#i have so many thoughts about this guy it's crazy

[preciosapascal]

Sleepless Nights

Summary: another sleepless night in jackson for both you and your neighbour Joel.

Warnings: MINORS DNI 18+, NSFW, alcohol consumption, unprotected sex (don’t be silly, wrap your willy), pinv, oral (f receiving), dirty talk, pet names, fingering, pussy pronouns

Word count: 3.4k

Pairing: Jackson!Joel x f!reader

A/N: thank you guys for so much love on my first post last week!! <3 (that you can read here) I’m trying to get through my drafts because I have far too many. Ty again, feedback is appreciated 💝

Reading a book in front of the fire every night was becoming overwhelmingly tedious. You've read the books you have from cover to cover so many times you could probably read them with your eyes closed.

And then one night a month or so ago, you decided to sit on your porch in the middle of the night and saw your neighbour Joel on his. It quickly became a sort of habit for the two of you. Talking til the sun comes up a few nights a week.

Tonight’s no different. Tossing and turning in bed, books boring you half to death, the sound of the fire crackling becoming somewhat annoying at this point, so you step outside.

Joel's already out there, a glass of whiskey in hand, and staring up at the night sky. His head turns as you open your door, a hint of a smile on his lips.

"Here she is. Can’t sleep again?” he asks, though he knows the answer.

As soon as his raspy voice reaches your ears, your skin prickles with goosebumps and it's not because of the cold breeze.

"Can I ever?" you reply, scoffing a laugh quietly.

He lets out a soft hum in response, nodding in agreement. "Nah, me neither recently." he sighs, rubbing a hand over his face. “What’s keepin’ ya up tonight then, darlin’?”

"I have no idea, it's driving me crazy." you sigh, wrapping your plaid blanket over your shoulders a little tighter and sitting on the old used-to-be white wooden chair on your porch.

He hums in agreement, seemingly a man of few words tonight. He silently observes you as you sit down before speaking again.

“You tried countin’ sheep?” He quips, taking another sip of whiskey.

“and the pigs and the horses and every other fuckin’ animal on that damn ark.” you mutter, scooting the chair sideways to face him better.

He can’t help the gruff laugh that escapes him, shaking his head. It makes you smile as you wrap the blanket tighter around your shoulders when a cool breeze runs through you. A brief silence falls, but it’s comfortable.

"Can't remember the last time I slept through the night. Been a long damn time." he admits, exhaling softly from his lips and shifting in his seat on the bench, resting his free arm over the back. "it's a nice night, though."

You nod with a small smile and look up at the night sky, taking in the stars and the deep blue colour. "Yeah. Makes a change from what’s happening outside these gates.”

He looks over at you as you take in the beautiful sky above you. Every damn time he looks at you, it drives him almost insane. He turns his head forward, swallowing.

"Did you wanna-" the words escape Joel's lips before he can think about them first, leaving him staring straight ahead for a second. When he glances at you he's met with a nod, urging him to continue. He hesistates for a moment but decides to run with it.

"-wanna...join me?" he finishes, nodding towards the empty space on the bench beside him and the bottle of whiskey on the floor.

Every time you've done this, you've been on your respective porches that're directly next to each other. The prospect of getting closer to him makes your tummy flutter.

You nod softly as you rise from the wooden chair and step down your porch steps, boots crunching in the blanket of snow that’s fallen for what seems like weeks, and up the steps of his porch before sitting next to him, the old bench creaking softly.

Joel looks at you as you sit down. The thought of having you this close crossed his mind a few times as you spoke till the early hours.

Seeing the moonlight touch your skin, the way you wrapped yourself up in the plaid blanket, you were just the sweetest thing he’d ever seen.

You could feel the warmth of his body against your side, making you want to wrap yourself around him. He holds up the bottle of whiskey, in your direction.

You take the bottle from his hand and swig it, letting the amber liquid warm you up on it's way down.

He takes the bottle back from you when you offer it to him, also drinking from the bottle since his glass is now empty. He wipes his bottom lip with his thumb and leans forward with his elbows on his knees.

You both relish in comfortable silence again for a little while, sharing the bottle of whiskey. You realise something feels different. Like a shift of energy.

When Joel eventually sits back, you rest your head on his shoulder. He looks down at you, shocked at first but enjoying the feeling, and rests his arm on the bench behind you. He could smell the vanilla from the soap you use and it took all his strength not to bury his nose in the crook of your neck right there.

Your head on his shoulder and the weight of your body against his was both simultaneously soothing, and incredibly torturous. For weeks, he’s spent countless hours of the night talking to you. He loved listening to the sound of your voice, making him wonder what it would sound like to hear you whispering his name.

What you don’t know, is whenever you go back inside, he spends the night fisting his cock in his bed, imagining being buried inside of you. And what he doesn’t know is you’ve let your hands wander in the early hours, imagining his huge hands all over you, fingers inside you, mouth on your cunt…

It didn't take long until both of you had nearly finished half the bottle of whiskey and with each passing second, Joel's guard was lowered more and more. The buzz he was beginning to feel was only adding to his internal struggle.

He glances in your direction again; studying the relaxed look on your face. His self restraint was quickly becoming non-existent.

Without thinking, he suddenly raises his hand, slowly running his fingers through your hair and tucking a strand behind your ear. The small gesture, combined with the soft look in his eyes made your thighs squeeze together.

And, it didn’t go unnoticed.

He feels the way you shift against him when he does that, sees the way you squeeze your thighs together. How could he not? Joel lets out a shaky exhale, his free hand flexing on his thigh.

You notice his hand on his thigh, as if he’s itching to do something with it and you snap.

“Joel…” you speak, the breathy tone unintentional.

Joel nearly chokes. The way you just spoke his name, he’s never seen you like this. His hand stops in your hair, fingers curling slightly in the soft locks. You’re already looking up at him as his eyes roam down to your face.

Even in the dim light of his porch, Joel can see the lust in your eyes, realsing they must be mirroring his own. It ignites something inside of him, his hand moving from your hair to wrap around the side of your throat. His thumb brushing along your neck.

“Please kiss me.” you whisper, not caring how desperate you sound.

Joel was a strong man, but he was only human and even he could only handle so much. Hearing those words from your lips, in that voice, he was fucked. His fingers trail from your throat to the nape of your neck as he pulls you in for a kiss.

You’re unsure how it happened, but one minute you’re making out on the porch and the next you’re straddling his lap on his couch. Your boots and blanket on the floor in the hall.

Joel’s hands slide to your hips, gripping them tightly, his lips traveling to your jawline and down to your neck. “Mmdarlin’-” he mumbles against your skin, nipping and sucking at the sensitive flesh.

You gasp quietly and instinctively roll your hips as his hand slides up your shirt, fingers splayed over your ribs, thumb brushing the underside of your right breast.

He groans at the sudden movement of your hips, his own bucking up in response. “S’all it takes, huh?” He murmurs, continuing to kiss and nip your neck with his hand up your shirt. “Few kisses from me and you’re a mess, ain’t that right, darlin’?”

Fuck, he was so right. You’re soaked already and he’s barely fucking touched you. A pathetic “yes” is all you can muster. You can’t get enough of him, hands roaming over his broad shoulders, fingers straying to thread through the greying curls at the nape of his neck while still rolling your hips.

He moans low in his throat when your fingers brush against the back of his neck, his eyes falling shut. “Shit-” Joel murmurs, his hands moving from your hip and side to grasp them hem of your shirt.

His eyes are still closed at the sensation as he blindly pulls your shirt off of you. He opens them to discard your shirt somewhere behind him and sucks in a sharp breath when he looks back to you.

“Fuckin’ Christ…” he whispers before pulling you closer to kiss along your collarbone. His kisses move lower and his hand pulls one of the cups of your bra down, then he flicks his tongue against your nipple.

“Oh-” you gasp softly, hand trialing up to his curls once again. A low moan escapes him at the taste of you and he continues for a little while before moving to the other one, giving it the same attention.

While his mouth is occupied by your chest, his hands travel over your body, resting on your ass and encouring you to grind on him a little harder.

“Tha’s it, baby.” he rasps against your skin as you grind yourself down on him harder. He reaches one hand from your ass to unclasp your bra.

Baby baby baby. It echoes in your head like a beautiful symphony. You want to hear him to say it over and over again.

When your bra falls away, he throws it aside with your shirt and then kisses up the valley between your tits, his hands coming up to cup and squeeze them gently before kissing up the side of your neck and back to your lips.

You kiss him back, your fingers pulling at the buttons of his shirt, trying to undo them. When they’re undone, you push it off of his shoulders. He’s so hot.

He taps you, signalling you to stand up and when you do, he pulls you closer by your belt loop. “C’mere.”

He starts unbuttoning your jeans and yanks them off your legs, leaving you in only your panties. His eyes zero in in the damp patch, then he turns you around you pulls you onto his lap, your back against his chest and his thighs spreading yours wider.

You want to protest that you can’t see him until his hands trail over your thighs. One comes up to hold you against him by your stomach and the other slips into the front of your panties, making you gasp. His index and middle finger tips tease you, running lightly over your folds.

He’s teasing you, and he’s enjoying every second with his smug ass grin against your neck. “Look at you.” he coos, “she’s achin’ for it, baby.” he whispers, resting his chin on your shoulder as his fingers move further down, collecting your arousal before using it to rub your needy clit.

“Shit…Joel…” you whimper, as his fingers rub tight circles against you.

“I know baby, I know.” he says between more kisses and nips to your shoulder. “you just keep on makin’ them pretty sounds, hm?”

His fingers rub a little faster and it’s as if he knows exactly what you need, how your body works. “just gimmie one like this, sweet girl. one like this and then you can have my cock.” he promises, salt and pepper scruff tickling your skin as he speaks.

It’s all too much and not enough at the same time. His body against yours, his lips and tongue on your skin, his fingers working you over - you’re a mess, whimpering, moaning, letting any noise out that wants to escape. Your fingers dig into his jeans clad thighs, desperate for him.

“need your- hmmph -your cock, Joel. Please.”

“Y’do?” He coos, his fingers slipping down to your needy hole once more to collect more of the wetness there before returning to your aching bud. “come for me like this first n’ I’ll fuck you real good, darlin’.”

Those words have you moaning and whimpering even more. You’re squirming, desperately clinging onto his thighs as you feel yourself reach that edge. “Tha’s it, baby. Tha’s right, c’mon now.”

His gruff words are what does it for you, your back arches off of him as you come, thighs trembling and a string of moans, and breathy whispers trail out of your mouth.

“Good girl.” he murmurs praises against the shell of your ear, fingers still coaxing every last bit of your orgasm from you. His fingers gradually come to a stop against you and he places a quick kiss to the spot under your ear.

“Wanna see ‘er.” he mutters, carefully plopping you down on the couch, ripping your ruined panties off and spreading your thighs for him. He watches as your cunt clenches around nothing, begging to be stuffed full of him. A low moan escapes him at the sight as his thumbs spread your lips apart.

“Prettiest pussy I’ve ever seen.”

You watch him in awe as he gets a proper look, his thumbs gently running over your glistening folds before one prods at your entrance, illiciting a moan from you. “Can I give ‘er a little kiss, baby?” he asks, already leaning down, brown eyes on yours.

You’re nodding your head before you even fully process the question. You’ve imagined this so many times. He wants to tease you, wants to tell you to ‘use your words’ but he can’t, he needs this just as much as you do.

He wastes no time, diving in like a man starved. He licks a longe stripe from hole to clit first, moaning against you, sending shockwaves through you.

His lips and tongue don’t let up, tasting your release, the tip of his tongue teasing your still sensitive nub gently before sucking it into his mouth, making your hips jerk. He chuckles lowly at that and then moves down and fucks you with his tongue, his beard scratching deliciously against your thighs.

“Oh god-” you whine, fingers threading through his curls, making him hum appreciatively. You don’t give a damn how desperate and needy you sound, this man is working you over like you’ve never been before.

He replaces his tongue with two fingers, teasingly dipping them in and pushing them slowly all the way in before he pulls them all the way back out to do it again. “So fucking sweet.” he groans, flicking his wrist up to curl his fingers inside of you. Your moans, your body, you, have got him rutting against the couch like a teenage boy.

“Need to fuck this pussy now, baby. Can I?” he asks, looking up at you, though you and him both know the answer to that. His cock strains against his jeans to the point it’s starting to hurt.

You nod eagerly, letting go of his curls. “Yes, please, need you.”

He pulls his slick coated face and fingers away from your dripping heat and you almost whine at the loss of contact. He stands up and you can see he’s rock hard through his jeans. He unbuckles his belt, the sound of metal clinking exciting you as you track his movements.

When he’s free of his jeans, he sits down, patting his legs for you to come over and you obey quickly. As you move over, he pulls himself out of his boxers, resting the waistband under his heavy balls. You glance down, almost salivating at the sight.

You run out of time to look as he pulls you over, gently but impatiently. “C’mon, sweet girl.” he mutters, lazily stroking his huge cock from base to tip a couple times and you position yourself above him. He runs the tip of his cock through your soaked folds, touching your clit and making you moan. He chuckles, doing it a couple more times before notching at your entrance.

You move forward slightly before slowly sinking down onto him, both of you moaning. One of his hands grip your hip as the other grabs one of your asscheeks as his head falls back against the couch. “Goddamn…” he grits.

You slowly move against him, grinding your hips. “Fuck…needed this….needed you.” you ramble as his cock fills you perfectly. He matches your movements, thrusting up into you. “Yeah? Me too, fuuuck, me too.” he groans, his breathing picking up.

“Look at me, baby. Yeah, tha’s it. Wanna see that pretty face while I fuck ya.”

You meet his eyes and he looks as wrecked as you. Pupils blown, cheeks flushed, panting. It’s the hottest thing you’ve ever seen. You interlock your fingers behind his neck, riding him faster now. It’s as if you have zero control over what comes out of your mouth.

“C’mon now, ride that cock, pretty girl.” He grunts, smacking your ass and encouraging you to move against him a little faster now.

You ignore the burning sensation in your knees, making it your mission to be full of his come as soon as possible. His hand slides from your hip to the nape of your neck, pulling you in for a messy kiss.

