#if we had the cash for it back then i'd have been shook by it fr

[sinsofsinister]

finally playing the og ffvii and y'know what?? i get it now

[dilemmaontwolegs]

hiiii, I'm new here. saw that your reqs r closed but I'd like to share one scenario idea. the choice is yours whether to write it or not.

Daniel (or Carlos) is your bff. You see each other rarely because of his career. It's summer break, he's back home and you've just had your heartbroken by an asshole. You convince you friend group that you need to go out & celebrate Daniel's (or Carlos') comeback in the hope of getting laid. As the night goes on the driver is more n more frustrated with the guys you choose. He get a lil too much to drink n becomes possessive of you, starts touching you intimately and doesn't care about people surrounding. The night ends in a bedroom where he fucks you slow and sensually like he thinks you deserve and none of those jackasses in the club could

hope you've a nice vacation

Peace out ✌🏾

This is for Carlos since Daniel hasn't gotten rid of that moustache yet

Red Flags || CS55

Warnings: 18+ only, NSFW, smut, oral, friends to lovers WC: 2.4k

It hurt a little that the first notification you received that Carlos was back home came from a gossip page you followed. Maybe it shouldn’t come as such a surprise when a distance had grown after you started dating Marco, you weren’t sure if Carlos even knew what had happened since the last time you spoke to him. Your families were close, but even your parents were reluctant to speak to anyone about the breach of privacy your ex had caused, the photos he had tried to leak. It had cost a huge sum to keep them from being published and you had been trying to get over the betrayal since.

Recent coping methods included the company of your friends and the string of nightclubs that lined the beachfront.

“I picked up a stray,” Liana called out as she walked into your house without knocking. You could always count on your friend to be up for a party and she had accepted the invite before anyone else. You stuck your head out of the living room where you had been pouring yourself a stiff drink and found her arm curled around the back of Carlos. “A handsome one too.”

You couldn’t believe it had been nearly six months since you last saw him and it looked like he had somehow matured even more. His beard had filled out to cover his entire jaw and his hair was lush and dark. 

Excitement filled you and you rushed towards him as he opened his arms with a smile. “Carlito!” 

“Bomboncita,” he replied with a laugh, his strong arms tightening around you as he picked you up and twirled in a circle. “Missed you too.”

“Come out with us, let’s celebrate your win!” You didn’t wait for an answer as you rushed back to get your clutch with your ID and cash.

“She just wants to get laid,” Liana whispered to Carlos. “You can help me keep her away from any red flags.”

There was one thing you could always count on and that was Liana to be the mother of the group. More mature than the rest of your friends put together, she always made sure you got home safe. Everyone else lived in the city but the mansion your parents had given you was out on the coast, thankfully she was more than happy to sober drive for you. Unfortunately, the only cars on the driveway were two seater sports cars.

That was how you ended up starting your night sitting on Carlos’ lap.

“This reminds me of old times, bombón,” he murmured as you looped an arm around his neck and held on tight. 

“I don’t know how you passed basic maths,” you shot back with a laugh before looking at Liana. “He would always invite more people than we have seats for during the summer break.”

Liana shook her head with a smirk. “Maybe he just liked having you on his lap.”

“What guy wouldn’t,” you joked, well accustomed to the years of teasing over your close friendship with Carlos. But for all the times you sat in this very position, he had never seen you as more than a friend. 

“Should we stop her?” Carlos asked, a quiet growl in his words as he watched you dance with another man. Your hips were too enticing, too sexy, and he had to look away to down his drink and quench the sudden thirst he had. 

Liana didn’t seem fazed by your ability to hook a man in with a seductive smile and dance with them until Carlos interrupted or they said something that made you push them away. 

“No way, she deserves to have some fun after what happened with Marco.”

He placed the empty glass on the bartop and turned his attention to Liana, a frown etched into his forehead. “What happened with Marco?” 

“Oh, she should probably be the one to tell you. I thought you knew.”

A woman in a very low cut dress slipped between Liana and Carlos, interrupting their conversation as she placed a hand on his arm. “You’re that driver, right? Want to dance?”

Carlos shook his head with a polite ‘no thanks’ and brushed her hand off his, rubbing the spot on his sleeve to erase the feel of her touch. “What did he do, Lee?”

The tone left no arguing and Liana chewed her lip nervously before giving in and leaning closer so no one overheard. 

Rage burned through Carlos in a way he had never felt before. He had felt anger, sure, frustration too, but this was white hot and liquid molten in his veins, deep in his core. He was lucky that Marco wasn’t in the same city or he would surely be finding himself on the wrong side of the law at that moment.

Carlos didn’t even realise he had crossed the room until his fist bunched into the shirt of the man holding you close and he pushed the stranger away, ignoring the protests he made. 

“Carlito!” you giggled as you wrapped your arms around his neck. “Dance with me.”

Some of the fire eased as your fingers twirled the strands of hair at his nape and his hands came to rest naturally on your hips as he pulled you closer. “We have a lot of catching up to do, bomboncita.”

You looked up as the odd tone cut through your buzz and immediately knew what he knew. His own eyes were a little unfocused and you could smell the whiskey on his breath, not helping him to control his emotions. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

The air hissed between your teeth as you sucked in a breath and dipped your chin down so you didn’t have to look him in the eyes. “You would have said I told you so.”

His hand slipped away from your body and you missed the heat of it instantly but then it was cradling your throat, his thumb pushing your chin back up and forcing you to connect with his dark irises. “I told you he wasn’t good for you, he wouldn’t treat you how you deserve.”

“Carlito...” It was a familiar argument every time you had a boyfriend. He would always find reasons to dislike them.

“Listen, please, bombón,” he said as he took a step closer so every inch of his body was flush against yours. His lips brushed your cheek as he turned your head away and whispered the secret he had kept all these years. “Let me show you how you should be treated.”

Surprise filled you and you licked your dry lips at the thought of what he was implying. “Here?” you asked breathlessly and his laugh warmed your cheek.

“No, bombón,” he all but purred as he teased the column of your neck with his nose and his hands danced over the curve of your ass. “What I want to do to you…no, not here.”

His eyes narrowed at someone behind you and you turned to see it was someone you had been dancing with earlier. You couldn’t remember his name, or maybe he hadn’t even told you it, either way you had no interest in taking the drink he offered.

“Red flag, mate,” Carlos growled as he pulled you under his arm and put himself between you and the stranger. “Walk away.”

The man wisely walked away and you laughed as you stepped back into Carlos’ arms. He had held you a thousand times over your long friendship but the way he held you now, possessive and jealous, it changed everything. There was no going back to how it used to be. 

“I kind of like this new you,” you teased as you danced with him, turning in his arms and rocking your hips in time to the beat. “So commanding, Carlito, why don’t you try it on me?”

His lips cocked up in a smirk that you saw as you peeked over your shoulder and dragged his hands down your body. “Because you’ve never listen to anything I say.”

Turning to face him, you looped your arms around his neck and brushed your lips softly over his before you could change your mind. “Maybe you just never said what I wanted to hear.”

Carlos swallowed as he saw your pupils dilate with lust and the thin material of your dress did little to hide the fact you wore no bra beneath it, your peaked nipples begging him to take them in his mouth. “We need to leave,” he groaned as he squeezed your ass and bit his lip, “before I get us both into a lot of trouble.”

You barely remembered to thank Liana for dropping you off at home. You barely remembered the drive when every ounce of your brain capacity was spent trying to behave yourself while you sat on Carlos’ lap. You tried to keep still on the corners but you felt his hard length beneath you with each turn and squirm.

It seemed to take forever for Liana to finally pull into your driveway and your foot tapped the tile floor impatiently while she drove off and you slapped the button on the wall to close the gates. You didn’t wait to see them close as Carlos’ lips were on yours and his feet led the way blindly through your home. 

Your bed was a mess. You hadn’t planned on bringing a stranger back to your place, but Carlos was no stranger, in fact, he knew you better than anyone ever could or would. He smiled knowingly as he laid you down on the sheets, kneeling between your legs as they parted for him.

His shirt had been abandoned somewhere on the stairs, your dress along the hallway, his trousers at the foot of your bed. You had seen him in this state of undress before, when you would sneak out as teenagers and go for midnight swims in the bay, but the moonlight had left the memory faded. In the light of your room, his skin glowed and shadows highlighted the dips of his defined muscles that lined his body. It was like seeing him in colour for the very first time.

“Are you okay, bombón?” he asked as his fingers danced down your legs lightly, tickling your skin and leaving goosebumps behind until he reached your heels. His thick fingers shouldn’t have been able to remove the delicate clasps so gracefully but he eased each shoe off before massaging the aching soles of your feet. “You look like you are thinking too hard.”

“I am thinking you are going way too slow,” you teased. His thumb hit the right spot in your arch and a moan parted your lips while he chuckled at your reaction.

“I told you, princesa, I’m going to show you how you deserve to be treated.” Tantilisingly slowly, he massaged his way up your legs, devoting his time to your relaxation until you were putty in his hands. Your legs were trembling in anticipation when his thumbs finally reached the laced edge of your panties and he let out an unsteady breath at the damp patch darkening the material. You lifted your hips for him as he hooked his fingers into the waistband and dragged them down your legs. “I want to taste you, princesa.”

“Please, Carlos,” you begged as he licked his full lips enticingly.

You recognised the look in his eyes, the one that told you to be patient and the groan that had been building morphed into a gasp when he grabbed your hips and pulled you onto his thigh. The pressure was teasing and you rocked your hips wanting more as he blanketed you with his body and sealed his lips around your breast. 

“Fuck,” you moaned as his tongue flicked over your nipple, sending bolts of lightning to your core as you tightened your legs around his thigh and combed your fingers into his hair. “Oh god, do that again.”

He was more than happy to follow your command and you felt like your body would ignite beneath him. He sensed the change in your body as your breathing laboured and a sweat broke out across your skin. “Not yet,” he warned as he kissed his way up your neck and captured your lips in a blistering kiss. “I want to taste you when you come, princesa.”

Your eyes fluttered shut as you shamelessly rode his thigh, the pressure building. “Then you better hurry up.”

A whimper escaped with the disappearance of his leg but when you opened your eyes you were struck by his dark ones, watching you watch him make his way down your body. You sucked in a sharp breath as you felt him blow a cold breeze over your skin and you shivered as he warmed it again with his tongue. 

“I’m starting to think you get off on teasing me,” you whispered with a strained voice. 

“I simply get off on you,” he replied just as quietly.

The questions you had were erased with the leisurely stroke of his tongue, tasting you for the first time. He hummed at the reward he had earned with his teasing and his fingers gripped your thighs tighter as he held you spread open for him to devour. 

The room filled with the sweet sounds that clawed from your throat as your head swum and your legs quivered. The salacious song grew louder when Carlos curled one finger into your cunt, then two. He pumped his digits as his tongue circled your clit and together they threw you over the edge and you came with undulating waves that rocked your body against his lips.

“Carlito…” you panted as he lapped at your dripping folds, indulging in the decadence he had been craving for years.

“I love you,” he admitted as he rose above you.

You reached for his face, your thumb tracing the shape of his swollen lips that were still shiny with your arousal. “I love you too.”

“No more red flags,” he said as he lined himself with your entrance. “You’re mine, princesa.”

“I’m yours,” you echoed as you pulled his face to yours and sealed the promise with a kiss.

“You always have been.”

[passionwillow]

Did It Have To Be My Sister?

Hi guys! I'm back with another request. ☺️ Reader is in the military (naval aviator) and is Street's twin sister. She gets to meet his work family, and falls for our blue-eyed man Luca.

Warnings: Some heated make out, description of sex but nothing explicit. 18+

The chatter and laughter filling the house could be heard from outside. You thanked the Uber driver and handed him some cash before you walked up to the house with a spring in your step. It had been too long since you'd seen your brother Jim Street, and your heart pounded in your chest as you knocked at the door.

Street knew you were going to be coming over, but you lied about when your flight landed to surprise him. He had every intention of picking you up from the airport, but you always loved to keep him on his toes.

A tall, muscled guy answered the door, and you looked up at him with a smile, his blue eyes shockingly bright. "Hey! Is Street here?" The resemblance between you and your brother was obvious, and the man before you grinned and stepped back to let you in. "Yeah! You must be his sister."

You stepped in and looked around at the groups of people, grinning as your eyes landed on your brother across the room, chatting excitedly with a short, slim girl. "That would be me." You thanked the man as he closed the door and hurried across the room. Street's eyes caught yours over the girls head and his wide, almost comically excited smile made you laugh, and he closed the distance between you in two quick steps, scooping you up into his arms.

You squeezed him hard and laughed as he spun you, setting you down and exclaiming. "What the hell?! I was supposed to come get you!"

"I know, but I thought I'd make it a surprise." You grinned and punched his shoulder playfully, not noticing the group of people circling you and your brother. "Who's this, man?" The guy that had greeted you at the door stood behind you, and you turned to see three more men with him.

"Guys, this is my sister. From the military. This is Hondo, my team lead, Deacon, Tan, and Luca. This is his place." You grinned at all of them and shook their hands in turn, your eyes lingering a little longer than necessary on Luca. His blue eyes were still shining with pure happiness and something else you couldn't figure out. You cleared your throat and turned to Street and the girl still behind him. "And that's Chris." She greeted you with a sweet smile and you knew you'd instantly befriend her in no time.

"So this is your work family, huh?" Street nodded and smiled almost proudly, and steered the group of you to the kitchen to sit and talk more privately.

Everyone was eager to meet you and ask about your work. The missions you'd been on, where you'd gotten to travel to, what all came with being a naval aviator. Everyone seemed extra curious about the search and rescues you'd been on, and it wasn't long before you hd a drink in your hand, snacks on the table and the whole of 20-David was listening to your stories. Especially Luca.

You almost didn't notice a man come into the kitchen with you and the group, his voice cutting through Deacon's question. "Wow, Street, you finally get yourself a girl?" You kept your face a mask of calm and looked over your shoulder at the man, your elbows resting on the counter top behind you. His blue eyes and dark curls were attractive, but his snarky demeanor made you want to punch him. "Street is my brother, actually."

The man’s teasing grin faltered, and a blush painted his cheeks as you eyed him with disinterest before looking back to your new friends. “As I was saying.. That search and rescue. So what we do is.." Luca’s grin made your heart skip a beat, and you couldn’t help but match it as you answered Deacon’s question, the older man hanging on your words in fascination.

The night fell together in a bundle of laughter, drinks and good food. You spent most of it sitting with Street and the team, getting to know each of them in turn. You managed to slip away for a moment with your brother, the two of you standing by the fridge. "You hear from mom lately?"

The questioned caused Street's smile to fade, his head shaking as his arms crossed across his chest. "No, it's been months. She hasn't checked in with her parole officer." Your heart sunk and you nodded quietly, resting a hand on his arm and squeezing. "We can talk about it tomorrow, okay?" You smiled reassuringly and gently pushed him to go back to his friends, suddenly feeling suffocated in the room of laughter and voices.

You stood straight and adjusted your baby blue sweater as the team talked amongst themselves, glancing at your phone and surprised to see hours had passed. You glanced over at the crew and smiled, eyes finding Chris and Street sitting comfortably close. You made a mental note to ask him about her later. You glanced around the tidy house and a familiar voice came from beside you. “Need something?”

You turned and met Luca's gaze, smiling and nodding as you glanced around again. "Was just wanting to get some air." He nodded in understand and put a hand on your lower back, gently guiding you through the people to the back door, taking you out into the empty backyard.

"Who was that guy earlier?" You sat down at a small picnic table and relished the cool air, Luca sitting beside you and chuckling. "That was Rocker. He's on 50-David. Kinda an ass sometimes, y'know?" You smiled at the honesty in his words and nodded, looking at him and cocking your head. "You've been a big help to my brother, you know. He talks about you a lot."

Luca smiled bashfully at your words and shrugged his shoulders, looking at his hands as he played with the sleeves of his hoodie. "Nah, it's nothing, just family helping each other out. He talks about you a lot too, he's really proud of you." You grinned at his words and shook your head, looking up at the sky and shifting closer to Luca as the air cooled.

"I'm proud of him too. It hasn't been easy, the way we came up.. Especially with my mom." Your voice trailed off and you pulled your the cuffs of your sweater down over your hands. Luca's eyes watched you and he nodded, shifting closer until your shoulders brushed. "Yeah, he's told me.. If you guys ever need anything, I'm here. Whatever it is."

You looked at him in surprise, but the honest concern in his eyes warmed your heart, and you couldn’t help but smile the man. “Street was right about you.. You just like helping people.” Luca’s cheeks bloomed with color and he grinned, holding your gaze as he shrugged. “Well yeah, man. We all need it sometimes.”

You matched his grin and studied his ruggedly handsome features, the alcohol in your system giving you enough courage to lean in and kiss his cheeks. “Well, I appreciate it.” He stared at you in surprise but grinned in return, hand finding yours and lacing his fingers with yours.

You weren't sure how long you sat out there with him, talking about your life and the struggles, him offering up stories of his own, more beer making it's way into your hand and his. It wasn't long before you were both tipsy and sharing kisses out in his backyard.

His lips were warm and slightly chapped as they moved with yours, his hands cupping your cheeks and keeping you close, like you might slip away. Your hands made their way into his hair, tugging at the blonde locks as your kisses heated, tongues clashing and teeth biting at lips.

You followed his mouth as he tried to pull away, grinning as his lips left yours and he stood up, hands finding your waist and tugging you up. "You wanna.. Go to my room?" His sudden shyness after the way his lips were just attacking yours made you grin, and you eagerly stood up and whispered. "Please."

*next morning*

The sunlight shining in through Luca's windows woke up the next day, and you rolled over with a groan to hide from the light, your face finding his broad chest and burrowing in. You felt his strong arms pull you in, his husky morning voice breaking the silence. "Morning, beautiful."

You smiled at his words and mumbled a greeting, tangling closer to him with a hum. The soreness between your legs made you squirm and the pictures of last night played through your mind.

Luca's hands on your hips, your ass, mouth marking your neck and jaw as your hands felt over his strong chest. Clothes being tossed off, you laying on his bed, the smell of him and his cologne filling your nose. A hand between your legs, his mouth, the weight of him still on your tongue..

You smiled to yourself and looked up at him, his sleepy blue eyes meeting yours. "Last night was amazing, y'know." You grinned at his statement and nodded in agreement, mouth opening to reply, but his bedroom door opened and Street's voice broke through the happy daze.

"Luca, do you know where-.. Oh, what the fuck?!" You sat up in alarm and quickly covered yourself with Luca's sheets, cheeks pink and eyes wide. "Street, this isn't-.. Okay, it is what it looks like but.." Your voice trailed off at the alarmed and angry look in your brother's face.

"Seriously, Luca? It had to be my sister?" Luca simply sat up with his trademark bright smile, looking at you and shrugging. "Your sister is pretty cool, man." You looked at Luca and tried not to laugh at his calm demeanor in the face of your brother, but Street was already walking off and muttering to himself about a brotherly code.

Luca got up and pulled on his briefs and a pair of sweatpants, tossing you his shirt and grinning. "Better talk to him before he kills us both." You caught the shirt and laughed, watching him head to the bathroom and smiling to yourself.

You were going to love it here in LA.

[grapenehifics]

Confession - Obikin Promptober day 17

Someday I will get back to the fics I'm meant to be working on, but not this day! Today, I was inspired to write a coffee shop AU (thank you @evieswips!) for the Obikin Promptober (thank you @paracosm-draw!) prompt, 'confession'. 2k of fluff and aprons below the cut:

"Uh, Obi-Wan? I...think somebody left this for you?"

Anakin wasn't sure why he phrased it as a question. A note labeled, 'to the cute redhead behind the counter' definitely wasn't for Anakin, and he and Obi-Wan were the only two who'd been working the shop that day. (They were the only two working the shop ANY day. Anakin was Obi-Wan's sole employee.) He shouldn't open it - it wasn't addressed to him - but Obi-Wan didn't reach for it, merely looked over his shoulder curiously and mumbled, 'oh, yes?' as he continued to sweep the floor, so Anakin unfolded the slip of paper. "I think she's asking you on a date," he said morosely, his stomach sinking down to somewhere around his sneakers. (Okay, so maybe Anakin DID know why he'd phrased it as a question. Anakin was hopelessly, catastrophically in love with his boss.)

"Again?" Obi-Wan asked mildly, and Anakin was so distracted by this response that he hardly noticed when Obi-Wan took the slip of paper from him and slid it into the pocket of the apron he wore around his waist. (Anakin had a crush on a man who wore an apron. What was his world coming to?)

"Again?" Anakin squeaked, so surprised he dropped the trash can he'd been emptying. His voice went high and unattractive, nearly shrill. "What do you mean, 'again'?"

"She's...asked before. I admire the persistence, if nothing else," Obi-Wan said, ignoring Anakin's mounting panic and opening the cash register. He pointedly was not making eye contact, but Anakin couldn't stop staring. He'd feel bad about neglecting his duties, except for the fact that he'd clocked out hours ago. He'd told Obi-Wan that the shop was a good place for him to study even after his shift, and it was...sort of. The coffee was good - it had better be; Anakin had ducked behind the counter and made it himself; not wanting to bother Obi-Wan, who was busy with paying customers, for a cup - and the atmosphere pleasant, but Anakin would definitely have been able to get more work done if he hadn't spent half his time sneaking glances at Obi-Wan's butt when Obi-Wan wasn't looking or pausing the clacking of his keyboard to listen to Obi-Wan's smooth, melodic voice as he took orders and flirted with the clientele or insisting that he was 'planning on taking a break for a while anyway' every time Obi-Wan stopped by to check on his booth even if he hadn't been anywhere near due to take a break. And then, when Anakin realized it was closing time and he'd (again) not moved for a solid four hours, he'd offered to stay late, helping Obi-Wan clean and close up. It was Anakin's favorite part of the day, despite not getting paid for it. The doors were locked, the lights were dimmed, and it was just him and Obi-Wan, puttering around, straightening chairs and taking inventory.

"And...you've told her no? That's not persistence, Obi-Wan; that's just...not taking no for an answer," Anakin said, getting his hackles up. No meant no, and if this lady couldn't take a hint...

Obi-Wan shook his head. "Oh, no. Nothing like that. I said I'd think about it."

Anakin picked the trash can back up again and frowned. It didn't sound like Obi-Wan to lead somebody on like that. "Don't you like her?"

Obi-Wan gave a half-hearted chuckle. "Difficult to say. We haven't actually been on that date yet." Anakin's frowned just from hearing Obi-Wan use the word 'date'. "I've simply been busy. Well, you know how it is," he quickly added, catching a glimpse of Anakin's expression. "Starting a new business..." He'd paused, mop dangling from his hand. "I poured my entire life savings and my father's inheritance into this place. I want it to work. I need it to work. Perhaps down the line - a few years from now - I can start thinking about dating again, but" -

"Wait, wait," Anakin interrupted. He set the trash can on the counter and put his hands on his hips as he stared the man down. "Obi-Wan. You're telling me that you're not going out with a cute girl because of work?"

Anakin was surprised to find himself so offended. He wasn't sure why he was coming to this woman's aid, when he very manifestly did not want Obi-Wan to date her. But even more than not wanting that, he did want Obi-Wan to be happy. And shutting himself up in his coffee shop was not the way to do that.

"I...you know that we..." Obi-Wan spluttered, gesturing with the mop handle. "You of all people know how hard we work."

(Obi-Wan desperately needed another one, maybe two, employees, in addition to Anakin, but Anakin had refrained from mentioning that fact, because then Obi-Wan might do it, and hire some more people, and then Anakin wouldn't be special anymore.)

"This place is my life," Obi-Wan continued, "and..."

"Bullshit," Anakin blurted out, and Obi-Wan pulled up in surprise. He looked so hurt that Anakin almost felt bad, but he barreled on anyway. "Look, Obi-Wan, you don't want to go out with this chick in particular, I get it. You know what, maybe you don't want to date at all. And that's fine; it's your life. But I don't ever want to hear you say that this place" - Anakin gestured over his shoulder to the rest of the coffee shop - "is all you have. Because it isn't. It's just a job. You have..." Anakin, surprisingly, felt his breath hitch and his throat swell. He hadn't expected to get so emotional over this. He suddenly thought of his mom, who'd worked nearly until the day she'd died, and how much Anakin would give for even one more day with her. "You have people who love you," he finished throatily.

