#if i could take my spray bottle everywhere w me i would

[idontmindifuforgetme]

i straightened my hair one (1) time. this is the first time in like 3 months. i just wanted to switch it up a little. then today i wash my hair and my day 1s are usually my best BUT today it's not as bouncy or shiny as it usually is. and i know it's bc of that one time. i literally was so careful to protect it from heat as much as i possibly could. but it's not enough. it's never enough

people who don't have naturally curly hair will never understand the hoops we have to jump through to keep our curls as healthy as they possibly could be. i am so serious

[baroquebucky]

dating timothée headcanons

a/n: here is my first timothée fic !! let me know what you guys think !!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE send in some requests for him !!! hope you guys enjoy :~)

timothée is such a soft boy in a relationship

he loves when you say his full name but also loves the many nicknames you have for him

when you first call him timmy or tim he looks at you with the widest smile, engulfing you in a hug as you squeal

you call him by his first and middle name when you’re upset at him or you need him to be serious

he sends you so many memes all the time or if you’re close to him he’ll call you over to look at his phone sometimes he’ll just call your name and throw it at you

he loves cuddling

he will cuddle you on the couch, in your bed, in a chair, literally anywhere

he loves when you play with his hair !!!!!

you could just be sitting there and you start playing with one curl, then another, and soon enough your whole hand is cascading through his soft hair

he loves kissing you !!!!!! cheek kisses, FOREHEAD KISSES, nose kisses, neck kisses

sometimes he’ll just grab your hand and kiss it and tell you how much he loves you

when he’s home he spends every waking and sleeping hour with you

“I’m gonna go shower” “I’ll join you :-)”

grocery shopping with him is way too much fun

you guys would probably make jokes out of anything you see and get things you most definitely did not need

he takes so many pictures of you :-(

any moment he sees you just breathing “don’t move stay like that” and boom, new lockscreen

he gets all blushy when you compliment him or show him off

one time you learned how to say something in French just to impress him and he damn near cried because you went out of your way for him

one time he catches you using duolingo to practice your French and he had to calm himself down before he burst into tears

you found him teary eyed in the hall and proceeded to comfort him thinking he was sad, you didn’t know whether to laugh or cry with him when you found out why he was about to cry

did i mention he is v v clingy

flowers all the time ,,, out getting a snack ??? he’ll buy you some flowers ,,, sees a bush of roses on his way home ??? he’ll pick one to give to you

he could be thousands of miles away and you hear a knock on your door,, the boy ordered flowers online for you

when he’s away acting you guys FaceTime ALL THE TIME

you both fall asleep on the phone together and you always tease him for sleeping with his mouth slightly open

he always leaves you a bottle of his cologne so you can spray it when you miss him

also he leaves you all of your favorite shirts of his so you can wear them all you want

you guys watch the office together all the time and you get him into your favorite tv shows

sometimes you get insecure because you feel like you aren’t good enough for him or you don’t meet up to standards

and he will shoot you down so fast

he’ll comfort you and say all the right things to make you feel better

sometimes he’ll just hold you close and kiss you all over until your giggling to make him stop

which ends up in him posting you everywhere and showing off his darling

and he shows you just how much he loves every inch of you too

if you ever feel insecure he can immediately tell and he starts to reassure you and do whatever you want to make you feel better

you guys always walk around town and find new places to eat and try food

you found a secret park that no one knew about so you always have picnics when he gets back from filming or when you wanna go on a cute date

anything you mention to him as an offhand comment he’ll buy you

this boy absolutely SPOILS you

one time you mentioned how you wanted a locket and the next week he surprised you with one

another time you saw this ring that was pretty and you immediately took it back because it was much too expensive for you and two weeks later ??? it was sitting on your dresser

you find it endearing but you also get upset because you don’t want him to think you’re using him for money

so of course when you bring the box out he has a giant smile on his face and you look at him, slightly upset and he pulls out the puppy eyes

“Timothée Hal Chalamet how many times have i told you to not waste money on me!” You scolded him and he looked so sad

“any money i spend on you isnt a waste i just wanna see you smile” you can’t help but smile at his comment

“do you not like it?” he would get so nervous and play with his hands and you would go and sit next to him, putting the ring on the table.

“honey i love it i just don’t want you to think I’m using you for money because I’m not” he would kiss you and give you a small smile because god how did he get so lucky with you?

he has so many cute nicknames for you- baby, honey, sweetheart, darling, angel, mon amour, ma cherie and so many other soft little names

the amount of inside jokes is insane

it’s no secret that the boy is an absolute goofball so the two of you are always making jokes

that leads to having way too many nicknames that have such an intricate back story

you try to teach him how to properly do the woah but he refuses to learn because “I’m doing it right, it’s everyone else that’s wrong” he would defend

for Halloween you would do couple costumes 1000%

instead of going out to party he would want to stay in with you and give out candy, he loved seeing you smile at all the kids and fake being scared when they tried to scare you

the two of you would watch scary movies all of October, he would always hold you tight as the two of you slept because sometimes you would get a little freaked out

the first time you meet his family is during thanksgiving and you are NERVOUS

you do your makeup and wear your best jewelry and even do your hair a bit so that it looks nice than usual

when you walk out of the restroom all dressed up timmy is speechless bc of how good you look, he kisses you on the cheek and takes so many pictures of you, setting one as his lockscreen right after he takes it

his mom LOVES YOU she thinks you’re the sweetest person in the world

she asks if you know French and you whip out the little French you had learned, thanking the green owl that was on your phone

timothée is so impressed by how well you can pronounce everything, it doesn’t go unnoticed by his family either, everyone praising you and you can’t stop blushing

they end up threatening timmy because they love you so much

and then he meets your family

they love him so much they never want you guys to break up

your siblings adore him, your mom is absolutely in love w him and your dad thinks he’s so eloquent and carries himself amazingly

he gets along so well with your whole family and has everyone at the table laughing with his stories and comments

when your mom sees the way he helps you with everything or how gentle he is with you she knows he’s gonna be the one you marry

the two of you watch the nightmare before Christmas all the time since you both love it so much

you sing along to every song and laugh as he stands on his tippy toes to try and imitate jack

for Christmas time you guys always try to see who will give the best gift

of course you love to see the lighting of the tree and so many snowball fights all the time

even more cuddling because oh my god it’s so cold all the time

timmy always knows exactly what to get you and he always writes you a letter which makes you cry

you also get him something meaningful and amazing which makes him tackle you with a hug and kiss you until you’re out of breath

the two of you are always so supportive of each other during anything and everything

timothée chalamet would be the worlds greatest boyfriend and you cannot tell me other wise

[the-fiction-witch]

I Know

TV SHOW ACCUSED COUPLE: JAKE X READER RATING: DARK + SWEET

REQUESTED: xxtiredlikeusualxx

I stood fighting back tears, I had known Shaun since I was a little girl and standing here in his apartment was strange when he wasn’t here. 

“Tally Ho!” Shaun smiled holding his stick “Hoist the mainsail Mr Murry!” 

“Land ho!” Jake yelled behind him in the little box 

“What did you call me jake!” I yelled back 

“Uhhhhhhhh Look a beautiful mermaid!” Jake quickly corrected 

“What’s what I thought” I snapped “Mermaid kisses!” I giggled spraying my water bottle on them both

“Y/N!” Shaun complained 

I stopped thinking about it, the three of us grew up alot like siblings due to our mothers working together, admittedly we had grown apart a little as we got older mostly because I ended up in another school to the boys. But we still always saw each other and remained close often the three of us would go to Shaun’s or Jake’s and sit and play video games or just have movie nights with popcorn. Me and Shaun would hang out alot on our own mostly because Shaun knew about my crush on jake. I headed into his bedroom the usual place we would all hang out everything as it was last time I was here and I saw jake sat on the bed fiddling with the little Rubix cube 

“Hey”

“Hey” He nods 

“How are you doing?”

“Fine” 

“It’s okay, it’s gonna be strange,” I said going over and sitting next to him

“Yeah, strange”

“I think we should stay together, It helps I think,” I said “And Jake?”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t think you should go out with your friends for a while”

“.... what are you talking about?”

“I don’t think you should go out too much I mean we don’t know who did this to Shaun or why”

“y/n you don’t understand” 

“Jake what-”

“Just leave me alone alright!”

“I- I’m sorry jake” I nodded hurrying back out into the apartment, 

I sat fiddling with my pen, trying my best not to yawn. I couldn’t stop thinking about it all I had hardly seen jake he wasn’t talking to me, he wasn’t answering when I called, He never came out or came over anymore. I knew how hard losing Shaun was and the two of them were like brothers I can’t imagine how he feels. I looked at the computer watching the little video they paid on the news about what happened to Shaun, it was dirty and muggy, a terrible street camera that could see the gate and little else. It was horrible to watch him he ran and tried to talk to someone but fell he to the ground. I couldn’t stop watching it even if I hated it, I looked at it looking at the street and the gate and I remembered, we have a camera? In fact, it looks at that alley, but from the other angle. I went onto our camera and tried to get the view for that day, I found the video luckily it was there going to be auto-deleted tomorrow. I put it on fast forward going through the day from midnight watching it go on Until I saw Shaun he was running from something, more importantly, someone. It was grainy and half-broken but I saw that face I knew…. Jake. He was following him. What was he doing there? They stood talking in the alley, what were they talking about? I almost jumped out of my seat as I saw what happened, he took a gun from his hoodie pocket and shot him. Pulling up his hood and disappearing as Shaun desperately called his mother. 

“You alright y/n?” My boss asked as she came around 

“Uhh yeah, Yeah sorry” I said wiping my eyes shutting the window

“It’s about what happened isn’t it?” 

“Yeah”

“I think you should go, take the rest of the day off don’t worry yourself about it. Get your stuff and get home” she says so I nodded and started gathering my things, I noticed it was due to be deleted by the end of business so I grabbed my old school flash drive I had bouncing around in the bottom of my bag uploading a copy and heading home. 

I sat on my bed unable to escape the images in my head, the boy’s I had plaid pirates with, the boys I cuddled with between blankets for movies, the boys I had gone on a thousand swimming days, and arcade days, and park afternoons, The boy’s I had seen as my best friends, my brothers, my sweet boys. Killing each other. Over what? I’d never seen the two of them fight over anything, the most I had seen them argue about was over pizza or x-box controllers or over the odd opinion about things, But… the most I ever had to do was get between the odd tussle, or offer a solution that know one won. 

‘Ohh come on jake season two’s shit!”

“I like it!”

“We’re not watching it man, Come on we’re watching the new supers”

“No! Come on it’s the same old bullshit, Shaun!”

“Boys!” I yelled stopping the argument “we are watching Disney and both of you are gonna shut the hell up and your gonna cry with me else I am shoving this remote up both of your asses” 

“Fine, just don’t put the princess one on I had that damn song in my head for a week” Shaun complained 

“And please do video me crying again!” Jake complained 

I got my jacket and headed out the house going down the street hurrying along to the little house I knew so well, knocking on the door and his mother answered 

“Ohh hiya love, I think he-”

“I need to see him.” I snapped “Please, It’s important” 

“Alright” she nodded letting me in “I uhh I’m heading out okay?”

“Okay” I nodded watching her walk out and lock the door, so I headed upstairs and spotted his bedroom door open and him sat on his bed clearly ready for bed 

“What are you doing here!” He yelped jumping off his bed 

“I had to see you” “Y/n will you just fucking leave me alone” 

“Jake! Listen to me to little shit!”

“Whatever is it. I don’t wanna know” He says I sighed shutting the door and dropping my bag 

“I know jake”

“Know what?” He snapped 

“.... I know what you did” I said and the colour drained from his face as I showed him the flash drive from my pocket 

“...What is that?”

“Ohh now you wanna know?” 

“Y/n. What is it?”

“A flash drive. You can have it. When you answer me” “Answer what?”

“Why did you shot Shaun?” 

“... Who told you?”

“Knowone told me”

“Then how do you know?”

“Camera’s work has a camera that looks into that alley. It’s in our back window guess we had a better view than the street camera”

“So You’re work knows?” “No, Just me.” I explain “I check the camera know one else. I didn’t check because I’ve been a bit everywhere, the footage gets deleted after so long, it was the last day. At five it gets erased without a trace. This… is the only copy that will remain” 

“Give it”

“What?” “Give it!” He yelled trying to lunge for me but I thought with him the whole time before I pushed him to the floor and ran across the other side of his room shoving the flash drive down my bra “Y/n… you have to give it to me”

“No. You have to listen to me. And you have to be honest with me. Or else” “Or else what?”

“Or else I take this to the police station.” “... What do you wanna know?” he sighed sitting on his bed 

“Just tell me, why did you do it? He was your best friend? You were like brothers?” I asked going closer to him 

“You think I don’t know what I’ve done” He said tears trickling down his face I sat beside him and held him close 

“Who knows?”

“Cormack. Me. You”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it” 

“Why did you do it”

“.... he made me” “Shaun?”

“Cormack”

“What did he say?”

“He said I had to. Because of mum and sue, because of what they did he said I had to, or else” 

“Or else what?” 

“Or else” 

“Or what jake? Do they shoot you? They shoot your mum?”

“They gave me a choice,” he said “Do as I was told and shoot Shaun. Or they’d make me”

“How would they make you?”

“... they’d take you” 

“W-what?”

“He said he knew where you worked, what days you worked, where you lived.”

“So what?” “He said, I could do as I was told, Or He’d take you and… make me, they’d hurt you or worse”

“What’s worse?” “Y/n-”

“What’s worse jake?”

“He didn’t say, But.. I know what he meant” “What did he mean?”

“The last time something like this happened. One of the boys had to shoot a guy from one of the other gangs and he wouldn’t do it.”

“So what did they do?”

“They took his sister, cut her hair, beat her up, and… made him watch while they”

“They what?”

“Did. things to her.” 

“Why would they take me?”

“Becuase he knows, how I feel about you.”

“What did he say? Exactly?”

“He said, Jake, you take this and you make sure that Shaun doesn’t get far, I told him no I wouldn’t do it, he said you’ll do it, or I’ll go pick up that pretty girl of yours and… and I’ll make you watch while I take her flower, and I’ll make you put a bullet through her head.” He explained “I didn’t want them to hurt you. He was waiting outside your office while I did it. To make sure I did it. I tried to talk to him I did I tried to reason with him, and… Shaun, he told me to do it” “What? Why would he tell you to?”

“I told him the truth that if I didn’t they were gonna hurt you. So he told me to. You’re like his little sister y/n, neither of us wanted anything bad to happen to you, why do you think we stop seeing you so much both of us, we wanted to keep you out of it all, we both knew they’d use you against us and you’d end up getting hurt” he explained “It’s why after… I left you alone, I didn’t want you getting involved” he says “so… now you know” 

“Now I know”

“So, I guess you’re taking that to the police.”

“No. I’m not” 

“Why not?”

“I lost Shaun. I’m not losing you too jake” I told him getting the flash drive holding his hand to keep it between us “Our secret. We take it to the grave.

“To the grave” 

“And you’re getting out of there”

“Y/n-”

“Please jake, for me” 

“... for you, I’d do anything” 

“You swear?” “I swear” 

“On your life?” He nods 

“I solemnly swear, Not a word of this will pass my lips, this drive stays between us, our secret, till death” 

“I solemnly swear, not a word of this will pass my lips, it stays between us, our secret, till death” 

“You swear?”

“I swear. On my life, my soul, everything I have in this world.” 

“Prove it?”

He smiled briefly leaning forward and giving my lips a little kiss I blushed hard and kissed back gently “I swear, on us, On the way, I feel about you, on my heart and soul, so long as we both shall live I swear it” 

“Then I swear, On us” I smiled giving him a gentle kiss too “I didn’t know”

“Neither did I” he blushed “I thought you… didn’t like me like that”

“I thought you saw me… like a little sister” 

“No, like a little girl I had a crush on. Since she was the little girl giving me mermaid kisses in our pirate ship box” 

“Since our cuddles up to the lord of the rings and Disney movies” I smiled 

“Y/n. Can you stay with me, Tonight?” 

“I’ll stay as long as you want me too jake” 

I got home a little worried, I wanted to leave them be god knows what they needed to talk about, I hope he hasn’t got her in trouble or anything, I went up quietly noticing the light in his room still on but the bed had the two of them laid together locked in a sweet lazy embrace, noses touching smiling widely as they laid deep in sleep, I smiled and shut off the light leaving only the little lamp on his side table on with the shadows of stars and moons that they had drawn on the shade years ago reflecting on the walls and ceiling, I shut the door quietly and left them to it. 

[pitaparka]

“I desperately need a haircut. Will you try to cut it for me? Please?” w billy

summary: billy’s hair gets a little too long for his liking. you decide to take it into your own hands. literally.

pairing: billy russo x reader

word count: 1.8k

a/n: that billy gif does somethin’ to me man...

Billy had been wearing a hat every day for a week. In the house. Not going anywhere.

It was driving you insane.

"Take that stupid thing off, Billy," you’d say to him. His hair had been abnormally soft since he hadn’t been gelling it for work lately, not that you could see it. It was a stupid thing to get mad about, but tensions had been running high in your apartment. After Billy moved in, it had been much easier to spend time with him, and you were grateful for that. But during this quarantine, you both had been a little on edge.

“It looks like shit. I need a haircut,” he’d say, running his fingers through it in front of the mirror in the morning. He still woke up at an ungodly hour for some reason. It’s not like he had to. All of his meetings happened after nine o’clock in the morning, but the smell of a fresh pot of coffee brewing wasn’t the worst thing in the world to wake up to. Either way, the hair thing was stressing him out.

“It’s embarrassing,” he said, grumbling in bed after a long day of zoom calls and meetings on the phone. It was incredibly inconvenient to be running a company during this time. Especially because the people he was in charge of did most of their work in person, manually laboring away on a typical schedule. Billy had been trying to work that out over the phone, face to face with his higher-ups who were also confined to their houses.

“Just cut it yourself, Billy,” you say, sitting at your desk, typing away at an assignment that was due later on in the week. You sigh and sit back in your chair, leaning back to recline your feet on your desk and put your hands behind your head.

“I don’t know how. I’ve never had to before. I’d fuck it up,” he says, running his hands over his face and letting out a loud yawn. 

“There are videos online?” you suggest. Billy’s ears perk up.

“I think I have clippers somewhere…” he muses. He sighs.

“I desperately need a haircut,” he says, pulling a lock of hair down over his face. He goes almost cross-eyed to look at it, and it comes down to about the tip of his nose.

“I know, Billy. You complaining about it isn’t going to make your hair shorter,” you clarify, and he huffs in frustration.

“Have you ever cut hair?” he asked, propping himself up on his elbow to take a good look at you. It was easy to see you in the soft light of the lamp on your desk. You let out a little laugh.

“No… Actually, yes, once. I think I was like five? My mom was not happy. I gave myself bangs.” You laugh at the story, but that’s only what you had been told. It’s not like you knew the first thing about cutting hair.

“Come on, I’m serious. Will you try to cut it for me? Please?” he asks, and you check your clock.

“Right now?” you ask, and you rub your arms softly.

“I have stuff that’s due,” you say to him. He just looks at you in response.

“You could do it tomorrow if you want,” he finally says, and you close your laptop.

“No, let’s just… let's get it done tonight. I don’t want you complaining if I give you a bad haircut though,” you say, planting your feet on the ground.

“I don’t want a whole cut, just a trim. Let me go find the clippers,” he says, getting out of bed. You resist the urge to slap his ass as he walks past you.

“You don’t get to be picky, Russo,” you mutter after he leaves the door slightly ajar behind him. You take the opportunity to look up some articles and videos about cutting hair.

Billy’s setup includes one chair he got from the dining room, an old towel from the closet, and his face trimmer from under the bathroom sink.

“Okay, do you know how he cuts it? Does he just hold it like this or does he like… run a comb through it?” you stand behind him like his barber would to demonstrate, holding sections of his hair.

“I don’t know, he just, cuts it…” Billy says, adjusting the towel around his shoulder.

“Wow Billy, that’s… such a wealth of information you just gave me.”

“I don’t have eyes on the back of my head! How am I supposed to know—”

“Okay, so you’re gonna get what you’re gonna get and you’re gonna be happy, okay?” you say, and you hear him chuckle and mutter, “Oh god…”

“I can’t blend the hairline with the clippers we have,” you say after he explains the settings. You clip his hair back to see the lines the barber left behind from his last cut. It hasn’t been so long that they’ve faded too much.

“That’s okay. We can do just, high and tight on the sides. No fades.”

“You can’t move.” You clarify, and he plays with the trimmer before handing it to you.

“I know. Thank you for doing this for me by the way,” he says. He can’t see himself in the mirror, so he just has to trust you.

“Mhmm,” you agree absentmindedly as you focus, bringing the trimmer to the back of his head. You go over one spot repeatedly, but the hair doesn’t look like it’s getting any shorter.

“What do you see back there?” Billy asks, obviously scared you’re going to make him bald.

“It’s like, barely even cutting anything,” you say. You pull the clippers away from his head. He shifts in his seat.

“Uh oh. Let me feel it?” He asks and touches the hair there.

“Nope,” he agrees and gets up from his chair. He looks at the attachments and fiddles with the trimmer for a bit before he figures out the attachments were wrong, and the one you were supposed to be using was on the counter, not on the buzzer.

You turn it on and put it back to his head, and it seems to work better.

“Is that any better?” Billy asks, almost reading your mind.

“Yeah, I think so,” you respond, taking slow, precise movements through his hair. You can feel the hair gather in little piles around your feet. You find yourself in a groove and it becomes a lot less scary when you’re not worried about having him end up with some god awful buzz cut. You hold his head steady, one hand cupping the side of his face.

“It looks, chunky,” you complain, and you can feel his face scrunch up a little bit.

“I don’t know if that’s what I want to hear,” he says, tilting his head back more when you press your fingers into his jaw and guide him slowly.

But after a little while, it all starts to come together and looks much more even. You turn off the trimmer and admire your work, which is pretty darn good if you do say so yourself.

Getting up from the chair, Billy admires himself closely in the mirror. He runs his fingers over the newly buzzed sides of his head.

“I mean, up close you can tell it’s not faded, but it looks like I got a fresh cut,” he says, sitting back down. You can’t help but feel a little pride over it.

“I can clean up the sides without the guard on, like the ears and stuff,” you say.

“Yeah, that sounds good,” he says, taking off the blade guard from the clippers.