The lewd sounds of skin meeting skin fill the room, you can hear how wet you are and it only spurs him on more. He swallows all your moans, pushing his tongue into your mouth.

He hold you in place and ruts up into you, hitting that spot over and over, making you clench around him. “Makin’ a mess a’my cock, fuckin’ drippin’ all over me ain’tcha?” he almost growls against your lips, pistoning his hips into you.

Your eyes roll back as you moan his name like a prayer. “M’gonna come inside this pretty pussy, baby. That what you want?”

You’re cockdrunk. Everything he says, everything he does just makes you want him even more. “Yesyesyes.” you whine. “Gonna come.”

“Yeah? Gonna milk my cock for all its worth? jesus you’re so fuckin’ tight.” His words are filthy, a stark contrast to the tone he speaks them in, making your cunt clench around him as you teeter right on the edge.

“Mmpleasepleaseplease.” you whine, fingers tugging on the hair at the nape of his neck again. That makes him moan and he buries his face into your neck.

“Fuck, I can feel it. C’mon, gimmie another one. Lemme feel you.” he murmurs against your neck. You can feel his warm breath agaisnt your skin, and that mixed with his cock hitting the right spot over and over and his massive hands gripping you send you straight over.

“Joel-” you try to let him know but it happens so fast, your back arches and your head falls back. His movements falter slightly as you grip his cock like a velvet vice.

“Ah, fuck, look so pretty like this baby- shit-” he mutters as his orgasm washes over him too, his head rolls back, his brow furrowed and his mouth open as he lets out a string of breathy curse words and grunts and fills you up with ropes of his hot load.

You’re both in a state of bliss, breathing laboured, skin shining with sweat. Joel rests his forehead against your shoulder, trying to control his breathing. His hands now delicately running over the parts of you he gripped tight as your cheek rests against his head.

“Y’know what?” You say after a moment, moving your face from his head, your arms hanging loosely over his shoulders.

He slowly lifts his head up and tucks your hair behind your ear. “What, sweetheart?” he asks softly.

“For the first time in months, I’m actually tired.” you say, a lazy smile on your face. He exhales an amused puff of air from his nose, smiling up at you.

“Yeah, yeah me too.”

[alwaysanundertone]

high sex drive | poly! marauders x fem! reader

hurt/comfort + smut

TW: NSFW, piv, non-protected sex, oral (f/m receiving)

Sirius was drawing patterns on your thigh, the tips of his fingers grazing the supple skin there ever so slowly while his head rested on your belly. Your other two boyfriends were cuddling each other, they were all spent after coming many times, so why weren’t you?

You found every touch maddening, it didn’t make sense for you to be so wound up; it wasn’t like you hadn’t gotten off, because you had, and plenty of times.

The problem was your sex drive. Your desire wasn’t something that your ex boyfriends accepted, nor did they deem it normal, one of them even suggested to go see a sex therapist one time, and you did. The session failed to give you answers, and after some time you just gave up, resigning yourself to a life of not voicing your own needs.

It went good, as good as faking being satisfied would go, but it wasn’t that bad after all. With these guys, though, it was really difficult to just pretend.

“Love?”

You looked up, finding three pairs of eyes focused on you. “Mh?”

“Where did you go, dove? You’ve been awfully quiet. Sirius just asked you if you are hungry, we thought about ordering something, is pizza good?”

You refrained from blushing, hating the fact that you weren’t able to mask your true feelings even in a peaceful moment like that. “Sorry, I’ve just been lost in my own thoughts, I guess” You chuckled, sounding suspicious even to your own ears. “Pizza’s good, thank you”

You felt Sirius mouth closing over your inner thighs, its teeth piercing the supple skin there, making you gasp. “Come on, darling, you know you can tell us anything”

The thing was that every boyfriend you had started this conversation like this, telling you that it was okay, that he would have taken care of you, and then when they found out that they couldn’t change you, they’d start to call you a nympho, making you ashamed of yourself. So no, you weren’t sure you could tell them anything.

“You’re doing it again, love” James was looking at you through pleading eyes, it was really hard to resist him when he was acting like this, but you had to. The guys were the best thing that happened to you in a long time, and you weren’t willingly letting them go for something as stupid as your sex drive.

“Oh, uh” You blushed. “I think I’m just kind of tired, you know? Nothing crazy”

There was a moment of silence, then Remus spoke up. “This thing won’t work if you’re keeping stuff from us, dove. You have to understand the importance of trust, if you don’t want to talk about it now, fine, but at least tell us the main topic that’s bothering you so much you’re not even listening to us when we’re talking to you”

His words felt like a harsh slap to your cheek, bringing true tears to the surface, which you tried to fight against, to no avail.

“Sorry, I don’t want to bother you, I do trust you, it’s just-“

“Was sex too much? Were you unconfortable? You’ve been like this since we had sex, did we hurt you?”

Sirius sounded horrified, and you couldn’t help the words that tumbled out of your mouth, you had to fix this.

“No, no it’s quite the opposite actually” They were all looking at you expectantly, you sighed. “It’s just- I have a high sex drive, okay? And I hate it, I know it’s twisted and disgusting and not right but I need to get off multiple times a day and sometimes having sex worsens the situation because then I keep wanting more and I hate it, you evet got me off so many times I’m the worst girlfriend ever.” Now that the words were comung out of your mouth, you couldn’t seem to stop them. “And I’ve been to sex therapists but they don’t know how to turn this off and just- I’m so sorry you’re probably regretting even-“

“Do not finish that sentence for the love of God”

You furrowed your brows. “Sirius what-“

“No, I should be the one saying sorry, I’ve been torturing you for the past hour and I didn’t even notice it.”

“And you’re not disgusting” James piped in.

“Dove, it’s nothing crazy, we can just-“

“No you can’t fix it.” You couldn’t stop the words from coming out of your mouth even if you tried, years of shame weighting you down. “Every ex that I had told me that they could fix it but it just doesn’t go away and I know it’s a burden” You pressed your hands to your face, hating this situation and hating yourself even more for letting it happen.

“Dove, would you please let us finish?” You nodded, your hands firmly locked in place. “Okay, I was trying to say that you can tell us if you’re needy and we’ll be really happy to help. There’s three of us, and if we aren’t available, there are your toys, you know? I don’t know what douchebags you dated, but this would never be a burden to us” His eyes were pleading you to believe him, and you found yourself wanting to.

“I think it’s anything but a burden, darling” You blushed slightly at Sirius, who was now laying on his belly, his head hovering right above your centre. You squirmed unconfortably, he smirked at you. “I’m being mean, aren’t I? Hovering just above you, so close yet so out of touch” His lips were now grazing your earlobe, making you shiver head to toe, the movement of his hands on your inner thigh maddening. “Such a pretty little thing, so flustered, what do you want now, love?”

You tried to tell him, but being vocal about your needs was something you weren’t used to, especially after years of slut shaming in your past relationship. You tried to avoid his question, wriggling your hips. “You know what I want”

He tsked. “No, I don’t. Do you want my mouth?” He lightly kissed you above your panties and shorts, making you grunt. “Mh, interesting. Maybe it’s my fingers that you want?” He caressed your nipples over the thin fabric of your -James’s- shirt. “My cock?”

The moment was interrupted by a pornographic grunt, coming from a very flustered James. “Fuck that’s so hot” He palmed his dick over his boxer briefs, making you blush.

“Look at him, darling, you’re making him needy. I think we should give him a show.”

You whimpered. “Sirius, please”

“I can give you everything you want, love. Just ask me”

You swallowed your pride. “I want your mouth, please”

He tutted. “Where do you want it? Here?” He grazed your forehead, the slightest touch sending you ablaze with need.

“No, Sirius, fuck, I want it on my pussy, please eat me out, I’m begging you” You couldn’t recognize your own voice, it sounded breathy, restrained, too close to begging.

“Gladly, darling” He pushed your shorts down, ripping the soft fabric of your panties in two. You didn’t have time to complain, his mouth immediately landing right on your clit.

His tongue started massaging the little bud, making you gasp as he flicked it repeatedly, moaning while doing so.

“You’re so wet, darling, I’m kind of mad, you know? You were really trying to keep this from me, from us” You shivered as you felt his index finger teasing your hole slowly, making you arch your back.

As he entered you, Remus was right above you, his dick in his hand, stroking your cheek with his free one. “Open up, dove, make me feel good”

He didn’t have to ask twice, your mouth opening right as Sirius thrusted into you with his fingers. “Fuck, she’s so wet James, fuck the show come here”

Suddenly, all three of your boyfriends were on you, James lining the crown of his cock at your entrance as Sirius lips closed right on your clit, sucking on it hardly. You felt one of Remus’s hands right over your right nipples, pinching it slightly, making you arch your back.

Your head was spinning, you felt awfully close to orgasming. “Fuck, love if you squeeze me like that I won’t last”

“That’s fine” Sirius piped in. “That’s why there’s three of us, to keep her satisfied” He tutted as you tried to close your thighs. “That isn’t nice now love, is it? Keep them open for us, stay still”

You loved when he was mean during sex, loved how he made you feel like you were at his mercy. “Sirius, close, god”

He chuckled. “You’re already coming, aren’t you? You’ve been such a good girl, telling us what you need, I think you deserve to come” You felt Remus’s cock swelling in your mouth, you rushed to swallow every drop of him, trying to focus on it, but it was difficult when you had two of the hottest guys you’ve ever seen between your thighs.

“Come now, darling. Be a good girl and come for us”

It was all it took for you to explode, your mouth wide open, eyes shut as you gripped Sirius head with all your force. He wasn’t complaining, though, still lapping at you, while James got off inside of you, his thrust loosing force and rhythm.

Just as you were coming down from your high, you felt another cock probing at your entrance.

“What…”

“Hush, love, I think you got one more in you, don’t you?”

You weren’t able to respond, your long-haired boyfriend immediately started rutting into you, his hips hitting the back of your thighs at a punishing rhythm.

“You’re so hot, fuck” The sounded that came out of you were pornographic, you felt yourself getting closer and closer to the edge, you could already tell that this orgasm was going to shake you thoroughly.

All you could manage to do, to say, was chant your boyfriends’ name like a prayer.

“Come on now, dove, give us another” Remus leaned down to kiss you, his tongue caressing yours, you couldn’t help but moan in his open mouth.

You obliged, drenching Sirius’s cock as your brain completely shut down. You could feel your boyfriend coming inside of you, but you just couldn’t bring yourself down to Earth.

You found yourself in a hot tub, James massaging your shoulders behind you while Remus stood kneeling outside of it, rubbing your feet.

“How do you feel? Good?”

You hummed, looking up at your long-haired boyfriend, your hand reaching up caress his face.

“Really, love? Me and Remus are both cuddling you, and it’s him you reward?” James’s tone had no bite in it, still you reached your other hand behind his head, scratching his scalp.

“Hey, it’s me who ate her out, it’s only fair, really” He winked at you.

There was a bit of silence, then you felt Remus hands wondering up your thighs.

“What-“

He smiled at you. “I think I can get another one out of you, just relax against Jamie and let me do the work”

You moaned lightly, nuzzling against your boyfriend’s toned chest, wondering what you’ve done to deserve them.

[sogoodtoheritsvicious]

standing in the light of your halo, i got my angel now

summary: dating after harry surprising you at your show gave you the final push you needed, you two go public and quickly find out you weren’t as subtle as you thought. later, a wild lando appears.

vicious speaks: we’re finally here!! this is nothing but pure fluff for these babies 💗

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oscarpiastri y’all are so cute it makes me sick

⤷ yourusername you love us

oscarpiastri unfortunately 😕

fan1 day 56893 of asking ya’ll to post a selfie together

fan2 flower boyyy 💐

yourbff we love to see you being treated the way you deserve!!

ynharrysthird MY LOVES

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fan1 ohhh to be on a beach paint date with yn

fan2 don’t be shy, post a pic of you kissing

alexandrasaintmleux 💓🥹💓

fan3 you being active and posting personal pics is still something i’m not used to 😵‍💫

fan4 you in your bf era is such a serve

ynharrysthird i’m being soooo normal about this i promise (lie)

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harrystyles first of many 💗

⤷ yourusername 💕

⤷ fan1 I CAN’T HANDLE ALL THIS CUTENESS

fan2 *pretends to be shocked*

⤷ fan3 we definitely had no idea you guys were together

⤷ fan4 yeah this is such a surprise

⤷ harrystyles alright 😂

⤷ lilymhe clocked 😭

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mclaren our favorite couple 🥰

⤷ yourusername our favorite admin 💘

⤷ fan5 admin making it known yn’s still a mclaren girlie

⤷ mclaren always!

⤷ yourusername it’s a for life thing!!

⤷ fan6 stop, yn saying being a mclaren girlie is a for life thing is gonna make me cry 🥹

annetwist so cute! 💓

⤷ yourusername 🥰

⤷ ynharrysthird gem being in the likes and anne being in the comments is so personal to me 🥹

fan7 ADOPT ME

carlossainz55 he’s making everyone else look like bad boyfriends

⤷ carlossainz55 not me, though

⤷ yourbff lmao nice save

⤷ carlossainz55 love you, querida

ynharrysthird HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY 💕

⤷ yourusername HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY 🫶🏼

⤷ ynharrysthird OHMYGOD

⤷ fan8 how ya doing, buddy?

⤷ ynharrysthird NOT WELL

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oscarpiastri has added to their stories

replies

fan1 thank u oscar for providing us with adorable ynharry content

yourusername omg i completely forgot you were here!!

⤷ oscarpiastri i could tell

⤷ yourusername 😭

f1 understandable, they’re really cute

fan2 going from you saying lando didn’t deserve yn last year, to you posting a pic of her and harry being all lovey dovey, oh we have never been more up!!

fan3 does this post you mean you officially give them your blessing?

fan4 this ain’t it

carlossainz55 you will be missed, amigo 😔💔

fan5 aren’t you supposed to be landos bsf 🤨

ynharrysthird when i’m in a biggest ynharry supporter competition and oscar piastri is my opponent

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landoupdates lando liked this tweet.

