#if id asked my boss yesterday and gotten a No i could have called the dentist today but now i have to wait for tomorrow

[audiovisualrecall]

I scooped the litterboxes and brought the previous bag and the new one down, and took the bag of trash out of the pail, brought those out to the outdoor din and threw them in there, then got the bag of glass/metal/plastic recycling out and the cardboard/paper one and one more small bag of trash, and then i brought all of that out to the curb.

I'm exhausted.

[vinamari]

The Meeting | Part 2 | M. Sano

Synopsis: Night meetings turn into late next day meetings with your boss Mikey, leading to small events with coffee and a small past reminder

Warning(s): Unnoticeable angst, reference of memory loss, mentions of past relations, fluff, burns (not really)

Pairing: Manjiro Sano

Parts: Forgotten memories (Pt. 1)

The meeting was being held late at night, but that didn't really matter to Y/N when it came to working on the job they had been hired for. It wasn't that they were bothered by the meeting itself, they were rather annoyed by the timing.

Y/N sighed and tried not to look bored as their boss droned on about how the quarterly report would be arriving soon, which was only the second time he had ever spoken a word to them since hiring them. Soon their bosses eyes fell on them.

“Is there a reason you’re staring off in to space, Ms. L/N”, spoke Mikey he stated as eyes slowly fell on you especially with his dark irises looking at you questioningly.

Slightly embarrassed you looked down and nervously smiled to him while shaking your head ‘no’ in response to the man's question. You looked back up at Mikey and gave him an apologetic smile that said that ‘no there is not’ and ‘please continue to ignore my stareoff into space’. Slowly tearing his gaze away from you as well as the other curious eyes back to the person who had been talking about a business proposal.

You sighed again and rubbed your temples. Your mind wandered off to another topic again; you weren’t too interested in what the man was trying to say, it just seemed to be going in one ear and out the other. ‘I only started yesterday and I’m already having problems with my boss’; ‘just what is his problem’, you wondered.

There was no point in stressing over thoughts right now, the meeting would be over soon anyways. However you couldn’t help at least admire the structure of the room, some of the most expensive paintings were hung on the wall with chandelier hanging in the center of the ceiling. You were glad that at least you had gotten the job.

Not many employees got hired to do this kind of work, even fewer of them got hired at such a large corporation.

The company owned two or three companies and a few corporations as well. In other words, the company had more than its fair share of powerful people. They wanted security for their businesses and needed to hire the best for jobs such as yours. After all they hadn’t hired the best, so you were the best. But still, it would be difficult.

The meeting was finally over, it felt as if you had the most major hungover of your entire life. ‘What a horrible day’. You thought as you made your way to the door, leaving the large office as the rest of the workers left the room as well.

Just as you stepped outside the building the sound of your phone ringing caused you to jump. The caller ID read 'Sanzu'. You cursed under your breath then answered the call, “Mr. Sanzu, did you need my notes on the meeting that just ended?” you asked in a hurry.

“No and don’t call me Mr. it makes me sound old”, he gagged on the other end. “I just wanted to let you know the boss wants to have a one-on-one meeting with you tomorrow”.

It was the next day already, you were pretty nervous already considering that Mikey would be talking to you about the your zoning off in the middle of the meeting.

You were entering the elevator to the 7th floor sighing when someone pressed the button beside you. You frowned and tapped his arm, asking if he needed help. Looking at him you realized that it was Mikey, who usually kept himself busy in his office during the day. He seemed to have been late himself today.

Looking at I’m closely you could see the eye bags under his eyes. ‘How long has he not slept to let the circles get so dark’, Y/N thought shocked. He looked almost bored – which is how he seemed, really. Mikey seemed to be pretty good at hiding his true emotions.

“M(s/r). L/N, it’s not appropriate to stare at your boss”, he said with his usual dead voice. “I apologize Mr. Sano”, you said nervously.

You awkwardly shifted waiting for the elevator to let you off, however you knew that either you would walk to your bosses office. Or you’d have to wait with Mikey until he decided what to do next. So you stood there, quietly shifting from foot to foot, and listening to Mikey chat, “So I guess you’re curious as to why I look like this huh”, he paused for emphasis, “And why I have these dark circles, it obvious that I haven’t been sleeping”.

You nodded deadpanning, ‘how else would you get them’, you thought. You’d “known” him for a few days even though you hadn’t spent much time with him yet. It was hard to tell if he was having troubles or just had trouble dealing with others. ‘More like others having trouble dealing with him’, you thought once more this time rolling your eyes. “Excuse me?”, he responded glaring at you, “I mean Sanzu”, you replied slightly nervous. But, you supposed the most common reason would be the latter.

And maybe he did need some company.

The lift finally arrived, revealing a shiny door straight ahead. ‘That’s his office’, thinking to yourself as you looked at the glass doors.

“Well what are you waiting for, I need to talk to you about the last meeting”, he said not looking back as he walked to his office. As always, he didn’t seem bothered that you were still standing outside. His voice was monotonous as he spoke and even though he was facing away from you, you felt a little uncomfortable, anxious even.

When you got to his office you sat down across from Mikey. The room was very spacious, with windows of different sizes.

One side of the office was occupied by a computer table with a laptop to its side and scattered paperworks, while the other side was decorated with several paintings by unknown artists. At the opposite end of the room was a huge window giving views to the cityscape below.

Mikey sat down facing you, staring right into your (e/c) eyes. This made you uneasy, especially with dark eyes boring into yours. Your heart skipped a beat and you tried to maintain a calm façade, “Mr.Sano…I apologize that I was staring off into space during the meeting”, you said hesitantly, hoping that would put an end to the staring.

He smiled slightly, before dropping his smile, “It’s okay, I know it can be quite intimidating”, he sighed, “Anyway, after the discussion about the budget, I noticed that you seemed…distracted. Did something happen?” he asked curiously. “No..nothing really, I just tend to zone off”, you said slightly embarrassed. “I see, however next time in a meeting try not to zone off”, before signaling that you could leave.

However while you were getting up you had accidentally hit the coffee on the table, knocking it over. Causing the hot liquid to spill on yourself, “Shit”. You cursed loudly, feeling embarrassed as Mikey started grabbing paper towels.

Once he finished cleaning you up he looked at you disapprovingly as if you had done this before, “You might want to clean your outfit first, then go to the bathroom to change. But before that let me check if you burned yourself anywhere”.

“No, no burning anywhere” you replied quickly. However he was already checking you for any red marks, you held out your hand, feeling relieved to find that no part of your skin was red. Mikey inspected your hands carefully, checking to make sure that nothing else was injured and then gave a small nod. Once satisfied that there was no physical harm done.

“I recommend heading to the bathroom and checking yourself once more and maybe getting an ice pack if anything hurts”, he sighed relieved that you had hurt yourself terribly.

His hands were a bit rough then they seemed from afar, however now that you got a closer look you could see small scars that could have been from years ago. “I’m sor-“, before you could get your words in he cut you off, “It’s alright, don’t worry about that”. He said still looking at where you spilled over yourself. “Are you okay?”. “Yeah, I’m fine”. You answered.

Mikey cleared his throat, “About the budget, yes I think you should focus on the project itself instead. Kokonoi will handle the budget”. He said dismissing you. “Alright”, you said before leaving the office.

Feeling his hands in your own brought a sense of familiarity, it felt as if you had held those hands before. The roughness felt familiar, as if they had touched you before.

𝓐-Aster

Tags: @ajmiila02 @psmslove @foi-en-toi @alexina9208-17 @kappuccinoe

[ddonovanrp]

Something wasn't right. I knew it-I could feel it. "VP... you alright?" A member called 'Tank' asked. I suppose anyone looking at me now could worry. I hadn't slept in almost 2 days. My hair was messy and I was on edge. Something wasn't right, she should have called me back by now. I looked up at him from where I was sitting on the front steps of our clubhouse and sized up the situation. Had it been long enough to warrant worry? Was i being a spaz or did something actually happen? "Yeah. Well, maybe. Where's Tanner?" I asked the other male. He and Tanner had been in the Klan together all thier lives, before they'd both come to their senses and bailed. Tanner was the best tech wiz i'd ever seen. He was about to do just about anything and he was my guy. "He should be here any minute Boss. Church at 7:30 right?" Church was what the biker world called thier club meetings. Everything said within those walls was to be taken as if the gods themselves we're there telling those secrets. "Yeah. Tell him to find me asap." I told my club brother before standing up and heading inside to my room down the hall.

A quick shower to wake myself up and 20 minutes later led to a knock on my door. I had been expecting company so I'd actually managed to put pants on after the shower, though I hadn't gotten the energy yet to finish. Pulling the door open i greeted the large man id been expecting. "Tanner." I said, steeping aside for him to enter my room. A hotel style bedroom just big enough for a single male or random stays. He stepped in and asked "Tank said you needed me? What's up? " "I need you to track a phone for me. Ping it or whatever. See when and where it was last active." I replied. "Oh sure VP. Let me grab my laptop and I'll check this out." He said before dipping out of my room back into the hall.

Standing over his shoulder I recited the number id memorized by heart. 876-5309 Angel. "Umm...looks like it last pinged right outside of Amarillo sometime yesterday morning." Amarillo? She should have been in Louisiana by now or even further. "Text me that address." I said and clapped the man on his shoulder. "Good work. " I grabbed my jacket, wallet, phone and keys before I sprinted to my truck and hit the road.

Recent troubles with a rival club had made for some tense situations lately. I had to come home ahead of Rian because they were plotting something. They'd been invisible for months then just out of no where popped up like a big red flag? It was a distraction and the president and I agreed to call everyone in. Lockdown sucked and we'd only had to do it twice since it could remember. Lockdown meant everyone inside the gates then nobody in or out that isn't patched into our chapter. What if this was thier move? My girlfriend? The mother of my unborn baby. What if they hurt her? I had to stop myself from shaking. There's no guarantee anything at all is wrong. I could be jumping the gun, acting a fool and driving several states just to pass her on the way. I had to chance it though. She knew how serious lockdown was and how she needed to get there as quickly and as safely as possible. Sooner we could get everyone safe, the sooner we could deal with this, the sooner we could unpack our lives into our new house! I just had to find her first... _____________________________________ -> 11.5.2020 -> #IronAngelsMC-RP #Rian

[thran-duils]

Lost in Zero Gravity (P.2)

Title: Lost in Zero Gravity (Part Two) Summary:  Fem!Reader x Mob Boss!Tony Stark x Mob Boss!Steve Rogers.  Reader is a call girl who runs high end parties. She catches the attention of Tony Stark who invites her back to his room with his friend. She might have performed too well because she becomes their new favorite play toy and they don’t like to share. Words: 3,072 Warnings (for the fic in entirety): Smut, prostitution, infidelity, angst, domestic violence, stalking, possessive behavior Author’s Note: Song inspo for this fic

Part One || Part Three || Masterpost (mobile) || Fanfic masterpost

“You must have made a really good first impression,” Tatiana commented, blowing out a ring of smoke. Her charcoal lined eyes creased with her pleased smile.

You shrugged, “I was just working.”

“Don’t try to be modest now. It’s not becoming on you,” she laughed in response.

She had called you into her office to tell you that you had been specifically requested for an assignment. It seemed Tony and Steve’s mob were going to be taking a vacation and they wanted you available. You were not one to turn down a paid vacation, especially if they were going to be there. As dangerous as they were, they had been a good fuck and Tony had made sure to get you off. That was far more than probably eighty percent of the people you had been with since you started working the service.

You hated the smell of the cigarette smoke and it was always the hovering stench in her office. She was going to kill herself far too young and maybe shave a few years off your life in return for however she made you stand in here. You adored her, there was no doubt about that. But you wished she would kick the habit.

“Where are they going?” you asked, feigning that you were contemplating about refusing the assignment.

“Riviera Maya.” You narrowed your eyes and she said, “It’s in Mexico.”

An inclusive resort no doubt. It could be fun. Maybe you could ask someone to travel with you so you would not be completely alone when they were not wanting to bed you. Or maybe not… some time alone might do you well.

Tatiana added, “Wives are going to be there though.”

“So, why am I gonna be there?” you asked honestly.

Tatiana snorted, “Oh, stellina.” She took another deep inhale exhaling as she said, “There are so many things there to keep the spouses occupied. They’re rarely together except for dinner. It’s just for appearances.”

Rich people’s lives sounded exhausting.

“You just need to be out in the open, keeping yourself available for them whenever they have an opportunity to slip away and have some fun with you. Otherwise, just keep yourself occupied with the beach and nice drinks. I know you hate suntanning but there are shops to poke around in. I know you like shopping.”

“That I do.”

“Maybe they’ll give you extra.”

“I don’t want to go around trying to get greedy.”

Tatiana smirked at that. “That’s my girl. I trained you well.”

<><><>

Pushing your sunglasses up onto your head, you hopped up onto one of the barstools on the bar you had just walked by and circled back to. You had yet to see either Tony or Steve and you had been here since yesterday. The place was relaxing and the room was great. You had basically sunk into the bed, having one of the best nights of sleep you had had in a long while without any noise from Elisha in her room along your wall back home. Leaning over the counter, you asked for a strawberry lemonade.

“Strawberry lemonade? It’s a party, dollface.”

You recognized that voice and you straightened back up, turning your head to look in his direction.

Steve was standing there, leaning on the counter. He was a sight for sore eyes. He was only in swim trunks, aviator glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. That did not hide the fact you knew his eyes were running unabashedly over your body. Your stomach fluttered at the sight of him, thinking of how he handled you last time.

“I bought this specifically for this vacation,” you said, hopping down from the stool and turning around for him to let him see the whole suit. When you turned back around, he was grinning. “It looks good right?”

He nodded, “You look damn sexy.”

“That’s what I like to hear.”

“My wife is here,” Steve said, and you frowned instantly at this immediate change in conversation. Was he trying to kill the mood so quickly? He said, “I know. She’s got her little masseuse guy here to keep her entertained, so I should be able to have my own fun. But I’m trying to be good.”

Picking up on his hint, you sauntered towards him. Your hand came up, resting on his chest. “Why do you have to be good if she isn’t being good?”

“I had to hold it in until she ran off,” he told you.

You pulled his sunglasses down to see his eyes, keeping them on the bridge of his nose. You smiled when you were able to actually meet his gaze.

“Well, when do you get to not be good?”

“Right now,” he said and you smiled in response. “It’s why I came and found you. I saw you yesterday. Wandering around. Took everything in me to not come up to you. Looked like you found yourself a nice little boyfriend though?”

“He was trying really hard but no… no dice for that guy,” you told him.

You pushed his glasses back up and your arms wrapped around his neck. He grinned back at you, his fingers tracing along your exposed back.

“I’m assuming you’re liking what you’re seeing?”

“Very much,” he murmured, his fingers playing with the hem of your suit.

You nuzzled your nose to his. “Hmm. So we know where this is going?”

<><><>

You stood in front of the mirror, completely bare. Steve had brought you back to their villa. Tony’s wife was gone, off to a spa treatment. The room had a wide door open to the patio overlooking the ocean. There was a hot tub and pool on the patio and although you wanted to indulge, you refrained. You got undressed for them instead, waiting for them to get antsy enough to take charge. It did not take long as you predicted.

Tony came up from behind you, nude as well. His hands ran across your breasts, cupping.

“Don’t you look marvelous…” he murmured, his fingers tweaking at your erect nipples. You bucked ever so slightly, and he smirked. His nose came to nuzzle into the nape of your neck. “I knew I chose right… a perfect gem.”

“You still seem to like what you’re seeing?”

He chuckled, one hand snaking down to toy with the top of your sex.

“You’re gonna look even better underneath that mirror.”

You turned in his arms, your forehead pressing against his. “A man that likes to review his work. I don’t know if I should be worried.”

“I didn’t get to where I am by being a half ass.”

Steve was at your other side and he enveloped you to him. To both of them, you asked, “Any critiques?”

“Loaded question,” Steve chuckled. “I mean, the biggest is you haven’t sunk one of your holes on either of us. I mean, it’s been a whole five minutes. What’s the hold up?”

“Sorry, I was enjoying the company.”

He kissed the tip of your nose lightly, “And I’m sorry for being so charismatic.”

“I’m assuming you can’t multitask then? Be charismatic and fuck me at the same time?”

A low growl left his mouth now, “You’ve got a mouth on you.”

“Are you complaining?”

“Not at fucking all,” he told you pulling you over to the bed.

Steve was looking upwards, and you knew he was taking in the sight of you hovering over him as you sunk onto his length in the ceiling mirror. His eyes were swimming with arousal and you hoped to always be the cause for that.

<><><>

“Y/N, you got a gift,” Wendy said, pointing at the table as you walked into the brothel’s kitchen. You had come in to get a drink but smiled seeing the bouquet and gift.

“Really?” you asked, letting your backpack fall from your shoulder and along with your carry-on drop to the ground. You had just gotten back from Mexico; that was quick if it was from who you thought it was. Upon seeing the flowers, you knew your assumption had been correct. They had asked you what your favorite flowers were and even though that was extremely obvious why they were asking, you had told them all the same.

The bouquet was large and there was a nice heart balloon in the center. You smiled, leaning in and smelling the flowers deeply.

“Where’d you get those from?” Elisha asked, coming into the kitchen. You shrugged, smiling sheepishly, and she rolled her eyes, giving a little laugh, “I know exactly where those came from.”

“There’s also this,” you said picking up the gift bag from beside it, waving it at her.

“That’s dangerous,” Elisha commented, grabbing the bloody mary that Wendy had made her. They must have had a rough night.

You shrugged again, opening the bag. Your lips curled into a smile as you pulled out a bright blue teddy. “Cute,” you giggled. Elisha and Wendy shook their heads, taking a drink. You held it up against your body and asked, “Think they want me to wear it for next time?”

“I don’t think they bought it for shits and giggles,” Wendy snorted. “How was the trip?”

“It was nice.”

“Good to hear it. You should relish in this.”

“Oh, I am,” you said, putting the teddy back into the bag. You thought of the extra money that Steve had tucked into your bag, remembering that you should tuck that away. It was smarter to not spend all the money that was thrown at you. That is what fools did; you needed to think ahead.

<><><>

The dress was loose and casual, perfect for the saloon they had asked you to meet them at. They had sent a car for you and met you at the curbside. When you got out, you looked around, cocking an eyebrow at the sight of them dressed in nice, pressed jackets. You were going into a dive bar, what were they doing?

Tony took your arm, Steve trailing behind. “Hmm, a sun pattern,” Tony commented, his fingers pulling at the fabric of your dress.

You gripped his arm, smiling. “I like to be a shining beacon in people’s lives.”

Tony chuckled in response, his grip tightening on your waist. The bouncer did not ask for your IDs; they must know them. It was dimly lit, packed. There were dancers on the stage and your eyes were drawn to their movements. The woman dancing had curves to die for.

“Where we going?” you asked as they led you through the bar. Your eyes ran around the tables the further you went in. Did they have a reservation?

“For the real party, sweetheart,” Tony told you, his lips brushing your ear. You shivered at the touch.

It was dark back here and you tensed. Tony felt it, a light chuckle leaving his lips. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I got you.”

Two men were standing in front of a door and they opened it when they saw the three of you approaching. There was a table with a group of other men, looking like they were waiting for the three of you. There were a handful of other women sitting around the perimeter of the room behind the players. They made brief eye contact with you, sizing you up quickly before averting their eyes again.

“Took you fucking long enough,” one of them drawled at Tony and Steve.

“Sorry, we were waiting for our lucky dame,” Tony returned.

Tony kissed your hand as you sat, before he turned away and sat in his chair. Steve’s hand grazed you affectionately, before he sat down as well.

You sat quietly, watching them play. It was poker, that much you knew. It was intense, the tension in the room could be cut with a knife. They were taking this seriously and you surmised they were gambling a bunch of money.

Steve was staring across the table at the first man who had spoken to them when they walked in, his eyes narrowed. The other man was not flinching but something must have been a tell for Steve because he pushed chips forward.

“Well, senator… I’m gonna raise you,” Steve commented.

Your heart stopped a bit, hearing him call him that. Your eyes narrowed at the man across the table. You did not pay attention to politics but the way the man’s face scrunched at Steve’s tone… you knew he had to be one. A senator. What had you let them drag you into?

The man chewed on his lip before throwing his cards down on the table without showing what they were.

Steve’s mouth broke into a wide grin and he held out his hands.

“Fuck you, Rogers,” the man snarled before getting up from the table. He buttoned his suit jacket, leaving the room without a second glance.

“Sore loser,” Steve commented, much to the amusement of the other men at the table to your surprise. You thought they would be more angry about losing the money they had but maybe the man had been a common enemy.

They gathered up the chips, tossing them into a bag. Tony’s hand snaked around your waist.

“Wanna spend this?” Tony asked, grinning broadly, holding the bag up to you as he guided you towards the door. You giggled and he kissed your cheek. “Steve’s treated us. But especially you, baby.”

<><><>

Pulling your dress back on over your head, you straightened it, making sure it was covering your ass. It was short and you did not need to be flashing anyone on the sidewalk.