Obi-Wan's face softened and he started to reach out, as if to take Anakin's arm, and then thought better of it and let his hand fall to his side again. "Many of whom I've met because of this shop," he added softly, and Anakin thought about the blonde woman who'd left the note again.

"You have to do something for you, Obi-Wan," Anakin said. He was in no fit place to be giving his boss - or anyone - life advice, but Anakin believed in what he was saying with his whole heart. "You've just gotta take a chance, sometimes, you know? Even if it's scary. Even if it" -

The mop fell to the floor with a clatter. Obi-Wan stepped forward, brought his hands up, closed the distance between them, cupped Anakin's face in his palms, and kissed the stuttered surprise right out of Anakin's mouth.

"Hmm?" Anakin said, or something very close to it, and his fingertips had just barely brushed the thick cotton of Obi-Wan's apron on either side of his hips when Obi-Wan stumbled backward, his mouth open and his eyes wide.

"I...I just kissed my employee," Obi-Wan said, sounding horrified, and he brought his hand up again, this time pressing the back of his wrist to his lips. His wet lips. That Anakin had just had pressed against his. "Anakin, I'm so sorry," Obi-Wan murmured, rushing to get the words out as he wiped his mouth with his hand. "That was a completely inappropriate overstep on my part. I...can we...can we please just forget this ever happened, and" -

"Absolutely not," Anakin growled, and he finished the motion he'd started and hooked his index fingers through the white cotton ties of the apron that held it snug around Obi-Wan's captivatingly trim little waist. He yanked Obi-Wan forward and stepped toward him at the same time, so that their chests and hips met in the middle almost painfully. Anakin had to duck his chin a little to catch Obi-Wan's eye at this angle. Obi-Wan looked back up at him. His mouth was still open, a little, but now instead of panting he seemed to be holding his breath. "Forget what I said before. Fuck all those other people I was talking about. It's me. I love you." Anakin unhooked his fingers just long enough to wrap his hands around Obi-Wan's hips instead. He could feel the warmth of him through his left palm, and the solid weight of him through the right. "Take a chance on me, Obi-Wan. Please." He knew he was begging, knew his lip was wobbling and tears were gathering in his eyes, but he stayed where he was, firm and resolute. If Obi-Wan didn't want him he was going to have to tell Anakin that himself.

"But what if I'm scared," Obi-Wan whispered, and he broke eye contact long enough to look down at the center of Anakin's chest instead, and at the same time brought his own hand up and placed it flat, fingers splayed, over Anakin's beating heart. Anakin half-hoped he could feel how fast Anakin's heart was beating under his ribcage, and half-hoped he couldn't. "This could go so wrong, Anakin; I'm so much older than you are, and I'm your boss, and" -

Anakin, a little reluctantly, took his right hand off of Obi-Wan's hip and wrapped it around his wrist instead, pinning Obi-Wan's hand to where it lay splayed over Anakin's sternum. "So maybe now's a good time to break some bad news to you," Anakin said lowly, and now it was his turn to hold his breath in nervous anticipation.

Obi-Wan's head snapped up. "What?"

Anakin couldn't bear to see him look like that, even in jest. He closed his eyes and gave Obi-Wan a quick, puckered kiss to the tip of his nose before pulling back. He rubbed the back of Obi-Wan's hand with his thumb. "I quit."

Obi-Wan blinked in surprise. Anakin was gratified to feel his hand curl just a little possessively around Anakin's t-shirt. He wasn't sure Obi-Wan was even aware he was doing it. "You're quitting? Why?"

Anakin shrugged, feigning nonchalance even though his heart was in his throat. If this didn't work, Anakin was not only out a job but would lose the chance to see the love of his life every morning for a four-hour shift, doubles on weekends. "There's this really cute guy I want to take out on a date, but between my classes and homework and this really demanding job I have, I just don't know when I'd find the time to woo him the way he deserves." He slid his left hand, the one still on Obi-Wan's waist, back and to the side, until it was resting at the small of Obi-Wan's back, just above the knot in his apron ties. "He's worth it, though."

Obi-Wan frowned. "I don't want you to leave," he said, sounding almost as petulant as Anakin did when he was trying to get out of having to take the trash out to the dumpster, and Anakin was struck by the desire to kiss his nose again. "This is your job, Anakin, and I won't have you losing your apartment over this. We'll figure something else out. We'll..."

"Oh." Anakin shook his head. "I didn't say I wasn't going to work. I'm just not going to work here. I know when I answered that ad in your window I didn't know the difference between an Americano and a cortado but you whipped me into shape. Darling." Anakin rubbed Obi-Wan's back to try to distract him from the endearment he'd just let slip out. "I'm taking everything you taught me and I'm going to sell it to the highest bidder. I bet I'll have a new job by the time I come to pick you up on Friday for our date."

Obi-Wan gave him a shy, rueful smile, and Anakin was delighted to see the tips of his ears blush a very cute shade of pink. "I admire the persistence," he admitted.

That wasn't a yes. "Is that a yes?" Anakin asked, almost demanding.

Obi-Wan was still blushing, but he grinned mischievously at him and shifted - Anakin sprang back to release his wrist as quickly as if he'd been burnt - to wrap his arms around Anakin's neck. "We close at eight on Fridays."

"I know," Anakin said, appreciating the new angle and allowing himself the luxury of wrapping his arms around Obi-Wan’s waist and holding him close. "I used to work here, until about ten seconds ago, remember?"

"...but for a special occasion I might just manage to lock up before seven," Obi-Wan said, and once again Anakin only managed to let out half of a surprised, happy gasp before Obi-Wan kissed him again.

[willsimpforanyone]

hey !! i absolutely adore your account. your writing is just amazing!!! i was wondering if you could do more leo valdez smuts!?

ahhhh thank you so much i'm glad you like my writing!!

this will have obligatory spanish pet names in it because i am cringe and proud k thanks also it's a flower shop/tattoo shop au because that's the best trope i don't make the rules

-----------------------------------

There was a tap on my shop door.

"Knock knock, chica, where you at?"

I rolled my eyes but grinned. "In the back," I yelled back. "Gimme a sec."

The door opened and closed, the little bell dinging, and I stripped off my black gloves. "Okay, all done! How'd you like it?"

Nico nodded approvingly at his new tarot card tattoo - Death, of course. "Looks awesome, how much do I owe you?"

"£180, because you're my favourite." I winked at him as I led him out the room.

He shook his head. "You know that's not the right price." Nico took out an envelope of cash and slid it across the counter. "£200, plus tip, don't even think about it."

He caught me before I could protest, and made to leave. "Hey Valdez."

From the sofa, Leo grinned up at him. "Hey dude, whatcha get?"

Nico pulled up his shirt sleeve to show off his new tattoo. Leo nodded approvingly. "Looks sick, Will's gonna love it." Nico coloured slightly but gave a small smile, nodded and left.

I leaned forward on the counter. "So, Valdez, what brings you to my dark corner of the world?"

He brandished the small collection of blooms he held. "Thought I'd bring it a little bit of colour." Beelining to where I had a wilting bunch of flowers in a vase, Leo swapped them out. I leant on my hand and smiled- he was right, the studio could use a little colour now and then.

"Is today the day I get to ink you?" I tapped my fingers on the wooden surface, fingers buzzing slightly from the tattoo gun.

Leo grinned. "Oh, you wish you could make your mark on this." He gestured down to himself, and I allowed myself to rake my eyes over him. His loose grey shirt was faintly patterned with roses, and his jeans clung to his legs appealingly.

"You have no idea, honey." I winked at him and got the pleasure of seeing his tan skin tinge with red.

He coughed lightly. "I don't think I'd suit tattoos, anyway." He shrugged. "Probably not, anyway."

I slipped out from behind the counter to face him. "Oh, I don't know, I wouldn't say that." I considered him carefully, as an art piece rather than a person. "Tattoos are for everyone, as long as they get something they love."

Leo shifted slightly and I reached out for his arm. He let me take it. "See, I'd do a flowering vine-" I ran my fingers down his left forearm. "-along here, delicate but thick enough not to get lost in your skin."

"Oh yeah?"

I nodded, reaching up to his shoulder. "Perhaps your favourite flower, or a flower of significance, resting on your shoulder." Carefully, carefully coming to rest a finger on his chest. "A little something here, anything you'd like, just for you."

Leo had frozen, deep brown eyes fixed on my face. I took a step back, not missing where Leo swayed towards me just slightly.

"Of course, it's up to you." Just for the hell of it, I decided to push my luck. "I have a few other ideas of how I could mark you, should you be interested."

I heard him let out a shaky breath and push dark curls behind his ears. Silently, I prayed that I didn't push it too far and scare him off. The crush I'd been harbouring for the past two months squeezed my heart.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, god I hope I'm not wrong, but we're very much not talking about tattoos anymore, are we?"

I turned round to see Leo with his hands clenched by his side and his lip being worried between his teeth. Slowly, I shook my head.

"No, not tattoos. Or rather, the kind that would fade in a couple days and are made with my mouth against your neck."

"Oh thank fuck." Leo relaxed and reached out, pulling me close and pressing his lips to mine.

Instantly my arms were wrapped around his neck and I was grinning like an idiot. For a brief moment I wondered if I had any more clients today but a quick glance at the clock told me it was past 6pm, closing time. Regretfully I pulled away from Leo and he pouted.

"What's wrong?"

I disentangled myself from his arms, racing to the door to lock it and turn the 'open' sign to 'closed' before returning to pull Leo's face down to mine. "Absolutely nothing, hermoso, nothing at all."

Leo let out a throaty groan and looped his fingers in my belt loops to pull me closer. "Woman, you are driving me insane." He kissed me hard, hips pressing againt mine and I felt heat flame in my stomach, looping and curling.

"Hey-" In between kisses, I tried to talk. "-I live-" Kiss. "-literally right upstairs-" Kiss. "-if you want to-" Kiss. "-take this further."

Leo pulled back this time, massive grin on his flushed face, already looking a mess. "Oh hell yeah, lead the way."

It took only moments to take his hand and lead him through my studio, up the stairs and into the flat I owned above my shop. I shut the door behind us and pinned Leo to it, fingers twisting and gently tugging at his hair. He whined and slipped his hands under my shirt, smoothing them along my stomach. "Do I get to see your tattoos?" He panted, eyes dark with want.

"Maybe, if you ask nicely." I winked at him. "But I believe I was going to give you a few."

"As many as you want, mi amor, whatever you want." Oh, this was going to be fun.

I pulled him away from the door and practically dragged him to my bedroom. I pointed to the pillows. "Sit."

He did it without question and I got a thrill of satisfaction. I crawled over to him, throwing a thigh over his lap and settling into his lap. Serious time for a moment. "If you want to stop at any point, let me know, okay?"

Leo nodded. "Same goes for you."

Cute. I pressed my lips to his gently, softly, a small thank you for being receptive. I shifted myself forward a little, until my hips were almost against his. My lips ghosted over his lips one last time before I swept along his jawline. I felt his hands hovering over my waist, my hips, my thighs, before I took his wrists and settled him on the tops of my thighs. "I'm not fragile, baby."

"Oh, I'm sure you're not, but if we keep going like this, I might be."

I rested my hands on his chest. "I'll try not to break you." Leaning in closer, I kissed just below his ear. "At least, not this time."

He whimpered, fingers digging into my flesh beneath my jeans.

I dragged my mouth along the planes of his neck, skin warm and heartbeat pounding beneath it. Finding his pulse point, I gave it a gentle suck, feeling Leo inhale sharply. "Good?"

He let out a shuddery breath. "Very good."

That was all the encouragement I needed. I nipped hard up and down his neck, leaving a trail of blossoming red in my wake. I bit purple roses and violets, tattooing the little moans and gasps from him into his skin. His collarbone was decorated with faint teeth marks, each one marked with the memory of a twist of his hips.

I pulled back briefly to tug at his button-down and he nodded emphatically, practically ripping it off so I could continue to kiss and bite and suck at his overheated skin.

"Hey," he breathed, tapping my thigh. "I made a questioning noise, still buried in his neck. "Hey, if you don't stop we're gonna have a problem that can only be solved with doing laundry and I don't think you have jeans my size."

"So what? I think that's sexy as fuck." I continued to work on the large brand I was sucking into his skin.

"My point still stands." He ran his hand up my back and into my hair, gently tugging to pull me away. I let a moan slip before I could catch it and Leo raised an eyebrow.

"Shut up," I poked at a hickey and he hissed. "You look like you got too enthusiastic with watercolour paints."

He rolled his eyes and before I could register the action, he flipped us round so he was hovering above me, elbows supporting him. "You've had your fun, reducing me to a whimpery mess, now it's my turn."

I bit my lip at the look in his eyes, suddenly feeling that I was wearing far too many clothes.

Waiting for any indication that he should stop, Leo dragged my shirt over my head as best he could, leaving me in a bra and my jeans. He caught his breath as he saw my tattoos. I was covered in them, an art gallery of my favourite things done by some of my favourite people. Reverently, he traced a finger over the lines and I shivered, goosebumps mottling my skin.

"Holy shit, you're gorgeous."

I gave a breathy laugh. "What, only just noticed?"

Leo shook his head, deadly serious. "No, you're always gorgeous, this is just... a new part of the gorgeous that I've never seen before."

My cheeks felt hot and I wriggled under him at the compliments. "You gonna do something about it, or?"

His eyes flicked up to mine. "What, you don't think I'd fuck you into next week if I had the chance?"

I didn't have a chance to formulate a retort. He deftly undid the fastening on my jeans and dipped his hand into them. I arched my back at the contact and Leo swore. "God, you're soaked, hermosa, glad to see I'm not the only one on the edge."

My hand made weak contact with his arm and he laughed. "Very much not a bad thing, very much a 'sexy as fuck' thing."

"Just fuckin' touch me, Valdez."

"As you wish."

He slipped a finger inside my pussy, and my eyes rolled back. Marking him up may have affected me more than I let on. "M-more, Leo, I need more."

Obediently, he added another finger, and another, curling all three so deliciously inside me. My hands were clutching at his shoulders, at the pillows, the bedspread, I was sure I looked a mess but Leo looked at me like I'd hung the stars in the damn sky.

"So fucking pretty, so beautiful, I'm gonna take you out on a proper date tomorrow, I swear." He muttered promises and affections and it was all I could do to not come right there, impaled on his fingers and whining desperately.

When his hand pulled away I nearly sobbed before he was kissing my face, murmuring reassurances. "I know, I know, but I gotta get your jeans and panties off, okay? You want me to fuck you, right?"

That gave me a little clarity, and I allowed him to tug off the rough demin both from me and from him. I threw myself to the side, rummaging around in my bedside table before triumphantly producing a foil packet.

Leo accepted the gift and I got to see him slip on the condom and bite his lip to not come from the contact.

"Leo." He looked up at me, curls a mess, lips slightly swollen.

"Fuck me into next week."

He pounced on me, hands grasping at my hips to pull me flush against him. The pads of his fingers tightened and I allowed myself a moment to imagine the bruises they would leave after this.

He guided his cock in between my thighs, pausing right at the entrance. "You all good?"

I smiled. "So very good."

He pushed into me with one swift motion and I cried out, feeling so full and so good. Leo pounded into me, looking as desperate as I felt. He buried his face into my neck. "Okay, super lame but I am not gonna last long."

"Super not lame." My voice sounded wrecked. "Super fucking hot that I got you that worked up. You are super welcome to come whenever you want."

I felt him smile against my skin. "You first."

His hand reached down in a feat of strength with how hard he was thrusting into me, and he began pushing circles into my clit. My head tilted back and Leo pressed sharp kisses into the exposed flesh.

The sensations were too much and would never ever be enough and I tilted my hips just right so he was hitting just right inside me and the thin line keeping me tethered snapped.

My nails dug into his shoulders and I came hard, feeling overwhelmed with pleasure and excitement and with just enough clarity I felt Leo's hips stutter as my pussy clamped down on his dick as I came. His swearing was muffled into my skin but he pushed into me as much as he could, coming with almost a shout.

There was a moment of quiet, the two of us remembering how to breathe and enjoying the feeling of being connected. It was with simultaneous groans that Leo pulled out of me, flopping to my side and pressing absent kisses to my shoulder.

"Well," he breathed. "How do my new tattoos looks?"

I ran my fingers over my masterpiece. "I'd say they look pretty good, if I do say so myself."

-----------------------------

yes i did get carried away lol hope you enjoyed and thank you for requesting!

[ashwhowrites]

Eddie going to a Halloween party for dealing, and then seeing a girl that's dressed like an angel (he's dressed like a demon) and then the girl (Reader) approaching to him, and she buys some weed from him and starts to tell him that they look like they're using couple costumes, and after, when a lot of people are wasted, Eddie decides it's time to go home, and Reader sees him going out of the party and she follows him, and she tells him that she wants to go out like in a date with him and he accepts, so they go to lovers lake and start talking and they end up kissing and swimming at the lake, after that night they continue seeing each other until Eddie asks reader out, and she says yes

Happy October!

I hope this is what you were looking for and that you enjoy it. Thank you for requesting <3

Halloween was a huge money maker for Eddie. People in disguise, can hide their identity when they buy from him. He almost gets double the amount of people.

He dressed himself as a demon, he felt like it was fitting while he sold the devil's grass to a bunch of snobby rich kids.

Eddie didn't pay much attention to the people he sold to, he didn't care. But his eyes kept finding this one girl, dressed in all white with a halo on her head. Eddie found her costume adorable, and the way it fit perfectly with his. She kept looking at him, moving closer but then ran off. No matter where she hid, he found her.

As he prepared to close up his small shop, she made her way to the table and sat down. She was more beautiful up close. The angel wings truly fit her angelic face.

"Are you still open? I kept trying to get the nerve to walk over." She said, laughing at herself from being so scared.

"I am, angel. What are you looking for?" He asked, he didn't want to embarrass her for being shy, easily moving past the topic.

"Cheapest but still good." She said, handing over the amount of cash she had available. Her eyes looked over his costume.

"Well considering you are dressed as my other half, I'll cut you a deal. For my angel." He flirted, handing over a bag of weed and only taking a five-dollar bill from her stack of cash.

"I guess we kinda match. Like we are in a couples costume" She joked, sliding the bag into her small purse and collecting the rest of her cash.

Eddie laughed with her and finished packing up. Gathering his things and heading out.

"Wait, are you leaving?" She asked, standing up.

"Yeah, I usually head out once people are too wasted to count their money," Eddie said.

"This might sound crazy. But I've been trying to get the nerve to talk to you all night. And I'd hate to only have five minutes with you." She admitted. She cursed herself for taking too long. She got the nerve and he had to leave.

Eddie was taken back from her interest. It wasn't common for sober girls to make a move with him.

"I'm Eddie, and you are?" He asked, throwing out his hand as she shook it.

"Y/N, I've seen you around school and this is very forward. But would you maybe want to leave and do something together?"

Eddie smirked at the nerves in her voice.

"Let's go." She followed behind him, getting into his van and trusting him. Was she dumb for that? She knew that people believed he was trouble and a freak. But she saw him with his friends, and he didn't look like he could hurt a fly.

She listened to his music as he drove up to Lovers Lake, she tried to shake out the nerves. She knew she was safe, all the bad things that were said about Eddie were rumors. If he truly was dangerous, people wouldn't use him for deals.

She took his hand and walked down the hill. He laid down a blanket he had in his van and helped her sit. He dug out a joint, held it between his lips, and lit it. She watched intensely as he inhaled, he passed it over to her. Her fingers glazed his softly as she took the joint. She inhaled it in her lungs, holding it as she passed it back. She exhaled as he took another puff. Her eyes were glued to the way his pink lips wrapped around the small paper.

"Why are you interested in being with the freak on Halloween anyway?" He asked, the smoke leaving his lips as he spoke.

"I don't think you're a freak," she said, her eyes soft as she took another hit. "I'm decent friends with Steve, and he's friends with Dustin. And Dustin only has amazing things to say about you. I've had a small crush on you for a while. Halloween is all about being scared, right? So I decided to scare the shit out of myself and ask you out." She confessed, handing him back the joint.

Eddie soaked in her words with a small smile. He wished he noticed her around school more because he felt like he missed out.

"I'm glad you did," Eddie admitted. He wasn't the type to run off with any girl, especially one at a popular party. But his gut told him to do it.

"Want to do something dumb?" She asked, standing up. Eddie watched as she slipped out of her costume, tossing her halo to the side and taking off her shoes.

"Um?" Eddie tried to say something but his eyes were captivated by her. He was confused about what she wanted to do until she ran straight into the water.

"Come on!" She said from the water, she splashed around and waved him over. She watched as he stood up. He laughed and shook his head.

He took off his costume and ran in. The cold water splashed against his legs. She cheered as he swam up to her, his arms wrapped around her when she began to shiver.

"You're already freezing!" Eddie pointed out, bringing her closer as he tried to warm her up.

"Yeah, but this will be a great first date memory." She said, smiling as she looked up at him.

"Indeed it is. I also think our first kiss story would beat everyone else." Eddie said, leaning in as he smashed his lips on hers. She smiled against his lips and kissed him back.

After a moment they pulled away, looking at each other as the moonlight settled on their skin.

After that night, they went on many more dates. He couldn't get her out of his mind and she was stuck on him. She never thought she'd find herself falling for the demon but hell, he was cute. It didn't take long for him to ask her out and for them to be official.

And for the next Halloween, their couple's costume was already planned.

Tags!

@bmunson86 @mxcheese @ladymunson @michaelfuckinglangdon @z0mbie-blah @biittersweet @mirrorsstuff @somethingvicked @micheledawn1975 @ago-godance @magnificantmermaid @tlclick73 @hargrovesswifee @cityofidek @manyfandomsfanvergentreblogs @silky-luxe @lokiofasgard616 @loving-and-dreaming @eddiemunsonsbitch69 @thegemaqua @ashlynnkennedy @strangerthingsstories5255 @harringt8ns @pleasinghellfire @whoscamila @stusdollface93 @gretavankleep37

[jinhyun]

↬part one.

"these days, i haven't been sleepin'

stayin' up playin' back myself leavin'"

pairing: hwang hyunjin x reader

genre: written series, angst, fluff, friends to lovers to exes to lovers, she fell first but he fell harder, yearning, mutual pining, non-idol au, baker!y/n, movie producer!hyunjin.

word count: 4.3k

warnings: y/n has self-sabotaging tendencies, cursing, mentions of alcohol, eventual smut, mature content, MINORS DNI!!!

tag list: open. send me an ASK to be a part of it, otherwise i might miss it. i will only be adding people who are willing to reblog the chapters and/or comment on them, because it does take time out of my day to tag everyone and likes or straight up cricket noises do nothing for me in return if i'm honest.

a/n: so, here's the first part!! idk how long the rest will be but i feel like 4k is okay for now :'). some things were just lightly acknowledged in this part but don't worry, everything will be explained better later on. i hope you guys enjoy!

feedback is very dearly appreciated<3

"You look terrible".

You jolted at Seungmin's remark, feeling your heart race after he had crept up behind you while you focused on neatly placing the freshly made cupcakes in the showcase.

Without saying a word to him as you tried to calm down from the sudden scare, your eyes focused on the large Caramel Macchiato he had placed by you on the counter, smiling softly at his silent show of affection.

"A 'hello' would've been appreciated too, you know?" you hummed, straightening up and leaving the half-emptied tray on the counter before your eyes met your friend's unamused ones.

"I see you every day. Thought we were past hello's by now" he shrugged.

"Are we?" you scrunched up your nose.

"I mean, we should be because it's tiresome to—Just drink your damn coffee".

A throaty laugh escaped your mouth at his sudden exasperation, not waiting another second to follow his order and take a long sip of the beverage he had prepared for you, feeling your muscles relax as soon as the sweetness of it reached your tastebuds.