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fan1 dkfjgjd even you sound done with his shit 😭

⤷ landoupdates he doesn’t move for so long and once he does, it’s just to stir up old drama 😵‍💫 imagine how tired i am.

fan2 he needs to get over it, it’s been a year and HE’S THE ONE WHO CHEATED.

fan3 going this hard for lando is crazy, he isn’t gonna fuck you!

fan4 “that girl and her boyfriend” is crazy when it’s literally yn and harry styles

fan5 lando LOSER 🫵😂

fan6 the ratio has me crying

⤷ fan7 quotes are beating their ass 😭

fan8 he’s so desperate for attention, it’s sad

fan9 nah they’re right, oscar was a snake for that

fan10 lando you fumbled, move on bro

fan11 his audacity is astounding

francisca.cgomes she did NOT try to ruin landos life wtf HE tried to ruin his OWN life when he thought he could cheat without getting caught instead of making up his damn mind about who he wanted to be with

liked by lilymhe, yourbff, itsaria, alexandrasaintmleux, gemmastyles

fan13 all the wags, aria, and gemma coming to yns defense oh lando it’s so over for you

fan14 yeah lando’s definitely the problem

ynharrysthird mf GET A LIFE and leave these people alone lando

fan13 lando is currently in the “find out” phase of “fuck around and find out”

oscarpiastri if he were a real man he’d contact me instead of being a little bitch and liking tweets

⤷ fan14 WHOA

⤷ fan15 THE GIRLS ARE FIGHTINGGG

⤷ fan16 🕯️manifesting there’ll be cameras around if they throw hands 🕯️

⤷ fan17 i’ve got $100 on oscar winning

⤷ ynharrysthird i’ve got $200

⤷ carlossainz i’ve got $1000

⤷ fan18 your ass is always at the scene of the crime 😭

⤷ fan19 he’s just here to look pretty and be messy

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liked by ynharrysthird, yourusername, and others

harrystyles yourusername met our third today

tagged ynharrysthird

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fan1 the caption fkgjfjdjdhs

ynharrysthird it was so lovely to meet you 💕 thank you again for taking time out of your day to have a conversation with me 🥰 ♥︎ by author

fan2 OMGGGG

yourusername WITHOUT ME?!?! just fell to my knees in a walmart

⤷ ynharrysthird omg 😭

⤷ yourusername i’ll meet you next time dw <3

⤷ fan3 WHEN IS IT MY TURN

yourbff omg the legend, the icon, the moment™️

⤷ ynharrysthird QUEEN

fan4 she’s been ur #1 supporter since day 1, this was def deserved

maxverstappen1 insane caption

fan5 lmao he’s so unbothered

⤷ fan6 he said “lando who?” 😭

fan7 ynharrysthird how does it feel to live my dream?

⤷ ynharrysthird pretty good, i’m not gonna lie

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yourbff lately 🤍

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carlossainz55 😘

⤷ yourbff 💋

fan1 just casually reminding us she’s dating one of ferrari’s hottest racers

yourusername missing you already 🥺

⤷ yourbff same ❤️‍🩹

fan2 not to be that person but the only other pic that’s in black & white is the one of yn…perhaps hinting at a paddock return?

⤷ fan3 omg DO NOT get my hopes up

⤷ fan4 God i hope so, i miss her race day looks

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taglist: @pansexualdarling @mx13sworld @willowpains @nebarious @daemyratwst @hi26loveie @angelluv16 @ggaslyp1 @kikiki81 @eugene-emt-roe @nichmeddar @callsignwidow @harryssunflower17 @lomlolivia @isinpfortvdmen @yourlocalstilinski-valdez @hshp98 @l0nelyhe4rts-club @roc-haze @this-is-tiny-mia @harryzcherry @theekyliepage @maudie-duan

[bisexualbrainrots]

I'm loving the responses to this fic, so here's another snippet, we're getting steamier everyone! hope you guys are enjoying the process.

if you want to read: part 1, part 2, wip part 3.

Buck shakes when one of Tommy's fingers hooks on the towel, gripping but not making an effort to pull it off yet.

He takes that as a sign and raises his hands through Tommy's arms until they find each other on the back of his neck, fingers interlocking. Buck closes a little more of the gap as he nudges his nose with his boyfriend's, greeting in the form of a soft ‘hi’ that's reciprocated immediately. 

“Were you okay back there?”

Buck nods “It wasn't so bad, you know. I got to think a lot,” he smiles, his gaze descends to Tommy's lips and a sense of hunger creeps up in him.

Tommy notices and smirks “And what were all these things you thought of?” his free hand moves up to Buck's waist, holding onto it tight.

It's this little sense of possessiveness that drives Buck crazy. What Tommy doesn’t say with his words, he shows it with his touch, and when it comes to his possessive side he’s more… physical about it. He’d put his hand on the small of Buck’s back as they walk down the street, he’d hook his fingers to the belt loops and pull Buck closer, he’d hold and squeeze the back of Buck’s neck when they’re at a get-together, and he’d leave as many marks as he could everywhere on Buck’s body.

He still has that one bite mark on his hip.

Buck nips at Tommy's top lip “You, your mouth, your neck, your fingers,” his lips graze Tommy's as he speaks but he doesn't go beyond that, letting the desire linger in the air, “I thought of those fingers inside of me, opening me up until my legs are shaking.”

Before he can say anything else, Tommy's lips are crashing onto his, giving him a bruising kiss that Buck happily reciprocates as his hands shift to hold his boyfriend's face.

As the kiss deepens they move around the room, until Buck feels his calves hit the end of the bed and he's stopped, whining a little as Tommy's tongue plays with his.

“Fuck… fuck,” Tommy's wicked gaze is all over Buck, examining every fraction of his features and licking his lips as he stays on Buck's eyes, and his voice drops an octave as he whispers “What am I gonna do with you?”

God, he loves it when Tommy gets like this. Even though it hasn't been that long since they started doing it, Buck has become obsessed with the way Tommy’s eyes and demeanor can change when he's aroused. It's almost like lust sets in and spreads around, all the way from the depths of his veins to the surface of his pores. Sometimes he remains calm and collected, even when he’s driving Buck to the edge of madness; other times he becomes a beast, wrapped in this frenzy that has him making noises that could make Buck come untouched.

Even though he knows Tommy will be careful with him, Buck can’t help but wish for him to ruin him.

“Fuck me,” Buck takes a deep breath when Tommy chuckles, the vibrations of his laugh flowing through his body and settling deep in his bones.

The hand on his waist shifts to his cheek, cupping his face with a tenderness only Tommy can give in a moment like this “Be patient, Evan. We don’t have to rush and I… I really want to take my time with you.”

Buck’s knees almost falter when Tommy gets the towel off his hips, and he has very little time to think about the fact that he’s completely naked because Tommy pushes him onto the bed, covering his body as he joins their lips in an open-mouthed kiss.

taglist! (let me know if you want to be added or removed): @likeapaperplane @fenrirscarsback @sad-girl-hours23 @station18908 @all-the-feelss @rubydaiquiri @superlock-in-the-tardis

[mysterious-moonstruck-musings]

Sooo many things going on. So many things being said without saying them out loud too. 😅

That’s exactly the image I had in my head for Pope for that moment. 🤣

And yes, Pope is going to give Frankie such a hard time about that. All of the guys are really… 😏

Oh yes. Mya is 100% under his skin already. She’s gonna make him crazy and he will indeed love it. Even if he won’t admit to it.

Yeah…Veracruz is so transparent when it comes to Mya. It’s ridiculous really. There’s a reason she can’t completely hate him… aside from the fact that he’s hot AF.

You have a pretty good picture so far. The push and pull with them is going to get pretty hilarious, I think.

Veracruz will have lots of snarky comments and Frankie is gonna be giving a lot of side eye. They are gonna be so much fun. 😅

Are you in my head? Yeah…Pope is not gonna be a fan at all.

Thanks for reading and sharing friend! You know I always love your unhinged thoughts. 💜😘

Buried Secrets Chapter 2: The Divine Source

Buried Secrets Masterlist || Main Masterlist

Summary: After the harrowing events in South America, Frankie and the guys have returned home and opened their own private security business. They're eventually approached by an archeologist, named Mya, who is requesting their specialized services for an archeological expedition in the Amazonian jungle of southeastern Peru, hours away from where they stashed Lorea's money just over the border in the mountains of northern Chile.

Frankie is hesitant to accept the job, but with Pope's insistence this could be their cover to go back for the money, he relents. However, Frankie soon learns their new job assignment only further puts them and his new love interest in danger in an unexpected way as they set out to find the lost Incan city of Paititi.

Word Count: 10.6k

👉 Warnings: smut (MDNI), angst, mentions of mental health struggles and past drug use (it's Frankie), there are bad guys with weapons (gun violence, physical violence, death). Frankie Morales comes with his own warnings.

Chapter A/N: The beginning of this chapter was previously released as a longer teaser, but there have been minor changes since then. So, if you feel like you have read the first little bit, that could be why. 😉

Chapter Quote: “You’re already pissing me off and we haven’t even started yet…”

Frankie’s POV                                      I stood leaning against the door frame to my office, arms crossed over my chest as I listened to Benny run through our options for schedule changes. Will stood nearby, listening intently and occasionally offering up his opinion. He was about to speak when his attention was drawn to movement outside the front window, “Hey guys, looks like we got a new client. A fancy blacked-out SUV just pulled up.” 

That automatically had my attention, my mind jumping to thoughts of a similar vehicle passing by my house a couple of weeks prior. 

Benny moved to stand next to his brother to peer out the window, “Oh damn, this chic’s hot.”

That was Pope’s siren call. He immediately stuck his head out of his office after spending the last 30 minutes ignoring our conversation about scheduling issues while he no doubt played games on his phone. 

“Did you say you needed me, Ben?” he asked nonchalantly, just as our topic of conversation walked in. Pope nearly tripped over his own feet when he caught sight of her. Not that I could blame him. She commanded the attention of the room as soon as she stepped over the threshold and took off her expensive looking sunglasses.

For me, it really didn’t have anything to do with her looks. She just had this magnetic aura that drew you in and intimidated the fuck out of you. She was dressed in a black pants suit that hugged her curves in all the right places, yet still leaving everything to the imagination. Her spiked heels added a few inches to her height as she confidently walked across the lobby with her shoulders back and chin up. Her long mahogany hair swung around her shoulders, perfectly straight with no strands out of place. She was sexy as fuck and not our typical clientele. 

We all seemed to be stunned into silence as she came to a stop just in front of where we had congregated near the conference room entrance. Benny was the one to speak up first, standing a little straighter before he opened his mouth. “Hi there ma’am, can we help you with something?” he sputtered out.

“I’d like to speak with Mr. Morales please,” she said without hesitation.

Benny stood there, mouth hanging open as his eyes shifted to me. Will spoke then, “Mr. Morales typically doesn’t meet with new clients. Mr. Miller here and I handle that.” 

She feigned a polite smile, “I realize that, but I would prefer to speak with the owner directly as this is a bit urgent and sensitive. I’m sure you can understand.” 

Her tone made it clear that was her final answer. Pope obviously didn’t read the room as he stepped forward to intervene, turning on his charm and giving his best flirty smile, “If you wanna step into my office, we can have a chat about your situation. I’m sure I can get you taken care of.” 

Her eyes narrowed on him, a playful smirk forming on her lips as she scanned him from head to toe, “I don’t believe you’re Mr. Morales.” 

Pope’s mouth dropped open, then snapped shut. That wasn’t the response he was expecting. The woman’s eyes shifted to me as her smile widened, “But you are. Mind if we have a chat in private?” 

I was momentarily frozen by the intensity of her gaze, then confused about how she knew I was who she was looking for. My brows arched as I pursed my lips. We just sort of stared at each other for a brief moment. It felt like she was analyzing every move I made as her gaze raked over me. I uncrossed my arms and moved aside, motioning for her to step into my office. 

I glanced over at the guys, all three of them watching her retreating form. If I looked hard enough, I could probably see the drool coming out of Pope’s mouth as he salivated over the possibilities. His eyes finally met mine, sparkling with mischief as he smiled and said, “Será mejor que cierres ese trato.” (You better close that deal.)

I rolled my eyes at his insinuation, “Vete a la mierda,” (Fuck off.) 

I could hear Benny and Will snickering as I turned to join the puzzling woman waiting in my office. After closing the door behind me, I was met with her amused expression as she stood with one arm across her chest, the other propped on it so she could rest her chin on her fingers. 

“Do you always let him flirt with clients?” she asked in an amused tone.

I shrugged, “I do enjoy watching him stick his foot in his mouth. I can’t help myself.” 

She chuckled as our gazes met. My heart rate suddenly spiked as I cleared my throat and moved to lean against the desk, “So, you gotta name? Seems like you already know mine.”

She smiled, not moving from where she stood, “Sorry, that was rude of me to not introduce myself. I’m Mya Carnahan.”

I crossed my arms, “Well, Miss Carnahan, what can Delta 5 Security Solutions help you with?”

She dropped her hands to her sides, smiling up at me through her lashes, “Getting right to it then…I like that.” 

I bit the inside of my cheek as I watched her unbutton her blazer. Her hands snaked into the pockets of her pants as she began to pace my office and claim control over our conversation. I could already tell she was going to be a problem. I just wasn’t sure if it was a good or bad one. Maybe both. 

“I’ll be leading an archeological dig in the Southeastern Peruvian jungle. I’m gonna need security for my team while we’re there.”

My brows furrowed, “And why would an archeological dig site need our kind of security?”

She paused her pacing to look at me, “The locals won’t exactly be excited about it. Many believe those sites should remain untouched because of old Incan legends. We also have the narcos to worry about. I’m sure you’re aware drugs are heavily trafficked down there?”

I nodded, obviously very familiar with that fact. I was already feeling reluctant about taking this on. I knew exactly what this would lead to once I told Pope about it. The location was too close to where we stashed Lorea's money. He would want to go back for it. I also had a weird feeling about this situation. I didn’t know if I could trust this woman. 

“The narcos sometimes move product through those remote areas, have stash houses, and even cultivate in the middle of the jungle. If we were to...unknowingly encroach on their territory, they wouldn’t hesitate to put an end to things.” 

I pushed off my desk, moving to stand with my hands on my hips, “Not trying to be rude, but you don’t strike me as an archaeologist. What exactly is it that you do, Miss Carnahan?”

