#it was for some personal injury lawyers and not anything funny but god damn that's a hell of a domain to snag

[doedipus]

The other day I was out running errands and I got stuck behind a bus loading passengers briefly, and I was kind of annoyed because I didn't want to like, go around the thing into traffic, but then I noticed that on the back it had an ad for "whohurtyou.com" and burst out laughing

[mrpenguinpants]

Genshin: University AU [V1]

I love modern au. Or any “everything is fine, no one died, it’s just a fever dream” au. Half of me is thinking, damn maybe I should answer this serious- LOL HAHA no. That’s not happening. Time to crack my knuckles and let my brainworms take over again.

Once again, this is 90% crack 10% content. I want to switch up my characters from the last brainworm post but I included Kaeya and Diluc.

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Today’s appreciation post goes to twistedwishes. Hey! I’ve been seeing you pop up a lot lately and thanks for the support 💕💕 I hope things are going better for you and you’re doing alright^^ I feel kinda bad for making appreciation posts on crack fics but hopefully this is somewhat funny haha. 

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Genshin: Holding Hands [V1]

Genshin: When you’re cold [V1]

Genshin: Roommate [V1]

Genshin: Royalty AU [V1]

[Masterlist]

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[taglist]  <- if you want to be added, please read this first.

  @mikeysbike @hanniejji@unionwitch @musekala @twistedsunnshiii @stanzastic @akaasea @xoneaboveallx @adoring-ghost @asheseiler @childelover @dilucsz @dai-tsukki-desu @thicmitten @youaskedfurret @diaxfeliz @wintergreen-aix @dandelily @thegayrubberducky @lovelykittycatmeow @yuunoagivesmelife  @dokidokisama @simpygrimoire @minakohasmanyhusbandos @strwbrry-lia @tigerpriestess @yuu-yuukurotsuki​

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Diluc

Absolute pretty boy who has braincells, but only if Kaeya is not there. In his mind, Kaeya’s presence makes his room loose 40% of their common sense. He can’t prove it just yet but he’s working on it. He majors in accounting but also has a minor in marketing, logistics’ management, fia- he majors everything business related. He’s going to become the next Elon Musk through smarts or by getting the competition drunk. There can be no contest if he’s the only candidate. He’s actually a hard working guy that overworks and stresses way too much. You have daily “Diluc recharge” evenings where he just hangs onto you while you go through your day.

“Don’t fucking talk to me until I’ve had my coffee,” except there is no coffee - he drinks grape juice out of juice boxes and his only energy boost is when he meets up with you - and that’s his constant mood. So he usually only hangs around you and Jean, since she has childhood friend status and is actually an angel. By default, Lisa is added and Diluc doesn’t mind her but if he see’s Kaeya, it’s full on war paint mode. If he's not busy with work or studies, he's usually with you either in your dorm or his apartment.

He has a fanclub and he seriously hates it and tries to do everything in his power to get Ningguang to take it down. Shouldn’t this be against his rights? But she refuses for whatever reason and makes a whole speech about free will. No matter what he does, someone manages to take a picture and it get’s printed in the university’s newspaper. The only bonding time he has with Kaeya is every Monday, where they collect and burn all the universities newspapers before anyone can get their hands on it. You always bring marshmallows to make smores during their arson activities.

“When I graduate I’m going to burn this school down to the ground. That’s not a threat it’s a promise.”

Ningguang

Is secretly the leader of the Diluc fanclub - not that she likes Diluc, she’s in a questionable platonic poly marriage with you and Beidou - but it was the easiest way to gain funds for the student council. Which she is the president of, so rip Diluc the fanclub stays. Ruthless business woman I tell you. But she can run in heels so her danger factor rises by at least 20%.

Majors in social sciences and law but more specifically the political science & government. She saw the Imperial State Crown that the Queen of England wears and says yes, that’s mine now. If she’s not with Beidou and you planning on “how to infiltrate the state government just for lols”, then she’s with Keqing, Ganyu, and Zhongli discussing student council things. Should they or should they not tell the student body that they can see everyone’s search results? Sit back and relax as the school goes into chaos. 

She’s probably the scariest person on campus No, she is the scariest person on campus. She’s the scariest person on campus. But secretly she’s popping 20 aspirins just to make it through a night. She has the digestive system of steel. She still holds the title of "seriously do not try and beat her in a drinking game it's never going to happen" and that's her proudest achievement in life but sadly she can’t put it on her resume. Kaeya is still trying to beat her out of spite but so far it hasn't been working. You’re seriously concerned for her when she get’s challenged but Beidou gives you a way-to-hard slap on the back and cheers her on. If Ninngguang somehow get’s alcohol poisonings she’ll somehow find away to make a profit out of it.

"I'll let him die, I'll get the insurance money."

Kaeya

One day he chugged too much mouth wash, passed out, and somehow woke up in university majoring in law. His idea is that if he is apart of the law, he can therefore stand above it. To be fair, his only goal in life is to say “I am the manager” and he can go live the rest of his life in bliss or as a hermit. He’s secret best friends with you but wouldn't be caught dead beside you. He will stab a bitch if you ever get hurt but will still trip you on the way home. Seriously, you have no idea why people find him attractive. Your guess is it’s the eye patch or the clap of his ass cheeks that keeps alerting everyone.  

He’s apart of the newspaper club and if anyone asks: No, he has no idea who keeps taking all the newspapers and burns them in the back of the campus. Originally, he joined because he was nosy and needed to join some type of club for his resume. He sometimes feels bad for his junior assistant Amber because he keeps tricking her and says that Diluc is secretly a demon that is trying to steal all the jobs and is apart of the lizard government hell bent on eradicating the human race. He even brought out a whiteboard for this joke, he’s dedicated to his job ok? 

The type of guy to try and be humble and say his work is “okay” but will choke a bitch if anyone agrees. He tends to leave everything last minute and says that it’s his drug since actual drugs could land you one year in prison and a maximum penalty of $2,000. You have to awkwardly hold in your concerned mother head shake when you see him speed running his assignment literally right when the professor is walking around to check if students finished. 

“I was taught how to lead not to read.”

Mona

Broke wallet #2. Zhongli is broke wallet #1 but Childe simps for him so is he really a broke wallet at this point? In this essay, I Mona Megistus, will explain why I have the rights to the title “Broke Wallet #1″...

Believes that astrology should be an actual career path but refuses to take astronomy as her major. I can read the stars not a textbook that tells me how to calculate the mass of the sun divided by the fucks I give. Instead she went into Philosophy and cries to Albedo, who is an actual prodigy genius- sir lend some braincells to everyone else please?, that her professor keep turning her paper down because “star reading” is not an academic source.

Fischl wants her to join the occult club because, surprisingly, Mona is very good at telling people’s fates through her crayon sketch ouija board. She thinks first year Fischl is cute but is put off by the cosplay roleplay that she has going on. She would join except that stupid hat wearing gremlin in her lit class would make fun of her if he found out.

You gave her half your lunch one day and bought her a doughnut "because she seemed upset" and "out of the goodness of your heart" whatever the hell that means. She thinks you pensioned it but once that thought comes she takes a bite. Poison from a doughnut is not the worst way to go out, classes are hard enough. She’s waiting for the lord to strike her down anyways. 

“Its not about passing, its about doing better than everyone else.”

Venti

Slept through most of highschool and people question how he got into university. He’s a music major (wow how fucking original is that), and if anyone asks him to serenade someone or just do anything, he’ll do it for the right price. Or if you buy him alcohol because he still keeps getting ID checked. He’s banking on Kaeya actually becoming a lawyer or being on good terms with Diluc so he can finally stop being arrested for looking like a toddler.