“You sure you don’t want me to order you a cab…?” the man asked from behind you, taking a long drag on his joint. He was still lying in bed, watching you get dressed.

Confidently, you turned around, fluffing your hair. You shook your head, “It’s not too far. I’ll be fine.”

“You’re a tough cookie,” he said, shooting you a smile.

“I try to be,” you said winking at him, grabbing your purse.

You left his place quickly, heading back to the brothel. It was not a lie, it was not far.

The distance did not matter though when it came to what was waiting for you outside.

A hand closed around your arm, yanking you into an alley. You screamed but another hand slapped across your mouth as you were slammed up against the wall. Your heart was pounding, your eyes wide in fear staring at your assailant.

Your fear melted away to a mixture of anger and disgust. You would recognize those hazel eyes anywhere. You had stared into them far too many times as he towered over you, beating you into submission. You had run away from them far too many times, locking yourself in the bedroom until he got tired of trying to beat the door down.

Garnering strength from a place you did not know existed, you shoved him away, much to his surprise. He did not expect you to fight back, and he stumbled back.

“Have you been fucking following me?” you demanded, your chest heaving.

“Just interested to see what you’ve been doing since you ran off. Looks like you are visiting a bunch of men,” Jared sneered at you, getting back on his game and closing the space between you. Your fists clenched by your sides and he noticed, smirking. “You gonna hit me?”

“No,” you spat.

“So, what’s got you leaving someone’s apartment this time of night, baby?”

“That is none of your business.”

He shoved you back into the wall and you winced against the cement scratching at your skin. You swallowed it though, clenching your jaw, glaring at him. You were acting far braver than you felt. Jared always had the power to make you feel small and weak and it seemed just his presence had that same power. You felt just as helpless as you did a year and a half ago. He was frightening; you knew what violence he could unleash.

“What’s this?” Jared asked, yanking at your purse.

“Nothing, it’s my purse!” you said, your hands closing around it to try to yank it back from him.

“Looks pretty expensive, Y/N… Marc Jacobs? What have you been up to?”

He gave another hard yank, and the chain broke and you hissed against the pressure against your shoulder as it snapped away from you. You reached for it and he shoved you back again, harder this time and you let out a pained noise. Your eyes searched the buildings that surrounded you, hoping someone would be looking out the windows and be able to come to help you. It looked like no such luck.

He yanked out the hundreds the man you had just left had given you.

His eyes were dark, glowering at you. “Where’d you get this?”

“From work!”

His backhand was swift, knocking you off balance. But he was there to catch your falling momentum only to slam you up against the wall for the third time, his forearm pressed into your throat. You gasped, trying to breathe.

“You left me to spread your legs all over the city?”

“What are you talking about?” you exclaimed pitifully, trying to deny it. Your hands clawed at his arm and he only pressed in harder, making you gasp more desperately.

“I saw you go into that building with that man. Yes, I was following you! And you come back out with all this money? I shouldn’t be surprised. You always were a worthless slut.”

Tears pricked at your eyes and he growled, “You always did cry too soon for my liking.”

Your purse fell to the ground and his other hand reached up between your legs. You tried to fight him, and he socked you this time. Your head knocked against the wall and you saw stars.

Jared pushed away and you crumpled to the ground, gasping for air. You squeezed your eyes tightly, trying to gain back some sense of balance.

“Hey!” you heard someone shout from far off.

All you could see was Jared’s shoes coming in and out of your vision. You felt a sharp pain in your stomach making you lose all your breath before his shoes were gone. You blinked again before losing consciousness as you saw a new pair of shoes come into your line of sight.

~~~

Tags: coconutqueen21

[myheartrevealedocs]

Untouchable Ch 21: Elephant’s Memory (S3E16)

Warnings: murder, mentions of terrorism, mentions of drugs and addiction

Ch 20 | Ch 22

~ ~ ~

“I’m proud of you,” Spencer said, speaking up for the first time on their drive.

“You’re proud of me?” she asked, startled.

“Yes,” he argued. “Look at you! You’ve got a car now. Twenty-four years old, teaching two college classes and working for the FBI.”

“I’m more proud of you!” she shot back. “A full year sober! I can’t imagine how difficult it has been for you.”

“Thank you for coming with me.” Spencer sunk slightly in the passenger seat.

After the death of Ryan Phillips in front of the two of them, Spencer had been struggling with his cravings again. He hadn’t relapsed, of course, but he was plagued by nightmares and a lack of motivation. When he admitted this to Lydia, she’d suggested he look up some support meetings nearby. Tonight was going to be his first time attending the Beltway Clean Cops group.

“I’m more than happy to come along!”

The two of them sat in the back of the room, listening calmly to different people talk about their situations. Spencer had just gotten the courage to take the stage when Lydia got a text from Hotch.

Briefing in 30. Can’t get ahold of Reid. Please tell him.

Lydia dropped her head into her hands. Could it not wait just a few more moments? He had barely started speaking aloud and Lydia could see him trying to ignore the buzzing phone in his pocket.

“Hi. Uh… My name’s, uh, Spencer, and I’m uh… I don’t really know what I am.”

“Hello Spencer,” the crowd greeted.

“This is my- This is my first meeting,” he sputtered, his eyes locking with Lydia’s every few seconds. “I guess I, uh… I know I had a… a problem with Dilaudid, but… I stopped. My girlfriend helped me to stop about a year ago. I thought it was over, but recently I’ve really been… your literature uses the term ‘craving’. It started about a month ago. A- A suspect was murdered in front of me. A kid. And I thought that I could save that kid, but I couldn’t, and… Sorry.” He pulled out his phone, rejecting another call from their boss.  “I’ve seen a lot of that stuff before, but for some reason that kid’s face is really, uh… stuck in my brain. You know? It’s really- I can’t… And I want to forget… about him. And I just want to escape.”

Once again, he pulled his phone from his pocket and stepped away from the microphone, mumbling his apologies. Lydia got up and ran around to the side door to follow him out.

“I’m sorry,” she said as they met up and started walking to the car. “I didn’t want to interrupt you-”

“It’s fine,” he breezed. “Let’s just… get this over with.”

~ ~ ~

“Sorry we’re late,” Spencer announced as he and Lydia jogged into the conference room..

“Do I want to know what you two were up to?” Morgan teased.

Lydia was quick to cover Spencer’s secret for him. “You sound as if going to the movies is scandalous.”

“Movies, hm?” Rossi  joined. “Tell us what the movie was about.”

“Wouldn’t know. We didn’t get to finish it.”

Both boys gave the couple a look. Spencer started to shrink in his seat, but Lydia kept up her stance, not wanting them to push for anymore answers.

“I know it’s late,” Hotch interrupted. “I know we’re tired, but we’ve got two dead cops.”

“Alright.” JJ opened up the file in front of her and continued briefing the team, pointing to what looked to be a massive house fire displayed on the scene. “The resident, Rod Norris, was DOA. They’re still trying to ID the remains of the second victim, whom they believe is his 16-year-old daughter Jordan. From the condition of the remains, she would have had to have been inside the house, close to the source of the blast.”

“Clearly they used the bombing to set the officers up for an ambush,” Emily noted.

Spencer nodded. “It’s a well-established terrorist tactic. The first wave takes out civilians, the second wave takes out first responders.”

“The locals are thinking terrorism?” Morgan asked. “In West Bune, Texas?”

JJ nodded. “Not exactly a tier-one target, but DHS did issue a terror alert for the border states yesterday, just due to the timing and nature of the attacks.”

As the team argued about the chances of this being an actual terrorist attack, Lydia looked over her file. An explosive went off in Rod Norris’s house, and when two cops arrived on the scene, they were shot. Hotch probably wanted her working on identifying the explosive and seeing if there is any evidence to recover from the house.

Simple enough.

~ ~ ~

“The blast was localized here,” Lydia announced as she walked onto the scene. “The room was sealed off. There’s plastic and duct tape on the doors and windows.”

“Cordite,” Rossi added as he smelled something on the ground. “Gunpowder.”

Reid was looking through his file. “Yeah. They found a dozen canisters, it says.”

Rossi and Prentiss put their heads together, determining where Jordan and Rod were standing when the explosion happened. Lydia ran her fingers over the door frames. Whoever set this up wouldn’t need to clean up their evidence. There was no way she could recover anything out of the pile of ashes that used to be the Norris house.

“They didn’t care about the rest of the house,” Spencer said, more to Lydia than the others. “The whole thing’s designed to focus the blast on whoever came through that door.”

“If that’s true, something had to trigger the blast,” she reasoned.

Emily held up a charred box of cigarettes. “Rod Norris was a smoker.”

Lydia glanced at the floor where all the gunpowder had been set. Drop a hot cigarette on that? Kaboom.

“I’ve been working with you profilers long enough to know that no terrorist is going to watch Rod Norris long enough to know that he was going to enter through this door and be smoking a cigarette at a specific time,” Lydia replied. “This is too personal.”

~ ~ ~

The more they learned, the more the case reeked of personal problems.

Their unsub was a boy named Owen Savage. His father was one of the responding officers on the Norris scene. He’d staged the explosion to kill Jordan Norris’s dad and look like Jordan had died too. Then, when his father showed up, he shot him and his partner. They were pretty sure that Jordan wasn’t a part of the murders and was either a hostage or was completely unaware of the situation. She had been dating Owen for a long time, so it was likely she had agreed to leave with him, without checking in with her father.

Lydia had been talking with Garcia about the teens’ families when she saw Spencer storm away out of the corner of her eye. He had just… left.

Finishing up her conversation, she ran over to Hotch.

“Did you send Spencer away?”

“Have you seen how he’s been acting?” Hotch snapped.

She wasn’t surprised to hear that Spencer was moody. Leaving that meeting so suddenly was hard for him and he was still dealing with Ryan Phillips’s death. Working on another teen-involved case was probably not helping.

“Lydia, you two promised-”

“This isn’t a relationship thing!” she defended before he could say anything else. “He’s dealing with something else. The only reason I’m involved is because he told me about it. Please just…”

“Talk to him,” Hotch ordered. “His passive aggressive attitude is going to get him into trouble. The town’s already pissed we’re here.”

Lydia nodded, switching topics. “I heard that Officer Lett’s wife freaked out on you guys earlier. I’m sorry.”

“The police are under a lot of pressure to find who did this. They don’t need some angsty teen from the FBI telling them they’re stupid as well.”

She blinked. “He called someone stupid?”

“Talk to him,” Hotch repeated, ignoring her question.

“Yes, sir.”

~ ~ ~

“Has she calmed yet?” Lydia asked Emily.

They had been able to get in contact with Jordan Norris and tell her about what Owen had done, convincing her to run away from him and join them in the station, but she still didn’t fully trust them. It’d taken much persuasion and a lot of promises not to hurt Owen for her to give up where he was hiding. And now she was sobbing, half in fear, half in shame, in one of the private rooms in the station.

“No,” Emily replied, bluntly, on her way to get the girl another cup of water. “Did you hear from Hotch?”

Lydia nodded. “Owen wasn’t at the ranch. He left a note, I guess, about returning his mother’s necklace.”

Emily simply shrugged. “He can’t have gotten far. I’m sure the rest of the team will find him.”

She walked back to the grieving girl, who JJ was currently comforting, leaving Lydia alone in the bullpen of the station. That is, until Spencer came rushing in, brushing past her to get to their evidence boards.

“Spencer?” she called, already on his heels. “Why are you back?”

“They think he’s going to his mother’s grave,” he breathed, yanking a photo from the board and then looking around for Jordan.

“Isn’t he?” she demanded, seeing that the picture he had grabbed was the photo of Owen’s mother that he kept on his laptop. She was smiling, pointing to her necklace, which said ‘Hope’.

Hotch had assumed by Owen’s note that Owen was taking that necklace to his mother’s grave, as a way of ‘giving it back’ to her. But when Spencer interrupted Jordan and JJ’s conversation, throwing the photo in the young girl’s face, Lydia understood what he was thinking.

“He was gone when we got to the ranch. I want to save his life, but I need to ask you a question. This necklace-- he gave it to you?”

He spoke so fast, it was hard to differentiate between sentences, but Jordan took a second to process what he had said, then nodded. “I left it at the ranch.”

“He’s coming here,” Spencer said, already on his way out of the station.

Lydia jumped in front of him, already holding up a hand to stop him. “He’s going to do everything he can to get to Jordan.”

“I can’t let him do this, Lydia,” he hissed, trying to push past her. “It’s a suicide mission. I won’t let him die.”

“I know this is hard for you,” she told him, still maintaining eye contact to keep him in place. “But I can’t let you do this alone. Tell me the plan, and we walk out together.”

He glanced at the door, clearly anxious to leave before Owen got there. But his eyes were somewhat relieved to tell her what he was going to do. “Leave your gun. He wants to go down shooting. If we don’t have weapons, he has no reason to kill us. The only thing he wants more than death, is to apologize to Jordan so… I have to make it clear that that’s still an option.”

Lydia was already pulling her gun from its holster, setting it down on the desk beside her. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

He nodded, sternly, and unarmed, the two of them walked out of the station, side by side.

The sun was unbearable outside. The two of them could barely see Owen’s dark figure approaching down the block, but the shotgun across his chest was hard to miss. Lydia’s hands were already up, her palms facing outwards. Spencer followed suit as the boy saw them approaching and aimed his weapon in their direction.

“Reid!” Prentiss screamed, leaving the station just in time to watch them walk into danger. “Ambers!”

The two of them ignored her, Spencer stepping forward to speak. “Owen, we don’t have guns on us. My name is Spencer, this is Lydia, we’re with the FBI, and we’re here to help you.”

“Yeah?” he cried. “I need you to stay back.”

There were tires squealing behind them and Lydia finally glanced behind her to see a black SUV with Rossi, Morgan, and Hotch inside pull up behind them. As Spencer continued, they threw open the doors and positioned themselves behind them, guns at the ready.

“I know the only reason you joined the wrestling team was for your father. I know that he blamed you for what happened-”

“Stay back! Right where you are!”

“-I also know the only reason you killed Rod Norris and Kyle Borden was to protect Jordan. I know the harder you tried, the worse it got, and it felt like everyone just stood there watching you suffer, and not a single person even tried to help.”

“They didn’t,” Owen sobbed. “They didn’t.”

“I know you want to escape… and forget. Believe me when I say I know… I know exactly how that feels.”

Lydia, listened to him speak. This case with Owen was really hard for him. She knew that he was dealing with cravings, but the way he spoke to Owen made her think it was something more. She’d never imagined that highschool was easy for Spencer. He was only 12 at the time. But there was clearly something specific on his mind.

Lydia kept glancing back so that she could position herself between Owen and the rest of the team. Hotch was going to kill her later. She was certain of it. But she was convinced that they were more likely to shoot Owen than Owen was likely to shoot her or Spencer. And for Spencer’s sake, she’d do anything to keep Owen from dying.

“Owen, there’s so much more for you out there,” Lydia finally spoke up.

“No. No, I’m already dead.”

“You aren’t dead,” she promised. “If you die, you’re going to leave Jordan. And right now, she’s in the station begging us not to hurt you.”

“You don’t want to leave her like your mother left you,” Spencer agreed.

“Ok.” Owen’s head shook wildly, trying to keep the upper hand on the situation. “Bring her to me. Bring her outside.”

“I can’t bring her outside,” Spencer quickly told him. “But, if you put the gun down, I swear to god, I’ll take you to her. I promise, nobody will hurt you. You’ll say goodbye to her, and you’ll give her the necklace. Alright? So what do you say? Let’s put the gun down. Let’s go inside.”

Lydia could see the battle in Owen’s mind, so she added, “Owen, Jordan loves you so much. If not for your sake, come in peacefully for hers. She’s been through so much, don’t let her live with this on her conscience as well.”

Finally, he nodded, reaching underneath his overcoat and taking the strap of the shotgun off his shoulder. Pointing it away, he stepped forward and put the weapon softly on the ground.

Now that he was unarmed, Lydia stepped to the side and let the team see Owen, his arms already above his head.

“They have to cuff you now, Owen,” Lydia told him calmly, trying to maintain eye contact with him so he didn’t see all the FBI agents running towards him and freak out. Spencer moved the gun aside and stepped up next to her. “You did so good, Owen. I know this is scary, but just stay calm. I promise we’re taking you to Jordan right now.”

“You two okay?” Morgan asked as he grabbed Owen's arms and locked them behind his back.

Spencer nodded, patting the boy down and pulling a knife from his belt as well as his mother’s necklace. “We’re fine.”

Lydia turned and finally made eye contact with Hotch. A very, very pissed off Hotch.

~ ~ ~

The night had hit fast and the whole plane was quiet. Lydia leaned into Spencer’s shoulder, her mind drifting with everything that had happened on the case. As much as she had to be worried about, her mind kept coming back to the same point: despite how stressed he was, Spencer told her the plan. He let her come with him. And that said volumes about the trust between the two of them. She knew that. She could see it so clearly now.

The strong connection she felt to him in the moment, couldn’t even be broken when Hotch sat down across from the two of them, his face a state of unwavering seriousness.

“You two knowingly jeopardize your lives and the lives of others. I should fire you both.”

Reid bit down on his lip nervously. “You have to understand that this was entirely my idea, sir.”

“Ambers?” Hotch addressed. “Do you believe Reid deserves the blame for this?”

“No, sir.”

Despite his clear anger, Lydia knew that Hotch wasn’t going to fire them. In fact, she doubted they’d get much punishment at all. He was good at understanding the intentions of his team.

He looked at Spencer again. “You’re the smartest kid in the room, but you’re not the only one in that room. You pull something like this again, don’t expect lenience from me. The same goes for you, Lydia. Am I clear?”

Spencer nodded immediately, “Yes, sir,” with Lydia following suit.

“It won’t happen again.”

“Thank you,” Spencer added.

“What were you thinking?”

Lydia dropped her hand over her boyfriend’s and waited patiently for him to answer. She may have followed him into the line of fire, but in the end, it was his decision, which would have happened with or without her.

“I was thinking that that would have been the second time a kid died in front of me.”

“You’re keeping score.” Hotch shook his head in warning. “Just like Owen.”

“It was my turn to save one,” Spencer joked, without much of the humor.

“It doesn’t work like that.”

“It should.”

Lydia listened intently to their conversation. This was obviously a talk the Spence needed to have with his boss on his own. They both needed to address the death of Ryan Phillips.

“I know it’s painful when the person you identify with is the bad guy,” Hotch told him and Spencer’s eyes fell to his intertwined fingers with Lydia.

“What does that make me?”

“Good at the job.” For the first time that night, there seemed to be a hint of a smile on his face.

Lydia leaned back onto her boyfriend’s shoulder as the unit chief stood up, but he continued to speak to them as he stepped into the walkway of the jet.

“I know it’s none of my business, but when we land, I think you should go and catch the rest of that movie.”

Lydia almost stupidly asked him what he was referring to, forgetting all about the cover she had set up for them at the beginning of the case to excuse their tardiness.

“He has to know that was a lie,” Spencer mumbled into her hair.

“No doubt,” she agreed. “But I think he knows that whatever it was was important to the two of us. That’s all that really matters, right?”

“Right,” he whispered, tiredly drifting off against her side.

Tags: @kris-stuff, @wooya1224, @arthurmorrgans, @anotherr-fine-mess, @eddysocs

[sunny-flower-girl-01]

Ohana- A Hawaii Five-0 Fanfic  Chapter Two

Enjoy! Please let me know what you guys think!

I am switching up the POV in this chapter and will probably continue like this. If you have a specific POV you'd like to hear from the characters, let me know.

~~~~~~~~~~~

At the Palace-

"You what!" Danny screeched as they exited the elevator. After they figured out that their "suspect" was going to be no help, they headed back to the office. Thank God everyone else was out of the office at the moment. The last thing Steve wanted to deal with is everyone else finding out about this before he had a chance to process it himself. He had spit it out to Danny on their elevator ride up to the office.

A baby. Steve was gonna have a baby. Well, Thea was going to have a baby. Steve's baby. He sighed and walked straight into his office, ignoring Danny as he continued to ask him to repeat what he just said.

"I'm sorry, you got who, what? You got a girl pregnant?" Danny followed him into the office quickly. Steve sighed again and sank down into his chair, head in my hands.

"What am I gonna do, Danny? I barely know this girl. We hooked up once when we met at the bar at Side Streets! Hell, I never even told her my name! She called me out of the blue yesterday and told me she had to see me in person. That it was urgent. It took me a minute to even realize who she was." He ranted, leaning back into the chair and stared up at the ceiling. Danny, for once, was silent. He looked like he was thinking which was never a good thing. After a moment he finally spoke up.

"What's her name?"

"Thea Kenwood. Why?" Steve asked. Without saying a word, he got up and left Steve sitting in the office alone. "Where are you going?" He called after him. Not a minute later he was back and tossed a file down on the desk. "What is this?"

He sat down in the chair in front of the desk again. "Theodora, also known as Thea, Kenwood. I knew she looked familiar when I saw her at Kamekona's. Grace is best friends with her sister, Nora. She's going to a sleepover there this weekend so I thought I'd look into who was going to have my kid overnight." He said, leaning back in his chair. He pointed to the file on the desk. "That, is a complete background check on the woman you've impregnated."