Her eyes were fixed on me as she fought a smile, “When I’m not digging up mummies and old relics, I’m an antiquities dealer. Before you ask…I’m a reputable dealer with ethical sourcing.”

I arched a brow. Somehow, I doubt that. “Who’s your benefactor? I know these digs are expensive. Do I need to be concerned that they’ve pissed anyone off?”

She tucked her plump bottom lip between her teeth, deciding on how to respond. Thoughts of biting that lip myself flashed through my mind. I had to quickly shove them away. 

“That’s confidential information. I’ve been asked to keep it under wraps. Best I can give is that he’s a well-off gentleman that does business on a global scale. So yes, he’s probably pissed a few people off. He doesn’t want his name attached to it. As far as anyone is concerned, the dig is funded by donations, which isn’t completely untrue.” 

I scoffed, “I’m sorry, but if you can’t give me all the information, then I’m not interested in taking this on. I require a certain level of trust with our clients, and I don’t take unnecessary risks.” 

She ignored my response, pacing again and continuing on as if I hadn’t just told her no. 

“I haven’t gotten my team fully assembled yet, but I’m thinking we'll have 30-40 people. We’ll need at least one pilot to fly some of the bigger equipment in. Though, I’d prefer two, just in case we need to make a quick exit. We’re planning to be there for at least three months for the initial expedition. We leave in two weeks.”

I stared at her wide-eyed, “Did you hear what I just said? I’m not interested unless you give me all the information I ask for. And who says we have pilots and enough staff on hand to travel to the Peruvian jungle for three months on short notice?”

She was smiling at me again as she approached, crowding my space as we stood toe to toe. 

“You’re a pilot, right? There’s one…and I know you hire veterans, so I’m betting you have another one. I’d also wager that a lot of your guys would jump at an opportunity to do something like this. I’m sure your three out front would if given the opportunity.”

How the fuck does she know so much? I was beginning to worry this might be some sort of setup to get us back to South America. The thoughts of that blacked out SUV flashed through my mind again. 

“How do you know I’m a pilot?” I asked as I held her gaze.

She turned to look around my office and motioned to the pictures on the wall. I chuckled and nodded. That was a rookie mistake, Fish. 

“I don’t do field work anymore…and like I said…you haven’t told me all the information.”

She leaned in just a little closer, still giving me that sweet smile as the scent of vanilla and jasmine invaded my senses. “I’m fairly confident you’re not gonna turn me down, Mr. Morales. You’re too intrigued.”

I’m not sure intrigued is the correct word at this point.

She pulled a business card from her pocket and held it out in offering. I took it, tracing my fingers over the glossy black material. I briefly examined the shiny gold embossed lettering that spelled out Hathor’s Gallery of Antiquities framed with a gold border. Even her fucking business card seemed expensive. 

“I need to know something by noon tomorrow, or else I’m moving on to another security firm.”

My head snapped up to meet her gaze, “Another firm? There’s no one else locally that can provide what you need.”

She gave me a smug smile, “You sure about that?”

She had to be fucking with me. I couldn’t help puffing out my chest as I replied, “Yeah, I am.”

She moved to open the door, pausing to look back over her shoulder in my direction, “By noon, or else I’m moving on.” 

“We haven’t even discussed payment details,” I added following her to the lobby. 

She halted in the middle of the waiting area to look my way, “You only need to name your price, and I’ll pay it.”  

I could feel the eyes of Benny, Will, and Pope on us as we stared each other down for a beat. I didn’t know how to respond to that as I stood with my jaw clenching. 

“We’ll talk more tomorrow once you’ve officially made your decision," she said as she turned toward the exit. She shifted her attention to the guys still standing outside the conference room entrance, “Mr. Garcia, try to stay outta trouble…Millers, enjoy your afternoon.” 

Without another word, she was gone, climbing into the back of the SUV as the driver held the door open for her. 

“What the hell was that?” Benny asked. 

I sighed and shook my head, “I...don’t fucking know.”

They stood with curious stares, waiting for me to elaborate. Instead, I waved them off and returned to my office. I needed to think through this before I shared anything with them.

After sitting down at my desk, I pulled up the internet browser to do a little research. Hathor’s Gallery of Antiquities had been in business for several years. At least that part of her story added up. It was a legitimate business with a history. As I clicked around on their website, I came across the staff page where I found Mya’s picture next to the title of ‘Owner and Head Curator’. 

I sat staring at the image, realizing there was something familiar about her, but I couldn’t figure out what. Had we met before? That would certainly explain how she knew who I was. No. That’s not it. There was no way I would forget her. There was something sort of exotic about the way she looked, alluring and mysterious. 

My mind drifted back to the blacked-out SUV. Had she been spying on us? She made it obvious that she knew who we all were. How would none of us have noticed that? My gut was telling me something was off about this whole thing. However, she was right. I was intrigued, to put it mildly. 

I continued to click around on the website, eventually coming to a donation page for the Archaeology Preservation Foundation. Listed there were high level details about the proposed expedition. She wasn’t lying about it being funded by donations, but how much could she really get from that? Something like this was going to cost a lot of money, yet she told me to name my price. 

I sank back into the seat and rubbed my hands down my face. This was too good to be true. There had to be a catch. There was a certain level of danger that came along with this, of course, but it did give us a legitimate reason to enter Peru - no fake documents or cover stories needed. We could go down early under the guise of checking out the area for security purposes, fly right over the border, grab the money, then return to the site. 

I had to chastise myself for even going there. I had done nothing but continuously shut Pope down on this, and here I was doing the same damn thing that I had been giving him hell for. There was no way we could accept this job because I knew that it was only going to lead to trouble. 

My thoughts were interrupted by Benny knocking on the door before sticking his head in, “Hey Fish, you ready to head to the gym for training?” 

I glanced at my watch, realizing I had been ruminating on this for an hour and a half. I nodded, “Shit…yeah…sorry, lost track of time. I’ll meet you there.” 

I puffed air out of my cheeks before standing and gathering my things. I made my way to the truck, telling Pope and Will that I would see them at the bar later as I exited. 

When I got to the gym, Benny was already doing leg presses. I quickly changed clothes and joined him but was completely distracted the entire time by my thoughts. Initially I was focused on Lorea’s money, but then my thoughts drifted to Mya Carnahan. I could not wrap my mind around her. She was a puzzle that I couldn’t figure out. Her cool confidence and authoritative attitude baffled me. She was beautiful, no question about it, but she also felt dangerous. There was something enticing about that thought, causing a sudden urge to explore that feeling a little more and get to know her. Though something told me she was going to push every button I had and enjoy the hell out of it. I was now realizing there was a very real possibility that I might enjoy it too. 

Benny pulled me from my thoughts again, “Sooo, you gonna tell us what that meeting was about?”

I shook my head, “I dunno…I haven’t decided yet. I may turn it down. It’s…risky…for several reasons.” 

He chuckled, “Yeah, but if we get to work with someone who looks like that…it might be worth it.” 

I scoffed and shook my head as I met his gaze, “You sound just like Pope.”

He shrugged, “I’m just calling it as I see it. She’s hot. You should ask her out before Pope does…just to piss him off if nothing else.” 

I laughed, “I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t give that asshole the time of day. Her taste seems a little too refined…for either of us.” 

Benny was smirking now, “You sure about that? She definitely seemed interested in you…Mr. Morales.” 

He said my name in a high-pitched suggestive tone before chuckling to himself. My eyes narrowed on him, “Fuck off. She didn’t say it like that.”

His brows arched, “You sure? She definitely had a tone...”

I rolled my eyes as I reached for the handle to release the footplate on the leg press machine to begin a new set of reps. I wasn’t going to bother to entertain that conversation any further, that didn’t mean I wasn’t thinking about it though. 

After finishing with the weights, we moved to one of the sparring rings. It wasn’t my best day, still too distracted to focus on Benny’s movements. He at least got some practice in, even if it wasn’t much of a challenge. After having my ass handed to me for what felt like the hundredth time, I gave up. Waving my white flag and begging him to move on to the punching bag or call it a day. 

Given the time, we decided to head out. I ran home to take a quick shower before throwing on a fresh set of clothes and grabbing my hat. Afterward, I was on my way to meet the guys at our favorite dive bar. I had given up drinking along with the coke, but I didn’t see any reason to impede on their fun. I still joined them, gorging myself on hot wings and soda instead of beer and tequila. 

I was still on the fence about telling the guys what my meeting with Mya was about, they however, were not giving me any choice on the matter. The badgering began as soon as I sat down at the table. Will seemed more concerned than anything when he inquired. Pope jumped in, being pushy and accusing me of keeping it to myself because I was interested in Mya. He wasn’t completely wrong. I was interested, but I wasn’t entirely sure in what capacity. Benny just wanted to know because he’s a nosey bitch, but also curious about the odd interaction he had witnessed between us in the office. 

I managed to deflect the conversation to another topic the first time it came up. However, that didn’t stop them from throwing jabs at me about it as the night went on. After kicking all their asses at darts, just like I did every time we were there, we settled into our usual secluded corner booth and ordered some wings and another round of beer for them and soda for me. 

Pope inevitably turned the conversation to the bags of cash we had stashed in the Andes, making me feel more anxious than usual. Having new knowledge and a possible plan brewing in my head made me feel fidgety and keyed up. Pope picked up on it immediately. The fact that I hadn’t told him to drop it yet was probably a red flag too. His whispered words about his latest plan trailed off as he eyed me, “What’s going on, Fish? You good?” 

I shrugged, not bothering to look at him as I spoke. “Yeah, I just wish you would stop bringing this up. You know how I feel about it.” 

He leaned forward to catch my gaze, his eyes focusing intently on mine. “What's going on, hermano? Did you…” 

It took a few seconds to dawn on me that he thought I had slipped and fell back on old habits. I could see why, because my behavior was…off. 

I shook my head, “No. Estoy bien.” (I’m fine.) 

He didn’t look convinced as his brows furrowed in doubt. I sighed, rubbing at the back of my neck as my eyes drifted around the small table. I could now see the worry and concern etched on each of their faces. Fuck. I’m gonna have to tell them. 

“That woman that came in today…she has a job for us…”

They all looked confused by the turn of conversation. I leaned back in my seat, still debating telling them even though I knew I was going to. Deep down, I knew it wasn’t something I could keep from them, no matter how much I wanted to. 

I let out a steady breath before continuing, “It’s…an archaeological dig…in Southeastern Peru.”

I stopped there, allowing them to digest that small bit of information. It was obvious when realization hit, causing their eyes to light up from the possibilities of the assignment. Pope was the first to speak, “Fish, we’ve gotta take that. This is our chance…”

I held up my hand to quiet him, “I know, but I do have some concerns…”

They waited for me to continue, all three leaning closer with wide eyes. Pope looked like he was damn near vibrating out of his seat. 

“There’s something…off about this woman…and it seems too good to be true. What if she’s working for the cartels…luring us down there to get us killed? She’s purposely holding back information, and I don’t like that. I’m not sure if we can trust her. There’s a lot of risks here. And even if the job is legit…there’s a very real possibility of live fire. She claims to need security because of the locals and cartels operating in the area. It could get messy…”

Benny grimaced, “Not to be Captain Obvious here, but we run a personal security business. There’s always gonna be risk and a chance for live fire. We knew that going in. If it’s a legit job, that’s literally what we’re here for…to protect people. Whether it be here or Peru.” 

Damn him and his rational way of thinking. Pope of course was quick to agree. Will, on the other hand, was not. He glanced over at his brother and jerked his chin up toward me as he began to speak, “No, Fish is right. There are additional risks here. What if it’s a trap? Even if it’s not, what if they know it’s us and find out we’re there? We need to consider all that before deciding…”

At least one of them sees it my way. I nodded along with what Will said, jumping in to share more details. “This woman knew things about us. I don’t know how much, but she knows who we are. I think she’s been watching us…I’m almost positive I saw that black SUV pass my house a few weeks back.”

Pope slumped back in his seat, the weight of my words finally sinking in. Benny stared at me in confusion, “Why would she need to spy on us for that though?” 

I shrugged, reaching for my glass of soda and taking a sip to soothe my suddenly dry mouth before responding. “That’s the 250 million-dollar question. Like I said, something is off about the whole thing. And besides that, the expedition lasts three months…in the middle of the Amazon jungle. If it is legit, it won’t be easy.”

I could tell the wheels were turning in all their heads as we sat in silence for several minutes. It was Pope who finally broke it, “What if we check into her, get some more background…see who she’s affiliated with…” 

I chuckled, “That would be ideal, but we don’t have time. I have to let her know something by tomorrow or else she says she’s moving on to another security firm.”

Will’s brows pinched together, “There’s no one else around here that can handle that…”

I nodded along, “I know…that’s what I said, but she insisted she had another firm in mind.” 

All three mumbled out an annoyed, “bullshit” in unison. I shared their sentiment because I knew we were the best. No other firm came close to offering what we could.

Will peered over at me with a pensive look, “What’s your gut telling you?”  

I puffed air out of my cheeks as I leaned forward, placing my elbows on the table. “I honestly don't know. I couldn’t get a read on her.”

I pulled my hat off to push my hair away from my face before plopping it back onto my head. “Maybe…Maybe I go talk with her tomorrow…See what other information I can get and go from there? I need some questions answered before we agree to anything.” 

They all nodded as apprehensive looks passed between them, letting the silence stretch out for a beat. Benny’s lips tugged upward as he met my gaze, “So…if she passes the vibe check, you gonna ask her out? Because if not…” 

The admonishing look I shot Benny’s way caused his words to trail off into a snicker. “If we take this job…she’s off limits.” I cut my eyes toward the one I was most worried about following that rule, “You hear me, Pope? She’s a client. Nothing else.” 

They all exchanged knowing glances before Pope spoke, “I’ll be sure to remind you of that as needed, hermano.” 

I rolled my eyes as I stood from the table, “I don’t have to stick around and listen to this shit.”

Benny laughed before elbowing his brother, leaning over to speak conspiratorially, “He’s gotta go get his beauty sleep…can’t be looking haggard when he meets with the hot archaeologist.” 

They all laughed louder than necessary. I sighed as I pinched the bridge of my nose, “Keep it up Ben, and I’ll dock your pay and leave your ass on desk duty while we’re living out your Indiana Jones fantasies in the middle of the Amazon jungle.” 

