#i hope he's sittin cozy

[britneyshakespeare]

i don’t see what the point is in remaking the room

[ksukiii]

drummer bakugou x fem reader | basically ur jirous sister and you catch his eye. not proofread. btw this is really long

bakugou concluded his weekly band rehearsal. like always, it was held in jirous garage. he looked around “where the hell did i put them?” the drummer grumbled, sitting down in his chair as he rustled in his pocket, looking for his keys. he ran a hand through his spiky hair, averting his gaze to the sound of jirous voice. “practice went well yeah?” she said, gazing at the drum stick he was toying with between his fingers. bakugou grunted “yeah it did. we’re closer to perfecting our set.”jirou chuckled lightly, her eyes flickering to the drumstick once more. In a playful gesture, she attempted to grab it, but he quickly snatched it away before she could "You should let me play with that sometime," she teased, a mischievous smile on her lips bakugou huffed, raising an eyebrow at her attempted grab. “like i’d let you break my precious drumsticks, earphones.” he retorted, waving the stick in her face. jirou feigned a pout, her hands on her hips. "hey, I'm careful with my guitar, aren't i? i wouldn't break your drumsticks," she protested, a hint of hurt in her voice. but she knew it was all in good fun. he hears the door open a girl with the same colored hair as jirou entering. “hey mom says-“ bakugous head shot up at the sound of a voice. his eyes landed on the newcomer, taking in the similar hair color and the slight resemblance you had to jirou. he raised an eyebrow. “hey who are you?”

waiting for your response, he took in your appearance. you looked relatively the same age as jirou, maybe a year or two younger or older. he noticed the headphones in your ears. his gaze lingered on your headphones for a half a second longer before speaking up once more. “who the hell are you to jirou?” you furrowed your brows slightly. “uh her sister? and who are you?” bakugous eyes widened slightly. i mixture of surprise and confusion on his crossing his face. he hadn’t known jirou had a sister, but then again she only talked about music. he took a moment to repsond before speaking up. “katsuki bakugou.” a hint of pride in his voice. “oh. i know you.” you say bluntly. bakugous eyes shot up in surprise, a flicker of curiosity in his eyes. “you know me? how?” he asked, his tone gruff but a hint of intrigue. “she talks about you a lot.” you say. now his curiosity had fully piqued. this was new information. jirou has been talking about him? “she talks about me a lot huh?” he repeated your words, a hint of a smirk playing on his lips. he ran a hand through his hair, a bit flattered. “what’s she say about me?” he asks curiously. “that your loud.” he rolled his eyes at that. he was well aware of that trait. he crossed his arms. “tch. that’s all he says?” he says, a tiny bit of him hoping there was more. “basically.” you turn to your sister. “mom says your friends can stay for dinner.” he raised his eyebrows. “your mom says we can stay for dinner?” he repeated, a little taken back. “mhm. dinner will be ready in like 10.” you say to them both, walking back into the house, closing the garage door. he returned his gaze back to jirou. “you’re sister is something else,” he commented. referring to your straightforwardness. jirou chuckled lightly at his observation. “yeah she has a way with her words.” she replied. “cmon. let’s head inside.” bakugou nodded and began approaching the door. as they approached the house, jirou broke the silence. “try not to be too loud. my family isn’t used to your…enthusiasm. you know.” bakugou feigned a look of offense. “please earphones. i can be quiet when i need to be.” he protested.

as they stepped inside, bakugous gaze flicked around at the inside of the house. he had never been inside jirous home before, and he was surprised by the coziness of it. he followed jirou into the kitchen where the aroma of dinner filled the air, making his stomach grumble softly in anticipation. his eyes paused on you. sitting at a barstool, headphones still in your ears as you mindlessly tapped on your phone. he noticed how the warm lighting made your features pop, enhancing them. he leaned against the counter, crossing his arms as he studied you, a hint of curiosity in his eyes. jirou noticed the way bakugou was looking at you. she could practically hear the gears turning in his head as he observed you. a smirk tugged at her lips as she nudged him playfully with her elbow. “you’re staring,” she teased in a whisper, trying to catch his attention. bakugou tore his gaze away from you, shooting jirou a sideways glare. "shut up," he grumbled, though there was no real bite to his words. he shifted his weight, leaning back against the counter once more, stealing another quick glance at you. jirous mom entered the kitchen and shot them both a smile. “dinners ready!” he saw the chair you were pulling out, nonchalantly pulling out the one next you you and sitting down. he leaned back, crossing his cane over his chest and extended his leg under the table, his thigh lightly brushing against yours. he pretended to be focused on filling his plate with food, but his mind was elsewhere. his leg remained lightly touching yours under the table, almost as if seeking contact. he took a bite of the food, letting out a satisfied hum. "this is good," he commented, his tone neutral, eyes shifting back to you for a moment. you had an airpod in. every once in awhile subtly skipping the songs under the table. bakugou couldn’t help but notice the subtle movements you made under the table, catching glimpses of you changing the songs on your airpods every now and then. He knew you probably didn’t want him to pry, but his curiosity was piqued. he wanted to know what kind of music you listened to, if you listened to any of his band’s songs. as he ate, he subtly tried to catch a glimpse of your airpods, trying to figure out the names of the songs you were switching between. bakugou noticed the shift in conversation, but he couldn’t shake off the curiosity that had taken hold of him. he tried to focus on jirous questions about the band, answering them with his usual attitude, but his mind kept going back to the songs that you were playing. as the dinner began to wind down, he leaned back in his chair, his leg still resting against yours under the table. he stole another glance at you, his expression a mix of fascination and frustration. you noticed his gazes at you airpods and phone. you sighed, pulled out your airpod case and extended the one your weren’t using under the table. he gave you look, before reluctantly taking it and placing it in his ear. after a few minutes, he could sorta see what you were into, he was surprised. he guessed that it would be boring, but the various changes in genres provided a nice contrast. as the dinner came to an end, he helped clear the table, airpod still in his left ear, his mind only thinking about the music playing into his head. on occasion he softly hummed, or bobbed his head to the song.

abruptly, you stood up from the couch and announced you were going for a walk. he follwoed your parents gaze, watching them give you a nod. they didn’t seem too concerned, probably assuming you needed some fresh air. bakugou grumbled lightly, knowing he would have to wait until he knew more about you, he sorta hated how intrigued he was with jirous random sister he met today. jirou, enjoying the scence and how restless he was, couldn’t help but find it slightly amusing. he watched your backside as you left, noticing how before you opened the door, you turned and met your eyes with his. you have him a light smile and nodded your head over the the door. bakugou followed your subtle nod to the door, knowing full well you were silently inviting him to accompany you on your walk. he tried to keep a neutral expression on his face, but he couldn’t help the flicker of excitement in his eyes. he quickly made a shitty excuse to jirous parents, something about needing some air too. he shout jirou a quick glare, knowing damn well she knew his intentions. jirou fought back a chuckle as he watched him eagerly walk to the door behind you. he then thought about the many things that could happen. for some reason, he needed to know more about you. he was practically buzzing as he made his way to the door, opening it, seeing you standing at then end of the steps on your phone. you gave him a light smile. “hey.”

a/n: i doubt people will actually read all of this but i’ll make a part two anyway. also first time actually writing somethin, hope it isn’t terrible. hope u enjoyed this lol

pt.2: i’m rereading this i’m so sorry why can’t i spell i’ve counted 6 errors in one paragraph what the heck

[nancypullen]

Friday Night

It was a beautiful day today. I think we topped out around 76 degrees and there was just enough of a breeze to help the windchimes play a slow, soft song. Skies were blue, clouds were puffy, and bees were bouncing around on the salvia. It was a perfect day for some porch sittin', so that's exactly what I did. After finishing a few chores indoors, and pulling a few weeds outdoors, I settled into my spot with a cold drink and a book.

The mister was off in Chestertown photographing a wedding, so I ate lunch solo and had a bowl of watermelon with a little feta cheese. Delish! The birds provided music and my afternoon was just about perfect. What is it about porches that makes them so cozy? I don't get the same vibe on a patio or a deck. Know what else I love? The slap of a screen door on a summer day. Remember that sound? We don't see many screen doors anymore and I hate that. I suppose what I'm feeling is just nostalgia, longing for simpler days. For a few hours I reclaimed it. Lovely! The sun has now set on this last day of May, and I can see June from here. Tomorrow my June baby will be 36 years old. Good grief, how did that happen? Here's a snap of his very first day. Matt was checking out his new brother's tiny toes.

Chubby cheeks, dark hair, and little legs bicycling - he was born ready to run and he hasn't stopped since. My sweet Tyler Tunes (nickname because he insisted on listening to Raffi daily) is thirty-six.

Oh, my heart aches when I see their precious little faces. Those little boys were my whole world. That never really changes. Gosh, what's up with me tonight? Reminiscing and feeling so wistful...do I still have some hormones left in the cobwebby recesses of my body? Nah.

I'm going to take the exit ramp off Memory Lane and get on with my evening. It's Friday night and that means Dateline, so I'm swapping cozy porches and sweet babies for mystery and murder. Gotta' satisfy all of my personalities, right? I hope that wherever you are tonight, you have a stash of comforting memories as well as plenty of little joys in your life right now. Seek out tidbits of happiness, even if it's just an afternoon on the porch with a book. It all adds up to a beautiful life. Sending out loads of love. Stay safe, stay well. XOXO, Nancy

[furys-mercy]

5. Describe their cozy night in.

Because Mercer has three relationships, all of which are OTP in my mind, I have decided to roll a d3 for each of these questions. Assigning the ships to the following numbers:

1. Khala/Merc 2. Tai/Merc 3. Stari/Merc

I rolled a 3 on this ask. Stari/Merc.

"Oh well tha' ain't really tha' hard ta come up with. Had a couple'a those. An' I hope ta have many more in tha future." A dopey little grin plays across his face as he kicks his feet up onto the desk, one sounding decidedly heavier than the other. "Tha last one was us sittin' 'round sharin' stories an' jus'... I dunno, bein' there. I certainly ain't complainin'. Not really. Though... do wish I could hold 'im. Tha'd... tha'd be even better. But, jus' havin' him 'round... I wouldn't trade tha' fer anythin' in tha world. Not even a cuddle."

[s-toryteller]

Joy Family, part 14

She left the house thinking it would make her feel better, but it did not. She exhaled a puff of smoke from the narguille, trying to lose herself in the moment. The soft glow of the lanterns around the bar cast a warm light, but it did little to lift the heaviness she felt inside.

As she took another drag, the dizziness she had been trying to escape earlier started to creep back. She put down the hose and rested her head in her hands, feeling the world tilt around her.

"I gotta get out of here..." she thought, but whe was really too dizzy to stand up.

A guy noticed her distress "Hey, are you okay?" He quickly stood up and walked over to her.

Her vision was slightly blurred "I... I don't feel so good."

Thomas: concerned, gently placing a hand on her shoulder "Let's get you some fresh air. Come on.“

She took a few steps and leaned on a wall. "I'm sorry... Did I hit you?"

“Not really, and no worries,” he replied with a kind smile. “I'm Thomas, by the way.”

“Lilly,” she said, managing a weak smile. “Thanks for helping me, Thomas. I need to go back home, but my head hurts so freaking much!"

“Rough night?” he asked, leaning beside her.

“You could say that. Everything's just been a mess lately,” she sighed.

"Do you need a place to lay down? My mom's house is just here..."

Lilly barely registered Thomas's words before everything went black.

When she awoke, she found herself lying on a bed, still fully dressed. The room was unfamiliar but cozy, with soft morning light streaming through the curtains. The smell of coffee wafted through the air, comforting and inviting. She sat up slowly, her head still spinning slightly from the previous night's events.

A soft knock on the door drew her attention. Thomas peeked in, a warm smile on his face. "Hey, you're awake. How are you feeling?"

She could hear voices outside.

"Where am I?" she asked, feeling so weird.

My mom's house," Thomas explained, stepping into the room. "You passed out last night, and I didn't think it was safe to leave you alone. She made up the guest room for you."

Lilly looked around the room, taking in the homey decor. "Thank you, Thomas. And please thank your mom for me, too. I didn't mean to cause any trouble."

"No trouble at all," Thomas assured her sittin next to the bed "Are you sure you're ok?"

"Yes, I... I just cried too much... Had a bad break up. And... I'm so embarassed... I should have never come here... I mean I don't know you people... No offense."

"It's ok, I get it" he replied. "I'm sorry for your break up."

"Thanks"

"I told my mom you're my friend from college... So..."

"Oh, ok... I'll play along."

"She's making breakfast downstairs. Coffee's ready if you want some." he said.

Lilly managed a small smile. "That sounds wonderful."

"Good morning, dear. I'm Nancy. I hope you slept well."

"I did, thank you so much," Lilly replied, touched by the woman's kindness.

"Come, sit down," Nancy said, motioning to a chair. "Breakfast will be ready in a minute."

As Lilly sat down, Thomas poured her a cup of coffee and handed it to her. "Here you go. Hopefully, this will help wake you up."

"Thanks," she said, taking a grateful sip. The warmth of the coffee and the comforting atmosphere began to soothe her frayed nerves.

Nancy joined them at the table, setting down a plate of pancakes. "So, Lilly, Thomas told me you had a rough night. I hope you're feeling better this morning."

The whole family sat on the table, Lilly felt the love they had for each other... She never had a family like that, and she never ate lunch together with her mom, she felt a knot on her stomach.

"I am fine now... You have such a beautiful house, Thanks to you both," Lilly said sincerely. "I don't know what I would have done without Thomas's help."

Nancy smiled. "He's a good boy. Always helping those in need."

Thomas blushed slightly, shrugging off the compliment. "Just doing what anyone would do."

Lilly looked at Thomas, feeling a wave of gratitude. "Thank you, Thomas. For everything."

"Anytime, Lilly," he replied with a genuine smile. "You're not alone. Remember that."

As they enjoyed breakfast together, Lilly told them a little about herself, how she had lost her mom, how she got sick, and she told them about living alone and skipping school.

Nancy was so kind to her, she invited Lilly to come visit her as many times as she wanted, and Lilly felt a sense of warmth and hope. For the first time in a while, she believed things might just get better.

[ddixons-angel]

Marshmallows & Fluff

Fanfic Advent Calendar 2022 Day 17 - Daryl Dixon

Hi guys! So it’s my turn for the 2022 Advent Calendar and I present this super short piece, I have to admit, it was hard to get back into writing and since I took a (unintentional) break over the year, this is probably lacking but I hope you still enjoy it! Please let me know your thoughts, love you all for continuing to support my writing! 

Prompt - “You don’t like marshmallows in your hot chocolate? Why do you hate love?”

Reader shares her hot chocolate with Daryl as they reminisce about the old world during the holidays.

Hilltop - Season 9

(I know the gif is not at all the right era but it’s the perfect expression for this, I swear!)

Winter has always been your favorite time of year. You loved how the snowflakes danced in the wind, covering the ground in a mystic sheet of white. How the festive lights of red and green reflected off the ground, spreading the joy of the holidays to anyone who laid their eyes on them. Even though the modern world had ended and no one put up any festive decor, it didn’t take away your absolutely favorite thing about this season: being able to cuddle with your favorite person by the fire. 

Your body shivered slightly as you were hit by the icy breeze once you stepped outside the Barrington House, it didn’t matter that you had a cozy blanket wrapped around you or a cup of hot chocolate in your hands. Regardless of the cold, a warm smile spreads on your lips as you look towards the stables, the faint glow of light from the second story draws you to it like a moth to a flame. 

“Can’t believe you’re able to sleep out here, it’s so cold,” you say as you reach the top of the stairs of the second story of the stable. 

Daryl turns to look at you at the sound of your voice and a side smile pulls at his lips, “Dog likes it up here.”

You chuckle at his words as you walk towards him and Dog and sit beside Daryl, “you’re gonna get yourself sick if you stay out here for too long.”

“Nah, I’ll be fine, got my poncho ‘n’ Dog,” he says then after a purposeful pause, “an’ you.”

“You also have hot chocolate,” you say, trying to not give him the satisfaction of making you blush, you give him the cup of hot chocolate to which he takes with a chuckle, “sorry there’s not marshmallows though.”

“Don’t be,” he shrugs, “never liked ‘em anyway.”

You gawk at him in disbelief at his words, speechless. Daryl catches your look just before taking a sip and he blinks in confusion at your expression.

“Wha’?” 

“You don’t like marshmallows in your hot chocolate? Why do you hate love?” you ask, there was a hint of genuine concern in your voice.

“I don’ hate love I jus’ never really had ‘em, ain’t no big deal,” he says, shrugging again.

You pout at him, “you never had marshmallows?” 

“Had em’ once when I was a kid, came home one day ‘n’ there was a bag of ‘em sittin’ on the table, I don’ even know where they came from bu’ I took it an’ ate ‘em,” Daryl tells you.

“You ate a full bag of marshmallows?” you ask, amused by his childhood story, you continue when he nods, “and you somehow still don’t like them?”

