#i dunno maybe Marie can heal him
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my-wee-hughie · 3 months ago
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I can see them doing a death fakeout for Hughie in season 5.
No one expects him to die, so imagine them outright killing him at the end of an episode and then bringing him back the next.
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scarisd3ad · 1 year ago
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Begin again
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Pairing(s) - billy Hargrove x fem!reader (past), Steve harrington x fem!reader
Summary- after the end of your 2 year long relationship with billy you finally go on a date again and realize how horrible billy really was to you.
Warnings - mentions of a toxic relationship
Masterlist
I sighed as I looked at myself in the mirror, this was my first date I was going on since I broke up with Billy and somehow, I can't shake all the old habits I used to have. he hated when I wore heals absolutely hated them because he said they made me taller than I actually was. I slip them off not knowing if Steve had the same preference. I decide on a pair of Mary janes that still had a heal but wasn't that tall it was barely an inch. this was just a first date down at the coffee shop around the corner, but I still felt this overwhelming pressure to look good.
I put my favorite cassette into my Walkman. Billy hated this song, and he always made it known when I listened to it. "God why do you like this shit" he'd mutter every time. I decided on walking to the coffee shop since it was a nice day, and the coffee shop was just down the road.
when I arrive, I assume Steve would be late because Billy always was. I just assumed all men didn't care about punctuality. but when I open the door Steve's sitting at a table in the far back corner. the bell from the top of the door pulls his thoughts from the menu he was looking at. he looks up and waves me over. when I walk to the table, he gets up pulling the chair across from his out for me. I smile, Billy never did this for me. "Thank you" he shakes his head as I take a seat "it's not problem."
'you dont understand how nice that is, but i do'
he throws his head back laughing when I tell a joke that I didn't think he'd find funny because Billy never did. he always said I wasn't funny, but Steve thought I was. "it's not that funny" I giggled as I push a piece of my hair back behind my ear. he continues to laugh, and I can't help but admire how handsome he looks. I've spent the last I don't know how long believing that love was a horrible thing that I never wanted to do again but right here in this coffee shop everything changed. it was like everything I ever experienced with Billy was erased and I was able to begin again.
James Taylor was my favorite singer and somehow was Steves too. "I've never met a girl who has as many James Taylor records as me" he laughs after I told him about my collection. Billy would've found that as me trying to say I was better than him in some type of way, but Steve doesn't. I laugh "ma-maybe you could come over one day and I Dunno check'em out" I say with a shrug he nods "yeah, yeah that would be fun."
he tells stories about his friends and his family and thinks it's weird I'm coming off a little shy. I was used to listening and not talking with Billy. "Are-are you alright?" he asks his brows furrowed together; I shake my head "ye-yeah I'm fine i-i I'm sorry" I mumble "it's alright you don't gotta be shy around me" he whispers.
as he walks me down the block to my house, I almost bring Billy up trying to forgive Steve for my nervousness, but he brings up the movies that he and his friends watch every Christmas and I want to talk about that. "Yeah, and we watch the grinch every year on the 24th and all the kids come and robin and Eddie too and shit its cool" he laughs. for the first time what's past is past and I don't want to bring Billy up anymore. I don't want to pretend I don't like my favorite artist or pretend I don't love wearing high heels for a man who wouldn't even kiss me. "y'know I really like you and I'd really like to do this again" Steve says as we stop in front of my house "I really like you too" I whisper as I look down at the ground flustered. he places his hand on my chin pushing it up so I'm making eye contact with you. "Can I kiss you?" he asks I nod before leaning in and pressing my lips to him.
'On a Wednesday in a cafe I watched it begin again'
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weebsinstash · 1 year ago
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I was wondering, would Mayday tell the difference between us the the YouTwo?? Cuz from the movie she looks very perceptive and smart enough, so I can’t help but wonder if she could tell when it’s us or YouTwo?
For example; we probably blow on her stomach to make her laugh whenever we greeted her. But YouTwo? She just holds her at arms length and looks at her like she’s a disease
And probably Peter B Parker would know it’s us or not??
I like the idea that certain people and especially the more animal-based Spiders can always kind of inherently tell who's who just by smell alone, but also, something I think I haven't utilized in many of my ideas yet is the Spidey Sense. You can lowkey just spidey vibe check someone and kind of tell or sense stuff about them? And like I dunno if I'm misinterpreting the scene but didn't Miles also have certain visions with some of his Spidey Sense episodes like in the first movie, he has visions of the spider being an alchemax spider just before he meets Blonde Peter, or, idk, he saw visuals with his Spidey Sense
Like sidebar but the whole, kind of vision thing, imagine you're extremely stressed and have you know maybe been doing some self harming stuff and Peter B sees you're going through it one day and, you're actually about to open up to him when you experience the Spidey vision/premonition of, you tell him and he immediately goes and tells Miguel, and you realize oh he's kind of a snitching bastard ain't he (but it's for your own good he promises he's just worried about you kiss kiss uncle Pete loves ya)
But no, I was maybe thinking, YouTwo pops up and Reader is going through their 'beginning a depressive episode' shit and you can tell YouTwo is new and freaked out and, well, it's real easy to see yourself in, well, yourself, and you're like "hey I know what it feels like to feel alone, maybe you could, hang out with this friend of mine, just this once" and you give some tips on how to act around them and, maybe the more you get depressed and feel useless, you actually let them take over more and more and it's when they have some decent "power" that they start actively replacing you and messing with you and trying to kick you out and get rid of you for real
Reader, who is also feeling aimless and depressed: hey other me, why don't you go hang out with this buddy Pavitr of mine, he has this healing energy--
YouTwo: *gets along well with Pavitr and he winds up inviting other friends of yours and YouTwo makes their own independent plans with all of them, basically assimilating deep into your entire friend group and giving themselves more opportunities to steal your friends and more people, and also these hangouts become later 'proof' aka "well im the real one and i can prove it, hey Pavitr remember when we--"*
Reader: hmmmm definitely don't like that!
But no just. Picture Peter B one day finds a little bruise on Mayday, maybe a few of them, and he noticed her temperament is a little different. He can just TELL something is wrong and so can her mother Mary Jane, and Peter thinks, well, there's really not many times she's even out of his sight, ALTHOUGH he DID let 'you' babysit a few times. And at first he wants to play it off, "oh you're just inexperienced with babies and Mayday can be a total handful, you probably just made a mistake" and 'you' even lie and say, maybe it was another kid or Spider animal who got to her when 'you' had barely turned your back
But Peter B gets a little tiny baby monitor/listening device gadget, like a little hard plastic keychain that looks innocent and is ultra durable, and he attaches it to Mayday anyways, just to find out definitively what's happening, and he's with Miguel one day making idle chit chat and they can just hear 'you' over the baby monitor, "why does he keep leaving you with me. I don't even like you, you nasty little monster" and Peter B is just sort of like. ":) haha I'm sure they're. They're joking. They're totally joking" and there's just a series of *yelp* "did you just fucking bite me? Little BITCH!" *Mayday cries out and starts bawling* "yeah you're lucky that's all you get, my parents used to do way worse to me--"
Cue Peter B and Miguel bursting into the room because both fathers are understandably ENRAGED because 1. Dude have 'you' been hurting Parker's literal actual baby and 2. This is not the person they thought it was. Oh SHIT is this not the right person they thought it was
Peter B eventually meets up with you, the real you again, because sometimes i imagine Reader just quietly moves to a normal part of Nueva York and you hand your Spidey life over to YouTwo, and youre understandably a little hateful and dont want to talk to him, but he kinda just, deposits his baby into your arms. Hes gonna baby test ya and see if youre the real one. Mayday just is totally relaxed in your arms, which are noticeably much more careful holding her than your double was because Peter B actually showed you how to hold a baby, and she also has a bandaid on her hand from scratching it against something and you're just like "oh no, you got a little boo boo 🥺 why does your DUMB DADDY keep bringing you around places you can get hurt" and Peter B is like "well ok I think that's a little uncalled for but this one is definitely the real one"
Peter B is then at the front of the Anti YouTwo lynchmob because "that fake HURT MY BABY, Miguel!" which of course wins over a bunch of other formerly skeptical Spiders. You think Jess would ever give YouTwo a second chance? Fuck that, she's not gonna trust some temperamental monster around her baby whenever it's born! Meanwhile Spider Cat who can't talk is over here like "yeah well why do you think I kept biting them, they're a fake 🙄 you see this bullshit, Spider Miette" "jail for faker, jail for faker for one thousand years--"
The Spider Society finally 'gets you back' all "and arent you so happy things can just go back to normal again :)" and you're like "uhhh no fuck you guys, I'll live here but only because you don't give me any other option, the only ones of you I still trust anymore are the animal Spiders, the little kids, Hobie the realest bitch in here who never doubted me, and the toys, isn't that right special edition neon funko pop Miles Morales"
One day after YouTwo has replaced you they get too comfortable thinking everyone is always never once going to question or doubt them anymore and some absolutely heinous shit comes out of their mouth and like they get the social equivalent of one of those Telltale or Fallout video game HUDS pop up, "EVERYONE disliked that" "Miguel will remember that" "social karma lost"
YouTwo, not realizing you did one last thing to fuck them over on the way out: oh hey it's that Hobie guy that's been gone for ages, the real me told me the special password to let him know I'm the real one was "blue lives matter"?
the second that shit comes out of YouTwo's mouth he instantly knows as well as literally anyone around who knows Hobie now knows that's the fake you. YouTwo gets some real life ass [YOU CANNOT FAST TRAVEL WHEN THERE ARE HOSTILES IN YOUR AREA] as Hobie and everyone else for that matter instantly goes into full "I can't kill you but I can beat your ass" mode
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bittersweet-innocence · 11 months ago
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Recently I’ve been thinking about my introduced characters with opposite Darlings than the ones written in their intro fics. I love exploring these kinds of things especially since y’know, the Darling is supposed to be someone the Reader can see themself in and therefore have to be flexible.
For example, Questionable Therapist (Mary) with an opposite Darling. Rather than being shy, timid, unfortunately very persuasive, let him have an abrasive, mean, toxic Darling. Completely turning the fic on its head, maybe Darling is at therapy because they’re the problem in all their relationships and are being told to fix it before they get dropped.
To be entirely honest, just with how he is, that wouldn’t actually go over well. Mary is afraid to kill and that extends to his Darlings. That’s actually what happened to one of his past obsessions. He thought they needed healing and protection only to realize how horrid they were, so he killed them and left them up and down a country road where the scavenger animals would get the remains.
Backtracking for a moment, Mary probably wouldn’t even develop an obsession with a bastard Darling. He would probably just do his job like normal, keeping a professional distance, hiding his distaste, etc. I dunno I just have Mary on the mind even though I should be thinking about a potential Christmas fic (hot Santa???).
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mlobsters · 1 year ago
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supernatural s12e2 mamma mia (w. brad buckner, eugenie ross-leming)
whatever the fuck is happening here, no fucking thank you. evil mol lady in sam's head fucking information out of him? need to tally all the times someone's messed with his head, jesus. being resurrected soulless, having said soul shoved back in by dean via death with a wall, said wall being destroyed by cas to keep the boys occupied, trauma from said breaking causing lucifer hallucinations, becky's love potion, dean tricking him into saying yes to gadreel, am i forgetting anything? (too much plot to keep track of)
CASTIEL Don't make things needlessly complicated, as you humans tend to do. I'll call you.
oh damn, i need to get on that too. keep it simple, stupid
i really like the hair and makeup on mary this time. reminiscent of her s1 makeup
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s4e21 sam hallucinating mom (nigh on unrecognizable, i thought she'd been recast!) / s1
MARY That yellow-eyed thing would never have come for him that night if I... I started all of this.
respectfully, what with the being michael and lucifer's One True Vessels, i don't think it matters what you did. which tripped some signal in my brain for a techno?? song with a line 'this has all happened before and it will all happen again'. i keep thinking the messiah album from 94 but hmm. argh. i need to drop this and figure it out later
thought we were done with the physical torture. silly me.
why are we with rowena now. and this dude who's been in a million things but who knows what i recognize him from. could be commercials, for all i know. and rick springfield, right. we're just going on with our weird little goofy plotlines and just cutting to awful torture periodically. sure.
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MARY Sam had a chance to get out? And he came back? DEAN When Dad disappeared, Sam and I looked around, and something became very clear. That the only thing we had in this world – the only thing, aside from this car – was each other.
i will take that and tuck it in my pocket. mary looking (understandably) concerned
ROWENA I can't believe I'm once again down some dank hole seeking the devil! When does it end? It's exactly why I'm retiring to Boca Raton. With Ben.
stopped clenching my jaw over sam long enough to laugh, that was a good one
great, now dean's getting a beating too. just go wander about this place that's heavily warded, alone. not making good choices, dean (so we can get mary to come save the day again?)
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the wing shadows are always fun and a lot easier to execute well compared to actual (practical or cg) wings but do miss a real wing unfurling from time to time. you know what had great wings?
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clash of the titans (2010) that and shiny armor on the gods is all i remember honestly
internet died unexpectedly mid-episode so here i am day 2, again.
i will say. also. i really appreciate spn does cast people that are older for things that could be cool and badass or sexy or whatever. but i dunno if rick springfield was the best choice exactly for lucifer. since we're like, in theory trying to still do mark pellegrino's lucifer, maybe getting an actor-actor would have been a better fit
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the way dean replied "hey" so soft and with a hint of a smile, my heart
(back to muting with evil lady)
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and yes, to mary saving the day. man, she looks great. shoutout again to the makeup artists and stylists (and good lighting!)
they are really going above and beyond making this mol woman irredeemably awful. not one to encourage them just killing people straight out of the gate but i was hoping mary (or dean) would just shoot her. i dunno if the goal was try to get information or something but she has proven to be exceptionally dangerous time and time again. sam shoulda just shouted out for them to shoot. but less angsty drama so
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seen this in meme format and knew it must be from this plotline, didn't realize they'd cropped mary out
gather there must have been some offscreen cas-healing. convenient
MARY But do you still like pie?
reminds me of a gifset i saw recently with jensen talking about his been conditioned to be excited about pie via dean lol
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i have a variety of gags i don't love on this show, but dean eating as piggishly as possible is up there near the top.
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i can't get over how beautiful she looks. bewitched me
MARY Well, we should call the Internet and find out as much as we can about these people. Did I say that right? DEAN So close. SAM Yeah, it was close.
that was very cute
the crazy awkward i can't begin to fathom for sam, not knowing mary at all (though dean barely did too, especially considering most kids don't retain those very early childhood memories)
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SAM Dad's journal. His writing, his words. Helped me fill in some blanks, answer some questions I didn't know I had. And, you know, it – it – it keeps him with us, sort of. MARY Thank you. SAM Good night. MARY Dean said you got out of hunting. SAM Yeah. MARY And yet here you are. SAM Well, this is my family. My family hunts, you know? It's what we do. Mom. For me... just, um... having you here... fills in the biggest blank.
❤️ got me to tear up too - despite the slightly odd music cue for the hug - lyrics yes but not quite the right mood musically to me? (heart's lost angel). i think it works for the montage but the tone feels not quite right for the hug
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i hope they're taking more pictures these days. damn bobby for burning the family picture with jo and ellen in 5x10. sam and dean both look at them regularly, should add some new ones
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the apocalypse au picture?? had it paused trying to find jdm and then like whaa that's cas being human-apocalypse-casual. 5x04 (which includes some really wonky romantic music when sam and dean reunite, clip included)
and now we're back to cheesy action spy thriller with the whatever, expert assassin torturer whatever the fuck. giving whiplash
--
brief-ish rant. i've complained, often, annoyingly, about the torture in this show. pushing aside the fact that torturing for information doesn't work, i think it's the sheer volume in this show in particular that has me so kneejerk upset about it. most shows or movies i watch (because i'm not going to pick to watch things that advertised to have a lot of torture in them), i can look away through maybe a few scenes and okay moving on. but torture itself became an Important Character / Plot note thing for dean, and with the torture subjects often being not-human there's (presumably) less moral qualms about torturing them, along with just a general standard action trope of using it for information. it's just so common and so accepted as standard operating procedure. and i don't like it. i don't like depictions of it ever, but especially not with this show's frequency, and especially-especially not with my special guys doing the torturing or being subjected to it.
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gamenu · 1 year ago
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          Hey Nicole, your thoughts and feelings on Mari?
                                         -- Anonimous
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         "Hm? Mari?"
          The question came as a surprise, but not an unpleasant one. From her spot on a riverbank in one of the denser parts of Hakolo Island's thicket, she's watching Mizuno swim around and splash in the water happily.
          There's a relaxed smile on her face that never leaves as she's questioned.
         "I think she's an absolute gem. Like...fer one, Mari has always been kind ta me. Even introduced me ta Mizu here. She definitely has a steel trap memory and pays a lotta attention. She picked up pretty fas' tha' I was fond of Mizutsune an' managed ta partner me up wi' this happy lil' guy. Watching her bond with her monsties always puts me a' ease. I dunno why her relaxin' is relaxin' fer me? Bu' there's jus' somethin'...peaceful abou' tha whole thin'. Maybe i's tha artist in me?"
          After all, she did give Mari a small book of drawings she did of her and her monsties. Her hand was cramping for weeks after it, but it was worth it to see her smile, in her opinion.
         "She's got a bleedin' heart. Always jumpin' ta help everyone no matta who i' is. A bit on tha reckless side, an' yeah, I know I'm one ta talk. Bu'...she's even more so. Dangerously reckless by a long shot an' I worry fer her. BUT...she wouldn't be Mari if she wasn't. An' I like Mari as she is. Wouldn' change nuffin' about her, honestly."
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          As her little leviathan slides over on his bubbles, leaving a trail as he circles Nicole before resting on her lap finally, she begins to give him little pets and gently rubbing his back. Giving a small tilt of her head accompanied by a little hum, Nicole nods confidently when finally able to string together her thoughts better. It was hard when a million things ran though and obviously, she didn't want to take up too much of the stranger's time.
         "Mari is an incredibly earnest an' trustworthy person. I know if nuffin' else, I can count on her when needed, an' I hope she feels tha same abou' me. I genuinely enjoy spendin' time wi' her. Although...I think I'm better off jus' kinda layin' low until my burns heal. She looks so sad every time she sees them, an' I don' need her feelin' no more guilt fer my choice ta keep her safe. A choice I would do over an' over again no matter how much she yells an' fusses." There's a small pause, then she laughs. "I guess I spend so much time around her, her stubbornness is rubbin' off, yeah?"
( @rathalascendant )
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mimimariet · 10 months ago
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Vent art.
At least that's the truest thing my ex ever said lmao.
This is.. long. And not all of it. But just some of the important things I feel like sharing.
Being in love really does just blind you from all the red flags your partner displays. My friends hated him. They also witnessed the abuse and I was just like "oh nah this is normal he's always like this! He means well, he's such a sweetie! He loves me!" Meanwhile I'm getting emotionally abused and neglected being absolutely blinded.. I said yes to marrying this dude. I'm embarrassed.  And it's gonna take me so long to recover from the mental damage. "I talk to everyone the same way I talk to you!" and I have people saying "uh, no?"
 "I don't want to be perceived as a bad person!" and then treats me like shit behind closed doors. 
Every single time I cleaned he shat on me about it "You call this clean, Marie? This is disgusting. If you're gonna clean dishes, just don't. Stick to the easy things." He sent me voice clips to intimidate me. I told him I wanted a ukulele and he sent me like 10 minutes of voice clips saying "no you waste your money Marie you don't use the shit you ever buy for yourself!" and then at the same time "It's your money you can do as you please I don't care what you buy but I know you're not gonna use it."  I'll never be able to forget the cruel words and way he treated me. I can probably heal from it, and I could wish him dead. I would love to see him get the help he needs but that's a damn joke.  "My mom was right, we're not financially compatible. She always said "wine taste but beer money."" The end of our relationship being a "trial run, welcome to a real relationship, Marie. This is what it's like." and then taking a dig at.. my upbringing? My family?? How I was raised?? "I never once gaslit you Marie. I never once made you feel like you were crazy."
