#i knew the boxes were way lighter and less full
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puffs has shrinkflated tissues by almost 30% and walmart still sells them with the 72 label on the thumbnail. yikes!
#can i sue walmart for this#i knew the boxes were way lighter and less full#should i use my free blaze on this
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Right Where You Left Me
Pt 3: Being So Normal
Ellie Williams x Reader
Horror pushes tears from my eyes as I uncover the corpses of your past relationships. Each of them dead and lifeless as the next. Because that is what you do, you ruin what is good and it makes me miss you less and less as everyday goes by.
Premise: You and Ellie were childhood friends until you drifted apart. Funny thing about soulmates is that they tend to find their way back to each other. On this night some questionable choices lead you to a vulnerable state where you run out of options.
Warnings: Angst / reader has religious issues / drinking / smoking / drugs
Part one here!
Part two here!
Part three here!
ELLIE
It wasn't as fun as I thought to watch you fall apart.
The morning after Christmas you left before I even woke, your makeshift bed made. You gathered all of the boxes of shit I collected off your dad's lawn and took off, leaving behind nothing more than a letter thanking my dad for his hospitality.Â
When I came back to Northridge a week later it was like I was looking at a new person.Â
Everything that had happened was swept under the rug, you lied and told the girls that you had a great Christmas. You started picking up overtime shifts, you were out more than you were at home.
I watch you stumble through the doors at five AM, makeup smeared, hair a mess and the fakest smile I have ever borne witness to, plastered across your face. You worked the closing shift almost every night and would go partying afterwards with your shitty co-workers who enabled this type of ruination.
I saw your stories too, shot after shot, In every single picture you nurse a drink in your hand or a cigarette wedged between your fingers. When did you even start smoking?
Abby and Cat didn't know just had bad you were but Dina was catching on. I remember how she would go out with you at the beginning, in her mind it had just been harmless fun until it was a nightly occurrence she started to get concerned.
It's like you've euthanized the person you used to be.
You can't even stand to be in a quiet room so you will it with nonsense conversation, hardly even words and laugh at your own jokes.
You used to glow. Back in middle school, you glowed like a candle that smelled of pumpkins and lattes, your love felt like sinking into a warm bath, comfort and security. In high school you glowed like the moon, no one could pry their wondering eyes away from your nerve-wracking beauty, gentle and empathetic.
Though now you do not glow, you burn. You burn like the end of a cigarette, the bud fluttering to the ground just to be crushed by the heel of muddy Converse. The spark of a lighter to ignite your stale menthol cigarette, slipped from bony fingers like clumsy matchsticks to the wilderness, to set what once was beautiful aflame.
Fire is only beautiful while it burns, I knew that soon you would smother yourself out to ashes.
I've been nourishing my withering body with 50-cent packets of ramen noodles.Â
I know that I'm not well, in fact, I think I've fallen off the rails.
When was the last time I got a full night of sleep? I'm not sure.
My days and nights bleed together and I can hardly differentiate the two. I hate everyone but I'm so starved for love I am searching everywhere for it, I look for it in dingy clubs and roadkill off the side of a highway, the bottom of a solo cup and the arms of one-night stands, I have even learned to lick it off silver knives. They have taken the rosery from my hand and replaced it with hard liquor.
I went out last night to forget like I do every single night. I look to the moon and pretend it is its being with thoughts and feelings, I act like I talk to it and it has said that it shines just for me.
Tonight, I will go out again. I smear glitter over my eyelids and slip into a silver sequin dress that doesn't even fall past my fingertips. I force my scabbed and bleeding feet into white stilettos that are sure to damage them even further. When I look in the mirror I feel a new sense of bitterness, like nicotine on the tip of my tongue, my face is thinning and my eyes are sunken in, dark bags hanging below the dull irisis. I cover it in concealer and bronze my face to help me look some sort of alive.
"Where are you going?" Dina asks me as I walk from my room and towards the front door, she has a tote bag packed up, her car keys in hand.
"The Monarch," I answer, it was a club on the main street, it tended to be the busiest also infamous for sketchy activity. My eyebrows furrow as I look at the tote bag in hand "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to Jesse's for the night, " She says, tonight her hair is loose and falling over her shoulders "Are you sure you wanna go out tonight?"
I nod, suddenly feeling vulnerable in my choice of clothing "Yeah," Sensing her judgement, I'm already getting defensive "I'm in college, all I do and go to work and school-
"Who's fault is that?" Dina cuts me off and my words fail me, I don't know what to say. She looks at me with disappointment glinting in her dark eyes.
My phone dings and I check the notification "My ride is here."
"Don't stay out too late."
"I won't," We both know that I am lying.
I have been many things over the years, a pirate, a cowboy, a warrior; over the past five months alone I have been a lonely girl and a saint, now I am a drunk who drowns out her worries in vodka and overly sweet cocktails.
"To being young, dumb, and broke!" Kayla raises her shot, and the rest of the group does the same. The small glasses clink together, and some of the vodka spills before we all swallow them back and slam them back onto the bar.
The central focal point was the expansive dance floor, alive with bodies moving in rhythmic unison. Multicoloured strobe lights cut through the haze, creating an otherworldly atmosphere.
The bar, a gleaming expanse of polished metal, beckoned with the promise of libations. Bartenders, clad in stylish attire, skillfully craft cocktails. The mirrored backdrop reflected the kaleidoscope of lights and the animated conversations that unfolded in this hub of social convergence.
Overhead, suspended fixtures resembling metallic sculptures add to the overstimulation.
"Welcome back," The bartender, Mitch, smiles at me, I know him by name now that I've been bouncing around from club to club almost every night. "Long Island ice tea?" He asks, to which I respond with a nod. He's memorized my drink too.
Kayla is beside me while the others have dispersed to dance or converse, she sips a dirty martini. Her beautiful copper hair is styled into loose curls, she is clad in all black, a tube top, a mini skirt and tall boots as well as a slightly oversized leather jacket thrown overtop. She looks like the definition of a cool girl.
Everyone liked her.Â
"So how are things with the roommates?" She asks me, her green eyes piercing mine, she has a slight smile on her perfect lips.
"It's fine," I lied, again. I knew Dina was getting tired of taking care of me when I was too drunk to make my own way home, all of the girls that Ellie brought over hated me. I haven't been seeing much of Abby but Cat and I were actually good.
I can tell that Kayla doubts my words but she carries on to another topic "Are you ready to get fucked up tonight?"
"Yes, ma'am," I giggle. Around the curved bar, I see a woman, she's in a red top and black jeans, her hair in a mousy brown shag cut. Obviously, she caught my eye. "Do you think she's gay?"
Kayla discreetly turns to look at the woman, she turns back to me grinning "No shit."
The woman catches me staring at her and smiles at me, of course, she has perfectly straight white teeth and a pretty smile. I sheepishly smile back "Hey, Mitch?" I wait for the bartender to give me his attention "Two shots of Everclear?"
That's how the majority of my night plays out; I dance for a minute, swaying to- not really swaying, I was dancing in a way that became a hazard to those around me then return to the bar to down more drinks.
"Hey," I hear a voice beside me, it isn't one I recognize, and when I face it, I feel my heartbeat pick up. It was the woman I had been eyeing, now that she's this close I can see the freckles scattered on her face. "Do you wanna dance?"
I can't help when my face splits into a smile, "For sure," I slip off the barstool and follow her onto the dancefloor, the lights are orange and hazy or maybe the haziness is caused by my drunken state. The woman says something to me but it's drowned out by the overwhelmingly loud music "What?"Â
"I'm Karris," She repeats, smiling down at me.
"Cool!" I say. I followed Karris' lead with the dancing, she had a certain confidence in her.Â
I swayed with each ungraceful movement. Karris, the opposite of me is attuned to the music, moved with a confident fluidity that balanced out my careless stumbles. She laughs at my dancing "Here, I'll help you out." She shouts, trying to be heard over the Rhianna song blasting in my ears.
She comes up behind me, snaking her hands down my torso until they find a resting spot on my hips. With a firm grip, she slows me down, and now I'm moving with her, as one.
My sequin dress shimmered with every twist and move, like a mirrorball, I too might hang. As the light shifts I could've sworn I saw Ellie in the face of Karris.Â
I felt the liquor hit me all at once and my body became loose, melting into Karris, I'm almost limp against her touch. She's in front of me now and my arms are hooked around her neck while her slim hands lay on her midriff.Â
Her eyebrows furrow as she says something to me but once again it it lost in all of the noise, I just laugh, pretending like I heard what she was saying and hoping that it wasn't something about her dog dying.
The pop song changes into some song in French, I can't make out the words. Wait, I aced every French test in high school, I step away from Karris, squinting my eyes as I stand still in the middle of the dancefloor trying to process the lyrics.
 Je veux te voir- I need you, no, that doesn't sound right. I want to see you, that's it.Â
 je veux t'avoir- I want to hold you.
I want to hold you? Is that it? When did my French get so rough? I can't even think straight.
I swear on every god I was so drunk that I forgot I was in the middle of a dancefloor, it had slipped from my mind that I was dancing with someone, and all I could think about was my French classes from high school.
Age fifteen - Grade 10
The French lesson seemed to be even more boring than usual that day. Monsieur Cargin was babbling on and on about how there could be a room full of women but if there was one male rat you would refer to them using ils instead of elles. It was the same lesson I had learned every single year in French.
It took Monsieur Cargin thirty minutes to announce the project. "Pour ce devoir, vous Ă©crirez une lettre Ă un camarade de classe sur vous-mĂȘme, vous pourrez inclure des informations sur votre famille, vos passe-temps, vos sujets prĂ©fĂ©rĂ©s et peut-ĂȘtre un bon souvenir. Si vous ĂȘtes ami avec votre partenaire, vous pouvez Ă©crire avec lui sur quelque chose que vous attendez avec impatience. La lettre fera au minimum un paragraphe, je viserais plus haut si vous voulez une bonne note." Easy enough, a letter to a classmate about your self. "Avant de demander, vous pouvez choisir vos propres partenaires."
I look right over to Ellie from across the room after he mentions choosing our own partners, she doesn't meet my gaze though, she looks as lost as ever, rifling through some papers in her binder and I'm not even sure she understood a word of what the teacher said.
Monsieur Cargin lets us begin our project, everyone gets up from their seat to search for a partner; Ellie, seeing that everyone is standing up, gets up as well. I wave her down to my desk, she crouches beside it and asks "What the fuck are we supposed to be doing?"
I explain the project to her while she hangs off my desk and nods at everything I'm saying, giving me her full attention "Do you get it now?"
"Yes."Â
The next day we finished writing the letters and had to give them to each other before we turned it in, I gave Ellie my letter first.
Ellie,
Je suis heureux que nous soyons amis, non seulement parce que nos parents nous ont forcĂ©s Ă l'ĂȘtre, mais parce que tu es mon Ăąme sĆur dans chaque vie. J'aimerais te parler de moi, mais tu me connais dĂ©jĂ mieux que moi-mĂȘme, alors je vais juste dire certaines choses que je sais sur toi. Vous avez lu chaque couverture de la bande dessinĂ©e Savage Starlight, plus d'une fois. Je sais que vous aimez faire du shopping dans la section hommes des magasins parce que vous pensez que c'est plus confortable mĂȘme si vous finissez par ressembler Ă Adam Sandler. Vous dĂ©testez les mathĂ©matiques mĂȘme si vous ĂȘtes vraiment bon dans ce domaine et vous aimez l'anglais mĂȘme si vous dĂ©testez les Ă©tudes romanesques. Vous parlez Ă toute vitesse parce que vous avez tellement de choses Ă dire et pas assez de temps pour le dire, vous chantez comme une Ă©glise avec une chorale et chaque fois que je vous vois entrer dans une piĂšce, je ne peux m'empĂȘcher de sourire. J'ai hĂąte d'entrer Ă l'universitĂ©, nous pouvons ĂȘtre colocataires et dĂ©corer la maison exactement comme nous le voulons, merci de toujours me supporter.
(Translation)
Ellie,
I'm glad that we're friends, not just because our parents forced us to be but because you are my soulmate in every single life. I would like to tell you about me, but you already know me better than I know myself so instead I will just say some things I know about you. You have read every Savage Starlight comic cover to cover, more than once. I know that you like to shop in the men's section at stores because you think it's more comfortable even if you end up looking like Adam Sandler. You hate math even though you are really good at it and you love English even though you hate novel studies. You talk at a mile a minute because you have so much to say and not enough time to say it, you sing like a church with a choir in it and every time I see you walk into a room I can't help but smile. I can't wait for college, we can be roommates and decorate the house exactly how we want it, thank you for always putting up with me.
I bent the rubric a little bit, talking about Ellie rather than myself but we were really getting graded on our French comprehension, not the subject matter of the letter. Ellie read it through, over and over, nodding her head along and pretending that it made perfect sense but I can tell by the way she squints her eyes and furrows her eyebrows that it doesn't make sense. She hand hers to me next, pride clear across her face.
Ton pĂšre est toujours en colĂšre et je pense que c'est pour ça que nous sommes mariĂ©s. J'apprĂ©cie quand tu dors dans ma chambre et que nous nous battons avec des pistolets Ă eau. Mon film prĂ©fĂ©rĂ© Ă regarder est Star Wars, mais j'apprĂ©cie aussi Hunger Games parce que vous en ĂȘtes tĂ©moin. J'attends avec impatience une soirĂ©e cinĂ©ma ce vendredi avec vous. Tu es trĂšs cool, merci d'ĂȘtre mon ami.
(Translation)
Your dad is always mad and I think that is why we are married. I enjoy when you sleep at my room and we fight with guns of water. My favourite movie to watch is Star Wars but I also enjoy Hunger games because you witness it. I look forward to night movie this Friday because with you. You are very cool, thank for being my friend.
I can't help but giggle when I read it over, this causes panic in Ellie "Why are you laughing, what's wrong with it?"
"I love you but you are definitely failing."
I quickly helped her rewrite it before we turned it in, and she ended up getting a B with my revisions.
"Are you okay?" I hear Karris, she looks a little on edge, probably because I went nonverbal and froze for a solid minute or two.
"She's fine," Kayla puts her hands on either of my arms which are currently plastered to my side "I'm just gonna snag her for a minute if you don't mind." Kayla didn't wait for a response she was already dragging me away, guiding me through the sea of people and into the bathroom.
I always hated the bathroom here. The walls were black tile with white grout and there was graffiti all over the stalls and ceiling, apparently, it added to the effect, I just thought it was fugly; not to mention how dimly lit it was, there were red LED strips behind the mirrors but that was about the only light source. If you were trying to fix your eyeliner, youÂ
"What is going on with you?" Kayla leans against the counter with the sinks, I'm right in front of her with my arms crossed.
"Nothing-
"I just saw you glitch in real life," She raises her eyebrows "You literally froze, I thought you were having a stroke."
I wipe some sweat off my brow "My head hurts," I mutter, I've already had too much to drink and we really hadn't been there that long. My thoughts didn't seem to process. Now keep in mind that I was so insanely plastered that night that I don't remember everything verbatim, I had to take others' words for what happened.
"Do you want an aspirin?" Kayla asks to which I nod and she begins digging through her purse, she pulls out a little bottle and I hear the rattling of pills. It's so dark that I can only make out the vague shape of the bottle. She places a little pill into my hand and gives me a half-drunk bottle of Fiji water in my free hand.
I don't need the water though, I dry swallow it.
She tucks the bottle back into her purse and feels something, I see her eyes go wide and that alone begins to stress me out. "What?" I ask, with no answer. She dumps her purse onto the counter behind her and turns on her phone flash to look at each item, she snatches a bottle of Tylenol and takes the cap off just for her hand to fly over her mouth. "Is something wrong?"
"I didn't give you aspirin," She's fighting back laughter but her dainty features are etched with concern.
"So?" I say, "It's just Tylenol, it won't kill me," My speech is slurred from the alcohol in my system.
"Honey, it's not Tylenol," She lowers her hand from her mouth, pressing her lips together tight. "It's MDMA."
"What?"
"Ecstasy," She corrects herself, making it easier for me to understand.
"WHAT?" My eyes go wide and my jaw drops "WHAT?" I repeat, running over to one of the nasty graffiti-covered stalls and kneeling in front of it, sticking my fingers down my throat to try and throw up to get it out of my system before it sets in. "Say something gross to make me throw up!"
"Uhh," Kayla stood behind me "Think of your dad getting off with your grandma!"
"EW!" I shout, turning to look at her with disgust on my face. "Why would you say that?"
"You told me to say something gross!"
"Not that!" I cry, slouching against the stall. I wish I had a time machine, I wouldn't just go back four hours, I would go back four years and make sure I play everything right. Maybe then I wouldn't be drunk and high in the bathroom of a dingy nightclub and I would still have Ellie.
"It's okay, honey, It's clean," Kayla walks closer to me, the heels of her boots clacking on the tile "I promise," She offers me a little rub on the shoulder "I promise I'll take good care of you tonight and make sure you're safe."
She was lying through her teeth, and just an hour later I was face down on the bar, lulling in and out of consciousness. That is the exact moment I started to think it wasn't clean like Kayla had said. My high didn't feel like what I was told rolling was like.
At first, I felt fine and then everything started to feel off. You know when you spin around a bunch super fast and your world spins under your feet? It was like that.Â
Before I retired to the bar, I tried to get back on the dancefloor just for my body to betray me and collapse onto the ground, people around me had stopped to watch me stagger back onto my feet and wordlessly stumble away.
After I lift my head off the spruce bartop and don't see Kayla anywhere in sight for the seventh time, I reach for my phone that I had stuffed into my bra and dial up Dina.Â
I hear the hum of the tone before it clicks and I hear her static voice on the other end. "Hello?" Her voice crackles.
"Dina, I'm on drugs."
"What?" I hear some shuffling in the background then what sounds like the click of a door "What drugs? are you okay?"
"I don't know," My voice drags out "Kayla took it out of her purse, said it was MMA and I'm not-" I hiccup "I'm not doing well."
"What the hell is MMA? Isn't that mixed martial arts?"
"Dina, I'm not doing martial arts, I'm doing drugs."
She sighs and I can feel her disappointment through the phone "Are you still at Monarch?"
"Yes."
"Hang on," Something shifts in the background.
"I'm kind of scared."
"Please just stay where you are-
"I love you, Dina."
"I lo- CLICK
My phone dies, and the screen turns black. I click some buttons for a moment to ensure that it's dead before I tuck it back into my bra and let myself lull back onto the bar, I rest my head on my arms and look at the displays of liquor surrounding me.
I lose track of the time that passes, in my head I am just about the win the 72nd Hunger Games, it's down to me and another tribute. There's an intense fight, I wind up underneath her and she presses a blade to my throat, I get a good look at her face and see Ellie but her face doesn't stay the same. It morphs through every version of her I had ever known. When we were seven, her grunge phase, when she let me do her makeup. This is when I give up, I know I don't have it in me to kill her so I lay limp and await my fate-
"Hey," A man sits next to me, his presence stood out effortlessly. With a strong, chiselled jawline and well-defined features, his face carried an air of that old-money elegance. His hazel eyes were softened by something (alcohol, probably), drawing others into their captivating gaze. Dark, tousled hair framed his face, adding an intriguing touch of ruggedness. He is clad in a white button-up and dress pants, I can well he's a blue-collar man just from the way he sits.
"What?" I squint my eyes at him.
"You're really pretty, I thought I would introduce myself," He smiles "I'm Emmet."
"Okay," I answer turning my attention to look ahead at the liquor display, watching the way the lights shone through them. Right now I don't care to make conversation, even if he looks like Henry Cavell, I'm fighting to stay awake.
One of his bulky hands reaches for my necklace, four of his fingers are beneath the cross, pressed against it while his thumb rubs it "You're religious."
I look down where he cradles my cross and try to jerk away but my body feels too heavy "Not anymore," I mutter. I put one of my hands over his to move it off me, he takes this as an invitation to hold my hand.
Emmet brings his head next to mine to whisper in my ear "So does that mean you're a good girl or a bad girl-
"It means she's leaving, actually," Ellie pushes him away abruptly, he looks taken aback while she doesn't give a shit. She begins to gingerly help me off the stool "Do you have everything?"
"Why are you here?" I ask "I called Abby."
"You called Dina and she's on the other side of town with her boyfriend so she sent me." Ellie slings one arm around me and I sink into her immediately.
"I hate you so much," I murmur under my breath.
"Yeah, I bet you do," She is gentle with me, she's treating me like I'm made of porcelain and I'll shatter at the slightest bit of harm.
Emmet looks crazily offended, his hands up in defence "Hey, we were having a conversation-
"Borderline harassment doesn't constitute a conversation." Ellie looks like she rolled out of bed, she is in her grey sweatpants and field hockey hoodie, her hair in the low ponytail she always wore to sleep. "Are you okay?" She asks, her tone shifting from harsh to soft.
"Mhm," I ball my fist up and rub my eye, smearing my mascara when I do so, I look down at my hand and see the remnants of my telescopic mascara and silver glitter smudged on it.Â
I am killing myself slowly and it is no crucifixion.Â
As Ellie helps me into the back seat of her car I feel like mold is growing on my bones just to way me down to the concrete where I will surely rot. "I don't write enough," I mumble "And I'm so lonely I'm searching for god everywhere but I can't find him."
Ellie gives me a little hum of acknowledgment her eyes briefly shooting to me in the rearview mirror before looking back to the road.Â
"Don't worry, I'm not in love with you anymore," I say nonchalantly as I'm sprawled out in her back seat, watching the light from neon signs pass us by.
"I didn't know you ever were." She says softly, hands on the steering wheel, she steals glances at me. The towering skyscrapers loomed like sentinels, their reflective glass surfaces capturing the myriad colours of neon signs that adorned the streets.
"I hate you," I add on. The mix of liquor and whatever drug Kayla gave me was doing me justice, I couldn't hold back any thought, they all fell from my lips in a jumbled mess. "I hope you die, I hope we both die." Ellie doesn't have anything to say to that. I think to myself that if I die in this moment, I would not be afraid, I would greet death like an old friend with a bright smile and warm hug. "I don't love anyone the way I love you," My head lulls against the window "And your girls, they all hate me."
"So which is it?" She asks, feeding into my tangent "Do you love me or do you hate me?"
"I-" I think about it for a brief moment "I hope if I killed myself everyone who was ever mean to me felt responsible." I look up slightly, using the car seats to help me steady myself "What are you doing?"
"I'm taking you home," She says, biting the inside of her cheek "What are you doing?"
"I'm waiting for god to call me back."
I ramble on and on, it's a miracle that she didn't stop at the side of the road and dump me onto a curb. The traffic lights painted the road in hues of red and green, and the city lights flickered like stars, helping us find our way home.Â
"Ellie," I say, a building up ahead catches my eyes "Ellie, pull over!" She thinks I'm going to throw up so she pulls her gray sedan over, as swiftly as possible. I stumble out of the car, my stiletto heel catches the ground in a weird way, my ankle goes sideways and I fall with it.
"Shit," Ellie rushes from the driver's seat to help me sit up straight. I use her as support to pull myself off the concrete sidewalk completely and walk towards the church up ahead like a zombie "Where are you going?"
"To clean myself from sin," I approach the church and force the heavy doors open; I knew for a fact even in my state that this church had its chapel open twenty-four hours from all of the Google pins my mom sent me when I first moved here.Â
The chapel's interior was bathed in a soft, ethereal moonlight that filtered through stained glass windows, casting a kaleidoscope of colours upon the polished wooden pews below.Â
Smooth, cool stone formed the foundation of the chapel. The high, arched ceilings reached towards the heavens, adorned with wooden beams that seemed to cradle the sacred space below. The acoustics, shaped by the architecture, lent an echo to the moonlight whisper as if the very walls absorbed and magnified the prayers of the faithful.
Rows of meticulously arranged pews lined either side of a central aisle, leading towards the altar bathed in a soft glow. Carved with intricate detail, the altar served as the focal point, adorned with candles, floral arrangements, and sacred symbols. The air was scented with the subtle fragrance of incense, a sensory companion to the spiritual journey within.
Throughout the chapel, unlit candles are spread throughout. Above the altar, a crucifix hung solemnly, a symbol of sacrifice and redemption. Rays of moonlight seemed to converge upon it, imbuing the sacred symbol with a profound sense of grace.Â
I try to compose myself the way you would a song or a speech and fall to my knees before the altar, clasping my hands together tightly. "My God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart. In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good, I have sinned against you whom I should love above all things. I firmly intend, with your help, to do penance, to sin no more, and to avoid whatever leads me to sin. Our Savior Jesus Christ suffered and died for us. I wake young but feel as though my bones have resided on this earth for centuries."
I am at his altar but I don't feel him around me, where is his steady hand which used to guide me?
My hands grasp together even tighter "I am filthy, I'm disgusting," I choke out "I'm all used up and I need you to help me get better," I break my hands away from their position to wipe my eyes free of any oncoming tears before putting them right back "Fill me with your purity, I will be waterboarded by your sacred hand until holy water leaks from my pores."
Ellie hangs around by the entrance, sketched out by not only the creepy church but also my off-putting behaviour. She flinches at every shadow she sees, believing it to be a homeless person who was residing there for the night. I'm kneeling over in my sequin dress, one of the straps slips down my shoulder and my dress rides up, this is the most sinful I have ever been, synthetic sunshine coursing through my system.
"Make me love myself so I have room to love you," I feel so repulsive and dirty, soap and water won't make me feel clean so I'll try bleach and matches instead "I ask for Your mercy and grace to cleanse me from all unrighteousness. Create in me a clean heart, God, and renew a right spirit within me, return my family to my side."
I search for some sort of sign that he is watching over me.
Nothing.
No sign that he is here.
The priest at my old church in my hometown had said that without doubt there was no room for faith. It wasn't doubt, it was absolution, he is not here and so I unclasped my golden cross necklace and discarded it on the ground before the altar, never again will I be haunted by a man who has failed to ever show me mercy.
Ellie washes the grime off me with the detachable shower head. My hair is clipped up and I am hugging my knees, facing away from her in the bathtub. I feel a profound sense of shame and embarrassment all over again despite everything within me that is helping to take the edge off.Â
She holds the shower head but looks away to give me some false sense of dignity, I cried the whole way home from the church about being filthy but with how many times I had fallen over, she didn't want me to hit my head in the shower so we settled on this.
"I'm done," I mutter and right away Ellie turns the shower off and grabs my house robe from one of the hooks on the door, she holds it up and waits for me to stand, still averting her eyes. I stand slowly, gripping onto the rim of the tub for dear life. When I slip into it, Ellie helps me move out of the bathtub and into my bedroom.
She lifts me onto the bed and tucks me in beneath my satin duvet cover. Ellie leaves for a moment but when she returns she has a bowl in case I need to vomit, a class of water, a sleeve of saltines and a bottle of actual aspirin.
"Goodnight," She begins to shut the door but I stop her.
"Ellie?"
"Yeah?"
"Can you stay with me?" My voice breaks as I say it "Just for tonight, I don't want to be alone." Wordlessly, she shuts the door and comes around the right side of my bed; Ellie is careful keep her distance from me but unlike Christmas, we face each other. "I don't hate you." I tell her because that is all I could recall saying in the car ride.
"I know."
"Do you hate me?"
"Of course not."
I donât think Iâm a whole person anymore, I think Iâm made up from a dozen different perceptions of me. This version of me, born that night was anything but pure.
I am unlovely, so please, hold me gently and do not wreck me any further.
A/N: The drinking age in Canada is nineteen! They go to school in the true north strong and free. Also one more part left to go đ
Tag list!
@elliesaturnsoftdrink @elliesaesp @melanie-watermelon @yalaysbee @laundrybag29 @readbydayana @skylerwhitwyo @lmaoo-spiderman @joliettes @kittnii @taylorgracies @sameenatruther @mikellie @belles-hell
Sorry if I missed anyone!
#ellie williams#ellie williams fluff#ellie williams x you#the last of us#the last of us ellie#tlou#ellie the last of us#ellie williams x female reader#ellie williams x reader#abby anderson#ellie williams x reader fluff#ellie williams angst#ellie williams au#ellie x fem reader#ellie x reader#ellie tlou#joel and ellie#ellie x you#ellie x y/n#ellie williams x reader angst#angst#angst with a happy ending
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Guns nâ Roses đč
mafia boss ellabs
NSFW MDNI
tags: smut with plot, top!abby, bottom!ellie, talks of murder, brief smoking, slight implied pinning?, little bit of a power dynamic, pet names (gorgeous, good girl, slut), degrading & praise, fingering (e receive), oral (e receive)
not proof read (who actually doesâŠ)
The city has been divided in two for as long as anybody can remember. Gang violence ransacking Seattle for decades, not a day would go by without the sounds of sirens or gunshots. That's until two men stepped up to gain some control, Jerry Anderson and Joel Miller.
Sure, the men were at each others throats from the very first day. Both believed they knew what was right to control the gang scene and in the end, agreed to split the city in two. Each having their own personal agenda for their enterprise.
The tipping point was the death of Jerry Anderson, leading his daughter Abby to take his place.
After Jerry died via single gunshot to the forehead, war between their respective families began to escalate, Abby speculating it was the doing of the Millers. She wasn't wrong, taking a golf club to Joel's skull which promoted his daughter Ellie to take his place.
What's the saying? An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind?
Ellie shuts her office door behind her, letting out a heavy breath with a rub to her aching shoulders. She needed a massage, or maybe to get her back blown out a round or two. It's been a long ass week to say the least.
She pulls out a cigarette and lighter from her pocket, circling around to her desk. A commotion occurring on the other side of Ellie's door causing a crease to form between her brows. Soon enough the door is flinging open and Abigail Anderson in her suited glory pushes through, blood on her jacket and murder in her eyes. "Williams!" She shouts, less than happy to see the auburn haired girl.