“I got sick after eatin’ ‘em,” he defends.

“Of course you did! You ate a full bag of marshmallows all in one go!” you say, your tone was one of amusement rather than scolding, then you look at him seriously, “I have to ask, were they the little ones or the big, fluffy ones?”

“The big ones,” he replies, then eyes you playfully when you start giggling, “ya laughin’ at me?”

You try to contain your giggles as you speak, “I’m sorry, but the image of you as a kid stuffing your face with huge fluffy marshmallows is too cute.”

Daryl scoffs and rolls his eyes then finally takes a sip of hot chocolate, he looks down at the cup in his hand, pondering something. You study the thoughtful look on his face then scoot closer to him, wrapping the blanket around his shoulders as you snuggle close to him.

“Next time we’re out on a run, I’m gonna be on the lookout for marshmallows so you know the joy of having them in your hot chocolate,” you tell him.

Daryl chuckles and wraps his arm around you under the blanket, pulling you closer. It was his way of telling you that you appreciated the gesture. It seemed as though Dog felt that he was left out of the cuddlefest since he got up from his spot and wedged himself in between the two of you, making you and Daryl laugh. 

“A’right, we’ll get ya some too,” Daryl says as gives him a few pats on the head. 

---

Like I said, super short but still fluffy! Please let me know what you all thought!

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@soraitmnt​ | @lilythemadqueen​ | @jodiereedus22​ | @molethemollie​ | @m-7770 | @kissofvenom922​

[leiawritesstories]

okay leia i just thought of this so feel free to reject this prompt if it’s shit. i’m going to say “cowboy” and “love interest” because you have two cowboy aus going on lol

cowboy is teaching love interest about lassos but it’s going completely downhill, so they kind of lashes out on love interest. an argument begins and love interest says something like “i just want to tie this lasso around your neck and lalala” or “i’m going to catch you with this lasso and throw you at lalala”. cowboy can say “i dare you to try” or maybe just end up caught by surprise but the thing is the love interest ends up lassoing the cowboy! they finally made it yay but omg the cowboy is now tied down…

it’s just a loose idea but i hope you like it!!

I HAVE NEITHER REGRETS NOR APOLOGIES ABOUT THIS

word count: 2,176

warnings: horny horny Rowaelin, ropes, NSFW

Enjoy, y'all! 

Riding Together

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

Aelin shoved away the image of Rowan wearing her hat and all the things that seeing him like that did to her self-control and focused on the day, focused on leading the tour group of guests around her ranch. 

Gods. So last night hadn’t been a dream. 

But she could not allow herself to think of that. Guests, Galathynius. Focus. On. The Guests. 

All the guests, not just the one she wanted to focus on. 

“And here is where all of our horses live,” Aelin announced, pulling open the barn door.

The tour group she was leading oohed and aahed at the horses, strolling down the line of stalls to admire each one. Darrow gave a brief introduction to horseback riding before inviting anyone interested to have the chance to ride, and a very nice line formed up, the guests eagerly waiting their turns. Aelin and Darrow saddled up the usual batch of horses for the guests, leading them one by one to a horse and helping them mount.

This group had so many interested guests, though, that she was forced to lead Elentiya, her mare, out of her stall for herself. “C'mon, my girl, let’s show these city slickers how we gallop, yeah?” Elentiya whickered as if in agreement.

And then a throat cleared. “Ma'am?”

“Hmm?” She turned, forcing a blush not to rise as she met the bright pine eyes of Rowan Whitethorn, the Seattle businessman.

“I don’t think I’ve been helped,” he said, apologetic. “Could you guide me?”

Aelin flicked her glance quickly around the barn. Few horses remained, all of them wilder and less ready for untried guests to ride them.

And Elentiya.

Hell.

“Well, Mr. Whitethorn, do you mind riding double?”

“What?” His brows furrowed.

She chuckled. “We’re fresh out of single horses, save for the ones not yet tamed, so unless you’re willin’ to wait for the group to return, seems like you’ll have to ride double with me.” She winked. “But don’t worry, city boy, I won’t make any moves.”

He swallowed hard. “I’ll trust you, Miss Galathynius.” It was his turn to wink. “Nothing more pleasant than riding with an experienced rider, as I see it.” The innuendo in his voice not going unnoticed.

That man and his words. 

Stop fucking thinking about last night, Galathynius! 

“Right,” she said, leading him to Elentiya. “Since you’re the inexperienced one--” he let out a deep, soft chuckle at that--“I’ll help you get into the saddle, but I’ll be sittin’ in front of you.” 

“My favorite,” Rowan whispered into her ear, low enough that only she could make out his words. 

“Be professional,” she hissed, covertly pinching the crease of his elbow. “Now, step up on this stump here,” she instructed him, guiding him onto the step and helping him swing one leg across Elentiya, the mare standing quietly in place and waiting for Aelin. “Excellent. Now scoot back a li’l, city boy.” Rowan did, and she swung atop Elentiya in one fluid motion, settling herself so her back was flush with Rowan’s warm, solid chest. 

“Isn’t this cozy?” he hummed, wrapping his arms around her waist. 

“Behave,” she smirked, pressing her hips backwards just to hear him gasp sharply. “Let’s go, my girl.” She nudged Elentiya with her heel, and the horse stepped into motion. Rowan’s grip tightened around her waist, bringing a smirk to her lips. How cute, the city slicker and his nerves about riding horseback. 

“You doin’ alright?” she asked after a few minutes. 

His hold relaxed. “This is nice.” 

She chuckled wickedly. “Well, you’re takin’ to ridin’ right quick, city boy. Let’s see how you do at a canter.” 

“Wha--” His question was cut off when Aelin nudged Elentiya into a canter, his arms wrapping right back around her. 

She grinned. “Loosen up, Whitethorn!” 

It took him many minutes, but eventually, he did loosen up, his grip around her waist loosening, and grinned into the wide blue sky. “You know, this really is fun!” 

“Glad you enjoy it,” she returned, grinning broadly, loose strands of her hair fluttering in the breeze. 

~

They reached the rest of the group out in the open corral shortly later, joining up with Darrow and his presentation on lassoing. “An’ with enough practice, y’all can see how the ropers catch cattle so easily.” Darrow tossed the coil of rope to another ranch hand, who caught it easily and uncoiled part of it, tying a lasso knot with graceful ease. He then flicked his wrist, and out sailed the rope, landing neatly around the neck of the practice dummy cow to much applause. 

Rowan, now dismounted with Aelin’s assistance, leaned into her side. “Now that’s a fancy skill,” he murmured. 

“Miss G!” the roper called. “Show the city slickers yer skills, yeah?” 

She barely had time to protest before he was tossing her the lasso. “All right, all right,” she laughed, detaching herself from Rowan and striding out into the packed dirt of the corral. “Now y’all just stand back, okay?” She gave the lasso a few experimental twirls, then reached back and flicked her wrist forward and out spiraled the lasso in a string of neat coils, the loop at the end floating down around the practice dummy’s neck. 

The guests cheered. 

“Your turn!” she declared, nodding to Darrow. He passed out short lengths of rope with the loops already pre-tied, teaching everyone how to hold the rope and letting them flick it towards the practice dummy. Most of them managed a passingly good toss, a handful even getting close to the plastic cow. 

But Rowan? He was hopeless. The rope somehow tangled around his hands, he couldn’t toss the lasso more than a few feet, and he’d even managed to rope himself, looping the coil around his own leg. 

“Havin’ fun there, city slicker?” Aelin teased from her perch on the fence. 

“Shut up,” Rowan grumbled. “I can do this!” 

“Mhmm,” she crooned. “When you’re ready for help, I’m sittin’ right here.” 

“We’ll see who needs help when I lasso you, cowgirl,” he purred, challenge--and something darker--lighting his beautiful eyes.

Well, that went straight to her core. 

“Good luck,” she smirked, hopping off the fence and watching him fumble with the short length of rope. He threw it straight into the air, swearing viciously when it landed in a heap at his feet. 

“Fuck!” 

“Alright?” 

“Fine,” he grunted. He picked up the coil and shook it out, swore at it, and then flicked it into the air. 

And to everyone’s shock, it sailed out in a neat arc and looped around Aelin. 

She exclaimed in surprise as the rope tightened around her shoulders, pinning her arms by her sides. “Do I look like the plastic cow, Whitethorn?” 

“Uhh...” he mumbled, flushing crimson. 

Darrow strode over, chuckling. “Seems like someone got the idea!” he joked, swiftly untying Aelin. “Next time, aim for the plastic cow, city slicker!” 

“Noted,” Rowan mumbled. 

Aelin winked at him. “No one’s commenting on your accuracy of aim, Whitethorn.” 

His eyes flashed dark. “Aelin,” he rumbled, his voice a warning. 

She smirked and shrugged, striding back over to Elentiya. “Catch a ride with Darrow, city boy! I’ve got work to do!” 

~

Aelin lounged on the porch swing of the family house as dusk fell, sipping the iced tea in her hand and watching as the vibrant hues of sunset faded into deep blues and grays. Evening was her favorite time of day, the hours when the guests were all occupied up at the guesthouses and she could just relax on her front porch, letting all the worries of running Galathynius Ranch fade away like the sunset. 

Footsteps crunched in the gravel driveway. 

She looked sharply up to find a very familiar man striding up to her porch, his t-shirt smudged with the dust of the day and his expensive khakis crinkled. 

“Private property, Mr. Whitethorn,” she purred, not budging from her seat. 

“I’ve an invitation from the owner herself,” he returned smoothly, taking the front steps in one long stride and planting himself in front of her. “Or do you truly not recall anything from last night?” 

“However could I forget?” She winked. “Best ride of my life.” 

Rowan pounced, his muscled arms caging her in against the cushioned swing. “And how would you enjoy a second experience?” 

“Why don’t you find out?” she smirked. 

“With pleasure,” he growled, sweeping her into his arms and kissing her fiercely, all tongue and passion, and walking her backwards into her house without breaking the kiss. Aelin groaned into his mouth, taking control of the kiss as she whirled them around and pressed Rowan against the wall, her hand fisting in his shirt. He grunted in surprise. “Aelin.” 

“Ro,” she murmured, tracking a line of hot kisses down his strong throat, pushing his shirt up and off of him so she could kiss his tattoo. “So gorgeous.” 

He lunged for her, intent on pressing her back into the wall and teasing her until her legs gave way, but she dodged, scurrying up the stairs and into her room with him right on her tail. “Playing hard to get, cowgirl?” he rumbled, padding towards her, every inch of his stature screaming predator. 

“Just leading you to your favorite place,” she smirked. And dropped her oversized hoodie, revealing only bare, tanned skin. 

“Fuck,” he groaned, shoving his pants and boxers to the floor. “You’re so beautiful, Ae.” 

“I know.” She grinned. “Want to show me?” 

“Such sass,” he purred, placing his broad, hot hands around her waist. “Such fire, baby.” 

“You love it,” she shot back, trailing her own hands dangerously slowly down his chest, over the sharp cut of his hips. 

“I do,” he smirked. 

Then he tossed her onto the bed. 

“But I love making you scream even more.” 

Fuck her, this man and his dirty talk. She’d barely had the time to moan before he pulled her to the edge of the bed, dropped to his knees, and locked his gaze on hers as his tongue swept up her soaked core, licking a long, flat stripe up to her clit. “Rowan,” she moaned wantonly, knitting her fingers into his hair. “Gods, Ro!” 

Spurred on by her moans, he devoured her, licking and nipping, his tongue everywhere all at once. He slipped two fingers into her, groaning at the way she clenched reflexively around the intrusion, and focused his attention on her clit, sucking the swollen little bud into his mouth and nibbling lightly. She screamed his name and came hard, her release coating his face, and he worked her through the throes of her orgasm, his fingers moving in long, lazy strokes. “So good for me,” he purred, kissing a path back up to her lips and guiding her back against the pillows. 

Before he could kiss her, she’d flipped them over, straddling his chest, and whipped a coil of rope out from under her pillow. She smirked down at him, noting the way his chest heaved, and swiftly looped the small lasso around his wrists, yanking his hands above his head and securing them to her headboard. 

“Baby,” Rowan moaned, testing the restraint. 

“You look so good all roped up,” she smirked, raking first her gaze, then her hands, down his body. “Gonna give me a ride, city boy?” 

“Yes,” he breathed. “Yes, please.” 

Such nice manners. She winked at him and lifted her hips, then slid all the way down his cock, seating herself fully, both of them groaning at the sensation. “So full,” Aelin panted, her head tipping back in pleasure. 

“Move,” Rowan gritted out, his eyes screwed shut. 

She clicked her tongue. “Think you give the orders here, pretty boy?” He whimpered. “No, you do not.” Her fingers danced across his cheek, caressing the strong planes of his face. “But since y’look so desperate, I’ll give you a bit of a reprieve.” And she rocked her hips in a slow circle, moaning loudly, her control fast vanishing as she sped up her pace, bouncing on Rowan’s cock, chasing the pleasure he wrung form her. “You can move, Whitethorn.” He jerked his hips up into hers, frantic, curses and moans of her name spilling from his lips as he fucked her. She moaned his name as she felt herself hurtling toward orgasm, her nails scratching down his chest. 

“Aelin!” he roared as he came with a grunt, spilling himself into her. 

“Rowan!” she moaned, the feeling of him finishing inside her sending her over the edge, her orgasm rolling over her in waves. “Ohh, Rowan,” she panted, collapsing atop his chest, barely remembering to reach up and untie his hands. 

“So good, baby,” he breathed, flexing his wrists before wrapping his arms around her, his big hands stroking her back. “So good.” 

“Mmm,” she mumbled, carefully pulling herself off of him and falling into bed, letting him be the one to pick up the warm washcloth and clean them up. “Stay, Ro.” 