Takes one step into classes and quickly nopes out and goes back to bed. Professors have no idea how he hasn't dropped out or failed. He just has some god given talent. He does whine at you to pretty pretty please with a cherry on top tutor him because you're such an angel and would never leave your poor but awesome best friend hanging right? He needs to get this essay down but how he is suppose to explain how the number 10 is symbolic and connects to the universe or the meaning of life. Do you think he can just say it’s apart of his culture and make up some random myth to pretend it looks like he knows what he’s doing? 

He’s honestly going with the flow and put his brain on the back burner all of highschool and only now realizes wait, I actually have to use my brain?

He’s been banned from most club chats since Venti has the no chill card. Someone says “lol I look ugly today.” and he’ll respond "yup, you look like a cow." and he get’s banned. Zhongli keeps a speed run timer on his phone just to document these occasions.

"Sad spelled backwards is das and das how it be sometimes."

Childe

An actual dumbass that somehow does well. He eats sandwiches with the crust off, this heathen. Surprisingly he’s studying to become a physical therapist but most of his experience has come from breaking his own bones. You’re scared how he's going to be if he actually becomes a therapist. If he'll make bets with his patients or try to one up whatever crazy injury they get into. Everything is a challenge to him that sometimes the best way to deal with Childe is to knock him out. 

This man really knows the way to a Zhongli’s woman's heart. Through micro transactions. Mona saw him accidently drop $20 and just shrugged and walked off. She has never been both spiritually and physically offended in her life. She did take the $20 though. As much as you hate leeching on Chile when he’s basically a walking wallet that probably uses bills as tissue paper, you can’t help but give him puppy eyes while planning on how to get into his will. If he even plans on having one, he might honestly write “whoever wins in a gladiator style duel in my funeral’s tournament, they will get my fortune.”. 

Any sport the university offers Childe is probably in it. Which is how he met Zhongli, challenged him to a fight, proceeded to have his ass handed to him, got a backhanded compliment, and screamed to you he was in love and how he found his soulmate. He's secretly very sappy and has cried and watched every Disney and Pixar movie at least 28 times.

"IM NOT TOO SPICY! I’M A TINY BIT ABOVE MILD IF ANYTHING!”

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God if it isn’t Scaramouche, it’s Childe that ruins the aesthetic. This is why I hate you. Why do you people enable me like this, it isn’t even good. This is pretty much a @ yourself moment and I vibe hard with Venti. This entire post was just to make a joke about the clap of Kaeya’s ass cheeks alerting the guards.

This week might slow down since I have classes and assignments. My reply’s are gonna be late too, sorry;; (oh and thank you to everyone that was so supportive and nice when I mentioned it. All of you. Beautiful 💕💕 )

[lokilickedme]

Somebody help me chill, this is insane.

(under the cut because long and also pretty traumatic, for me at least)

Crazy neighbor, remember her?  Her son destroyed a piece of equipment we had attached to one of our trees at the fenceline last week, she denied it and called us insane liars - that’s the most recent craziness in the ongoing saga of the neighbor from hell.  I was sitting here reading my dash tonight and happened to glance over at the monitor for the surveillance camera husband got me the other day to watch that exact spot (where the equipment was smashed) and guess who I see bent over looking through the fence peering very closely at that exact spot?  Neighbor’s equally insane son, who we know did the actual dirty work.  And I, stupid like I am, took a screenshot of him and then immediately jumped up and ran outside in the dark in my pajamas (nearly 9pm, pitch black, their porch light is off because obviously they’re doing something they don’t want to be seen doing) and I ask “Excuse me, what are you doing?”

This lunatic immediately starts SCREAMING at me - I mean top of his lungs SCREAMING abusive threats, calling me a stupid psycho whore bitch, yelling at me to get my ass back in my house and generally just acting completely off his rocker unhinged nuts - and then his mother comes out and comes over to the fence and gets in my face while I’m just standing there and tells me to mind my own business.  I say I am minding my business, I saw him looking through the fence at my property right where we had vandalism happen last week so I came out to find out why he’s interested in my property.  She laughed in my face and said “No he wasn’t, he was standing right here looking at his phone like this” and she does this little pantomine of someone looking at their phone, which is funny because she wasn’t out there when he was doing it and there are no windows on that side of her house at all.  I ignored her and asked “What are you looking for?”  He kept screaming incoherent animal noises and insults from behind her so I asked again, “What are you looking for?”  And that crazy woman grinned at me and said “We’re just looking to see what kind of new devices you’ve installed!”

OMG.  She didn’t even take a breath in between lying and then contradicting her own lie.  And she’s grinning smugly at me the entire time, gesturing around pointing at our property cams and mosquito light (it flashes and apparently she thinks it’s watching her) and my bedroom window - which means she’s been snooping.  There is a cam sitting in my windowsill, aimed at the spot where the device was smashed.  Every bit of this equipment is on our property, some of it behind a privacy fence.  I tell her it’s none of her business what kind of devices we’ve got on our property, but she just yammers over me, and of course numbskull is still ranting like a psycho behind her, screaming at me to mind my own business and get back in my house and leave them alone.  At this point he’s pulled out his phone and shoved it over her shoulder toward my face and is recording me, which is just...fucking hilarious...because I’m literally doing nothing but standing there in shock and awe at how nuts these people are, and he’s still screaming abusive curses and names at me while he’s recording.

Anyway, for about 4.5 minutes we stood there with them shouting over me (I know the exact time because it was later discovered that our doorbell cam recorded audio of the entire event) and a little ways into it he screams “I WILL TEAR YOUR FUCKING HEAD OFF!!”

At this point psycho woman finally turns around and says “Addison Case!” and pushes him back.  He lunges at me and she tells him to go call the police (??what??  I mean...I wish he had...my phone was in my hand frozen solid, locked up because of the glitchy surveillance app I had to install to see the camera, or else I would have called them myself - but my god they really thought I was the one the cops needed to come for??).  Meanwhile I’m just standing there on my own property in the dark in my pajamas, all 5 feet and 120 lbs of me, while this rabid animal - he’s a 21 year old college boy - is lunging at me and screaming nonstop, calling me a fucking whore bitch loud enough for the entire neighborhood to hear it while his phone’s camera light is in my face blinding me.  Crazy lady smiles that smug shit eating grin of hers and tells me to get back in my house, leave her alone, and move the hell away so she can live in peace.

Wow.  Just...holy shit.

This is the person who has allowed her dog to attack my very small 8 year old son on our property and send him to the hospital with injuries last year, then attempt to attack him again 2 weeks ago (he is now 9 at the time of the second attack) - again on our own property (in our back yard this time, in our front yard the first time), has allowed her dogs (multiple) to bark all night long and keep us awake (she leaves them outside and then goes away for the weekend and they bark the entire time she’s gone), then she had her crazy violent son destroy the BarkBox we put in our tree on our side of the fence last week (we put it up as a humane way to get the barking to stop without having to listen to her call us insane liars every time we complain about it).  Yet...she kept repeating over and over and over for us to leave her alone and stop harassing her.

All I could even do was stand there shaking my head.  It was surreal.  And frustrating, because they wouldn’t even let me get a word out without screaming over me, and she was doing that infuriating Karen thing where they shove their hand at your face and grin smugly while they’re telling you what you better do or they’ll call someone to make you.

I actually started laughing, it was so ludicrous.  She’s committed all those vile offenses against us and we’re the ones that need to leave her alone.  We’ve had to file four police reports against her and we’re the ones that are making her life miserable.  I just can’t stop thinking about that Liar Liar movie where the repeat offender keeps calling his lawyer to complain that the cops won’t stop arresting him and the lawyer finally yells THEN STOP BREAKING THE LAW ASSHOLE!!