"Is it good?" he asked.

You rolled your eyes. "You already know the answer to that, you cocky bastard".

"Doesn't hurt to hear it every once in a while" he smirked proudly.

"What did I even do to deserve a coffee made by the Kim Seungmin anyway?"

"Oh, don't act like you don't ask me to make you at least three of these every day".

"Ask is the keyword" you pointed out, taking another sip of it.

He sighed, finally dropping the playful mood and leaning against the wall. "You seemed out of it…"

"Aww, were you worried about me?" you brought a hand to your chest.

"Shut up," he mumbled. "You didn't even hear me come in. I was literally right next to you making your coffee and you wouldn't notice. And your face is…"

"Do I look that bad?" you wondered.

Seungmin shook his head no, yet the concern on his face was clear. "Just tired as hell. Did you get any sleep?"

"Not really," you sighed, leaving the cup on the counter and running your hands over your face. "I'd say I got like three hours of sleep at most".

"Something happened?" he tilted his head.

You lowered your head, and that was all it took for him to read you like an open book.

"Did you get the invitation?"

You felt the air being punched out of your lungs at Seungmin's question. You had hoped that particular question wouldn't be asked at all that day. You had hoped the topic as a whole wouldn't be brought up. But it was Seungmin, you should've expected him to be up-front about it.

You sighed, nervously wiping your hands against your apron before turning around to head towards the cash register — with absolutely no other purpose than to avoid this conversation.

"Did you?" he pushed it, following hot on your heels. "Y/N, come on".

You said nothing.

The answer was so obvious, you wondered why he wanted you to confirm it to him so bad.

Had it been facing upwards all along, you wouldn't have felt your heart being stabbed by a thousand knives.

Of course you had gotten the invitation. It had been lying on the floor of your apartment all day, patiently waiting by the door for you to arrive.

It had been the first thing that caught your eye as soon as you entered your place, and you cursed at whoever decided to slide it downwards under the door. Had it been facing up, you wouldn't have felt your pressure drop the moment your eyes fell on it. You wouldn't have felt your knees go weak and tremble as you reached down to pick it up, and you wouldn't have felt your face heat up at the same time that tears welled up in your eyes.

Because, for the five seconds that it took for you to kneel down and pick the delicate creme envelope up, and for the ten others that it took for you to gain enough strength to flip it over in your shaking hands, you believed the names on the invitation would be the same two that were the cause of your heartbreak.

Hyunjin and Minji, you said under your breath — cursing once again, over how even their names sounded perfect next to one another.

Please, don't be Hyunjin and Minji.

Please.

As soon as you flipped it over, you felt pathetic. How scarred did you have to be for your first thought to a wedding invite being that Hyunjin and his best friend were getting married?

It had been nearly eight months now since you broke up with him, you would've thought your body wouldn't get such a reaction out of a simple envelope on your floor. And the rational part in you wanted to believe he wouldn’t be marrying someone else when it hadn’t even been a year yet. You knew you wouldn’t; not when you were nowhere near halfway there when it came to getting over him and moving on.

Pathetic, that's how you felt.

Wanting to forget about it all, you threw the invitation on your key table before taking your shoes off and heading to bed. Thankfully, this time it laid facing upwards and wouldn't bring you any more heartbreak, since it now displayed the names of the lovely couple who was about to get married and would like you to join them on such a special day.

Felix and Hyejin.

"Mhm…" you hummed in response after what felt like an eternity.

That was as much of an answer as Seungmin would get from you.

"Are you going?" he inquired.

You shrugged. "Don't know".

"What do you mean you don't know?!" he scoffed. "Y/N, it's Felix and Hyejin we're talking about. We've been friends since the beginning of college. Fuck, we’ve been friends with Hyejin since high school!"

"So?" you helplessly tried to fight back, knowing well enough you were at disadvantage here.

"So?!" Seungmin grew frustrated. "I get that you and Hyunjin broke up and I've been very understanding when it comes to not pushing you into hanging out with our group anymore, but it's our friends' wedding we're talking about this time".

You sighed, leaning against the counter in search of some kind of support. "I know…"

"You can't avoid us forever".

"I haven't avoided you" you pouted.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure the only reason you didn't push me away like the rest was because we're literally linked by a contract and have to see each other at our coffee shop on the daily".

"Come on now, don't be like that" your voice weakened, reaching for his hand and holding it in between both of yours. "I can't even remember what my life was like before we became friends, I wouldn't have pushed you away out of everyone".

Seungmin's semblance softened — both at your words and at the miserable look in your eyes. In the end, he was all you had, and although honored, he couldn't help but feel his chest hurt over how you had ended up here.

Not even a year ago, you used to have a team of ten people rooting for you. You used to have a perfect support system, and you used to be a part of it for your friends, too. Now, you had managed to close yourself off and push everyone away. You had cleared the way for Hyunjin and Minji to take over, not wanting to make things awkward after everything that went down. After all, you were the one who ended things, it was only fair for you to be the one to take a step back.

Now, it was only him to you. Y/N and Seungmin, just like it had been up until high school.

With a small smile, he squeezed your hand tenderly. "I really think you should go…"

You bit your lip, looking down to your black shoes, which suddenly seemed like the most interesting view in the world.

Truth be told, you wanted to go. For Hyejin and Felix, you wanted to attend. Being there with them on the most important day of their lives would be a dream come true. But you just weren't ready to face their guests — two of them in particular.

"Will you at least think about it?" he pushed it once more when he realised you might not speak up again. "Before sending your confirmation back by the end of the week".

"Will he…" your voice came out of your mouth before you could stop it, still not being able to look up. "Are they…" you sighed, feeling like you might break down from the thought of it alone. "Are they going together?"

It wasn't necessary for you to say their names, for Seungmin knew well enough who 'they' were.

"You made me promise not to ever tell you about them, no matter how hard you begged".

"That was before knowing I'd might have to face them again".

Seungmin smiled reassuringly. "I don't know, if I'm honest".

The glare you gave him was enough to have him step back and hold both hands up as a sign of peace.

"Cross my heart!" he promised. "Lix and Hye had talked about getting married here and there but the invitation took us all by surprise, you would've known if you hadn't left our group chat".

You smiled melancholically. You used to love that group chat, it had been one of your main sources of sanity all throughout college, and later on the source of many callouts from your friends when Hyunjin and you started dating and inevitably became that couple.

You missed it. You missed your friend group, all of them, even Minji, as sad as it was. But being in the same group as her and Hyunjin was something you were not strong enough to make it through, so you left.

"I'm not sure I should go then…" you confessed. "Imagine if they went there together. I would break down right there, Min".

"Aww, no, come here" he pulled you into a hug, tightly wrapping his arms around your waist and pulling your face into his chest. "I doubt they'll go together, but if they do you can leave. I just want you to show up for Felix and Hyejin, even if you literally only go there to congratulate them and then dip".

A muffled chuckle was heard against his chest. "That would be a bit rude, don't you think?"

"Then stay" he pulled you back by your shoulders, locking his eyes with yours. "You don't even have to look their way. We can go together, I'll make sure to block his view whenever he's within your visual range".

"You'd do that for me?" you pouted.

"Of course, I'll be like your personal bodyguard".

"You should probably gain a bit more muscle for that" you teased, poking his bicep.

"Shut up" he offendedly let go of you.

"You don't have to sacrifice your plus one for me, though" you let him know. "You can take whoever you want with you, I'll be fine".

"Well, it's not like I've got a lot of people lined up to date me, do I?" his snarky remark earned a laugh from you. "Plus, we'd kill three birds with one shot".

"Isn't it supposed to be two?" you tilted your head.

He shook his head. "Three".

You motioned for him to go on with his point.

"The both of us would get a date and wouldn't be put in one of those lame tables for single people so we can mingle" he cringed, and you giggled. "I'd be able to keep you from interacting with Hyunjin and Minji all day long. And, we could make Hwang a lil jealous while at it. I know he was lowkey always jealous of me being close to you".

You snorted, finding his third point absolutely ridiculous. "Oh, come on. What was there to be jealous of?"

"Should I be offended?"

"You're an idiot," you laughed. "But I will take you up on your offer".

"So you're going?!" he cheered up.

"No, I mean… I still have to think of it, but if I do, we should go together".

"Okay then, I guess I'll be waiting" he sighed, quite over dramatically at that. "Please let me know when you make up your mind, so I know whether to check the plus one option or not".

"Will do" you smiled, going back to the long-forgotten cupcakes on the counter in order to keep placing them in the showcase. "Now go see if everything's in order so we can open for the day".

"Yes, boss".

You rolled your eyes. "For the millionth time, I'm not your boss. We're literally associates".

"Yeah, and we're both the bosses here" he reminded you, stealing a salted caramel cupcake from the tray. "Would really appreciate it if you called me boss around our workers from time to time".

"Just go, big boss" you humored him.

Seeing him give you the middle finger while he stuffed his mouth and walked away, you knew the day would go by smoothly.

-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-♡

When you arrived home later that night, you were confident to check your assistance on the invitation. Seungmin's pep talk that morning had really done the trick, and the fact that it had been a very busy day at the coffee shop hadn't left that much space for overthinking throughout the day.

So, when you walked into your apartment that evening, you confidently grabbed the envelope you had thrown to the table by the entrance the day before and made your way to the desk inside your bedroom.

Taking a seat by it, you allowed yourself to pay attention to the details on the envelope for the first time. Violet had always been Hyejin's favourite colour, and you couldn't help but smile when you saw the few touches of it on the creme paper. Their names were delicately written in cursive with a black pen right in the middle, and it looked so perfect that it actually had you wondering whether it had been written by hand or in a computer.

Just like Hyunjin and Minji, Felix and Hyejin were, too, names that you considered to look perfect together. You wanted to believe Hyunjin and Minji weren't actually meant to be, though — unlike Lix and Hye, who were so fucking perfect for each other, that it only took you one minute with them the day you all met to realise they were meant to be.

Trying to erase the melancholic smile from off your face, you grabbed a black pen and opened the envelope for once and for all.

The words on the paper that informed the details of when and where the event was taking place went right through your head as you searched for the small square you would have to check in order to attend.

You were going.

Yes, you were going.

That's what you repeated to yourself like a mantra while your mind fought with your body, as the still hand holding the pen wouldn't come down to check the goddamn 'I'm attending' box.

You were going.

You had told yourself you were going.

But, after staring blankly at the paper on your desk for five minutes without being able to move, you came down to the conclusion that you couldn't bring yourself to write down on it.

Not when you were reminded of who you might bump into if you ended up attending.

No matter how hard Seungmin tried to block your view, no matter how hard you tried not to look around for him and have tunnel vision for the groom and bride standing on the aisle only, you knew you would somehow end up caving in.

Because no matter how hard you fought it, your eyes would always look for him in a room full of people. And you knew that if you looked and he was with her, your heart would break all over again and you would not be able to control the tears that would come rolling down your face in an instant.

Even if they were not a couple, even if they did not attend as each other's plus one, you knew you would break down at the most minimal of their interactions — because Hyunjin was no longer yours, and he had been hers first.

Granted, they had never been physically involved —as far as you knew and as far as you wanted with everything in you to believe—, and you had always been too scared to ask Minji if she ever had feelings for him, but Hyunjin did have feelings for her. To make matters worse, he used to have them up until right before you and him got romantically involved.

"She is the most beautiful woman I have ever laid my eyes on" Hyunjin said one night.

You had all been drinking at Minho's on a Friday night, just for the sake of having a good time as the best friends you were — all eleven of you.

Hyunjin was on his third drink already and could feel his eyes becoming heavy, but even then, his eyes would light up at the sight of Minji. Your heart tightened at the realisation, having to remind yourself that it was just a crush and you needed to let go of it before you ended up hurt.

You were well aware of it, but it was hard to let it go when you were sitting down next to him on the couch and his knee was ever-so-naturally touching yours. It was hard to let go of it when the two of you got along so well and would spend hours just sitting beside each other talking about anything and everything at the same time.

And it was hard not to feel your chest hurt every single time he would steal a glance towards Minji, who kept laughing at anything that Han said as they talked by the kitchen's entrance.

It hurt, because he looked at her like she held the stars in the sky, and you wished he would look at you the same.

You wished he would look at you like that. Period.

Not her. Only you.

But he did not. You could tell the difference in his chocolate eyes when they focused on you and when they focused on her, and it hurt the same every single time.

"Why don't you tell her?" you asked regardless, trying your best to push your feelings away.

Hyunjin looked at you as if the most stupid of ideas had just come out of your mouth — and, in a way, it had. "We've been friends since we were twelve, there's no way".

"She's gonna find out eventually if you keep saying those things out loud when she's in the same room" you shrugged, bringing your cup to your mouth, quietly sipping down on your beer.

"What? Did I say something? What did I say?" he silently freaked out.

A bitter smile curved up your mouth, which was thankfully covered by the cup still pressed to your lips.

Hwang Hyunjin was so in love with his best friend that he didn't even realise when he called her the most beautiful woman his eyes had ever seen.

You wished he could ever feel that way about you, but you knew he wouldn't. Between Minji and you, you knew his heart would always choose her. And it was okay. After all, you only had a crush on him. You could make it go away any time.

Oh, how wrong you were. And how you wished it was just a crush.

How you wished you had actually put some effort into making it go away when you had the chance, instead of only letting it grow bigger and stronger by the day.

But not falling for Hyunjin was one of the hardest things you had fought against, and you failed oh-so-miserably at it.

It was his way with words and how he made you feel like the most special person in the world before the two of you were even a thing. It was the way he made you feel like no one else but the both of you existed. The way he would stare and not even try to play it off. The way he would out of nowhere say the sweetest of things to you and expect you not to become a blabbering mess in front of him.

How he would Facetime you at any time of the day just to check up on you and tell you about the plot he had randomly came up with while doing the most mundane of chores; and how he'd show up at your place with your favourite drinks and food, only for the latter to inevitably go cold, as he always seemed to arrive in the middle of your baking sessions, which resulted in him becoming your personal assistant whose commissions would be paid in all the pastries his stomach could handle.

Everything was too perfect for you not to fall head over heels for him.

The darkside of it all was that you only got to experience all that when Minji went abroad for one semester.

He didn't have her anymore, and suddenly he noticed you.

It was as if a switch had been turned off and just like that all the attention he paid to her was now focused on you. It almost felt like he was looking for a replacement in the meantime, and you were too over the moon to realise. Until she came back, and everything you had built together came crashing down.

And maybe it was your fault for letting your insecurities win over the love he claimed to feel for you, but it was hard —if not impossible— for you not to feel like you had just been there to temporarily fill a void.

As soon as she came back, you felt threatened. The second his eyes laid on her and they hugged like they were each other's oxygen after being at the verge of drowning, you knew your days together were counted.

You should've stopped it all back when it was just a crush, when she still hadn't left and you didn't have the chance to have Hwang Hyunjin's attention on you in all its splendor yet.

Maybe then the two of you wouldn't have ended up getting together when she was away. Maybe then you wouldn't have gotten so goddamn insecure when she came back and they inevitably became attached to the hip all over again, like they always were.

Maybe then you wouldn't have gone through the hardest of breakups and the most painful of heartbreaks.

No matter how convinced you were that leaving him was the best you could've done to keep your sanity, you couldn't help but feel like it was not the best choice for your heart.

Ever since you walked away that December night, it felt like something was missing, like you were in a constant state of waiting for something to arrive at your doorstep but it never would.

It was almost comical, how no matter what decision you made, whether you stayed with him or not, your heart would break regardless. If you stayed, your heart would keep hurting every single time you saw him and Minji together. If you left, your heart would hurt over the loss of him.

In the end, you just had to choose the lesser evil. And fuck, letting go of him hurt so damn much you wondered if it was the lesser evil at all.

You wished you could erase that night from your memory. The words you said to push him away and the ones he said to keep you close, the sound of his voice breaking with each sentence leaving his mouth, his gloomy, red eyes looking at you like you had just ripped his heart apart, the endless tears staining those rosy cheeks of his you had just been covering with kisses one day ago.

Everything about it, about how you walked away, you wished you could forget.

It was all on you. You hurt him, and would never forgive yourself for it, no matter how much you convinced yourself it had been the best choice for you.

He had fought for you until the end, and you did not look back from your decision once.

You had lost sleep for weeks after that, and then last night you could not bat an eye as you went through all the possibilities that would come with you attending the wedding. Over and over, you wondered whether you would be able to handle seeing him again after all this time.

Overwhelmed by all the memories and what if's that had been unleashed inside your head by simply staring at that one piece of paper, you took a deep breath and put the pen down.

Although Seungmin’s pep talk had worked wonders to help you get through with the day, and although it had managed to convince you for most of it, you realised it was not a decision you could make that easily. Not that day, at least.

With a heavy heart, you stood up from your desk and decided to make yourself some tea in hopes to ease your mind — leaving the invitation laying there in the darkness of your room, once again left to be forgotten.

You still had the rest of the week to think this through.

tag list: @brinnalaine @slut4colinbridgerton @sherryblossom @svintsandghosts @phenomenalgirl9 @meloncremesoda @jxcesstuff @nhyunn @armystay89 @babrieeee

[spunsugarmusings]

"Dracula Flow" Sentence Starters

Sentence starters taken from plummcorp records' Dracula Flow series, entries 1-5. TW for profanity, drugs and alcohol, parental neglect, and sexual references. Change pronouns and tenses as necessary, and enjoy!

"This shit ain't nothin' to me, man."

"I had to do it to them, snipe."

"I'm not loyal to anybody, I'm a demon!"

"I have no loyalty for anyone, never did, never will."

"Shorty chose to be with a demon, sounds like her problem to me!"

"I have no sympathy, I live for this shit."

"Yeah, we gettin' that Pirate Bay, alien shishkebab, cordyceps money!"

"I hope them aliens are real, so that I have more things to fuck!"

"I just popped a whole garbanzo bean, fuck you mean?"

"I'm him, I been him, I will continue to be him."

They thought they could stop a demon, I'm back!"

"The zaza got me speakin' Esperanto."

"I don't even know who I am anymore, I'm gettin' too much money."

"Can you remind me who I am?"

"Get the president on the phone now, I fronted him a brick, I need my money."

"I'm moving different."

"They must have amnesia, they forgot that I'm him."

"I'm on them Broward County Tic-Tacs!"

"I don't give a fuck if I go blind, I don't need to see the price tag anyways!"

'"We're smokin' filtered crack, you stupid piece of shit!"

"I'll fuckin' kill you!"

"Call that pussy The Matrix, because I'm in this bitch and I can't get out."

"There are consequences to your crimes against Dracula!"

"I threw diamonds at the strip clubs under the Great Pyramids!"

"Tied the ops to the back of a Trackhawk and dragged 'em around the block for 24-hours."

"Motherfucker looked like a Resident Evil 5 campaign extra after we was done with him!"

"These cops are interrogating me about an ounce of weed, as if I didn't kill an Applebee's hostess two miles away."

"Reach for my neck, you'll get turned into an example!"

"I have seen the Magna Carta, I've seen the Eye of Horus, I was flippin' bricks for Mansa Musa before y'all even became a type-1 civilization!"

"They needed a stealth soldier, so I put my hands on the hibachi hot plate at Benihana and burned my fuckin fingerprints off. They will NOT find me."

"If I had a dollar for every time they said I gave a shit, I'd be broke, 'cause I don't give a shit!"

"How can I be homophobic? I blew his fucking brains out!"

"This Luger will send a Christian to Hell."

"I have no morals or belief system."

"I have no spirituality or anything that gives my life meaning or structure."

"They ask me to shoot, I do it!"

"I have no character."

"I fuck like it's for survival."

"I'm so violent and sick in the head, I can't tell if I want to kill my ops or fuck 'em!"

"Got a ruptured eardrum from having my ear to the streets for so fucking long."

"On a full moon, I'll fuck anything!"

"I'm a street creature."

"The weed will have you in purgatory, screaming for eternity."

"You will relive every key mistake you've ever made in your life, over and over and over again"

"They told me I wouldn't shake the city, so I shook that shit like a crying toddler."

"I'm a product of the gutter."

"The bugs are back."

"The worms in my head won't shut the hell up."

"They're telling me to go absolutely fucking stupid on 'em."

"I don't even need to brandish the nine!"

"Threw the opp into the particle collider, watched his ass get pulled apart into a million pieces."

"Turned his sorry ass into some data."

"I don't wanna kill them, shut up! I don't wanna kill anybody!"

"I ain't gon' lie, I'm kind of feeling myself right now, gang."

"I come from a low frequency environment, and I've only used cash my entire life."

"The only time I ever held a card was when I borrowed my cousin's Bank of America debit card to slice open a funnel cake at the county fair."

"I got the kids ears pierced at two years old and she already knows what Red Bull tastes like!"

"I even wore my nice 8 Ball jean jacket to the last court hearing!"

"I've been fully consumed by hatred, jealousy and lust."

"I can't help but get thrown into a violent trance at the slightest hint of criticism or pushback."

"My impulsive nature causes conflict at any given time."

"I wept for there were no more worlds to conquer."

"I got to where I am today through violence."

"I have no backbone, I'm loyal to whoever pays the most."

"My character is so flawed, the only time I ever stood 10 toes on anything, was on the opp's throat."

Cops wanna detain me for aggressively hitting the claw machine.

I'm trying to explain to him that we are all just atoms so he might as well let me go."

"You can't even imagine what the fuck I've been through."

"Humans will never understand their true abilities."

"Why the fuck did we kill off the Neanderthals? Those idiots could have easily worked construction and doubled our profits."

"The day I go broke will be the day hell freezes over!"

"Get your bitch ass up before I slap the dog shit out of you!"

"I can feel the fungi munching on my brain."

"The only time I feel something is when I look."

"I'm a fucking junkie cannibal, all I wanna do is sip mud and eat my ops."

[little-pondhead]

The Folly of Men -

Chapter 2: #78866B

AO3 - MASTERPOST

[GENERAL TW: Swearing, lukewarm violence, lots of POV changes, and mild body horror.]

[I sacrificed Damian's POV for more time of Jazz, and everything jumps around a little, but I refuse to feel regret. Notes on the timeline are at the bottom.]

-

Two hours went by way faster than Jazz thought. Between gathering the emergency bags, counting cash, and raiding the lab, she barely managed to herd her parents out the front door on time. Luckily, the two doctors didn't put up a fight, so she still had ten minutes to lock up. Like she said, Jazz hadn't touched the portal besides locking it down. The portal's power supply had been re-routed to an emergency shield, blocking anything from getting in or out. As long as it was still on, that shield would hold.

Jazz blew a strand of hair out of her face as she sat on the front porch for a moment. The door was locked, she had everything, and her parents were waiting like scared kids for her a few feet away. All she had to do was arm the security system using the bug Tucker had sent her. It was relatively easy; she had to take off the casing to the alarm next to their doorbell and use a connector to plug her phone in. It took her a moment, admittedly. It wasn't easy to mash tiny buttons when her hands shook with adrenaline.

While she waited for the virus to load, Jazz glanced at her parents, watching them. They looked lost. A little guilty, perhaps? They both looked gaunt and had unshed tears in their eyes, looking positively miserable for all the world to see. They hadn't said a peep after she had stormed off. Not even when she came back to clamp 'Shade Shackles' onto their wrists, hissing something to them about behaving. The shackles were heavy and bulky, restricting them from their wrists to their elbows and locking their arms together.

The shackles wouldn't hold Jack for long, she knew. Not if he was actually trying to escape. But honestly, the man was probably worse off than his wife. He just kept staring into space, dissociating.

Jazz thought they deserved it. After a few more seconds of fiddling, her phone finally beeped, indicating the upload was complete. She unplugged her phone, packed the cord into one of her bags, and stood again to close the alarm casing. Shutters slammed shut over every entrance into Fentonworks. Maddie flinched at the loud noise.