He puts the trimmer back at your hand and now the metal gleams intimidatingly at you. It’s oddly intimate for the two of you. Something about having the blade so dangerously close to his skin was personal. Just the persistent buzz of the clippers and the stories coming from Billy about bad barbers. You can feel the goosebumps on his skin as you clean up the hair on the back of his neck. Then came the lines around his ears on both sides.

As you finished up, you offered him a mirror to see the back of it.

“If you want, I can round the edges a little more,” you offer.

“No, this is perfect. It looks great back there,” he says, moving the mirror from side to side, examining the back of his head. 

“Okay, I think we’re done!” he says, and you correct him.

“With the clippers.”

“Yes, with the clippers.” he agrees.

You wet his hair with a spray bottle newly filled with water you had retrieved from the closet, and with the smallest scissors you could find you take off little sections of hair from the top of his head. The reaction from Billy is physical, his shoulders standing a little taller, a little more confident in his new look. Some pieces of hair still cling to his t-shirt and shoulders, making him scratch at his neck.

“Hop in the shower quick and then I’ll blow dry it before you get into bed,” you tell him, and he listens, but not before he rudely kisses you, hands cupping the side of your face.

“Thank you,” he mumbles, before stripping off his clothes before he even turned the shower on. You leave the bathroom, face hot as you hear him turn it on. Maybe another day, you’d join him.

He comes out smelling good and looking fresh.

He pokes his head into the bedroom, his hair dripping wet onto the floor, with the need to tell you that he was done, not that you couldn’t hear the shower turn off all by yourself.

“Okay, I’m ready,” he says smiling, and there’s something childishly innocent about him getting excited about you blow-drying his hair.

The loud blow dryer made for little conversation to be had, but you were both fine with that. The heat on Billy’s skin made him tired, especially after the hot shower he had just taken. When his hair was sufficiently dry and you put away all of the tools from the night’s impromptu hair cutting session, Billy came up from behind you and wrapped his arms around your waist, placing his head on your shoulder. You watched him in the mirror.

“Thank you for this. It feels so much better,” he says, planting a kiss to your shoulder. The one he plants gently on your neck makes you smile. You wrap your arms around him, holding them there, around your body.

“I didn’t mind,” you clarify, “I like how it came out.”

“Now I don’t feel like I have to wear that fuckin’ hat everywhere,” he says, and pulls away, making his way down the hall to the bedroom.

“Oh thank god,” you whisper under your breath, and follow him.

In bed, you stroke Billy’s newly cut hair. Under your fingers, he pulls you just a little bit closer to him, chest to chest under the warmth of your blankets. The darkness of the night filled the room, the only light streaming in from your window was that of the moon and the stars. You smile, but Billy is already fast asleep.

It really had gotten softer.

[rinneganwritings]

Never Far Away; Chapter 4: She's a Little Runaway

Word Count: 3,026

Summary: Team Yumiko makes their way into a nearby village to gather intel, running into Tsunade and Shizune inside. Tsunade gets under Yumiko's skin more than Yumiko cares to admit.

Warnings: None

Masterlist

Akina and Ezume are excited to see a village in the distance. For the first time since leaving Konoha, they break the formation Yumiko had put them in for the trip. Akina turns around to face Yumiko with an excited look glowing in her bright green eyes.

“Can we stop in the village, Yumiko-sensei?” she asks.

“We should stop and ask some questions at least,” Yumiko sighs. “But that’s it, guys. No lollygagging!”

“Come on, couldn’t we just rest for one night?” Ezume groans. “We’ve been on the road for days.”

Kakashi raises an eyebrow as he tilts his head slightly to look at Yumiko. She catches his eye, but looks away quickly.

“It’ll depend on if we find anything.”

Satisfied with her answer, Ezume and Akina return to formation. Yumiko has to admit that sleeping in a bedroll on the ground isn’t great, but she’s certainly had to deal with worse. A night at a nice inn would do wonders for everyone’s morale.

“Would Tamako stop in a village?” Kakashi asks her quietly.

Yumiko chews on her lower lip as she mulls over the answer. Tamako has always been a bit high maintenance. She’d certainly want to at least get a bath and a fresh change of clothes.

Then again, even as a young girl she was extremely cautious. She would have thought over the entire scenario including the possibility of being caught up to. Tamako knew as soon as she left Yumiko would come looking for her, and she’d plan accordingly. Yumiko could only assume every detail of her running away was meticulously planned. Her chances of finding Tamako hangs in the balance by a single thread.

“If she did, she wouldn’t stay long. I don’t think we could afford to stop for the night,” Yumiko says quietly.

“Your chunins won’t like the sound of that,” Kakashi points out.

“It’ll keep them motivated.”

Kakashi hums in acknowledgement, but doesn’t say anything else. As they fall back into silence, Yumiko wonders what Tamako is doing now. Has she really been such a terrible sister? A caretaker? A sensei?

She feels her hands begin sweating as she remembers all the times Tamako mentioned Itachi, and all the times she dismissed the topic outright. She didn’t listen when she should have. She was tough when Tamako needed her to be soft. Iruka reminded her so many times to soften her approach at times, but Yumiko shrugged it off. Tamako was strong, skilled, talented. She could handle anything Yumiko threw at her. At times Yumiko forgot to just be a sister.

This is my fault.

The entrance to the village comes into sight. Akina and Ezume both pick up the pace. A familiar smell fills Yumiko’s nostrils. Perfume. She falls behind as she tries to decipher which direction it’s coming from. Kakashi stops and turns to her with a questioning look.

“What is it?” he asks when Yumiko doesn’t immediately offer the information.

“She’s here.”

__

Yumiko always struggles with buying gifts. She goes into shop after shop looking for something that just screams “TAMAKO” at her. It’s not easy when considering how different the girls are. Yumiko would just as soon be happy with a bowl of ramen or a new kunai as a birthday present.

Tamako would appreciate anything Yumiko gives her, but Yumiko wants to actually get something good. Something Tamako would really love. Without any real ideas, she wanders into the fragrance shop. The floral scents assault her nose as she walks in. The shopkeeper notices her nose curling, and Yumiko blushes.

She wanders through the shop, looking at all the ornate bottles lining the shelves. Then, she sees one which seems so familiar. It’s a crystal bottle with a lotus carved on the stop. She carefully takes the bottle off the shelf and tests the scent. It’s so sweet and familiar she feels tears welling up in her eyes.

‘It smells just like Mother,’ she thinks sadly.

She turns the bottle around in her hands. Takani’s smiling face flashes in her mind, and she can almost hear her voice echoing in her head. She doesn’t think about the cost as she goes to purchase the bottle.

That night, after having Tamako’s favorite meal for her birthday she gives her the gift. Tamako is confused for a moment. Yumiko’s never been so excited about giving her a gift before. Usually these moments start out with an apology for not knowing exactly what to get. Instead Yumiko is giddy as she watches Tamako unwrap the delicate lavender box.

She lifts the bottle out of the box and inspects it. Then sprays the perfume on her wrist to smell it. As soon as the sweet scent takes to her senses, she looks up at Yumiko with wide eyes.

“It’s just like Mother,” she whispers.

“It’s the same one she used to wear,” Yumiko smiles.

Tamako stands up to cross the room. Her arms wrap tightly around her sister.

“This is the best gift you could have given me.”

__

“We should split up,” Kakashi’s voice pulls Yumiko out of the memory.

Akina and Ezume bounce on their toes, eager for their orders. They turn to Yumiko despite Kakashi being the one to make the suggestion. He sighs in frustration.

“Well, split up,” Yumiko shrugs. “You guys go check the shops. I’ll take the inn.”

“Maybe I should go with you,” Kakashi suggests. “Just in case.”

“In case of what?” Yumiko narrows her eyes.

“In case she’s there and you need back up. The inn is the most likely place for her to be.”

Yumiko sighs, “Alright. Let’s go.”

Ezume and Akina take off running towards the town center. One of them taking the shops on the right, the other taking the shops on the left. Kakashi and Yumiko start towards the inn. The smell of Tamako’s perfume grows stronger the closer they get. She feels her heart pound as she wonders what might happen.

Kakashi enters the inn first, he scans the lobby carefully. Yumiko is led towards the attached casino. He follows closely behind her. There’s a bit of chaos at one of the tables at the far corner of the casino. Kakashi makes his way over there with Yumiko following close behind.

“What’s going on over here?” he asks carefully. A woman throws her cards down before standing up. Kakashi and Yumiko both immediately recognize her as Tsunade. “You ruined my bluff!” Tsunade scorns them. Her eyes fall on Yumiko, “Well, well, well. If you don’t ever look just like your father.”

“Sorry for the interruption,” Yumiko feels her cheeks flush. “We thought we saw something.”

“Yumiko Shōrihibana and Kakashi Hatake together at an inn,” Tsunade smirks. “Never thought I would see the day. I guess you did finally find a way to get along.”

Yumiko’s cheeks grow red hot as she looks to the ground, “Lady Tsunade we’re actually-”

“We need to ask if you’ve seen someone,” Kakashi interrupts. Yumiko elbows him in the side. Tsunade smirks.

“I see people everywhere I look, it’s a busy place.”

Tsunade begins stumbling towards the bar. Kakashi and Yumiko follow behind her. Shizune follows behind them.

“A drink for my friends,” Tsunade indicates to the two of them. “Are you as fun as your mother, Yumiko?”

“Um, maybe,” Yumiko tilts her head to the side.

“Nah, you’ve always been a serious girl. You should loosen up a bit. Kakashi, help her loosen up.”

“Lady Tsunade,” Shizune gasps.

Yumiko feels like she could die of embarrassment. Kakashi, on the outside at least, is completely unphased.

“We’re looking for Tamako Shōrihibana,” Kakashi explains. “Has she come through here?”

“Nope. Haven’t seen her since she was just a little spark.”

Kakashi and Yumiko exchange suspicious looks.

“Are you sure, Lady Tsunade? It’s really important we find her,” Yumiko pleads. “She could be in more danger than even she realizes.”

Tsunade looks away, but then looks Yumiko right in the eyes to repeat her answer. Yumiko feels sparks shooting between her fingers. She turns on her heels to leave the inn without looking back. She was lying, Yumiko can feel it deep inside. Tamako was here.

“If she was here we’ve probably just missed her,” Kakashi says as he steps out of the inn beside Yumiko.

“The time we spent talking to Tsunade was just enough time for her to get out of the village,” Yumiko agrees. “Tsunade knew that.”

“She thinks she’s helping Tamako,” Kakashi says.

“She could just easily be sending her to an early grave.”

Kakashi reaches out to put a hand on her shoulder, but his hand gets shot away by a static shock. He shakes his hand to relieve the tingling sensation in his fingers. He realizes Yumiko didn’t even know it had happened. She begins walking down the street to gather Akina and Ezume. Kakashi follows behind her, his mind reeling with questions about the shock he’d gotten. For just a moment she’d had his fingers paralyzed without even trying. He wonders how long she could paralyze someone if she was actually trying to do so. When they were kids sparring, she was still learning how to control it. She’d make a formidable opponent now.

“Maybe we should stay at the inn for the night after all,” Kakashi suggests once he’s caught up with her.

“We can’t afford to lose more time,” Yumiko growls.

“Listen, it’s gonna be dark soon. She’s not gonna get far.”

“Kakashi, this is so important to me-”

“You’re no good to anyone exhausted and unstable,” he says.

Yumiko turns to him, yellow sparks flickering in her eyes, “What did you just say?”

Kakashi crosses his arms over his chest, “You heard me. You’re exhausted, you’re emotional. You need time to regroup.”

Her purple hair begins standing on end from the static growing around her. Kakashi steps back.

“I don’t need to regroup. I need to keep moving,” Yumiko steps closer to him. “You can either come or you can stay.”

“We’re all staying. This is a team,” he says calmly.

He was right. She knows it deep down, and that’s what makes it so much worse. There was not a single argument she could make to justify dragging everyone back onto the road at dark.

“Um, Yumiko-sensei, Kakashi-sensei,” Akina’s soft voice interrupts. “We talked to all the shopkeepers.”

Yumiko takes a deep breath, attempting to steady herself. She turns to Akina, and she can hear Iruka’s voice in her head reminding her to keep her emotions in check.

“What did you find out?” she asks Akina.

“Well, not much,” Akina looks down apologetically. Ezume strolls up with an armful of snacks.

“Someone says they saw her with Tsunade, but it was before we arrived,” Ezume adds.

“Alright,” Yumiko glances at Kakashi who is still watching her cautiously. “We will be getting a room at the inn for the night.”

“Oh, thank you! Thank you!” Akina claps.

“Thank Kakashi,” Yumiko sighs.

A few hours later, Akina talks Yumiko into getting into the onsen with her. As she sinks into the hot water, she realizes it’s probably the best decision she’s made all day. Her sore muscles feel so relieved, and some of the tension she’s been carrying starts to dissolve away.

Akina stays close to Yumiko as they wade around in the hot water. She’s still a bit shy about being nude in front of other people. Yumiko finds a spot relatively away from the other women, and they stay there for a while in silence. Akina gets a wicked smirk on her face.

“Yumiko-sensei, can I ask you a question?”

“Of course.” Yumiko sinks deeper into the water until it’s over her shoulders.

“Why did the hokage send Kakashi-sensei on this mission?”

“Kakashi is a great shinobi,” Yumiko sighs. “He’s got the right experience. I suppose the hokage thought it was a good match.”

“He’s kind of cute,” Akina says shyly.

“How do you even know?” Yumiko laughs. “He could literally look like anything under his mask.”

“I don’t know. I just have a feeling.” Akina looks at Yumiko with a curious look in her eyes. She tilts her head to the side, “Do you like him?”

“He’s a loyal comrade and strong shinobi,” Yumiko narrows her eyes at Akina.

Akina rolls her eyes, “You’re no fun.”

Yumiko laughs, “Oh, I’m so sorry I’m not entertaining your inappropriate questions.”

“It’s just the two of us,” Akina smirks. “Come on, I won’t tell anyone.”

Yumiko shakes her head, “I haven’t been keeping anything from you.”

“I still think he’s cute,” Akina shrugs. “There’s just something about him.”

“You’re entitled to your opinion.”

“I bet you don’t like him because you’re in love with Iruka-sensei,” Akina wiggles her brows.

Yumiko laughs. She laughs so hard it almost hurts, “Oh really?”

“Mhm,” Akina smiles broadly.

“Me and Iruka are just friends,” Yumiko shakes her head. “We’ve been friends almost as long as you’ve been alive.”

“Then why don’t you have a boyfriend?”

“Because I’m too busy training nosy students,” Yumiko winks at her.

“I always knew you’d end up becoming a jounin,” Tsunade’s voice interrupts their playful banter. Akina stares in wonder at the beautiful woman sinking into the water. Tsunade is on full display, and there’s nothing at all for her to be ashamed of.

“Lady Tsunade,” Yumiko greets her coldly.

“The Tsunade?” Akina asks in awe. “One of the great sannin?”

“The best one if you ask me,” Tsunade smirks.

“I’m gonna get out now,” Yumiko says to Akina. “Don’t be too long, we’re gonna get dinner soon.”

“You’re much more like your father,” Tsunade says.

Before stepping out of the water, Yumiko turns her head slightly to look over her shoulder, “If you liked my parents so much, you wouldn’t have lied to me.”

Yumiko wraps herself in a towel before going to their room. She finds Kakashi and Ezume already sitting in the shared dining area between the two rooms they’d rented. Kakashi is lounging on a cushion while reading. Ezume had been eating some of the snacks he bought. Upon seeing his sensei in nothing but a towel, Ezume’s face turns bright red. He trains his eyes to the ground to avoid looking at her anymore.

“As soon as I get dressed we should get dinner,” she calls as she goes to the room she’s sharing with Akina.

She slides the door closed and pulls on a fresh pair of sweatpants and a black tank top. Akina walks in a few moments later with a bright red face.

“I can’t believe they saw me in a towel,” she whines.

“It’s better than them seeing you naked,” Yumiko shrugs.

She waits for Akina to get dressed before she opens the door. Kakashi is ordering food for everyone already when she takes a seat on one of the cushions beside Ezume. He offers her some chips which she takes gratefully. Akina sits down across from her. Everyone is busy with their own activities as they wait for the food. Akina is reading some tourism pamphlets she’s picked up in the lobby. Ezume is still busy with his snacks. Kakashi continues to read. Yumiko looks over a map of the area to try to plan tomorrow’s moves.

“Once we cross the border, we could run into trouble,” she says out loud.

“What kind of trouble?” Ezume asks.

“Rogue shinobi,” Kakashi says without looking up from his book.

Before they can talk more about it, the food is brought in. The group steps back so that everything could be set out for them. Ezume watches excitedly as the spread is laid out before them. They all thank the staff, and then sit back down to get started.

Everyone begins preparing to eat, and then Ezume nudges Akina under the table. Immediately they both begin staring intently at Kakashi. He doesn’t seem to notice as he begins looking over the options before him.

“It’s not polite to stare,” Yumiko scolds them. “Thank Kakashi for ordering dinner, and leave him be.”

“Yes, sensei,” Ezume says sadly.

Akina sighs, “Thank you, Kakashi-sensei.”

After dinner, Ezume and Ezume turn in for the night. Everyone is feeling a bit weary from walking for so long. Yumiko goes outside to sit on the grass for a while. She stares up at the night sky above her. The silver stars twinkle, the full moon is bright against the dark sky. Her mind wanders once again to Tamako.

Are you staring at the sky too? Can you feel me?

Kakashi announces his presence by clearing his throat. He sits down beside her, feeling kind of surprised when she doesn’t retreat.

“We should talk a bit about Tamako,” he says quietly. “I need to understand where her head might be.”

“I know,” she sighs.

“Her and Itachi-”

“They were close. Closer than any two people I’ve ever seen. And so young.”

“Close enough for her to be dangerous?”

“Possibly,” Yumiko admits. “Maybe not even on purpose.”

“Your kekkei genkai activates based on emotions,” he adds. “I figured that out earlier when you shocked me.”

“I shocked you,” she laughs.

He chuckles, “Yeah. After our little argument.”

“I’m so sorry,” she cups her face in her hands.

“It’s fine, but we have to consider how this could work against us with Tamako if she gets too worked up. I’m assuming her control isn’t as good as yours.”

“She’s not as contained,” Yumiko agrees.

They’d worked on it, still were trying to work on it before Tamako ran away. Yumiko was lucky enough that when the kekkei genkai activated in her, their father was still alive to teach her how to use it. Yumiko tried to pass along his lessons. Tamako was more emotionally driven than Yumiko, and because she was so much younger it was harder for her to control.

“I’m sorry we’re having to look for your sister,” what she can see of his face softens. “I know she’s all you have left.”

She looks down at her hands folded in her lap, “I hate this.”

“I don’t blame you,” Kakashi sighs. “We just need to say focused.”

[bakusoftie]

How about Deku, Katsuki and Todoroki being turned into a cat ( or whatever pet you want ) for a week and their fem s/o taking care of them (like petting,feeding,and playing with them) until they turn back ?

this is so cute omfg

y’all

i fucking love cats

Izuwu, Bakubabe, and Icycutie turning into cats for a week

🥦 izuwu 🥦

apparently some general studies student hated class 1-A so bad that they used their quirk to turn the innocent lil deku into a tiny white munchkin cat with his emerald green eyes and three black spots of fur on his cheeks

he looked so ADORABLE AHHHH

you were walking towards the dorms when you hear the cries of a kitten and looked down at your feet to find the cutest cat you have ever laid eyes on

“Hey there lil buddy!,” you cooed as you picked the ball of fluff up and rested him on your chest.

you thought he reminded you of your crush from the color of his wide green eyes

you couldn’t stop yourself from pecking kisses all over his fluffy face

izuku was sent into a flurry of purrs as he nuzzled his head into your warm chest

he felt kind of bad since you had no idea it was him but he felt so safe and complete being snuggled in your arms and he never wanted to leave

you snook the cute ass fur ball in your room, not before raiding the kitchen for a bowl of milk and leftover pork cutlet bowl that belonged to Denki (it’s okay you left him some money for McNuggets)

you laid the stubborn kitten on your bed but he kept wanting to bury his head in your warmth

“Awww, I’m gonna name you...Deku!,”

the kitten raised his head when he heard that and started licking your hand as if he was giving you little kitty kisses

“You must like that name,huh? It’s because you remind me of him...because you both are so cute!!”

Izuku crawls into your lap and nuzzles his head against your thighs and thinks ‘damn this is the life’

he would never get to do this when he returns to his human form so he for sure will milk the fuck out of this

when your hand comes down to scratch his neck, he swears he has reached heaven as his purring increases and he lets out a little “prrt”

He’s fucking love it

Until he sees you getting undressed...

Then he bulldozes his face into your pillow and let’s out a series of ‘meows’ that kinda sound like his muttering

If you stroke his fur while he eats, he feels like he’s going to combust from joy please don’t stop

6 days later when you’re so used to having this little kitten follow you everywhere and giving you cuddles, you also start to wonder why izuku hasn’t been coming to class lately

until one night when you and Izukitty are cuddling, him being curled into a ball on your boobies

And you feel the fuzzy warmth on your chest start to get heavier

uh

two questions

where did your cat go?

WHY IS IZUKU NAKED AND STRADDLING YOUR WAIST

Izuwu is so flustered and he can’t hardly get a word out except...

“M-Meow?”

💥kitsuki bakukitty💥

ma there's a weird-looking fucking cat outside

seriously...bakugou as a cat is fucking frightening

do not give this fucker CLAWS

well somebody did

and bakugou was fucking pissed

he couldn’t do anything for himself and his quirk wouldn’t even fucking work

not to mention he keeps hacking up disgusting fucking hairballs

it was your turn to take the dorm’s trash out when you see a

sort of cute-looking?

ash-blonde cat with sharp red eyes staring into your soul.