It’s just like that.  My god.

SO -

She tells him to call the police again, and this limp dick shoves that phone light right up to my face and says “You think she’s worth calling the cops over?  Look at her, she don’t look worth it to me.”  And bitch starts laughing.  My god, these people are subhuman, I swear.  I’ve never seen anyone act like this in my life, over a person doing literally nothing to them.

So she finally orders her rabid son (who is just about foaming at the mouth, I swear he’s making these barking animal noises at me, it’s weird as hell) into the house and they walk away, with him still ranting like a madman until the door closes behind them.  I immediately go inside my own house and call my husband, who was way out at the back of our property in our camper (he self quarantines each day after work out there to protect us because there have been a lot of covid cases at his workplace) and he didn’t know anything was happening.  He immediately runs up to the house and I tell him I caught neighbor’s thug son messing around at our fence and that when I went out he threatened to kill me.

Tom grabs something - I don’t even know what it was, I think it was this piece of board that was sitting by the door, we’ve done a shelving project recently and a couple of leftover pieces have been there for a few days - and he stalks outside toward neighbor’s house.  I hear him yell COME OUT HERE BOY!!! and I stg you guys, if I wasn’t on the phone calling 911 I might have thought about getting naked right there and then because damn.

So anyway, let’s not go there.  This is serious by god lol (look for this to show up in a fic soon though because material like this doesn’t get handed to you for free every day).

I call 911 and say the neighbor’s son just threatened my life and for them to come quick because he’s still over there but I know he’s going to leave any second (this is his mom’s M.O, the two times the police have tried to go talk to her she gets in her car and leaves before they can get from my house to hers, and I know he’ll do the same because COWARDS).  Tom comes back and says the little pussywillow wouldn’t come out of the house.  He’s breathing fire, you guys.  Pure fucking fire.  I tell 911 to get somebody out quick before the kid leaves, and just about 2 minutes after I hang up he does just that - we see him blast past our house in his truck and he’s gone, and then the police arrive about 3 minutes after.  I’m so mad I can’t see straight.  If they’d been able to see him in the state he was in, they’d have arrested him on sight.

Two squad cars (big SUV’s) pull up and block her driveway with full lights flashing, which makes me laugh because suddenly we’ve got neighbors coming outside to see what’s going on.  I meet the officers outside, and the crazy bitch next door does the same, yelling “Hello Officer!” and waving to them as they’re coming up to my porch.

They talk to me and Tom for a long time, I tell them everything that happened, they interview Big (he and Little were inside the open door and heard it all), we fill out our statements and talk with them more until one officer goes next door to talk to neighbor.  We can hear her dripping her fake sugar and spice while they’re talking on her porch and my husband loses his shit - he heads toward her house and yells “We got the entire thing on recording, don’t even try to lie!  Your kid, threatening to kill my wife?!?”  (he’s referring to the camera in my bedroom window, which actually only recorded about 2 minutes because I don’t have it set up correctly yet, but they don’t know that). The officer yells at him to get back, which, yeah - he shouldn’t have done that, but for god’s sake the woman’s peckerhead son just literally threatened murder on a member of his family, this is the final fucking straw and he’s mad.  And as he’s coming back across the yard the officer that stayed with me points at our new doorbell camera, just freshly installed as of about two weeks ago, and asks if it’s on.  We haven’t even really figured out how to use it yet, but yes, as far as we know it’s on.  The incident happened around the side of the house, but the doorbell records audio.

God bless technology.

I invite the officer inside the house and Tom gets his phone, pulls up the app for the doorbell, and starts skipping through the recording looking for the right timestamp.  Up till this point all they have is me saying the guy screamed a lot of abusive profanities at me and threatened to tear my head off, and they’re taking me serious but probably not that serious, you know?  Neighbors fight all the time, wars start over barking dogs, things get exaggerated, we’ve all seen the TV dramas.

Until Tom finds the segment on the footage and starts playing it to them on his phone.  It’s kind of quiet because we were a good distance away, but you can hear the guy screaming just like I said he was.  The officer asks if we have a speaker we can play it through so he can hear the words more clearly, because he needs proof of threat and that’s entirely in the words.

You guys, I’m tellin’ ya, sometimes you get a chance to fucking SHINE.  My husband is a musician and this cop is asking him if he’s got a good speaker.  So within minutes Tom’s got this huge venue-style amplifier designed for broadcasting music to the back wall of a freaking stadium pulled out into the livingroom and he’s hooking his phone up to it, and then he hits play and the other officer comes back from next door to join us and I can tell by the annoyed look on his face that neighbor bitch has likely charmed him and shed a plethora of persecuted tears and spewed her lies about how we’ve been harassing her forEVER and I think for a second that it’s a total loss now, he’s made his mind up in her favor.

And then...away we go.  Tom cranks the volume on the speaker and they both lean in to listen closely.

Just about a minute into the recording they have their proof - thugnuts screaming I WILL TEAR YOUR FUCKING HEAD OFF!!!

Both officers nod, close their notebooks, and the second officer makes a phonecall while the first one turns to me and says “That’s terroristic threatening and it’s a class C felony.  You’re going to need to go to the PA’s office with all the reports you’ve filed against them so far and all your evidence from tonight including that recording and hand it all to them.  They’re likely going to issue a no-contact so that he can’t interact with you ever again.”

This is a victory, but it’s just the first step, and I feel sickeningly disheartened that it’s all in my lap to do everything.  I want them to go demand his whereabouts from his mother and just go get his ass and haul him in.  But no, I have a ton of legwork to do now because these horrible people won’t fucking stop.

After several more minutes of me asking questions about what exactly we need to do and where we need to go, etc etc (I’m competent but I’m also fucking rattled, someone threatened to kill me tonight and I’m blanking hard on the instructions he’s giving me) they finally wrap it up and leave.  They’ve been in my house for a half hour waiting for me to finish filling out the report (I had to ask for more paper because honey I’m getting ALL the details in there) and I can just imagine how freaked out neighbor is when she sees what time they finally move their cars from in front of her driveway.

And now I’m coming down from the weird calm that I had through the entire event, and my heart feels like it’s going to EXPLODE.  I had heart surgery two months ago, do I need this??  The pathetic part is that I know now just how stupid those people are, and I know this won’t be the end from their side by any means.  We’ll start finding more stuff broken, or he’ll start climbing over the fence back at the back of the property to steal stuff from husband’s tool shed, or my tires will get slashed.  These people are that dumb and hateful, they proved it tonight.  He said if we had animals he would kill them, and then he made the same threat against me.  How stupid does a person have to be to stand there with his phone out recording himself ranting and making threats against a woman standing in her own yard in her pajamas?  Big tough man there.  And his mama grinning at me the whole time, telling me I’m crazy and she’s concerned for her own safety because of me, while her son is standing right behind her threatening my life.

I’m just...my god, I don’t even know what to think.  I thought people only acted like this in TV dramas, seriously.  I’ve seen some shit in my life but this particular brand of stupid has up till now evaded me, but now it’s been in my face and I’m sort of in shock.

I don’t like guns.  At ALL.  Tom has always had at least one hidden carefully away, safely locked up away from the house, but now there are two inside my house in immediate grabbing range.  He insisted that I let him show me how to use them.  Rules were laid down for the boys - never touch, never, don’t even get close to them - and now there is a box of shotgun shells on my fireplace mantel and a singleshot rifle by the door.  I hate this so damn much.

Don’t pick it up unless you’re ready to use it, he told me.  Without even thinking, I said back, “If I touch it it’s getting used.”