“Of course,” he whispered, settling in beside her. “Of course I will.” 

~~~

TAGS: 

@charlizeed

@cretaceous-therapod

@clea-nightingale

@autumnbabylon

@nerdperson524

@claralady

@fireheartwhitethorn4ever

@morganofthewildfire

@rowanaelinn

@wesupremeginger

@story-scribbler

@nicolivesinbooks

@mackenzieclutt

@stardelia

@shanias-world

@mybloodrunsblue

@swankii-art-teacher

@wordsafterhours

@cookiemonsterwholovesbooks

@violet-mermaid7

@holdthefrickup

@goddess-aelin

@rowaelinismyotp

@dealfea

@irondork

@elentiyawhitethorn

@live-the-fangirl-life

@darling-im-the-queen-of-hell

@chronicchthonic14

@whispers-in-the-darkest-heart

@sweet-but-stormy

@hanging-from-a-cliff

@jorjy-jo

@rowaelinrambling

@thegreyj

@silentquartz

@backtobl4ck

[howdoyousleep3]

Daddy Steve’s biggest romantic gesture?

Oh baby, I’m ready for this now. 

To date, I think the largest romantic gesture (aside from gifting Bucky with his backpacking across Europe dream trip for Christmas one year) would be the trip that Steve surprises Bucky with randomly one winter. They’re little world travlers these two, love making memories and getting away just with one another. Switzerland, upstate New York, Canada-- we aren’t picky but somewhere with lots of snow. I always picture this when I think of this trip. Secluded, away from anyone and everyone. No cell service, no wifi. There’s a television but they barely pay attention to anything that plays in the background while they’re preoccupied. 

“Just ‘cause, sugar. Can’t treat my sweet Buck to a little somethin’ special? Huh? You’ve been so focused on school and have been workin’ your cute little behind off. I’m so goddamn proud of you. Lemme treat you.” 

Steve would surprise him a day before, would tell Bucky what kind of climate to pack for and for how long, tacking on a wink and a sly, “Not that clothes will matter...”. Bucky is happily flustered for the next 24 hours, can’t stop giggling and kissing Steve on the cheek and asking him questions to try and slyly get out of him where they’re going. 

Steve takes this whole “lemme treat you” to an entirely unseen level. Surprising Bucky with a trip of all things already sets that bar high, but all these additional cute tiny surprises just keeps elevating said bar: coffee early in the morning when they leave for the airport, First Class (”Steven!”), snuggles and grabby hands on the flight over, a fancy rental car when they land, cute little stops into local stops, Flowers, there are roses and petals scattered throughout the room. Steve kisses Bucky’s red cheeks standing there in the snowy doorway as Bucky holds back tears. 

“Come on, babylove it’s cold, step inside. No tears, no tears.” 

They don’t leave the bed the first 24 hours. They’re exhausted from the flight and the snow surrounding them but being cozy and warm on the inside of this tiny cabin has them napping on and off for hours. They shower off the staleness of their flight, Bucky practically having gone sweet since they left that morning, each additional act of love one that pushes him higher and higher into the clouds. 

Watching Steve tend to a fire in the nude, hazy sweetness of a post shower handjob, has Bucky almost teary-eyed at how lucky and loved and in love he feels. 

The best part is the hot tub on the deck. The ventures into the small neighboring towns for shopping and meals and exploring are a close second, but for some reason they’ve never been anywhere with a hot tub before. Bucky doesn’t even realize it is there until the third morning. 

“Is...is that a...?” he asks with a lazy point, standing in front of the window when Steve hands him his coffee, one cream and two sugars. A hot kiss on his neck from behind gives him his answer before the lackadaisical words, “Sure is...” do. Bucky vows to wait until the evening to suggest getting in but he lasts until maybe noon before Steve snatches him up off the ground and makes his way to the front door. 

“Tired’a you lookin’ at it like you aren’t allowed to get in it. You can do whatever you want, Buck. You just sittin’ around waitin’ for your Daddy to do it for you?” 

It’s bliss if Bucky’s ever felt it. It’s overwhelming at first, being so bone-deep hot all over while the air he breathes in is chilly and startling. Ten deep breaths has Bucky openly moaning to no one and nothing in particular. Ten more breaths and Steve pulling Bucky’s lax form across his lap sideways, cradling him to his chest and kissing his temple in rapid succession, has Bucky hurtling into another cotton candy sweet cloud. 

How can things not get steamy, pun fully intended. Bucky is pleasantly drowning in love from Steve, an incomprehensible amount of love. He’s so warm, so fucking warm all over. It’s like a blanket out in this frigid weather, wraps him up and swirls around him. And there’s always that questionable characteristic of water that makes Bucky horny, that makes him wanna feels, wanna touch, makes him feel like he’s always kinda moving and pulsing. And Steve is right here, is touching him, isn’t talking to Bucky but Bucky can hear him loud and clear. 

I love you. 

When he tilts his head up onto Steve’s shoulder he’s certain he looks some level of fucked out. There’s no doubt in Bucky’s mind. When Steve puts a few fingers under his chin and hums into his kiss, Bucky’s whine is probably unacceptably loud. Being in this hot tub feels like foreplay on its own but adding into the equation Steve’s mouth and his skill and the way he fucks Bucky’s own mouth makes Bucky feel like his soul is going to leave his body. 

“Should’a gotchu in a hot tub sooner, sugar. Look at’chu...” 

Bucky is slow to react, slow to move or respond. Daddy holds him and touches him and kisses him, unrushed and thorough. He works Bucky’s mouth over like he has ownership of it, like he has something to prove. Everything feels slick. Steve’s lips are on Bucky’s mouth, his cheeks, his neck. Daddy spends a lovely amount of time on his neck, enough time to that it has Bucky begging for more before he even realizes it. 

“Daddy...Daddy, oh please, ngh Daddy...” 

They wouldn’t fuck in the hot tub (super unrealistic lmao) but damn would they spend a stupid amount of time in that hot tub feelin’ and touchin’ and kissin’. At one point Steve would just growl, long and low, pull Bucky up and over his waist until his sweet baby could finally grind and slip his way into a hot little frenzy. So many whimpers, feels so slow but so fast, just breathing into each other’s mouths. Steve’s hands on Bucky’s waist, his ass, guiding. Bucky’s hands on Steve’s neck, his jaw, wants to keep Daddy in one place, accessible. On the lucky rolls, Bucky can feel the hard line of Steve’s cock slide between his cheeks, teasing his deprived and pouting asshole.

When Steve rumbles and stands, pulls Bucky from the water, Bucky almost feels like he had become one with the water, just one big ball of sensation. He doesn’t even last through the messy prep, both of them soaking the sheets in ovenlike water, Bucky adding his own come to the mess as he shoots off with a set of shivers and a squeal. Steve makes love to Bucky on his back, holds onto Bucky’s thigh, wraps it around his narrow waist as he drives his hips home. Steve lays into Bucky, presses him so deeply into the mattress that Bucky feels like he’s moving like water again. Steve’s hand is curled around the nape of his neck, fingers in his curling hair, mouth to mouth, eyes on eyes. It’s the best, the absolute best and when Bucky comes it’s--

“Fuck, Daddy...Steve, love you, love you, I love you...!” 

Bucky makes the offhand but direct suggestion they get a hot tub. Steve points out they won’t ever get anything done if they had one. Bucky doesn’t see the issue. 

I got super wrapped up in hot tub sexy times but I hope this suffices as a romantic gesture. All the little things that I didn’t get to make this trip one of the best they’ve shared; Bucky doesn’t recall ever having been so relaxed in his life. The dinners in town, the small hiking excursions, the time spent in front of a fire with Hot Toddy’s or hot chocolate, the never being an arms-length from the other. 

It’s everything Bucky wants and needs. Better yet, Steve is everything and more that Bucky could ever want and need in a partner. 

Bucky prints out a cute and candid selfie they took on the couch in their cabin, all snuggled up and faces glowing in the light of the fireplace. Steve’s got his nose pressed against Bucky’s temple, both with immeasurable smiles on their faces. Bucky’s giggle is obvious by the lines around his crinkled eyes. Steve frames it and puts it on his bedside table. 

I hope you’re still in the mood for this kind of shit, @stardi293! I know we talked last night but who knows now lmao. Love you! Thank you for this! 

[pettyprocrastination]

i’m latching onto this i’m,,, so, so sorry. this most definitely gotta come to a head when there’s a neighborhood block party hosted by the york fam - the kids are all playin and carol and neighbor are both buzzed as all hell, and are now squished together in a seat in the backyard, carol sittin on your lap to “save space” ,,, dave is watching from where he’s at the grill, eyes a lil bit sharp with something that you can’t identify (horny. it’s horny vibes for his wife and his neighbor) as he tries to make it thru a boring ass convo with someone as carol just talks lowly in neighbors ear about something. as it gets darker the kids head to bed and only the adults are left,, slowly dwindling until it’s just neighbor, carol, and dave,,, shall we go on?? 👀

- buff bread anon

YES YES WE SHALL GO ON EXCUSE YOU

Dont you DARE APOLOGIZE FOR THIS IM LOVING THE YORK CONTENT

The moment carol sits on your lap you freeze. Hhaving that initial panic of what do you do?? Where do you put your hands??? But she smiles and takes a swig of her beer before waving st dave, whi smiles and waves back at you.

Shes married. They're both married. Dont be a homewrecker

That mantra is playing endless in your head as carol talks lowly in your ear in a way that makes you feels things you absolutely shouldn't feel about a married woman. Shes smiley and the girls are playing with their friends while dave flips burgers and nods at something the girls soccer coach is talking to him rather excitedly about. Unbeknownst to you hes gripping spatula in his hand so hard its leaving in intend on his skin because carolina york is a goddamn tease, the way shes cozied up to you and will glance over her shoulder at her husband with that impish smile, as if taunting him to join.

You're too busy stuck in your own head of anxiety and dangerous what ifs while carol picks out a figure in the crowd with a snicker.

"God, of course she'd come." She whispers lowly in your ear. You hope she doesnt see the way it makes you shudder. She gestures to a woman who loosk likes shed be anywhere else but here.

"Shes a mom from the girls soccer team. Class A bitch too." Carol sis her beer and curls closer to you. "You better not let her get to me because so help me god I'll start swinging."

You laugh and she feels her heart skip a beat.

You had no idea what you were doing to them, did you?

"I promise you Mrs.York." you wrap your arms around her waist and marvel at how soft the skirt of her dress is. "I wont leave you in the evil clutches of soccer moms."

Her lips graze your ear when she leans in, giddy and tipsy.

"My hero."

This block party was as much of a blessing as it was a fucking curse

[avenger09]

The Dragon Prince: Fighting Game Banter

If there was one made in the style of a NeatherRealm game.

Callum: (Drawing a rune in the air) It's the fight of the century!

Ezran: (Riding on a Banther) Brother, vs Brother.  

Callum: Mage vs giant sharp-toothed Banth- Oh-this-was-a-terrible-idea.

Ezran: Callum, and Rayla, sittin' in a tree-

Callum: You've been waiting to use that, haven't you?

Ezran: K-I-S-S-I-N-G. And yes. 

Rayla: How’s our adorable little Prince? 

Ezran: Great. But I’m a king now. 

Rayla: You know I meant Zym, Ez. Good joke though. 

Soren: (Sword over his shoulder)  Rematch Time.

Rayla: (Her blades switching in and out of scythe mode) Really? You want to risk breaking your back again?

Soren: (Combat pose) Hey! That was a Dragon! Not you.

Callum: What did I do?

Rayla: You ate my last moonberry surprise...

Callum: Oh no, she's Hangry again!

Soren: Want to spar today your highness?

Ezran: I would like to, yes.

Soren: As you wish. For the record though, using a Banter is totally cheating.

Soren: Sometimes girls can be so weird.

Callum: My first girlfriend get's superpowers from the moon.

Soren: ...That's neat buddy. 

Rayla: Winner gets to plan our next date.

Callum: Neat. And the loser?

Rayla: (Chuckle) Has to tell your Aunt we're together. 

Callum: (melodramatically) Two lovers divided, forced to fight!

Rayla: (just as melodramatically) Can their love endure this tragic twist of fate?!

Callum: Only thing is for certain... Wing cuddles will ensue.

Callum: Hi there. What"s your name?

Rayla: I'm Rayla, I'm your girlfriend, and we really don't have time to play "Never Met."

Callum: ... Rayla's a pretty name.

Callum: You didn’t need me to dance with you to let me into the Silvergrove did you? 

Rayla: Hmmhmm Nope.

Callum: I’m dating an evil genius. And I’m okay with that. 

 Rayla: You think we should be called, what?

Soren: Eclipse Elves. ‘Cause that’s the only time the moon makes a shadow.

Rayla: That's... surprisingly A good point.

Ezran: What is it Aunt Amaya?

Amaya: (Gren interpreting) [Your mother would be so proud of you.]

Ezran: Thanks... I think she'd be proud of you too. 

Amaya: [What's this I hear about you jumping of a cliff?]

Callum: It was for love!

Amaya: [Good motive, still reckless.]

Soren: Sometimes for lunch, I eat nothing but butter.

Amaya: [You shouldn't do that.]

Soren: Probably. My chest hurts all the time. 

Corvus: (Spinning his sickle chain) We got off to a rocky start.

Rayla: It's okay. We all came together when it mattered. 

Corvus: Still feel like I owe you a free one.  

Amaya: [It's good to have you back.]

Corvus: Funny how we both ended up captured, General. 

Amaya: (Grinning) [Captured? I was just taking a sunny holiday.] 

Corvus: You really set an impossible goal post, your Highness. 

Callum: How?

Corvus: How can any other couple top; Confessed our love mid-flight?

Rayla: So... Got any hobbies?

Amaya: [I know your dating my nephew.]

Rayla: Wha... I don't, I wasn't. Okay, I was just building up to that. 

Rayla: Are you the reason we’re sometimes fighting copies of ourselves?  Lujanne: (Dissipating her Human form) Maybe I am, or maybe the veil of reality has been opened wide for your others selves to come through. Rayla: So it’s definitely you, then,

Soren: Waaait... Are you and Callum together?

Rayla: Uck, no Soren. (mock cheery tone) We just like to kiss, hold hands, and be around each other all the time.

Soren: Hey, some people do, do, that. I'm not judging.

Soren: This is freaky.

Soren: Are we in some kind of weird, reflection, world?

Soren: If it is, you'd think it'd be a lot shinier, other me.

Ellis: (Ava poised dramatically) Hey Banterboy.

Ezran: Hey Wolfgirl. 

Ellis: (Ava ready to lunge) Now, we fight crime.

Ellis: Yes! I knew you two would get together!

Rayla: Well we didn’t.

Ellis: Of course you two wouldn’t, dummy. 

Ellis: You can grow wings now?! Callum: Just call me, “Souring Callum.”

Ellis: Hehaha! Sorry I thought you said: “Snoring Callum.”

Viren: This is a test Claudia.

Claudia: (Eyes turning black her snake wrist chain moving) To prove what?

Viren: (Staff extending)  To prove If your strong enough to fight even your flash and blood.   

Claudia: Hey man-bun!

Corvus: I have a name.

Claudia: Well, I've forgotten it. So...  

Soren: Shouldn't have sent a Guard to do an Assassins job.

Viren: I sent you to save Katolis from a weak ruler. And to earn my pride.

Soren: I've got plenty of Pride. Big shock, none of it came from you!

Viren: Come to kill me for real, son? 

Soren: I should have left you when Mom did!

Viren: Yes. You should have. 

Viren: Impossible. How did you learn Primal Magic?

Callum: I did this thing called; Actually trying!

Viren: Dark Magic, Is not, A shortcut!

Claudia: Don't make me fight you Sorebear.

Soren: Claud's... Dad is evil.

Claudia: I can't choose again!

Callum: The way you use magic is wrong.

Viren: Oh? And how should I use it, oh wise, mongrel, Prince?  

Callum: To help people, not use them! You selfish idiot!

Callum: You say you cared about my Dad.

Viren: Like a brother.

Callum: Then why didn't you ever just consider trading back the egg?

Rayla: Shouldn’t you be a puddle right now?

Viren: Despite your best efforts I live.

Rayla: Your remind me of a bad itch that just won’t go away. 

Rayla: Do you even know my name? Or the names of those you’ve captured? 

Viren: Should I, Elf.

Rayla: You will. 

Ezran: I know about the Soulfrang, Viren.

Viren: How?

Ezran: Let's say, a little birdy told me.

Jenai: (drawing her Sunforge sword) Lux Aurea will be avenged.

Viren: I don’t even know who you are. 

Jenai: You will...

Callum: So. You and my aunt huh?

Jenai: (Genuinely confused) What about me and your aunt? 

Callum: Oh you’ll find out. 

Janai: You don't have to stand so close to me.

Amaya: (teasing) [But your so warm and cozy.]

Janai: *sigh* *You where much more intimidating before we started talking.

Soren: If it isn't the Hot Elf.

Janai: Excuse me?!

Soren: Huh? No, Wait! I meant like.. Your made of fire sometimes!

Claudia: I bet Callum hates me right now. 

Rayla: He doesn't hate you. He misses you. 

Claudia: Why? He has you now.

Claudia: (sadly) Just an 'Assassin Friend' huh?

Callum: I'm sorry. Me and Rayla... It was completely unexpected.

Claudia: ‘Unexpected’ is just another kind of expected.

Ezran: I'm not angry Claudia.

Claudia: How can you say that, after I let you down.

Ezran: Your not your father. You can still be helped. 

Soren: Your hair, what did you do?

Claudia: I made Dad better. Like for you.

Soren: Better, but he..? Claudia, no...

Amaya: (stern) [Your father is a liar, a thief, and a traitor. For your sake give him up.]

Claudia: It's not that simple!

Amaya: (sympathetic) It never is with family.

Aaravos: (After his familiar has possessed a host) I've looked forward to this meeting.

Callum: Do I know you?

Aaravos: No. But you possess something that can help me. A certain... cube.

Lujanne: They say “Time fades even Legends”

Arravos: Who does?

Lujanne: No clue? Read it in a book about vampires once, and thought you might know?

Callum: Why should I trust you?

Aaravos: I can help you achieve your full potential.

Callum: That just helps me, what about my friends? 

Aaravos: Why settle for being a mere High Mage? 

Callum: What else is there? 

Aaravos: Becoming the heir to my power. The new Archmage of Xadia.

Aaravos: We have both broken past the limits others set upon us.

Callum: That doesn't make us friends.

Aaravos: But it does make us equals.

Aaravos: I had such hopes for you.

Viren: Please, I still need your power. Anything you ask I’ll grant! Aaravos: Oh, have some dignity!

Amaya: [Stay away from my family!]

Aaravos: Afraid you’ll fail at protecting another of them, are you?

Amaya: [I’m only afraid I’ll enjoy this.]

Jenai: Any last words?

Aaravos: How’s your sister..? 

Jenai: (Heat mode) Arrrrgh!

Aaravos: You shall be quite useful. 

Rayla: Not happening. 

Aaravos: Your compliance is not required. You will lure my new disciple to me. 

Harrow: (Standing up from his throne as a set of disembodied armor) So... Tell me about this girl your seeing.

Callum: You do know she was one of the Assassins sent to kill you, right?

Harrow: Well, nobody’s perfect.

[nep-moved]

🎫 here's a gush pass ^^ feel free to gush about whichever f/o you want, however much you want, then, if you'd like, feel free to send this ask to any other selfshippers!!