"It's not you, it's me." and then blaming me for "bad timing" anytime he wanted to do anything with me when I was in a depressive episode from something HE would always cause. He never wanted to leave the house. He promised me all these things we'd do when I'd move all the way from Florida to bumfuck Illinois. I don't hate where I live. I hate that I got lied to that things would be different. "You can heal in the environment you got sick in" and then just made me sicker. The engagement ring he got me didn't fit. It was his idea to get me a new one. Who paid for it? My credit card. It took him 2 years to pay me back the $375 that was spent on it. 2 YEARS. He made me feel so undesirable.  "Marie it really hurts ME when you say you're unattractive, cause you are. You're fucking gorgeous!" and then proceeds to never touch me. Lol. A whole year without intimacy. Only recently had it dawned on me just how manipulative he was. "I was gonna ask for sexy times but you're upset so maybe another time." It happened EVERY time I was down in the dumps. He said "I dunno if it's you or me who has bad timing." Go to hell. There's another thing I could say but that's his problem that I won't just share to the public. But even then, he never did anything he said he'd do to resolve that. More lies, anything to keep me with him. "You need to learn how to cope." he said to me when we haven't had alone time in months and I was upset about it. 
There was a segment in the H3 Podcast where they announced looking for artists for Teddy Fresh. He told me about it and said I should apply. I asked later about my resume and he said "Oh.. I didn't think you'd actually do it. I dunno." Very supportive partner he was! 
"When you're in Illinois we're gonna get you health insurance, we're gonna get you a car and your license" and then "I suck as a teacher, my dad's gonna teach you." and he handled all my medical stuff. When I transferred to Circle K up here I had to quit, cause management was super toxic.  We worked at the same store and the manager would tell him how she was going to fire me cause I was an awful employee. So I sought out a new job.. and during that.. "You're gonna get your GED Marie!" and he brings home a math book to go over fractions with me. "I don't want to get my GED." "Well how are you going to get a better job??" and when I ended things, YES I ENDED THINGS IT WAS NOT MUTUAL. "Maybe I didn't push you (for the GED) hard enough or maybe I pushed you too hard.." is what he had to say.
I owned a lot of clothes. He bitched at me when I first moved here and said "You were supposed to DOWNSIZE Marie! I just had surgery, my grandpa has a bad hip and this is too much shit!" and so I got rid of my stuff. "I never wanted you to get rid of your stuff, I know you love clothes and stuff" or whatever he said to me post breakup. Are you kidding me?! "I have so much anxiety Marie! I'm a minimalist! This is too much!"
We never went out and kept the love alive. We'd go out to dinner and I'd mostly pay and I guess to him that was emasculating? "I hate that you always have to pay. How do you think that makes me feel as a partner that can't pay for dinner for his wife??" "It's okay I don't mind paying." "I know you don't." We went out I could probably count on my fingers the times.. Cause "it hurts to drive long distances Marie. I never feel good. I don't have the spoons, Marie. My legs hurt when I drive too long. I have anxiety." 
"Why not get help for your anxiety?" "I don't like the way the medication makes me feel!!! Stop asking me. It pisses me off."
Turns out he had "emergency" anti-anxiety meds for a program at his job. No anxiety meds for Chicago, though.
"I'd take a bullet for you, but not go to Chicago. I'd go to PEORIA, but NOT Chicago." For internalized racism reasons as I learned. I get it, black people are sooOoOoOoOOoo scary. They're rare where we live. It's so fucking WHITE in this town! I was told I was going to get TRAFFICKED if I walked by myself at night time. Cause "You're rare, you're Puerto Rican. You'd go for a lot of money. Hahaha." What partner says that? Oh yeah, him. I hope he never gets into another relationship. For the sake of the girl. Try to understand, this was a once in a lifetime event. I won a spot in Kesha's listening party in Chicago. I sobbed I cried I choked on my own spit begging him to go with him. He has NO experience in Chicago so he says "well according to x who lives there, depending on the area, it's BAD. Chicago's BAD." I understood that the timing sucked, the event was on Mother's Day. Y'know, a holiday I don't believe should be a big deal if you truly love your mother every day should be Mother's Day. Also Kesha was there. I got to meet her. A photo with her. I was able to talk to her. I wanted to find out if her PO Box was still available but he rushed me to leave "Marie my blood sugar is super low I'm gonna throw up we HAVE to leave I HAVE TO EAT. Marie come on. Get the LYFT. I don't feel good." at the end of the trip, after the deep dish pizza and the nice hotel, he suggested we take time off to visit Chicago again.. to see more things.. Mind you we argued prior about even going in the first place..?  
I have him blocked, but I archived our messenger messages. That includes all the voice clips. I don't know why that was his go to. He also has a smart phone with voice to text, but as I said, he used voice messages to intimidate me. It'd be 5 minutes at a time of just voice clips that could've been a text. "It's just faster than typing, sometimes it hurts to type." I'm disabled, too.. I get it.. but he merely did it so he could raise his voice and have a shitty tone with me. All. the time. If I were a truly evil person those voice clips would see the public. I'm only a little evil with telling my story here. I guess.
I mentioned the tone issue several times and had to eventually give up cause "I talk to everyone the way I talk to you. My mom, my sister, my friends." but I never witnessed that. His mother, yes. Not his friends, though. He'd say to me anytime I'd get upset, "I'm quite literally tone deaf, Marie." "Well you don't talk to your patrons the way you talk to me??" He had to tell me that he comes home to unwind, cause he puts up that fake customer service personality. Where was the good boyfriend personality? He told me anytime that I was acting distant he was quietly sobbing in the bedroom alone. He was so worried about me and our relationship.. But proceeded to do nothing about it. I was merely his property. Someone to demean and control. He couldn't though. I'm no ones property. Sorry! 
In June we adopted Gold. She's forever a kitten at heart. Callie hated her, as expected with a new animal in the house. Callie was hostile. Isaac said he was going to give up and we'd have to return Gold cause it wasn't working out. He sobbed on Facebook asking for reassurance and then bitched at me saying how I wasn't reassuring him. Sir, you got that on Facebook. You're standing here yelling at me about the cats not getting along. Why would I want to respond to that? I was sobbing on the floor with Gold rubbing all over me. But it was my fault I wasn't comforting the man yelling at me. Meanwhile another mutual of ours prior to all this had also adopted a new cat and the original cat was doing the same shit. Everything he'd say in confidence to me, but never the people he spoke shit about by the way.  "I got you this cat to make YOU happy. I mean yeah I wanted another cat, too.." 
For my birthday all I asked for was an Icee. "I forgot."  He came home with flowers and candy, but i was coming to greet him at the door and he yelled at me "DON'T LOOK. STOP. LEAVE." to surprise me with what he got. Which I would get but that's how he usually "spoke" to me. 
"Despite my short comings, I do pretty good right?!" with candy, a ghost plushie, and flowers. "I'll get you an Icee tomorrow." It was 2 days later.  Which sounds petty but when that's all you ask for and get told "Oh I forgot." as if I'm not known for being the Icee Queen of the last 20 years of my online presence. 
"I don't want to be perceived as a bad person." The simple solution is to be a good person? He would say "your mom is nice, but she's not kind." He was also indirectly describing himself anytime he said that. 
There were a few times when he'd be in a bad mood and completely shut down, refusing to talk to me. He'd isolate, but I was never allowed to do that. Cause as he said before, word for word "you need to learn how to cope." 
"You say I need therapy but what about you!?" 
"Didn't you tell me you were doing behavioral stuff for BPD??"
Just turned back to me "but you need therapy, too, Marie!!"
It's weird to remember him saying we'd need couples therapy before we ever got married. Was he foreshadowing things? Was he actually aware of the problems? Or was it just me? I had the problems, there was nothing wrong with him. 
I rarely argued back at this man. There was one moment I was having issues with my ebay account and bank being linked together. As he's going off on me about how the bank does this weird shit all while opening my mail and reading me what was in it. I think that was the only time I snapped at him. I said "DON'T. OPEN. MY MAIL." and it stuck to him.. but not permanently. He opened mail addressed to me from my aunt. Gifts. I was in the other room and he's opening and spoiling the surprise. And then telling me "we can't use these bed sheets with the pillow topper. We'll have to donate them." Any gifts I got that are no longer in my possession was not up to me. I barely had any say in what we did as a couple.
"Our parents are gonna move to Florida and we'll get the house! But (his brother) will still be living in the basement." I wasn't okay with that. "We don't have much of a choice Marie. We can't afford that house on our own. He'd be splitting rent with us." I didn't want another person living in the basement if we were a married couple.. y'know, I'd like whatever imaginary privacy together. "He keeps to himself we won't even know he's there half the time." It was a "too bad" situation that I had no say. 
I want my own house. "With peace and love, good luck getting a house with the housing market." Going to prove him wrong while he still lives in his parents basement. "I'm gonna save up and get a studio apartment." 
"You can keep the promise ring. Cause I will always love you." I'm unsure what to do with it, as I still have it in my possession. "We'll always be best friends." I don't want to be best friends with an abuser. Emotional abuse is still abuse. It's fucked with my brain. I was mistreated so much by friends and family. I didn't deserve any of this.  "I fucked up. You deserved better." Is the truest shit he's ever said to me. I doubt he ever loved me. He just loved the idea of having someone put up with him. He knew he was unbearable. Blame it on his ADHD or whatever. I don't have the full story, but I do remember his ex girlfriend saying he was abusive, too. I only knew of what he'd tell me.  And that she hated me haha. I didn't push or question it, but now I've lived it. Almost 5 years of a "trial run" relationship. "You've never been in an actual relationship, so congrats. This was the trial run! This is what it's like to live with someone!"  
Then there was my doctors appointment. The stress had my A1C at a 6.6. My doctor said she could see the light fade from my eyes. I told Isaac what was said. He was just quiet about it. He knew he was the problem. He just had nothing to say. And the stress was the main factor. My A1C now is 6.2 5 months post breakup. So uh. Yeah. Plus probably from cutting out the amount of rice as this man only knew how to make rice dishes. 
Speaking of dishes, I'd try and learn recipes. I'd make meals and I'd offer him some food to sample. I wanted to grow as a cook as I'm just a beginner and he always makes meals. Most of the time he refused and would say "I can't force myself to eat something I don't want, Marie. I'll throw up. I will literally throw it up." Instead of anything normal like just trying a bite or saying "no thanks I'm not hungry." It had to be "If I'm not hungry for it I will get sick!" He was.. overdramatic a good chunk of our relationship. I remember being in Florida while we were still long distance, I mentioned Dominoes cause the store was closed and I was ordering food. He mentioned him having an eating disorder when I said he needed to try my favorite thing from there, the garlic parm bites. It was a voice clip as you'd expect over messenger. That "I can't eat something I don't want, I will puke it up. I have an eating disorder." I don't know how true that is. Him having an ED. A lot of the time I just got quiet and gave up. There was no point in talking to him when he would shut down like this.
The final straw was me falling in love with someone else. I wanted to attempt polyamory but "those lips are mine. And that pussy is mine." He also gave up once he realized I fell for someone else. I even told him the day I was questioning my feelings and he thanked me for being honest. But then he questioned if I cheated on him during that time. I'm sure his friends and family got a different story. His dad says polyamory is cheating. His mom scolded him for getting into a relationship with someone whos polyamorous. No fault of mine, he knew this before we got together. I was in a poly with my ex overseas and a girl of 3 months. More toxicity there! I just love red flags!
So there I am. Just vibing in a field of red flags. Cause they're just so charming. And I'm a fool. But I'll get better. I just don't know how long that'll take me. He is still haunting me in my dreams. I never want to see him or his family again. 
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ere-the-sun-rises · 25 days ago
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I love Origins!Logan and dad!Logan, so I took the liberty of running with some more of your idea. I'm curious to hear what you think!
"This is how many now?" Laura asks with a raised eyebrow.
"Look kid, it's not my fault there's so goddamn many of them and they all apparently live within a ten mile radius of me." He huffs, but the actual answer is nine.
"Right." She rolls her eyes and hands him a paper. "If you're looking for ten, Hank asked me to give this to you."
"Beast? What does he want?"
"Dunno." She shrugs and walks off to meet the new kids clustered around Mary Puppins, all sharing packets of beef jerky and pepperettes.
Logan hesitates to open the letter. He'd not had any interaction with this world's X-Men, mostly out of his own raging guilt. He wasn't the noble hero they were familiar with, nor was he even particularly good at being part of them in his own world. He also wasn't too big of a man to admit he was fucking terrified of it - of seeing dead faces alive again, maybe looking and behaving entirely different from how he remembered his own. Yukio had been more than enough of a change for him.
The thought of her makes his heart hurt a little. She'd been a good friend, and he regrets not being able to say goodbye. He hopes she doesn't try looking for him, but he knows she will. She's sweet like that. Thank god this universe's Yukio is a darling teenage lesbian - more difficult to conflate the two.
He opens the letter with a resigned sigh.
Hello Logan,
We have recently come across a young mutant boy who appears to have a similar set of characteristics to both you and the boy Amber you have been assisting. He was discovered by local authorities rooting through trash and bit a deputy. He is roughly eleven, but appears to lean into his animal nature. I have attempted to assist him, but he does not like me very much. Any assistance or guidance you can offer would be very much appreciated.
Sincerely, Hank McCoy
"Ah, shit." He mutters, and grabs his keys.
| | |
As per his request, Yukio lets him into the Mansion and helps him avoid all the other X-Men. Whatever Laura or Wade told her about his past ensures she doesn't ask any questions, just helpfully guides him.
She knocks very gently on the correct door and opens it, peering in. "Victor? You've got a visitor. This is my friend, Logan."
He enters the room and the boy looks up at him defiantly. "Are you here to tame me too?"
"No." He says, hands in the pockets of his jeans. "I'm here to teach you how to hunt."
| | |
Laura and Amber are the two of his new brood (thanks Althea) who have the most animal instinct in them. The others have claws or fangs or healing factors or enhanced senses, but only Laura and Amber are really wild on the inside.
And now Victor.
"Are you going to kill me out here?" Victor snipes, but Logan can smell the acrid scent of fear sweat seeping off him and tries not to judge.
"No." He answers. Laura and Amber trail behind, looking around and sniffing, marking their way back to the truck. Not that Logan ever got lost in forests, but it was a good habit to have.
"Then what could you possibly mean by 'hunting'? You don't have guns or bows."
He raises an eyebrow and looks down at the sharp talons extending out of the top of Victor's fingers. "Because you would need those things."
"Hunting is fun." Amber says, trying to lighten the mood. "It's really nice to get to be in nature."
"I was born in the Albertan Rockies, I already know what nature looks like." Victor barks, which makes Amber shrink back. Laura snarls, standing in front of the boy protectively.
"Stop being a shithead." She snaps, making Victor jump. "If you were so fucking good at this, you wouldn't have been rooting around in garbage."
Logan scents the evening air and stops. Victor almost walks into the back of his legs. Instead of wading into the fight, he pulls Victor around and kneels. Wordlessly, Laura and Amber follow suit, so he gently pushes down on Victor's shoulders until he does the same.
"Smell that?" He asks. "Do you know what that is?"
"Nighttime." Victor replies, still suspicious.
"It makes up nighttime." He agrees. "But what do you actually smell?"
Victor frowns. "I don't know. Night stuff."
"When the sun sets, plants release excess water to soothe their leaves. It runs off them and into the ground, where the water mixes with carbon and nitrogen to release this scent, bergamot." He rubs some dirt between his fingers and holds it up for Victor to smell. "Trees also slow down sap production when the sun is at rest, so the sugars start to thicken in the trunk, where they're sitting, so the trees smell sweeter. Older trees smell sweeter. Do you know why the air is so sweet here?"
"No." Victor replies, less hostile and more curious.
"The giant Redwoods are very old." He gestures around them. "They leave a lot of leaf litter, which traps decay under their waxy finish. When you disturb the leaves, you get a burst of decay, which is also usually sweet once the fluids are gone."
"Fluids?"
"Death is all around you, a part of how the world functions. Whether they were hunted or died on their own time, animals return to the soil." He brushes away some leaves and pulls out an owl pellet, breaking it open to reveal the compressed bones of a mouse. "And that's just what you can smell."
Victor cocks his head and Logan angles his head so his eyes will catch the last of the evening light, startling the boy.
"Tapetum lucidem." He shifts away. "It helps us see in the dark, but it catches the light and can give our location away. Usually only predators have it, so others won't bother you, but prey will run."
"No one else can see in the dark like this?"
"No. They can't hear, see, smell, taste or feel like we do." He nods over to a black bear wandering through the trees with a cub. She stops and looks at them. Logan stands, hands loose at his side, and lets out a sub-sonic rumble. She huffs back at him, then noses her cub the other way and ambles off.
"Wow." Victor smiles.
"Our mutation gives us a place here that humans don't have." He continues, gesturing for them to stand. "We're welcome here, but only so long as we cooperate with the ecosystem. We're not here to dominate it, but live within it. You can chase, but don't kill for fun. If you don't need to eat, let it go."
"So, are we not hunting yet?" Victor asks, confused.
"You're a cub. Part of hunting is the practise, getting used to your territory, learning it and everything in it. Learning to chase and when to give up the chase." He ruffles Victor's hair. "For tonight, we're going to explore and play-fight. Put your senses to the test."
| | |
The sun is barely peaking over the tips of the trees when Logan wakes, having spent the latter half of the night sleeping in the bed of his shitty old pickup truck. Him, alongside the two boys and Laura, were wrapped up in a collection of blankets and pillows Laura affectionately called his 'nest', all huddled close to him to keep warm. Laura tended to starfish when she slept, but Victor and Amber were each under an arm, cuddled in close. Victor's head was laying in his chest while Amber had his nose buried in Logan's neck. He hums in gentle satisfaction, surprised when he feels Laura's fingers wind into his hair.
"Go back to sleep." She says quietly, still mostly asleep herself.
"Okay." He chuckles, amused, as she rolls over and smushes her face further into her pillow.
Amber huffs in his sleep and lets out a contented chirruping sound. Victor sniffs and one if his legs jerks a little. Logan settles back down, letting his mind wander.
He thinks of his brother - seriously thinks about him - for the first time in a long time and wonders what ever became of him. He hopes that unlike his brother, the Victor Creed he has laying in his arms this morning will go on to live a happy and settled life, free from the war and blood that dominated so much of their lives.
As much as he had denied himself the comfort as a punishment, Logan had always known he was a pack animal. His brother had seemed to reject that notion entirely, had wanted to escape all forms of attachment except to Logan himself - a connection he guarded fiercely. Maybe this time, Victor wouldn't feel like he had to choose. Maybe this time Logan would do it right.
Maybe this time, Logan could actually make things better.
Please for your enjoyment imagen Logan finding a young freshly mutated feral mutant who ran away from home out of fear one day he was walking Mary.
Logan is so sympathetic because he has been there and it's terrifying all your senses getting dialed up to 11 and all new instincts is scary. He ends up sitting with them for a while and just talking and recounting his few memories about how scary it was for him (he's mad he can't remember more because it's helping the kid). He tells stories Laura told him about her own experience as well.
The kid slowly relaxed and ends up crawling into Logan's lap as Logan tells stories about Wade who has a damn lazer toy for cats that makes him go insane.
He ends up bringing the kid back to his and Wade's apartment and asks the kid about there parents. The parents weren't anti-mutant thankfully the kid was just scared. Logan and Wade end up getting the kid back to there parents and if Logan ends up with a kid who he starts training well that's his business.
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dandelionflower · 4 years ago
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She’s not here
They were all on the bus, heading back to the hotel for dinner and rest.
It was hard work, fixing up a park, but the class did it well. By the end of the day, it was beautiful, all traces of trash had disappeared and they had even managed to give some benches a new coat of paint.
Lila beamed and clapped as it was over, promising everyone a scoop of ice cream, as was tradition when she finished a big project. However, when they found a place that was selling ice cream, she realized she left her wallet in her room.
Apologizing profusely, she swore that she’d get them a treat some other time.
“This has never happened before; I’m so sorry everyone!”
Alya patted her shoulder. “It’s okay, girl. You already helped so much to heal that park; let us do something for you.”
“At least let me order for all of you.”
“If you want, girl, sure.”
“Okay, I’m usually really good at guessing people’s favorite ice cream flavors once I get to know them, so I should be good for most of you, but since Marinette and I haven’t been on such good terms lately, I’ll probably need to ask her. Where is she?”
“I dunno. Mari!” Alya called into the meager crowd of students. “Come on out, hun, we need to know your pick for ice cream!”
Adrien piped up from the back, where he was chatting with Rose. “I don’t think she’s here. She must not have come back from her walk.”
Alya felt her heart race with concern. “Lila, I know you want us to have ice cream, but there’s no way we can just leave Marinette in the forest.”
“Of course not, Alya.” She placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll go look for her after I place our orders. I know these woods better than anybody; I’ll have her back in a jiff.”
“Okay, thanks Lila.” She let out a breath, leaning against Nino.
