#i hate rig save me please

[maudiemoods]

In the booth straight up jorking it. And by "it" I mean. My fuvking torch

[nyankochan]

Golden Hour

synopsis: want to risk playing a game with the mob boss? if you win, whatever you want is yours. money. power. you name it. but are you willing to risk the stakes in you lose?

Pairing: Geto Suguru x casino dealer!reader

Content: afab!reader, Gojo being a menace, mean dom! Geto, dirty talk, Oral (f. Receiving), rough sex, penetrative sex (protection is used), after care, over stimulation, multiple orgasms, pet names, Geto has tattoos, size kink, I hope I didn’t miss anything but I apologize if I did

Word Count: 8.4K ಠ_ಠ

A/n: I actually have no idea how to play poker

After working as a card dealer for Club Tengoku in the heart of Shibuya for seven years now, you’ve met your fair share of assholes and idiots. It honestly came with the job description you willing still took at just barely eighteen years old. It provided good money. Don’t get it wrong. It didn’t bring in nearly as much money as your clientele exhausted on a daily, but it still covered your meager bills and expenses.

The hardest part of the job honestly wasn’t even the few douchebags that cussed you out for “stealing their money” when they lost or the drunkards that openly flirted with you. No, it was maintaining a sense of professionalism and boundaries. No matter how bad you wanted to, you could never react the way you wanted. Screaming. Crying. Punching someone’s teeth out when they piss you off. No. You have to keep your composure, smile, and ask “would you like to play again?”

And the one time you broke that rule was because of him.

“Ughhh I hate this shitty job!” Your coworker and closest friend, Utahime, shouts exasperatedly slamming the locker door shut. “If one more creepy old bastard tries to hit on me then I may actually gouge his eyes out!”

“Please don’t get blood on the black jack tables,” you sigh, buttoning up the shirt to your dealer’s uniform. A simple black dress shirt and slacks. A gold trimmed vest with a black tie completes the look, identifying you as one of the dealers in Club Tengoku. “It was a pain in the ass to clean after that last fight you instigated.”

“That wasn’t my fault,” Utahime huffs under her breath, haphazardly throwing on her tie. You have to straighten it up for her. “Some idiot accused me of rigging the game when he lost 60 thousand yen.”

“One of these days you’ll get fired before you can quit.”

Utahime had worked at the Club as long, if not longer, then you. She had a short temper and less patience for assholes than you. Though she’s been written up a number of times for her behavior, you think the manager of the club keeps her on to keep plenty of pretty faces on staff to draw customers in.

That, and almost everyone on staff cannot quit until their debt is fully paid.

Likely if you work for Club Tengoku, then you either dumb or desperate. Sometimes both. Whatever reasons originally bring you to the Club, work, sex, pleasure, love, money, etc. you’re property of the owner, Zen’in Naoya, until he either gets sick of you or you pay your debts back. Either with your labor or with your body.

You aren’t quite sure how much Utahime owes but her contact with Naoya cited 12 years of employment. Yours thankfully was almost complete. 8 years. 8 years of work a the Club in exchange for covering the debts you gathered when your shitty ex scammed you and left you with his debts he gathered from a Host Club in Roppongi.

Apparently, the particular club had ties to the yakuza (not that you knew that at the time) and your punk of an ex skipped town after leaving you at the club by yourself. You being young and dumb, only 18, didn’t know what to do except to accept Naoya’s assistance as he happened to be there that night. In return, you had to work with him for 8 years to pay off the 100 million yen debt your ex accumulated. You’d be done in three months, finally.

You weren’t quite sure what to do after your contracted ended. You had enough money saved to move from Tokyo if you desired, but go where? You had no other friends or family outside of Utahime and your coworkers. Naoya wasn’t the worst but he had his moments. Since you behaved and kept to yourself most of the time, you never got put on his radar (not like you had any options at the time).

Maybe he’d let you stay a couple extra months to let you get back on your feet until you found another job. You didn’t really want to leave Utahime on her own either, but for the time being, you’d been searching for other opportunities.

At nine, your shift starts. You and Utahime enter the upper level where the casino is, met by the overstimulating noise of slots, coins dispensing and laughter. The scent of booze is nauseating, and gives you a headache along with the bright neon flashing lights of all the machines. Utahime is on the black jack table. Tonight, you’re at poker.

After rotating out the prior dealer, you take your spot behind the table. As usual, you take out a new deck of cards, freshly out of the package, and shuffle them, waiting for players to join your table. Two gentlemen eventually join, one of them with a woman hanging off his arm like an accessory.

“Welcome,” you say, perfectly rehearsed. “All games at Tengoku have a starting bet of 10 thousand yen. Are you ready to play?”

The first few hours honestly pass by in a blur. The first game concludes with the gentleman with the date wining 30 thousand to turn around and lose half of it the next round. Someone plays three of a kind. Another folds just to lose it all in the end.

It is long. Tedious. Full of mixed emotions from the clientele ranging from anger to grief. Nothing out of the ordinary as you quietly and discreetly manipulate the game from behind the scenes.

See, part of the dealer’s role at Tengoku was to make it interesting. So that Naoya doesn’t lose too much money, the dealers are all given special contacts or glasses that allow them to see through the cards. A slight difference in the shuffle can make a game quite interesting, to say the least.

“My, maybe this is just my lucky night, but how often do I get to see a pretty dealer at the casino?” A deep, yet suave, voice says. You fight the urge to roll your eyes as two gentlemen sit at your table. The white haired man, dressed impeccably in a three piece suit and sunglasses though indoors, leans in too close into your personal space. “Say, what do I have to do to win you as a prize?”

You fight the urge to make a face, and continue with your usual elevator speech. “Welcome. Games at Tengoku have a starting bet of 10 thousand yen. Are you ready to play?”

“Why not make it interesting?” The man smiles a charming smile. “Let’s raise and start off with 100 thousand, yeah?” Minus the gentleman that sat with him, the other three individuals at the table looked nervous. You however continue to do your job as expected.

“Understood, the starting bet for this round is 100 thousand yen.”

You shuffle the cards meticulously, discreetly folding the aces into separate parts of the deck so that when you deal them out to everyone, the white haired man is ensured not to have any high cards. When he looks at the hand he’s been dealt, you notice his eyebrows furrow, seemingly in both shock and perhaps annoyance, yet his poker face is rather good, so he doesn’t let off too much that he has a bad hand.

“Each chip is worth 10 thousand yen at this Club,” you say. “We will go clockwise starting from the dealer’s left.” Nodding towards the timid looking gentleman who sat at the end of the table to start, the game begins.

“C-check,” the man stammers, choosing not to add to the exuberant bid already.

“Raise,” said the black haired man that originally sat with his cocky-white haired companion. He slides five chips across the table, raising the bet amount to 150 thousand. He has a rather cool demeanor. You can’t tell from his composure what he’s thinking, but he seems somewhat bored, if you had to guess.

You can also tell that the man has serious money, him and his companion both. His sleek three-piece black suit fits perfectly tailored against his broad shoulders. A shiny watch glistens on his wrist as he absentmindedly rolls one of the chips across the table, only for it to fall a few inches away. And his hair, pulled back into a somewhat messy bun is the only “imperfection” to his otherwise perfect appearance.

The man notices your stare and smiles. You turn away, face warming at being caught.

“I’ll call,” the white haired man says confidently despite his bad hand, placing five chips of his own down. The last two players call, matching the current bet.

You flip over three cards: a three of spades, the six of diamonds, and the jack of hearts.

The game proceeds slowly, or at least, it seems that way, because the entire time, you can feel the black haired male’s gaze burning holes through your head. You have a rather strong poker face, and try not to let his stare intimidate you, but for some reason, it feels as if he’s reading you like an open book. I know what you’re trying to do, and it won’t work…you can almost hear him say.

Your eyes begin feeling dry from the contacts, so you want to wrap the game up as quickly as possible. But by the end of the game, he wins with a full house: two fours and three eights.

“Damn you Suguru,” the white haired man groans, throwing his hand on the table. He had an ace, a five, a seven, a nine, the jack of clubs, and a four. None of the suits matched up except for the ace and the jack. “Why are you so good at this game?”

The man, Suguru, smiles as you slide the stack of chips totaling 270 thousand across the table. Naoya will have your head knowing you lost that much, is all you can think of, so you don’t almost catch Suguru’s words that make your blood run cold.

“I just know the best way to counter a cheat, is all.” Suguru’s charming smile contorts to a chilling smirk, and you keep your gaze down, trying not to let your fear show.

“What? So one of you bastards was trying to cheat, huh?” His companion mistakenly assumes, looking between the other players at the table.

Suguru then slides the chips right back across the table. You try your best to regain your composure and hide your unease. “I’d like to play again, Little Dealer, and this will be my starting bet.”

Luckily, at that moment, your coworker comes to relieve you from your post. You quickly skitter away, like a dog with its tail tucked between its legs, weaving through the crowd of the casino and disappearing just like that, missing completely the way Suguru frowns in dissatisfaction.

“Awe, I wanted to redeem myself in front of the cute dealer,” Gojo complains, rocking back in his seat so that the two front legs come off of the ground. “I had a shitty hand.” Geto stands from his seat and begins heading the direction you left. “Hey, where are you going? You left your chips.”

“You can have them,” Geto replies coldly. “I’m going to get a drink.”

“Bring me back a gin and tonic!”

Geto saunters around the casino, eyes scanning the scene. It’s far too noisy for his liking, and everything blends together, so he can’t pick out your small stature from the crowd, much to his annoyance. A headache gnaws at his temple, and a passing waitress comes at an all too perfect time with a tray of champagne, which he snags.

He knows you rigged the game. He knew from the moment you shuffled the cards. But he doesn’t know how you did it, and he was a curious yet greedy fellow. He had to know how you did it. And by a stroke of luck, he spots you coming out from a door labeled employees only, while rubbing your eyes.

“Those contacts seriously burn,” you think to yourself. Once relieved from your station, you rushed back to the employee locker rooms to take out the contacts. Though they appeared clear, no different from any standard contact, the chemicals they had in them to allow you to see through the cards irritated your retinas. If possible, Naoya preferred everyone who didn’t already wear glasses normally to wear the contacts to garner less suspicion from the guests. But after a few hours, the shits became unbearable to wear. And you couldn’t mess with your eyes without running the risk of another client, particularly Geto, catching on.

Something about that man unsettled you. He was nothing like the man he sat with, who was loud, prideful, and quite obnoxious. No, he was quiet and observed his surroundings like a predator surveying its territory before figuring out when and how to strike. You couldn’t be too sure if he caught on how you rigged the game. After all, you only intended to make winning difficult for his friend, because he got on your nerves. But even still, your sleight of hand should’ve been so slight that no one would have noticed. You’ve done it for almost eight years in a row without no one catching your little trick.

“So we meet again, Little Dealer.” You don’t have to turn around to know who the suave voice belongs to. As you’ve been trained over and over, your facial expression blanks before you turn around to face Geto after correcting your posture.

“Hello again, Sir. Is there something I can assist you with?” You say politely. Geto looks unamused. His gaze is even more intimidating up close. He downs the last bit of his drink and sets it on a nearby table.

“I want to play another round,” Geto says.

“Certainly,” you nod. “If you go to any of the tables, another dealer can-”

Geto’s grin widens and he leans in close to your ear, just barely a whisper against the deafening slot machines. “I want to play again with you, little cheater.” The crucial error on your part is when your expression wavers, and much to Geto’s surprise, you look terrified. Nonetheless, he knows he has you in the palm of his hand. You take a step to turn and book it, but Geto’s quicker, grabbing your wrist before you get too far.

You try and fail to wrench your hand free. “P-please don’t tell,” you muster up a whimper.

Geto’s smile falters briefly, a strange shiver running down his spine. It was strange to see the seemingly cool headed and composed dealer look suddenly so…helpless?

“My, my, is there a problem here that I should be aware of?”

Your eyes widen, and you quickly and this time, more forcefully, snatch your arm away from Geto. You turn and bow towards Naoya, who seemed to appear out of nowhere. His usual “secretary” stands at his side (though you and Utahime are 99% sure they’re fucking), and he wears a sickeningly fake smile that you can’t stand. You know he’s pissed, but is just trying to put on a facade to keep up appearances.

Geto is startled by the man’s sudden appearance. He came up right behind him, yet Geto didn’t detect his presence at all. And for you to suddenly submit so willingly…

“There are no issues, Mr. Zen’in,” you say, trying to hide the quiver in your voice. “I-I was just returning from my break, when this gentleman here approached me, inquiring about playing one of our games.”

Naoya’s eyes narrowed slightly. You feel your chest constrict as the sound of your heartbeat resonates within your ears. You hold your breath and try not to cry. If he found out you, inadvertently or not, revealed one of the club’s greatest secrets, you were as good as dead. Forget leaving the Club in three months. You would be Naoya’s until the day you die.

“Y/n, look at me,” Naoya demands. You slowly raise your head only to be met face to face with his sharp brown eyes. “Are you lying to me?” He hisses, quiet and low.

“N-no sir, never.”

“I had stopped to ask about another poker table,” Geto spoke up. “The one I was playing at got a little too rowdy, as some of the other guests likely had too much to drink. I had stopped her to see if there was another table I could play at.”

Naoya puts back on his fake smile, but he leans away from you, allowing you to finally breathe, to face Geto. “Of course,” the charismatic businessman says. “I apologize for the inconvenience Mr….”

“Geto. Suguru Geto.”

“Ah, of course.” Brief recognition flashes across Naoya’s face, before his attention is turned back to you. “Mr. Geto here is a V.I.P. guest of ours, so make sure you tend to his needs with utmost respect, got it?”

You nod, bowing your head. “Yes, Mr. Zen’in.”

“And Mr. Geto, please have a bottle of wine, of your choosing, on the house, if my employee here has caused you any problems.” Naoya walks off, his secretary in tow, who gives you a sympathetic look.

Though he’s gone, your heart doesn’t stop racing. For the 7 years you’ve been employed, you’ve managed to stay off of Naoya’s radar and complete your job without incident. Why did now, of all times, did you have to piss him off? Though on the outside, he didn’t seem like it, Naoya was terrifying, heir to the powerful Zen’in family whose connections were so deeply interwoven throughout Tokyo that pissing him off almost guarantees you’d never work anywhere in the city again. He controlled your fate. Geto surely knows the influence Naoya has to be considered a V.I.P. So why did he stick up for you?

Your hands tremble still as you bow in apology to Geto. “I’m sorry for any trouble I caused you tonight.”

“Are you really sorry if you can’t elaborate on what you did wrong?” Geto nonchalantly asks, making you flinch.

“I-”

“Hey! Suguru! I’ve been looking for you!” A loud voice makes Geto sigh and roll his eyes; the many distractions were starting to irritate him. With a pretty girl wrapped around his arm, the white haired man from earlier approaches his friend.

“What do you want, Satoru?”

“You never came back with my drink,” Satoru complains. “I thought maybe you would be at least getting head somewhere, not standing in the middle of the aisle looking stuck on stupid.” He pushes up his sunglasses with a goofy grin that only widens when he sees you. “Ah! It’s the dealer! Hey, I wanna rematch. That first round was a fluke. I need to redeem myself.”

“I-I’m sorry?”

“She’s done for the evening,” Geto cuts in. “Her shift just ended, right?” You dumbly nod along. Though, it was only a little past eleven, and your shift didn’t end until one.

“Too bad,” Satoru huffs. “Another time then! I won’t lose that badly again. My pride as a member of the Gojo family won’t allow it.” Then he’s gone, pulling the woman along with him. She giggles and snuggles up against his arm.

“I must be returning back to my shift then,” you say, putting back on your polite persona. “Have a good rest of your evening Mr. Geto.”

“Not so fast.” Geto catches you by the arm. “I said your shift just ended, did I not?”

“B-but I-”

“Let’s play a game,” he interrupts. “I don’t think you know who I am, but if you want me to keep my mouth shut about your little trick, then you’ll do as I say, got it?” You meekly nod, unable to pry your arm nor gaze away from the dark haired man. “Good. Now, go grab a deck of cards and meet me in the hall.”

His commanding voice, something about it was so attractive that you felt your face heating up as you scurried away to grab a deck of cards from one of the tables not in use. Your heart…you could feel it racing, but instead of the erratic pace it beat before Naoya, it was a somewhat fluttering feeling. And it made you nauseous.