"And now," Jazz muttered, picking up her bat. "We can't go back." The redhead swung like a professional, slamming her weapon into the alarm, setting it off like a loud pig. She took her anger out on the plastic, smashing the buttons and hardware to bits, sending wires flying. Even the brick beneath the alarm was chipped in many places. Well, if there was one thing her parents did right, it was make a decent bat. The creep stick didn't have a scratch when she finally stepped back.

Wiping sweat from her brow, Jazz took in her handiwork. Getting some extra aggression out of her system slightly cleared her head, and she smiled at the ruined building. The alarm was going off at max volume, and some of the floodlights her parents had installed a few years ago lit up the whole neighborhood with flashing red. If the Fentons hadn't had people’s attention before, they sure as hell did now.

"What'd you do that for?" Maddie said, horrified. Guess she was breaking her silence.

Jazz scoffed, turning to pick her bags up and sling them over one shoulder. "Because while I'd love to burn this place to the fucking ground-"

"You can't!"

"Shut up. It's not up to you, Maddie." Jazz spat. "And it's not up to me. Danny gets to decide what happens to Fentonworks. Whether you like it or not, this is his final resting place. I'm not going to rob him of closure."

Maddie snapped her mouth shut.

"Final resting place?" Jack finally returned to himself as he cried at his daughter's words. Thick tears dripped down his face. Jazz had never seen her father so distraught, not even when Vlad moved away to Europe last year. He looked heartbroken.

Jazz sneered, poking her father in the chest with her bat. "You heard me. That fucking portal, your goddamn pride and joy, is what got Danny killed in the first place. That lab is where he died in front of his friends because you two are idiots who refuse to follow any sort of rule."

"No, that's not-"

"Not what?" Jazz rounded on her mother, who shrunk back in the face of her fury. "Not right? That's not what happened? Is that what you were going to say?"

They were attracting a crowd. People were being drawn out of their houses by the alarms and shouting, staring at the two Fenton parents with mild distaste. Everyone knew their children put up with a lot, even if the doctors were well-meaning. Did they finally cross the line?

"It was hard for us too!" Maddie insisted. "All those late nights, his avoidance of us, how he looked at us! It was horrible."

"THAT'S BECAUSE YOU KILLED HIM!" Jazz roared. She was as red as her hair now, and the little ectoplasm that ran in her veins made the edges of her form blurry. As if she was a heat mirage. "YOU KILLED HIM, AND NOW YOU'RE KILLING HIM AGAIN BY HANDING HIM TO THE GHOST INVESTIGATION WARD!"

"Th-they just wanted to study him," Jack sobbed. "T-to avoid and prevent any ghost disease breakouts."

"BULLSHIT!" Her voice echoed down the street. It boomed unnaturally, drowning out the sound of sirens that were a few blocks away. A few neighbors were going pale as they realized the severity of the situation. "You two are doctors! You know how science works! You two built and sold weapons to them! Don't pretend to be ignorant and blame it on the fucking ghost flu."

"You disgust me," Jazz continued. She descended the steps and shoved past her parents. Maddie landed on the ground with an oof! "I hope I never have to see you two ever again." She adjusted her bags and started marching toward Nasty Burger, cutting through the crowd like she was fucking Moses. The police were a block away now. She didn't want to be there when they got to the house.

"Where are you going?" Her mother called. Pleaded, really. "We can talk this out!"

Jazz ignored her calls and walked on. When they spotted the murderous look in her eyes, everyone on the sidewalks quickly got out of her way. She had two minutes now, but the others probably wouldn't mind her tardiness. Her phone buzzed, and she snapped it open.

From: TheFuck

4:12pm yo ms evie just blasted ur rant 2 myspace and yt

4:13pm for an old lady she sure has quick fingers

4:13pm dani just showed up at nb we just waitin on u

Rather than replying, Jazz pushed the door to Nasty Burger open and beelined towards the trio's usual table. Tucker was glued to his phone while Sam and Dani mumbled, pouring over several sheets of paper. She tapped Tucker on the head, making him jump.

"I'm already here."

Tucker spun around. "Nocturn's starry underwear, Jazz!" He whined. "You could have just texted me!"

"Didn't feel like it," she shrugged, suddenly feeling very tired. The restaurant was mostly empty, so she threw her stuff into the booth beside them and slid in next to Tucker. The Fenton creep-stick was rested against the edge of the table, acting as a warning. The others had already set aside their bags and weapons in the other booth. Not a single Nasty Burger employee came over to tell them they couldn't have swords at the table, so Jazz didn't bother thinking about it.

Danielle, her free-spirited youngest sister, glanced up at her with a weary smile. She looked rough. The wind had tangled her shorter hair, and her clothes seemed horribly displaced and damp. (She'd passed through a tropical storm half an hour ago.) Dani was swaying where she sat, desperately trying to stay engaged with Sam even though exhaustion was no doubt clawing at her mind.

Jazz felt her mood soften. Sometimes, she had to remind herself that Dani was only a few years old by human and ghost standards. While Danny was also a baby ghost, he had a lot more stamina as a human to make up for it. Flying from New Zealand had taken its toll on the girl.

"Here, Danielle, switch me." Jazz stepped out of the booth, guiding her little sister to sit next to Tucker, who wouldn't mind if the girl fell asleep on his shoulder. Dani didn't protest and conked out almost immediately, soft snores being the only indication she was alive. Sam nodded her greeting and shuffled some papers Jazz's way.

"Here's everything so far," she stated. "We're doing this on paper until Tucker can set up a server."

Jazz flipped through the pages. Each one had a little tab in the corner sticking out so things wouldn't get mixed up. The pages were even color coordinated, just how she liked it. She scanned through sheets of numbers, reports on agent activity, stolen research, manufacturing contracts, and so on. Everything she saw was dated back at least a year, and Sam had taken the time to highlight the discrepancies between all the paperwork. It was the very definition of thorough.

Time for business, I guess, she thought. "To start with, how's the town?"

Tucker got right into it. He turned his PDA around to show her the screen. A tiny map of the town was displayed, with red dots pinned to random spots. "All the monoliths Danny set up are primed and ready. They'll tap into the ley lines in the area to power the ghost shield we set up. I'll set it off when we leave the city borders."

"I called Cujo and Wulf," Sam added. She had a paper version of the town map with more random spots marked in green. "They are rounding up the ghost animals, and I got Grandma Ida to scare a few more human ones into helping. Some of the A-listers are doing a sweep to drive out anyone who stays behind."

"What about the GIW equipment?"

"Dash is getting his football and baseball teams together. Wes is going to load them with a virus before they smash it all to bits."

"Teenage boys are always destructive no matter the species." Jazz remarked dryly. Sam gave her a Look, but she ignored it. Yeah, she was being hypocritical. Who cared? "How's the tracking going?"

Tucker patted the sleeping Danielle on her head. "Thanks to a little miss, I got a lock on his ecto-signature much faster this time. But his aura is big, and we'll still need to raid at least four locations before I can pinpoint him."

Jazz sighed in relief, tilting her head back. Everything was falling into place, and soon, Danny would be safe by her side.

-

Danny woke up with a knife in his chest.

He choked, breathing in the air for the first time in a while. He couldn't feel a heartbeat, but the knife was too close to his core. It was too close to his fractured core. The weapon twisted, digging itself deeper, and he screamed silently in fear. His limbs spasmed, knocking into whoever was standing over him and throwing them across the room with a thud.

Free of the pressing weight, Danny rolled to the side, dropping to the floor and scrabbling at the knife still in his chest. Fabric was tangled with his legs, making it difficult to stand. Had he been placed in a bed? He jerked the knife out, letting it clatter to the ground.

Danny keened as precious ectoplasm leaked from his chest. From his core. Flaps of skin that hadn't healed yet tore back open, ripping fresh scabs and making him lightheaded. Half-formed organs were trying to slip free of his body, and he could barely scoop them back in. His fingers felt thick, and the task seemed endless. What if his core slipped out? How would he know? Could he catch it?

Was this how Dani felt when she was melting? He briefly wondered. A sob tore its way out of his throat. God, everything hurt so much. He tried to inhale, to breathe through the panic attack, but his lungs were either shriveled from disuse or missing. He couldn't breathe. Oh god, he couldn't breathe. The fabric felt like shackles against his legs, stiffing and trapping him further as ice crept through the room. He couldn't feel his lungs, he couldn't feel his heart, he couldn't feel his core. His core was here; he knew it. Where was it? Where was his soul?

Danny curled in on himself, letting go of his skin in favor of shoving a hand into his chest, searching for his tiny core amongst all the ectoplasm and body parts. It was like trying to find a ping pong ball in a pool of Oobleck. The base of his head felt heavy, and he just wanted to cry even more than he already was.

where is it where is it where is it

His body shuddered as Danny started folding in on himself. The heavy feeling got worse. Bones slipped from his joints and pressed oddly against his skin, making it poke out in strange positions. He screwed his eyes further shut as he kept reaching past his ribs. His fingers were ice cold and sent shocks up his spine, making him spasm again. Flimsy organs were slipping past his arm; he tried not to pierce them as they landed back onto the floor with an ugly splat.

Danny kept crying, even as he felt the tips of his fingers finally brush his core. It was ice cold, colder than his skin. He could feel a deep crack in the surface, and he mourned for himself as he pulled his arm back out of his body. He wanted to scream so bad. To yell. To wail. To call for his family and friends and heal in his haunt surrounded by love.

But he didn't have any of that right now. His parents had given him away to the GIW, saying he just needed help, that he just needed to be fixed. That he needed healing. His haunt wasn't safe anymore, and Sam and Tucker had to stay behind to protect the other ghosts. Jazz wasn't even home the last time he checked. And now he was somewhere new, having a meltdown as he lost more blood than he cared to think about. He felt so goopy.

Danny's ears twitched as footsteps rushed towards his room. Was he underground? Everything was echoing. The person he'd tossed sat patiently against the far wall, probably staring at the mess he'd made. He was still whining in a high-pitched kind of way, which was his version of a ghost sob. The door burst open, making him flinch, but he was too weak to defend himself with ice. Danny could only lay there and try to pull himself back together.

-

"The boy is awake."

One of Ra's messengers bowed deeply to him, eyes cast to the floor. The papers he'd been going over were forgotten as he shoved them aside and focused on the messenger.

"I heard he was not due to wake until his organs regrew." Ra's commented lightly.

The messenger's frame tightened up a fraction. "The Demon's Thumb has returned," they intoned. "And has decided to greet the new Demon's Heir."

Ra's hummed, standing up. "I suppose I should have expected this. News does travel quite fast these days." He gestured for the messenger to lead the way, and they stood to do so. The walk from his main office to the medical wing was short as more of his retainers gathered around him. Dr. Vanessa, a thin woman with a vicious fire in her eyes, rushed to join his little circle as they passed the research hall.

"I apologize, sir." She seemed harried, if not a little ticked off. "My calculations must have been off. I-"

"It was not your fault, doctor." Ra's cut her off. "My granddaughter seems to have stopped by for a visit and wanted to pay her respects to the new heir, it seems."

"Ah." Dr. Vanessa's anger at herself vanished, and her face was carefully blank. "In that case, I shall adjust the boy's treatment plan accordingly."

They said nothing else as they approached the boy's room, admittedly at a quick pace. The bind around Ra's heart was urging him forward, to be faster and be by the boy's side when he awoke. The mere knowledge that the boy was in danger made his blood boil as his body revolted against this mind. By the heavens, he couldn't wait for this contract to be fulfilled. He hated magic so much.

Turning the final corner, a loud, keening cry assaulted everyone's ears. Dr. Vanessa flinched. A few guards pulled out their weapons, adopting a more defensive position. Ra's could barely stop himself from rushing through the group during the last few steps. He grits his teeth as another opens the door.

They were treated to the sight of a frost-covered room. The boy was on the floor, tangled in his blankets as he tried to shove unfinished organs, which was a gaping hole that led to nothing. Lazarus water was leaking from his body in copious amounts. His skin was practically translucent, and Ra's could spy his bones shifting unnaturally underneath it all, creating strange angles and planes that did not belong to a human. The boy's eyes were screwed shut, and he was crying even more Lazarus water, but Ra's would bet that his eyes were glowing that same bright green. The keening noise seemed to be coming from him, even though his mouth was shut tight.

Ra's glanced around again. A knife was on the floor next to the boy's head, covered in his blood. Mara al Ghul, his granddaughter and leader of the Demon's Fist, was sitting against the far wall with thick sheets of ice covering her from the neck down, trapping her in place. She was still wearing her mask, so Ra's couldn't see her face, but he knew she wasn't happy. Foolish girl.

Dr. Vanessa glanced at him. "May I approach the patient?" She asked. Ra's nodded his approval, and she cautiously stepped forward, trying to avoid the puddles of bodily fluids.

The doctor knelt, and she adopted a soft look to soothe the boy. "Hello, young man." Her voice dripped with honey. She reached out to tap the boy on his shoulder. "My name is Dr. Vanessa, and I'm-" She got cut off as soon as she made contact. A flash of light blinded everyone, and suddenly, Vanessa was encased with ice. She was essentially a statue now, still with a sweet look on her face.

Interesting. Ra's thought. One of his attendants moved the frozen doctor out of the way so he could walk forward, stopping right at the edge of the Lazarus water.

"Boy," he ordered. "Listen."

The boy's cry petered off at the sound of a human voice and he cracked his eyes open, staring straight at Ra's unblinkingly. He warbled something in a language that grated on everyone's minds. Ra's understood him, though, and switched tongues as easily as he would clothes.

"Boy," he repeated. His voice cracked, and Ra's could feel his granddaughter's burning questions engraved into his back. No one had heard him speak like this before. However, the boy finally opened both eyes wide, which he counted as a win. His interest was piqued. "Boy, listen to me."

The boy's mouth didn't move as he replied, "Hurts..."

"I know. But you are hurting others, and hurting yourself. Let us help."

The boy shivered. "Hurts. Can't. Pain."

"My people will not harm you," Ra's promised. The weight of the promise hung in the air like a bird, and the boy's eyes widened. Making promises in the tongue of the dead was a serious thing. "Calm yourself, and let us help you into bed. You are losing lifeblood. We cannot help if you freeze my people."

A humorless laugh was his reply. "Already dead." The boy informed him. "Almost dead again. It hurts. Please?"

Ra's motioned for the assassins to pick the boy up. He squeezed his eyes shut as hands touched his body but relaxed as one of them handed him his liver like it was a stuffed toy. The ice in the room started melting, releasing the two ladies from their bonds. The attending nurse quickly got to work collecting all the extra things that had fallen out of his body and placing them gently back inside the boy's gaping chest like he was playing Operation.

Once he was situated with all his goopy organs back in his body, the boy tried apologizing to Mara and Vanessa. "Sorry for the cold." He rasped.

Mara glanced at her grandfather, who didn't bother to translate. "I will be informing Mother Soul of this development," she said stiffly before turning and marching out of the room, two assassins at her heel. Dr. Vanessa was likewise escorted out to be taken care of.

Ra's stepped closer to the boy's bed. He didn't pay any mind to the blood, Lazarus goop, and now melting ice that stained his robes; they could be replaced. But he needed answers. He needed to figure out how to get out of this deal with the Gardener. And he needed to know how much power one child could offer him.

"Child." The boy looked lazily up at him. The effort of being awake was taking its toll. "I am Ra's al Ghul, the leader here. May I have your name?"

"Mmm." Some of the boy's bones shifted as he wiggled around, trying to relieve the weird pressure pressing against his skin. Ra's reckoned his whole skeleton might be out of place. "Call me Phantom," he eventually hummed.

Ra's knew that wasn't the boy's true name, but he'd work with it for now. He simply inclined his head in acknowledgment, watching as Phantom started nodding back off to sleep. Oh dear. He couldn't let him rest yet; Ra's needed answers.

"Do you know why you are here, Phantom?"

The boy licked his cracked lips, but still couldn't use his voice. His words were just echoing into the air like he was projecting his thoughts for everyone to hear. "No..."

"You were given to me. By a being who called themselves the Gardener. I am to take care of you."

"In exchange for what?" Phantom was struggling to stay awake. But he instantly caught onto the double meaning, which proved he had a brain somewhere.

Ra's considered his words. "Power," he said simply. "I care for you as if you were my own, and in exchange, you would be the key to granting unimaginable power and knowledge."

Phantom wrinkled his nose but seemed to accept that answer. "Undergrowth is so shady sometimes. But I'll acknowledge the deal between you two. Let me take a quick nap, and then you can let me know what you need..." He trailed off as sleep finally claimed him.

The Demon's Head wasn't pleased that the conversation was cut short, but the bind around his heart had loosened its noose, and he felt it was unavoidable. Now that his foolish granddaughter was out of the way, he would leave and return later. Phantom, while boyish in nature, seemed quite mature once he was lucid enough to talk. Perhaps Ra's wouldn't regret making him the Heir.

-

Jazz was getting antsy. It had been weeks, and they still hadn't found Danny. Raiding GIW bases with just the four of them took a toll on the group, especially since they kept losing supplies (like her beloved creep-stick, RIP). A few times, Danielle had to fly off and keep the peace in other cities, as the ghosts were finding different ways into the mortal realm now that Amity was shut off from the world. She'd taken up Danny's name as Phantom and was exhausted from flying across the country constantly. So, really, it was mostly the three of them.

Luckily, Kitty and Johnny showed up recently, and Dani got them to spread the word about Danny's disappearance and the group's country-wide manhunt. No ghosts had shown up since then.

"We're here," Tucker snapped her out of her thoughts, pulling her to an instant stop. This was one of the four bases Tucker had narrowed their search to. They'd destroyed the other three, gathering evidence and doing what was necessary to defeat the agents inside. And now they were standing in front of the final one, deep inside Yellowstone National Park. It looked like a rest stop with a bathroom, but Jazz knew that the compound was actually underground and most likely ten times the size of the shack.

Sam wrinkled her nose. "This place looks abandoned," She noticed. "At least the others had a front going on. I don't want to ride in a dirty bathroom that's really an elevator. I'd rather go back and fight those creepy clown performers from the pizza place."

"I can just phase us down." Danielle offered.

Jazz shook her head. "Nah, you need to save your energy, kiddo. Who knows how deep this one is."

Tucker crouched, fiddling with his PDA. "This spot does have a front," he told Sam. "It's a rare geocache spot. The only hint for it online that I can find is a shitty riddle that was posted, like, last week."

"Oh, what is it?"

"Uh, here. It says:

Below the keep, just six feet deep, lays a weathered path, born from wrath. A white beast rests, who troubles his guests, so find the key, and beware the banshee."

Danielle snorted. "You're right. That riddle sucks. Who wrote that? Skulker?"

Jazz smiled but considered the words seriously. "I mean, it seems pretty literal if you know the context behind it. Why not search for the cache and see if it has a key?"

"Good idea."

With that plan in mind, the four split up to scan the terrain. None of them had ever been geocaching before, but it was a popular tourist activity around Amity. It shouldn't be that hard, could it?

The answer was yes, it was. The group searched for an hour before Tucker finally gave in and sat on a log to take a break. The log promptly crumbled in half, and Tucker shouted in surprise as he landed ass-first on a hard tackle box.

"Oh, come on!" He groaned. "This log isn't even made of plastic! It's cardboard! Who makes a geocache out of cardboard?? It literally rained last night, my ass is wet now!"

Danielle giggled for the first time in weeks. Jazz ruffled her hair, earning a swat of protest, and then walked over to help Tucker to his feet. Sam swooped in to claim the first dibs on the box as soon as he was clear.

The lock was no issue for her as she simply bashed it open with a sharp rock. Sam seemed eager to find more clues and crowed triumphantly when she dug out a key card still attached to a GIW lanyard. "Fucking finally!"

"Good job, Sam." The four gathered around the tackle box. The card seemed legit, right down to the near-invisible security numbers engraved on the back. Their enhanced eyesight allowed them to spot that detail, which was a blessing when sniffing out fake leads.

Dani shot up excitedly. The fact that they were so close to finding Danny renewed the spark in her eyes. "I'll go look for the entrance!" She sped off, turning invisible to avoid any inside cameras. She found it within minutes, and returned to share the good news.

It was, indeed, in the tiny bathroom.

Sam groaned. "I need to learn to keep my mouth shut."

"I'm fine with that, honestly. You loud-mouthed mother-OW!" Tucker stumbled through the doorway to the bathroom, too slow to avoid the whack Sam had given him.

"That's 'loud-mouthed BITCH' to you," she scolded playfully.

The eldest shook her head and ignored them. The bathroom truly was tiny, and hadn't seen the loving touch of a mop in years. Spiders were making webs in the corners and Jazz was pretty sure something had been using the toilet as a litter box. It looked awful and smelled even worse. A smug look from Danielle told her that the girl had simply stopped breathing, and therefore didn't have to deal with the scent of actual bear shit.

She ignored Danielle, too. Jazz could feel her little sister's smugness radiating as they searched everywhere for the secret card scanner. Jazz couldn't stop her organs at will yet, and the twins always took full advantage of that to mess with her. They eventually figured out that the empty soap dispenser was what they were looking for, and the scanner beeped when they swiped the card. The whole room started to shake as they moved down.

Sam and Tucker stopped their petty back-and-forth as they heard the grinding of the elevator cable. "When was the last time this was used?" Tucker sounded alarmed.

"Probably when they built it." Sam grimaced at the sight of the dirty toilet water moving and pointedly moved to stare at the wall. "I want to set myself on fire right now. This is so gross."

"I'll hand you the match."

"I will douse you in gasoline, Tucker."

"Not the time, guys!" Jazz glanced at the ceiling, where she imagined the cable would connect. It squealed and screeched, but eventually, the world's worst elevator trip came to an end, and the one wall with nothing attached to it split open to reveal the pristine tunnel of a GIW facility. All four of them bolted for the hallway, and not just because they were eager to start trashing the place.

"Danny better fucking be here because I do not want to ride that thing ever again." Gasping, Sam rested her arms on her legs, breathing in stale, underground air. At least it didn't stink.

Danielle giggled again (that was twice now!!) and changed forms. "I'll go scout ahead," she informed them. Jazz bid her good luck before she faded from visibility. She wasn't too worried about the girl. Dani had her radio and knew to avoid GIW sensors as a ghost.

Tucker lay on the ground, staring into nothing while they waited. "My ass is still wet," he commented after a few moments of silence.

"No one needs to know that, Tucker."

"Too bad. I might get a rash from this. Did you know I ran out of underwear last week? I'm on my last pair, and now I'm gonna get a fucking diaper rash from them."

Sam gagged. "That's disgusting. Don't tell me this shit. I'm cursing your bloodline just for that."

"You gotta tell me these things," Jazz chided. "I would have gotten you a new set."

Tucker waved his arm in a 'whatever' motion. "Eh, honestly, it isn't that bad right now. I've done worse. Danny and I once tried to see how long we could go without showering or changing in middle school. I went two weeks before my parents hog-tied me and hosed me down in the front yard. Danny managed to go a full month before you did the same."

Realization struck Jazz and her eyes widened. "That's what that was about? Oh my god, he was yowling like a cat when I caught him, and it took three rounds of shampoo just to wash his hair! He's never forgiven me for it!"

"Sounds about right." Tucker shrugged. "I promised him a ticket to the observatory if he won, but you caught him the day of the showing, and he missed it."

"Why don't I remember this?" Sam demanded.

"It was right before y'all moved to town. It's the incident that caused the 'Fenturd' nickname."

Jazz put her head in her hands and groaned. Sometimes, she really wanted to smack her brother.

Danielle popped back into existence, making all three of them jump. Her mood had drastically changed, and she seemed really uncomfortable. "As interesting as that story is, and I definitely want to hear about it later," she said nervously. "This whole place has already been raided. There's no one here except a couple of soulless bodies. And an open portal. Someone was here before us."

All three shot up. "Lead the way," Jazz demanded. Everyone ran down the still-pristine hallway. Barely any dust had settled, and none of them smelled blood. Who had gotten here first?

They slid to a stop before a big metal door. Dani ducked through it to open it from the other side, and everyone was assaulted with the smell of rotting bodies and days-old blood as soon as it started moving. The door was literally so thick it had trapped everything inside. Including some agents, it seemed. A few bodies were pressed against the door and fell toward them when it opened. Tucker screeched and jumped back.