True to her word, Lila left soon after ordering for everyone, heading down the sidewalk to look for Marinette. Sure, she seemed to be going the wrong way, but it was probably a shortcut she forgot to mention.
The walk back to the hotel was lovely, with Alya and Adrien arguing over which picture of Ladybug should be the new header for her blog and Nino holding her hand the whole way.
It was only when she got back to the hotel and saw Lila lounging beside a cute boy, did she remember that her BFF was missing.
“Lila! Did you find her?”
Adrien jolted, mid-sentence and looked up at Lila with hopeful eyes. It seemed that he forgot about Marinette too.
Lila sat still for a moment, before a look of remorse crossed her face.
“I’m so sorry, Alya. I couldn’t find her. I scoured every path, but nothing.”
“I should probably check.” Adrien raised his hand. “After all, I’m her boyfriend.”
“That’s a great idea.” Lila stood and walked to clasp Adrien’s arm. “I’ll come too, so we don’t get lost like Marinette.”
An odd look crossed Adrien’s face, but he nodded nevertheless. They began walking to the exit.
“Ah!” Lila flinched, clutching her leg. “My leg! I must have sprained it while looking for Marinette.”
“Oh!” Alya rushed to Lila’s other side, helping Adrien hold her up. “Let’s get you to our room, maybe get some ice for that leg.”
“No, I know you and Nino probably wanted to spend some time together. Adrien can take me. After all, what are all of those fencing lessons for?” She nudged him with a teasing grin, which he shakily returned. Poor guy, probably so worried about Marinette.
“Okay, make sure you call me if you need anything.” She grabbed both of her shoulders. “Anything.”
“Of course.” She smiled and patted her arm before tugging Adrien to the stairs.
Alya turned to Nino with a beam. “Soo, wanna hang out?”
He rolled his eyes, slipping his headphones back around his neck. “Of course, it’s not like we’ve talked about it since we found out about the trip.”
She leaned into his side, pressing a kiss on his jaw. “I’ve looked up a map, and I’m ready to show you all the sights.”
“Hi!” An unfamiliar voice surprised them; it was chirpy like Rose, but not quite as high. They turned in unison and saw a willowy girl with a long ponytail trailing down her back. An odd headband was woven into the deep purple locks.
“Sorry to eavesdrop, but I heard you two were looking for a place to hang out? Might I suggest…” her eyes landed on Alya’s face before brightening up again. “The aquarium? In the evening like this, the lights turn on and everything seems to glow an incredible blue.”
“Really?” She glanced at Nino with a grin. “That sounds like an incredible thing to put on my blog! Come on, Nino, let’s go!”
“Okay.” He chuckled and allowed himself to be pulled down a random hallway.
“Just take a right, then a left. It should be two doors down!”
They both giggled like kindergartners as they ran down the halls. Nino stopped and cocked a brow when she continued pulling him past the door the girl mentioned.
“Let’s play a game.” She whispered. “We both get lost and try to meet back here. Video chat so we know we don’t cheat.”
He pulled out his phone and called her in response.
Once they had gotten thoroughly lost, Alya set a timer and began dashing back to the aquarium.
It took her three minutes. (she may have cheated a little bit, but it wasn’t her fault! Nino is really cute when he gets winded from running!) She stumbled into the room, listening to Nino complain about how much she was making him run.
It was incredible. The latent orange from the sunset and the blues from the aquarium blended in a perfect contrast that she almost dropped her phone.
“Whereisshe...”
“You say something babe?” She glanced down at her phone. It was blank; no service.
Oh well, Nino would tell her what he said when he got here. Meanwhile, she raised her camera app to capture the stunning sight before her.
“She’snothere...”
A flicker at the corner of her screen. She lowered her phone, but nothing was there. It was slipped into her pocket as she turned to the larger aquarium. The fish seemed to be missing, except for one bright orange angel fish.
“She’snothere...”
The fish swam in hypnotizing figure eights. Alya stared at it, entranced. It felt like with every figure eight, the fish was stealing a little bit of breath from her.
“She’snothere.”
The fish moved faster and faster, until the swift motions combined with her shortness of breath made it look almost like it was forming a circle.
“She’snothere.”
No, not a circle.... a face. A face with thick rimmed glasses and a mole just above her eye. A face that looked like hers, but not.
“She’snothere. She’snothere. She’s. Not. HERE.”
A body erupted from the water, and Alya flinched from the waved, but they didn’t even spray her with a mist. Almost like they weren’t there.
A girl stood before her, hair in knots, staring at Alya. She was in a fancy blue dress that looked like it should be poofy, if not for the water dripping from the hem.
Alya stood stock-still, chest heaving. “Who are you?”
“Where is she?” A voice hissed from nowhere.
The girl looked at her with hollow eyes. “She’s not here.”
“Who are you walking about? What was that voice?”
The figure jolted, like a glitching video. Suddenly, her hair was neat and styled. Her dress was dry and fanned out around her.
“Are you okay? What’s going on?”
“Where is she?” The bodiless voice asked again, this time in a tone so sickly sweet, Alya felt like retching.
Her mirror image grinned at the ceiling, walking closer to the empty aquarium. She put her hand on it, like she was about to push open a door.
“She’s right here.”
Spectral waves rushed from the glass, assaulting and surrounding Alya. Her breaths became more and more shallow, it felt like her throat was closing up.
Like she was drowning.
When Nino came in, panting and just barely biting his tongue from cussing, Alya was curled in a ball on the floor, wheezing.
“Als!” He fell to his knees beside her, taking in her vitals like he learned in the akuma relief seminar. “You okay? It looks like you had either an allergic reaction or a panic attack. What was in that ice cream you ate?”
“Don’t...know... Lila ordered.” She gripped his hand tightly and pulled herself up, pulling out her phone and dialing Lila’s number.
“Alya!” She could hear the smile in her voice. “Adrien, come on over, it’s Alya.”
“Hey Alya.”
“What... was in the ice cream?”
“The ice cream I ordered? I can’t remember... hazelnuts, I think?”
She glanced at Nino with wide eyes. She was allergic to hazelnuts. Not enough to do anything serious, but enough that she had a little trouble breathing afterwards. That must also explain that weird stuff she saw too; oxygen deprivation.
Nino grabbed her arm, fully intent on taking her to her room to recuperate for the rest of the night. She allowed him to, still a little shaken.
A sleek fox sat in front of a broken-eyed ghost. So?
“She’s not here.” Anya replied, glaring at the ceiling. She looked back down, her defiant eyes turning sad. “She’s not here.”
Not true. She’s here, and she’s safe and sound in her room.
Her broken eyes lit up and she floated purposefully towards the best room in the home.
Not yet you don’t! Finny hovered in front of the ghost. She’s sleeping and you won’t bother her!
The ghost nodded forlornly and dissipated.
That settles it, doesn’t it? Grace asked once the ghost was gone
Yep, Allegra moved forwards. These students are helping them pass on. Once they impart their knowledge, and scare them straight, they get their free will back, to haunt or help who they choose.
It’s weird though, isn’t it? Finny mused. How just one word could have changed everything? If Anny had just lied to her, none of this will be happening.
But she didn’t. Allegra reminded him softly. None of them did, and this is the price they pay.
Yeah... Finny flew low. Hey Allegra?
Yeah, Fin?
She’s here. Giddiness oozed from his voice.
Yeah, Allegra stared at the hallway leading to the girl that gave their lives purpose again, she is.
………
The rest
………
@merry-madness @calliopeia @drama-queen-supreme @kaydenth3gayden @mcheang @nomiegnome @never-say-donuts @vixen-uchiha @miracul0us-multishipper @hauntedfreakdeputyhero @chocolatecustarddanish @iwantswifttoblessmysoul @digitalmagpie @ilseofskadi @nerdy-and-a-little-birdy @minty-goose @nataladriana9 @constellation-king @animegirlweeb @persephonebutkore @ahalloweengirl @r0sebutch @marinettepotterandplagg @beelzzebop @akalovelymaybe @pleasefollowmeuwu @angelost4r @constancetruggle @speaknowtome @some-oxymoron @nerdy-scifi-birdy @purplesundaze @aestheticnpoetic @neptuningkai @2confused-2doanything @goggles-mcgee @grumpy-kitten-vixen @atremisdragona @lookatthestars1 @demonicbusiness @toodaloo-kangaroo
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liamloveslarry · 3 years ago
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The Boy Who Cried Wolf~
okay i’ve posted some snippets below and i’ve kept the general theme the story flows in so far, however it may not make sense as i’ve purposefully left some things out but i think u can get a general vibe from it hopefully, idk let me know what you think bc it’s been ages since i’ve picked this up and i would love to finish and post it soon!
tw for one use of derogatory language, violence, body horror/gore, swearing, experimentation, surgery & fictional medicines, mild nsfw, use of guns but at the beginning - these all sounds worse than they are, but it’s a werewolf fic so there had to be some element of ~horror.
The ground beneath Harry is hard and damp. 
He can feel the wetness soak through into his already sodden socks from where his shoes had come off in the brawl, and it reminds him of being young and spilling ice cubes on the floor, trying to hastily clean the water up with his foot and feeling the cold cling to his toes. 
He squeezes his fists together and bends his head between his knees, breathing deep. 
There’s a chill in the air and the frost nips at his nude body, causing goosebumps to flare in his skins wake so fast it stings as they burst through his flesh. 
His long hair acts as a barrier against the frigid air, but every time he rocks back, the metal bars stood tall behind him hiss against his skin and cause him to whimper and growl. 
He looks up and wraps his arms around his knees, shielding what little modesty he has left. 
He can see two guards standing either side of the cell, each holding firearms in their sturdy arms. Their fingers on the trigger ready to shoot if Harry so much as thought about doing something he shouldn’t. 
There’s another body to the right of him that looks in bad condition. He can smell it before he sees it. The person’s leg appears to be injured judging by the sluggish trail of blood that’s pumping into a puddle on the floor, and there are multiple cuts and grazes across their torso and face. 
Deep enough that Harry can see muscle and bone. Deep enough that Harry can’t tell if it’s a man or a woman.
If he focuses enough, he can hear them breathing. 
Or maybe that’s just himself.
Harry’s feet scuffle on the floor as he tries to get a closer look, but it causes one of the guard’s head to twist towards him and narrow his eyes, gripping his gun even tighter as he opens his big, fat mouth.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” He growls.
Harry whips his head up and looks him in the eye. He retracts his arm slowly from where he was reaching out to touch the person’s pulse point and places it on the floor.
The guards face is pinched and sweaty, as if he’d be afraid of Harry if there wasn’t a thick barrier of metal between them. He can hear the hitch in his breath when does so much as blink, confirming the theory further that he’s more afraid of Harry than Harry is of him.
“What am I doing here?” His voice his shot and gruff, a reminder of just two hours previous when he’d been snarling and shouting, trying to tear chunks of flesh from their bodies out of fear while they’d held him down and stunned him into submissive shock.
He doesn’t remember much after being shoved into the back of a truck and led to where he assumes, he is now, cooped up in a dingy cell with a half rotting body and two wankers as company.
The guard punches out a laugh, the tip of the gun clanging against the metal as his body jerks forward. It causes Harry to wince as the sharp sound penetrates his ear drums.
“For a dog I thought you’d be smarter. But it looks like you’re just another dumb bitch.”
Harry’s fingers catch against the grain of the floor as the tip of his claw protrudes and causes the concrete to shift and crumble beneath him. He can’t help the rumble in his chest while the thought to bare his teeth becomes more prominent each second the guard smirks and cocks his gun mockingly at Harry’s head. 
“Calm down puppy, it’s not even a full moon yet so I dunno why you’re gettin’ all hyped up.” 
Harry doesn’t feel himself move but he can see the guard’s eyes sweep across his form, right from the tips of his toes to his hairline as he clenches his gun tighter, which means he now must be standing. 
He knows better than to step forward, knowing he’ll probably get shot if he dares so much as inch his pinky out. 
He can feel his bones shift and his muscles twinge, and there’s a deep throbbing coming from his thigh which he only notices now. As he casts his eyes down, he can see it’s torn and open. There must be something slowing the healing as usually something like that would’ve closed up by now.
“Tell me why I’m here.”
The guard cocks his eyebrow.
“No.”
Harry’s hands clasp into fists and he takes a deep breath.
“Tell me why I’m here.”
He can see the guard smirking, albeit if he narrows his eyes slightly, he can still see his pulse jumping under his skin as if trying to scramble from his body. He shifts his hip slightly to take the weight off his injured leg, causing his cock to slap against his thigh.
The guard’s eyes drift down and this time it’s Harry’s turn to smirk.
“What’s the matter? Never seen one this big before?”
The guards face turns red and he splutters, his pig face scrunching up as if he’d sucked on a sour lemon and he scrambles to point his gun through the bars and at Harry.
“Shut the fuck up you fucking dog! I swear to god I’ll blow your fucking brains out you mutt, you utter cu- “
“That’s enough.”
They both whip their head towards the second guard as his hand inches out and places it on the other guard’s gun, pushing it down slowly.
“You!”, he says, eyes piercing into the other man and gritting his teeth, “need to shut your fucking gob and stop riling Lassie up; and you!”, he turns and sweeps his gaze over Harry’s form, boots coming to rest against the edge of the metal, “need to stop asking so many sodding questions and shut up.”
Harry blinks down at his wet socks and frowns.
“Can I at least have some clothes?”
The second guards gaze lingers on his abdomen.
“No,” he smirks, eyes trailing upwards and resting on Harry’s face, “I’m rather enjoying the view.”
Harry growls out “fucking pervert” and doesn’t think twice before moves his foot forward, which causes the first guard to panic and fire his gun. 
The bullet doesn’t pierce his skin, but it’s made of something hard and it smacks full force him in the chest, instantly knocking him backwards and winding him.
He can see both of the guards arguing and waving their arms at each other, but his hearing has gone woofy so he can’t understand what they’re saying. 
The room is starting to spin and the pain in his thigh and upper chest are getting worse, causing Harry to sway on the spot and collapse onto his knees.
The last thing he remembers is the sound of an alarm before his vision blurs and turns to black.
~
It was dark by the time he’d left the office, nodding and waving at the receptionist who was sat in the tiny booth on his way out. It had also been raining, which Harry realises now he probably should’ve driven in, but the morning had been so frosty and clear with dew drops settling on autumn leaves, that he couldn’t help but walk through the winding paths and bramble bushes to get to work. Even if it did take him thirty minutes.
He remembers pulling his hood up and walking down the road until he reached a narrow ginnel that acted as a bridge between the small town and his house.
It had been here he’d been attacked.
At first, he thought it was just somebody mugging him and he knew it wasn’t best placed to chomp his way out of it, it wouldn’t look too good if a local hooligan had been found with teeth marks imprinted onto his skin, so he’d done his best to ignore him, promptly shoving them off; only to realise there was two of them and one had what looked to be a gun.
Stunned, he’d tried to run but they’d pinned him down and cast a sickening blow to his stomach. It had caused Harry to go into sensory overload as he could smell the cheap cigarette smoke on their collars and their nasty breath wafting up his nostrils, causing him to heave and snarl. It was only a matter of time before his abilities kicked in and his claws and teeth had decided to make an appearance. He’d nicked of the men on his jaw and tried to bite his neck, but the other man held an electric rod against his ribs and shocked him.
~
She’s fair skinned and has light brown hair that’s held up in a ponytail. She doesn’t say much as she checks the stats on the monitor screen, but Harry does his best to smile whenever she looks over at him.
“Hey. What’s your name?”
She startles and nearly drops her clipboard, grasping it at the last second before it falls to the floor. She looks at him wide eyed and says nothing.
“I’m not going to do anything, I promise”. He grins and wiggles his fingers slightly in the straps. “Not like I can do anything, anyway.”
She stares at him for a beat longer and lowers her head.
“Mary.” She mumbles, fiddling with the pen and twisting it in her fingers.
Harry smiles again and tries to get her to look up.
“Mary. That’s a nice name. My name’s Harry, but I’m guessing you already know that.”
She blushes and looks away, busying herself with the buttons on the monitor and biting her bottom lip. 
She’s nervous, Harry can sense it. But if he wants to get out of here semi-unscathed, he needs to play nice with those who so far, haven’t been very nice to him. She seems kind enough anyway, judging by the fact that she wasn’t poking any fingers into his wounds or prodding at his teeth.
“I know you probably can’t say much, and I understand that; I really do, but.” He sighs and looks down. “Please can you tell me where I am?”
She continues to ignore him, taking out a needle and flicking the cap. She pumps it a few times and Harry watches as the liquid inside begins to bubble up.
She goes to inject the tip into his thigh but he catches her wrist just as she was about to press in, claws forming a shield around her delicate bone.
She looks up at him wide eyed, her breathing heavy and scared.
“Mary, please. Please tell me where I am. I won’t let go until you say something.” He can feel her small hand trembling but he isn’t going to give up without a fight.
Her fingers squeeze tighter around the needle and she tries to force the tip into his skin, but his hold is stronger and she lets out a gasp.
“Please stop, you’re hurting me.” 
“I’m sorry, I will, I promise. But not until after you tell me where I am.”
Her fingers seem to seize and stop, dropping the instrument onto the bed and her quiet, shaking voice splits the silence open like a knife cutting through paper.
~
He can smell the winter air and the frost settles in his bones, calming him instantly. He’s also very aware that he’s still in a gown and participating in a full moon event of his own. 
He’s about to step over the threshold when a hand tugs him back.
Harry turns around, and he sees Mary for the kid she is. Barely an adult and shivering in the cold.
Her nose has turned red already.
~
He lets out a ragged sob and pounds his fist against the floor. He tries to move his leg and bend his arms to press against the solid ground so he can at least heave himself up when he notices a beaming light coming towards him. He turns his head and sees through tears, rain and the dirt prickling his eyelids, the headlights of a car that’s heading his way.
The car eventually slows down to a stop in front of him, but he can’t see much through the business of the windscreen wipers and the headlights shining in his eyes. He must look a right state right now, and he’s shocked the car even stopped for him. 
If it was him, he would’ve kept on driving. 
There’s a click and the engine turns off. The lights stay on, albeit they’re dimmed a touch. 
The car door opens from the driver’s side and a man dressed in a parka and joggers hesitantly makes his way around the front of the car.
There’s silence for a few moments until the man opens his mouth.
~
Harry doesn’t know how long they drive for. He’s content to just let the sound of the quiet radio wash over him while he huddles into the blanket more, directing his toes underneath the heater. He appreciates that Louis probably has a multitude of questions he’s dying to ask, but instead he keeps his mouth shut, humming along to the radio every now and then.
They drive through the tiny town of Barnstable and the car jostles as they drive over cobbled streets and the sporadic pothole. The occasional light flickers from the shore to the right of them, but other than that the streets are as dark and as quiet as the night sky.
They tumble upwards towards a hill and Louis leads them through winding roads and sharp bends. On a particularly keen one, the car lingers to one side and Harry’s thigh moves with the turn, bashing slightly against the inside of the car door.
He winces and Louis catches it, sending a look of sympathy his way.
“Sorry, mate. Won’t be long now – another couple of minutes.” He nods down at Harry’s leg which has started to seep blood through the material. “We’ll get that patched up straight away, just try and keep some pressure on it for now.”
Harry takes a deep breath and nods, wrapping a part of the blanket around his fist and pressing it harder against the wound.
~
He grabs some shampoo from the holder that’s stuck to the wall and squirts a generous amount into his palm, rubbing his hands together and lathering it through the strands. He does the same with the shower gel and starts to wash his body as he thinks.
What he remembers from the night feels fragmented and broken, tail ends of memories flashing before they disappear. He sighs and dips his head backwards underneath the water and washes the shampoo out. 
Whatever they shot him with must’ve delayed or hindered his healing abilities as usually anything superficial or worse, only takes around an hour to heal. Granted he’s never been shot before, it should’ve only taken a little longer before it had fully closed up, instead it had gotten worse the longer the bullet had been trapped inside his leg, rooted underneath muscle and skin.
He looks down and feels as well as sees, his skin starting to knit back together. Bits of flesh fusing as one around the stitches like solder to an iron. He doesn’t know what he’ll say to Louis in terms of there no longer being a wound or a scar left in its wake, but he figures he probably doesn’t need to be semi-nude around him again, so he decides not to say anything.
He scrubs the last remnants of dirt from his body and turns to switch the shower off, taking his time to grab the towel left for him on the radiator and wrapping it around his waist. 
He pads over to the mirror and looks at his reflection.
His eyes are slightly bloodshot and his cheekbones look hallow. His long hair is dripping lukewarm water down his chest and onto the floor, but he can’t find the energy in him to do something about it.