Steve stared at the file. Everything he wanted to suddenly know about this women was sitting right on his desk. He would know just about her entire life if he looked into it. Normally, Steve would have immediately done his own research about this woman. But something told him he shouldn't do it. He needed to respect her privacy more than that.

Ignoring his own thoughts, Steve looked up at Danny. "Did you read it?"

Danny nodded. "Yeah. Are you?"

Steve pulled the file over to him, staring at it for a moment. He looked up at Danny and shook his head. "Anything important I need to know?"

Danny leaned back and shrugged. "28. A counselor and board member down at the Hawaiian Youth Center. She has custody of her little sister Nora, the one that's best friends with Grace. Nothing really stands out. Just a hard working girl trying to raise a 7 year old. "

Steve nodded, rubbing his hand over his face while he swiveled slightly in his car. Steve spoke softly. "I'm gonna be a dad." He looked at Danny with glossy eyes. His eyes widened then snapped shut. "Oh god, I'm gonna be a dad!" Steve dropped his head onto his desk. Danny laughed and threw his head back.

"Oh boy, Super Seal having his first freak out. I love it." Danny chuckled, throwing his hands up.

Steve rolled his eyes. "Shut up."

After Danny's laughter dies down, they sit in silence for several minutes.

"She gave me an out." Steve said softly. Danny's head shot up.

"You didn't take it did you?"

Steve shook his head. "No! No, I... He pulled the ultrasound out of his pocket and looked at it for a moment before handing it to Danny. "A small part of me wanted to, but she gave that to me. How can I not be a part of my own child's life? I can't just go on with my life everyday knowing that my kids out there and I wasn't a part of their life!" Steve ranted, talking with his hands like his partner does.

Danny looked up from the ultrasound. He was remembering how he felt seeing Grace for the first time on the monitor that day in the doctors office. "Wait, are you mad she gave you an out?"

Steve sighed as he leaned back and rubbed his eyes. "No. I mean, I don't know. How could she possibly think that I wouldn't be there? That's my child too."

Danny shook his head. "No, Steve. I'm sure she didn't mean it like that. I mean you said so yourself. You barely know the girl. That means she barely knows you too. How the hell was she supposed to know you wouldn't just say, 'Oh that really sucks for you but I don't want anything to do with you or the baby.'" He put the ultrasound back on the desk. "That freak out you just had a moment ago, I'm sure she's been having a similar one. She had nothing to tell her that you wouldn't just leave her and that kid out to dry." Danny sighed, leaning back to cross his legs. "Look, I know finding out you're gonna be a father is scary. I was terrified when Rachel and I found out we were gonna have Grace. Hell, she's seven years old and I'm still scared every day. But hey," Danny stood and reached across the desk to pull Steve to his feet and into a bro-hug. "You're not gonna be alone. You know we got your back no matter what."

Steve smiled and returned Danny's hug. "Thanks Danno."

Danny pulled away in time for Steve to see the eye roll at the nickname. "And whether she knows it or not, we've got Theas back. So anything you guys need, just let us know. Speaking of, are you gonna tell the cousins today or wait a bit?"

"I think I'm going to wait a bit. I at least want to have another chat with Thea and let this all sink in some more." Steve said. He pulled out the other piece of paper that Thea gave him with the ultrasound. "She has an appointment today that she invited me to. She said if I couldn't make it it wasn't a big deal. Id like to try and make it, but by the looks of this case I wont be able to." He sighed. He really wanted to be able to be there. He just hoped that Thea wouldn't like his not being there as a sign that he didn't want to be involved. That was a conversation that he was going to have to have with her. His job was dangerous and demanding.

"What time is the appointment? They usually aren't that long so I don't see why you couldn't go." Danny asked him.

Steve glanced at the slip of paper. "11. Its just 9:30. I don't know if Ill be able to make it. But I told her I would call her later even if I wasn't able to show up."

Danny shook his head, following Steve towards the office door after they saw Chin and Kono walk into the offices. "I swear, I'm going to get you to that appointment. Trust me, they're more important than you think."

"Hey boss, we think we have a new lead on our suspect." Chin said, going to work on the tech table to pull up some surveillance footage.

"Alright, what do we have?"

The doctors office-

Thea sighed, plopping the magazine down on the table in front of her chair in the waiting room. The wait was going on 30 minutes and the seated were extremely uncomfortable, even for non-pregnant women, Thea imagined. Finding a better doctors office was on her list of things to do today before she had to pick Nora up from school. Mindy was supposed to meet her after this for lunch so she could get her recommendations, but also so she could finally tell her who the father was. This was a conversation Thea was dying to have with her best friend.

She was also going to have to have a conversation with Rachel. Through the girls, the women have gotten pretty close. Rachel offered to help out with Nora whenever Thea needed help. Rachel told her that she remembered how exhausting it was to still work while pregnant and she couldn't imagine having to go through this alone, regardless of the father's help with the baby or not. She told Thea that everyone needs a support system and to not hesitate to call if she needed anything or just wanted to talk to someone who has been there.

Thea was thankful to have a wonderful support group. Between Mindy, Rachel, all her friends at work, and now from the sounds of it, Steve. She was finally starting to feel better about this pregnancy.

Thea smiled to herself and leaned back in the waiting room chair. Right as she was starting to get comfortable, her name was called. She made small talk with the nurse as they walked back to the exam room.

"So I hear were at 12 weeks already!" The nurse said excitingly. "Will the father be joining us today?" It was a routine question, her nurse last week had asked her the same thing.

"No, he's stuck at work. Its just me today." Thea said, smiling friendly at the nurse. It felt nice to be able to say that and actually mean it this time. She had used the same excuse on her visit a few weeks ago. She really hadn't expected Steve to come today but felt like she owed it to him to have the option.

"Aw, okay. Well, well make sure we get some good pictures of the little one for him to see." The nurse smiled and let Thea into the exam room. "Okay, if you'll just change into the top laid out on the table, then lay down, I will be right back to get started."

Thea nodded and waited for the nurse to leave before quickly changing into the paper like shirt. She groaned at how sensitive her boobs were rubbing against the thin fabric. She had already turned to wearing sports bras on most days since regular wired bras just weren't comfortable anymore. And she didn't see it getting any better for the rest of her pregnancy.

She hopped up on the table, trying her best not to mess up the paper that was laid across it. She leaned back and closed her eyes so she could try and get comfortable.

'Goddamn, the chairs and tables are made of bricks.' She thought to herself.

There was a knock on the door that startled her a little. "Uh, come in." Her eyes widened slightly when she saw Steve poke his head in the door.

"Is it okay that I come in?" He asked, opening the door up a little more to walk in.

Thea smiled softly at him. She hadn't expected him to show up today. "Yeah of course. I just didn't think you were going to be able to make it." She watched him walk in and close the door behind him. He walked over to the exam table and glanced down at her small bump that was much better to see in the top she was wearing now than the one she had on this morning.

"Yeah, I didn't think I was going to either. I have to get back to work after this, but I really wanted to be here so Danny and I made a pit stop." He said.

Before Thea could respond to him, there was another knock at the door and the nurse came into the room.

"Alrighty lets- Oh! Hello! You must be the father?" She smiled at Steve, a bit flirtier than Thea liked. She had no claim to Steve, so she didn't know why the nurse grinning at Steve like that irked her so much. They were going to be co-parents, that's it.

Steve politely smiled at the woman. "Uhm, yeah. Yeah I'm the father." He said, looking down at Thea, who was still looking at the nurse with a slight indifference. As a cop and SEAL, Steve picked up on it quickly, but Nurse Amanda, as the woman just introduced herself, didn't seem to notice the sudden change.

"Alrighty then, well, lets get started and see how your little one is doing." She pulled the monitor over to her. "Lift your shirt up to your chest," She motioned to Thea. "And I'm going to put some gel on. Fair warning its a little cold.

Thea pulled her shirt up to right under her boobs. She glanced up at Steve who was looking like a nervous wreck. Thea couldn't help but laugh a little bit.

"What?" Steve asked, his eyes meeting hers for the first time since he walked into the exam room. His green eyes met her amused ones.

"A Navy SEAL and a cop, and you look like you're about to faint." She giggled.

"I prefer the term, pass out, and no I'm not. I'm fine. Its just.." He trailed off, looking at the wand Nurse Amanda had in her hand. She pressed it to Theas abdomen gently and spread the blue gel around.

Thea took Steve's hand and squeezed it gently. This was her second ultrasound but she remembered how scared and nervous she was. "I know." She smiled softly. They both looked over at the nurse to see her turning the monitor around for them to see.

"Looks like the babies are doing great!" She exclaimed.

Theas head snapped away from the monitor and to the nurse. "The what?" Her eyes were wide. She was having one baby, not two.

"The babies. You're having twins!" She looked at the shocked faces of Steve and Thea. "Did you not know?"

"Does this look like the face of someone who knows she's having twins?!" Thea said loudly, causing Steve to snap out of the shock he was in. This morning he found out that he was about to be a father of a child. And now two. Theas hand was still in his, squeezing harder and harder.

"I'm not having twins. My last ultrasound showed ONE baby. ONE." She said.

The nurse moved the monitor over more so they could see. "One baby was probably well hidden behind the other, or was just not able to be seen on the screen. Lets see," She hit a few buttons on the screen then the sound of two rapid heartbeats came through the speakers. "There. There's the heart beats."

Thea opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. Her eyes began to water up. Steve pulled one of the chairs over to sit next to her. His eyes never left the screen where he saw the two babies that Amanda had pointed out. He wrapped his other hand around his and Theas joined hands and lifted it to his lips, squeezing them gently. Thea squeezed back, looking over at him. She tried to hide the smile she had on her face but she couldn't.

"Twins would explain the all day morning sickness and the fainting spell you said you had earlier in your pregnancy. I'll take a couple pictures for you, then the doctor will be in."

Steve pulled their hands away. "Fainting spell?" He questioned Thea.

Thea used her other hand to wipe the few tears she had. "Uh, yeah. I was on my way up to my apartment one day with Mindy and I fainted outside my door. I thought it was just the heat and the long sleeved shirt I was wearing plus with how sick I had been feeling. After that Mindy kept asking if I was pregnant. A few days later I took a few tests. She looked at Steve. He had a look on his face, a worried look. It was only one time, I'm on my vitamins now and I'm careful about the heat." She gave his hand another squeeze.

Amanda said they would have the pictures for them at sign out and excused herself from the room.