He was not amused by that, scoffing before giving me the middle finger. I returned the sentiment with a playful grin. Having gotten the last word, I made my exit. 

Ben wasn’t far off; I did want to get a decent night’s rest before my conversation with Mya. I felt like I needed to be alert and on top of my game. I needed to sort out my thoughts and think through the things I wanted answers to. I wasn’t sure if I would get any of it from her, but I was damn sure going to try. 

I took my time going through my routine the next morning, even having an extra cup of coffee before heading out the door. I was feeling strangely anxious about my impending conversation, and I didn’t really understand why.

When I parked in front of Hathor's Gallery of Antiquities, I felt a tightening in my chest. It was a familiar feeling that I hadn’t had in some time, not since Lorea’s. I felt like I was going into battle. 

I inhaled a few deep breaths, attempting to clear my muddled thoughts as I took in the exterior of the gallery. It had an old-world feel in the design with large columns lining the entryway. There were two identical statues on either side of the doors. They looked to be Egyptian, a woman with horns supporting a red circular disk as a crown. 

Curiosity got the best of me as I pulled out my phone, doing a quick google search for “Hathor Egypt”. I tapped on the first link in the search results. The included images on the page banner looked similar to the statues in front of the establishment. I scrolled down, one passage catching my attention: 

Hathor is known as the Egyptian goddess of love (among other identities). She possessed the ability to manipulate any mortal, God, or beast to do her bidding. She is known to be as wild and menacing as she is warm-hearted and seductive. She did not hesitate to inflict harm on those who stood in her path and would do whatever necessary to reach her goals. 

Hathor was consort to many gods, but most notably acted as the Eye of Ra. She served as Ra’s feminine equal, often called ‘The Golden One’, wielding his powers and becoming vengeful in her pursuit to protect him from his enemies. In these instances, she is sometimes depicted as four striking cobras or a lioness… 

I had to stop reading as goosebumps formed on my flesh. Something about that description had my head spinning. I had a feeling that the goddess Hathor was not chosen at random. If anything, I felt like I was reading a description of Mya, but I wasn’t sure why considering I had hardly spent any time with her. I sighed, slipping my phone back into my pocket as I stepped out of the truck and made my way toward the entrance. 

The inside of the gallery looked about how you would expect, matching the old-world aesthetics of the outside and feeling oddly like a museum. The same large columns from the outer entrance were strategically placed along the inner atrium. I realized now they had intricate carvings that extended to various stone focal points on the walls. My eyes were drawn to a carving of four cobras above a mural depicting an Egyptian deity who had the head of a bird and was standing on a boat. There was something about it that drew me in and held my attention. So much so, that I didn’t hear the petite brunette approach and come to a stop at my side. 

I could hear the smile in her voice when she spoke, “Ra’s journey across the sky…it’s a beautiful representation of the story.” 

I glanced over at her with a small smile of my own, “Oh yeah? What’s it represent?” 

Her eyes sparked and suddenly seemed excited that someone had shown interest. “Do you know much about Egyptian gods?” she asked.

I shook my head, “Very little, but I do find the subject fascinating.” 

Her smile widened, “Ra was a God of Gods and father to the pharaohs…he ruled the sun and heavens….and was known as the giver of life. He was a protector but had the capacity to bring great destruction. He’s often depicted with the head of a falcon wearing the sun disc as a crown to symbolize his power and connection to the sky.”

She paused, raising her hand to the mural, pointing out small details as she continued, “This is one of the most popular reliefs of Ra… it shows him sailing the celestial waters on his solar boat by day. By night, he battles the serpent known as Apophis…it’s meant to show the struggle between light and darkness.”

Oddly enough, I found Ra to be incredibly relatable. Too bad he didn’t have the head of a catfish instead. I turned to the woman beside me with questioning eyes, “I’m assuming this mural was chosen for a reason. How does it relate to the goddess, Hathor?”

She gave me a toothy grin. “You’re very astute. Hathor was the wife of Ra and his defender. She was also known as the divine mother of Pharaohs. She’s often referenced as the Eye of Ra…” she said as her small hand moved to point at another prominent figure in the mural. 

“The sun disc on her crown is often represented as an eye…she joins Ra on the voyage, stealthily surveilling for signs of danger from Apophis.”

I had to laugh to myself given I had just been drawing parallels between Mya and Hathor and myself and Ra. It almost seemed like a cruel joke. I half wondered if Benny had set this up as payback for threatening his Indiana Jones fantasies. 

My attention shifted back to the woman, still giving her a gentle smile, “Well, that was a riveting history lesson. I wasn’t expecting to learn something new when I walked through the door.” 

The woman smiled up at me, flushing slightly as her eyes scanned my face. She held out her hand, “I’m sorry, I should have introduced myself before I started rambling. I’m Emily, head Archivist.” 

I shook her hand, “Frankie Morales…and not a problem. It was interesting, really.”

Her eyes widened slightly, “Oh, Mr. Morales…Miss Carnahan said you might be stopping by.” 

My brows pinched together as she turned and motioned for me to follow her. I never said I would be stopping by…

I followed behind Emily, watching as she pulled out her phone, furiously texting as she shuffled through the building. We eventually came to a long hallway with two very large ornately carved oak doors at the end. She turned toward me with a timid smile, not looking at me directly. 

“Miss Carnahan’s office is just through those doors. She’s expecting you.” 

She gave me a small head nod before disappearing in the direction we had come. I chewed on the inside of my cheek, noting her odd dismissal before making my way to the double doors and feeling my stomach flutter slightly. 

When I entered, the sheer size of the space took me off guard. There were floor to ceiling shelves covered in books on every wall, small tables with scrolls and books stacked haphazardly, and a large wooden desk with two leather wingback chairs in front of it. The same large columns found throughout the building separated the space into smaller sections. My eyes finally drifted to Mya, who was leaning over a large wooden table covered in maps, documents, and more books. Her attention was intently focused on whatever she was looking at. 

I ambled toward her, taking in the curve of her ass in the tight black leather-like pants she was wearing. Her loose and flowy black satin blouse draped over her torso with the front of it tucked in. It had a dangerously low v-neckline that framed a gold medallion necklace hanging between her barely covered breasts. Her hair was twisted up into a messy bun, held in place with what looked like a pencil? She was barefooted, having abandoned the very tall strappy heels that sat nearby. She had dark rimmed glasses perched on the end of her nose as she shuffled some pages around. 

She looked like a fucking dream. The words from the passage I had read, manipulative and seductive, passed through my mind again. I needed to watch myself with her. It already felt like she had some sort of power over me, and I was pretty sure my dick was taking the lead on submitting to it. Maybe Pope was right. Maybe I did need to get laid - by someone other than her just so I could get it out of my system. 

She peered up at me over the top of her glasses, still leaning forward and causing her low neckline to hang loosely from her body, which revealed the curve of her breast. She definitely wasn’t wearing a bra. My brain must have short circuited over the sight, because I had apparently stopped several feet in front of her, staring like an idiot. 

Her brows arched as she smirked at me and stood upright, “It’s good to see you Mr. Morales. I wondered if you would be stopping by today.”

I cleared my throat, “How did you know I wouldn’t just call?” 

She reached up and pulled the pencil from her hair, shaking the silky looking strands loose as they fell around her shoulders. She ran her fingers through it as she approached me with a teasing look, “Something told me this was a conversation you would wanna have in person.”

I diverted my eyes, trying my hardest not to look at her chest as she fiddled with her hair. My gaze landed on her bare feet, realizing her toes were painted a deep red color. It felt strangely intimate to see her bare feet. My attention was drawn away from them by her chuckle as she stopped in front of me, “You see something you like Mr. Morales?”

I choked out a laugh, “I just think it’s funny you’re walking around barefooted. You seem a little too…sophisticated…to do something like that.” 

She was still giving me that fucking smirk when my eyes finally met hers. I now realized they were the deepest shade of blue, like sapphires. I could easily get lost in them. 

“I apologize; my feet were killing me. It’s been a long day already…but, you have a lot to learn about me, Mr. Morales. I’m only sophisticated when the occasion calls for it,” she finally said.

She enunciated the word ‘sophisticated’ in a mocking tone, like it was a joke. 

I smirked back at her, “Excuse me. My mistake. I guess I do have a lot to learn…how about we start with how you seem to know so much about me and my team? Have you been spying on us?” 

She was smiling now. Not the least bit embarrassed at having been caught. She took off her glasses, rolling her shoulders back as she tilted her chin upward, almost defiantly, to look me directly in the eye. Her expression shifted to something more serious.

“I needed to be sure I could trust you. Can I trust you…Frankie?” 

The fact that she called me ‘Frankie’ didn’t go unnoticed. She said it with what I could only describe as vulnerability. She was attempting to create familiarity between us. It was a manipulation tactic. I couldn’t help smiling, I was on to her.

“You can if you cut out the manipulation bullshit. I’ll be as straight with you as you are with me. Otherwise, I can play the game just as well as you can.” 

She smiled briefly, before turning serious again. “Touché… Alright, fine. Serious question though, can I trust you? If I can’t…this stops here.” 

My brows furrowed. What did she really expect me to say? No? “Of course. I take my job seriously.” 

She stared at me for a beat, like she was trying to make a decision. Her teeth sunk into her bottom lip as she nodded slightly, “Ok…Does this mean you’re taking the job then?”

I scoffed, “No. It doesn’t. You still haven’t answered all my questions.”  

Her shoulders dropped, “Yes, I was watching you. I have been for weeks. I needed to make sure you could handle this…and that you won’t fuck me over.” 

I snorted out a laugh and tried not to be distracted by her saying the words ‘fuck me’. “So, I guess we passed your assessment then? What the hell is this, Mya? What are you trying to get us mixed up in?” 

She inhaled deeply, “If you accept the job, I’ll answer any questions you have.” 

I rolled my eyes, “Ok, let’s start with…who’s paying for it?” 

Her mouth fell open slowly before she answered, “I told you; it’s funded by donations. That’s all you need to know.”

I shook my head, “How the hell am I supposed to trust you when you can’t answer that basic question?”

She rubbed her hands together as her eyes wandered around the room to avoid mine, “I swear, I’ll answer any question you have aside from that one. I’ve been asked not to share that information…I gave my word, and I plan to stick to it. You can respect that, right?” 

I did have to respect that. I stood there with my hands on my hips, trying to get a read on her. She seemed more sincere at this moment than she had been so far.  

“I swear, if at any point, you need to know who it is…I’ll tell you. Right now, it’s not a need to know,” she added. 

I sighed and nodded as I rubbed at the back of my neck, “Ok…fine. I need you to be honest with me if this is gonna work. No secrets…aside from that one…I guess. I need to know what kind of risks we’re up against. Don’t be jerking me around…this could get dangerous. People could die.” 

She nodded, “I know…and that’s why I want the best looking out for my team. They’re all good people…in it for the right reasons. I need for them to be safe.” 

There was something in her tone. It was almost anxious and weary. Her mask of confidence was slipping. 

“You’re people? And what about you? You need to be safe too,” I said. 

She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I can take care of myself. I’m not worried about me. I’m hiring you to protect them.”

I felt my stomach turn sour over her words. Something told me she probably needed the most protection out of all of them, but I knew she would never admit to it if I asked. 

I sighed, “I can get you a team of 15 guys, with three pilots for the full three months. You’re looking at 2 million…and that’s not covering the air assets or supplies.”

Her eyes narrowed on me, “Are you one of the three pilots?” I nodded in affirmation. She seemed almost relieved before continuing.

“If I make it four mil to start and put you in charge of securing the assets and supplies that your team needs, will that work?”

My head was spinning. Is she for real? Against my better judgement, I made my decision. My jaw ticked, “Alright. We’ll do it. Now I need you to tell me what the fuck I’m signing up for.” 

Her lips curled upward into a brilliant smile as some of the tension left her body, her facade dropping some. She motioned toward the table for me to follow her, “What I’m about to tell you…no one else knows the full context of it. I’m trusting that it will stay between you and me. You can’t even tell your team. None of them. You got it?”   

I was a little taken aback by that, but I nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I’ll keep it between us.” 

Her eyes roamed my face, analyzing and calculating, seeming satisfied before continuing. 

“What do you know about the lost Incan city Paititi?”

I shrugged, biting back a laugh, “Is that like…El Dorado?” There’s no way she’s serious. 

She sighed, “Umm, some researchers conflate the two…but to me, no. It’s two different things. El Dorado is more mythical. That name gets slapped on any legend that mentions a city of gold. However, some people refer to Paititi as El Dorado, but the city itself did actually exist from what history tells us. It’s not myth.”

I nodded along, still trying to keep a straight face. She huffed air out of her cheeks, “I can tell you think I’m crazy. Just…let me explain. OK?”

I gave her a polite smile, “OK. Explain. What makes you think you can find Paititi?” 

She hesitated. I arched my eyebrows, waiting for her to continue. She began to shuffle through the mess of documents and books on the table, pausing to grab a worn leather-bound journal. 

“This is the part I need for you to keep to yourself…”

I drew an ‘x’ over my heart, “I promise. Not a word.” 

I could tell whatever she was about to say was a big deal, to her at least. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly before continuing. 

“In 2001, a researcher found a manuscript in the Vatican archives that went into detail about the location of Paititi. It had been dated to around 1600 and was written based on the word of a Jesuit missionary. It described a city filled with gold, silver, and gemstones located in the middle of the Amazon jungle. It was initially dismissed as being unreliable third-hand information, so it didn’t get much attention.”

Ok, this is getting a little more interesting. “Alright, so, why does any of that matter if it was found to be unreliable?”

She hesitated again, then smiled nervously. I couldn’t help thinking how adorable she was like this, in researcher mode. As if to prove my point, she slid her glasses back on, then gathered her hair to one shoulder as she flipped through the journal. My eyes were briefly drawn to the curve of her neck as she searched the pages and began to speak.

“Well, the document was eventually moved to the Vatican’s secret archives… which is the Pope’s private collection. It was no longer accessible to the public. A lot of the information has since been lost or misconstrued over time…until now.”

She slid the journal toward me, taped inside were high quality images of some old documents - pages of them. 

