilst my hands remained in my lap.

Blake told Shawn to roll down his window, and so he did.

Glancing back at the light, Blake shouted“Want to race Mendes? Last one to set foot in that office has to pay for all the drinks and food we have throughout this entire case?”

As if time was on Shawn’s side, instead of responded he slammed his foot down on the accelerator as the light flashed green.

Before Blake had time to realise, we were halfway across the cross roads.

“Slow down,” I mumbled as I began to grip onto the door handle.

When Shawn started going faster rather than listening to me, I snapped. “Fucking slow down.”

“Don’t you dare snap at me like that Blue,” Shawn growled.

It may have been a split second, but the glare I received from Shawn left a lasting impression as I felt a shiver run down my spine.

“We can afford to lose this stupid bet, it’s only coffee and grub” I whined, staring out of the window.

“No Blue,” Shawn slammed his hand on the steering wheel. “We can’t.”

“What the fuck are you talking about? We have around $4000 in our savings. Half of which we only put in there a month ago!” I said sitting forward to face him properly.

“We’ll talk about it later,” Shawn muttered as we pulled into the car park, coincidentally right next to Blake and Damien as they leaned against the car looking smug.

“You’re in deep fucking water Shawn,” I said through gritted teeth.

He got out of the car, slamming the door and leaving me inside.

Suddenly my door opened, I looked up to see Damien. “Ma’am.”

We trailed behind as Shawn stormed over to the elevator.

“He’s a bit of a sore loser isn’t he?” Blake chuckled.

“Why do I feel like the loser?” I said under my breath.

“Security finally got around to finding the camera footage that fits with the timing of our databases being wiped,” The Boss said as he pushed himself off of his chair.

He tucked his arms behind his back and glanced at us before staring out of the window. “But as I suspected, no one actually came into the building. It was all done electronically. They could be anywhere.”

He shook his head slightly, clearly frustrated.

“So there’s absolutely no lead?” Shawn asked, with his elbow denting the arm of his chair, and his head leaning in his hand.

“No son,” The Boss sighed. “Nothing.”

“We should get in touch with AJ,” Angie spoke up.

AJ was our computer wizard. If the wrong people knew about his skills, he would be one of the most dangerous hackers. Luckily, he hadn’t been persuaded to the dark side.

“Surely he’ll be able to work his magic and find something, even if it’s small” She added.

The Boss looked over his shoulder at us, his lips pursed and he contemplated the idea.

“Alright,” he said and let out what sounded like a little sigh of relief. “Angie I want you, Shawn and Damien to go to AJ. Right now.”

He walked back behind his desk and sat down before getting on with paperwork, we knew that was our cue to say no more and leave.

“So we have the night off,” Stewart cried with joy, raising his arms in the middle of the car park.

Completely ignoring him Shawn said, “Angie, Damien” he looked at me. “We’ll take my car.”

Angie and Damien waved at us before climbing in, Shawn did nothing.

“Do you guys want to come to mine for a FIFA session?” Stewart asked, as he went over to his motorbike.

“Yeah alright mate,” Blake said as he put his hand on my lower back. “Come on Blue, I’ll give you a lift.”

Stewart raised his hand before roaring off into the city.

“Damien better get my winnings from Shawn,” Blake chuckled as he looked into the rearview mirror and reversed.

“I wouldn’t count on getting it so soon,” I mumbled.

“I have to admit he didn’t seem to be in the best of moods,” Blake said as we drove out of the car park.

“And neither do you,” he added when I didn’t respond.

“Sorry, it’s just” I stopped myself and looked at my hands in my lap.

“You can tell me Blue, I’ve known you since day one of joining this fucked up company” Blake said as he lightly squeezed my shoulder.

I took a deep breath and released it before saying, “I think Shawn’s blown our savings.”

“On what?” Blake asked, glancing at me for a split second before drawing his attention back to the road.

I shrugged, “I don’t know, he told me as we literally pulled up. He said we’d talk about it later but…” I pushed my hand through my hair before looking out of the window.

“There’s a way you can find out,” Blake said quickly.

He glanced at me again before continuing, “I know a girl, she can track anyone’s payments or withdrawals - anything to do with money.

I don’t know how she hasn’t snapped and taken everyone’s money for herself” he smiled briefly.

I had a gut feeling something was up.

I couldn’t recall seeing any proof of Shawn spending huge amounts of money. He hadn’t purchased a new flashy car, we hadn’t done up our apartment… Not even my birthday present two months ago was that expensive.