"Ms. Anderson. What a... surprise" Ellies voice sounds far from surprised, almost disappointed as she snuffs out her cigarette while leaning back in her chair, legs manspread with her arms pulled back into a cross. Suit jacket open with the top buttons of her dress shirt undone, Ellie looks a wreck with that shit eating grin plastered on her face.
Abby's palms press into the grain of Ellie's desk, death stare into her soul. "The fucking audacity of you. A drive by! A fucking DRIVE BY?" A soft chuckle leaves the brutes throat, reminding Ellie that Abby is just a girl despite the tough exterior. "I mean come on, you didn't even have the balls to do it yourself?"
Ellie raises from her spot, disliking the fact Abby loomed over her. Her glare through thin lashes still small under the blondes height. "Didn't see the need. Unlike you, I actually try to cover up my kills" But that's untrue, Ellie knew she wouldn't be able to pull the trigger on Abby if it came to it.
Abby raises an eyebrow, disbelieving her answer but surprised regardless. "But where's the fun in that gorgeous? Seeing the life drain out of their eyes..." She trails off, clicking her tongue.
"So why'd you come here? Rub it in my face you survived? Have my shooters head in a box for me or something? Kill me? What's your angle Anderson?" Ellie leans in slightly, her head cocking to the side as she takes in Abby's massive figure.
Abby again lets out one of those pretty chuckles with a shake of her head, "So little faith. I just came to get you to tell me why the fuck you think you can kill me? Do you want my guys to come after yours? That would start a full blown war." The way Abby scolds Ellie sends a rush between her legs, pressing them together behind the desk while keeping up the act.
"A war started the moment you bashed in my father's head" Ellie presses her palms into the desk harder, hearing the wood creak under the pressure of her ange and horniness.Â
Abby leans in slightly with an innocent little grin, "So that's what it's about? You miss your daddy, do you now?" The way her lips pout with fake sympathy is so demeaning, making Ellie feel like a child. It's a turn on that she didn't know she had.
"Fuck. You" Ellie speaks through her teeth, "Is that all or is there something else you came here for?"
Abby smirks, eyes glossing up and down with a smirk before taking an inhale of air. "Normally when someone turns on me, I'd just take them out back and shoot them" She takes out her revolver, inspecting it in her palm before gently resting it on the desk, "But you're not just anyone, are you now?"
"What's your game here Anderson? If you're gonna shoot me, do it" The auburn haired woman barks as she sulks back in her skin, arms crossing with a hesitant look. While attempting to remain strong, it's getting harder to deny that pull.
Abby shakes her head a negative, "Such an attitude" Soon enough Abby's strong hands are gripping the sides of Ellie's cheeks, pressing them together and pulling the girl inches away from her face. "Almost like you're begging for me to fuck it out of you"
The breath from Ellie's lungs is almost vacuumed up in the whirlwind of emotions. The second heartbeat between her legs grows stronger and it has the strong woman melting in Abby's hands, "Tell me you want me" She whispers softly into Ellie's ears.
"Shut the fuck up and kiss me alrea-" As Ellie snaps back at Abby, their lips smash together in what's probably years of pent up sexual frustrations with one another. The forbidden fruits of having one another. Adam eating the apple that's now evident in every man's throat you glance, a reminder of shame.
"Clothes. Off. Now" Abby grits between kisses, nodding her head to the leather couch in Ellie's office. Quickly, she starts to take off her suit jacket, button up, and pants, watching as Abby undresses her top half too. "All of it" She adds when Ellie stopped at just her underwear.
Laying back on the couch, Ellies body is masked by Abby's. The blonde leaning over Ellie with their lips meeting once more. Their kiss is rushed, tangled in each others limbs, breath fanning face. It's a mess of a spectacle straight out of every disgusting straight man's dream porno.
For once Ellie doesn't have to hold a high standard of control. For once she's able to just lay back and let someone take the wheel. She feels small, buck ass naked underneath Abby, in her bra and slacks. "Abby-" Ellie grits between her teeth as the blonde sucks purple bruises into the pale flesh of her neck. Abby's hands not going where she needs them most, staying on her waist, hips and boobs but never traveling below the belt. It's tortue, a worse pain than being shot.
"Yes gorgeous girl?" Abby smirks against her skin while her hands trace up and down Ellie's side. "What is it?" Her kindness is simply a smoke screen as she pinches Ellie's neglected and sensitive nipple, causing her to whine while arching into Abby's huge hands.
There's a pathetic look on Ellie's brow. The way she's so desperate and on the verge of tears behind the stare that would have Abby dead if looks could kill. "I swear to fucking god- oh" A moan cuts Ellie's bitching off as soon as Abby's lips wrap around her breast. "Shit- just like that"
That cocky look on Abby's face would normally be enough for Ellie to walk away. If only the way that the blonde made her crumble in a way nobody had was enough to keep Ellie in her place, back arching into Abby's skilled pleasure.
Soon enough Abby's large finger pushes its way into Ellie, the stretch enough to almost fill her with a single digit. Melodic moans fill the room as Abby takes her time, curling her finger and simply applying pressure to that particular spot every lesbian knows of. Pressure builds in Ellies core, a sort of tension building up on the verge of snapping as Abby continues to suck her tits.
"Keep-" Abby's sharp voice barks at Ellies uncooperative hips, pushing her down so her body is flush to the couch, "Keep still- stop your fucking squirming or I'll leave. You understand?" Ellie nods quick, her neck bobbing up and down but that's not enough for her, "Fucking say it!"
The feeling of Ellie's orgasm fades into the abyss, causing a sob to leave from deep in her throat. "I understand- FUCK!" Tears physically soak her cheeks at this point, she yelps with the feeling of Abby's finger leaving her pussy, watching her side down.
Abby sucks a bruise into her thigh, with a slap to the red mark, causing Ellie to squirm. "Good girl. That's a good fucking girl" Abby's praise makes the torture almost worse, what's actually worst is the slow kisses around where Ellie wants her the most. It's ticklish but also so fucking hot.
That's when, finally like a gift from a higher being, Abby's lips find her clit and start to suck hard, almost biting her bud. Ellie screams and tries to wiggle away but the flex in Abby's shoulders and arms keep her there. The blonde doesn't even take time to say anything, eyes shut as she takes her time eating Ellie like she's her last meal on earth. At this rate, Ellie might shoot her if she doesn't cum so it very well may be.
The pressure builds and builds and builds till Ellie is breathless and unable to say a word. She can't even communicate herself, the whines and heavy breaths stop all words from forming. It's enough to boost Abby's ego for the rest of their lives. Ellie's nimble fingers tap the Abby's bicep, starting to squeeze as her legs clamp and shake like mad.
That orgasm flushes over Ellie like a truck, like nothing ever felt before. Abby takes a minute to finish what she started before pulling back to breathe, "You did so well, such a good slut" Abby sits down at ellie's feet, pulling the shaking girls legs into her lap to give a few tight squeezes in a massage.
Ellie takes her time to catch her breath with a stupid grin plastered on her cheeks. No thoughts till Abby speaks up again,
"So... about the drive by... was that your way of a booty call?"
#kaitysbs#ellie the last of us#ellie williams fanfiction#tlou#abby the last of us#lesbian#ellabs#sub!ellie#dom!abby#Abby Anderson#ellie Williams#women in suits#tlou smut#the last of us#the last of us part 2#last of us smut#ellabs smut#ellabs tlou#ellie x Abby#Abby x ellie
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I have a request. Could you pretty please do some spicy headcanons of Asa with a bratty S/O đ. He probably has no tolerance for disobedience so having a bratty pet would result in punishment. Apologies I'm a horny bastard lmao đ
How would Asa Emory cope with a bratty s/o? (Nsfw)
Asa Emory x gn!bratty!reader
Trigger warning for sexual content- bdsm- power exchange/ power dynamic- spanking
If you asked Asa if he likes brats a few months ago he would frown and say no. Not enjoying the constant battle and frustration of trying to subdue them, Asa wants complete submission and expects nothing less.
If you asked Asa if he likes brats in the present day he would smirk and tell you âtheyâre not as clever as they think they areâ thinking fondly of you, at home, still chained to the wall where he left you, hopefully that is, youâre a slippery one to hold down.
Had Asa known youâd been a brat when scouting you for the collection he wouldnât have bothered, wouldâve found someone more easy to command. God is he thankful he didnât.
He expected to hate training you, but he couldnât love it any less. You were harder to break down than previous pets, kicking, swearing,spitting, straight up ignoring him sometimes. The punishments that followed were indulgent for him, marvelling at the way you fought hard at first, all gnashing teeth and scratches.
This was no longer the case once Asa had wrestled you to floor, both panting and glaring eachother down. Pinning your arms above your head and sliding his leather belt out of the loops. Shit. You knew where this was going. This only makes you thrash harder, legs jutting into his stomach, winding him momentarily.
Regaining his position over you he snatches your legs, fastening the belt around your claves and securing them. Before you can even think to fight back your hauled over to the sofa and slung over Asaâs knees, bottoms and underwear ripped down unceremoniously.
âNow, pet, you can either choose to apologise and the punishment will be lighter or you can continue being the dumb little mutt we both know you are and receive the full extent of it.â A moment passes in silenceâŠ.âget fuckedâ you spit back. âYou never learn, there really isnât anything going on up there is there? You need daddy to tell you how and when to think, itâs pathetic.â
They way you break down into a dumb sobbing mess is beautiful in Asaâs eyes, all big talk and flailing until his black gloved hand comes down onto your exposed ass, again and again,leaving you begging and sobbing out apologies.
Asa looks at you pitifully, taking in the tears clinging your lashes and the rosey hue of your beaten ass, he knows youâll be feeling it for the next day or two. His gaze softens as he rubs some ointment on your red behind and pulls your underwear back up, manoeuvring you to lay on the sofa on your side, careful not to put pressure on your butt.
He hushes your whines of complaint as he leaves briefly to get you a snack and a juice box, he may be a sadistic dom/lover but heâs not an improper one, aftercare is non negotiable and is always first priority after a scene.
He returns and settles into the sofa next to you, prompting you to sit upright so he can feed you, your brain still fuzzy and airy in Subspace.
Your master runs a hand over your cheek, wiping away a stray tear and looking at you smittenly. âSee how easy it is when youâre good for me? You can just be a little pet and let master do the thinking ok? No need to be bratty. Just let daddy handle all the difficult things and itâll be ok.â he practically cooâs at you, fondly committing your far away subby look to memory. âI have you, my silly cricketâ
#slashers#slasher x reader#slasher headcanons#asa emory#asa emory x reader#the collection#writing#my writing
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Gt July Day 7 â Thief
Of course I had to come back to Stolen Hunt for this one. Rowan has some tales to tell, to be sure.
ââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââ
âSo there I was, preparing for one of the riskiest heists of my life.
Donât get me wrong- I had cased the house for weeks. The problem was that the woman who lived there was one of those âladies of leisureâ, which really just meant she never left the godsdamned house. Her husband seemed to be kept busy between his job and his mistress, but she was always home. People came to her.
Believe me, she had more money and riches than she knew what to do with. I was just trying to figure out a way to make that load a little lighter for her.
I decided to do something daring and unusual. Rather than burgle the place when it was empty â which it never was â I decided to sneak in when it was full. They were having some huge party, a âsoireeâ if you will, with all of their rich hoity-toity friends milling about getting drunk and all their hired help busy placating drunk rich people. It was the perfect time to get in and out of the upstairs bedroom without anybody the wiser.
I waited until the party was in full swing before starting to climb up the back of the building. It was a large manor house, covered in ridiculous frills and embellishments, so making my way up to the second-story balcony leading to the master bedroom was easy as pie. Once there, I slipped through the door â people never do lock doors that are higher than the first floor, they truly believe theyâre safe up there â and had the run of the place.
The room was massive, and ornate, I mean curtains and tapestries and doilies everywhere you looked- you name it, it was displayed in some gaudy fashion somewhere. But the décor was only gilded; I was there for a real score.
I made my way over to the lady of the houseâs boudoir. Finding her jewelry box, I opened the lid and picked out a huge necklace, glimmering with precious stones-â
âHold on!â
Rowan blinked at the interruption, needing to take a moment to come back to himself after being thoroughly immersed in his own tale. He leaned back to look up at the man who had interrupted him, swaying a bit where he sat on an upside-down shot glass. The man in question sat at the bar like normal, being huge and human to match the pub they were in, and set down a near-empty glass of ale as tall as Rowan was in order to squint blearily down at him. âHowâd you lift a huge necklace like that, huh?â the human slurred, his brow furrowed over eyes a bit glassy from the drink. âYou can barely lift a shot glass.â
âNot barely, I can lift a shot glass,â Rowan corrected. To further make his point, he heaved up the shot glass in front of him, still mostly full of ale, and took a swig. It coated his throat on the way down, and his voice was a bit thick as he added, âAnd it wouldnât look like a huge necklace to you, this all happened backâŠâ The word âhomeâ died on his tongue, but the alcohol gave it a swift burial. ââŠwhere I used to live. Where people are more normal-sized.â
The man nodded a bit, slowly, and with a great deal of lingering confusion. âLiâl. Like you.â
âNormal,â Rowan corrected, taking another swig, though not without some effort. The shot glass was stupidly oversized. âLike me.â
His fellow drunk just laughed, a rumbling sound that Rowan could feel through his chest despite being nearly a foot away. âStill some pretty big bragging for a liâl guy. You got any proof?â
âDo I have any-?â Rowan sputtered. He set down the shot glass and fumbled for his backpack, more defensive than he thought he might be normally. Chalk it up to giants always thinking less of him. âOf course I have proof! I still have the fucking necklace!â His hand dove unsteadily to the bottom of his bag and, after grasping a suitable handful of priceless jewelry, reemerged with spoils to show off. âHowâs this for proof?â he declared, stretching out the necklace so it could be better appreciated.
It really was a fine piece. The jewels, each as big as Rowanâs thumb, glittered even in the low firelight of the pub. They were entwined and stacked upon each other in an overall excess of wealth, strung together with fine, gossamer silver threads. Threads that might actually be hard for a human to see, Rowan was now realizing, as his bar mate had closed the distance between them in order to squint at the relatively tiny necklace. His breath smelled like ale, but Rowan himself was thankfully a bit too drunk to care.
âWell Iâll be,â the human remarked, leaning back again and taking another swig. âYou really are a first-rate liâl thief. Good thing you canât steal anything from me!â He chuckled and patted the coin purse strapped to his belt. âDonât think two silver would fit in that pack of yours.â
He might be right â Rowan thought maybe he could fit two silver and a copper, if the pack were empty, which it wasnât â but Rowan didnât let that bring down his spirits at all. He just shrugged as he buried the necklace at the bottom of his bag once more; a rainy-day fund that he wasnât sure he would ever use, these days, but which he didnât want to part with just in case. âThat doesnât matter,â he dismissed with a wave of one hand, closing his bag with the other. âMy drinks are already paid for.â He leaned back, so far that he very nearly fell off his shot glass stool, to meet the eye of the bartender. âRight, Vale?â
Vale just chuckled. Rowan always did like making Vale laugh. âThatâs right, Rowan. Em already paid for your tab, such as it is.â Meaning it was no more than a single shotâs worth of ale at the moment. Rowan was a pretty cheap date these days, for whoever was willing to cover him. The man Rowan had been talking to finished his pint of ale in one big swig, and Vale turned to him to ask, âAnother round?â The man nodded and Vale took his empty glass so that he could refill it.
When he returned, Rowan held up his own shot glass of alcohol expectantly, only to have a large hand gently push it back down to the surface of the bar. âOh no, not you,â Vale informed him with some amusement. âYouâve still got plenty, and if you even get close to finishing, youâre gonna be in real trouble. I know Em carries you upstairs every night regardless,â because she was huge and Rowan was not, âbut Iâve still gotta cut you off somewhere.â
âSpoilsport,â Rowan muttered. Still, his heart wasnât in it, and instead he just sipped his ale as he watched Vale start up a conversation with Rowanâs former audience.
If he really wanted more, he could always just steal some from the other drunkâs cup when nobody was looking. A thief had to stay in practice somehow, after all.
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i sent that way too early oops fbvdgjsh
i'll put a readmoe cause this is going to be Long
anyway the first thing!! i was running to the building cause i thought i was late (i really wasn't) but i was running and this guy. is like trying to get my attention and i'm liek this is weird wtf cause i Do Not Know this person but anyway i stopped running and took out my headphones so i could hear them and??? they're like "the lady you ran past back there is my friend and she said i should talk to you and be your friend" and i'm like .what but also? ??? thank you i think?? and he thought i was really cool apparently jsdhfbgdjsdh and also he thought i was a girl so that was. kind of awkward i had to be like "oh actually. no i'm Not htat" but he was really nice??? he didn't have the right language (he asked if i was like a "man man" and i was like..well i'm trans if thats what you mean) but he was super polite and it was a very strange but nice experience ndhkj
the next thing was my friend's dad being there!!! which makes a lot of sense in hindsight given my friend is literally in the show and he's frequently backstage at things but i didn't have the hindsight. so. but it was really nice to see him and he was the first person there that i actually knew so it was super comforting :D and also he's very funny
OMG ALSO BEFORE I GOT ON THE TRAIN THERE WAS AKITTY AND I GOT TO PET THE KITTY AND I TOOK A PICTURE THAT I WILL SEND YOU LATER!!!!!
i was wearing a nametag (most of the props people were) and one of the people playing the parents referred to me by name and it scared me cause i forgot my name was on my arm i was like who a re you how do you know my name
when i was bringing some of the props out onstage my sister's friend waved at me from the audience and i saw my sister as well because my sister. was sitting next to her nbdgsjhd
also i saw my old teacher/the director and it was so nice to see her again omg
they changed some things which is to be expected cause it's been like. three years since i've been there but Still,,, like one of the dolls boxes is purple but it used to be pink (why couldn't it have been purple when i was in it. smh my head) and also they added a cannon in battle scene????
speaking of battle scene!!! they changed the rats costumes a whole bunch. they used to be like..ok so they were bodysuits? i guess? like uh
ok yeah like that but without the head, feet, and hands covered, and they had rubber masks with glowing red eyes. basically they were creepy as FUCK i loved them especially because the rats entrance is through the audience so you're just sitting there and the music is playing and all of a sudden theres GLOWING RED EYES in the aisle. fabulous. but now they're much cuter, like more like a rat stuffed animal than a rat that Wants To Kill You (except the masks whihc are still less scary than the old ones but don't have glowing red eyes) and it's also kinda sad because you can't see the dancer's movements as well? like the costumes are so fluffy it's hard to actually see what they're doing (not impossible, but still unfortunate)
when we were going over battle scene i was waiting in the wings and talking to my friend and someone comes up to her and asks her "hey have you seen a box full of santa hats?" which she had not. and i was very confused but also didn't want to ask. also i got to hold her sword (technically it's a sabre but whatever) and!! when they were running the other cast i held my old friend's sabre and while we were waiting for them to sort out the fog machine someone said something about a lighter? talking about clara's candle and we were like omg. what if instead of the candle clara just has a lighter and she runs around onstage with it and sets everything on fire. and it turned into us just making an au where clara is an arsoninst and kills everyone which was very fun <3
anway!! the most insane thing that happened. we were rehearsing snow scene after blocking it, and it was just before the blizzard part. actually i'll link the music because it's important (timestamped) and the music just stops. a literal record scratch. remember those santa hats? like a third of the snowflakes get up and 5-7 other people come onstage. and they're all wearing santa hats. the music starts playing again, only it isn't snow scene. it's the jingle bell rock scene from mean girls. they're all doing the dance from it. it's incredible. and they even do the part with the pushing and the music player breaking and then they all sing the rest of the song it was fucking incredible ndbhfdksdjn
most of the rest of rehearsal was pretty normal umm i talked to two of my old friends and we talked about sewing which was very fun cause their moms are the heads of the costume department and also one of them said i gave them gender envy <333
but yeah thats most of the things that happened i think!!! if i remember anything else notable i'll tell you njsbhd
dhewjfbrnsdh hes a little confused but hes got the spirit
AHJSDVSB OMG KITTY <33333
NHBSDSJ they have psychic powers called reading nametags
OH THAT SOUNDS SO COOL WITH THE GLOWNUG EYS
SABRE!!! and omg i love that au
holy shit that's fucking incredible
!!! slay
!!!! afsdhfbsdjhg it all sounds so fun omggg
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Your picture hangs above the TV. Y
You are five years younger in the picture then you were in real life, and you look twenty years younger in the picture then you were in real life, splayed out in the ice box of an ambulance. How forgiving photos are. How merciful.
(You hated the cold, I'm so sorry.)
Death has made it's home in my body, a successful possession as it makes me more useless than I was before. Grief sits patiently behind my eyes and swings violently in my throat. The moment I linger, the moment I let myself think, it approaches. Forcing water out of my eyes like village wells and forming knots in the throat. It is gentle and harsh in its destruction in the way only grief can be. I do not blame it. I cannot.
When people talk about grief, they make it sound like everything will become a reminder, and maybe thatâs true, maybe Iâm just pretending not to notice. But itâs only in those sharp momentsâwhen the sting wells behind my eyesâthat I really feel it.
That's when I see my heart, already fractured long before your death, split clean in two. It doesnât do much now. It just sits there, apathetic, beating because it has to. Each tear I shed makes it heavier, then lighter, but the brainâthe brain holds on. It sears the image of you into my mind, skull shattered, mouth slack, until thatâs all I can see. Until it erases every other memory of you.
And the brain, it stays awake just long enough to hear my motherâs criesâdeep and guttural, full of rageâuntil thereâs nothing left to drown them out. The brain remembers. Itâs relentless. Itâs cruel. Itâs stupid.
Oh, how it remembers. I canât erase it, no matter how hard I try, no matter how many nights I spend in the dark, willing myself to remember something softer, something kinder. The brain doesnât care about mercy. And each time I think it canât hurt more, it finds a new way to break me.
Because you are everywhere and nowhere, all at once. Itâs only after someone is gone that we scramble, desperate to find traces of them, becoming archaeologists of the heart, sifting through memories like relics from some ancient world. We search for these fragments, dust them off like theyâre fossils, and put them on displayâreminders of what, Iâm not sure. Proof that you existed? Proof that you lived? Proof of something, anything, that might make this emptiness feel less vast. Like it has meaning.
Youâre in the way I speak, in the way my tongue wraps around the syllables of our mothertongue, the one you insisted we all learn. Mum made sure we knew, said it was our heritage, that it sits deep in the chest. People say I sound like you now. They say it like itâs a gift, but it feels like a curse. I want to tear my voice from my throat and replace it with yours, to speak exactly as you did, just to pretend for a moment that youâre still here. But hearing my own voice, warped and twisted by loss, makes it unbearable. Itâs too familiar, too close to yours, and yet not close enough.
For even if I could, ven if I could tear out my tongue and fit yours in its place, it wouldn't be the same. It would be a poor imitation, a mockery of the real thing. I can't sound like you, not truly. Not in the way that matters. I could try to mimic your cadence, your pauses, the way you'd stretch certain words like you were savoring themâbut it would be hollow. Iâd still know it wasnât you. Itâs never really you.
They say grief fades with time, that it softens. But if it does, it only leaves behind these echoes, these fragments of who you were, never enough to fill the space you left.
And maybe thatâs the worst partâthe way you still exist, scattered in pieces around me, but never whole. Never enough to grasp.
I hate that the human body is designed to endure. That itâs built for survival so completely that it can move through disaster without faltering, without even pausing. It is ready. It is prepared. t carries me through the wreckage, indifferent to the devastation that should have destroyed it too. I hate it for that. For its resilience. For its betrayal.
It moves forward, this body of mine, even when everything inside of me screams to stop, to collapse, to curl into the ground and let the earth swallow me whole. But no, the body keeps going. I wake up, I breathe, I eat, I speak. I am a machine of flesh and bone, following routines, performing tasks, as if nothing has changed. As if the world hasnât fallen apart. The heart keeps beating, the lungs keep filling with air. I hate it. I hate that my body knows how to survive this, how to keep functioning when all I want is for it to fail, for it to finally reflect the brokenness inside. But it doesn't. It wonât. It just marches on, dragging me with it, indifferent to my pain. Indifferent to you being gone.
I whisper to you, send my thoughts upward like prayers, hoping they reach wherever you've gone. You must hear them, right? Youâve ascended, havenât you? A god now, wrapped in divinity I canât touch. I tell myself that, because itâs easier to think of you as something holy, something eternal, rather than justâŠgone.
You sit high, on the pedestal, unreachable in whatever version of heaven I believe in today. And you will remain a god, unto the version of heaven I shall believe on the day I die.
Today, you are in a place of light, soft and endless, where the pain of living never touches you. Tomorrow, I might put you in the stars, or in the roots of an ancient tree. It doesnât matter. What matters is that you are somewhere, anywhere, above me, beyond me, watching over me like gods are supposed to.
And I will keep believing that until the day I follow you. Until my own eyes close and I find out if you were really there at all.
Itâs easier to turn my body into characters, to make the heart, the brain, and everything in between feel like something separate from me. It makes it easier to have someone to blame. I can curse my heart for being weak, for breaking too easily, for beating when I donât want it to. I can blame my brain for holding on to the worst parts, for tormenting me with memories I canât escape. Itâs simpler that way. I can shout at them, rage at them, as if theyâre not meâas if Iâm not the one stuck inside this mess of grief and survival. Itâs comforting, somehow, to believe that the pieces of me are conspiring, rather than accepting that this is just how it is.
Because you are dead, and your picture hangs above the TV. And you look younger and happier than I will ever get to see.
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Have An Evil Day
No prompt this time, just a sequel to âWelcome To Evil-Martâ
Working at Evil-Mart is usually⊠well, itâs retail. Itâs physically exhausting, you have to deal with a lot of idiots without being overtly rude, and your feet hurt. Even though the hours and pay are very good, the benefits are great, and our bosses treat us well compared to most retail employees, itâs still not what Iâd call a fun job.
But itâs not what Iâd call dull, either. Especially not on days like today.
I was promoted to supervisor after the Food Poisoning Incident, so I have a little more authority and a little less obligation to be pleasant and I got issued a weighted cosh because sometimes Evil-Mart customers get⊠feisty. Iâd never had to use it, though, because those who hadnât seen what I did to Majority Rules, either in person or on one of the cell-phone videos that circulated afterwards, had at least heard about it.  They didnât give me any trouble.
I was halfway through my shift, and the worst things thatâd happened had been running out of croissants and a machine oil spill in Aisle Seven, when our greeter pressed the alarm button, which sent an alert to my handset. As front-end supervisor, that meant me, so I went over. Sam, who is unusual in the henching community for having actually aged out rather than âbeing retiredâ jerked his chin in the direction of a tall, swaggering figure. âHe just came in,â he whispered.
I did a full double-take before I took it in. Superdyne. Fucking Superdyne.
Weâd all heard about his dramatic heel-turn a couple of months ago. The whole world had heard about it. Superdyne, whoâd skated closer and closer to the line for years, had decided to cross it in a blaze of bloodshed. He was a villain now, he said. Thereâd been a whole speech about how ingratitude had driven him to it blah blah blah.
I work at Evil-Mart. Iâm from a hench family. If someone becomes a supervillain because they hate Mondays or want to turn us all into dinosaurs or whatever, I donât judge. I will sell depth-charges and laser guns to anyone who can prove theyâre over eighteen without hesitation. But even we get kind of grossed out by the âI am forced to turn evil because I havenât been given enough loveâ thing. People who are actually so fucked up by emotional abuse or neglect or some superhero killing their family, weâre fine with them. But they donât say thatâs why they do it, and most of them need a lot of therapy to even realize it. People who actually say thatâs why are entitled dickwads.
And now the dickwad had walked into Evil-Mart like he was entitled. Like he thought he was one of us.
âLockdown protocols,â I told Sam quietly. âOn my authorisation.â That takes a minute or two, though, so I went over to talk to Superdyne. âSir, I have to ask how you even knew where to find this place.â
He smirked at me. âI have my ways,â he said smugly. Heâd either bribed or beaten someone, that was my guess. âSo this is where the villains shop? We all thought you went to Wal-Mart.â He laughed, like he thought it was clever.
âYes, so you all say,â I said dryly. I didnât feel like pretending he was the first person to make the bad joke. âMy next question, sir, is what made you think it was a good idea to come in here.â
He spread his hands. âIâm one of you now!â he said happily. âIâm a bad guy! So now I guess I shop where the bad guys shop!â He looked around, frowning a little. âAlthough I was expecting more weapons and explosives. A⊠more villainous atmosphere. I didnât know Evil-Mart had fresh produce.â
âI donât advise buying herbs here unless youâre a magical practitioner. Some of them have⊠unusual effects.â A lot of our produce is normal stuff, but some of it not only isnât legal, it doesnât exist anywhere else.
âOh. Well, that makes sense. But the bright lights and the bakery?â
âWe have excellent gluten-free breads. In many ways, Superdyne, this is just another store. We have sales, we mark down the breads in the afternoon, we even have a PA system.â I pulled out my handset, and thumbed the button that tied it to the PA. âAttention, shoppers,â I said in my most soothing Customer Service voice, which made him grin. âEvil-Mart wishes to inform you â â The countdown on my handset reached zero, and I turned to look at the entrance as a huge blast door thudded down. That was the last part of the sequence â staff outside the area were already in lockdown and security were on their way. I smiled, and continued almost without a pause. â- That we are in lockdown at this time, due to the presence of Superdyne in the store. Please remain calm, and be advised that security are on their way to deal with the problem. If you have a personal grudge that you wish to address with Superdyne at this time, he is standing near Register Six with a stupid expression on his face.â
He was staring at me, stunned. âBut⊠butâŠâ he stammered, and damned if he didnât look puzzled. âBut Iâm one of you now!â
âNo,â I said flatly. âYou were always evil, thatâs true, but youâll never be one of us. And for the record, Iâm one of the people with a personal grudge. All those henchmen youâve killed and maimed had families, asshole⊠and they all shop here.â
He swung at me, then, but I spent years in hench training. Even someone super-strong can be dodged, and once I slammed my cosh into his groin a few times his punches got a lot more aimless. Around then, Tiger Ty came over the register, claws out and snarling, and I figured I should stand out of the way.