I HATE THIS SO FUCKING MUCH

My god.  I told the cops that the drug lord that lived over there four years ago was a better neighbor than this woman.  They didn’t even laugh.

I guess they’re right, now that I think about it...it isn’t funny.

[gremlinanonstoryblog]

✨Update✨

So, after easter (literally next day), Roommate got a call from the police, they wanted us to go to the police station to testify about those incidents with my ex and the crazy parents

Hours later we were all ready to go, and when we got there they asked us separately about this cases, we all answered the truth, what we saw happening, and what happened to us

After all that, we were getting out the police station, but before we steped out, the police officer that gave us the look of You guys are really unlucky stoped us and said "I have something I need to talk with you, but it's better if we discuss it somewhere more private"

I looked at both my partners, we silently agreed and gave him an affirmative nod

Once out of the police station, we went to a nearby park. We sat on a bench and were silent for a while, until he spoke

"Look... I wanted to talk with you three about gremlins ex"

Before I could ask him why, in a low, calm and chilling voice, roommate said "What does that have to do with you?"

We all FROZE in our places at how cold they sounded!!! It's was like going to fucking north pole out of a sudden!!!! (Its was so hot... I got weak when they talked like that... If they ordered me with that voice to sit on that bench for the rest of my life I would do it)

THE GAY PANICS ARE BACK BABY!!!!! I'M GOING TO SUPER GAY HELL FOR THIS BUT I DON'T GIVE A DAMN!!! (We go together hon)

The police officer also stayed silent, until I snaped back from my panic and asked him "Why do wanna talk about it?"

"Because there is a chance that she's only gonna be under house arrest"

"WHA-"

"Yes, it is unfortunate... My colegues and I don't have enough proof to actually arest her for violence and even tought she trespassed pivate property it's not enough... And she told my colegue that she was asking for directions and Miss gremlin got angry and started shouting at her because of their past, and since Miss gremlin has anger issues she said that Miss gremlin snaped at her and tried to hit her, and that's why Miss gremlin had her wrist bruised... sigh And for the rest of the conflict she was self defending from Miss oh honey and Miss oh honey was defending her loved one, and that's not enough prof to arrest her... Only house arrest for evading private property... But nothing more"

Roommate and I stayed silent upon hearing this, but Miss oh honey spoke up

"Are- Are you serious!?"

"Unfortunately, yes... I am"

"And you belive in what she said?"

"As police officer I need to consider all arguments as truthful until proven contrary, but as a person I don't belive a single word she said, that's why I'm helping you! As a police officer I shouldn't be telling you these things, but let's be honest here, the law was never fair to beggin with, people with money and good lawyers always get out of bad situations and people without money get punished for the smallest things! The police is being unfair to you, because, seriously, you guys helped more people in a WEEK than all of the officers in that station in YEARS OF WORK!!! So yes, I will be assisting you in getting proof to arest her and if anything goes wrong I will contact you and warn you"

We were all shook! None of us was expecting this!!! It's just- I- He- Us- Wha-

We all thanked him an went to our house, and we all stayed thinking about him, like, he's being so nice... None of us could belive it!!! NONE OF US!!!

But, as the day went by, we all just stayed doing our normal things and it was all fluffy and funny, and a little too normal and calm... This was probably my paranoia but I had a feeling that something wasn't right, but I tried not worry since everything was fine

During the night, probably 3am or so, I woke up to Miss oh honey shaking me and saying she was hearing strange noises. I tried to calm her telling her that it was normal to hear sounds during the night because of the animals, and this property is full of animals, so it was no big deal

She hugged me and started trembling non stop, I tried to calm her as much as I could but she kept shaking uncontrollably

As I picked my phone to search something for us to watch or read to sleep, I heard a loud bang outside

And now my paranoia was kicking in again!!! MISS OH HONEY WAS RIGHT ABOUT THE NOISES!!!

We both woke roommate up, and as we were getting up, we heard my phone buzzing

It was the police officer

I quickly picked up and, in a hurried voice, he said

"THANK THE GODS I FOUND A CHARGER!!!"

"What's wrong?"

"YOUR EX ESCAPED"

"Wha-"

"MOST OF US WERE ALREADY AT HOME SLEEPING AND THEN WE GOT A CALL FROM THE STATION SAYING THAT SHE WAS OUT OF HER HOUSE!!!! WE GOT THERE AS FAST AS WE COULD BUT WHEN WE ARRIVED SHE WAS ALREADY OUT OF OUR RANGE!!! WE DON'T KNOW WERE SHE IS AND WE DON'T KNOW IF SHE'S ARME-"

The call was off

I turned to both my partners with a blank expression and said "She escaped"

I saw their expressions going from worried to pure shock, their stares were blank and their faces were pale, and I assumed I was like that too

As we were panicking, a loud bang on the front door made us snap out of it

Both me and Miss oh honey jumped, and she immediately ran to me and hugged me, burying her face on my shoulder and shaking non stop

With her in my arms, I could feel the pure fear she was experiensing, she was more afraid than I was, and that made something spark inside me, it wasn't anger nor revenge, it was a sense of protection, nothing mattered more in that moment than protecting her, and I knew that roommate felt the same

They got close to us and warped us in their arms and got the three of us behind the door in our room as we heard the front door falling with a bang

I still had my phone in my hand, so called the police station, they picked up and I whispered on the phone "She's here"

They hung up

We all stayed as silent as possible, and when we heard the door knob spinning open, roommate covered our mouths

Everything was dark, and we only had the moonlight peeking from the window in our bedroom, and for bad or worse, we could see fairly good in the dim light

The door opened slowly, and she entered, knife in hand. The knife was big, almost like a butchering knife

She didn't notice us, and before she could give another step, roommate jumped on her tackelling her on the floor

She fell and dropped her knife along the way, I picked it up AND THREW IT OUT OF THE WINDOW

THERE IS NO WAY I'M GONNA LEAVE THE KNIFE LAYING THERE AND GIVING IT A CHANCE TO BE USED

NO FUCKING WAY!!!

OUT OF MY HOUSE!!!!

Roommate was holding her face down on the floor, but somehow she slip of roommates grasp and got her hands on my cantel (It's made of steel and I have it in my bed side table so I can drink cold water if I wake up during the night)

She grabbed it and HIT ROOMMATE ON THE HEAD WITH IT

THEY WERE BLEEDING!!! AND ME AND MISS OH HONEY WE'RE TOO AFRAID TO DO SOMETHING!!!

She then got up, looked at us, and as she started getting closer I put myself between her and Miss oh honey

She clearly got angry BUT I WAS IN TOO MUCH ADRENALINE TO CARE

She grabbed my hand, pushed me to the wall and BROKE MY FUCKING FINGER WITH THE BLOODY CANTEL!!!!

MY PINKY PROMISE FINGER!!!

Because of the adrenaline I didn't feel much pain but my senses got fuzzy and I don't remember much after that

I have a faint memory of fighting back and Miss oh honey helping me

Roommate at some point also got up and helped and shortly after I saw flickering lights

It was the police

FUCKING FINALLY THEY GOT THERE

And after that I remember nothing

Roommate told me that they had no major injuries and their head was fine, and Miss oh honey only got some small bruises

Me on the other hand, they bandaged my finger but I had to go the hospital next morning to see if it was broken... And it was

We are all ok and I am still recovering, having a broken finger is... Not so good

BUT I'M MANAGING

Hope ya'll okay and safe

Have a great day ya'll

- Gremlin😺, Miss oh honey😸 and Roommate😼

[bluepenguinstories]

Remoras Full Chapter XXII: Wendy City

As I sat outside with a few friends at the break of dawn, my mind kept returning to just last night. That scene couldn’t be shaken away and while those folks conversed with pudding cups and oranges in hand, I mulled over that lady’s words.