As expected, Geto waits in the somewhat dim hallway just outside the casino. He leans against the wall, flipping what looks like to be a poker chip in the palm of his hand. Now that you get a better look at him, without all the fluorescent lighting and distractions, he’s pretty damn handsome. Tall. Well built. And dashing in a suit and tie. Your heart continues to flutter, annoyingly so. Once you approach, Geto straightens up, pocketing the poker chip.

“You’re quite obedient, aren’t you,” Geto muses. “Come, I’ve requested a private room where our game won’t be disturbed.”

You say nothing as you follow the man down the hall to the elevator. He holds the door open for you to enter, before pressing the button to take you up to the twelfth floor.

Club Tengoku doubles as a hotel, but the average cost of a room for one night is more than what you make in a year. It’s in the heart of Shibuya, so Naoya can charge whatever he wants, you supposed. The first three levels are all kinds of gambling rooms and bars. The first level of the basement is one of the Clubs. The B2 level…you’ve been there once and it’s not your scene.

“You look quite young to work at a place like this,” Geto comments, watching the number slowly climb higher.

“I just turned twenty five,” you mumble.

“Like I said, quite young.” The elevator opens. Geto exits first and you dutifully follow along, eyeing your surroundings with apprehension and curiosity, as your job never takes you anywhere besides the casino, and occasionally, the club. Everything looks expensive, even more so when Geto unlocks room 1205 to reveal an impressive suite so big it looks like a miniature apartment instead of a hotel room.

A large kitchenette connects to the living room where glass windows overlook Shibuya Scramble, which looks dazzling and dreamlike in the dark of night, still bustling as the name implies. It seems like there are at least two other rooms, but you don’t want to appear nosy and stand awkwardly by the door.

“Take a seat and make yourself comfortable,” Geto says, shedding his jacket. He takes two wine glasses out from the cabinet. “Do you want red or white wine?”

“I-I’m not allowed to drink on the job,” you reply, sitting on the edge of the leather couch.

“That’s not what I asked. Red or white.” Geto’s firm voice has your knees feeling weak, and you mumble white. Geto pours each of you a glass, setting the drink before you on the small table beside the couch. He sits directly across from you, swirling the wine within its cup.

You don’t quite know where to start, drumming your fingers against your legs while keeping your head down to avoid eye contact. Naoya would kill you knowing that you’re in a client’s private room. Not that some of your coworkers didn’t have intimate relations with some of their clients. It was quite common in fact. But that behavior was saved for the private rooms of the club. The hotel was off limits.

“Do you have a preference for what game we play?” Geto finally asks, after spending a few seconds just examining you, taking in all your features and nervous ticks, from the way you play with your fingers nervously or how your ears redden with embarrassment. Quite cute if you asked him to be honest (which he hardly was).

“N-no, Sir,” was your reply.

“Then how about Go Fish?” A simple game like that? Seemed rather mundane. “But let’s make it interesting,” Geto adds. “Any time someone gets a book, they get to ask the other any question they want to know, and they must answer honestly. The winner gets to make any request of the loser.”

“Why should I agree to your terms?”

Geto sips his wine, then sets the glass on the table. “I’ll tell your little boss that you let slip a company secret if you don’t. Wouldn’t want that, would you?” He takes your silence as compliance. “Shuffle the deck. No fancy tricks.”

You shakily take the deck out the box. You carefully shuffle, trying not to do anything that would raise suspicion. Once. Thrice. Four and you’re dealing them out. Geto goes first, but you’re the first to get a set of the eights.

“Who are you?” You ask.

“Geto Suguru, or was that not made clear before?”

“No, what is it that you do?” You clarify. “Why are you considered a V.I.P?”

Geto smiles. “You need another set to ask another question, sweetheart.”

Unfortunately, he obtains the next set. The twos.

“How did you cheat earlier at the poker table?”

You knew the question was coming. There was no point in lying. “Mr. Zen’in has special contacts imported from Macau’s black market that allow us to see through the cards.” Geto stares at you, waiting for you to elaborate more to which you remain silent. He then chuckles.

“This game is going to be quite interesting.” Next, he gets all the queens. “Why did you intentionally deal Satoru a bad hand instead of all the players?”

“He was annoying. That’s all.” Luckily, you have the next set. “What kind of job do you have, Mr. Geto, that makes you a V.I.P. here?”

Geto shrugs. “I dabble in a lot of different things. It’s better to have your hand in several different pots instead of putting all your eggs in one basket, no?” That doesn’t answer the question in the way you were hoping, but you let it slide. And the next question is yours to ask.

“What brought you to the casino? Forgive me, but you don’t seem like the type of man to indulge in gambling.”

“Oh?” Geto leans back slightly. “What type of man do you think I am?”

Your face warms as you realize the implications of your words. After clearing your throat, you add, “it’s not your turn to ask a question.”

“Fair, fair,” Geto laughs. “Let’s just say, I’m very greedy, and I enjoy the casino’s opportunity for more.” He places down the four twos. “Now, why do you work here?” The man then places down all four sevens. “And what’s your relationship with that Zen’in guy?”

Him placing back to back sets throws you off. It not only puts you in the awkward spot of having two questions to answer, but it also places Geto in the lead. And your current shitty hand doesn’t have a potential match in sight.

“I…inquired some debts when I was 18,” you answer after a brief moment to collect your thoughts. Geto patiently waits for you to continue. “Mr. Naoya Zen’in covered them under the condition that I worked for him for eight years…” you pause, biting your lip, but your opponent shows no emotion towards your response and the game continues.

In the end, you hardly learn anything about Geto and he pries out much of your life story, additionally sealing his own victory when the game concludes. “Looks like victory is mine,” he says the obvious part out loud. He’s a little disappointed by how soon the game ended, not because he enjoyed it (well partially), but he didn’t quite find out all he wanted to know about you, yet. You were vague but honest when answering questions about your debts, but Geto still couldn’t understand why someone like Naoya would do anyone a favor. Let alone why you worked under him in the first place.

With the kind of work Geto did on a daily basis, he was quite familiar with the Zen’in family and often did business in other areas, but he always remained cautious to not become too intertwined with the web of a trap that was Naoya Zen’in. If Geto considered himself to be greedy, then Naoya would be insatiable, utilizing any means necessary to secure more power for himself. You were hiding something about your relationship with him, which was fine with Geto. He’d find out sooner or later.

“Now, for my prize,” Geto ponders for a moment and during the time, your breath hitches. The next moment, he’s in your face, so close that hints of his cologne tickle your nose. He’s so close that the slightest miscalculation in movement could make your lips touch. Antisly, you press your thighs together, heat burning between them, and you hope that he can’t hear how loud your heart beats. Geto grins, then backs away. “I will cash it out on another day.”

Your mouth falls agape, but no words leave your lips. Owing a debt to Geto Suguru? What game did you just become a part of?

He doesn’t tell you when he plans to claim his reward for winning the game, nor does he give you a way to contact him to inquire about it. After he escorts you to your car, because by that point it was pushing three in the morning, Geto leaves in a black Cadillac, and for the next few days, you don’t see him at the casino.

As the days roll by, work still mundane and Utahime still complaining about her clients, you grow increasingly anxious. On top of that, Naoya calls you into his office once to reprimand you about not causing any issues. You’re sure he doesn’t believe Geto’s white lie, but he doesn’t question nor bring up the contacts. For now, you’re safe, unless Geto goes back on his word and spills what he knows.

Geto’s white haired friend, Gojo, if you remember correctly, does come back every night without fail, spending upwards of a hundred thousand every time as if it were monopoly money. Must be nice to be able to waste money like it worthed nothing.

He kind of grows on you after you look past his cocky and annoying persona, keeping you company when you are not dealing for any games or cleaning up tables. You badly want to ask him about Geto, but opt out too in fear of it being misinterpreted. Luckily though, Gojo is not as tight-lipped as his companion, and often reveals too much information without you asking, especially if he’s had a few drinks.

“I can’t believe that Suguru didn’t fuck you the other night given how much he won’t shut up about you,” Gojo says out the blue, his speech somewhat slurred as he takes a sip from his third glass of whiskey. “I’ve never heard him bitch about wanting somebody so much.”

“G-Geto talks about me?” You try your best to hold your composure, but you can feel the heat of embarrassment creeping up your neck. If that was the case, then why did he avoid the casino? Or was he just avoiding you?

“Does he? That’s all I’ve literally been forced to hear about all week,” Gojo huffs in annoyance. “We were at the club the other day and he showed no reaction whatsoever to any of the dancers while I had such a bad fucking hard on I couldn’t think straight!” He rests his cheek against his fist, nearly drunkenly falling off the poker table. Hints of striking blue irises peek over the rims of his dark sunglasses. “Hmm, I guess you got a cute face. Can’t see much of a body from the uniform though. You sure you didn’t get freaky with him? No strip tease or anything?”

You recall the scent of Geto’s cologne. The subtle flex and tensing of his muscles through his shirt with each movement. How his presence alone commanded authority, yet the taunting glint in his eye would suggest something else. Something more alluring and mischievous.

When you realize you’ve yet to give Gojo an answer, who by now was looking at you with a knowing look, you quickly try to deny the accusations. “You don’t have to explain yourself,” the white haired man teases. “He’s an asshole, but an attractive one at that. Any woman would drop their panties for him. Well, probably guys too, but that’s besides my point.”

By a stroke of luck or a cruel twist of fate the devil himself appears, this time wearing a navy blue suit and a rather unamused expression at hearing his best friend’s drunken rambles. Though he only caught the end of the conversation, knowing Satoru, anything that came out of his mouth was likely sexual, inappropriate, or some combination of both.

“Don’t you have to go be annoying somewhere else?” Geto sneers.

“Not until four,” Gojo replies, trying to look down at his watch but is wasted enough that he looks at the wrong wrist.

Geto frowns, trying to swallow back the strange irritation that tugs at his chest. “Let’s play another round of cards, Little Dealer,” he turns his attention toward you.

“Ohh is that your hidden code word for fucking each other?”

Ignoring the man, Geto merely flips him off, guiding you away, a gentle hand on the small of your back, after you procured a deck of cards. As the two of you head for the elevator, you pass Utahime and another one of your coworkers. Utahime’s eyes widen and you mouth to her, “don’t tell Naoya.” Your friend merely responds with a thumbs up and an oddly proud look.

Like before, the ride up is uncomfortably quiet. Geto doesn’t even look in your direction, his jaw set and eyebrows furrowed in clear annoyance. Was he possibly…jealous that you were with Gojo?

“Um…where were you these last couple days?” You try to break the silence. Geto still doesn’t look your way, watching the number of the elevator climb to ten.

“Busy with work,” is all he says before the doors slide open.

You find yourself in a similarly designed room as the other night, back to the same set up as before: sitting across from each other with a deck of cards on the table between you two. Geto takes off his suit jacket. You try not to stare, but the action was just so damn attractive to watch.

“Shall we play another game of Go Fish?” Geto speaks once he’s comfortable. “Same rules as before.”

“But you didn’t cash out your request from the previous night, so how is that fair?” You ask.

“Hmm…then how about this. If you win, I’ll fulfill any request of yours. If I win, you’re mine once your contract ends with Zen’in.”

You freeze, blood running cold. You never told him that your contact would be up soon. You made sure to dance around the question, so how did this man find out?

“Just who are you?”

Geto grins. “Play the game to find out.”

You shuffle the cards. Geto deals them out. You look at the hand you’ve been dealt and off the bat it doesn’t look the best. No surprise when Geto gets the first set, but his question throws you off.

“What do you want to do once your contract ends with Zen’in?”

You blink in confusion, but answer honestly. “I haven’t really thought about it. I don’t know who I am outside of this job.”

The next set and question is yours. “What is your real job?”

“I guess the proper term would be Boss,” Geto hums. “But Head of the Geto Family Syndicate works just as well.”

Your heart tightens. “You’re yakuza…”

“If that’s what you want to call it.”

Just your shitty luck. Why does fate hate you so? No matter what you do, you can’t seem to get away from the mob, even though you aren’t intentionally seeking them out. Even worse, you’ve been dancing right in the palm of the boss’s hand all while ogling him while he wasn’t looking. And to make matters worse, if you lose, you will be leaving one contract just to walk straight into another.

No. You won’t let that happen. Not again.

“Why do you want me to work for you?” You ask next after securing another set.

“I never said work for me,” Geto corrects. “I said you would be mine.”

“What does that entail?”

The man grins. “You can’t ask two questions, but to answer your first, I want you because I’m greedy like that. If I find something interesting or worthwhile, why would I not try to keep it?”

His stare is intense, daunting yet enticing. Why did he have to be so tempting? You should have never agreed to play along, because you were spiraling faster than you could control.

“What are you thinking about right now?” Geto asks, placing down another set.

Before you stop yourself, you respond, “that I want you, but I can’t.”

“Says who?” Geto prods. When did he get so close? One moment he’s on the opposite side of the couch, and the next, he’s inches away from your face. His familiar cologne fills your nose in a comforting touch.

“You’re dangerous.”

“You’re surrounded by danger already from working for Zen’in. What’s stopping you now?”

Your eyes meet his dark ones, serious but oddly soft. “I’m scared that I will enjoy it more than I should.”

“Sweetheart, you say that like it’s a bad thing.”

And his lips were on yours. You aren’t quite sure who leaned in first, not that it mattered. He tastes faintly of liquor, but is otherwise gentle. However, he doesn’t linger long, much to your dismay, pulling away after a few seconds too soon to admire your flustered face.

“Let’s call the game here,” Geto says, slightly out of breath. “You were in the lead, so what is it that you want from me?” He cups your chin, forcing you to maintain eye contact as you ask.

“Can you kiss me again?”

Geto does without complaint, this time with more urgency. His scent is suffocating. Your head feels hazy, scrambled thoughts only on the man before you and the way his gentle touch electrifies your skin. A soft moan leaves your lips as Geto kisses across your jawline.

“Is a kiss truly all you want?” he teases all while loosening the tie around his neck. “You could stand to be a little more greedy, you know?” He pops one button of your vest open. Then the second. Then the last, sliding the material down your shoulders. “If you want something from me, you need to use your Big Girl words, or else I can’t help you.”

“I…” The words are stuck in your throat. What did you want? Was it okay for you to want something? “I don’t wanna…” a small whimper leaves your lips as Geto’s teeth grazes the side of your neck after unbuttoning your shirt’s collar. “Don’t wanna be selfish.”

“And I’m telling you to be. Now what do you want, sweetheart?”

“I want you, Suguru.”

The sound of his name on your lips is heavenly, and Geto forgets about teasing you any longer. He pins you to the couch with ease, using one hand to grip your wrists while the other pulls at your shirt, the buttons popping off one by one, all while his lips are on yours again, sucking on them until they’re swollen. His hands tickle your sides as he explores your body, stopping only to unclasp your bra. The cool air makes you shiver.

Kissing you was sweet and addicting, and he wanted…no, needed, to know what you tasted like elsewhere. Swiftly, Geto picks you up, the couch not spacious enough. He clumsily stumbles to one of the bedrooms, his mouth attaching to one of your bare breasts. You whimper as he bites at your sensitive nipple.

“Suguru,” you moan, tugging at his hair, pressing your chest closer making Geto grunt. You end up pulling his hair out of its bun, his black locs cascading down his shoulders. As you both tumble into the king sized bed, it tickles your nose.

“Before we go any further,” Geto suddenly pulls away, walking around to the nightstand. He rummaged through one of the drawers before finding a box of condoms. “Do you have any hard boundaries?” At the shake of your head, he nods. “Still, give me a safe word just in case I’m too much.”

You think for a moment before answering, “gold.”

“Good,” Geto says. He undoes the first few buttons of his dress shirt, tattoos peeking across his collarbone. “Cause if you need me to stop, you’re going to have to scream it, because I’m going to keep going until I have my fill of you.”

Geto grabs you by your waist, dragging you to the edge of the bed while pulling your slacks down to your ankles. He settles between your legs, bending down to give a slow lick up up your clothed pussy, tasting your wetness that’s seeped through the fabric. You gasp, back arching off the bed. Groaning at your sweet taste, Geto could feel his cock stir within his pants.

“Fuck…I’m going to savor this.” He pulls your panties down with his teeth. His hot breath on your cunt has you dripping with need. Your pretty lips are already glistening.

“Suguru, please,” you whimper.

“Whatever you want.” Pressing his tongue, he takes a long slow lick up your folds. The sensation is electrifying, high pitched moans leaving your lips which you try to cover with your hand.