THANK U i am finally usin this gjdjsk. may i talk abt the wolf bf nd how we're the ultimate enemies to lovers story?? bc imma do that along w some gushing

well. i've talked abt this before but it's been forever ghdjsk SO !! i played animal crossin on the gamecube ALL the time when i was younger.. nd i always had this habit as a kid where i'd keep restarting games?? fr no reason rly fjfjsk. so i've had lotsa ac villagers !! but one i almost always had was lobo. nd i hated him honestly GJDJSK. tiny nep thought 'why do i keep getting this guy he's so mean 2 me i hate him !!' nd i never wanted to talk 2 him bc he always yelled at me gjfjsk.

nyways eventually i stopped playin animal crossin fr a few yrs but then !! i heard sm abt a new game !! so i looked back into it nd gjdjsk it was great,, rememberin all my old villagers i considered friends, all the good memories.. but also Him tjdjsk. but i didn't feel anythin negative towards him?? i uh. actually thought he was p cute 😳👉👈 so i looked into the new game nd how the cranky villagers hav rly changed since the first ac fjdjks. they're just big softies nd i LOVED that.. the character development !!

nd when i first got the game i had a cranky villager that Wasn't him but. they say the same stuff so i just thought abt lobo instead nd i got all 💖💞💘 !! so i was all 'oh shit i rly do like him now' nd uh,, got his amiibo card 😳😳 nd the best part !! it arrived on my bday !! best present ever gjrjsk. i was so so happy 2 get him nd he was v sweet 2 me,, he acts like a grump but it's obvious he's actually a big teddy bear ;3c nd that just made me lov him more gjfjdk nd now here we are !! i even moved his house next to mine nd i giv him gifts everyday 👉👈 i hope i get his picture soon,,

NYWAYS gush hrs !! he's so pretty,, nd once again he acts like a grump but he's so sweet 2 me 🥺💘 it rly makes my heart all 💖💞💘 jfjdks.. nd he's so cute !! he lovs sittin down by the river nd readin books.. he also wears glasses just like mine when he does 💕 nd he's always checkin out the flowers which is Also adorable gjdjsk.. nd don't let him know i told u but i caught him singing bubblegum kk once 👁👁

ALSO can i talk abt his house in new horizons,, it's so cozy !! i lov bein in there sm gjdksk. i always sit on his lil couch w him while he reads 👉👈💕 nd i also perhaps think abt,, snugglin in his bed,, but u didn't hear that from me--

[the-pallid-king]

@ichxgo:

He isn’t sure how to respond to that statement. He wants to insist he doesn’t need it. And yes, he wants to fight his own battles, but he also understands not letting anyone touch someone you’ve chosen to protect. He just hopes you’ll let him do the same if it ever comes to it, so he nods instead of arguing and decides to try and remember that the next time you want to shield him. “Alright.” Though, then he smirks. “Well, I’m not killing or eating you. So I think I’m doing a pretty good job. Walls included.” There’s a snort as he considers the hypothetical situation in a slightly serious light. “Not me. I don’t think I’d be able to stay out of it.” And you’re a lot stronger now. He turns his head a little more and gives thoughtful consideration to the possibility of running his teeth down your neck. “I think it’s stopped.”

______

That ‘alright’ you give has him surprised and maybe a little suspicious. He wasn’t expecting you to agree with him, he was expecting you to get upset and say something about babysitting. It has him a little suspicious, but only enough to make him narrow his eyes slightly as he looks at you sidelong from where his chin rests on your shoulder, before he nods. He snorts though, amused, “I’m not cooked enough for you to eat.” If he’s being honest, you failed pretty hard with that wall. He’s still a little salty over it. “Eh. If the second me was anything like...me... Than we’d be too busy trying to kill each other over who you’re with for either of us to bother with you. Besides. If I hurt you, I’d kill me.” This is a strange conversation. “What? Oh.” The bleeding. Right. “I got comfortable and warm and kinda forgot there was a reason I was sittin’ like this.” Even hunched over like he is, he’s pretty cozy, between your body heat and the warmth being let off by the warm water. He sits back though, pulling his hand away.

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Of Farms Fairs And Fame (Last Part)

The fact that I had started this one so long ago, makes me all the happier to know that I actually managed to finish it after all this time lol.

It wasn’t quite dark yet, the sky hung somewhere between a soft indigo and the black of night. At the very bottom of the horizon, Azula could see the last tinges of orange and gold. Soft pops and sparkles danced in various spots in the yard.

“Hey, over here! Pass me one!” Toph shouted.

Azula watched Jet rummage through a cooler and toss Toph a bottle of orange-cream pop. For the most part she had gotten good at sensing where objects were, but this time the bottle fell to the grass and she had to stoop down and feel for it.

Across the way, TyLee was weaving flowers into the hair of Zuko and Mai. Near the treeline Katara was waving a sparkler in front of Aang and waiting for him to try to imitate her motions. A little ways away, on the hill, her father and Iroh were working to set up for the firework display.

Azula herself was seated on one of the picnic tables in her yard with a plate in hand. Three attempts in--the first two being chilly in the middle--later she finally had an edible hotdog on her plate and a boyfriend sitting next to her looking entirely pleased with himself. “Not bad fer my first time on the grill.” He commented.

“Eh, coulda been better.” Azula shrugged.

“Hey!”

Azula smiled at him and picked a slice of watermelon off of her plate.

“I werked hard on them first two.” He added in a mumble.

“Ya sure did, but they still tasted mighty awful.” Azula replied with a shrug.

“No! No! You scram! Git!” She heard her dad hollar from the hilltop. She looked over to see Tom-Tom and a pack of rouge school children rolling down the hill giggling and squealing in delight. Noticing the commotion, Mai stood to retrieve her brother. The boy took off in a wild sprint, leaving Mai groaning as she tried to catch up to that human ball of energy. He darted about, nearly slamming into Zuko and shoving between Suki and Yue. The poor girl was so startled that she dropped her bombpop onto Suki’s toes. “I knew I shoulda worn sneakers, stead’a sandals.”  The girl muttered.

“I got ‘im!” TyLee shouted, darting in Tom-Tom’s direction

Azula wasn’t one for pictures or videos but she turned her camera to follow the mini-frenzy. She was going to miss this brand of small-town chaos. At least the videos would give her something to assure her that she would never lose the feel of it.

Tossing her father’s no pigs at the table rule to the side, she lifted Spade onto the wood. She supposed that picnic tables weren’t the same as dinner tables anyhow. She wondered if she could smuggle him onto the plane.

“Hey!” Chan called from by the picket fence, waving she and Sokka over. “Com’mer fer a moment.”

Azula took Sokka’s hand and led him to where Chan was leaning, plastic cup of pepsi in hand. “Just wanted ta congratulate you fer yer record deal. Yer gonna get to go to them big parties now.” He made a grand sweeping gesture. “You’ll have to invite me ta one a them one day.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Azula replied. Of course she had his request on camera so she would be forgetting it that easily.

She stared out at the rolling open field beyond her fence. She didn’t think she had ever seen so many fireflies. The critters were everywhere floating and drifting lazily like dust motes. They blinked on and off at random intervals. It was yet another thing she was happy to have caught in her lenses.

“Gochya!” She heard TyLee declare as Tom-Tom whined in disappointment and disbelief.

“Praise the lord.” Mai grumbled. “Lil’ demon, that one.”

“Aww, he ain’t no demon.”

“Wanna sip?” Chan offered, drawing her attention back.

“Got my own, thanks.” Azula replied.

“Hey, well, we’re gonna miss you over here.” Chan gestured between he, Ruon-Jian, and the rest of his gaggle of boys. “How ‘bout a toast? Yer dorky boyfren’ can join us too.”

“Dorky!?” Sokka sputtered.

“To makin’ it big.” Chan declared.

Azula tapped her cup against his, hoping that the toast wasn’t premature. Chan gave her a wide smile and a thumbs up. With that and a wave, she set off to meet up with Zuko. It was dark enough for her father to begin setting off the fireworks. She made her way through smoke bombs and dodged stray poppers that Toph was chasing Aang with.

“Get yer teeny butt back here Twinkle Toes, you ain’t afraid of a few sparks are ya?” She teased.

“I kinda am, actually.” Aang confessed as she tossed one at his toes. “Katara, help me!”

Katara tried to stifle a laugh.

“Should we…?” Azula started.

“Nah, Kat can handle Toph. She does it all the time.”

Azula dropped herself onto the blanket Zuko had spread out for he and Mai and patted the ground next to her. “Well. Sit.”

“But ain’t that Zuko’s blanket?” Sokka asked.

Azula thought for a moment, tapping her chin as Spade made himself nice and cozy in her lap. “If he wanted it so bad, then he shouldn’t have left it open.”

TyLee flounced up next them and laid herself, belly-down, on the blanket. “Gee, it sure were nice of Zuko to set up this here blanket for us.”

“I set that up for Mai and I.” He grumbled.

“Finders keepers.” Azula retorted smugly.

“Guess I’m sittin’ in your lap.” Mai declared to her boyfriend.

Ozai waited for the last few to acquire their snacks and gather around. As soon as Iroh and Kya got the children to settle, Ozai lit the first. It sailed into the air with a sparkling gold tail, upon reaching its zenith it burst into a twinkling rain. One after the other, roman candles and bottle rockets spit fire and sparks into the sky. Azula hoped that she would shine as bright as them once she took to the stars. Stroking, Spade’s fur, Azula gazed at her semi-crowded yard. Chan still leaned upon the picket fence, this time facing skyward, occasionally cursing as a scrap of firework floated down into his drink. Tom-Tom was snuggled up in his mother’s arms as she protective shield his ears from the blasts. A few of the older children paid the fireworks little attention as they tried to catch fireflies. And Toph was still chasing Aang all around the yard. Sokka wiggled his way closer, putting his left arm around her and leaned into to press the side of his head against hers.

Colorful flashes illuminated much of the backyard and she thought of how Chan and Jet used to tell ghost stories about wild and unknown creatures dragging party-goers and campers into the forest between sparkling burts. She recalled one summer where Suki had made it her mission to dress up as such a creature and steal Ruon-Jian.

With a gentle fluttering in her belly, Azula wondered if she was going to have another moment like that or like the one she was having now. She wondered if this was going to be the last real summer barbecue she was going to have with her friends and family.

She supposed that she best cherish the moment in full and keep that camera close.

After the firework display a few neighbors began their goodbyes and their promises to come back for the next barbeque. In spurts guests would depart until their crowd dwindled down to a few stragglers and their closest friends and relatives. Soon Mai’s mother left to take Tom-Tom to bed--being it was already far past his normal bedtime--with instructions to Mai to have a safe trip home.

For herself, Azula wandered onto the dock with Spade in her arms and TyLee and Sokka beside her. As always, she dipped her feet into the water, watching fireflies flicker between stalks of catkins. The pond had a more fishy smell even without the summer sun to make the scent worse. She knew that soon Iroh and Ozai would be using it to fish before going to bigger ponds and lakes. That they would soon begin planning their annual camping trip. The same one that allowed she and Zuko to always begin their summer shenanigans--it was just one more small little thing that she would miss.

“Congrats on making it to state.” Azula smiled.

TyLee offered a soft, somewhat somber smile in return. Azula wouldn’t be the only one leaving home for a good while. “I’m gonna miss it here, ya know?”

“Absolutely.” Azula replied.  

TyLee perked back up. “Thanks!” She declared. “For the congrats. I’m really excited, after the whole broken leg thing, I didn’t think I were gonna get anywhere. But now…” she paused. “I might be a professional horse racer!”

“You earned it Ty. You been practicin’ real hard.”

“I’m really gonna miss the both’a y’all” Sokka admitted. Azula could swear she heard his voice crack. She looks to the pond and its collection of fireflies drifting lazily over the water. She caught a glimpse of a toad croaking before it leapt beneath the surface. For a while they were quiet with only said croaking and the chirps of crickets to fill that silence.

“‘Bout that, Sokka.” Azula started. “I was actually hopin’ that you’d come with me. It’d be awful hard to try ‘n sing your parts on stage.”

Sokka’s face lit up, but fell almost immediately. “I don’t think I ken afford--”

Azula hushed him. “You better not say no, father already bought yer plane ticket.”

“Yer pops is a nice man. I outta give ‘im a hug.”

Azula punched his shoulder. “Don’t you dare. He ain’t like those.”

Zuko and Mai come to join them on the dock with Katara, Toph, and Aang following close. Even Chan, Jet, and Suki tagged along. “Got somethin’ for you, Azula.” Zuko greeted.

Azula turned to see them holding up a small cupcake. “We each added something to it.” Aang remarked. “I drew the icing smiley faces.”

Zuko pulled out a pack of sparklers. “I figered we could all light ‘em up tagether, one last time ‘for life goes on.”  Azula knew at once that he wasn’t just talking about her and TyLee’s new found stardom, but about his own plans for college as well.

Azula gave a small grin. “I think we can all do that.”

They each reached into the pack and picked out a single sparkler. “Do the honors?” Sokka offered to Azula. She took the lighter and lit her sparkler and used that to light Sokka’s. Sokka turned and lit TyLee’s and TyLee’, Mai’s. And then Mai lit Zuko’s, until everyone had a sparkler burning. It was a dazzling display that reflected in the pond.

In that moment, nothing had changed at all. They were just a large circle of long time, small town friends sharing conversation and laughs as midnight transitioned into very early morning.

Just long time, small town friends, on a typical summer night.

.oOo.

“I know you got your camera, but I want you to have this too.” Iroh handed Azula the small book. He observed her as she looked it over, turning to the page with the photo of she and her companions standing at the pond with sparklers.

Between the mighty sound of plans departing, Azula offered her thank you’s. Ozai listened to his brother and daughter converse.

With nothing else to do her turned to Sokka, “you best take care’a her, boy.” He narrowed his eyes. “If you ain’t take care’a her, I will steal every last cow your family owns.”

“I’m purtty sure she ken take care’a herself.” Sokka pointed out. “But I’ll help.”

“You better, boy. You better.” Ozai folded his arms over his chest. He didn’t doubt that the boy would, he had always seemed to look out for Azula in the past, but it didn’t hurt none to give him a good ol’ fashioned mild threat.

“Hey, thanks fer the tickets, Azula’s pops. We’re gonna have a great time.” Sokka spoke in way of a goodbye.

Ozai watched him dash to catch up to Azula. He allowed Iroh and Zuko to finish their conversations with Azula before coming to her side. He was just as little for cuddles and fluffy gestures as Azula was. But he didn’t push his daughter away when she wrapped her arms around him. He curled one arm around her and pat her head twice with the other. “Don’t you get into any trouble out there, you understand me?”

“I know, father.”

“There’s gonna be boys ‘n booze, ‘n I ain’t want you mixed up in none’a that.”

“I know.” Azula repeated, already looking tired of the conversation. But he was her father and it was his right to give her a well-meaning lecture every now and again.

“I ain’t wanna have to fly all the way over to wherever you are to come help you.” He would, but, lord, he didn’t want to. “So you stick to the music and you keep yourself out’a trouble. Also don’t get too close to that Sokka boy, if you know what I mean. You don’t know what I’ll do to ‘im if...”

“Dad…” Azula grumbled, her cheeks delicately flushed.

“Just…” He trailed off. “Just make your pops proud. Make your ma proud, I know she would be.” He squeezed her shoulder.

“I will father.”

He knew that she would. Still, it was hard to let her go. And harder still to watch her wave as she ascended the stairs to the airplane.

“You raised some good kids.” Iroh took a stand next to him. “Both’a them are gonna go far.”

Ozai sure hoped so. He watched the plane shrink into a small speck in the sky. He supposed that the next time he’d be seeing his daughter, it would be on TV.

“Wha’do ya say we start packin’ fer our own trip?”

“My fishin’ pole’s already in the truck.”

[mayaparker]

Paper Hearts;

Maya & @rydenbolt discuss the events of the Parade. And then get super off-topic because I’m the worst

Ryden spent good five minutes staring at his phone. Should he or should he not? Will it make things better or worse? Was it appropriate? Was it okay? Fuck it. Better than ignoring the whole deal like it didn’t matter to him. Like it didn’t matter that he had upset Maya and made her probably sad, definitely angry and worried for sure. Because who wouldn’t be? No one likes being stuck in the middle of a very awkward situation. A situation he helped create.

So, he gave Maya’s phone a ring, fingers drumming nervously over the headrest of the park bench he was sitting on. He wasn’t sure why he was so tense, listening to the phone ring into his ear more loudly than it usually would or was he just tripping that? He’d almost hung up but he held in there, keeping the phone pressed to his ear until someone picked up.

Setting down her coffee, Maya pulled her phone out of her pocket. People generally call her so she was a little concerned. The feeling didn’t exactly go away when she saw Ryden’s name on the screen. They had talked briefly the night before, but things still felt unsettled. She worried a little too that this was the goodbye he had promised her. A couple of other options came to mind as well, like that he needed to be bailed out of jail or something, but those were easiest to discard as her overactive anxious imagination. She answered it, “Hey you, what’s up?”

For a split second, he thought he’d stammer. Stupidly enough, Maya’s voice on the other side of the speaker surprised him. Which was stupid because he called her - who else would’ve picked up?? “Uh, um… ‘Sup?” He started lamely, clearing his throat, realizing he’d done it directly into the phone, moved it away and did it again before pressing the device back to his ear.

“Nothin’ much, just… sittin’. Um… You home?” Good going, Ryden. He usually didn’t get this flustered. He could carry on a conversation in the most awkward situations. He could talk to anyone and he always had something to say. Now, he just felt like this giant ball of awkwardness with nothing smart to talk about. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Trying again, hopefully this time with a little bit more success. “You okay, babe?”