Steve and Thea sat in silence, both thinking about what just happened.

~~~~~~~~~

After typing in this POV I'm not too sure how I like it, but I wanted to get this chapter out in time. I might come back and retype it later.

Please let me know what you guys think!! I really appreciate the feedback!

[satonthelotuspier]

My Soulmate’s Regret Part 3

Yep it’s been a while since I wrote for this AU. This is pretty much setting up for the finale, or at least the run to the finale, of the xicheng arc.

You can find part 1 here and part 2 here.

CW for blood, minor injury, possessive behaviour.

He was at a convenience store buying cheap instant noodles to take back to the station, when Jiang Cheng got the oddest feeling he was being watched.

He wasn’t a man to ignore his instincts, cops who did that more often that not ended up dead, so he carefully wandered through the aisles of the small shop, scanning for anyone who looked like they might be not quite what they seemed, fully utilising the mirrors and angles to his best advantage and disguising his regard.

Despite his extremely careful supermarket sweep, nobody seemed out of place. There was a mother with her young son shopping for that night’s dinner ingredients, two men in business suits, both with company ID badges on show, looking for a quick lunch to take back to the office, and a gaggle of high school girls shopping for cute candy. They kept throwing him looks, and giggling amongst themselves, but a quick once over showed them to likely be what they seemed, school bags, uniforms, all of them huddled close so they knew each other well, no possibility of one being a new member of the clique.

He shoved a hand in his jacket pocket and made his way to the till, blocking out their excited tittering as he joined the queue behind the mother and son, and waited for his turn to pay.

Despite the fact he’d visually cleared everyone here he couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched, and it wasn’t just by the young girls. At least he was pretty sure it wasn’t.

All he could do was keep his guard up, however.

His phone buzzed in his pocket; signalling the arrival of a text; he took it out and checked the message, expecting it to be Wei Wuxian, asking Jiang Cheng to grab him some lunch as well, but it was Lan Xichen.

A-Cheng should have dinner with me tonight.

Can’t. A-Cheng is busy.

Too busy to see your husband? What plans do you have?

Ex-husband. I’m having dinner with my boss and his brother.

Our marriage certificate is still valid, A-Cheng. Like it or not, I am still your husband.

Having this argument at least twice a week helped neither of them, of course. And technically Lan Xichen was correct. He really should get around to fighting for the divorce. He was a very busy man, however, and it wasn’t like either of them were in a hurry to marry again.

Not that Lan Xichen would give Jiang Cheng the chance, of course.

Does that mean you’re having dinner with Nie Mingjue and Nie Huaisang?

That had been a slip up, it was only going to cause Lan Xichen to try to be controlling. But no point lying now, he’d already said it.

Yes.

Invite me.

He almost dropped his phone at the shock of that text. Was Lan Xichen insane?

He was just about to reply something of the kind when he realised it would be his turn to be served very shortly, and put his phone away to wait.

Once outside the store, however, he pulled it out of his pocket again, and hit dial as he wandered back in the direction of the station.

“No, I won’t be inviting you. Because it’s not my dinner party, and because how do you think it would look for my boss, a policeman, to be having dinner with you, a suspected crime lord.” He didn’t even give Lan Xichen a chance to greet him, he just leapt straight into the attack.

“Suspected, Sweeting. And your soulmate.” Why was Lan Xichen so damn unflappable about this kind of thing? “I do not like the idea of you having dinner with Nie Huaisang, A-Cheng.”

Not this again.

“I’m not having an affair with Huaisang-xiong, Xichen.”

“I know. That’s why he’s still alive.” It was always so matter of fact with Lan Xichen.

It was impossible for their little bickering sessions to develop into something more satisfying for Jiang Cheng, where he got to argue and yell and get everything off of his chest, because trying to argue with Lan Xichen was a losing battle. The man never lost his temper, always spoke calmly and evenly, and let Jiang Cheng’s jibes and comments roll off of his back, except where he had a calm response to make to refute them, like this time.

“Tomorrow then?” Lan Xichen suggested. “I’ll pick you up from the garage near the station at about six.” Lan Xichen hung up without waiting for his answer. It never mattered much what his response was, after all.

He pushed his mobile back into his jeans pocket and went to the department kitchen to boil water for his makeshift lunch, cursing the fate that had made Lan Xichen his soulmate.

*******

The meal the previous evening with the Nie brothers had been uneventful, and he had arrived home around ten, to fall straight into bed.

His workload that day was relatively light. He had some reports to read through on feelers he had put out, further into the Wen clan’s dealings.

It was what had gotten him kidnapped the previous month, but he wasn’t going to stop, especially now he had a solid suspicion the Wens were planning to move against his husband.

It wasn’t clan politics, he didn’t give a fuck about that, let them screw each other over into the ground, but he cared about his soulmate’s safety. As much as he hated Lan Xichen, he did still love him.

Of course he wouldn’t act on anything that could be considered a conflict of interest, Lao-Nie trusted him enough to manage his workload ethically; and he wouldn’t pass information on to Lan Xichen; it was a matter of professional pride with him that he always separated his private life and his professional role, much as some people mocked, thought he didn’t, thought he was a sleeper for Lan Xichen. Thought leaving his husband was a front and not the most difficult, heart-wrenching decision he had ever made in his life.

Unfortunately that wasn’t helped by the fact Lan Xichen made it impossible to leave him. He refused to agree to a divorce. He still inserted himself into almost every aspect of Jiang Cheng’s private life. And heaven help him but they still fucked regularly.

He forced his mind back onto the folders of paperwork in front of him; he wasn’t getting paid to psychoanalyse his own relationships.

He spent an hour in the gym and training room to finish off his day, then grabbed a quick shower, before changing into something a little more dressy than his usual jeans, t-shirt and jacket. He didn’t know whether they’d be eating out or eating back at the Lan mansion, and if the latter, Lan Qiren, Lan Xichen’s uncle, may very well join them.

He had always gotten on very well with his soulmate’s uncle, and he deserved the respect of Jiang Cheng making an effort with his appearance.

It was a little after six by the time he was ready to leave, and he was in a rush to ensure Lan Xichen wasn’t waiting for him too long, so he ran for the underground garage Lan Xichen had mentioned in their telephone call yesterday. He had occasionally picked Jiang Cheng up from the street, especially when Jiang Cheng hadn’t been expecting him, but he also knew it was better for Jiang Cheng to not be seen too often getting into the car of his suspected mafia don estranged husband.

He rushed to the level which Lan Xichen normally parked on, but a quick scan showed no familiar dark saloon. The hairs at the back of his neck stuck up with the sudden realisation it was actually much quieter generally than it should have been at this time of the evening, in fact, it was scarily deserted.

He scanned again, aiming to back towards one of the walls while he reached for his police issue weapon.

He pulled it out, and could have thrown it away in frustration to notice it didn’t have a magazine in it. Which was bullshit, because he knew for a fact it had had one when he locked it away at the station to go into the gym. Someone had had access to his locker.

Fuck.

He wasn’t entirely surprised to see figures dressed in dark clothes moving out of the shadows between cars and making their way towards him, all carrying an assortment of weapons.

“Just like he said. Lan Xichen’s bitch on a platter.”

The comment, whether it had been meant to rile him up or not, told him that he had been given up by someone, and that the reason they came for him specifically was because of his relationship to the Lans.

He didn’t consider himself a stupid man; at least not professionally. And he knew that without a gun, he was as good as defenceless against so many, so he did the most sensible thing possible, and took to his heels.

Luckily he was quick, and he knew this particular garage quite well; let them catch his university track team ass.

He ran, and weaved, and switched levels.

He managed to put a bit of distance between him and his pursuers, apparently they hadn’t expected him to scamper. He took the opportunity to hide himself behind a car and pull his phone out.

He dialled Wei Wuxian; if the thugs were interested in him as Lan Xichen’s ‘bitch’ and not as Jiang Cheng, organised crime cop, then Wei Wuxian might be targetted too. And who could he trust at the station?

While his phone rang he checked his messages. Someone had been into his phone too, and replied to a text message from Lan Xichen telling Jiang Cheng he was going to be late.

This all stunk of careful organisation.

Wei Wuxian answered, and began chirping something at Jiang Cheng, but he cut him off immediately, and there must have been something in Jiang Cheng’s tone that notified Wei Wuxian the other was deadly serious.

“Wei Wuxian, where are you?”

“I’m just about to leave the station, Jiang Cheng, why?”

“Go back inside, don’t leave. Go and find Lao-Nie in his office, and get him to call Wangji for you. Do not leave with anyone other than your husband. Do not leave Lao-Nie’s side unless it’s with Wangji, and hand over your phone and weapon for him to take a look at. I’ll explain later.” I hope.

“OK, I’m going back now, but Jiang Cheng, are you OK, where are you? Shall I send you backup?” He wasn’t stupid enough to fall for that; if he told Wei Wuxian where he was the stupid fool would be just as likely to tear over here to help rather than keep himself safe like Jiang Cheng had told him to. Wanted him to.

He hung up, and stared at the phone. There was a good chance they had something tracking him through his mobile. It was relatively easy to do for anyone with a little tech savvy, and these guys had been too organised not to have access to that kind of tech. But he also wanted to preserve it as evidence.

In the end he knew he had to leave it behind, however, and take the chance it would be destroyed, otherwise he had no hope of avoiding capture. He dropped it down a nearby grate, and was just about to take off again when he realised he’d waited too long, and a few of the faster running thugs had caught up with him and located his hiding place.

He had better chance against a few than them all, so he didn’t give them chance to wait for backup, and came out fighting.

His Sanda training against their hand weapons wasn’t the fairest fight, but it was the only chance he had, and he was a stubborn fucker and wouldn’t go down without leaving his own mark.

He acquitted himself reasonably well, and did end up flooring three of them, but took a shallow knife slash across the ribs for his trouble. He ran again. This time, knowing his brother was safe, he didn’t stop. He daren’t go back to the station, or to a local hospital because they’d have to report his knife wound. And while he had a perfectly valid reason he didn’t want anyone but Nie Mingjue to know where he was yet, considering there was definitely someone on the inside willing to give Jiang Cheng up to an enemy. The only place he knew of which was a safe haven for him was the Lan mansion. Lan Xichen would be able to arrange a doctor to tend his wounds, and he could safely contact Nie Mingjue.

*******

It took him a little while to make it there. He had to keep out of public view as much as possible, as it was impossible to hide the blood on his clothes. The guards on the gate seemed to be on high alert, and as soon as he made himself known to them they ushered him into the compound and up to the house.

They must have called ahead because Lan Xichen met them halfway up the drive, accompanied by Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian.

“Jiang Cheng!” Wei Wuxian exclaimed, and moved forward.

Lan Xichen was faster, however.

He had paused at first sight of Jiang Cheng, had actually looked like he blanched a little, then stepped forward and swept Jiang Cheng up into a princess carry.

“Please call Xiao-yisheng, Wangji” he said shortly.

Jiang Cheng didn’t really feel like complaining about being carried at the moment, and let Wei Wuxian and Lan Xichen fuss around him.

“It looks much worse than it is, I think. I’m pretty sure it’s only a shallow cut,” he said, as Lan Xichen placed him down on the couch in his bedroom.

Lan Xichen didn’t answer; and Jiang Cheng glanced up. His mouth was set in a tight line of rage. Jiang Cheng reached out and took his hand.

“I’m alright, Xichen.” His voice was soft, soothing.

Lan Xichen was probably going to be out for blood after this, and there likely wasn’t much he could do to mitigate it. He had to just hope that Nie Mingjue and he could get to the bottom of what had happened and get them off the streets before Lan Xichen fathomed it and took matters into his own hands.

His words of comfort caused the other to shake his rage off, and kneel down next to Jiang Cheng. He clutched both of Jiang Cheng’s hands between his, and lifted them to his mouth, to place soothing kisses on them.

Jiang Cheng was of course uncomfortable under the tender regard.

He didn’t try to break free though; the comfort was for Lan Xichen, not himself, as ironic as that was. Lan Xichen was a control freak, and that he had allowed his husband to remain free of that control, and he had then been wounded, would hurt him, would gnaw at him and make him question whether he had been wrong to allow Jiang Cheng that freedom.

When the time came to leave, Jiang Cheng was expecting to have to fight him on the subject all over again.

But he would; he wasn’t some pretty bird to be kept in a cage, and taken out at Lan Xichen’s fancy.

That was for another time though.

He allowed Lan Xichen to help him out of his slashed shirt, and Wei Wuxian joined them.

“I let Lao-Nie know you were here and safe. You need to speak to him and tell him what happened, Jiang Cheng.”

“I’ll do it now.”

Lan Xichen held him down, “No, you won’t, A-Cheng. You may call Lao-Nie after Xiao-yisheng has tended to that wound, and examined you.”

He wanted to argue, he really did, but there was little point at the moment.

******

That was why it was a while later before Jiang Cheng was given the handset of one of the household extensions and allowed to telephone his boss.

He would have ideally preferred to do it on a line that didn’t belong to the Lans, but at least he knew the line would be secure from outside influence. And there was nothing else he could do; his phone was who knew where and Wei Wuxian’s had been handed over as evidence.

There was a part of Jiang Cheng that trusted Lan Xichen to not invade his privacy to that extent. And he knew he’d likely have to give his husband some of the basic information of what had happened; he just hadn’t judged how much was sensible yet.

Lan Xichen had left him with Wei Wuxian, and, once the door had closed behind him, Jiang Cheng dialled.

Xiao-yisheng had cleaned and placed a few stitches into the wound on his chest under a local anaesthetic. A wider examination had proved, as he claimed, that he was perfectly fine beyond that one cut.

Nie Mingjue answered in short order and Jiang Cheng put the phone on speaker, allowing both he and Wei Wuxian to be part of the discussion. He quickly related what had happened, and asked Nie Mingjue to try and retrieve his phone from the drain.

“I should be fine to come back into the station tomorrow to give you my official statement…”

“Are you insane, Jiang Cheng?” Nie Mingjue asked. “Two attempts like this in the space of a month – one possibly aided from within the department. There was a reason you judged it wasn’t safe to return here, or to a hospital, when you got away from those thugs. Don’t start being a simpleton now. You need to sit back for a while, let the heat simmer, maybe go into protective custody. At least you need to stay by Lan Xichen’s side; only a fucking idiot would try to go through your soulmate to get to you.”

Jiang Cheng bit his lip in frustration. A part of him accepted the sense in Nie Mingjue’s words, but he wasn’t someone who was happy taking a passive role. And he was eager to make progress on this investigation; he didn’t want to give Lan Xichen any chance to get to the answer before they did. His husband was cold, clinical, and obsessively methodical in his business life; how else was it that, despite what the police knew went on under their very noses, they were still no nearer to having anything at all on the Lans than they had ever been.

But with this, with Jiang Cheng’s safety, and revenge for hurting him, he didn’t trust Lan Xichen to be so dispassionate; and the last thing he wanted was for the idiot to get hurt. And it had been obvious from what the thugs had said that Lan Xichen had been the ultimate target, with Jiang Cheng merely just a potential tool.

Perhaps it was best for him to be beside Lan Xichen for now, if only to offer him the same protection he was trying to foist on Jiang Cheng.

[inorganicone2230]

Purity (Part 2) Yandere!Overhaul x Fem!Reader

Part 1 Part 3

Summery: Overhaul meets a quirkless foreigner who holds some very interesting views on his way of thinking. The more time he spends with her, the more he wants to keep her and her purity for himself. And he has no problem with falling to the depths of obsession if it means getting what he wants.

Warnings: some light stalking and yandere thoughts, but nothing too major... yet.

Meetings and problems with Eri’s security had kept him from being able to see you again for the next two days and he was beginning to get antsy. He just couldn’t understand why it was so hard for the moronic filth that worked under him to follow his orders to his exact specifications.

“How hard is it to keep track of one little girl?” Kai was sitting at his desk, elbows propped up on the immaculate surface with his head set on his gloved hands.

“I’ll see to it that someone much more reliable is placed at her door. She won’t be getting out again Overhaul. I’ll make sure of it.” Chrono said, already making a mental note of who to put in charge of the girl.

“See that you do. I won’t tolerate failure and stupidity, not even from you. I have more important things to do with my time then making sure you all can do your jobs properly.” He said, shooting an icy glare at the silver haired man. “Now is there anything else left for today?”

“No. We’re getting the final shipments of Trigger sent out to our buyers and the League of Villains is currently under our surveillance, so far they’ve done nothing but recruit more members. Nothing else to report, unless you have something you want me to do.”

Good. Now that he had the rest of the day free, he could finally go and find you again. He had missed the sound of your voice and was eager to be in your clean presence once more. “No. I have something to do away from the base, so you’re in charge while I’m gone. Don’t call me unless it’s an emergency.”

“Very well.” He answered, shutting the door behind him. He was curious to say the least, but he knew better than to question his boss’s motives. He was loyal to Overhaul and only to Overhaul and he obeyed without question.

Kai removed his plague doctor mask and replaced it with a clean black dust mask. He would have preferred to keep his face cover of choice as it was better for keeping out the filth, but he had a feeling you might find it to be a bit too much this early on. He hoped you appreciated it when the time came, since he was going out of his way to make you feel comfortable around him. He wouldn’t have done this for just anyone after all.

—————

It was almost like fate, the way he found you again.

You were staring at a bulletin board on a relatively quiet street, a small smile on your face as you attempted to read the postings.

“Not lost again are you?” He spoke up, walking towards you as if it was just a random coincidence that he was running into you again.

You whipped around, a big smiles reaching across your face. “No. Not this time.”

“I suppose that’s something at least. I’d hate to find your mangled body on the side of the road, especially since I went through the trouble of saving you yesterday.” He said, coming to stand beside you.

“Well luckily for both of us, I’ve been doing my best to pay attention to my surroundings today. And my friends made sure I turned my phones GPS on, on the off chance I end up being out too late again.”

He nodded, making a mental note of that little detail, just in case it became relevant again later on. He really didn’t want to have to deal with anymore hassle then necessary when it come to this.

“You pulled quite the vanishing act the other day by the way. I didn’t even get the chance to say thank you for helping me.” You said, turning around back to the board to drot some things down in a notepad.

Your movements caused him to suddenly take notice of what you were wearing, a small black dress that came to the tops of your knees and a loose blue flannel shirt to act as a jacket, unbuttoned with the sleeves rolled up to your elbows. The back of the dress barely covered the curve of your ass and he had an insane urge to grab you and pull you back into his chest, to keep others from seeing what wasn’t theirs. It was a ridiculous notion, the very idea of physical touch usually had him squirming in discomfort, but for some reason, the idea of touching your smooth pale skin didn’t bother him nearly as much as he thought it might

“Yes. Well your companion seemed to be taking you to task for your absence, I figured that since you had made it back I could just leave.” He was grateful that your back was turned, otherwise you would have seen the way he was carefully memorizing the shape and curve of your slim waist and the way it lead down to your ass and shapely legs. You were far too thin in his opinion, not unhealthily yet, but it was something that would need to be remedied in the future.

“Nell was pretty peeved at me for not telling her where I was going. Made me promise to text her every now and then to let her know that I’m okay.” You said absently, shoving the notepad and pen back into your shoulder bag before turning around to give him your full attention.

“So, since we’ve run into each other again, would it be too much trouble to get my savior's name? So I can thank you properly. It’s the least you can do since you left me hanging yesterday.” You teased him, locking your arms behind your back and making direct eye contact with him. It still amazed him that you could do that without flinching.

This was the real reason he had left the other day, he wanted an excuse to talk to you again, one that would be easy to believe, one that wouldn’t make you suspicious. “My name is Kai, Kai Chisaki.”

“Well, it’s nice to officially meet you Chisaki-san. My name is (F/N) (L/N). I would offer to shake your hand, but I’m guessing that those gloves and mask you’re wearing aren’t exactly a fashion statement.” You said, eyeing his gloved hands and sending him another radiant smile as a consolation.

He was right, the sound of your voice speaking his name really was enticing. He felt shivers run through his body and for a brief moment, he wondered how you would sound screaming the name Kai or Overhaul, over and over again till your throat was raw and sore. 

He was also quite pleased that you had taken notice of that little detail about his person. It proved how perceptive and intelligent you were. He valued common sense and intelligence almost as much as he valued cleanliness, and you were proving to have both in spades.

“I was sure I wouldn’t see you again since this is a pretty big city, do you live or work around here?” You said, walking over to a vending machine to pop in a few yen, hitting the button for a bottle of water before taking a seat on a bench and removing your shoulder bag.

“Both. I just happened to be out for a walk when I noticed you.” He followed along behind you, glaring at a few passing street thugs who eyed you up and down and making them flee under the weight of his golden gaze. He supposed it couldn’t be helped, you were an attractive girl, even he could see that, and a foreigner to boot, it was to be expected that you would get some attention. He just hopped you weren’t the type to enjoy attention from the wrong people. That just wouldn’t do.

“I see, well thank you for stopping to say hello. I was certain that after our interaction the other day, you would be a total asshole if I ever saw you again. Turns out you're not too bad.” You took a deep swig of the water you had just purchased and he found himself entranced watching the way your throat moved as you greedily sucked it down. Your lips let go of the bottle, gasping for breath. “Are summers here always so hot or is this day just above average terrible? It’s almost as bad as that time I visited Vegas in the middle of August.”

“Are you not used to the heat?” He asked, hoping to glean some kind of information about you. If he could learn some of your preferences for things, he could better prepare.

You shake your head. “It’s not that I’m not used to it, it’s just that where I come from isn’t a big city like this, so I think all this concrete and asphalt radiating heat is just starting to cook me a little. Still better than the below zero temps we get in the winter time though.” You chuckled lightly, just as your phone started to ring.

“Oh, excuse me for just one sec. Please don’t go disappearing on me again.”

Kai nods his head in affirmation, and watches as you briefly walk away and begin speaking in what he assumes is your native language. It seems it wasn’t just the sound of his own language that he liked hearing you speak, but your own as well. The sound was soft and it was easy to pick up on how much easier it was for you to speak then Japanese. He’ll enjoy hearing you speak it for him every now and then once he’s gotten you better acquainted with Japanese. You needed to be able to communicate with him on all levels first and foremost, how else was he supposed to make this easier on you.

Even with your back turned to him, he could see the way you laughed and smiled at whoever you were talking to, and he didn’t like it one bit. A purity like yours should only be shared with those who are most deserving, and he was the only candidate for that position in his opinion.

He would have continued to stew in his jealousy, though he’d never say that’s what he felt out loud, when he noticed that you had left your bag unattended. He had no shame in making sure you were still completely occupied with your phone call before rummaging through it. There wasn’t much, a few pens, the notepad he had seen in your hand, a book of Japanese writing, but it was your wallet that truly interested him, pulling it out and using his own phone to take a quick picture of your ID and passport before putting it away and stepping back to his original spot.