“Do you trust him?” Blake asked, interrupting my train of thought.

I hesitated for a few seconds before looking at Blake, “Can you hook me up?”

“Fuck yes,” Blake cheered, standing up from the sofa and letting the controller fall the floor.

“Ah shit,” Stewart sighed before taking a sip of his beer.

The flash of my phone screen stole my attention.

I had spoken to Blake’s contact and asked for her help. She said she could let me know within the hour. And true to her word, a message appeared on my screen. I opened the text and read:

‘A lot of transfers have been made over the last year, all over the place. One stood out to me, because of the amount of money. You may recognise the place. Anyway, I’ve attached my findings.’

My heart was racing as I opened the file. I scrolled through several payments made in various states across America. At the end was the biggest amount of transferred money, and it had occurred five days ago. I frowned as I read that Shawn had transferred $1,200 to -

“New Jersey,” Stewart shouted as he stood up, with his phone in his hand. My eyes left my phone and glared up at him, as Blake did the same. “Angie just texted me, AJ found a leak.” Blake and Stewart paused the game and phoned Angie.

I looked back down at my phone and read the final transfer. $1,200 was paid from this account ending in 7830 to Unknown, New Jersey.

[propshophannah]

It was as clear as if it had already happened. As clear as if she’d been there. But it hadn’t happened and Elain would not be there when it did.

Azriel stood naked under a stream of hot water, face buried in his forearm, breath heavy. The muscles of his back and buttocks flexed and clenched with each hurried stroke of his scarred hand. His beautiful scarred hand. There was something desperate about the look on his face, in the curve of his shoulders. Perhaps something haunted, too.

He bit into his lower lip, eyes wrinkled shut, body curled forward.

“Elain—” He came with a groan and a jerk of his hips and then it was over. He washed the mess away, ran a hand over his jaw. Water dripped everywhere. For a moment, it was hard to see his face, nearly hidden by steam from the water. But she saw it as he pulled the curtain and stepped out—shame. He was ashamed.

Ashamed of himself for what he’d just done. For thinking of her. For saying her name.

He wrapped a towel around his waist and braced himself over the sink. His head hung low. Shadows swirled—over his skin, caressing his neck. He ignored them. Too ashamed to accept any comfort. Too disgusted with himself. He stared down at his hands.

The vision ended and Elain blinked. She sat in the garden. The air was cold but the waning day was sunny, bright.

Azriel had gone into the city for a meeting. She’d chosen to stay behind. It’d been a few weeks since their encounter in the kitchen. Since she’d come onto him and he’d run away. But she told herself it was fine.

Because it was.

After dinner that night, he’d acted as if nothing had changed between them. And maybe that was because nothing truly had. They’d gone to sleep in the living room atop the makeshift bed they’d built when she’d first come to stay. She couldn’t remember how long ago that had been, but she remembered being sad. Remembered when she’d let Az take that sadness away. And she remembered when she’d decided that there was nothing wrong with wanting to move on with her life.

Even if it wasn’t the life she’d originally planned for.

Heavy footsteps crunched what was left of the fall leaves. “I’m back,” Az said from across the garden. “I just wanted you to know I was back.”

Elain smiled, shielding her eyes from the sun as it just began to set. “Welcome home.”

A ghost of a smile brushed his lips, he hid it fast. He looked down at his feet, then hers. He blinked. “You’re wearing trousers.”

Indeed she was. A pair of old loose fitted trousers of Azriel’s she’d taken in and hemmed to fit her. She raised an eyebrow. “Such insights, spymaster. I see now why the High Lord and Lady keep you around.”

Az smiled, showing teeth and folding his arms across his chest. He wore a pair of dark trousers and a loose fitting cream shirt. The long sleeves were rolled almost to his elbows and the few buttons at the collar had been left open. The cobalt of his siphons simmered like icy flames in the waning daylight.

He glanced at his shadow—so long it stretched across the space between them, practically touching Elain. “You should never offend a shadowsinger.”

“Oh? And why is that?”

“Because.” He took a step forward, his shadow just grazing the tops of her knees where she knelt. “Dark things happen.”

Az vanished just as his shadow swirled and darkened. It spread across the garden in the form of a winged warrior then it morphed into a bird and flickered across the pumpkins and the dirt. She spun around to follow it. It flew into her own shadow and grew until it looked as if she had wings—great, powerful illyrian wings. They beat in time with a cold wind that blew in from the ocean. They slipped over her shadow’s shoulders like a flowing cape, then slipped down—becoming a ballgown—then further…

Until they became a field of sunflowers bobbing in the breeze all around her shadow.