I glanced up at her, “Is this?”

I couldn’t finish my sentence, but she knew what I was asking. Nodding as she continued, “Yes. It is. And the thing is, there were more pages than originally thought…and I have them. All of them. No one knows about the extra pages. You’re the only person I’ve told. As far as anyone else is concerned, I’m going off previously released information.”   

I let out the breath I didn’t realize I was holding, “So, why are you telling me this?” 

She seemed unsure of herself as she met my gaze, “I knew you wouldn’t go into this blindly…that you would need proof. You also have skills that I’ll need to rely on…it helps if you know what you’re looking for. You might see something that I don’t…aerial searches aren’t exactly in my area of expertise.” 

Things were beginning to come together now. While I was still nervous about taking this on, I was confident she wasn’t setting a trap. 

My brows pinched together, “Aerial searches?”

She nodded, “Yes. I have a general idea of the location…but it's still a jungle. It’s gonna be camouflaged by hundreds of years of overgrowth. I need your eyes, Frankie…and your navigation skills. So, I’m trusting you with the Vatican documents.” 

A thought struck me suddenly, prompting me to ask, “How did you get those documents anyway?” 

She gave me a cocky grin, “I dropped in from the duct work, Mission Impossible style, and took them while the Pope slept.” 

I snorted out a laugh, “And you’re also full of shit.” 

She grimaced, “So, I may have fibbed. That’s another one of those things you don’t need to know…but that should be the last one...I think.” 

I felt my jaw tighten and my nostrils flare in frustration as I gave her an admonishing look. “You’re already pissing me off and we haven’t even started yet…” 

She gave me a nervous smile, “Sorry. I’m just keeping my word.” 

I rolled my eyes, “Yeah, Ok.” I could already tell; she was going to be difficult to deal with. 

I puffed air out of my cheeks, placing my hands on the table and leaning forward to inspect the images. “So what language is this? What does it say?”

Mya moved in closer, the length of her body nearly pressing into me as she leaned down to look at the documents with me. 

“It’s Latin. This one is a papal authorization to evangelize the city…meaning the Pope did in fact send missionaries.”

She paused, leaning in just a little closer to turn the page and allowing her vanilla and jasmine scent to surround me. Her proximity made it hard to focus on the images in front of me as she began to speak again, “This page documents a ten-day trip by foot between Cuzco and Paititi made by the Inca…there’s a note from the Jesuits indicating that detailed clues should be withheld to avoid a gold rush on the city, but somebody messed up. There was a map that made its way into the collection. It was filed separately, so it wasn’t found by the original researcher…but it has been now.”

She pointed to the image she was referencing. It was indeed a map…a very hard to read map. 

“Obviously the landscape has changed since then, but hopefully…between the two of us…we can figure this out.”  

I turned my head to glance over at her, our noses inches apart as we locked eyes. I felt a sudden electricity sparking between us that had my skin buzzing and heart racing. I noticed her eyes briefly dropped to my lips before our attention was drawn to the heavy oak door of her office opening. 

When I shifted to face the door, I was met with a set of dark eyes and furrowed brows staring at us. The man with greasy looking slicked back hair and a scowl didn’t seem too happy to see me. I almost felt like he was sizing me up and ready to attack at any given second. 

Mya’s aura shifted, her jaw clenching as she shot daggers at him with her eyes. I noticed her hand moving to slide some loose papers over top of the journal as she spoke with a forced politeness, “Veracruz, I wasn’t expecting you. What are you doing here?” 

She now seemed uncomfortable. I watched as his scowl shifted to an almost unnerving smile as he replied in a thick Spanish accent, “I just came to check in with you and see how everything is going with the planning.” 

Her nostrils flared as she regarded him, “I see. Well…we’ll catch up just as soon as I’m finished with this meeting. You can wait in the conference room.” 

I stood to my full height and crossed my arms over my chest, feeling the need to take up more space as he glanced my way. He gave me a cocky smirk before giving a small nod and exiting the room. Something told me he was going to be a problem. 

Mya smiled weakly, “Sorry about that. I hate when people interrupt meetings.”

I eyed her, waiting for her to say more on the subject, but she didn’t. Instead, she was back to business, “Well, since you’ve officially agreed…I’ll start gathering all the documents you guys will need and putting plans and contracts into writing. We’ll get back together to go over the finer details once everything is set.” 

I nodded, “Sounds like a plan. Can’t wait.” 

I watched as she picked up the journal and moved toward one of the stone columns that separated the table from the office space. She squatted down, then pushed in on the flat square part of the base, causing a small drawer to pop out. She lifted a lid and slid the journal inside, then pulled her necklace off, manipulating it in some way to turn it into a key. She quickly locked the lid shut before closing the compartment. I never would have guessed that the compartment existed if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. It was completely undetectable.

She eyed me as she stood and returned the chain around her neck, “I’m trusting you. No one else knows about that.” 

I huffed out a small laugh, “Wow…OK. I guess we’re gettin’ into some Indiana Jones type shit.”

She chuckled, “You have no idea…come on. I’ll walk you out.”

As I walked beside her to the main exit of the building, I couldn’t help asking, “Why the goddess Hathor?”

Her eyes cut toward me as she smirked, “I admire her skill set.” 

She didn’t elaborate, but I could take a guess as to what she meant. Once we reached the exit, I turned toward her, reaching out to shake her hand. “I guess we’re doing this. I look forward to working with you, Miss Carnahan.” 

She gave me a polite smile as she took my hand and gave it a firm shake, “I’ll see you soon, Mr. Morales.” 

Her smile shifted to a smirk as she watched me leave. I couldn’t be sure how long her eyes were on me, but I swear I could feel them burning into me until I pulled out of the empty lot. 

My head was reeling as I drove toward the office. I wasn’t sure what I was going to tell the guys. I guess the only thing I had to omit were the documents. I hated keeping something from them, but like Mya, I always kept my word. For some crazy reason, she was trusting me, and I didn’t want to break it. I knew this wasn’t going to be easy though. I could already tell she was going to be a handful. I still needed to be careful with her. It was obvious she had a penchant for deception. I just wasn’t sure in what way. 

I would be lying if I said part of me wasn’t hoping she would open up to me more…become something more. She had this magnetism about her that I couldn’t seem to resist, and I knew it was probably going to get me in trouble. I almost welcomed it, but I was also hoping she didn’t become my new addiction. I had to remind myself to keep this professional - that she was off limits to me too. 

Mya’s POV I stood watching Frankie’s broad frame walking toward his truck through the windows. The more I got to know him, the more intrigued I became. I wasn’t sure what I expected, but it wasn’t this. He was observant and intuitive. There was something about the way he looked at me, like he could see through all my bullshit. He did basically call me out on it right away. I didn’t know how to handle him going forward. All I knew was that I needed him to trust me, realizing that having him on my side could work in my favor if things went south and that he might even be the key to finding Paititi. 

My thoughts were interrupted by approaching footsteps, heavy footfalls encased in rubber soles. They came to a stop just behind me as the familiar sandalwood and musk scent invaded my nostrils. 

“I thought I told you to wait in the conference room?” I asked before turning to face Veracruz’s stupidly handsome and smirking face. 

He shrugged, “I wanted to make sure there were no problems.”

I arched a questioning brow. He was beyond transparent, letting his jealousy show at the mere sight of me talking to another man. I really hoped this wouldn’t become a problem. “We’re all good here.”

His eyes briefly shifted to the window before coming back to me, “Who was that? Anyone we need to be concerned about?” 

I shook my head, “No. He’s actually the owner of the personal security firm I’m hiring for the expedition. So…I’m gonna need you to play nice with him. No arguing or questioning his methods. He’s in charge. Got it?”

He gave me a disgruntled look, “You should just let me handle it…”

I looked around, realizing this was not the place to talk to him. “I need you to go to the conference room, like I told you to do. I’ll be there in a minute.”

He sighed, nodding in agreement as he turned to head that way. I watched him go, making sure he did what he was told. He was such a loose cannon. I never knew what to expect from him. 

Minutes later I found Emily in her office to let her know that I would be unavailable for the rest of the afternoon unless a limited few special people happened to show up. I didn’t want to risk anyone else inadvertently seeing Veracruz. She gave me a thumbs up as she reached to answer the phone. I mouthed a quick ‘thank you’ before walking away.

When I entered the conference room, Veracruz was fiddling with a astrolabe displayed on a nearby table, nearly knocking it over when he heard the door open behind him. I gave him a very unamused glare as he righted it. 

“What the hell are you doing here? We had an agreement…”

He placed his right hand on his chest, “I’m sorry, cariño. Collazo wanted me to check in with you and see where we are with preparations.” 

I was fuming. I could feel the heat rushing to my face as anger continued to build, “I don’t care. Collazo nor any of his men are to step foot in this building. I refuse to be implicated in whatever he’s gotten mixed up with.” 

He approached me, much like one would approach a scared animal, hands up in surrender and talking quietly. “I was careful. I came through the back. Not a soul saw me.” 

I huffed out of frustration, “No one saw you? Frankie saw you. Then you waltzed out into the lobby like you own the place just because you can’t help yourself. Anyone could have walked in...” 

His shoulders dropped, “Please forgive me. You are right. I should not have done that. However, Frankie is going to see me eventually anyway, right? So, that does not count.”

I rubbed the bridge of my nose, now feeling a headache coming on, “You shouldn’t be here at all. We could have set something up.”

He was crowding my space now, placing his hand on my cheek. “I’m sorry. I did not want to wait to see you. I have missed you. Let me make it up to you.” 

I sighed, stepping away from him. Now that Damien was out of the picture, Veracruz wasn’t even trying to hide his feelings for me. I entertained his advances to a point, just so I could maintain my influence over him, but I still didn’t know how far that would get me if his neck was on the line. It was a delicate dance between us that was becoming much more complicated as he was not so subtly begging for more. 

It’s not like it wasn’t tempting. Veracruz looked like sex on two legs and had been very attentive toward me. He went through great lengths to look after me when I was recovering from Collazo’s mini torture session several months ago. I had no question that he would probably be an amazing lover, but I knew he would only suck me further into the life that I was desperately trying to get away from.

“You can’t keep saying things like that to me,” I replied. 

He gave me a soft smile, “Why? Because you like it? I will win you over eventually.” 

I shook my head, “No. I’ve already told you…it’s a bad idea…”

It was his turn to shake his head, “I do not think so. Collazo would welcome it. He would trust you again.” 

I peered up at him with an empathetic gaze, “That may be true, but I’m trying to get away from that lifestyle, Veracruz. I can’t do that if I’m with you.” 

He looked deflated, “I understand, but that does not change how I feel. I cannot help it.” 

I turned away from him, needing to change the subject. “Why does Collazo want you to check in?” 

He began to pace the room, inspecting all the knickknacks on display. “You know how he is…it is more about control. He wants to remind you who is really in charge and make sure you are doing what you need to.”

I nodded, “Of course, I figured. Well…you can report back that we’re on track with the plan. Nothing has changed…and I’ll be ready on the set date.”

He turned toward me, “I had not planned to tell him anything different, no matter your answer. I am trying to keep him off your back as much as possible.” 

I gave him a soft smile, “I do appreciate that. Thank you.” 

An awkward silence stretched between us. I really was beginning to hate being alone with him. Not because I disliked him, but because I felt like I had to manage him and his expectations every second that we were together. It was exhausting. 

I sucked in a sharp breath, “Well, I have things I need to attend to. If that’s all you needed…”

He gave me a tight smile, “Of course. We will be in touch soon.” 

He moved to exit but paused to look back at me when I called his name.

“Please make sure you’re not seen when you leave,” I reminded him. With another curt nod, he was gone. 

I spent the remainder of my afternoon preparing the contract and instructions for Frankie, being careful as to what I put in writing. There were some things that he was just going to have to memorize. It was too risky to have the information floating around. I made a mental checklist of what those things needed to be as I packed up and headed home for the evening. 

As soon as I got home, I changed into my workout clothes, wrapped my knuckles, and made my way to the punching bag in my home gym. I really needed to blow off some steam. The last two days had left me feeling on edge and conflicted about how I was handling everything.

Veracruz randomly showing up at the gallery without warning had taken my anxiety over the top. I didn’t really know how I was going to manage him through this whole thing. I could only assume his advances would continue once we were in the jungle. He was becoming more brazen each time we were together. I needed to keep him close without crossing the line, it had to stay professional. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could walk that line without repercussions. 

Frankie had taken me completely off guard. I had seen pictures of him and watched him from a distance but seeing him up close was an entirely different experience. The second I walked into Delta 5 Security Solutions the previous day; he had my attention. It was almost like I could feel his piercing dark eyes burning into my flesh. I was drawn to him like a moth to a flame. I did well to keep my cool and reel him in, but internally I was a mess as I stood across from him in his office. 

Sure, he was a little disheveled and had the whole tortured soul vibe about him, but there was something sort of beautiful and poetic about him too. He was much bigger than I had realized, his broad shoulders seeming to stretch on forever. The way his arms and chest flexed in the tight grey t-shirt he had been wearing today definitely couldn’t be ignored. Even with his aquiline nose and messy curls, he was handsome in sort of a boyish type of way. That was only emphasized when I drew a laugh from him earlier today, causing his cheek to dimple. And the way he smelled, gods, it was amazing. It was an enticing mixture of leather, summer nights, and man.

He seemed like a decent person with good intentions. If I wasn’t careful, there was a real possibility he could be trouble for me - as in causing me to fuck up and let my guard down. He completely saw through me today. He knew what I was doing before I had even tried it. He was definitely going to be harder to bend to my will. However, some part of my brain was telling me there was a real possibility that he might submit willingly if I did the same for him. I really thought I had met my match in Damien, but Frankie might turn out to be the biggest adventure yet. 

Chapter 3: So it Begins

✨If you would like to be added to the tag list, feel free to shoot me a DM or leave a comment.

A/N: Hello my lovelies! I hope you enjoyed chapter two. We got some fun stuff with the guys this chapter. They are already giving Frankie hell over Mya. We got to see some of their dynamics and how life is post money-gate. They are definitely looking to Frankie more as a leader these days. Pope is still Popeing and the Millers are just along for the ride.