Just in the nick of time as you turned around and walked back over to him. “Sorry about that. My friends said they found a place for us to eat tonight, so I’m going to get going.” You said, shouldering your bag and giving him another one of those lovely smiles he was beginning to become possessive of. “I’m glad I was able to run into you again Chisaki-san, it was nice getting to talk to you again, even if it was only for a little bit.”

He might have a way to look up information on you now with what was on his phone, but he still felt like he was walking away from this empty handed. How could he ensure that he got too see you again without it seeming suspicious, better yet, how could he get you to be the one to initiate contact with him next time? Then it clicked, he had just the idea, he only hoped you’d go along with it.

“How about I give you my number? You seem to be off on your own a lot despite being in a group, so if you get lost again, or find yourself in trouble, you can call me. I have a fairly loose schedule so I can answer at almost anytime.” He said casually.

You stopped, flustered and little nervous all of a sudden. “I-I don’t… umm… that is to say, I’m not so sure I feel comfortable exchanging numbers with someone I barely know. No offense but I don’t know you from a hole in the wall.”

He had a feeling this was going to be your reaction, it was only natural, after all. But he had an ace up his sleeve to sweeten the deal. “Oh, you don’t have to give me yours, you can just take mine. If you need to use it, you can. If not, then you don’t.” He didn’t particularly like that he was giving you this bit of choice, but it would go a long way towards ingratiating himself to you should his plan work. And it would.

You seemed to think about it long and hard for a few minutes before deciding. “Alright. I suppose that’s alright then. No harm no fowl, right?” You reach into your bag, pulling out a pen and paper for him. He wrote down the number for a secondary, disposable cell phone he carried with him and handed it back to you.

“Well, I should get going, friends are waiting and all. Have a good night Chisaki-san.”

“You as well (Y/N), have a pleasant evening.”

You gave him a small wave and smile before hurrying down the street and back to your hotel. 

He desperately wanted to grab you and drag you back to the base, to keep you secure and safe and with him at all times, but he still wanted time to try and win you over before he resorted to more forceful means. Not that he wouldn’t gladly use force and threats if it got him his way, but he felt like the prize would be all the sweeter if it came to him.

He hoped you would call him on your own here soon, but if not, he could always stage a little something to happen, something to motivate you to seek him out. He would have to send someone to start watching you at all times. These last few days of not knowing what you were doing or who you were with were just too taxing, best to get some extra protection for you.

He had a lot of plans to see too.

————

As soon as he got back, he summoned Chrono and Mimic to his office.

“What do you need Boss?” Mimic inquired, always eager to do whatever was asked of him.

He had printed off the pictures he had taken of your ID and passport, handing them over to his underling. “Find out everything you can on this girl. I want to know anything you can tell me, I don’t care how minuscule or unimportant you might find it. I want it all.” He left no room for arguments or debate.

Mimic was even better about following orders then Chrono, he didn’t even bat an eye at the strange request. “Sure thing Overhaul. I’ll have this back to you ASAP.” He said and was out the door just as quick.

Chrono on the other hand was just a tad bit more curious than Mimic. “What was it you needed from me Overhaul?” He was immediately handed the same copies.

“Until our next batches of Trigger are made or The League makes a move, I don’t need you for anything around here. You are to go to that hotel written down and watch that girl as closely as you can without drawing attention to yourself or making contact with her. She is to be protected by any means necessary. Understood.”

To say he was stunned would be an understatement. Since when did Overhaul have an interest in anything outside the Shie Hassaikai, let alone that something being a woman? “I’ll follow your orders without fail Overhaul, even this one, but I have to ask. This doesn’t have anything to do with the Shie Hassaikai or our oppression's, does it? This is completely personal for you.”

He was sent an icy glare. “You’re treading on thin ice Hari, and if you were anyone else, I would have killed you already.” He sighed and leaned back in his chair. “But since I know that you’re only asking so you can follow your orders better, I’ll tell you.”

Chrono waited patiently for his answer.

“Yes. This is personal. The girl there, (Y/N) is her name, and she’s quirkless. I won’t go into detail about how I met her, but let’s just say that she has some very intriguing ideas on my philosophies. She’s pure, and I desire to keep that purity all for myself.” Kai finished, looking at his computer screen to stare at your images.

“So what’s she going to be?” He asked, not judging, he would never even think to do that, but just out of curiosity. This was by far the most interest he’d ever seen Overhaul show anything outside of his research.

Kai just smirked behind his mask. “If I’m going to rule the Yakuza and the underworld, I’m going to need someone to rule by my side. Every King needs a Queen after all.”

Holy shit you guys! I am having an amazing time writing this story, I hope you all are enjoying it as well!

As Always, special thanks to @talpup for all the help with these ideas! I really appreciate it!

[bangtan-gal]

Washed Away

Lee Jeno x Fem!Reader Agent!AU Word Count: 4.1k  Warnings: swearing, mentions of blood, kidnapping, weapon use, child abuse, angst, fluff Requested

Feet buried in the sand, eyes closed, and the waves gently crashing against the shore was the image of perfection to you. The beach was mostly empty this early in the morning, only a few runners hurrying past. You had gotten up early that morning in order to see the sunset and then found yourself too lazy to head back to the house, so instead you laid back in the sand.

It could’ve been better of course. You had booked this trip months in advance with your fiance, Jeno, but then something had come up. Specifically, work had come up. 

You were happy for Jeno, you really were. It was amazing to see him getting the recognition he deserved in the field, but it was hard. In order for him to become more successful, he had to spend more time at work and less time with you. It hurt, but you understood.

Mostly.

Jeno had tried to convince you to wait and reschedule the trip so the two of you could both go. Instead, you’d been slightly petty when you told him that you were going anyway because you wanted to be at the beach instead of at home waiting to see if he’d return from whatever dangerous mission he was on.

“Ma’am…?” Your eyes opened to see a small boy approaching you. Tears were collecting at the corners of his eyes and his lips were quivering. You sat up.

“Hey bud, what’s wrong?” You asked.

He sniffled.

“I-I can’t find my mommy,” he mumbled. You stood up and moved towards him.

“Where did you last see her?”

He pointed in the direction of the parking lot so you took his hand and walked in that direction. He followed along beside you and his eyes darted around. As you continued to walk towards the parking lot, your stomach started to twist. It was oddly empty. A woman appeared around the corner, frantically looking around.

“Is that her?” You queried, pointing. He nodded, but instead of running to her side, he stood by you. The woman saw the two of you and hurried towards you. She hugged the boy, muttering thanks and worries. Then she looked up at you and her hand wrapped around her wrist.

“Thank you so much,” she whispered. 

“O-oh, it’s fine,” you promised. Your stomach was starting to tighten even more and the cold, eerie feeling creeping up your spine wasn’t helping. Something wasn’t right here. 

You tried to pull out of her grasp, but she held tight to you. You stepped back, your breathing started to pick up as she straightened up to her full height. You opened your mouth to scream for help but somebody came up from behind you and covered your mouth and your eyes. Thrashing was useless, whoever it was was much stronger than you. 

The world slowly slipped away.

🗲🗲🗲🗲🗲

Jeno liked to think of himself as a cool-headed person and credited his success in his field to that skill. But the last time he heard from Y/N was three days ago. He’d forced himself to stay calm, telling himself that she just wanted alone time. Jeno knew she was mad at him, so he couldn’t blame her. Then yesterday when he went to pick her up from the airport only to find out she’d never even gotten on the plane, he started to lose it. Y/N had a fiery personality at times, but she wasn’t irrational. 

“Sir, you have to let me go look for her.”

His boss looked up at him from under his eyebrows. There was no worry and even any remote interest in his gaze. He didn’t care. He wanted Jeno to stay here and work on the Bluehill Killer case. 

“There’s plenty of other people who can do it,” he huffed.

“Jeno, it’s your case, isn’t it?” 

The brunette frowned. His boss and his stupid rules: you take the case, you complete it. 

“But sir… it’s Y/N.” As if that would make the answer any different. His boss shook his head once again and Jeno huffed, leaving the office. He stormed to his desk and sat down hard, angrily shoving his current case files out of the way. 

“He said no?” Taeil asked. Jeno nodded, gritting his teeth. This wasn’t okay: someone could possibly be missing and his boss didn’t even care. “Just go man. I’ll say you threw up and headed home.”

Jeno frowned. “He won’t believe you.”

“He’ll be forced to.” Taeil shrugged.

With that, Jeno grabbed his phone and keys and rushed out of the building. He was already forming a plan in his head. His best option would be to call the inn that Y/N was staying at, get a ticket to Haeundae-gu, and just go with his instincts from there. 

“Hi! This is Sana at MishMish Inn, how can I help you?” A cheery voice answered. 

“I was just curious about one of your recent guests—Y/N Y/L/N—I’m her fiance and I haven’t heard from her for three days,” he explained as he hurried to his car. There was silence on the other side for a few seconds.

“Well… when she didn’t check out yesterday morning, we went to check her room… and it looked like no one had been in there for a while,” she said, her voice losing it’s cheer, “we have police on the case already, considering how suspicious it looked. She, well, she didn’t look like someone who would just disappear.”

Jeno could’ve screamed as he slammed his hand into the steering wheel. The horn honked.

“That’s ‘cause she’s not. Do the police have any sort of lead?” He asked, starting his car. 

“It’s not my place to say sir.”

Jeno cursed and then thanked her, hanging up. He didn’t care about packing or preparing as he raced towards the airport. He thought all he had to do was flash his badge and ‘BAM!’ he’d have a flight to Haeundae-gu, but that was not how it happened.

Instead he bargained with the clerk for a good thirty minutes. He had to slid her twenty to get her to even look at planes going there and another fifty to get her to be willing to get him the ticket. He raced through security and to his gate after that. The hardest part of it was sitting still in the plane for a whole hour.

The second his feet were back on the ground, he was racing through the airport. After 96 hours, it was nearly impossible to find a missing person. He had twenty-four hours to meet that time-slot and it wasn’t enough time.

Jeno managed to get to the inn. Police cars were littered outside along with several police. Eyes darted his way in suspicion, but he ignored them. 

“Where’s the room?” He asked, leaning against the front desk. The girl looked up at him, startled. Her mouth opened and closed and then she glanced around her.

“Are you the guy who called earlier?” She muttered, tilting her head. Jeno huffed, pulling his ID from his pocket and showing her it. Her mouth opened in an ‘O’ and she wordlessly pointed down the hallway. 

Jeno’s heart pounded as he made his way down the hallway to where a few police officers conversed outside a door. He stared into it, eyes zeroing in on her unpacked suitcase and the few articles of clothing tossed around the room. He forced the gasp to stay in.

“Sir, we can’t have you over here,” a man in a suit muttered. Jeno shook himself out of his daze, showing him his badge. The man stared at it skeptically, then glanced up at him.

“Detective Huang,” he muttered, holding out a hand, “why did Seoul send you down here?” Jeno opened his mouth and then closed it with a frown.

“We… uh, we’ve seen a lot of disappearances like this,” he explained, “wanted me to check it out.”

The detective handed him his badge back, a skeptical stare on his face. Then he shrugged, turning towards the scene.

“Y/N Y/L/N, nineteen, female,” he stated, “went missing last night. No witnesses.”

“Do you know where she went missing?” Jeno asked. 

“The staff said that she went down to the beach early morning every day. It’s natural to assume that she was taken around that time period in an area close by.” The detective paused for a second, pulling out a notepad and biting his lip. “Some of the people we’ve interviewed think it’s human trafficking.”

Suddenly Jeno had to fight the strong urge to throw up.

“I-is that common here?” “Not until recently, there’s been a reported gang that just migrated here,” he sighed. Then Detective Huang looked back at him. Jeno didn’t like the way he stared at him, almost as if he was picking him apart piece by piece. “This is gonna be a hard case.”

Jeno raised an eyebrow, relief washing through him.

“You’re not gonna drop it even though you have under twenty four hours?” The detective snorted. “I don’t believe in time limits.”

🗲🗲🗲🗲🗲

Y/N had been missing for eighty-two hours. Jeno was counting them and each one tied the knot in his stomach even tighter. Him and Detective Huang—Renjun—had interviewed over twenty people. They weren’t getting anywhere: no one had seen her. They had no leads and Jeno was disappointed to say that he could feel himself giving up. 

“Have you seen this woman?” Renjun asked, holding up a picture of Y/N to a passerby. The man stopped, eyes scanning over the picture. Recognition lit up in his stare.

“Yeah, I’ve ran past her on the beach several times this week,” he replied, gaze moving between the two men. “Is everything alright?”

“Did you see her at all on Tuesday?” Jeno jumped in, desperation leaked into his voice. The man paused in thought, chewing on his lip. 

“I… I was running by just as she was walking with a little boy to beach parking,” he murmured, “the kid looked like he’d been crying.”

It wasn’t much, but it was all Jeno needed. A spark of hope, a bright trail in the darkness. The two of them thanked the man and quickly made their way to Renjun’s car, discussing newfound information. Lost kids were a common trope for human trafficking gangs and it was possible there have been other victims and witnesses to it. 

Renjun managed to contact the head of his office to get a notice set up, to see if anyone could give any insight to what happened. Renjun got off the phone with a smile, saying that it would be sent out soon. The two sat in silence for a second, both of them relishing the small victory. To outsiders, it may have been pointless, but it was a step in the right direction.

“Look, I don’t mean to intrude, but you seem really into this case. Is there a reason?”

Jeno paused, staring out the car window and into the slowly darkening sky. Then he shrugged. He wasn’t sure if now was a good time to tell Renjun the truth; he couldn’t risk getting kicked off the case and his boss being called. 

“I-my sister was kidnapped a few years back. I guess you could say that it just reminds me of her,” he huffed, lying straight through his teeth with a calm expression. Renjun nodded in understanding and it almost made Jeno feel guilty. For all he knew, the man beside him could have actually experienced that.

“Did you ever find her?” Jeno looked down at his hands, voice dying out. “Not yet.”

Renjun didn’t ask anymore questions as they drove back to the station. Now all they had to do was wait for the calls to come in. Jeno found it painful and had to admire Renjun for how calm he was. This had always been his least favorite part of being a detective. The waiting.

Several hours passed and the sky continued to get darker. Jeno sat at an unoccupied desk, biting his nails. Renjun had dozed off and Jeno found himself to be the only one awake in the office. The silence was eerie and he hated it. The stillness gave him a chance to be alone with his thoughts, and in that moment, he didn’t want to.

Thankfully, he was given a distraction by one of the phones ringing.

“Haeundae Office.”

“Um… you guys put out a notice about lost kids… and suspicious mothers?” The girl’s voice was soft. Jeno quickly pulled out his notepad, balancing the phone between his shoulder and ear. Renjun hurried over, crouching down next to him.

“Yes, yes we did,” he rushed out, “have you seen something?” “Last week… it was late and I was at a store. A young boy approached me, sobbing and saying he couldn’t find his mom. He said they had been walking to store when he suddenly lost her… so I took him out to the parking lot. That was when we ran into his mother and I guess my instincts kicked in, because something didn’t seem right. 

“The woman tried to grab me, but I escaped her and then there was some man approaching me. It haunts me to think of what would have happened if they got me.” Her voice was soft and continued to waver as she explained what happened. Jeno bit his lip, refusing to let that thought wash away the hope that was slowly flaring inside him. They had a witness and a lead.

“Thank you so much,” Jeno whispered into the phone, “did you get a good look at any of them?”

There was a nervous hum from the other end of the line.

“The little boy had dark brown hair and his eyes were really blue. The mother… I just remember her being really bony. I’m sorry, I was so desperate to get out of there that I didn’t pay much attention to details.”

“No, you’ve been lots of help miss. Have a good evening.”

Jeno hung up the phone, handing his notepad to Renjun. The detective’s eyes scanned over it and then he glanced up at Jeno.

“I recognize the description. A couple weeks back a report was called on a woman screaming at her son. It also helps that red hair isn’t very common here,” Renjun muttered, “we have her address in our database, but we need a reason to arrest her.”

Jeno snorted. “We don’t need a reason to ask her some questions.”

Renjun’s eyes flashed as he looked up at Jeno. The concern in his eyes was obvious, but he didn’t state it aloud. The detective was hesitant to give Jeno the address, but eventually he caved in. As Jeno got up, hurrying towards the door, Renjun grabbed his arm.

“It’s the middle of the night.”

“So?”

“I’m not gonna go now and you can’t go alone.”

“I believe I can,” he retorted. 

Silence stretched between them.

“Just don’t do something irrational,” Renjun sighed, stepping back. Jeno nodded, grabbing the car keys and hurrying outside. Jeno hopped into the car, typing the address in. 

The drive was short. There were shivers running up and down his spine as he drove down the dark and empty roads. He didn’t realize how late it was—it was nearly midnight.  As Jeno pulled drove by the house, he saw a little boy with red hair sitting on the porch. The lights were on. 

Jeno slid out of the car, hand resting over his gun under his waistband. The boy noticed him as he slowly made his way up the driveway. It was the same description that the girl had given him: red hair and bright blue eyes.  The boy had been crying.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he whispered once Jeno was in hearing range. “Mommy has visitors.”

There was a bruise forming on his cheekbone. Jeno stepped up onto the porch and crouched down in front of him. His eyes darted to the door.

“Did the visitors do this to you?” He asked, brushing his thumb over the bruise. The boy flinched and then nodded, tears starting to slip from his eyes again. Jeno realized that he didn’t need to talk to the mom, the boy might talk better than any other suspect. He turned on his recorder and smiled at the boy. “Hey, can you tell me about a girl?” The boy stared at him as Jeno pulled out a picture of Y/N, showing it to him. He bit his lip and took the picture from Jeno, staring at it. Jeno felt his gut pull at the sight of guilt that overwhelmed the boy’s face; he looked way older than he should’ve.

“Mommy made me do it… she said she wouldn’t feed me if I didn’t do it,” the boy explained, “she was at a beach and I lied to her. Now… now she’s getting hurt.”

Jeno’s heart thumped. 

“Do you know where she is?”

“One of Mommy’s friends took her to his house,” he mumbled, handing the picture back to Jeno. His blue eyes darkened as he glanced over his shoulder. “He’s in there with Mommy. He’s not happy.”

Jeno nodded with a smile. “Thank you. I-I’ll try to help you after I catch this man, okay?”

The boy didn’t reply and Jeno quickly hurried back to his car. His heart was racing as he pulled the car a little way from the house and then turned it off. This was reckless and completely stupid, because if something went wrong, he was alone. Yet he couldn’t find it in himself to pull away and come up with a plan. Y/N was in trouble and he found it his job to save her. 

A car drove by him and then parked in front of him. He stared at it, eyes widening as Renjun stepped out of the driver’s seat. The detective brushed his hair out of his eyes before hurrying towards Jeno’s car. He slid into the passenger’s seat and the whole time Jeno just stared at you.

“I thought you didn’t want to go.”

“Yeah, well, if you died, that would look bad on my record,” Renjun joked and then glanced towards the house, “so, what’s the plan?” Jeno also looked at the house.

“I talked to the boy. He said the man who took Y/N is in there, so I guess I’m just gonna follow him once he leaves,” Jeno muttered. 

“That’s a really bad idea.”

Jeno ignored him and continued to keep his gaze focused on the house. It wasn’t long before the door opened and a man stepped out. Jeno’s back straightened as the man stepped into a car across the street and his car stirred to life. He waited until the car was several meters down the street before he turned on his car and carefully followed.

“You know, he’ll probably notice us and proceed to lead us on a wild goose hunt,” Renjun pointed out. 

Jeno shot him a look of disbelief. “Are you always this positive?”

“Oh sorry—this is a fabulous plan and we won’t get caught at all!”

Jeno grumbled a ‘shut up’ and then focused on the car in front of him. The man didn’t seem to notice they were following as his driving stayed controlled and it wasn’t like he was trying to shake anyone. Eventually he pulled into a huge house and Jeno stopped several blocks away, his hands starting to shake.

“You good?”

Jeno looked over at Renjun and then nodded. 

“Yeah, let’s just go catch this scumbag.”

“Actually, why don’t you try to find the girl while I distract him. The two of us barging in there might not go too well,” Renjun hummed, stepping out of the car. Splitting up was a bad idea, but so far, this whole plan was just rolling with the punches.

Renjun marched straight up to the door, shoulders and chin high and looked almost as if he didn’t even fear death. He rang the doorbell excessively as Jeno hurried towards the back, searching for a window or door to slip through. Jeno had to thank his luck as he found a window slipped a crack open. He opened it up and climbed through. 

The house was mostly dark and was huge. He started racking his brain for where to search. Where were the best places to hide someone? In a house this big, especially with neighbors over a mile away, you could put someone in the kitchen and be fine. 

He could faintly hear Renjun chatting away with man, mumbling something about how his car broke down and that this was the closest house. Jeno didn’t waste any time, quickly opening doors and searching rooms. Renjun’s act wouldn’t last forever and sooner or later, the man would either shut the door or Renjun would do something even crazier. 

Jeno tried his best to be quiet as he rushed up the stairs. Doors opened and closed. His heart was starting to race. What if she was already gone? What if they’d already put her in the system or she was dead? 

He didn’t want to know how he’d react if that happened.

He threw one door open and was greeted by a creepy looking office. It was empty, but something about it compelled him to venture in deeper. He opened drawers, tried and failed to log into the computer, and read the notes that were scattered across the desk. He walked around the desk, questioning his sanity and that was when the floor creaked beneath him.

It creaked like stairs.

It creaked as if there was something hollow beneath it.

He crouched down, tracing the floor until he found a spot where the floor was no longer even. There was a split, leaving one side higher than the other. He traced it, going around a corner and across that side until something cold lay under his fingers. There was no key and the latch opened swiftly and somehow quietly.

The shelf beside him exploded as a bullet pierced into the wood.

Jeno jumped up, eyes meeting dark green ones. The man stared at him, head cocked to the side, and gun still pointed at him. 

“I knew something was fishy about that skinny boy.”

Renjun.

Shit, was the detective okay?

“Sir, if you could just put the gun aw—”

He fired again and this time the bullet hit between Jeno’s feet.

Something told him he was out of warning shots.

“Look, we can talk about thi—”

BANG.

Pain exploded in his thigh.

BANG.

The green-eyed man in front of him collapsed and Renjun appeared behind him, blowing a tuft of hair from his face. Jeno crumpled to the floor as well, hissing and pressing his hand to the wound. 

“Oh fuck.”

“I’m fine. I’m fine! Get down there, I think-I think she’s there,” Jeno snapped, scooting back. Blood seeped out around his fingers and slid down his jeans, staining the dark wood beneath him. Renjun opened his mouth and then didn’t argue, crawling down the ladder. Jeno’s eyes pinched shut as the pain only got worse and he could already feel the room around him start to drift away.

“She’s here!” He groaned in relief.

He heard sobbing and something rushed up the stairs. He forced his eyes open, watching as Y/N’s head appeared above the ledge. Her eyes met his and her mouth dropped open, momentarily pausing on the ladder. Then she threw herself at him, sobs growing louder as she wrapped her arms around his torso.

“Oh my god, oh my god, I’m alive. You’re here,” she gasped out. Y/N pulled back and her gaze dropped to his thigh. “Y-you’re hurt.”

She looked up at him.

“You dumbass,” she whispered.

He cracked a smile.

“I’m your dumbass, right?” 🗲🗲🗲🗲🗲

Two Months Later

The sky had never looked more blue. Jeno grinned, wrapping his arm around Y/N. The breeze was cool, but it was relaxing as it shifted through his hair. The waves crashed quietly against the shore as the pair stood in the sand. Y/N’s eyes weren’t focused on the sky though, it was focused on the paper in her hand. 

Jeno’s resignation letter.

“I never thought you’d do it,” she muttered, handing it back to him.