Geto spreads your legs open wider, pressing his mouth as close as he can get to your cunt. He is aggressive, messily slurping up all you offer. His tongue weaves through your folds, and his harsh sucks against your clit makes you cry out, fingers gripping at his long hair.

“Gods you’re the best thing I’ve ever tasted,” Geto groans, the pain of you tugging at his scalp turning him on just as much as the taste of your arousal on his tongue. “Fuck, baby, pull my hair more.”

“Fuck! Suguru I’m gonna cum.”

“Then cum.”

Your eyes roll to the back of your head as you pull at Geto’s hair roughly, making a throaty groan leave his lips. The built up pressure in your abdomen snaps, and euphoria rocks your body as your orgasm hits you hard. Your release coats Geto’s tongue, and he’s greedy, continuing to drink you up until your legs are trembling from overstimulation.

“T-too much! W-wait-“ you whimper, writhing away. Geto’s grip on your thighs tightens. He delivers one last hard suck against your clit before pressing a parting kiss against your sloppy lips.

“Don’t try to leave me now, sweetheart,” Geto says. He unbuttoned the rest of his shirt, sliding it down his broad shoulders. Two intricate tattoo sleeves cover his arms from his collarbone down to his wrists. They’re dark yet beautifully done, adding to his handsome appeal. Who knew tattoos could be so sexy.

“I said I’m going to have my way with you until I have my fucking fill, and merely having your taste on my tongue won’t satisfy me.” Geto loosens his belt, already feeling some sort of relief from the way his aching cock pressed against his pants. Fuck. The way he needed you was maddening. His body was hot and just begging to be inside you, to feel your walls clench around him, to have you close and crying out his name.

“Come’ere,” Geto instructs. “Crawl.”

You shakily get on to your hands and knees, crawling to the edge of the bed where he stood. Your face feeling hot from embarrassment but your body betraying you in the way you could feel your needy pussy throb in anticipation. Geto almost loses what little composure he has left when you stare up at him through your lashes, innocent and cute.

“I don’t think I need to spell it out for you. Help me out, will ya?” Geto watches while you loosen his pants so that they fall to the floor. You’re slightly nervous looking at the size of the bulge pressing against his boxers, and your suspicions are confirmed when you pull his erection free. He’s big, thick and stiff against his abdomen, twitching ever so slightly as the cool air teases him. The tip’s an angry red, leaking pre cum already, and you’re dying for a taste.

Geto himself could almost sigh in relief. Any longer and he thought he’d burst. He tears open a condom and gives it to you. “Put it on for me?” You do, rolling it over his length, teasingly slow. Geto shivers at your touch. “Such a damn minx.” He flips you on your backside, aligning himself at your entrance and kissing your jaw. “Tell me your safe word again.”

“Gold,” you reply.

“Good fucking girl.” Geto bottoms out in a single thrust, ripping a moan from your lips. “Fuckkk,” he groans. “Fucking knew you’d fit around me perfectly.”

He experimentally moves his hips, the stretch of his cock filling you deliciously all the way and kissing the deepest parts of your spongy walls. Geto curses again, folds your legs over his shoulders, and rams into you until you’re seeing stars.

“A-h f-fuck S-suguru-“ You babble incoherently. Your mind blank and the air knocked out of your lungs as his cock kisses your cervix again. And again. And again until seconds later you’re creaming around him.

“Such a messy cunt,” Geto chuckles, admiring the ring of your arousal that coats his length as he bullies into your weepy hole, not stopping just because you came. “Just listen to the sound of her sucking me in. She doesn’t want to let me go. Fuck. Gripping me so tightly I could fucking burst. Greedy. Greedy. Just fucking greedy.”

“Fuck-Suguru, s’too much!” You felt lightheaded. He’s too rough, chasing his own high. And with the position he has you in, his cock presses so deep. His face sheens with sweat causing his hair to stick to his face, and his eyes glossed over, solely focused on bringing you over the edge.

“Awe, it’s too much?” Geto taunts, dragging his cock back out slowly, allowing you to feel every inch before slamming back in. “I never said I’d be nice. Go on, give me another orgasm then maybe I’ll consider slowing down.”

You felt your stomach tightening, tears brimming your eyelashes. “S-so mean,” you whimper.

Geto grins. “Mean? I’m just a greedy fucking bastard who wants more than what he needs. I won’t be satisfied unless I have you cumming around my cock over and over until you don’t remember anything else but the way my cock molds your pussy into its shape and the name of the man who fucks you silly.”

He grips your chin, kissing into you with urgency. Your moans muffled into small whines as you arch off the bed, raising your hips to meet his that still when his orgasm hits. Geto groans, biting your lip. He releases into the condom feeling his abdomen constrict and heavy balls tighten to the point of breaking. His body rocks, his face burying into the crook of your neck as the hard orgasm hits him with intensity.

“Ugh…fuck fuck…” Geto captures your lips again, this time more gentle. “Damn I’ve never cum that hard.” He checks to make sure you’re ok, wiping the stray tears that rolled down your cheek. “You okay, sweetheart?”

“Mhm…just…blissful…” you mutter sleepily, completely fucked out to the point of exhaustion. Geto laughs.

“Wait one second.” He slowly pulls out, tying the condom up carefully not to spill anything. He disappears into the bathroom only to return a moment later with a wet, warm towel. As he wipes you down, Geto secretly admires his handy work, the hickies and marks already starting to darken purple.

“What are you doing?” You ask, wincing when you try to sit up. Your hips were on fire and your legs felt like jello.

“Taking care of you?” Geto responds as if it were obvious.

“Why?”

“Why?” He scoffs. “I can be a gentleman too, you know.” His eyes soften seeing your slight discomfort. “You aren’t hurt, are you?”

“No, it’s okay,” you answer honestly. “I liked it.”

“Good.” Geto presses a kiss to your temple, settling beside you. “Cause I intend for this not to be the last time.”

Your gentle smile turns into a frown. Sure…it was great now. But in 3 months time, who knew where you’d be at? Your contract will end with Naoya, if he doesn’t find out what you’ve done beforehand and fires you or extends your time with him. Plus, it wasn’t like you could have a relationship with Geto, or a normal one at that. With his line of work, it would be impossible. And did you truly want to get involved knowing it was how you ended up in your current situation in the first place?

“What are you thinking about in that pretty head of yours?” Geto questions. Though meant to be lighthearted, there’s underlying concern in his voice.

“There can’t be a next time,” you say. “In three months, I’m free from Naoya and can leave. So we should just say our farewells now before we get too attached.”

Geto stares at you blankly for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. “You’re so cute, trying to act all serious and considerate.” He pinches your cheek making your pout.

“Stop, I’m serious.”

“And so was I,” Geto counters. When you avoid eye contact, he turns your cheek to face him. “In fact, you actually still owe me from our first game of Go Fish. I don’t quite remember cashing in my request. So I’m using it now: in three months, when your contract ends, you are to come stay with me.”

“But I-“

“I can arrange for you to work or do whatever hobbies you want. That is not a problem. I won’t let anyone or anything hurt you, so just stay by my side. Can you fulfill this one selfish request of mine?”

His words are sincere. His touch is gentle, and you find yourself leaning into his embrace despite your better judgment. You’re surprised by how hard his heart’s racing. “Okay,” you finally answer. “I’ll go with you.”

Geto visibly relaxed. His arms wrap themselves around you. “Good…I promise. I’ll protect you.”

You’re foolish. You’re playing a dangerous game that could end up with you getting hurt instead.

But Geto Suguru is a greedy man.

What he wants, he gets.

And he always takes precious care of what is his.

[poppitron360]

After responding to @puzzled-pegasus’ ask about my lighthearted Leo hcs, I came up with a WHOLE BUNCH MORE so buckle up (these are mostly Valgrace)

1. Okay so I recently did a rewatch of all six Tinkerbell movies for this project I’m working on and for no other reason not just because they’re awesome and I KNOW FOR A FACT that Leo loves those movies (they’re a beloved classic in Cabin 9). The plot of the first movie is LITERALLY JUST “Hey making things is really cool and you don’t always need flashy nature powers to be useful and you should be proud of your gifts!!’ (The Tinker fairies are literally just Hephaestus kids with a green colour palette).

2. “Tinkerbell” is one of Jason’s nicknames for Leo. Leo pretends to hate it but he secretly loves it.

3. Jason started noticing that whenever Leo steals his hoodies the tags at the back always end up mysteriously being cut off. Leo hates them bc of sensory issues. Now, whenever Jason buys a hoodie, the first thing he does is cut the tag off so that Leo can wear it, too.

4. Leo once collected all the tags that he cut off his clothing and sewed them together to make a plushie and gave it to Jason to say thank you.

5. Gift-making is Leo’s love language. Jason’s love language is showing off those gifts.

6. “How to Train Your Dragon” is also one of Leo’s favourites, and he likes to curl up with Festus in Bunker 9 and watch all three movies plus the spin-off shows.

7. He references Vines CONSTANTLY. So does Piper. They like to watch compilations on YouTube and quote along to them. Jason is SO CONFUSED when they quote them out in public.

He’s just like “Why did you yell “LOOK AT ALL THOSE CHICKENS!!” When we passed by that field of geese earlier?”

And they respond with, in perfect unison- “Wouldn’t you like to know, Weather Boy?”

8. I feel like he’d be the typa guy who’s memorised the entire Bee Movie Script.

9. His favourite musical is “In The Heights” bc he knows all the Spanish and he also relates to Usnavi on a SPIRITUAL LEVEL.

10. One time he was a little too overenthusiastic doing the HOT TO GO dance and accidentally wacked Reyna in the face. They found her in the process of trying to tie him in a bag with a rabid dog to throw him in the lake.

11. *types text out in all caps* *deletes it and types in lower case* *thinks “ah, fuck it” and types it out in all caps again*

12. Carries around Uno Reverse cards in his pockets just in case. It’s actually gotten them out of some tough situations.

Monster: I’M GONNA KILL YOU!!

Leo *reaching into his tool belt*: ha!

Leo: UNO REVERSE!!

Leo: NOW WE’RE GONNA KILL YOU!!!

13. His favourite Taylor Swift song is “I can do it with a broken heart”

14. Kinda a genius at Puzzle games, videogames in general (in TLH he gets exited when he sees Beckendorf’s old bed had a gaming rig, and also canonically played Mario Party with Jason). He used to play those Lego Videogames as a kid. (He still does).

15. Also he’s the only person who can beat Annabeth at Chess. She gets SO MAD:

“It’s literally a war strategy game! How are you better than me?!”

“[Witty Chess Pun here], mi amiga.”

*Annabeth flips the board over*

16. I mean we all know that he plays with Lego, right? I like to think that’s how he designed the Argo II, by building it with Lego first.

17. Jason and Piper only find out that Leo’s real name is “Leonidas” AFTER he died. And now Jason would never get to tease him about it…

(I know Rick confirmed it wasn’t but I like it so I’m sticking with it)

18. He was actually very careful to not teach Hazel all the memes right away, and save a few for the perfect opportunity. After he told her about his plan to sacrifice himself, he goes up to her and says very solemnly “At my funeral, please- I want you to play my favourite song as you burn my shroud. It’s a beautiful song called “Never Gonna Give You Up” by a man called Rick Astley- it’s about strength and loyalty and devotion. I think if- if I don’t make it… it would be a fitting send-off.”

She falls for it SO easily, and Leo got to play a few tricks on his friends from beyond the grave.

19. I know his death was a serious matter, but you can’t tell me that Leo didn’t use it to mess with Frank and Hazel.

“Hey, Frank! Are you gonna finish that cookie?”

“Well, I was planning on-“

And then he gives him an “I’m about to die tomorrow” look and Frank just caves and gives him the cookie. Little does he know that Leo’s already scored two muffins and a chocolate bar from Hazel by pulling the exact same trick.

20. In a world where Jason survived, he also uses it to mess with him.

“Hey Leo, can you take out the trash?”

“Can’t you do it? I died to save you.”

21. When he turned 18, he actually got a “Hot stuff” tattoo just like the fake one he drew in MoA

[svcredveins]

I think I may try the lav mic method soon. I just have to buy one and hopefully it’ll slot right into my steth’s earpeice. It’s awkward because I don’t live alone either so yeah…at least it’s not medical related lol. Ideally I don’t really want to use my gaming PC for this but I am generally intrigued what sound I could get out of it. Won’t be doing that though for a bit because I really want to move into the other room

Reason why is because I made a mistake because one of my sim racing league mates was actually willing to buy the whole rig for me and I made a mistake getting a large one that’s not foldable nor can move so…yeah…yikes. It won’t fit in my current room at all because of how small my room is. I could really do huge arrangements, but why when my bed is massive and it takes up half of the room. The outlets are put in really awkwardly so I have a “cubby hole” of space without an outlet. It’s so strange. Eh. The other room is longer and I can do more there to be honest like not having to worry about the length and width of my new desk that I wanna get soon - the Karbly desk with Alex drawers from IKEA. It’s so aesthetic! So many gamers have that and I’m planning to just put my PC on top of the desk. Hate the fact that it’s already collecting dust when it’s two weeks old now, and I’m no PC tech savvy so ain’t no way I’ll be taking a part any component just for a clean. My GPU just has specs of dust on the surface. It’s only a matter of time before it’s somewhere else which I’m not happy about.

But yeah, this will give me more of a layout to make my room feel more me instead of crap everywhere lmao. Nothing is set up and it’s still a mess so I can see things to be more aesthetically pleasing when moving in, plus my move to a whole sim rig finally!

But anyway for future advice, how would I save a file out of Audacity, or whatever it’s called? My old PC could screen record anything on the desktop but I apparently can’t with my new PC, just games, and I am not gonna dabble into fixing that where I can record the desktop lol

[nullbutler]

because it's impossible to truly get into the depths of a very hyper specific situation, here's a checklist of 'am I being groomed' [specifically for ONLINE SPACES]

keep in mind that grooming, in this sense, could not be seen as inherently rigged for sexual exploitation. there are a lot of different examples. this also works as a checklist of the intrusive worry of 'am I accidentally grooming someone.' as long as you aren't doing any of that, there's no reason you'd think you would be a groomer. this isn't even age specific. it can happen to anyone at any time if they are susceptible.

none of these specifically mean anything, but together/if added together, they should be cause for alarm

any victim of this sort of behavior should know: it's not your fault, you can always recover, you deserve better friends, you deserve to be happy, you don't deserve to be isolated

I honest to god felt the same way about a year ago. And, now, while I'm still coming to terms with it, I have never been more happy and sure of myself now that I'm out of the situation. and I want the same for you, genuinely. it's isolating and bizarre.

and here: the checklist

are they showing you pornography or explicit content that makes you uncomfortable?

are they encouraging you to seek out specific pornography?

is that pornography in a moral sense illegal?

are they encouraging you to do illegal things or things that might put you in danger?

do you wonder if they ever actually care about you?

do they only talk to you when you're emotionally vulnerable?

do you feel like you need to act outside of how you'd typically act to please them?

do you feel like you need to expose yourself to things you wouldn't normally want to to please them?

do you feel isolated from people outside of the opinions they hold?

do you feel like 'if everyone knew who I really was, they'd hate me?"

do you feel like you're secretly a bad person

do you feel like you can't hold any moral stance on issues because your morals are too far gone?

do you feel like you can defend heinous actions because you (and specifically this other person) are just as guilty your selves

are they telling you that they're the only person/group of people who can 'fix' an issue you have?

are they telling you that looking at upsetting and triggering material is the only way to fix yourself?

are they making you feel as though you don't have a choice about something about yourself?

are they telling you to disregard belief systems that are in place to keep you safe?

are they desensitizing you to things (showing you something bad, showing you something bad, showing you something worse; you don't perceive it as worse)

do you feel like their values are more important than your own morals?

do you feel like you're beyond saving because of what they've told you?

The best course of action to this kind of thing isn't even legal based because that's impossible to determine/prove; it's : please leave. please find somewhere safe to go.

[inkinmyheartandonthepage]

Haunted House

Day 25 (!) of Flufftober and the prompt is Haunted House! You can read it here on Ao3.

“This house wins The Haunted House category,” Hen said, tone dry.

As Eddie Diaz stared up at the house they had been called too, he had to agree. It was Halloween and this was the fifth Haunted House that the 118 had been called out to. Three had been called out to fair grounds in the city and the other two had been to residential homes that had been turned into Haunted Houses.