Maya frowned although Ryden couldn’t see it. He sounded nervous, which she’d only seen once before. “Nothing much,” she replied. She almost laughed when he said the same, but didn’t. It was a reaction she guessed might make him more nervous. At his question she nodded, although he couldn’t see that either. “Yeah, I’m home,” she said before adding, “Just having my morning coffee.” Her lingering hangover meant she should probably be drinking water.

She waited for him to speak again, still not sure what this phone was about. Maya had yet to rule out that this was his goodbye. She sort of privately hoped that would make him nervous. When he finally spoke it was to ask her if she was okay. “Yeah, I’m okay. Are you okay?” she asked. This was probably about yesterday, she figured. That wasn’t the first time she embarrassed herself like that in public and very much doubted it would be her last. This meant she had long since figured out how to be okay after.

“Oh, um… Okay.” Wow. Cat got his tongue. Not only got it, but ran away to China with it, never to return and sell it to some Chinese black magic witches for catnip. Or something…

Deciding to stop beating around the bush, Ryden cleared his throat in one last attempt to sound less like a bumbling idiot. “Wanna, uh… Share that morning coffee with me? It’s fine if ya already drank it. You can, like, drink juice. Or we can have another cup, whatever.” He suggested, chewing on his bottom lip for a second.

“I’m good. I mean, some loud-ass bird woke me up super early, it had, like, the creepiest matin’ call ever, I freaked out. Couldn’t sleep after. Heh. So… come out and be a miserable mornin’ person with me?? I mean, it’s cool if ya have other plans. We can meet up for Pride later and chill. Or not. Whatever. Do you hate me now?? Am I… Was I a prick? Shit, okay, I can’t keep my mouth shut, I gotta ask, it’s drivin’ me crazy.” There, he blurted it out, like the idiot he was. Great transition there, Bolt. Super smooth.

Maya was about to tell him that she’d be happy to go out for a cup of coffee, but Ryden kept speaking. She waited. And there it was, the reason for his call and, she guessed, his nerves. Closing her eyes she nodded, glad to at least know what was going on. She took a moment to respond, deciding what might be best to say. “You were kind of a prick,” she settled on, “But I don’t hate you. And yeah, I could go for another cup of coffee. I just need to put on shoes and head over. Where do you want to meet?”

As she spoke she dumped the rest of her coffee mug down the drain. It was too hot at the moment to try and chug it. Cradling the phone between her head and shoulder, she rinsed it out. Maya was already decked out in her Pride outfit since it was a casual one. In fact it was quite the opposite of the elaborate paint she’d worn the night before which had taken at least an hour to get off in the shower.

“That… is debatable but, okay, I’ll take it for now.” Ryden mumbled, tone turning slightly defensive for a bit because, obviously, Ryden’s behavior was a reaction to something. As much of a wild card as he was, he still didn’t do things completely out of the blue with no justifiable reason whatsoever. Ryden’s reasons might not always be easy to understand but they were nevertheless there and if he got a chance to explain, awesome. And if not, who cares anyway. Though honestly, he wasn’t really good at explaining things in general. Especially to defend himself. He was so bad at this it just became easier to be the bad guy and let everyone think that. But there was one thing Ryden would not allow himself - and that was to be convinced that he was a bad guy when he wasn’t.

“Uh, does Bean Me Up work for you?” He asked, immensely relieved that she didn’t hate him. Though he wasn’t entirely sure why it would matter.

While Maya had never been called a prick she had been called a bitch more than a few times and ungrateful a greater number. Growing up she’d had something of a mouth on. She still did sometimes. People rarely asked her for her side of the story. This part of her past meant that she assumed Ryden had a reason for how he’d behaved. She always had after all. Fane’s reasons she’d talked out with him. She didn’t expect to talk either of them out of their dislike of each other. Especially not only for her sake. Mostly Maya just didn’t want to be caught in the middle, forced to choose sides.

She also didn’t respond to Ryden’s momentary defensiveness. It wouldn’t help. “Yeah, Bean Me Up, give me fifteen?” she replied. As she did she started up the stairs back to her room. She needed to put on shoes and do her make-up although neither would would take long.

Some fifteen minutes later, Ryden was at Bean Me Up, already occupying a table with a cup of black, sugared coffee in front of him, sipping on it while it was still hot.

The shock of electric blue from a couple of nights before was already entirely gone from his hair and he was back in his usual attire - dark shirt, tight ripped jeans and combat boots on. No jacket because it was obviously getting to hot for that shit.

Noticing Maya entering the coffee shop, he stood up so she’d notice him, giving her a little awkward wave.

Maya made it to the cafe just right about on time. She’d walked from the Savin Estate, which she usually did when coming in to town. Luckily it was a bright sunny day meaning she didn’t show up soaked. As she walked in she looked around the cozy room. Movement in the corner of the room caught her attention and she glanced over to see Ryden standing. He waved, still seeming nervous. She waved back, a little nervous herself.

After going up to the counter both to say hi to Tuah and to get herself a latte. She walked over to the table. Now that they were together in person she couldn’t help but feel anxious. These were not the kinds of conversations she was used to having. Previously there hadn’t really been enough people in her life to have this kind of issue. She wasn’t looking forward either to having to explain herself. The fact that she had completely panicked wasn’t really Ryden or Fane’s fault. Even she hadn’t known it would happen. If she had she would’ve removed herself from the situation before embarrassing herself.

“Sooooooo,” she said as she sat down, “I’m guessing we’re here to talk about the other day?” Maya said it like it was a question even though it wasn’t really. In her lap her fingers played with her rings, a nervous habit.

“Um… we can. Or we can just... Not. Whatever.” Ryden shrugged, acting like it didn’t matter anyway. She didn’t hate him and that was really all that mattered. They could never speak of it again if she wanted that, just as long as she didn’t hate him. He played with the cup of coffee he’d ordered, rolling it between his palms absently.

“You sure you’re cool now?” He asked again, just to make sure. Because honestly, out of everything else, this was his biggest concern.

They should probably talk about it. The adult thing to do was to talk about it. None of that made Maya actually want to talk about it. And yet it was better that then letting it fester and ruin whatever they had. She smiled when he asked if she was cool. Nodding, she replied, “Yeah, I’m cool. That is not the first time I’ve completely lost my shit in public. It’s not my favorite activity, but I am pretty good at recovering from it by now.” She sighed, “And I’m sorry too for it. I just...I don’t know suddenly it was like I was nine years old again listening outside the door as they argued about whether or not I should testify and…” Maya trailed off, shaking her head. The other cause she still didn’t know how to talk about. “Men arguing hasn’t ever really ended well for me, so I kind of freaked out. It wasn’t really anyone’s fault.”

She paused and added, “Well, it was someone’s fault, but they’re back in Salem.”

She picked up her mug and then set it back down again. Running her fingers through her hair, Maya sighed. “I do want to know what the hell happened,” she said, gaze and voice soft, “I did talk to Fane already. I won’t pretend I haven’t. But if I know anything it’s that there’s two sides and usually they’re both legit.” As for Fane she understood where he was coming from, understood the fear and concern that drove him. She didn’t a hundred percent agree with it, but she understood it. She suspected the same would be true of Ryden’s reasons.

“Girl, everyone freaks out from time to time. Heck, ya shoulda seen me when I got here. An SUV hit me and I stopped it with my bare hands and I freaked, yo. Panic attack and all, laboured breathin’ an’ all. Rein had to help me sit down on a trash can cause it happened in the middle of a street, heh. I do not envy Rein for havin’ to deal with me then.” But Ryden was easy to laugh about his troubles. He always had been. Things were only momentarily scary to him and after that, it was either ride or die. If he rode through it, he would laugh about it later cause it just seemed stupid to him to cry about it. Crying was wasting time and energy that could otherwise be used to solve the problem or overcome a hurdle. But Ryden didn’t know that sucking it up wasn’t always the best thing to do. Some things you just have to cry about. Or else one’s very health and mental state suffers. Emotions weren’t made to be bottled up. Controlled sometimes, sure, when appropriate but not reigned in, chained and buried. Because then, you get a perfectly healthy man having breathing issues over most trivial things. Insomnia. Loss of appetite. Depression, anxiety and an overall mess of a person. Ryden hadn’t cried once since Sarah died. And although he didn’t project his trauma on others, not in any direct way at least, he did project it onto himself by not letting himself heal through tears. If you don’t cry on the outside, you will find different ways to cry. And some of those ways were far worse than actually shedding a tear.

So it was totally cool to freak out in public. But… “Babe, ya do know that the argument wasn’t about you, right? I mean, yeah, sure. Standin’ there, watchin’ people argue ain’t really pleasant but… it was never about you. You did nothing wrong.” He reassured her, voice unusually soft for someone who was usually so loud and easy to draw attention.

Hearing what she decided they should talk about, Ryden leaned back against the chair he was sitting in, giving Maya a shrug. “A’ight. What exactly do ya wanna know?” She’d already told him that she spoke to Fane about it, which was normal and good, even. For her. But Ryden was pretty sure that the man had said all the nasty things he possibly could, in privacy where no one would be able to stop him. And now, Ryden was probably painted all black. Thus the fear of Maya possibly hating him now. Luckily that doesn’t seem to be the case after all.

“Now I gotta warn ya… I don’t do any o’that sweet talkin’ polite stick up yo ass bullshit. Whatever ya ask, I’ll tell ya things as they are or as I see ‘um, and it’s up to people who listen if they’ll be butthurt about it or not. Cause I ain’t tiptoeing. That ain’t me. Me don’t do that. I either tell you the truth, I tell you exactly what I think or I don’t talk at all. We don’t know each other that well, so I gotta put that out there. A little disclaimer. God knows I need one on me every time I open my mouth. So… I don’t mean to trash talk your dad, uh… I’m sure he’s an awesome dad to you and his family but… He was kinda trash to me. So if ya don’t want to hear that from a stranger, maybe better not continue this convo, ya dig? Up to you, babe.” He warned, letting it sit for a minute and settle, giving Maya time to process and rethink.

Maya gave a tired crooked smile. She didn’t argue that getting hit by a car or using the new powers, for lack of a better term, that had been forced on you were perfectly reasonable reasons to freak out in public. She, on the other hand, did it for what she considered silly reasons because of events that were long over, things she ought to just get over. She should be over it by now. After all she was safe now. There was no reason for her to be so afraid, for her mind to be a minefield of fight or flight responses. She didn’t have to fight so much anymore.

And yet her brain hadn’t completely left that place. Old habits, after all, died hard, especially those that had kept her alive.

Nodding, Maya replied, “No, yeah, I know. I didn’t think it was about me. I just…” She shrugged, not sure exactly what the trigger had been. “I don’t know, it felt too similar or I was just worried enough about the whole thing or…” she sighed, “I have no idea what actually tripped my brain. If I did I would’ve avoided it.” She shook her head, feeling guilty for managing to make it about her. That was what everyone was worried about now. Her. Instead of better and more worthy things.

She listened as Ryden gave his disclaimer. As she did she sipped her latte. Although she didn’t actually know him well she was not surprised to hear him say that he wouldn’t hold back what in thought in the interest of being polite. She had been there, after all, and listened to Ryden speak to Fane to his face. She’d hardly expected him to be more cautious with his words when Fane wasn’t around. She set her mug down. “That’s okay,” she replied, “I love the guy, but I’m not laboring under the delusion that he’s perfect.” Maya didn’t expect to entirely agree with whatever Ryden said, just as she hadn’t entirely agreed with Fane. Her disagreement didn’t make how either of them felt any less legitimate though. It would help her to know too.   

“No, it’s okay. Really.” Ryden once again attempted to reassure her and the way he was so casual about it and ready to move on and put it behind them was a telltale sign that he thought it was perfectly okay and didn’t require further explanation on Maya’s part. “Shit happens, we all get emotional and things sometimes get out of hand. No need for a reason, it just happened and now it’s over. Forget about it. Important thing is you good now.” And that was it, as far as he was concerned. He had no problems with it and it was resolved, unless Maya wanted to talk more about it. The other thing though was far from resolved…

“Now… as for what happened on that particular day… it was durin’ that blob shower thing. I was at a diner, just had lunch, was chillin’ and then I notice these… things falling like hail. And I was like, what the?? And I went out, was gonna get Princess parked somewhere else, so she wouldn’t get gunk all over her. And then somethin’... Somethin’ fell on my face. And after that everythin’ was… just a blur.”

“Like, at first, I couldn’t remember anythin’. Now it’s slowly comin’ back, when I think real hard about it. How I remember it was… I was trippin’ balls, babe. I saw shit. And I couldn’t snap out of it. Ya watched that movie? Mad Max Fury Road? It was like that, okay? I was trippin being in that fuckin’ movie. And it was kinda awesome, yeah, and I stole a car, whatever. But I couldn’t help it. I wasn’t… me at the time. I was someone else and the whole world was somethin’ else. Freakiest shit ever.”

“And then I suppose I drove off, trippin’ whatever I was trippin’ and Fane chased after me. On my bike. Prolly took it cause it was parked close. I don’t know. And yanno, like, if ya trippin’ ya in an action movie, shit will get down, okay. A car chase never ends good. We crashed into a lake cause he jumped on the car, tried to take over, I wouldn’t let him because at that point, I am pretty sure we were both crazy trippin’ and that was that. We were in a car accident. And when I came around it was all done. The car was sunk, my bike was off in a ditch a mile away which I will find out later and yer dad kinna got the worst of it. Point is… I could’ve bailed on ‘um. I could’ve been like, fuck this shit I’m outta here and honestly, confused and fuckin’ disoriented as I was, it woulda been a perfectly legit thing to do.”

“But I didn’t bail. I pick the guy up, I help him out, I try to sort things out and he pisses all over me, all the while. Okay, fine. Whatever. It was a scary situation, we were both shaken up, fine. But then, he comes at the Pride event, comes up to me and he’s like ’uuuh, and you are??’. Bitch, you know damn well who I am, I dragged your ass outta that lake the other night and you come up like you so important, ya can’t possibly know a trash like me?! For fuckin’ real? You wanna talk about disrespect? That’s some disrespect right there. Pssh.” Ryden huffed, shaking his head a little. He settled for a moment, just to regain his easily lost composure because damn, did just thinking about all this piss him off…

Maya listened as Ryden explained, from his point of view, what had happened. As she did she was careful not to compare his story to Fane’s. Although it was mostly the same with a few different details. At the end of it she felt the same as when she had spoken with Fane. The magic, and whoever had caused it, was to blame for the crash. She remembered how vivid her own hallucinations at the time had been. She and Iann had robbed a bank for Pete’s sake. At the same time though she could understand Fane’s fear. She knew more about fear than most. As for the parade she saw both sides as well. Fane with his fear and concern for his kids had come over. He had made clear he didn’t think that he intended to start anything, but Maya didn’t agree. Conscious or not she didn’t think Fane’s only motivation was curiosity.

In light of their first meeting Maya could understand too Ryden being annoyed, even angry when Fane didn’t seem to acknowledge who he was. Although she’d never felt it from Fane she knew that feeling all too well. She knew what it was like to be treated like trash or to feel like she was. The mouthing off wasn’t the best way to change it, but she’d given in to the same impulse. More than a few times. As she saw it the whole interaction came with baggage: Fane’s fear of being taken away from his family and Ryden’s history of being looked down on. None of which was easy to overcome. She still didn’t expected them to either, not when the only incentive was it making her life slightly easier.

For a long moment she said nothing. When she finally spoke it was soft, “Thank you, for telling me. For whatever it counts for, and I don’t expect that to be much, I don’t think that car accident was your fault. I told Fane as much, that I didn’t think it was entirely fair to be angry with you for it, given the magic involved.” She shrugged, “Didn’t convince him out of it, not that I expected it to. It’s a lot easier to be angry and I don’t expect I could convince either of you how worthy the other one is no matter how much I believe it.”

She played with her parents’ wedding bands, twisting them as she said the part she did think she could influence. “At the end of the day I’m...fuck it, I’m scared that someday I’m going to be asked to choose. I don’t have a lot of experience being caught between people,” Maya laughed, “That requires more people than have historically been in my life. But I don’t have some delusion that if I were to ask for it the two of you will be best friends. All I’m asking is that you don’t ask me to pick a side, don’t hate me for not choosing. I don’t want to lose either of you.”   

“Thank you!” Ryden exclaimed, raising his arms a little. Finally someone who didn’t think the whole shebang was his fault. Ryden was a lot of things and he for sure was not a perfect person. But when he wasn’t guilty, he wasn’t guilty. And with time, spending his life having few to no people standing up for him, he learned real good how to stand up for himself. His methods of defending his point weren’t always a perfect way to handle things, yes, but when Ryden Bolt wasn’t guilty, he will plead not guilty. And fuck everyone who says otherwise.