About ten minutes later, I turned on the PA again. âClean-up to Register Six,â I called, in the same special voice. âCategory 7, class three. Shoppers, please be advised that lockdown is now lifted but Register Six will be closed until clean-up is completed.â
Hunter, whoâd been working Register Six, came out from underneath it. He looked a little green. Well, he was still in his teens, this was probably his first fatal mobbing. âWhatâs Category 7?â he asked in a shaky voice. âI havenât heard that before.â
âBiohazard.â
âOh. Class three?â
âSend three people. He was a juicy one.â I stepped away from a spreading puddle of blood. âRun and get a couple of caution signs we can put around this mess.â I eyed it measuringly. âAnd one of those fifteen-gallon plastic tubs with a lid, Iâll damage it out.â
He eyed the mess. âAre you sure thatâs big enough?â
âYeah, the average human is only about seventeen gallons by volume, and Iâm not going to put all the blood and mush in there, just the big pieces.â
He gulped. âAh. Yes, maâam.â
I called after him when he ran off. âOne of the black tubs, not a clear one!â Which honestly should only be common sense, but you canât count on a flustered teenager to have common sense.
We frown on killing customers at Evil-Mart, up to a point⊠but when a particularly murderous super-hero walks into our store, well, thatâs something else. Iâd have to fill out a ton of paperwork, though.
I had to chase off one of Doctor Malignâs minons and two members of the Genetic Reign before the clean-up crew arrived, both of whom urgently wanted samples. In the end I scraped a few pieces of liver and unidentified organ into two of the bags we use for possibly-contaminated money just to make them go away. (Theyâre good customers, and it was just going to go in the trash anyway.)
By the time the clean-up was done, all the big pieces were boxed up, and Iâd finished the paperwork, my shift had been over for twenty minutes, and Iâd been asked to come up to the bossâs office.
âListen, I have no issues with how you handled the situation, I want you to know that.â Mr Trent leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingertips together. âIt was quick, it was efficient, and⊠given your personal history with Superdyne, not to mention mine and that of half of our customer base⊠richly deserved.â
âYes, sir,â I said. It came out too meek, and I cleared my throat and straightened up. Itâs hard not to be intimidated by Mr Trent, when youâre in the same room with him. Itâs not his fault, and he does his best, but even under the strictest control his fear-inducing powers tend to unsettle anyone who gets too close. We all know heâs not doing it on purpose and we try not to show our reactions. âDo you have any orders regarding the remains?â
âDoctor Order wants them.â He rubbed his chin. âGet someone from the pharmacy to prepare samples for him, please, including brain tissue. Heâs our primary supplier, and we canât offend him. As for the rest⊠as you know, Iâm retired, and I donât usually participate in the Endless War.â One of his hands dropped to his left thigh. His prosthetic leg is some of Doctor Orderâs best work, but the injury that led to his retirement had been brutal even by our standards. âBut this is different. Superdyne came here. To our place of safety. We need to make sure that doesnât happen again.â
I nodded. âDo you want the remains dumped somewhere public? Some kind of dramatic display?â
âNo. Something more direct.â He rubbed his chin again, then tapped the intercom on his desk. âIris, please send up Miss Fedorova from Marketing and Mr Levy from the warehouse.â
âYes, sir,â Iris responded, and he clicked off the intercom again.
âThe three of you worked together very well, during the food poisoning incident,â he explained. âAnd I believe they can assist us in a satisfactory conclusion.â He hesitated, then smiled ruefully. âPerhaps you should wait outside until they get here. I can tell Iâm unsettling you.â
âSir, I know youâre not â â
âNot doing it on purpose.â He sighed. âI do appreciate how hard you all work to make me feel⊠accepted, I really do. But Iâm very annoyed right now, which makes control more difficult for me, so I think weâd both be more relaxed if you waited outside while I do my meditation exercises.â
I waited outside. When the three of us went into his office again, the miasma of low-level fear was definitely a bit lighter, and he smiled. âAll right. Now, this conversation is going to be very confidential, and I will remind you all of the agreements you signed when you were employed.â We all chorused agreement, and he nodded. âGood. Now, this is very much a secret, even among Evil-Mart staff, but we do have a few online clients who are⊠ah⊠on the other side of the fence.â
Ms Fedorova blinked. âWhat?â
Knuckles sighed. âWe ship to a few heroes,â he explained. âThe ones who are⊠less homo than sapiens, if you get my drift.â
I didnât, and from her expression Ms Fedorova didnât either. Mr Trent spread his hands, drawing our eyes to his fingers. Which as a rule nobody looks at, because thereâs fourteen of them, with four joints in each finger, and we know heâs self-conscious about it. âThe less⊠purely human ones,â he said quietly. âOne of the reasons I created Evil-Mart was to give those who canât pass for human, like me, a place to be⊠people. To have dignity. So that the obligate carnivores werenât reduced to living on pet-food or scavenging for scraps, so that those with complex metabolisms could get the supplements they need so that people who are still people, for all their outward differences, could shop in safety. There are a great many more monsters, demigods, abominations of science and other non-standard persons among our set than among the heroes, and I wanted to meet their needs, as well as selling weapons and Lair-away-from-home sets and so on.â
âAnd there are a few heroes who order from us for that reason,â Knuckles added. âThe ones who canât get medications to suit their metabolism, or need to eat things that you canât get easily anywhere else.â
I nodded, because that much I understood. We have some very esoteric âdietary suppliesâ that start with fresh, healthy, well-treated and disease-free prey animals frozen whole (from mouse up to calf and goat kept in stock, larger sizes by pre-order, halal and kosher certified where possible) and end with human blood (rejected blood bank stock mostly, we have an arrangement), and human flesh and organs (sourced from hospitals, morgues and crematoriums, guaranteed no murder, at least not by us). âWell, I suppose that makes sense. Iâm surprised we ship to them, though.â
âOh, they donât know we know. Itâs all assumed names and secret bank accounts.â Knuckles grinned. âBut Mr Trent has all our online customers identified before we ship. And for the ones who donât have any other options, well⊠we let it slide.â
âI can see why you donât want that to get out.â Ms Fedorova tapped her chin. âWhat does this have to do with disposing of the body? I was planning to set up a really ghoulish display in a public place somewhere, I already have some sketches.â Marketing for Evil-Mart is⊠well, it includes more than designing our sale flyers.
âNo. Weâre going to deliver them to a hero⊠one of the ones who owes us⊠and make it very clear that just because someone decides to admit heâs a villain, that doesnât make him one of us and it doesnât entitle him to union services,â Mr Trent said flatly. âI want to make it crystal clear to all of them that a heel turn does not mean their sins are forgiven, or that we will accept them as anything other than a very brief amusement.â
Late that night â we were all on overtime, but it couldnât be done in daylight â we wheeled a cart down the run-down hallway of a shoddy apartment building. âThis is a terrible address for a hero,â Ms Fedorova muttered. âAre we sure he lives here?â
âI deliver here a couple of times a month.â Knuckles was pushing the cart. âIâm sure.â
âOkay.â Ms Fedorova cleared her throat, coughed once or twice, and suddenly her voice was deeper and her very faint Russian accent was as thick as pea soup. âThis is intimidation tactic,â she said, grinning toothily. âDo not act surprised.â
I knocked on the door, but let Knuckles do the talking. âDelivery, Mr West,â he called, using the fake name the guy had been giving.
It worked⊠the door was unlocked and opened almost immediately. âI scheduled the order for next â â the mark said, and then we were pushing inside, slamming the door behind us.
âDo not be alarmed, Mr⊠Dinoid, is it?â Ms Fedorova said, folding her arms. âEvil-Mart is knowing all along your real identity. But you are needing to eat, and we are not turning down regular business, so we make no trouble.â
Knuckles rolled his eyes behind her back at how much she was hamming it up, but I waved a hand. Let her have her fun. So Knuckles started unloading the boxes onto the table while she talked. âFirst, your Budget Bunny Box. Your favourite, da?â The next box, smaller, plunked down. âTwo fresh chickens, halal certified, healthy and having lived good life, gift for good customer.â Knuckles dumped the plastic tub on the floor. âAnd mortal remains of Superdyne, with note.â
Dinoid was staring at us, but that made him shift into a combat stance, his long claws spread. âThe⊠Superdyneâs dead? And in there?â
âWell. Most of him. The big pieces.â Ms Fedorova shrugged an impressively Russian shrug. I hadnât even known that was a thing, but when she did it, it was obvious. âYou must understand, when a mob tears a man apart, it is hard to find every little piece.â
âIâm pretty sure Doctor Malign and the Genetic Reign took off with doggy bags,â I said, as if I hadnât handed them over myself. âAnd Doctor Order probably has some of him too, by now. So looking out for clones would be a good idea, I donât know if thatâs in the note.â
Insofar as that reptilian face could show readable expressions, he looked shocked. âWhy on earth would⊠why? He changed sides? And why did you bring him to me?â
âWe know your address, we know you donât want to turn us in because weâre the only ones who can supply your meals, and our boss wanted us to make this very clear.â I indicated the note. Since Ms Fedorova was hamming up her Sexy Russian Supervillain act, and Knuckles was very obvious Muscle, I figured it was on me to be the Reasonable One. âHe might have stopped being a hero, but that didnât make him one of us. That didnât make him acceptable to us. Our boss wants it made very clear that your failures shouldnât expect to be accepted by us⊠or even spared by us.â
He shifted slowly, the tip of his tail twitching. âI⊠see. I understand why you would reject Superdyne. He was notorious for killing and maiming people on⊠your side. But I know other defectors have been accepted. Philomel, for example.â
âPhilomel was child of villains. She is young, she is rebellious, she sides with heroes for a while.â Ms Fedorova shrugged. âIs understandable, da? The young do foolish things. She comes home, all is forgiven.â
He nodded slowly. âTenebrous?â
âThat story I donât know.â Ms Fedorova glanced at me.
I nodded. âTenebrous was just a kid. He was twelve when Varide recruited him. Nineteen when he broke with the guy. Varide put a kid into combat, left him with massive PTSD, then ditched him when he had a breakdown and went too far. Mx Frantique at least made sure he had a safe place to stay and some therapy.â
âItâs happened a few times.â Knuckles rested his elbows on the cartâs handles, his inhumanly big, strong hands dangling. âBut thereâs a process. A system. If someoneâs sponsored by a villain in good standing, like Frantique sponsoring Tenbrous, they can be accepted. Nobody gets to just choose to join. Especially not a smug, entitled prick like Superdyne.â
Ms Fedorova suddenly leaned forward, scowling. âAnd why are you called Dinoid? You are not dinosaur. You are clearly monitor lizard. Golden monitor, I think.â She reached out and prodded his arm. âAnd not healthy, either. Look at colouration! You do not keep environment humid enough. Are having trouble with shedding, da?â
Now we were all staring at her. âYouâre a lizard expert now?â Knuckles asked.
She shrugged. âWhat? Is hobby. Mammaâs little Varanus Acanthurus are pride and joy. Sadly, cannot keep larger monitors in city. Is unkind.â
Dinoid ran a hand over his head slowly. âNot many people realize,â he said slowly. âThatâs why I order from you guys. I used to get frozen⊠food⊠from a pet supplier, but then I got contacted by someone who told me there was another option.â
âIs good thing. Those pet suppliers, they are rogues. They do not keep animals healthy, can get diseases or mites from those things.â Ms Fedorova sniffed. âI would never buy from them. My babies would get sick.â
He actually chuckled, then, seeming to relax a bit. âYouâre not wrong. After⊠this happened⊠I got really sick a couple of times before I figured out what to eat, and where to get it. And even the reputable suppliers donât always have the healthiest stock.â He opened his mouth wide, making a gagging noise. âYou have no idea how bad that âreptile foodâ is. Eating whole animals may be a little disgusting, but itâs nothing to some of that stuff.â
âI believe it,â I said emphatically. âThereâs a reason Evil-Mart has such an extensive pet-food line. The horror stories we hear from some of our customers⊠well, youâd believe it, I bet, but most humans just look confused.â
Knuckles nodded, and spread his hands. âPeople who canât pass for regular humans⊠or even for people, the way most normies see it⊠are a lot more common on our side of the fence than yours. Thatâs why we delivered to you. We figured you really needed it.â
âDoes he order from the pharmacy?â Ms Fedorova was around behind him now, examining his back. âHe is having calcium deficiency, am betting. He needs nutritional supplement.â
âI take a nutritional supplement,â he said defensively.
âThe one for normal-sized lizards is not enough for man-sized monitor/human hybrid,â she said firmly. âCheck pharmacy section next time. We are having excellent selection of supplements for hybrids, and chart to tell you how much to take for body-mass.â
He looked back and forth between the three of us. âYou people are⊠not what I would have expected from an evil supermarket.â
âWe may be⊠morally challenged,â I said, shrugging, âbut weâre not heartless.â I looked around his tiny, shabby apartment. âUnlike some of your lot. I thought you were on a team. Why are you living here?â
He ducked his head. âI couldnât live at the base,â he said, his tail drooping. âMy⊠I made people uncomfortable. And the stipend isnât much.â
âIsnât much? With the merchandising deals they have?â Ms Fedorova sounded shocked, and the accent had dropped back a lot. âI know for a fact that if the accountants ever got hold of their books theyâd owe more in back taxes than⊠well, than Evil-Mart would if our illegal product arm ever got discovered. And we pay our taxes on the legitimate stuff scrupulously.â
Dinoid blinked rapidly, though I couldnât tell whether he was more surprised by her suddenly dropping her act or the idea that Evil-Mart pays taxes. âYou do?â
âOf course. Not under that name, of course, thereâs a shell company.â She sniffed. âAll villains do. Al Capone, you know. Weâre not getting caught that way again.â
Knuckles and I both nodded when he looked at us, and he shook his head. âHuh. Makes sense, I guess.â
âIt does.â I looked around again. The place really was crappy. âI know itâs a personal question, Mr⊠West, but under the circumstances Iâd like to know⊠how much is that stipend?â
He looked down at the floor for a while, then cleared his throat. âUh. $1100 a month.â
We all stared at him. Ms Fedorovaâs mouth fell open. Knuckles looked shocked, and I was horrified. â$1100 a month?!â I asked, my voice coming out louder than Iâd intended. âFor risking your life on a superhero team?! I have teenaged cashiers working part-time who make more than that!â
He looked almost as startled as we did. âFor working a cash register?!â
âEvil-Mart pays pretty good.â Knuckles shrugged. âBut that stipend is disgusting.â
âYou are being exploited,â Ms Fedorova said, sounding really aghast. âThat is terrible. Why, baseline henchman pay is twice that, and there are danger bonuses andâŠâ Her voice dropped suddenly. âYou donât have a union, do you?â
âA union? Of course we donât have aâŠâ He trailed off. âYou mean you do?â
âOf course we do. An extremely well-armed one.â Ms Fedorova folded her arms. âHenchmen And Allied Industries has represented us for generations. The last time a supervillain executed a union henchman for failure, he was boiled in oil⊠literally. On camera. Oh, of course some of the less reputable villains just pick up small-time trash from the streets, untrained rabble from the gangs and so on, so they can treat them as disposable, but we union members are skilled workers, with rights and protections. I bet you donât even get overtime.â
âOf course not. Crime happens when it happens, and we have toâŠâ He trailed off. âYou guys get overtime?â
âWeâre getting double time and a half for this conversation. And an extra day off.â
His eyes widened again. âReally? Wow, thatâs⊠even when I was working a regular job, before this, I didnât get pay like that.â He looked down at his hands and bared his teeth in what looked like an unhappy expression. âAnd now I canât work anything but this kind of job. People donât like having a scary dinosaur in their restaurant.â
There was a long pause.
âYou can cook?â Ms Fedorova asked carefully.
âYeah. I worked in my parentsâ restaurant before⊠this.â He gestured at himself. âThey were killed when we were attacked, and I was⊠changed.â
We all looked at each other. âAfter youâve returned Superdyneâs remains to whoever you consider appropriate,â I said, grabbing a notepad and scribbling down my number, âIâd like you to give me a call. Evil-Mart is always hiring in the bakery and deli, and I mean always. Most bad guys arenât great cooks. We donât know why, it just seems to be one of those things.â
âYou want me to join the bad guys?â
âI want you to work in a bakery. Villains and henchmen need to eat, and so do their families. Nobodyâs going to ask you to rip superheroes in half, just maybe make a sandwich that wonât give anyone food poisoning.â
âThatâs a regular concern?â
âSix months ago the three of us ran Evil-Martâs physical store completely unassisted for most of a day because the only people who werenât down with food poisoning were the ones whoâd had the vegetarian and kosher meals.â I shuddered at the recollection. âTrust me. Someone who can cater staff functions without a major disaster would never have to live in an apartment like this working for us.â
âAnd we get full benefits, including dental.â Knuckles was shaking his head. âI bet you donât even get hospital.â
âWhat hospital would take me? I always figured Iâd go to the zoo and talk to the vet if â â
Ms Fedorova actually put her arms around him. âYou,â she told him firmly, âare going to resign your terrible exploitative job, and then I will personally sponsor you to the union immediately. I have a spare room. You will like it. Humidity and temperature can be set just how you like, and Mamma Yelena will take you to real doctor expert in health of hybrids.â
âThose exist?â he asked, sounding a bit overwhelmed.
âYeah, the Genetic Reign has like three of them,â I said sympathetically. âListen, you can take some time to think it over, but you donât have to put up with this kind of exploitation just because you donât look human. Nearly a third of Evil-Martâs staff canât pass, and theyâre treated just like everyone else.â
Superdyneâs dramatic demise got a lot of news coverage. Apparently it came as a real shock to the âgood guysâ that there were some monsters even the superest villains wouldnât embrace.
Dinoid no longer exists. Ismail Jameel works at Evil-Mart, and has expanded our fresh food lines a lot already. Heâs a nice guy, and after Ms Fedorova told everyone how disgustingly heâd been exploited by those so-called âheroesâ, he was welcomed with open arms. Literally, in at least one case â heâs dating someone from the warehouse, Iâve heard, though I donât know who. He says we should rename the store, because we suck at being evil.
But evil is a really relative term. It can mean the blackest depravity, or a moment of viciousness, or even just âpeople on the other sideâ. Evil-Mart is called that because everyone, at least everyone on our side, is welcome. Plus, we all think itâs funny that the least-evil megacorporation is called âEvil-Martâ. What can we say? Bad guys have a sense of humour too.
Have an evil day!
#welcome to Evil Mart#good is not just good#evil is not just evil#people are complicated#and so is retail#tw graphic#tw gore#tw violence#tw murder#it's a supervillain story#supervillain shit happens#you are now warned
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Stood Up
You (Y/N) get stood up from a date and Kaminari decides to do something about it.
Pairing: Kaminari/F!Reader
Contains: Fluff, Flirty Denki, Established BakuSquad Friendship
Warnings: 18+ Below the cut, Minors DNI! Swearing, Electro-Stim, Overstimulation, use of pet names (cuddle bug & cutie), oral (F receiving), consensual recording
A/N: Well, here we are with the third in my Stood Up series. There is also Bakugo & Kirishima if you're interested. This one took me way too long and it's also my first time writing Kaminari at length. I hope you all like it :)
Word Count Starting Below: 2,461
You slipped your foot into the silver heels you had picked out. Something a little fancier since this was a first date after all and you wanted to make a lasting impression. Not only that but this was your first first date in a while. Being a Pro Hero made life busy and dating difficult.
Practically the entire day leading up to this very moment revolved around you either getting ready or babbling with excitement to your closest friends.
An alert chimed on your phone with a text from your date, a smile sliding onto your face expecting to read some message about how they were on their way and that they'd see you soon, but that wasn't what you were met with.
Instead, it was a screenshot of your Instagram page, multiple of them actually, all of you and the ridiculous photos you took with your friends but mostly with one Denki Kaminari. The most recent of which was from a tea shop he met you at just earlier that day so you could show him the shoes for your date.
The message below was simple and more than enough to leave a sour taste in your mouth, this isn't what I want to see when I'm supposed to be taking you out tonight. What, one date a day isn't enough? Why are you even dating? Does your blonde boyfriend know?
You giggled at what they were implying, quick to explain how these were all your friends, they had been since high school! They are people you spent what little free time you had with. Especially Denki, your best friend since you were 15!
That joy you felt started dissipating within the next few messages. You hadn't even had a first date and they were already jealous, and that was something you didn't have room for in your life. So, you slipped the heels off your feet and put them directly back in the box to return when you had the time. Tight black jeans and fitted top were exchanged with a hoodie and sweats although your makeup and hair stayed done, you didn't have the energy to undo your hard work.
Instead, you slid back into your computer chair, your headset snuggly back on your ears and before you notified everyone you were back online, you took a moment listening to the chatter of your friends.
"Shitty Hair! Fuckin' pay attention!"
"Yeah, man! We're getting slaughtered over here!"
"Less yelling at Kiri! More shooty shooty!"
"All of you are hopeless..."
Eijiro chuckled out an apology that was accompanied by a lighter giggle also coming from his mic. "Think this is gonna be my last round for a bit, guys."
"You're so fuckin' whipped." Bakugo scoffed, before screaming profanities.
"Is it whipped if I'm the one who's wanting to get her into bed though?"
You clicked your mic back on then. "Hey, remember last week when Kats forgot his push to talk so we all heard him getting head and we party whipped because someone couldn't focus?"
"You better shut the hell up right fucking now!"
Everyone else roared with laughter. "Yeah! At least I have the decency to mute myself!"
"Hey, wait a sec, why are you online, Y/N!" Denki noted, "You should have already left!"
You screenshot your messages to the group chat because it was far easier than just explaining the ordeal.
"Cute shoes." Eijiro and Kyoka commented at the same time.
There was a lull as their game ended and the messages were read.
"Ya don't need 'em if they're gonna have their head so far up their ass like this."
"I agree." Hanta chimed in. "They're not worth your time."
"Still, sorry they turned out to be a shit." You could hear the frown on Kyoka's face, "I know how excited you were."
"Right, you doin' okay, Y/N? I can stick around and we can all shoot some things!"
"Thanks, Kiri but I'll be just fine! Go spend time with your girl!"
One by one, everyone signed off. You pulled up Spotify and Stardew Valley, something of a comfort for you to get lost in for the rest of the night.
Less than an hour later, you noticed your phone lighting up with your best friend's familiar smiling face. "What's up, Denki?"
"Open your door! I have my hands full and don't wanna put everything down to get my key!"
You sprang from your desk and rushed to your door. Sure enough, on the other side was Denki with bags in both hands and his phone tucked between his ear and shoulder. You grabbed it and a bag before he had a chance to drop anything like the klutz he was. "What's with all this?"
"I feel bad."
"Why? You didn't stand me up?"
He fiddled with the edge of a paper bag. "Yeah, but, we both read those messages and no one said anything but they didn't just call our group out, they called us out.
"Denks, it doesn't matter to me-"
"But, it does to me! You were so excited about this and I got in the way, unknowingly but, still! So, I gotta make it up to you now!"
He pulled out take-out boxes from your favorite restaurant. Two bottles of your favorite wine. Your top three favorite movies and video games, and a board game you both had been meaning to try. "I mean, if they think I'm your boyfriend I kinda gotta live up to the hype, right?"
You really wanted to insist that none of this was necessary. That just because some person that neither of you really knew that well, assumed something about your relationship that didn't mean he had to blame himself for it.
But, you had to admit, this was really sweet. It shouldn't have come as a surprise to you that he knew everything you liked but it was nice. Instead of sitting across from a stranger, making awkward small talk, and trying to learn about one another, you were barefoot in your kitchen, laughing with your best friend while he plated dinner and you poured the wine.
Formalities were out the window. Both you and Denki were eating dinner in your living room, laughing and drinking just as you'd done a million times before. You snapped a photo of the delicious food on paper plates, toasting good times with your cheap wine, ready to post them to your Instagram.
"Gonna make them more jealous..."
"I think they made it pretty clear they don't want to see me so why should I care?"
He shrugged. "I just thought they might, you know, come to their senses that they obviously lost."
"I don't really care either way." You wandered back into your kitchen, putting away the leftovers, "They can forget I exist or they can stalk my page like a creep. If someones' gonna try and tell me I can't be friends with my friends or just not listen to me, then I don't want them in my life. No matter how good-looking they are."
Denki watched you from the sofa, a bit of a lopsided grin on his face that had butterflies taking flight in your stomach. "What?" Laughing to hide the bit of a crush you always had on the man. It was unavoidable you told yourself. His personality was infectious and had 15 year old you head over heels.
He pushed back bright blonde hair back off his forehead and just shook his head. "Nothin'. Uh, what's next? Video game, board game, or movie?"
You peaked on the counter at the options. "Well, we probably should have checked this but the board game needs at least four people to play... guess we'll have to save that for our next game night. Is a movie okay?"
Of course, it was.
You brought over the DVD with a refill of wine and he pulled a blanket down off the back of your sofa.
It really didn't take long, just fifteen minutes or so, and you were curled up into Denki's side. You'd make grabby hands for your wine glass and he'd pass it over with that damn grin again.
And not long after that, he'd pulled out his phone, angling it to take a picture of the two of you. "What are you doing?" You could see him on his own Instagram, tagging you, with the caption, Check out my cute cuddle bug.
"I thought you didn't want to make them more jealous."
"I decided I don't care either. You're mine tonight, their loss. And since you're mine tonight, I get bragging rights." He snapped another quick picture of you rolling your eyes at him, and then he kept snapping them.
"Denki! Why!"
"Because you're cute, cuddle bug! I like having all the pictures of you that I can!"
Even as you tackled him back down on the sofa, pinning him below you, he still managed a photo. "Bet if I post this one, they'll really get the wrong idea."
You could have moved. You were the one on top of him and you had his arms above his head. You had the power here and yet you just lingered above him.
"Y/N? Not that I'm one to complain about having a beautiful person such as yourself pinning me down, like, it's kinda hot, but..." Looking down into half-lidded golden eyes, you wondered why you had to become best friends with such a damn flirt! "Are you gonna take advantage of this situation we're in or are we just gonna keep dancing around this for another decade or so?"
You couldn't have heard him right? No... no this was your brain playing tricks on you because he certainly hadn't had that much wine tonight. You sat upright on his lap. "Another decade then, Y/N?"
"You- ha- you should stop that, Denki."
He leaned up, moving his arms around you, "Gimme a good reason to and I will."
You didn't have one. And not just because you've been in love with him for ten years but also because he was your best friend. The only reason to not go through with it was the possibility of losing your friendship if something bad were to happen but, you really didn't think anything would.
Denki might have been a serial flirt but he was surprisingly loyal in all the relationships he'd been in, not that there had been all that many serious ones.
"I'm not hearing anything." He teased, his face getting closer to yours. You could count each and every one of the faint freckles that littered the balls of his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. "But, I promise, if you tell me no, I'll stop, won't push this any further."
This whole thing seemed like a frickin' whirlwind, happening faster than your brain could really process the situation but you didn't want it to stop either. You wanted to take it further, didn't want to say no.
Which was why you coiled your arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. There was that small little buzz of electricity that tickled your lips when he'd kiss your nose or cheeks that was now playing on his lips, on his tongue when you welcomed him in.
He leaned back again, pulling you with him until you were both a pile of needy hands and breathy pleas. Everywhere his hands roamed you felt that faint trail of shock against your skin, making the little hairs on your body stand on end.
Clothes were shed, tossed haphazardly around your living room, both of you pausing to laugh when Denki managed to land your hoodie over a lamp. His attention was drawn back to you quickly though, still perched on top of him but now he had your chest on full display since you'd forgone a bra when your date canceled.
Electrifying tongue twirled around your nipples, sensitive normally, now it felt like you knew what it was like when he fried his damn brain. He was eager, relentless even, pulling and sucking, another hand giving your other breast a similar treatment. He had you so focused that you let out a broken moan when slender fingers found their way into your panties.
"Fuckin' hell, Denki."
The bastard winked up at you, nipple still between his lips and before you could retort, he sent another small jolt through you.
You were blatantly grinding down on his hand, reaching behind you, you found him completely solid, barely being contained in the tight black boxers he wore. You had enough sense to tug them down and wrap your hand around him making his teeth sink into your soft flesh, whining when you stroked him.
"Y/N..." He whimpered, his hand momentarily distracted from his ministrations gave you enough time to shift in his lap to scoot forward putting his cock in front of you. In one swift motion, you had his length between your slick. "Oh fuck, cutie!" Golden eyes were squeezed shut while you moved along him, feeling that pleasant curve he had, you could only imagine what it was gonna be like to have him inside you.
"You're being a little tease, ma-makes me wanna do all sorts of things to y-you."
He was kissing your neck, your chest, shoulders, and arms, anywhere on you that he could reach. His hips bucking up into you, just trying to hit that perfect angle.
Strength and agility were something most overlooked when it came to Denki Kaminari but when the man wanted something bad enough, he found a way to get it.
He had your ass rising up in the air with a harsh thrust of his hips and a small squeak from you, giving him exactly enough time to scoot down on the sofa so you were sat atop his face. If you complained, he didn't hear you. Denki already had your thighs around his head and his tongue devouring you completely.
Little shockwaves rocked you while you cried out his name, hands fisting blonde locks just trying to stay upright.
One orgasm from you apparently wasn't enough, neither was two but on the third, Denki finally relented, allowing your heartrate to come back down and your gasping breaths to come in more steadily.