THIS FUCKER POUNCED ON YOUR LEG

CLAWS DIGGING INTO YOUR FLESH

he is literally ‘my cat from hell’

But you thought his aggressive actions just meant he was an abused stray that needed to be nutured

uh bitch

you was w r o n g

you also thought his fur and eyes kinda looked like your crush, Katsuki

so of course,

you named the kitty

katsukitty

he did not wike it

you got so many cat scratches BITCH YOU STARTING TO LOOK LIKE VICTOR ZSASZ

you googled “how to tame an agressive cat” on wikihow and it said to spend time with the cat and play with him so

you took that bitch to your room

and got out a ball of yarn and a laser pointer

“let the chaos begin, katsukitty 😈”

let me just tell you that this bitch’s meows sound like he’s being fucking drowned like

he’s so ugly LMAOASKKS

but the angry little kitten gets used to you and rubs his head your hand as he gets ready to ATTack and nibble the fuck out of your finger

you text kiri to come over and meet your new little friend and

the moment he smells the stench of another male coming up into his territory (aka you)

he fucking asshole

bites a fucking chunk out of kiri’s lightening mcqueen crocs

kiri: gEt yOur fUckinG cAt, BiTch

you: he don’t bite 🙂

kiri: yES hE dO

im so sorry kiri but

those crocs were ugly anyway

katsukitty did you a favor

bakugou is such an asshole cat like he literally jumped up on your dresser for the sole purpose of knocking your limited edition Best Jeanist Funko POP to the floor

yOu shiTTy BitcH

you had to get a spray bottle full of water after he scratched up the All Might t-shirt that Izuku bought you for your birthday

jealous heaDASS

he won’t let anyone inside your room

I mean you saw what he did to kiri’s crocs

So when mineta thought he would be slick and sniff your panties while you were in the shower

Katsukitty didn’t even have to touch the fucker

he just growled and mineta shit his pants

he protecc

he attacc

but most importantly

he a snacc

speaking of snacks,,,

if you try to feed him that gross ass canned cat food

he will fuck your ass up

don’t even think about it

although...he was considering it 😳

but no

once you accidentally dropped some sriracha on the floor and his ass lapped that shit up

you swore to god that isn’t healthy for cats to eat but

you still gave him a whole bowl full

because he made him happy

and you could finally pet him while he ate without getting slice and diced

that’s how most your days were like until the end of the week when you were coming to your room after making Katsukitty a tiny version of Bakugou’s costume

but what you were met with was a naked Bakugou (with only a ball of yard to cover his privates) on your bed

“I’m going to get you back for calling me fucking ‘Katsukitty’ for a week,dumbass”

💙 IcyCutie ❤️

oh this defenseless baby

he has no clue how this happened to him but the moment he sees you, he has the urge to rub his head against your leg?

and he does

you look down when you feel something soft and furry brushing against your ankle

it’s this cute ass slender white cat with an orange spot that covers his left eye and head. His eyes are two different colors and you think he is the cutest thing to ever grace this earth

He’s literally many the ‘🥺’ face and

Your uwus have been

s n a t c h e d

Todorokitty wishes he could communicate with you somehow and tell you that it’s him but then you’re putting him up and holding him tightly against your breasts and

😳 big boobs? small boobs? no boobs? he do not care

his brain just goes: tiddy

honestly you could do whatever you want with him and he wouldn’t care

he’s kinda one of those cats that just want to sleep

he’s such an lazy cat like

just hold him and lay with him please

even as a cat, he is just so touchstarved

the only moment he shows any feral activity is when you brought some Zaria soba for yourself and nasty ass fish for him

this bitch yeeted the fish off the plate and when you’ve gone to go clean it up

THIS BITCH PUTS HIS FURRY ASS HEAD INSIDE THE BOWL

bitch almost drowned in that shit

feed him

peasant

he definitely gets used to you taking care of him and being treated like he’s special and loved because he never got that before so there’s times where he just stares at your with wide eyes and paws at your tummy

he gets the best sleep of his life being cushioned by your body

you are his bed now

sometimes he’ll leave the room and come back to leave you “gifts”

oh

oh god

is that a fucking hamster?

😳 oh no

that’s koda’s hamster

“I understand that you were trying to do a good thing but you have committed an atrocity”

just wait until you get this hoe on some catnip 😈

normally he’s such a calm and collected kitty but once you sprinkle some of that good kush

he go ‘aRrrrOowwww’

he’s basically banging his head on the carpet trying to snort this shit the best he can

you and todorokitty have some good times and some bad times

but you do miss actually Todoroki

it makes you sad some nights because you thought he might be avoiding you

when he sees you sad, it reminds him of his mom tbh and he never wants you to feel this way,,especially if he’s literally right in front you

he’ll lay his head on your shoulder and put tiny kitten licks all over your face

👅 aaaulghh

the next day, you walked into your room after a trying day of school and flopped onto your bed where you thought your precious kitten was so you went to pet the little guy

except you were met with flesh

and i oop

😟

“are you naked? ewwwww.”

Shouto had no fucking shame

He just pulled you into his arms like nothing changed

“Shut up and let me love you, kitten”

[aion-rsa]

Sherlock 10th Anniversary: Behind the Scenes Set Secrets

https://ift.tt/3juJvKp

Two chairs. A fireplace. 17 steps leading up from the ground floor. On the mantelpiece, letters pierced by a knife, cigars hidden in a coal scuttle and tobacco concealed inside the toe of a Persian slipper… Sir Arthur Conan Doyle provided a few compass points from which set designers on screen adaptations of his Sherlock Holmes stories could work when creating their 221B Baker Street. The rest takes imagination, artistry, a storyteller’s eye and , in the case of BBC One’s Sherlock, the odd bit of mischief.

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Sherlock’s arrival on the BBC, production designer Arwel W Jones lets Den of Geek in on the behind-the-scenes secrets of 10 sets. Over to Mr Jones…

221B Baker Street

Credit: Arwel W Jones

Though technically speaking it was a Hartswood Production and not directly through the BBC, because we were on the plot in Cardiff’s Upper Boat [Studios] where Doctor Who was being shot, there was a big old prop store there that had a lot of things from Doctor Who and I did borrow a couple of things from there which maybe I should have hired… including some music manuscript that ended up on set. I hadn’t actually spotted at the time that it had some Gallifreyan text on it! So there is that little moment of crossover for anyone that really wants one.

John’s chair is that homely chair that everyone can probably remember their grandparent sitting in. It was a chair we already had that we reupholstered it in a nice tone that complemented the room. For Sherlock, I wanted something that was a timeless classic, like himself. As soon as we saw an image of the Le Corbusier… it ticked every box. It’s low at the back, for the practicalities of shooting, and had exactly that timeless elegance.

The skull was something I’d seen in a magazine, a differently shaped skull sprayed glossy black, and liked. Everywhere you go now you see skulls or bison heads, they’re in every tattooist, every barber shop, even in nice restaurants. I don’t remember seeing them much before that.

Credit: Arwel W Jones

Often I won’t finish deciding on how to decorate a room until we know who’s been cast. The look of the actor affects what you’re doing. Once you visualise that person as that character, it makes it easier to visualise their space. 221B reflects the timelessness of Benedict. His outfits and his look would work in any era and that’s what I tried to do with the space.

It’s a transient space that had different levels of eras. No-one would really decorate their place like that! It did work though. Both Sherlock and John, no matter which wall you look at, if they’re framed against any section, with all those different styles and looks and textures, they look good against them.

Victorian 221B Baker Street

Credit: Arwel W Jones

I loved what we were able to do with ‘our’ version of the Victorian one. I was lucky it happened that way round, rather than do just another Victorian 221B, it was a Victorian version of my modern one, which is slightly surreal.

It was about finding shapes, finding little things that filled the spaces in a very similar way, like the oil lamp that had the brass reflecting around it that was bang-on perfect the same shape and size as the 221B moon lamp in the same space. They were all hints that it was [taking place in Sherlock’s Mind Palace] but there wasn’t anything out of time. We were so strict on it because they didn’t want the hint to be there before. There were clues in dialogue but they were scripted. I didn’t want to be the bad guy who let the cat out of the bag!

The stuffed deer head with the ear horn was quite cool. I was very happy with the skull painting too. It’s a real Victorian image called ‘All is Vanity’ and it worked so well in that spot. It was very of the moment because of that obsession with death that the Victorians had.

I can remember the exact moment where we said ‘what shall we paint over there?’ and I went ‘Aha! It’s the study! We’ll do it in scarlet!’  

Mycroft’s Office

Credit: Arwel W Jones

I wanted the idea that he was under your feet as you walked through Whitehall. The pattern on his ceiling is meant to be the underneath of those glass bricks that you walk over, that’s why that light comes in the way it does. We’ve always hinted that he ran the country, not the government and so he’s just there underneath, running everything.

When we did it the first time, it was the same time as doing the cell for keeping and interrogating Moriarty so we had that same feel.

If you look at the bare metal on the filing cabinets, everything is cold and calculated. The glass globe on his desk – world domination! All those things are there for a reason.

Eurus’ Sherrinford Cell

Credit: Arwel W Jones

This is about the coldness of the character and her calculatedness. It’s a smoother shape [than Mycroft’s similarly toned office], the curved ellipse of that cell, there are no edges so you don’t know what’s what. The colours and the textures obviously say coldness, but the glass and the concrete and the bareness were really about how dangerous she was, with no resource.

There are a few little Easter Eggs in there. If you look at the floor and markings on the wall, there are scratchings on the floor where the toilet and the shower would slide out. If you look at the table and the bed, they look like they can slide back into the wall. The idea is that if they wanted to, they could just leave her in a completely empty space and that she would never have to leave it. The round grate on the ceiling echoes the bottom of the well [where Eurus put John and ‘Redbeard’] but also the depths of the island. She was right at the bottom, on the bottom layer, the most secure. We played with the idea at one point of making it feel like it was underwater and there was an element of that in some of the lighting.

I was obviously looking at a lot of reference from Bond movies. That was a real nod to [Bond designer] Ken Adams, because he’d passed away that year sadly.

Magnussen’s Mind Palace

There’s a book [Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss] would reference all about helping your memory and it’s to do with associating things with particular memories. The weirder the thing you associate, the easier it is to remember it. So they told me to find weird and wonderful things! We had a fiberglass baby hippo in a dog bed in one corner, a rabbit pulling something out of a hat, rather than the other way around, a tree draped with gloves.

There was all manner of things on top of every corner of these ‘corridors of information’, including a painting of me at the end of one of them, which I don’t think you really saw. When we were doing The Sarah Jane Adventures years ago, we had a haunted house and there were things falling off the walls. We couldn’t let a hired painting fall in case of damages so I got one of the scenic artists to paint me as Rembrandt. That’s the one we knocked off the wall, so I had it, so I just put it in there as an extra bit of weirdness!

John’s Pilot Bedsit

Credit: Arwel W Jones

That was my favourite set from the unaired pilot. We were in the Coal Exchange in Cardiff that we were using downstairs for the therapist’s room and there was this little pokey room on the top floor. In the room next door they had that proper 1970s Sapele cladding, so I ripped that off one room and clad it around the one side. The tones of the bed covers and that Sapele and the lighting, it just felt like a miserable place, even though it had its own aesthetic.

This is what I keep going on about, even miserable places can have an aesthetic and look beautiful on screen. It added to his despair or his sense of not belonging. What we tried to do was recapture that in the first of the actual series. It was close, but I still think the one in the pilot was a better set in my mind. I didn’t quite get it right.

Read more

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Sherlock Designer Arwel W Jones: ‘There’s a Magic to Set Design’

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The Baskerville Laboratory

This was a real space, a microcomputer lab that had recently closed, so a lot of that was already there. I had one of the glass cases shatter on me, so I was standing in a pile of glass at one point while we were dressing that.

One of the team said she’d seen something on YouTube about how you could melt a plastic bottle and twist it into a jellyfish. We said, let’s have a go and that’s what the glow-in-the-dark jellyfish are, they’re all plastic bottles!

The monkeys were quite frisky! The male monkey really took a shine to the Grip. Really took a shine to the Grip. They had a tracking shot that was bringing the actors out of the elevator and every time the Grip passed the cage with the male monkey, shall we say he got a bit overexcited in an adult way, which was quite amusing to everyone there and very difficult for the cast to keep a straight face.

Culverton Smith’s ‘Favourite Room’

This was trying to have something that was really modern, because it was meant to be this brand new hospital he’d built and done all sorts of things to. We tried to go as ultra-modern in its feel, with all the LED lighting and the suspended lighting grid above the beds and the bank of coolers. It was about that feel of giving it complete coldness and newness. And having a viewing area, which was weird, but they do actually have that in a lot of mortuaries.

The wallpaper [in Sherlock’s hospital room next door] wasn’t TARDIS roundels, that was just nice wallpaper to give that room something extra. That was a real space, we built that extra wall into the Student’s Union in Cardiff.

John and Mary’s flat

I don’t think there’s a shot that really reflects it in the series, but in that little Christmas teaser [‘Many Happy Returns‘] there was a shot of John sat on the sofa on his own and in that, there are reflections of 221B. The sofa’s in the same place, there’s a light on the left hand side that gives the same kind of lighting as the moon lamp in 221B and I put a little skull-shaped vodka bottle in the cupboard on his right in the same place that the skull image would have been in 221B, just little things. It was a very different type of wallpaper but still a feature wallpaper wall behind him. He hadn’t quite let go. It was the same but different, was the idea.

We did a similar thing in Anderson’s flat (see below) in ‘The Empty Hearse’. That was a dangerous one to do, because what we were trying to do was a 221B that wasn’t quite working, or wasn’t quite right. You could get that very wrong and just get a messy set that didn’t look right. That was a bit more challenging if anything. It was Anderson trying to create his own 221B.

Credit: Arwel W Jones

[In Rosie’s nursery] and the bedroom, the tree and the fruits and the birds were a little reference to the décor of the wedding venue. It’s a nice wallpaper, also in Mrs Hudson’s corridor. The [black fish] mobile may have been a reference to what happens at the Aquarium, because we were talking about the cold, dead eyes of a shark.

John’s kitchen – even though we’d done the reflections of 221B in the flat, we also wanted to do the antithesis of it. The clutter of 221B versus the tidiness of that house. I read somewhere – biggest insult possible! – that it looked like an Ikea showroom of a house, which it wasn’t. There was a lot of stuff in there that was bespoke, but at the same time I can understand the reference. There were deliberately not a lot of signs of life, even the child’s toys are tidied away.

Scotland Yard

Credit: Arwel W Jones

It’s been three different places over the years. The first time it was in the old HTV studios in Cardiff, which no longer exist. That was flattened and is now a housing estate. When we went to look at it it was in kind of a dark blue, which was never going to look nice on camera, but I was looking at it with [director] Paul McGuigan who is a very, very strong Celtic fan and he said there was no way he’d film anywhere that was Rangers blue! So that’s why I painted in green and white hoops like Celtic shirts. So that’s where that colour scheme comes from.

I walked him on there and he said ‘I like this’ and I said ‘Have you realised?’ and he’s going ‘What? What?’ So I tell him ‘Green and white hoops!’ And he went, ‘You legend!’

See many more behind-the-scenes Sherlock photos on Arwel W Jones’ portfolio website.

The post Sherlock 10th Anniversary: Behind the Scenes Set Secrets appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3fXoXbc

[sowhatgguk]

protect my heart - myg

REQUESTED: #25 w/ yoongi - “why don’t you understand?”

it’s been sitting in the drafts for a while, but since school has started and work isn’t as hectic, i decided to post this before i forgot. i have one more request, it’s coming soon! send in more through my ask :)

WARNING: um idk i don’t think it’s that angsty but if you’re very emotional this can be kinda sad? yoongi!bf, heartbreak, mentions of cheating and sad stuff i guess 

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

You stare at the message, wondering if there was something wrong. But you figured it was due to stress, so you ignored that feeling. Making Yoongi angry wasn’t something you planned to do.

You’d head to the restaurant and pick a few of his favourite things. Just to make sure he eats and sleep well at the studio. And then you’d head home. As much as yoongi hated being bothered, you knew you had to take care of his health. Sometimes, he doesn’t know his limits.

You spend time around the house watching television, checking social media and then taking a shower to get ready. you make sure to put a mask on your face before heading outside. No one would suspect you, everyone wore them in this cold weather.

But as you approach bighit’s company building, your cellphone seems to weigh heavy in your pocket. You push aside your thoughts, you were here to take care of your boyfriend and not annoy him.

You knock lightly on his studio door, the bag of food feeling heavy. You place your ear to the door, not hearing a thing. Maybe he’s sleeping? You think to yourself not before slowly opening the door.

What you see hurts your heart. Yoongi is sleeping on the couch cuddling a girl. You don’t even know her, or understand why she would be in his studio that close anyways. Maybe she replaced you.

You quietly place the food on a small table, being careful not to make a mess with his equipment everywhere. You spot a small piece of paper and pen. You write a small note to yoongi.

Hey, I noticed you fell asleep and I didn’t want to bother you and your friend. I got your favourites, make sure to warm them up. I wanted to make sure you’re eating well and sleeping well. I’m glad. Please don’t stress yourself, and take care of yourself yoongs. Because I won’t be able to do that anymore. I love you.

Y/N

in the midst of your shuffling, the noise caused yoongi to stir. You met his horrified gaze once he realized his position. He carefully tried to get up, but you gave him a sad smile.

Goodbye Min Yoongi.

You place the pen down onto the table and quietly closed the door. You walk to the elevator when you hear his footsteps. So you decide to take the emergency exit stairs 5 flights down.

You’re biting your lip, fighting your tears as you bolt down the stairs. Not bothering to be quiet, you pushed the exit door with all the energy you have and book it to your car. You lock the door, trying to breathe.

You rub your face with your hands, not caring if your makeup was ruined. The space between you and him get evidently smaller, and your lungs constrict. A panic attack.

You laugh bitterly. Getting all riled up because of a man. You promised yourself that you would never let a man affect you like this. But you never thought that man would be min yoongi.

Your hands shakily reach to press the START button to rev the engine. You see yoongi burst out the back door, frantically looking for you. He spots you crying in your car but before he can run to you, your car is leaving the parking lot. Leaving him behind.

You force yourself to turn up the radio to drown out his yelling. You refuse to be foolish. Perhaps you did have some dignity; call it pride. You had enough of people manipulating you, using you as if you were there for pure convenience.

But deep inside you knew, you would let min yoongi hurt you again anyways.

“Fuck.” Yoongi curses as he makes his way back into the building and walking into his studio. By the time he opens the door, he sees that the girl is gone, just like you. He decides to open the bag of food you got him, refusing to let your hard work go to waste. Even if he did lose you.

Your note is like a warning sign for him. But he reads it. And his heart crumbles in pain. Suddenly, the thought of eating food didn’t seem appealing anymore. He falls back onto the couch crumpling the piece of paper in his hands. And for the first time in a long time, he cries.

He lets out harsh sobs as he blindly reaches for his cellphone. He reads the texts you sent him and his grip tightens.

He wants to call you, and tell you it was a misunderstanding. He wants you back. That he needs you and loves you.

But one of his downfalls is confrontation. So he doesn’t. He leaves you alone. Leaving him to swallow his pain by working on his new track and drinking liquors til he passes out.

He doesn’t remember how long he’s been in the studio. But his body can feel it. So when somebody opens the door, he winces at the intrusion of light.

“oppa! You need to leave the studio, it reeks. Gah! Did something die in here?”

He merely turns to face another of the producers. She’s scrunching her nose at the sight of him.

He turns back to his computer, adding a few touches here and there. He hears her sigh and the door closes.

Within minutes, she comes back with namjoon, seokjin and a bottle of febreze. He gives her a confused look as Namjoon and Seokjin practically manhandle him out of the studio.

“Oh my Lord this is fucking nasty, get him out.” She says with a pained look as she sprays the whole studio.

“Hey! My equipment! I haven’t finished the track! Let me back-“ he yells as she slams the door in his face.

It’s quiet. He knows what he looks like. A pathetic mess.

“Yoongi-ssi.” Seokjin calls him, but he doesn’t meet the elder’s gaze.

“Hyung, what happened? You never work yourself this hard. You should go home.” Namjoon softly suggests as he shakes his head.

“Home? The studio is my home. Not like I can go back to the dorms.”

“What do you mean the studio is your home? What about y/n?” Seokjin inquires and at the sound of your name, he loses it.

“I cannot go back to her. I lost her hyung, don’t you get it? She fucking hates me because I broke her heart.”

“What exactly did you do wrong?” Seokjin softly asks as yoongi felt his heart constrict.

“She brought me food a few days ago. I was working on the new track. I fell asleep on the couch.”

“She got mad at you because you were sleeping?” Namjoon says confused meeting seokjin’s look.

“Yeah, she found me sleeping on the couch… with another girl.”

There was a dead silence in the room, but all Yoongi could hear was his own heart beat pounding.

“Who is the girl, Min Yoongi?” Seokjin has a subtle glint of anger in his voice as he muttered

“intern. She was bringing me coffee and we were talking about stuff and she told me to take a break. So I lied on the couch but in my sleepy mode I pulled her onto me.”

“Well she’s fired.” Namjoon sighs to himself, rolling his shoulders back to alleviate the back pain.

“She shouldn’t be engaging in things like that with coworkers let alone idols. But the question is; why did you let her?”

Maybe because I was missing you. So I could take love from anyone who offered. So why couldn’t I take it from you?

“I-i don’t know. But I have to fix it.”

“She just slept on top you, right? You didn’t sleep with her… right?”

Namjoon looks afraid to ask, probably because he was the closest friend you had in bight aside from the maknae line.

“I didn’t… but I almost.” Yoongi whispers as he hear seokjin mutter curses under his breath.

“Well I don’t know what to tell you Min Yoongi. You lost the best thing in your life because of your carelessness. Your inability to accept people into your life. So why are you upset when you keep pushing her away? You need to set fucking boundaries when entering and being in a relationship. So you either chuck your pride and make it up to Y/N or you fuck off and leave her alone. Either way you still need to apologize to her.”

Yoongi bites his inner cheek as he processes the information. He had to apologize to you, but how? Surely it’s too late, a week has already passed.

Namjoon softly nudges yoongi which shakes him out of his reverie.

“It’s better late than never, hyung. Go to her.”

For the first time in a long time, yoongi left the studio and left the building.

It’s been a week since you’ve seen Yoongi. You just assumed that things were over, since he hasn’t made an effort to contact you. His silence and lack of response just shows you that she means a lot to him.

You sigh looking at the empty tub of coffee flavoured ice-cream. Maybe you’ve sulked for a bit now, but it’s time to stop. There were things to be done, eventually.

There’s a knock on your door. You furrow your brows in confusion. You weren’t expecting anyone, did you order something online?

You open the door without looking at who it was. It was yoongi, drenched, looking like he came back from the dead a week later.

“Yoongi? What are you doing here?” You say with arms crossed. You could let him inside, but part of you wants him to suffer. Also, if you were to let him inside, you would be vulnerable. And knowing your emotional state, you wouldn’t be rational and probably just take him back without batting an eye.

“I’m so fucking late and I’m sorry. I- I just need to talk to you, please Y/N. I-“

fine. I should probably let him in before Mrs. Kim 5 doors down starts to become nosy.