Elain smiled. And moved to make it appear as if she were actually among the field. Tiny butterflies and birds of shadow moved through the scene. She threw her arms up and spun to make her shadow dance through the image.

When she opened her eyes it was gone.

“Azriel, you’re an artist.” She looked around. “Az? Where are you?” She stared hard at her shadow. “I know you’re in there. Come out.”

He did not.

“Fine.” She turned on a heel and began walking toward the house. A step outside the garden’s gate she spun around fast, expecting to catch him—

Only to be disappointed when all she saw was her own, ordinary shadow. She could have sworn she heard a deep chuckle.

“I’m going inside and I’m going to make myself dinner and leave none for you.” She turned again, putting on a show of marching toward the house. Once in the backyard, she locked up the tools in a small shed and moved to walk around front.

She was rounding the sunny back corner when a dark figure appeared in her periphery. Too close. Too big. Too much like that one time they’d come for her. Fear flooded her senses and she leapt back. A terrified scream on her lips—

Only to realize that it was Azriel’s damn shadow that had jumped out at her.

He stepped out of the darkness and—and he was laughing. Not his usual dark chuckling, but open, gasping laughter.

“It’s not funny,” she yelled, relief cooling the hot, sticky sweat on her back. “You scared me half to death.”

“You should’ve seen the look—”

“It’s not funny, Azriel.”

He stopped at the tone of her voice, the look on her face. She fought to keep the tears from her eyes. He reached out, “Elain—”

“Don’t.”

“Elain, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s fine.” She swatted his hand away and stormed around the house.

Only to run face first into him when he appeared in front of her.

He placed his hands on her shoulders, keeping her against him. “I’m sorry I scared you.” His voice was low, warm.

One of his thumbs flinched—as if aching to move across her skin.

She inhaled sharply. Suddenly aware of all the space that wasn’t between them. She wasn’t sure how, but she was pretty sure he was aware as well. But…

Neither moved.

“It’s all right. It just—I just thought…” That renegade thumb began to rub small circles on her shoulder. His hands were large, warm where they held her. It was just cold enough that their breath began to fog.

She traced the lines of his tattoos through the opening in his shirt with her eyes.

“Tell me.”

She swallowed hard, and brought her hands up, weaving them in the fabric on the sides of his shirt. He breathed in very, very slowly and deeply. “The night they came for Nesta and me. She woke me up with a hand over my mouth. I’d never been so scared. It was the look on her face.” She shook her head. “Nesta never gets scared, never fears. At least not that she shows. She didn’t speak, just pointed to the window. We were halfway across the room when the soldiers came in. They were quiet. As if they were worried about waking us—it was strange. I remember thinking it was strange.” She tightened her hold on his shirt. “They looked like giants in the darkness. Huge figures moving toward us. I’d never seen males so big—except you and Cassian. So I knew, we knew, who—what—they were. And…and I knew we were going to die, that I was going to die.”

Azriel rubbed her shoulders. “That must have been very hard.”

She looked up at him, willing every ounce of pity she could into her face. She said, “It was awful,” and reached for his arm, stepping to the side—and then bent as she swept his feet out from under him. He slammed into the ground, flat on his back.

Elain stood over him, hands on her hips. “That was for scaring me.”

Azriel smiled. “I’m going to kill Cassian for teaching you that.”

“Then you’ll have killed an innocent male.”

“Who?”

She leaned over. “The fearsome shadowsinger asking the seer for information. Oh how the mighty have f—” She slammed into the ground with a curse.

Azriel braced his hands on either side of her head and leaned in. “You were saying?”

“Feyre didn’t teach me how to avoid that move.” Azriel only smiled. “So now that you have me at your mercy, what are you going to do with me oh mighty shadowsinger?” she dared.

As quickly as she’d fallen, the air between them went taut. Every fiber of her being waited for what he would say next, what he might do.

He stared at her.

She stared at him.

With a finger, she hooked the loose hem on his shirt. Twirled it. Up, up, up—she grazed the golden brown skin of his stomach.

Azriel hissed in a breath, eyes going a bit heavy in the lid.

She placed her entire hand on his stomach and smoothed it around to lay on his back.

Azriel needed no push. His mouth was on hers in a second. His lips large and skilled as he fit them between hers. His tongue darted out and that was all she needed.