You slid back down his body, his erection now smack against your ass. His hair was recked, face completely flush but he had the biggest grin on his face that you'd ever seen.
Denki kissed both your cheeks, "You are so amazing, cutie!" Kissed your lips, "You taste better than anything I've ever had!" And one more on the tip of your nose. "Doin' okay?"
You nodded, starting to really gather yourself again, and by this point, you really just wanted one thing.
"I wanna... Denks... can I take care of you now?"
"Sure, cutie! How do you want me?" The wiggling eyebrows had you rolling your eyes and pushing him on his back again.
It took little effort for you to position yourself above his cock, and with how slick you were, his bright pink head slipped right inside. He held your hands while you scrunched up your face, sliding all the way down him until he was completely sheathed within.
The curve was immaculate. Hitting in just the right way that had you moaning with just a couple thrusts from him. Before long, you were eagerly bouncing on his cock. Riding him hard so he filled you up each and every time.
You barely registered him reaching for the coffee table, his phone now in his hands. "What're you doin'?" You practically slurred, slowing only slightly. He tapped the camera lens with a wicked grin. "Seriously?"
"We could make 'em really jealous now..."
Somewhere in your brain, you knew your date wouldn't give two shits, in fact, this probably would have only validated their thoughts about your's and Denki's relationship but with his cock stuffed so deeply into you, kissing your cervix in the most beautiful way, you really didn't give a damn.
You and Denki put on the best possible show you could think of. You were overstimulated, sore, and completely elated! He balanced the phone against the wine bottle so neither of you had to try to hold it.
This way he could play with your breasts or squeeze your thighs while you dug half-moons into his chest. Shocked with the playful zaps he sent right to your core.
Your makeup you'd didn't feel like taking off now ran down your cheeks with tears. Your hair was a mess thanks to him pulling at it.
Denki had you howling through another two orgasms, telling you how perfect you were, how nice you felt squeezing him so tightly, your nails felt so good against his skin.
It was only when you collapsed against his chest did he hoist your hips up so he could ram into you, pulling out just at the last second with a strangled cry of your name.
He wiggled himself free, grabbing a towel from your bathroom and cleaning you both up before stopping the recording.
"You're, hey you're gonna send that to me right?" You asked when he handed back your hoodie off the lamp.
He dropped a kiss on your lips, plopping down beside you on the sofa again and you noticed your email already up and the video uploading. "Obviously, we share all our videos and photos. Why would this be different?"
#mha#bnha#mha smut#denki kaminari#kaminari#kaminari smut#denki kaminari smut#mha fluff#denki fluff#denki smut#denki x you#mha x reader#kaminari x reader#denki x reader
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Seasons
Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader
Warnings/tags: a bit of angst, fluff, cheating (not by Peter/reader), Pete being a hopeless romantic as always
Word Count: 1.3k, I swear these blurb requests are turning into full one shots because I love Peter being completely whipped by the reader :(
A/N: @spiderholland101 Iâll be honest, Iâve never heard any of those songs so I picked a bunch of lyrics and built a story around it, just 1.3k words of Peter being desperately in love with the reader! Enjoy <3
đ€JOIN MY SLEEPOVERđ€
Summer - Heaven help a fool who falls in love
Peter tried not to stare at you but it was hard when you were sitting two seats away from him in chemistry class. Your skin looked as soft as cotton, lips plump and covered in strawberry chapstick, hair softly shining in the sunlight coming through the window.
His heart would beat a little faster every time youâd laugh, his breath would hitch each time youâd run to him in a crowded room, a smile would find its way on his lips the second his phone would light up with a text message from you.
Itâs gonna get messy so donât fall in love with your best friend, you fool, heâd tell himself.
â„ ââââ
Autumn - You've been on my mind girl like a drug
Peter stood still in the middle of the school entrance as he watched you kiss Harry, his hands in your hands, a smile on your lips. It was like getting shot in the head and no, he wasnât exaggerating, that is exactly how it felt to see your best friend that you are in love with be in love with someone else.
He pulled himself out of his daydream of repeatedly punching Harry in the face and rushed towards you. You pulled away from your boyfriend as soon as you heard footsteps approaching you, a smile settled on your lips when you saw Peter.
âReady to go?â Peter asked, completely ignoring Harry and you nodded. To his dismay, Harry didnât let go of your hand without giving you a very steamy kiss right in front of him.
You made small talk on the way to his house and Peter tried to focus on anything other than the kiss you and Harry shared just a few minutes ago. And when you sat on his bed, eyebrows frowned in concentration over chemistry, Peterâs eyebrows were frowned for a whole other reason. Thoughts of you getting too busy in your love life and forgetting him creeped up on his mind and you noticed.
âWhatâs wrong, Pete?â
âUh⊠canât understand this questionâ
âYou werenât even looking at the question, you were looking at meâ your voice low as you scanned his face, âdid I do something?â
Peterâs eyes widened, âno, y-you didnât do anything, nothingâ
âOkay so what is it?â
Peter sighed, biting on his lip because he was nervous and too afraid to say something wrong but he decided to be honest, âjust scared youâll get too busy with Harry and stop hanging out with me, itâs just a thoughtâ
You were taken by surprise by this but soon, the sound of your soft laughter filled the room, âforget about you? Weâve been friends since forever, no boy is ever going to come between us Peterâ
Peterâs eyes glimmered at your words, his cheeks turning rosy as he processed your words.
âAnyway, Iâm too scared that youâll forget about me because I saw you hanging out with all those smart science kids earlier todayâ you teased, your forefinger wiggling in his face as he shook his head, smiling.
How can I forget about you when youâve been on my mind like a drug, he thought to himself.
â„ ââââ
Winter - I wonder what it's like to be loved by you
The cold came and the days turned ugly, one text message to Peter and he was running to your house in the middle of the night.
You saw Peter through your window and opened the door, running into his arms. The impact was so hard that he almost fell back as your hands clutched on his jacket.
âHe cheated on meâ you cried, voice strained from the previous screaming match with Harry over call.
Peter held you close, walking back inside your house and closing the door behind. As soon as he let go of you, you fell down to your knees and he got down right in front of you as he wiped your tears with his sleeves.
âHe doesnât deserve you, Y/Nâ he said sincerely. His hands holding the back of your head to make you look at him and he almost kissed you that night. But he didnât because what if you push him away, one heartbreak was enough for tonight anyway.
As he watched you weep on his shoulder for a boy who clearly didnât deserve you, he wondered how it felt to be loved by you and if heâll ever get to be loved by you at all.
â„ ââââ
Spring - Wouldn't it be nice to live inside a world that isn't black and white
The colours were a bit brighter than before, the leaves and the flowers blooming again in the soft spring wind. Just like them, you were blooming too. You were the old Y/N again, the same old Y/N who was there before Harry came along and ruined it.
The glow in your eyes was visible, your smile felt more real now and you felt more comfortable in your skin than you did 2 months ago. Peter even helped you pack a box of all the things that your ex-boyfriend left at your place and you later sold those things at a thrift store.
Peter started seeing more of you, he would either be at your place after school or youâd be at his and sometimes, youâd go to the ice cream place near his place on a hot day.
As he watched you munch on your ice cream cone, the vanilla on your lip looked a bit more appetising then it did when it was on the cone and he almost leaned in to have a taste.
âIs there something on my faceâ
âNoâ
âWhy are you staring then?â you smiled and raised your eyebrows at him.
âOh, shut upâ he rolled his eyes, âcome on, let me walk you home before it gets darkâ
With you walking by his side and the way your knuckles gently brushed against his made him realise how much brighter his world looked now. How wonderful it was to live in a world which wasnât black and white anymore and it was all because of you.
â„ ââââ
Summer - Honey I love you
The sun was setting, both of you returning from the summer fair and he finally gained the courage to hold your hand on the way back home. The hot weather was making your palm sweaty but Peter couldnât care less. You were literally here, holding his hand in yours and he didnât want to let go.
âPeterâ
âYes?â
âWill you say it?â
Peter frowned in confusion, âsay what?â
âYou know whatâ you bit your lips, a bit of sadness in your eyes.
âI- I donât know what youâre talking aboutâ Peter stuttered.
Peter was clueless. For a straight A grade student, he was pretty dumb when it came to love and you.
âSo you will just never tell me that you are in love with me?â
Peter halted in his step and that halted you in yours. His hand slightly loosened its hold on yours in horror but you were quick to tighten your hold on his hand, even tugging him closer to yourself so you both were face to face.
âYou know?â He finally spoke up, voice in a whisper and mouth agape in shock.
âItâs hard to miss when youâre right there staring at me with your big brown doe eyesâ you softly giggled, feeling a bit shy now, âand how you get flustered when I compliment you, how you always have my back and how you always pick me up, itâs obvious that itâs more than just⊠friendshipâ
Yes, you knew. You have been waiting for him to say something, anything at all to show you that he loved you but as time passed and still no word from Peter, you finally took matters in your own hands.
Peter was speechless and you have had enough, you sighed and let go of his hand. Peter almost collapsed when you placed your hands on either side of his face and pulled him in.
You filled the gap between you both as you pressed a soft peck to his lips and his eyes fluttered like butterfly wings, savouring in the feeling of the airy kiss. Your lips felt like a light feather, barely there but just enough to make him feel lightheaded for a second.
You pulled away quickly but then pressed your forehead to his and closed your eyes tightly, âhoney, I love youâ
You said it like a promise, your chest felt a little lighter when the words were finally out and Peterâs heart started racing in his chest again. When he finally processed what had happened, he didnât waste another moment as he pulled you back in for a kiss.
âI love youâ he whispered, words muffled with his lips never leaving yours, âI love you, Y/Nâ
He repeated the words multiple times, telling you âI love youâ for every single time he couldnât in the past and your eyes watered at the intensity of emotions soaring in your chest.
As he stood there kissing you, his mind went back to last winter and how he wondered how it would feel to be loved by you but now he didnât have to wonder anymore. He knew how it felt to be loved by you and it felt like heaven.
Anyway, hopeless romantic Peter, my belovedđ„°
#loveaffaireâs 1k sleepover#peter parker#peter parker x reader#peter parker one shot#peter parker x y/n#peter parker x you#peter parker angst#peter parker fluff#peter parker fanfiction#peter parker imagines#peter parker headcanon#peter parker blurb#peter parker smut#peter parker oneshot#tom holland#tom holland one shot#tom holland smut#tom holland x reader#tom holland imagines#tom holland fanfiction
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sugar pie, honey bunch [lee bodecker smut]
âœÂ pairing: lee bodecker x fem!reader(y/n) âœÂ word count: 4.3k âœÂ summary: lee gets tired of your secret rendezvous at work, so he comes to your house and does something about it.  âœÂ warnings: NSFW/MDNI. explicit language, smut, unprotected sex (pls wear a condom), daddy kink, degradation, infidelity by both parties, loss of virginity, mentions of anal sex âœÂ a/n: if you know me irl no u donât <3
It was quiet. Too quiet. I hated that. The silence let my thoughts run amok and that was never good for anybody, but least of all me. I had a tendency to overthink things, and quiet and still only amplified that. Knockemstiff, Ohio was the absolute worst place to live if you hated silence, because nothing happened in that little town. About twelve years ago, there had been a veteran who killed himself after his wife died, but that was the loudest thing that had ever happened to my little Knockemstiff. I should know; I worked as a secretary at the police station. I heard all of the gossip from around town. Earlier today, someone had been arrested for being drunk, which I think everyone in Knockemstiff could be in violation of. Every other day was quiet. It was hell.Â
I could hear the crickets way out in the fields as I walked around the house. Those bugs served as my soundtrack as I found a box of matches and quietly slid a few into my mouth, and I padded through the house until I reached the front door. Knockemstiff was the sort of town where people didnât use their front doors unless the Pope was showing up; it was all side doors and garages (if you were lucky enough to have one, which most of us didnât). All that to say, I knew I could smoke by the front door and nobody would smell it.Â
The night was hot. Oppressive and stifling, nearly suffocating. My skin was tacky against my nightshirt as I struck a match and lit a cigarette, and I leaned up against the side of the house. The moon was full, casting silver light onto my barren front yard and the dirt road that stretched exactly from one side of town to the other that ran in front of the house. It was a weird sort of beautiful. But quiet. Oh so quiet.Â
Quiet, until I heard the far-off rumbling of a car. It wasnât unheard of to get visitors in the night-- usually someone coming to ask me about the police station, because nobody had the balls or willpower to call our sheriff after hours-- but the noise drew closer at a snailâs pace. Whoever this was wasnât in any hurry at all. Finally, a car rolled up in front of the house, the headlights off. There was a moment where I watched the car, then I sighed when the door wrenched open to reveal Lee Bodecker. The sheriff was a nice enough guy, maybe at the risk of being too nice sometimes and a total prick at others, but I was at a loss for why the hell heâd be here this late at night with his cruiserâs lights off. If it were an urgent police matter, heâd have his flashing lights on.Â
âYou shouldnât do that,â Sheriff Bodecker told me, his voice carrying across the yard.Â
âDo what?â I quipped.Â
His boots brushed the porch as he climbed the steps up, and I caught his eye in the moonlight. âSmokingâs unbecoming of a young woman,â Bodecker told me pointedly. âAnyway, itâs a bad habit.âÂ
âYou come to lecture me on smoking?â I asked. âI ainât quite finished typing up that arrest report yet, if thatâs what youâre after.âÂ
âNo, no,â Bodecker said. âNah, I ainât here for that, sugar.âÂ
âOh?â I said, crossing my arms. âAnd what are you here for?âÂ
âWeâll get to that soon enough,â Bodecker said. âAinât you gonna invite me in? Itâs awful late.âÂ
âExactly why Iâm not gonna do that,â I said quickly, taking an exaggerated drag on my cigarette. âPeople talk, Lee. Blowjobs in the supply closet during lunch break are one thing; showing up to my house unannounced at half past midnight is something else. And I ainât gonna be no Whore of Knockemstiff, ya hear me? Run along. Iâll see you tomorrow.âÂ
âInvite me in, Y/N,â Bodecker said, tilting his head down to look me in the eyes. Bodecker was imposing: six feet tall and sturdy as a mule, even if his middle was getting a little soft. He had these steel-blue eyes that cut right to my core and gorgeous eyelashes, with puffy pink lips and a little cleft in his chin. Maybe if he were ten years younger, thirty pounds lighter, with one less marriage, Iâd be into him properly, but that wasnât the case. Our relationship was one of necessity (but arenât they all?). His pretty little wife had stopped sucking his cock and he had a thing for my pink lipstick. It worked. That wasnât to say that I didnât enjoy our little trysts, because I definitely did, but something felt off about this certain encounter. He had never paid me a visit at home before. âBe a good little host for me.âÂ
I huffed and stamped out my cigarette. âCome in, wonât you?â I grumbled, throwing open the squeaky screen door. It felt off to have Lee in my house, but everything about us was off. I guess this was only normal.Â
I flipped the light on and settled myself against the counter as Lee pulled off his tan sheriffâs hat. His hair was dark as pitch, shorn short on all sides but getting a little long at the top, and little wrinkles appeared at the corners of his eyes as he squinted at the pictures I had on the fridge. âAnd whoâs this?â he asked, pressing his thumb into a picture.Â
I looked at it and clenched my teeth. âBoyfriend,â I answered simply.Â
âOh?â Lee chuckled. âAnd where is he?âÂ
âWell, right now, heâs in âNam,â I answered. âHe enlisted, got sent over.âÂ
âAnd he didnât propose before he left?â Lee asked, and I shook my head. âHmm. Usually when men go to war, they make sure that theyâll have someone waiting for them when they get back.âÂ
âWhy are you here?â I asked suddenly. âWhat do you want?âÂ
âThe wifeâs mad at me tonight,â Lee said. âShe was drinking and started yellinâ at me. Said I was better gone.âÂ
âAnd you came here?â I said. âWhy?âÂ
âGot nowhere else to go,â Lee shrugged. âAnd I figured that youâd welcome me.âÂ
âYou couldnât go to a bar?â I asked.Â
âNot unless I wanted to run into my sister,â Lee said. âAnd I donât feel like having a fucking lecture.âÂ
I sucked in air through my teeth. âFine,â I finally said. âBut youâre on the couch.âÂ
âAw, câmon, babe,â Lee groaned. He approached me at my place at the counter, and his arms went on either side of me, keeping me right where he wanted me. âItâs been a long day for me. Youâre not really gonna make me sleep on no stinkinâ couch, are ya?â
âI sure am,â I told him. ââCause youâre sure as hell not sleeping in the bed.â
Lee tilted his head. âNot even a good night kiss?â he asked.Â
âNo,â I said. âThis is an inconvenience for me. I got shit to do tomorrow and I need sleep.âÂ
âWhich is why you were outside smoking,â Lee said.Â
âHelps me calm down,â I snapped. âLee. Let me go.âÂ
âYou sure are a stupid little bitch, huh?â Lee sneered. âYou really think I rolled up to your house just wanting a place to sleep? Honey, you shoulda been expecting more.âÂ
Lee regularly spoke to me like this, but it was usually while I was tying my hair back and kneeling down in front of him. âDonât call me that,â I said.Â
âItâs true, though, ainât it?â Lee asked. âJust a dumb bitch, thatâs all you are. You fuck a married man and try to act like youâre better than everyone else. And you donât think everyone knows?â
My ego deflated in half a second. âDo they?â I asked shakily.Â
âThatâs why the wife kicked me out,â Lee said. âSomeone told her I was fuckinâ you, and she got mad. Asked for a divorce and all.âÂ
âWeâre not fucking, though,â I tried to counter.Â
âOh, so youâll put my cock in your mouth and call it âconvienienceâ, but you draw the line at calling that âfuckingâ?â Lee scoffed. âCâmon, sugar. The whole town already knows it.â I tried to keep my chin up, but I know that Lee saw my lip trembling. âOh,â he chuckled. âExcept the whole town doesnât know, do they? Your little boyfriend goes to sacrifice himself for the betterment of our fuckinâ country, and youâre here, whoring yourself out for me? Is that why you donât wanna fuck me proper? Saving your first time for that bitch-boy?âÂ
âIâm not a virgin,â I said, but Lee instantly saw through my lie.Â
âBullshit,â he said. âYou know how I know? You suck cock like a high schooler.â Leeâs hand went to my waist, and he held me a tight, bruising grip. His hands were so much stronger than I had imagined, and an unfamiliar heat bloomed between my legs. My arousal wasnât usually a part of the supply closet moments between us, and I had never really felt that before my boyfriend left. This was uncharted territory for me, and I hated that Lee seemed to instantly know that. âI bet you think about me every night, donât you?â Lee asked. He leaned into me and pressed a kiss to my neck, and a shiver ran down my spine. âDonât you?â He growled, taking my skin between his front teeth.Â
âFuck,â I hissed. âYouâre a dick.â
âAnswer me,â Lee snapped, smacking my ass hard enough to make me gasp in pain. âYou think of me fucking you stupid every single goddamn night, donât you? I can tell, with the way you eye me at the station. Youâre not subtle, honey, not in the slightest.âÂ
âLee,â I whimpered. âYouâre hurting me.âÂ
âGood,â Lee huffed into my neck. He shoved his hips against mine with enough force for my waist to collide with my countertop, and I became well and truly stuck between Leeâs rock-hard cock and the counter. I knew what he was offering, and I couldnât deny that the thought of his thick cock inside of me made butterflies erupt in my tummy. He kissed my neck, becoming more needy by the second, and he finally sank his teeth into my skin. âGonna have to make up your mind, sugar, or Iâll do it for you.âÂ
I gulped down my anxiety, and I whispered, âBe gentle.âÂ
âThatâs a good girl,â Lee chuckled. âShow me where that bed is, sugar. Iâm gonna fuck you âtil you canât remember your own goddamn name.âÂ
As soon as I pulled Lee into my bedroom, he had pushed me onto the bed and was kissing me hard. He bit my lips and sucked on my tongue, and he swallowed every pathetic moan I let out. God, I was pathetic. I was shaking, I wanted him so badly. Lee obviously knew that and had no problem with letting it go to his head, because he situated himself over me and gave me a wolfish smile. âYou want me to undress you, sugar?â he asked.Â
âI can do it,â I told him.Â
Quickly, I rid myself of my nightshirt, and my skin tingled at the exposure to the air. Lee gave a gentle sigh, almost like one of relief, and dipped his head to my chest. He ran his tongue from the dip of my neck to between my breasts, and he latched his teeth onto one of my nipples with no warning. I nearly gave a shout of surprise, but I kept it contained. If this bit of foreplay was any indication, there would be enough time for shouting and crying later.Â
âTheseâŠâ Lee growled, grabbing at my breasts with rough hands. âPerfect fuckinâ tits, sugar, Jesus. Wanna come all over them. I just might have to.âÂ
Leeâs mouth went to my other breast, and one of his hands fluttered down from my chest to my waist, and even lower. Again, without so much as a censure, he pushed a finger past my folds and sunk himself knuckle-deep into my throbbing heat. My back arched against my will and I cried out at the amazing feel of it, and Lee laughed into my tits. âIâm only doinâ this âcause itâs your first time,â Lee told me, slowly dragging his finger in and out of me. It was a feeling like nothing I had ever experienced before, and I felt tears welling in my eyes. It was so fucking good. âIf I had it my way, Iâd already have my cock in you. Have you on your belly, fucking the hell outta you, watching myself fuck you so deep.â
âPlease, Lee,â I sobbed.Â
Through my watery gaze, I saw Lee smile against my chest. âOh, what a good girl,â he moaned softly. âYouâre my little fuck-toy, ainât ya? Just fuckinâ desperate and begging for it. I guess it wonât take too long to fuck you absolutely stupid, will it?â I shook my head, and I jerked in surprise when his calloused finger drove itself into that spot inside of me. I called out his name; I was too far gone to care about the sick pleasure I knew it gave him. âBeg for it, sugar. Beg me to fuck you dumb.âÂ
âPlease, Lee,â I whimpered. âLee, fuck, please. I-I want you to fuck me so hard, please, babe.âÂ
Lee withdrew his fingers from me and sent a hard slap to my throbbing clit. This time, my gasp was one of genuine pain. âThat ainât what you call me and you fuckinâ know it,â he grunted. âDo it right or donât do it at all.âÂ
I knew what he wanted, and I was too far gone to care. âOh, Daddy, please,â I mewled, squirming, longing for his touch once more. âFuck me, Daddy, fuck me âtil I canât walk. I want you so deep in my pussy, please.âÂ
âThatâs more like it,â Lee whispered. Then, with a strength that I didnât know that he possessed, he turned me onto my stomach and tugged my hips into the air. My arms shook as I tried to steady myself, and I felt my wet arousal drip down my thigh. As I tried to steady my breathing and remove the fog from my mind, I heard the sounds of Lee undoing his belt and shoving his pants down his thick thighs. His big hand captured a handful of my hair unexpectedly and he tugged me upright with only a small huff of exertion, and he bit my neck again. Lee Bodecker was an animal, and I liked it that way.Â
One hand stayed in my hair as his other guided himself inside of me, and I nearly felt sick. The stretch was otherworldly and, dare I say, painful. Maybe the prep he had been doing wasnât such a poor idea. But I had made my bed; now I had to lie in it. âSlow down,â I panted, feeling the tears return, and I writhed in his grip. âFuck, Daddy, it hurts.âÂ
âI know it does,â Lee whispered, biting my ear. âBut you asked for this. You asked for me to fuck you, and Iâm gonna do just that. And ya know what? I think Iâll come in this pretty little cunt. What do you think of that?â I started to protest, but Lee shoved his fingers in my mouth, effectively shutting me the hell up. Even if I wanted to say something, I couldnât. âFill you up to the fuckinâ brim, have it drip outta you, itâll be such a filthy thing to see. Your little boytoy comes home from the war and youâve been letting an older, married guy stuff you full of cum? You think heâll like that? Think heâll wanna share?â Lee snapped his hips forward, fully burying himself inside of me, and I gave a wrecked sob around his fingers. I thought for sure that he would split me in two.Â
Leeâs fingers dug into my hip as he started a steady rhythm. I truly had no idea how old he was-- I imagined probably late 30s or early 40s-- but he was fucking me hard and fast with the stamina of someone my age. Either he had a lot of expertise in the field or he truly had the fantasy of coming inside of me and was wanting to hurry the process along. The more I thought about it, I realized that I really knew nothing about Lee. Not his wifeâs name or if he had kids; I didnât even know that he had a sister until he had mentioned it earlier. However, something about not knowing was better than knowing. At least, this way, I could sort-of distance myself from the act. I was fucking the sheriff (or, technically, he was fucking me), but we werenât an item. I was just his favorite toy.Â
Lee suddenly wrenched my arms behind me and captured them against his chest, fully restraining me and leaving me pliable for him. With his fingers still in my mouth, I could hardly do anything but submit, but I liked that. I couldnât tell if the throbbing in my pussy was pleasure borne from the way he was punishing my g-spot, or pain derived from his taut balls hitting my wet pussy every second. I had gotten my wish; there was to be no walking in the morning. I could feel spit gathering at the corners of my mouth, and I nearly choked on it, but Lee suddenly slowed down, molding his soft body against my back. âFuck, honey, Iâm gettinâ close,â he panted in my ear. âNowâs the time to tell me if you want me to come in ya or not.âÂ
His fingers left my mouth, and I tried to form any thought. Lee was the only thing in my head, though, and I could only whimper out his name. That was answer enough for him, because he released my arm and shoved me down onto the bed. His hand grasped the back of my neck and held me down as his hips pounded in and out of me, huffing and panting. I never could have imagined that the sound of that would have turned me on as much as it did, but my muscles tightened around his fat cock, and he laughed. âAw,â he cooed. âDoes the little cunt need to come? Iâll be honest, I forgot all about that. Wanna make a mess all over Daddyâs cock, donât you?âÂ
I answered with a keening whine, but that didnât seem to be enough for Lee. He smacked my ass hard, surely adding to the redness and bruising that I know already existed, and he fisted my hair tighter. âAnswer me, bitch,â he growled. âSay it. Say âI wanna come on your cock, Daddyâ.âÂ
âI wanna--â I started, and a shudder went down my body when I felt something warm and wet find home on my asshole. I was so far past the point of degradation, and my mind instantly went somewhere else. I had heard about that, sure, but I had never imagined that that could be something that I wanted. And yet, here I was, Leeâs spit coating my ass, mumbling out words that would send me to hell. âFuck, Daddy. Can you fuck my ass?âÂ
âOh, is that what you want?â Lee asked. âAs tempting as that is, Iâll save that for another night. Iâm not sure youâre a virgin, sugar, begging for it up the ass. But, fuck, it looks so good⊠I guess we have something to look forward to, huh?âÂ
Leeâs arm wound around my body and he instantly went to my poor clit. His fingers had tugged at it enough to make it tender to the touch, and he abused it as he fucked right into my g-spot. âJesus Christ,â Lee whispered. âSqueezing the shit outta me. Iâm serious, honey, let me know if you donât want me to come in you. Youâre about to not-- fuck, Y/N-- have a choice.âÂ
âI want it,â I told him. âI fuckinâ want it.âÂ
That seemed to be the final straw, because Lee sent one more hard fuck into me, and I felt his cock twitch before warmth spilled into my pussy. The squelching as he continued to fuck me through his orgasm was so loud that I was afraid that the whole of Knockemstiff would hear it, but I couldnât make up my mind on whether I cared or not. Somewhere in the middle of that, Lee cussed and began to rub my belly, whispering sweet things to me that would have felt out of place only minutes before. I didnât realize that I had come. I liked the feeling of it, though, especially with how sweet Lee was suddenly.