We finally got Frankie and Mya together. How are we feeling about their dynamics so far? They are definitely both feeling each other out. Frankie is already smitten and Mya is getting there. That doesn't mean they are immediately going to jive though. They will be bumping heads, a lot. Then of course, we have added Veracruz to the mix. He and Frankie have already begun their pissing match.

Now for the nerdy stuff...

Vatican Documents: The Vatican document about Paititi is a real thing! It's discovery in 2001 really happened and it was indeed removed from public access. I've obviously taken some liberties with those 'extra pages' but this is where our adventure begins. I'll continue to share some of these little tidbits with you as we go along.

Egyptian References: So, some of you probably know I'm a huge history nerd. At one point I did want to be an archeologist/Egyptologist. With Egypt being my favorite ancient civilization, I couldn't help squeezing some of that stuff in. There is no funny business here. We are not getting into any reincarnation story lines or anything like that. I just thought it would be fun to draw some parallels between the god of the sky and Frankie and the goddess of Love and Mya because they have similar traits. And well, Ra and Hathor were together. Their story may have some foreshadowing elements, just to make things more interesting. 😏

Please feel free to sound off with your thoughts and predictions. You know I love to hear them! Especially as our adventure starts to pick up.

💜Mysty

Tag group 1:

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@pedrostories

[andreisvechnikov]

To Canes Fans

Sebastian Aho, Feb 27th, 2025

I think about the playoff losses a lot. It hurt then, and it hurts now. Each one of them stays with me. It stays with us. We have scar tissue. That’s the honest truth. There’s no point in lying about it. It’s there. And it’s a part of who this team is, of who we’re going to be. And I’m thinking about it now, not because I’m taking the regular season for granted, or because we’re already thinking ahead. It’s actually the opposite of that. This year's team, we don’t want to just be talented, or a tight group, we want to have a real identity. Something that we can rely on, no matter what happens during a month, or game, or series. Something that we know is us — something that is true to Hurricane hockey, through and through.

And that thing is simple: Hard work.

I don’t care at all if you think it’s a cliché.

We’ve come up short six years in a row. And each year we try to learn from it and make changes and do something different. Sometimes maybe we’ve tried to be things we aren’t. It happens. And there are teams all around the league who have certain styles of play, or things they’re great at. And so do we. But what I want is for us to be the hardest-working team in the league. The team that doesn’t leave a stone unturned. First ones in, last ones out. That type of stuff. Because when we break through, when we finally lift the Cup, it will because of all the reps before that moment. All the hard work. That’s the way through.

Everybody is a loser until they’re a winner.

And I know we’re winners.

I know it.

And if you don’t mind, I want to shout out Coach for a second here. Roddy. Nobody gets what it means to wear this sweater more than him. He’s got this connection with fans, man…. It’s crazy. He’s a legend. I remember being eight years old and watching from Finland when Carolina won in 2006. I can still see him and Cam Ward skating around with the Cup above their heads. I got to know Roddy during my rookie year in 2016. He was the power-play coach. I didn’t know him that well and I remember so many flights where it seemed like he never looked up from the film on his computer. He���d spend hours and hours trying to figure it out, trying to put us in positions to succeed. And when he became head coach in 2018, we all got to see another side of him.

He’s an incredible speaker. He just has this way of connecting with the guys that’s completely genuine and honest. He feels like a teammate. Like he’s in the battle with you. And he sets the bar so high. He’s the hardest-working guy every day. In the gym, in the film room, he is the culture. And I wanted to talk about him because I know Canes fans appreciate him. I see the jerseys. I hear the roar when his name is announced. But maybe people around the league look at Carolina and think, How did they build that unique culture down there? Roddy is a huge part of it. 

And I thought about that a lot when I was negotiating my contract in the summer of 2023. When you have the opportunity to be a free agent, it’s a massive moment in your life as an athlete.

But every thought I had that summer led me back to one thing: Canes fans.

I saw the way Roddy was treated, the love he had for the city. I wanted that. My wife and I love living in Raleigh. This is our place. This is where we’re supposed to be. And also: I’m a bit stubborn. I’m not giving up until we win. I promise that. I think I’m a Hurricane for a reason. I know what that reason is. And I will do everything in my power to make it happen.

I think sometimes there’s this misconception about European players. That we don’t care as much about the Cup as Canadians or Americans. I can’t speak for everyone when I say this, but for me, that couldn’t be further from the truth. I watched the Cup final almost every year growing up. I remember after the Canes won, the Ducks won it in ’07. I stayed up past midnight to watch Chris Pronger hand the Cup to Teemu Selänne. I was nine years old at the time, but I knew how important that moment was. The NHL seemed far away, but I knew it was the pinnacle. And I got it in my head that that’s what I wanted. To be a champion — to share that moment with a city. 

And so I’d watch YouTube for hours and hours. Pavel Datsuyk and Patrick Kane were two of my favorites. I was kind of mesmerized by their hands, by what they could do with the puck. As a teenager I’d get out on the outdoor rink with my friends, and it’d be colder than you could ever imagine, and we’d do one-on-ones and two-on-twos until we couldn’t feel our feet.

In Oulu, my hometown, we have so much pride for Finnish hockey. I think my very first hockey memory is being in the Kärpät dressing room with my dad, Harri, and his teammates when I was three or four years old. I remember his D partner cutting a down a stick for me to use. Those vibes in the room after they’d win … it was just really incredible. It felt like a big family to me. There’s something about being with the guys after they’ve given everything out there. I don’t know. That’s just something that I’ve always loved.

I cherish every win we get here in Carolina. We know how hard it is to win in this league. And every time we get one, and we share the moment together, I’m reminded of my childhood and why I play this game. 

That first playoff run we had in 2019 was special for a lot of reasons. That was the first time I saw the real Raleigh. It had been nine seasons since the team had been in the postseason, and I remember before Game 3 of the first round, the city was just alive. When I was drafted a few years before, people told me, Oh, it’s not a hockey town. It’s a football state. It’s a basketball state. All sorts of stuff like that. I don’t know, man. You come to our rink and you tell me if it’s a hockey town. I’ve played all over the world in almost every big rink. And I’ve never been in a building that was rocking like ours was before we got on the ice against the Capitals in 2019. Never. I was standing in the tunnel and I was in the zone. I was focused. We were down 2-0 but both games were close. I felt confident. I was getting ready to get on the ice, and I could hear the crowd, but I couldn’t really hear it, if you get that? Like I’m so in the zone that there’s no noise. But I could feel it. In my legs, in my chest. There was just this thunder going through the place. I can still feel it when I think back on it.

That series, man, beating the Cup champs in Game 7, in double OT…. Awesome. And then we swept New York in the second round and it felt like we were on top of the world. I really fell in love with Raleigh that summer. Like, I got it. I understood what hockey meant to everyone

And that's why it sucked so bad that we couldn't get it done against Boston. That was such a low, after such a high. To get swept.... I'm still pissed about it. 

Honestly, every series loss since then has been brutal. We've gotten so close, and built something special year after year, but close isn't good enough. 

Close sucks. 

But we understand the nature of hockey. Only one team can win the final game of the season. It’s the hardest trophy in the world to win for a reason. The only thing you can do is use the heartbreak as motivation. And so we keep going, we keep giving it our all. And this is where I really need to shout out our fans, because a lot of you have been showing up since the dark days, when we were rebuilding. The cool thing about our building is it's almost like a neighborhood. You come to the rink, and you see the same faces during warmups. The same families. You guys are a part of our group, and you keep us going. 

So we’re here again with a pretty darn good hockey team. I love this group. I really do.

We’re led by our Captain, Jordan Staal. He might not be on the scoresheet every night (he has been lately!!), but he’s our engine. When there’s a big draw to take, or penalty to kill, he’s just got this other gear. When I was a young player in the league, I’d look at him as somebody to be. That effort is how you win in the NHL. The goals and the points and all that, it matters. Don’t get me wrong. But when spring comes around, and the game changes a little in the playoffs…. It’s the stuff you can’t write down that makes the difference. Our captain is that guy.

And we’re a group that’s full of strong individuals, full of fighters. Freddie came back the other week and, man, it’s really inspiring to see how hard he’s worked to get himself back to the level he’s at. It’s brutal to see your brother go down like he did, and all the health stuff he’s had to overcome, he’s been through hell. But he never gave up. I’d see him in the gym all the time and you knew how much he was giving to get back to help us, to be there for Raleigh.

Now we’ve got some new faces in the building, and it’s an exciting time to be here. From the front office down, I think we all want the same thing. That’s a good feeling. It’s never easy seeing friends go. But that’s part of the game, part of life. We’ve got to keep going here through the end of the season and try to finish as strong as possible. We’re taking it one game at a time, doing every little thing to get better and better. And when the time comes, and the building gets even louder, and the games matter even more, I can promise you one thing, Raleigh: Close isn’t good enough.

Thanks for all the love. Let’s make some memories.

—Sebastian

[femnoah]

I’m so curious, how would the rest of the cast react once it’s revealed that ‘Noah’ is actually Neha?

Plus I could only imagine Neha revealing this information in either a very dramatic way (ie a challenge where they have to tell a secret) or be hilariously nonchalant about it and acting like she thought everyone knew the whole time just to mess with the cast

Owen's reaction is basically just "my little buddy is even more adorable!" He takes his job given to him (ward off the pretty boys) by the brothers even more seriously after the reveal.

Most of the cast are just shocked.

Lindsey and Beth try to befriend her.

Heather begrudgingly respects her for it.

Justin feels like ripping his hair out cause 'Noah' may not be the first guy to not show interest in him but Neha is definitely the first girl, it just convinces him more that she's secretly a demon.

Alejandro has an 'oh shit' moment.

I've got so many different scenarios for the reveal but they mainly fall into three categories:

Third party in the future

Her family reveal it

Reveal in the competition

Third party in the future:

She does achieve her dreams of working as a host and becomes super famous (as Neha). She gets invited on a big talk show (one with a live audience, Eva and Izzy are in said audience cause they're proud of their sister) and is asked about her first experience in show biz.

She mentions total drama and the host gives her a pitying look, asking if she worked as an intern on the show. Neha just laughs and says she was one of the original contestants. Obviously, the host and audience are confused because they don't remember the girl in the first couple seasons.

(I honestly believe that Chris made intros for the more iconic groups after World Tour to reel in more viewers and since team escope were the fan favourites, they definitely got one and it became famous)

She gets Izzy and Eva to come up on stage with her and Izzy hands her something. She ties her hair back, prods at her throat a couple of times before nodding to Eva who presses a button on her phone. The three girls then turn around so their backs are to the audience.

Chris' voice rings out and there are a couple of gasps from those in the audience who recognise the intro.

"They're the nightmares of manipulative pretty boys! They're the natural enemies to the sane and the nice! They're the very unlikely friend group! They are-"

Neha turns around posing with her one hand on her cocked hip, with the wig on her head and in a very familiar deeper, snarky voice says "The brains"

Eva then turns around, cracking her knuckles and grinning in a feral like way and says "The brawn"

Izzy turns around and jumps on the two so that her arms are around the girls' shoulders and chirps out "And the Crazy!"

Chris' voice continues out from the phone's speakers "It's everybody's favourite trio.... Teaaaaaaam Escooope!"

It becomes a viral meme and coincidentally how a lot of the cast found out that she was a girl.

The host then asks about how and why she managed to keep this from the whole world for so long and she shrugs in response.

.....

"my brothers bet me that I couldn't do it so I did, then I kinda forgot I did it"

"were any of the other cast mates aware that you were a girl all along?"

"I-" she furrows her eyebrows and thinks for a second. "I literally have no idea, I can't remember if I told any of them or anything..... Did I?" she looks to the other two girls for help.

"No clue!!"

"dunno why you're asking me, I barely talked to any of them"

She turns back to the host "I'm going to say I did because I feel like either I did tell them or I thought about doing it, I honestly can't remember though"

She did not in fact tell any of them.

Her family reveal it

After World tour (ridonculous race isn't canon in this) had finished and most of the competitors had went home, Team Escope took a selfie on the Hawaii set in their total drama outfits. The only difference was that Neha wasn't wearing her wig, instead Izzy had it on on top of her hair, in a way you can tell it is a wig. It was posted on Eva's social media account captioned 'when one of your best friends cons the entire world and her competitors into thinking she was a boy for three seasons because of a bet #teamescope'. It goes viral.

The other one is that after World Tour the families come to pick up the contestants (free trip to Hawaii), talk with the staff and mingle. It's pretty calm until the doors slam open and a hoard of attractive guys come in (Katie faints and Justin looks offended) and practically runs towards the resident snark. A gorgeous woman trails in after them looking highly amused.

By now everybody who's in the room is watching them wondering what's going on (Alejandro is mildly horrified because that's A LOT of what he assumes to be brothers based on how old they look).

'Noah' gets lifted up so 'he's' sitting on one of the guys shoulders and all of the brothers just start chanting "Neha!" Like they're at a football match.

The woman walks over to Izzy and Eva who are just laughing at the antics and they start getting fussed over by said woman. Everybody else is confused.

'Noah' is flushed bright red and basically begging "put me down!!".

The woman then makes her way over to the larger group with the other two girls in tow and gives them a look. 'Noah' is put down and she starts fussing over 'him' as well.

.......

"Mamaaa!" She whines as her mama just peppers face with kisses in front of everyone, she had a reputation to uphold dammit!

"Aww, my कीमती छोटी लोमड़ी, I'm so proud of you!!" Her mama replied, clearly not getting how serious the situation is, she could hear Duncan, Heather, Courtney and some of the others laughing at her misfortune.

Her mama smiled down at her and no, Neha was not pouting- "but Neha darling, you won, are you not excited?"

She froze. "What?"

"I spoke to McLean out in the hall and he told me that your contract from the first season is officially over, and since you didn't sign one for this season specifically you are no longer contractually a part of the show!"

A sharp smile grew on her face as she felt her brothers freeze up behind her. She turned around dramatically and clapped her hands once. "So! My contract is over and I didn't give myself away. Those were the terms right?"

She walked over to her brothers, savouring her victory. She fully planned to boast as much as she could. It's not often that she gets to dictate all of her brothers' actions for a day and she was going to enjoy the payback for all of the embarrassment she went through because of the bet. She told them this.