Sam, a true crime girlie at heart, crouched to examine the closest one. "Their fingers are worn through, almost to the bone," she noticed. "I bet if we closed the door again, we'd find scratch marks."

Dani floated above the corpses. "Yeah, it looks like something cut off all the exits and hunted them one by one."

"But what killed them?"

Sam toed a body until it flipped over. The eyes of the agent had been ripped from their skull, and frostbite warped their skin so bad she couldn't tell what their original features were. Danielle floated closer to Jazz, looking highly uncomfortable. "Danny's ecto is all over the place," she whispered. "He was definitely here."

"Right." Jazz hardened her heart. She was here to find her brother, not feel sorry for brutally mutilated government agents. "Let's get going. Stick to the battle buddy system, and keep your comms on."

They proceeded cautiously, only touching a body if it blocked their path or to find a key card. Tucker remarked that if this was a horror game, he probably would have played it, but living it was so much worse. Every single corpse had its eyes removed, and it was starting to wear on Jazz's mind. Dani mentioned their souls were gone, too.

Eventually, after some detours and backtracking, they reached the labs where Danny would have been held. Rage filled Jazz's chest as she saw ectoplasm mixed in with the bloodstains. A table had been set up to restrain a ghost with specialized handcuffs that had FENTONWORKS printed across them in bright green letters. Shattered glass was scattered across the floor and a few organs were decaying quite rapidly. A scientist was slumped across the table, a small knife still in hand. Jazz kicked the corpse.

Without Danielle telling her, she could feel it. This is where Danny had been tortured. Probably vivisected, too. Those were his organs that were rotting on the floor. His blood stains the ceiling. She was seeing red. She wanted to scream. Her baby brother had been tortured by these horrible people, and she didn't even get to kill them??

Danielle tugged on her arm, quietly bringing her back to herself. "The portal," she reminded Jazz. "It's in the next room."

"Sam, Tucker, see what you can recover from in here." Jazz gritted her teeth and let Dani guide her away from that room. "Dani's gonna show me the portal. Scream if you need us."

"Be careful!" Sam called back.

They left the room, going two doors down to what looked like a near-perfect copy of the Fenton's lab. She stiffened as she spied the portal. It wasn't set into the wall like the original but rather floated a few feet in the air in front of it. It looked like a tear in reality, similar to something Wulf could make, but on a much larger scale. She felt dwarfed by it, and dreaded to think about what could come through a portal this size.

Dani pointed out some blinking computers, the only ones still with power inside the entire compound. "They were working on a new portal," she said. "The Fentons sold their research. I'm not sure how we missed it, but they were really close to getting it figured out."

"This isn't from the GIW?" Jazz asked, gesturing to the behemoth of a disaster still swirling next to them.

"No, I don't think so," Danielle zoned out. Her eyes glowed, and she looked at things Jazz couldn't see. "This was opened from the other side. I think someone broke in, took Danny, and left after killing everyone."

"Someone from the Ghost Zone?" Jazz frowned. She bent over the computer, trying to click around for security footage. "But who do we know that is strong enough to kill everyone so physically? Vlad swore to never interact with us again, even if it was life or death. Undergrowth would have left plants behind, Nocturn doesn't like killing in the mortal realm, and Vortex can't sustain himself underground. None of the normal rogues are strong enough, either. Unless they got Desiree to help?"

"Nah, she may be a bitch, but she refuses to participate in murder of any kind. Plus, she's a neat freak. This isn't her work. It isn't Ghost Writer either; he doesn't like writing horror stories."

"What about Frostbite or Pandora?"

Dani wrinkled her nose. "Maybe? Frostbite is a pacifist who is more likely to rescue Danny without killing anyone. And the portal is too small to let Pandora through. She could've sent her warriors, though."

"It was Danny."

Jazz glanced up from the computer. Sam and Tucker were standing in the door, looking pale.

"We pulled recordings from the labs dating back two months. Danny was the one who killed everyone."

"...Pardon? It's only been a few weeks since he disappeared."

"I don't know." Tucker frantically typed away at his PDA, pulling up the downloaded footage and shoving it in Jazz's face. "But it's definitely him. I pulled their files, too. They were looking into time travel, Jazz. The day Danny showed up in their records, Operative K and Operative O were also logged in, even though they were 100% still in Amity during that time. They suddenly added on the time travel stuff a day later."

Jazz zoned out, numb to Tucker's near-hysterical rant. She just watched the tiny screen blankly as Danny was tortured over and over again but refused to give up the secrets the agents were asking for. Every time he refused, he was punished by having his organs taken away and put into jars for study. Then he'd be pumped full of pure ectoplasm, and just like Prometheus, he was back the next day with fresh organs for harvest. The dates in the recording went back weeks. Way before Danny disappeared.

Dani sobbed and looked away from the screen. Jazz couldn't even blink. The turning point in the experiments was when they brought in a little girl, a human girl, in front of Danny. The girl was about five, probably homeless or kidnapped, with pretty blonde hair done up in pigtails. Jazz noted she had been crying and had the number '27' pinned to her shirt. Danny was wary, sure it was a trick until he spotted something off-screen that they couldn't see. He jerked forward, straining to reach the girl, panic in his eyes.

But he couldn't reach her. Two scientists simply wrote down some observations before nodding in the same direction Danny was looking. Without asking a single question, the agents killed the little girl in front of Danny.

Jazz's hands shook as tears filled her eyes. Danny, her sweet baby brother, looked on in horrified shock as the cameras switched. Agents dumped the girl's body in a barrel of ectoplasm and waited patiently until a blue wisp rose from it. Then, using a Fenton peeler, they zapped the child's soul without mercy. Normally, the peeler stripped the disguise off a ghost to reveal their real form. But to a fresh soul as weak as that?

Her soul was burned into nothing.

Danny started screaming and imploded in on himself like a star.

The camera blacked out for a few moments, flickering between glimpses of her brother and blackness. She barely recognized him. His form had warped into something unrealistic. Something straight out of a movie. He was impossibly large now, barely able to walk on two legs when he stood amongst his broken restraints. His chest was a gaping cavern, and when he turned towards the camera, she could spy his tiny core exposed to the world. It was acting like a black hole, pulling at Danny's own skin and flesh like it was trying to suck him in. It was beautiful and strange in a horrible way.

He was too fast for the camera to really keep up with, but Tucker had doctored it to slow down each frame. Danny's face was splitting in two from a silent scream. His hair was flowing wildly, falling over his body, so it looked like he had a white, shaggy cloak.

His hunt never stopped. He didn't slow or hesitate to pounce on everyone he saw. His body was stained red from the gouging of people's eyes, which was the fastest way to reach a human soul. The group watched in horror as Danny leaned over his victims, opening his splitting maw even wider and devouring every soul he could, ensuring that they wouldn't even get peace in death. The churning of his core was getting worse, and at some point, he was spreading ice with every step he took. It looked like he was really struggling to stay standing by the time a few scientists were the only ones left in the compound. Jazz was afraid of what would happen if he collapsed completely. Would his core devour him?

At some point, the cameras really did die, and the screen went dark. Jazz realized she was crying, and moved to give the PDA back to Tucker.

"There's more," he shook his head. "But we didn't watch that far ahead because an outside force added it when I downloaded everything."

Like he said, the screen crackled back to life after a moment. The group realized it was from Danny's point of view. All the agents were dead, and he was stumbling through the halls in a daze, unable to keep his bigger form. He finally made it to the room they were in now, probably drawn to the familiarity of the lab layout. Before he could reach the unfinished portal, however, the freestanding one opened and out stepped a very familiar figure.

"Clockwork?" Jazz muttered, surprised.

As if hearing his name, Clockwork looked directly through Danny, straight at her. "The flow of time has been disrupted." He said softly. "I'll take our young Guardian here to a safe place. We have much to talk about, Miss Jasmine. You, too, Samantha, Tucker, and Danielle. I'll see you soon."

Then, the older ghost's focus switched back to Danny, and it was like he'd never spoken to them at all.

"Daniel," he coaxed. "It's time to go."

Danny groaned but stumbled forward and passed out in Clockwork's arms, promptly ending the video.

Silence descended over the room. Jazz could hear blood rushing through her body, and her heartbeat was pounding in her ears. She thought over what they'd found in the facility, about the state of Amity Park, her parents, and most importantly, her brother. About how he was tortured to the brink of insanity and how he still found it in his heart to love others. To protect them. To care and grieve for someone he'd never met. He must be feeling so much hurt.

Deciding on the next step was easy.

"We need to find Clockwork."

-

[I realized the timeline is kinda confusing, and I promise it'll all match up in the next chapter, but here's a chart on what it looks like right now so it's easier to understand.]

[The top one is the timeline Ra's and the rest of the DC characters are on. The middle is Jazz and the others. Danny is separate from both timelines right now because of the Time Medallion that Dan forced into his core. Right before the start of the story, which is marked in bright colors, Danny and the agents he's traveling with get involved in a time anomaly and are transported two months into the past. The agents still take him to the Yellowstone compound, but the incident makes the GIW speed-run their research on the Ghost Zone and, now, time travel. The timelines sync up again when Tucker finds the video from Clockwork. The total amount of time that has passed since the start of the story to the sync-up is about three weeks.]

[allmoshnobrain]

𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫: 𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

part 06 of 06 | masterpost

word count: 9,8k | ao3 link | fic's playlist

✦ on this chapter: NSFW!!!, dave mustaine x female!oc, james hetfield x female!oc, oc is cliff's cousin, +18, language, slice of life, pregnancy, breastfeeding, mxf sex, threesome mentioned/implied, poly relationship mentioned/discussed, oral sex, pregnancy sex, small pov change at the end, an actual happy ending ♡

✧ Blue hydrangea, cold cash divine / Cashmere, cologne, and white sunshine / Red racing cars, Sunset and Vine / The kids were young and pretty

Where have you been? / Where did you go? / Those summer nights seem long ago / So is the girl you used to call / The queen of New York City ✧

August 17th, 1992

I blinked open my eyes, letting out a sleepy yawn as sunlight crept through the curtains, brightening up the room. A small grin tugged at my lips when I realized Dave was still fast asleep beside me, snoring softly with his arms wrapped around me, his bare skin pressed against mine. With a groan, I stretched out, feeling how sore my muscles were.

Honestly, even though I’d caught some shut-eye, I was totally wiped out from last night. James and Dave hadn’t given me a break for a second, making it their mission to push me to one mind-blowing climax after another in a wild competition for my attention and pleasure that had lasted all night long. But I wasn’t complaining; in fact, it probably had been one of the best nights I've ever had up to that point.

I glanced over to the other side of the bed, sighing when I saw James wasn't there; reaching out, I noticed the mattress was still warm, so he probably had left not too long before. I carefully slipped out of Dave's arms, got up, and headed to the bathroom. After washing my face and brushing my teeth, I absentmindedly ran my fingers through my hair as I checked out my skin in the mirror. It was covered in bites and little bruises that were starting to show. I sighed; I'd definitely need to slap on some makeup to cover those up before we hopped on our flight back home.

I threw on one of Dave's t-shirts, my shorts, and my shoes before snagging my pack of cigarettes and lighter. I slipped out of the room quietly and made my way up to the hotel's terrace. The place was nice, offering a panoramic view of the city with a few tables and chairs scattered around. Surprisingly, even though it wasn’t that early, it was still empty, which was a relief. Leaning against the railing, I lit up a cigarette, taking slow drags with a sigh.

"Figured I'd find you here," a familiar voice chimed in. I glanced up, meeting James' eyes as he strolled over. Turning to him, I rested a hand on his chest as he wrapped his arm around my waist. Letting out a sigh, I melted into his kiss, his tongue gently exploring my mouth while his hand cradled my face.

"You bailed on me," I murmured against his lips, and he grunted, kissing me once more. I chuckled softly. "Jamie..."

"I couldn't sleep," he confessed, pulling back slightly, his thumb stroking my lower lip gently.

"Come back to the room with me," I whispered, and he raised an eyebrow, a slight smile playing on his lips. "We don't have to split just yet. We've got until tonight. I'm sure Dave won't mind picking up where we left off yesterday."

"Now that he's sober? Doubt it," he murmured, then brushed his fingers gently across my face. I closed my eyes with a sigh, resting my hand over his. "Babe... You realize this thing between the three of us won't last beyond these walls, right?"

I blinked open my eyes, my reaction to his words written all over my face — a messy mix of feeling betrayed and totally lost. I shook my head no, and he responded with a smile, though it was a sad and resigned one that tugged at my heartstrings. He sighed as I reached out, cupping his cheek, drawing nearer.

"We can give it a shot," I murmured, my voice pleading. He clasped my hand in his, pressing a light kiss to my palm before letting go.

"And how exactly would that work?" he inquired, his tone gentle. "We're both public figures, Nore. You're making waves in your career now. What happens if the industry catches wind of you being with two guys at once? If just by you dating Dave, your face ends up plastered across magazine covers?"

"I don't give a shit about that," I shot back, and he scoffed.

"Well, I do. Not sure if you remember, but I made a promise. Promised Cliff I'd look out for you," he said, gently lifting my chin to meet his gaze. "Even if that means letting Mustaine win this round."

"So you’re walking away from me?" I questioned, my voice cracking, a scary emptiness gripping my heart. As messy as things were between James and me, he'd never thrown in the towel before. The thought sent a shiver down my spine, especially coming right after the high of last night — after finally admitting to myself that I didn't want to choose, that I loved both Dave and James, that I wanted them both, not one or the other.

He nuzzled into my neck, his hand sliding down to my hip beneath the t-shirt. Such a simple move, yet so familiar. A familiar vulnerability that reminded me of the boy he used to be.

If Cliff were still around, would things have gotten so strained between us? Would James' anger and my own self-destructive tendencies have wormed their way into our relationship like poison, tearing us apart until we barely resembled the young lovers we once were? I'd pondered that question countless times. Guess I’d never know the answer.

"I couldn't leave you. You know that," he murmured. "But I can't handle this, Nore. I can't share you. Especially when I know it could mess things up for you. Especially when I know it could fuck up your thing with Mustaine. I know you couldn't handle losing him again. You think I don't see how much you love him? How much he loves you?"

"But I love you too," I pleaded. "And you love me."

"I do. And that's why I'm doing this," he said, holding my face in his hands and brushing away the tears I hadn't even realized were streaming down my cheeks. "You're gonna be happy, Nore. As time goes by and the hurt fades, you'll find happiness with him. I know you will, 'cause you already did."

"I don't want to lose you."

"You're not losing me. I'll still be around," he whispered, pulling me into a tight hug. "I'll always be by your side. Always. I just can't stand to see you hurting anymore because of me. You've been through too much."

"It's not fair," I sobbed. "I want you to be happy too."

"I will. But I gotta get my act together first, so I can stop screwing things up for the people I care about," he said with a sad smile. I gripped onto his arm with one hand, wiping my tears away with the other. I didn't want this. It wasn't fair. But James' eyes held a determination I'd never seen before, and I knew I couldn't talk him out of it. James reached up to touch my face, running his thumb along my lower lip. "I gotta do this. You get it, right?" he asked, his voice shaky. I hesitated, but nodded before trying to force a smile — one last smile for the man I loved.

"Want to give me one last kiss?" I asked, and he laughed quietly. "You know, for good luck."

He leaned in, pulling me close, his lips brushing against mine slowly, savoring every moment. I tangled my fingers in his hair, closing my eyes and pressing myself against him, trying in every way to convey everything I felt; how much I loved him, how long I'd loved him, and how a part of my heart would always belong to him. How I wouldn't be who I was without him. He ended the kiss with two gentle pecks, then planted two small kisses on my cheek and forehead before hugging me tightly.

When I opened my eyes, he was gone.

When I got back to the room, Dave was there, fresh out of the shower, his hair still wet and a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Hey, babe," he greeted me with a smile, but it faded when he saw the look on my face. "What's up? Something happened?"

I nodded, heading over to him and wrapping my arms around his waist, burying my face in his chest. Dave hugged me back right away, holding me close as he ran his fingers through my hair.

"Hey," he murmured, lifting my chin so I'd meet his gaze. "What's going on? Did I fuck anything up?"

"No, no," I reassured him, pulling him into another hug and nuzzling into his neck. He let out a soft, worried sigh, holding me close.

"Tell me what's going on, honey. I'm freaking out here," he urged, his voice filled with concern.

"I'm being selfish," I murmured, my voice shaking. "I'm being selfish because after yesterday... I thought... I thought that you, me, and James could figure it out. I've been torn up for so long about having to pick one of you, and… And yesterday it hit me, I don't really want to choose. But James... He's not on board. He said it wouldn't be good for my career if people found out. That I'd be better off without him." I pulled back, meeting his eyes, pleading. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you with this, Dave..."

"You're not hurting me," he said, cupping my face in his hands. "Do you really think I don't know you love him, Nore? After all these years together? I was the one who walked away, and he's the one who’s been there for you this whole time. As much as I hate it, I get it. I'm not mad at you. It's okay."

He helped me sit on the bed, pulling me close against his chest. I let out a sigh, giving him a light kiss, and he let out a low, contented sound as he held me tight. He smelled nice, all warm and woodsy; just being near him helped me relax.

"I love you," he whispered, leaning in to kiss me gently on the lips, his fingers brushing against my tear-stained cheeks.  "But you know it's different for people like us," he said softly, studying my face as he traced it with his fingertips. "Behind the scenes at a gig, a private party... We can get carried away in those moments, do things we wouldn't do anywhere else. But then we go back to the real world. We put on our masks. We're their idols, babe. And those private moments become vulnerabilities that these media vultures would kill to get their hands on, to twist who we are into whatever they want. A wild drunk. A messed-up junkie. I get why James wants to shield you from that, I'd do the same. But if you wanna go back to him..." he furrowed his brow, his brown eyes filled with a restless sadness that tugged at my heart. "There's still time. And I won't hold it against you."

"No way. I'm not ditching you. Don't even go there, Dave," I said, my tone firm and cutting. James had a point about one thing: I couldn't handle losing Dave again, and I wasn't about to take that chance. I looked at him, pleading. "You know I love you. Don't even think about telling me to bail."

Sure, part of me was hurting and torn up, but I wasn't about to do anything that might push him away.

If it came down to choosing, my decision had been made long, long ago.

"Then stay with me," Dave said softly. "Stay with me, and I swear, even if you're still hung up on him, I'll love you just as much."

"I love you. I'm not going anywhere," I replied, locking eyes with him and holding his face in my hands. His breath hitched, relief and longing shining in his eyes as he pulled me effortlessly into his lap, his lips edging closer to mine. "Don’t ever dare to push me away again. You're stuck with me, Mustaine," I whispered, our mouths almost touching, and he grinned.

"You know you're the only one I love... Losing you is the last thing I'd ever want," he said, his hand tangling in my hair and pulling me closer as his lips met mine.

✧ But if you send for me, you know I'll come / And if you call for me, you know I'll run  / I'll run to you, I'll run to you / I'll run, run, run / I'll come to you, I'll come to you  / I'll come, come, come ✧

October 9, 1992

Ever since I was a kid, the ocean had been a great presence in my life. Growing up in Long Beach and then moving around to San Francisco and Los Angeles meant I was always near the beach. Whether I was feeling great or down, the sea was like a silent companion, there for me through thick and thin. So when Dave suggested we hit up a beachside cottage in San Francisco for the weekend, I was totally stoked.

The past couple of months hadn't exactly been easy. After Leanne's wedding, James and I went back to being cool with each other, but his choice to step back still stung. Trying to keep up a friendship after being together for years was bittersweet, and way tougher than I thought it'd be. But having Dave around made it all a bit smoother. Even when I still felt down sometimes, I knew I'd rather deal with that sadness over and over than go through the heartbreak of losing him again.

Things were looking up for our careers. On my end, I was hashing out the details for a role in my first movie, which was gonna be a whole new ball game compared to everything I'd done before. The series I was headlining was wrapping up filming, and it seemed like smooth sailing all around.

Dave had been riding high with all the concerts he'd been doing since Megadeth had dropped their latest album, Countdown to Extinction. The album had been a hit, which was awesome news for both of us. The following year, the band would hit the road for an international tour, and although we knew it was gonna be tough being apart for that long, we figured we'd make the most of the rest of '92 by squeezing in as much time together as we could, starting with our little weekend getaway.

At Dave's urging, I’d let him take the reins on planning everything. I grinned as he pulled up to the small beach cottage, instantly recognizing it. Even after all these years, some things in San Francisco still remained the same.

"That's the cottage you took me to that time, right before you went on that trip to New Jersey with the guys," I said, grinning at Dave as he pulled the car to a stop. He flashed me a smile in return.

"Yep, that's the spot. Good memory," he leaned in for a quick peck on the lips. "Wanted to whisk you away to a place that's got some history for us both."

And he’d totally hit the mark; the little cottage was quaint yet comfy, a throwback to the best days of my life, a time when we were just two young lovers, exploring what it meant to be together. Back when I was learning what it meant to have a family beyond blood, with all my friends by my side, back when Cliff was still around, all witty remarks and calm smiles. Back before Dave and the guys had their falling out and things had changed forever, for all of us.

Dave tossed me the key, asking me to pop open the doors and windows for some fresh air while he hauled our bags inside. I happily obliged, instantly recognizing the layout of the small house: cozy living room leading to the bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen. The bedroom had an old double bed and a wardrobe, plus a TV that definitely wasn't there last time. And then there was the balcony, right out to the beach, where I could see the sea glimmering in the morning light.

I grinned as Dave strolled in, dumping our bags on the bed before coming over to wrap me in a hug and plant a soft kiss on my lips.

"You like it?" he asked softly. I nodded. "Yeah, it's a bit smaller than I remembered, but I hope it’s still cozy enough."

"It's perfect, Dave," I said, cupping his face in my hands and giving him another kiss. He grinned, looking like he was about to say something, but then hesitated, which caught my attention. "What's up?"

"I was just curious... if you had any cool stuff planned for this weekend," he said, trying to keep a straight face, but I could tell he was about to crack a smile. I grinned back, a bit puzzled.

"I didn't plan anything fancy, babe. You were supposed to take care of all that, remember? But we can chill at the beach and then figure out something fun to do together, sound good?"

"Well, actually..." he started, his grin spreading. "I had something else in mind."

"Oh, really? You know I'm down for whatever," I answered, and he smiled playfully before taking my hands in his, leaning his forehead against mine.

"Even marrying me tomorrow?" he asked, his tone low.

I blinked, totally caught off guard, wondering if I'd heard him right. I leaned back a bit, a shocked grin breaking across my face as my heart started racing. Was he serious? Dave grinned back at my reaction, giving my hands a gentle squeeze, his soft touch grounding me back to reality.

"What do you mean, tomorrow?" I asked, dumbfounded, and he laughed.

"I mean tomorrow," he replied, genuine happiness and excitement in his voice. "Nore, I... I've spent too much of my life away from you already. And it sucked," he chuckled, and I couldn’t help but laugh too, feeling my heart completely out of sync as butterflies fluttered in my stomach. "Next year, when I go on tour... I want to know I’m coming back home to you. Every single day of my life, I want to be sure I'll come back to you."

I gasped in surprise as he knelt down on one knee, still holding my hands before letting them go and pulling out a small box from his pocket. He opened it to reveal a beautiful ring, gold with a large dark blue stone and small diamonds around it.

"This might just go down as the quickest engagement in history," he whispered with a smile. "But seriously, I've never been more certain about anything in my life than wanting to spend it with you. Eleanore Marie Burton... Will you mar-"

"Yes," I blurted out, barely letting him finish, a grin spreading across my face as I brought my fingertips to my lips, giggling like a little girl with tears brimming in my eyes. Dave beamed, his own eyes misting up as he got to his feet. "Yes, I’ll marry you," I confirmed, and he took my hand in his, slowly slipping the ring onto my finger before pulling me in close by the waist, drawing me into a slow, passionate kiss. 

"Thank goodness you said yes," he whispered, his breath warm against my lips. "I mean, I've already forked out for the whole thing. Would've been a bit awkward if you'd turned me down."