~
He spins towards Harry, blue eyes tired and sleepy, with a soft smile etched onto his face. He lifts his arm to ruffle the back of his hair and his arm muscle expands slightly, filling out the sleeve of his hoodie. It makes Harry swallow, a quiet click due to his dry throat echoing through the room.
“You’ll be okay in here, right?” Louis asks. “You know where the bathroom is and there’s some spare toothbrushes in the drawer, feel free to get up when you want and have another shower and stu- oh!” Louis pauses and places his hand into his hoodie pocket, pulling a small box out. “There’s some paracetamol here in case you need them in the middle of the night for your leg – pretty sure there’s a spare glass in the bathroom too, just in case you didn’t wanna stick your head under the tap.” He places the box down onto the bedside table and throws a smile Harry’s way.
Harry won’t need them but he nods and smiles anyway, yawning out a thank you. He forgets momentarily that Louis is still in the room when he starts taking the hoodie off, and only remembers when a cough sounds out against the silence and he whips his head up.
~
Harry unclicks his seatbelt and goes to open the car door when Louis’ hand stops him. He turns back. 
Tired, green eyes meet concerned, blue ones.
“Just.” Louis pauses. “Just be careful out there, okay?” Harry stays silent while Louis’ fingers tighten around his arm. 
It doesn’t feel unsafe.
“When I found you, I thought you were dead. I haven’t asked you what happened because I assumed you’d tell me when you were ready. And you still don’t have to if you don’t want to.” He rushes to say, then pauses to stroke his thumb lightly over Harry’s arm, hair standing to attention and swaying under soft material and fingertips. “So just, be careful. Please.”
His eyes feel like they’re boring into Harry’s soul, each pupil filled with worry and pleading as if for Harry to promise him. Harry doesn’t know what to do, so he gently places his hand on top of Louis’ and smiles kindly.
“I promise. It was just a,” how does he word this “– a bad night. And hopefully it won’t happen again.” He figures he might have to verbalize what happened one day, but today is not that day. Where would he even start? ‘Thanks for saving my life and oh, by the way, I’m a werewolf?’
One headache is enough for now.
Louis looks at him for a second longer and breathes out, squeezing his arm one last time and dropping his hand back down, resting it on his thigh.
“I’ll call you.”
Harry nods and opens the car door, turning back one last time.
“Thank you, for everything.”
~
Making his way through to the living room, he flicks the light on and watches as dust bunnies flit about the air, as if to say welcome home. The machine to the right of him is flashing relentlessly, signifying there are messages waiting for him. He presses the voicemail button and listens as a robotic voice, followed by a woman’s, floats through the speaker.
Beep. Three new messages.
Beep. First Message.
“Hi, love. It’s only me. Just checking to make sure you’re alright? I know you said you had a busy week so wanted to catch up before the weekend.”
Beep. End of first message. 
Beep. Second message.
“Hi, Harry. Me again. Not sure if you got my first message and I know you’re probably having a minute to yourself after work, but just give me a call back when you get this.”
Beep. End of second message.
Beep. Third message.
“Harry, it’s me. It’s nearly 8 o’clock and I haven’t heard anything. I’m starting to worry, will you ring me back, please? I swear to god if something’s happe-yes! I’m ringing him again, he’s not answering, Har-”
Beep. End of third message.
No more messages.
~
If he listens carefully enough, he can hear the hedgehog’s tiny teeth tear through the slop, gurgling as he swallows. Small wheezes puff through his narrow nostrils when he pauses, the spikes on his back sparkling under the stars. Harry’s eyes adjust better than any humans could while his ears hone in on the sounds around him. Voles and mice race through the grass, snatching worms and bugs alike. Owls hoot in the distance while foxes rummage through bins, rubbish galore. He can even hear the moths fluttering their tiny wings as they quiver and vibrate through the dark.
The plate is nearly empty when he hears something snap. Even Bob pauses licking the ceramic to sniff the air; black, beady eyes darting right to left. He must think they’re in the clear when he starts moving again, nifty nose nudging through wet food. Harry continues to watch the garden when he hears another snap. 
This time it’s louder.
Claws replace fingernails and grip the step below him, twists of PVC twirling underneath sharp talons as they’re sliced from the ledge. 
Forgive him for he usually wouldn’t be this on edge, however getting oneself kidnapped and tortured has made even the scariest of monsters slightly fearful.
Though his eyesight is much like that of a hawk, he can’t see anything out of the ordinary. The bushes and leaves sway slowly in the breeze, every now and then a hoot echoes in the distance.
He stops breathing when he feels something brush against his ankle and his claws pierce the delicate skin of his palm; but he realises when he looks down that it’s just Bob nuzzling between his sock clad feet, trying to reach a meaty grub that’s getting away. He lets out a sigh and closes his eyes, counting to ten in his head. He shifts his feet so his three-legged friend can reach his dessert. He decides it’s enough for one night and reaches down to pick the plate up. He stands and casts his eyes around the garden one more time, settling on a tree branch that rests over the fence. He doesn’t know how long he stares at it until he feels the chill of the air whip against his face. Blinking out of his stupor, he shakes his head and lets out a small huff, breath casting white shapes into the cold air. 
“Bed,” he whispers, “just go to bed, Harry.”
~
It’s the middle of the night when he needs the toilet, bladder unrelenting as he shuffles sleepily out of the tent, torch in one hand as he makes his way over to a nearby tree. He’s resting his palm against the trunk when he hears a snap and a low moan coming from somewhere next to him. He tries to hurry his peeing as fast as he can, shaking himself off and guiding himself back into his shorts when something barges into him, slamming him down onto the forest floor.
His head knocks against the ground and he groans, mind going fuzzy. He can’t see for shit what’s on top of him but it’s dark and big and it’s groaning. Rumbling screams clutching at his bones. He tries to shake it off but it’s larger than Harry, at least seven foot and it drags him about like prey. He goes limp and cold, as if his mind is disconnected from his body. All he can remember is a white-hot flash of pain from where the thing had sunken its jaws into Harry’s side, teeth seizing around his rib cage and pulling, twisting, sinking. He remembers trying to scream but no sound escaped his lips. It was like he was watching from above. Watching as his body was tugged and heaved from left to right. Sharp claws scratched and hooked at his hip bones, making sure he couldn’t get away.
He could feel blood oozing out from where he’d been bitten and torn at, and the pain he felt was almost blinding. His fingers twitched at his side until they felt something smooth and hard. In a moment of sheer adrenaline, Harry had lifted what he assumed was a rock and slammed it down onto the thing’s head, once, twice, three times. Until its jaws had become loose and its teeth unclenched from around his bones. Blood spurted onto his face, lining his lips and staining his eyelashes. The thing went limp and sagged against Harry’s body, white eyes rolling back into its split skull as it shivered, seized and stopped.
He remembers pushing it off his body as best he could and trying to scramble away from it, bare feet and toes digging into the soft earth as he pushed himself backwards. He gulped when he hit the back of a tree and lay panting, hands shaking as they touched his side, feeling nothing but hollow bone and air. Looking down there was only red. Torn flesh and muscle protruding and dangling down as if no longer part of his body.
He remembers sobbing as he blinked through the tears and tried to get a good look at the figure lying dead in front of him. Holding both hands against where he’d been bitten and pulled apart like leftovers.
He remembers looking up at the sky above him, the moon big and bold as she stared back at him.
He remembers feeling like he was going to die.
~
A book is placed into Harry’s hands and he looks confused at the two men before Zayn just nods his head at the item, encouraging Harry to open it. 
“What is this?” He asks.
“Just read it.” Niall says, blinking at Harry.
It’s black and the corners are worn. It isn’t a big book either by any means, but it’s chunky and smells of old leather. Indented in gold on the front page are what look to be like nymphs and needles, wound tight around flesh as if both are becoming one. He turns to the first page and registers the thin, waxy paper.
~
Harry nods, doesn’t feel as though he can speak properly before stepping onto the train. His foot barely reaches the entry when his name is called behind him. He turns his head and sees Zayn walking up to him.
“I,” he coughs, looking around him a touch awkwardly, Niall turns away and bends down, pretending to busy himself with his shoelace. “Stay safe, yeah?” 
He pulls something out of his pocket and presses it into Harry’s hand. “Call us if you need us, anytime. I mean it.”
And with that he’s spinning around and walking up to Niall, clapping him on the back and nodding towards the exit. Harry tightens his fist around whatever Zayn had given him and ducks into the carriage, finding a seat near the far back and sitting down.
He rests his head against the cool glass and shuts his eyes.
Tries to keep his racing thoughts from becoming nightmares.
~
Page 37.
Sally.
ne.re.id. sea.nymph. mer.ma.id.
August 13th 1989. 15:07pm.
Found near the North coast of Portknockie in Scotland. Terrain is rocky and waves were at high speed. Out of plain sight to any passersby, however not so hidden she wouldn’t have been spotted by cliff dwellers. Water is salty meaning she has not swum from any freshwater rivers or lakes. Around 250cm in length, including the tail which has been jaggedly severed from fin upwards. The creature is unconscious but has a strong heartbeat. A mixture of morphine and hematide has been administered into the left arm of the creature and she remains stable. 
Despite her long frame, she has a petite torso and fine hair decorating her entire upper half. Subject has dark hair and green eyes. They seem to change to lilac under fluorescent lighting while her pupils dilate. She speaks in broken sentences, mostly garbled hums and high-pitched warbles.
Subject has webbed fingers and sharp nails. Subject also does not have a belly button nor any eyebrows.
Harry’s fingers freeze around the handle of his mug and he places it down onto the table shakily, taking another steady breath inwards. Outside the bin men are talking joyously as the disposal unit crunches in the distance while the neighbours next door are having yet another argument about who’s turn it is on the computer. But nothing registers, and Harry can only focus on the words standing stark against yellow stained paper below him.
~
September 7th 1989. 14:24pm.
Subject ‘Sally’ has been prepped for surgery. Subomunex was dispensed into the subject’s neck gills. We have found this to be most effective when operating on water-based creatures as it releases certain toxins and nutrients to ensure the subject can breathe without the need for H20.
Research into the common cold occurred almost one year ago, and we have found certain elements that make up a nereid’s larynx fight most, if not all symptoms of a ‘sore throat’. Today we shall create a medium incision into the subject’s neck muscle and remove the larynx, most commonly known as the voice box, from the subject’s throat. Delicate strands of tissue and muscle will be removed and sent to the Section B lab where it will be tested and if successful, dispensed into edible capsules and distributed among Pharmacies across the UK. 
A tiny proportion of the larynx’s genetic makeup will be extracted and re-created to ensure there is enough material for us to provide in the long term.
There’s a picture underneath the paragraph of what looks to be a theatre and Sally stretched out along a bed, four doctors are also in the photo, two standing either side of the creature and if Harry squints, he can see their smiles through their surgical masks.
~
“H-hello?”
There’s silence before the other person speaks.
“Uh…is this Harry?”
He doesn’t register the voice and his brows furrow in confusion, nose sniffling.
“Uh, yeah? Who’s this?”
“It’s um, Louis?” the voice replies, “I picked you up from the middle of the road, uh. About a week ago?”
God, has it really only been a week?
All of a sudden, his eyes widen in stark realisation and he clutches the phone tighter in the palm of his hand.
“Oh! God, I’m so sorry, hi. How are you?”
There’s a little huff of laughter and Harry imagines Louis’ eyes crinkling.
“Yeah, I’m alright, mate. Are you? You sound a little…off.”
Harry leans against the living room wall and rolls his head sideways, “uh,” he glances at the book, “just a sad film, proper got to me, had a little cry as you do.”
~
“I should probably leave.” Harry says, and carefully dislodges Cliff’s head from his leg, placing it down gently onto the couch cushion beneath him. He doesn’t even move, just wiggles his back slightly and twitches his paw from where it’s resting in mid-air.
“If this is about you dribbling on me, I really don’t care. I’ve had worse things on me.”
Harry’s blush darkens, and he mumbles out, “it’s not about the dribble thing, I just think I should go.”
He stands up and makes his way into the hallway, vaguely aware Louis is talking to him, but the words are muffled against the heavy sound of Harry’s beating heart. He grabs one of his shoes and slips it on his foot, patting down his chest and pockets, trying to search for his keys while shielding his face so Louis doesn’t see how red his cheeks have become.
“-think you should just stay the night.”
Harry’s in the middle of slipping on his other shoe, when he braces his arm against the wall to stop him from tripping up, and turns to face Louis who’s piercing Harry with his gaze, despite the warm flush that’s expanding across his face.
“What?”
“I said, I think you should just stay the night.”
“I-,”
“I don’t mean, um,” Louis huffs a laugh, a telltale pink blooming on his cheeks, “in my room, or anything. I meant the spare room again, if you want?” He places his hands into his jean pockets and rocks back a little on his feet, “it’s just really frosty outside, and dark, so I’d feel pretty shitty if I let you drive back now.”
“Lou-“
“Sorry if it sounds like I’m being pushy, I don’t mind, really! It’s just,” he sighs, lips pursing and fingers reaching out to scratch at the chipped paint on the wall, “I’d just hate for something to happen, y’know, like last time,” he murmurs quietly, a sad sort of smile sweeps across his lips and he looks down, shrugging his shoulders.
You’d think what happened that night fucked him up a little too.
Maybe it did.
After all, he was the one who made sure Harry was alright and pulled a bullet from his leg, right over where Harry casts his eyes into the kitchen.
~
He groans and lifts his body to sit upright, leaning down and massaging his leg with his hand. 
He drops his head forward and sighs, insides feeling like they were going to jump out of his skin any second and run off the excess energy without him. He stands up and stretches, fingers pointing upwards towards the ceiling while his back cracked along his spine. 
It felt like a shift, bones and muscles repositioning under flesh, like tectonic plates moving and slotting into the different crevices of his body. But it wasn’t time, and Harry had learned to control the urge quite early on after he’d found himself naked in the local park after a midnight stint, bleary eyes opening to find ducks quacking nervously in the pond and a jogger staring at him with his mouth hanging open; probably wondering what he was doing lying there nude at four in the morning. He wasn’t too far from home that he couldn’t sprint back in time that nobody else noticed him, covering his delicate parts with his hands as he ran through the streets in the milky morning light. 
His clothes had been torn to shreds and he doesn’t remember much, not a great deal of evidence either from the night before other than the dirt that had gathered underneath his fingernails and twigs in his hair. He also felt different somehow, as if his body finally relaxed into itself and took one huge breath out.
~
Louis slides the door fully open then and steps into the room, toes sinking into the plush carpet beneath him. He isn’t wearing anything other than his boxers and Harry’s very aware he’s in just the same. 
“Can’t sleep?”
Harry shakes his head, fingers spreading out along the bed and clutching at the tight bottom sheet, trying hard not to think about how Louis’ shut the door behind him, not fully, but just enough to bathe the majority of the room in moonlight and heavy whispers.
“Me neither.” Louis huffs, lips morphing into a small smile and feet shuffling forward. “Feel like my body’s just pent up, y’know? Usually I’m out like a light.”
“Same.” Harry replies. “My brain won’t switch off so I’ve just been,” don’t tell him you’ve been snooping, “counting sheep.”
“And the bang?” Louis laughs.
“Oh! Uh, I just got up for some water and tripped into the bedside table.”
Harry doesn’t think about how it’s becoming easier and easier to lie.
“Do you need anything for it?” Louis asks, coming closer as if trying to inspect Harry’s foot. His toes scrunch inward under the careful scrutiny, as if they don’t want Louis to see how unblemished they really are.
There’re only a few feet between them now and Harry can feel the sleepy heat radiating from Louis’s body, can count the chest hairs that sit between his pecs and can smell the fabric conditioner of his bed sheets caught up in the hairs on his arms.
“No, I think I’m good.” He swallows, throat clicking and fingertips twitching beside him as if they’re aching to reach out and feel just how soft Louis’ skin is underneath quivering patterns of swirly flesh.
“Okay.” Louis whispers, eyelids blinking slowly, heavy with heady want, tongue inching out to lick his dry lips.
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the-mad-starker · 4 years ago
Text
Starker Smut: Helping Uncle Tony
Thank you to @petercherryparker for giving me my first commission! It means so much to me that you were willing to give it a try and for being patient with me since I haven't done this before either 😅
Summary: 
Uncle Tony somehow fucked up his hands and has them both in casts.
Peter volunteers to help then he helps.
Notes: uncle/nephew incest, handjob, frottage, come swallowing, anal sex, dirty talk, praise kink, size kink, ambiguous age for Peter, first time
WC: 9139
(AO3 Link)
💗💗💗
"Boss, Mrs. Parker and your nephew are requesting entrance."
Tony pauses in his rambling speech. Dictating. He's dictating the lines of code for his next project while he lounges in the lab. On the screen, Friday completes the last line before she automatically switches to the security camera on the first floor.
His sister, Mary Parker, is waiting impatiently and there, a familiar mop of curly brown hair… His nephew. Peter.
"What time is it again?" Tony mutters but he's already getting up.
It's a bit difficult because he can't use his hands. Both hands are stuck in bright red casts and are covered from his knuckles all the way down to his elbow.
He hates them but he's not letting them stop him from working on his tech.
"Think I can beat them to the penthouse?" Tony says when he gets into his private elevator.
Peter did text earlier that day with a message saying they were coming over from Queens. He's been so caught up getting this program done that time just slipped through his fingers.
"Probability just reached 0%," Friday informs him and he finds out why when the doors ding open.
"Tony!" His sister is already waiting for him in the penthouse and judging by the look on her face, she knows exactly where Tony's been.
She rounds up on him, scarier than his assistant and his board of directors. "You're supposed to be resting," she sighs with exasperation.
"Yeah, you know that's unlikely," Tony says without missing a beat. "It's my hands that broke–" he wiggles his immobilized arms at her for emphasis, "–not my brain. You know I can't just stop."
In response, Mary softens but she tries to hide it by clearing her throat.
"I know and that's why–" she turns back towards her son and tugs him forward, "I'm lending you this one to help you."
"Hi, Uncle Tony," Peter says shyly from her side. He gives a little wave but doesn't really look Tony in the eye.
"Hey there, champ," Tony says, distracted, before he turns back to Mary. "You know I can't do that to him, Mare. It's summer break, he should be– I dunno, going to Jones beach or hanging out with his friends. All that fun stuff."
Mary's lips thin in that way which means she's about to start arguing but surprisingly, Peter interrupts.
"Actually– I'm the one that bugged mom about helping…" Peter says as he steps closer.
Tomy's gaze switches to him and his brows scrunch in confusion. Peter's cheeks take on a pink hue when their eyes meet, a peculiar reaction that Tony's gotten used to. His nephew's always been a sweet but shy kid.
"Pete, I really appreciate it, but you don't gotta be stuck with me when you should be having fun," Tony reiterates but the boy stubbornly shakes his head.
Peter's curls bounce in that cute little way that makes Tony want to pet them. His expression mirrors Tony's, brows scrunching adorably in the middle and honey brown eyes going all soft and pleading.
"It'll be fun!" Peter says firmly and what gets to Tony is that he actually sounds genuine. "I always have fun when I'm with you, Uncle Tony… And I get to see all the cool stuff you're working on… Maybe even help you make some stuff?"
The last bit is said with those puppy eyes turned up to max efficiency and Tony's resolve crumbles. He could never say no to his one and only favorite nephew. Mary knows it, too, because there's a smug little grin on her face.
"See, there you go, Tony," she says. She pats Peter's shoulder fondly. "How long did the doctors say your cast has to stay on?"
"A couple weeks…" Tony says in defeat. "But I should be fine if Pete just wants to stay a week…"
"Mom can drop off more of my clothes on Sunday," Peter says, excitement pitching his voice higher. He bounces the duffle bag in his hand to show the older man. "I brought some clothes already. Toothbrush, too, so you don't gotta worry, Uncle Tony."
Looking at his nephew's puppy dog eyes, of course, Tony can't refuse. Besides, his nephew is right. They always have fun when they're together and ever since the Parkers moved to Queens, they just haven't had as much time. He has missed his nephew even when work keeps him busy.
"Alright, you got me, kid," Tony says, "we'll try it out for a week, okay?"
"A week," Peter agrees but somehow, Tony feels as though he's the one humoring Tony instead of the other way around.
"Brat," Tony says fondly.
Mary sticks around for a few minutes more but she eventually decides to head out. Before doing so, she pulls Peter aside for some last minute words.
Tony tries not to eavesdrop but considering he's right there, it can't be helped.
"I want you to remember what we talked about in the car," she says seriously. "I know you and Tony like to mess around in the lab and do all your sciency stuff but Uncle Tony's recovering, okay, Pete?"