"I won the bet and now I have the power to make you suffer like I have on this Godforsaken show!" Okay, maybe she was being a little dramatic but she's their younger sister! It's basically her job!

"I'm going to make you all regret making this bet so much" it was only thanks to her ingrained reflexes that she managed to avoid the youngest of her older brother's attempt to grab her (she is not getting tickled in front of all these people, that is a line she'll never let be crossed). Neha darted behind Eva. Unfortunately, she wasn't quick enough to avoid the swipe at her hair so she didn't notice until it was too late when the wig came off and her hair fell down, framing her body. She glared at the offending brother.

Her mama just giggled and she felt even more betrayed. (Wasn't her little girl adorable, she looked like an angry kitten all puffed up).

Neha was not prepared for Izzy to suddenly pick her up and shove her at Eva before sprinting towards the door yelling "protect the baby!!!". Eva looked down at her and Neha shook her head trying her hardest to convey ' do not. Don't you even dare iron woman.' unfortunately it didn't work cause the other girl just smirked at her and sprinted to catch up with Izzy, still carrying her.

Not even seconds later her brothers all seemed to telepathically come to an agreement and they also all rushed to the three girls who had left the room by now. "Capture the triplets!" "We cannot let them steal our youngest sister! That's our job" "Charge!" "The baby!"

Neha's mother just looks to the closest person (who just happened to be Alejandro's mother) and cheerfully chirped "Children can be quite a handful can't they!" " Ah, si, though it seems as though you may need more hands than I do" "too right! You seem to be quite a reasonable woman, can I have your number? Perhaps we can arrange a play date between our children" she winked. The other woman just laughed and gave her her phone "si si, I'm sure my husband would be thrilled to see our boys making friends!"

Neha's mother then walks out of the room ignoring the catatonic state of shock her मीठी ग्रेमलिन्स left most of the room in.

Reveal in the competition

Either Neha gets into a scrap with one of the competitors (probably Duncan or Justin, she does not get on with either of them, like at all) and her wig comes off in the process or Chris designs a challenge where she has to reveal herself for the sake of drama.

The challenge could be a guess the secret one where all the contestants' greatest secrets are listed out plus a few red herrings. Whoever guesses the most correct secrets wins as well as whoever has their secret guessed correctly the least. Neha wins this challenge cause only 3 people correctly guessed her 'secret' (her, Eva and Izzy) and then she gets revealed as proof and spends the rest of the season as herself.

Another one is if they had all of the OG cast in a new season. Neha would 'reveal' herself to the viewers first. I think it would be funny if they are playing tag hide and seek with the contestants as a challenge in a city.

One of the teams are seekers and everyone else are hiders, they're out if they get tagged and join the taggers in hunting the rest down. The original taggers win if they get everybody. If they don't then whoever is left wins.

Neha wins the challenge.

She just takes off her wig and the first layer of her outfit, unbuttoning the top of her shirt and walks around. Multiple contestants walk past her but they don't notice her. She actually had a pretty fun day: she had a nice cup of tea, read a couple chapters of her book and explored the architecture in the city. At the end of the day she puts her wig back on and walks back to the hosts. When asked where she was she just says that she saw them multiple times and they were clearly just blind.

Basically the entire season is her gaslighting the rest of the cast. Like, she's not trying hard to hide it at all anymore, they just don't notice it cause they're kinda dumb. (-okay, maybe the eel does notice, she'll give him that) eventually Chref and Izzy join in on it.

"I keep tampons in my pockets to sell to Molotov, that bear is like really weird"

*After threatening Alejandro to get him to behave about Owen and getting a bit into it- crowding against him, forgetting that she was currently not wearing her compression vest and her boobs are kind of obvious* "what do you mean you could feel breasts pressing against you? Obviously it was my pocket books, I keep them in my breast y'know pocket. Pretty silly of you to get them mixed up dude."

"how do I know what periods feel like? Courtney... I'm kinda disappointed in you, I thought you knew I'm psychic"

"Noah's like the best person to talk to about wigs, he knows all about them!" "Wait, really?" "Yeah, apparently there's like a ton of different types of earwigs! I thought that there was only one tbh!"

Eventually she just walks out to a challenge as herself and acts like she wasn't pretending to be a guy the entire time.

"uhh, I've always looked like this, are you blind?"

"and finally the snark is here, you look a bit different, did you leave one of your books behind?" "Yeah" she gives herself a look over, ignoring the gob smacked expressions " I didn't think it was that noticeable though, I thought I should go for a change and I finally finished the book so why not. I honestly feel so much lighter without it already"

[undyworld]

i am rio pacheco's number one supporter and defender i don't give a shit i love him

[heynhay]

let's drive out

[cheese-water]

When you think about it, Peptio’s sudden outburst makes a lot of sense. Pepito was pushed to a breaking point. And for Pepito, the only way for things to change, to get better even, is to refuse to play into Roier’s “game.” To give up on trying to make a broken system work. To discard any and all items that were supposed to make this hell tolerable. And, most importantly, to fuck off to who knows where, at least it’ll be better than here.

Actually, when you really think about it, this song and dance sounds quite familiar. If only Pepito had tossed all the items in lava instead of a chest… well let’s not dwell on it too much, the damage has already been done.

If the gas mask fits, you might as well wear it and all :-)

[carlottastudios]

Every day I get closer to making an unhinged behemoth of a post listing all of the things about Kaeya and his possible connections to mythology & stuff that I notice but NOBODY ELSE SEEMS TO BRING UP IN THEIR THEORIES

(edit: OMG I reached the tag limit I'm so sorry)

[averageclawcodeenjoyer]

Thinking thoughts again guys.

Thinking about Ganke (42)

More SPECIFICALLY thinking about Ganke as Doc Oct. Or at least, a variant.

I MEAN COME ON!!! TRYING TO GET ACROSS DIMENSIONS?? STUDYING THAT SHIT? That may be more of a 1610 Miles thing but I like to think that both Ganke"s are REALLY interested in it too. Or at least 42 is.

I feel like with the way their world is too, 42 Ganke is more likely to get a position at Alchemax. At the very LEAST for their science and tech and ease of access to stuff for his own projects.

But like. Come on. Look at him.

I just wanted to show that picture...

Assuming we know nothing(or little) about this Ganke's parents, is it too daring to think that, perhamps, his mother is Doc Oct? Or father, if we're being different. Just A PARENT in general?

And maybe I just like projecting onto them, but also maybe like... do you see what I'm getting at. Her ass probably hates kids. And isn't easily impressed. So imagine having a kid you probably don't even want (for science? Maybe.... more angst potential..) and he grows up absolutely DESPERATE to please you and get told that you're proud of him and that he's enough. And then he gets to an age where he no longer has to rely on you (or other people, her ass did nothing to raise him), and he starts thinking for himself, and since you're all bad and evil and stuff you realize something.

This whole entire time, the past thirteen long, dreadful years of your life, you haven't been using your full potential.

You have a pawn right at your fingertips.

A young mind full of turmoil and the overwhelming need to please you.

Someone who can be easily molded.

Manipulated.

Shaped.

Formed.

You have a tool.

Just sitting on the couch right in front of you. An entire person of just wasted potential. One who was sat on his ass for his entire life and done nothing (in her opinion)

And if you're all evil and bad, what are you gonna do with that information?

You're going to use it.

"Hey son I know I haven't really talked to you since your birthday three years ago but how would you like an opportunity to get close to the very grand and very loving mother that I suddenly am?"

He's going to say yes. That's like giving a mouse a cookie.

The chance to be with his mom some more? To finally get the chance to prove to her that he is worth loving? The answer might as well be a flashing neon green sign. Capital letters. Y-E-S. Because why wouldn't he

So she starts training him, in small ways at first, going easy on him since he's still just a boy, really, but gradually working him up with harder and harder tasks and missions until he's finally earned himself a pair of his own robotic octopus arms (that he had to engineer and build himself)

And FINALLY for ONCE in his fucking LIFE he is making his mom PROUD OF HIM. He finally gets the love, the praise, the appreciation he's craved ever since he was a toddler.

Ooh, and he's doing such a good job hacking into top secret shit and files and such a good job stealing and doing his mother's dirty work and-- what's this?

There's this new kid on the block.

Apparently, the old Prowler's retired. His alliance fell through. And the new Prowler? His loyalty has completely flipped. Motives, too.

Instead of aiding them in raids and taking out enemies, he's now actively ATTACKING them and foiling their missions.

Instead of being a villain like the rest of them, he's suddenly trying to get RID of the villains?

The fuck is this guy's problem.

Who does he think he IS suddenly poking his nose into shit he DOESNT belong in?? SCREWING UP GANKE'S CHANCE WITH HIS MOM!!! The chance he's been waiting SIXTEEN YEARS FOR! Oh, he's pissed.

He overhears hears his mom talking at a meeting about a plan to try and lure and trap this kid to get him off their asses (he's a master at sneaking and eavesdropping at this point.. even just to hear his mother's voice and think up ways he can make her like him) and he decided that this is his moment. His calling. His purpose.

That very night, he decides to make the Prowler (junior, as they're calling him) his very own personal mortal enemy.

But little does he know

The guy he's constantly trying to kill every night?

His roommate.

Yeah, The Prowler Junior(™️) is his high school roommate and (soon to be) certified best friend.

Blah blah blah they fight all the time oh but now they're chill and- I just blinked why are you guys kissing and holy hell your mother found out and tells you that you don't deserve your last name and will never live up to your potential (which, she claims she knew this, which is why she gave him his father's last name and not her own. Lee.) and you're fighting with Miles again and yet oh God now you've been disowned and have to go to him for help Oh No That's Bad What.

:3

Do you see the appeal. I need to draw him. And make more of this AU. What should I call it? I'll be thinking.. also open to suggestions I'm Bad at naming stuff......

OKAY BYE

[allyriadayne]

What do you think would have happend with Jace if he had survived the Dance?

oh this is fun, thanks for the question!

survived as in everything happens the same except jace survived the gullet? i won't get into mechanics of this happening because i'd involve too many moving parts and what ifs and blatant avoidance of certain parts. so whatever. let's say daemon and aemond kill each other, aegon kills rhaenyra and imprisons baela and baby aegon.

two things:

1) if jace is in dragonstone, let's say recuperating from his injuries, in reality i don't think aegon would kill him just like he didn't kill rhaenyra's heir at the moment. jace might be too injured to truly pose a threat or aegon's advisors would "protect" him like they did baela.

2) jace is not in dragonstone. he could be healthy or injured but he's not there when aegon takes the island for some reason. i've read fic where he's with the northern/riverlands army or makes his way to the capital alone after aegon's dead. in any case, he reaches the capital at some point.

when the greens are neutralized and all the heads turn to rhaenyra's children, it's probable that the support would be split between the older, seasoned prince of dubious birth and the young, unresponsive prince of clear ancestry. the things is while a regency happened in canon i don't think anybody wanted to do that. the issues lingering needed to be solved NOW, the armies needed to be disbanded NOW, alicent and jaehaera needed to be secured NOW. even if jace is physically injured or abed at this moment, i think he would get the clear support of the biggest faction aka the riverlands, the vale, and the north. on the other side, he's corlys' grandson, he was a dragonrider (let's assume the dragon still died sowwy), he's commanded armies, and if he married baela that moment, he could be having an heir by the next year. the succession and therefore the kingdom, is stable.

i'm not saying there wouldn't be people vying for baby aegon's ascension just to be against jace perceived bastardy now or down the line but it's more likely that he gets more support to get the crown and just end the war once and for all.

so jace takes the crown immediately. i don't think the hour of the wolf happens at all, most of the attributions cregan takes for himself came from intimidating baby aegon and probs by being the highest ranking lord in a place where everybody was burning incriminating papers from the last reign lmao. i think he would be a lot more aligned with corlys in sending peace terms first, but would not hesitate if the rest of the kingdom didn't fall in line. as for aegon ii's advisors, to me jace would try to get them out quietly. stay for a bit but sending them home as soon as he could. corlys betrayed the blacks, jace would probably marry baela as a reward for past services (and bc he loves her obviously etc) and dismiss him to driftmark. thanks to jace, corlys has his legitimate heir in alyn, he's more than okay.

for people like larys, the ironrod, orwyle and tyland....... they were aegon's closest advisors and while i don't think jace would imprison them or kill them i think he'd test them in some way to prove they can change their loyalty and move on. after a few months or years when the transition smooths out, i would bet jace will be dismissing them for lords who are 100% on his side. i'd say all would do it because at least in the show i don't see them supporting the greens out of personal reasons, not enough to die for the memory of aegon OR jaehaera's claim, you know? and in any case, it /is/ a man that is ruling now lmao lol. i still see jasper wylde pushing his daughter to baby aegon if jace is not available anymore, tho.

jace wouldn't kill alicent or jaehaera either. i think the death of so many people and most of all, his brothers, would affect him very much. at this point alicent is described as mad and jaehaera is a traumatized child. he wouldn't send them to oldtown or keep them together all the time but i don't think he would be cruel (as for jaehaera's future, well, that's another story). they are his family after all and most of the threats are neutralized (hello alys hiiii i'm such a fan).

i can speculate on jace's mental state and say that while he would not shut himself out like baby aegon did, he wouldn't be the same at all. his drive to be the best version of himself would still be there of course, this is what will make him push himself to take control of the situation. but at the same time, i don't think he will want to be as much as a people pleaser as he is in canon. people will be vying for his favor, for baby aegon's hand, for rhaena's but to me, he will make the family close into themselves. during the war he learned to take command of his people, he has the presence and the confidence to say no now, he also has the crown and the symbols. that's half the battle done.

[belovedcherie]

current abnormal obsession is the trolls trilogy (TRILOGY!!!) and broppy☹️

[sunnibits]

you are so fucking right about babies. baby naps are hardcore the most cutest naps ever. i love babies i feel like that’s an unpopular around here but they’re just so cute. anyway real footage of me anytime i see a baby

REALLLL ME TOOOO!!! I’m always just like. holy shit a baby. holy shit ur so small. dude I hate to alarm you but um. did u know ur so small. like. are you aware that you are in fact just a little guy. itty bitty even. and the baby’s just like: 👁👄👁

anyways this is a real image of me at work every Saturday