âGood girl,â Lee told me. He shushed me as I moaned and cried, my pleasure edging on pain, and he pushed my hair away from my neck and placed gentle, open-mouthed kisses on my throat. âSo, so good for me, ainât ya? So goddamn pretty when youâre coming all over my cock. I canât tell you how much I dreamt of thisâŠâÂ
My entire body trembled as Lee pulled out of me, and I collapsed onto my bed, panting and trying to form a coherent thought that wasnât just the sheriffâs name. Only a few seconds passed before he was on me again, but it felt different this time. Lee moved the two of us under the blankets and rubbed my back, and he kissed my forehead gently. I nearly thought it was love. As my tears dried and feeling returned to my fingers and toes, I became aware that Lee was naked against me. As far as I knew, he hadnât undressed as he had fucked me. His skin was so warm and it was comforting, and I nuzzled my head into his soft chest. My throat was so dry as I tried to swallow to form words, and Lee titled my face up in order for me to look him in those pretty blue eyes of his.Â
âHowâre ya feeling, sugar?â He asked, his voice as wrecked and raw as mine. âFeelinâ alright?â
âSore,â I mumbled. âIt hurts, Lee.âÂ
âIâm sorry, honey,â Lee whispered, and I knew that he was being honest. Lee was perhaps the biggest jerk in town, his elected title obviously inflating his ego more than it should have, but I never knew that he was capable of being sweet in this manner. âI was real rough with ya and I just shouldnât have been. I feel plum awful âbout it.âÂ
âNo,â I croaked, splaying my hands against his chest. Underneath the coarse hair, I could make out white marks on his skin, and I pressed my forehead against him. As I studied his body, I saw more and more of the marks, and it was only when I saw my hip against his that I connected the dots. Stretch marks. My Lee had stretch marks all over him, just like I did. âPlease donât. I woulda stopped you if it was too much. Thank you.â
Lee nodded and sighed into my messy hair. âYou looked so beautiful,â he told me. âAny man that calls you his is a lucky fuckinâ bastard, Iâll tell you that much.âÂ
I couldnât help myself. My lips pressed against my chest, and I took care to kiss every mark I laid my eyes on. âYouâreâŠâ I began. âYouâre gorgeous, Lee.âÂ
âNah, knock that shit off,â Lee chuckled. âI ainât nothinâ compared to you, sugar.âÂ
âNo, really,â I told him. âThose big blue eyes, your pink cheeks⊠Your fat fuckinâ cock--â I laughed at myself, and Lee kissed the top of my head. âYouâre the most handsome man I ever met.â
âEven more than your soldier boyfriend?â Lee asked.Â
âMy soldier boyfriendâs like a twig, Lee,â I told him. âThereâs nothing there for me. But youâŠâÂ
âIâm fuckinâ fat, sâwhat I am,â Lee said with a smile, but I saw the hurt in his eyes. âIâm old and Iâm fat--â
âAlright, shut up,â I said. Suddenly, a different sort of desire burned in me, and I pushed Lee onto his back before I straddled his waist. âThere ainât nothing wrong with you, ya hear? You are fucking perfect, Lee.â
The insecurity flashed across his face, darkening his features for only a second. âBut the marks--âÂ
I twisted my body to show him my hip and thigh. âI got âem too,â I said. âAnd donât act like you didnât see them, not for one second. And what did you do? You didnât give a shit. I donât either. Theyâre a part of you, and you are so sexy, Lee. I wanted to jump your bones from the moment I met you, and nothing âbout thatâs changed and nothingâll make it change. And ya know what? Iâd reckon youâre stuck with me, so get used to it.âÂ
âOh, Iâm stuck with ya, am I?â Lee asked with a smile. He tugged me down to him, pressing his tongue into my mouth once more, and the ache between my legs was replaced with the now-familiar pleasing tingle. âAnd I get no say in it?âÂ
âI think you got your say when you wanted to fuck me up the ass,â I said, sinking my teeth into his plush bottom lip. âWhat a fuckinâ cliche we are, huh? The sheriff fuckinâ his secretary.âÂ
âWhen I first hired you,â Lee began, his warm hands traveling all over my body, and his fingers took special care to trace the white marks along my thighs, hips, tits, and ass. âMy wife hated the idea. She said she was worried that late nights at the station would wreak havoc on me, and having a pretty little thing like you there with me was dangerous.âÂ
âDonât go talkinâ âbout your wife,â I groaned. âThatâs such a turn off, Lee.âÂ
âOh, is it?â Sheriff Lee Bodecker laughed, stuffing his fingers back inside me, just like nothing had ever happened. ââCause you seem all wet for Daddy, just the same.âÂ
#lee bodecker#lee bodecker x reader#lee bodecker x y/n#lee bodecker smut#lee bodecker fanfic#sebastian stan#sebastian stan x reader#sebastian stan x y/n#sebastian stan smut#sebastian stan fanfiction#the devil all the time#tdatt#i am SO going to hell#but i had fun uwu
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I feel like whether Iazz and Prowl got together with Jazz already having the twins or having them together, either way, even grown, the twins would still be two of Prowls staunchest defenders if anyone said anything about him being a drone spark or something
"What ever it is, I can explain," Cheetor said as he entered Jazz's office.
"I hope ya can, actually," Jazz replied with a forced chuckle. "Come on, sit. Ya ain't in trouble. 'M hopin' ya can give me a bit o' intel?"
"On what?" Cheetor asked.
"Tarantulas."
"What?" Cheetor asked and he fidgeted. "Web-brain?"
"You had a run in wit 'm before ya got outta Tarn," Jazz said. "Ya went AWOL straight outta basic, lookin' to settle a score."
"I..." Cheetor shrank in his chair.
"Whatever ya can tell me, Cheetor," Jazz said, soft and patient. His subordinate was spooked, so spooked his bravado could not rise up enough to hide it. "It's important. I need to track 'm down. A mechlin's life might be at stake."
"The bitlet," Cheetor flinched like he had been struck. "Prowl..."
"Ya know 'bout Prowl's bitlet?" Jazz asked, surprised by the revelation.
"I... I was a youngling," Cheetor said. "Web-brain caught me in his web. He was going to drain me of my mechfluid. Prowl, I didn't know his designation at the time appeared. He was... he was naked except for these these rings around his wrists. I recognized them. They would put them on debt slaves in the brothels to keep them from being able to transform and escape. His forge was swollen, he looked so... frail with that big belly, he looked so tired when he slipped me the scalpel. He bent over the counter and told Tarantulas the his perfect creation need more contributions. Tarantulas... giggled and scurried over. He didnât... he just fragged, tricks on the street had better style. I got myself out of the web... We made optic contact, me and Prowl. He jerked his helm towards this tunnel. He told me to go, with his optics. I went.â
âScrap,â Jazz cursed.
âAs soon as I was done basic I went back there,â Cheetor explained. âIâd learned how to fight, I thought I could get him and his bitty out but the lab was empty. It had been empty for a long time.â
âYa ever speak to Prowl?â Jazz asked.
âNo,â Cheetor shook his helm. âI didnât think... I thought he wouldnât want the reminder. I hurt Bots talking, you know how he was found, how he was enlisted and I thought, maybe that monster ate his bitlet... I didnât want to remind him.â
âYa did the right thing gettinâ out,â Jazz said. âYa did what he wanted ân I bet heâd be glad to see what a brave, young mech ya turned into.â
âI heard what Vortex did to him,â Cheetor said. âOr what theyâre saying. Some of them are saying he asked for it.â
âProwl put âmself in harms way to protect my twins,â Jazz replied. âHe didnât ask for scrap. He told me about his bitlet. Told me he donât feel âm no more but donât feel a broken bond either. âM lookinâ to sniff Tarantulas out. I donât suppose ya can tell me more âbout his ole lair?â
âIâll tell you everything I know!â Cheetor said. âI... I can help. Iâm sure I can help. Iâm fast! I bet I could distract him so you can get after the bitty.â
âLetâs just start wit ya tellinâ me what ya know.â
They had never been lovers. True, there was a chance that they had been and Prowl saw the errors of his ways, but Jazz did not think so. Prowl would not have let that he had experienced a change of spark. This was Prowl, he would have either shot Tarantulas in the back of the helm or he would have just slipped off when Tarantulas had been distracted. He had been a prisoner, under Praxus as the Decepticons had been looting the city, before the explosion and he had been a prisoner when he had been ensparked. Had Tarantulas guessed Prowlâs part in Cheetorâs escape? What sort of punishment might Prowl have suffered for rescuing the youngling?
He could not ask, not yet. The Twins walked alongside him with the crystals they had chosen for Prowl. Jazz had given in to their pleading and let them each choose their own arrangement for Prowl. They deployed Grade A guilt trips and Jazz had walked away from the florist with an arrangement of crystals to give himself. He thought the datapads he had boxed would probably be a more Prowl gift, but there was no telling no to the Twins when they got like this. Maybe Jazz was too permissive a procreator, but he could not find a reason to say no when they only wanted him to be nice to their favourite mech.
How in Primusâ designation had Jazz missed how much they adored Prowl for three vorns? They were not just comfortable with him, they actually loved him and Jazz had just figured they had been sneaking into his office to get a rise out of the most stalwart Autobot on the planet. His preconceptions, misconceptions of Prowl had put blinders on Jazz. He should have listened less to Chromedome, because Jazz knew what kind of boss Prowl was, he was coming to question if everything Chromedome had said all these vorns could have been lies.
âProwl!â Sideswipe held the arrangement he had chosen out as they stormed into the Praxianâs treatment room. He set the datapad he had been holding down. Prowl smiled. It was the tiniest squirk of his mouth and a crinkling at the end of his optics. Holy Primus. Might Prowl love them back? âWe brought ya crystals! Arenât they pretty?â
âThey are,â Prowl said.
âGranny says crystals help mecha heal,â Sideswipe explained as he placed the crystals on the table next to Prowlâs berth. âBecause theyâre bright ân happy.â
âYer grannyâs fond oâ crystals,â Jazz said.
Sunstreaker held the crystals he had chosen up to Prowl, then set them down on the table next to Sideswipeâs selection. He confidence bred from familiarity, he climbed onto the medberth and sat sat down next to him. Jazz was speechless. He knew Sunny was a cuddler but Sunny was picky. He loved to cuddle him, his twin, Punch, no one else. Sideswipe was not nearly so coordinated as Sunstreaker and he clamoured, or tried to clamour onto the berth. Jazz quickly set the box and crystals he was carrying down and scooped Sideswipe up and then set him down with Sunstreaker.
âHe didnât jerk ya, I hope?â Jazz asked. Prowl shook his helm.
âEven if he did, I would not feel it,â he replied. âRatchet has not reactivated my relays.â
âDonât forget to give Prowl your crystals,â Sideswipe chastened his progenitor and Jazz smiled at him.
âDid you harass your progenitor to give me crystals?â Prowl asked and Jazz felt bad that he had come to that conclusion. He made to attempt to save face.
âThey did,â Jazz said. âGot an audial full âbout turninâ up empty servoed. My Oriâs right though. Crystals help ya heal.â
Prowlâs optics were the same colour of the celestite in the arrangement Jazz had chosen and he had not noticed it. He set the arrangement on the other table. Between the artwork covering the walls and the crystals covering the tables, Prowlâs treatment room looked bright and full of love. When Prowl looked down at the Twins, his optics sparkled like the crystal. They went opaque when they fell on Jazz. The expression, the optics were the window to the spark, had never held truer for any mech.
âYa still torturinâ yerself wit Optimusâ sap?â Jazz asked.
âThis one is the worst yet,â Prowl said. âNot only is the plot full of holes, the dialogue is awful and it is riddled with grammatical errors.â
âYa been correctinâ it in yer helm, ainât ya?â Jazz asked.
âPerhaps,â Prowl replied and when he looked at Jazz there was a spark, a sparkle and Jazz laughed.
âWell, I brought ya somethinâ better,â he said. âA bunch of mysteries ân historical fiction. I thought thatâd be more yer thing.â
âYes, absolutely,â Prowl replied and somehow he looked brighter, lighter. Jazz set the box down next to the crystals. âThank you.â
âYâre welcome,â Jazz said. âWhy donât ya show Prowl that picture ya been working on Sunny?â
âOh, ya!â Sunstreaker exclaimed. He was excite as he pulled out his sketchpad and turned it on. âI drew crystals.â
âThat is beautiful,â Prowl replied. Jazz sat down in the chair next to the berth as rested his ped on the edge. Sunstreaker showed Prowl all the little details he had been working on. Sideswipe told Prowl about the raise he had won. Prowl nodded along and smiled the barely perceptible smile. Jazz was getting an idea what sort of originator Prowl had been to his bitlet, a soft, patient and loving one. He hoped to Primus that Ostaros was somewhere for him to find. This originator ought to have his bitlet in his arms again. It was long overdue.
#valveplug#maccadams#vortex au#tf prowl#tf jazz#tf sunstreaker#tf sideswipe#tf cheetor#cannibalism#anon fic ask#anon asks ficlet
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Ad Victoriam
Finally got off my ass and started the fic I've been wanting to do for weeks. Maybe months? I'll be doing it chapter by chapter and eventually putting it up on Ao3.
I've made it GN as I want sole to be as relatable to you or your OC as possible.
Chapter I - warnings: None.
Chapter I
Arrival of the mechanical birds
The tangerine sunset always looked gorgeous from the Castle; the sparkling glimmers skipping over the restless sea, making it appear crisp and clean â disguising the usual sickly green hue of the salted waves. But the Minutemen werenât able to take a moment to take in the beautiful daily view they were blessed with. The usual peaceful bliss they felt in their fortress this time of day was today filled with unease, anxiety and even a little fear among the less informed.
âGeneral. Here they come.â Prestonâs familiar voice muttered from close behind his leader.
The familiar tone that seemed a lot more welcome than usual. Preston had always been a great guide to Y/N, and more-so a great friend. And as their heart fluttered at the sight of the vertibirds in the distance, heading towards the ancient garrison, his voice helped hold the glue of their stoic expression as their men and women gathered outside of the main gate to greet the guests for the evening. Preston Garvey was their pillar of strength. Always there when they needed an extra pair of shoulders to unload some weight upon. And of course, the favour was always returned.
A chilled breeze whipped around the small gathering, all eyes up towards the old Boston airport across the shimmering sea â the giant, metal, killing machines looking a lot smaller than they were in reality as they made their journey.
Five. They think to themselves, arms behind their back. They would never allow themselves to show fear in front of their soldiers. Five of them. Why would he need five?
Their trust in Elder Maxson had recently begun to dwindle, due to a few reasons. Reasons they'd went over in the confines of their room over and over again. Planning every move for as many scenarios they could possibly think of. If this were a trap â they would be ready.
A whiff of cigarette smoke filled their nostrils, the disgust of the scent still not faltering their spine of steel stance as the ebony sheen of the metal birds grew bigger by the second.
âSo, whatâs the deal with this guy?â Hancock asks as he inhales his hit of nicotine, gold plated flip-lighter being tucked back into his crimson pocket with an equally coral colored hand. âHow much time have you spent with him? Whatâs his vibe?â
âIâve spent a decent amount with him.â They reply, eyes blinking but not moving from the airport. âIâve worked under him for a while now. He trusts me.â
âBut, do you trust him?â He gestures with his hand, pointing the smouldering end of his white stick towards the incoming cavalry. âBecause I donât think many here do.â His voice was lowered so only they and Preston could hear him. Hancock is smart. He read the situation pretty well.
âWeâll see.â Their tone is soft, quiet. Their mind ticking.
Preston glances between his General and the Ghoul. âWhatever the case, itâs too late to be speculating that now. Iâm sure the General has thought of every possible outcome. After all, they didnât bring us this far by throwing caution to the wind.â
Their perfect lips part slightly in a small laugh. âThatâs exactly how I got us here.â
âOkay... bad example.â He shrugs, head dipping to the right as if shaking off unwanted information. âBut... whatever you did, itâs working. So, I trust your judgment.â
âI donât.â A third voice chimes in quietly, a lilt of light-heartedness in the tone. âThey once dragged me to a museum saying it would be fun. ...Tha---t place had a Deathclaw nesting inside.â
MacCready held out his hand to Hancock without even setting eyes upon him. âBut, they did get us out alive, I'll give them that.â
Hancockâs beady black eyes roll as he sinks his hand into the inside of his coat, pulling out his box of cigarettes'. âYou know, a âpleaseâ and âthank youâ one of these days would be appreciated.â
âWell, I didnât ask to be dragged to some old witchcraft creep-fest. So why would I say please and thanks?â
Hancock letâs out a gruff sigh of exasperation as he tucks his cardboard back inside. âKnow what? No. No cigarette for you.â
MacCreadyâs broken nose crinkles. âWhat? Aw, câmon! Was it something I said?â
The vertibirds were audible now; the droning hums that once filled the General with pride as they fought alongside their brothers and sisters, now transmuting into a strange dread.
âWhat the hell does he want?â Mac isnât as good at hiding his unease as the rest of them, getting visibly agitated. âYou know, I could take him out from the wall.â
âAnd have twelve to fifteen angry men in power Armour charge at us? Use your damn brain.â Preston scolds.
âIâm still a Paladin.â Y/N reminds them. âHeâs still my Elder.â
âBut, youâre a minuteman first, right?â Preston asks, large brown eyes pouring with his usual adorable innocence.
Heâs answered with a single nod as the ground begins to vibrate; the five choppers now close enough to push Hancock to slap his hand over his hat to prevent it flying away; the strong gust of wind blowing the end of his cig off from the rest of the stick.
The landing gear deploys, a mechanical groan emitting from the machines as the engines switch off, all five of them landing in a small semi-circle around the group of gawping minutemen and their leaders.
The ground shakes as large and loud booms emit from the BoS soldiers leaping onto the soil in their robot-like suits; their faceless helmets instantly snapping to look at the group theyâve been ordered to greet.
âPaladin.â One nods to Y/N through his speaker.
They weren't sure who it was but it didnât matter. From his armour, they knew his rank.
âKnight.â Was their reply with a curt nod as the Elder himself dismounts his personal ride; all eyes instantly gluing themselves to his stiff and proud form.
A Paladin followed â unknown identity thanks to his power armour.
âAh Paladin.â Maxsonâs authoritive voice greets as he makes his way up to the awestruck group â his eyes not once leaving Y/N's form. âIâm glad you agreed to this meeting. From what I hear, youâve been making positive waves across the Commonwealth. I wanted to see what my underling was doing for myself. And even offer our assistance at ridding the filth that infests us.â
Underling. A power move already? They think as they remain stone-faced, falling into the salute of the Brotherhood. âElder. Itâs an honour to have you at the Castle.â
Preston frowns at their words â gloved hands gripping his laser rifle a little tighter than intended.
âLike wise.â He returns the salute, his eyes looking... well, they couldnât quite place their finger on it. It was a look they'd never seen from him before, yet still seemed like a familiar expression. At least from his tone, he seemed pleased. âMy men here will remain outside. Only Paladin Danse will be accompanying me. I donât want to... impose.â
âDanse?â Y/N blinks at the Paladin behind Maxson.
âL/N.â He replies with a nod.
âAh yes. I thought it would be fitting to bring your sponsor along with us. You seem to work great together on the field.â Maxson smirks â y/n knew that was his usual smile. Youâd never catch the Elder in a full-blown beam of happiness.
Y/N felt a lot better for a moment that Danse was with them. Then it came crashing down when they realised that man would run into hell for his Elder. Support from him if things went wrong probably wasn't on the cards.
âOkay, well then... shall we?â Y/N gestures towards the Castle that was now quickly falling into the shadow of twilight.
Maxon nods before turning to his small army. âRemember, we are guests here. On your best behaviour soldiers.â
A unison, robotic chant of âYes sir!â chimed through the air before Maxson turned back to follow the General.
âIt seems we have a lot to talk about.â He comments as they begin their stride.
Something in the way he said that fuelled the sense of dread that brewed deep within Y/N's stomach. Their instincts were usually right â and they were screaming that something wasnât entirely how it seemed to be.
#fallout 4#fallout#fallout fic#fallout 4 fic#fallout oc#fallout x reader#fallout hancock#elder maxson#paladin danse#mayor hancock#fallout maccready#robert maccready#fallout 4 hancock#preston#preston garvey#minuteman#brotherhood of steel
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@regs09
I hope this is okay! I tried to show her as helpful as possible but a little sparky too. They're not all the same length but I tried to use different scenarios too.
Kuroo
The first time he saw you, you were surrounded by 2nd years pestering you for your phone number and he truly felt sorry for those guys. You couldnât have had a bigger âfuck offâ face even if you tried. As he walked over, he was getting ready to set them straight when he overheard you.
âIf you donât get away from me in the next 10 seconds, I will rearrange your face.â
Heâd never seen boys run away apologising so fast in his life, his signature laugh being heard by everyone, even Kenma gave him a WTF look as they walked together down the corridor.
âOya? You seemed to have put them right in their place.â
Still annoyed at the situation, you whirled around and glared at him, hands placed on your hips. You knew Kuroo Tetsuro, everyone knew Kuroo Tetsuro. Third year, Nekoma volleyball captain, signature smile and absolute flirt.
âYou wanna go as well, pretty boy?â You huffed as he held his hands up in mock surrender, grin wide across his face.
âWoah there, sparky. I was coming over to help you.â
Hiking your bag up your shoulder, you purposely walked between him and Kenma. âI didnât need your help.â
The second time he saw you, he was grabbing a book from the library and he saw you sat with one of the 1st year girls. Exam week was around the corner so the library was busier than usual, he could see some of his teammates in the back too, knowing full well if they failed exams they could be pulled from the upcoming games.
He could see the girl was stressed out from the way she was flailing her arms, her face red as she pointed at her books. He saw you smile as you leaned over, pointing to something before taking out a mini whiteboard and pen from you bag. You giggled as she held her arms up in the air, she must have got the answer right. He was momentarily stunned by your change in demeanor and he could feel himself smile as you clapped for your student.
When you were dating, Kuroo was more than aware of how people perceived you. He had the same issue to some extent, being perceived as a harsh captain with a scheming personality meant some students were often scared to approach him. But when you were alone, you would often curl up to him on the sofa and often acted cute in front of him especially when he came home after a game to help cheer him up. Packing bento boxes for his lunches with cute cut out fruit and animal shaped onigiri and leaving cute notes in his bags and books.
You would always come near the end of Nekoma practice matches with drinks or healthy snacks for his team, who loved you for this reason. Yamamoto more so than the rest, a huge flirt who tried to hug attack you every time only to get yelled at by your boyfriend and given clean up duties as punishment.
"Tetsu, he just wants a hug."
He mock pouted as he looked at you, his lip stuck out almost comically. "Those hugs are mine, he can't have any."
The manager and you got along well too, you would help them by sweeping up after the boys or tidying away the equipment. A few times you helped Lev out when he tore his uniform falling over or tripping on his long legs as he got used to playing volleyball. He would feel so bad too, looking at you like a lost puppy as you sewed up his hem or patched a hole he had in his shorts or t shirt. The one time he managed to rip the stitching of his t shirt up to his arm pit when he skidded across the floor trying to save the ball. Needless to say, it didn't end well and you were glad you had taken to carrying a sewing kit with you when you went to watch them practice.
"I'm so sorry!"
"It's fine, Lev. Don't worry about it."
Kuroo knew the saying: Don't judge a book by it's cover, but he didn't realise how true it was until he met you. He could have missed out on one of the best people in his life.
Bokuto
Bokuto was known for having a cheery outlook on life, yes he had his emo moments but it took a lot to get him down generally. But you always baffled him, whenever he saw you it seemed as though you were angry or annoyed. In class, no matter the task or who you worked with, you looked fed up. After school when you were walking home, you seemed frustrated. At lunchtime, you sat with friends but you seemed like you'd had enough. You were a conundrum to him.
After school one day, he was walking towards the local shop to grab some snacks and he saw you crouching on the ground, your face was a mixture of awe and sadness as you looked at a box on the ground. As he neared you, he could hear small whines and the scratching against the box and when he peered over your shoulder he could see some puppies in the box.
"Someone left them here alone?"
You jumped as you heard his voice, looking up to see him standing over you, he had his bag slung on his shoulder and was still dressed in his volleyball gear. You'd seen him around school, he sat on the opposite side of the classroom to you so you never worked together. You knew he was the captain of the school's volleyball team but didn't know much else about him.
"Yeah, it's so cruel. They're only babies too."
And that was how you two became started friends and eventually dating, bonding over your love for animals and disdain for the situation. He accompanied you to the local animal shelter where you dropped the puppies off, not being able to take them home. He was enthralled by your change in demeanor, you would always smile at him and act a lot more animated. You would help Akaashi get him out of his funk when he had a bad day or one of his moves didn't go to plan. He had taken to buying you the famous octopus plushie too and would use it to gauge your mood, you found it hilarious. If you were sad or angry, he would come bearing snacks or gifts and if you were happy, he knew he was able to hug attack you and smother you in kisses.
Attending every game, you would always dress in his team number and cheer the loudest for him. After school, you would help him unwind, either spending time giving him a massage or just cuddling on the sofa together. You would lay on him, arms and legs intertwined as you watched television or playing with hair as his head was in your lap. Even going as far to sometimes climb into the front of his hoodie so you would be skin to skin with him. You loved the feel of his heartbeat against your ears and his breathing would calm you. You spent more time in his lap, head buried in his neck than sat alone as you lived feeling his body heat against you. Thankfully, Koutaro didn't mind, he loved the attention and having you close to him.
Who knew such a angry little bean would become such a cute little sloth?
Osamu
Every weekend like clockwork at lunchtime, you would walk in and order 2 meals. One to eat at the time and one to pick up at the end of your meal and take away. You always sat in the corner by yourself, flicking through your phone. You weren't rude or anything, but you had an aura of 'leave me alone' or else which usually kept people away from you. As Osamu watched, he couldn't help but wonder about you and your background.
He tried talking to you first, but apart from polite conversation you didn't seem to want to talk to him. He tried broaching lots of subjects but you just gave minimal answers. He was quite frustrated to say the least, Atsumu didn't help with his idea either. They just seemed to be annoying or potentially harassing, neither a great choice.
It was the end of the day when he was packing away, you had just left the restaurant and Osamu was packing all the left over food in boxes to give to the homeless people around the restaurant. He didn't like wasting food, not being one to be ungrateful and decided early on to donate it to those who were less fortunate. Carrying the snack packs, he started his usual journey down the roads and handing his packages out to anyone who was in need.
As he rounded the corner, he saw you leaning down speaking to an elderly lady who had a small child. She looked tired, her cheeks red from exhaustion and cold, the child looking equally cold in this weather too. They had been selling fruit from what he could see and he stared in fascination as you not only bought their remaining stock but gave them the second meal you bought that day.
"No, no. You always do this. It's not fair, we'll exchange. You give me food for my fruit."
"Auntie, no. You know very well that I don't expect payment for this. Its a gift. Take the food, go home and eat. Use the money for your daughter."
Nearing to you, he bowed quickly before leaning down and handing the child some onigiri. She smiled up at him, all toothy and he felt his heart warm up seeing her munch away at the rice ball. Looking at you, he could see the broad smile on your face as you bantered with the woman, seeing you like this was such a contrast to your usual stoic attitude.
This routine continued for a few weeks, eventually you would help Osamu out with his packing. Carrying some of the lighter packages to hand out to everyone, your conversation becoming more and more in depth the more you spoke to one another. You had more in common than you thought, including your selflessness you both had similar taste in music and movies.
One thing led to another and soon you found yourself dating, Osamu didn't realise how cute you were in real life until you moved in together. He remembered how shocked he was when you bought matching Pikachu onesies to wear and would take lots of selfies with him. His phone was full of cute pictures that he got during the day with little messages and lovey dovey quotes. The apartment was full of couple things like matching slippers and the progression of your relationship through little mementos strewn across the wall.
You would spend any spare time you had at his shop helping him, or trying to as you seemed to get distracted by how pretty your boyfriend was. Or you would come behind him and attach yourself in a backhug, Osamu wouldn't be able to get much done with a limpet attached so you compromised on a only doing that when he had a break.
What started as a fascination ended up being one of the biggest surprises of his life and he couldn't imagine his life without you in it.
#haikyui x reader#osamu x reader#osamu miya#haikyuu request#haikyuu fluff#kuroo x reader#bokuto x reader#kuroo x y/n#bokuto x y/n#osamu x y/n#haikyuu scenarios#haikyuu headcannons#haikyuu fanfiction#kuroo tetsuro hcs#kuroo tetsuro#bokuto kotaro
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Stuck in the Middle with You
A gift for the lovely @chubbykatsudon for the Novigrad Gift Exchange 2021!
Geraskefer, minor Lamden. 16507 Words. Can also be read here on ao3! Rated M for an abundance of cursing and deeply suggestive flirting! Tags for a small amount of canon typical violence, & a very big dog (Roach, my love)! Other tags include: Oh My God The Were Neighbors, Enemies to Lovers, Friends to Lovers, Idiots to Lovers, We're Really Running The Gamut Here, Going viral on TikTok, The best lease of all fucking time, apple juice, and ever changing groupchat names.
x
âA year! A full year. Two! THREE!â
âHmm.â Geralt muttered. In one hand above his head, he dangled the dead-though-still-writhing remains of a drowner. Heâd stabbed it in the spineâ nerve damage, unfortunate stuff. At his feet, the groveling man whoâd gotten him into this mess in the first place. About 75% of the people he had to rescue from monsters, he found, were the rich sticking their noses places they oughtnât, out of pure arrogance. This one, a landlord, apparently, had decided to wander off drunkenly from a party and go poking about the river.
He whimpered. âIâ Iâll throw in maintenance! Please, Witcher, Iââ
âDo you allow pets,â he asked dryly, âI need a place for Roach.â He gestured with his head to Roach, who was watching the thrashing drowner body with interest.
âAh, no, we donâtââ Geralt dug his thumb into a wound in the deceased drownerâs neck, causing it to hiss and send out spittle. The kneeling landlord cried in fear.
âYes! Yes! Fine, we can accept your dog, please, please Witcher I canât die, Iââ
âDeal,â Geralt said, and thrust his sword through the drowner once more, severing its head from its body. The man yelped as blood and assorted monster bits sprayed out. Geralt dropped the remnants of its head and neck to the ground, landing with a sickening splat, and the man wailed again.
âWhenâs move in?â
ââ
Move-in, as it turned out, was a week and a half later, the first of the month. It was a good apartment, better than heâd have ever rented for himselfâ a quiet street, an elevator, laundry in the basement, and a doorman half the time. Geralt had a view of the city from his bedroom and of the tree-lined street below from his brightly and naturally lit living room, while the second bedroom had a view of the apartmentâs courtyard. The kitchen was a good size, though he didnât cook much, and it had a dishwasher, which was worth its weight in gold. There was a corner shop at the end of the block, and a few restaurants, coffee shops, and bars within walking distance. Eskel and CoĂ«n would love visiting, at least, and if he got a decent enough couch and tv, Lambert would too. Not that theyâd have much opportunity to visit, but he could have his dreams, few and minor as they were.
It was on the 8th floor, which was high enough to feel safe. There were only four apartments to a floor, which helped. Ultimately, he figured, nobody would really suspect a Witcher to live in a regular apartment building. And if anyone came after him, well, heâd deal with that then. With Ciri away at school, he would have less to stress about. Heâd be subtle, wouldnât tell people in the building he was a Witcher, wouldnât talk much to anyone, would hope they wouldnât notice his eyes. Heâd wear sunglasses. It would be fine! This apartment was probably the second most favorable payment heâd ever had from a contractâthe first of course, being Ciriâ he wasnât about to turn it down, or regret taking it.
Even when he was stuck in the elevator with, quite possibly, the most annoying man on earth.