Elain wrapped a leg around his waist and rolled him onto his back. Their lips never once lost contact. Her hands roved under his shirt, over the muscles of his chest to his shoulders. He pulled her shirt untucked, slipped a large, hot hand across the small of her back, fisting the other in her hair. He angled her mouth where he wanted it, where he needed it to give her strong thorough kisses.

She didn’t mind at all.

He tasted like summer sun, like the warmth of a whisper, like too-sweet blackberries.

She ground her hips into him and moaned when she found him swollen and hard. She reached between them, stroking him with a hand through his trousers. “I want this,” she said. He groaned. “I’ve wanted this for a very long time.”

He rolled them over—and ground the length of him between her legs. She thought she might lose consciousness from the feel of him. From the deep, powerful strokes promised by the strong muscles of his waist, hips and thighs.

She grabbed his rear beneath his trousers. Gods he was well muscled. And she wanted to feel those powerful strokes with her hands as he drove into her.

She let go of his backside and pulled her shirt off. “Touch me.” His lips found hers the same moment his hands found her breasts. And Azriel didn’t bother to touch them above the fabric of her undergarments. He pulled the straps down, and put his hands on her bare breasts. An action so sudden and unexpected she arched into his touch, a whimper escaping her throat.

He rolled her nipples hard between his thumbs and fingers. No one had ever done that to her before. She was not a virgin. She’d let Graysen atop her, inside her, twice. But each time had been short, and he’d insisted that she keep her dress on. He’d allowed her to touch him, suck him, but he’d only ever sunk his fingers to test her readiness before he sunk his cock. She’d asked him why he did not want to see her naked, or taste her below the mouth and he’d said it would be improper for her to let him touch her like that, and he’d wait for their wedding night when it would not stain her reputation. She’d agreed.

And used to hate herself for it…

But as Azriel’s skilled hands rubbed and rolled and pulled her swollen nipples almost to the point of pain, she was glad. She doubted Graysen would ever have touched her with this kind of skill. And Elain wanted more—wanted everything.

She unhooked Azriel’s belt. He lifted his hips for her and she pulled the trousers open, the generous length of him springing free into her waiting hand.

Azriel pumped into it. Once, twice—

He buried his face in her neck. “Tell me to stop.”

“I want this,” she whispered. Still he pumped his hips. The smooth length of him, like velvet in her hand.

He growled in frustration then slipped his hand beneath her trousers and right into her. Her hips bucked off the ground at the sudden, very pleasing, intrusion. She moaned. His fingers were thick. He only worked one inside her and she felt full. But maybe it was his scars.

“Ask me to stop, please.” She shook her head, kissing him again. She moved her hand to slide along the one he had inside her, to feel where they were connected. “Say stop,” he begged.

“Stop.”

Everything stopped. She froze. Azriel panted—panted like he’d been frightened, scared.

She put her hand on his shoulder. “Az?”

He pushed off her, stuffing himself back into his trousers and standing. “I’m sorry.” He didn’t even look at her. Just stooped to pick up her shirt and hand it to her. Then he was walking away.

Elain wasn’t sure how long she laid there, clutching her shirt to her bare breasts. But when she finally moved it was long past dark. Her skin was cold, numb.

He hadn’t come back out.

And he wasn’t in the house when she entered.

He wasn’t there when she got out of the shower.

And he wasn’t there the next morning when she woke up alone in the makeshift bed they’d built in their living room—his living room.

[Watercliff part 6 - At least one more part!] part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

[roomba-your-ass]

Revelations Chapter 1

Fandom: Stormlight Archives

Pairing: Kaladin/Adolin

Spoilers: For WoK and WoR

Also on AO3 http://archiveofourown.org/works/13169070/chapters/30119982

Links to Chapter 2,  Chapter 3

Summary: Adolin was about to get up and get help when Kaladin suddenly inhaled sharply. Adolin froze in an awkward position, halfway between crouching and standing. The bridgeboy was glowing. Stormfather! The man was emitting stormlight, it leaked from his skin like some sort of mist. Wisps of it curled in the air before disappearing. Even Kaladin’s eyes glowed with it. He was like a cracked Shard, leaking stormlight that couldn’t be contained.

Set in WoR some time after the Assassin in White appeared before Kaladin and the Kholins, but before Kaladin figures out who helped cut the balcony or Shallan appears.