“Whatever, just don’t make the floor too wet.” You say opening the door wider, watching him carefully place his shoes and hanging his coat.

He follows you to the bedroom and you give him a towel to dry up in the bathroom. While he does that, you pull a pair of his clothes that he left behind and give it to him. He smiles back in gratitude but it turns out to be a grimace.

You go to the kitchen to make some tea. As you’re pouring the tea in the two mugs, you spot yoongi walk out with bare fare and a towel on his shoulders. Your heart beats at the sight of him, so maybe you’re not healing as fast as you wanted.

He sits at the chairs you’ve planted near the countertop. You both quietly drink, allowing the background noise of rain to fill the room.

After a while, he speaks.

“I don’t know how many times I will apologize to express myself, but I know none of them will make things better. You might not even forgive me, and that’s something I have to live with.”

You decide to look at anywhere but him. Maybe if you saw the emotion in his eyes, it would become more surreal.

“- but I can’t ask to be back in your life regardless if I don’t give you an explanation. And I know I don’t deserve to be in your life after this. Not as a boyfriend or even a friend.

But basically i was distancing myself from you, because I was stressed, I didn’t want it to affect our relationship but-“

He lets out a bitter laugh, looking into his cup.

“-Turns out I did more than that, didn’t I? And what you saw was basically this intern I’ve been teaching her the ropes at bight. She told me to take a break, since I was working for too long. So when I lied on the couch, I reached out for her hand and she fell on top of me.

I don’t know why I did that. Maybe because she reminded me of you. That I enjoyed someone taking care of me no matter who it was. But that was it, I didn’t sleep with her. But, I mean I could have. I don’t know what I was thinking.

But I understand why that would make you feel betrayed. I’m so sorry Y/N… I pushed you away when you were trying to just offer me your heart.”

“Yoongi.” You call out as he wipes his tears with the back of his hand.

“You really broke my heart. Not just seeing you with her but the fact that you went to anyone but me.”

“But I’m here! I’m saying sorry and that I still love you. Why don’t you understand?”

“What do you mean I don’t understand? I did more than understand, I never bothered or smothered you. I gave you space. I allowed you to be by yourself and a space to talk things through. If anything, you don’t understand. You don’t value our relationship or me, min yoongi. Who goes to say later you won’t do something worse?”

Yoongi looks helpless, but you avert your gaze. You walk to put your glass in the sink. And when you turn around, he’s on the floor. Kneeling at your feet. On reflex, you bend down to his level offering a hand.

“You don’t need to kneel, yoongi. Save yourself the embarrassment. Get up.”

He shook his head, frame trembling with each word he spoke. “I can’t lose you, i refuse to let you go. I know you won’t forgive me, because of all the shit i’ve done but please don’t leave me. I can’t, you can’t make me please.” 

You stare at his pathetic frame for a while, memorizing his features. sure, he didn’t sleep with her. but not to say it wasn’t his fault. who am i to be angry with her when he pulled her on top? but do all people deserve second chances? won’t i be regarded as weak and naive?

“I can’t make you leave. I can’t make you stop loving me. But I can protect my heart, which is something you failed to do. I’m sorry, Min Yoongi. I would say to give me time, but i don’t know how long that will be. And you’re a busy man, with a life filled with success you won’t have time for me.” 

Yoongi looks at you with bloodshot eyes and nods. He turns to leave as you follow him to the door shakily. Before he steps outside, he turns to face you. His lip starts to quiver, and your heart breaks. 

“can i ask a favour from you? just one more time?” he meekly asks as you nod. 

he slowly reaches for your arms, and you let him touch you. you want to feel his embrace, but it feels different this time. and when he gets closer, you close the gap. a farewell kiss.

and ever since that shared moment, you don’t see min yoongi ever again. 

[foreverwayward]

“Wayward Hearts” Season 3 Chapter 1: The Magnificent Seven

Summary: After the Devil’s Gate had been opened that fateful night in the graveyard, the hunters are forced to face a new war. Countless demons now run rampant, hungry for blood and power. It’ll take everything the three have to survive when darkness once again knocks on their door. But with only a year before Dean’s deal comes due, Sam and Riley will stop at nothing to save him; to save their family.

Masterlist

Word Count: 9,452

Content Warning: language and violence, pre smut

DISCLAIMER: any words or phrases in bold in the story are not my own and are credited to the writers of Supernatural.

**GIFS ARE NOT MY OWN**

Sam and Dean had sent Riley on what felt like a wild goose chase. They had asked for her to go find a special beer that Dean was ‘craving’, but nowhere seemed to have it in stock. She was fed up with the search and nearly gave up. 

Finally, nearly a town away and after two hours of searching eight different stops, she found it. 

It was Riley’s birthday and she had spent the night running around on a ‘crazy person’s errand’. With all that was going on, she didn’t blame the guys for forgetting her day. 

If Riley didn’t constantly feel the nagging reminder of the ticking clock, already stealing away what time they had left with Dean, she would have given up after shop number two.

She got out of the Impala in front of the motel with a huff. Grabbing the pack of bottles, which she already held a grudge against, Riley headed for the room.

There was music coming from their room and her face scrunched with curiosity. The blinds had been shut and a soft light seemed to twinkle through the cracks. 

Riley opened the door and stopped in awe when she looked inside.

The room was covered in lit cheap tea candles. Soft classic rock swept through the air along with the smell of burgers that already had her mouth watering. A blanket had been laid out on the floor with take-out spread across to look like a picnic. 

But there, standing in front of it all, was Dean. He was obviously anxious with a goofy smile on his face.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he chuckled nervously.

“What--what is all this?” Riley asked putting down the beer.

“You think that just because of all the crazy going on lately that I wouldn’t do something for your birthday?” Dean looked at her with complete adoration before he nodded toward the beer with a smirk. “I can’t believe you actually found that. You’re good.”

Riley gazed around the room again and she felt she could almost cry with joy. “I thought you forgot. I mean…”

“You really thought I’d forget your birthday? Rye, come hell or high water, I’ll never forget about you.” Dean slowly stepped closer and gently took the side of her face to meet her with a passionate kiss. When he pulled away, he grinned and her eyes fluttered open after being floored by the way he had kissed her. “So, you like it?”

“I love it,” she giggled.

Dean’s arm opened up to to the room and he gestured her in. “After you.”

------

After devouring the cheeseburgers, fries, and what turned out to be a beer well worth the trip, the two both had aching faces from smiling at their time together. As the stereo played on, Journey’s ‘Faithfully’ came on and Dean took one more swig of his beer with a smile.

“Come on,” he told her as he stood. 

Riley looked at him with a curious smirk. “You can’t be serious.”

“Deadly.” Dean smiled, putting out his hand to help her stand. 

She finally obliged him with a soft laugh.

Pulling her close, Dean put his large hand around her waist and rested it on the small of Riley’s back, his other hand holding hers as they swayed to the music. 

“You know,” Dean said softly. “If someone told me I’d do this for a girl someday, I’d have told them they were high.” They both laughed. “You make me do stupid shit, woman.” 

Riley’s face fell as she was struck by a realization.

“What’s wrong? Did I fuck this up? Because I have no idea what I’m doing. Don’t blame me, blame every romantic comedy ever.” Dean stopped, embarrassed by what he had said. “...which I never watch, by the way.”

“No. No, it’s perfect,” she told him with restraint. “I just--I just suddenly realized this is the last birthday that…”

Dean knew exactly what she was saying. He wouldn’t be around for her next birthday or any after that for that matter. That’s why he had to make her feel special. The hunter wasn’t going to waste what time he had left time with Riley. And he wasn’t about to let anything ruin their night together. 

“Well, Sam got another room, so it’s just you and me,” he said with a flirty smirk as he slid Riley’s other hand up and around his neck.

Staring into his eyes, the candlelight flickered and danced in his green irises. The world always disappeared in those moments with him. 

So with a sigh, Riley tried to let go of everything else even though a tear slipped down her cheek. “Okay. We have tonight, right?”

His thumb wiped away the tear and he lost himself in her. Dean never grew used to how beautiful Riley was. He could stare at her for hours and still feel his stomach flip like the first time he saw her.

“...I love you,” he whispered. Dean was never good at using those words. They came few and far between, but he always showed the words he couldn’t say. So, when he did say them, Riley knew how deeply he meant it.

“I love you, too.”

They came together in a heated kiss as they eagerly pressed against each other. It was slow, yet intense and created a fire inside them both. 

Dean picked her up and she wrapped her legs around him before he slowly laid her down on the bed, his eyes never losing hers. Every motion was steady and deliberate. His hands were gentle and loving as they ran over her and tenderly undressed her as she did the same for him.

Riley’s breath hitched as Dean mouth placed open-mouthed, fervent kisses down her neck and chest as he worshipped her. He watched her gasp as he touched her in a way that made her eyes shut as she arched her back. 

Dean kept his rhythm with her, watching her every movement and reaction as she writhed underneath him and came undone. As she caught her breath, Dean found his place above her and their lips met in an uncontrollably hungry kiss.

“I need you,” she whined under her breath.

Bringing them together, they both moaned as he whispered in her ear. “I’m yours.”

------

Later that night, the two laid naked in each other’s arms with the sheet intertwined between them. Music still played and the candles had almost all burnt out, their clothes strewn about the room.

Sam came through the door as he asked tiredly, “hey are you guys, conscious? Bobby called and--” 

His eyes fell on the couple and he groaned in disgust seeing that Dean wasn’t covered in all the areas he wished he had been. “Oh, god, dude...cover yourself up! Jesus.”

Riley and Dean woke to the noise. The sleepy blue-eyed girl covered up. 

Dean just smiled at his brother with barely opened eyes. “This is how God intended it, Sammy.”

“Ugh,” Sam groused. “Someone give me a knife so I can gouge my eyes out.”

------

The Impala leaped and bounded over dips in the road and her engine roared. Dean’s cheers of excitement along with loud music echoed from the car and into the night. 

Both Riley and Sam looked uneasy, but said nothing as Dean grinned from ear to ear.

“Woo!” he shouted with pure joy.

“You know, Dean,” Sam said from the back, “that was a part of you I never wanted to see.”

With a quick glance to his brother in the rearview mirror, Dean’s eyes still beamed. “Hey, I appreciate you giving me some time with my girl tonight. It was much needed.” Taking Riley’s hand, he put her knuckles to his lips and kissed them, still smiling.

Sam chuckled softly. “Yeah, no problem.”

“Really?” he asked with an approving look.

“Yeah. You deserve to have a little fun.”

Dean smirked at Riley. “Well, I guess that means you and I are gonna be having a lot of fun, sweetheart,” he added with a playful wink.

Rolling her eyes in a teasing manner, Riley shifted to look towards Sam. “So, what did Bobby say he found?”

“Not much. Crop failure and a cicada swarm outside of Lincoln, Nebraska. Could be demonic omens--”

“Could also just be the failing crops or someone forgot the bug spray.”

“True. But it’s the only lead we’ve got. Bobby said he didn’t find any weird deaths or anything. Not yet at least.”

“It's weird, man,” Dean chimed in. “I mean, the night the Devil's Gate opened, all these weirdo storm clouds were sighted over how many cities? Seventeen? You'd think it would be ‘Apocalypse Now’, but it's been five days and bubkis. I mean, what are the demons waiting for?”

Sam just shrugged. “Beats me.”

“It's driving me crazy. I tell you, if it's gonna be war, I wish it would just start already.”

With a look of concern and sadness, Riley muttered under her breath, “can’t say I share your sentiment.”

------

The next morning, Sam, Dean, and Riley pulled up outside a farmhouse in what looked like the middle of nowhere. Green fields and trees surrounded the property, the air filled with the sound of cicadas. 

As they all got out of the car, Dean held a large, bacon cheeseburger in his hand, taking slow, large bites from it.

Riley put a hand over her eyes to block the sun as she looked around. “Jesus. Those cicadas sound like they’re everywhere.” With a glance back at the brothers, she asked, “that can’t be good, can it?”

“No. No, it can’t,” Sam replied.

Bobby had already been waiting for them as he leaned against his beat-up car. He walked over to greet them and his eyes went straight to Dean. “So, we’re eating bacon cheeseburgers for breakfast now, are we?”

“Well, I sold my soul,” Dean answered with a mouthful. “Got a year to live. I ain't sweating the cholesterol.”

A heavy sigh came from Riley at his words. How could he not see how much it killed her and Sam when he talked like that? And even among all those emotions of confusion and heartache, Riley couldn’t feel it like she used to. 

Her empathic abilities seemed to have dulled after her death, but that night in the cemetery, she had felt more powerful than ever. Only now, everything felt muted. Riley realized how helpless she felt not being able to know what the others were feeling or thinking. For the first time, she missed being an empath.

Trying to ignore the thoughts that raced through her a mile a minute, she moved on from them. “So, Bobby...what’s going on? Are we thinking biblical plague? ‘Cause I gotta tell ya, I’m not fond of the whole ‘firstborn dies’ thing.” 

“Well, let's find out,” Bobby motioned towards the porch and they all went up the wooden steps. “Looks like the swarm's ground zero.”

Dean pounded his fist against the door. “Candygram!”

There was no answer except the chirping of the millions of cicadas. 

Riley knelt down and picked the lock. 

As they finally opened the door, they all covered their noses and coughed in disgust as they gagged. The smell of death wafted through the home. Stale air mixed with the what could only be described as rotting meat with drops of cheap perfume was enough to make the hunters feel the urge to vomit.

“Oh, god. That’s fucking awful,” Sam mumbled through his hand that covered his mouth.

With a groan, the older Winchester replied, “mm. That so can’t be a good sign.”

The house was almost the picture perfect example of what a farmhouse would look like in the movies. Flower wallpaper covered the walls and brightened the rooms with doily curtains draped over the windows. The wooden floors creaked under the hunters’ heavy boots as they walked through the home.

Guns drawn, Sam, Riley, and Dean fought through the stench as they moved methodically through the house. They cleared the rooms in a tactical fashion, covering each other’s backs. Still, their eyes all found each other when they noticed the sound of panicked screams.

Sam and Dean busted through the door of the only room that remained unchecked with Riley behind them. The brothers moaned in revulsion at the even more abhorrent smell that hit them like a bus. Flies buzzed through the room, thriving on the leftover remains.

Recoiling at the increased odor, Riley put her nose into the crook of her arm. “Oh, Christ,” she rasped.

A family of three sat on the couch, staring into the TV. They had all been dead for several days and their corpses had already begun to rot. An episode of ‘Dallas’ played on the television with the eyes of the deceased family still settled on it.

Bobby had made his way back to the others after clearing the upstairs. The smell made his face scrunch and he groaned with another cough before seeing what remained of the house’s former occupants.

“What the fuck happened here?” Sam questioned.

Dean gave a quick nod to his brother, Bobby, and Riley. “Check for sulfur.”

As they all investigated the room, Dean heard a noise out front and whistled quietly to get the others’ attention. He signaled that he was going to check it out and Riley followed. 

Bobby and Sam circled around the other direction to come up behind the noise.

Out on the patio, the couple exited cautiously with their guns aimed and looked around. As Dean lead them around the side of the house, he was knocked to the ground by a man with a shotgun. 

Riley’s stance changed, ready for a fight as she held her finger near the trigger staring the stranger down. 

A woman joined him and stood at his side. The dark-skinned couple stared the hunters down.

Bobby and Sam came up from the other side and Bobby asked curiously, “Isaac? Tamara?” He approached them both with a grin on his face.

“Bobby?” The woman had a smooth British accent and a short pixie haircut. Her skin was gorgeously smooth with a glowy, milk chocolate tone. “What the hell are you doing here?” Tamara beamed with joy at the sight of what seemed to be an old friend.

“I could ask the same,” Bobby chuckled.

“Heya, Bobby.” Isaac boomed in a deep bass as he smiled from ear to ear. His hair was buzzed so short it almost looked like a military cut. Throwing his shotgun against his shoulder, his other hand reached out to give the older hunter a firm and welcoming handshake.

Riley’s eyes darted back and forth in uncertainty as Dean groaned on the ground. 

He raised his arm pitifully and waved for attention. “Hello. Bleeding here.”

------

That night, in Tamara and Isaac’s home, the hunters all gathered in what was possibly once a combined kitchen and dining area. Voodoo paraphernalia filled the space and smelt like earth, wood, and spices. Candles that spread all over were the only light in the home the hunters had made for themselves. There were shelves upon shelves of unidentified jars, herbs and more all around them. Large bunches of herbs that were still drying, hung from the ceiling. As much as it was a home, it gave a strange feeling of an old warehouse. And the amount of lore and books put Bobby’s collection to shame.

Dean was on the phone, working his charm with the girl at the coroner’s office trying to get information on the dead family they had stumbled upon. 

Riley rolled her eyes with humor at his flirty tone. With her hands in her back pockets, she studied everything Isaac and Tamara had collected over the years.

“Honey?” Isaac called fumbling through their inventory. “Where’s the Palo Santo?”

Sam and Riley exchanged a look showing neither knew what that meant, so the Winchester asked. “Palo Santo?”

“Holy wood. It’s from Peru. Just like how holy water is toxic to demons, this kind of does the same thing. Pins the bastards down during an exorcism.” Tamara dug into a bag and pulled out a large, pointed stake. She handed it to Isaac with an affectionate smile.

He smirked with a look that let them know Isaac wouldn’t know what to do without Tamara around. “Thank you, dear.”

Love. Finally, a strong emotion came through loud and clear for Riley. As much as she wanted to celebrate the returning feeling, anyone could sense the love between the couple. She glanced down at their hands to see wedding bands and smiled. Married hunters. 

“I guess it can happen…” Riley thought to herself. With a quick loving look over to Dean, she tried to clear her mind of the passing notion. “So, how long have you two been married?”

“Eight years this past June,” Tamara answered with a proud expression.

“A June wedding. I bet that was nice. I think I’d wanna get married in the fall, though. It’s so beautiful--no. No! Riley, what the fuck is wrong with you? You’ve never been like this. Get these stupid ideas out of your head.”

Isaac’s hand gently went behind Tamara’s head to pull her forward as he planted a kiss on her forehead.��

They truly were happy together and there was a hint of jealousy in Riley. She knew Dean wasn’t the marrying type and Riley swore she would never get married either. Being a hunter with a spouse was just asking for trouble. 

Her focus went back to Dean as he walked into the room to join them. “Thank god he can’t hear my thoughts,” Riley reflected with a sigh. “But my god I love that man.”

“That was the coroner’s tech,” Dean told everyone as he tucked his phone into his pocket. “Get this--that whole family’s cause of death? Dehydration and starvation. There were no signs of restraint, no violence, no struggle. They just sat down and never got up.”

Bobby shook his head almost in disbelief. “With a stocked kitchen only feet away?”

“What is this, a demon attack?” Sam asked Bobby as he turned to face him.

“If it is, it’s not like anything I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen plenty.”

“Well, now what? What do we do?” Dean sat on the wooden bench where Riley had been resting and his arm went around her waist to hold her close.

She tried to hide the smile that was creeping on her face, but shut down her feelings fast. 

Then, as though she had forgotten for only a brief period of time, reality hit Riley, hard. Even if Dean would want to get married someday...he wouldn’t be around for it. He was going to Hell in one year...because of her. Riley would lose him forever and whatever future she fantasized of, would never come to be. That smile she had tried to hide,  quickly dissipated on its own.

“Uh…” Isaac somewhat chuckled. “‘We’re’ not gonna do anything. You guys all seem nice enough, but this ain’t ‘Scooby-Doo’. We don’t play well with others. And, no offense, but we’re not teaming up with the damn fools who let the Devil’s Gate get opened in the first place.” His stern leer sat on Sam, Riley, and Dean.

Dean’s eyebrows rose and his jaw clenched. “No offense?”

“Sure, I’ve made my share of mistakes before. But I never brought on the end of the goddamn world, though,” Isaac bit.

After all that the three had been through, Dean was having a hard time taking gruff from a guy they had just met. He chuckled through his anger. “Alright, that’s enough.”

Taking Isaac’s hand, Tamara began to pull him away and lead him out of the room. “Okay, I think that’s enough testosterone for now.”

Little did they know, outside, hiding among the trees was a young woman with long blonde hair. She watched them all through the window intently before disappearing back into the shadows.

------

Sam, Dean, and Riley had responded to a call they had picked up from the police scanner. Saying they were undercover detectives, they were able to get into the closed crime scene and into one of the small shops that lined the street.

A woman had wanted a pair of shoes so badly that when she found out they had just sold the last pair, she chased down the girl that bought them. After confronting her, to get what she wanted, she bashed the victim’s head into a car windshield again and again until blood pooled from her skull. Her body was found on the sidewalk, the shoes missing.

As Sam surveyed the shop and interviewed any witnesses, he then realized Riley and Dean were nowhere to be found. He heard a rustling coming from the dressing rooms and rolled his eyes realizing that there was a couple in there. 

“Guys!” he whispered firmly.

The curtain swept open and Riley cleared her throat as she buttoned the top of her shirt. Dean’s belt hung undone as he zipped up his pants and grinned. 

They both scurried out and Riley could barely look Sam in the eyes knowing he caught them fooling around and she walked off. Still, Dean’s smile refused to fall as he stared his brother down.

“What are you guys doing?” Sam asked with annoyance. “We’re supposed to be working. Dead body, possible demon attack--that kind of stuff.”

Dean coughed dramatically. “Sam, I'm sorry. It's just, I don't have much time left, and, uh--” he added more theatrical coughing and his voice went husky and weak. “Got to make every second count.”

Chastened, Sam replied, “right. Yeah, sorry.”

“Apology accepted.” Still completely content, Dean’s eyes drifted toward Bobby who walked in to join them. 

He was in a full suit with his hair slicked back. None of the young hunters had ever seen him undercover or even out of his worn clothes and beaten baseball caps. 

“Woah,” Dean whistled. “Lookin’ pretty spiffy there, Bobby. What are you, a G-man?”

“Attorney for the D.A.’s office,” Bobby answered as he straightened his tie in the mirror. “Just spoke with the suspect.” His hands found his pockets and he strode over to the brothers as Riley found her way back to the group. “I don’t know if we’re talking demon possession or not. There's none of the usual signs--no blackouts, no loss of control. Totally lucid. Just--she really wanted those shoes. Spilled a glass of holy water on her just to be sure; nothing.”

“I saw the shoes, I get it,” Riley joked and the guys all turned to her. “What? Too soon?”

Bobby ignored the comment and went on, “First the family, now this? I don’t think this girl just went nuts. I believe in a lot of things. Coincidence ain't one of them. Did you kids find anything around here?”