Their current called was called out to a residential home, but it was unclear if anyone was actually living there. The front yard had been turned into a mock-graveyard. Fog floated eerily through the graveyard, swirls of mist billowing up at random points. A dark figure drifted back and forth in the between the graves. What only added to the eeriness was how rundown the outside looked. It could have been an effect, but Eddie got the distinct impression that it had been weathered from the years of misuse.

“Why does it have to be another Haunted House?” Chimney asked with a snap of his gum.

“This is wicked,” Buck said with a bright grin. “I am definitely coming back here after shift. Ed’s don’t you think this is cool?”

“Of course you are,” Hen chuckled while Eddie rolled his eyes fondly. He tried to hide his smile as he looked at Buck, but it was hard when Buck looked so eager. He looked so happy that it made Eddie’s heart thump in his chest. Because Buck was beautiful when he was happy, and Eddie just wanted him to be that way forever.

“Dispatch said that the building has been reported empty for a while,” Bobby said, gaze sweeping over the building “It’s unclear as to who has set this up. But we are looking for a young female caught in a bear trap.”

“A real bear trap?” Eddie asked, stomach churning at the thought.

Bobby paused. “That it also unclear.”

“This is why I hate Haunted Houses,” Chimney said as the four of them made their way up the path to the house.

Eddie had to agree. “Who thinks putting a bear trap in a Haunted House is a good idea?”

“Better than a cross bow,” Buck chuckled, bounding up the stairs like the eager golden retriever he was.  

Eddie stared at Buck’s back as he climbed up after him, the wood creaking under his feet. “You don’t mean real crossbows, right?”

“Yeah,” Buck said. “This guy had rigged them up with a sensor so when you passed, it shot real arrows. It was great right up until someone got hit in the arm.”

“Where was this?” Eddie demanded.

“And please tell me it wasn’t you who got shot,” Bobby added, shooting Buck a look.

Buck pushed open the door with a groaning creak. He stopped, turning to look at Eddie and Bobby as he held the door open. “It was when I was in Virginia. I worked at the Haunted House for a season.”

Eddie, Bobby, Chimney and Hen all stopped and looked at Buck.

“What?” Buck frowned, gaze flickering between them all.

“You really have lived a thousand lives, haven’t you?” Hen mused, giving Buck an affectionate pat to the arm as she slipped past him.

“Let me guess,” Chimney said as he followed after Hen. “You gave jump scares to people.”

“Wait – is that a bad thing?” Buck asked, looking to Bobby as he followed Chimney into the house. Buck’s gaze landed on Eddie. “Ed’s, is that bad?”

Eddie lets his fingers brush over Buck’s arm as he passed, his fingers pulsing at the touch of Buck’s skin. “No, not a bad thing.” And it wasn’t, but it made Eddie sad to think of all the jobs that Buck had filtered through, looking for a place to belong. He would be forever grateful that he had found the 118. Buck was born so save people and he had found himself a family with the 118.

The entrance to the home looked much like it did on the outside. Eddie’s body tensed as he scanned the area. There was nobody else in the foyer, only adding to the eeriness that seemed to encompass the whole house. Eddie had been to a war zone, but nothing had sent shivers down  his spine like this house did.

“Where did they say the victim was?” Chimney asked slowly.

“Second floor,” Bobby answered, looking at the degraded staircase. “Third room on the left.”

Nobody moved as they all stared at the staircase, taking in the rotting wood, the way the house creaked and groaned with movement somewhere deeper in the house.

Except Buck. He bounded towards the staircase in his usual eager manor.

“He would definitely die first in a horror movie,” Chimney commented as they watched Buck head up the stairs.

“No doubt about it,” Hen agreed.

“Come on,” Eddie said as he stepped forward to follow Buck. If Buck were to die first in a horror movie, then Eddie would be the second because no way was Eddie going through a whole movie (or life) without Buck by his side.

“Let’s go,” Bobby said from behind Eddie, and he heard them following him up the stairs.

They found the room easily, Eddie ignoring the cobwebs and layer of dust that coated the hallway. As soon as they pushed open the door, the eeriness swept away, and it was as if the room had come to life.

The room was crowded, people pressing in close as they surrounded the figure in the middle of the room. Their murmured chatter could hardly be heard over the chaos in the middle of the room. Dispatch had been right; it was a young female, and her foot was indeed caught in a bear trap. She was crying hysterically, a young man by her side trying to sooth her.

“Finally!” a man yelled from his position on the ground. “Get over here and get this thing off my girlfriend!”

“Everyone back up,” Bobby called as he moved closer to observe the situation. “Back up. Whose Haunted House is this?”

“That would be mine,” a gravelled voice drawled from an older man who was leaning against the wall, casual as could be. He turned to face Bobby, bringing a cigarette to his lips and took a drag. “Mikes.”

“You set this bear trap up in here?” Bobby demanded as Hen and Chimney kneeled beside the sobbing girl.

“What’s your name?” Hen asked, voice gentle as she snapped on some gloves.

“Her name is Hannah,” the boy answered for the sobbing girl. “I’m her boyfriend, Dylan.”

“Okay, Hannah. We’re going to take a look now,” Chimney said, his own gloves on as he shifted to get a better look at her leg.

“Get – it – off – me,” Hannah sobbed around a scream.

“Like I told these nit-wits. It’s not a real bear trap,” Mikes said around the smoke spilling from his lips. “It’s a prop.”

“She’s in agony!” Dylan snapped, whipping his head around to glare at Mikes. “You set a bear trap you freak!”

“It’s a prop,” Buck repeated, pointing to the girl’s leg. “She’s not even bleeding.”

Eddie peered over Chimney’s shoulder to take a closer look and he blinked. Buck was right. If this were a real bear trap, blood would have been soaking the girls’ jeans. But there wasn’t a hint of blood anywhere.

“Like I said,” Mikes drawled. “Nothing but a prop.”

“Here,” Buck said. He crouched down, fingers dancing over the prop. He fiddled with something and then the trap opened with a snap, releasing the girls leg. Buck shifted the trap away from the girl’s leg before standing back up, trap in his hand.

Eddie hissed when Buck placed his palm over the sharp teeth of the trap and pressed hard. To Eddie’s surprise, the teeth retracted with the pressure, disappearing, and then springing back up when Buck released them.  

“My leg!” Hannah sobbed. “Am I going to lose my leg?”

“You’re going to be fine,” Hen said as she helped the girl sit up.

“Not even a scratch,” Chimney said dryly.

The crowd around them almost sagged with disappointment that it was nothing more than a trick. 

“See.” Mikes took a drag from his cigarette. “That blue eyed devil did exactly what I would have done had that nit-wit let me.”

Eddie bristled at the name Mikes had given Buck. Before he could open his mouth to defend Buck, Bobby was speaking.  

“Buck, Eddie, get everyone out of here,” Bobby instructed with an expression that Eddie knew he was on the end of his patience. Looked like Eddie wasn’t the only one offended on Buck’s behalf.

“Okay everyone, let’s move out. The Haunted House is now closed for business,” Buck said loudly, directing everyone towards the exit.

Eddie took up the rear, making sure that nobody tried to slip away and together the two of them got everyone outside. They directed them down the path and sent them in the direction of where a team of police had shown up.

“They’ll want to take your statement,” Eddie said to the group. “They’ll give you the all clear to leave.”

As the group headed over to the police, Athena Grant strode up the path, looking unimpressed.

“A bear trap,” she said dryly.

Buck held it up in his hand. “Just a prop. A good one too. High quality.”

“And what do you know about fake bear traps?” Athena asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Buck used to work at a Haunted House,” Eddie supplied.

Buck grinned. “I helped set them up and they used a prop like this.”

“Good work, Buckaroo,” Athena said, patting him on the arm as she walked past. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a squatter to arrest.”

“Wait,” Buck said, and Athena paused. He looked at Athena pleadingly. “Can’t you arrest him after? This has to be the best Haunted House I’ve seen in years.” He glanced at Eddie before looking back to Athena.

Athena rolled her eyes fondly. “Find another one, Buckaroo.”

Buck pouted as Athena strode up the path and into the house.

Eddie clapped Buck on the shoulder. “Better luck next time, bud.”

Buck sighed loudly, shoulders drooping.

“You really wanted to go,” Eddie stated, looking at Buck with a frown. While everyone else had been dreading this shift, knowing just how crazy Halloween could be, Buck had been excited. Since their first call out, Buck had been asking Eddie about his Halloween traditions and if he and Chris were doing anything.

“Yeah,” Buck sighed. “Guess it doesn’t matter now.”

Eddie frowned at the disappointment that was coming off Buck. It seemed more than just missing out on a Haunted House. “Buck? What’s going on.”

Buck cheeks went pink. “Nothing, Ed’s. It’s fine. I’m just being silly.”

Eddie frowned and gently gripped Buck’s elbow. “It’s not silly. What’s going on? Why do you want to go to the haunted house so badly.”

Buck groaned, ducking his head as the flush spread down his neck, disappearing into the collar of his shirt. “I wanted you to come with me.” Buck lifted his head, chewing on his bottom lip. “Like – like on a date.”

Eddie’s heart tripped in his chest. “What?”

Buck huffed. “I wanted to take you on a date.”

“To a haunted house?” Eddie clarified.

“I was sticking to the season,” Buck huffed. “And I thought it would be a less pressurized first date activity.”

A smile spread across Eddie’s face. “You’ve been thinking about this a lot?”

Buck’s eyes flittered across Eddie’s face and Eddie could practically see his thoughts churning over his expression. Buck licked his lips, gaze turning hopeful. “All I can think about, if I’m honest.”

Eddie’ stomach fluttered at the admission. “Yeah?”

Buck nodded shifting closer to Eddie. “Yeah, Ed’s. I – I can’t stop thinking about you.”

“Then I guess,” Eddie said, voice low and smooth even as nerves fluttered under his skin. But this was Buck, and he had never been so sure about anyone in his entire life. “We should do something about that.”

“Ye- yeah?” Buck blinked, a smile pulling at his lips.

“Yeah,” Eddie grinned back. “Ask me.”

“Ed’s,” Buck said, shifting even closer. “Can I take you out on a date?”

“Yes,” Eddie said, the words coming out more breathless than he intended. “But Buck?”

“What?” Buck asked, worry flashing across his face.

“We are not going to a Haunted House,” Eddie said firmly.

Buck barked a laugh, a sheepish grin crossing his face. “Yeah, okay. I’ll – I’ll think of something better.”

Eddie leaned forward, pressing a kiss to Buck’s cheek. “I look forward to it.” He pulled back, grinning at the way Buck’s cheeks flushed darker. He couldn’t wait to, (hopefully and if he got his way) have his first last date ever.

[opiatesandspeed]

To my fellow addicts,

I know the cold/hot sweats are one of the worst things but my least favorite was the restless legs which today it’s your lucky day because I remember the cure. I knew this before my overdose (the in in 2016 that I was the actual closest to death), but when I needed to learn everything from scratch I completely forgot that Nikki always used to stock up on as much gabapentin/neutontin as possible before attempting to come off of H. I have recently come off of suboxone only about a month ago and have been having some opioid withdrawal symptoms that have been delayed. I already know and understand a lot of the science of this because I did so much research on it. Also now that I have finished school and I’m serious this time I would love to get the nodsquad page back up and running. It will be a lot of work but the amount of lives we saved I say fuck you directly to tumblr’s ToS. We never directly facilitate a deal but if someone is using and is asking for help because their supplier got locked up/they don’t trust this person anymore we at least did a little bit of screening beforehand to ensure the legitimacy of the individual pointing the person in at least the general direction. We had a network of people all over the world which we would need to reestablish but now that I have finally graduated from college I have a few weeks of free time before I get stuck with a job and won’t have as much is anyone is down to help out PLEASE DM ME. Also the motto that Nikki and I had was that we never tried to talk individuals out of using because we were addicts ourselves and that would’ve been highly hypocritical. Second, we always tried to get them resource help before just telling them yeah we know someone in (any city, USA/the world) this included ensuring they had narcan and for specific situations we sent out a lot of narcan to people(it was not just in the pharmacy back then). But still I would be interested in getting people clean needles/rigs/sharps… another thing is please because you use different wording do not attack others or make fun of the way things are said in their particular area. This created a lot of unnecessary chaos. If you’re serious about helping others and if you know your shit PLEASE DM ME DIRECTLY ASAP. I will be creating the new email for the new page at some point today. Lastly, all I ask is that if you are interested you at least have 1 hour a week minimum to answer messages or look on the page and that you do your research before answering questions from our fellow addicts. I will be adding on to this message because I have so much more else to say but I hate typing on my phone and I’m too lazy to get to my Mac which is a few feet away from me 🤣. However I want to end this with that no matter how bad things are things can get better. I’m not going to go into my entire story but I completely lost the ability to gain any short term memory and was able to graduate from a top 30 school in the US. You can do it and it is possible no matter how hard it seems to get clean but it is the hardest thing you will ever do but it is worth it. It is not sunshine and rainbows and you will have to fight harder than every other sober person 5 times as hard but after graduating I think my first field before going into cyber security will be addiction counseling. Which is where my true passion is. Just know that you are worth it even if you have no one. that’s what this community is for to support people who are bring constantly criticized by others or not getting the help they need. This may go nowhere but I think it’s worth giving one last shot for @sweet-despondency my fiance who passed away next to me back in 2016. Where if there was a way to see her for just a minute and be able to hug her I would go through hell. I know that is how most of you people feel for the people you lost as well. But the best thing we can do is keep their memory alive by helping others. Thank you so much if you got this far. I love you all and hope to talk to you all very soon.

UPDATE: 13:18 ET: So good news... We at least still have a page up that I am going to try to get the login info for but I'm not sure how hard this will be. Just wanted to let you all know A PAGE still exists... not the original page.

[starlocked01]

Your Average Petty Sinner

AO3 link (pending)

Summary- Patton goes through an Emo phase and decides to hang out with the most notorious kids at school, going so far as to try to date their leader.

Relationships- Janus&Patton (Moceit), Remus/Virgil (Dukexiety)

Word Count- 5.4k

Content Warnings- swearing, mild description of injury, mild sexual innuendos

This is my @sanderssidesgiftxchange gift for @lily-janus 💛💙 I really hope you like it! Also a shout out to @infinitesimal-dna for beta reading and putting up with my shenanigans.

“I just don't get it!” Patton frantically paced the small patch of faded pale blue carpet that was visible in his cluttered room, “I literally caught them with cigarettes and lighters in the bathroom- how did they weasel out of detention this time?”

Roman barely looked up from the script in his hand as he lounged on Patton’s bed, “I don't know. Remus didn't say when Mom picked us up. They weren't going to hurt anyone but themselves.”

“Lighters start fires- they could have caused a fire alarm and some freshman could have been trampled in the ensuing panic while the science wing burned down-” Patton whipped back to face Roman who remained unperturbed. 

“And none of that happened. You saved the day, Padre. Why can't you just be happy about that?”

“Because they didn't get in trouble!” Patton crossed his arms tight over his chest and resumed his pacing, “why turn in the bad kids if they're just going to be let go?”

“Sounds like you want to put my brother in jail,” Roman snickered and briefly looked up, “I don't know why. Why do you snitch on them?” Roman countered

Patton bit down hard on his lip before taking a measured breath, “I am not snitching. They just keep breaking the rules in front of me.”

“I think you just want Janus to notice you. Trust me, he does, sweetie. Remus won't stop complaining about how much the goodie two shoes need to fu- leave them alone,” Roman replies, remembering too late the household ban on swears.

“SHH! Don’t let Mom hear you.” Patton whispered tersely, “you’re wrong. I don’t care what any of them think about me– especially not Janus.”

Roman snorted, “Yeah, right. That’s why you’re constantly tattling on him. Didn’t anyone ever tell you that when a boy’s mean to you that means he likes you?”

Patton stopped in his tracks and turned back to face Roman, “That’s… completely untrue.”

Roman rolled his eyes, flipping a page lazily, “Just keep telling yourself that, Padre. I bet if you just asked he’d go out with you.”

“I’m not gay and I don’t want to go out with him,” Patton countered, “will you please just be quiet? My mom would kick you out in two seconds for being a quote ‘bad influence’ if she heard you right now.”

“Mmm fine. Alright. I won’t talk about your obvious crush on Mr. Tall, Dark and Mysterious.”

“I am not- Why don’t you understand that not everyone has to like guys?” 