Geralt was taking the last of his suitcases upstairs, which was really Roachâs suitcase, and a box of his cooking suppliesâ an embarrassingly small number of pots, pans, bowls, plates, and utensils. Just as the door was closingâ
âWAIT! Hold that, hold that, if youâd please, fuck!â
A man with brown hair came barreling toward the elevator, just barely sticking his expensive looking brown leather shoe in the doors before they closed. They slid open with a soft ding, and the man, out of breath, tumbled inside.
He was tall, with a mop of brown hair and egregiously bright teal pants, a slightly lighter blue dress shirt tucked in to match. He heaved against the elevator walls, breathing heavily and eventually sinking down to a crouch to catch his breath.
âGood save,â Geralt said.
âThank you,â the man said between gasps. âYou saved my life.â
âI didnât do anything."
The man waved his hand at the buttons. âButton. Button. You. Press. You pressed theâ you know.â
âNo I didnât.â
The man paused, his breathing slowly going back to normal. âYou didnâtââ He looked up at Geralt, his eyes a brilliant, piercing blue. He was frowning. âWhat do you mean you didnât? You didnât press the button?â
âNope.â
The man came to standing, and Geralt found that the man wasnât just tall, he was nearly Geraltâs height. âYou mean to tell me, you see a man running for the elevator, screaming for you to hold the door, and instead you justâ just stand there and watch?â
Geralt lifted his box a bit. âGot my hands full.â
âYou have elbows! Two of them, might I add!â the man cut in before Geralt could lift the suitcase tucked into the crook of one arm. Instead, he shrugged.
âMore fun to watch you run.â
âMore fun toâ I cannot believe this,â the man said, looking up at the floor numbers. The elevator continued to rise, and he suddenly groaned. âAh, fuck, weâve missed my floor,â he said, fumbling over to the buttons. Geralt frowned.
âWeâre only on the fifth floor.â He watched the man press the button for the second floor. âYou ran to the elevator⊠to go to the second floor?â
âI donât like stairs!â he complained; Geralt could tell heâd had to give this explanation many times before.
âYou like running more than stairs?â
âI would run toward convenience any day.â
âMmm,â Geralt hummed softly.
They stood in silence for a moment. âSorry, who are you? New neighbor, then?â
âYep.â
âDo you have a name, or must I call you Mildly Rude Elevator Man? You wouldnât be the first to earn a title from me. I donât even know the womanâs name who lives in the Penthouse so now sheâs just Penthouse Lady. But surely you have a name?â
Geralt smiled. â8b.â
âOh, hilarious, 8b, alright, then Iâm 2d. Lovely to meet you, 8b,â he said as the doors slid open to the 8th floor. âDo you need some help with those?â
âNo,â Geralt said, and maneuvered himself out of the elevator carefully.
âAlright, fine then, if you say so, but Iâm very helpful, actually, when I need to be. I have two hands, you know.â
âIâm sure,â Geralt grunted and approached his door. Fishing in his pocket for his keys for a moment, he found himself turned to the man in the elevatorâ 2dâ and watched as his eyes grew wide as they fell on Geraltâs medallion, just as the elevator dinged and the doors began to slide closed. Well. Fuck.
âWaitâ is thatââ 2dâs eyes grew wide, and then a grin split across his face. âYouâre a Witcher, arenât you! Wait!â but the doors had already met, and the elevator began its descent.
Okay, so, subtlety gone, and given how chatty 2d had been, he figured it was only a matter of time before the entire building knew. That was the price for a free 3-year lease in a building far above his price range at the best of times, he supposed.
There was no way this would be worth it.
ââ
There were three days of peace, before 2d came knocking.
It was mid-afternoon, and in the living room the sunlight streamed through his new windows onto the small amount of furniture heâd arranged so far. Roachâs bed, his orange couch, a small tv, a chair, a barstool, a bookcase. Everything else was either still in boxes or simply not purchased yetâ heâd never had need for it. He didnât even know what to do with an apartment he could enjoy spending time in. The morning had been spent sitting on the couch, letting his coffee go cold as he looked around and tried to figure out what to do with this place he might actually be able to relax in. Until, of course, the knocking began.
He tried to ignore it, but 2d was persistent. After the 5th set of knocks, Geralt groggily rose from his chair, coffee in hand, and opened the door.
âGood morning! Hi, ah, hope youâre alright, settling in well?â
âWhat do you want.â
âOh, glad to see youâre in a good mood,â 2d replied easily. His outfit was just as bright today, his pants a vibrant green with a mango pattern on them, his shirt a matching orange, with yellow cuffs, and a⊠oh, gods above, a guitar case strapped to his back, the leather strap running across his chest, hugging him closely. His clothes fit remarkably well, Geralt noticed, and then tried to promptly un-notice. But it was hard. 2dâs eyes looked especially blue today, which was bullshit. Geralt raised an eyebrow and hoped he wasnât being obvious about anything, though it wasnât as if Witchers let their faces be easily readable.
âListen. Youâre a Witcher. Very neat, very cool, I could smell the heroics and heartbreak on you in that elevator, Iâm getting whiffs of it even nowââ
âThatâs sweat. Or coffee.â
âWell, okay, itâs not, but okay. My point here is, you have stories. And I write stories. Well, I write songs. Music. Poetry, art, etcetera. And Iâm good, I promise Iâm fairly decently goodââ
âWas that you on Sunday singing the song about the⊠rabbit? And the moon?â He didnât remember it well, but whoever was singing had definitely mentioned worms, as well.
âThe⊠oh! Yes! Ah,â he cleared his throat and began. âBut have you heard the story of the rabbit in the moon? Or the cow that hopped the planets while straddling a spoon? Right? Yes, love that one, itâs a fun one to sing at bars. Great warm-up song. Cosmo Sheldrake! Gotta love them, strange bastards. I should record that for TikTok, now that I think of it.â
âSure.â The manâs singing voice was⊠light, airy, with something like a faint rasp in there, but he dipped down low into his register another was a whole new layer of sound there as well. It sounded like him, but it was somehow completely different than what Geralt would have expected the manâs singing voice to be like. âCows donât do that, though. And the references to beasts in your other songs were just as unrealistic. You shouldnât be confusing people, monsters are serious business. Someone could get hurt.â
âPerfect!â 2d cried excitedly. âSee! You know these things. I would like to learn these things. Think of it as educating the public, and helping out your great new friend Jaskier. Which, hello, Iâm Jaskier. Youâre Geralt, right? Of Rivia?â
Geralt shifted on his feet. It shouldnât have surprised him. There were only so many witchers, let alone ones with long white hair and a wolf medallion. Damn internet. âAnd if I am?â
Jaskierâs wide grin turned sly. âThen I know for a fact you have stories.â
The witcher sighed. Well. Heâd bore this man with his bad storytelling, and heâd get bored, and heâd leave. In the meantime, Geralt would get to look at 2dâs well-fitting clothes and shoulders that looked terrifically broad. It could be worse. There was a long pause.
âFine. This once. But Iâm not your friend.â
âBrilliant! Beautiful, fantastic,â Jaskier was saying, and slipped past Geralt and in to the apartment.
And then Roach barreled in.
âOH, HOLY FUCK!â Jaskier screamed in surprise, as the great Dane barked, getting right up to Jaskier before Geralt quieted her with a quick command. She plopped down at Jaskierâs feet obediently, and stared up at him with big, watery brown eyes. Jaskierâs hands were raised high above his head, and when he spoke, it came out as a raspy whisper.
âI did not know you had a dog. Have you always had this dog? Whose dog is this, this is your dog? How have I missed this. Whatâs his name?â
âHer name is Roach.â
âHer names Roach,â he repeated in the same horse whisper. âWhy have you named your dog after an insect.â
âCanât get rid of her,â Geralt replied, though he knew that made it sound like he didnât absolutely adore her. The name had been a joke, and it had stuck, simple as that.
âOh. Lovely. Okay. Will she eat me? She wonât eat me, right? This is a good dog, a good dog with manners?â
âShe wonât eat you. Unless I tell her to.â
âStop that!! Oh, stop that, oh my gods. Okay. Okay. Hello puppy. Nice, non-murdering puppy. Not a puppy. Good⊠large dog. Good large girl. Youâre nice, arenât you. You wonât kill me at all, not even a little bit.â He slowly let one hand come down to his side, and Roach surged forward to lick it. Jaskier yanked his hand back up and shut his eyes tightly.
âOkay. Maybe I should come back. At another time when I am more prepared for your non-murdering, not at all monstrous 4-foot tall dog.â
âSheâs more like 2 1/2 feet tall.â Geralt cocked his head to the side. âMaybe three.â
âFuck. Gods. Okay. Okay. Another day then! But definitely. I will want to hear these stories. Okay?â
âSure,â Geralt agreed. This was more entertainment than he had expected today. He held back laughs, smiling while Jaskierâs eyes were still shut tightly. âAnother day, then.â
âOkay. Iâm backing out now, he said, and slowly began to do so, not turning away from Roach. She came to standing, and he jumped back at the sound of her nails against the tile floor of the kitchen, eyes still squeezed shut. âOKAY, OH, NO, okay doggie, no following me. No following. Thank you. Okay. I will. See you soon. Okay? Okay.â
And then Jaskier was out the door, and running down the stairwell. Geralt closed the door behind him, and turned to see Roach looking at him, her head cocked. He laughed, and bent down to pet her.
ââ
It took just over 24 hours for 2dâ no, no, Jaskierâ to come knocking once more. This time, Geralt answered the door more quickly; best to either get this over with, or get some more laughs out of it while he could. Behind the door stood Jaskier, mildly nervous looking, already glancing over Geraltâs shoulder into the apartment.
It was either a blessing or a curse that Jaskierâs outfit was not nearly as tight-fitting today, though the strap of his guitar case still cut close to his figure against his lavender sweater. In his arms, he held a variety of brand-new-looking dog toys; kongs and bones and pull-ropes and even some balls.
âHi! Ah, this time, Iâve come prepared! With distractions and assurances your Roach will not eat me. If youâd still be available for relaying some stories?â
ââŠYou bought her toys?â
âAhâŠ. maybe a bit? Well, yes, I certainly donât have a dog, I just did some searching for what kind of things abnormally large dogs might enjoy and picked some up on a walk this morning. Nothing big.â Geralt looked again at the pile in Jaskierâs arms. Heâd⊠bought toys. For Roach. Who heâd just met the day previously, and had scared him silly.
The more time he spent around Jaskier, the less he understood about the man.
Geralt took a step back and gave a whistle, and soon Roach was trotting in from his bedroom. He could smell the tension off Jaskier, and put a hand on his shoulder to calm him. âTry to relax. Sheâll know if youâre stressed.â
âRight. No stress, just a dog who could swallow me whole. Thatâs fine, this is fine.â
âPut your hand out low, so she can sniff.â
After a bit of hesitation, Jaskier took a deep breath and did as he was told. âFriendly, Roach,â Geralt said as she sniffed loudly around Jaskierâs hand. And a moment later, she was licking his hand, sobering all over it. Jaskier laughed nervously, a light and airy sound Geralt found himself enjoying a bit too much. His smile was radiant, the relief in his broad shoulders palpable. He carefully moved his hand to give her a scratch on the cheek, and Roach leaned into it, pressing up against him, her tag wagging a mile a minute.
âFeel better?â
âHmm? Oh! Yes, yes,â Jaskier said, pulling his attention away from Roach. âIâm really not usually scared of dogs. Sheâs just⊠very large, and was unexpected. But youâre a good girl, arenât you? Youâre not nearly as scary as you look! Just like your owner, isnât that right.â
Geralt frowned. He knew he was frightening, there was no sense in denying it. He had frightened nearly every human he came across, at least in some small way. But even since Jaskier had realized he was a witcher, Geralt hadnât smelled fear on him. Only just now, when heâd met Roach.
Again, he understood Jaskier less than before.
Geralt stepped back wordlessly and allowed Jaskier to step further into the apartment. He pulled out one of the balls tucked into the pile of toys in his arm and threw it further into the living room, and Roach excitedly ran after it, plopping down to chew on it next to her well-loved gray bed.
Jaskier followed, moving through the room like the breeze, before sitting on the couch, kicking his shoes off, and shoving his feet between the cushions.
âSo! Where should we begin! Tales of your early days, your first forays with beasts? Your most recent victories? Epic quests?â
Geralt stared at Jaskier, an eye twitching. âDonâtâ what are you doing?â
âWell, I figured weâd be here a while, might as well get comfortable!â
âOn a strangerâs couch. A witcherâs couch.â
âOn my new, good friend Geralt-The-Witcherâs couch! Weâre hardly neighbors, weâre strangers! Wait, no, sorry, hardly strangers, weâreâ where are you going?â
Geralt had turned and walked to his bedroom. He quietly shut the door behind him, walked to his bed, grabbed a pillow, and screamed into it. He was good at controlling his emotions. He barely had them, after all, thatâs what they said about witchers. But this man, this self-proclaimed friend was driving him to madness, and it had only been four days in the building. He briefly considered moving, abandoning the apartment entirely, giving it to someone else. Or perhaps throwing this Jaskier out the window. But none of those were worth the time, or the inevitable paperwork. He could kick Jaskier out, but heâd come back, he knew he would.
It was best to just be boring. Just be boring, refuse to tell the good stories, and tell the boring ones he did have, badly. Jaskier would get tired of it, take what he got, and discover there was nothing interesting or worth telling about witches. Who would want to hear songs about him, anyway? Humans, in large part, still thought witchers were monsters. It had gotten better the past few decades, but⊠not much.
He took a deep breath and pulled the over-worn pillow away from his face. Time to just get it over with, he supposed. Another deep breath and he returned to the living room, where Jaskier had pulled out a pad of paper, several pens, his guitar, a small bag of what looked to be popcorn, and three notebooks that looked completely filled already. Jaskier whipped around to see him and gave a big, toothy smile.
He was doing this, Geralt thought, just to get the writer out of his hair. No more, no less. It had absolutely nothing to do with anything else.
âGeralt! I am perfectly ready, and if you canât think of where to start I have dozens of questions for you. Hundreds, really, so donât worry about it at all! Sit down, sit down.â
âThis is my house,â Geralt said, grabbing the only other chair and sitting a ways from Jaskier, âI should be inviting you to take a seat.â
âWell, that might be the case if you were an experienced host, but I get the feeling itâs not really your forte. Alright, ready to begin?â
âDid you notice how I didnât invite you to take a seat?â
âI did, actually! Again, I can tell youâre not a natural at the hosting thing. Not to worry, Iâm plenty comfortable now.â There was a glint in his eye that told Geralt he knew exactly what he was doing.
Geralt sighed, and fought off the thought that Jaskier was very, very lucky he was pretty.
A few hours later, Jaskier had gathered up his things, ready to head out. âDonât worry, Geralt, you were plenty helpful. And our next session we will absolutely get to some⊠even more interesting stories, Iâm sure weâve only just barely scratched the surface.â
âWhat.â
Geralt had been as boring as he could possibly manage, giving only the barest of details. Jaskier had still seemed intrigued, still prodded. His eyes had been full of life and wonder at the smallest details, heâd taken fervent notes, heâd looked like an oil painting when the sun had begun to set and cast him in vibrant golds, showing off the warmth in his cheeks and the well-hidden but sharp lines of his body. This had nearly killed Geralt. And now Jaskier wanted to do it again?!
âYes, of course, Iâll need to do some writing and then come back to you for moreâ really, I think I should just accompany you on your next contract, I think Iâd get much more out of itâ not to say you didnât do wonderfully, dear, but I can hardly imagine that anything compares to the real thing.â
âNo. Too dangerous.â
âI can keep out of the way!â Jaskier said, hefting the guitar case onto his back.
âYou canât, you wonât it wouldnât matter if you could. No.â
âOh, Iâll wear you down.â Geralt was deeply afraid that this was correct. âGods, I should probably eat. What time is it? Itâs not Thursday, is it? Is it Tuesday? Oh, I wonder if Posadaâs is doing their wings night tonight. Youâve had them, right?â Geralt stared back blankly. âGeralt. Ohhhhh, Geralt, you cannot tell me you havenât had Posadaâs wings yet.â Geralt raised a single eyebrow.
âIâve been here four days.â
âAnd what have you eaten!â
ââŠFood?â The real answer was anything that took less than 15 minutes to prepare, cook, and eat, but he wasnât about to say that, was he? Thatâs not a thing you say to people.
âOhhh, no, Geralt. No no no.â Jaskier shrugged off his Guitar case and whipped out his phone. âNo, this is my treat. Oh fuck, itâs Thursâno, nope, sorry, saw the T and got worried. It is in fact Tuesday, and itâs 7pm so weâre in the clear; we are in fact doing Posadaâs wings deal. This is half the reason rent on this place is worth itâ not that you have to worry about that. I mean, neither do I but, whatever. Sit down, Iâll order now. Wait, no, you get the plates, Iâll order, okay.â
Geralt stared blankly at Jaskier as he bustled through the apartment, around the unopened boxes and suitcases, the few pieces of furniture, all while on his phone, ordering takeout for the both of them. He seemed to be a natural at almost everythingâ except talking, somehow, which didnât give Geralt much hope for his lyricism. But he flowed through the apartment like water, the lilt of his voice carried through the air like honeysuckle on a breeze.
(If you asked Geralt how Jaskier had managed to stay at his apartment from 1 in the afternoon until 10:30 in the evening, Geralt wouldnât be able to tell you. It involved some toys for Roach, some terrible storytelling, and a wing deal that seemed like it should be financially devastating for Posadaâs. And if you asked him at what point Jaskier had started feeling like, well, maybe one of the better things in his life, he would deny it was so early as a mere few days after they met.
Heâd be lying, but he likely wouldnât quite realize that.)
ââ
Contracts werenât especially plentiful in the early spring like they had been in years past, but the ones that did crop up were often fairly big. Such was the one Geralt happened to find on a walk with Roach, a week later on a billboard outside the largest park in the city.
A Griffinâs nest. He could probably relocate them, if he had help. He didnât like killing monsters when he could avoid itâ and griffins werenât horribly dangerous when left well enough alone. It wasnât their fault society had branched outwards, into their natural habitats. They shouldnât have to pay for the mistakes of humans.
Besides, he understood monsters more than people, half the time.
So, he reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone, snapped a picture of the flyer. The chat was used so infrequently that he didnât even bother to scroll for it, he just typed in the names with one hand, the other busy wrapped Roachâs leash. Slowly, the names appeared. ESKEL, LAMBERT, COĂN.
He sends the picture with a short message; âAnyone in, or am I doing this myselfâ before tucking the phone back in his pocket. Geralt had learned years ago to keep his phone on Do Not Disturb when on walks with Roach; it was his quiet time. If he didnât have his walks with Roach, he would lose his mind. When he arrived back at the building, he checked the phone in the elevator.
24 Messages from GETTING LIT WITH CITY WITCHERS
CoĂ«n â Just now
I donât think thatâs how flamethrowers work??
And before he could even open up the messages, another notification popped up as he stepped out of the elevator;
25 Messages from GETTING LIT WITH CITY WITCHERS
Lambert â Just now
Fine ruin my dreams fuck
He smirked and put it away to let himself and Roach into the apartment. A turn of the key and he let go of the leash, Roach pushing the door open and bolting for the couch, rolling all over the orange cushions. Before Geralt stepped in, he heard the sound of music fluttering up from the second floor; this time, Jaskier was writing a new song, getting stuck on different chords and changing his idea on the words every few seconds. The stop and go nature of it should have bothered him, having to hear someone all the way from the second floor should bother him (why did Jaskier insist on having the windows constantly opened??) but instead, he found it⊠pleasant.
That could not possibly be good.
ââ
When the four returned back from the contract, they were bruised, had splinters in truly unspeakable places, and were covered in grime. But, four griffin eggs successfully relocated, a mother griffin tolerant of her new home, and a decent paycheck to split amongst the four of them. Roach, dirtiest of all of them, ran into the apartment first and rolled around on the cool tile of the kitchen. At least it wasnât on the couch, Geralt supposed, as he led in his fellow witchers. His apartment had been the closest when theyâd returned to the city, and heâd agreed to let them all crash.
âGeralt holy fuck,â Lambert said, sounding incredulous as he began to shed his armor. âThis is ridiculous! I know you saved the landlord, but shirts, did you show him a good time too?! This is unbelievable.â
âDamn, Geralt. You did good,â Eskel agreed with a pat on his younger brotherâs back.
âItâs really nice. You could use some⊠decoration, though,â CoĂ«n added. âJust, you know. Anything on the walls. Pictures, posters, something.â
âI just moved in. Do you guys want coffee?â
The three groaned, and Lambert flopped on the couch, sufficiently de-armored. âI want to sleep for a hundred years, Geralt. No I donât want fucking coffee.â
âSuit yourself,â he said, and put up a pot.
âItâs 11pm,â CoĂ«n said blankly. âDo Wolves not sleep? Is this a thing? I thought it was only Cats who didnât sleep.â
Lambert shifted carefully onto his side. His next words were said almost in rote, as though heâd heard someone else say them a thousand times before. âCats sleep pretty soundly, they just donât do it at night. They have better things to do."
CoĂ«n shrugged and headed for the bathroom, but Eskel and Geralt sent each other a look. Eskelâs eyes squinted a bit, and they slowly turned to look at Lambert, motionless on the couch. There was a long moment of silence, as they just stared at the youngest wolf.
âWhereâd you learn that one, lil Lamb?â Eskel asked carefully. Geralt caught a whiff of anxiety emanating off his younger brother for a moment.
âWhat? Oh. Uh, yeah, I met a Cat. So what?â He turned to look at his brothers, and he frowned. âHey! So what?! You have something to say?! I can make friends!â
âYou get this defensive about all your friends?â
âGeralt I will throw your couch out the fucking window, I swear to God.â
âWhatâs your new palâs name?â Eskel asked. âThis buddy of yours. Your chum.â
âI fucking hate you both!â Lambert shouted, and buried his face in a pillow.
With the coffee done, Geralt poured himself a mug and sat down at the kitchen bar, watching Lambert toss around on the couch. Eskel settled into one of Geraltâs only other chairs, and sat back.
âAre you gonna tell us about him?â
ââŠI need to be fucked up for that,â Lambert muttered. Geralt gave a gesture with his head to Eskel, who rose and opened a cabinet in the closet to reveal two bottles of White Gull. Eskel barked a laugh.
Lambert groaned and let his head fall back against the cushion once more. âFucking hate you guys. Give me one of those.â
x
This was not the first time the halls were muddy.
Over the past two and a half weeks, the floor of the lobby had often been tracked with mud. She had tried to ignore this. The annoying musician, (her mortal enemy on the second floor), had been particularly stuck on some new song that was both uninspired and going nowhere. She had tried to ignore this, as well. Sheâd ignored Jane on the fourth floorâs delivery fiasco, and the fact that Eiman from floor 6âs fire alarm had gone off in the middle of some careful brewing sheâd been doing. She had even tried to ignore the barks of a large dog from the new tenant in what was supposed to be a strictly no-dog apartment building.
(It wasnât that she cared about the rules, she couldnât give a shit about rules. She just hated them being broken when it inconvenienced her.)
What she could not ignore, however, what had pushed her decidedly past her breaking point, was what sounded like a heard of grown men who had trampled through the lobby, made their way up the stairs, undoubtedly coating it with mud, and were now somewhere several floors below her, all the windows thrown open, one of them lamenting about some man who he was infatuated with.
It wasnât even good gossip. It had stopped being good gossip an hour ago, when heâd become so drunk heâd just started repeating the same things about this manâ Adam, or Adrien, or Aiden, or something like thatâ over and over and over again.
And they were doing all of this past quiet hours. Did she have insulated, noise cancelling windows, yes. Did she herself enjoy a good night in with friends, or even a party, sometimes past quiet hours? Of course. Had she occasionally made a mess in the lobby? Possibly.
But sheâd cleaned up, taken responsibility, and not made it everyone elseâs problem at 2am on a Wednesday night when sheâd very much like to have the windows open for a fucking breeze.
This, Yennefer thought, was not what she paid rent on a Penthouse for.
She groaned, checked her phone, and turned her bedside light on with a wave of her hand. Hadnât anyone told these poor bastards about the witch who lived in the Penthouse? She stared at the hour again; it was 2:06am. Did she want to deal with this now? Or did she want to save raining down unholy terror for a reasonable hour, and instead capitalize on time differences.
It wasnât a difficult decision. She pressed a few buttons, and her video chat call began to ring. A few moments later, a smiling but confused looking Anica lit up her phone, adjusting her tortoiseshell glasses.
âYennefer! Itâs lovely to hear from you but⊠what time is it there?â
She groaned. â2am. Donât remind me. New neighbors suck. Tell me something fun youâre working on.â
Anica smiled. âOh, if you want something fun, youâve come at exactly the right moment. This week Sabrinaâs here, and weâre working on a warding charm against fungi in gardensâ I figure we could likely scale it up to fields, but I want to have things worked out just right before we move onâŠ.â
Yennefer smiled as her friend went on, and tried not to wince every time she heard a faint wail come from several floors beneath her.
x
âAndâ he sucks. Like, heâs fucking. Sly, and cocky and shit. Where does he get off being allââ 3 hours after he had begun, the deeply drunken Lambert was still talking, gesturing wildly in front of them. ââYou know?! Itâs no vây thoughtful.â He drifted into silence once more, while CoĂ«n, Eskel, and Geralt just nodded. Most of what that had gathered was that Lambertâs overwhelming crush on this mysterious Cat Witcher, Aiden, had hit him like a truck a year or so back and he still hadnât made a move. Which meant he was serious about this one.
CoĂ«n opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again. There wasnât much to sayâ Lambert was a goner. He hadnât quite fallen asleep yet, so far as Geralt could tell from the rise and fall of his chest, but he was getting there. Eskel slowly began to stand up and collect the empty bottle of White Gull theyâd finished. Suddenly, Lambertâs eyes flew open, and he careened forward, arms waving wildly. âAND HIS HAIR?! I fucking hate him! Heâs awful. Heâs so fucking hot and I hate everything. He sucks. How do I get him to sleep with me?!â
Eskel sat down again with a sigh.
x
âWait. Geralt, you went on a contract without me?! After I specifically asked to go?! Geralt!â Jaskier huffed, his tub of sesame chicken nearly spilling. The nature documentary in front of them hummed along, though neither payed it much mind. They never did, really.
âGriffin nests are too dangerous,â Geralt said around a bite of noodles. Jaskierâs presence in his life could be described with many negative adjectives, but he had to admit, he was better fed when the musician was around. âBesides, that was two weeks ago now. Youâre behind.â
âAll the more offensive that Iâm just hearing about it now!â
Geralt rolled his eyes. âYou going to come watch me deal with these Wyverns, or not?â He might as well just let Jaskier tag along for something small. Maybe he wouldnât be a disaster, and then heâd stop pestering Geralt for stories he didnât want to tell, much less be broadcast to the entire world. Unfortunately, he was beginning to admit to himself that he rather enjoyed Jaskierâs company, but that was all the more reason to cut him out of his life, wasnât it? He was too big of a liability.
Jaskier had started helping to brighten up Geraltâs apartment, both figuratively and literally. There were now some framed pictures on the wall, as well bright takeout menus (âAt least itâs something, Geralt, you need color in your life!â) and even a plant hanging by the window, which was thankfully fake. When Jaskier was around, everything seemed to fit well enough.
When he wasnât though, the living room was discordant, this wall decor was now big and bold in places and nothing matched, and very few things were things heâd pick out himself. When he saw it in the mornings, he often sighed and shook his head, and tried not to think about it too much, or who had put it there.
He tried really quite hard not to think about Jaskier very much at all, but he was over nearly every day now. It was hard not to.
If Geralt had also finally bought himself a sturdy bedframe, bedside tables, and good sheets for himself, well, that had nothing to do with Jaskier at all. Itâs not like Jaskier would ever see it, after all.
âFine,â Jaskier replied after some internal debate, âBut I want to see griffins, someday.â
âMmm. Look them up, if youâre so keen on seeing one.â
âItâs not the same! Do you think itâs the same?! Ugh.â
âSo, youâre coming?â
âOf course Iâm coming! What sort of question is that? When do we leave? What should I bring? Ooo, what do I wear?!â
Geralt sighed deeply. âDonât wear anything baggy, or bright, or anything that will make much sound. Donât bring anything. Your phone, but only for if you get lost. Do NOT get lost. We leave here tomorrow at 5am.â
Jaskier choked on a piece of chicken. âFive aâ Geralt, we cannot possibly leave here at 5am. Why! God, the things I do for music. How non-vibrant do my clothes have to be? Does a sort of forest-y green work? Do I have to wear camouflage? Please say no. Youâre already severely limiting my wardrobe options, please donât also make me commit fashion crimes.â
âJaskier, youâre not going anywhere where you have to⊠impress people. Youâre watching me catch, tag, and release a wyvern outside the city. Thatâs it.â
âI think the Wyverns deserve a good outfit! Besides, this is my first hunt! Our first big outing! I want to mark the occasion, but you and your rules prevent me. Frankly, Iâm hurt.â
âWould you rather get eaten?â
âAt least Iâd leave a handsome corpse!â Geralt chuckled, and took a swig of beer as Jaskier swallowed thickly and continued. âBut, ah, no, Iâd really prefer to avoid death and injury as much as possible. Really. Truly. Not a masochist. Which surprises some people, weirdly. Do I give off a vibe? Geralt, do I give off vibes? I donât give off any vibes, right?â
The biggest benefit of having Jaskier around, Geralt found, was that he could tease to his heartâs content, and Jaskier wouldnât realize until Geralt had gotten a good laugh out of it.
Geralt nodded. âI can see that. There are definitely vibes.â
Jaskier gaped, and then stuttered in response. âIâyouâno! Thatâsâthere is no wayâhowâand what doâwhatâsâabsâthereâIâyouâthat is notâ!â
If Geralt could fight off his smirk a little longer, heâd get to watch Jaskier fumble for at least another minute⊠and it would take his mind off of trying not to picture Jaskier on his bed, pale skin and dark chest hair fully revealed, arching his back while Geralt indulged him in some fictional, masochistic tendencies. No, couldnât think about that. Not realistic, anyway.