"I know, mom," Peter says dutifully. "Even if we're having fun, I need to help Uncle Tony and make sure he doesn't do anything to hurt his hands."
"That's right, sweetie," Mary smiles, "and you know your Uncle Tony. He's always jumping ahead of things so I need you to really be on top of things. We want Uncle Tony to get better and that won't happen if he doesn't let it heal properly. I need you to be his hands until his gets better."
"I can do that, mom," Peter promises sincerely, "I'll watch him like a hawk and he won't even lift a finger while I'm here."
"That's really sweet but–" Tony has to interrupt.
"No buts!" Both Mary and Peter cut in. Tony ends up pouting at them but he really can't refute anything Mary says.
When she's finally gone, Tony looks at Peter and smiles awkwardly.
"Just you and me, kiddo," he says to break the silence.
"You and me," Peter smiles brightly then perks up like an eager puppy. "Wanna show me what you were working on before mom and I got here…?"
And just like that, the awkwardness vanishes.
Tony grins and makes a grand gesture towards the elevator.
"Let me show you to my lair…"
---
They settle into a routine and truthfully, Tony's having the best time of his life.
It starts off slow because even if he's the one that needs help, he feels bad asking for the simplest things. Peter takes his job seriously though and has a keen eye for when Tony's itching to do something.
Peter takes over all the things Tony would struggle to do and he does it so effortlessly with no complaint. It leaves the older man feeling a tiny bit embarrassed at his dependency but he's grateful.
It becomes easier to just let Peter handle everything and soon, Tony relaxes into their routines.
His nephew is a god-send. He has all of the Stark smarts and none of the bullshit that Howard hammered into Tony's head since he was young.
This means that Tony can ramble on and on about his work and Peter keeps up astonishingly well. He listens with wide eyes, lips parted as though Tony was speaking prophecies. Even better, the kid throws back ideas, suggestions that make Tony's mind whirl with fantastic possibilities. It's surreal, it's wonderful, it's just how they are.
Tony and Peter.
"I really should be paying you," Tony groans when the boy digs his thumbs into a stiff muscle.
Peter has some magical hands and somehow, he just seems to know where to press on Tony's back. He kneads the tension right out of the older man's shoulders and Tony has to slump on the desk so he doesn't tip over out of pure ecstasy.
"Not taking your money, Uncle Tony," Peter sounds exasperated but there's a fondness to it that softens the bite.
"You're basically babysitting me," Tony still tries to convince him. "How about $800 a day? Dunno what the going rate for babysitters is but I'll throw in a bonus cause you're my cute little nephew."
Tony knows Peter won't take it so he's just rambling for fun.
Peter, though, goes quiet and his hands pause in their motions. His arms come around from behind and his chin settles on Tony's shoulder.
Hugs are nice and it isn't the first time Peter's helped himself to one. The older man doesn't think much of it, only squirms cause Peter's breath tickles his neck.
"I'm just happy being here with you, Uncle Tony," Peter tells him honestly. "I really missed being able to just walk a couple of blocks and hang out."
Warmth blossoms in his belly and if it was anyone else, Tony would've pulled back emotionally and physically. But Peter has always been like this, always loved hugs and affection. Once again, he has Stark blood but he's better.
Tony would usually pat the boy's hand but with the casts, he's more likely to be reprimanded. So instead, he slowly turns and Peter moves with him so that they're embracing. Even then, Peter's careful with the casts and makes sure not to brush against them.
"I missed you too, kiddo," Tony admits. "I'll make sure we have more hang out days when my hands are good, okay?"
"I'd like that," Peter mumbles into his shoulder.
Peter's mom drops off more clothes. She's satisfied that Tony is doing better, even smiling more frequently. Peter glows with pride beside him.
A day shy of being together for a week and Tony wakes up tangled in his sheets, body sleep-warm and cruising from pleasant dreams.
"Morning!" Peter cheers as he walks in carrying breakfast on a tray.
Tony's mind is still all fuzzy without his morning coffee so he just lays there and hums in acknowledgment. The bed dips under Peter's weight and the silence is so unusual that Tony peaks an eye open.
The boy's bottom lip is caught between his teeth while his cheeks are flaming red.
"Kid?" Tony's voice is rough from sleep. It startles Peter and those honey brown eyes shoot back up to his face.
The blush doesn't recede though.
"Um… Do you… need help, Uncle Tony…?" Peter mumbles, edging closer so that his knee presses against Tony's blanketed thigh.
"Help…?" Tony echoed. "Help with what–"
Peter's eyes dip down and this time, Tony follows him.
"Oh," Tony groans, aghast.
He's sporting some serious morning wood. And well, it's to be expected if he really thinks about it. Before his accident, Tony was a heavy believer in self-love. One can even say he's a serial masturbator, but he just… hasn't been able to do anything about it with his hands out of commission.
Sometime during the night, his dick must've slipped through the slit in his boxers so the only thing keeping him decent is the thin blanket over his lap.
"Just– ah, fuck. Just ignore it," Tony says, embarrassed.
He can't even hide it under a pillow or turn over. Both require the use of his hands which… Not possible.
"That can't be comfortable…" Peter still mumbles, completely ignoring Tony's instructions. "It looks really… big. And uncomfortable. Does it hurt…?"
"Not as much as my pride," Tony grumbles. "Can't you just… I don't know, put a pillow on my lap? It'll go away if we both ignore it."
It's an embarrassing situation and Tony's barely holding it together. He's been caught in all sorts of scandals but never one so personal as this. If it's embarrassing for him, it's probably worse for his poor nephew.
He expects Peter to listen to him, to save himself from this awkward mess and just leave him to his breakfast.
What he doesn't expect is to feel Peter's curious hand on his cock.
Tony sucks in a sharp breath, eyes flying open in disbelief.
He's not mistaken.
Peter is leaning over him, one hand gently gripping the base of his covered cock.
"Kid… What are you doing…?"
Tony fights against the need to thrust into his nephew's hand. His cock doesn't care who it is that's helping him out, it just cares that it's getting some love.
"Uncle Tony…" Peter breathes out as he looks at Tony with wide but determined eyes. "Mom said to make sure you're comfortable… If I do it like this… I'll make it go down faster, right...?"
His hand on Tony's cock starts to move. It steals away the words Tony wants to say as his hips twitch towards the source of friction. This shouldn't be happening, he shouldn't be feeling so good from Peter touching him...
"That's–" The older man tries to stop this but his words stutter and fail. "You shouldn't, Pete...!"
"Am I doing it wrong…? Am I making it worse?" Peter's lips tremble into a frown. It looks so wrong on his nephew's sweet face that Tony shakes his head, unwilling, even then, to upset the boy.
"Feels good..." Tony tries to stifle the moan working up his throat. It comes out as breathless gasps instead while his legs shift restlessly in the bed. "But you shouldn't…"
The frown melts away to reveal a sweet, happy smile.
Peter looks so determined, eyes focused where his hand is moving up and down over Tony's hard length. He's doing it so gently that it makes Tony's body crave for more, for a firmer grip.
"I don't mind doing it, Uncle Tony," he says while stroking Tony's cock. "I know it can hurt… And you're already going through a lot. I love you, Uncle Tony, and I want you to feel good."
What can Tony say in the face of such sweet words? Even if he wanted to, he couldn't bear to stop him now.
"Let me take care of you, Uncle Tony," Peter says. "Oh– let me…"
Tony groans in defeat when Peter pulls the blanket down. There's no hiding it now.
His cock stands proudly between his legs, fully erect from Peter's ministrations. It's flushed a rosy hue, prominent veins up and down the length… A thick mushroom tip that's darker in color than the rest of the length.
"Pete…" Tony says, helpless but so turned on when Peter resumes his duties.
His hand wraps around Tony's cock again, no hesitation, and Tony tries to stifle a moan that works up his throat. This is not the right response but it feels so good… Just the sight of Peter's hand wrapped around him sends arousal skittering up and down his spine. It looks so obscene, too. His nephew's finger can't even fully encompass the girth of his cock.
"Like this, Uncle Tony…?" Peter asks as he starts to stroke again. His thumb swipes over Tony's leaking cockhead and his hips jerk from the sensation.
All rational flies out the window.
"Ah– T-tighter…" Tony gasps.
The desire for release rises to the forefront so embarrassingly quick that the older man bites down on his lip to ask for more.
Peter complies with such sweet obedience that Tony moans and then oh– it's heaven. His nephew is clumsy and a bit awkward in his attempt but it smoothes out into something beautiful when Tony's hips start chasing after his hand.
His eyes are mere slits as he throws his head back. His hips jerk desperately into the sweet grip milking his cock. He doesn't think about what he's doing even when Peter continues to make soft encouraging comments.
It should freak Tony out but he's caught off guard. The loss of the use of his hands has affected him more deeply than he anticipated. The pleasure sings through him after just a week of not being able to do this and he craves it with a ferocious hunger that scares him with its intensity.
Just a week and Tony's hips are thrusting into his nephew's touch. His cock is leaking. He swears that his cock is so hard for Peter and that he's never been as hard for anyone else. Peter, his sweet innocent nephew, is the one making him feel so good, it's sinful.
Peter… He shouldn't be doing this to Peter but the boy's so focused on his task. The pink in his cheeks is so alluring… And how has Tony never noticed the shape of his lips? Or how it looks so soft and inviting, parted the way it is. Tony could easily slip a thumb right between and what would Peter do…?
Tony could just imagine the shock in Peter's pretty brown doe eyes and then the way they'd slowly drift closed. The pleasure of a new discovery would make his nephew's features slacken. Would he suck on Tony's fingers? Would he moan for his uncle…?
The older man hisses when Peter squeezes him just right, bringing him right to the edge. Tony struggles to cling on. It's so wrong, so wrong… His precum is dripping all over the boy's fingers, but Peter's not stopping.
"Uncle Tony… Is this okay? Does it feel good?"
Peter has such good intentions even while doing such a dirty act.
"Pete– Pete, I'm gonna…" Tony groans out the words but his eyes slip shut in defeat.
"Oh!" Peter knows what's coming but his little nephew surprises him again in the most delightful way.
An even sweeter heat envelops his cock. Just the tip but this new sensation is warm and wet. Tony can recognize that type of heat anywhere and he loses it. Peter's mouth is on his cock.
His eyes fly open and he's treated to the sight of his nephew's pink lips suckling on his cockhead. Peter looks up at him with wide eyes and his hand still makes sloppy, aborted jerks in an attempt to maintain his rhythm.
Such a good boy...
Any semblance of control completely deteriorates and Tony comes with a shocked groan. His cock pulses, balls drawing in tight, as he shoots into his nephew's mouth.
It happens so quickly and his muscles tighten with the intensity of his orgasm. Peter tries to take it all, every single load that Tony sends pulsing into his mouth.
It's too much for him. Tony sees it when the rush of cum gets too much. Peter's eyes widen even more and he pulls back coughing with his uncle's cum dripping down the corner of his lips.
He goes back down like the champ he is though and tries to take the rest of Tony's cum. He gets a load shot across his face for his efforts and the image will be forever seared into Tony's mind. Peter looks so beautiful with Tony's cum on his face that the older man can't find it in himself to even feel guilty.
He does feel bad, though, when Peter's face crumples in dismay.
"Oh, God, I-I'm sorry, Uncle Tony." His bottom lip even trembles. His distress is genuine and Tony's barely catching his breath. "I was trying not to get it everywhere… I thought I could do it but I made a mess. I'm sorry– Let me go get some paper towels and I'll clean it all up."
Not having the use of his hands is such an inconvenience. He can't even stop the kid from running off but he tries.
"Peter," Tony says firmly enough that the boy pays attention. His tone softens when the boy hesitates. "Pete. Just wait a minute, okay. Just– C'mere. Lie down next to me, okay?"
Peter does as he's told. He must be feeling even worse than he says because he scoots in close and curls up against Tony's side. The reality of the situation becomes an urgent need to discuss what just happened but Tony's mouth has gone dry.
"I'm sorry…" Peter whispers in the silence and Tony's heart aches.
"Hey, hey," Tony tries to soothe him. He can't turn onto his side so instead, he says, "Look at me, kid."
Once those brown eyes are back on him, Tony takes in a deep breath. He refuses to do anything that would make his Petey cry or feel bad. God forbid he do anything like that, his nephew's too good to him.
"Nothing to be sorry about, Pete," Tony says gently. "You really helped me out, okay? And– ah… Was that your… first time doing something like that…?"
Peter flushes and his lips press into a displeased line.
"Was it obvious…?" Peter mumbles, looking away.
To Tony, it had been but he's not gonna say that.
"Only cause I've been around," Tony says offhandedly. "But there's nothing to be sorry about, Pete. If anything, I'm sorry that I wasn't in better control."
"You were fine, Uncle Tony!" Peter protests, "And besides, you shouldn't be doing anything strenuous so really, I should be the one to, um, take care of all of that."
Tony wants to argue, of course, especially given the circumstance but he knows he's unlikely to win. And maybe… maybe, he doesn't want to win in this one.
So instead, he hums in acknowledgment.
Peter's hand creeps up his chest as the boy curls against his side.
"Did it feel good though…?" he asks quietly, hopefully. "I can do it better next time."
Next time… Tony's mind latches onto the words and even worse, his traitorous body floods with excitement.
"It was amazing, kid," Tony confesses. He turns just enough to kiss the top of Peter's head. "You did good, sweetheart… So good…"
That sweet smile that Tony has come to love so much spreads across his nephew's face. Peter practically glows with pleasure, a pleased little smile on his face. Tony practically melts in the face of it.
"You know, in things like things, I'd really want to return the favor if that's something you want, too," Tony says then before Peter can protest, he adds, "I can do other stuff that won't hurt my hands."
The boy looks perplexed for a moment but then his face brightens as he considers the proposal. There's something he wants and Tony would give him anything and everything.
"Kiss…?" Peter asks softly. "Can we do that…?"
The question surprises the older man. Peter has just given him one of the most mind-blowing orgasms Tony has ever had and his sweet boy is asking for a kiss…
"Of course, angel," Tony replies easily.
When he goes to lean down for a kiss, he can't help smiling at how Peter's eyes drift closed and his lips make the slightest little pucker.
Their lips touch, a gentle and chaste kiss but when he pulls away, Peter's eyes open and there's a quiet wonder in them.
"Wow…" Peter breathes. "Again? Please, Uncle Tony?"
Tony chuckles in response but instead of answering, he just presses in for another kiss and another and another… Until they're both lost in one another.
 ---
Because of what happened, there are drastic changes but some things also stay the same.
Tony tries to be the good, responsible adult he's always worked to be but Peter won't let things go back to how they were.
"Helping" his Uncle Tony feel good becomes an imperative task to the boy.
Tony protests at first. He feels like he has to put an end to it but little by little, those objections become half-hearted attempts that fade into drawn out moans of appreciation.
Whenever he looks down at Peter between his legs, he thinks, 'fuck, I'm going to hell…' but then another thought kicks in. It may be very much worth it when he has his angel of a nephew sucking him off. Those pretty pink lips… They feel so soft and warm and perfect on his cock…
The moment his resolve broke entirely is the first time he guides Peter into getting off. He can't stand the thought of being the only person feeling good. It's even worse when the boy would squirm on his knees, shyly pressing the heel of his hand against his own little problem.
Nope, Tony isn't having it.
Peter's cute little face is flaming red and Tony knows that he badly wants to flee to the bathroom to take care of himself.
"C'mere, kid," Tony breathes.
Peter shuffles closer and then gasps when Tony slots his leg between his. Tony's knee bumps against the boy's hand, pushing it against his covered erection.
"When my hands heal up," Tony starts to say, "I'm gonna make you feel so good, Pete. Gonna touch your pretty little cock and make you come for me."
The boy whimpers, a soft, pleading sound, but his wide eyes flutter in pleasure. His mouth trembles, a clear indication of how Tony's words affect him.
"But for now…" Tony nudges his leg closer and in response, Peter's hip jerks forward. "Move your hand, Pete… Let me feel it."
"Uncle Tony… That's…" His sweet innocent nephew has had Tony's cock in his mouth on multiple occasions but he still can't say such dirty things. It makes Tony feel so bad that he wants to dirty him up.
"It'll feel good, angel," Tony promises him, "for both of us. I'll make me feel really good to know you're getting something outta this, too."
Peter's eyelids flutter as he considers it. It doesn't take him long to decide either.his nephew is a good kid but the promise of pleasure convinces him.
"Should I take it out?" Peter asks hesitatingly. The very tips of his ears turn bright red, an adorable reaction.
The possibility crosses his mind, an image of Peter creaming his pants if he chooses not to take it out.
Tony's mouth goes dry.
"If you want to," Tony encourages instead of outright saying yes like he wants to. "Don't want you to chafe against your jeans or anything."
The boy bites down on his bottom lip before nodding thoughtfully.
"It's not as big as yours," Peter says as though warning Tony. It's cute that he even thinks that that would matter to Tony.
Regardless, Peter unbuckles his belt and tugs his jeans down though he has to wiggle a little to get them down his thighs.
Tony gets a glimpse of the tent his boxers make before he tugs those down too. His hand shyly covers his erection, glimpse of pink flesh between his fingers before he reveals himself.
"Oh, you're perfect, sweetheart," Tony promises.
Peter's cock is indeed smaller than Tony's but it fits his boy well. It's just as dainty as the rest of his body, perfectly proportionate to the more slender build he has.
His nephew blushes adorably as he circles the girth of his cock with his hand. He gives half-hearted strokes as though unsure of what to do now that they've reached this point.
Tony gladly takes the reins.
"I want you to press close to my leg," Tony instructs gently, "Just like before, Pete. Since I can't do it for you… Just listen to my voice, alright, angel?"
The blush on his cheeks may as well be a permanent fixture. Tony hopes Peter never loses this endearing quality, so shy and eager for his uncle's touch.
Peter leans closer, his hands resting on Tony's leg.
"Ah…" the soft exhale gives away the moment Peter's cock comes in contact with Tony's leg. Besides that, the older man feels it, hard and so hot even though his pants.
"Move for me, baby," Tony tells him. "Just like earlier… You can rub against me, I don't mind…"
His leg muscles flex as he nudges his leg closer.
"O-okay, I'll try…" Peter mumbles, peeking at his uncle with darkening eyes.
His hips start to move. At first, the movements are barely noticeable. Even when Tony feels that hard outline brush against him, it's still so faint. He lets Peter take his time though, just watching the boy slowly lose his inhibition.
"Mm…" that first soft moan is a victory to the older man even when Peter tries to clamp his mouth shut.
Their eyes meet and the boy shudders, dark, thick lashes threatening to cut their connection. Peter holds on though they tremble. His mouth looks soft, lips parted around an O of pleasure.
"That's it, baby…" Tony encourages the boy when his hips start to move. "Feels good rubbing against me, right? Even if I can't touch you… Can't jerk you off, you like me seeing you like this…"
"I… I do…" His nephew answers in a soft whisper as though it's a secret between them. "It feels… feels good…"
His hips start to really move and Tony can feel his nephew's cockhead grazing up and down his leg. Peter's still too shy.
"Good, sweetheart… That's good…" Tony doesn't push. "Wanna make my best boy feel so good…"
More pleasure causes the boy's expression to slacken but his grip on Tony's leg tightens. It isn't long before he starts to lean against his uncle.
Tony then takes the opportunity to press forward.
"O-Oh!" The cry of pleasure that Peter makes and the harsh jerk of his hip is worth Tony playing dirty.
He expects Peter to pull away but perhaps his nephew has been wanting this much longer than he initially knew. Once Peter feels that delicious friction against his cock, it's like his hips glue themselves to Tony's leg.
It's all there on his face, naked and exposed. Pleasure and need.
He presses in tight, his cock a firm solid line of heat against the older man.
"There you go…" Tony almost coos to the boy. "That feels better, doesn't it, Pete?"
His own cock starts to thicken in his pants again. He's amazed by how quickly he's recovered. That's the effect Peter had on him.
"Uncle Tony…" Peter whimpers softly. There's a desperate edge there as he clings to Tony's knee. The older man recognizes it well.
"Go on, baby," Tony encourages hungrily, "Keep going, keep rubbing against me… Wanna make you feel good too, Pete."
Peter can't seem to keep his eyes open so they're squeezed shut. His pretty mouth, though, is parted, letting out the breathless little moans that have Tony's ears straining for each one.
His hips jump in desperate jerks as he chases after his pleasure and Tony's voice guides him along the way.