Roman sat up, “I’m not saying everyone. I just know you, Patt. You don’t like girls. You’ve turned down like twenty of them since homecoming last year. So if you don’t like girls, that just leaves guys. I know you don’t feel comfortable bringing a bf home because of the witch, but you’ve at least got to let yourself consider the possibility.”

“Maybe I just haven’t met the right girl,” Patton replied, not sounding as convincing as he should have to shut down the conversation.

Roman chuckled, “sure. Because she’s actually a boy named Janus and you’re looking in the wrong places.”

“Roman!”

“Just ask him!”

“He hates me. And I don’t like him.”

“You absolutely fucking do!”

“Roman!” Patton hissed, flinching as he could hear his mother’s footsteps coming down the hallway. “Now you’ve done it-” he muttered as the bedroom door clicked and swung open.

“Patton, sweetie. What’s our rule for having friends over?” his mother asked from the door, a falsely sweet and disarming voice cutting through the tension of the argument.

Patton turned, “they need to follow house rules and not distract from school work…”

“That’s right. If I’m not mistaken, I believe I heard Mr. Prince here swearing. That is no way to speak to others, is it?” 

“No, ma’am,” Patton replied, head hung in defeat. 

She turned towards Roman, “Exactly. I’m sorry dear, but you need to leave and reevaluate your vocabulary and manners if you want to spend time with my son.”

“Sorry, Patt,” Roman murmured as he grabbed his backpack and walked past to leave, “tomorrow. Just do it.” 

Patton sighed with exasperation, “Please, Mom, let him stay? He didn’t mean to-”

“You know the rules, Patton. I think it’s about time you got started on your homework,” she brushed him off, escorting Roman out to the front door. 

Patton waited until he heard the front door shutting before closing his bedroom door to get started on his work, trying to tune out his racing thoughts about school. 

___ ___ ___

 Janus slumped against the lockers, ignoring the dirty look from Susan next to him when he accidentally shut hers for her. It wasn’t his fault her locker was so close to Virgil’s. He gripped the head of his cane to keep it from sliding into the throng of students that would trample and crack it without a second thought. The polished wooden cane had cost a fortune, stained black with a yellow snake carved around the shaft up to the handle. He'd refused to adopt a medical-looking metal bully magnet and protected his aide fiercely. Janus silently watched Virgil picking out text books for the next class.

“What a bitch, right?” he asked once Virgil had noticed him. 

Virgil nodded sagely, “Yeah. Who’re we talking about this time?”

Janus smirked, “Mrs. Hansen, of course. It’s like she doesn’t even care that I don’t give a fuck about Physics.”

“She held you after class again? That bitch!” Virgil gaped, closing his locker, “that is so messed up. You should tell the VP that she’s not respecting your accommodations, right?”

“Like he ever cared the twenty thousand other times someone tried to make life harder,” Janus scoffed, glancing at the disturbance coming down the hallway and opting not to warn Virgil.

With all the subtlety of a tornado, Janus watched as Remus pinned Virgil to the lockers, dropping his backpack at Janus’ feet in his hurry to get hands on the boy. Virgil grunted in surprise, pushing back against the attack until he recognized the lips pressed harshly into his neck.

“Rem-! Oh my god!” Virgil laughed breathlessly, “I told you not at school, motherfucker!”

Remus looked up with a devious grin, “and? Your mother said she loved it.”

“Gross,” Virgil chuckled and pulled his boyfriend into a tight hug, “I missed you.”

Janus rolled his eyes, pushing the discarded backpack away with the tip of his cane, “It’s been all of an hour since you two last molested each other in front of the entire school.”

“Jealous, Jannie?”

“Utterly green with envy,” Janus sighed, noticing the crowd in the hall thinning rapidly, “are you done playing tongue hockey yet?”

“Never,” Remus laughed and turned back to Virgil, cutting off his protests with a filthy kiss.

“I’m honestly surprised you haven’t figured out how to make gay love babies yet,” Janus replied, carefully readjusting his treasured suede gloves. The crowds of students dissipated and doors shut as the bell for the next period rang through the now empty halls.

Janus nudged the pair, “Biology will have to wait. Let's get going.”

“Oh come on!” Remus whined, “just tell Mr. Sawan you got held back and we're helping you-”

“It's not a lie for once,” Virgil added, leaning down to grab Remus' bag.

“And they say I'm the bad influence,” Janus scoffed, grabbing his cane to start towards class. Virgil and Remus reluctantly followed, careful to give him space to walk. 

Janus wasn't actually eager to get to class. Everyone always stared when he walked in late, despite arriving late by necessity every day. The scrutiny felt absolutely miserable. 

As they neared the stairs down to the mathematics wing, Janus paused to let the couple go first. The last thing he wanted was to slip all the way down into a concussion.

“Hey!” A voice called loudly from down the hall, “aren't you supposed to be in class?”

Janus glanced over and swore quietly at the sight of the world's most annoying goody two shoes coming towards them.

“Patton. Where do you think we're going?” He asked in a lazy drawl.

“Yeah, calm your tits,” Remus added less than helpfully.

Patton frowned, glancing down at his chest for a brief moment, “I don't have- the bell rang five minutes ago. You're supposed to be in class. I bet you're out here trying to smoke and ditch class.”

“How? You stole my lighter yesterday,” Virgil snarked back, arms crossed tightly over his chest.

“It’s against school policy-” Patton started.

“What's against policy is a student trying to police other students. I literally cannot walk the halls when everyone else is running around,” Janus spoke up, standing up straighter. “We'd have made it by now if you hadn't interrupted us.”

“You liar. You're just messing around to get out of class,” Patton accused, stepping closer as if to intimidate Janus.

He laughed, “we have this discussion once a week! If I didn't know better, I would think you're going out of your way to flirt with me.”

An inscrutable look passed over Patton’s face, freckles melting into a soft flustered blush. “I am not!” Patton whispered hoarsely.

“Then we'll just be on our way,” Janus sneered, starting down the first step, cane first.

“Hey!” Patton gasped, reaching for Janus’s shoulder. Janus flinched at the unexpected touch, shifting to toss Patton as far from him as possible.

Unfortunately, this sent the boy careening down the flight of stairs.

“Shit!” Janus exclaimed,  watching in horror and slight mesmerism as Patton came to a halt on the first landing.

“You killed him!” Remus cackled with glee at the possibility.

“Jan- what the fuck?” Virgil asked, not sure if he should move to help Patton or not.

Janus glanced down the hall, and seeing no one, made his decision.

“Virgil, help me get him to the nurse.” he instructed. “Remus, get to class and tell them Virgil and I cannot make it. Give as little context as possible, got it?”

Remus nodded and hurried to the class.

Janus hurried down the steps as fast as he could manage to the place Patton lay on the stairs.

“Wh- why?” Patton murmured, cradling his shoulder, “I- I wasn't-”

“Next time don't touch people without permission,” Janus snapped, reaching to pick  Patton up, “can you walk?”

“I- I think so?” Patton winced, trying to sit up with both of the others pulling him up, “d-don't pull my arm, please.”

Janus nodded, “right, let's go, before you die or something.”

“Good going, Jan,” Virgil groaned as Patton leaned more heavily against him.

“Shut it, Vi. I didn't do anything.”

The walk down the rest of the stairs and to the nurse's office felt impossibly long and arduous, as Patton moved slower than even Janus. And he moaned in pain at each jostle to his arm.

“You're going to be okay,” Virgil chewed at his cheek, “it wasn't that bad of a fall.”

“I- I hope so,” Patton murmured, “why are the bad kids helping me?”

Janus rolled his eyes, “who said we're bad?”

“I- you always get in trouble,” Patton tried to explain.

“Yeah. Because you're always trying to get us in trouble,” Virgil scoffed.

“I don't expect you to understand, Patton,” Janus stopped as they reached the nurse’s office, “ but sometimes people just don't think like you.”

Patton nodded then tried to walk into the office, “thanks, I guess.”

Janus rolled his eyes, turning to head back to class, only to be confronted with the imposing figure of the school vice principal.

“What's this, then?”

“Oh- sir, I can explain,” Janus offered hastily.

“You will,” the man nodded, pointing towards his office, “If you please, Mr. Shephard.”

Virgil fiddled with his sleeves, “It was completely an accident. We were just helping Patton.”

“He fell down the stairs after slipping on a spilled water bottle,” Janus protested, already tired of walking, “I think he hit his head so we didn't want to leave him alone before he could get over here.”

“I see,” the man eyed the two, “is that so?”

“Yes. That's what happened.” Janus nodded emphatically. He watched the disciplinarian's face to see if he bought the story.

“Get to your class,” the vice principal barked, and the two wasted no time disappearing down the hallway.

___ ___ ___

Patton stirred and sat gingerly up in bed. A needle of pain shot through his shoulder at the weight pressed on it. 

“Oh- f-”

“Patton!” His mother stood at the door to his room with a sour look on her face.

“I was going to say ‘fudge’,” Patton gritted his teeth.

“Honestly, when did I raise such a delinquent?” She shook her head and barged her way in, “bullying other students and now swearing? Certainly nothing I taught you.”

“Mom!”

“I won't hear it. Luckily, some of your classmates collected your homework assignments for you. Behave yourself with them,” she scolded.

“I'm not a bully,” Patton muttered, gazing up at the ceiling as though the stucco could offer him the strength to endure her accusations.

“For the record, no one said you were but her. I don’t know why she thinks that,” Patton looked back to the door sharply, finding his mother replaced with Virgil standing slouched against the frame, a book bag slung over one shoulder. “Hey- I hope it's okay I- let's not worry about how I knew your address. How… are.. you?”

“I've been better. The doctor poked and prodded me a lot yesterday.” 

“Yikes…”

Patton nods, “I’ll be back in school by Monday. Unless I go completely loopy in the head. But I think the sprain in my shoulder is worse. Is Janus okay?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. He was tired from all the running around but like.. I don’t think he’s mad at you, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Virgil glanced back to the door before leaning closer to ask, “is she always like that?”

Patton nodded, “yeah… that’s my mom for you.”

Virgil swung his bag onto the bed, “alright, well, I’ve got your homework for the classes you missed.. And I thought you might like some music to pass the time? It’s the kind I listen to when I get really upset,” Virgil explained with a pointed look as he pulled a disk in a clear cover out of the bag with the school books, “just.. Let me know what you think if you do. I’m really sorry about what happened.”

“It’s not your fault, Virge-” Patton shook his head and then winced, “thank you, though.”

“No worries. I- uh.. Look forward to seeing you..? Yeah. Get better soon.”

Patton watched as Virgil exited his bedroom, confused why he of any of the kids at school brought him make up work. He examined the CD, turning it to read the sharpie writing, a list of songs with artists listed in incomprehensible initials. He turned the case over, noticing a small piece of paper tucked under the CD inside the case. Intrigued, he pried the case open and popped the CD out, laying it on the blanket. He retrieved the small folded paper from his lap, carefully picking it apart. 

I didn’t push you down the stairs. I also did not try to help you after you tripped. If you tell anyone I did, I won’t hesitate to make you regret it. -J

Patton frowned, confused by the note. He tossed it aside and pulled out his portable CD player to listen to the mixtape without his mom listening in. He laid back, letting the beats and melodies wash over him. As he listened, an idea started to form, one of which he was barely conscious.

___ ___ ___

“Are you insane?” Roman stared far more openly than other students in the hall. Patton shrugged and pushed past his friend to his locker.

“I’m just trying something new,” Patton replied, hanging his backpack up and picking out books for the first class. He tried very hard to not express frustration when the bookbag caught on the spikes sticking out of one of his many new bracelets. 

“You look ridiculous. You hate black! What is going on?” 

“I can wear whatever I want, Ro. You sound like my mother right now.” 

That shut Roman’s protests up quickly. Patton hummed to himself, reaching into the bag to pull out a brand new makeup pallet made of browns and blacks, picking the darkest shade to dab onto his eyelids.

“How hard did you hit your head?” Roman asked, staring in even more shock and disbelief. 

“My head is fine, Roman. I told you I’m trying something new,” Patton explained.

“Oh Hey! When did you get hot, Pat-Pat?” Remus yelled, dragging Virgil behind him from down the hall.

“Woah- Patton, are you okay?” Virgil asked as they reached him and Roman at the lockers. 

“Looks like Jannie knocked some sense into him. Hot damn!” Remus leered, earning a smack on the shoulder from Virgil and Roman. 

“Guys, I am fine. I promise. I wanted to see how my mom would take it,” Patton offers, not so subtly searching the halls.

“Right. Suuuuuuure,” Remus giggled, “just remember that Virgie is mine,” he snaps playfully, “I don’t share and I certainly don’t do threesomes.” Remus winked, sending a shiver of disgust running down Patton’s spine. “Congrats, baby emo.”

“If you need to talk or something,” Virgil managed to offer before getting swept away by Remus.

Roman sighed, “Seriously, do you want to talk?”

“I’ll be fine, Ro. I’m still me. I just... I don’t know. It felt right this morning,” Patton offers as explanation.

“Well, you know where to find me. And if this is some ploy to get Janus to like you- it won’t work-” 

“I don’t care if he likes me,” Patton protests, “this isn’t about him.”

“It’s not?” Janus asked in a smooth voice, standing behind Patton as if he appeared there from thin air.

“Janus!” Patton whipped around, “how- when did you- um, hi.” he stammered.

Roman laughed and clapped Patton on the shoulder, “good luck, Romeo. See you at lunch.” He walked away still laughing as Patton blushed and tried to shake the teasing off.

Janus watched curiously. He certainly would never have predicted that Patton would show up in an all black pretend-emo costume. Amazing really how people could still surprise him. 

“I promise that Roman doesn’t know what he’s talking about-” Patton tried to recover his composure.

“He never does. Poor Remus got all the interesting and useful brains,” Janus sighed, examining his gloved hand nonchalantly. “Even if this were some ploy for my attention, I wouldn’t be interested just because you changed clothes and painted your nails.”

“That implies you would be interested in different circumstances,” Patton pointed out.

“Would I? I never said that. You understood my message, right?” Janus asked, changing topics quickly.

Patton nodded, “I- yes, I understood. You didn’t have to threaten me. Everyone thinks I broke my head and wouldn’t believe me saying either thing.” 

“Correct. No use spreading rumors,” Janus smirked.

“Janus?” 

“What?” 

“Do you think I’m a bad person?” Patton asked quietly.

Janus took a moment to think over the question, “Why are you asking me?”

“Because I think you’re probably the person I’ve hurt the most.”

Janus laughed, “Oh please. Like you could hurt me. Since when do you care about my opinions?”

“I don’t know- I’m really trying something new here, Janus.” Patton worried his lip between his teeth. 

“I see. I notice,” Janus nodded and turned to head towards class.

“Janus? Do I… seem like I have a crush on you?”

Janus stopped in his tracks, turning back slowly, “Do you have one?”

Patton shrugged his one good shoulder, “Roman says I must have one. I’m not sure. How do I figure it out?”

Janus studied the black clad teen he would have sworn had it out for him just two days ago. Who was he to answer this kind of question? And why wouldn’t he just ask Roman, the prince of failed relationships?

“I don’t know. Go on a date with me?” Janus was just as surprised at the words leaving his lips as Patton looked hearing them.

“Wait- really?”

“Yes. We can go out tonight. No need to make it formal. Just black, not black tie.” Janus nodded. It surprised him just how calm and collected he felt, proposing a romantic time together. 

Patton hummed, “um.. I assume Virgil… gave you my address,” he replied diplomatically, “would you be able to pick me up.”

“Yes. 9 o’clock?”

Patton nodded, “yeah, that works. I’ll see you then?”

Janus smiled just a bit mischievously, “yes, you will. Good luck in school today. Everyone is going to notice.”

“Notice what?” Patton asked.

“This.” Janus smirked and leaned forward, planting a lipstick stained kiss on Patton’s cheek, turning to leave just as the first bell rang out. 

Patton stood frozen like a deer, slowing reaching up to touch his cheek, “oh, shit-”

___ ___ ___

“Uh, Jannie?”

“Yes, Remus?”

“Where the fuck are we going?” Remus asked, hanging on the back of Janus’ seat.

Janus inhaled slowly, “We’re picking up my date for tonight.”

“Since when do you date?” Virgil asked, lounging in the back seat and scrolling on his phone.

“Since this morning,” Janus answered, “You two just made it look so fun I had to give it a try.”

“Ooooooooh,” Remus absolutely beamed, “so who’s the lucky virgin?”