And then the image flipped, now with Jaskier above him, gazing down lovingly, raking his nails against Geraltâs exposed chestâŠ
âIâtheâGeralt! I thought we were friends!!â
Geralt shook it off. Not realistic.
ââ
The contract was supposed to be for the removal of a particularly pesky wyvern, whoâd made a habit of sleeping on the top of a high rise on the other side of town, occasionally swooping down on unsuspecting residents on their balconies. Recently, itâd nabbed a little girlâs doll, which shouldnât have tugged on his heartstrings, but after Ciri had come into his life, all bets were off. So, a nasty wyvern, somewhere it shouldnât, who needed to be returned to a suitable habitat and tagged for tracking purposes. It had happened before, there was nothing suspicious about the contract.
Unfortunately, things were rarely so cut and dry in Geraltâs world.
It was 7 oâclock before Geralt and Jaskier finally dragged themselves back to their building; muddy, grimy and tracking it all through the lobby. Geraltâs chest was somehow still sore from being thwacked by a steel baseball bat. The contract had been a sham, and he and Jaskier had been⊠detained, Geralt would say, kidnapped being too strong a word, by some idiots who wanted to prove they could best a witcher. Heâd hoped theyâd mostly left violent displays of superiority back a few decades ago, but humans never failed to live up to the worst of themselves, he thought bitterly.
If they woke up from their concussions, hanging upside down from some pipes in the basement theyâd chosen for their assault, Geralt was fairly sure they wouldnât bother with witchers again.
âSo, this was a less dangerous one, mm?â Jaskier asked groggily as they piled into the elevator. âWanna come to mine? I feel like Iâm five minutes from sleep.â
Geralt shrugged. He hadnât actually seen Jaskierâs apartment. Not that he wanted to, of course. Jaskier mashed his finger into the button for the second floor, swaying on his feet. He slumped against one of the walls and let his eyes fall closed, and Geralt found it hard not to stare. His dark green shirt was ripped, exposing some pale skin and shallow cuts and bruises heâd received. His pants were filthy, and his face was still covered in grime, while bits of his hair stuck out at odd angles. Small prices to pay for making it out alive.
In fact, Jaskier had put up much more of a fight than heâd been expecting. He wasnât a trained fighter by any means but heâd made himself more than useful. Geralt might not have made it out without his quick thinkingâa phone flashlight to the eyes of their assailants, a kick to the back of the knee of another, biting the wrist of a third when it shot past his face, as he had lunged for Geralt. Jaskier had been damn near feral. Adrenaline, Geralt supposed. Hell of a drug.
Witchers felt adrenaline too, though it was different. Similar enough, though, that he was sure his overwhelming fear of seeing Jaskier hurt, how heâd screamed at their captors to let Jaskier go, how heâd been a second away from ending them in retaliation before heâd realized how far heâd gone, yes, he was sure that all of that was nothing more than adrenaline. Even if it had only kicked in when he realized Jaskier was in danger, rather than just himself, rather than when theyâd spat obscenities at him. It had been when Jaskier had spat at them, called them bastards, and earned a kick in the stomach for it.
The elevator was silent as the doors slid shut.
âDo people always look at you like that?â
âYou mean with a dagger in their hands?â
Jaskier frowned, chin still tipped toward the sky, arms folded close to his chest, eye lazily shut.
âNo. I figure you wouldnât have brought me, if that happened very often. But they were soâŠâ he shook his head. âThey were fucking hateful. They were monsters.â
Geralt huffed a laugh. âMonsters chasing a monster.â
âNo, youâre not. Hey. Geralt. No, youâre not.â Jaskier had opened his eyes and waited Geralt to meet them. The witcher looked away as the doors slid open. âYouâre not a fucking monster, I donât care what they say. I know you by now.â
âJust open the door.â
Jaskier sighed and shuffled over to his door, opening it after a bit of a fumble with the keys.
The layout of his apartment was different, Geralt noticedâthe front door let out into the living room, not the kitchen, and his bathroom was on the left, not the right. It seemed like there was only one bedroom, and his main window looked out over the cityscape. But it was, predictably, the dĂ©cor that stood out the most.
Jaskier had lined his ceiling molding with little lights, and as they entered, they flicked on, drifting smoothly between all colors of the rainbow. The place itself was messy, notebooks strewn about everywhere, cords coming out of various outlets without rhyme or reason, cups and plates scattered about. Geralt spotted what he thought might have been pants in one corner, but he chose not to look so hard. Jaskier flicked on the light switch, and Geralt could see how bright and colorful Jaskier had made his homeâit worked somehow, though it seemed as though if a single piece were removed it would look wrong, somehow.
His instruments all looked remarkably well-kept, though. They hung on the wall in specialized mounts; two guitars, a violin, some other string instruments Geralt didnât recognize. There was a small black case maybe holding a wind instrument sitting next to a rather impressive-looking keyboard, and the table where they sat was the only tidy area in the apartment, so far as he could see. Of course, he hadnât seen Jaskierâs bedroom. Yet. Not that he would want to, of course. Or ever have cause to.
Jaskier plopped down on a vibrant green velvet chair and waved one hand at the room, the other covering his eyes. âSorry for the mess. You can sit anywhere. Oh, wait, thereâs cider in the fridge, would you mind? Second shelf. And donât laugh at me for drinking cider.â
âWouldnât dream of it.â
âI know itâs too sweet. I get it. But if you drink beer or wine every night it gets boring. And if I ever grew bored of alcohol, Iâd be devastated.â
âWonât disagree with you,â Geralt muttered as he returned to the living room with a 6-pack. He sat down on the couch and opened the bottles, handing one to Jaskier. They drank in silence, and Geralt tried to get comfortable on the overly plush blue couch.
âSorry you got dragged inââ
âNo, no, stop that. I asked to come. Specifically. You had no way of knowing. Besides, Iâd rather be with you to deal with that, instead of you⊠oh, disappearing to your apartment for days and not answering me.â
Mm. Heâd done that, once or twice. Maybe three times. âSorry.â
âGeralt. Itâs fine. Itâs their fault. You did nothing wrong, you were just trying to help.â
âMm.â
They drank in silence for a bit. The cider was, in fact, too sweet, but it suited Jaskier. Geralt find he didnât mind it much as he should have. He tried not to think of kissing it off his lips.
Jaskier gave a snort in the silence. Geralt looked over and raised an eyebrow.
âSorry, itâs justâgot any other enemies I should know about?â
Geralt smiled and leaned back. âMm. A few. Lot of humans.â
âRight, just, in general. Alright, so just âmost humansâ, got it. Next?â
âMonsters. Donât know why, they just donât like me.â
Jaskier laughed. âHow unfair of them! They ought to give you a chance. Anyone else?â
âMmm⊠some other witchers. None from my school, though. Definitely some mages.â
âOh, fuck mages,â Jaskier said.
âDonât fuck mages,â Geralt teased, âIt wonât end well.â
âUgh. Trust me, I know.â
Geralt raised his eyebrows until Jaskier looked at him and groaned. âDonât look at me like that. Iâve only done it a few times, and Iâve sworn off them.â He finished his cider and reached for another.
âDo you have any enemies I should know about, Jaskier?â
âValdo fucking Marx,â Jaskier spat immediately, kicking his legs up on the table. âGarbage. Absolute garbage. Stole my work at Oxenfurt. Deeply fucked up man. I want him dead. Not in a, âIâd hire someone to kill himâ way, but in a, âif he died in an untimely and horrific way tomorrow, I would spend the weekend celebratingâ way. Shouldnât say untimely. His death will absolutely timely, whenever it comes. Really, maybe untimely because itâll be late. Hmph.â
Geralt nodded, kicking his feet up as well. âAnyone else?â
âMmm, no. Oh! Well, Penthouse Lady, or as I like to call her, The Bitch of the 13th Floor. Sheâs a mage, you know.â
Geralt stared at Jaskier. âOh, no, no, donât think like that. That is decidedly not one of the mages I was speaking about. No, Penthouse Lady is just⊠I mean, gorgeous, but evil. Extremely, wickedly beautiful, which should be a crime. She will take your clothes out of the washing machine, wet, just because youâve left them there a bit too long. A minute. 35 seconds, minutes, whatever, really. And if you break one of the building rules and catch her in a bad mood, she will eviscerate you. Sheâs made people move out before, out of pure terror.â
âBut not you?â
âNo! No, Iâm not leaving. Sheâs canât make me. Weâve been mortal enemies for years now, thatâs a commitment.â
Geralt laughed. âHow do you afford to live here, anyway? You havenât got a job.â
âGeralt,â Jaskier said, lowering his cider with a smile, âHow dare you. You have no idea. I could be employed. I could have several jobs, you donât know.â
âJaskier, I met you at 3pm on a Monday. You come over at all hours of the day. You are rarely doing anything one could describe as âworkâ.â
âAlright, alright, I get it. Itâs a⊠parents thing. And grandparents. Whole family, really. Ever been to Lettenhove?â Geralt thought a bit, and then noddedâit had been awhile. âYep. Thatâs us. Earls and whatnot. Technically, Iâm a viscount, but I prefer the title âFamily Disappointmentâ. More accurate.â
Geralt pushed Jaskierâs foot with his own. âStop that.â
âNo, itâs notâitâs not a bad thing, to disappoint those people. You know? If Iâm disappointing them, Iâm doing something right. Besides, they keep throwing money at me in hopes that itâll change something. Which, you know. Iâll take it.â They sat quietly for a moment. âI have been published, to be fair. And I do go out to sing at bars on Thursdays and Saturdays. I have some followers on Spotify, TikTok and what have you. Iâm not nothing. Itâs just not up to their standards. âS why I have a pen name in the first place.â
âJaskier?â Geralt asked, and his friend nodded. âItâs a good name.â
âWhy thank you.â There was quiet for a moment. âYou know what they named me? Julian Alfred Pankratz. What a name. Thatâs the thing, with them, and their traditionsâIâve got two other peopleâs names, and none of my own. âS why I picked one for myself.â
âMm,â Geralt said softly. Jaskier hadnât ever said much about himself, now that he thought of it. Might as well take the plunge. âDonât know what my surname was. Just have Geralt. Witchers are left to their schools and made to pick their own names. Picked Rivia out of a hat, essentially.â
Jaskier looked at him oddly, before raising his bottle. âTo families that donât know what theyâre missing,â he said softly, and Geralt clinked their bottles together, the sound short and sweet.
ââ
A few hours and ciders later, Jaskier had slipped asleep, chest rising and falling gently. It hadnât been a hard call for Geralt to make; heâd slipped Jaskierâs shoes off and carried him to his bedroom, laying him down on the bed, maneuvering him under the sheets. The bedroom was subtler than his living roomâa cream color, beautiful loose paintings and sketches on the walls of flowers, hung up with tape, and dozens of pictures; some framed, some loose polaroids hanging on strings, all of friends and places he must have travelled. His oval mirror had sticky notes around the edgesâwhat looked like scraps of songs, chord progressions, passwords, dates to remember, and a small note of encouragement to himselfâ âKeep Going!!â
Geralt smiled, found an unused sticky note, and grabbed a pen. When he was done, he smiled to himself, and put it just below the âKeep Goingâ note.
After leaving a glass of water on his bedside table, Geralt slipped out of Jaskierâs apartment taking the elevator up. When the doors slid closed, he took out his phone.
4 Messages from CITY WITCHERS GETTING LAMBERT A DATE (ESâŠ.)
Lambert â 48 minutes ago
God, this shit should NOT be so hard.
To: CITY WITCHERS GETTING LAMBERT A DATE (ESKEL, LAMBERT, COĂN)
Message: yeah, I feel you
He slipped it away, and hoped nobody would question it in the morning.
x
Yennefer stretched, sun hitting her eyes, and sucked in a lungful of the breeze coming through the window. It was⊠nice. Pleasant.
Boring.
She took out her phone.
To: Aretuza Takes Novigrad
Message: Who wants to go clubbing this weekend. Iâm bored. Also Sabrina I know youâre 200 miles away w Anica donât be snarky
She rose and began to stretch, sparing only a glance when her phone dinged.
Aretuza Takes Novigrad
Sabrina â Just Now
Sure count me in. Iâd love that. Woohoo
She rolled her eyes and smiled, ignoring that her friend should absolutely still be asleep, given the time difference.
Aretuza Takes Novigrad
Coral Lyttaâ Just Now
Iâm down for a barhop at least but only if weâre coordinating outfits Iâm begging you I donât want a repeat of last month!!
Yennefer finished her stretches and flicked her hand to start the coffee pot in the kitchen. She needed a change of pace. Things had gotten too predictable. Maybe sheâd take someone home, that would be fun. She checked her phone again.
Aretuza Takes Novigrad
Fringilla â 7 minutes ago
Why is anyone awake??? Go back to sleep
To: Aretuza Takes Novigrad
Message: Frin itâs 7am. This is a normal hour.
Aretuza Takes Novigrad
Fringilla â Just Now
Not on my day off itâs not
She sighed. Okay, maybe they wouldnât end up clubbing, not given everyoneâs moods this week. But at least sheâd get out of the apartment, and maybe get someone else into bed.
x
9:37am
Thursday, March 12th
2 Messages from Jaskier
Just now
Oh, and the note, Iâm just seeing this now. âReminder: Donât Fuck Mages.â Thanks, Geralt, what would I do without you? My witcher in⊠slightly muddy armor, last I checked. ;)
7 Messages from CITY WITCHERS GETTING LAMBERT A DATE
Eskel â 19 minutes ago
âYEAH I FEEL YOU??â GERALT????? (sent with Echo)
NEWS
New Novigrad Times â 2 hours ago
Three men suspected of breaking and entering, larceny, and assault found suspended upside-down in a residential downtown building. This story is will be updated as new information is revealed.
14 more notifications
x
The next afternoon, he heard it while on a walk with Roach, and tried to brush it off. A voice sounding suspiciously like Jaskierâs was emanating from some teenagerâs cell phone. âOh Valley of Plenty, Oh-â the voice sang, before he tuned it out. It was deeply unlikely it was Jaskier. Something in seeing him asleep a few nights before must have poisoned Geraltâs brain.
He heard snatches of it, though, everywhere he went.
Toss aâ
They came after me , with masterfulâ
Brings you to mournâ
Thatâs my epic taleâ
It drove him mad, but he shook it off every time. What was the likelihood of it being Jaskier, anyway?
Itâs in the lobby, where he realized. The doorman, Sonny, was swiping through his phone as Geralt checked his mailbox. When he turned back aroundâ
With Geralt of Rivia, along came this songâŠ
Geralt grimaced. âFuck.â
When he returned to his apartment, he found a sticky note waiting on the door for him.
If you track mud into this building one more
time, I will make you kneel and fix it yourself.
All the best, ~Penthouse.
x
Aretuza Takes Novigrad
Coral Lytta â 17 minutes ago
Yen! Isnât this your ~enemy~??? That guy from the second floor who takes like 3 hours with laundry?? http://vm.tiktokâŠ
ââ
Jaskier -- 15 minutes ago
So. I may have gone viral,
ââ
To: Aretuza Takes Novigrad
Message: How the hell does this have 700 thousand likes already? It was only posted today
ââ
Jaskier -- 5 minutes ago
This is a good thing though, right??? Is this the wrong time to invite you to see me perform tomorrow night
Ciri -- Just Now
Hey uh??? Dad??? I think someone wrote a song about you???
ââ
Anica -- Just Now
Yennefer, I am so so sorry, but I already have it stuck in my head. Iâve only watched it twice now I swear
ââ
8 Messages from CITY WITCHERS GETTING LAMBERT (AND GERALT) DATES
Lambert â 1 minute ago
Literally how the fuck does this happen to you
Jaskier -- Just Now
Hey that rhymed!!
x
Jaskier had told him not to stress about what to wear, that he could just âsit in the corner and broodâ and that ânobody would recognize himâ, but nothing about this felt like a good idea to Geralt. Is this what having friends was? Going to places he didnât want to be, at times he didnât want to be there, just to make someone else happy? It was terrible, and frankly, he wanted a refund.
Geralt slipped into the bar a few hours before Jaskier was slated to go onâjust to get a booth decently near the stage where nobody would bother him. He didnât care about seeing Jaskier warm up. He was on stage, tuning his instrument that wasnât quite a guitarâeither a mandolin or a lute, Geralt thought. He was listening for something, adjusting things, getting a feel of the space. His brows were furrowed and he looked to be deep in thought. Not wanting to bother him, Geralt bought whatever was on tap (some earthy beer he would tolerate for the evening) and slipped into a booth near the stage, far enough out of the light so that he wouldnât be noticed easily by people.
He sat, watching Jaskier, letting his eyes wander down his teal and red ensemble. The pants were a tight fit, but the shirt was airy, unbuttoned a bit more than might be decent, and Geralt found himself mentally unbuttoning more, and more, and more, until his eyes flashed up and made contact with Jaskierâs.
The musician lit up like the sun, a wide beaming smile, and he quickly hopped down from the stage. âGeralt! You made it! And early, too! Oh, Iâm so glad. Okay, Iâm 3rd up, so you will have to sit through some other people, but not too many. Iâll join you when Iâm done! Youâll enjoy it. Well, I donât think youâll love it, but youâll probably tolerate it for your dear dear friend, who is slowly but surely making you famous. Right? Okay!â
âYouâll be fine,â Geralt said. He knew Jaskierâs nervous energy speeches by now.
âWhat? Oh.â Some tension in Jaskierâs shoulders loosened. âThank you. I just havenât been on a stage since suddenly so many people know my face. I did post about this, but I donât think very many people will come. Maybe I shouldnât have? I dunno. Still navigating fame! Alright, I should get back. Iâll see you soon!â
x
âIâm making an executive decision,â Fringilla said, turning on her heel. Theyâd been walking for 45 minutes, trying to decide on a bar. âWeâre going here. We are too damn old to be spending half the night walking around.â
âFine,â Yennefer relented, taking Coralâs arm, âbut if it sucks weâre going out again tomorrow and itâs my pick.â
The three entered the bar, a dimly lit place, mostly wooden and already fairly active with people bustling about, a stage in the back looking ready for a musician.
âOh, I love live music, yes! You get us a table near the stage and Iâll get the drinks,â Coral said; âDry Martini and a Whiskey Sour?â
âYou know us so well,â Fringilla said, and she and Yennefer left to find a table. They ended up at a booth egregiously close to the stage, in Yenneferâs opinion. They got comfortable, settling in for the night, most likely. Until one of them found someone to go home with, at least.
When Yennefer looked up, it was to a tidal wave of people entering.
It wasnât to say the place wasnât busy before, but soon she could barely see the bar, as giddy looking patrons took up tables and booths, and eventually, just whatever standing room they could find. Coral managed to cut through the crowd, levitating the three drinks, looking frazzled. âWhen did all these people get here?!â
âNo idea,â Fringilla said, reaching for her Whiskey Sour, âbut Iâm glad weâll at least be able to see.â
âMm,â Yennefer agreed, grabbing her Martini, raking her eyes over the crown. Options, she thought. It was always so good to have options.
âAny idea whoâs performing tonight?â Coral asked. âI couldnât find a poster or anything that saidâprobably someone good, for all these people to be hereâ
âNo idea,â Yennefer replied absentmindedly. Itâs not like it mattered. She couldnât imagine herself giving much of a shit about who was on stage, anyway.
x
The first performer was fine. Geralt thought they were a little boring, but they werenât who he was there to see, anyway. Yennefer couldnât be bothered, staring instead at a handsome young woman in a low-cut satin dress. When she finally made eye contact, though, she gave a friendly, decidedly not flirtatious smile, and Yennefer moved on.
The second performer, a kind of musical comedian, was pretty good. She capitalized off of the energy in the room, which Geralt had to admit was palpable. As soon as people had flooded in, heâd made a point to look intimidatingâmuch as it had prevented people from sitting at his booth, it hadnât stopped them from buzzing around the bar, and he realized they must be there for Jaskier. It put a pit in his stomach, but also made something in his chest whizz around in joy. Ah, fuck.
And then, up was Jaskier. The announcer welcomed him on stage, and Jaskier bounced on, to the warmest welcome thus far.
âGooooood evening everyone, lovely to see you all. And I do mean all. How many people are here? There are at leastâŠâ he counted for a moment. âAt least 12. Possibly more.â He got a laugh, and winked at someone in the middle of the audience as he sat down on a stool in front of the mic.
âI cannot fucking believe this,â Yennefer groaned quietly. Fringilla patted her on the back. âThere, there. Maybe heâll be terrible.â
Jaskier hummed softly, warming up his voice. No, Yennefer though, he wouldnât be terrible, because unfortunately, he was quite fucking good.
His first song was another one that had also blown up after his sudden viral-ness of the past week, an original heâd told Geralt heâd written in university, and never stopped being proud of. Geralt smiled into his second drink of the night, enjoying watching Jaskier get comfortable on the stage.
His second song finished to applause and cheers, and Jaskier got up to bow, pushing the stool far behind him with his foot. Yennefer put a fist in her hair. Unfortunately, her mortal enemy was fucking magnetic.
âFreak him out, like you said you do,â Coral whispered to her. Yennefer frowned, but nodded soon after. At least she could make this fun for herself.
Jaskier grabbed the mic and moved it off to the side of the stage, throwing some smiles to people who had their phone out, before stopping and speaking into it when the crowd had quieted a bit.
âHey,â Jaskier said gently, his voice commanding the bar, as he looked out into the crowd. He found Geraltâs face, and beamed at him, before turning back to the sea of people. âIs uh⊠is anyone here on TikTok?â The crowd cheered and he launched into Toss a Coin, forgoing the stool entirely, choosing to dance around the stage.
To Geraltâs complete mortification, at the top of the first chorus Jaskier suddenly pointed to him. âToss a coin to your witcher, Oh valley of plenty, oh!â
By the third chorus, Geralt had been sufficiently pummeled with coins, bills, and what looked like a gift card to a cafĂ©, when Jaskier tipped back his head to the other side of the stage. Yennefer was sitting back, arms folded, a single eyebrow raised, flanked by Fringilla and Coral on either side, looking expectant of the musician, mimicking their friendâs pose. Yennefer thought she was fighting off her smirk, but it was hard to say. Her eyes met his, and for a brief, brief moment his smile faltered, before he let out a cackle, continuing to play. The audience ate out of his hand, and he seemed to grow more and more at ease, preening at the attention.
âIt was worth a shot,â Fringilla said with a huff of laughter and a shake of her head, returning to her glass. âHeâs really got something, hate to admit.â
When the song finished, he took a deep bow to riotous applause and caught a coin someone threw to him, tucking it in his pocket.
Behind him, a witcher and a mage made eye contact for the first time; gold met violet, and the air between them seemed to electrify.
âI think weâre on our own for tonight, Coral,â Fringilla said with eyebrows raised, watching her friend stare across the room, and Coral giggled in response. Yennefer made a point to use a fraction of her chaos to stir her martini from afar, so this man knew what he might be getting into.
âThank you, thank you all. I think we have time for one more quick song. And I do hope youâll give our next artist after the break the same amount of attention, as a personal favor to me,â Jaskier said, getting some laughs, and tuned his instrument for a moment before speaking again. âYouâve been a dream. Really, truly, thank you. I fully expect this kind of turn out every week, though, so cancel all your other Saturday night plans for the next, oh, 7 to 8 years.â
A smattering of laughter again from the audience, and then Jaskier was starting Fishmonger's Daughter, a song Geralt had deemed dirty enough to ignore the lyrics of. He looked away from the woman, clearly a mage, across the stage from himâshe was gorgeous, long black hair and bright violet eyes. She was flanked by two other women in similar deep velvet dressesâthe first a rosy pink, the third a midnight blue, while the womanâs heâd locked eyes with was pitch black, matching a choker around her neck. She tilted her head to expose more soft tan skin, examining him from afar as she stirred her drink with magic, graceful and languid.
Do not fuck mages. Do not fuck mages. Do not fuck mages.
He sat back in his chair, and suddenly realized that Jaskierâs set had ended; his friend was bowing, and then disappeared off the stage in favor of the announcer. The bar was buzzing, people milling around, and then Jaskier, blue eyes gleaming, cheeks flushed, smile stretched from ear to ear, was sitting in front of him.
âGeralt! Was it good? Give me your thoughts.â
âNot bad,â Geralt said with a smile, and a pat on his friendâs shoulder. Was it too much? He gave it a small squeeze, and something small in Jaskierâs face changed. He looked up and down Geraltâs face, and suddenly the witcher realized how close they were, that Jaskier was licking his lips, that he hadnât taken his hand off his shoulder, that the world had disappeared around them. His gaze dropped for a moment to Jaskierâs lips. He could smell arousal, and excitement, and happiness, but he was in a bar, there was too much to take in, no way to know for sure it was coming from Jaskier. He held his breath, and met Jaskierâs eyes again.
His phone rang.
They kept staring.
Another ring, and someone tapped on Jaskierâs shoulder.
âI shouldâyou get that, Geralt, Iâll be a moment, just ah, have to say hello to the adoring public, Iâll be back!â
Geralt let his witcher-slow heartbeat a few more times, dazed, before looking down at his phone to see Lambert was calling. He answered, putting a finger in his other ear.
âGeralt!â Lambert hissed. Geralt could barely hear him over the noise of the bar. âGeralt! Have you seen the group chat?!â
âNo. Speak louder, I can barely hear you.â
âI canât! Heâs in my apartment, Geralt! What the fuck do I do! He brought booze! He looks fucking fancy!â
Geralt frowned. âAre you on a date?â
âNot that Iâm fucking aware of!â
Geralt frowned deeper. âIt sounds like youâre on a date.â
âWe canât be on a date! He just asked if I wanted to do dinner! Thatâs not a date!â
âIt can be. Clearly is. Justâtake him out somewhere.â
âFucking WHERE, Geralt!â
âDonât you have a sushi place around the corner? Do that. Or somewhere else. Doesnât matter, just wear something decent and go.â
âHow the fuckââ Lambert was asking when Geralt hung up. He looked at his phone screenâ98 unread messages from the clowns. He shook his head and looked upâJaskier was peacocking around the bar, flirting with everyone who seemed receptive. He was a natural, winding his way through the crowd, making them all feel special. Someone was buying him a drink, and it looked like he was already part of the way through another. He delighted over everyone, taking selfies, accepting compliments, giving them in return to appreciative and giddy smiles.
That was how Jaskier was, Geralt thought. With everyone. Little moments didnât necessarily mean anything.
He turned back to look at the sorceress across from him. Her companions had left her, disappearing into the crowd for more drinks, perhaps. She was playing with something on her table, and glanced up to see him staring. She smirked, picked up the small object, and began to levitate it over to him.
Geralt watched as through the crowd, over the stage, the object floated over to him.
When it finally arrived at his table, Geralt watched as a small coin was dropped neatly in front of him, giving a small clink.
He smirked. It was a parlor trick, and barely that, for a mage. But it was intriguing. She was intriguing. And Jaskier was busy being fawned over by fans, so itâs not as though Geralt would be missed. He stood and waded his way through the masses, towering over many of the other patrons, before finally making it to his destination. He held up the coin.
The woman smiled up at him, sly, and spoke before he did. âNo need to thank me, just doing as the song requested. Are you so often followed around by⊠loyal bards?â
He laughed. He hadnât heard someone use âbardâ in decades. âNot until recently. To who do I owe the pleasure?â
âWhom, I think,â she quipped, and offered her hand. âYennefer.â
âGeralt,â he said, and she laughed as he sat down across from her.
âYes, Iâve heard as much. The White Wolf. Quite the title.â
âI didnât pick it myself, I assure you.â
âYou donât seem to mind it all that much.â
â⊠I suppose not. Better than some of the other titles I havenât picked.â
âDo you have many of those?â
âPlenty. Couldnât tell you what most of them were, though. Hard to hear when youâre dodging enemies.â
She titled her head slightly and sat back to let her gaze drag over him. âSo, none from lovers, then?â
He smiled again. âCheeky.â
âIâll take that as a yes.â
âTake it however youâd like.â
âYouâre not much for flattering yourself, are you, Geralt.â
âThatâs what Iâve got my bard for.â
She laughed, a light thing that he knew would be echoing around his chest for days. She leaned back in, looking around conspiratorially. He leaned in a touch as well, their faces only inches from each other now. âTell me, Geralt. Are you as noble and chivalrous as that song made you out to be?â
âIt flatters me. But I do my best for⊠those in need.â
âAnd if I were in need, you would do something for me?â
âI might be able to do that.â
âWell then.â She leaned in to whisper in his ear. âI would be entirely grateful, Geralt⊠if you get me some apple juice.â He leaned back in confusion, while she pressed the coin he still held further into his hand. âThis should cover it.â
When he leaned away, she wore an unmistakably coquettish smile, biting back a laugh. He smiled despite himself, brows furrowed as he looked down at the coin, and back at her, before letting out a small laugh himself.
âAlright. One apple juice, fair mage. I will do my best.â
âTake care on your dangerous voyage!â She called after him, as he slipped into the crowd. She whipped out her phone; the break would be lasting another 15 or so minutes, just enough to play a game on her phone. Whether or not Geralt made it back to his table in time for the next set was none of her concern. Besides, heâd somehow befriended her most recent mortal enemy, so anything that happened tonight would have to be a one-time thing. If anything happened, of course, but Yennefer was not in the habit of letting a good time pass her by.
Things were perfectly right in her world, as she waited for her phone to load, until suddenly someone dressed in frankly garish teal and red was standing before her. She didnât look up from her phone.
âAhem?â
She continued looking at her phone. The damn thing wouldnât load.