Tony knows the moment Peter's right at the edge. His nephew's face is flushed, sweat-damp curls sticking to the sides of his face. Honey brown eyes look at him through barely there slits.
The older man just wants to eat him up, especially when Peter starts to say his name in that breathless needy tone.
"Uncle T-Tony… Uncle Tonyy… 'm gonna…" Peter mewls. His brows are scrunched up in the middle, mouth trembling.
Tony wants to sink his hands in Peter's hair and just haul him for a kiss. He can't though– such a shame.
"A-ah…" Peter comes with a soft cry, eyes squeezed shut, and body shuddering violently.
There's a rush of warmth when his cum spurts messily over Tony's leg but the older man just continues to murmur soft praises about how beautiful Peter looks, how gorgeous and good his sweet nephew is.
Peter shudders one more time, his cheek pressed against Tony's knee. Tony hears the boy's harsh breathing but ends up sucking in sharply when Peter's hand slides up and between his legs.
His fingertips bump against Tony's half-hard cock upon finding out his uncle's predicament, Peter looks up at him with pink cheeks. His eyes are at half-mast, the most enticing bedroom eyes that Tony's ever seen.
It kills him that Peter's probably unaware of just what it does to him.
"Uncle Tony…" Peter murmurs as he nuzzles against any part of his uncle he can reach. "You're hard again…"
Tony swallows, Adam's apple bobbing.
"Yeah…" he doesn't deny it, "Watching you, Pete… God, you don't even know what you do to me, do you…?"
A sweet smile pulls at Peter's lips and his touch grows firmer as he runs his fingers over Tony's swelling length.
"I'm just me, Uncle Tony…" he says like he thinks Tony's just being nice. "Want me to help you again…?"
"I'm not gonna say no…" Tony chuckles then leans back when Peter shuffles closer.
Getting hard so soon after having Peter's mouth is something that hasn't happened before. But then again, he hasn't had his sexy nephew rubbing against him before either.
Peter's mouth closes around his cock and Tony groans at the feeling of his tongue swirling around his cockhead. He leans back and watches, enjoying the sight of his nephew's pretty lips stretched around his cock.
That tiny nagging thought that this was wrong has all but disappeared. Peter's gaze locks with his own as he seeks approval and Tony gives it happily.
"Good boy… Such a good boy…" Tony sighs.
He'll find more ways to return the favor.
 ---
Week two edging into week three.
They've just returned from his doctor's and Dr. Cho has declared that his hands are healing up nicely. She says it with surprise as though she had expected Tony to come in with a sheepish grin, hands banged up and in worse condition than she left it.
Of course, Tony attributes the progress to his blushing nephew and she nods in understanding. He introduces his nephew to her as his amazing little helper. Peter blushes at the praise but Tony can tell he's happy about it. He listens even more closely to Dr. Cho's advice and tips for recovery than Tony does.
It's progress but she also says that it may take a few more weeks. Tony reassures her that he's in good hands.
When they get back to the penthouse, Peter disappears into the guest room that he's claimed his own when he first arrived. He barely uses it now, preferring to stay in Tony's bed, but most of his stuff is still there.
There's a report waiting for Tony in his email so he lets the boy be.
Around dinner time, he seeks him out to find out what Peter's craving for.
The door to Peter's room is cracked open but Tony still doesn't want to just walk in and possibly startle the boy.
"Pete?" He calls out. "I'm feeling for some burgers, what do you think…?"
He nudges the door open and his jaw almost drops.
"Uncle Tony–" Peter's face is flushed in that adorable pink shade that Tony's come to love and this time, yeah– it's appropriate.
His nephew is shirtless and bent over the side of the bed, those sinfully tight jeans of his pooled around his ankles. He's reaching back awkwardly and Tony follows the length of his arm down… down… where the boy has two fingers nudging into his little hole.
"Am I interrupting?" Tony asks dryly. He shuts the door behind him even though they're the only ones in the penthouse.
"Um, no," Peter mumbles shyly as he straightens up, "I was kinda hoping you'd come in sooner actually."
"Were you now…" Tony says as he walks towards him. It feels like there's a hook pulling him closer and he's unable to resist.
He takes in his nephew's lean form, eyes going from top to bottom and making a show of it. Peter's gotten bolder and more daring in the time they've spent together so if he's inviting his uncle to take a look at him, Tony will.
The older man has come to know Peter's body almost as well as his own. Even then, Peter still takes his breath away every time, especially when he's like this.
His nephew is just the perfect twink. He has a slender build with just enough muscle on his arms and legs that it hints at strength. Not to mention his skin, paler than Tony's, just takes on such pretty color when he's aroused.
Tony watches as the flush deepens when Peter sees him looking. It crawls down his neck, sweeps across his collar bones, and makes it midway down his chest where his pink nipples stand peaked.
His half-hard cock bobs in the air between soft thighs and Tony's mouth waters with the need to suck on it just to hear the boy cry.
"I looked up how to do this…" Peter admits coyly, calling Tony's attention, "But I was thinking that maybe you can help? Please, Uncle Tony?"
Tony's ready to jump right in but there's a hunch tickling the back of his mind.
"What brought this on?" He decides to ask.
His nephew gives him that sweet smile that Tony knows he can't resist.
"I, ah, just figured you'd like this better?" Peter says. "I know I've gotten better with my mouth… But this would be better, right?"
"Oh, sweetie," Tony murmurs. "You don't gotta do that for me."
Peter's sweet smile turns into a pout. He kicks his jeans off in a blatant disregard for them and then completely naked, he presses in close to his uncle.
"But I want to," Peter says stubbornly. "Wanted to make you feel even better, Uncle Tony. And since Dr. Cho said your hands are doing better, I thought maybe we could celebrate…?"
Those sneaky, greedy hands of his rest against Tony's chest then start to slide down. It's done in such a teasing manner that Tony wonders where his sweet, innocent nephew learned such a thing. It tugs at all of Tony's desires, his nephew's familiar touch eliciting such a keen response.
"I heard it could feel really good…" Peter murmurs. His face tips up, lips just begging to be kissed. "Can't you show me, Uncle Tony?"
"Fuck, kid…" Tony gasps when Peter starts to touch his cock. "Didn't need much convincing before, don't think I need it now either but I like it when you try."
The bright smile Peter gives him says he knows just how hard Tony finds it to say no to him. In this case, it was never even a possibility.
"Wanna show me what you were trying so far?" Tony prompts even when he lightly presses Peter's hand down harder on his cock.
Just as expected, Peter's hand slips away when Tony shows the slightest inclination to use his hands. The kid's concern for him is too much sometimes even when it has Tony feeling so warm from the inside.
"I can do that," Peter says. He leans up and presses a chaste kiss to Tony's lips before turning back to the bed.
Just like before, he positions himself so he's bent over. Tony gets the perfect view, his nephew's bare back presented to him with its adorable scatter of freckles. And further down, past his slim waist, a perfect peach just begging to be grabbed and squeezed.
He has to swallow the lump in his throat when the boy reaches back and pulls his cheeks apart to reveal a glistening pink hole.
"Christ, kid…" Tony breathes, "if I didn't know any better, I'd think you're trying to give me a heart attack."
"Uncle Tony…" Peter protests and wiggles in place.
Tony only groans at that and comes closer. He wants to touch his nephew so badly… He has to force himself not to reach out and just do it.
"What were you using?" he says to distract himself.
"I, uh, took some of the vegetable oil when I first tried…" Peter admits, shyly, "But, um, this time, I took one of the lubricant bottles you had in the nightstand? I hope you don't mind…"
Tony wants to shake his head at the vegetable oil comment but he's glad Peter isn't using it anymore. He only wants the best for Peter and he wants the kid to feel good too. Subpar tools, even if they work, just aren't good enough for his boy.
"Not at all," Tony says reassuringly, "it's better, isn't it?"
"Yeah, definitely better," Peter agrees breathlessly. One hand inches closer to his glistening hole. "Wanna see, Uncle Tony?"
His cock wants him to do more than just observe but Tony knows that waiting is worth it, especially if he gets to see Peter playing with himself.
He licks his lips.
"Yeah, baby, show me what you were doing…" Tony says. His voice drops to a low, intimate murmur.
His nephew, excited and so eager to please, squirms in place. Maybe even rubs his hard cock against the bedsheets.
"The stuff I read said to go slow," Peter says as he starts to nudge a finger in. "Go slow and use lots of lube."
Tony hums in agreement as his nephew starts to dip his finger in and out. He watches hungrily as that single finger pushes in smoothly. The boy's tight little rim clamps down, basically clinging to the small intrusion before Peter slips it back out. It's the worst kind of tease, watching his beautiful boy's body begging to be filled.
"One finger feels okay… Two is…" Peter cuts off with a hitched gasp as he adds another.
"Tight…?" Tony suggests.
"Mm… ah… y-yeah…" his nephew groans.
Tony comes even closer and lays a hand on Peter's trembling flank.
"Uncle Tony–"
"Shh," Tony soothes the boy, "Just touching you, kid, not gonna try to press hard or anything."
Peter's skin is warm beneath his fingertips, but he longs to feel the jump of muscles under his palms. Later, he tells himself.
The boy settles down, grudgingly accepting that Tony is being careful. Maybe part of it is that he wants his uncle to touch him as much as Tony wants to.
"Breathe, sweetheart," Tony instructs, "Breathe and relax… Bear down when you push in and it'll help."
The boy obeys beautifully, those slim fingers nudging in slowly when he inhales. A soft whimper escapes him when he does it.
"Don't rush it," Tony gently tells him. "You gotta work for it, Pete. Get your hole used to being stretched like this."
He knows what it's like being an overeager teen, knows that there's been a hunger in his nephew every time he's handled Tony's cock. How long Peter's wanted him, perhaps Tony will never know.
"That's it, kid," Tony encourages when Peter's body relaxes, melting into the bed. "You're gonna have to put another one… Gotta stretch yourself good for my cock. Your fingers are so small compared to what you want… You do want my cock in you, don't you, Pete?"
The boy shudders and whimpers, wrist flexing and fingers pumping faster at Tony's words.
"I do, Uncle Tony…" Peter groans, "Want you to put it in me…"
Tony caresses the boy's side soothingly, still light enough that Peter doesn't protest. Not only that, but the boy actually arches into his touch with a soft moan.
"I will," Tony promises, "as long as you're ready for me."
His cock throbs in his pants and he's tempted to ask Peter to help him out of them. But his nephew looks so caught up in the moment, eyes squeezed shut in concentration as he works himself loose for Tony.
Tony sneaks a hand to the band of his sweatpants and nudges it down. He hasn't bothered to wear underwear since Peter's been so greedy for his cock so his sweatpants are the only obstacle.
"One more finger, baby," Tony says soothingly, "One more then–" he presses his cock, blood warm and so hard, against the boy's ass and Peter's eyes fly open at the touch.
"Oh–!" He leans up to get a look and his eyes lock on the older man's cock.
Tony, himself, loves the view. His cock is ready, swollen to an intimidating size with prominent veins decorating the length. His cockhead, a deeper color than the rest of him, is already damp at the slit.
With Peter's eyes on him, Tony nudges his cock forward toward the boy's fingers stretching his hole apart. The cockhead bumps against them and his breath hitches in his throat.
"Oh, God…" Tony hears Peter moan.
Those slim fingers retract, leaving Peter's pink hole to close around nothing. It looks so desperate, lubed up and ready to be fucked but not quite yet.
Even so, Tony takes the opportunity to rub his cock right there, his sensitive tip brushing against Peter's equally sensitive hole. The boy shudders and he even rocks back, trying to get his uncle's cock to slip into him.
But Tony makes sure that besides teasing them both, his cock doesn't press in.
"One more, kid," Tony reminds him. He reaches over and nudges the lube towards Peter. "Add more, too. You'll need a lot more if you want my cock inside you."
A soft whine is all Tony gets but Peter hastily obeys because he knows Tony's won't continue if he doesn't. The cap is popped off and more lube is added to the boy's wet fingers. It's probably more than he actually needs but Tony isn't going to call him out on it.
"Good boy…" Tony murmurs when Peter returns to the task.
He presses three fingers to that soft little hole. The excess lube drips down and Tony catches it with the tip of his cock. While Peter starts to finger himself, Tony lightly spreads the excess lube along his length. He wants to be ready for the boy, too.
His breathing is harsh but Peter's is even more evident. The boy is moaning, eyes watching his uncle while he gets used to the stretch.
He has three fingers nudged in now. The skin around his hole is rosy and wet as he works his fingers in and out slowly. Soft, sloppy sounds combine with his moans and Tony decides to add to it.
"See, I knew you could take it, baby," Tony praises him, "Three fingers… Almost ready for me..."
"'m ready… So ready, Uncle Tony," Peter swears, cheeks red and hips rocking.
His fingers push in deeper, past the second knuckle, and his entire body shudders. He's trying so hard to show Tony that he can take it.
"I know, baby… I know," Tony murmurs softly. "Take em out, Pete. Gonna put my cock inside now."
A soft exhale then a soft moan as Peter extracts his fingers. "Ah…"
The pink little hole, worked open to accommodate his cock, slowly closes but in those few seconds, Tony can imagine what his nephew would look like with a gape. He just wants the use of his hands so that he can spread the boy apart with his thumbs and just tease him there with his cock until neither of them can take it anymore.
"God, Pete… The things you do to me…" Tony groans when he presses his cock right against that wet hungry hole. "Wanna just… do really bad things to you, Pete… Wanna fuck this tight hole of yours until you're loose and dripping with me… Wanna make you mine..."
The boy whines and rocks against him. This time, Tony doesn't pull away. He groans when he feels the inviting heat of Peter's hole slowly opening around his glans. So warm and tight…
"You can, Uncle Tony," Peter pants, "if you want to… I want it too, please…"
Tony breathes in harshly then slowly starts to sink in.
Despite Peter's efforts, the sheer size of Tony's cock is still so much to take for someone as inexperienced as his nephew. Peter gasps and his hand clenches in the sheets, hips instinctively pulling away from the penetration.
It's still just the tip but Tony pauses anyway.
"Keep going…?" Tony gives Peter the option to tap out but the boy shakes his head adamantly. Those endearing brown curls bounce as he rejects the very idea.
"N-No!" Peter's voice shakes and his entire body trembles. "I-It's a lot…"
More deep breaths but Tony could see the boy trying to relax.
Tony leans down so his chest presses lightly against Peter's back. Gently, he slips a hand around the boy's hip and between his legs.
He finds Peter's hard cock and gently rubs it, up and down, with his fingers. The cast makes the movement clumsy and it takes away from Tony feeling the warm, heavy weight but it does the job.
Peter whines and grows restless beneath him, body tight with growing pleasure but also softer and more welcoming.
"More, Uncle Tony…" Peter groans. He reaches back, tries to spread himself open with one hand for the older man.
It's too tempting to resist… Tony nips the boy's shoulder before he straightens himself. His hands aren't healed enough to carry the weight of his body and he's not chancing the possibility that they have to stop because he hurt himself again.
His cock sinks in slowly. Inch by inch, he works his erection into the boy's body with short, gentle thrusts. He has to, for his sake and Peter's.
The boy is so tight around him and everything about it is too much… It's not just the sensation either, though the heat and pressure around him are enough to leave him breathless.
It's the fact that it's Peter. It's his nephew that's making him feel good. The boy's moans are what's making Tony unravel, those soft whimpers and the eager, almost desperate way that his body silently begs for more.
When he gets that last inch inside, they're both panting with exertion. Peter's knuckles are white where they're curled in his sheets but everything else about him is full of color.
The tips of his ears are red, his lips, a trembling pink, and his shoulders… Down to where that pink little hole, stretched so tightly around his cock.. That, too, is such a rosy color and Tony's barely even put it to use...
Tony runs a hand down the boy's trembling back and Peter melts into the touch.
"Too much, sweetheart?" Tony asks. His voice is strained, his entire body is struggling not to just fall into instinct.
"'m okay," Peter whimpers, "m okay…"
Despite saying so, Tony gives him as much time to adjust as he can. It's only when the boy becomes restless once more that Tony starts to move.
When he does, he intentionally seeks out that sweet spot in Peter's body.
One of the reasons why he hates not being able to touch Peter is because he couldn't stimulate that spot inside him. He couldn't show Peter all those sensitive areas that could have pleasure bursting like fireworks.
He intends to do that now.
Every push in and every pull out threatens his control but he grits his teeth and bears it. Peter moves with him, clumsy and unrefined, just trying to fall into the rhythm that Tony sets. Tony guides him into it with a hand lightly set on his hip.
His fingers itch to press down but Tony focuses on his initial task.
Peter is just so receptive, so eager for this… He moans and cries out with every thrust but Tony knows when he finds his sweet spot. With his hips angled just right, Peter's entire body jolts when Tony's cock brushes right there where he needs it.
"Mm!" The boy cries out. His hips push back harshly, chasing after that shock of pleasure.
"There it is…" Tony groans and aims for it again and again. "Found your sweet spot, Pete."
"U-Uncle Tony…!" Peter cries out. More words try to come out but all he can manage is a jumble of moans and whimpers.
The moans that come out of the boy are on a whole other level. They're high pitched with shock and it melts into drawn out whines even as he pushes back desperately.
Tony gives it to him just like he wants, just like they both want. Their bodies fall into a perfect rhythm, Peter pushing back while Tony fucks forward.
Pleasure is shared between them in a continuous loop, strengthening with each pass. It's not sustainable though and Tony feels it the moment Peter comes from being fucked.
That tight, warm space he's made for himself in Peter's body just clenches down so viciously that Tony's thrusting aborts. His eyes squeeze shut as he tries not to blow his load right then and there.
"Oh– oh, fuck, Pete…" Tony grunts. "You coming, baby…? Fuck–"
Peter whimpers beneath him and when Tony's hand slips between his legs, he finds wetness on the sheets and dripping down his thighs.
"You, too–" Peter groans once he's regained speech, body clenching down and massaging Tony's cock. "Please, Uncle Tony… Want you to finish, too…"
Tony hissed but he starts up again with harsh thrusts that have his hips slapping against Peter's ass. He isn't going to last long, especially now that he knows Peter's already come.
Sweat drips down from his hairline and the older man grunts in exertion. Peter just lays there, his entire body willing and accepting every thrust.
And then, just like before, he reaches back and spreads his cheeks apart for his uncle. Tony gets the perfect view of his cock stretching that pink hole apart…
"Come in me, Uncle Tony," Peter begs softly. "Please, Uncle Tony, wanna feel it… Wanna feel you come inside…"
"Pete– Oh, fuck, Pete…!" It's enough to push Tony over the edge.
He buries his cock right to the root and his balls press tight as he starts to unload inside his sweet, begging nephew.
He groans in completion and it's accompanied by Peter's soft whimpers as he's being filled. The pleasure overwhelms him and it's so good that it almost hurts.
He doesn't know if it's intentional or not, but Peter's tight walls milking his cock becomes too much. He's too sensitive in the aftermath.
Tony pulls out with a hiss then groans when his cum comes spilling out and drips down in thick trails.
Immediately, Peter's fingers are there, so curious and tracing over his used hole and Tony's cum seeping out of it. The look in his eyes is full of wonder and somehow, still so hungry when he looks at Tony.
And God help him, Tony can't resist him. Doesn't even want to.
He's still panting and coming down from his high when he says, "C'mere, sweetheart."
Peter goes eagerly, arms wrapping around Tony's body and face tipped up with a pleased smile.
"Was that good, Uncle Tony?" Peter asks sweetly. There isn't even a hint of insecurity in his voice, he knows his uncle so well now.
Tony wraps his arms around Peter's waist, pulling him close and kissing those irresistible lips.
"The best, Pete, the best," Tony tells him. "You always take such good care of me…"
The boy nuzzles close, so affectionate, so perfect.
"Always will, Uncle Tony," Peter promises and Tony knows he means it.
There's no stopping what they have now.
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nova-lightz · 1 year ago
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Aaahhh! I'm so sorry to hear that about your ex! Please rest assured that I'm only ever referring to Kurosawa's sister whenever I mention that name, I honestly dunno anyone else named that. Maybe relating the name to a character you like instead of your ex can help you heal? Again, apologies for making you uncomfy anytime we discuss stuff about Kurosawa and his sister.