“Come on, Re. Don’t assume,” Virgil chided, trying to pull his boyfriend back to the back seat. “Wait- I recognize this street-”

“Just shut up,” Janus growled, “You’re the ones who wanted me to date. He’s harmless and might even like me.”

“So you’re trying to go out with the guy who made our lives hell for over a year?” Virgil asked.

“I’m not being some sort of saint, I’m just curious about what Patton’s going through.”

“I’ll cancel the wedding bells,” Remus cackled as they pulled up to the door. The headlights swept over the porch, revealing Patton sitting outside in the dark. He popped up, rushing over to the passenger side of the car.

“Hey Janus- and… Virgil and Remus? What?” Patton squinted at the couple in the back seat, “is this.. A double date?”

“Somewhat. Get in,” Janus commanded, ignoring the snickering from the back seat. 

Patton climbed in and sat down, confused but not about to back out now. Not when Roman would roast him for failing to go on the first date he’s ever been asked out on. Janus pulled out of the driveway and continued on in relative quiet.

“So… where are we going?” Patton asked, a little too bright for his dark exterior. 

“You’ll see,” Janus replied cryptically.

Patton nodded and fell silent, watching the road slip by as they drove along.

“Woof. The chemistry is just bubbling,” Remus snarked after a few minutes of quiet, sitting back to cuddle into Virgil.

Virgil laughed softly, “give them time. I’m sure it’s just first date awkwardness.” He wrapped his arms around Remus and held him close.

Janus turned down a residential street and flicked off the headlights, “Well, Patton, since you’re exploring new countercultures, I figured it would be a good idea to bring you along to a protest.”

“A protest? At night?” Patton asked, fear glinting in his eyes, “what kind of protest?”

“One against ableism in the education system,” Virgil grinned, grabbing cartons of eggs from the floor of the back seat.

“Yeah! We’re gonna show that bitch what it feels like!” Remus crowed, opening the door before Janus could put the car in park and banging impatiently on the trunk. Virgil piled out as well as Janus parked and grabbed the latch to open the trunk for them. 

“This… is illegal, isn’t it?” Patton worried, glancing around the street to see if they had been spotted yet.

“Very.” Janus nodded, “but, lucky us that the Virus have the dirty work covered. We’re just lookouts tonight. Mrs. Hansen has been violating my disability accommodations. That makes my life harder when I end up missing the beginning of class because of the crowds in the hallway. So we’re making her morning a bit harder.”

“Oh.. that’s why you three were in the hallway during class time the other day?” Patton asked, voice softening at the realization.

“Yes. Sometimes we wait until after the bell anyway but she still shouldn’t be holding me back like that,” Janus explained.

“I’m sorry- I didn’t realize that,” Patton offered quietly, wincing as Remus started chucking raw eggs at the car in the driveway.

“Relax, Patton. They’re just letting off steam. I swear they would have burned the school down by now if I didn’t try to aim them at productive activities,” Janus chuckled, glancing down the road for any observers.

“Right. So… this is a date… why don’t you tell me about yourself?” Patton turned in his seat to face Janus. 

Janus slowly turned his head, “what do you want to know?”

“Um, I’m not sure. I’ve never done this before,” Patton laughed nervously, “maybe… when did you know that you’re gay?”

Janus snorted at that, “I still don’t know. You’re the first boy I’ve tried to date. You’d think hanging out around the twins would make that sort of question easy, right?”

“Right! Like, I’ve known Roman really well for years and he sure seems to know… some of what he wants. But I just don’t know how he understands what a crush is versus wanting to be friends.”

“Those two make it seem like you meet someone and suddenly they’re the only thought in your head ever,” Janus nodded to the couple who were busy laying out toilet paper strips in the shape of a penis on the hood of the car, “I’ve never understood it.” 

“Do you.. Feel that way about me?” Patton asks, “since you’re the one who asked me out.”

“Frankly, I find your change of aesthetic rather intriguing. And you seem willing to challenge some of your bullshit ideas right now, so why not?” Janus shrugs, “maybe I just want attention and don’t give a fuck about who you are. You can never know.”

Patton looked down towards his hands, folded neatly in his lap, “I think I’ve been jealous of you all.”

“How so? You seemed adamant about reporting us to the school like a narc for the past year,” Janus challenged.

“Because things like egging teacher’s houses and smoking in the hallways can cause problems for people! But, I do like how you all express yourselves.”

“Really?”

“Right. You just… get to be weird and stand out in classes. You get away with a disturbing amount of rule breaking. It seems really freeing,” Patton sighed softly, “Maybe I’m thinking about it wrong. I’ve just always felt terrified of disappointing people, and in just one day I’ve been able to disappoint almost everyone.”

“So, you’re just dressing emo to make people upset, not to express yourself?”

“I mean- maybe partially?” Patton shrugged, “I never knew you all were this criminal-”

“Patton-”

“And… I think it’s maybe hot that you all stand up for yourselves despite what people think of you?” Patton says shyly, more of a question than an opinion.

“I didn’t bring you along to impress you with like that-”

“No?”

“I thought giving Virgil and Remus a target would give us some time alone,” Janus explains.

“Time  alone to do what?” Panton leaned a bit closer.

“What we’re doing now, talking.”

“That’s all you wanted to do with me?” Patton asked, head tilted a bit.

“Did you want to kiss me?” 

“Patton-”

Patton leaned in even closer until the backdoor slammed open, sending him scrambling back to his seat, blushing bright red.

“Drive- Neighbor might be calling the cops.” Remus replied, out of breath.

Virgil nodded and Janus jumped into action to get away from the crime scene. 

“Looked like a productive date,” Remus teased as Janus slowed back down to avoid suspicion.

“Wow what a rush!” Patton exclaimed. 

“Adrenaline wasn’t the point,” Janus reminded him, “Are you two ready to head home?”

“Yeah, Remus’ please,” Virgil nods.

Remus spent the car ride back to his place giving the lookouts a play by play of the night, with Virgil interjecting with certain facts and figures.. Janus soon dropped the pair off and the silence settled between him and Patton. 

“I just… you guys get away with bad behavior all the time. I wish I could do that the same as you,” Patton spoke up eventually.

Janus sighed and pulled the car over again, this time near a park, “Do you even care about why we do that stupid shit?”

“Well, tonight was about getting back at Mrs. Hansen, right? For treating you badly,” Patton recalled.

“And skipping class is because it’s too overwhelming to sit still learning useless crap with a bunch of jerks who know nothing about what it’s like to try and navigate when your feet don’t just take you to where you need to go. They don’t care that it hurts to walk and it’s just safer to take my time with friends by my side to catch me.”

“I-”

“You just see me as some bad boy to upset people with. You don’t care how I feel about it, do you?” Janus challenged.

“That’s not true-” Patton tried to protest. 

“I’m not some average petty sinner to disappoint your family with at the holidays. I actually have feeling and wants and needs and I just- I-”

Patton reached over to take one of Janus’ hands, “It’s okay. I-I didn’t want to use you, Janus. Not in the long run. Sure, I wanted to experiment and see if Roman’s right about crushes, but I don’t want to trap you in a relationship you won’t enjoy. I don’t want to hurt you.”

Janus looked away, trying to pull his hand free.

“Just remember that you asked me out tonight. So, I thought that kisses were something you’re supposed to do on dates. Can we try again without interruptions this time? See if… well, if we’ll like that sort of thing?”

“Are you even listening to me?”

“Yes, yes I am. You are not a manic pixie dream boy or the dangerous rebel to scare my mom with. You’re Janus. And I don’t know you very well because I’ve never tried to get to know you. But we’re on a date. It’s past curfew. I think you at least deserve a chance at something properly romantic, since defacing property was just the distraction to keep Remus and Virgil busy. It’s too late to get food anywhere. So maybe we can try a kiss and start over again in the morning?”

Janus blinked, trying to process all of that at once. “Um… no.”

“No?” Patton sat back immediately, “did I do something wrong?”

“Not necessarily, I just… you asking makes it very clear to me that I don’t want to kiss you, Patton.” Janus tried to explain.

Patton nodded, “okay. I- actually, thank you? I- I was so scared…”

Janus chuckled softly, “I don’t think we’re crushing on each other. I’m not sure why not. But I’m glad you agree.” 

Patton nodded emphatically this time, “I very much don’t want to be the awkward one. I think… it would feel wrong or empty to try. And that’s not your fault-”

“I get it. I agree. We tried. Dating just… isn’t in our cards,” Janus laughed a bit more at that, “let me take you home?”

“Yes please. Maybe at school… we can just say hi?”

“That would be much more pleasant.”

Patton sighed softly and leaned back in the passenger seat, “I won’t tell about the eggs and toilet paper, by the way. Maybe I should ask Mrs. Hansen why she’s not letting you leave for class on time?”

Janus smiled, “That could be helpful. Maybe she just needs to see one of the responsible students concerned on our behalf.”

“Would have been a lot less illegal if you just asked me to do that in the first place,” Patton giggled, “It makes more sense than vandalism.”

“But throwing trash at her house is fun,” Janus grins, starting the car again.

“It may be fun. But there are much better outlets for the anger, I would think.” Patton grinned.

“Maybe you’ll be a good acquaintance after all,” Janus mused, pulling back out onto the road to take his definitely-not-a-date back home.

[waytooinvested]

Forgotten, Not Forgiven - Chapter 2

Still reeling from finding out the truth herself, Lena suddenly finds herself in the midst of an odd role reversal in which she knows that Kara is Supergirl, but Kara no longer has any idea she has ever been more than an ordinary human.

And what’s more, Lena has no choice but to keep the truth from her for her own protection…

This and previous chapters are also on AO3

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

‘Hello little sister’.

Lena jumped and whirled to face her brother, who was leaning with an air of performative nonchalance against the doorway she had just come through, a knowing smirk playing about his lips.

How the hell had he managed to sneak up on her like that? He must have been right behind her and yet she hadn’t sensed a thing, despite the unnatural, heavy stillness of the air down here. She was clearly allowing her emotions to blunt her edge, and that needed to stop right now. If she and Kara were going to make it out of this alive, Lena had to be smarter than that. Smarter than Lex.

‘You know, it took you a lot longer to get here than I expected – I’ve been sending out that signal for nearly two days now. For a moment there I thought you really might have cut the leash and let your little pet go for good, I was about to be so proud, even though it would have been a waste of my efforts. But it turns out that you were just too incompetent to work it out sooner. You’ve really let me down Lena’.

Somehow, even though she knew and despised the truth of who Lex had become, his words still managed to worm their way through the cracks to find the part of her that had once been a little girl desperate for his approval, and she had to bite back the instinct to defend herself. She refused to be drawn so easily into an ego contest with Lex. It wasn’t what she was here for, and it would be a waste of time in any case. There had never been anything she could say or do that was enough to convince her brother that she was worthy of his approval, and for all her inner six year old might yearn for it, she knew now that the last thing anyone should aspire to was to be approved of by this man.

Instead of responding to the jibe, Lena raised the gun she had brought with her and leveled it at Lex’s chest.

‘If you’ve hurt her-’

‘Oh calm down, I didn’t kill your itty bitty kitty. I’ve done you a favour actually. I just couldn’t bear to see you so upset over her lie about being Supergirl, so I fixed her for you. Call it a birthday present’.

‘It’s not my birthday, and I didn’t ask you for anything. What the hell are you up to Lex?’

Throughout this exchange Lena was subtly scanning the room they were in, seeking whatever advantage she might be able to dredge up from the space. It was unpromising. The room was an unbroken expanse of bare white tile, save for the dust and a few dirty scuff marks on the floor where there had clearly once been furniture. There were two closed doors leading off to other parts of the bunker, but no indication as to which might take her to wherever Lex was keeping Kara. Lena weighed up the possibility of making a dash for one or other of them, but quickly discarded it. Lex was bound to have anticipated such a move, and if he had rigged up a booby trap she failed to notice in her haste it could cost both her and Kara their lives.

‘I told you, I got you a present. Want me to tell you what it is? Say please’.

Lex’s voice was jovial and teasing, as if they really were just talking about a new sweater or a bottle of her favourite scotch and not the life of the woman she-

Hated.

Obviously.

But still felt responsible for now that her own brother had taken her hostage.

‘Screw you’.

Lena released the safety catch on her gun, and Lex raised his hands. The gesture should have looked like surrender, but on Lex it just looked mocking, as if she was pointing a stick at him in the garden and shouting ‘bang bang!’ in a fit of childish pique.

‘Ah ah ah. If you do that, you’ll never find out about the little surprise I’ve left for you in Kara’s brain, and if you don’t know how to play with her properly you might find she gets… damaged. We wouldn’t want that would we?’

Fucking Lex.

He had got her in check and he knew it. But at least she was still the one with the gun aimed at his heart. That was something. Enough anyway to allow her room for a little bit of snark.

‘Okay Lex, lets do this your way. I know you love a good supervillain monologuing session, so lets do it. Here I am, your captive and attentive audience, wide eyed and oh-so-impressed by the great homicidal maniac himself. Please, tell me of your great cunning plan so that I can marvel over it’.

‘I know you’re being sarcastic, but I actually love that tone for you. It reminds me of old times. Alright then, since you ask so nicely, I will. You see Lena, once again your big brother has stepped in to pick up the pieces of your broken toys. You were so hurt to find out that Kara Danvers was Supergirl? Well, now she’s not. I’ve split out the alien part of her mind and tucked it securely away for safekeeping. As far as she’s concerned she is now and has always been, plain old Kara Danvers, bumbling human reporter and former friendless orphan. Isn’t it the most perfect revenge? Now you know her secret, and she doesn’t! I laughed so hard when I thought of it, it really is priceless. So, you can either keep your little pet, now she’s been properly domesticated, or if you find you don’t like your cats declawed after all, you can discard her for good, secure in the knowledge that vengeance has been served, even if you didn’t have the guts to do it yourself. You’re welcome’.

‘That’s… completely unhinged. Not to mention impossible’.

‘Impossible for you maybe. I however am cut of a finer cloth. I not only can do it, I have done it. And I not only did it, I enjoyed it’.

‘So what, you’re expecting me to just play along and not tell her the truth? Even if I did agree that she deserved this, there are plenty of other people who know Supergirl’s identity and would be pretty eager to fill her in’.

Lex threw back his head and laughed.

‘Oh baby sister, please, please try it. Only let me know when you’re going to and I’ll make sure I’m there to record it. I thought your irritating noble streak might get in the way of enjoying my present, so I added in a fail safe. Here, I’ll walk you through it at a level you’ll understand. Kara’s mind has been split into two pieces, the one she can access-’

He held up a fist to demonstrate

‘-and the Supergirl part, which she can’t’.

The other fist.

‘All this time you’ve been failing to look for her, Kara’s clever little brain has been busily creating false memories to fill in the gaps left by the missing Supergirl, and it’s getting awfully crowded in there’.

The fingers of one fist expanded outwards, pushing the other off to the side as if he had taken hold of an invisible tennis ball.

‘So to avoid overload, her mind is rejecting the side it can’t get to. If you tell Kara the truth her own brain will fight to keep the separation in place, and she’ll find reasons to deny it to you, as well as to herself. Think of it like two magnets repelling each other’.

He moved one fist towards the other, while moving that one back, as if she was still a four year old child and he was explaining the fundamentals of physics to her for the first time. It was deeply patronising, but Lena let him talk – the more she knew, the more likely it was that she could undo it.

‘Really? That sounds interesting. How did you do it?’

‘Lena, your attempts to outsmart me are laughably juvenile. I’m not going to just hand you the keys to my kingdom’.

She shrugged. It had been a long shot, but you never knew with Lex. Sometimes he just couldn’t resist letting you know exactly how clever he was.

‘Fine. It doesn’t matter anyway, I’ll find a way to get through to her’.

‘Ah, but, this is the truly delicious part: If somehow someone does manage to convince her of the truth, the poles will flip and the two parts of her mind will smash back together with such force that her head will literally explode. Tell me sis, have you ever wondered what a Super looks like with blood pouring from their eyes, ears and nose? I have. I think it would make for a nice holiday movie, what do you say? We could watch it together at Christmas as a cosy little family tradition’.

‘Fuck you Lex. Undo it. Now’.

‘I have to say you’re being a little ungrateful. I did this for you’.

‘Then you can undo it for me, or I can shoot you. For me’.

‘I don’t think so. I did this for you, yes, but I happen to think she’s better this way. And if it all goes well and she doesn’t find a way to unite the two sides on her own, I can do the same thing to Superman’.