Chapter 1

Acting in accordance with his duties as a quasi-bodyguard and responsible for the safety of the person under his care, Kaladin wouldn’t let is personal feelings with his task. He was as diligent and serious as ever. Even if, now, the person under his protection was a spoiled and insufferable princeling who drove Kaladin to the brink of madness daily. The storming man seemed to enjoy taking every opportunity he found to torment, annoy, or try to embarrass Kaladin.

Even if Kaladin wanted to kick the arrogant princeling’s arse, he would still do his utmost to prevent others from doing so. He glanced at Adolin who was leaning against the wall, watching Kaladin search the surprisingly spartan room for any threats, face a weird mix of annoyance and amusement. Storming man. Kaladin ignored him, concentrating on finding anything out of place.

“How long is this going to take, bridgeboy?” Adolin didn’t know if he should be exasperated or entertained by the spectacle he was watching. There was commendable cautiousness in a guard and then there was this…paranoid distrustfulness this storming man displayed. Admittedly, there had been a failed attempt to harm Adolin a few days ago. The main goal seemed to have been to injure and incapacitate instead of killing him and he couldn’t help but think that it had something to do with his next duel. The stakes were high. The prize of Shardblade and plate was serious, hundreds and thousands of people often died over Shards. To have them change hands just like that, with a simple duel, could change the future of a house. He wouldn’t be surprised if his opponent’s family decided to make sure the duel wouldn’t take place in the foreseeable future in fear of losing their Shards.

“However long I need to make sure you’re still going to be alive come next morning, unless the building collapses on top of you, princeling.” Adolin hadn’t expected such a long reply. Usually the bridgeboy would try and prove that grunting was an acceptable form of answer. And to Adolin’s slight horror that was beginning to work. By now Adolin could interpret quite a number of grunts, far more than he was comfortable with. When had he even spoken enough with Kaladin for that to happen?

He watched as the bridgeboy inspected and examined everything. Even the space under his bed. Storms! The space was perhaps large enough to hide a skeleton but definitely not enough for a living, breathing human being. Adolin shook his head.

Just as Adolin thought Kaladin had finally finished taking his room apart and he would be able to relax in peace the man stopped and turned towards his goblet and the jug of wine, placed on a small table next to a comfortable armchair. It had taken Adolin a long time to convince his father that yes, Adolin needed an armchair and no, a normal cloth-covered chair would not be sufficient.

“Going to take a drink on the job, bridgeboy?” Adolin mocked, though he knew perfectly well that Kaladin would never do something like that. Being insubordinate on a daily basis, yes. Slacking off while doing his duties? It was about as likely as his father suddenly deciding to get drunk in broad daylight after following the codes so closely these last few years.

“Something does not smell right.”

“Probably smelling yourself. When was the last time you washed? Last week’s Highstorm?” Adolin scoffed but started to move away from the wall because if Kaladin said something wasn’t right he usually had a reason for it.

“Storm off, princeling. I think someone poisoned your wine,” he lifted the jug containing the wine and sniffed at the content before setting it down again, frown deepening. Then he picked up the empty goblet but let it drop immediately, cursing loudly and face paling visibly. The goblet clattered to the ground, the noise of metal hitting the floor dampened by a thin carpet covering the stone. 

“What’s wrong?!”, alarmed, Adolin rushed forward, stretching his hand out automatically, ready to summon his Shardblade. Though what good it would do, Adolin didn’t know. Seeing Kaladin staggering, Adolin put his hand to better use, steadying the bridgeboy instead. His heart was thumping loudly, a fast rhythm that reminded him of the battle field. Except that on the battle field he knew what to do. Helplessly and starting to panic slightly, Adolin helped Kaladin lay down on the floor. Were you supposed to do that with someone who had probably been poisoned? Would it allow the poison to circulate faster through the bloodstream? Adolin didn’t know. He took Kaladin’s hand in his, the hand that had picked up the goblet, turning it around and inspecting the palm. It was not difficult to see. There was a slightly swollen red dot in the space between thumb and index finger, like a small insect bite.

Adolin took a glance at Kaladin’s face. His scarred forehead glistened with cold sweat, breathing ragged. Adolin was about to get up and get help when Kaladin suddenly inhaled sharply. Adolin froze in an awkward position, halfway between crouching and standing.

The bridgeboy was glowing. Stormfather! The man was emitting stormlight, it leaked from his skin like some sort of mist. Wisps of it curled in the air before disappearing. Even Kaladin’s eyes glowed with it. He was like a cracked Shard, leaking stormlight that couldn’t be contained.