He shrugged.

“I don’t need my time with you being taken away because of that job.”

He stated it simply. 

It was simple.

Y/N was more important than anything else in his life.

[elopez7228]

Scenic Route 9/47

Read on AO3 : https://archiveofourown.org/works/18268208/chapters/43229774  

Start over : https://elopez7228.tumblr.com/post/620919089893933056/scenic-route-0147

***

The telephone blared again. He was standing in front of the bay windows which, fittingly, looked out onto the San Francisco Bay. It was drowning in fog as usual, in the swirling tendrils re-emerging from the ocean. The red headed man stood frozen in place. The ringing recommenced. He didn’t make a move. It began once more. He ignored it.

Once the device on his polished desk finally shut up, Hux checked his watch briefly and retrieved a cellphone from his pocket. She responded.

“Phasma.”

“I’m listening.”

“I hear there has been a development.”

“Everything has been set in motion. The car is heading north. Ms. Skywalker has booked a flight, the Tico sisters closed up shop and are headed south.”

“Where are you?”

“Following the car. The driver is a girl I don’t recognize. She must be a new recruit. English accent, has a dog with her. Haven’t been able to ID her yet.”

“Photo?”

“I sent it to you.”

“I’ll look into it. Anything else?”

“Yes.”

Her breathing quickened as though her heart had just skipped a beat. Hux froze, not daring to breathe. She would have to spit it out sooner or later.

“Sir, I...I was caught red handed. The girl made a scene out in the middle of the street too, she’ll probably gut me alive if she sees me again.”

Hux cursed under his breath. Whoever this girl was she was a fresh recruit for Earth Soldiers. Ever since he began dealing with these eco terrorists he had noticed that their mascot of a car rarely ever appeared, and even when it did it was always in the hands of the old-timers. And no one that he knew of ever got close enough to Leia Skywalker.

The moles that he had planted with care, excellent professionals like Bazine Netal, Boba Fett,  or Lando Clarissian never approached Skywalker level. Not even after months of distributing flyers and manifestos as stand-in rebel scum. Some were even kidnapped or worse...others switched sides. Hux slid his thumb over the screen to observe the photo Phasma had sent.

His eyes widened. She was young, likely under thirty, clad in denim and boots. Her demeanor entirely jaded.

She had been observed talking discreetly to Rose Tico, then spotted again at Leia Skywalker’s hideout, and finally caught in the act of driving the Millennium Falcon.

That made no sense. The heart of their pathetic born-again organization was in Denver, centered around old woman Skywalker. Her every move was monitored. Where did this girl come from? Who had trained her? How was she able to escape all of the eyes on the field until now?

He closed his eyes as his hand tightened into a fist. He had to regain control of his breathing. He held the phone to his ear again.

“Phasma.”

She was still on the line. No one hung up on Armitage Hux.

“Sir?”

“Come back. Don’t give her a reason to sound the alarm. Who else is in play?”

“Ren. And his clique.”

“Come to my office first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Yes sir.”

Hux hung up. Then he composed a series of directives to send from his smartphone. The Tico sisters had disappeared. They had to be located, never to be out of sight. Leia Skywalker was on 24/7 watch, they had to know where she was, what she was doing, what she was carrying, who she was talking to. The entirety of Earth Soldiers was moving at once, like a disoriented nest of ants. Connix, Antilles, Milham...he was had received notifications sent by his field agents from all over Colorado. But he knew it was merely a distraction. Skywalker would end up in California sooner or later. It was only a matter of time and patience.

His phone vibrated in his hand and he paled at the caller ID. Snoke.

The president of the First Order was certainly already aware of the movement of the activist group, he demanded a full debriefing.

Hux pursed his lips, placing his hands behind his back. He didn’t quite know what was going on himself, he hadn’t succeeded in figuring out the rebel strategy. But he was confident in his ability to counteract their plans, whatever they were.

Nevertheless, he wasn’t sure what to tell Snoke. It would have to be enough to let him know that the situation was being handled.

Taking a deep breath, he adjusted his uniform cuffs with impeccable precision and cleared the surface of his desk.

“Stop, Syed,”

Ben’s voice was frigid and it made the rocker’s eyes widen. The Kylo and the Knights crew were catching up at a bar in Pinedale, Wyoming. Kylo was there of course, along with the six other musicians.

Their guitarist, who went by Syed Ren, was grinding against Kylo’s shoulder while she traced his neck with a trail of tender kisses—which he had just rejected.

Syed was a woman of intriguing beauty, her flawless bronze complexion glowing softly under the red and blue neon lights. Her curls rose over her temples in a crowning mohawk, revealing her pierced ears and the elegant curve of her neck.

“What?” she demanded. “Are you done sulking? What’s up with you these days?”

Ben shrugged, fiddling with his phone. It hadn’t left his side in days, and she had noticed. She took it from his hands.

“You’re glued to this thing twenty four hours a day. Are you expecting a call or what?”

His eyes darkened and he held out his hand for Syed to give back the iPhone, but she kept scrolling through the contents while ignoring his glare.

She stopped at a random photo, her gaze turning ice cold. It was the picture of a young woman, definitely taken without her realizing because it was blurry and misaligned. Where had she seen her before? That freckle-faced brunette with the messy topknot and the large knapsack. Her face was oddly familiar.

It slid out of reach as Ben snatched it from her and locked it before slipping it into the pocket of his jeans.

“Don’t ever do that again,” he warned, and she could tell he wasn’t kidding. “Our little cover story shouldn’t make you forget why we’re here. If you can’t manage, I’ll find someone else to get the job done.”

“Okay, I get it, my bad,” she grumbled.

But she proved incapable of keeping all the venom out of her voice. “But you didn’t mention anything yesterday while you were enjoying yourself in my bed. Or any of the other times, for that matter,” she hissed.

Ben’s gaze hardened. “I thought we agreed that there were no strings attached here. No feelings between us and definitely no jealousy. Instead, I need you to be professional for once. This is the first and last time I’ll tolerate what you just pulled.”

“Go fuck yourself, Kylo fucking Ren,” Syed spat, knowing still that the conversation was over. Before he was her lover, he was her boss. And he demanded absolute discretion and loyalty. He wouldn’t hesitate to get rid of her for the smallest mistake.

She raised her bottle to her lips and turned to Saul Ren. But her conversation with the drummer took a rather debauched turn.

“If you’re feeling lonely tonight Syed, I’m happy to provide my services,” he offered.

“Shut up!”

Strangely enough, this cynical exchange greatly de-escalated the situation and Syed remained silent afterwards. She approached the circle of fellow rockstars to find them playing a casual game of pool. The ladies, Kelsi, Shakti, and Tyra, were far ahead of the gents, Skylar and Saul. The score would have been more even if Kylo had decided to play. The man was talented with a cue in his hands. Looking around, Syed noticed that he was far off, leaving the bar with his phone in hand.

Leaning against the wall, he lit a cigarette.

Syed was right. He was waiting for a call.

But just what was he hoping would happen? He wasn’t even sure she had found his number where he had stashed it. And even if she had found it, she surely would have thrown it away, cursing the arrogant and meddlesome Ben Solo. And she would be right. He went too far when he called her ex, that Finn guy.

Ever since she was at the mercy of the wheels of his car, he had stopped thinking rationally. The minute he had looked at her, something had collapsed.

Destabilized by her red-rimmed golden eyes (had she been crying too often?) and by her English accent which had taken him by surprise, he had lost his faculties and purposely scared her off. That would put some safe distance between them. But what was he safe from? Her smile? Her tears?

When their eyes had met from across the room at Howl at the Moon, his heart had skipped a beat. He’d tried to keep a neutral expression, but it had been so obvious that even Syed has belatedly realized that something was up with him. A twitch here, a shaky exhale there—she had felt it and she had instantly hated the intruder who had come between her and Kylo.

Ben had wanted to stay on top of the situation, but he had found himself discarding Syed and walking directly towards Rey in a single motion. It was magnetic.

She was slightly drunk and their conversation was marked by a caustic sort of tension by the time he lost control. She had left and he had chased after her, as though trying to break through the surface of something after being plunged deep inside for so long.  

When she knocked herself senseless against that streetlight, all he had to do was drop her off at some motel. Or just call an ambulance and trust the authorities to take care of the rest. But his curiosity had gotten the better of him and the excuse was too good to pass up. So he dialed Jessica from his own contact history and asked his way into Rey’s life. Now he knows who she was and why she was here.

He hailed a cab to the Four Seasons and booked her a room. But a voice inside his head warned him that the situation was getting out of hand.

She wasn’t just some well-meaning tourist looking for kicks. She was definitely someone else. She had immediately contacted Rose Tico, someone he had already been following. The next day she had ended up at Leia’s and then she had taken off with BB8 and the Millenium Falcon.

Ben had reported his findings to Snoke, and he knew that Phasma was on the trail. His task was done. But he remained on the look out, ready to strike at the president’s word.

It was all too perfect to be a coincidence. She probably threw herself at his car on purpose. She was a rebel spy for Earth Soldiers and had made the whole “damsel in distress” persona up. And it had worked perfectly—hook, line, and sinker.

That was real mistake on his part, a weakness.

Rey was a weakness he could no longer permit. She was a trap and he had fallen for her.

His phone rang, snapping him back to reality.

[starshinegoblin]

Walking Right into Your Heart

Here’s your request @ruensroad for JinYi au where Jin Ling is CEO and Jingyi is a dog walker. In this AU. Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng aren’t brother’s but friends from college. Oh and Jingyi is still cousins with Lan Wangji but they aren’t close at the start. Shizui is a Wei here with Wen Qing being his surrogate mother. Here’s the start of their love! It got away from me and thank you for being patient! 

///

Bloomp! Bloomp! Bloomp! Bloomp! 

Jingyi groaned sleepily waking up to the sound of rapid fire text message notifications on his phone. His sleep crusted eyes opening to see that the alarm clock read that it was barely after five in the morning. He grabbed the pillow placing it over his head in hopes of blocking out the sound. He didn’t need to look to know who it was. Just by the time of day was telling enough. Sizhui may be a man of few words like his father Lan Wangji but when it came to texting it was like he was truly his other father, Wei Wuxian’s, son. Now don’t get him wrong. He does love his best friend but he hadn’t gotten back home to his apartment till after two in the morning. 

The lack of bloomp sounds stirred him from his thoughts. He was just about to go back to sleep when his phone started ringing. Jingyi huffed in frustration before reaching out to palm the nightstand until he found his phone. He answered without checking the ID. 

“This better be good you, Wei demon. ” he croaked. 

“Jingyi?” A-Qing’s soft voice came through the phone instead of Sizhui’s, “Is this Jingyi?”

Jingyi quickly sat up letting the pillow roll off him. A-Qing is Sizhui’s girlfriend and it was rare for her to call him. He moved the phone away clearing his throat before trying again to speak, “Yes, it’s me.” 

“Hey, I’m calling you because we are currently at the hospital. Sizhui was in an accident.” She explained. 

“Which hospital is he at? What happened?” He asked tossing the blankets back getting out of bed. He grabbed his towel heading to the bathroom. He’d take a quick shower to wake up some more before heading to the hospital. 

“He’s at Gusu General and you don’t have to come. He just fell and broke his leg after dropping off one of his clients. That’s all. He should be home either today or tomorrow.” 

“I’m on my way.” He said hanging up. He liked A-Qing but he had a feeling in his gut that she was leaving something out. It hadn’t been the first time he’d caught her in a lie when it came to Sizhui. If it was just a broken leg they’d have set it and sent him home. He’d find out soon enough though he thought as he started stripping to get into the shower. 

Ten minutes later, Jingyi was fresh from his shower with a hoodie over his t-shirt and jeans with his converses. He put on his sunglasses as he stepped out of the elevator of his apartment building to the front entrance. He might be sipping a Monster Mean Bean but that didn’t mean he needed to be driving with barely two and a half hours of sleep in him. Thankfully his uber was waiting for him. 

“Gusu General please.” He said getting inside. An acknowledging nod had the car pulling out of the parking lot to his best friend. 

Jin Ling sighed loudly as he tossed the pen on his desk.  He leaned back in his chair resting his head against the top of the chair as he rubbed his face. That was the last of his paperwork declining the merger with Chang Industries. A deal that his grandfather had orchestrated in his schemes to get the company back from him after his parents had died. Thankfully, he’d been able to stop it. It’d taken him nearly a year to keep the Chang’s from taking his father’s business. The one that Jin Zixuan had built from the ground up without the help of Jin Guangshan. Jin Ling wouldn’t let it be taken from him. 

“Boss?” Rayne, his personal assistant called for him as she stepped into his office. A  look of annoyance on her face as she took in his appearance. He was still in yesterday’s outfit and there was day old take out boxes from last night’s dinner on the corner of his desk .  “I thought you said you were going home?”

“I did.” He replied sheepishly glancing at the open door to the small living quarters to her left. 

Her lips pursed approaching his desk reluctantly using her stiletto covered foot to push the trash can closer to the edge of the desk.“That’s not home, sir.” She stated as she took one of the unused napkins to push the take out boxes into the trash can. 

“I’ve been informed by Director Luo to send you send you home.” 

“But the Tang meeting.” 

“Has been moved Director Luo’s schedule. So has the Fang meeting and Wen meetings. In doing that allows for you to have the rest of the month off. So that you will be well rested for the Zhan meeting.” She replied going over to the coat rack plucking his coat off it. 

“Song is already downstairs isn’t he?” Jin Ling asked despite already knowing that his former personal assistant turned director because the woman was smart as hell and was a force to be reckoned with, Luo Qingyang, had everything in place for him. Realistically he knew nothing bad would happen but the anxiety was there. He sighed in resignation before standing up. 

“Yes, sir.” She nodded as he rounded the desk to allow her to help him into his jacket. 

“See you when I get back, Rayne.”

“You too, boss.” Rayne replied waving goodbye to him. 

So….I distinctly remember her saying it was - quote...nothing serious. Jingyi thought biting his the inside of his cheek to keep from scolding the woman. Said would woman was lazily lounging in the armchair munching on a bag of hot cheetos while Sizhui was on the phone with his father’s. 

His golden eyes taking in the sight of his best friend - who’s now in a room,with his leg in a cast with a bandage on his forehead and his arm wrapped up. Oh his phone? Yeah, that’d been smashed. So he was talking to his parents on the hospital phone. The woman claiming she couldn't bear to leave him. He sent a glare towards the to the woman as the responses to his father and the injuries told him that he’d been hit by a driver reaching down to grab their phone out of the floorboards. He’d been flung in the air and gravity aided in the sudden stop. 

Suddenly, she got a call before his temper got the best of him. “Oh, gege!” she practically screamed happily making Jingyi clinch his jaw. He wished she would just leave. 

Gege? he thought, Her parents made one before her? He mentally shivered at the thought as she wiped her cheetos dust stained hand on her jeans before getting up. 

“Bunny, I have to take this and if you want I can go get you a phone while I’m out.” she said with a forced sweet tone that sounded grating to Jingyi’s ears. Sizhui gave her a warm smile and nodded as she practically bounced out of the chair grabbing Sizhui’s wallet. Then fluttered out of the room.

“Oh thank god.” he thought he said in his mind but the sound of Sizhui smacking the bed made him realize he said it out loud. He quickly turned his head to look at Sizhui who gave him a knowing look. 

“I will dad. Yes, I’m going a new pho….I have A-Yi and A-Qing here with me. There is no need to fly...Okay...I love you.”

“Your mother coming?” He asked with a sigh. 

“No, but my dad’s are.” Sizhui replied. 

“That’s going to be interesting.” 

“Don’t be like that.” Sizhui scolded lightly.

“Sorry.” He apologized. 

“It’s okay.” Sizhui sighed. 

“What are you going to do about your clients?” Jingyi asked.

“I only have Fairy this week.” Sizhui replied from memory as he leaned his head back. His snapped opened as he leaned forward repeating, “I have fairy this week.”

“ My beloved sugar plum of a husky puppy?”

“She isn’t yours and hardly a puppy.”

“Cuteness trumps reality.” Jingyi replied tilting his nose up in the air. 

“What am I going to do?” Sizhui replied. “I don’t have his owner’s secretary’s number. The whole phone was crushed!” 

“I mean I could take care of her for you.” 

“No, I couldn’t…”

“Dude, you’re not asking and it’s just walking her on her normal route right? I’ve done that a million times with you two. Besides she knows me and you said you’ve never met her owner. Only spoke over the phone with his assistant. ” 

“Yes, but-”

“What?”

“What about your clients?” 

“Her routine is early in the morning. So that fits perfectly with my other clients.” 

“Are you sure?” Sizhui asked again. 

“Yes, and don’t even think about sending me the money. You know I don’t need it.”  Jingyi chided as he handed his phone to Sizhui to add Fairy’s information into his phone. 

Fuck. Jin Ling thought as he woke up to the sound of Fairy barking rather loudly. She sounded happy so it wasn’t an intruder.  It hadn’t been her barking that bothered him rather than the sharp pain to his head when he’d trying to sit up to go check on her. His body gifting him with a skull cracking headache after finally getting more than two or three hours of rest. He reached into the nightstand grabbing for the bottle of aspirin he keeps there. Popping two of them in his mouth then washing it down with tepid water from the glass that he left there last night. 

He tossed the bottle on the back in the drawer before getting up. Jin Ling gently rubbed his temples with both hands as he stepped out of his room walking towards the living room. He guessed that he’d probably left the blinds opening and Fairy had spotted a bird on the balcony of their penthouse. Though the idea faded as he stepped into the living room seeing a man crouched down scratching behind both of Fairy’s ears.

“How’s my favorite sugar plum?” The man childishly said to his dog earning a happy bark. 

“Apparently happy and her name is Fairy.” Jin Ling stated with a scratchy grumbling tone dripping with sarcasm making the other man jump and topple back onto his butt. The way his beloved husky was acting plus the clock on the wall told him that this was his dog walker. 

Jin Ling’s dark eyes taking in the sight of him. The man had dark brown hair cut short with a long bangs but not too long that it covered his beautiful whiskey colored eyes. He wore a jean jacket with an over sized grey sweater and a pair of jeans with black converses. 

“Uh, I think so too.” the man chuckled with a blush creeping up his neck from the sweater’s collar, “Stop sugar plum.” he said to Fairy ignoring him while gently pushing her off him to stand up, “You must be her owner. Since you’re home. I’ll just go.” He gestured towards the door. 

Jin Ling was about to agree but then he got another sharp pain. “Wait, If you don’t mind can you walk her today?” 

“Sure, thing. Let’s go sugar plum.” The man nodded heading out the door with Fairy and her leash before he could ask about why he was even here. Jin Ling huffed turning around. He’d worry about the cute dog wal...wait no…annoying dog walker later. He shook his head making it hurt even more. His head was busting and all he wanted to do was crawl back into bed. 

“Dude.” Jingyi said practically yelled into his phone the moment that Sizhui answered the phone. “Sugar Plum’s dad is hot.”

“How do you know that?” Sizhui asked with a worried tone.

“I went to go pick her up and he appeared in the living room. Lord, Sizhui. He’s hotter than the sun.” He happily answered.

“Jingyi!” 

“You should have seen him. That messy bed hair, the muscles, and the -”

“Don’t say another word and don’t you dare sleep with my client.” Sizhui replied with a warning tone. 

“Who said anything about sleeping?”

‘Jingyi.”

“Okay, Okay, I won’t.” Jingyi chuckled “But I can ogle right? Because he has a tattoo on his left pec is…”

“I’m out.” Sizhui replied hanging up. Jingyi couldn’t help but laugh sticking his phone in his pocket as he refocused on the walk. If he ran a bit with Fairy to try get the memory of her shirtless owner out of his head before going back no one else would know. 

[lambourngb]

The product of too little sleep, lots of ‘Murder in a Small Town’ and rewatching episodes 12 and 13.

***

The Anbar Province left more than a physical mark on Alex.

He had learned lessons, both big and small. He could separate premonitation from subconscious recognition. He could type accurately from the footbed of a Humvee with no discernible suspension while a squadmate bled out next to him, locked in the importance of the mission. He could also wait patiently during the long hours that stretch between the spikes of adrenaline and monotonous boredom.

Roswell so far tested two out of three of those skills.

The disquiet left over from last night’s storm aged and blossomed from a vague feeling of wrongness to outright certainty. The mid morning sun was edging overhead, and soon would start it’s slow slide toward the horizon as he kept his vigil outside the Airstream for Michael. ‘Come back tomorrow, we’ll talk then’ was a promise that had Alex reaching for his favorite black leather jacket for comfort.

He refused to think of it as armor. Not every conversation was a war, but he was ready to fight for Michael. Staying away hadn’t kept anyone safe, it just robbed him of time he could have spent happy.

The crunch of gravel lifted his eyes from his phone, as a Chaves County sheriff’s cruiser pulled into Sander’s followed by one dark colored nondescript sedan.

Michelle Valenti had always been kind to Alex in the past, like her husband had been. She was always quick with a kind word when she noticed his eyes trailing to the photos of a happy family that dotted the Valenti house when he was growing up, mindful that his own house was bare of such sentiment. He never minded when strangers mistook her for his mother in the joint outings with Kyle as kids. The New Mexico sun baking them both dark and alike, another set of twins like the Evans kids. After Jim’s death, she had quietly shut down any talk of challenging the will and property transfer of the hunting cabin to Alex. It was only her insistence that he even accepted the keys in the first place and allowed the lawyer to finalize the will’s dispersal.

Her eyes were still kind as she stepped out of her vehicle, but her face showed no sign of friendliness. This was official business.

As always his mind flashed to the worst case scenario, Michael wasn’t here because he was dead. There was no known family to notify, just his employer. Max had to be dead too to leave this to his boss. Isobel had kept her connection to Michael quiet. Or were they all caught by an arm of Project Shepherd that he had missed? Last night’s glimpse of Michael, he had been covered in blood, and then called away by some painful telepathic urgency.

Alex clocked the dark sedan as government issue, raising more alarm in him.

Swallowing hard, he stood from the chair. “Sheriff, what brings you by?”

Two men exited the sedan, both dressed in similar versions of an off the rack dark business suits. The flair at the hip and shoulder nearly hid the firearms strapped to them. Definitely federal agents.

“We’re looking for Michael Guerin.” She peered toward the closed door of the Airstream, “is he here?”

“He’s not here.” Alex stepped closer to the doorway of the Airstream, subtly blocking entry. He didn’t give himself time to feel relief that at least Michael wasn’t dead or in custody. “What’s this about?”

Agent Bland Number 1 stepped forward holding out an ID with a shield. “Agent Rollins. Mind if we look around?”

Alex stiffened at the casual question. “Actually I do mind. Do you have a warrant?” There was no telling what sort of research on the ‘47 crash Michael had left out, but he was well aware a blood soaked shirt was still on the camp bed from last night.

Agent Bland Number 2 unbuttoned his suit jacket to pull his own ID out with a glance to the Sheriff. “I’m Agent Ross. We have permission from the business owner to be here, son.”

He bristled at the ‘son’ and reached for his own identification. “Captain Manes, United States Air Force, and you may have permission by Mr. Sanders to be here, but that Airstream is a residence with an expectation of privacy, and you need a warrant to enter it.”

“Is it your residence?” Agent Rollins asked, his eyes flickering to Alex with a disbelieving sneer.

Great, a government homophobe. What the hell was Michael into now. He saw Sheriff Valenti stiffen at the undertone by him. In for a penny, “Michael’s my partner, so yes this is also my residence.” He flicked a glance at Michelle Valenti, seeing no surprise on her face and met the eyes of Agent Rollins unflinchingly, “I did not give this country 10 years and my right leg to allow my rights to be trampled. So unless you tell me what’s going on, this has been a lot of fun but it can be continued with my lawyer.”

“Alex,” Sheriff Valenti cautioned. “We might have gotten off on the wrong foot here. We just need to talk to Michael, since his name came up in a routine missing persons investigation. I had to request help from the local field office because we’re a little short handed here in Roswell.”