“Rhea? Is that you?” She asked.

“Rheain’t,” I should’ve replied with. Rather than such a statement as, “now that’s a name I haven’t heard in years.” God damn, could I have been any more ambiguous? Sure, it made sense to me at the time, but I probably gave my would-be bounty hunter the wrong impression.

Now that I thought of it, we were similar in stature and I suppose (although it was a bit of a stretch) that in the dark, my purple hair could have been mistaken for her blue. Still...the implications of being mistaken for such a person left me just a little unsettled.

Pensive, I fixed my gaze on the space between the four of us, then allowed a smile to form.

“Last night I ran into someone who mistook me for an old co-worker of mine,” I announced to the group.

My arms were crossed and I glanced around now and took note of the food in each person’s hand; Otis, with his thick red mittens which held a queen sized candy bar. Gloria, frail and heavy in perfume (who knows how she got hold of such a thing) shook her hands as she spooned pudding into her mouth. Bernard, whose brown and balding hair matched his brown leather clothing, all full of holes. He held an orange in his hand. All the while, my stomach growled.

“You had a job?” Bernard grunted in disbelief.

“Yes, I had a job. Why is that so hard to believe?” I protested. “In fact, it was a little over a couple years ago that I was laid off. Well, all of us were laid off. The company is no more. Just like that office building beside us. Whatever occupied it once doesn’t occupy it now.”

In some respects, good riddance. In others, good grief.

“What kind of job was it?” Gloria, now interested, set down her pudding cup and asked. Bless her frail heart.

Now what can I tell them to make it palatable?

“We were housekeepers, of sorts,” was the answer I came up with.

“What, like you cleaned houses?” Bernard again.

I put my elbow over my knee, palm on my forehead, and shook my head.

“We cleaned...messes. Going from place to place, each of us with our little jobs. Some of us were really good at getting rid of things, while others, it was more about tidying up or moving things around. Brooms, mops, sprays, vacuums, feather dusters. You name it. Everyone had their specialty.”

In truth, our organization never had a name. Those who knew of us outside of the organization would call us ‘janitors’. Then again, some of us did as well. That, or something like it. Custodians, waste disposal, cleaners, plumbers, renovators, whatever. To think that it all stemmed from a joke we all passed around about how we ‘cleaned up after others’ messes’. Then again, how many messes did we clean up and how many did we make?

“You know, back in the day there used to be a term for mafia hitmen. ‘Guy who paints houses’. Were you something like that?” Otis at last gave some input, and I wondered where he heard that bit of trivia. He couldn’t have been much older than twenty.

“No, nothing like that,” I chuckled. “Get that idea out of your head.”

Because it’s too close to the truth for comfort.

“Anyway, about this old co-worker of mine…” I began, but I was no storyteller; I could spend the rest of my bloody life reminiscing, but that didn’t mean I could give a recollection worth a damn. Yet I tried. Important or not, the need to tell these strangers I’ve shared light meals with tugged at me. “What you have to understand is that many of us shared a bond together. Despite the fact we’d always have our jobs at different places from one another and although sometimes we’d be asked to work as a group or paired together, more often than not, we were off doing our own thing. But we still got together, whether it be at taverns, or the…” headquarters. “Office.”

I paused. Not for effect. Not for feedback. But for the simple fact that I wasn’t sure what name to give this mystery co-worker.

“So if you think of us like a grade school classroom, this co-worker, let’s call her Rhonda. Rhonda…Civic. Yeah, that works. Anyway, Rhonda would’ve been the quiet kid in the back. She kept to herself, didn’t really interact with anyone, and had a few quirks. Some odd ways of speaking. Feeling. Others picked up on it, and of course, like a grade school, she’d get teased. Others would talk about her behind her back,” kinda what I’m doing now, except how else am I supposed to talk about someone who’s no longer around?

“I’ve had situations like that,” Bernard grunted as he gave his input. “I used to operate a forklift for a pet food company. Me an’ the boys would shoot the shit when the manager wasn’t watchin’. Most of us, ‘nyway. There was this youngish guy, flannel shirt and overalls. Same attire every day. Didn’t know how he got away wit’ it, but that’s what he wore. He moved bag after bag of dog food, but never once so much as said hi. Not a peep from the kid. We all thought it was weird. Anyway, he quit one day, we never found out why, and that was that. I didn’t even think much of him ‘til you mentioned somethin’.”

“Yeah, it was the same for me,” I replied, and I looked up at the clouds in the sky. “Funny that, I didn’t think much of her back when I worked for that company and now out of the blue someone mistook me for her and it was like, ‘oh yeah…’”

“What about you, Wendy? You’re always off on your own at night, going at it with your projects,” he countered.

“We all have our eccentricities,” I concurred. “I’m also not much for conversation, either, most of the time, but I still enjoy the company of others. If for nothing else than the spectacle.”

It was far too early in the morning, but how I wished to have a warm cup of tea or sake in my hands so I could take little sips as I spoke.

“I never thought anyone outside of the company ever knew her, be it an old friend or an old enemy,” I carried on, unsure if I had any conclusion to this or if it was just early morning rambling.

“What? You think she had enemies?” Otis spat and I could swear that bits of chocolate just flew right by me.

“That’s the thing: I don’t know. There wasn’t really anything I knew about her apart from I heard. Sure, I watched her a few times, but that didn’t tell me much. Whether she had friends or enemies, I could never tell. When I think back on it, I wish I did know. That I had tried to find out more. But it’s kind of that whole ‘you don’t know what you got ‘til it’s gone’ type of thing. Then again, here she is gone, and I still don’t know what to make of it.”

“Gone?” Gloria must have taken notice of my choice of words. For the record, I didn’t know what became of her. Not any more than I knew what became of the rest of the people I once associated with. Considering that I couldn’t go back to the headquarters (not that I had any desire to return), I had to assume they were all dead and that the place was no more. It made the most sense to me.

“Yeah. Terminated. It’s funny that way, how to them we were all replaceable and they had no problem exploiting us, but even that couldn’t save them.”

“Damn if I don’t know that,” Otis bemoaned. “I have a nephew, and my nephew has a friend who was working when a sign fell on him. Broke his leg. Next thing he knew, management fired him, worker’s comp didn’t cover for his injury, and when he tried to sue, the company’s lawyers blocked him. Then, I knew this other guy who did what he was supposed to. But he got paid scraps and the stress got to him, so one day he came to work all hopped up on coke and his boss fired him on the spot. All those days of doing what he was told and scraping by, and one day was all it took for it to come crashing down. He ended up killing himself some time after that,” after those last words came a sniffle. No tears, though. Maybe it was a runny nose.

I shook my head. Sympathy and grief was a difficult thing to muster given the life I had; countless moments of killing and watching others die. Those I worked with, laughed and shared drinks with, gone at any moment. It wasn’t a case of ‘kill or be killed’, but it was a life defined by the death of others, all the same. So what I felt when Otis relayed his tales of people he knew, all I could feel was hatred and disgust. If I knew their bosses, I would have killed them on the spot.

“You okay, Wendy?” Otis’ voice of concern broke through my thoughts. How I must have stared with that same pensive look I often did when lost in thought.

“It’s just not right, though, is it?” I glanced from person to person as I asked, my question rhetorical in nature. They all shook their heads and murmured, “no” or “not at all”.

Then Bernard waved his hand away and grumbled.

“Bah! Right, wrong, who gives a damn? I’m still alive,” he retorted, then turned to his back and laid himself down over sheets of newspaper.