About Kurosawa's sister tho, her having ADHD too is such a wonderful headcanon! The idea that she exhibits ADHD symptoms more commonly seen in boys while Kurosawa exhibits symptoms more commonly seen in girls, is actually a pretty cool dichotomy. I dunno...seeing that kind of variety in behavior makes me happy because mental health issues can manifest in all sorts of ways. It just feels more realistic to me. Not saying I need to see a fic with ADHD!Kurosawa siblings being chaotic, buuuuuuuuuuuuuuut...I mayhaps do need to see a fic with ADHD!Kurosawa siblings being chaotic...teehee! There are already some good fics with Yuichi and Mari interacting, but I don't think any of them have the siblings explicitly written as having ADHD. Also, I WANNA SEE HOW MARI WOULD INTERACT WITH ADACHI AFTER FINDING OUT HE'S HER BROTHER-IN-LAW!!! OH MY GOODNESS GRAVY GOSH, THAT'D BE SO CUTE AND FUN AND SILLY!!! Adachi would be awkward as hell trying to remain calm amidst being bombarded with Mari's antics, but he'd find a way to get along with her.
he also d) gave Kurosawa the chance to feel some actual happiness in relation to being gay.
HE DESERVES TO EXPERIENCE GAY EUPHORIA!!! Like, god damn, as a gay guy, I can say with my chest that repressing those feelings for the majority of your life is one of the most mentally suffocating experiences. It can also make a person feel "dirty" in the I-shouldn't-be-having-these-thoughts kind of way. Such a damaging mentality to harbor for so long. Kurosawa finally having a silly little crush bloom from that night onward was probably really exciting and also terrifying. It's such a visceral feeling to let those emotions be felt and can lead to a lot of internal conflicts, but he held on to that crush, and look at him now 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺
I just think that, at this point, her acceptance is more about fear that her son will choose to cut her off if she keeps resisting, rather than her unlearning all her homophobic anxiety/anxious homophobia all at once. I think she (and her husband) can be taught, but it's gonna take more time and effort.
Screaming, crying, throwing up, shaking in my boots, and praying that eventually Kurosawa's parents eventually come around with their son's homosexuality. Bigotry is so hard for people to let go of, but with enough time spent learning about Adachi and seeing their son interact with his husband, I think they'd eventually accept Adachi into their family...maybe at arm's length. I know they're trying their best (their best ain't great), but I still dislike them lol.
………….you know what, I was gonna digress, but instead I'm gonna make My Own Post about their reaction
I WILL PATIENTLY AWAIT YOUR POST 🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡 Mayhaps tag me so that I'll be notified when you make it happen. Take your time too. I have to build up the energy to write these types of multi-paragraph-long replies, so don't worry about making me wait!
Adachi and Kurosawa.
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folkgirlhero · 4 years ago
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Coffee and Cigarettes
A Gerry Keay and Agnes Montague fic ft: platonic queer friendships and emotional support
Rated T (CW from mild internalized homophobia)
Read on ao3
She was already there when Gerry turned the corner, perched on a ledge that borders the rowhouse next door to their coffee shop, legs crossed at the ankles and swinging impatiently like a little kid. 
“You know, you’re pushing 60,” he called out, grinning. “Surprised you haven’t learned some patience in your old age.”
She turned her beautiful face towards him, long auburn hair shining in the sunlight, and stuck out her tongue. Gerry hoisted himself up next to her and offered her a cigarette, lighting them both.
“So your girlfriend tried to kill me on Friday,” Gerry offered. He always wants to get Agnes to ask “which one?” and she never will—one of the many games he plays that he knows he’ll never win. She just blew out a stream of smoke and waited.
Gerry sighed. “It was Jude.”
“Doesn’t seem like it quite took,” Agnes commented, looking him over. Aside from some singed hair, she’s right. 
“Hasn’t so far,” Gerry agreed. 
Agnes leaned against him, threading her arm through his and nestling her head into his shoulder. He felt her warm exhales against his neck as they sat in silence, smoking and thinking.
It’s hard not to feel protective of Agnes, for all that she’s older than his mother and basically a god. It doesn’t help that she looks like a lost teenager, in her little mod dresses and Mary Janes, as if fashion stopped moving when she stopped aging. Add to that the fact that she’ll suddenly open her mouth and say the saddest thing you’ve ever heard. Like,
“You’re the only one who I can touch like a person. Everyone else, it’s just…” She trailed off, unwilling to put words to the reverent caresses of those who love her like a god and the agony she unwillingly inflicted on anyone foolish enough to see her as mortal. And then Gertrude. The complex tangle of pain and love that make up any interaction with Gertrude. 
Gerry lifted his head from hers, untangling a strand of her flaming hair that was twisted in his eyebrow piercing, so he could look at her. She gave him her signature half-smile, a little upturn of the left side of her mouth that feels more like a tick than an expression.
“I know,” he said, trying to keep the pity that he knows he would despise, were he in her position, out of his voice. And he does know, without her having to say it. 
He leaned his head back on hers and they sat together, quiet, watching the sun dip low over the treetops and houses, glowing orange streaks painting the sky. 
***
Gerry was early this time. By a few hours. It had been an exhausting night that included a stab wound from a Slaughter avatar, 8 stitches in A&E, and a full hour of bullshit from Mary for losing the book. He had fallen into bed for a few hours of fitful sleep before his alarm went off to get him out of the house before Mary got up to continue her tirade. 
And he’d had nowhere else to go. So here he was, at their coffee shop, curled up in the sofa against the far wall, on his third cup in two hours and picking listlessly at a scone. 
Agnes practically waltzed in at 10:00 on the nose, wearing a daisy print dress and a straw hat, smelling of the sunshine that was making Gerry’s red-rimmed eyes water. She dropped her bag and plopped next to him, tipping her movie star sunglasses down her nose to look him over. 
“You look terrible,” she said brightly, slinging one arm around his shoulders and pulling him in to plant a kiss on his cheek. “Another one?” 
He nodded grimly and her other hand plucked his empty mug from the table in front of them, sweeping away to the counter and taking her warmth and sunshine with her.
Gerry pushed through the haze of misery that surrounded him like the cloud of dirt that followed Pigpen around in the Peanuts cartoons to watch Agnes flirt with the barista. She was honest to god twirling her hair as the other woman blushed over their drinks. She had been watching a lot of romantic comedies lately, he knew, and it wasn’t unusual for her to get caught up in a sort of extended daydream that she enacted with the rest of the world. 
What was unusual was for her to seem so happy doing it. 
She left the bar with a little twirl, mug in each hand, and sat down next to Gerry again. 
“D’you want to talk about it?” she asked, passing him the coffee that was sure to push him from awake to jittery.
Gerry thought about it, then said, “Nah. Tell me something nice instead.”
So she did.   
***
In October, shivering on the sidewalk café tables that were just this side of too chilly, both of them were resolutely determined to enjoy the changing leaves and the scent of burning firewood wafting through the air. Instead of going inside, they pushed their chairs together and curled up under a blanket, watching busy Londonites bustle up and down the street. 
“I don’t think I can kiss men,” Agnes said out of nowhere, sipping her coffee.
“You kiss me all the time.”
“No, properly, I mean.”
“I don’t want to kiss you “properly,” Agnes. You’re like a million years old. And it’d be weird.”
“No, I don’t mean you. I mean human men. I think I could probably kiss you, but yes, you’re right, it would be weird.”
“Leaving aside the fact that I am human men, okay, agreed, no kissing. You’re bringing it up why?”
Agnes shifted uneasily next to him and when she speaks, her voice is soft. “I didn’t want to hurt him. Jack, I mean. I didn’t really care about him, but I never wanted that. I just thought…” She hesitates.
“Thought what?” He leveled his voice to match hers, quiet and neutral. 
“Well. It’s what girls do, right? Find a nice man who looks at them like they are special, but not that special, still attainable. Go on dates with him, kiss him, wait for him to love you like you’re a person. Isn’t that right?”
Her brow was furrowed and her dark eyes were wide, looking at Gerry as if the question wasn’t rhetorical, as if he held the answers of humanity, as if he was something more than a fuck-up twenty-year-old who barely knew what it meant to be a person himself. Wasn’t like he’d had a ton of examples. 
“Some of them do,” he reminded her. This was not the first conversation they’d had where he’d tried to unpack her compulsory heteronormativity. You’d think as both a minor fear deity and a lesbian, she’d be above such things, but her bizarre life had ended up with her tying up wanting men as a part of being human. They were working on it. 
Meanwhile, Agnes had warmed to her topic. “And when I let him kiss me, I thought, this is it, this will make me a real girl. Like a sort of fairy tale. And I know it was cruel, I mean, I “know” in the way that you know that 2 and 2 is 4 or that London is the capital of England. It didn’t feel cruel, to kiss him right there in front of Jude and everyone, or to kiss him because I wanted out.”
“I think that’s the most human thing there is.” Gerry commented. “Wanting out.” 
She gave him a rare real smile, eyes warm and crinkling a bit. 
“A human desire that’s enough to make one embrace the monstrous?” She raised their entwined hands to look pointedly at his tattoos, still healing and glowing red at her touch. 
Gerry shrugged. “Whatever works.”
She nudged him with her shoulder. He nudged back.
“Okay, okay. Yes, it is. God, her face when I came home with them. You should have seen it.” He grinned at the memory, eyes gazing off into the distance, faking nostalgia for a couple weeks ago. Well, mostly faking. He had felt more powerful then than he had in ages. 
“Lesser men would have dropped dead from it,” she offers, smile in her voice. 
“Well, you know, us Keays are made of sterner stuff. As she never hesitates to remind me.”
“So did it work? Will it get you out?” Her tone was hard to place. Hopeful, but with a thread of fear. He turned to look at her.
“Nothing will get me out. I know that well enough.” He sighed. “All I can do is get a little more control, carve out something that’s just mine.”
“And the Eye lets you have that?” 
“Not exactly. There’s a line I have to walk, to keep it at bay I mean.” Gerry shrugged again. “I can’t do it forever. Dunno that I’ll live long enough for it to matter either way. But it makes a difference right now.”
Agnes made a hum of disapproval and Gerry chuckled at it.
“Not even you will live forever, you know?”
“Perish the thought,” she said, making a face. “But you deserve more than that.”
“Maybe. Maybe we both do.”
This was enough, though. A warm blanket and a hot drink on a cool night with some who loved and understood you like you wanted to be loved and understood. 
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backofftubby · 4 years ago
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Evan “Buck” Buckley begins.
Chaper 3: “We can do this.”
“How is he?” Bobby asked. Rest of the 118 had finally been released from duty and had headed to the hospital right away.
“He's still sleeping, the doc said he should wake up soon, but I’m getting worried. He has been sleeping for hours now.” Eddie was fighting the tears forming into his eyes.
“Hey, he is gonna be okay...okay?” Bobby said, hugging Eddie. “Why don’t you go home to Christopher and get some sleep, I will take over here.”
“No, I...I can’t, I need to be here” Eddie said, wiping tears from his eyes before Bobby would notice them. “Besides, Chris is with Carla, I don’t wanna wake him up, it’s still the middle of the night. Carla said she would bring him here in the morning if it was safe to drive again.”
“Okay,” Bobby said with an understanding smile. “At least get yourself something from the cafeteria. You look exhausted. “I’ll be with Buck, he’ll be fine.”
Eddie did feel exhausted, he could really do with a cup of coffee at least. “Okay, I’ll be quick.”
He stood up and gave Buck a final look before he headed out of the room. Did he look even more pale suddenly? A little sweaty? Nah, he must just be tired and projecting his fears, Eddie thought. He found Chim and Hen at the waiting area, leaning into each other, fast asleep. Eddie smiled a little. It must’ve been quite a day for them too.
The cafeteria was small but full of people, which was to be expected after a heavy storm. Eddie grabbed a protein bar and a cup of coffee and headed back to Buck’s room. He wasn’t gone for long but the scene he came back to made him drop his coffee mug.
Buck’s room was full of doctors and nurses, his body jerking uncontrollably.
“What’s happened?” Eddie screamed at Bobby.
“Buck woke up. He was tired but seemed normal. Then all of a sudden there was panic in his eyes and his body started spasming and…”
Eddie didn’t hear the rest… Buck woke up - and he wasn’t there.
---------------------
Buck was turning around in his bed, he was so hot and feeling terrible. He didn’t even wanna guess how much fever he had, it must’ve been a lot. Also the cough, which had just started suddenly a couple hours ago, was terrible and made it impossible to sleep. Everytime he was about to finally pass out the cough started again. Buck was one of those people who never got sick and now all of a sudden he had the Dengue fever? Just his luck. Speaking of luck, he had hit a jackpot when it came to his roommates, who were now both his life savers.
 After their Rush adventure, they had quickly become good friends and both Cathy and Adam really had done their utmost to help Buck feel better when he was feeling worse than he had ever felt in his life. Adam had even waited by the bathroom door when Buck was puking for  what seemed like hours. Cathy, for her part, had made some miracle soup with a high nutritional value, which had somehow stayed in Buck and made him feel slightly less awful.
But he was still feeling awful and tired as hell, he needed sleep so bad but the cough didn’t stop.
“Buck, you okay?” He heard Adam ask.
“No, I have the dengue.” Buck said and he knew he sounded like a whiny baby. But he was allowed to be in the state he was in. He turned around and saw Adam had entered the room holding a cup.
“I know, “ Adam said, rolling his eyes. “I heard you coughing so I brought you this,” he said putting the cup to Buck’s night table. 
“What is it?” Buck asked looking at the cup.
“It’s our Aunt Mary’s magic cure, heals every cough in a heartbeat.” Adam said smiling. “Thought you could use it the way you were coughing.”
Buck took a sip but couldn’t taste anything, like he hadn’t been able since the whole torture began. “What’s in it?”
“Just some herbs and honey, trust me, it’ll help.” Adam said and kissed his forehead. 
“I dunno how to thank you, both of you.” Buck admitted.
“I’m sure you’ll find a way when you are all better, handsome. Now go to sleep, you need your beauty sleep.” He said winking at Buck.
-------------------
Buck woke up and Eddie wasn’t there. He felt horrible, like he had betrayed Buck. Obviously that wasn’t the case, but it didn’t make Eddie feel any better. He felt horrible. If only he’d been here when Buck opened his eyes. Maybe he could’ve calmed him down. Maybe he wouldn’t have had the seizure? Eddie knew he was being stupid but when Buck was surrounded by too many doctors, laying all helpless and seizuring, Eddie was allowed the feel te way he did. 
Suddenly he felt the world starting to spin. He needed to sit down and quickly, before he would end up in a hospital bed himself. He quickly sought the nearest seat and sat down, covering his face with his hands, elbows resting on his knees. He felt a comforting arm surrounding him. 
“Hey, Buck will be okay.” It was Hen.
“He is a strong kid, he has been through worse.” Bobby said so convincingly Eddie almost believed him.
“Yeah, if I survived a rebar on my head, he can manage this.” Chim said, trying to lighten up the mood. But it wasn’t working. Eddie felt he was falling apart.
“Hey, look at me Eddie,” Hen said. “We can do this.”
Eddie looked at Hen who had crouched before him. “Yeah?” he whispered.
“Yeah, Buck is strong, he can do this and we can do this, we will be here for him.”
Chapter 2 in here.
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alstanfordart · 5 years ago
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No One Really Dies In Derry
From The Bradley Gang chapter of Tales From Neibolt
The lightning pulses across the gray October sky as Arthur, decked out in his spectacles he seldom wore, leans under the hood of the broken down LaSalle. George and Al stand beside him, restless eyes switching between the car's innards and the moonless cloudy night sky, with the storm just beginning to gather momentum. George has a small flashlight raised just above Arthur's head, highlighting the smoking engine.
George's wife Kitty remains inside the vehicle, fingering her compact mirror, trying in vain to powder her nose in the less than adequate lighting.
Parked just behind the LaSalle was a Chevrolet, with Joe's arm hanging out the driver window, cigar smoke clouding from his thin lips, elbow rested along the door. His brother Cal sat in the passenger seat, leaning on his hand, looking thoroughly bored with the situation. In the backseat are Marie and Patrick, with Marie leaning against his thick brown coat.
"Think we can get it going again?" George queries as he nervously casts his gaze around them, his timorous visage briefly made visible in the crack of light that splits across the sky. Marie nuzzles closer to Patrick, tucking her head down as thunder rolls above them. Patrick pulls her closer, stroking her brown curls.
"The engine's blown..." Al offers, ducking down to inspect closer.
"Aye. Seen better days, I'm sure," Arthur slams the hood down and wipes his hands with a stained white handkerchief from his pants pocket. "This ain't goin' nowhere, lads."
"Shit," George straightens as he switches off the flashlight. "What we gonna do?"
"Dunno." comes Al's simple reply.
They were safe, far away from the Lafayette city limits. After dumping the body of the banker they'd kidnapped in a swamp after collecting the thirty thousand in ransom money, they were on Route 2 in direction to a town called Derry after a brief stop in Augusta. Arthur, however, had his sights set on Bangor. When the LaSalle broke down just short of them reaching the Derry welcome sign along the shadows of the trees on the outskirts of the town.
A hush falls over the group as Al saunters out onto the middle of the road, sniffling and kicking a pebble aside. That's when he sees, in the far off distance, a pair of headlights appearing almost out of nowhere. He rushes to the driver's side of the LaSalle and reaches for his Colt .38 revolver-small and discreet, so as to be presented at the first sign of trouble.
He stands and waits as George tosses the flashlight in through the back window of the LaSalle and stands alongside Al, arms folded, not nearly as alert as his big brother.
Inside the Chevrolet, Patrick rests his hand on his Luger laying on the seat beside Marie that he'd stolen off the body of a Lafayette officer.
Meanwhile, Joe and Cal also ready their weapons, with Joe craning his neck out the window to view the car drawing closer.
Arthur casually strolls to the passenger side, eyeing his own much larger Remington 22. Al preferred a sneak up and get them approach. Arthur preferred things more direct. If whoever this was coming up the road was going to give them trouble, they would be dealt with accordingly before they even knew what hit them.
The car, a Ford Roadster, quietly comes closer, eerily serene, the headlights taking on a more orange tint as it draws near. It comes to a stop alongside the Chevrolet, the silhouette of a driver, a man with hat, is barely visible.
As he shuts the engine off, he sits a moment, George tightens his grip on his revolver as Arthur keeps watch on his Remington. Then the man leans over to the passenger side, rolling down the window.
"You needing some help there?" a gravelly voice drifts out of the Ford, a hint of a lisp making the 's' sound more like 'shum.' Al snatches up the flashlight and strolls over, shining it in the man's face and is a little taken aback by what he sees.
Scars. Thin pale scars, ever so faint, threading up the man's creamy cheeks, beginning at the corners of his mouth and ending just under the rim of his Homburg hat.
"You needing some help?" the scarred man repeats. "I've fixed a car or two here and there. I could take a look-see."
"Yeah, yeah...sure." Al replies, studying the man's features, with his square jaw and intense round eyes.
This guy looks like he knows where some bodies are buried.
Al tenses as the driver side door pops open and the man emerges, revealing an incredibly tall frame in a sleek gray suit. Certainly taller than all of the men in their group.
In fact, he was a good foot taller than Al.
No matter. If this fellow pulled any funny business, they outnumbered him.
"Here," the man saunters over to the LaSalle, popping open the hood. He reaches his long arms in and begins tampering with the wires. Not long after there's a loud 'pop' sound and the engine roars back to life, taking a few minutes to struggle before running smoothly. Arthur gives a pleased nod of his head.
"Thanks mate!" He gives the man an enthusiastic pat on the back as Al looks relieved, exchanging glances with George.
"What's your name , my good sir?" George inquires.
"Robert. Robert Gray. Although folks 'round here call me Bob."
The man shuts the hood and returns to his car, before he removes his hat to give his scalp a quick scratch, revealing a shock of auburn.
"You folks needing a place to stay for the night? Something tells me you'd rather not be in a motel. Gotta place just a mile up the road. Nice and cozy," he gazes at Kitty and Marie. "The ladies can clean up. Sit by the fire, get warm. Maybe a hot meal."
Arthur looks at both George and Al, who in turn glance to Joe and Cal, with Patrick keeping his eyes on the strange man, sizing him up.
Something not right with that fella.
"I'm pretty knackered," Arthur whispers as he tilts closer to Al and George. "And if this chap thinks he's gonna pull something, we'll handle it. At any rate, we'd have a place to lay low. If he oversteps, we'll teach him a lesson."
"Looks like somebody already did." Al retorts before turning on his heel to face the man. "Alright. One night. We'll be outta your hair come morning."
"Great!" the man replies, grinning as he retreats back inside the Roadster. Patrick is watching the man from behind the foggy glass of the backseat window, brows knotting together as the man begins to drive ahead. Arthur, Al and George retreat back into the LaSalle and follow, with the Chevrolet right behind.