‘Oh, there it is. I should have known it would all come back to Superman. You dress all this up as some great revenge on Supergirl for my sake, but this was never about me, or even Kara. It’s only ever about Superman with you’.

Lex shrugged, arrogant in the unshakable certainty of his own unparalleled brilliance.

‘Lena, I hope you know me better than that. At any given moment I have no fewer than seven ulterior motives in play, but yes, of course one of them is Superman. You think your dumb blonde is enough to warrant all this on her own? She’s just like you – a lesser imitation of the real power in her family’.

If it had been safe to take her focus away from Lex for long enough to do so, Lena would have rolled her eyes.

‘You really need to find some other hobbies, this obsession is getting beyond creepy. I know you’re still sore that I’ve been able to beat you at chess since I was four years old, but there are plenty of other games you could take up that don’t involve trailing round trying to get Superman’s attention like a bitter rejected fanboy. Maybe try Connect Four. Or Bingo’.

At long last Lex’s smug look slipped, and for the first time since he’d appeared he seemed actually riled by what she’d said. If there was one thing her brother couldn’t bear, it was being made to feel a fool. He scowled, and when his response came the jocular air was gone from his voice to reveal the cold steel beneath the faux-friendly facade.

‘I thought you’d be more pleased. You always made such a fuss over me killing anyone, even cockroaches like those two, and yet when I find another option you still keep whining. Maybe I should stop trying to be so nice to you and just cut Supergirl’s throat right now while she’s unconscious’.

Lex reached into his jacket and pulled out a stiletto knife, testing the point with his finger and drawing a tiny bead of blood.

‘You know what, I think I will. It’s more humane than she deserves, but I suppose I can make one last concession to your pathetic little crush’.

That was enough, Lena was done playing games.

He had told her all he was going to about what he’d done to Kara, and now she had to stop him before he followed through on his threat, or escaped to enact the rest of his plan against Superman. It was time to do what she had promised herself she would when she’d set out to follow the signal here.

Lena’s knees felt weak but her hands were rock steady as she took aim and placed a finger on the trigger.

‘I’ll tell you what would be more humane. Killing you, and saving the world from any more of your vile schemes’.

Before her brother had time to react Lena fired, twice. Heart and then head, just to make sure he wouldn’t be saved at the last by a bullet proof vest.

The head shot went a little wide, seeming to skim past his temple without leaving a mark, but the heart shot flew true and hit Lex squarely in the chest, passing cleanly through his body to lodge in the wall behind him.

Lex looked down at his front, then back to Lena.

‘You actually shot me! Congratulations, I truly didn’t think you had it in you’.

But the shot was a little too clean. There was no blood marring the pristine white of his shirt, and Lex remained standing upright, the look of infuriating smugness now firmly back in place, as if he had been waiting for this ever since their conversation had started.

Lena swore.

‘It’s a hologram’.

No wonder she hadn’t heard him coming up behind her when she’d first arrived, and he had seemed so entirely unconcerned by the gun she’d had aimed at his chest throughout their interaction. She really should have put the pieces together sooner.

‘Well of course it is, I’m not a moron. Besides, I pinged the DEO as soon as you got here, and there was no point taking chances on still being nearby if they actually manage to figure out their asses from their elbows and pick up the signal. I could escape again of course, but prison is such a waste of time. Also, I think it will be more fun if I leave you to explain why they can’t tell their favourite action figure that she’s not just the Barbie doll she thinks she is. I wonder if they’ll believe you after the way you behaved during your little falling out? I’m guessing you’re not really their favourite person these days. Don’t forget to record it for me if they try to convince her she’s an alien will you? See ya round, sis’.

The hologram flickered and disappeared, leaving Lena alone in the derelict bunker.

The whole thing had been a set up. Of course it had been, and Lena had blundered straight into it exactly as Lex had planned that she should. She was furious, and there was nothing she could do but play the part he had written for her.

She had to find Kara.

[imagineanime2022]

Ciel Phantomhive With An S/O Who Plays Russian Roulette

Aged up!Ciel Phantomhive X Reader

Requested: Anon

Request: Ciel with a gn s/o who plays Russian roulette

Warning: Guns, Illusions to shooting and killing, russian roulette, Ciel aged up.

Let's be honest, the first time that you mentioned this when he asked about a new game to play he was horrified, he doesn’t know how you even found out about that game, especially because the only reason that he knew about it was because of his work for the queen. He hates that you think the game is worth the time of day and never agrees to play it with you. The day that you made it important to an investigation that he was doing drove him insane, he wanted to stop the game from the moment that it started honestly his heart was beating out of his chest. He gave Sebastian one order “if it looks like she’s in trouble or this game is going to get her killed you get they’re out of there.” “What about the investigation?” “To hell with the investigation!”

You sat opposite the supposed accomplice's fingers drumming on the table, you were apparently the type that this pair looked for when they were deciding on a victim “you're here alone?” The man in front of you asked. “Is that a problem, I don’t have any other friends that would have been interested in this.” You explained feigning innocence. “Really? Sounds like you might be lost.” He smirked and you nodded. “You think?” You asked. “Here let me explain and then you can tell me if you want to play?” He asked. “O-okay,” You answered, faking fear as you did. “Have you ever heard of the game russian roulette.” He asked. “No… Is it fun?” You asked. “Really fun.” He answered. “All we need is a gun.” “Gun!?” You asked. “Don’t worry, there’s only one bullet in the chamber, we spin the cylinder like this.” He placed the bullet in the gun and spun the cylinder and you looked at him and nodded “and then you hold the gun to your head and pull the trigger.” He held the gun up and the small click that signalled an empty chamber. “If you play and win, then you can have anything that you want but if you lose well, you’ll die.” “Anything I want?” You asked. “So I can save my family's company.” You hadn’t expected to have to make up a prize, you just hoped the partner doesn’t look it up. He nodded and you swallowed like you were nervous “then I will play.”

Ciel was sitting in an abandoned building across the way, it had a good view of you and the man as you talked, Sebastian was looking for the partner who shouldn’t have been too far, he was the one who gave you the invite to this building. “Hurry up.” He mumbled to himself, he hated that you were this close to anyone dangerous but he hated the game that you were so willing to play, he was counting the amount of times that you picked up the gun there was only two chambers left in the gun and that was when he saw you move the gun from your head and point it at the man across the room “Sebastian abandon your search and get to (Y/N) now!” Ciel ordered even if the butler wasn’t in the room he knew that the order would be heeded.

“Please do not tell me that you are surprised by this?” You pleaded, “I wasn’t acting very well.” “You were different then the girls that come here, some of them are more willing then others but it usually takes some convincing.” He smirked. “You know your partner is probably caught by now. What are you doing all of this for?” You asked. “What are we doing this for?” He asked, putting his hands in his packets. “Well what makes you think that there’s a reason?” He stepped forward. “Careful, I’m sure you know that all I have to do is pull the trigger and you’ll be dead.” You reminded him and he smirked. “The bullets in the next chamber over, I was the one who put it in, I spun the cylinder, you know I spin it a certain way, the game was rigged from the start.” He explained. “Really… Are you sure? Maybe I pulled the trigger before pointing it at you.” You shrugged. “You aren’t close enough to see so are you willing to risk your life when it’s actually in danger.” “It’s really not in danger.” He smirked and you shrugged. “Fine.” You lifted your hand and spun the cylinder and then pointed the gun at him again. “What about now?” He grit his teeth before he straightened up and relaxed, you seem to have forgotten that I’m not here alone. There was a sound behind you before and then the sound of someone getting knocked out. “Are you finished playing with him Miss (Y/N)?” Sebastian asked and you sighed. “Yes… He’s unlikely to be any fun now that he’s not winning.” You shrugged putting the gun on the table as Sebastian dealt with the man in front of you.

Ciel was waiting for you with the detectives from Scotland Yard “are you okay!?” He asked. “I’m fine.” You answered as he turned your face looking you over, in the years Ciel had gotten much taller and often used that to his advantage even if he didn’t realise it. “I told you not to do anything stupid.” He glared down at you and you rolled your eyes. “I wasn’t stupid, I knew that you’d have Sebastian come and find me, I needed to buy time.” You explained. “You are never playing that game again,” He informed you, causing you to raise an eyebrow. “We’ll talk about that later.” You said “but right now we need to finish up this investigation right?” “The detectives will take it from here.” Ciel waved off your suggestion and pulled you back to his carriage “they know where to find us if they need us.” “So we’re going home?” You asked. “Yes, we’re going home.” He confirmed as Sebastian closed the door for you all and you set off.

Request Here!!

[tomomiisasleep]

Salt water had always relieved her: salt water made her feel as though, if there was someone in there with her, she would suddenly know the words to tell them everything.

Harrow hated the salt water when she was little. then the pool scene happened I guess.

ok so still haven't ruled out that Nona is a fused spirit

“It was good,” said Camilla, and her eyes closed. “It was good. We were happy.”

bruh.. more suspicion

but no? didn't A.L. save Gideon? or was that after Nona?

NtN is so frustrating to read sometimes. I miss Harrow.

She said, “What is this internet?”

And he said, “See, I did make a utopia.”

ok

ok with her pool scene dream I'm more suspicious about the fused soul thing. and are Cam and Pal gonna be completely fused in the later plot??? like if they do it again it's gonna be permanent.

Pyrrha said it was puppy love, but Nona knew that puppy love was different, it just made you want to open the puppy’s lips and play with the puppy’s teeth.

I have a feeling this is close to what Harrow felt towards Gideon when they were like 3~6 years oldand with everything going on around them it kinda escalated

“Strong work ethic,” she said eventually. “High test scores.”

to be fair i kinda think these are sexy too

“Landmine people,” said Pyrrha, and when she saw Nona’s brows cross in confusion, she said: “Some people were put into the universe to rig it to explode, then walk away … I always fell for that.”

hot

“Oh, you can,” said Pyrrha. “You haven’t looked for it.” She flipped over another pikelet, looked grave and intelligent for a moment, and then said: “I mean, also redheads. Love a redhead.”

double hot, redheads are awesome, also that explains a lot

also that's Gideon. I mean Gideon II, but Gideon I is also kind fitting, which also explains a lot

“Okay. I don’t think redheads are very sexy.”“What? Hang on,” said Camilla, opening the door—no, Palamedes, opening the door, busy buttoning himself into Camilla’s jacket—“That’s a very interesting thing you just said, Nona. Let me write that down.

ok this and the reflection-kissing thing is halarious

If this was meant to hurt Crown’s feelings too, it didn’t appear to hit very hard. She said cheerfully, “If I haven’t put a pillow over her face, they won’t anytime soon.”

the twins think alike in methods to murder I guess

and I thought Judith was dead-set on serving the Emperor? why the Commander thing now?

“Back to point of origin. Either this shuttle’s derelict, or—it dropped through the River,” said Camilla.

Ianthe?

tbh the meeting scene did not make too much sense to me. it may be a chapter I made the least sense of. in my defense war-talk is really boring to me. at the middle of it I realized that We Suffer is not Judith

oh shit is Gideon not resurrected ?? he's got the "wrong type of body..?" and why's Camilla got the wrong type of soul? I don't understand. why is Corona not effected?

oh. I got mixed up. It hurts necromancers with a soul and a body. so why not Nona.

bruh

does she speak crazy lady now

You’re scared of Pyrrha, and you do think she’s nice-looking, but you’re confused when you think that so you don’t look at her very much. You want Camilla to cuddle you but not in a—a sexy way. I think you want Camilla to look at you like she looks at me. And you’re in love with th—”

the captain right please let it be the captain

“You darling, I know what you are, even if they refuse to see it,” she said softly. “All I can say, sweetheart, is I envy you more than anyone else in the universe.”

I'm 80% percent sure she's a fused soul.urghgggwhat if there's no Harrow ever again what if she just died like that nooooooooooooo noooooooooooooooooooooooo the only person she ever kissed was fucking Ianthe who lied to her about the coooooorpseeeeeee

oh but Harrow's in the dreams right so it's not the end for her yet

It wasn’t as easy reading her as it was reading Pyrrha. Hot Sauce constantly stood as though she were disconnected from her own head. Her body and her mind seemed to actively ignore each other. And her burns sometimes made her look rigid in a way that scared the tinies and foxed Nona’s senses.

uh wut she's harder to read than a pre-resurrection cop?

[rayniscatstatue]

Stellarlune unpack with me

Sophie is done, she needs therapy

Keefe come back, please

Sophie and Ro one bed trope… slay

Dadwin was only there for a few chapters. Shannon fix this. What is wrong with you?!

Ro should’ve punched Cassius in the face… Sophie has my back

Let Sophie burn things

That fight within the entire group. Nah uh, I’m not having it

Tam vs Linh?????

What crack is Shannon on to make her do that?!

It must be a high dose whatever she is on. Like girly what? Give us back the twins as twins. Twins deserve to be bestie twins. We also deserve bestie twins

Tam sticking up for Sophie

Cue me and my fake dating Sotam au where they fake date just to piss of Fitz and add more chaos to the group

I am living for platonic Sotam

I eat that shit up

No but Sophie and Tam vs everyone

Literally everyone hates the pettiness duo. It’s Snarky Sophie and Spiteful Tam

Just Sophie and Tam being besties and glaring at everyone

Enough about platonic Sotam, we will get back to that later

Linh just stop

I want the old Linh back, she literally carried books 5-8

Stina’s redemption is just down the drain…

I think Shannon mopped it up or licked it up, who knows?

Fitz needs to be angry

Let the child be angry but still be Sophie’s friend!

Chapter 23 tho!!!!

Sophie fawning over Keefe the entire chapter and finally realising her feelings

But also Ro leaving the chapter before

The Glimmer reveal

Like Rayni sounds so hot

Time to count how many people want to marry her

And that she doesn’t regret being in the Neverseen. Girlboss

Rayni is a girlboss

Say it with me, Rayni is a girlboss

Tiergan adopting all the gay kids

He is that meme of “how many kids do you have?” “Biologically, legally or emotionally?”

Tiergan is done with this hetro shit

He must want to quit teaching Sophie and Fitz at this point

The “Stop calling us Fitzphie!” Damn

Like dude you literally still have a crush on her…

Rayni is what made that book not boring

She made that meeting happen

Dex and Biana are totally dating but haven’t told anyone

You can’t convince me otherwise but their is chemistry between the 2, and it is getting spicy

Like they are getting along too well

Dexiana is sailing

Wylie stop being a fucking council stan

I am begging you Wylie!

Your dads taught you better

Btw, Tiergan and Prentice are the closest to canonically in love we will ever get!

Sophie snapping at Oralie

Dex must be there for that drama because damn, Sophie hates that girly

Just calm down a bit

And Sophie’s new attitude is slay

Marella putting gold in her hair

If that doesn’t tell you that she is head over heels in love with Linh then I don’t know what will

I ship it

Okay but the Jensi appearance

Sophie and Jensi besties

No, Sophie, Tam and Jensi as the new trio!

Jensi is gay tho, you can tell

Okay now the meeting! Rayni slay the day you absolute queen

Sophie with her entire plan

Rayni feeding Tam when his stomach growled will never be forgotten

The Trix and Rayni friendship

Tam stopping Sophie from having a panic attack because of Vespera!

Tam would honestly be an amazing friend

Trix outing Keefe for being fake with the Neverseen! Like Keefe is really an idiot

No but Maruca and her “is that true?”’s to Tam

Girly was shook

Sophie and Tam showing up to Dex’s in the middle of the night with a forbidden spy ball with ways to get Keefe back

Dex would’ve screamed

What if it was Juline that opened the door to Sophie and Tam?

Also Biana was missing

She literally just disappeared throughout that book

No but you can tell Sophie and Tam annoyed Dex so much while he was rigging the Spy ball

He wanted to slap them

Also Bex and Lex annoying them

Also poor Rex

Save Rex petition

I don’t like Shannon for that one

Then when they jumped out a window to flee to London and drag Keefe back

Sophie, Dex and Tam slayed

Then how Tam wishes Linh was there

Okay In the hotel, the “Foster?” As Sophie literally hug-tackled Keefe

Should’ve bitch slapped him tho

How Keefe was trying to take his shirt off for Tam, like you are gay

Dex standing there

Poor Dex

Also Tam just standing there

Poor Dex and Tam

Then them going back to Havenfeild

Edaline hugging Keefe!!!!