I couldn't help but laugh, joyous tears streaking down my cheeks as I cupped his face in my hands, his arms enveloping me tightly, our lips finding each other's again, and again, and again.

✧ The power of youth is on my mind / Sunsets, small town, I'm out of time / Will you still love me when I shine / From words but not from beauty?

My father's love was always strong / My mother's glamor lives on and on / Yet still inside, I felt alone / For reasons unknown to me ✧

October 10, 1992

We got married the next day, on a sunny autumn afternoon. The morning was a whirlwind of activity as we scrambled to get everything just right: first, a crew showed up bright and early to set up the beachside ceremony, arranging tables and chairs, decking out the altar with decorations, and pitching tents for the guests to hang out in during the reception. Then came the chefs Dave had enlisted to whip up the feast; our little cottage just couldn't contain the festivities, so it was all hands on deck to get everything outdoors-ready.

Soon after, the guests began trickling in. My family was the first to arrive: Uncle Ray, Aunt Jan, and my parents. Then, to my utter delight, Leanne and Joe made an appearance. I hadn't expected Leanne to come, with her pregnancy moving along, but clearly, I’d underestimated her determination. When I mentioned my surprise, she just chuckled.

"Are you kidding? Wouldn't miss it for the world. Plus, you're gonna need a maid of honor, right?" she teased, and I couldn't help but beam with genuine happiness.

Leanne and my mom pitched in to get me ready; Mom tackled my hair while Leanne took charge of my makeup. The master bedroom turned into a makeshift beauty parlor, and before I knew it, the clock was ticking away as I was treated like royalty: my hair was coiffed and styled before a quick snack break, then Leanne got to work on my makeup before I slipped into the dress Dave had taken me to pick out the day prior.

All of this happened amidst all the hustle and bustle of getting the party ready and Dave getting himself sorted in the tiny bathroom. The cottage turned into a bit of a madhouse, mostly because Leanne and Mom were on strict guard duty, keeping everyone out of the bedroom until I was good to go. But, despite the chaos, the vibe was just pure joy, and nobody seemed to be sweating the small stuff.

Finally, when I was all dolled up, Leanne swooped in and covered my eyes with her hands, while Mom propped up a full-length mirror against the wall. Turns out, she'd had the foresight to pick one up just for the occasion. When I asked her about it, she just gave me an exasperated look.

"Imagine not being able to see yourself in the mirror on your big day. This is a once-in-a-lifetime deal, and I wasn't taking any chances on there not being one around. So, I came prepared," she explained.

Well, this time Mom had definitely hit the mark. The cottage was pretty basic, and a full-length mirror wasn't exactly on the inventory list. When I finally laid eyes on myself, I couldn't help but gasp in amazement. My hair was swept up into a loose bun, with bits of it cascading around my face, adorned with these adorable little yellow flowers nestled into the brown locks.

Leanne's makeup skills were on point, giving my eyes, lips, and cheeks just the right pop. And the dress was like it was made for me, light as a feather, sleeveless and elegant, hugging my curves in all the right places, even making me feel a bit taller. Grinning ear to ear, I took the bouquet from Leanne — a gorgeous mix of white roses and sunflowers, just like the ones Dave had handed me that first time we caught up after reuniting.

I was stunning. But it wasn't just about the looks: this overwhelming sense of pure joy seemed to radiate from every inch of me, lighting up my eyes and my smile. And for the first time in forever, there wasn't a shred of worry weighing me down.

"You know, when your fiancé called, I'll admit, I thought you two might've been rushing into things. But now... seeing you like this... You really love him, don’t you?" Mom asked, giving one last gentle tug on the dress zipper. All I could manage was a silent nod.

In that moment, one thing was crystal clear, and it was my love for Dave.

"Okay, it's showtime," my dad barged in out of nowhere, freezing in his tracks as he caught sight of me. His eyes welled up with a mix of shock and pride, his jaw practically hitting the floor. I couldn't help but grin, the excitement sending shivers down my spine, my heart pounding, and tears threatening to spill from my eyes. "Ellie, you... You look stunning," he said, grasping my arms and beaming at me before turning to my mom. "Clémence, sweetheart, you and Leanne better get a move on... The ceremony's about to kick off."

"Okay," Mom gave my hair one final tweak before she and Leanne settled my veil in place. Lea squeezed my hand tight.

"We'll be right there, Nore. See you in a bit," she said reassuringly.

I nodded, but inside, my stomach was doing somersaults. All morning, I'd been riding the excitement train, but now, with the ceremony about to kick off, a tidal wave of nerves hit me like a ton of bricks. Dad noticed, gripping my arm a little tighter, offering silent support as he sensed my jitters.

"You got this, Ellie. Dave's just waiting on you," Dad whispered, giving me a reassuring squeeze.

I nodded, feeling the adrenaline pumping through my veins, a nervous smile breaking out on my face. And with that, the music started up, and Dad guided me down the aisle to where Dave was waiting at the altar.

As I emerged into the back of the cottage, I couldn't help but be taken aback by the sea of familiar faces gathered for the ceremony. Charlotte and her boyfriend were holding court, joined by a bunch of my college and work buddies, along with Dave's band mates. Lars, Kirk, and Jason flashed me a grin. But my heart dropped a bit when I realized James wasn't among them. I couldn't help but wonder if he'd opted out, if my wedding would just add another layer to the hurt between us.

But all of that was shoved to the backburner the second I locked eyes with Dave. He had this intense, serious expression on his face, which might've been a bit intimidating if I didn't know it just showed how emotional he was. His gaze was glued to mine as I made my way over, and when Dad handed me off to him, Dave let out this deep breath, a huge grin spreading across his face that I couldn't help but mirror.

Our vows were straight from the heart, short and sweet, but bursting with love. I gotta admit, I tried my hardest to keep the waterworks at bay, but a few rogue tears still managed to slip out. And when the officiant asked if I took Dave as my husband, I found my voice all choked up. But I managed to squeak out my acceptance, which just melted Dave's eyes into a puddle of warmth and affection.

When he slid that ring onto my finger, it was like everything clicked into place. Like I'd finally found my spot in the universe. Through all the rough patches, all the time we’d spent apart, I guess deep down, I always knew we'd find our way back to each other. I always knew that I loved him, had loved him all along, right from the start, and that love wasn't going anywhere till my very last breath.

I let out a soft chuckle as Dave leaned in for a kiss, pulling me close, his hand gentle on my cheek, brushing away the tears of joy that had welled up. I sighed contentedly, wrapping my arms around his neck, never wanting to let go.

It was done. And in that moment, it hit me — I'd never have to go through losing him again. Our love had seen us through, brought us back together, helped us learn to forgive, and most importantly, to fall for each other all over again.

I was his, and he was mine.

The party after the ceremony was nothing fancy, but it was a blast. Our wedding wasn't a huge affair, just our nearest and dearest, but honestly, it couldn't have been any better in my book. I was practically beaming with joy as everyone came up to chat with me.

"Nore!" Lars burst out, champagne in hand, with Kirk right by his side, sporting a grin. I couldn't help but smile back, chuckling when they both practically tackled me with hugs. "Congrats, Mrs. Mustaine," Lars said with a twinkle in his eye, and I let out a laugh.

"Mustaine-Burton," I smiled. "I'm going with a double-barrelled name... Didn't want to ditch the Burton part, you know? It's got history with Cliff," I explained, which earned approving smiles from both of them.

"You know, I never really got what's up with you and Mustaine until I saw you two in the same place at the same time," Kirk mused. "It's like you two are in your own little world when you're together. And seeing him all smitten like this is a funny sight. Congrats, babe," he continued, pulling me in for another hug. I let out a soft chuckle in response.

"Can I crash the congrats party?" a familiar voice piped up, and I lit up as I spun around to find James, a hint of a smile on his face.

"James!" I blurted out, pulling him in for a hug, which he met with a soft laugh. "I thought... I thought you were gonna bail on me."

"A dude can't even be fashionably late these days?" he teased, and I laughed. "Of course I was gonna show up. You think you can shake me off that easily, Burton?"

"Mustaine-Burton, actually," I corrected him, and he just rolled his eyes.

"As if I'm gonna go with that," he quipped, caressing my hair softly, which made me giggle. "So, where's your... husband?"

"Last I saw, he was chatting with my folks. Ah, there he is," I grinned as I caught sight of Dave, shooting the breeze with his sister while clutching a flute of champagne. He spotted me, then James by my side, and immediately made a beeline over.

"Hey, honey. Hungry yet? I had 'em whip up that salad you're into," he said, slinging an arm around my waist, pulling me in snug. It was a sweet move, not without a hint of claiming me as his own.

"Oh yeah, I'm starving. I was just chatting a bit," I answered, planting a light kiss on Dave's cheek. He grinned and then turned his gaze to James, who met it without saying a word. I watched their silent exchange, feeling a bit on edge, but my eyebrows shot up in surprise when James reached out his hand to Dave, who shook it.

"Congrats, dude," James said, and Dave shot him a tight yet polite smile.

"Thanks."

"I'm thinking of snagging a brew... Catch you later, Nore," James said, giving me a nod. I returned it as he made his way towards the makeshift bar set up for the guests.

"Hey, James!" Dave called out, stopping him in his tracks. James turned back, eyebrow raised in question. Dave hesitated for a moment before speaking up. "I'll take care of her, man. You have my word."

"I know you will," James replied, offering a faint smile. I watched with interest as the two of them seemed to reach some unspoken understanding. Then James turned and headed off.

The party dragged on till way past bedtime. By the time the guests cleared out and the crew tore down the setup, I was beat. My eyes were practically glued shut with exhaustion as I wiped off my makeup and let down my hair. I couldn't help but laugh when I felt Dave sneak up behind me, wrapping his arms around me and planting a slow kiss on my neck, my body warming up at his touch.

"You happy?" he whispered, and I grinned, turning to meet his gaze, our hands intertwining. I couldn't help but smile at the cool touch of his ring against my skin.

"Over the moon," I murmured, letting out a soft chuckle as he fumbled for my dress’ zipper, planting a kiss on my shoulder and pulling me close. His lips trailed up my skin, and I couldn't help but smile when they met mine. "And you?"

"Absolutely," he murmured back, gently nipping at my lower lip.

I let out a sigh as he lifted my dress' hem, settling me on the vanity while taking off my panties. A quiet laugh escaped my lips as he started undoing his pants. He pressed his forehead against mine, parting my thighs with one hand. I moaned softly as he pushed into me, my fingers tangling in his ginger hair as he moved slowly. I tilted my head back as his lips traced the curve of my neck and collarbone.

"Couldn't even wait to get me in bed?" I managed to gasp out, and he smirked, easing himself inside me with slow, deliberate movements.

"What makes you think I won't fuck you in bed too?" he countered with a low growl, and I couldn't help but laugh, the sound melting into a moan as his lips crashed against mine, his thrusts growing more urgent by the second.

I melted into him, fingers tangling in his hair as my lips trailed down to his neck. He let out a deep groan, his hold on my hips tightening as his breathing grew heavier, his movements getting more frenzied by the second. I couldn't help but moan as he slipped a hand down to my clit, working it with such skill that sent shivers down my spine.

"My beautiful wife," he growled, burying his face in my neck as I clung to him. He grunted as he felt me tighten around him, my climax building rapidly. His movements grew more urgent, and I shuddered as the pleasure became almost overwhelming, my body convulsing with each wave as I moaned his name. He pulled me close, his rhythm faltering as he released inside me, his forehead resting against my shoulder, his breath coming in heavy pants. I giggled as he peppered kisses along my shoulder, then my neck, nibbling lightly on my ear before whispering again, "My beautiful, beautiful wife."

I had never been happier.

✧ But if you send for me, you know I'll come / And if you call for me, you know I'll run / I'll run to you, I'll run to you / I'll run, run, run / I'll come to you, I'll come to you / I'll come, come, come

And if you call I'll run, run, run  / If you change your mind, I'll come, come, come ✧

December 31st, 1992

Two months later, we headed back to San Francisco for Lars' annual New Year's Eve bash. Dave wasn't exactly jumping for joy at the thought of ringing in the new year with his old band mates, but I promised him he didn't have to mingle with them if he didn't feel like it. I mean, Lars' parties were notorious for being massive. Dave was trying his best to wrap his head around the fact that having me in his life also meant having some sort of contact with Lars, Kirk, and James. Surprisingly, he was handling it better than I thought he would.

I let out a sigh, a little smile playing on my lips as we pulled up to Lars' vacation home. Last time I’d set foot there, getting back with Dave wasn't even on my radar. If someone had told me then that a year later we'd be married, I'd have probably burst out laughing. It was like in the past year, all my wildest dreams had decided to come true.

I grinned as we stepped into our guest room and spotted Lars' handiwork of choosing the perfect outfits for his guests; this time, a stunning blood-red gown for me, paired with a slick black suit and shirt in the same shade for Dave. Dave let out a low whistle at the sight of our getups, slinging an arm around my waist.

"You’ll look absolutely gorgeous in that dress, babe," he said with a smile, leaning in to brush his lips against my ear. "Can't wait to take it off you later."

I laughed, giving him a playful shove, and he planted a kiss on my lips before stepping back.

The party was off the hook, as usual. Even Dave seemed blown away by the spread of food, drinks, and all the big shots milling around, though he tried to play it cool, which just made me smile. We worked the room together, hand in hand, stopping here and there to shoot the breeze with some familiar faces.

At one point, we split up when Dave went to grab us some drinks. That's when I felt a hand on my shoulder, and when I turned around, a smile spread across my face at the sight of James. He was rocking an all-black outfit, his blond hair flowing and his face looking healthier than I had seen in years.

"Thought you were gonna bail this year. You know, since your husband's not our biggest fan," James said, a slight grin playing on his lips. I rolled my eyes.

"Don't be ridiculous, James. I wouldn't miss hanging out with you guys for anything," I retorted before pulling him into a hug. He let out a satisfied sigh, keeping me close for maybe a bit longer than strictly necessary, his hand resting at the small of my back as he buried his face in my hair.

"You look stunning," he whispered in my ear, and I swear I could feel my cheeks flushing. "Missed you, Nore," he grinned, those blue eyes twinkling with a certain mischief that sent my heart into a flutter.

Guess I wasn't entirely immune to James' charms after all.

Later, after the party wrapped up, Dave and I ended up back in our room, his hands all over me, his body pressing me against the wall, his tongue tangling with mine as I let out soft moans, my fingers entwined in his soft ginger hair. He suddenly pulled away when we heard a knock on the door. I blinked, curious. Dave groaned, irritated, rolling his eyes, and I couldn't help but chuckle under my breath.

"I'll get it," I offered, and he grunted, stepping aside to let me reach the door. Swinging it open, I was taken aback to find James standing there. His eyes swept over me, a faint smile playing on his lips as he noticed my flushed cheeks and mussed-up hair.

"Bad timing?" he quipped, and I felt the heat rise to my cheeks once more.

"James, what's up? Need something?" I inquired, and he let out a low laugh, that same hint of mischief as before flashing in his eyes.

"You know why I'm here, sweetheart. Mind if I come in?" he murmured, his voice dropping. My skin warmed when Dave's arms wrapped around me, pulling me close as he planted a kiss on my neck.

"What do you think, babe?" Dave murmured, his proximity sending my pulse into overdrive. James observed, desire flickering in his blue eyes as he let out a soft sigh. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach as I realized what was about to happen. "Should we let him in?"

I glanced at James, who flashed a playful grin before closing the gap between us, lifting my chin with his fingers before pressing his lips to mine.

Believe it or not, that was the kick-off to some of the happiest times of my life. James, Dave, and I kept our meetings going for a few months, and I gotta say, it was pretty amazing to experience loving both of them at the same time.

But James had a point in the end; keeping our thing under wraps, away from the public, got tougher and more draining by the day. And even though he didn't outright say it, I could tell Dave wasn't thrilled about sharing me. Plus, James and Dave still had a lot of resentment between them; not even the possibility of both of them having me eased the wounds they still needed to heal. So, as time went on, our three-way nights became rarer until they just fizzled out completely.

Surprisingly, that didn't wreck my bond with James, thanks to something totally unexpected: him falling for someone else. Strangely enough, it didn't bug me as much as I thought it would. I had a long history of feeling jealous of James' girlfriends back in the day. But now, it was like our connection had matured into something peaceful. I was genuinely glad to see him finding happiness, just like he was glad to see how happy my marriage made me.

So, believe it or not, I found myself happy. I had a husband who adored me, a successful career, and friends who were like family. Sure, Cliff's loss was like a shadow that never quite left, but I wasn't going through my mourning alone. Some days hit harder than others, but ain't that just life? We all coped in our own ways, not always the healthiest, but bit by bit, I learned to live again.

Bit by bit, I allowed myself to be happy again.

✧ Blue hydrangea, cold cash divine / Cashmere, cologne and hot sunshine / Red racing cars, Sunset and Vine / And we were young and pretty ✧

November 14, 1993

It happened not long after my first wedding anniversary.

The past year had been smooth sailing for both me and Dave. Hardly anything threw a wrench in the works; I kept climbing up the ladder in acting, and Dave was killing it in his music gig. His band was hitting new highs, even if that meant he was on the road more and we were apart a bunch. But, in the end, it just made every second we had together even sweeter. 

Somewhere in the last few months, I’d ditched the birth control pills. Not 'cause Dave and I were mapping out parenthood or anything, but just because we figured we'd want kids somewhere down the line. Seemed like a good time to let nature take its course — if it happened, cool. If it didn’t, that was okay too.

I just wasn’t ready for it to happen that fast — but the two lines that appeared on the pregnancy test didn't lie.

I was pregnant.

Maybe it wasn't the smartest move to take that test while Dave was still laying down tracks at the studio. Because now, a full-on panic started to set in as I stared at that little plastic stick. I only grabbed it because I'd been feeling like garbage — tired as hell and sick to my stomach round the clock. Plus, I couldn't even remember the last time I'd had a period. But even with all those hints, the result still caught me off guard.

I rested a hand on my belly, staring at my own nervous reflection in the mirror. I had no clue how I was gonna break the news to Dave. And with the band gearing up for another album, I couldn't predict how he'd take it either. Albums meant tours, and I was freaking out, thinking I might mess up Dave's whole career and plans.

Chill out, I told myself. He's been wanting this as much as you have.

And it was true. Actually, it was Dave who'd thrown out the idea of me ditching the birth control pills. I tried to keep that in mind, shutting my eyes and taking a deep breath. It kinda eased some of my nerves. I absentmindedly noticed my face was all flushed.

"Nore?" I jumped when I heard Dave's voice. I hadn't even noticed he'd gotten back home, but then again, I was holed up in the bathroom upstairs. I heard a couple of taps on the door. "You in there?"

"Yeah, I'm here!" I called out, shoving the test back into its box and tucking it away in the cabinet under the sink before swinging the door open. Dave grinned at me, his ginger hair pulled back into a ponytail, and reached out for a hug. I chuckled softly, some of the tension melting away as I wrapped my arms around him, nuzzling into his chest. "Hey there, baby. Welcome home."

"You feeling any better?" He ran a gentle hand through my hair.

Now it was clear why I'd felt so sick — another day where I just couldn't drag myself to work because of the nausea. Dave would've stayed put if I hadn't practically pushed him out the door to the studio. Didn't want to throw a wrench in the works of the band's new album. The idea of being a hassle to him brought tears to my eyes, which kinda ticked me off. Guess my hormones were already all over the place.

Which meant one thing: I had to tell him.

"Dave..." I started, my voice shaky, meeting his gaze. He brushed his fingers over my face gently, a flicker of worry in his eyes.

"What is it?" he whispered. I tried to speak, to put into words what I needed to say, but I found myself speechless. Instead, I reached for his hand and pressed it against my stomach under my shirt. He looked at me, puzzled for a second, before realization slowly dawned in his eyes.

"Wait, seriously? Is this... Is this what I think it is?" he asked, his voice filled with disbelief. I nodded, a grin spreading across my face.

"Yeah, it is. We're... We're gonna have a baby," I confirmed, finally managing to say it. "I'm pregnant... You're gonna be a dad."

"Holy shit, are you serious?" he beamed, cupping my face in his hands and planting a bunch of little kisses on my lips, making me giggle. "I can't believe this!"

"It's true, Dave. Just took the test."

"Oh man, we gotta tell everyone!" he exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. "And we gotta start prepping the baby's room... You think it's gonna be a boy or a girl?"

I smiled, feeling my heart light up at Dave's enthusiasm. I'd been worrying for nothing, I realized. He'd never see this pregnancy as a setback. That guy had shown me his love time and time again, way more than I could ever measure, way more than I ever thought I deserved.

I knew he was gonna be an amazing dad.

July 27, 1994

Elise Rose Mustaine-Burton came into the world in the early hours of a summer morning.

When I finally got to hold her, sweat and tears mixed as my whole body ached, it was as if my world had shifted for a moment; holding her, I just knew – life would never be the same again.

I fell for her right away, a fierce, raw, and unconditional love that just flooded through me. It wasn't like I had to make room for her in my heart; it was more like her arrival had stretched it wide open, carving out a piece of my soul that was hers and hers alone, forever.

I could tell Dave felt it too. When he held her, a grin lit up his face, tears welling in his eyes as he cradled her against his chest. She was so small, and so unmistakably ours — her little tufts of hair already matching Dave's, her eyes a deep blue that could only have come from me.

First time breastfeeding hit me harder than I thought. I sat there, cradling her close as she suckled vigorously, trying to push through the pain. But the hormonal roller coaster I’d just gone through suddenly overwhelmed me. I blinked, tears welling up, and Dave slid in beside me on the bed, planting a gentle kiss on my cheek.

"You alright?" he asked, his voice laced with worry.

"Yeah, just stings a bit," I answered, my voice shaking. He gave me a gentle squeeze, careful not to jostle me too much.

"Want me to buzz the nurse?"

"Nah, I'll tough it out," I said, sniffling, and he wiped away the tears from my cheek. I let out a sigh of relief when Elise finally finished feeding, and Dave scooped her up while I got myself together, handing her back to me soon after.

"You're crying," he noted, and I looked up to meet his worried hazel eyes. "You sure you don't want me to call the nurse, babe?"

"I'm good," I said, wiping my face with one hand while holding Elise close with the other. "Just blame it on the hormones. Can you believe she's finally here?" I asked softly, my voice still shaky, and Dave grinned. "She looks just like you."

"She's got my hair, but that cute face is all yours," he remarked, gently holding her hand. Elise latched onto one of Dave's fingers right away, and I couldn't help but marvel at how tiny she was — five small fingers so delicate they almost looked like they belonged to a doll.

"How can you tell? Babies all look so similar at this age," I wondered, and Dave chuckled. I glanced up at him, tears welling in my eyes again as I smiled. "She's just perfect, Dave."

"She sure is. Just like her mom," he replied, and I let out a quiet laugh before resting my head on his shoulder. Feeling Elise's warmth against me was something entirely new, yet utterly wonderful, calming me down completely. Dave traced a finger lightly over her cheek, and she stirred in her sleep.

"My sweet Lizzie," he murmured, and the nickname sounded so perfect on his lips that I knew he'd hardly call her anything else from then on. He grinned, his eyes brimming with pure love as they met mine, and he planted a gentle kiss on my temple. "Can you believe we made her?" he whispered against my skin. "I didn't think it was possible to love you more than I already did, but you keep proving me wrong. How do you do it?"

“It’s easy,” I smiled. “You do the same for me.”

Dave smiled softly, giving me a light kiss before drawing me in closer. I let myself sink into his embrace, with our baby snug against me, and let out a contented sigh.

"I think I'm about to fall asleep," I mumbled, feeling my eyelids drooping.

"Course you are. You need some shut-eye," Dave chuckled, his smile practically audible, before gently transferring Lizzie to her crib. I grumbled softly, already missing the feel of her in my arms, but knowing it was best to wait until I was more awake to hold her. Dave settled back beside me on the bed, wrapping me in his arms, resting my head on his shoulder, and I let out a contented sigh, soaking in the warmth of his skin against mine. “I love you, Nore.”