Taking a sip of his coffee, mostly to ease his frustration more than anything - and because cold coffee was just gross - Ryden gave another shrug. “I ain’t angry. Just kind of annoyed, I guess. Cause yanno, in the end, he’s not important to me. He can think whatever the fuck he wants. I don’t need his thanks, I don’t need his apology, never asked for any of that. I know who I am and I know what I do - and I know when I do good and when I do bad. That’s enough for me. Fuck ‘um. Sorry babe, but fuck ‘um. I got bigger problems than Fane Savin.”

And seriously, those problems could not compare. If this didn’t escalate, Ryden would’ve already moved on, to be honest. Focused on getting his bike fixed so he could move on as soon as possible and get out of town, keep moving. Keep the Man in Black at bay.

“I ain’t askin’ that.” Ryden stated, matter of factly. “And just like I told Faye, if your family makes ya feel like ya gotta choose, nothin’ I can do there. It’s somethin’ your family needs to fix. That’s family affairs and I ain’t touchin’ that. It wouldn’t be right for me to get involved there. It’s not my business.”

Maya nodded, not quite glad to hear it. She certainly didn’t wish bigger problems on him, but if he had them anyway it meant this wouldn’t be the problem she worried it might be. She still worried a little about a minor part of what Fane had said. He had classified both her and Dani’s relationships with Ryden as him messing about with them. Of course Maya couldn’t speak for Dani, but she didn’t think that any part of her personal interactions with Ryden were him simply messing about with her, if only because all the sex had been initially her suggestion. God, she hoped that wasn’t what it was. Either way Maya was an adult who could be friends, or more than friends, with whoever she chose. Any issue Fane had with that, or mistake he thought she was making, was between her and Fane. They could cross that bridge when they came to it. “Okay,” she said because clearly Ryden’s mind was made up. She didn’t mention the rest of it, pretty sure not only that it wouldn’t help matters, but that it didn’t matter.

She sighed and shook her head. “They didn’t either. I don’t know, it’s all in my head, I guess. Too many high school movies or…” she shrugged and looked down at the table, “Too many trials maybe.” It felt sometimes like her whole life had been a battle. She always fighting someone or something. The Shaws, the foster care system, certain foster families, her own brain more often than not. And she was tired of fighting. Maya took a deep breath before bringing her gaze back up to Ryden. “But now that I’ve heard it from both of you it’ll be a lot easier to talk myself out of being paranoid.” She smiled again, still crookedly. Her expression was self-deprecating. She knew that she didn’t react the way she was supposed to, that she worried too much, needed reassurance too often. “Also not my favorite activity, but I’ve gotten pretty good at it too.”

“Well, that’s good.” Ryden nodded but he’d already heard as much from Faye, who had approached him basically on the same day and talked things through with him. They were dealing with this as a family and although Ryden was glad, he still had no business in there and wasn’t about to butt in. Because that was simply something his meddling could never fix, no matter his good intentions.

“Good.” Ryden nodded again, reaching across the table to poke Maya’s hand playfully. A small smirk quirked his lips. “Fake it till ya make it, whatever~” Not that he actually thought Maya was being a fake or anything like that. Maya’s efforts were real and she was trying her best, for herself and others. Ryden could appreciate that kind of strength. But sometimes, we just fake strength for the ones we love. Maya had probably been doing a lot of that during her life, especially now for her new family, which she wished for from the bottom of her heart. And that was okay. In that context, putting up a bit of a front wasn’t a bad thing. But it was up to the family in question to know exactly what’s behind it.

There were things in her life that Maya had simply accepted and gotten used to. At some point it was too much to stay angry and she worried that would only leave her bitter and mean. Since arriving in Soapberry Springs less than a year ago several of her accepted truths had been proven false. The most easily noticed one was the family she was sure she would never have. The one that had snuck up on her was casual touch. She had long since gotten used to the only kind of physical affection she got being in the context of sex.

Here though that was no longer true. Therefore Maya smiled, expression softening when Ryden poked her hand. “Alright,” she said, “Now that I’m done being weird and emo can we talk about literally anything else? Maybe how you’ve secretly been a badass DJ this whole time? What other secret skills do you have?” She wanted to move past the whole thing and she thought that Ryden did too. Now that it was out in the open rather than festering in the dark she felt she could.

“Heh, ya mean aside from my mad tongue skills?” He stuck his tongue out at her, teeth catching on the piercing in there. “Yeah, just somethin’ I picked up along the way. Ummm…” He thought about her question for a second. “I can cook. Fix cars. Good at soccer. Sports in general. Good at brawlin’. Did some boxing and MMA for a little while. Rocky style, heh. I don’t know. Stuff.”

As he spoke, he reached out, his hand picking hers up, playing idly with her fingers and the rings on them, the same ones he’d noticed her fiddle with a lot. “What’s that? Somethin’ special? Gift from an ex?” He raised her hand to inspect the wedding bands she had on.

Maya laughed, “Well, that wasn’t a secret. At least not to me anyway.” She listened with interest as he described, vaguely, some of his other talents. The brawling didn’t surprise her, but she was curious as to his cooking skills. Of course that was always partially a professional interest. While her best skills were in baking at some point following a recipe was following a recipe. There was always something to be learned from other people though when it came to the kitchen. “Didn’t Rocky lose?” she teased.

She shook her head, “Nah, I only got the one ex and when he tried to give me a ring, I ran out of the restaurant.” She had to laugh and shake her head again. It had been a mess. The whole relationship really had been a mess. Well, not exactly. It had been normal and she desperately wanted normal at the time. As it turned out wanting to be with someone to be normal and not for them wasn’t a great foundation for love. He too had wanted her for something other than herself. They both recognized that now, although last she’d checked she still featured in his stand up routine. “They were my parents’. These and a recipe book my dad was writing are all I have left of them,” Maya explained. In an effort to save her daughter’s life her mom had destroyed all of the photos of the family. As for anything else much of it had gone into evidence or been lost over the years.

“Sometimes he lost, sometimes he won.” Ryden shrugged with a grin.

He couldn’t help cringing visibly, feeling kind of sorry for the guy who got stood up in the middle of a proposal apparently. “Yeesh… Couldn’t ya have at least, like, walked out? Ya had to run?” He chuckled, shaking his head at Maya. “So… You’ve been almost engaged, huh?” That was an interesting piece of info.

But he got a bit more serious as Maya spoke about her parents’ wedding rings. “Oh, that’s cute.” And he didn’t mean it in an undermining kind of way. It was really sweet. He took a better look at them but when he was done, he kept Maya’s hand on his, lowering them down on the table. “Yer dad was a cook? Or a baker too?”

Maya shook her head again, “I mean, I remember it as running, but I was wearing heels at the time, so technically I was probably walking. It was a shitshow, though. Someone told later that he uses it in his stand up routine and, like, if I hated him for that. But if we’re honest it’s only fair. Last time we talked it was so I could explicitly give him my blessing for it, in case anyone tried to give him shit.”

Making a face she considered for a moment, “Technically, but I don’t so much consider it that. I had no idea he was going to do it and can’t for the life of me figure out why he did. I think we really wanted to love each other, but we didn’t. I know I didn’t and I don’t think I ever let him know me enough for him to love me.” Her expression softened a little, “He was a good guy though. He’ll make someone else happy and I couldn’t have made him happy.” She shook her head. It had been a long time since she thought of Jonah. She hoped vaguely that he was well and made a mental note to see if she couldn’t find one of his routines on YouTube.

She wasn’t quite sure how she felt about it when Ryden didn’t let go of her hand. It felt nice certainly, but it wasn’t something she was used to. Carson had never held her hand except a few times to tug her out of the way of taxis or messenger bikes. It was nice though, so she didn’t pull her hand away. “Yeah, he was a baker, not by trade though. He was a lawyer by trade. But I got my magic from him. We used to spend whole Saturdays in the kitchen, making a mess usually. He was never good at making it pretty though, always said it mattered more what tasted like than what it looked like.” Her eyes were unfocused, staring off into the middle distance. She had few memories of her parents, but there were a few that she’d managed to hold onto through the years. Most of those featured the cozy kitchen she’d spent so many happy hours in before she’d lost them.

“Mmm. Heels. I like you in heels.” Ryden hummed, his smile turning a bit dreamy for a second. Because heels were hot, period. He chuckled then. “Yeah, at least give the guy that. Cause it is kind of funny. And it’s good he’s having a laugh about it now.”

Listening to her and Jonah’s story, Ryden nodded. “Shit happens. Relationships fall apart. You guys tried and prolly had some good times together and that was that. No one’s fault.” At least that was how Ryden saw it.

“Shiit, that’s adorable.” Ryden admitted with a huge grin, running his thumb over Maya’s knuckles. Maya would just have to get over Ryden being all touchy-feely. Because that was simply how Ryden was. He craved physical contact and it usually meant nothing more than a need for closeness, a need for physical touch. Maybe that was how he was brought up, having an overly affectionate mother. Or maybe that was just how he was, speaking even more loudly with his hands and his body than his already loud enough voice. Not touching someone he liked was like not looking them in the eyes for Ryden - rude and lonely. Like there are walls between people that don’t need to exist.

“And what did your momma do?” He asked, letting go of her hand now so he could pick up his coffee mug and sip on it.

Maya smiled as Ryden said that he liked her in heels. She thought briefly of She’s the Man where someone, she couldn’t remember who now, argued that heels were a man’s invention to make a woman’s butt look bigger and hard to run away. Of course the simple solution, on the one or two occasions she’d had a problem while in heels, she’d just taken them off.

“Well you know what they say, comedy is just tragedy plus time,” she joked. At first she hadn’t easily been able to joke about it either. While Maya was sure her own embarrassment was far outweighed by Jonah’s it had been mortifying for her too. She nodded at his summation of it. That relationship, her only real one, was one of the least tragic things in her life. At the end of the day they simply weren’t compatible and that wasn’t really anyone’s fault.

“Oh yeah, I was adorable back then,” she replied. If she had any pictures she would’ve offered to show him. However since they’re weren’t she just didn’t mention it. When he withdrew his hand she did the same a moment later. “She was a teacher, history at the high school in town. And a master illusionist, used to make fireworks shows out of her fingertips for the Fourth of July.” Maya took a deep breath and picked up her coffee. It was only lukewarm now, but she wasn’t about to waste something she’d paid for. “What about you?” she asked, “What’d your parents do?”

“Pretty much~” Ryden agreed with a happy chirp.

“Oh really? What happened to you?” He snickered, leaning back against the chair just in case Maya decided to take a swing at him for this.

“That is so awesome, oh my god.” Ryden was seriously impressed. He would’ve loved to see these fireworks. But when he was asked about his own parents, he just sort of shrugged. “Dad was good at not bein’ around. At all. Momma did everythin’ she could. She couldn’t finish school cause she got me. So she did whatever job was out there to keep us afloat. Now she’s a nurse and I think she’s happy with that. She likes that job. She did real good. Real proud of my momma~” He smirked before adding. “Not sure if she can say the same ‘bout me, I was a hell to raise, heh.”

Rolling her eyes, Maya replied, “I got super hot, obviously.” It was a joke, of course. She’d never considered herself exceptionally much of anything. It was among the facts she’d simply gotten used to in her life. She was average in all except a few tragic circumstances.  

“Yeah, they were awesome,” she agreed. Her tone became bittersweet as she said it. While she tried not to think about it sometimes, especially while on the topic, she wondered what she might’ve been like if they had lived. If even just one of them had lived. Her smile didn’t fade, but her dark eyes were sad. She didn’t mind talking them though, not in this context when they were all happy and alive.

Her expression sobered a little as Ryden talked about his own parents. She made a mental note about his dad, but quickly discarded any other thought about the man. If he had no interest in being important then it was easy for her to dismiss him. His mother therefore she reserved her curiosity for. She didn’t say that clearly his mom had a good job raising him. It sounded too corny even in her own head. Smiling, she replied, “Well, she sounds like a badass.” It was a compliment. Maya knew her fair share of strong women and single mothers always fell into that category. It was a difficult thing to raise a child, she knew, partially because all evidence said she herself was too difficult to raise. And to do it alone could only be so. “And how about this? If I ever met her I’ll put in a good word for you. Tell her about how you saved my ass from that freak snowstorm,” she added with a hint of teasing.

As a thought occurred to her her expression again grew serious. “Does she know?” Maya asked, “About your being a werewolf, I mean.” She paused for only half a second before reconsidering the question especially in light with the discomfort she’d witness for him on the topic. “Sorry, nevermind, I shouldn’t have asked that. It’s not my business.”  

“Well yeah… I guess that happened.” Ryden hummed but he took too long to admit it. It was intentional, of course, the hesitation meant to tease Maya.

His expression softened in response to her sad one. Of course, every child has love for their parents, no matter how they are. Maya obviously adored hers. Ryden could only imagine how much it hurt to lose them so early on.

On a lighter note, Ryden enjoyed gushing about people he adored, his mother included. “Hell yeah, baddest momma around. She’s one lioness of a woman.” He grinned widely, the sharp canines peeking out. “Don’t think she’ll believe ya any. She knows how I am, heh. For any good thing I’ve done, she knows there are at least ten times as many fuckups to follow.” He said it in a light tone, making it obvious that it was probably just a running joke between them.

At her next question, he shook his head. “Naw it’s fine. She don’t know. And I’d like to keep it that way. She’s um… out there, in the ‘human world’. She don’t know any of this shit. For the better. I, uh… don’t know how she’d handle it.”

Maya stuck her tongue out at him, “If I didn’t know any better I’d think you were trying to rile me up.”

Even having just talked about her own parents she felt no jealousy or envy as Ryden talked about his mom. Her experience was thankfully not anywhere close to universal. She laughed when said that his mom wasn’t likely to to believe her. “Yeah, well considering I don’t even have a passport it wasn’t that great an offer anyway,” she replied, “I’d hold out for a better one.”

Her gratitude, not only that wasn’t angry with her for asking at but he’d also given her an answer, displayed itself clearly on her face. She nodded when he admitted that his mom didn’t know that he was a werewolf. Maya didn’t ask if his mom at least knew where he was. She’d already pushed her luck. Besides it wasn’t like he didn’t know his mother was probably worried about him. That was what parents did after all. Instead she said, “I didn’t tell anyone. When I left New York, god coming up on two years ago now. My best friend was ex-Army, a wolf too, and all I could think about was protecting him, getting as far away from Shaw and anyone he might hurt to get to me as possible. I didn’t contact any of them until I was safe, until Shaw was dead. So I get it, at least partially, is my point.”

“Me? Why, I’d never.” Ryden feigned shock at her accusation, following it up with a little gasp.

Then he’d sighed out a huff of relief, which was also feigned. “Good. Cause thinkin’ bout what you two would talk about behind my back just gives me the creepers. Brrr.” He shook himself, knowing that Genna would jump for the first opportunity to gossip about her own son. Show some baby pictures, though there weren’t many because they couldn’t exactly afford a camera. Show off his drawings when he was a kid, not that he was good at drawing - actually, he was terrible at it. Show off his medals and trophies he’d won, playing soccer in school and doing boxing when he was a bit older. Yup. That would be a seriously embarrassing experience. Not to mention she’d immediately assume Maya was his girlfriend and be all ecstatic about it. That… would be very awkward too, explaining that she’s not. And then, his momma would probably talk about Sarah and cry a little… Which would be the most awkward thing of all. So yes, it was a good thing Maya couldn’t meet Genna. Although Ryden knew they would instantly get along.

“It’s sort of easier that way, isn’t it?” He concluded, as Maya revealed her own experience on sharing what she was with other people. “Even if they end up resentin’ ya for it.”

“Because you know I would 100% bribe her with cupcakes to tell me embarrassing stories about you?” Maya teased. It was exactly what she would do if given the chance. She would make no real effort to meet his mom though. She had been told enough times that she was a bad influence both by parents directly and by kids who said they weren’t allowed to hang out with her anymore. Generally it was the more subtle cues than that, which told her she wasn’t wanted. In her experience parents rarely liked her. Ryden’s mom would probably think the same, that she was bad news.

She laughed almost bitterly, “I don’t know about easier. I don’t think there’s anything easy about it, but better, I guess, in the end.” It was an awful decision to have to make. Carson didn’t agree with hers, she knew that. Maya thought she was right though and certainly couldn’t fault herself for making it. Her fear had been no small motivating factor. She was proven right too, she felt, by Shaw’s eventual claims that he’d kidnapped people she cared about. If she had stayed that’s all that would’ve happened. “Carson doesn’t hate me, at least not for that. I’m not sure I can say the same for the fact I didn’t come back to New York,” she said, “But not for disappearing without a word.” There was no doubt in her mind that Ryden’s mother would forgive him. She didn’t think it would hurt to hear though that at least in her case she hadn’t been resented for the decision. Maybe not much, but a little.  