Fuck. A missing person investigation where Michael’s name was brought up could only mean Noah Bracken. It was too much to hope for that Max Evans had competently covered for his absence while they held him in a pod. A prominent well respected attorney could probably disappear for a day or maybe two, but it had been close to four or five days since the gala.

The few details he had from Michael during that ill-fated drive to Caulfield were mainly focused on the frustration he had that Noah was out of reach in stasis. With Liz’s serum coursing in Noah’s veins, he couldn’t be questioned on their origins without accelerating the decomposition. Michael had mentioned it had been Isobel’s decision, exercising a long overdue power over Noah.

The ride home from Caulfield had been entirely silent, wondering what they were going to do with the likely lone surviving alien with knowledge of their origins seemed out of place.

Alex certainly wouldn’t miss Noah Bracken, but that didn’t mean the community wouldn’t. Barely 12 hours into the damage control of Caulfield and he had a new problem to add to the list.

“Who’s missing?”

“Do you know a Noah Bracken?” Confirming Alex’s suspicions about the visit.

“Everyone knows Noah Bracken. This is a small town. He and his wife sponsor or fund most of the main events around here. In fact the reopening of the UFO museum was just the other night that they hosted.” Alex glanced at Sheriff Valenti, “your own Deputy Evans is his brother-in-law. Is that why the call for federal involvement? Conflict of interest in the department?”

“Deputy Evans took a week of leave after the gala, and yes, his personal relationship to Isobel Evans-Bracken does disqualify him from the inquiry.”

“I still don’t understand what this has to do with Michael and what makes this a missing persons case? The whole town saw him the other night.”

“The ‘other night’, son, was five days ago and that’s the last time he was seen in public. He was due in court for a case yesterday. His secretary says he would have never missed court. His wife told his office he’s on a fishing trip to Heron Lake, but we have no credit card or cell tower data that says Mr. Bracken ever left Roswell. We have reason to believe from a witness that Mr Guerin might have been the last person to have contact with Mr. Bracken.”

It was careless of them to hold Noah in a pod without knowing his court calendar and public appearance schedule intimately. Keeping the cell phone turned on was truly amatuer hour as well. Alex was reminded abruptly that Michael and Isobel were civilians, and Max’s operational experience was likely limited to speeding tickets, warrant serving and drunk and disorderlies. Detaining a suspected enemy combatant for intelligence gathering was more in line with his own resume.

This was the type of battle he left Roswell at seventeen to learn how to win.

Warily Alex kept his expression even and natural, choosing his words carefully with his knowledge of events. “Michael and I were together, here last night. The last time Michael mentioned him was the gala. And I can tell you, personally I haven’t seen Noah around in a while.”

Agent Rollins exchanged a glance with his partner, “you’re willing to swear to that? That Mr. Guerin was with you last night?”

“Yes, we were together last night, and I spent all day with him yesterday.”

“You said everyone knows everyone here. Are you aware of any deeper connection with Mr. Bracken? A personal relationship?” Agent Ross picked up, plastering on amenable smile with the suggestive question.

“Michael is friends with his wife, but I don’t know of any other connection.”

Agent Ross sharpened, “How friendly with his wife would you say he was? Small town has a lot to say about Isobel Evans-Bracken and we’ve heard a lot about their close relationship.”

The Roswell gossip circle strikes again. Without the public acknowledgement of being foundlings together, it probably did look a little odd to the average bridge club members about why a society wife and fundraiser spent so much time with the local bar brawler. He knew with good reason why they kept their kinship secret but it was still inconvenient when rumors swirled about a carnal relationship instead of a sibling one. He remembered his own curiosity about them in high school before he got his answer from Michael in the form of a sweet kiss at the museum.

Alex bristled at the implication, “Michael’s not a cheater and we’ve kept our relationship quiet for the sake of my career and his safety. Like you said, this is a small town.”

Agent Ross looked up from his notebook, and commented blandly, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was over a while ago.”

“It wasn’t when we started.” Alex smiled humorlessly, and extended his hand to Sheriff Valenti, “Michael’s off looking for a part, but I’ll let him know to contact you about setting up an interview with our lawyer.”

“We just want to clear this up, Alex and find Mr. Bracken. No one is saying he’s in trouble. We’re on our way over to Max’s next.” She squeezed his hand meaningfully, before turning away to steer the agents back to their vehicles.

Agent Rollins, ignored Alex’s hand pointedly, “We will get to the bottom of this, Captain Manes. And if need be, we’ll be back with the warrant to search this place from top to bottom.”

Long practice with bullies and his father kept him unyielding when the other agent stepped close in an attempt to intimidate. “You do that.”

He waited until the cars pulled clear of the entrance to Sanders before bringing his phone to his ear.

No answer from Michael’s phone. It went straight to voicemail the way it had this morning when he first tried to call. He mashed the disconnect button. He didn’t have Max’s number. The next best thing was Liz. He wasn’t the praying sort, but he really hoped Liz wasn’t at her lab in the hospital with no signal. The second thing he needed to do after locating Michael was gather everyone’s phone number.

[sugar-kisser]

I’ll Protect You - Jung Wooyoung

Warnings: Violence & mafia affiliated acts

“Y/N! Y/N! Y/N!” Your best friend, Wooyoung, calls as he runs through your apartment after using his emergency only key to get into your apartment. You turn in your bed and face the door as it opens, and a hyper boy rushes into your room with his big boxy smile. He climbs on top of the sheets that you are under, and his body collapses onto you. A small groan escapes your lips and you look down at the mess of silver hair on your bed.

“You know that the key I gave you is for emergencies only, right?” You grumble.

“This is an emergency Y/N!” Wooyoung whines, his head popping up to look at you, his russet brown eyes meeting yours.

“And what is the emergency now?” You huff out air, slightly smirking at the boy.

“I missed you! I haven’t seen you in forever,” he tells you before cuddling into you ever further.

“You saw me yesterday morning when you can over for breakfast,” you laugh. You pull your hands out from under the blankets and run them through his hair. He nudges his head further into your heads and you smile a little more. “What’s with you lately? You’re being very clingy.” Wooyoung doesn’t respond, instead he crawls up and lays next to you. “Woo… you’re scaring me. What’s wrong?” You turn on your side to face him.

Wooyoung pulls his lips into a strained smile and one of his hands gently caresses your face. “A lot is just happening right now at work. I’m beyond stressed and I might lose this upcoming deal. I just can’t afford to lose it or everything goes wrong.” 

“I don’t think it’ll go wrong,” You tell him as you place your hand on top of his, “you’re a great business man. Almost better than your father.” Wooyoung breaks into a small real smile, which causes you to smile as well.

“You always seem to make me feel better,” Wooyoung tells you.

“I would be a bad best friend if I didn’t,” you reply. Wooyoung drops his smile and looks over your face once more as if he’s trying to remember every little detail. He scoots closer to you, cuddling into you, and his head rests under your chin. He exhales loudly and closes his eyes. You wrap your arm around him and your other hand rests in his hair. You feel your best friend breathing lighten, telling you he fell asleep. 

You sigh and look down at him and notice the dark bags under his eyes and wonder when the last he actually had gotten some sleep. “Oh Woo,” you whisper looking down at him. You bend down and kiss the top of his head and you almost immediately feel his grip on you tighten and you smile. You nuzzle your face into his head and close your eyes.

————

You wake up a few hours later in your bed, alone. You sit up and look around your room, rubbing one of your eyes.

“Wooyoung?” You call out but you receive no response. You frown and your eyebrows scrunch because it’s never like Wooyoung to leave you without telling you goodbye, even if you were sleeping he would wake you up before he left. You turn over to grab your phone to find a letter sitting on top of it. Your name is scribbled in Wooyoung’s hand writing. You open the letter and pull out the folded piece of paper.

Y/N,

I’m sorry that I did not wake you up to tell you goodbye. I couldn’t bare to wake you up this time. Especially when this could possibly be the last time I could see you. I’m sorry that this might be the last piece of me you have and that I’m leaving you with this memory, and I’m sorry. But there are things going on right now in my life and they do not have to do with the business. If I’m being honest the business is a cover up for what I do. Believe me or not, but I’m sorry I never told you the truth. I could never put you in danger like I put myself in. I care too deeply for you to ever be put in harms way. 

If I do not return to you in three days time then I’m sorry… but I probably will never come back and I probably will not be found. If it comes to that. Go to the address at the bottom of this paper and find Yunho. He will take you somewhere safe where nobody can ever hurt you. He will explain to you then what happened. I’m sorry that I can’t explain it now. I hope you trust me.

I love you

Woo

Your breathing shakes and tears cloud your eyes as you drop the paper. The thought of Wooyoung possibly never coming back absolutely scared you. But what secret was he hiding from you? It was big enough for you to be hurt. What if you end up getting hurt? Wooyoung can’t protect you from whatever he mentioned.

You wipe your tears off your cheeks and out of your eyes with the sleeve of your hoodie, and you pick up the letter again. You look down at the bottom of the paper after Wooyoung’s signature and you read it over. You tap the screen of your phone which lights up, showing your lock screen. You read the time, 3:56pm, and you look at the letter once more.

You hop off your bed and toss the letter back onto your pillow and hurry over to your closet. You pull out a pair of ripped black jeans, a white t-shirt, and your favorite leather jacket that Wooyoung had bought you for you birthday three years ago. You quickly change and brush your hair out and brush your teeth before pulling on your white sneakers.

You leave your apartment with the letter, keys, and phone in your hand. You lock your apartment door and hurry down the two flights of stairs and to your car. As you sit in your driver’s seat, you plug the address into your phone and place it in the cup holder. You shift your car in drive and begin the hour drive to a nightclub that Wooyoung and you had met at five years ago when you both were caught being underage and having fake ID’s. But Wooyoung had gotten both you and him out of any charges that originally were going to be placed onto the two of you.

The drive is rough and more than enough emotional anger has built up. Tears constantly are threatening to spill out of your eyes but you forcibly blink them back. You don’t want to alarm anyone near by. You park your car in a public parking garage and walk down the block and a half to the club. A flash of light from the sky alarms you and you hear thunder roar after, signaling to you that a storm is approaching and it looks like it’s coming fast.

You walk up to the door and you notice the very long line of people waiting to get inside. You walk up to the security guard up front and you put your hands into your leather jacket. You stop in front of the him and he looks down at you, his neutral face never flinching.

“Back of the line,” he tells you, his voice deep. You shake your head, not trusting your words if you open your mouth. You can’t have a breakdown in public like this.

“Look here sweetheart, you aren’t special just like everyone else in this line. So go wait,” he tells you.

“I’m here for Wooyoung,” you blurt quickly. The mans face instantly changes.

“How do you know of Mr. Jung? You don’t look like his type of girl,” he tells you. You roll your eyes and pull out a gold necklace from under your white shirt, revealing a gold bar attached to a golden chain. On the chain, in Wooyoung’s hand writing, was his own name.

“My apologies,” he says after looking over the necklace. The tall man steps aside and you walk past him and into the nightclub. The loud music shakes the floor and you can feel the beat in your body. The dimmed colored lights constantly move around, at times blinding you as the lights shine in your eyes. You make your way around the club looking for Wooyoung or possibly any of his friends, especially Yunho.

Unaware as you look around the club, three men watch you from the their seats in the corner, their eyes glazing over you. Simultaneously they place their drinks down and leave their table. They make their way over to you as your body moves closer towards the back of the club to search for Wooyoung in his favorite booth.

An arm wraps around your body and another arm wraps around your mouth in order to prevent your screams. You eyes widen and your thrash around in the unknown assailants arms, but you are hit in the head by someone else. You’re taken out of the nightclub through the back doors and into the hallway. Rain lightly falls from the sky but you can tell it’s going to pick up.

“Hold her,” one of the three men demand. The largest of the three holds you up against the wall and the other two look you over. Their hands roam your body and you try to squirm out of the man’s grip which only causes his grip to tighten.

“Hey boss look at this,” The shortest of the three points at the gold necklace that wraps around your neck. He grips it and yanks it off you which causes you to yelp, and you feel a cool breeze against the back of your neck. A sign that your neck is cut due to the thick gold chain ripping your skin.

“Wooyoung,” he reads, “she must be apart of the ateez empire. We need her alive.” the boss explains as he looks over the gold necklace that the other had handed to him.

“But can’t we still have our fun,” the necklace ripper asks snickering. His hand rake up the side of your legs and under your almost drenched white shirt.

“Stop!” You screech. You lift your leg up and kick the man in the shin. He yells in pain and anger while stumbling back on one foot.

“You little-“ he growls raising his hand up to hit you. A loud bang breaks your ear drums and a flash of white momentarily blinds your eyes. You watch in horror as the man’s body drops to the ground, and you feel a wet liquid splatter against your clothing and skin.

“You better let her go before you end up like him,” the recognizable voice reaches past the ringing in your ears. Your head slightly turns to find Wooyoung, bloodied and bruised, with a gun in his hand. The barrel of the gun is raised and he slowly takes a step forward down the dark alley. The large man lets go of you and your knees almost give out under you. Your hand runs across your face and you pull it away to look at it. Your hand shakes out of fear and anxiety, but it doesn’t stop you from seeing the smeared blood on your hand.

You look over at Wooyoung once more and the two men stand almost side-by-side, blocking him from you. You look the other way and back over to the men. You find the will in your legs to run, and that’s what you do. You run and don’t look back. You first hear the men call after you and one chasing you. But another gun shot stops the noise. 

You run through the rain that’s now in a hard down pour and you continue to run through the crowds and towards a neighborhood. Although your legs burn with the desire to stop, you don’t. As you cross a bridge, your left foot trips over a piece of the wood that sticks up out of the flat surface. You fall but you break your fall with your forearm and hand.

You finally break down into a sob. You choke on your own air and tears mix in with the rain water on your face. You push off the ground and sit up against the railing wall of the bridge. The rain pelts into your head, and although it hurts you ignore the pain. You are too numb to feel anything and way too far gone to understand all that happened.

“Y/N!” Someone calls for you. The voice barely reaches your ears, and you think it’s just your mind messing with you. But you hear footsteps running and arms quickly wrap around you tight.

“Y/N,” Wooyoung’s voice almost breaks, “I’m sorry.” You stare off in front of you, lost and unsure of yourself anymore. Wooyoung pulls away from you and puts his face in front of yours. His silver hair sticks to his forehead, and the bruises on his face look almost covered under all the water. He brushes away the hair in your face, his hands ever so gentle. You couldn’t believe he managed to kill two people, possibly three, with them.

“I promised that nothing would ever happen to you,” he tells you, lips quivering and tears sitting on his water line, “I’m so sorry.” He voice breaks and you bring yourself back into reality. You eyes meet his closed ones as he silently sobs. Your hand reaches up and caresses his face. He places his hand on top of yours and holds it. He pulls your hand to his lips and places a soft kiss to it.

“You scared me Woo,” you hoarse voice croaks in the silence of the rain.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers, opening his eyes to meet yours, “I never meant for you to get in harms way.”

“You almost left me,” you whisper, your heart breaking even more thinking back to the note, “you were going to leave me. Alone. With a broken heart.”

“I will never. Not again,” Wooyoung expresses. He moves even closer to you, resting his forehead against yours. He still holds you hand and gives it a slight squeeze.

“Y/N. As long as I am alive I will protect you,” Wooyoung’s breath ghosts your skin, “I could never live with myself if you got hurt.” You open your eyes and meet with Wooyoung’s. A few more tears escape your waterline and you push yourself into Wooyoung’s arms. He falls onto his butt and you curl up in his lap. Your grip on his shirt turns your knuckles white but you refuse to move. Wooyoung wraps his arms around you securely. He places a light kiss on top of your head before resting his cheek against your head.

“I’ll protect you till my last breath,” he whispers, promising you he’ll never leave again.

[lettersofwrittencollective]

The Pull (21/?)

Summary: The Ragnulf’s are one of the oldest lines of werewolves known. A gift from ancient times was given to the line. Though not all of the line will experience it. There are some who will experience a Pull. This Pull leads them to their true mate, a soulmate. The problem is, just because the wolf finds their true mate does not mean that they are the same for that person.

Author: @lettersofwrittencollective​

Pairing: Stiles x Hale!Cousin OC (Reader)

Word Count: 2762

Warnings: 

A/N: Sorry that this took so long to get out! Though this scene is not Stiles or reader-centric, I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think :) Remember that reblogs always help! 

Also, instead of posting every other day I am going to be posting The Pull on Wednesdays and Sundays. Today is Saturday so there will not be a post again until Wednesday This is to try and give me some more time studying which I have really needed. 

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Isaac checked his phone again, waiting to see if Derek or the twins would send him a text. Hell, he’d even accept something from Peter if it meant that he got an update about Natasha .

After the things had disappeared and the dust had settled at the loft, they had all noticed that Natasha and Stiles were missing from the room. Allison had asked about Lydia and Aiden had said that Danny had taken her when Derek ran everyone out. Personally, Isaac had figured that Stiles had gone with Danny to help the redhead.

But that meant that Natasha was missing.

When he had asked about her, Scott had said she’d arrived with him, Kira and Stiles but that he hadn’t seen her since they had gotten to the party and she had gone to change. Aiden said he’d seen her having a soda, which he was sure was for Derek's benefit but had lost her in the crowd about an hour or so ago.

Derek had called Peter who had promptly lost his mind and showed up while Allison was trying to get a hold of her dad.  The two of them and the twins were searching the area for Natasha to be sure that those things hadn’t harmed her.

He’d wanted to stay but with Allison’s Dad not picking up, the brunette was getting worried. She wanted to go look for him and, seeing as she had been just about ready to bolt out the door, Isaac decided to go with her.

They had decided to start at the Penthouse, see if they could find a scent to follow or some other kind of clue as to where he’d gone. It was a good thing too because when they’d come in they’d found him on the floor.

Allison had paled at the sight and he had heard her heartbeat spike for just a moment before she’d taken a deep breath and collected herself. It hadn’t taken them long to get Argent back on his feet.  While they were getting Argent cleaned up, Scott had shown up, wanting to help out.

The four of them had made their way to Argent's study, or home office where he was currently sharing the story of the one time he had apparently almost been killed by these things.

A ding went off on his phone and he looked down to check

Derek: Nothing yet, will keep you posted.

Biting back a growl, he had to remind himself that there wasn’t a whole lot that he could do at this point but let Derek look for her. So, he turned his attention back to Argent’s story.

“There was something almost ritualistic about it. Like it was looking right into his soul.

Feeling an icy shiver run down his spine at the memory, Isaac said, “That’s the same thing it did to me.”

Allison points out that they had done that to everyone but Scott points out that it was only the werewolves… and Lydia.

Trying to put the pieces together, Isaac hears Argent point out that they would have gone after anyone with a connection to the supernatural.

Asking about the guy in Japan, Isaacs not at all surprised to find out that Allison's dad had sold guns to the Yakuza.  Though it did serve as a reminder not to piss the man off.

“The moment the sun went down, it was like they just materialized out of the shadows. They had swords. Not curved like katanas but straight black steel like ninjatos.”

Those things had apparently been after the Kumicho, who was apparently the boss of the group that Argent met with and it had gotten through everyone. Cutting through the gangsters like it was nothing.

Hearing Argent's story, the mark on the back of his ear suddenly found like a brand. Touching it, he asked, “Did they mark him like they did us?”

Of course, they didn’t. Allison's dad told them about how the things had made their way through the group and when they had gotten to the Kumicho they had all taken their swords and impaled the man who was apparently not just human. Which, in Isaacs opinion, really wasn’t that surprising if he thought about it.

Though Chris had no idea what the creatures were he did think that there was someone that might know what they were or, at least what they hunted. He’d apparently spent yesterday trying to find this man, Katashi.

“Didn’t look like he wanted to be found.” Isaac pointed out, considering the way they’d found the older man this morning. Considering how long ago this deal had taken place, Isaac wasn’t sure that this guy would actually be their best bet so he asked, “What if he doesn’t remember you?”

Pulling out a box, Argent responds, ‘He’ll remember this.” In the box are the broken fragments of one of the creatures masks. Isaac can’t help the involuntary shiver that runs down his spine as he remembers the night before.

“I know I didn’t kill it. I’m not sure you can. But I slowed it down long enough for us to get out of there.”

When Scott asked what was behind the mask, Argent responded with, “Darkness. Absolute darkness.”

The room was silent as they each took in what that meant. Alisson reached out and he took her hand in his, holding tightly as he tried to reassure her that they would be fine regardless of what happened. His phone went off again and this time, it was a phone call from Derek.

He let go of Allison's hand and walked out of the room, answering the line as he went. Putting the phone up to his ear, he listened to the other line.

“Ok so she’s nowhere in the Iron Heads and we couldn’t find her near the loft. The thing is that her bike is here-”

“Well, what about your jeep? Or Peters car?”

“Also here. Though that may not mean too much seeing as how the twins say she’s been getting rides from Stiles lately.”

“What does that have to do with anything?’

“Well if she left with Stiles and Lydia it makes sense that she would have gone in his jeep.” He can hear the frustration in Derek's voice as he tries to explain it and Isaac is just going to follow that train of thought.

“But we don’t know that she did leave with Stiles.” Isaac’s pointing out before he can really think it through. Not that he wants to think too much about it.

“Aiden’s gonna go check on Lydia and see if she’s there at the same time.”

He couldn’t help the scoff that left him, “You know he doesn’t care right? He’s just trying to get Lydia to keep sleeping with him and Scott to take him in.”

The growl on the other end of the line surprises him but before he can comment on it, Derek’s saying “I don’t really care what his reasonings are right now. If Natasha is there then that’s fine.”

Before he can respond, Derek’s hung up the phone and all he’s getting is a dial tone. Pursing his lips, he turns to go back into the study where Scott is excusing himself from them and headed out.

Allison looks at him, the question evident on her face and he shakes his head.

“They still haven’t found her?”  

“Nope.”

The brunette looks to her dad then to him before she nods her head as she walks past him, grabbing his arm and pulling him along, “Let’s go then.”

This, this right here is why Isaac can’t help but like the girl. She’s got a big heart and is always willing to go help out her friends. A smile tugs at his lips as they make their way towards the elevator. She must have seen the look because she’s raising an eyebrow at him and he has to drop the smile, shaking his head as he mutters that it’s nothing.

While the two of them are getting into the elevator, his phone starts ringing. Pulling it out and looking at the caller ID he sees that Sties’ contact name and forwards the call. The spastic boy probably wants to complain about Aiden and he doesn’t want to hear it. He needs to go find Natasha.

A moment later, Stiles is calling again and Isaac has to take a deep breath. Answering the line, he growls out, “What?”

“Ok first of all Rude, you don’t greet people that way. Second, good morning to you too sunshine. Third, are you with Scott?”

“Wait, Tasha?”

“Obviously.” She sounds irritable, that can’t be good.

“Wait why are you calling me from Stiles’ phone?”