âYou know, itâs very rude to keep your most reviled enemy waiting.â
It still wouldnât fucking load. She groaned and put it down. âWhat do you want, Jaskier?â Her neighbor, grinning widely and holding two glasses of punchy looking drinks, sat down across from her. âNo one else hesitated to applaud my wonderful performance except⊠for you. Come on. You must have some review for me. Three words or less.â
She raised an eyebrow and looked at him for a moment. âI donât buy it.â
He frowned. âNo, thatâs four. What donât you buy?â
âThe song. You expect me to believe you willingly put yourself within 10 miles of danger? You already complain that the second floor is too dangerous for you.â
âIt is dangerous, and I sleep there, so itâs different. Really, it did happen, you could ask Geralt. Actually, gods, no, donât ask Geralt. Donât talk to him, actually. Youâd hate each other, definitely, best stay away.â
âOh dear. Someoneâs already jealous.â
âI am notâ!â he squeaked, before leaning in. âI am not jealous, I just donât need you and yourâŠâ he waved a hand at her, âyour face-ness scaring him off!â
âMy face?â
âYes! Itâs full of⊠secrets. And⊠plots. Evil plots!â
âRight. Do you know what your face is full of?â
âCharm? Charisma? An air of mystery?â
She swiftly grabbed one of his drinks and splashed it in his face, while he gaped. She swiped a finger across his cheek and tasted it. âMmm, no⊠something fruity. Strawberry?â
âRaspberry,â he corrected. His face dripped. âI had that coming, a bit.â
âOh, absolutely.â She waved a hand, and the drink was goneâhis face, shirt, the table all now dry. âDonât take that as a kindness. I just donât want to pay for your dry cleaning.â
âOf course,â he replied, touching his now dry face. âAnd I donât want any more battles with you in the laundry genre, if I can help it.â Despite herself, she laughed.
âAh, I see there is a brain behind those blue eyes after all.â
âYou just like seeing me covered in liquid and at your mercy.â
âMaybe,â she admitted.
He sat back in the booth. âYou know, if you werenât utterly terrifying, I could write songs about you as well. Iâm sure youâve got stories. We could make some together.â
âI am the story.â
âSee, thatâs good! Have you considered abandoning magic and the position of âvery sexy, very scary witchâ, and instead working towards of âvery sexy, very charming poetâ? At least then weâd be competitors in the same field. Same playing ground! Same weapons, which is to say, absolutely no weapons.â
âMm. And have you considered abandoning your current title of âunfortunately charming, unfortunately talented, deeply annoying musicianâ and opting instead for âvery quiet, mildly charming eye candyâ? It would suit you more.â
âThe day I stop talking is the day I run out of breath.â
âI look forward to it.â
âDear Ms. Penthouse, Iâm sure youâll be the one to bring it about.â
âWouldnât you love to be so lucky. Besides, havenât you got a wolf in shining armor to protect you?â Just then, a sound went over the loudspeakers. 5 minutes until the end of the break, then.
âWell, much as Iâd love to continue this lovely and for me, a frankly sexually confusing chat, I must grab my drinks before our next musicians are on.â
âTake care, then. Iâd hate to see you die without getting to be a part of it,â she said, giving him a pat on the arm, her hand lingering as he looked at her for a moment, licking his lips and then hurrying off.
It was only moments before Geralt returned.
âOne apple juice,â he said, setting a tall glass in front of her with a straw. Yennefer smiled and pulled it closer to her, taking a sip. âIs it to your liking, fair mage?â
It was quite good, actually. âAcceptable. Thank you, dear witcher, for your services.â
âAny others youâd like to request of me?â
âMmm⊠give me the evening to think of one.â
âI canât promise Iâll be here forever.â
âOh, donât worry. Iâm sure Iâll think of something. You just go⊠sit in the corner and brood.â
He laughed. âYouâre not the first one to say that to me tonight.â
âMm, so youâre completing quests for others? Should I be worried?â She snuck a glance toward the crowd, and Geralt followed her eyes to land on Jaskier, fliting between people, drinking something that this time looked icy and blue. âJust a friend, I hope?â
Geralt turned to look back at her. His face had too many things subtly happening for her to read it well, and after only a moment Fringilla and Coral had returned, beginning to slip into the booth.
âWill you be joining us?â Fringilla asked, but Geralt shook his head.
âIâve been told to go brood,â he replied, and made his way back to his booth.
ââ
Geralt did, in his defense, make an attempt to listen to the other performers. Jaskier spent the evening continuing to flirt around the room, hands lingering on him, his own hands gently caressing shoulders and arms. Geralt could tell already heâd be going home alone that night. Well, not alone. Yennefer and he had been sharing glances as the night progressed, and he was fairly certain he knew where that was heading.
He just wouldnât be going home with Jaskier, who would himself undoubtedly be going home with some fan or other patron. He had his pick of the room, for the most part. Which was good. Geralt knew he sought the praise, the fame. Besides, Jaskier and he had only planned to spend the late night catching up on their weekly nature documentary.
Another man paid for Jaskierâs next drink, a fizzy concoction, and Geralt felt himself give the tiniest hint of a growl.
Eventually, Yenneferâs companions slipped out, and he returned to her booth.
âDo you have a quest for me, then?â
âMmm. How about, protect me here, until itâs time to leave, and then walk me back to my apartment?â
Geralt nodded. âThat, I can do.â
The night pushed onward. After a few performers more, Geralt looked around in between sets and realized heâd lost track of Jaskier entirely. It would be unlike him to not give a heads-up before going home with somebody. Geralt frowned and checked his phone. A few dozen messages from Eskel and CoĂ«n, and; one missed call from Jaskier. Shit. He took a deep breathâhe could smell his friend in the air, but not quite which direction it came from, not with so many people. Yennefer gave him a look.
âWhatâs wrong?â
âMissed a call. Hold on.â He pressed the redial and held it to his ear. It rang three times before it picked up. âJaskier?â
âMmm. Ger. Gerâlt. Do you wanna go home? With me.â
âYou want me to take you home?â He shot an apologetic look at Yennefer.
âCome home with me.â
âOkay, Jaskier. Where are you?â
âOutside.â
âAlright. Be there soon.â Geralt hung up and began to slide out of the booth. âSorry. Heâs had a big night.â
âI could tag along,â Yennefer offered. âAnd then youâll have doubly earned your rewards tonight.â
âIâsure, sure,â and they were off, navigating around the bar and out the door. âHe doesnât live that far away,â Geralt began to explain.
âOh, I know.â Geralt shot her a questioning look as they exited the front door.
ââ
Jaskier was right there, leaning against the wall. His head achedâheâd had possibly more to drink in this night than he had for the past two weeks combined. It had all caught up with him, and heâd found himself outside, taking deep breaths of fresh air, clutching his lute bag to his chest.
Heâd flirted around all night, but nothing, nobody had been worth his time. How was he supposed to focus on anyone when Geralt was right there? Not that he was interested, of course. But heâd come out, heâd come early, just to see Jaskier perform. Well, to be fair, his hit song, (he had one of those now!) was about Geralt, so that was probably why he came. But he wanted to pretend it was just for him. That Geralt had wanted to see Jaskier perform. He was miles out of Jaskierâs league, but oh, could he could absolutely dream some very, very sexy dreams.
And then his mortal enemy had been there, and wasnât that a treat. Sheâd looked gorgeous. It was unfair. His building was full of beautiful people, all who only tolerated him, were abysmally out of his league, or would eat him for breakfast, if they had the chance. At least fighting with her gave him the excuse to look at her, talk to her. Sheâd splashed a drink in his face and heâd needed to slip away to the bathroom when theyâd finished talking, just to calm himself down. That was unfair. Donât fuck mages, he reminded himself. Not that she ever would. Heâd had at least 6 more drinks after that, just to push the thought away.
Heâd thought heâd been doing a bit better, the past few minutes. But clearly, he wasnât, as he must have been hallucinating.
Before him stood Geralt (gorgeous, fascinating, generous, kind, warm-hearted Geralt), looking a bit dazed himself, as well as The Bitch of the 13th Floor (intriguing, deadly, witty, beautiful). So, his sexual fantasy that he had not until that moment realized existed.
âOh dear. Iâm worse than I thought.â
âJaskier, whatâs wrong?â
âToo much to drink. Now Iâm hallucinating.â
Geralt frowned. âWhat do you see?â
Jaskier pointed to the woman in front of him and then shut his eyes tightly. âUnless⊠unless itâs a magic thing.â
âNoâJaskier, this is Yennefer. Yennefer, Jaskier.â
Jaskierâs eyes flew open. âYou know this woman? Of course you know this woman. So you do have a name!â
âOf course I have a name.â
âI donât know, maybe mages donât all have names.â
âYou two know each other?â
Jaskier smiled loosely. âThatâs my mortal enemy.â
âThis is not Valdo Marx.â
âNo! Penthouse Lady. Second one.â
âOh. The Bitch of the 13th Floor.â
âGlad to know I hold a reputation in your circles, Jaskier,â she said lightly. âThough Iâm a touch offended Iâm only number 2.â
He frowned, and reached out for her arm, and held it lightly, then did the same with Geralt.
âOh fuck. You are both here.â
âRight. Letâs get you back home.â Carefully, Geralt lifted Jaskierâs arm over his shoulders, and the three began to walk, Yennefer on his other side. They went to walk before he stopped, pulling Jaskierâs arm off him, and bent down.
âWhat are you--?â
âYour shoe strap is undone,â Geralt explained, before flashing a grin up at her. âI suppose this isnât what you meant when you told me to kneel.â
âAs I recall, I havenât asked you to do that yet. I was saving it for the bedroom.â
Geralt finished with her shoe and then rose up, and they began walking. âThe sticky note. âI will make you kneel and fix it yourselfâ?â
ââŠYouâre the new tenant?! Youâre the muddy bastard?!â
âWait, you two were going to have sex?!â Jaskier whined.
âLetâs not jump to any conclusions.â
âI thought it was âDonât fuck magesâ, not âDonât fuck mages unless theyâre really hot, then thatâs the exceptionâ!â
âI canât believe this,â Yennefer said. Her world fell apart and clicked into place all at once as they crossed the street. âOh my god.â
âDid you not know?â
âOf course I didnât know! You didnât say how you knew him!â
âWell, there it is,â Geralt sighed. âAnd Jaskier, donât just to conclusions, I wouldnât presume that of her. All I did was buy her apple juice.â
âNow what kind of metaphor is that!â
âThe kind that isnât a metaphor at all.â
âJaskier, if you say a single word about my apple juiceââ
âIâm not saying anything about apple juice! Itâs a noble beverage! But your apple juice leads to some implications!â
âAnd what if it does!â âWell! Well!â Jaskier flustered. âWell! We were going to watch our nature documentary tonight!â
âNo we werenât,â Geralt grumbled.
Jaskier looked at him, hurt. âWhat?â
âWe werenât going to watch the documentary, Jaskier. You were going to find someone to go home with.â
âI did find someone to go home with!â He said, bumping his hip into Geralt.
âI donât count,â Geralt muttered, as they finally made it into the building.
âWhy donât you count?â
âBecause, Jaskier, you werenât planning to sleep with me.â
âSays who!â
âLetâs just go to mine,â Yennefer said as they stepped in the elevator. âI donât want to try and navigate his apartment in the dark. Iâm sure itâs a wreck.â
âItâs fine, actually,â Jaskier muttered. âGeralt I know we wouldnât have slept together, you have standards, butââ
âWell, more like because he was planning on sleeping with me, thank you very much.â
âWatch out, Lady of the Penthouse, or Iâll⊠write a song about you.â
âWho said I was planning or not planning on sleeping with anyone?â
âYou did!â
âI havenât said anything.â
âThatâs the point!â
âSo, you two⊠arenât sleeping together?â
âWhatâs your point?!â Geralt demanded, oblivious to Yenneferâs question.
âWell, thatâs how you know someone doesnât want to sleep with you! One of the many ways. They donât say they do! Youâve made it clear weâre just⊠you know. Pals.â
âI never said that!â
âThatâs what Iâm saying!â
âJaskier, for once in your life, would you say something with some sense?!â âI said, âcome home with meâ! How much more clear do I have to be than âIâd rather spend the night with youâ?! Actually, frankly, with both of you, this is nice. Loud, but nice. I canât believe Iâm saying this about my sworn nemesis.â
âNow, hold onââ
âEverybody shut up!â Yennefer said, loud enough that the boys shut their mouths. âNo more speaking. We will be at my apartment soon. I will be going into my kitchen to get you,â she pointed at Jaskier, âsomething to ensure you donât get sick all over the elevator.â
âIâmâIâm feeling a lot better, really,â he said. She made a shushing motion against his lips, and she could feel his hot breath, could sense his heartbeat race faster, watched his cheeks flush. Interesting.
âBy the time Iâm back, I want you two sorted.â The doors dinged, and they emerged on a landing in front of an intricate white door, which Yennefer opened with a wave of her hand. âIâll be back in a moment. Just⊠let me know who Geralt will be kneeling for,â she said, and then walked into the kitchen, heels snapping against the tile.
She looked at her cabinets, opening one and retrieving the bottle she wanted. Well. Theyâd need more than a few seconds, surely. She placed it carefully on the counter and listened.
âIâŠâ Geralt was saying. âUm.â
âI didnât⊠Geralt. Iâm sorry. I donât want to⊠ruin things.â
âYouâre not ruining anything.â
âYouâve hardly shown interest, I know youâre notâŠâ
âIâm bad at these things. Talking. You know that.â
âOkay, thenâŠâ Jaskier trailed off, and took a big breath. âThen show me.â
âShow you?â
âWhat you mean. Or⊠what you donât mean. I donât know. But if thereâs⊠Geralt, if thereâs something, anything about me that you want, in that way, I am asking you to show me. Itâs fine if not. But⊠Iâm here, I want it, if you do. I mean, I want it either way, really. Have for a bit.â
ââŠYouâre drunk.â
âI wonât be, once Yennefer gets that⊠thing. And itâll be the same. I promise.
âI donât want you regretting anything.â
âHow could I regret you? Show me, Geralt. Please.â
ââŠShow you."
âYes, yes, please, Geralt. Plââ
And there was silence. Or, there was the sound of mouths sliding against each other, soft, deep moans reverberating in their chests. She let them have the moment, and then Jaskier gave a soft whine, and she smiled. That was her cue.
She clicked into the foyer, bottle held aloft.
âA gift,â she said, and the two staggered apart, âfor my nemesis. Purely because his white wolf brought me apple juice, let it be known. And thank you for the show. Both at the bar and here.â Jaskier stepped toward her and took the bottle.
âI must warn you,â she said, âit tastes like goat piss.â Jaskier popped the cork, and chugged the bottle before making a face.
âHow long does it take toâ oh, fuckââ
âPretty instantaneous,â Yennefer said as he grabbed her shoulder to support himself. Geralt came up behind him.
âThe room stopped spinning. I didnât even realize it was spinning,â he frowned. He shook his head for a moment, turned back to Geralt, and grabbed his neck, pulling them to meet in a firm kiss. âSee? Meant it.â
âMaybe I need some of that too,â Geralt muttered. âThings are spinning.â
âAs much as I enjoy playing cupid,â Yennefer said, taking back the bottle, âit seems as though Iâve been a bit removed from the equation, so you two had best be off, I suppose.â
âSomeday, youâll be won over by my charms,â Jaskier said with a kiss to her knuckles. âBut if you two had⊠plans⊠I could always wait a night. Unless youâd like both of us in your bed,â he half-joked to her.
âI donât know how this is happening to me,â Geralt muttered.
âOh, be careful what you wish for, Jaskier,â she hummed, âyou might just get it.â
âDoes this mean Iâve won you over?â
âIt means I donât let a good night pass me by.â
âOh, so you think Iâll be good, you admit that.â
âIt means Iâm open to you proving me wrong. But I saw you play. You can make good use of those hands. Geralt?â
Geralt was leaning against the wall, staring into the middle distance, looking lost. âI just. A lot has happened. I thought you hated each other?â
âI told you she was gorgeous, I donât just say things.â
âYou do very much just say things.â
âWell, then, someoneâs going to have to shut me up.â
Yennefer tilted his head back to face her and pulled him down into a kissâlanguid and slow, as one of his arms grabbed her waist and pulled her upwards and to him, just enough that she was standing on tip toe. She ran her hands up his chest, coming to rest around his neck, playing with his hair. He finally pulled away, just to kiss a line down one side of her jaw, sucking a small mark onto her neck.
She looked back at Geralt, still a bit dazed but with a fire behind his eyes. âWell,â she said, detaching herself from Jaskier. âWill you be joining?â
Rather than answer, Geralt took a few steps forward toward her. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed herâgentle and almost pleading. They fit together so easily, he thought. He hadnât ever fit with someone like he had with two people tonight. How had he earned this? How had he made it to this point in his life?
Jaskier was suddenly behind him, kissing his back, running one hand up his chest, the other against Yenneferâs hand, which had reached his shoulder. He couldnât have all this, could he?
âYou think so loudly, Geralt,â Yennefer teased him.
âItâs true,â Jaskier agreed. âEven I hear it, darling.â
âOkay. Then⊠take me somewhere I donât have to think.â
Yennefer smiled, took his hand in hers, and Jaskierâs in her other. âIâm glad your place was the bedroom,â Jaskier whispered, âBecause honestly, mine would probably be the zoo.â
Yennefer pinched his hand, âOw! But am I wrong?! You donât need your brain for the zoo!â and led them on.
x
8:24am
Sunday, April 3rd
16 Messages from Aretuza Takes Novigrad
Coral Lytta â 9 hours ago
okay, thanks for letting us know, yen!!! have fun!!
Fringilla â 9 hours ago
Wait, Iâm sorry, were the two people you just went home with the witcher and the musician? The guy you hate?
Sabrina â 9 hours ago
What on earth is happening
Fringilla â 9 hours ago
She didnât specify which two guys she went home with, but Iâm pretty sure I just saw them all leave together.
Sabrina â 8 hours ago
I canât believe drama is happening without me
Coral Lytta â 7 hours ago
its not drama drama is frin getting the number of someone with a green hair when she specifically said sheâd sworn off of green hair for at least a year
Sabrina â 7 hours ago
omfg
Fringilla â 6 hours ago
Coral!! Where are you, Iâm not letting you get away with this! Theyâre cute! You canât shame me.
Coral Lytta â 5 hours ago
update everyone we got a car home and frin has been texting green hair (jesu) the whole way home if youre reading this its too late for me it was nice knowing u
Sabrina â 3 hours ago
Loving this. Just blew up half a field with Anica. She says hi
Sabrina â 2 hours ago
Hey yen I am seeing this mystery enemy of yours on tiktok people filmed his set
Sabrina â 2 hours ago
Heâs hot good job
Sabrina â 2 hours ago
But why is he playing a fucking lute
Coral Lytta â 1 hour ago
morning all yennefer please send pics of ur hot date(s)
Fringilla â 15 minutes ago
Are we not addressing that Sabrina and Anica blew up a field?!
Sabrina â Just Now
Lol
8:24am
Sunday, April 3rd
167 Messages from CITY WITCHERS GETTING LAMBERT (AND GERALT) DATES⊠Showing 16
Lambert â 10 hours ago
Okay I made him laugh and now Iâm in the bathroom what the fuck now??
Eskel â 10 hours ago
Pay for the bill, leave a good tip for that waiter for saving your ass, and then ask him if he wants to go back to yours. Youâve done this before, Lamb.
CoĂ«n â 10 hours ago
Heâs been flirting with you all night, youâll be fine.
Lambert â 10 hours ago
Fuck Okay If you never hear from me again itâs because I died of embarrassment
Lambert â 10 hours ago
Bye forever
Eskel â 9 hours ago
Drama queen. Hey Geralt howâs it going?
CoĂ«n â 9 hours ago
Heâs in it too deep. He probably watched that guy play live and just died.
Lambert â 6 hours ago
Sex is so awesome
Eskel â 6 hours ago
Congrats bro. Iâm sleeping now.
Lambert â 6 hours ago
Donât you wanna hear about how great sex is
Eskel â 6 hours ago
I know itâs great, Lambert. Iâve had sex before
Lambert â 6 hours ago
Are we sure are we super sure you had sex cause like I just had GREAT sex possibly the best
CoĂ«n â 6 hours ago
It is two in the morning. I am begging you to shut up
Lambert â 6 hours ago
Put us on silent so I can talk about how great sex is
Lambert â 6 hours ago
Ha beat you to this one Geralt bet you didnât have sex with someone hot tonight. HA
Lambert â 6 hours ago
Okay gotta go round two bye
8:24am
Sunday, April 3rd
Geralt â 10 hours ago
You coming back to the table?
Geralt â 10 hours ago
If Iâm gone when you get back let me know when you get home
Geralt â 10 hours ago
You did really good, Jaskier. Iâm proud of you
TikTok â 2 hours ago
You have 25,634 new followers!
TikTok â 1 hour ago
You hit 2.3 million views! Click here to see what people are sayingâŠ
Spotify â 15 minutes ago
You have 5,785 new followers and 806,216 new listens on Toss a Coin EP
Maybe: Yennefer â 5 minutes ago
It's Yennefer, send me that selfie of all of us you took, I wanna freak out my group chat
Geralt, Maybe: Yennefer
Maybe: Yennefer â 4 minutes ago
I canât believe Iâm the one doing this, but I guess we need a group chat.
To: Geralt, Maybe: Yennefer
Message: 1 image
Hereâs the selfie for you both!! Use it wisely ;)
A Sorceress, A Witcher, and a Handsome Bard Walk into a BarâŠ
Yennefer â 3 minutes ago
Geralt get me apple juice while youâre up
A Sorceress, A Witcher, and a Handsome Bard Walk into a BarâŠ
Yennefer â 2 minutes ago
Jaskier, this chat name, you cannot be serious
A Sorceress, A Witcher, and a Handsome Bard Walk into a BarâŠ
Geralt â Just now
Haha
A Sorceress, A Witcher, and a Handsome Bard Walk into a BarâŠ
Geralt â Just now
:)
#geraskefer#geraskier#witcher fanfiction#geralt x jaskier x yennefer#Novigrad Exchange#chubbykatsudon#enemies to lovers#friends to lovers#Ensemble fic#Butterbard's Fics#lambden
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Fixâer Upper Pt 2
Pairing: Eventual Frankie âCatfishâ Morales x F!Reader
Length: 1.5k words
Warnings: Too many commas, some extra âuâs in words as Iâm Canadian..., not enough time spent world building. Hope yâall got an imagination.
Notes: They meet! They meet! (Tags at the end.)
PART ONE
The morning sun saw Frankie already awake and amidst his trees. He knew that most people thought him stubborn by wanting to run his little orchard himself. He had heard the whispers, seen the side glances, the quirked eyebrows. The odd reputation he was gaining was worth the solitude and peace he had found.
The reputation of Town Recluse was better than That Ex-Cokehead Murderer. A small part of his brain knew that he was being too hard on himself but a larger part was convinced he deserved it.Â
So, he worked his penance here. Frankie nursed the trees back to fruition, his sweat and blood sacrificed to bring forth life; refusing to use pesticides or any form of agent that might harm another living thing. Deer, rabbits, mice, and bugs were the bane of a harvesterâs business but Frank had decided to find joy in their presence. If he didnât have to see another death until his own, that would still be too soon.
It had taken him three years to get anything more than a few barrels of apples. Most asked why he didnât just cut them all down and start anew. They didnât understand, hell he barely did, but in his soul, Frankie knew he needed to prove that he could do good. He had made his own baskets, built sheds, mended fences, and slowly built the business and a small loft for himself in the old barn.
Looking down the rows and rows of trees, Frankie was starting to get the feeling he might need help this harvest season. It wasnât easy for him to acknowledge this but if he didnât get at least one helping hand, more than a few bin-fulls would go to waste. Frankie decided he would put up a flyer on the notice board the next time he went to town and pray that only quiet people would apply.
The trees were his pride and joy. A variety that had been lost and forgotten until he had bought the aging orchard and a man named Tom Brown had come along asking about the fruit.
He felt at peace when he worked as it let his mind focus on the job at hand and was tired enough to slip into a deep slumber at night. Previously plagued by nightmares, long days of pruning, fixing, or working in the mill proved the cure for a dreamless sleep.
âIâm sorry, how much did you say the total was?â you asked while rapidly trying to do some math in your head. If you purchased everything you needed at the hardware store that would only leave you forty-seven dollars left in this weekâs budget. And it was only Monday. âErmm, on second thought, I donât know if I really need the plaster and trowel just yet. Iâll just take the drywall and screws, please.â
Leaving the store, head down, you were feeling like such an ass you didnât even notice the two older ladies watching your exit and whispering madly to each other. The owner of Hankâs Hardware, whose name was oddly Allan, kindly helped you pile the drywall into your truck box. You were too busy with the tie-downs to notice him join in on the developing whispered plot.
Unable to resist, you purchased a bouquet of sunflowers. They were your favourite and, once you mentioned that you were new in town, the sweet older gentleman selling them gave you an extra bunch for free. The bright flowers lightened your heart enough to almost, almost, make you forget your even lighter wallet.Â
The laden-down truck was nearly out of town when you spotted an open-air market down a side street. It had a surprising number of booths set up and looked so welcoming that you couldnât resist.
Slowly walking between the stalls, you smiled at each vendor and complimented their handiwork. A few you recognized and thanked for the delicious foods they had brought by when you had first moved in.
You wished you could have supported more of the vendors, you respected their ability to create and be confident enough to share their wares. Taking one last look around, your gaze was caught by a familiar logo: it was the same one you had seen scattered across your porch a few weeks ago. âCatfish Ciderâ in bold script framing a picture of a gnarled old tree. Maybe you should buy some and have Jacquie over for a less depressing girl's night? But could you afford it, even with leaving behind some of the reno items at Hank's?
You didnât realize how long you had been standing there staring at the display until a voice called out.
âYou gonna buy something or just wanted to block off my stand?â
Whipping your head up you noticed the man standing behind the stand for the first time. His face, for the moment, set into a grimace you assumed was due to him being upset at your loitering.
âI dunno,â you fired back, annoyed by his annoyance and too tired to stop yourself from saying a bratty, âis it actually worth the money?âÂ
His grimace turned into eyebrow-raising shock, the tan skin of his rather attractive face reddening a shade or two with anger.
âOh, you have such a discerning pallet to know better?â
âI- what? No! I just want to make sure Iâm spending my money on something worthwhile.â
âLike flowers?â He challenged, his stance widening and arms crossing across his chest.Â
Youâd seen that pose too many times in the past; Brad used to tower over you posturing himself just like this asshole at the market. He liked to hover over you menacingly any time you had mustered up your courage to state an opinion or to belittle your ideas. It made you inwardly flinch, making you angry at yourself for still acting like a meek victim, and then, in a show of great maturity, you projected that anger onto the stranger who initiated the exchange.
âLike itâs any of your business!â You cried out in a shrill voice you didnât even recognize as your own. âBut yes, these flowers make me happier than anything else Iâve seen today could.â
âIâll have you know-â he ground out, jabbing his finger at you.
âNope!â You interrupted him, âIâm going to stop you right there. Iâm done listening to men like you!âÂ
âMen like me? Men like ME?â He crowed, âPray tell, what the hell do you know about men like me?â
Had you been acting like a functioning adult you might have realized that your voices were beginning to get noticeably loud. A small crowd around the two of you had stopped what they were doing to listen while also trying to look like there werenât eavesdropping.
âI know all I need to,â you proclaimed, not quite able to stop the tremble in your voice. âand Iâm not going to waste any more of my life listening to one.â With that, you sharply turned and made your way through the suddenly thick crowd of people.
Once the adrenaline from your encounter had worn off, you found yourself crying in your truck and regretting the way you had snapped. The hot guy at the stand might have been a bit brash with you but he hardly deserved you taking out all your inner turmoil on him like that.
Frankie winced again, thinking about how quickly out of hand the conversation had gotten. His remark was supposed to come out light and teasing but he was out of practice talking to people. Pretty people. People who were framed by armfuls of sunflowers, whose skin glowed in the Autumn sun, who had a ready smile for everyone she talked to.Â
He had found himself craving one for himself, and when she had stopped at his booth, looking lost in thought, he silently begged for her to look up. Impatient, he just blurted out the first words that came to his head and instantly regretted even trying. His cheeks grew red from embarrassment and Frankie just stood there looking at her blankly, not sure how to salvage the situation.
Before he could open his mouth to apologize though, the woman responded with a retort of her own. While it could have been interpreted as teasing, there had been a fiery glint in her eye that had pushed his pride button. Frankie was suddenly ready to throw down or at least regale her with the accolades of his cider and how it came to be.
What a mess he had made. He had riled up the beautiful stranger to the point her voice had wavered with barely repressed emotion. Not to mention the stir he had caused in front of half the town.
Once the market quieted down and everyone was closing up shop, Greg from the stall next to his, called over, âKnow who that was?â
Even though it had been over an hour since the spat, Frankie knew he was referring to the woman with the sunflowers.
âHopefully just some Leaf Peeper, Iâd hate to run into her again.â
âOooooh I dunno,â mused Greg, âA woman with passion in her blood like that can be a boon to crusty old men like us.â
Frankie noticed the gleam in Gregâs eyes and felt an odd burning in his stomach because of it. It was not jealousy at the unbidden image of Greg and the woman together. Definitely not.
PART THREE
@rebelliouscat @pedro4ever @speakerforthedead0 @yespolkadotkitty @ilikechocolatemilkh @weirdowithnobeardo @pedro-pastel @disgruntledspacedad @a-skovÂ
#Fix'er Upper#Frankie Catfish Morales#frankie x reader#catfish x reader#triple frontier#triple frontier fanfiction#francisco morales x reader#francisco morales x you
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