“We checked everything. There’s no sulfur or anything like that anywhere. But--” Riley slyly pointed up towards a security camera on the ceiling.

Dean fixed his jacket with a pleased look on his face before his large hand took Riley’s waist. “See? We’re workin’.”

------

After going over the security footage, the group was able to pinpoint a brown-headed man with a beard and mustache to match. Just before the suspect in the shop had gone after the victim, he had whispered into her ear with a devilish grin.

Riley, Dean, and Bobby sat in a dark alley in Bobby’s car staking out a local dive bar. Neon lights lit up the black corner spot reading: The Old Terminal Pub. The soft drizzle of rain just barely made a sound as it fell onto the old car.

Bobby yawned and squinted along with it. “What time is it?”

“Seven past midnight,” Dean told him as he looked at his watch.

“You sure this is the right place?”

The Winchester groaned in exhaustion. “No. But we spent all day canvassing this stupid fucking town with this guy's stupid fucking mug, and--supposedly, he drinks at this...stupid fucking bar.”

There was a loud pounding on the window and all three jumped. It was Sam who just grinned at their discomfort before slipping into the backseat with Riley. She had been sprawled out and sat up straight to make room for her brother before shoving him.

“You’re a dick,” Riley told him.

“Yeah,” Sam disregarded his sister’s frustration. 

Dean rolled his eyes as Sam’s long legs pushed against his seat in the small truck. 

“Uh--alright, so, John Doe's name is Walter Rosen. He's from Oak Park, just west of Chicago. Went missing about a week ago.”

“Let me guess. The night the Devil’s Gate opened?”

“Yup. Good bet is he’s possessed.”

Riley gave Sam a curious look. “So, what? This guy just touches people and they go all--” she stopped to imitate the sound effect from the movie ‘Psycho’. “Eee! Eee! Eee!” while miming a stabbing.

“Those demons that got out at the gate--” Bobby added with his gaze still set on the bar, “they're gonna do all kinds of things we haven't seen.”

“You mean the demons we let out,” Sam rebutted solemnly.

Dean sat up quickly, noticing something in the distance. “Guys…” The man they were searching for got out of his car and walked towards the bar. “Alright. Showtime.”

As Dean got ready to get out of the car, Bobby stuck out a hand to stop him. “Wait a minute.”

“What?”

“What'd I just say? We don't know what to expect out of this guy. We should tail him ‘til we know for sure.”

“Oh, so he kills someone and we just sit here with our dicks in our hands?”

“We're no good dead! And we're not gonna make a move until we know what the score is.”

Riley tapped on Sam’s shoulder rapidly to get his attention as she pointed out the window. 

The young Winchester looked in the appropriate direction before he said, “hey, Bobby. I don’t think that’s an option.”

“Why not?”

Slightly annoyed, Riley rolled her eyes and leaned forward over the center console and pointed for Dean and Bobby. “That’s why not.”

From another car across the lot, Tamara and Isaac got out and made their way towards the bar. 

Bobby hit the steering wheel in frustration and cursed, “dammit!” He sighed and resigned to their lack of options. 

Only a few minutes had passed before loud noises, screams, and chaos erupted from the bar. 

“Alright, Dean, you’re coming with me. Riley, you and Sam get ready to haul ass with the holy water when we signal.” 

Getting out of the car, Bobby and Dean sprinted across the lot towards the bar door. There was crying and screaming inside as they tried to get in. The hunters' shoulders rammed against the sealed entrance again and again, but it wouldn’t budge.

Dean held his shoulder and muttered, “son of a bitch. That’s a quality door.”

Both of them turned to the sound of squealing tires. 

Riley was in the driver’s seat of Bobby’s car with a slightly panicked Sam in the passenger’s seat. She skid to a stop and through the window yelled, “get in!” 

Bobby and Dean both hurried in and slammed the doors before she floored the gas. The tires screeched beneath them as she shot across the lot and stopped at the edge.

“Uh--what exactly’s the plan here, sweetheart?” Dean asked nervously.

Riley put her hand behind the passenger seat and looked over her shoulder. “Hang on.” With her foot shoved into the gas, the lemon of a car sped across the parking lot with no desire to stop.

As Sam looked out the back window, the bar grew closer and closer. “Oh, shit…” he muttered.

The back of the car broke through the bar’s large doors; rubble and wood fell all around the vehicle. Tables went slamming across the room and glass shattered. 

All of the hunters scrambled out of the car to see Tara being held hostage by several demons while she cried and wailed. Isaac laid dead on the ground, blood still pouring from his mouth with a large empty bottle of drain cleaner sat beside him.

Bobby, Sam, Dean, and Riley came armed with large canteens of holy water and began to fling the liquid into the group of demons. Their skin burned and sizzled at the touch of the blessed water as they all tried to shield themselves. 

Sam rushed through to grab Tamara who was screaming Isaac’s name. She was thrusting herself in the direction of his body, desperately wanting to be at his side.

Continuing to spray the water around, Riley stopped as an emotion hit her like a punch to the chest. The wind was knocked out of her as she slightly stumbled back and grabbed at her heart. It was Tamara’s grief, consuming her like wildfire. 

Riley nearly winced at the pain before she ran to help Sam pull her away. “He’s gone! He’s gone, Tamara! We gotta go!” 

The young Winchester and Riley had to force her into the car as she kicked and screamed wanting to get back to Isaac. Dean and Bobby covered their backs as they continued their assault on the demons with the jugs of water. 

“Dean! Bobby! Come on!” Riley shouted.

Bobby rushed to the driver’s seat, ready to go while Dean kept on fighting. When he ran out of holy water, the bearded man from earlier smiled mischievously. The Winchester charged at him and overpowered the man before throwing him into the trunk. A Devil’s Trap was inscribed on the trunk lid that Dean then slammed shut. 

He tumbled into the front seat of the car and closed his door as he yelled, “go, go, go, go, go, go, go!”

The car was shifted into gear and the five of them peeled out of the bar. 

All of the demons that remained in the wrecked pub watched the car drive away, their eyes black as they panted out of breath.

------

Back at Tamara and Isaac’s house, the captured demon sat tied to a chair in a nearly empty room. A Devil’s Trap was on the ceiling above him, keeping the creature from going anywhere as an argument went on in the next room.

“...and I say we're going back-- now!” Tamara shouted. “I left my husband bloody on the floor! None of you have to go--you can stay. But I’m going back to that bar.” She began to go for the front door and Dean followed behind.

“I'll go with her.”

Riley was sitting in a chair with her feet bouncing with anxiety. Her empathic abilities were coming back and with all the emotions around her, it was becoming difficult to ground herself. She almost didn’t even hear Dean’s declaration to leave.

“It's suicide, Dean!” Sam barked.

“So what? I'm dead already!”

Completely fed up, Riley marched over to Dean. She felt like she was going to explode and hearing Dean say what he did was the last straw. “And how exactly do you two plan on killing them? You can’t shoot them. You can’t stab them. It’s not like you’re gonna be able to get them to wait in line for an exorcism!”

Tamara just yelled back through her tears, “I don't care!”

Riley then took a deep breath to calm herself. She knew how much Tamara loved her husband, the bond they had. 

That was exactly why hunters should never get married. But Riley looked at Dean’s face and realized that it didn’t matter if she wore a ring or not. She was bound to him forever. Riley didn’t have to be his wife to need him or to suffer unimaginably if she lost him. And only a year from then, Riley would be just as inconsolable when she would lose Dean to the deal he had made. Marriage didn’t make that bond, love did. 

With softer eyes, Riley looked at the grieving widow. “Look, we’re working with basically nothing right now and we don’t even know how many of them we’re dealing with.”

Bobby entered the room with a large, old book in his hands. It was open and his gaze was set on it. “Yeah, we do. There's seven. Do you have any idea who we're up against?” Bobby nearly seethed through his teeth. The others waited silently with no answer. “The seven deadly sins, live and in the flesh!”

With a pause and a dorky grin, Dean joked with the quote, “‘what’s in the box?’” 

Everyone just stared at him in an awkward silence. Riley usually loved his references but she was too fragile to enjoy it. 

Realizing no one appreciated his joke, Dean’s face fell. “Brad Pitt? ‘Se7en’? No?” Bobby slammed the book shut and threw it at the older Winchester. Dean’s eyes grew as if saying ‘tough crowd’ before he asked, “what’s this?”

“Binsfeld's Classification of Demons. In 1589, Binsfeld ID'd the seven sins--not just as human vices but as actual devils.”

Putting two and two together, Sam weighed in. “The family--they were touched by Sloth. And the shopper…”

“That's Envy's doing--the customer we got in the next room,” Bobby nodded in the demon’s direction. “I couldn't suss it out at first, until Isaac. He was touched with an awful Gluttony.”

“I don't give a rat's ass if they're the Three Stooges or the Four Tops!” Tamara bit through her sobs, filled with wrath. “I'm gonna slaughter every last one of them!”

“We already did it your way. You burst in there half-cocked and look what happened! These demons haven't been topside in half a goddamn millennium! We're talking medieval, Dark Ages! We've never faced anything close to this! So, we are gonna take a breath…and figure out what our fucking next move is!” he screamed. Bobby began to calm himself and then spoke in a much softer and calmer voice. “I am sorry for your loss.”

Tamara was practically shaking with rage as she stormed out of the room. The others could hear chuckling from the opposite side of the wall and went to where they had been keeping the demon.

“So, you know who I am, huh?” Envy asked cockily to the hunters.

“We do,” Bobby told the demon. “We're not impressed.”

Riley crossed the room to Dean as she passed the possessed man. “What’s your game? Why are you even here?”

When it didn’t answer, Dean raised his voice. “She asked you a question, asshole.”

Envy chuckled condescendingly and the older brother opened a flask of water to splash on him. The demon groaned as his skin burned. "Ahh! Ugh...we already have…” he panted, “...what we want.”

“What's that?”

“We're out. We're free. Thanks to you, my kind are everywhere. I am Legion, for we are many.” The creature laughed at the others in the room. “So me, I'm just celebrating. Having a little fun. See, some people crochet--others golf. Me? I like to see people's insides...on their outside.”

“I'm gonna put you down like a dog.” Tamara gritted her teeth.

“Please. You really think you're better than me?” Envy chortled with a large grin across his face. “Which one of you can cast the first stone, huh? What about you, Dean? You're practically a walking billboard of gluttony and lust.” 

Dean nodded slightly in acknowledgment. 

“And Tamara. All that wrath. Oooh…” he clicked his tongue. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. It's the reason you and Isaac became hunters in the first place, isn't it? It's so much easier to...drink in the rage than to face what really happened all those years ago.” 

Tamara’s face twisted in anger and she smacked him, hard, twice. Dean and Bobby finally pulled her back as she fought against them. 

“Aah! Whew!” Envy laughed again at the rise he got from the hunters. “My point exactly. And you call us sins. We're not sins, man. We are natural human instinct. And you can repress and deny us all you want, but the truth is, you are just animals. Horny...greedy...hungry...violent animals. And you know what? You'll be slaughtered like animals, too.” With a pause, the demon leaned back to relax in his chair. “The others--they're coming for me.”

“Maybe,” Dean said with a tilt of his head. “But they're not gonna find you...'cause you'll be in Hell.” The evil creature looked almost taken back and scared at the threat. “Someone send this fucker packing.”

With an angry smirk on her face, Tamara opened up her book and stood in front of Envy. “With pleasure,” she answered before reading. “Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica…”

Bobby, the Winchesters, and Riley stood in the kitchen area to regroup. The sound of the demon’s painful screams echoed through the air.

“I don't think we're gonna have to worry about hunting them,” Bobby told them. “I think maybe this joker's right. They're gonna be hunting us and they're not gonna quit easy.”

“You guys, why don't you take Tamara and head for the hills?” Dean looked at his family, completely unmoved. “I'll stay back, slow them down, buy you a little time.”

Riley scoffed. “I don’t fucking think so, Dean.”

“Yeah,” Sam agreed. “You can forget that shit.”

“There's six of them, guys.” Dean shook his head. “No. You all gotta go. We're outmanned, we're outgunned. We'll be dead by dawn.

As her eyes went up to meet Dean’s green irises, Riley let him know it was her turn to speak. “There’s nowhere we can go that they won’t find us, so it doesn’t matter. Besides,” she took Dean’s hand in hers and laced their fingers. Her other hand reached up to lay on his cheek. “If we go down...we do it together.” 

Everything inside Dean wanted his family as far away as possible and safe. His mind raced as he imagined how terribly the night could end before Riley’s thoughts spilled into his. 

“It’s us against the world, right?”

Dean couldn’t fight the smile that slowly curled up his face. It felt like it had been so long since he last heard Riley’s voice like that. The hunter put his palm over the smaller hand on his face and leaned into it. 

Pulling her hand down to his side locked with his, Dean looked to the others with resolve. “Let’s give ‘em hell, then.”

From the other room, the demon gave out a final terrified scream. The house shook and a gust of wind blew out the candles around them. 

Tamara slammed the book shut as she came from the other room. “Demon's out of the guy. But he didn’t make it,” she added coldly.

------

The old house shielded the hunters as they worked diligently to ready themselves for the coming attack. Candles around them danced across the room and over their faces. It was silent as Riley and Dean loaded their shotguns while Sam sat across the room filling flasks with holy water.

Sam, Dean, and Riley paused as they all looked towards each other. None of them uttered a word, just sharing a silent moment, like soldiers accepting their fate before battle. They didn’t know if they would make it out of that house alive, but if they were going down, they were going down swinging. 

Dean leaned over to plant a soft kiss on Riley’s temple. When she glanced over at him, their foreheads leaned together with their eyes shut.

“‘Til the end,” Riley told him through a thought.

He sighed and inhaled her scent deeply as a source of comfort. “‘Til the end.”

The candle flames began to flicker as if they trembled in fear of what was to come. As they looked around, an old radio sparked to life, playing the beginnings of a scratchy recording of the gospel song ‘We Shall Not Be Moved”,

Cocking his shotgun, Dean stood with a nod. “Here we go.”

"I shall be, I shall not be moved.

I shall be, I shall not be moved.

Like a tree that's planted by the water,

I shall not be moved.

I shall be, I shall not be moved.

Like a tree that's planted by the water,

I shall not be moved."

With Bobby and Tamara in the main room, and Riley and the Winchesters down the hall, they all looked through the boarded up windows. The moonlight poured through and cast down its glow over them and onto the floor. They waited patiently and the music droned on until a cry came from outside.

“Tamara! Tamara!” It was Isaac. “Tamara! Tamara! Help me! Please!” he wailed with blood still coming out of his mouth.

Anguished, Tamara looked back at Bobby and then out the window again.

“Tamara! I got away, but I'm hurt bad! I need help!”

“It's not him,” Bobby insisted. “It's one of those demons. It's possessing his corpse.”

Isaac began to pound loudly on the door. “Baby! Why won't you let me in? You left me behind back there. How could you do that? We swore...at that lake in Michigan. Remember? We swore we would never leave each other!”

She turned to the aged hunter again and began to sob. “How did he know that?”

“You just gonna leave me out here? You just gonna let me die?!” Isaac stopped yelling and his voice lowered into a sinister growl. “I guess that's what you do, dear! Like that night those things came to our house--came for our daughter! You just let her die, too.”

“You son of a bitch!” Tamara howled at the top of her lungs. She pushed the door open and broke the thick salt line at the entrance before tackling the possessed body of her dead husband. 

As they hit the ground, Tamara sat on top of him and raised the Palo Santo stake. “You're not Isaac!” She plunged the wood deep into his chest. His flesh sizzled and she screamed with heartache.

The other six demons crossed the broken salt line and sauntered into the house. One, an overweight balding man, cornered Bobby, who backed up slowly leading him into the side room. He stalked him with confidence, smiling until he stopped as if he had hit an invisible wall. 

As the demon looked around, dumbfounded, he realized he was standing under a Devil’s Trap. It’s face immediately turned to one of fear and pleading until Bobby grinned.

“Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son.” He opened his book that sat nearby and began to read. “Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica…” Bobby continued the exorcism as Sloth yelled out in pain.

In a hallway not far away, Dean and Riley were cornered by an attractive, blonde demon--Lust. They all threw punches as she advanced on them with a smile

The couple stumbled backward until they were pushed back into a bathroom.

“I suppose you’re Lust,” Dean said very matter of fact.

Lust smirked at the hunter. “Baby, I'm whatever you want me to be.”

“Ew,” Riley scoffed in disgust. “Tacky.”

Moaning in pleasure, the demon grew closer. “I can just smell the desire between you two. Dean...the way you think about Riley--how you can never get enough. You get hard just thinking about how you make her scream your name when you fuck her. And, Riley...tsk tsk tsk. You dirty, dirty girl. You’re no better. Always imagining him inside you--the way he makes you writhe underneath him until you explode,” Lust teased as she closed her eyes to feel the tension. “It’s making me horny just being around you both. I say...you have it out right now,” she smiled in a sinister fashion. “Fuck her, Dean. Fuck her right here, right now.”

Riley and Dean turned to each other feeling the magnetic pull between them. They fought it briefly, but only for a second before thrusting themselves into the other. Their lips crashed together as their tongues passionately explored their mouths. 

Dean rushed her against the wall with force before his mouth went to suck on her neck and Riley moaned out in rapture. She held his head in place and grabbed at his belt as he groped her chest. They both groaned in satisfaction with every touch. 

Lust walked closer to them both to watch the show she had put on with the hunters as her puppets.

Upstairs, a demon kicked a door in and sent it clear across the room. 

Sam looked around as the demon, a young man in a business suit and dark black eyes, entered with a nasty smile on his face. 

“Here's Johnny!” He came toward the hunter with unwavering confidence as Sam backed up. 

The Winchester held his flask of holy water to hold back the two demons flanking him. 

But the demon looked up to see the Devil’s Trap on the ceiling and smirked. “Come on. You really think something like that is gonna fool someone like me? I mean, me?”

“Let me guess--you're Pride.”

Pride grinned, pleased with himself he gestured to the ceiling. A long crack appeared and split the symbol, breaking any power it may have once held. “Hmm. The root of all sin. And you...are Sam Winchester. That's right, I've heard of you. We've all heard of you. The prodigy--the boy prince. Destined to guide Hell into battle at the side of your queen, Riley. Looking at you now, I got to tell you--don't believe the hype. You think I'm gonna bow to a cut-rate, piss-poor human like you? I have my pride, after all. And now with your yellow-eyed friend dead, I guess I don't really have to do a fuckin’ thing, now do I?” Sam grew more and more nervous as the demon rambled on. “You're fair game now, boy, and it's open season.”

Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Dean and Riley were working to pull off each other’s jackets, still desperately clawing at the other. Dean pushed them further back until they were nearly touching Lust. 

In one swift movement, they flipped around to grab her. Riley tossed open the shower curtain as Dean plunged the possessed woman face-first into the  filled bathtub. A rosary floated in the water, blessing it into holy water and Lust screamed in agony.

In the upstairs loft again, Pride knocked Sam to the ground. He pulled the hunter up with an arm wrapped around his throat and began to strangle him. 

Sam gagged and choked as he struggled to get away.

Suddenly, the blonde woman that had been stalking the hunters before, appeared with a knife strapped to her thigh. Pulling out the knife, she grit her teeth and slashed the throat of Gluttony. A bright, fiery light appeared in the cut before he fell to the floor--dead.

Greed’s neck snapped in the girl’s direction and said with recognition, “you!” The demon punched the familiar face twice until she was knocked away. 

But when she and Greed rushed at each other, the girl plunged her knife into the demon’s chest and yanked upwards to tear her insides. The demon dropped and joined Gluttony’s fellow corpse.

Pride let Sam go, enraged with the one killing his fellow demon, and went to tackle her. Only for Sam tug him away and punch his face; putting him directly in the path of the girl’s blade. She shoved it into his neck and up into his mouth with a grunt. 

Pride gargled and his mouth dropped open, exposing the blade inside him. Sparks of demonic energy fluttered from him before he collapsed.

Sam panted as he tried to catch his breath and eyed the stranger, bewildered. “Who the hell are you?”

“I'm the girl that just saved your ass.”

“Well, I just saved yours, too.”

She chuckled and turned to leave before adding, “see you around, Sam.”

“Wait!” Sam hurried to the hallway to follow her, but looking in both directions, he saw she was somehow already gone.

------

Early the next morning, Sam, Dean, and Riley piled the corpses of the vessels that hadn’t survived into a shallow pit. Riley poured salt over them as Sam doused them in fuel. 

Across the field, Tamara stood in front of a lit funeral pyre as she mourned the death of her husband.

“Think she's gonna be alright?” Sam asked.

With one more look at the grieving wife and then a glance toward Riley, Dean remembered the grief he felt when he lost her. It was an unimaginable pain that no one should ever have to know. Had she never come back and he had lost her forever, Dean would never have been the same. “No. Definitely not.” 

Bobby came out of the house looking completely exhausted. Large bags encircled his eyes and his face was pale. 

“Well, you look like hell warmed over,” Dean teased.

Shooting him look, Bobby replied, “you try exorcizing all fucking night and see how you feel.”

“Bobby,” Riley started as she put the gear back into their duffel, “did any of them make it?”

“Well, the pretty girl and the heavy guy, they'll make it. Lifetime of therapy bills ahead but, still…”

“That's more than you can say for these poor bastards,” Dean added.

Sam turned to Bobby with a look of curiosity. “Bobby, that knife--what kind of blade can kill a demon?”

“Yesterday, I would have said there was no such thing.”

“I'm just gonna ask it again--” Dean shrugged. “Who was that masked chick? Actually, the more troubling question would be, how come a girl could kick your ass?”

Riley slugged Dean in the arm and he winced. “Wanna try that one again, Winchester?”

Rubbing his arm, Dean answered, “no, ma’am.”

The younger brother chuckled. “Yeah, well, if you want a troubling question, I got one for you. If we let out the seven deadly sins, what else did we let out?”

Both Dean and Riley paused at the thought before Dean replied, “you're right. That is troubling.” He struck a match and tossed it onto the bodies. Flames immediately grew as they looked down at the shallow grave.

Later, as the bonfires began to settle down, they all prepared to leave. Tamara didn’t hesitate to head toward her car with a quick, “see you all around.”

“Tamara?” Bobby called and her head turned at her name. “The world just got a lot scarier. Be careful.”

“You too,” she told him before getting into her car. Tamara sputtered the engine to life before taking off down the road as dirt kicked up beneath the wheels.