“Yeah, I know, that’s what I’m afraid of. She’s… too easy to bribe. Especially with cupcakes.” Ryden hummed, looking like he was about to change the topic. Which he did. Well, rather, Maya did and he just steered the conversation that way a bit further. “Yeah…” He agreed, with no small amount of some oppressive feeling weighing him down. It was a strange mix of guilt, fear and anticipation, anxiousness and tension. Kind of like those dreams when you’re running away from something through some intricate maze you cannot figure out, just barely making it in the end. It kind of felt like that, protecting people in that way. Complicated and just barely making it. “Well, that’s good. I mean, now that Shaw is dead, ya can always go visit Carson, right? Smooth things out?” He suggested because why not? The hunter was gone and Maya totally could, if she wanted to.

Just a few minutes ago she’d promised being weird and emo and somehow they’d gotten onto the at least mildly depressing topics anyway. She let them go. Shrugging about the prospect of returning to New York to visit Maya replied, “I will probably will at some point. But it’s a money issue. I’ve just about saved up for my own place and airplanes tickets aren’t cheap.” She also wasn’t entirely sure if she could face Carson, not after what she had done to Shaw. His guilt had never left him, but hers came and went. “Have you ever been?” she asked, “To New York, I mean.”

Well, Ryden could relate there. He barely had any money and he had a lot of traveling to do. Part of the reason why he stayed at Soapberry for this long. “It’ll happen. If you could save up for your own place, you can save up for a plane ticket.” He reasoned. Because real friends can wait, and late was better than never.

“Nope. First time across the pond. I’ve stopped at a few cities on my way here though, but not New York.” He admitted. Before the bite, Ryden hadn’t traveled much, if at all. There was just no money. The money he was spending now, running away from the Man in Black was the cash he and Sarah saved up for their own house and for a trip to Thailand. Because Sarah had always wanted to visit Thailand for some reason and Ryden worked day and night to take her there one day. Both hard working in their own way, doing their best, they saved up quite a lot. But Ryden didn’t need it now. And the only thing that came in handy was so he could run away from the one pursuing him using that money. And it was quickly running out.

Yet another reason he settled here for a bit longer than he’d initially intended to. He was still considering taking up another part time job along the ones he had at Erzebet’s and the Fainting Goat. “By the way… Does your bakery need any help? Anyone to do some grunt work, whatever?”

“Yeah, I might be able to convince him to come out here too. Sell him on some cool new werewolf friends,” Maya replied.

She couldn’t help, but get a little excited when Ryden said he hadn’t been. She loved New York. “Okay, I know I’m a walking cliche, but if you have the chance you should go. It really is magic,” she said. She could’ve sympathized with his dwindling funds. It was the same problem she’d had while on the run herself. In Madison she’d had to pawn her mother’s engagement ring. It was that event which caused her to wear so many rings now. While most of her magic was like her father’s she had a little skill in illusion. She bought a bunch of cheap rings at Forever 21 or somewhere similar and could trick pawn shops into thinking they were real gold. And there was of course the lack of money which had landed her in Fane’s house.

But if she had known that Ryden was running from someone she would’ve told him to stay and ask for help. After all running hadn’t saved her from Shaw. But she didn’t know so all Maya could do was respond to the actual question he asked, “I don’t know, but I can ask.”

“Hahaha sure, I’ll give him a tour, if I’m still around by then.” Ryden offered, though he knew he probably wouldn’t be.

On the topic of traveling to New York, Ryden wasn’t against it at all. “Hey, I’d love to travel anywhere. If I could, I’d travel the world. So sure, maybe, why not.” He grinned. Maybe that will kind of be his next destination. He haven’t decided yet. He was trying to be as unpredictable as possible, so the Man in Black wouldn’t catch a pattern.

“Would you? Cause that’d be awesome, I’d really appreciate it. Unless ya wouldn’t want to see my ugly mug at work too, that’s completely cool.”

Maya’s face dropped for half a second at the reminder that eventually Ryden would leave. Her gut response was to close herself off, lessen if she could the pain that would inevitably result from it. It was too late to avoid any pain. It was this fact which prompted her to reject her gut response. It was going to hurt anyway so she might as well have a good time beforehand. She recovered her expression quickly though. “You should. It’s an easy place to get lost in, the opposite of here,” she replied, “I used to love that about it.”

She nodded easily, “Yeah, no problem.” Laughing she added, “Honestly I get really focused at work, especially with the icing, so I might not even notice you’re there. But I can’t say I’d mind if i did.”

“Hah, I got lost here too! I suppose I’ll lose myself often in New York!” Ryden barked out a pleasant, contagious laughter, loving the idea of so many places to visit, so many places to go till you weren’t sure anymore where you’ve started and where you’re gonna end up at.

“Mmm, okay, I’ll easily get your attention if I steal some o’that icin’ straight off yer cupcakes~” He waggled his eyebrows at her suggestively, this totally being an intentional pun. “Jokes aside, I would appreciate it. If it happens, great, if not, no biggie. I just need work, gonna take any chance I get.”

Maya laughed, “Honestly, I loved being lost in New York. Partially because you never really lost, its is a grid system. But I grew up in a fish bowl, so being lost in crowds, being no one it felt like I was finally free. And I love it here, don’t get me wrong. But there’s no getting lost in this town.” To her though Soapberry felt like a fish bowl only in the way all small towns did. That she didn’t mind so much.

Shaking her head she laughed again. “No to that with actual icing because I get real art up in that shit,” she replied, “And potentially yes to the inappropriate joke you’re making as soon as I figure exactly what it means.” Maya had the suspicion that his looking for more work wasn’t about keeping himself out of trouble or figuring out what career he wanted. She guess that it was to be able to pay his way out of town. She couldn’t claim to truly want to help him with that. She would though because it was obviously what he wanted. “But yeah, don’t worry about it. I’ll ask. My boss might be able to hook you up with the caterer. I hear they get a bunch of special events over the summer and probably need extra bartenders.”

“Lost in New York… Isn’t that, like, a title for a movie?” Ryden laughed with her but he could easily see what she meant. He was from a small community too and everyone in the hood knew everyone. And with a toxic environment, that just made everything worse. Traveling to places where no one knew him, where he could get lost, meet new people… Ryden had never felt more liberated in his entire life.The only problem was he wished Sarah was by his side, traveling with him.

“Oooh. Okay. Then I’ll just watch. Stand behind your back and breathe against your neck.” Giving her a look, he smirked wickedly. “You think about it, lovely. Think about it real hard when you’re home alone at night.”

“Okay, sweet! I’m down for that. You just let me know whenever.” Which was more than he could ask for, and he was really grateful that she was willing to put up an effort for him.

“A’ight, so, we had our coffee… What else o ya wanna do today? I’m off work. It’s cool if you got better things to do!”

[summer-binging-spn]

Black and Blue

Word Count: 2,150 (without lyrics)

Warnings: Abuse, Abusive boyfriend (it’s not Dean), violence, cursing, drinking alcohol

Pairing: Dean x Reader

Tags: @lucifer-in-leather @ravengirl94 @wayward-mirage @helvonasche @mamaredd123 @myplaceofthingsilove @assbutt-still-in-hell

Author's Note: This is my submission for @casbabydontgoineedyou ‘s 2k challenge. Congratulations on the followers! I’m sorry I’m late! But here it is, a day late. I chose the song Blue Ain’t Your Color by Keith Urban (lyrics are bolded and italicized) and I’m still not sure what emotion to put with this, heartbreak, happiness it’s a little bit of both. And there’s a sprinkle of anger.

Masterlist

I can see you over there Staring at your drink Watchin’ that ice sink All alone tonight

Melting ice and salty tears are watering down what remains of your drink as you sit alone at the bar after another night of hell. Black and blue bruises up and down your arms. 

“Can I get a whiskey? And get her something else too,” a man sits beside you, probably another hunter, just not living like you. 

“Thank you,” you say, wiping your tears. 

“No problem,” he says and sips his drink alongside you. 

“You should probably ice those, it’ll make them less noticeable,” he states motioning towards your arms. 

“I’ll be alright, always am,” you say. 

“If you say so, I’m Dean,” he introduces himself and you finally take a good look at him. Familiar green eyes, a strong jaw, and a frown that seems permanent.

“Y/n,” you mumble and sit there sipping the drink. You finish your drink and sit for a few moments before breaking the silence. 

“Thank you for the drink, I’ll have to buy you one sometime,” you smile weakly at Dean before standing. 

“You sure you need to drive?” Paul, the bartender and your friend, asks. 

“I’ll be alright, I’m not that drunk,” you say and start towards the door. You stumble slightly and grab the bar. 

“Woah there sweetheart, I don’t think you should be driving, I’ll take you home,” Dean offers. 

“What about my car?” you ask, thinking of what he would do if you came home without your car. 

“My brother will drive it behind us, I just need your keys,” he says, you hand your keys over reluctantly and he calls over a taller man. 

“Sam this is Y/n, I’m giving her a ride home, I was hoping you would drive her car home,” Dean smiles at

“Oh my gosh, you two are the Winchesters, aren’t you?” You ask finally connecting the dots. 

“Son of a bitch, I can’t go to one roadhouse without someone knowing who I am,” Dean grumbles. 

“Calm down Deanie Weenie,” you grin. 

“Oh shit, you’re Bobby’s niece,” Dean mumbles. 

“Of course. My parents moved me away so I wouldn’t get into the hunting life and look where I am,” You laugh bitterly as Dean leads you to his car. You buckle and give him directions to your house. 

“I owe you a drink,” you state as you get out, Sam hands you your keys and you go inside.

And chances are You’re sittin’ here in this bar ‘Cause he ain’t gonna treat you right Well, it’s probably not my place But I’m gonna say it anyway 'Cause you look like You haven’t felt the fire Had a little fun Hadn’t had a smile in a little while

“Baby, you gonna go to that damn bar before you come home,” Brock slurs into the phone. 

“I am tonight, I need a few minutes of me time,” you mumble, hoping that he’ll allow it. 

“Sure thing beautiful, just bring home some beer and pretzels,” he hiccups. 

“Okay,” you breathe and he hangs up. You make your way inside the bar you take your normal seat and wait for Paul to get a chance to get you a drink. 

“The usual?” He asks. 

“Of course,” you smile weakly. 

“Looks like your friend is back,” he nods towards the door while he fixes your drink. You glance towards the door and the Winchesters are walking in. Dean immediately smiles at you and sits by you. 

“His is on me,” you grin. You and Dean sit beside each other and buy each other drinks. You send a couple to Sam, but according to Dean he needs to drive him home so Sam can’t be too drunk. Your phone rings, interrupting your drinking.

“Let it ring,” Dean mumbles, sipping his whiskey.

“I’ve got to take this,” you mumble and step away from the bar.

“Hello,” you mumble.

“When will you be home?”

“Soon, I promise. Go ahead and go to bed,” you state.

“Alright,” he mumbles into the phone.

“Goodnight,” you say and he hangs up. That was actually painless, you head back to the bar and sit back down. You get back home around four in the morning.

Baby Blue looks good on the sky Looks good on that neon buzzin’ on the wall But, darling, it don’t match your eyes I’m tellin’ you You don’t need that guy It’s so black and white He’s stealin’ your thunder Baby, blue ain’t your color

“Baby, I need some beer,” Brock yells from the living room. 

“I’m cooking right now, can I go after I finish?” You ask softly, hoping he’ll be kind for once. You hear the familiar creak of the chair and his steps on the floor. 

“You’ll go when I need it,” he growls pushing you against the counter, you whimper and turn your head away. 

“Look at me,” he grabs your chin and turns your face towards him. 

“You are going to go outside, start that piece of shit car, drive to the damn store, and buy me some beer,” he barks and shoves you towards the door. You grab your keys and purse and head out to your car. You start it and drive to the store. Your hands shaking you get out and make your way to that familiar isle. 

“What do we need?” You hear someone mumble to himself as you look for the right kind of beer. 

“Hey,” you hear from behind you. You feel arms wrap around you and you flinch. 

“It’s just me,” Dean mumbles, slightly hurt. 

“Sorry, hunter reflexes,” you smile up at him and hug him. 

“How’ve you been?” 

“I’m okay. How about you and Sammy?”

“We’re good,” he nods. 

“Good,” you smile at him and grab a case of beer, knowing if you don’t get home soon you’ll be accused of cheating and it’ll only get worse. 

“Here I’ll get it,” he says and takes it from you. 

“Thanks,” you mumble, slightly confused.

“No problem,” he says setting it on the counter. You pay and start to pick up the beer. 

“I’ll get it, just let me pay for mine,” Dean says and you nod. He pays, picks up his groceries and grave the case of beer. You pop your trunk, and Dean sets the beer in smiling at you. You can’t help but smile back at him. 

“You should smile more, it suits you,” he says, shutting your trunk. 

“Thanks,” you say and hug him once more.

I’m not tryna Be another just Pick you up Kinda guy Tryna drink you up Tryna take you home But I just don’t understand How another man Can take your sun And turn it ice cold

You step into the bar, searching for your friends. Dean motions you over to the booth he’s sitting in. You slide in beside Dean and order a drink.

“You made it,” he grins. Sam is working on his laptop and sipping a beer.

“Yeah,” you smile at him. You sit with him and drink for a while.

“I need up,” he mutters into your ear.

“Okay,” you mumble and stand up. He steps out and you sit back down.

“You should dance with me,” he grins, pulling you back up.

“Oh, I don’t dance,” you shake your head, thinking back to the last time you asked Brock to dance.

“C’mon, you loved to dance,” Dean pleads and that’s how you find yourself dancing with Dean Winchester. Your head rests on him as you sway to a slow song that came on.

“Thank you,” you mumble as he sways with you.

“Why?” he asks, looking down at you.

“I love dancing, I haven’t had this much fun in forever,” you smile up at him.

“I’m glad I could help,” he chuckles, his chest rumbling.

“I could dance all night,” you murmur softly.

“I’ll dance all night with you, if you want,” he offers, and you take up his kind offer.

Well, I’ve had enough to drink And it’s makin’ Me think that I just might Tell you if I were a painter I wouldn’t change ya I’d just paint you bright Baby

“I think you should go on a hunt with us,” Dean grins from beside you. You had met them at the bar once again, and you were sipping on your favorite drink.

“I don’t know, I don’t think my boyfriend would like that,” you glance at Dean, unsure. 

“What is wrong with this boyfriend of yours? He’s never with you, he doesn’t let you hunt with us and you only come out with us half the time,” he asks, you know what he’s accusing Brock of but Dean can’t know that he hits you. He doesn’t do it on purpose, he loves you.

“Nothing, he just doesn’t want me out too late, he worries,” you lie.

“I’m not an idiot. Why don’t you tell us how he hits you? Why won’t you just tell us it’s you he’s yelling at when we call?”

“Dean I think you’re overstepping your boundaries here,” you whisper, standing up. 

“You can’t even see what he’s doing to you, can you?” he whispers grabbing your wrist lightly. 

“He isn’t doing anything to me, he loves me,” you whisper. 

“He doesn’t love you! He’s hurting you! He’s killing your happiness, he making you dull and unhappy,” he cries.

“Why do you care?” You demand.

“Because you’re such a bright person and he’s made you into this quiet soft spoken thing and I don’t know what the hell you are thinking,” he states, shaking his head.

“I’m thinking he loves me and you haven’t seen me in years, you don’t know me anymore,” you bite harshly. 

“I do know you though, I know you love to dance and laugh, and on rainy days you love to sit in a cozy chair and read by the window. I know you,” he states, standing up beside you. 

“Dean let me go,” you whisper, pulling away from him. 

“Fine, but I won’t watch your happiness die because of that fucker anymore,” he bites and leaves you standing there, slightly shocked that he listened but he left.

'Cause blue looks good on the sky Looks good on that neon buzzin’ on the wall But, darling, it don’t match your eyes I’m tellin’ you You don’t need that guy It’s so black and white He’s stealin’ your thunder Baby, blue ain’t your color, no,no no Mmm. It ain’t your color, baby

You miss Dean, you sit in your chair in your room by the window, he was right you like to sit and read while it rains. But you couldn’t read for thinking about him, you look out the window at the rain hitting the ground and listen to the soft patter of it hitting the roof. You think about what Dean said about your boyfriend, about how he’s making you quiet and dull. Dean might be right but you love Brock. 

“Hey baby how about you start cooking supper?” Brock yells from the other room. 

“Can I finish this page?” you ask. You hear his footsteps coming towards the one room you feel safe in. 

“I’m coming,” you cry standing setting your book down and walking towards the kitchen. 

“I want chicken tonight,” he states cornering you beside the fridge. 

“I don’t know if we have chicken,” you whisper. 

“I bought chicken,”he whispers and slowly kissed your neck. 

“Brock not tonight,” you plead. 

“I don’t want you going to that bar after supper, I want you to stay here,” he demands into your ear. 

“Okay you mumble and start to cook supper. You continue to try and figure out a way to get out.

Mmm, baby. Blue looks good on the sky Looks good on that neon buzzin’ on the wall But, darling, it don’t match your eyes I’m tellin’ you You don’t need that guy It’s so black and white He’s stealin’ your thunder Baby, blue ain’t your color Blue ain’t your color

Blue bruises glare from your wrists and your back is screaming from the way he shoved you. 

“You shouldn’t take that shit,” Dean states from beside you. 

“I’m not anymore,” you admit weakly, you had finally listened to what he told you a few weeks ago and told Brock where to shove it.

“Good,” he mutters gruffly, sipping his drink. You notice cuts and scrapes along his hands.

“What happened to you?” You ask meekly.

“Hunt,” he mutters and sips his drink. 

“Oh,” you mumble.