Also Keefe having presents ready to give to Sophie because of what he did

That’s what you get for running away

I want to see Sophie, Dex and Tam babysitting the triplets

Even Sophie and Dex babysitting them would be amazing

Oh my god, the kiss

The kiss guys

Sophie and Keefe finally kissed and Fitz was salty about it

Also both of them caring about each others feelings

Keefe calling Sophie “Sophie” during the confession

Fitz is salty

Like “You kissed him, you didn’t even kiss me” *wah wah wah*

Fitz is acting like a toddler that got his toy confiscated from him

Calm down dude

The damn hairpin was in Biana’s jewellery box, that was Biana’s plot point in the entire book at this point

Then Tam chaperoning Dex and Biana

He knew that Sokeefe happened so he had to move onto Dexiana

Keefe teasing Sophie

Like he really wants to kiss her in the moment

Then Keefe coming along with Sophie to make sure she is safe

That is like Sophie stopping Keefe from going to Ravagog in book 4

Sophie, Keefe, Marella, Maruca and Fitz at it

Gisela bowing up Vespera so she doesn’t have to confess her love for her

Taking notes

Then Elysian

Elysian neutrals

Like Damn girly, that cliffhanger…

And why hasn’t Ro came back yet…?

[omamervt]

If Apple has zero haters left in the world I'm dead but I think I'm gonna be forced to get an iPad or something. Doesn't look like they're making up-to-date iPod touches, and I'm not gonna buy a new phone just for this shit, but I'm trying to set up a virtual camera rig in Unreal Engine that I can make work in my incredibly limited home space (which rules out using LiveLink with VR gear unfortunately) AND I'm trying to learn to make/rig up Vtuber models and from what I hear around, the app that gives the best results on using/testing rigs is exclusive to iOS, as is Epic Games's Virtual Camera app.

On the off chance this reaches someone who knows their shit re: any of that, do I NEED to get the high-end one? What I really want is the mini one if it has all the necessary features to make those apps work. I'm not really gonna use it for anything else though so I don't wanna spring for the Pro edition and I know the gyroscopes in the Air line are prone to breaking more easily after using one for virtual production in college.

I can't SEE any major difference in specs between the standard iPad and the mini, so if a standard would work the mini should too... right? Please save me I hate looking at these things.

[purgemarchlockdown]

Jupiter: Won't you let me feel like a real devil for a moment?

Amane: What point is there in you getting sad when I have no regrets myself?

Venus: When someone rigs it from the start, and then says try your best, doesn't it make you mad? Doesn't that make you so inconsolably mad you never want to try it at all?

The “It can’t be helped”, from the scum who can’t be helped That makes them doubtlessly, clearly, absolutely, unequivocally, beyond any doubt, GUILTY

Neptune: They want you to prove you're good. But you're already so good. What is that? Why do they do that?

You’re sorry? I don’t care! Please, go ahead and die already Remember MY cries, MY repents, MY words of “I’m sorry” that I said to you?

We're not too worried about if more come after us; actually, we hope they send us lots and lots of kids much better behaved than we were. Adults also hate perfect kids who love the world so much they can't stop themselves from saving it.

I hope, I hope everyone can be happy and smile

The Worst Girls since Eve...

[gayandbifiremenofmine]

Late Recovery blogging

Yes, I'm thinking about how Wendell's watch reflected the sunlight on the flashback

Tamara, I need to hug you and make sure you're okay. (Also, Tamara is in a striped shirt, idk if it means anything but 👀)

Maddie number one big sister in the world, if she loses the polls it's because it was rigged

I just know that being between the Buckley siblings in a hug would fix everything wrong with me

Bathena, you are everything to me.

Buck's smile when Hen enters his loft 🥺

Pretty good after being called cowboy and fighting the urge to use the good ol' "save a horse, ride a cowboy" line huh

Connor WTF... I know you might be anxious but you seem frightened

OHHHH domestic Madney 🥰🥰🥰

BUCK IN EDDIE'S HOUSE WHERE HE'S SUPPOSED TO BE YES! (got to where my streaming stopped yesterday)

Tamara calling ohhh fuck :((( I want to to hug her and protect her from everything and everyone

Bobby's trauma I'M NOT THAT STRONG

Ohhhhhhhh yes baby Buddie kitchen scene!!! Shooting talk oh yes yes yes

Buck being sincere with Eddie 🥺 Eddie's growth 🥺🥺

Okay, Bobby omg DAMN

These guys are so fucking evil

TAMARA WHERE ARE YOU????

Oh IT'S A TRAP OH NO NO NO

They SET THE BUILDING ON FIRE WHAT THE HELL KILL THEM

AND THEY'RE TRYING TO FRAME BOBBY I'M GONNA KILL THEM PERSONALLY I'M GONNA DANCE AND PISS ON THEIR GRAVES

This lady is better not be doing what I think she's doing.

Oh. Okay. She's smart.

Oh Tamara my baby :(

Wendell's so sweet I wish we had more of him :((((

I don't want to see them suffer

I need this lady to die. Like DIE die. Slow and painful. She's so fucking horrible I hate her. And she's trying to blame my baby Tamara? Oh, no lady, this won't fly here.

They turning into each other HAH

Dr. Salazar, your hand in marriage please!

I'm not gonna be into too much detail but water's symbolism has a lot to deal with change and adaptability, like how it fits the shape of whatever recipient it's stored in...

I love how Bobby really is dad shaped to everyone he meets

Maddie and Buck you're the loves of my life

But I need to know the rest of Buck's list

Bobby becoming the sponsor, I'm so happy I was right 🤩

Athena being there for Bobby 🥺 I want what they have

[nightsidewrestling]

D.U.D.E: Part 1 - The Man Behind The Crown (Set in 2020)

Note: This is set in a universe where Men VS Women / Intergender matches can happen.

Tags: @piratewithvigor @tantamount-treason @thedollmaker16

Around 2000 Words. 18+ in places (those chapters will be marked as 'Mature / sexual content' just to be safe). Please inform me if you wish to be tagged or untagged from posts. If the text is in italics and orange it's Kirby's inner monologue. If the text is coloured but not in italics, it's either dialogue or a P.O.V change (P.O.V changes will be in bold and translated dialogue will appear in square [ ] brackets), Key below. Quick note on Geia's text colour: Yes I do know that as Greed she should be in yellow but I decided to colour the men's dialogue yellow so Geia was changed to be pink like the other women in the story outside of the main 8.

The Main 8: Damo - Bio. Vi - Bio. Billie - Bio. Geia - Bio. Kirby - Bio. Honey - Bio. Eli - Bio. Sara - Bio.

Gluttony's P.O.V:

As she looked up, she saw Damien's face, and that scowl... that damned scowl. The one of an angry tyrant looking at an insubordinate servant moments before carving their skull in half with a sword.

Kirby wakes up in a cold sweat, shivering with her mouth drier than the Sahara. She knows it was a nightmare but it was the same nightmare she had been having since moving into the building two years ago. Damian Lum, her boss, had bought an old disused motel, just enough room for the girls and their families if needed. The girls, each with their own problems in life, were representing the other six sins, and they had chosen Kirby to be Gluttony. Kirby, the only giant, was now known as a gluttonous beast and Damian... no, Damien, was to blame.

Damian was rich, not from wrestling as 'Damien Lucifarian', but because he was Damian Lum, son of wealthy businessman Adam Lum and thus his family had more dollars than sense. Stupid mental jokes aside, Kirby had to get up, her mind was the type that stayed awake after being awoken. Plus, it had just gone '06:00', or so her alarm clock told her.

"If I were luckier, I'd have been saved by the bell." She mutters to herself as she gets out of bed, a long day ahead of things already on her to-do list from last night's unfinished work and the days before. It was Monday. 20th July. 2020. Around three weeks earlier she had called her parents to wish her father a happy birthday. Three weeks; 3; Three weeks of working for AEW. Three weeks of editing Eli's Vlog, too. Kirby hated; no; Kirby hates the vlog. She went to college, and university, only for those skills to be used on the vlog. That stupid vlog.

Admittedly, she only hates it because she isn't getting paid for her work, despite the amount of hours put into it. Hours she could spend doing projects she has more love for. Her art. Making her own rig gear. Alas, she was awake and therefore she had to get dressed and do her morning routine. Shower, dry off, brush teeth & hair, get dressed, done. She would head to the gym next door and wait until someone got in contact. Kirby's not a social person; nor is she a recluse: she has anxiety and can find new people intimidating at first.

At '06:30' Saraid arrives out front in the car. They had already planned out the morning; café, breakfast, grab gear, airport, check in, flight, get to Jacksonville, reach the hotel, have lunch. Saraid's relationship with Kirby is like a younger sister, Saraid gets on Kirby's nerves, Kirby watches over the eighteen-year-old and waits for orders. Both of Semi-Irish descent and with an annoying habit of blurring the lines between gimmick and reality, they had grown protective over each other during the two years they were together.

Thanks to the fact the 'compound' as Damian called it was in Asheville, North Carolina, it took just under two hours to get to Jacksonville, Florida. From there the girls went to meet with their boss and the rest of the sinful team at their hotel, taking in the sights that they can before they reach their destination and unpack their belongings.

Eli's Vlog P.O.V:

Eli flipped the camera screen around before turning it on and filming.

"Bonjour [Hello], my darlings, tis me." She started her intro, same as the three weeks prior, making sure to get the other girls with her in the hotel lobby on camera.

She always began the same, a small intro to herself and her life before going on with her day and filming most of what she did within a day. Kirby would edit it later, taking out the unnecessary and double checking whenever she had to censor a word.

"Today, is the first day of our trip to Jacksonville. We're going to wrestle in Daily's Place and then hang out with some of the guys in a nearby bar. But first, I'll show you around Jacksonville with Geia and Billie."

As Eli continues to film, Kirby and Sara chat in the background with Renee, Jon Moxley's wife, Renee. Sure it was in the background, but viewers paying less attention to Eli and more to the goings-on in the camera view could glimpse Moxley and one of his friends going past the girls, Mox's friend pushing past Kirby quite aggressively.

"Woah, Kirby, ça va mon ami [are you alright my friend]?"

"I'm okay Eli, just another jackass who thinks his tiny **** gives him reason to barge past a woman taller than him." Kirby scoffs, staring daggers at the man who just barged past her.

"**** you!" The man yells, his Bronx accent thicker than Sara's.

"**** me yourself, you coward." Kirby snaps back.

"Kirby." Eli gasps, surprised at her friend's sudden snap at a stranger.

"What? Oh yeah right, I have to censor myself now. Well in that case, **** you, **** head."

The man only laughs in return, it's the laugh of a smoker. He stops for a second, doubling over slightly which makes his black t-shirt hug his beer gut more than when he's standing, the rosaries around his neck swinging down the moment he puts his hands on his knees.

"Eddie. Come on, man." Mox murmurs, looking over his shoulder at the other man.

"A'ight, a'ight. I'll stop ******* with them." 'Eddie' chuckles as he follows Mox.

Renee excuses herself and follows her husband and 'Eddie' out of the room, heading to their car.

Gluttony's P.O.V:

Kirby grunts as she heads to her and Sara's shared hire car, picking up her bag and heading to the locker room. Quickly changing into her workout gear (orange leggings and an orange sports bra that looks two sizes too small despite being the right size) before heading out to the gym, accompanied by the other girls as they each start their workout. The interaction from earlier still stuck in her mind as she replays it mentally for the millionth time.

Who was that guy? Mox said his name was 'Eddie'. What was his deal? Probably just another jerkwad trying her patience. When did Tony hire him? Judging off of every website she checked he wasn't signed to AEW. Where did he get such an attitude? Probably from growing up in New York, like Sara, only worse. Why would he even dare to piss off Kirby? He hopefully didn't realise she was standing in his way when he pushed past her. How did he have the balls to do such a thing? He's friends with Moxley, of course he would have the balls to do something like that.

She barely notices the hours pass as she continues her workout, that was until Damian and Tony came to check on her and ask about the incident. She put little thought into the words, giving her 'boss' and her actual boss a general spiel of answers that would calm them and get them to leave her to her workout.

It reached '13:00' before Kirby's stomach made her aware of how hungry the hours of working up both a sweat and an appetite made her, she took five minutes to shower and change into casual clothes (the outfit from earlier) ahead of quickly heading to her hotel room to grab her laptop and wallet and then finding a small café that would allow her to write several emails to her family back home, replying to her kin's worries.

"I... Mox said I should apologise for pissing you off earlier." The Bronx accent from earlier mutters.

"Apology is not required. I'm busy." Kirby grumbles, not looking up from her screen.

"Then..." 'Eddie' stalls for a moment, "... lemme buy you lunch to say sorry and to avoid me gaining an enemy."

"Sure, you can sit with me too, just don't annoy me further, Mister...?"

"Eddie. Kingston. You don't have to bother with any formalities or fancy words."

"Alright then, Eddie, no gimmicks as we're in public, right?"

"I'm Eddie Moore. Friends call me Eddie, Ma calls me Edward and enemies call me Asshole." He smiles softly.

Kirby smiles gently in return as she finally takes in Eddie's features, not too perfect, but not too rough either. A Yankees cap, which Eddie swiftly turns backwards, revealing his buzzed black hair beneath it. Two seemingly perfect eyebrows and green eyes... bright green eyes, rare on anyone, but a noticeable difference from people she's met before. A slightly crooked, but rather cute nose for a wrestler. Then the scruffy beard and thin lips. If looks could kill, he'd be far worse than any Voorhees, Sawyer or Krueger. She shakes the thoughts from her mind as she checks back into the conversation.

"So, what's ya name? I heard ya friend call ya 'Kirby'."

"I'm Kirby Rhydderch, or to the audience, Kirby Lucifarian."

"Rid..." Eddie struggles in an attempt to pronounce her surname before giving up, "where ya from?"

"Llanfaethlu, Anglesey... Wales."

"Oh, you're that Welsh girl that Mox was talking about, the female Andre."

"He calls me that?" She asks, partially inclined to end the conversation there and go talk to Moxley about his words.

"Better female Andre than female Doink, right?" He jokes as he sits opposite her.

Kirby chuckles softly, shaking her head slightly before looking up at Eddie, "Can I get you a coffee or something?"

"Nah, I'm buying, whatever you want."

"Whatever I want, huh, okay then... a cappuccino and a hot chocolate, both large and in to-go cups and a blueberry muffin if there's any left, please."

Eddie leaves for a few minutes, giving Kirby a perfect chance to give him a mental dressing down. He's rugged, no he's rough. He's a tough guy, no shit Sherlock he's a wrestler. He smokes he would fit in back home, as if a guy like him would want to visit Wales let alone the Rhydderch clan. He must be at least in his 30s, no his beard's greying either he's so stressed his beard's gone grey or he's like 50. A guy like him has to be married, according to what Mox has said in the past he doesn't even have a girlfriend or kids. He's kinda hot to be honest, WOW Kirby first we think that actors like Luis Guzmán, John Goodman and Dan Aykroyd are cute and now this dude, plus he's got a Bronx accent, as if our childhood crush on Raphael needed further help coming to light. He then returns with both drinks but no food.

"No luck on the food, sorry."

"Well, beggars can't be choosers or so they say." Kirby shrugs, her mind still mid-argument with itself.

Eddie passes her both drinks before looking at her laptop, almost studying it, "That's a lot of stickers."

"I collect them, I travel a lot because as you know wrestling takes you to a lot of places and I need this for work and private stuff so it comes with me and thus it's gained... personality, for lack of a better explanation."

"Gotcha, it's got a life of it's own, so you add stickers to make it look like it." Eddie nods and smiles softly.

Eli's Vlog P.O.V:

Over at the hotel, Eli, Sara and Honey are playing video games and answering questions on a livestream while recording the livestream to keep as an archive.

"Excellent question, mon ami [my friend], 'Where are the other girls?' from someone who I didn't catch the name of."

"Vi is in her hotel room, talking with her husband. Billie is probably trying to pick up a potential date somewhere. Geia is meeting with two of her step-kids for lunch, I can't remember which ones... and Kirby. Well, Kirby's a ghost in giant form, nobody knows where she is ever, except for Kirby." Honey explains.

"This will probably be in this week's vlog, but Kirby and one of Moxley's friends had quite the first meeting."

"Yeah, the jerk barged past her and Kirby's gonna have to censor herself and the dude for the vlog." Sara scoffs.

Eli nods in agreement before going back to reading the comments as Sara and Honey continue to play Mortal Kombat together.