Bobby’s hand went into his pocket as he pulled out his car keys. “Alright, you three. Keep your eyes peeled for omens. I'll do the same.”

As she somewhat bounced on her toes with nerves, Riley met his gaze. “Bobby, we’re gonna win this thing...right?”

There was a long pause during which they all looked uncomfortable and filled with worry. Riley felt it all. Even without words, she knew, Bobby and the boys worried about the answer to her question just as much as she did. 

“Catch you on the next one,” was all Bobby said before he went to his car.

The three young hunters watched his car disappear before they lingered toward the Impala.

“So, where to?” Dean asked.

Sam’s eyes went to Riley as if they shared an agenda Dean didn’t quite know yet. “Uh--I don't know. I was thinking Louisiana maybe.”

“Little early for Mardi Gras, isn't it?”

“Yeah. Listen, I was talking to Tamara, and she mentioned this hoodoo priestess outside of Shreveport that might be able to help us out. You know, with your--with your demon deal.”

“Nah,” Dean said plainly.

“‘Nah’? What does that mean, ‘nah’?”

“Sam, no hoodoo spell's gonna break this deal, all right? It's a goose chase. Forget it. She can't help.”

Riley bit her tongue as Sam tried to cut in again. “Look, it's worth--”

But Dean just spoke over his brother. “We're not going and that's that. What about Reno, huh?” Dean smacked Sam’s arm playfully before he turned to walk on.

She couldn’t take it anymore. Riley strode in front of Dean and blocked him with a stern look. “I’ve had it. I’ve tried to act like nothing’s wrong, given into your every whim to make you happy, and you’re just gonna blow us off? We’re trying to keep you alive, Dean!” She lowered her voice as a lump grew in her throat. “I mean, you act like you want this...”

“No, it's not like that.”

“Then what is it?” she pleaded. “Tell me.”

Dean’s head fell and he bit his bottom lip searching for the words to say before his eyes met hers again. “We trap the crossroads demon, trick it, try to welch our way out of the deal in any way? You die. Okay? You die. Those are the terms. There's no way out of it. If you try to find a way, so help me god, I'm gonna stop you. I’m not gonna let either of you do anything that ruins this.”

With her mouth slightly agape, Riley almost whispered with disbelief, “how? How could you make a deal like that, Dean?”

“'Cause I couldn't live with you dead--couldn't do it. There’s no life that I could want if you aren’t in it.”

“So, what? I’m just supposed to go on with my life?”

“That's the general idea, yeah.”

“Yeah, well, you're a hypocrite, Dean,” Sam butted in. “How did you feel when Dad sold his soul for you? 'Cause I was there. I remember. You were twisted and broken. And now you go and do the same thing. To her--to us. What you did was selfish.”

“Yeah, you're right. It was selfish. But I'm okay with that.”

“Well, we’re not.”

Dean ran a hand over his face and looked off into the distance with a sigh. His attention went back to Riley and Sam as he slightly shrugged. “Truth is, I'm tired. I don't know, it's like there's a--a light at the end of the tunnel.” 

Those words about made Riley’s knees collapse underneath her.

“It's Hellfire, Dean.”

As her leg shook with anxiety and swelling emotions, Riley could barely look at Dean. Tears began to fall from her eyes. “So you won’t even fight? You’re tired and want this whole fucked up hunting life to be done--sure, I get that. But you won’t even for us?” Riley couldn’t help but feel her heart break. “What happened to forever?” her voice cracked.

“Sweetheart,” he sighed. “I am yours...forever--even after I’m gone. That may not be how we planned it, but it is what it is. We need to make the most out of the time we have. I got one year and I’m not gonna waste it. Especially after us losing the--” Dean’s voice trailed off realizing that he had just started a conversation he wasn’t prepared for. 

Sam’s brow furrowed and his jaw clenched knowing the news Riley was about to get.

“Losing what?” she asked.

“I--I’m tired,” Dean stammered nervously. “I dunno what I’m talking about.” 

“Losing what, Dean? What did we lose?”

He took her hand and stared lovingly into her eyes. Tears formed and ached to fall as he wished more than anything he didn’t have to tell her the truth. “Rye…”

“Dean, you’re scaring me.”

Clearing his throat, he pushed on. “When--when I went to make that deal, the, uh--the demon...she told me that the deal would only save one soul.” A tear fell down his cheek. “That it would bring you back...but it wouldn’t bring back the baby.”

Riley nearly gasped as it felt like her heart stopped in her chest. “...what?”

Dean sniffled. “You were pregnant--a couple weeks. I tried--I tried to make the deal for you both, but I couldn’t. I’m so, so sorry, Rye. I tried--I promise I tried,” he cried. 

She stumbled backward as if she had been struck. Tears flowed freely from Riley’s eyes but her face went vacant with no expression, though her lip trembled. 

Dean was crushed as he watched her silently come undone. “Sweetheart...please say something.”

“We…” her voice shook. “We made a baby?”

A brief sob escaped Dean’s lips before he swallowed the rest down. “Yeah, honey. We did.” 

The couple’s eyes locked, soaked with the suffering that poured from them. At that moment, they grieved their loss together.

Riley licked the tears from her lip and sniffled. “Gimme a minute, ‘kay?” 

The brothers both nodded as she walked out into the field nearby. They watched as she stared into the horizon, the sun glistening over the hills. 

She wrapped her arms around herself as the breeze blew her hair gently across her face. The sound of the moving grass and trees in the wind whistled softly, just barely covering her cries. 

Sam and Dean rested against Baby’s hood with heavy hearts, never taking their eyes off her.

“I can’t fix this, Sammy…” Dean could barely utter.

“No,” Sam sighed before putting a hand on his brother’s shoulder in comfort. “No, you can’t.”

------

S3 Chapter 2: The Kids are Alright

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[parkjaewonn]

ₛₑₗf ₚₐᵣₐ  } 불필요한

jaewon’s day has gone by pretty slowly,,  in fact part of it feels like it’s never ending but as soon as he’s out of school it’s easier. it passes by that bit quicker. but he’s at the library until it’s almost dark and by the time he’s done he’s wandering home. he should have really heeded yejun’s words about not being out late at night but it’s not T H A T late right now,, however he also shouldn’t have  his headphones on,, blasting music because anybody could be wandering around but it wasn’t like he couldn’t defend himself. he could. on his way home,, he grabbed some hot food and then took a small detour that would get him back to his apartment quicker.

adjusting his bag over his shoulder,, jaewon walks up the steps towards his apartment the faint sound of whistling catching his attention and he looks up immediately frozen to the spot because he can’t P O S S I B L Y be here. he takes a good hard look before he realises that his father is in fact standing near his apartment door,, head leaning against the wall whistling to himself. jaewon debates whether or not to go straight up to the door go in,, lock it and ignore him. but of course he does the opposite,, he attempts to slowly back away,, he can go to a diner for a while until he’s S U R E that his sperm donor father is gone and he  ALMOST manages to make it to the stairs to get down them but his phone slips from his hand and clatters against the ground.

jaewon cringes and internally does nothing but curse himself out  ( because what idiot drops their phone when they’re trying to be quiet and S T E A L T H Y to get away ? ) the disruption has caught his father’s attention. “ jaewon. “ the boy lets his head fall for a moment as he picks his phone up and he sighs still internally demeaning himself he stands up and looks over at him. “ what are you doing . . . no. sorry. how did you even know where i was ? “ he asks. it’s been almost two years,, and jaewon had no idea that the man even K N E W where to find him and it makes him feel uneasy but he grips his now cracked phone in one hand and the other gripping so tightly against his bag that his knuckles have turned white.

“ it wasn’t hard. most of your stuff was left in your room. “ the elder shrugs his shoulders having moved so he was a few feet away from jaewon,, who’s chest is visibly rising and falling with the shallow breaths he’s taking.  “ why are you here ? “ he asks him and he swallows when his father takes a step closer and they’re just inches apart. his doe eyes wide because he’s really not sure what he’s expecting. “ well i missed you,, didn’t i ? “ he says it as if it were some sort of question,, one that jaewon doesn’t grasp and he slowly begins shaking his head  but before he can open his mouth to speak he’s been pulled into a lung crushing hug,, one that even jaewon knows is forced. he’s stiffened completely because this is the first time in his nineteen years of life that his father has given him any sign or physical sense of affection.

jaewon doesn’t like it, in fact it actually makes him feel physically sick and he’s unsure of what he’s supposed to do until the man pulls back. he’s smiling and god, that smile is so forced jaewon finds it disgusting and he steps back away from him. “ you don’t look happy to see me. “  he states and jaewon doesn’t bother trying to correct him because what’s the point in lying and telling him that he did MISS him when he hasn’t ? “ what are you really . . . here for ? “ he asks and he swallows. dreading the answer but his father just shrugs. “ i know someone around here. then i remembered my boy was here too. “ jaewon struggles not to cringe and make faces because of the way his skin crawls when the man says his boy,, and he knows it’ll piss him off and  the last thing he wants is that.   “ now why don’t we go inside, hm ? “

jaewon frowns deeply to himself once the man takes the box food from him and points to the door. jaewon’s still so confused about H O W his father has found him and he trudges over to the door with a deep crease on his forehead and his cheeks burning hot as he unlocks the door the man moves past him quickly into the warmth that is jaewon’s apartment. frowning still jaewon walks in behind him closing the door over. instead of following his father into the living room,, jaewon goes to his O W N,, leaning against the wall and trying not to bang his head against it in frustration. his hands brushing through his own hair he tugs at it and sighs D E E P L Y because what else can he do ?  he glances at the door briefly before he looks around his room with a slight frustrated quiet groan. 

in the process of removing his hoodie,, he drops it to the floor the moment he hears that initial opening of the bottle, jaewon stiffens. he’s in his own room and his father in the other but he H A S to go back through there. he doesn’t know how long he stands for but he heads through seeing the bottles that have been placed on the floor near the couch and the one that’s already almost finished in his hand  “ what are you doing ? “ jaewon asks,, his voice was supposed to come out quiet but it doesn’t. there’s a slight frantic tone to his words and his father looks over at him.  “ having a drink what does it look like ? “ he asks and he holds one up and out to the younger. “ no. “ he breathes shaking his head. because that’s the last thing he wants to do right now.

“ take the beer, jaewon. “ his voice is stern, eyes hardening as he stares and jaewon swallows hard and begins shaking his head. “ i don’t want it. “ the boy says and his chest constricts when the man stands up thoughts going everywhere almost immediately. “  don’t be a brat. “ he presses the bottom of the bottle to jaewon’s chest who just stares at him,, un moving and unwilling to take the bottle. it’s pressed just that bit harder against him and he almost flinches but he manages to keep his expression the same.  “ i have a test to do tomorrow and  studying to do. i can’t drink. “ that was a lie but he didn’t like drinking often. his father being the main cause of that. his eyes refuse to move,, he can’t think straight let alone B L I N K,, the man before him rolls his eyes and stops adding pressure onto the boy’s chest and when the man turns,, jaewon lets out a breath he didn’t realise he’d been holding in. 

“ always about studying isn’t it ? “ his father asks and jaewon,, in silence moves slowly closer to the door. “ studying isn’t everything. “ it freezes jaewon in his spot and he opens his mouth as if he were to talk because what a contradiction to a statement made by the same man ten years ago. ( you need to study hard,, jaewon. studying is everything. )   then again looking back now jaewon’s convinced it was his way of getting rid of the ‘ little brat ‘  so he didn’t need to be paid attention too. the thoughts in general make jaewon’s temper rise and his blood feels like it’s boiling under his skin and before he can stop himself his mouth opens and he finally speaks.  “ it is to me. “ he snaps  back voice laced with venom as he spits it out. which is his first mistake because before the man can even sit back down he’s stopped halfway. 

 jaewon’s gaze falls quickly because the S I L E N C E is deafening and it’s making him feel uneasy. his throat clenches and he feels the spray of liquid before anything else has processed he’s jamp out of the way of the bottle hitting the side of the wall.  it sprayed everywhere and the glass shattered. his chest heaves and he looks from the shattered glass with wide eyes back to his father who’s glaring at him. “ you should clean that up.  “ is all he says as he sits back down on the couch,, the reaction wasnt one he was expecting yet its not the first time jaewon has to deal with bottles being thrown. his eyes tear up,, because things had been good these last few days and now . . . his thoughts trail off stands motionless for a moment before he turns,, he’s not cleaning up,, not while he’s in the same room so he turns and he rushes out to the front door because being in there is suffocating right now. 

jaewon closes the front door his back pressing to it,, his chest heaves and he hits it a few times trying to regain control of his breathing. he couldn’t go back in there,, he just couldn’t do it. yet it was H I S apartment,, jaewon couldn’t. he swallows hard and pushes the hair away from his face and he takes a few deep breaths. he pulls out his phone only to see that it’s dead and he frowns to himself and moves to sit on the stairs near the door his arms crossed around his knees while he’s tucked them against his chest his chin resting on top of them. it’s then he realises just how cold it is his skin beginning to numb with the cold air,,  without a hoodie or a jacket he’d end up with a cold or a fever but he didn’t care.  

he’d rather freeze to death than go back in.

[elizaviento]

Assimilation (part 22/23)

Note:  Friendly warning (and light spoiler) that the majority of this chapter mentions and focuses on abortion.  Also, ANGST galore. 

NSFW lite -- 2700 words

(FYI: Additional chapters of Assimilation can be found in the Rick Fic Masterpost link in my blog description.  Or, you can click the #assimilation tag in this post, within my blog, to access all additional chapters.)

*****

“What am I going to do?” I moaned.  Rick had forced more of the cool, tingly liquid down my throat and now that I had regained a grip on my faculties – if only temporarily – I was full on panicking.

“We – w-w-we have two options,” Rick began. 

“What do you mean we?!” I screamed, cutting him off.  Full on panicking, I was indeed.  “There’s no WE, Rick!  I’M the one carrying a human/alien hybrid!”

 “The fuck – the hell there isn’t!” he shouted back.  He slammed the bottle of booze he’d been drinking from down on the control panel and growled in frustration, ripping his hands through his disheveled hair.  “I – I got you in this mess!  None of this – t-t-this wouldn’t have happened if I – if Unity hadn’t – ARGH!”  He picked up the bottle and threw it against the wall containing the empty shackles, spraying glass and alcohol everywhere.  I suddenly realized by his outburst the guilt he must be harboring over my precarious position and softened my tone, attempting to calm him.  “Okay.  What are our options?” I asked, running a hand through my hair while avoiding his hard stare.

“We – you get rid of it.  Or you die.”

Choosing not to address either equally horrific option just yet, I asked, “How did you even know?  How did you find out?”

“Yesterday morning,” he replied, plopping down on the stool next to the control station.  He scrubbed his hands over his face and yawned.  Had he not slept since then?  “I – uh – I could tell something was off – wasn’t normal with you biologically.” I just lay back on the table to stare at the ceiling, waiting for him to go on.  “When – w-w-when I finger fucked you, there was more – uh – mucus.  Your temperature was slightly elevated.  And you – uh – y-you tasted different.”

“You mean, I tasted pregnant?” I asked with a strangled laugh.

“Exactly,” he confirmed.  “Your tits looked a little bigger, too.”

“But, none of this makes any sense, Rick.  It’s only been a week.”

“Gestation for the species of alien Unity assimilated is less than – than half of human gestation,” he replied.  “Which means gestation of a – uh – a human hybrid could be anywhere between twenty to twenty-five weeks.  Which also means that the fetus – parasite will consume more of your body’s resources in a shorter amount – period of time.  You won’t be able to keep up.  Hence, the death option.”

“How do you know this?” I asked, amazed.   

“I did – conducted some experiments.”

I rose back up to a sitting position, pinching my brow.  He was staring at his hands, absently picking at the fabric of his slacks.  “What type of experiments?”

“Does it matter?” he countered with a groan. 

“It matters to me, yes,” I replied, trying my best to keep the underlying feeling of panic under control.

“I took some – uh – extracted some of your DNA and made a clone,” he began, finally looking at me.  His expression was pained, but he continued.  “Then I – I tracked Unity down to – t-t-to get information on the – uh – the reproductive cycles and a semen sample from the alien species.”

Other than feeling shocked that he’d cloned me without my knowledge or consent, I felt like a complete asshole.  He hadn’t gone chasing after Unity to try to reconcile.  He was trying to save my life.  How hard must it have been to face Unity again after what it had done to him – to the both of us? 

“Is that why you took my underwear?  To get my DNA?”

“What – no!” he said, laughing unexpectedly.  “Baby, I-I-I took those to keep for when I’m jerkin’ off.”  He laughed again, harder than before, and ran a hand down his face.  “The hair – y-your hair from the goggles.  I took it from the trash when you weren’t looking – before I left.”

“So, what did you find out?  From impregnating my clone?”  Now it was my turn to laugh.  This was utterly absurd. 

“Like I said – you – uh – get rid of it or you die.  There’s no other option.”

“Are you sure? Because –”

“Yes – yes I’m sure!” he exclaimed, throwing up his hands and standing from the stool so forcefully that it flew behind him to bang off the control panel.  “I conducted the experiment half a dozen times!  You – you think it’s bad now?!  Give it – g-give it a couple more weeks – a month!  You w-w-won’t be able to – you’ll become a fuckin’ vegetable when that thing sucks every – everything from you – destroys all your organs!”

I sat there staring at him, dumbfounded.  It was hard to imagine a species so humanoid in appearance would be so aggressive during gestation.  And, had he said he conducted the experiment six times?  He’d cloned and impregnated six of me?

“And – and that’s only my best calculation since I obviously had to speed up the process significantly!”  He was pacing the room again, ripping his hands through his hair so hard it had to be painful.  I had never seen Rick so upset and it was beginning to frighten me.   

“So, you really don’t know how long until it kills me?” I asked, the feeling of nausea coming back with a vengeance.   

“That – t-that’s why I told you to come – meet me here!”  He suddenly halted his pacing and turned toward me, narrowing his eyes.  “Why – uh – why didn’t you answer me?” he asked, suspicion lacing his tone.  “Why the fuck were you with that dipshit?”

I just continued to stare at him, unable to speak.  He’d caught me red handed and only now realized it.  He was so consumed with saving my life that it hadn’t even occurred to him to ask these questions until just now.  I was such a piece of shit. 

“Morty told me you were with Unity,” I offered, already hating myself before the words left my mouth.  He just continued to stare at me, his hands balling into fists at his sides.  “Why didn’t you just tell me what you were doing, Rick?!  What was I supposed to think when Morty shows up at 2:00 am telling me that you spent all day tracking Unity down, left him on your ship for hours and then just dropped him off to go back?!”  I felt tears pooling in my eyes and covered them with my hands.   

“Look, I know I-I-I’m not the most trustworthy – reliable guy, but what would – haven’t I – w-w-why would you think – fuck!” he spat, no doubt frustrated that his mouth couldn’t keep up with the mile a minute pace of his brain.

I felt like my heart was being ripped to shreds as I watched him resume pacing.  I wanted to reach for him and pull him into my chest and keep him there.  I wanted for this thing between us to make some kind of sense; for it to somehow be possible.  But, how could it?  How could I ever explain this to Beth and Jerry and Summer and Morty?  How could Beth not absolutely hate me from the moment she knew until the day she died?  And, most importantly, how could someone as brilliant as Rick ever be happy with someone as painfully average as me?  He couldn’t.  Even if everything worked out perfectly, sooner or later he would get bored with me.  Sooner or later, he would walk away.

And, suddenly, the punchline to the cosmic joke became all too clear.  I could have Rick for a time in an infinite number of realities, but I’d never be able to keep him.  The break-up I had witnessed in D-79 was destined to play out someway – somehow, no matter what.  Maybe being assimilated and impregnated by a hive mind was just a means to an end in this reality – my reality.

“This is never going to work,” I concluded, removing my hands from my face to screw them into the skirt of my dress.  I had stopped trying to hide the tears.  What was the point?   

Rick’s voice softened slightly as he approached me. “Yes it will.  I just – j-just let me take care of it.  I’ll take care of it.”  He gently wrapped his hands around mine and carefully untangled them from the fabric of my dress.  He didn’t understand.

“No, Rick.”  I avoided his gaze and pulled my hands from his.  “I mean… THIS.” 

When I finally looked up at him, he was looming over me with an unreadable expression.  Then, he pinched his brow and shoved his hands in the pockets of his lab coat, fishing around for something. 

“There – there’s no time for this now,” he said dismissively, producing a syringe.  The all consuming panic bubbled within me once again and I scooted away from him on the table, wrapping my arms around my torso. 

“Wait – no!  What are you doing?!” I screeched.

“If – if you don’t get – have an abortion, RIGHT NOW, you’ll – you’re gonna die.  Do you wanna die?”  His voice had taken on an eerily calm quality that chilled me to the bone.  And, the word ‘abortion’ thrusted me into the here and now of my situation.  I didn’t want to die.

“No,” I answered. 

“Then just – just lay back and I’ll take care of it.”

He’d take care of it.   

Without further objection, I lay back on the exam table and allowed him to unfurl my arm.  I felt the prick of the needle and the dull ache of the solution as it entered my bloodstream.  I felt my eyelids and limbs grow heavy.  I felt my consciousness drift.  And, then – darkness.

He’d take care of it.

----------

When I awoke, slightly groggy with the feeling of cotton stuffed in my mouth, it took me a moment to recognize my surroundings.  I was still in the bunker under the garage, still on the exam table.  I quickly took stock of my body, focusing my concentration on my abdomen and between my legs.  There was no pain but I couldn’t be sure it wasn’t a blissful illusion of pain killers.   

“Hey – hey there, Chicken.”  The sound of his voice made me bolt up in shock.  He was sitting on the stool, next to the control station.  “Ha!  She lives!” he mocked, upon seeing my reaction. 

Without needing to ask, he handed me a glass of ice water which I greedily gulped down so fast it gave me a brain freeze.  Groaning and holding my temples, I felt a hand settle between my shoulder blades.

“I’m assuming everything went okay?” I inquired, my voice croaky.  Looking down my body, there was no evidence to the contrary.  In fact, I looked and felt completely normal, minus the substitution of my blue dress for what appeared to be a ratty hospital gown. 

“Yeah, baby,” he whispered.  I had the sick inclination to ask where it was — what he’d done with it — but settled on a deep sigh of relief.

“How long have I been asleep?” I asked, having no sense of time.

“Not long.  A couple hours, maybe.  It was quick.”

I nodded, words escaping me.   

“You – uh – you’re hormones may be outta whack for a little while,” he explained, removing his hand from between my shoulders.  “And – and, you were right.  This – uh – this isn’t gonna work.”