"I love you too," I mumbled back, already drifting off, smiling as his lips brushed my forehead, and letting out a quiet laugh.

"What's on your mind?" Dave asked, grinning, and I shook my head.

"Just feeling damn lucky," I murmured, blinking open my eyes with a yawn. Dave cupped my face in his hand, stroking my cheek gently, a gesture so familiar, so him . I grinned, giving his jaw a light kiss, and he sighed. “I'm so lucky to be loved by you.”

It was actually kinda funny, you know, how lucky I was. The world might see Dave as this guy with a short fuse, sharp tongue, and a chip on his shoulder from all the crap life threw at him, but I didn’t. My Dave was not like that.

My Dave was sweet, affectionate, and thoughtful. He loved me, and he made damn sure I felt it, every single day of our lives.

And me? The longer I spent with him, the more I was sure that some things between us were simply meant to be.

We were always meant to fall in love. We were always meant to find one another. We were always meant to be together, for me to save him, for him to save me, every day, again, and again, and again.

We were always meant to love each other.

And I loved him.

God, how I loved him.

September 29, 1999

It was early morning when I finally rolled back home, tour fatigue dragging me down like a ton of bricks. No matter how many times I'd done this, coming back after weeks on the road always hit me like a truck. It was like all the exhaustion caught up to me at once, weighing me down.

The only thing stronger was the longing to see her.

Stepping inside, her voice coming from the kitchen welcomed me right away. I grinned, feeling like a kid again, head over heels in love with her. It was like my heart couldn’t quite wrap its head around how lucky I was to have her as my wife. Every time I laid eyes on her, it was like seeing her for the first time all over again — pure excitement and enchantment that I'd never felt with anyone else.

"What’s next?" she chirped as I strolled into the kitchen, her voice all sing-songy, setting off giggles from Lizzie, our little girl. I grinned at the sight; Nore was at the table, ingredients scattered about, while Lizzie sat on a stool, peeking over the table, her ginger hair tied up in pigtails, her blue eyes sparkling as she beamed at Nore.

"An egg!" Lizzie answered, so hyped up it cracked me up, catching both of their gazes. They both lit up with identical smiles when they spotted me, one a bit smaller and with a few less teeth than the other. "Daddy!" Lizzie squealed, beaming as I walked over, and I chuckled when she slapped her tiny hands on my chest, bouncing in her chair until I scooped her up, settling her on my lap. "We're making pancakes! Mommy said you get super hungry when you come home from work."

"No kidding?" I grinned, pulling her in close to my chest. She seemed taller and heavier since the last time I’d held her, but still the same gorgeous girl, a perfect mix of me and the woman I loved more than anything. "Well, she got that right. I am super, super hungry!" I nuzzled my face into her tummy, and she erupted into giggles, grabbing onto my hair as she cracked up, tossing her head back. Nore joined in, her laughter contagious, plastering an immediate smile on my face.

I plopped Lizzie back on her stool and turned to my wife, who flashed me a sweet grin as I cradled her face in my hands. I was itching to kiss her, to wrap her up tight in my arms and feel her melt against me, to trace every inch of her skin with my lips and my touch because no matter how close we got — it never felt close enough.

But Lizzie was watching us, so I settled for a quick peck on her lips. The more intense kisses would have to wait until night, when I’d take her clothes off and shower her with love, turning her into the most delightful mess of moans under my touch. She grinned into our kiss, her smile sweeter than ever (though honestly, every smile of hers just kept getting sweeter to me), and I couldn't resist kissing her one more time.

"Good to have you home," she said, and my heart swelled with warmth.

Later, after Lizzie had crashed out and we'd retreated to our bedroom, I finally got to pull Nore close, my lips trailing along her neck while she giggled softly, her arms snug around my shoulders as she perched on my lap.

"So, it's just you and me now?" she asked, all sweet-like, and I grunted, my hand drifting down to the little bump already poking out from her belly with our second kid on the way.

"Just you and me," I confirmed. With the tour wrapped up, I'd be sticking around until the new baby was born and the tough early months were behind us. Balancing the rockstar life with being a present dad and husband wasn't always easy, but I gave it my all. And man, was I lucky to have an understanding wife, who was also a wonderful mom, and one hell of a strong woman. No idea what I’d done to score such luck.

That night, every kiss I planted on her skin was filled with nothing but worship. I soaked up every second I got to touch her, her hushed moans echoing in the room as my tongue delved into the wetness between her legs, then her heavy breathing brushing against my cheek as she rode me slowly. Her chest pressed against mine, her arms locked around my neck, my hands guiding her hips in a steady rhythm as we moved together. Slow, tender kisses mixed with the sweetest moans I could ever wish to hear.

And then, after we finished, she cuddled up next to me, her bare skin cozy against mine as she lazily traced patterns on my chest with her fingertips. That had always been my favorite part — having her right there with me, knowing she was mine, that she wasn’t going anywhere, that her love was like a safe haven I could always come home to.

"I love you," she whispered, and I grinned, locking eyes with her. Eyes so blue I drowned, being pulled right into her soul.

"And I love you," I replied, my voice low and raspy. She laughed softly as I planted a gentle kiss on her lips. How damn lucky was I to always have her to come back to, no matter what, no matter where. To know that I'd always find her, over and over again, no matter the distance or the obstacles.

To know that if I had a hundred lifetimes, I'd choose to love her in every single one of them.

And by some miracle of fate, she was mine.

Mother of my children.

Light of my days.

Love of my life.

✧ the story's over, but if you'd like to be tagged on any eventual extra chapters, let me know and I'll add you to the tag list! ❤ ✧

tag list: @killazilla777 @whatsupvic @70srogah @genswine9 @twice360noscope @ilovepapahet @decemberm0on

✦ a/n: And that's a wrap ❤

If you've been following along with this story, I just want to thank you with all my heart! It's been quite a journey for me, taking over a year to finish this fic. I've grown a ton as a writer, and I've had a blast interacting with all of you along the way. Honestly, when I first started posting, I never expected anyone to read it, so getting feedback from you all has been an awesome surprise. Your presence here has really kept me going, so thanks a million for that! 💖

So, we've reached the end of Nore's adventure, and it's been a happy one (just like I promised)! I might come back with a few extra chapters set in this universe down the road, but for now, I'm shifting gears to some other projects. If you want to stay in the loop, I'm always sharing updates about my fics right here on my blog!

If you've got any comments, feedback or reviews about the story, I'd love to read them. Thanks again for diving into Heartbreaker and enjoying the ride with me.

Catch you later! ❤

[byllsbytch]

A Surprise Visit

I was at work yet again, it felt like I never left. I started my shift off the bat at the registers having to force a smile despite getting abused by customers. I stood at the registers serving, repeating the same overused script; “Hi, how are you? Would you like a bag? Are you apart of our membership? Cash or Card?”

I’d been working for 3 hours so far and my break was coming up, I'd kept glancing at the time in the corner of my screen, excited to step away from the repetiveness. It was fine because once I came back from my break another girl was coming in to cover me from the registers and I could begin to clean and mind my business. With such a repetative job i find myself just day dreaming most of the time. But it’s ok, makes the day go fast.

I looked again at the clock and seen I have 5 minutes till I can go on my break.

5 minutes till Freedom.

The queue seem to grow longer as I sighed and called the next customer to my register. In the background I'd seen one of my coworkers coming up to serve and a felt a grin tug at my lips, it was now officially real that I didn't have long till my break. She signed in and instantly started taking through customers.

“Hey, Y/N it’s all good, I can take it from here!” She chirped.

“Oh really?!” I replied excited then shook my head, “I have 5 minutes I can help shorten the queue."

“Nah, just go, I got it sorted.”

I smiled and logged off after serving one of the customers. I walked to the tearoom and grabbed my bag, heading out the store to go grab my Saturday treat - a coffee and muffin.

I kept my head down as I walked out of the store trying not to get held back by a customer asking for help. While looking at my phone trying to avoid eye contact I’d seen Gustavs name glow on my screen.

Before I opened the message I quickly glanced up at to make sure I wouldn’t run into the random massage chairs scattered around the mall, as it surely wouldn’t be the first time. After putting my head down after the quick glance, I immediately shot my head back up to search for the familar face that caught my eye. I gasped loudly as I seen Tom and Georg sitting in the massage chairs both of them in a deep state of relaxation.

“Oh my God!” I yelled, running to the pair with my arms out, “What are you doing here! You’re supposed to be on tour!”

Both boys immediately jumped up from their seats.

“Y/N! We’ve been waiting for you!” Georg exclaimed.

”What the heck guys! I’ve missed you so damn bad.”

The boys embraced me one at a time. Tom closed the space between us, holding me a little bit longer, I intertwined my fingers into his locs and burried my head into his neck taking in his scent that I so dearly missed. Georg stood awkwardly, clearing his throat to remind us he was there. We quickly pecked eachother on the cheek before breaking the hug. Tom continued to linger with his arm prompt along my shoulders.

“Gustav actually just texted me! Where is he? Where is Bill?”

Tom began, “Oh Gustav? He’s actually-“

Before Tom could finish a pair of arms had wrapped themselves around me.

I turned around into the envelope and seen Gustav with a smirk on his face.

“Oh hellooo!” He sang.

I swung my arms back around him and squeezed him tightly as we gave eachother a kiss on the cheek.

“Gustav!” I chirped.

"Long time no see.” He chuckled, behind him stood Bill who just waved and smiled.

I pushed past Gustav as Bill put his arms out to me. I dove my head into his chest and he squeezed me tight. We kissed eachother on both cheeks - a custom I long held with only him.

“I missed my bestie,” I hushed into his ear.

“I missed you too.” He croaked, holding his throat in discomfort.

“Shit! What’s up with your voice?!” I asked concerned which earnt a eyeroll from Bill.

“No seriously why are you guys here? You’re supposed to be on tour!”

“Just to go shopping, you know?” Gustav chimed. I playfully punched him in the arm.

“Just pulling your leg, Bill’s fucked his voice doing something.”

I looked at Bill concerned and he nodded at me.

“He has to go for surgery tonight, doctors over in france says hes got some kind of throat infection.” Georg chimed in.

“Oh my goodness! Are you ok? How did it happen? How are you supposed to treat it? What’s happening with the tour?!”

“One question at a time.” He joked with his raspy voice. “I’m fine, I’ve just been straining my chords too much, I just gotta let it rest but for now the tour is post-poned.”

“That’s a shame, is there anything I can do?”

Bill shook his head with a defeated smile.

“Well, how have the rest of you been?”

-

We spent my whole lunch break walking around and catching up. The band of boys were continuously being stopped by fans to take photos and sign autographs.

We didn’t really get up to much shopping while walking around.

My lunch break was quickly drawing to a close before I had to head back to work.

“Hey look, it's been absolutely awesome being able to catch up with you guys, but I need to start heading back, my break is almost over. I’ll definetly come over later though when I’m finished.”

“Just say you need to go home sick.” Tom suggested as if it was plain obvious.

“Tom! You know I can’t besides we’re short staffed and I need the money.”

“I’ll give you money, how much are you making for this shift?”

“Pft don’t worry about it because I’m not leaving. I still see you guys after work. As long as you don’t go clubbing… I cannot be bothered.”

Bill smirked.

"Don't get any ideas!" Gustav called.

“What girl wouldn’t want to skip work to hang out with the Tokio Hotel?” Tom said shocked.

“We’ll just spend the rest of your shift with you!” Bill announced.

“Seriously!? That’s so sweet of you to offer but I think you need to rest up and I don’t wanna get in trouble.”

“We’ll help clean! Let me talk to your manager. She’ll come around.”

“Yeah but what about all the people coming up for pictures?”

“It’ll boost the business, have more customers come in! You’re not getting rid of us Y/N.”

We started in the girlswear department; tidying all the racks and tables with folded shirts on them. The work was getting done surprisingly quickly, the boys were surely not mucking about.

Tom brought over a little denim skirt and pink top with minnie mouse on it. He smiled proudly.

“Look at how cute this would be on our little girl! With little piggy tails and pink hair ties!”

I looked up at him and fell even more in love.

“Our little girl?” Bill puzzled. “Puh- lease! You better keep your dick away from Y/N, that would be the end of the group.”

“Woah relax it’s a cute little fit and you know I want a daughter. Just looking at Y/N makes me want to have a daughter.” He stared me down with a smirk.

He then shook his head as to shake away his dirty thoughts of me. “But man… being in this store. Makes it hard.”

“Ok, noted, don’t let Tom in clothing stores, makes him was to have kids” Gustav joked.

“I just think Bill is jealous that he can’t be Tom’s and Y/N’s little girl.” Georg remarked.

“Or maybe he’s just afraid of losing Tom.” Gustav shrugged his shoulders.

Bill gasped in disbelief. “More like losing Y/N! Could you imagine loosing your bestfriend to this stud!”

I shook my head with a grin as I continued to fold the shirts neatly onto the table.

“Anyways, I’ve been meaning to ask you Y/N, The designer has really fucked my outfits, they look nothing like the drawings I sent through and approved, so because I’m like, you bestest best friend, could you please make up just a few fits for me. I kinda have already sent you the sketches.”

“Bill! Just because I work at a clothing store doesn’t mean I’m a costume designer! I haven’t touched a sewing machine since our home ec class.”

“Yeah well, it couldn’t be too hard, I just don’t have the time to be going to different countries for fittings, plus it would take to long to come all the way from the other side of the world!”

“Where is the other side of the world?”

“Italy.” He cheekily tried to avoid eye-contact.

I raised an eyebrow, “So you can’t pick it up from the next country over? Like maybe grab it on the way?”

He rolled his eyes in frustration, “Y/N I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t need you to do it, please it’s just more ideal. It shouldn’t be too hard, mum used to sew us halloween costumes all the time!”

“Get your mother to sew it then!”

He threw a palm to his forehead and shut his eyes.

“Ok! Fine, but don’t expect it to be top tier gucci quality, I’ve warned you.”

He jumped nodding, “Yes, Yes! Oh thank you so much, you’ll have plenty of time while I recover to get it sorted, this is why I love ya!”

I crossed my arms and sighed.

Fuckin good luck to me.

[like-rain-or-confetti]

Find Alice (Jervis Tetch)

It had been a three hour interrogation. The third in three days and Jervis was just as diffcult as ever. He gave no information as to the missing persin that the GCPD knew he had. The issue was, they didnt know where he kept you and it had yet to occur to Jervis that you could easily starve or succumb to the elements. Jervis nearly jumped out of his skin when Cash slammed his hands down on the metal table in front of him. The interrogation room in the GCPD was a very grim place to be. Only one light that shone directly onto Jervis and was oddly focused on the table and two chairs in the middle of the room. Behind Cash was a mirror and underneath that was two wooden benches. "We need answers Tetch!" Cash demanded. "Where are they!?"Jervis meekly looked at your picture in front of him on the table. His cuffs made small clinking noises as he shrugged slightly. "I cannot answer that." Jervis tried. "My dear Alice is counting on me! Yes, yes! I must keep Alice safe!" "If you don't, they'll die!" Cash fired back. "Goodness me, what a terrible thought! No. Indeed Alice will not perish! I'd never allow it!" Jervis cried, dismissing Cash with little belief. "Think about it, Tetch! (Y/N)-" "-Alice." Jervis cut in. "Whatever! They're in your care right? How much can you provide if you're here with us?" Cash demanded. "Only until you let me go! You need not worse so much. Not feed for such a fuss!" "We aren't letting you go, Jervis and you gotta tell us where you put them. You're not going back for them because you won't be leaving here!" Jervis looked taken aback by Cash's statement, blinking a couple of times with a look of surprise and then dread. "You must let me go! Yes! Yes! You must!" "Tell us where they are, Tetch!" Cash demanded. "You must! You must!" Jervis cried back in horror. "In me, Alice trusts!" "Tetch, you're pissing me off! Cash warned. "My dear Alice will be frightened as your clutches on me tighten!" Jervis pleaded. "You'd rather let them die than let them go!?" Cash demanded with disgust. He kicked his chair further away than he already had when he abruotly stood and snatched the files and pictures off the table and out of Jervis' sight. "You don't even deserve to look at them." Cash said venomous before storming out of the interrogation room, he slammed the door shut behind him.

He went next door where Commissioner Gordon was watching. Cash tossed the file onto the table at the two-way mirror. "He's gotta crack. He's gotta." Cash shook his head, arms crossed over his chest as he glared through the glass at the oblivious Mad Hatter who seemed distraught himself. "We're running out of time." "He's taking the pressure but it's crumbling him, not his intentions. He thinks that's Alice and that we're trying to take them from him." Gordon leaned against the table by his hands, scrutinising Jervis. "How do we convince him that telling us will save them? Save Alice?" "Gordon..." A dark thought crossed Cash's mind. "...what if he's too far gone? What if we can't reason with him?" "We can't think that way. The second we give up trying to get through to him is the second we give up on (Y/N)."

Jervis' mind swarmed with thoughts of you. It made him want to vomit. He could imagine the colour drained from you as your blood stopped circulating your body. Shadows around your eyes that threatened to sink in any day now. Jaw hung open as your last words were begging for Jervis to come back. He would have. Oh, he would have come back for you, his sweet Alice. Nothing would have stopped him if it hadn't been for the GCPD. He couldn't give you back, you must understand. You would understand...wouldn't you? Jervis was frightened to think otherwise but since its been so long, so many days now- he knew you were gone. There was no way you have not perished by now. His mind wandered to a sinister part of his imagination. Your body stiff and beginning the process of decay. Perhaps the wind tousling strands of your unkept hair. Sat in the dark, alone, bound by the wrists in chains to the wall and decaying. Oh his poor Alice. What have they done? Jervis covered his face and cried. He had to get out. He had to get back to Alice. Gotham was cold and cruel...no. The world was cold and cruel. The teuth was if felt like seconds ago he had escaped police custody but the sun setting behind gkthams high rises told hi. It had been hours. There was nowhere Jervis could hide and he never could run for long. Never in a straight line. Not when front was back, back was front, interchangeably at any given time as was every other direction. He pressed his face against the cold, wet stone ignoring the cold ache reminiscent of a brain freeze and taking in the sensation against his clammy skin. He had been running for so long that he had forgotten why he was running from the GCPD. What did Jervis have left? The Jabberwocky reigns and the GCPD took Jervis' Alice.

None saw the tear run down Jervis' face. Nor did they seem to notice Alice step out from behind ow of the cars. Tentatively, you walked towards him. Your face peaceful, the breeze brushing against you. He had been so used to seeing those eyes filled with fear that he hadn't had the time to appreciate your peaceful gaze. He envied that peace in that moment. Everything for you, his dear Alice, was still and calm. He never had such a luxury. Everything twisted and turned on itself. There really was no safe place to land- nothing for definite and Jervis never really understood how everyone else didn't scream at the madness until Jervis learned to embrace it. He decided to consider himself mad and chaotic, having learned how to be in this mad mad world.

Although sometimes, for brief glimpses of seconds that very few were observant enough to catch, Jervis was tired and sought that peace. Alice gave him companionship, made him feel wanted. In Wonderland it was Alice who was out of place, yet Wonderland was of her own creation. Alice would learn to adapt as so the story often went. Alice remembered to be Alice and Alice was wonderful. The best someone any someone could hope to be. Helping Alice find the muchness again is always a worthy pursuit. Alice was the constant in a constantly changing world and Alice had returned for him now. Smiling of all things. A gentle, knowing...perhaps even a forgiving smile.Alice crouched to his level, between him and the GCPD who didn't notice you barely a foot in front of them. Still too far from him to reach you. "Alice..." He mumbled to himself, the fight in him gone. Perhaps Alice knew and that was why Alice had returned to him- somehow. Just like that, his decision was made. Jervis slowly extended a gloved hand, reaching for Alice who rose to a stand with him in unison, hand still out expectantly and patiently waiting.Alice's expression assured him there was nothing to fear. The expression could have made him weep for Alice did not look at him as though reuniting. It was as though Alice had always been there. Maybe that's true. Who would Jervis be to say otherwise? He saw all kind of things others didn't. Why would this he any different? All that mattered that when gone, Alice always came back. No matter how long it had been. No ones Wonderland are ever truly forgotten and Alice clung to Wonderland with a tight grip that couldn't be broken. Wonderland was safe with Alice.With Alice...that sounded right. It always had. That made it all the easier to reach out.

The GCPD watched as Jervis reached out to them. To who he reached for, no one could be sure. Commissioner Gordon assumed it to be him. "It's alright now, Tetch." Gordon assured him. "Let's just stay nice and calm." Gordon had no idea that Jervis ignored all of this. Jervis hardly even heard him as he was so focused on his Alice who was inches away. Your hand grasped his and you took a step back, pulling him gently with you. "Alice..." Jervis whispered to himself and the second he blinked he came face to face with Commissioner Gordon. "Alice isn't here, Jervis. Come on now." Gordon carefully cuffed Jervis who looked around for Alice. When the car door opened he saw what the tinted windows didn't show before. Alice was sitting in the backseat, smiling at him and waiting for him. Jervis felt relief and let Gordon guide him towards the car. As long as Alice was there, it didn't matter what happened next. Not to Jervis.

The smell was indescribable unless someone knew what it was. Those living around the cellar couldn't describe the smell as they called the GCPD but nothing with such an odor could be anything good. Officers that arrived on scene clocked the smell immediately eyeing bystanders who used their clothes to cover the smell. The officers knew the scent almost immediately and got to work trying to clear the scene and discreetly called for back up. "It's in the cellar! None of us dare get close!"One called to them. "Something died in there." Another gagged as they mumbled to their neighbour who nodded in agreement. "What else could it be?" "Someone forget the cat? Or the dog?" Another called out jeering. Few grimaced in annoyance, others rolled their eyes. "No one lives in there!" Another neighbour huffed. "Then the previous owners left their pet. Or it's a stray that got in somehow. That's a dead animal." "Stupid! For all we know since there's no power in there that they've left meat in a freezer and it's rotting!" Came a scoff. Someone wretched. "Don't say that! I'm going to throw up!" "Everyone settle down!"Officer Bright tried to ease everyone. "Get back inside." "Hell no! The fresh air makes the smell bearable!" Another called back. "We were told it was the drains, yeah? But no ones been out to check the plumbing! What the hell do we pay taxes for exactly!?" Someone demanded. "Kent! With me!" Cash ordered as he moved towards the cellar doors. He tugged to find resistance. He shone a torch through the crack to see a chain on the otherside. "Gonna have to make entry through the house. This is chained shut."

The cellar was dark and freezing cold. He moved down the steps, gun drawn with Officer Kent close behind him. Kent covered his mouth as the offending odour got worse, practically clogging his nose. "Be prepared for worst case scenario." Cash grumbled with a grimace. "Do you think...?" Kent trailed off, immediately thinking the worse. "Dead strays are more often than you think, it seems most likely. No one has reported suspicious activity in the area. As for being chained on the inside, wooden doors aren't going to do much but nothing is getting out...other than the heat.Good thing this place has a decent door to the main house." Cash said as he looked over the dust covered shelves. "I'll check around the outside door- oh shit." Kent deadpanned. "What?" Cash turned to see what Kent was looking at. By Kent's feet was a shoe that still have a leg inside. A very discoloured leg. They followed the leg to be met with a grotesque sight.

"Damn. Good thing we called back up." Cash grumbled. "I...they're dead. Looks like they have been for a while." Kent mumbled "What do you think happened?" Cash wore a grim expression. "At face value, I think the elements got to them. Plus, we've had Tetch this whole time. He was the only one who knew where they were. The only one who could give them food. We failed them. We took too long." "He's disgusting...Tetch is a monster." Kent shook his head as he eyed the blue dress you wore. "Dressed them up and left them in the cold." Cash nodded. "He's sick. We've found them now. Best inform the family so they can be put to rest as (Y/N)- not as Alice."

((This has been done for ages and only now have I found the will to upload it. Yes. This is months if not nearly a year old.))