“Something came up so we left the party go check out a lead on  Barrow. My phone died and is currently charging up to turn back on. So, are you with Scott or Alli?”

“Allison.”

He could hear a groan on the other side of the line before Natasha is asking, “Have you guys seen Scott? He’s not answering his cell.”

“Umm, he just left a few minutes ago. I’m guessing he’s riding right now which would keep him from answering.”

Another groan from the other line surprised him as he could have sworn he heard her cursing under her breath.  “Alright, we’ll just catch him at school then.”  He then hears her shouting at Stiles, she’s telling him to get something together and that they’ll have to finish the argument at the school. Apparently, Scott’s going to agree with her for whatever it is.

He looks over at Allison who’s trying very hard not to laugh if all the snickering she’s doing is any indication. A moment later, she’s calling his name and when he acknowledges her, she says that they’re going to have to talk later.  

The pitch in her voices surprises him and when he asks if she’s okay she gets silent for a moment.

“Tasha?”

“I’m not sure yet. I gotta go though, see you later. ”

The line goes dead before he can respond and Allison allows the laughs that she was holding back to escape. When he looks at her, she just shakes her head. “Tasha was with Stiles?”

“Apparently so,” he says softly with a nod of his head.

Allison’s smile gets wider and she claps her hands together. When he asks what it is, she merely shakes her head, “I think they’re cute together.”

He can’t help the scoff that escapes him, “Nope. She’s too good for him.”

Allison gives him a look that says, really? And he shakes his head, “I’m serious! Tasha’s is smart, strong, passionate, and a freaking badass.”

Allison’s laugh doesn’t surprise him and he can feel a shiver run down his spine when she leans in and places a hand on his chest. “You know,” she begins, “if I didn’t know better, I’d say you like her.”

He has a moment of panic and moves to look down at her but she’s got a smile on her lips her nose is scrunched up that adorable way that tells him she’s joking. Leaning forward, he kisses her nose. “I am serious though,” he says softly to her.

“So am I. You can’t tell me that you haven’t noticed them spending more time together. Or that he’s always got a smile on when she’s around.”

“Well, he needs to stop. He’d better get his head out of whatever fantasy it’s in. They can be friends but that’s it.”

Allison laughs as she leans back, “So, who should she date?”

He doesn’t like the question. Natasha isn’t here to just date someone. She’s gonna meet someone and it’s basically going to change the rest of her life.

Shaking his head, he doesn’t know how to answer but Allison is looking at him expectantly so he clears his throat, “What about Johnson?”

Allison laugher and kisses his cheek, “it’s a good thing you’re cute.”

Scotts on his way to the school when the twins pull up on either side of him. Groaning, he speeds up to try and outrun them but they catch up and end up parking next to him in the lot.

Sighing, he pulls off his helmet and looks at them, “You guys gonna be doing this all day?”

“All day.”

“All night.”

Scott has to bite back a groan of frustration but he remembers that they had been helping Derek. “So, did you guys  end up finding Natasha?” Though he wasn’t very close to her he had noticed that Stiles was getting closer to it. He just hoped that it was more because he enjoyed spending time with the girl and not because he was trying to keep an eye on her.

Aiden's the one to respond, “She’s actually looking for you.”  Scotts confusion must be evident on his face because a moment later Aiden continues, “Derek said she called Lahey trying to get a hold of you.

“Besides, in case you’ve forgotten, you are the target of demonic ninjas.”

“You mean the demonic ninjas that pulled swords out of their chests and completely kicked our asses?”

“Yea! Those demonic ninjas.”

Scott, while appreciative of the thought, doesn’t really think that he needs the protection and says so.

Ethan looks at him like he’s lost his mind before saying, “They were looking right at you when the sun came up.”

“And they also disappeared,” Scott returns with a shrug, “`Argent thinks they just come out at night.”

Ethan, however, is having none of it. “Since this is our first experience with demonic ninjas, we’re thinking we should play it safe.”

“All day,” Aiden points out.

Scott, realizing they’re right, lets out a sigh,  “And all night.”

The three of them get off the bikes and make their way into the school. As they walk, Scott asks about Aiden’s comment about Natasha looking for him.

“According to Derek, she is.”

“He say why?” When neither one of them answers he turns to look at Aiden.

“What?”

“You talk to her more than your brother.”

“Doesn’t mean I know anything. She and I aren’t exactly the best of friends. Have you checked with Stilinski?”

Scotts surprised and furrows his brow, “I thought he was with Lydia?”

“If he was, he wasn’t there when I swung by.” Aiden shrugged. His voice was slightly defensive, almost as if he was daring the Alpha to say something about the fact that he had spent time with the redhead. Scott, for his part, decided not to address the tone. He wasn’t sure how he felt about Aiden's feelings towards his banshee friend but he trusted her enough to make her own decisions about where to go from here.

Sighing, Scott realized that the three of them have made it into the school. “Ok, so Aiden, you and Ethan see if you can get a hold of  Natasha. Then we can all get together and she can tell me whatever it is that she needs to tell me but first, I need to talk to Stiles and let him know everything that happened last night. Without you.”

“No.”

“Yes,” Scott shot back as something occurred to him, “And I don’t want you listening in. No wolf hearing.”

“How would you even know?”

“I’m a True Alpha. You have no idea what I can do.” Scott shuts his locker and steps away. Making his way down the halls, it takes him a moment to realize that the twins have fallen in step just behind him on either side and just behind.

When he stops to question them, It’s Aiden who responds, “You said to find Natasha. Well, if Stiles isn't with Lydia then my money’s on him being with her.”

Scott’s silent for a moment but as soon as he realizes that Aiden’s right he chuckles softly,. “So find Natasha, find Stiles. Well, then you two get going. See if you can find anything on these- demonic ninjas.”

Ethan, he can feel, is ready to argue but Scott watches as Aiden grabs his brothers arm and agrees with Scott. Aiden tugs Ethan backward and soon enough, the two of them are making their way down the hallway that leads towards the library. It doesn’t escape his notice that Aiden was, shockingly, the calmer of the two twins.

Turning, he makes his way through the hallways looking for both Stiles and Natasha.

-

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Tag List: @nicole-lynne​ @fandom-princess-forevermore​ @capandbuck​ @biles-bilinski-24​ @stiles-o-dylan24​ @fiveisadorable​  @falling-stars-never-cry​​  @blueraindrops​ @its-livelovelife​ @screamxqueenx94​ @ceceliaking-18​ @jasmin3xswayz31994​ @dear-vista​ @fangirlbitch02​ @riseandshinelittleblossom​ @jessicakimba​ @truthdaze​ @seninjakitey​ @kateeee0817 @squadkyoya​ @lucifersnipnips @niawoods @thesunthemoontheflare @bloodrose-scythe @fox-in-a-mousetrap-8 @findingmyselfinthismessedupworld

Do not copy and paste my writing anywhere without my consent. This work is the property of lettersofwrittencollective . Associated characters belong to MTV and are being borrowed for this work, all OC’s are the property of lettersofwrittencollective. These works contain material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of these works may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author/publisher.

Posted 04 May 2019

[robinhoodsgang]

Y’all I’m so embarrassed

I did the dumbest thing and I can’t believe I did it and feel like such a dumb bitch. I could really use the support of the community right now bc honestly I’ve never been so upset with myself and depressed about this. So basically I haven’t lifted anything for like a solid 2 years right? And yesterday I just finished a 10 hour shift after not sleeping the night before, I go to target and try to get some stuff and get caught. They didn’t call the cop and I was super compliant (however one of their security got too excited and grabbed my arm and tried to yank me which was NEVER NECESSARY bc I completely obeyed everything they asked of me and I even had to tell him he had to let go of me and had no right to put his hands on me. And after realizing that I was right his boss told him to let go of me) (also remember only cops have the right to literally grab you and drag you anywhere in most states) So after this they put me in a room and said they aren’t gonna call the police bc it was so low of an amount but a bill will come for about 30 bucks for trying to steal the items. They took my picture and a picture of my ID and said I can’t come back to that store for a year but they also gave me a piece of paper that said I can’t come back ever. So idk. But the whole was just really embarrassing and humiliating and I wasn’t being careful and I was being stupid and I feel like a total idiot for have gotten away with it for so long and this is what I get caught for. And probably what I’m most upset about is how they grabbed me when I wasn’t resisting at all. Idk it just felt very aggressive and unnecessary. But yeah that’s what happened bc I’m a dumb fucking CUNT

[ahnsael]

I’m back at the hotel. I’m beat. But dang it, that was a great time.

I got to meet up with Andrew today (he texted me while I was on the Submarine Voyage and I didn’t see it until I got off, but the timing was perfect -- when I replied and told him where I was, it turned out that he was right on the other side of the Matterhorn). We watched the Tiki Room together before he went home to work on school stuff.

I didn’t run into anyone else I knew today (no random encounters with former bosses like yesterday, even though I kept my eyes open for one in Star Wars Land).

I’m rambling again, but this time I’ll include a cut so I don’t take up as much of your dashboard as I did this morning.

One thing I found amusing: after going to Oga’s Cantina, I decided to buy a DJ R3X Funko Pop (it was that or the DJ R3X bluetooth speaker, but...we’re talking $25 vs $150). I remembered seeing them earlier in the day, and I went to every store in Batuu trying to remember where I saw them. In the last store, I asked the cashier for help.

“Um, I think those are sold off-planet. We don’t have them on Batuu.”

(Which seems odd since that’s where DJ R3X actually is.)

I took the hint and realized that I must have seen them in the Star Trader, so I went there and sure enough, there they were.

But I wondered, if I really didn’t get it, if he would have been more specific. Like, I get that cast members are strongly encouraged to play roles in that part of the park (I overheard one lady talking about a friend’s ex-boyfriend who got his arms ripped off by Chewbacca for doing her wrong -- some people are INTO their roles, and I dig it), but...if I had been confused by the “we don’t sell them on Batuu” statement instead of putting together the clue, would he have sent me to Tomorrowland?

Ooh, a good hint could have been “I believe the travel company Star Tours services a planet where they are sold, maybe check the shop in their terminal if you happen to find yourself in that part of the galaxy.” That way he can keep it “in-universe” while being more specific.

Of course, he may have already thought of all that, and just didn’t need to use it because what he said was enough to remind me that I’d seen it in that other part of Disneyland that is full of Star Wars stuff, and I told him that I now knew where I had seen it.

This whole trip, cast members were great (with one singular exception, but not enough to mention it to anyone in authority -- she may have been having a bad day). Sure, there were cast members who weren’t 100% in it (but, honestly, I probably saw more great examples of great cast members in the past two days than I have in the past several trips combined); there were those I overheard talking about the party last night, or a dating issue that two security guards were talking about at the bag check, but...that stuff is going to happen all the time (and the guards did stop talking about it as I went through the metal detector and then gathered my things from the tray to re-stock my pockets with my wallet, phone, portable phone charger, charging cable, and the trading pins I brought, which I didn’t trade in the end because nothing I saw on cast member lanyards seemed “better” to me -- but I had a LOT squeezed into my pockets so I could avoid bringing a backpack or fanny pack so it took me a little time to get back together when I went through Security).

There was one cast member at the Temple of the Forbidden Eye today, though, that bugged me. We were in the film room and she was telling people to fill in all the available space (odd to me, since the FastPass merge point is at the temple entrance, and then I walked all the way to the atrium before running into the rest of the line inside, so it’s not like she was trying to get more people out of the hot sun -- as a guest I hear “fill in all available space” and I think “How many of these people are going to try to use this to cut ahead of other people in line?”).

She, in a very monotone voice, just kept repeating “Move forward, fill all available space, side by side, two by two, three by three.” I heard her repeat that, verbatim, at least 15 times within just a couple minutes. It was just annoyingly repetitive, especially with the same “ugh, why don’t these people get it?” tone that came across.

But, again, maybe she was just having an off day. 

And while I’ve had rides on the Submarine Voyage before, years ago before it was a Nemo thing, where a more accurate name would have been “body odor in a tube,” today was something else.

I mean, I’m in there for maybe 15 minutes with a handful of people who figured that since they were going underwater in a submarine today, they could skip the shower. And it was...like...GAG bad today. Even in the Tiki Room with Andrew, I was still coughing like I was trying to get the stench out of my throat (not HIS stench -- I detected no noticeable smell from him at all -- just from having breathed in the B.O. Cigar before that).

But I really feel for the pilot. They’re right in the middle, higher than the rest of us (and in comics, “stink lines” always go up, so I assume they do the same in real life). I hope they’ve got better ventilation up there than those of us under sea level have. Otherwise that’s got to be a miserable position to be in.

My portable phone charger worked like a charm, though. While I carried it and the phone in separate pockets most of the time, it was small enough that the two times I used it today, I could put it and the phone in the same pocket with my lightning cable connecting them.

When I got in line for the Submarine Voyage, I was down to about 30% battery (and this was at noon, about three hours after I got to the park). I got off the attraction at about 12:35, and I was already up to just over 80% (and the remaining battery in the charger was still 94%).

Granted, as I kept using the phone as it charged (I’d just bring the phone and charger out of my pocket together and hold them back to back as I used the phone), it was about 3 hours later that I unplugged it with the phone at 92%.

I recharged again later while I was in Oga’s, and got back up into the 80% range in the 45 minutes that I was in line for Oga’s and inside (I didn’t use my full 45-minutes of allowed time -- the sun was BEATING down on the line to get in, as I knew from having been out there, so I figured I’d help people get into the shade since I’d already had my two drinks).

Oh, and the Disneyland app LOST my Oga’s reservation.

Twice today it forgot everything about me. Even though I used its “touch ID” feature to sign in when needed, on one of those times I put my thumb on the main button and the app said I had entered the wrong password. I had to reset my password.

Then, even though I had seen the reservation for Oga’s on the app on my walk from Pirates (had to ride that one a second time) to Galaxy’s Edge, when I got there the reservation had completely vanished. There is a Guest Relations podium with a computer at the center of the three entrances to Galaxy’s Edge, so I stopped by there and said “This is probably going to sound like I’m making it up to get something I didn’t actually reserve, but...I had a reservation for this hard-to-get-into place and now it’s gone.”

(I didn’t think about the fact that I had an email verification...but at the same time, I also had email verifications for two other times since I modified the timing of the reservation twice this morning).

But the Guest Relations cast member assured me that if I did indeed have a reservation, then Oga’s would have my name, and I would be fine. And, sure enough, when I got there and explained, they asked for my last name and the time of my reservation, and verified that I did indeed have it.

But the Guest Relations guy said that they’ve had a lot of these types of glitches with the app.

I mean, it is a complicated app on their end -- keeping track of dining reservations and FastPasses for tens of thousands of people per day can’t be an easy feat. So I won’t say “Disney has got to be better than this” but...it would be nice. But still, the reservation wasn’t LOST lost, just lost on my end. They still made good on it, so I’m happy.

I can’t wait to do this again someday...but next time I may fly and pay for a shuttle to whatever hotel I stay at (this one isn’t bad; about a 20 minute walk to the main gate, but I could see maybe spending a little more to be closer next time). That drive into SoCal was rough, and I have to make it in the other direction tomorrow. It would probably be more expensive to fly, but would be an ease on driving stress.

I have zero regrets about the past couple of days. And maybe the date no-show was a blessing in disguise. I do like her, and it’ll be interesting the next time I talk to her to see whether she’s mad at me for not trying harder to get her here with me or whether she just actually blew me off, but...thinking back over the past couple of days (plus the day before, when I “met” her -- we had seen and talked to each other several times in the casino, but that was the first time that I spent that much time talking to her and ended up with the whole crush thing going on), either (1) I would have been moving too fast for her (she mentioned on that morning in the casino that she couldn’t believe how quickly I walked -- and I’m even faster in the park), or (2) she would have been annoyed at how I bounced around instead of taking the park in a clockwise/counter-clockwise direction (especially today -- I kept booking whatever the next available FastPass was until I had FastPassed everything, then I FastPassed some of them again), or (3) mad because she came all this way for me to call it an early both days of the trip (granted, I probably would have struggled through if she was keeping up, just out of pride, but still...whether that happened or not she would have gotten gross sweaty Kenny, not suave tie-wearing casino manager Kenny).

All in all, to the best of my recollection, here’s the list of rides I got in (not in the order I did them, but in the order that they’re listed on the Disney Wiki):

• Main Street Cinema (so glad they rescinded the “put merchandise in there” thing) • Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters (I didn’t score as well as I would have liked, especially since I KNOW the diamond-shaped targets are worth the most -- my aim just wasn’t good today and I got just over 100,000 points) • Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage (I had heard that the show building was drained and that the subs just ran through a trough of water in the middle of otherwise dry scenes -- and while that seemed true in some scenes, in others I could see the surface of the water in the distance; I’d love to see a “water map” of that show building). • HyperSpace Mountain (twice -- once as a walk-on in the standby line with a 3 minute wait, the second with a FastPass because I HAD to do that one again, it was amazing, and it put Smuggler’s Run to shame). • Star Tours (every scene after leaving the spaceport was new to me). There was no Rebel Spy on our flight. After the cast member left the cabin and we heard the gangplank move out of the way, there was a couple minutes where nothing happened, then we heard an announcement that it was “taking longer to load R2D2 than anticipated,” and then when the ride did start and the Stormtroopers stopped us to check for the rebel spy, the area of the screen that is usually a photo of someone in the StarSpeeder was just a blank rectangle (and we had no empty seats, so it’s not like the cast member hit some “choose random” button and the computer chose someplace at which nobody was sitting). Still better than Smuggler’s Run. • Okay, why does that Wiki still list “Innoventions” as a “current” attraction? It’s been the Star Wars Launch Bay for a while now (and is currently closed so I didn’t go in). Then again, it also lists the Starcade as a “current attraction,” so maybe that wasn’t the best site to link to. • Snow White’s Scary Adventures. This one pissed me off. Nothing about the attraction itself or the cast members therein (though I was disappointed to see that the brass “book” at the entrance has been worn down to the point where it’s almost impossible to read the indented words). But I was in line behind a family. One lady, two guys, two kids. The two guys were going out of their way to tell the kids (probably one three years old, the other four) that the Evil Queen was going to throw them in her dungeon. And throwing in evil laughs (which I’m afraid I may have prompted because I touched the brass apple at the entrance and elicited an evil laugh from the Evil Queen, which they were emulating). By the show scene in the queue (where there’s a spell book an fake stairs and a bunch of money people have thrown in there for some reason but I know it goes to charity so do your thing if you’re ever tempted to throw money in there) they were telling the boy that they were going to put him in there, even lifting him up the bars in the windows and telling him that they could fit him through and that he’d be trapped forever. The mom was trying to reassure the kids that it was “a baby’s ride” and that it wasn’t scary (meanwhile I’m thinking of the dungeon scenes, and the scary forest, and the fact that “Scary” is IN THE NAME OF THE ATTRACTION FOR A REASON and that the kids are going to get off hating that she lied to them, but MORE angry at the guys who instilled all this fear into the kids, and then MADE FUN OF THEM for being scared. I had hoped the kids would handle it okay, but when I got off (I was in the car behind them), they were still in the exit walkway and the boy was crying so hard after the ride that he was drooling. People don’t realize how well kids remember things like this (as I can say from personal experience). I saw the cast member (who hadn’t heard everything that I had heard) hesitate before letting them ride, but I can’t blame him -- that’s on who I’m guessing was the kid’s dad and uncle (I don’t know those relations for sure, but both of those guys were complete assholes). I hope the kid ends up okay -- that came across, to me, as a scarring experience for him, and I hope I’m wrong. • Pinocchio’s Daring Journey -- I thought I was filming this one, and was really proud of how I framed everything as the ride went on (I was in the front row, holding my phone on the front of the vehicle, and adjusting the angle to get everything JUST right -- then realized at the end that I had been in photo mode, not video mode. I took a photo of an empty part of the queue as the ride started (which was blurry so I deleted it), and got no video at all. • The Sleeping Beauty Castle walk-through -- a group passed me in the first set of scenes, and literally tried to open every single door in the castle. Fortunately for Disneyland, all of those doors were locked. The effects in there have come a long way since I was a kid. • It’s a Small World. I live-broadcasted this one on Facebook, then got a copyright violation. I thought that song was copyright free, as it was written by the Sherman Brothers and then not copyrighted since they wrote it for UNICEF as “a gift to the children of the world.” I contested it, but then I researched and it seems that maybe the song WAS copyrighted (and the copyright renewed). I sent Facebook a message telling me that they could re-mute the video  since I had already claimed that I had permission to use the song (since I thought nobody owned it -- maybe it’s just the attraction recording that is copyrighted?). It got more attention on Facebook (both from Facebook and from friends) than I thought it would. • Matterhorn Bobsleds - Only one side working still after part of the mountain fell off not long ago. The side that was working (the right side/Teacups side) was not the one I thought would be working; but there’s still scaffolding and scrim up next to the Main Street-facing waterfall (which is currently turned off) where the rockwork fell off • Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. I rode it twice. Both times were on train #4. I was just glad it wasn’t train #6. They have a new track and, I’m told, new trains since the accident (I rode it once after the crash that killed Marcello Torres on the old track but never rode it again until the track replacement because I didn’t feel safe). But train #6 was the one that crashed in 2003 (it crashed twice more after reopening from the initial crash, though those ones were minor incidents of trains bumping into each other at the station). I didn’t do “the goat trick.” • Mark Twain Riverboat - This was the attraction on which I closed out my trip. A nice, relaxing ride around the newly-shortened (at least “newly” since the last time I was here” around the Rivers of America. Another guest pointed out kids on the WRONG SIDE OF THE RAILING along the river, and the cast member acted quickly. Good show, guest who reported it and cast member aboard the boat who handled it. • Jungle Cruise - Don’t remember skipper’s name (I was half-asleep by this point). They were middling-to-good. Decent deliveries, not the best bote of guests (it’s spelled “bote” when it’s the Jungle Cruise). • Indiana Jones - I mentioned my beef with one particular cast member. Do the “air jets” that are supposed to signify things landing on you ever fool anyone? Even when the attraction opened, it was an obvious play. • Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room -- saw this with Andrew (aka disfan here but he hasn’t posted in almost a year). My parents and lil sis were in Walt Disney World last month and the version they saw was shortened, mine was not. So I have that over them • Haunted Mansion Holiday -for the fist time (even though I had been here once since his re-debut) --- worked, and the effect is amazing. • Splash Mountain -- I tried to keep my phone dry. I succeeded (last time I was on this I broke my stepdad’s cell phone with water damage so I’n GOOD now since I kept my phone and charger dry), • Splash Mountain -- I did Single Rider and the cast member told me to go over a bridge that was roped of. My first time separating/disconnecting ropes since I was a cast member.