That was a point I was willing to consider. To some, there was a profound difference between ‘alive’ and ‘survive’, but really, he was no less alive than someone with the privilege of a roof over their head and a bed to sleep in. Food in the pantry and some form of stability. Such things were all an illusion, anyway. People get busy, food goes bad. Bills pile up, costs increase, wage stays the same. To compensate, work extra hours, sleep less. Everything comes at a price few can afford and the compromises are seldom in one’s favor. Locked into a system in which the average person is always just on the verge of homelessness, yet the state of being homeless itself was punished.

Once I had asked Bernard, “if you were given a home, would you take it?” Based on that premise some other minds had, that people such as Bernard only lived that way because they wanted to. That it’s ‘on them’ or whatever. His response? Something like, “show me something that won’t be taken from me, otherwise don’t waste my time.”

That may have sounded like, “I’m here because I want to,” but at least to me, the difference couldn’t have been any more clear.

But enough rants. I stretched my arms out and yawned, then smiled a cheeky grin.

“Well, you know what they say, duty calls,” I announced as I got up. “Time for me to go digging for cash and get myself a bite to eat.”

That was how I went about most of my day: I’d get up, chat with a few folks around the docks, walk around the city ‘til I got a bit of cash, spend it on deep dish pizza and cheap beer (the staple of Chicago), then head back to the docks, bathe in the lake water, and resume my work in the office building. One of those days I’d have working lights, and then I could get to work on giving those folks a more comfortable place to sleep at night. Something like a home. Although it was unfortunate to think that in the eyes of the law, they’d still be considered homeless. Even the most idealistic of endeavors could result in a losing battle.

Whatever actions I might have to take in the future, I focused on the agenda for the day. It was during the day in which I was neither a rumor nor a killer. Daylight meant that I was just a person. Hell, at times a superhero; case in point, an old lady gave me a few bucks after I got her cat out of a tree (yes, as cliché as it was, such a thing happened quite often). Soon after that, I headed down to Cosmo Corner (a popular downtown tavern).

It was about noon now and my favorite bartender would be in soon: Wanda. Nice young lady, all covered in tattoos. At least a dozen on each arm, when I first met her I thought she was part of a crime ring or in a street gang, but nah. Apparently on the side, she liked to paint in her studio, but that was as hardcore as she got. Oh, well, being a bartender could be hardcore too. Not everyone can handle being a bartender.

Right now it was Stickbug (no, I don’t know why he was called that, but everyone called him that. Maybe that’s just his name). Fitness guru with a pencil thin mustache who was disastrous at mixing drinks. But amiable, I’d give him that. None of the conversations he’d strike up were ever ones I was interested in having, but he didn’t have a mean word to say about anyone. Maybe that was the problem: you had to have boundaries. You couldn’t show everyone the same level of sympathy.

“Say Wendy, have you heard of the fall of Constantinople?” Stickbug asked whilst he flung glass after glass in the air and began juggling them. Upon a quick glance, I noticed that there weren’t many people at the moment. Fine enough. I guess no one would give him dirty looks. As for me, I let my head fall onto the counter, the effects of my lack of sleep setting in.

“No, I haven’t,” I replied.

“D’ya wanna hear about it?” He continued to ask, and I already knew how insistent he could be with his topics.

“No,” I told him, to no avail.

“Okay, so we’ve got this city named Istanbul and…” he began, but it didn’t take long for my thoughts to drown out anything else he said.

Why couldn’t I have come in just a little bit later? No, it’s not bad. I could learn things if I listen, I’m just not in the mood to do so. I just want to eat and drink and...oh. Oh my. This must be what Rhea had to deal with all the time...wanting to order food, but never wanting to socialize. Not to mention how anxious she seemed to be in any situation that didn’t have to do with violence. Girl could kick ass but had trouble ordering a sandwich at a sub shop. Not to mention the general bodily discomfort she apparently dealt with.

‘I, and I cannot stressed this enough, am stressed’ I imagine she must have said at one point or another. Seemed to fit, anyway. That, or ‘I, and I cannot stress this enough, need a sweater’ or a blanket. Ugh. Why am I thinking of some weirdo who had such a minuscule presence in my life? Could it have to do with that woman last night? Yeah, probably. Well, a name’s a name. It could have been anyone named ‘Rhea’. Hell, the one I’m thinking of used a different name for each person she met, so I doubt anyone would know her by that name. Probably something else instead, like Sharpay D. Em.

Anyway, I ought to be thinking of more important things. Like the fact that the woman last night wanted to kill me. First of all, couldn’t she have waited? I was busy and I don’t really like being interrupted from my work. All I’m asking for is some fair warning and furthermore –

“...And that is why if you suspect you have a mouse in your home, you should leave a piece of cheese on the floor overnight,” Stickbug seemed to have concluded his little history lesson, except I must have missed many steps, because I wasn’t really sure how we got there.

“Wait, what?” I lifted my head and asked with a dull expression planted on my face.

“Want me to start all over?” He beamed, and I’m sure he could have talked all day and night if someone let him.

“How about later? Isn’t your shift over soon?” I reminded him with a slight sense of pride.

“Oh yeah! You’re right! So glad I got someone to remind me! Otherwise I’d be here all day!”

And nobody wants that. Hell, I don’t even think you’d want that.

“Before you go, I may as well order, seeing as I haven’t done that yet.”

“Oh no!” He gasped. “I hope you haven’t been hungry!”

Funny to think that his concern is real and not sarcasm.

“In fact, I am hungry right now,” I corrected him. “By the way, I’ll get my usual: pepperoni and spinach, large.”

“Right on!” I handed him the cash I had gotten from that old lady earlier. I still had some left over for sake, but I wanted to wait until Wanda got in.

I wonder what kind of food that woman from last night likes to eat. I feel like she’d eat chicken legs and large chunks of steaks. Just, a lot of steak. You know, why am I wondering such a thing? I’ve got better things to think about.

About five minutes later and a glass of water downed, Stickbug waved goodbye. In his place came Wanda with a bandanna over her head and covered in sweat which ran down her face.

“Intense painting session?” I asked.

She wiped her forehead and huffed.

“You know it. Were you waiting for me?”

“Heh,” I flashed her a smile. “It’s just not the same with Stickbug.” Really, how did that name come about? I think he said his name was Steven once, but I’ll be damned if I can remember.

“Is that so?” She asked, then went to the back to put her stuff away and get settled in. About the same time she came back out, the pizza arrived as well.

I took a heaping slice as layer upon layer of cheese and bits of spinach fell off of the pizza and back down onto the plate, unable to sustain itself on the thick cake of dough. Upon taking a large bite, my mouth was filled with the warm and gooey taste along with the combination of squishy spinach and savory pepperoni. One strong gulp later, and I was ready to take a drink. Next to me was my cup of sake, and when I looked up, Wanda winked.

“By the way, someone came in last night asking about any abandoned buildings,” Wanda mentioned as I sipped my cup of sake.

“Oh yeah?” I hummed, which came out more like a “mm-hmm.”

“Yeah. I just told her about the office building you’ve been hanging out in.”

I spat out my drink. Some might have gotten on her apron, but that was her problem, not mine.

“What did you do that for?! I don’t want people coming in and interrupting me while I’m working!”

Then I thought it over.

“Say, what did she look like?”

She put her finger on her chin and looked up.

“Hmm...big and muscular, brown poofy hair.”

Ugh. Yeah.

“Oh yeah. She came by and visited. Tried to kill me,” I replied, almost nonchalant about the whole ordeal, despite how much it had been on my mind.

“What? Are you serious?” She balked.

I shrugged and took another bite of my pizza.

“Yeah, but she wasn’t hard to deal with or anything.”