[sakumz]

____________________________________________

____________________________________________

₊˚ʚ ᗢ₊˚✧ ﾟ. [ s. ritsu x gn reader ] ft. rei

warning❗: slight ooc

genre 𑁍 : fluff

____________________________________________

" rei-chan? " upon hearing his childhood nickname, he turns to the source of the sound, that means you.

currently holding a basket of grocery in your hands. rei had to turn to try and spot ritsu, who's currently at the candy aisle, probably picking out candies or hiding from him. rei gave you a sheepish smile. thank goodness the queue is still long, ritsu can take his time so rei doesn't have to stand like an idiot at the cash register as he waits for his brother to come.

" grocery shopping in the morning I see? " rei starts, trying to make a conversation as he prays for ritsu to come back sooner.

" yeah! mom forced me out with a list... you're not out here alone, are you? "

" I'm with ritsu. "

ritsu... the younger sakuma brother, you couldn't help but let a smile come up to your face as you recalled the last time you two hung out. it was at the school library when you tried to study with him, only for him to knock out the moment he sat down.

" speaking of which, do you mind bringing him back here? he's taking a tad bit too long picking out candies. " hearing the request, of course you agreed.

going from aisle to aisle, finding the candy category. there you spot the raven haird boy, crouched down, humming to himself.

" ah, y/n. what a coincidence, shopping for candies too? " ritsu says as he turns to look at you, his hands full of sweets.

" that's a lot of candies no? and no I'm not here for candies, I got my own errands to run. "

" it's not all for me, gonna give some to suu-chan for being so kind to me and mikarin. restocking our secret candy stash, you know. "

letting out giggles from his response, he couldn't help but smile too.

" we should go back to rei-chan. " pulling the boy from his position and taking him to his brother, ritsu wants to scream when he spots his brother.

" say, can we walk y/n to their house? I don't think I can survive a long 30 minutes with just you, " ritsu says to rei as rei let's out a sigh.

it's a dream come true that his brother even came with him all the way to the grocery store, they haven't spoken alot besides the exchange of good mornings. well at least walking you back to your house and then their dorms take at least ten minutes, he still has time to talk to ritsu a bit at least.

" yeah sure, " rei replies, looking over you as you paid your grocery.

ritsu quickly takes a bag from you, since they're gonna send you home, might as well help carry you and he doesn't have much to carry. rei offering to take your other bag so now you're walking with the sakuma brothers, side by side and you're holding nothing but your phone and wallet.

" come on, not talking to each other again? what happened? " you tried to break the silence, ad you three continued your walk home.

" anija. "

" hmm rei-chan? he did something? "

" no, wait... you've been calling him that since childhood, and you've never given me a nickname like maakun. he used to call me ricchan. "

" is that why you're not talking to rei? "

" there's favouritism here and I hate it. "

rei laughs upon hearing his brother's statement, making the two of you turn to look back at him.

" ah that was good, if ritsu doesn't love his big brother anymore its good to know there's his favourite person loving me more. "

" that's not quite true, " you say as ritsu pouts.

" so you prefer him over me? I thought I was your favourite, " ritsu fake cries as he shook your shoulders.

" well if you asked who I'd rather marry, it'll be ritsu. thought rei might be better for domestic purposes. "

" gasp, I can cook... "

" yeah your food does taste great but the appearances... what if one day I mistake your great cooking for garbage on a plate? "

" stop bullying me, anija back me up! "

" hahaha, whatever you say ritsu. "

as the three stop by your house, wave you goodbye and its just the sakuma brothers walking back. ritsu looks over to rei and sees the smile that never seem to go away eversince they exited the dorms together.

" why are you so happy? " ritsu asked.

" I got to spend a little time with you. "

" even if we never talked till y/n came? "

" seeing you, is enough for me. well its good you're still working hard and you're healthy, you've made plenty of good friends, people you can rely on. but don't push yourself too hard, if you ever need a hand to hold, I'll give you mine. "

" nah, there's still y/n's hand that I can hold in moments like those. "

" are you two lovers or something? " rei stares at ritsu as ritsu winks at him.

" that's a secret, " little did rei know, they're not lovers.

[stardustandmeteors]

home ✷ sylvie l. x fem! reader

SPOILER WARNING FOR LOKI SEASON 2 EPISODE 2

pairing: Sylvie & Reader (romantic)

summary: with the help of Brad, Loki and Mobius successfully found Sylvie, who worked at a McDonald's with the woman she couldn't imagine life without.

Literally just finished Loki season 2, and my love for Sylvie returned, so here is a little one shot of Sylvie on the timeline with the only person she truly trusts. I also don't own Loki, the characters, nor do I own the gif used in this.

Sylvie worked meticulously behind the counter as y/n worked alongside her up front, humming to a song that was stuck in her head. The blonde near her couldn't help but send the woman a small gentle smile, which y/n caught and grinned at her with adoration in her eyes. Sylvie really couldn't get enough of the love this midgaurdian would give her. "Hey, can either of you refill the straw dispenser when one of you gets a sec?" Jack spoke to the two women, Sylvie went past y/n and leaned on the counter in front of the cash register.

"already done it." Sylvie smiled at him.

"she's always on the top of things, Jack, you need to remember that." y/n laughed, bringing an order up towards the front. Jack shook his head at them. "Bill, order's up." y/n called out. She handed the tray to the man.

"Thanks, y/n" she smiled. The younger woman felt Sylvie tense beside her, the smile fading from the blonde's lips. y/n looked to her friend and gently touched her arm. "Syl?" The Asgardian didn't move or acknowledge her, her focus was on her male variant. y/n followed her gaze towards the door, to see a man with raven locks. Him and Sylvie looked so similar yet different it kind of creeped her out. He moved towards them, he glanced at y/n beside Sylvie, who tilted her head in confusion.

"hi." The man said, looking back at Sylvie, who was a little skeptical of her male counterpart.

"hi." Sylvie said a bit forcefully, taking y/n's hand and pulling it from her shoulder gently. y/n let it fall to her side as she watched them, curious. "Listen, I haven't got all day. You're gonna order something? Or, what?" She asked, agitated. Oh, y/n hates when she's agitated.

"can we talk?" He glanced at y/n, "privately." She raised a brow. She wasn't sure he noticed her anymore, considering the way he seemed to have his eyes set on Sylvie. The blonde sighed, putting a hand on the other woman's shoulder.

"you actually acknowledged me, and all this time I thought you were ignoring me cause you have the hots for my roommate?" She crossed her arms.

"charmed." The man couldn't help but say.

"my breaks in five minutes." Sylvie said, shoving away from the counter, her back turned to them. he looked back at y/n who stuck her tongue at him, turning away to help Sylvie. He stood there for a moment, processing what had happened, before leaving.

"so, Syl, who was tall, dark, and broody?" She pointed towards the retreating figure. Sylvie sighed.

"remember what I told you a few months back?" Sylvie asked. y/n hummed.

"yeah, about the TVA, and how you were a wanted Variant, and you ran into you -- oh. Oh!" Sylvie chuckled. "Wait, so that's your Male Variant?" She whispered to Sylvie.

"yup. Honestly, I have nothing to do with him or the TVA anymore. All I need right now is you and this timeline." y/n shied away and continued to work, a dorky smile on her lips. y/n's heart sored high into the skies at the declaration Sylvie did. This blonde woman didn't know what she did to the Midgaurdian.

"I'm glad you feel that way Syl, and I'm definitely glad I'm on your good side." She laughed, Sylvie chuckled, nudging her. "Hey, my breaks before yours, only a few minutes, but I could come and be your emotional support." y/n suggested. Sylvie smiled.

"yeah, I'd like that. To hell what he said," Sylvie laughed. y/n smiled.

✷

The two women walked out from the back, rounding the corner to where Loki had been standing, waiting for Sylvie. His brows raised when he saw y/n. "I thought I said alone?"

"you said privately. That's very different." y/n smiled towards him, her hands occupied with her launch.

"it's a short break, so talk fast." Sylvie chimed in, drinking some of her soda. She went to her truck and unlatched the tailgate, as y/n climbed onto it, sitting down as she drank some of her own soda. Sylvie sat down next to her.

"with her here?" He asked.

"with me here buddy boy," y/n was starting to get onto his nerves and she could tell. There was a long silence until he decided to break it.

"uh, I know I'm the last person you want to see." Loki started.

"correct." Sylvie said. He sighed.

"I, uh... I haven't come here to make trouble." He said, trying to calm her down. It didn't work of course.

"then why are you here?" She asked.

"uh... This is gonna sound strange. Stranger to her I'm certain," he pointed to y/n who was munching on her food. "But... There's been a problem. It's complicated." He looked at her then to y/n, "does she really need to be here."

"it's nothing I haven't heard before. TVA related I believe?" y/n smirked. It came naturally to her after spending so much time with Sylvie. The blonde tried to stifle her laughter.

"you told her?" He was completely astounded that Sylvie would trust a normal Midgaurdian with that sort of information. Sylvie shrugged.

"don't worry, space boy, I haven't told anyone. Plus, I'd be called crazy anyways," y/n shrugged, leaning slightly on Sylvie as she drank more of her drink. Loki shook his head, being sidetracked wasn't on his schedule.

"I've been pulled through time. Between the past and the present. I was in the past..." Loki trailed off, the word "space boy" echoing in his head as a memory he saw of Sylvie and y/n. He didn't know that this was her until she called him that.

He watched the elevator doors be pried open, two figures inside, both women. Sylvie and her companion y/n, who helped keep the doors opened with the pruning stick she had. "There you are, space boy. Was beginning to worry you got lost." He had watched her, tears stinging in his eyes as he saw the two women. He had been so scared, and was also mildly surprised to see a human with his female counterpart. Then he was pruned. His memory was hazy after being pruned, so he couldn't remember who the human was until now.

"oh, just get to the point, Loki." Sylvie said, adjusting a bit so y/n was comfortably leaning against her shoulder. Her hair brushing against the Blonde's cheek.

"Sylvie, I was in the future and I saw you. I saw you both." y/n sat up, her ears peeking at the mention of her being there to. Sylvie shifted uncomfortably. She wouldn't believe it. "The TVA is in danger. And you were there. She was also there. I need to know why." Now Sylvie knows she'd never let her best friend into the TVA. She'd never do it.

"so you see the future now? Cool." Sylvie said, sipping on her soda.

"it's not something I chose." Loki said.

"look, as much as I'd love to see the TVA burnt to the ground, I have no intention of going back there. My life's here now, with y/n, and I'm not running. I'm happy." Sylvie said. y/n gave Loki a smug look. "And no way in hell is she going there, ever." She put an emphasis on "ever" as she glared at her counterpart.

"explain what I saw, then." He said.

"I don't know. I don't care." She told him.

"it's the future. It's going to happen." He told the duo.

"is it? Really? Because that sounds a lot like the futures already been written. And we both know that it hasn't. Not anymore. I made sure of that." Sylvie was smug, and had momentarily forgotten her human companion who was now confused. What did Sylvie mean by that?

"enchant me. You can see what I saw." Loki said. Enchant?

"I don't want to see. I want nothing to do with this. I have no answer." She said. She was irritated and angry.

"if we don't work together, I can't guarantee how long this will be here. Or how long she'll be here." He pointed to y/n.

"you have some nerve coming here." She sneered.

"nerve? This is bigger than the TVA. This is about everything. You like it here? You like this place? You've made a home? You like her company? If what He Who Remains said is true, the TVA is the only defense. And if what I saw of you both is true, then there's nothing that stands between this world and utter destruction. Without THE TVA, all of this, everything... Is gone." y/n looked worried. Was her world going to unravel just like that? She knew her life was already altered when she met Sylvie, but would she end up like nothing with no home or timeline to go back to?

Sylvie hopped off the tailgate, helping y/n down as she put the gate up. "We've got to get back to work." She walked away, y/n following after as she gripped her wrist, trying to slow her down.

"Syl, slow down," Sylvie ignored her.

"you'll give everyone free will and walk away?" She turned to him, her fingers intertwining with y/n quickly. The Midgaurdian was surprised by the sudden hand holding. Loki's eyes locked onto their joined hand, also slightly surprised.

"that's the way it works. You're welcome." She said, gripping the other woman's hand.

"he shows up again, his Variants, what are you gonna do?" He asked.

"kill 'em." y/n looked at her with wide eyes. Kill them?

"sorry to interrupt. I think Brad's got something that he might want to get off his chest." The older man Loki came here and spoke, the duo turned to him, still hand in hand.

"Zaniac's getting a sequel. And you three are invited." Brad said. He wore the TVA jumpsuit.

"hey, we can wait all day." The older man said. She could only assume this was Mobius.

"no, we can't. We need to talk about this back at the TVA." Brad said as Loki came towards them.

"no. We can talk here. Now." Mobius said, grabbing his shoulder.

"now." Loki said. y/n grabbed onto Sylvie's arm, a little nervous. Sylvie grabbed her other hand and squeezed it lightly.

"fine. If we stay here, we're all gonna die. They're gonna die. Orange shirt, she's gonna die. Her little companion, dead. Most importantly, we are all gonna die. This is gone! Unless we..." Sylvie let her friend go and went to the man and used her powers to see what he saw. She let go.

"they're gonna bomb every branch." Sylvie said.

"yeah, including this one." Brad said.

"where do we go?" Loki asked.

"I'll show you." Sylvie said, she touched the pad on her wrist and changed her clothes.

y/n didn't care, all she cared about right now was to help save her home. Her family was her, and her friends. Everything she loved was here, and the woman she loved was gonna save their home, and she was gonna help.

After Mobius dropped Brad off to the TVA, y/n followed them through a Time Portal, all four ducked behind boxes. It seemed Sylvie noticed her friend next to her. "No, what are you doing?"

"you forget Syl, wherever you go, I go." y/n spoke. Sylvie groaned. She hated when y/n did that.

"what are they doing with the Time Doors?" Mobius asked.

"looks like they're connected to the Tempad's." Sylvie said, her dagger resting in her grip.

"maybe that's why Brad's was modified." Mobius said.

"they're killing everyone. Innocent people," y/n felt a tear slip down her cheek. The two Loki's and Mobius looked to the regular Variant human, all sympathetic towards her.

"minutemen are carrying reset charges." Mobius said, getting the attention from y/n.

"that's how they're bombing all the timelines at once. Connected to the control panel." Sylvie said, switching which hand holds her dagger as she rubs her friends back. She definitely owed y/n some ice cream and a movie night.

"that's our target." Mobius said, looking at an older woman behind a panel.

"I'll distract them." Loki said, which they agreed on. Loki got up and ran at a Minuteman and slammed him to the ground, whereas Sylvie used her magic to throw a ball of green at one of the Tempad pillars.

"our mission is compromised." The older woman said, as y/n ducked underneath an arm and kicked his legs out from underneath him, knocking him out in the process as she grabbed his Pruning stick. "Set off what you can!" She pruned one of the minutemen that came after her. All this time with Sylvie and she may have picked up a few things. She kicked another who came too close to her as he crashed into one of the pillars, breaking it.

"we're too late. Finish it!" y/n pruned another one, before roundhouse kicking another as she flipped her hair out of her face. She ran over towards Mobius and the two Loki's, swinging her Pruning stick with a smug smile as Sylvie held a hand out for Loki, her magic glowing in her palm.

"don't over think it." She said as Loki gripped her hand, before a sudden shock wave of magic knocked the rest out.

"holy shit!" y/n exclaimed. Sylvie and Loki smiled at her exclamation, glad someone liked their magic.

After some time, all of Dox's team and herself were captured by the TVA, with one of the minutemen coming towards Mobius. "Is this all of Dox's loyalists?" The man asked.

"everyone who did escape." He said. He turned to Loki and the two women, who sat side by side. "Loki, we need to go." Mobius said, going through a Time Door. Loki followed, glancing at the duo before entering.

Sylvie went after them along with y/n, who still held the stick tightly in her hands. The door closing on them as Loki looked at the two. y/n looked at the screen in front of them, knowing that those were branches. Those were people. People they could've saved. And now they're dead. What if her and Sylvie's home was dead too? "Those are people. Those are lives." A woman in the front said. Then beeping could be heard in the front.

"uh, guys, I got a hit on Renslayer's Tempad." One of the other people said, the other gathering around him as Loki looked towards the two women. Sylvie crossed her arms as she watched Loki come to them.

"Sylvie..." He started.

"is this the best you can do?" She asked, anger in her voice as y/n gripped the pruning stick in her hand. She was angry too. She could've saved them. They would've still been alive if that Bradley character didn't stall them.

"there was nothing we could do." Loki said.

"bullshit." y/n snarled, glaring at him. "We could've saved them, at least some of them." Her voice wavered. Loki looked at y/n and understood why Sylvie was so fond of her. She was carrying, even for people she has never met. She was a pure heart.

"some defense. The TVA is the problem. It's broken, it's rotten." Sylvie said, taking her Tempad and opening a door, "we're going home... If it's still there." She said, grabbing y/n and dragging her through.

"please, don't. It's harder..." The door closed, leaving him there. y/n and Sylvie didn't need this, any of it really. And they were one of the lucky survivors, because their timeline had been spared. They were home, finally, and they could forget about the TVA and all of its dramas. At least, one of them could.

I don't think I've seen anyone make a Sylvie x reader where the reader is on the same timeline as Sylvie, and I really wanted to make one. So here it is ^^ would y'all like this to be a series? Like chapters or keep it to a one shot?

[windy-trickster]

A Mouse in The Snake's Coil

Another night of work as Roddie Lamare moved about the dining area, taking orders and sending them back to the kitchen, grabbing prepared food and bringing them to their respective tables. Night in and night out, this was his routine. This was his work. And honestly? He loved it. He loved finally having SOME semblance of balance and routine to his life, which was one a jumbled mess of job hunting and trying to pay his bills. He had been so nervous applying for the job at this high-class establishment, assuming the worst before even putting his application in. But he needed a job, he needed the money. So, he took the risk and went for it. And it turned out great! Wonderful, even. Now he had a job that paid him good, a boss who was on his side [for most things] and he could finally pay his bills! And have a little cash left over for other things. Tonight had been no different: Customer orders, he pens it down, sends it back and brings the food to them. Rinse and repeat for several hours. The dinner rush passed, and it seemed to slow down, Roddie was cleaning up a couple nearby tables when the little overhead doorbell went off, signaling the arrival of a customer. Roddie looked up and greeted the man like he did with every other customer, a bright smile and cheery tone. This guy was... Definitely different from the regular clientele. He wasn't dressed fancy nor did he give off that typical air of self-importance that all Highbloods did. Dressed casually in a jacket and jeans, heavy boots covered in... Some kind of gunk, the Indigoblood flashed Roddie a friendly smile and greeted him back. The two had a chat as Roddie wrote down his name, taking him to a table and watched the Indigoblood get all situated. Roddie held his pen and pad, smiling as he awaited the order. But was a little surprised when the other didn't order, flashing him another friendly smile before speaking. "🗡So. You're Vic's new server boy, yeah?" Roddie blinked and nodded, being caught off guard by the question. "🗡AH! Knew it. He seems to like hirin' cuties from what I've heard. And I've known him for quite a bit, y'know?" "Oh! You have? Boss never tolD me he haD any frienDs! Well... He Doesn't tell me a lot of things. But I'm very happy he's got someone in his corner!" -> The Indigo let out a booming laugh, leaning back slightly in his chair. "🗡Yeaaaaah. Me and ol' Vic go waaaaay back. Known each other since wrigglerhood. We've grown a little distant, but we're still pretty tight. And y'know... I kinda want to get to know YOU a little more too. Any friend of Vic's is a friend of mine." Roddie felt his cheeks flush a little at the blunt invitation to hang out with someone who looked... So cool! And made Roddie feel so comfortable despite having met this guy for the first time. He rolled the idea around in his head for a moment, feeling the flutterbugs kick up in his stomach. This was excited! How could he say no?! "Uh- Sure! I'D love to! I like makin' frienDs y'know!" -> The Indigo, who introduced himself as Jailyn, grabbed Roddie's hand and shook it. "🗡Great. I'll come by again at some point. We can make plans then, yeah? Now uhhhh. Hit me up with the best you've got here, mkay?" Roddie nodded and hurried off to the kitchen area to get his protentional new friend the best in the house. He was so excited! Too excited to realize the trap he just put himself in.

Vicnet Carbon - @alternias-madness

[the0wllady]

So. You've heard about my adventures in the Human Realm?

And you really want to know how I came to be in that Las Vegas place?

It was while I was in that cafe place in Gravesfield.

I overheard a conversation. They were talking about how to get a lot of money.

Yes, I know, I'm a little bit obsessed with wealth. But I have my reasons! Trust me!

So, they got my attention...

The general thing I got was that there was a place, called "Vegas", where there were places called "Casinos", where if you played games, you could amass a large amount of money.

I was interested, and was about to ask some questions, when the dog that I'd found started acting up.

The waitress came over and asked me to keep it under control, or pay my bill and leave.

So, I picked up the dog, and offered it to her, as payment...but she screamed. And started shouting something about it not being a dog, and  to get it and myself out of the place!

Someone else pointed something at me, so I quickly made a distraction spell, and left in a hurry!

The dog had broken free and that was the last I saw of it.

I went and hid out in the town library.

Y'know, you can find out almost anything in a library?

So, I asked about the Vegas place, and was shown books about this place called Las Vegas. It was in another place called Nevada, around 3000 miles away!

I decided that I should go and see for myself.

But, as I didn't have any Human Realm money, I couldn't buy a ticket on the flying machines, called planes, I'd have to fly myself.

Not a problem I thought!

I got myself together, and set off on Owlbert.

I was flying peacefully, minding my own business, when this small plane flew towards me.

The person in control waved at me. So I waved back.

No. They were pointing downward, telling me to go down.

I shook my head, but they insisted. And flew around me.

I decided to go down and try and loose this plane, so I just dropped quickly, towards an area of trees.

I hid out in the trees until some vehicles came. And a lot of people got out.

I realized that they were looking for me, so I quietly left that area.

I had lost some time. But I thought that I'd fly at night, so I couldn't be seen. I holed up in a barn, and rested until nightfall.

That night, I set off again, but hadn't been flying long, when I became aware of two more small planes coming towards me.

I didn't know how they could see me in the darkness, but got out of there, flying down to just above the ground.

That seemed to loose the following planes.

So, it was too dangerous to fly in the sky by Day or night!

I ended up flying along just above the ground, at night so I couldn't easily be seen.

Finally, I arrived at Las Vegas.

It's an amazing place. Full of casinos and places to stay known as hotels.

I wandered around. You can just walk into the places, as long as you look like you're old enough by their laws.

But I couldn't play any of the games, not having the required money!

I was working out how this game worked, where little blocks with dots on were thrown and the dots had to make a certain number.

Well, this man was throwing them.

I tried a little magic, and found that I could get them to fall just as I wanted.

Great. But I couldn't play myself.

So, I latched onto this guy. And made out that I could tell how the dice blocks would fall.

He didn't believe me, but tried it out.

After he won a few times, he was very happy. We got talking, his name was Stan, and he was from a place called Oregon.

He decided that we could be a good team, and we went on to win a fair stash of cash!

Stan said that we should move around, as winning too much in one casino was likely to get us noticed, in a bad way!

This turned out to be true. As we noticed some people following us around suspiciously.

By this time, Stan and me had been drinking a bit. I suppose it's like the vintage Apple Blood. It makes your head a little fuzzy!

I also realized that Stan had all the money, as he was the one playing the games!

Somehow, we ended up going into one of the places in Vegas where they marry people. I think that it was in order to shake off those followers.

And, yes, me and Stan ended up getting married!

A while later, after our "honeymoon" in a hotel room, I was carrying our winnings, when the security people in the casino we were playing in moved in on us.

I panicked, and ran out of the casino, and almost into a group of cops!

They gave chase, so I summoned Owlbert, and rode out of town.

Them cops followed me for ages, before I could give them the slip!

It was obvious that I couldn't go back to Vegas. A pity, as I really got on alright with Stan.

So, I returned to Gravesfield, by bus and plane this time, as I had money, and so through the portal to home.

And that's what really happened...