Patrick taps Joe on the shoulder. He grunts in response. "What's it now, Caudy?"
"That guy, he don't look right to me. Got a feelin' in my gut," Patrick says, keeping his dark eyes fixed ahead on the Roadster. "He's bad news, I can feel it."
"And if you're right, we'll put a bullet in his melon. No big deal. Guy seems kinda dopey to me anyhow," Joe says breezily as he chucks his cigar out the window. "Not really a threat. Doubt he's ever fired a gun in his life."
Patrick is not convinced. "You saw his face. He looks like a blind man tried to take a whack at him," he glances at Marie. "And I don't like how he was lookin' at her."
Joe chortles softly to himself. Doubt she'd mind it.
At this, point, both he and Cal had secret trysts with her behind Patrick's back. He suspected she'd also been fooling around with Arthur too. An assumption born out of her comment about his "sexy" Irish accent.
Funny, Patrick was suspicious of total strangers, but not the men he'd grown to call friends.
Maybe it's because he'd never had any before. His paranoia was off-putting but also what made him so kill crazy. Handsome to look at, but underneath was a volcano. Always ready to erupt at the slightest provocation.
Not tonight. Joe would see to that.
"Don't go pulling any of that shit. We don't wanna be drawing attention to ourselves here. Not in this hick place. You know these small towns. Everyone knows everyone. Just keep quiet. We don't need a repeat of Toledo."
Patrick had gone ballistic on a gas attendant he'd thought muttered some smart-ass comment under his breath. They'd sped out of there after Patrick splattered the man's brains along the smooth concrete with a single clean bullet to the temple.
Patrick sits back, roughly pulling Marie to him as Joe glances at the street sign; 29 Neibolt.
The Roadster parks in front of a large Victorian house. With the LaSalle and Chevrolet lining up right behind.
"Whoa," Cal mumbles as he peers around his brother to glimpse the place. "Seems this fella might have some serious dough."
"Looks like a dump to me." Joe replies, shutting off the engine and swinging open the door. He was not a man who was easily impressed and he'd robbed much more grander mansions than this in Danville.
"Kinda gammy looking." Arthur mutters to himself as he slides out the LaSalle.
Patrick steps out, followed by Marie, who looks dazzled, her hazel eyes wide and her ruby red lips breaking out in a smile. It was the style of house that had always struck her fancy.
"This place is gorgeous. Just look at that architecture! It's a palace!" she exclaims as she rushes ahead, making her way to the front porch, past sunflowers sprouting from the grassy front yard. Robert reaches down and plucks one, handing it to Marie.
"Sunflowers symbolize healing and good luck." he elucidates as she tucks it behind her ear. Patrick stands glaring as Joe touches his shoulder.
"Don't. It's harmless." he growls.
"Thank you. That's really very sweet, sir." Marie touches the flower.
"Sweets to the sweet, I say." Robert replies.
Patrick shakes Joe's hand off before he stalks towards the porch as everyone begins to pile into the home. As elegant inside as out, with a lovely red Victorian chaise lounge, matching camelback sofa and parlor chairs, each one sitting across from each other in front of the fireplace. The mantel boldly read 'Good Cheer, Good Friends.'
George smiles and playfully swats Robert's arm. "We're good friends now, eh, Bob?"
And friends help each other.
Too bad we don't have the means to clean this place out. The furniture would make a buck or two.
Robert merely smirks. A slow, deliberate smile as he looks at George. "Sure thing there. Why don't you all have a seat. I'll be right back."
"That's what my ex-wife said." Arthur quips as he collapses on a parlor chair, sprawling his legs out. It takes him a moment to notice; there's a fire now crackling inside. He stares at it, puzzlement blinking across his mien.
Huh, when did he do that? It wasn't going when we arrived and he didn't go near it...
No matter. Just enjoy it.
Kitty approaches the mantel, running her long shiny nails along little figurines of clowns, each made of delicate painted porcelain, juggling, balancing and one holding a bundle of red balloons.
"These are beautiful figurines." she says, tucking a tendril of sandy blonde behind her ear, bringing her blue irises closer to examine the fine details.
"Take one. Just throw it in your purse. Might as well." George blurts out. Kitty whirls around.
"We're his guests. He was kind enough to let us in here-"
"Come now, lass. Let's not pretend this bloke is an average citizen. You saw his face." Arthur offers, stretching his arms and folding his hands behind his skull, giving her an amused expression. "Looks to me like he may have been in a wee bit of trouble. He was probably acting the maggot and someone decided enough was enough. Could be a right eejit."
"Yeah," Al cradles his chin in his left fingers, massaging the dark stubble. "There's something...I gotta feeling he wouldn't rat us off. There's no way he wouldn't of recognized me, at least."
He's hiding something himself. Al could always sense them. His fellow ' bad seeds.' The people who ran in the gutters. The lowlifes. He could always pick them out.
The wanted posters were scattered across the midwest, plastered along buildings, hanging in post offices and police stations baring Al's face; wanted for bank robbery kidnapping and murder, with a reward of five-thousand dollars offered. He'd taken up with his old childhood friends the Conklin brothers Joe and Cal, who were small time, with but a few petty theft arrests between them. Patrick had killed a cop in Lafayette during their last raid and prior to that had just a few arrests for assault. He was a friend of Joe and Cal from their early gang days and they'd reconnected with him when Joe briefly did time for robbery, knocking off a small liquor store in Bloomington. He and Patrick had shared a cell.
As for Arthur Malloy, also known as 'Creeping Jesus' because he was nearsighted, he'd fled Ireland after killing a man he claimed insulted his dead sister who'd just passed away from tuberculosis. ("Kicked 'em square in the plums, then put a bullet in his brains, I did.")They'd met when Arthur was attempting to knock off the same liquor store as them and offered his LaSalle that he'd stolen as a getaway.
Patrick's girlfriend Marie Hauser had inadvertently joined the gang, initially trying to persuade him to leave, but soon became an active member. But her role was mostly cooking and washing linens, hence her much-despised nickname, "The washerwoman."
George's wife Kitty Donahue was another matter. She entered the gang enthusiastically and without hesitation, but Al has never so much as seen a gun in her hands. Not one for shooting, she'd say.
Patrick sits on the camelback, with Marie beside him, still happily fingering the sunflower. He glances up as Robert emerges, hat and coat discarded and hair combed back. He points towards the kitchen.
"This way," he says, gliding down the stairs. "Let's eat. Got some stew heating on the stove. Some wine on the table."
Arthur pauses as they all stand, the edges of his brows coming together in rumination.
When did he get that going?
Shaking the thoughts from his mind, he continues on with the others, with Kitty quickly swiping one of the figurines from the mantel and tucking it into her purse. The one with the balloons.
They all settle around the large rectangular mahogany-carved table with Robert dumping a hefty spoonful of a rather unappetizing red slop into each bowl. Patrick suddenly rises.
"Where's your bathroom?" he queries curtly.
Robert points. "Third door on the right."
Patrick darkly glances at Marie, then Robert before exiting. The murmuring of the group's voices fade as he stomps up the stairs, making his displeasure with the situation known. Of course, his real intention was to inspect this place. Make sure no one was hiding anywhere. He makes his way along the house's arteries, looking in various rooms, until he hears a door loudly creak. This makes him halt, glancing over his shoulder
The door to a room across from him is ajar, the lights inside faint, but enough to showcase what's inside.
Clown dolls.
Patrick charily begins to edge towards it, his boots stepping lightly as he sneaks up. He knew that man was strange. Something off about him. This could be an ambush. Nobody is this gracious. Not in his life experience. Everyone is always wanting something from you.
"Ah-ha!" he shouts, throwing open the door all the way and leaping in. He stands a moment, surveying the area with the clown dolls of all shapes and sizes along the wooden floor. Framed along the walls; more clowns of the sad crying variety.
"Jesus..." Patrick strolls over to the windows-also baring clowns-the circus-themed stained glass were partly obscured by thin brown cloths layered thick with dust.
Heh,heh.
Patrick spins around.
Who was that?
He reaches inside his coat and grips his Luger. "Hey, who's there?"
It had sounded like a man's voice inside the room with him, but before he could comprehend where a possible attacker could be hiding in here, he sees that the heads of the creepy dolls are now all turned towards him. Watching.
Whoosh.
The cloths covering the windows plunge to the floor and Patrick flinches as he turns to face the sound.
Hee!
Patrick does another turn around to face the clowns. That one sounded like a child. Specifically a girl coming from somewhere within the clutter of the room.
In that moment, Patrick feels something he hadn't felt in ages, since he was a boy running from his father's belt; fear. A powerful, overwhelming sense that he needed to leave this room now. The instinct to protect himself had kicked in.
He dashes towards the door, coming to a skidding stop before it slams shut. His breathing heavy, his heart hammering against the cavity of his chest.
Back in the kitchen, Patrick storms in, returning to his seat, sweat pearled along his large forehead. Marie touches his trembling hand.
"You alright?"
"Yeah, fine," he breathes, wild pupils directly on Robert. "Got a thing for clowns there, Bob?"
Robert slowly chews, staring back, before loudly swallowing. "Yes, sir. You could say that...I see you found my collection. "
"And it's a lovely one. I saw your figurines." Kitty interjects.
"Pretty fuckin' weird to me. A grown man..." Patrick grumbles. "What you hidin' in here?"
Robert sniffles, nibbling on his food. "Nothing, I assure you, Mr. Caudy-"
"Oh bullshit! What are you hidin'! What's in that room you freak!?" Patrick shouts as he stands, with Marie trying to subdue him and Joe mouthing curse words, when Kitty shrieking at the top of her lungs shatters the tension.
All eyes are drawn to her as she stares gaping at her spoon. "It's a finger!" she screams, holding it out for George to take a look. Upon inspecting it, he chuckles.
"It's a carrot honey." he pushes the vegetable slathered in red sauce around on the spoon.
"I swear, for a moment it looked just like a finger! A child's finger." Kitty pants, her palm clasped to her chest.
Patrick sinks back down to his chair, not taking his eyes off Robert, who chuckles.
"No fingers. Just an old family recipe, you could say."
"And what of your family Mr. Gray? Do you have a wife? Kids?" Marie chirps, trying to calmly rub Patrick's forearm. Robert considers a moment.
"No wife. No kids."
"Had to think about it huh?" Patrick cuts in. Joe gives him a swift kick to the shin under the table. Patrick glowers.
Unfazed, Robert continues, "I live alone. Just myself. Seems I've been alone for an eternity." he chortles that last line, as he sips his wine.
"I'd die from the loneliness." Marie replies.
"Nah, no one really dies in Derry." Robert says, to which an awkward silence falls over the table.
After a few beats of quiet. "So, uh, swinging bachelor huh?" George grins. "I kind of envy you..."
At this, Kitty scowls, gently, playfully swatting his arm. Al then stands, pushing his chair out. "Well, we best be getting to bed. We got an early start tomorrow." he announces.
Robert shows them to their rooms, pulling blankets from the closets for makeshift beds on the floors of the bedrooms to accommodate all of them, with Arthur opting to sleep downstairs on the camelback. Patrick keeps Marie locked in his sights as Robert bids them goodnight, shutting off the lights.
The house falls dark, with no sound, not even the thunder could be heard. Just deathly cold silence. As each member of the Bradley gang dozes off.
Patrick, having fallen asleep with troubled thoughts, realizing the man knew his surname when he'd not offered it, is soon awakened by a pair of hands on him. Small hands, shaking him violently.
"The Hell?" he mutters, wiping the sleepiness from his eyes as he looks up. Nothing there. He sits up, glancing at a slumbering Marie as he is pulled, almost hypnotically, to that odd clown room again. Almost as if waiting for him, the door swings open. Hearing the beckoning of a little girl's voice, not very audible before, but crystal clear now.
"Molly..." he whispers as he sees a miniature coffin now on display between the stained glass windows, the clown dolls forming a pathway as he approaches.. The door quietly shuts behind him as the coffin lid creaks open. He glances down at his hands, seeing he is now smaller, childlike, around twelve. The age he was when Molly drowned.
In her coffin, her eyes are closed, her face sweet. Her skin a pale blue and her brown ringlets held by pink ribbons. Sniffling, Patrick leans in to kiss her cheek. "I'm so sorry I couldn't save you." he whimpers through stinging tears. As he hangs his head, Molly's eyes burst open and she draws in a sharp breath.
"Ah!" Patrick stumbles backwards as Molly bolts upwards scowling, mouth sneering in contempt.
"Sorry for what? Hitting me in the head with that rock and accidentally knocking me into the river or running off like a coward? You didn't even try to save me, you fucking wimp."
She steps out of the coffin and leaps to the ground as Patrick watches her features distort, growing more white, her lips redder. She spreads her arms out, grinning maniacally, her angelic voice now raspy and insidious.
"Beautiful fear." she grins as she runs at him, roaring as she displays quill-like teeth, growing taller, her brown locks turning orange, her frilly pink dress becoming a gray-white. The clown dolls hiss with laughter as Patrick is backed against the door, which suddenly opens and Marie is there, screaming as the Molly creature, now a lanky tall clown with a striped face, comes at them. Patrick, now an adult man again, staggers up, terror gripping every inch of his being as he slams the door, yanking Molly away.
In the next room, George, Al and Kitty are awakened by the screams, as Kitty flips on the bedside lamp, standing just before them is the banker, covered in blackened mud and slime, his jaw dangling as he reaches his dislocated right limb out towards them. A deep otherworldly moan emitting from his misshapen mouth.
"Oh my God! Oh my God!" Kitty screams hysterically as George and Al reach for their guns, finding they are unable to fire.
"What the Hell! My gun is jammed up!" Al yells as they scramble for the door. Thankfully the banker zombie was nowhere near their escape route and they dash out, meeting Marie and Patrick, both holding each other. The lights above them flicker off and on, with a hideous high-pitched giggle echoing through the walls as Joe and Cal burst from their room, both looking pale.
As if they'd seen a ghost.
"That gas station worker Patrick iced? He's in our fucking room! Looking like he crawled straight outta his grave!" Cal yells.
Just then, they hear Arthur shouting. They all make their way downstairs, where Arthur is in the kitchen, his scrawny frame cowering against the wall, yelling as he points at a large boiling pot on the stove.
"I woke up and heard someone in the kitchen then I-I saw..." he stutters as he points a shaky finger at the pot. George steps over and gags at what he sees.
A head. Too disintegrated to tell the gender or age, boiling in blood. The sight and smell of rotting flesh sends George gagging and choking as he falls backwards, covering his mouth.
"Jesus fuck!"
"What is it?" Kitty demands.
"Never mind." George coughs.
Huddled together, they run towards the front door, The lights still flashing, the ugly laugh still reverberating. They all jump into their cars and by the grace of God, the LaSalle starts, engine blaring as they speed away. Some only barely clothed, with Marie wrapped in Patrick's coat that she often slept in to keep warm.
As dawn bleeds through the sky and the gang take refuge in a nearby farmhouse, the extra clothes and guns in the trunks of the cars coming in handy, The women take a calming trip to Freese's with Patrick in tow while the rest of the men went to Machen's Sporting Goods to order some more supplies. Lal, the owner, recognized Al immediately, despite the fake name he'd given; Richard D. Rader, and informed some of his buddies that he was expecting Al Bradley at two in the afternoon the day after tomorrow and just as the LaSalle and Chevrolet came into view on Main Street, the gang of Derry residents, armed to the teeth, opened fire.
As the shoot-out ensues, Biff Marlow, one of the gunmen, spies a scar-faced man in a gray suit with a sunflower tucked in the left breast pocket firing a Remington along with them. In fact, all the gunmen had spotted this complete stranger. They all figured he was an outsider wanting to join the party. Afterwards, as the bodies of the notorious Bradley Gang were on display in the bullet-ridden Chevrolet and LaSalle, Marlow watches as the man strolls away, whistling, one hand cradling the Remington on his shoulder, the other in his pocket.
Marlow could never be certain, and it bothered him for years after. Something he related to his drinking buddies while reminiscing about the killings. He could have sworn that, despite the bright sunlight, the stranger didn't cast any shadow.
No shadow at all.
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squidproquoclarice · 5 years ago
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You said Charles in the Epilogue bugs you. I don't see a post about it so can you explain?
I’ve written on this before but given it’s been a while and I usually have some new facet to consider, plus Tumblr Search is such ass, let’s do this thing!My beef with Charles in the Epilogue is how it takes a character who’s earned his independence and happy ending, and strips that away from him.  Charles in the Epilogue honestly does not make sense.  He’s Charles Ex Machina, a plot device who also knows things he logically shouldn’t.  And denying a MOC his own story to make him a tool in service to the stories of two white men (Arthur and John) is…kinda not cool.I think at the end of Chapter 6 we got a good ending for Charles.  He’s rejected the gang and all its bullshit.  He’s found his place with people who need him, who accept him.  He’ll become a protector of the Wapiti, presumably raise a family, and in my HC, also becomes an adopted son to Rains Fall, who desperately needs that himself as part of his own healing given the raw wound from the death of Eagle Flies.  He’s moving towards a brighter future, and choosing that for himself, rather than being obligated to stick around as an actor in someone else’s story.  He more or less says to Arthur, You’re my friend and I know you have to see this through, but I’m leaving.  These people need me.  I’m done with all of this.  It’s a meaningful exit, and a respectful goodbye between two friends who see they’re on very different, divergent paths in who they’re choosing to stay with and protect.  There’s a grace and dignity and agency to letting Charles make that reasonable choice, and not stay until the very end.  Charles is also one of the chars we actually get an actual exit from, unlike Mary-Beth and others who slip away sight unseen.  It’s a good farewell, and it’s respectful of Charles and Arthur both.Then in 1907, it’s all walked back.  We find him prizefighting in St. Denis, having left Canada and the tribe for reasons never specified.  His dignified choosing of a home with the Wapiti is stripped from him.  We’re told that he heard all the way up in Canada (how, precisely, when he’s had no contact with any of the gang?) that Susan and Arthur died, and then came to come bury them, when he left before the end and couldn’t even know exactly where their bodies were, particularly Arthur’s.I dunno about you, but I think it’s kinda absurd that they decided Charles needed to be all about Arthur to the point that they completely abandon plot and character logic. They don’t see how strange it is they decide he abandoned the very vulnerable living people he chose to protect, probably in winter to boot, to come on what likely had to be a weeks-long journey just to search for, find, and bury two long dead corpses.  That doesn’t sound much like the Charles Smith I know.  He loves, but he cares deeply about protecting the living first and foremost.  He wouldn’t abandon his chosen family like that.  Nor would Arthur have wanted him to–they both made that choice to protect and save the living at the Wapiti reservation.  I get that on the surface “Charles buried Arthur” works as a nice emotional beat, but when you dig into it, I think it feels cheap and unearned.  It’s tell, not show of something we were already shown: Charles and Arthur were good friends.  We don’t need Charles to drop everything important of his own to go on some epic burial quest just to prove he was a good friend.  He’s proven it already.After that, as I pointed out, in 1907 Charles’ peaceful life in Canada has been sacrificed (and never explained either).  I’m back on the gang’s bullshit I had firmly rejected, because I guess they need a strong back and Arthur’s dead.  He’s there only so he can do one thing: he’s there to help build and defend Beecher’s Hope.  He’s become an actor in John’s story, without aims or desires of his own like he had in Chapter 6. And I argue yes, it’s one thing he does in the Epilogue, two if you count our being told about burying Arthur.  He’s not even allowed to meaningfully participate in hunting down Micah, given he’s ridiculously nerfed from the fight like two seconds in by a sniper wound.  He’s not even given the dignity of being involved, because fulfilling that quest to kill Micah for the sake of the man he supposedly dropped everything for before can apparently only belong to John–and notice who’s racing up the mountain alone at the end?  Even Sadie, who actually led the whole damn thing, has to be reduced to a damsel in distress in the end.So Charles, a biracial man of color, exists in the Epilogue for two reasons: to have abandoned his chosen Native American family to worry about burying a dead white man, and to build a white man’s house and help him win his girlfriend back, all while apparently having no aims or agency of his own.  I dunno, but that’s kind of yikes?After all that, he rides off to go back to Canada again, and take up the peaceful life he should have been living all along and go have a family, still without any explanation of what happened to make him not have those things except apparently plot demanded it so he would be available.  I guess maybe he had amnesia for the past 8 years, since they don’t seem to have existed for him.So yeah, in conclusion, I will forever argue that Charles Smith was done super dirty by the Epilogue, given his role makes no sense, and there’s no char growth, there’s actually char regression given the things forced on him actually walk back a lot of his agency and growth that he had in Chapter 6.  
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