My main concern was why she was there at all. It’s not that I never expected anyone to come after me, especially when I all but deserted my job. But when no one came, I just expected that I was free and I could live out my life as I pleased.

“Jeez, did you kill her?” She accused. Rather baseless, too.

“No,” I scoffed. “I just sent her back home. Don’t know why she went after me, either.”

“Look, Wendy, I know you’ve killed people. Can’t really say I didn’t see something like this coming.”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong: I get why, I just don’t get why, y’know?”

She shook her head.

“It’s like, she said there was a request for my death. She didn’t even know who I was, she mistook me for someone else. What I don’t get is why, rather, how such a request came about. Like, someone knows about me, but is sending people who don’t know about me to do the job.”

“Well, do you know what the request says?”

“No,” I admitted.

“Then maybe whoever made it didn’t know who you were either, but noticed some things around the area.”

“Yeah, maybe.” It was all too possible I was overthinking things. But when it came to things like that, a fair deal of suspicion was necessary. “Whatever the case, if such a request like that is out there, then I doubt the person last night will be the only one.

“It’s kind of an open secret among the circle you talk to that you’re the one behind the murder of those cops. I don’t blame you, plenty of people around here don’t like the police and I really do wish you well, but most people don’t have the privilege to do what you do. Most people don’t have the ability to murder those they see as committing an injustice. Not only that, but most people don’t have confidantes that would be willing to keep their secret. You know why?”

Great. Just what I wanted while I was at the bar with some good food and drinks: a lecture.

“If you’re going to tell me because it’s illegal, I’m going to argue that it’s only illegal if you don’t have a badge and a uniform. Most serial killers are the ones who are hired by the state and demand your respect.”

Her face lowered and she turned from me.

“Yeah, I get it. I’m not saying I disagree, just that the average person isn’t capable of doing such things, even if they wanted to. Even if they ignored the legality, it doesn’t matter. Just as you said, you’ve got got hordes willing to kill whoever they see fit without consequence, decked in highly-militarized outfits and weapons. Their numbers are too great, their power is too great, and if you even show the least bit resistance, they’ll throw in the rest of the military alongside them. So the best most of us can ask for is to avoid them as much as possible. But here you go, picking off anyone who rubs you the wrong way and not only do you manage to sneak on by and keep going, but it’s like you boast about it, too.”

“I don’t boast – I never said I enjoy it.”

“No, that’s not what I mean, sorry.”

“But you’re right: I am very fortunate. In the past, I’ve evaded my demise and have slaughtered entire armies that wished to pursue me. I’m not saying that to boast, though it is quite a feat, I admit. I’ve had a long life, a storied and bloody past, and I really wish I could stay out of trouble, but I just can’t seem to help myself. Old habits, I guess.”

“You’re not that old, are you? You don’t look much over thirty.”

I managed a chuckle.

“Would you believe me if I said I was well over five hundred years old?”

“Quit joking around.”

It’s not exactly wrong. I was born sometime early in the Sengoku period, but time travel sure does let you skip ahead a few years. There’s no way I could explain something like that, though.

“Let’s just say I’ve got a good skincare routine.”

That time, I was joking. There’s no way in hell that bathing in Lake Michigan would preserve your youth.

“Either way, I’m used to not sticking around places for very long. If things get too hot, I’ll leave town. So don’t worry about me,” I assured Wanda.

“I’d like it if it wouldn’t have to come to that,” she replied. “You’re a good customer, and make for good conversation.”

Well, I couldn’t say I wasn’t flattered, but hopefully she wouldn’t hold it against me if I did decide to ditch this place, reside elsewhere and try to lay low. Eventually I would have liked to settle down and be an old lady. Maybe knit sweaters in my spare time, or get a dog and a garden. Become the friendly old lady in the neighborhood that no one knows anything about.

None of that was likely. People like me weren’t meant to last long. As far as age went, I was already pushing it and as far as I knew, I really wasn’t much over thirty. It was just hard to tell where in my thirties, since my concept of time has been all screwed up.

I left the bar soon after. Despite my enjoyment of Wanda’s presence, my head just wasn’t as much in it as I thought it would be. So, still middle of the day, I returned to the docks, ready to get back to work.

I still don’t have the solution. Not enough power. Every time I think I’ve got a spark, it only lights one area. What I need is a lightning rod. Maybe I could stand one of my swords up to the roof to collect electricity. Or antennae. No. That still wouldn’t be enough, not without the right circuitry and places to send the electricity to. There’s more than one component and I can’t just do one without the other. If I’m lucky, there might be some generators downstairs I haven’t discovered. But even if I have to steal or build power generators, I want to give these places a semblance of a home. Some place to rest.

But even if I’m successful, it still wouldn’t be legal for them to reside there. What would I do, then? Fight off a whole force? Or would I run with the knowledge that I would be outnumbered? When I consider the eventual outcome, it was a futile effort and good intentions will only get me so far.

I shook my head as I entered the darkened building through an opening with a loose board. If that woman had been more attentive, she would have seen that not all of those boards were as well covered, and one of them actually served as a door.

Inside, an absence of light. I reached to my right and grabbed my helmet and katana which lay on top of a tall cabinet.

Upon placing the helmet on my head, I had a much clearer view of my surroundings. The infrared visor on my helmet allowed me to see in the dark, albeit some objects showed up blurry.

Outside, it was still light. Dusk wasn’t expected for another few hours. In other words, I had time. I could do my work in peace, take a little nap, not worry about anything. If no one was going to come after me until well after dark, then I could prepare.

So I did just that; I patrolled the area, climbed up each floor, checked out each room, then headed back down to the first floor. All around the first floor I searched for a hatch or a door, a flight of stairs, something that would lead to a basement. No such luck. It seemed that there were no passages, hidden or otherwise. No basement. No generators.

Maybe that’s what I’ll have to resort to. I’ll have to dig out a basement, fill it with concrete, get some generators built or setup...argh! Why is it so hard to get this going? I should just tell everyone, “sorry guys, I know I hate to make false promises, but looks like I just set my sights too high!”

I sunk down to the floor along a wall, right next to a door which would have led to someone’s office.

“Who am I kidding? It’ll be a miracle if I don’t leave before I get the chance to figure this out.”

I leaned my head over and soon felt the weight of the darkness creep up on me as it guided me to a gentle sleep.

When I awoke, I brought myself up to my feet and decided to climb up the many flight of stairs once more.

If I’m lucky, I’d like to at least get the elevator working. Something.

Short rests were all that were ever afforded to me. If I had gotten three hours or more, that was oversleep for me. With the way my body operated, perhaps adapted, I never worried myself with dreams. On the rare occasion where I had a dream, they were brief windows, photographs, still frames cascading down. Images of being beheaded. Of watching my head roll down into a river. Typical things like that. Such things weren’t memories, but just reminders of what should have been long ago.

Never mind. Several flights later, I saw the bits of collapsed roof on the floor. Above, the glow of the moon illuminated the floor. It was the only source of light I was afforded, save for the helmet.

So I see. It’s evening now.

“Damn, couldn’t she have found a different way in other than breaking down the roof? Now I’m going to have to repair that as well…”

If another came after me, I really hoped they wouldn’t drop down from the roof. That would make things too easy for me.

I’m going to consider that it’s still too early for something like that. Not that I have a watch or a phone, but I doubt it’s been night for very long. I just can’t imagine anyone attacking me until late into the night. Any time earlier and it would just be rude.

Just like the night before, I went down to where the top of the elevator was, along with the open panel in the wall. If I had to start somewhere, I figured I’d get done what I could. That was, if I could get anything done at all.