His words were like an ice pick plunged deep within my heart but, again, I only nodded.  Here it was.  He had come to the logical conclusion, as I had predicted, and I couldn’t fault him for it.   

“Is there anything else I need to know?  About taking care of myself, I mean.”

“No.  I – I took care of everything.  It’s like it never happened.”

Right.  Never happened.

“Thank you, Rick,” I said, swinging my legs over the side of the table in preparation to stand. 

My head still felt thick and groggy, so Rick helped me from the table and opened a portal leading to my room.  I stepped through holding my dress, shoes, and purse – alone.  I pulled my phone from my purse and tapped out a quick apology to Davin before tossing it on the bed to dress in a pair of pajamas.  While sitting on the foot of the trundle bed, I mentally readied myself to enter the living room and lie to Beth.

“Hey, kiddo.” Morty looked up and back at me from the couch.  “Where’s your mom?”

“She got called in,” he replied, focusing attention back to his show.  “Something about a – a glue factory bust and the horses they found need emergency hoof transplant surgery – or whatever.”  I smirked at his cavalier response and circled the couch to sit next to him.  “How – how was your date?” he asked with a tone in his voice that seemed accusatory.

“Not great.  I got sick and called Rick to portal me home.  Puke ev-ery-where!” I said, fanning my hands in the air for dramatic effect.  And, just as I was internally congratulating myself on keeping my shit together —

“I – uh – I thought Rick was still in space.  With Unity,” Morty countered, peering at me with narrowed eyes.

Well, fuck.

“Umm…” I floundered.  But, he just turned back to the television as if nothing was amiss.

----------

Three weeks later, Mr. Benson had fully moved out of my house and I had finally wrapped up Trevor’s project.  My body was functioning normally – like nothing had ever happened – and I was settling back into my life.  I saw Rick here and there for moments at a time.  But, he had settled back into his life, dragging Morty (and occasionally Summer) across the multiverse without objection from Beth or Jerry now that it was summer vacation.  We only spoke to each other when absolutely necessary and never made eye contact.  Instead, I spent the majority of my time renovating my house, shaping it into something that was my own now that I couldn’t share it with Chris.  I did pull his belongings from the attic, though.  I went through each photo, scrap of paper, piece of clothing, each and every memento and cried.  I mourned for him the way I should have three years prior and it fucking sucked.   

The night my house was finally finished and I moved the last bit of my things from Beth and Jerry’s, I made an elaborate dinner for the family as a thank you.  At the end of the evening, Rick lingered as the rest were leaving. 

“Yeah, Sweetie. I – uh – I’m just gonna finish my drink first,” he lied to Beth as she was walking out the door.  Then, he carried me to my bed and fucked me within an inch of my life.  I’d lost count of how many times he made me cum as he growled filth and praise in my ear. 

“Fuck, baby – ohh god – y-y-you like that dick, huh?  My beautiful girl, cum for me.  Cum on Daddy’s cock again, sweetheart.  Thaaat’s it.  That’s my good girl – so perfect.”

Afterward, he apologized and left me a sweaty, trembling mess.  I didn’t see or even catch a glimpse of him again for nearly a month.  But, I would still dream of him at night – still hear his gruff voice echo in my subconscious in my hazy memories of assimilation or in my long tucked away memories of our past.  He was always there, even if I was now just one of his many afterthoughts.

And, time continued to march on, as it does.  I went back to work at my old firm, falling into a weekday routine that was familiar and safe.  On the weekends, I went out on more dates.  I reconnected with old friends and made a conscious effort to insert myself into society.  I taught myself to play the violin.  I went back to the biker bar and started a speed chess hustling ring with Toby, becoming feared and respected among the hardest bikers in the county.  I was living again and it was good.

Until —

 To be continued…

P.S. Extra special thanks to @porkchop-ao3 for lending a fresh perspective to help me work through a frustrating mental block. 

[ff15trashgoldenslumbers]

How about a scenario where the boys' s/o get poisoned during an encounter, and s/o being too weak to continue fighting and just drop like flies?

Ohhh, this is always a fun dramatically fun sight!

~~~~~

Noctis

Noctis gasped, one moment you were standing perfectly fine at his side, the next you had collapsed against him. Shaking horribly and looking like absolute death.

“Y/N, y/n what’s wrong?”

You moaned softly, trying to keep yourself from dry heaving as you held your stomach. That damn thing must have actually hit you, and poisoned you. You couldn’t keep fighting and you couldn’t have Noctis stay around you, you were a sitting duck.

“Noct, Noctis leave.”

Noctis knelt beside you, “I’m not leaving you.” He replied, only now noticing the stinger in your arm. “You were hit!”

“Noctis, get away from me.”

“I’m not leaving you here.” Noctis groaned, wrapping your arms around his shoulders, calling over his shoulder to the others, “Ignis we need to retreat! Y/N’s been poisoned.”

“We’ll cover you, Highness.” Ignis called back. “Get Y/N out of here and we’ll follow shortly.”

Noctis adjusted you best he could in his arms, as he grabbed a hold of a sword, tossing it as far as he could. Warping after it, performing it two more times, before you  begun to struggle, pulling from his arms as you rushed over to a nearby rock and vomited.

Noctis originally flinched, typically you could handle him warping around everywhere, yet the poison was throwing you off. Noctis moved over to where you were hunched over, throwing up whatever was left of your lunch. Placing a hand to your back, as he pulled your hair from your face, having to wait for you to finish and the other to catch up.

~~~~~

Prompto

Prompto watched it all go down, from the moment you were poisoned and had to immediately go on the defensive. Yet all your jumping around and dodging made all the venom start to pump faster through your system, and finally the moment you collapsed, only to look up and stare into the face of the creature before you, ready to go for the kill.

Prompto wasn’t certain how he managed to get across the field so quickly, yet his guns were drawn firing away the entire time. His eyes narrowed, locked onto the creature coming after you, finding one of his pistols empty only to quickly summon another one never stopping the onslaught.

Creating one last finishing blow as he summoned his heavy machinery, firing a hole in the creature instantly killing it, yet kicking up a lot of smoke. Yet the man stood his ground as he stared at the fallen creature at his feet, giving a slight sneer before turning back to you.

You stared in shock, your eyes widen, as you attempted to sit up. Was that your Prompto?! Did you Prompto just take out that creature single handedly and look so incredibly bad ass!

Did Prompto have a beast mode?

“Are you okay?” Prompto called, his face soften as he moved over to you, helping you into his lap, as he pulled an antidote out.

You shove the antidote from your face, “Prompto that was bad ass! Pom! You went completely beast on that thing.”

Prompto laughed softly, pressing the bottle to your lips again, “I don’t like seeing my girl hurt.”

~~~~~

Gladiolus

“Babe, you good!” Gladiolus yelled covering Noctis, with a large sword. He had noticed that you were slowing down, yet refused to back down, as there was still 5 enemies afoot.

“Fine!”

Yet the thing was you weren’t, you had been hit by poison about 5 minutes ago, and you were swallowing the nausea that was rushing through your body, trying to remain standing up. Your vision was quickly becoming blurred and you felt like you had been dunked in a hot spring but you had to keep going!

Gladiolus watched, you were holding yourself heavily to the right heavy, all of your swings, and movements. Only for the man to gasp as you dropped heavily with a harsh thud. “Babe!”

“Pro…protect Noctis!” You barked back.

Gladiolus panicked, he was to protect is Future King, but he couldn’t just watch you get eaten by one of these creatures still running around the battlefield. “Prompto!”

“Yeah?” Prompto called, only for Gladiolus to toss him an antidote.

“Get Y/N and get her out of here!”

“Don’t you dare! I still have fight.” You moaned, managing to pull yourself up.

“Prompto!” Gladiolus barked, taking out one more of the large creatures still on the field as Ignis and Noctis handled another.

“Prompto, don’t you come near me!”

Prompto stood nervously, trying to figure which one of you that he was the least frighten of at the moment. Only realizing that you were currently poisoned so he feared you a little less. Quickly moving over the blonde, forced the antidote in your mouth, before wrapping your arm around his shoulders.

“Sorry, Y/N, normally you scare me more than Gladio, but right now, you can’t hit me as hard.” Prompto muttered, as he begun to pull you off the field to a safer distance.

“I’m going to kick your ass when I feel better.” You muttered, you knew that Gladiolus would always take care of you, but couldn’t the big guy have waited until the battle was over?

~~~~~

Ignis

“My love, you’ve been hit, do you require an antidote?” Ignis called over his shoulder, parrying the next attack coming at him.

“I’m fine, Ignis,” You call back, moving to grab your own antidote, only to realize that you had provided it to Noctis when the man was hit by the same spray as you were. Yet you could tough it out until the end of the fight, just need to stay close to Noctis and you’d be fine, if you estimate correctly this battle would be over in about 10 minutes, and this type of poison would become effect within 20 and life threatening in 2 hours. Lance in hand you parried an attack coming at Noctis from behind.

“Thanks, Y/N.” Noctis called as you two collided forearms.

“My pleasure.” You smiled, as you turned back around, slashing away. You didn’t feel that, your arm was numb, it must be taking effect sooner, you had 10, maybe 15 minutes before things would start to go south.

Five minute mark, your entire left side begun to go numb, no discoloration so luckily it wasn’t within the blood stream. Eight minute mark, vision was starting to go, at this point you were focusing on anything that wasn’t covered in black. Ten minute mark, your body finally seized up and you immediately collapsed. If only it hadn’t taken place while you were jumping to finish off one of the last creatures.

“Y/n.” Noctis called being closest to you.

You felt your body give an involuntary spasm, and become hot attempting to fight off the poison within your system. You’d need 2 maybe 3 antidotes and a potion at this point. “Noct, I’m’ fine.”

“You were poisoned too! Why did you waste our last antidote on me?”

You laughed softly, “You know w…Noct behind you!” You gaped, using the last bit of energy to drag the younger man forward, covering him with your body.

Almost as if on cue, Ignis appeared, slicing the creature down easily with lance, before turning towards the two of you, “Are you both all right?”

“Y/N’s been poisoned.” Noctis stated.

Ignis gave you a once over, “I can see that, and she provided the last antidote we had on hand to you. Do we have more at the camp?”

You moved to nod your head, only for you vision to worsen, it seem this stuff worked a lot faster. “I can hold on for about 5 more minutes, how many are left?”

“3.”

“Noct, you and Prompto get Y/N out of here, we’re provide cover.”

You groaned weakly, great now Ignis would be worried to death. Which of course would make you worried, which you knew that he would  become worried because you were worried. 

Ugh, poisoning is seriously the worse.

[the-fiction-witch]

Bath Time

REAL LIFE:  COUPLE: TBS X READER RATING: KINDA SEXY + MOSTLY FUNNY

"Hummm Hello pretty girl" Thomas smirked wrapping his arms around me tightly "Fuck off Thomas" I complain pushing his hands away as I was sat on the edge of our bathtub waiting for the water to fill up "Awww somebody's cranky" he smiled "Thomas what do you want?" I ask checking the water temperature "Nothing" he shrugs "just hoping you actually save me some hot water you silly thing" "I will relax" I laughed as I shut the hot tap off and starting the cold water putting some bubbles in "Ooohh... Is my beautiful girlfriend gonna have a sexy bubble bath" Thomas smirked "Fuck off Thomas" I told him pushing him out the bathroom so I turned the tap off and stripped my clothes throwing them in the hamper and climbing into my hot steamy bubble bath I happily sighed laying my head on the little pillow Letting every muscle be relaxed by the soft water "Knock knock?" Came from the door "Ugghr what?" I ask annoyed he was interupting my relaxation "I have stuff to do before my bath you know" he complained as he came in his hand over his eyes "You can look Thomas" I sigh "nothing you haven't seen before" "I won't look just point me in the direction of the sink" he says walking forward so as soon as he got close I turned him and let him walk right into the sink "ooww! Thank you honey..." He sighed opening his eyes and looking in the mirror "What do you need to do?" I ask "Decide what the hell I'm doing with my hair" he answered "Wash it" I incourage "No shit" he laughs messing with his hair he had been letting it grow out again, it was currently somewhere snuggly between newt from death cure and whitey Winn and I admit I kinda like it like this it's fun to play with when it's like this "what would you recommend? Your more used to having long hair then I am" He asks "Your hair is not long Thomas" I laughed "It's long for me" he shrugs "Wash it probably, maybe deep conditioner" I smile sitting up and grabbing my shampoo starting to wash my own hair "Deep conditioner is when you like rub the stuff that kinda looks like hand cream in right?" He asks "Yes" I laughed as I noticed his smirk in the mirror I looked to see what he was looking at and I noticed his eyes where right on my breasts the mirror angled so he could see me in the bath tub "Thomas!" I complain covering my chest with my arms "Ohh come on your sat in a bubble bath you can't blame me for checking out your tits" he smirked and I sighed putting conditioner on my hair and leaving it while I wash so it works better until I noticed my soap was empty "Thomas, can you grab me another bottle of my body wash?" I ask "Sure" he says going to the cupboard under the sink and handing me a new bottle "Thank you" I smiled "Your welcome" he says giving my cheek a kiss and going back to the mirror and sink "Are you getting rid of it?" I ask putting my soap on my hands and starting to wash "Getting rid of what?" He asks "That thing" I warn looking at him in the mirror "What thing?" He laughs "That foolish attempt at facial hair you are growing above your lip" I tell him "Nope" he smirked "my face I can do what I want" he smirked trying to fix said facial hair a little better "I'm not saying you can't Thomas I'm simply saying I don't like it" I told him as I wash "it stabs me when you kiss me" "You seem to like it fine when I'm kissing in your-" he smirked "Thomas!" I interupt "Just saying" he smirked "you nearly done yet?" He complained "Nope" I smiled as I wash "Ugh you take forever" he sighed turning and leaning in the sink smirking at me "umm Hello pretty girly" "Shut up" I sighed "What? Your sat in a sweet smelling bubble bath completly naked w Rubbing body wash that kinda looks like jizz on your tits can you blame me for having a Bonner?" He asked "It doesn't look like jizz!" I laughed "It's white, kinda colourless, lightly cloudy and comes out the bottle like jizz getting sprayed" he explained so I got the bottle and out more on my hand I kinda see what he means "You may have a point there Thomas" I sigh "I can be useful for things other then food and sex y/n" he shrugged "Rarely" I laughed kicking some water at him "Whoa! Watch it" he complained "I'm getting my dam pants off before you throw your bubbly water at me again" "Okay I won't be long" I smiled I giggled a little watching him slip his clothes off until he was left in just his tight blue boxer shorts and he sat against my bath looking at me "what?" I asked "You look pretty is all honey" he says giving my lips a little kiss I kissed back until his hand that had been on my neck moved down taking a grip on my breast "Enough" I warn slapping his hand away "You spoil all my fun" he winked "Move let me get out" I laughed throwing water at him "Fine" he laughs getting up "your water still hot?" He asks as I got my towel and climbed out wrapping myself up tight "Yeah why?" I ask "I might just share your water I can't be asked to run it again" he sighed so I shrugged going to the mirror and starting to do all my face stuff and lotion as Thomas slipped his boxers off and climbed in the bath happily laying there almost asleep I smiled at his reflection in the mirror "I see you looking honey" he smirked "I'm allowed to look, nothing I don't see on a daily basis" I laughed "True" he shrugs "you always see me more then I see you, hardly fair I think" he smirked as he sat up starting to wash his hair but I noticed something "Are you using my shampoo?" I ask "Yeah" he shrugs "You could have asked?" "I was under the impression you knew I was?" "No, why aren't you using yours?" "Because men's shampoo smells bad" he answered "men's shampoo is always like rugged and leather and that sort of stuff" he explained "sometimes in life I just want my hair to smell like coconut and Banana" "Ask next time you silly boy" I smiled giving him a kiss "Noted honey" he smiled as I got my underwear on "can I use your conditioner too? As I have used your shampoo? Plus...I don't know if I have conditioner?" "You can Thomas," I smiled with a laugh he was trying but not doing to well he really isn't used to having his hair this long "ohh come here" I laughed shutting the lid of the toilet and sitting in it crossing my legs and putting the conditioner in my hands and pretty much doing it for him "Umm that feels nice to have you do it" he smiled "like I'm at some fancy spa" "Don't get used to it" I laughed "What is the thing you do with your hair?" He asks "that comes from the fancy place and comes on a stick?" "That's a hair mask Thomas, you can do that in a couple weeks if you want" I laughed "Yeah, we can go to the fancy place get some cool bath bombs have a proper little spa day" "We could, just don't put the face mask on everywhere" I laughed "One time" he sighed "And I'm never gonna let you live it down" I laughed"all done" I smiled "Thank you honey" he smiled giving me a kiss "Your welcome" I laughed Going and sitting down to start shaving my legs "Please don't take another chuck out your leg y/n? that really scared me last time" "I told you I was fine" "Yeah, I'm sat in the living room watching my movie, next thing I know my girlfriend wonder's into the room with a pint of blood dripping down her legs...you expect me not to panic!" "I cut myself shaving all the time, so do you but you shave small area in your face I got two whole legs, two armpits, two arms and a Virginia... I'm gonna bleed a little more" I explain "It still worries me" he says "and don't you dare come anywhere near me with that thing" I giggled as I finished my legs moving my razor towards him in a threatening way "no no no! You stay away" "Come on just let me get like a tiny bit" I laughed "No! Your not taking that bloody razor anywhere near me" he warns so I smirked quickly moving before he could stop me and getting a massive chuck of his leg hair off "Haha I win!" I giggled "You evil girl!" He complained trying his best to move away from me "You rather I wax them?" I ask "I'd rather you Didn't do anything" he complained "you couldn't even get like a normal bit you had to get a strip just in the middle" he asks and i giggled "fine you can do it provided I get bath sex?" He offers "Okay" I giggled "but I get to wax them after the bath sex" I smiled "What no!" He complained "I get to wax them else no sex and I swear by all the gods in this world I will wax that stupid thing of your face" I warn "Fine" he sighed "sex first" "Deal" I giggled getting my panties off and climbing in on top of him...

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!" he screams "Ohh don't be such a baby Thomas" I laughed "It hurts" he complained almost in tears "Come on your almost done three more to go" I smiled putting more hot wax on this was fun it's like tourcher I literally had to handcuff his ankles to the coffee table so he wouldn't fidget "Really?" He asks "Yep then it's on to the other leg" I laughed "Uuuhhhhh!" He whined "I don't wanna do this anymore" "Well you have half a leg done I stop and your going to look ridiculous" I laughed "The wax is fine...it's just the-" he began before I ripped the next one "Aaaaahhhh!" He screams "ahh! I'm bleeding!" He complained "Yeah it's normal" I laughed "It's not normal to bleed!" ... "All done" I laughed "Great... we're done," he sighed "Just one more place" I smirk he looked confused and I simply glanced at his on shorts "No...no no no no no no" he says trying to back away but he was still cuffed to the table "you and your fucking hot wax isn't coming anywhere near my dick!" "I know what I'm doing" I laughed "It's not the knowing I'm worried about" he says "I won't Rip your cock off" I laughed "Do you want kids someday y/n? Because this is a sure fire way my dick is never gonna work again" he complained "Ohh grow up Thomas" I laughed trying to pull his pants down "No no no! Please honey anything but that" he begs "Two choices here Thomas" I smirk playing with the melting wax "I wax the dick area or I rip that stupid facial hair off your lip your choice" "Don't make me choose" he whines "You have to the count of three before I do them both" I warn "Okay okay! Take the face" he says "Good boy" I giggled "one two" I smirk before ripping it "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" He sqeualed holding his face tightly "oh my god you one hundred percent took my skin off" he says "I didn't take your skin off" I laughed making him take his hands away "your fine" I laughed giving him a kiss "now... Will you let me do your eyebrows?" I giggled "You stay away from my face you sadist" he warns

[bxcketbarnes]

Insecurities - Part Two

Pairing: Dylan x Reader

Author: @ninja-stiles

Words: 1928

Author’s Note: So, some people wanted a part two to this and if you know me, I’m a sucker for happy endings. Thank you to the lovely @celestial-writing for proofreading and giving me feedback, love youuuu. Enjoy babes! Also, requests are open!

Y/N’s POV

 As I walk into Holland’s house, I find her and her dog in the kitchen, in the process of making dinner. Fievel notices me taking my shoes off and begins to bark, jumping up on my leg. I chuckle, picking her up and she begins to give me kisses all over my face. I walk into the kitchen, the aroma of food filling my nose.

“Hey, Holl. Whatever you’re making smells absolutely delicious.” I smile, placing Fievel on the floor, grabbing a water out of the fridge.

“Yeah, I’m making chicken alfredo, your favorite.” She says, giving me a smile.

“Oh, crap. Holl, I forgot to mention to you the other day, but I actually have a date tonight.” I bite my lip as she turns to me, a shocked expression on her face.

“What? You do? I thought you and Dylan were still together?” She asks, her eyebrows furrowed together in confusion.

“I-I mean, yeah? Maybe? I’m not even sure. H-He hasn’t contacted me in a few weeks.” I frown, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear, wondering how he’s doing.

“You still love him don’t you?” She gives me a sad smile as I nod my head. “Is that why you’ve been working your ass off at the gym?” I give another nod, sniffling slightly.

“I-I thought maybe, if I lost quite a bit of weight, he might want me back.” I confess, wiping the tears from under my eyes.

“Babe, I know you might not believe this, but he absolutely loved the way you were and I can’t explain why he said what he did, but you saw how distraught he was after he said it. All I can tell you is that he really regrets it. When he comes to set, he’s not his usual bubbly self and I honestly think that’s because he lost the love of his life. Now, I’m not telling him that you should forgive him or cancel this date but just think about it and always, always follow your heart, okay?” She rubs my arm as I nod in response. She pulls me into a hug, squeezing the life out of me. When she pulls away, she claps her hands together.

“So, what do you plan on wearing?” She asks, excitedly.

“Honestly, I have no idea. Would you be my Lydia Martin and help me out?” I chuckle as she gives me a playful glare before nodding.

“Of course. Oh, should you know, Holland has good taste as well!” She yells while running up the stairs, Fievel hot on her tail. I follow her upstairs, seeing some of her dresses laid out on her bed.

“Oh, Holl. I-I don’t think I’d look good in any of those dresses.” I tell her, becoming slightly nervous.

“Of course they will, sweetie. Just try this one on.” She hands me a cute black evening dress. I head into the bathroom, pulling off the clothes I’m wearing, putting the black dress on. I look at myself in the mirror, my lips parting in awe. Oh my god. A knock on the door shakes me from my thoughts.