Dumbfounded, Adolin stared at Kaladin’s mouth that also leaked stormlight as it moved. It seemed like Kaladin was saying something but Adolin’s brain couldn’t grasp the words.

Kaladin was just like the assassin when he came to kill his father. That thought was enough to spur Adolin into action. He jumped up, hand outstretching once more to summon his Shardblade.

Before he could take a few steps back to widen the distance between himself and Kaladin his arm was grabbed and he was dragged onto the ground with a surprising strength. He stumbled, trying to steady himself before crashing half across the bridgeboy with a dull uff-sound, smacking his face on Kaladin’s shoulder. His nose hurt something fierce and a yellow pain-spren came out of the ground next to his head, wriggling its tiny tendrils in his direction.

“Storms, Adolin, wait!” Kaladin shout sounded frustrated as Adolin struggled, trying to remove his hand from the floor. It seemed to be stuck to the ground next to Adolin’s head. His other hand was still free though so Adolin formed a fist and drove it in Kaladin’s face, feeling rather satisfied when he felt it connect with a nose. A pained grunt escaped the glowing bastard’s mouth.

“I said wait, dammit!” Adolin’s other hand was grabbed and stuck to the ground as well, rendering him mostly incapacitated and limiting his actions even further. Adolin unbend his arms, which caged Kaladin’s body at a slightly awkward angle and seemed to mockingly remind Adolin that he never managed to court a girl long enough to get into a position like that.

Great, not only was he incapacitated but also forced to stay in this embarrassing pose. At least he wasn’t forced to straddle to man’s legs. Adolin grimaced at the thought. Not the problem he should be focusing on at the moment.

Adolin glowered, baring his teeth in anger at the bridgeboy and his own inability to do anything about the situation he was in. “Why are you glowing like the Assassin in White? I swear I’m going to kill you, if you have anything to do with the people that threaten my family!” Adolin wondered if he should try shouting for help but quickly dismissed the thought. The first people to arrive would be from Bridge Four and he had no doubt that they would be absolutely loyal to Kaladin.

Kaladin widened his eyes in surprise, at the accusation or being found, Adolin didn’t know. “Does it even matter if I swear that I have nothing to do with the people that tried to kill your father and the king? Or that I have nothing to do with the Assassin in White and am doing what I can to protect Dalinar and your family from any danger? Because I am.” Kaladin stared up at Adolin, his hard features softened slightly by the faint glow his skin was emitting, though he was still frowning. The bridgeboy probably even frowned while sleeping. Adolin was almost certain of it.

It was true that thee bridgeboy was always overly careful in that paranoid way of his. The thorough search off Adolin’s room not moments ago being prove of that. Without Kaladin, he and his father would have long since died on the Shattered Plains, naïve victims of Sadeas’ betrayal. If Kaladin had any connections with the people that command the Assassin in White it would’ve been too easy to simply let them perish at the hands of the Parshendi. Or not come to their aid when the assassin attacked them after the Highstorm. If Kaladin hadn’t pushed the assassin along with himself out of the hole in the stonewall Adolin had no doubt they would’ve died that day. He had been so utterly useless confronted with the assassin he might as well have been an untrained kid going against a champion. It made him angry and frustrated to think about that awful truth. But there was no point lying to himself about it. Perhaps if he had known and believed the talk about the abilities of the Assassin in White instead of thinking of them only as rumors. Even then, believing rumors about the powers of an opponent and knowing how to fight someone were two very different things.

“I believe that you had nothing to do with the attempt on my father’s or the king’s life.” Adolin frowned, “However, you did not do your best to protect my father’s life. You could have used the same powers as the assassin, maybe we could have beaten him.”

Kaladin glanced away as if feeling guilty. Well, he should feel bad about withholding important information like that, Adolin thought grimly.

“I can’t use my powers like the Assassin in White. Until I saw what he could do I had no idea things like that were possible myself. I’m getting better at controlling them though, I won’t be as helpless again.” Kaladin locked eye with him again, looking determined and Adolin suddenly remembered how close they were.

“So, you did use your full powers that day?” Adolin inquired.

Kaladin bit his lip, closing his eyes for a second before answering. “No.” He breathed the word out, looking guilty again. It sounded too soft for that kind of revelation and yet, at the same time too loud in the quiet of the room. Fury erupted in Adolin, hitting him like a bolt of lightning. He tried to ball his hands into fists, growling when he found he could not do that because his hands were infuriatingly still stuck to the ground.