“You need help getting your stuff?”

“I’ll get it all eventually,” you mumble.

“I’ll help you,” Dean offers.

“You sure?” you ask.

“I’m sure,”

“He shouldn’t be home tonight, if you aren’t doing anything,” you say. He nods and you drive back to the house. Dean helps you pack the rest of your things into your car.

“Thank you,” you grin up at him.

“You do have somewhere to go, right?” he asks, looking at you, concern in his voice.

“I’ll figure it out,” you shrug.

“Maybe, you could stay with Sam and I at the bunker? I know you probably have hunts, but it can be a sort of home base,” Dean offers.

“I’ll need to think about it Dean,” you smile.

“Just know the door is open for you,” he says.

Mmm. No, no, baby Come here, baby Lemme light up your world

You grin up at Dean, you broke up with Brock just over a year ago, moved into the bunker with the Winchesters and started hunting with them. Things were awkward at first, but you grew comfortable together and a few months after you moved in Dean asked you on a date. You said yes and you soon found out what a truly good man was.

“Are you two going to the bar tonight?” Sam asks from the door of your bedroom.

“I’m not, I just want to lay here all night,” you answer.

“I’m staying here too,” Dean grins.

“Alright,” Sam mumbles and walks away from your room.

“You wanna play pool?” Dean asks.

“Of course,” you smile up at him. You two never play pool when Sam is home, you’re afraid you and Dean will get too into the game and the bets will get ugly; sometimes you play at the bar which is never as eventful.

“If you win, I’ll do whatever you want in the bedroom for a month,” Dean smirks.

“If you win, I’ll cook whatever you want for two weeks,” you grin.

“That’s not fair,” he groans.

“I think it is,” you smile innocently.

“Fine,” he grins and you start playing. In the end you won, you had learned from the best.

[overwatch-me-cry-blog]

The Sins of Lazarus

Author’s note here! This is my first Overwatch fanfiction, so I would really appreciate feedback. I plan on making this longer, and eventually linking my AO3. I plan on making it multiship, but it is a slow burn so bear with me.

They thought I would forget.

She smiled wryly as she hauled the rifle up to her shoulder.

They thought I would forgive.

Her fingers curled around the trigger as the target came into sight. She held her breath as she held the rifle steady, lining up the man’s head in the crosshairs. A heartbeat of silence passed and she pulled the trigger, releasing the breath she held as the bullet found its mark. Her aim had proven true, and the well dressed man lay with a hole in his forehead.

I’ve never been the gracious type.

The pier bustled with activity in the cool September afternoon. Merchants sold their goods from makeshift stands as dockhands brought in the cargo from trade vessels. The air held a faint chill, a constant reminder that fall was quickly drawing to a close. The chill, however, did nothing to dissuade the throngs of people bustling about the Italian city. In the midst of the crowd, Hanzo Shimada and Hana Song posed as tourists, decked out in civilian garb. Their mission was to pose as siblings visiting from Japan, and to learn as much about the area as possible. Locals were, overall, a great source of gossip.

Upon further inspection of the two, Hana seemed more approachable with her bubbly demeanor and sweet smile, whereas Hanzo’s gruff mug and perpetual frown acted as a deterrent for social interaction. He had made an effort to seem more approachable, but inevitably the locals were more drawn to Hana.

She had easily learned the language with the help of her tech, and so she spoke fluently with the locals. Hanzo, giving up on the sociable approach, busied himself by sketching out the piers into his notebook, as well as jotting down bits of information that stood out. Hana joined him on the bench and muttered a soft curse in Japanese.

“I feel like we’re getting nowhere.” Hana pouted. “We haven’t learned hardly anything new since this morning.” Hanzo chuckled at the teenager’s impatience.

“From one thing, know ten thousand things.”

“You sound so old.” she quipped.

“I am old,” he chuckled, “I am also experienced.”

Hana continued to pout as Hanzo finished a few sketches. He felt her anticipation and smiled. He remembered being young, insatiable for action and too eager for his own good. Not that it did him much good.

But she is not you, now is she?

“Perhaps we should eat” Hanzo offered. Hana nodded eagerly, stomach growling in anticipation.

“People are also way more like to talk when they’re full of good food.” Hana chimed hopefully. And so the two set off in search of a decent meal.

The warehouses surrounding the piers seemed like the perfect place to conduct almost any type of illegal activity. Soldier 76 had busied himself with studying the layout of the warehouses and finding blindspots in the security cameras. He had placed a few of his own in strategic places, which transmitted video feed to his tactical visor. He felt exposed without his trademark leather jacket and energy rifle, but he could hardly pass himself off as a building inspector dressed as the notorious Jack Morrison. He had changed into cargo pants and a black t-shirt to blend in with the working class crowd. For this mission, he had been assigned the Commanding officer over a few talented Overwatch agents and outfitted with an A.I. that he had uploaded into his headset.

“Athena, give me an update on the video feed.”

“The video feed is fully functional and total surveillance efficiency has been improved to 85 percent.” the artificial voice chimed back. 76 Hummed in satisfaction. Getting clearance to set up extra camera’s had been easy. He told a smooth lie about being sent from headquarters to beef up security due to a loss of shipments. He didn’t know whether it was his militaristic demeanor or the visor giving him a qualified air, but he had been given access with very few questions asked. He checked the list of blindspots Athena had compiled for him and proceeded to the next one. It would be nice to pull surveillance from the authorities, but currently the world was apprehensive about the return of Overwatch, and such activity would probably alert the enemy. It’s your own damn fault, Jack. he muttered to himself as he began installing another set of cameras.

McCree sighed as he plopped down on the couch in the hotel room. It was his job to stay and make sure no one infiltrated their quarters while the others combed the area for information.

“Important job, my ass.” McCree swore as he flipped through the television stations. Practically everything was in Italian, and he barely knew basic conversational bits of the language. On top of that he had to swap out his cowboy garb for civilian clothing, which bothered him more than he would like to admit. He had insisted on keeping the boots and the hat, opting instead to swap the serape and chapps for a white button down and jeans. After flipping through the plethora soap operas he couldn’t understand and spaghetti westerns McCree finally switched off the television. He stood and stretched, grinning when his back popped.

“I think that bar needs some old fashioned investigatin’” he said to himself with grin. After quickly inspecting himself in the mirror, McCree grabbed his wallet and his phone and headed out.

McCree found himself in a cozy and modern style bar, and took a seat at the counter. He used Apollo to translate all the drink options and prices before waving the bartender over.

“Ya’ll got any whiskey?” he asked, silently praying that the bartender spoke at least some English, he couldn’t pronounce any of the foreign words to save his life. The bartender nodded and pulled out a glass from under the counter before filling it up with the amber liquid.

“So, what’s the word around these parts?” he asked as he took a sip. The bartender raised an eyebrow.

“Depends what you’re looking for, cowboy.” he said with a grin. Upon further inspection, McCree observed that the man had sweet sun kissed skin, olive green eyes, and black hair pulled back into a messy bun. He looked around twenty with a youthful complexion and a charmingly smooth face. Jesse decided he didn’t mind being stranded at the hotel after all.

“Well, I’m stranded here for a bit, and I was hoping to get a little sightseein’ done.” he paused a moment. “From where I’m sittin’, it looks like I’ve got quite a view.” The bartender blushed a lovely color and grinned to himself.

“My name is Lorenzo, just by the way.” The lad sheepishly admitted, with his Italian accent becoming more prominent the more he was flustered. McCree smiled and tipped his hat.

“Jesse.”

Maybe I can get a little info my way. He grinned at the thought.

The docks were eerily quiet as the strike team positioned themselves. The objective was simple, to interrupt the illegal sale of technology, apprehend or eliminate all suspects, and to secure the payload. After reviewing the layout of the docks, it was decided Hanzo would clear the rooftops of any snipers and provide cover. McCree and Soldier 76 were to clear out the lower floors of buildings adjacent to the reported drop site, while Hana was to protect an alleyway that provided cover and an easy escape in the event that something went horribly wrong.

Hanzo stealthily crawled up the fire escape, heaving himself onto the roof of a five story warehouse complex. He kept low while he scanned the roof for hostiles and any forms of cover. Upon finding that the roof was clear, he began to set up the signal interceptor. Athena had explained that it would block all forms of communication except for their own, thus preventing any agents he ran into from alerting the rest of the men to his presence. Once the interceptor was fully functional, Hanzo stood and quickly scanned the tops of the surrounding buildings.

“Sir, the signal interceptor is in place and fully functional.” Hanzo reported through his headset.

“Good work,” 76’s gravelly voice replied, “now secure the rest of the area.”

“Hai.” Hanzo replied before drawing gaining a running start. With a huff Hanzo leaped across the rooftop and landed with a roll. Upon spotting an enemy, Hanzo drew his bow. The arrow pierced the guard’s throat before he had a chance to call out. The guard dropped to the ground with a gurgling noise as blood began to pool around him. The method was grossly messy, but it effectively silenced his prey. With a grunt, Hanzo retrieved the arrow before notching it again. One after another, Hanzo cleared the roof of hostiles.

Like target practice.

“Sir, the roof is secure.” Hanzo’s voice sounded in the comms. 76 barked out an order to keep the roof secure while he swept another room. The warehouses had been vacated of civilians, and now the only life forms that his visor reported were the henchmen of whatever gang that had decided to buy technology from Talon.

Goddamn idiots.

“McCree.” he kept his voice low.

“Ya, boss?”

“My visor’s picking up three in the room ahead.” McCree nodded and cocked his pistol as 76 crept up to the door. He waited until McCree was in position behind him before he kicked down the door. They had caught the goons off guard, and 76 dropped the first with a shot to the chest. The second had recovered from the initial shock in order to fire off a few rounds. 76 ran along the side of the room while McCree covered him from the doorway. McCree used 76’s distraction to fire a round into the second’s skull. The third didn’t stand a chance, with two trained killer converging he desperately tried to radio for help. 76 used his rifle to bash him across the head before firing off a shot into his chest at point blank range. The man sank to the floor, face still etched in fear. McCree leaned down to rummage through the bodies for anything useful while 76 scanned the street below from the window.

“D.va, status report.” 76 barked into the headset.

“The escape route and the alleyway are secure.”

“Any resistance?”

“Nothing I couldn’t handle.”

Satisfied with Hana’s report, he turned towards McCree.

“Find anything useful?”

“Well other than a couple of euros, no nothin’.”

“No identification?”

“Nada, seems they knew better than to bring their ID to an illegal operation.”

McCree frowned They were dealing with professionals, no doubt. None of the foot soldiers had identification, and while they dressed similarly, there was no unifying symbol or recognizable crest to link them to a specific gang or organization. Gangs typically brandished their colors or marks at every turn, taking pride in being recognized. These men, though, these men were expendable unidentifiable soldiers sent to procure a payload for some unseen puppet master. He was used to gangs trying to seem bigger than they were by flirting with terrorism for firepower.

It ain’t worth it, never is.

“Let’s move out, we’ve got a few more floors to clear.”

“Right behind ya.”

An hour had passed since McCree and Soldier 76 had finished clearing out the building, and thanks to D.va’s expertise with tech, the strike team had taken control of the enemy’s communication lines once Hanzo had dismantled the signal interceptor. Hanzo was perched on the roof overlooking the docks, tensed and waiting.

“Hanzo, the target is approaching, get your arrows ready.” Hana’s voice chimed from the headset.

“Understood.” he said as he drew his bow. He pulled a particularly deadly arrow from his quiver and positioned himself so that he could observe the happenings at the docks while still remaining under cover.

“It is my understanding that the leader of the gang here was supposed to meet with the target.” Hana continued, “So who is it gunna be?”

“I’ll do it.” 76 volunteered.

“With all due respect, bossman, with that rifle and that mug, ain’t no doubt they’ll recognize you as a the vigilante and think something here smells fishier than a cheap whorehouse.” McCree interjected. A deadly silence filled the comms.

“McCree has a point, commander.” Hanzo said.

“So it looks like McCree needs to be the one to do it, since Hanzo is our cover fire and I’m covering our escape route.” Hana said.

“Understood, McCree get out there, and whatever you do don’t screw this up.” 76 warned. McCree made his way to the alleyway and handed a confused D.va hit hat and serape.

“I’d stick out like a sore thumb.” He said as he shrugged on a jacket and knit hood he’d nicked from one of the many dead thugs. He then walked over to sit on a concrete divider to wait for the target.

The black SUV pulled up to the docks, stopping near McCree. A man clad in a gray business suit exited the passenger side and made his way towards him.

“Howdy.” he called out towards the man. The man frowned, unamused by McCree’s appearance.

“Until the lion learns to write.” the man said, looking at McCree expectantly. McCree grinned and lit a cigar.

“Every story will glorify the hunter.” he said smoothly.

Countersigns, huh? These fools ain’t messing around.

“Where are your men?”

“Hidden.”

“What have you been told?”

“That you’re to buy some mighty important cargo, and my men and I are to guard you and the payload with our lives. No more, no less.” McCree was no stranger to lying or illegal dealings. Typically the grunts that guarded or escorted weren’t given much information. If it was above their paygrade and wasn’t necessary for them to know in order to do their job, they were left out of the loop. Plausible deniability and what have you. Regardless, the man looked pleased with McCree’s answers and began giving orders to those in the SUV. Upon further inspection, McCree noted that the man was undoubtedly American. He had short brown hair with a stubborn cowlick and a northern American accent that became more discernible the more he spoke.  

“The payload is incoming.” Hanzo said.

“Get ready.” 76 growled.

A black van approached the site slowly before stopping next to the parked SUV. It was followed by two more SUV’s. Two men exited the van wearing headsets and heavily armored vests, followed by roughly six men from each SUV. McCree noticed the familiar insignia on the sleeve of the one nearest to him. Talon agents. The men talked in hushed tones before a large metal case was taken out of the SUV and transferred to one of the Talon agents. He opened it to confirm the contents before leading the men to the side of the van. The door opened to reveal about a dozen or so crates. The American in the suit motioned for one of the Talon agents to open one of the crates. It seemed neither party fully trusted one another. Once the crate had been opened, McCree snuck a glance at the contents.

“Man, that sure is some fancy tech.”

Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, the American’s head practically exploded in a shower of blood and gore. It took him a split second for the scene to process. The target had been taken out by a sniper that was almost certainly a third party.

Aw hell.

McCree dove for cover behind the cement divider, drawing his weapon.

“McCree, what the fuck is going on.” Soldier 76 shouted over the comms.

“The hell if I know”

A second shot rang out, and the driver of the black van slumped forward onto the steering wheel. McCree used the distraction to shoot SUV that had tried to make a getaway. The driver lost control, and the van swerved into a shipping container.

“Commander, see if you can use the thermal vision in your visor to spot the sniper.” Hana said.

“On my way.”

A moment later, 76 burst through the window of a second floor building. He landed with a roll before sprinting towards McCree. The remaining Talon agents took cover behind their vehicles while the firefight ensued.

“Hanzo, now would be a great time for that cover.” McCree shouted as he shot off a few more rounds. They were converging on his inadequate cover, and 76 was preoccupied with finding and eliminating the sniper.

Hanzo gritted his teeth as he shot off arrow after arrow. He notched an explosive arrow, ducking just in time to miss a spray of bullets. He took in a deep breath before pushing himself away from the cover and aimed the arrow at the SUV that many of the Talon agents had taken cover behind. It landed in the side of the car, and shortly after it exploded in a shower of fire and sparks. The men who could scrambled away as the car caught fire.

“Cover provided.”

76 scanned the surrounding area, desperately searching for the discoloration that was indicative of human life. He ran through the maze of shipping containers and warehouses, growing more infuriated when his searched turned up empty handed. He stopped when he reached the ships and held a hand to his comm.

“D.va, report.”

“Escape route clear, commander. Not that we need it now.”

“McCree, report.”

“The payload is secure, and unfortunately none of these goons wanted to come willing, so someone should call the undertaker.”

“Hanzo, report.

“Sir, all is clear, ready to set the beacon for the dropship.”

“Alright team, well done. Group up at the payload.”

The soldier reluctantly made his way towards the payload. Despite the intrusion of the unknown sniper, the strike team had secured the shipment of technology and eliminated several Talon operatives. As he neared the the gaggle of Overwatch agents he began shouting out orders.

“D.va, setup the evac beacon and prepare the payload for extraction.”

“Yes, sir.”

“McCree, search the bodies, see if you can find any identification or useful information on them.”

“Sure thing, boss.”

“That’s ‘sir’ to you.” He growled. McCree waved him off with a sarcastic salute. He rubbed his temples and finally registered how many people lay dead. With Overwatch constantly struggling for legal recognition and the escape the disastrous image that the fall of Overwatch had left, this almost guaranteed a few stacks of paperwork and a meeting with an Italian ambassador.

Goddamn idiots. He mumbled to himself.