“Y/N? Everything okay in there?” She asks. I step out of the bathroom, a smile prominent on my face.

“I-I look amazing.” I laugh, tears pooling. Holland smiles, bringing me into a hug as a few tears stream down my face.

“You look great, babe.” She laughs, petting the back of my head. “Do you want me to do your hair?”

“Yes, please.” I smile, sitting on the bed as she plugs in the hair curler.

“So, who’s the lucky guy?” She asked, beginning to curl my hair.

“I met him at a bar, his name is Nate.” I explain, chewing on my bottom lip.

“Ooo, so what are your plans?”

“Um, well, I’m supposed to meet him at the Italian restaurant that’s near the set.” I tell her. She puts the curling iron away, spraying some hairspray in my hair, so it holds.

“Well, you have fun okay? Remember what I told you.” She tells me as I place my heels on, before nodding at her, heading out the door. The uber I called is parked outside, I get into the vehicle, telling the driver where to go. We arrive at the place and I hand him the money and a ten dollar tip before getting out of the car. I check my phone once I’m outside of the restaurant, not seeing Nate here. 7:08. I sigh, leaning against the wall, watching people walk and drive down the street.

 About an hour later…

 I start to shiver, still waiting for my date to show up. I sigh, once more, realizing that he’s not going to show up. God, this was so stupid. I sniff a little, wiping the tears of my face. I begin to walk down the street, towards Holland’s place when I bump into somebody.

“O-Oh, I’m so sorry.” I apologize, looking up. My body becomes stiff as I realize it’s Dylan.

“Y-Y/N?” Dylan stutters, wiping his eyes, looking at me again. “Y-You’re actually in front of me.”

“Y-Yeah, I am. Um, w-what are you doing here?” I ask, picking at my fingers.

“I-I was grabbing dinner that I ordered. What about you?” Dylan asks, his eyes roaming down my body. “W-Wow you, uh, you look great.” He stutters, blushing slightly.

“I, um, well I had a date, but he didn’t show up.” I mutter, looking at the ground.

“Oh.” Dylan says, his voice laced with heartbreak. “Well, he’s an idiot for not showing up. Maybe, you’d wanna have dinner with me?” His hand rubs the back of his neck, looking down at me.

“Dyl, I don’t think-” I begin to say but Dylan cuts me off.

“Please? I promise it’ll be fun. Just like old times.” He smiles softly, laying a hand on my arm, sparks spreading throughout my body. I think about it, remembering what Holland told me. Just follow your heart.

“Y-Yeah, that’d be nice.” I smile, linking my arm with his. A grin forms on his lips, walking us into the restaurant.

“To go order for O’Brien.” Dylan tells the hostess as she nods, going to receive the order. I feel his hand move across my lower back, giving me goosebumps. I look up at him, seeing him looking down at me already. I blush, giving him a small smile before looking at the girl bringing Dylan his food. Dylan takes the bag, thanking her and we walk out of the restaurant. We begin walking towards his car, in silence, the sound of cars whirling by on the busy streets.

“S-So, how have you been?” I ask, looking up at him as we walk.

“Uh, well, pretty bad to be honest. This is actually my first real meal I’ve had in the past few weeks. Um, I really missed you.” He says, running a hand through his hair.

“H-How come you didn’t call me?” I ask, biting my lip.

“I-I thought you wanted space, so I gave it to you. Trust me, I wanted to call you, I wanted you to come back. I’d do anything to fix what I did.” He mutters, unlinking our arms as we arrived at his car. He opens my door for me, giving him a small smile as I get into the passenger seat, putting my seatbelt on. Dylan sits in the driver's seat, the food in the back as he begins to drive us towards our house. During the drive, I see Dylan’s hand reaching towards mine a few times. I smile, thinking of all the time he held my hand when we were driving somewhere. I reach over, intertwining our fingers, missing the feeling of his hand around mine. Dylan looks over at me, his lips parted in surprise before smiling to himself. He pulls up into the driveway, turning the car off, unbuckling his seatbelt, getting out of the car quickly. I furrow my eyebrows in confusion, before realizing he wants to open the door for me. My cheeks redden as I unbuckle, getting out of the car, Dylan closing the door behind me.

“Head inside, I’ll grab the food. Also, um, don’t mind the mess. I haven’t really done much since you left.” He confesses, giving me a sad smile. I bite my lip, nodding as I head into the house, my eyes widening seeing the living room’s state. Clothes and water bottles everywhere.

“Y-Yeah, sorry about this.” Dylan says from behind me, making me jump.

“It-It’s okay. Maybe you can help me clean up?” I ask, biting my lip, hoping he’ll want me to stay longer than just dinner.

“Y-Yeah, that’d be great. You can, um, stay the night if you want.” He mentions, a blush appearing on his cheeks. I smile at him, grabbing his hand, walking into the kitchen. Dylan takes the food out of the bag, knowing he’d have more than he needed. He’s over ordered for as long as I’ve known him. I giggle as he looks up at me, giving me a large grin.

“What? You know I like food.” He chuckles, getting two plates out of the cupboard, two forks, and two wine glasses. “I bought some of your favorite wine, in case you were coming home.”

“Aw, Dyl. You were always so sweet.” I tell him, walking up to him, wrapping my arms around his neck. Dylan places the glasses on the table, wrapping his arms around my lower back, smiling at me. I notice bags underneath his eyes and I frown, raising my hands up to his face, my fingers stroking the bags softly.

“Have you been sleeping?” I ask quietly. Dylan shakes his head, rubbing his hand up my back as I give him a sad look.

“I’m so sorry for what I did. It was so uncalled for and I’d do anything to take it back, honestly. These past few weeks without you have been terrible, I haven’t been able to eat right and I can barely get to sleep, knowing that you aren’t next to me. I’m not asking you to forgive me yet, but, could you at least come home?” He asks, a few tears falling down his face. I wipe away his tears, my heart breaking to see him like this. I place my hand against his cheek, his hand covering mine as I look up at him before pulling him down, placing a kiss to his lips. He lets out a moan, his hands moving to my hips, pressing his lips against mine in need. I slip my fingers into his hair, feeling his tongue lick my bottom lip and I open my mouth, our tongues colliding against each others, reminiscing the love we have towards each other. I pull away before things get to heated, his forehead leaning against mine.

“I forgive you, Dyl. I just, I can’t live without you. These few weeks have been absolute shit and Holland can only cheer me up so much. Most nights I’d spend crying, looking at photos of us.” I confess, playing with the small hairs on his neck.

“I love you, so much, Y/N.” Dylan smiles, pressing a chaste kiss to my lips.

“I love you too Dyl, now why don’t we just head upstairs and you can show me just how much you missed me.” I smirk and Dylan licks his lips, nodding his head, picking me up bridal style, rushing upstairs to our bedroom.

[hauntedgilbert]

@mikaels-son // under a cut cause it got long

The salt water was as close to tears that she was ever going to experience, leaving the ship had been the most painful experience of her life -- worse than losing Elena, as horrible as it was to admit that. The image of Klaus’ blood on her hands haunted her dreams, her every waking moment. They had cast her out into the sea and she deserved it, deserved to wander the empty ocean pregnant and alone. Whatever magic the sea witch had cast on her kept her child within her, growing with every passing day, and with each day that passed she thought of Niklaus. She hadn’t stayed to see if the knife she put into his gut had killed him, she couldn’t, she was too horrified by her actions, too upset to stay close to the ship and listen to the screams of anguish and the pained cries of the crew.

They knew what she was now, and they didn’t try to kill her.

Sunbathing on a rock jutting out from beneath the sea, Jeremia ran her fingers along the swell of her belly, feeling the strong movement of the babe shifting inside her. She winced and sat up, staring down at her belly as her baby moved sharply, distorting the tight flesh spread across her womb.

Mermaids across the ocean had heard about the anomaly growing inside her. Merpeople didn’t have babies like humans did. A mermaid’s purse wasn’t just produced by sharks, but the idea was the same. Females produced an egg sack and the males fertilize them, they were watched and tended to; so for one of their kind to be growing a baby inside them was fascinating to all of them. They would swim up to her, running their hands over her belly, asking her questions that she couldn’t or wouldn’t answer.

They couldn’t stand the mystery over the sex of her baby, they always left when she wouldn’t given them the answers they were looking for. Who the father was? Where she’d been for half the lunar cycle? What had she done to avenge Elena? They left her to swim across the sea, for open waters and silence while she stayed near the surface and enjoyed the sun warmed water heating her limbs. The baby seemed to prefer it to the colder depths.

Another sharp pain tightened through her abdomen as she hit the water, skin cooling as water surrounded her. She let her body sink through the water, her hand sliding across her belly as the muscle tightened painfully and stayed taunt, making her jaw clench and the tendons in her neck bulge out as she strained against her pain. Bubbles escaped her nose and mouth as her breath left her body, surrounded by a groan of pain muffled by the surrounding waves.

 She hadn’t felt pain like this since she was shot by the Spanish.

It came in waves, like the tide, and Jeremia wasn’t sure she could breathe through it and the baby thrashing around inside her. She was in pain, her baby was in pain. And she couldn’t think of a single person who could help her, not a real person. A beast of the sea and land and mystical, a woman who had helped her when she was in pain once and may again if she asked.

She was nearly suffocating by the time she reached the cavern, the Sea Witch was unsurprised to see her but the rest of her was a different story, and she cackled as Mia clawed herself onto the small damp beach beneath the sea. “You poor unfortunate creature,” the old woman hissed happily, taking hold of her by the arm and dragging her the rest of the way. Immediately her hand was on her swollen belly, shaking her head, a dark expression crossing her face. “Girl, what have you gotten yourself into?” 

“Help me?” Jeremia gasped, propping herself on her elbows. The pain had become constant and wrong, all movement from her baby having ceased leagues away. The Sea Witch made a face, standing and leaving her side, moving out of her eyeline. She whined, face contorting, and curled onto her side, tail flicking against the water’s edge. She writhed against the sand until she felt hands on her body and something sweet was pressed to her lips.

“Chew.” She opened her mouth as she was told, and for a moment relief swept through her. Dark eyes peered up through the strands of hair falling in front of her face, at the old woman once again with her back to her.

“What is this?” She tsk’d in response, but when the Sea Witch turned back there was a long and ragged knife in her hands. “What is that?”

“There is no way for that baby to come out,” she told Jeremia carefully. “Mermaids do not birth live children.” The dirty, ragged skirts she wore clung to the sand as she kneeled beside her, one hand pressing down hard against her belly, the other guiding the tip of the knife against her hip. “I gave you an anesthetic,” she explained, and without any pretense drew her knife deeply along her stomach. Jeremia cried out, hands flying out to grasp the old crone’s arms, but it didn’t stop her. “Hush,” she scolded, her eyes burning like hot coals. “I cut it out or you die, your choice.”

Her visioned darkened, grip loosening as the will and energy left her limbs, falling back against the hard and unforgiving sand. Her last moment was feeling the woman’s hands inside her, before she blacked out completely from the pain.

There was no sunlight in the cavern under the sea when Jeremia came to, stirring from the rising water level as it lapped against her scales. Her cheek pressed against the sand, her eyes opened slowly, a small noise of discomfort leaving her as she woke. She didn’t hurt, she felt no pain at all, twisting onto her back and staring down at her unblemished body. No evidence of her pregnancy lingered on her, only the smears of blood and dirt across tanned skin remained. “W…” her voice was cracked, throat dry. Her hand shook as her palm ran across the now smooth skin between her hipbones, twisting around again as panic clutched around her heart. “Witch!” Her cry was hoarse and pained, breath catching as her eyes landed on the back of the witch.

She felt...empty and cold. And the Sea Witch turned without expression of exaltation, putting down the pommel stone in her hands with a solid clunk. “Mermaid stamina,” she explained, turning back to her bottles and arranging them on the shelves. “The healing properties of fish meet the magic of the moon.” She glanced at her over her shoulder. “Shall I explain it to you?”

“Where’s my baby?”

“I suppose not,” she answered herself, reaching high until her hands encircled the corners of a small trunk, pulling it down to with a hard and heavy thunk. “But it’s very interesting --”

“What did you do to my baby?”

She turned, trunk cradled to her chest as she closed the few feet between them. The hardness in her gaze made Jeremia reel back, her skin scraping against the sand and sharp rocks as she pushed herself up. “Are you sure you want to see him?” the Sea Witch asked carefully, and her heart constricted, eyes burning.

“Yes.”

She tsk’d, sitting down on a low, flat rock and setting the trunk beside her. “There was nothing I could do,” she explained, avoiding the question and Jeremia’s command. “Mermaids are not meant to birth live children.” And she remembered the knife, the pain and the feeling of the witch pulling something heavy from her womb. “This was your mistake, not mine. You’re time limit was clear, girl; I gave you legs for the purpose of killing your sailor, not spreading them for him.” Her throat burned, a dry sob heaving through her chest until breathing was impossible; the Sea Witch, seeing this, took pity on her and shut her mouth, taking the trunk in her hands once again and setting it beside Jeremia on the ground. “There was nothing I could do. He was dead before he left you.”

Doe eyes fell to the trunk beside her, fingers reaching out to trace along the plain slats of wood, the simple metal keeping the little box together. Her hand was still as her fingers flipped up the lock, not daring to blink or breath as she lifted the lid.

He was beautiful, just like she imagined he would be. A small button nose and perfect little fingers, but from the waist down he was horribly deformed. Not quite human, but not mer either. His legs were twisted and fused together, small feet instead of flippers. Jeremia choked back a sob as she lifted his small body from the trunk, holding him closely to her chest. He was cold and heavy, but he fit perfectly in her arms. The Sea Witch didn’t say another word, and she wasn’t sure if she left her in her mourning on not but Jeremia didn’t care. She was sucked into her own world, wondering if this is what she and Niklaus would have had to look forward to if she had stayed on the ship, or if her time hadn’t run out.

She replaced the tiny boy into the trunk, sliding it along the sand and curling around it, her tail fanning over her head. She missed her Captain. She missed her future. She missed feeling… Her hands grasped tighter on her trunk, her son tucked safely inside, numb and alone, just the two of them.

Hours or days passed until she felt strong enough to leave the Sea Witch’s cavern, taking her son with her. They traveled as close to shore as she would let herself without being seen by ships. Finding refuge on a rock, she let the sun dry the wood, her arms a protective shield against the ocean spray. Her fingers plucked at the flint she had stolen from the crone, catching it against the rocks until sparks flew and caught against the trunk. Fire lit the wood, and Jeremia watched her little funeral pyre take her son back to the ocean, his ashes carried off by the waves. Niklaus would have appreciated it, she was sure.

The sun set on her, but Jeremia didn’t leave the rock until the last of her son was swept away by the sea, sliding back under the surface of the water. The cold embrace of the water cocooned her like it had when Elena died, but she didn’t sink to the bottom too numb to move. She had to swim, to move, to be anywhere and everywhere as long as she wasn’t still. Her path took her toward the London bay unconsciously, glass glinting in her eyeline. Bottles weren’t uncommon near the shoreline, but bottles with corks in them? Floating on the surface of the water with paper in them? Less so.

Greedy hands reached for her newest distraction, a simple smile on her face knowing that whoever the intended recipient of the letter would never --

Niklaus. 

His handwriting was unmistakable, the actual words irrelevant on the page. He was...he was alive? He was alive. He was alive.

[davidmcclean]

RVing in BC - tips and hints.

If you are contemplating a similar type of journey, here are a few thoughts and tips I have picked up on the way;

THE RV

The one we chose was big. Our thinking was that it had to cope with four for the first week, and Ann and I wanted an island bed so we didn’t have to crawl over each other for a loo visit during the night. That left two single overcab beds for Andrew and Rhys. Rhys was fine, but I don’t think Andrew was too comfortable. The overcab beds are best left for kids.

The RV had a slideout which moved the dinette seats and table out by 2 feet or so and created a load more space inside. This was most welcome when four were aboard. However, for two the van was a bit bigger than necessary.

These beasts have huge V10 petrol engines, which makes them superb long distance chuggers. The consequence is having a $150 fuel bill every refill. Canadians pay the same in dollars as we pay in Pounds which means at current exchange rates fuel is about one third cheaper. As you would imagine, all RV’s have an automatic gearbox, but no handbrake – so keep your foot on the brake at traffic lights or you will creep forward. There is a foot brake instead of a hand brake but it is awkward to use.

Our RV had both cab and habitation air conditioning, and both were necessary and welcome. All windows and doors had insect screens and night curtains. There were adequate mains sockets, 12v and USB outlets, but not always logically placed. Most rental companies will disable the awning (too many return damaged, apparently) and the on board generator (although CanaDream say you can use theirs, but have to pay $75 as soon as you fire it up). There is no need for either in any case.

You see rental RV’s everywhere. The big players are Cruise Canada, CanaDream and Fraserway, who all have depots in Vancouver. It is also possible to do a one way trip, say from Calgary to Vancouver, but it costs a bit more. It is worth remembering that no rental firm will allow you to drive off on arrival – you must spend at least one night in a hotel to get over jetlag. If you choose one of their recommended hotels near the airport CanaDream will collect you in the morning (you can book the hotel through CanaDream, but it will be cheaper to do it yourself either direct or through Booking.Com). We used the Sandman Signature as Andrew had a free voucher for it, but there are cheaper ones available. Note that breakfast will not usually be included in the price.

 THE SITES

All the sites I chose had 50amp mains and water supply. There were some pitches that only had 30amp supply, but avoid these as it is not powerful enough to run the air conditioner. Most sites also had sewage disposal in situ, but if not usually had a disposal point by the exit. Servicing the RV with water input, and grey (sink, shower) water and black (toilet) water outlet is simple.

We paid anywhere between $36 and $50 per night on a full hookup site.

WiFi can be problematical. All sites (apart from the Parks Canada sites in Banff) offer WiFi, but few are powerful enough to be picked up from the RV. You will have to walk up to the office but even then we often found the service oversubscribed and painfully slow. Andrew got us a local data SIM which we loaded into my phone for emergency use, but overall communications in Canada is expensive – the SIM only gave 3GB of data for the same price that would get 10GB or more in UK.

Al l the sites had basic but clean shower and toilet facilities. Some had coin operated showers, and some also had laundry machines.  Just bring enough clothes for a week and you’ll be OK.

There was a bench table at each pitch on all the sites we used, but these are not particularly comfortable for lounging. Andrew brought some folding canvas “director style” chairs, but you can buy them quite cheaply in any Canadian Tire chain store (think B&Q but bigger and better). Some sites also provided fire pits and supplied wood for it, but with the campfire ban in place at time of writing these couldn’t be used.

Because of the ban (which even includes charcoal BBQ’s – in fact anything that could give off embers) we bought a small unit powered by a small disposable screw on gas cylinder and found it more than adequate. It is possible to connect to the RV’s own gas tank, but the cost of the extension hose and special plug in connector is more than the cylinder. Work on the cylinder lasting a week.

There are mozzies and midges in Canada, but they are not as aggressive as in Thailand, or as persistent as Scotland. Buy some insect repellent spray on arrival, and use daily. The local wasps are inquisitive but harmless.

EATING OUT, FOOD AND ALCOHOL

Bloody expensive! Alcohol isn’t as freely available as in UK, and you have to go to licensed alcohol shops. There are one or two in each town, but the cheapest (and best) is BC Liquor, a Government owned and run chain. Expect to pay around $15 (£10) for an ordinary bottle of wine. Beer is a little more reasonable, but despite all the craft beers available, don’t expect too much of interest to the bitter drinking man. Pale ale seems to be an adequate substitute, but if lagers are your thing then you are in heaven (but in poverty).

Everywhere you go you will find Tim Horton food outlets. Avoid them like the plague, they are awful. There are loads of chain fast food outlets such as A&W and Dennys, which we haven’t tried, but we do like White Spot. This is a BC chain that is a step above the others both for breakfast or lunch. Again, though, don’t expect to find it cheap, but if you want decent pancakes or Eggs Benedict for breakfast then this is the place. Little diners attached to petrol stations can be a pleasant surprise.

This bit really riles me. It is the norm here to tip at about 15%. Credit card machines will add it on automatically, and not only that, the price you read on the menu is before tax! At the end of your meal you are paying about 30% more than the advertised price!

 CANADIANS

Absolutely no complaints here. They are super friendly and helpful, laid back and non aggressive. However, you can get very tired of Country music on the radio very quickly. They really do want to be living the outback life here, and every house you see outside of the big towns has an RV on the drive, complete with canoes, fishing gear and mountain bikes, all ready to go at a moment’s notice.

 DRIVING

Surprisingly easy, even in a big RV. The lanes are wide and you soon get over the tendency to position yourself too close to the right edge of the road. On the main highways the speed limit is usually 100 k/hr, and people stick to it in the main. Uphill sections usually are dual carriageway, and the left lane is only used for overtaking. Be very careful through road works as points and fines are doubled (and police patrolled), but you are given plenty of notice in advance of them. You will have cruise control on the RV, and it is easy to set and unset.

Junctions can be a bit confusing, and in town suburbs you can get a Canadian standoff where nobody has priority. You work it out between yourselves, but usually the first one there will take the lead. Sometimes you need a left turn off a dual carriageway, so if there is no filter lane give plenty of notice of you intentions – they will know what you are trying to do.

This is a big, big country and taking 3 or 4 hours to get anywhere is common. Just relax, enjoy the sights, and the miles will fly by.

PAPERWORK

Don’t forget you need to apply for an electronic visa well before you arrive, and these are valid for 5 years and multiple entries. Do not arrive without one or you will be in trouble. Immigration is done by electronic cubicles that connect your passport to the visa, and compare your face to the passport photo.

There is no need to get an International Driver’s Licence, but I would suggest bringing a spare pair of driving glasses.

MONEY

All petrol stations are prepay. Just insert your card, tell it how much in dollars you want and fill up. If you overestimate your needs the balance is refunded to your card later (but it may take a few days).

We made great use of a new system called WeSwap. You join up in the UK and get a WeSwap card in the post, load it online with Sterling and then do a swap with whatever currency you want. You have the choice of an instant swap at 2% commission, 3 day swap at 1.5%, or 7 day swap at 1%. The exchange rate used is way better than you get using your normal debit or credit cards. The whole setup is backed by Mastercard, so you can use it anywhere. Just go online to check your remaining balance or reload and swap. Simple and very clever. Look it up.

We did bring cash with us, but have used remarkably little (for Canada) so far.

Any questions? Email me on jadmcc@gmail.com.

David