So as I crouched down and got to work, my helmet lifted as I did so. I struck a match and held it between my lips as I worked, plucking it out every now and then to help bind the wires together. There were two wires left with just a little bit of juice. I pulled out a pair of rubber gloves, then held the two wires together and rubbed them; as soon as there was a spark, I used the flame from the match to bind them together. Behind me, a couple rooms away, a light turned on.

Now let’s hope it stays on. Which reminds me: I need to get new light bulbs.

One day, if I ever got (or built) a generator and a basement to place it in, I would test the breaker board. It would be a beautiful sight if one day the whole building could light up. Even as it was, the light from the room remained and leaked out. I was impressed to see that it had stayed on.

Now if I flick the switch off, then on again, will it turn back on?

As I turned to work on the elevator, I was stopped in my place when I heard a thump in the distance. It could have been nothing. Those pipes were old, after all. The vents too.

But even if it was nothing, I had to check it out.

Down one flight of stairs, the sound of movement and creaks against the vents could be heard.

Could it be that I’ve got a guest?

That same sound continued in little spurts. Less noise, but still there. Unavoidable. I could tell, there was movement of some kind. Rat, pebble, raccoon, or a person. Further down the hallway, the sound grew closer, more pronounced. Little shimmies and brushes. Metallic clangs.

I stood in place as the sound seemed to be just above my head. I took off my helmet. No need for it.

“I know you’re up there,” I announced.

Silence. No more movement. Nothing.

Seconds went by. Still nothing.

Stillness passed through the air, and so I had no choice but to accept that I may have just been hearing the old building making noises.

I let out a heavy sigh. Defeat. So soon, too.

“Guess I was just hearing things. I’ll head back now.”

Still no sound of movement. How disappointing. I unsheathed my sword and flashed a toothy smile.

“...Just kidding,” I said before I plunged my katana into the vent and sliced the thing in half.

If there had been a person, or just a rat, surely they felt that.

As I did so, the noise of steel against steel, the grating being slashed apart couldn’t mask the undeniable sound of movement heading backward.

I held my katana up and dragged it against the ceiling as I walked toward the sound of someone retreating from within the vents.

Around the corner, I heard a drop, and the hard tap of a shoe against the floor.

So it was a person. And I missed. I really must be losing my touch.

As I approached, someone small and frail looking peeked out from the corner and threw a knife my way. I caught it between my fingertips and just as fast, threw it back. In a panic, the intruder let out a squeak and ducked back behind the corner, then picked up their knife and ran.

“Were you thinking you could kill me with that? Or were you planning on me blocking it, then running toward me with another knife, the thrown knife being a distraction?” My smile grew wider, almost a grin. It didn’t take much to know their strategy; too many times I’ve dealt with similar tactics. Smart, but amateurish.

Does this person really think they stand more of a chance than the person last night? Or are they just expecting to run around like this is some endurance test?

I wasn’t about to let them experience such a luxury. I ran after and watched as they almost got behind the door to an adjacent room, but before they could do so, I grabbed their wrist and held on tight. Once I pulled them forward, closer to me, it turned out the intruder was a young woman with wavy, green hair.

With my other hand, I raised my knife and readied myself to slice down against her arm.

She scowled, then with her free arm reached for my wrist to free herself. Before she could puncture me, I swung my blade down, at the same time let go of her wrist. Just in time, she jumped out of the way. I turned to make a quick slash, but she blocked it with her knife. Such a measly thing. All I had to do was push harder and it began to show little cracks.

She let go and jumped out of the way again.

“Nimble one, aren’t you?” I observed. Then she charged, but I moved out of the way. She tried to slash with her knife from the side, but I blocked it with my blade, then let go and kicked her to the floor.

Short on breath, she picked herself up. So far all of her efforts, while quick-witted, had been feeble at best.

“Let me ask you this: why do you want to kill me? Is there money involved?”

“I...I don’t want to kill you. That’s...that’s not why I came here,” she spoke, her voice rough, but high in pitch and she fixed her gaze on me as she tried to recover her breath.

“Then why?”

“I want to know who you are,” she answered.

That was such a ridiculous answer. But at least it was some kind of answer.

“I’m a serial killer,” I replied through my teeth. “I leave a trail of bodies in my wake. Sliced open, stabbed through the chest. Cut to ribbons. Does that answer your question?”

Her face turned to shock and she took a step back, but shook her head.

“No, I already knew that much from the request.”

“That again. The request to kill me, correct?”

She gave a nod.

“But I would rather not have to try. Not if you’re anything like who Sunny thought you were.”

“Sunny?”

“The one who tried to kill you last night and got herself beat real good. She thought you were –” I stopped her.

“Rhea?” I asked.

Another nod.

“What was so special about that name? There’s probably plenty of people in this city with that name.”

“Yes. And I looked up every single person with that name in Chicago. There were a lot more names than I thought, and not all of them were happy about receiving a phone call from a stranger.”

…

“Are you a dunce? Did you really?”

“Yes.”

I snorted. I couldn’t help but laugh at the thought of someone actually doing that. I sunk down to the wall and sat.

“Sit,” I commanded. “And if you try anything funny, I will kill you.”

Wordless, she crouched down and sat against the wall across from me.

“So what does that name mean to you?” I questioned.

“Nothing. But it means plenty to a few of the people around me. Rhea Flection, they call her. Apparently she was both feared and admired. Some people want her dead, or revenge on her, others just seem to wish they could see her in action. My cousin and her wife were apparently one of her targets. Someone I admire apparently worked in the same company as her. Says that she died. Yet all these other people keep bringing her up.”

Damn. That name. So it really was the same one that I knew.

“Heh,” I leaned my head back. Absurd as it was, I not only stopped the fight, but also let my guard down. “I wonder if I’ll have my own fan club as well when I die.”

“I take it to mean that you’re not her?” She asked, something which I would have thought was obvious.

“You mean that socially awkward iceberg? No. I’m not her.”

“Iceberg?” She tilted her head, which made me wonder just how much she actually knew.

“You’d have to have been there.”

“So I take it you knew her?”

“Yes. We worked in the same company. But that’s ancient history. For the record, I’m Wendy Day. You?”

“Demetria. What kind of name is that, by the way?”

“I picked it out because I wanted an English sounding name, and it sounds like ‘windy day’. Not very clever, I know. I used to be called Mizue Soyokaze, but I threw that name away long ago, along with the rest of my younger self.”

“Cool. Lore. Can I sit next to you?” She asked, rather sudden, too.

“Go ahead. But I’ll remind you not to get any ideas.”

She got up and as she approached me, she looked away, ashamed or uneasy.

“I probably should have tried to kill you, seeing as I don’t want you to go around killing people, but I was more focused on getting some kind of answers,” she said as she sat down. Then turned away from me. I took it to mean she was shy.

“You don’t want me to go around killing people?” I scoffed. “I don’t want me to go around killing people. I’ve tried to put this life behind me, not get myself into trouble, but then I see others do things that I just can’t abide by.”

“Like what?” She asked, and her voice quivered. If only I had dragged out the battle, maybe she would have shown more bravery.

“Sexual abusers, for starters, but that should be obvious. Then there’s people like landlords and debt collectors who couldn’t care less if they let others die in the name of money. Greedy fucks all around. Still, I can’t catch everyone out there, only the ones that I see. Even then, I try not to let my blood boil, not let it get to me. I try to sit by, abide by the law, but then I witness a child running around with a toy gun with his best friend playing some kind of game, like cops and robbers. Then an actual cop comes and shoots the kid dead, a cruel irony. Said cop walks off, no remorse or recourse, all the while that kid just wanted to play and now their life ended. That I can’t abide by.”

“Wow,” she mouthed.

“But, in case you start thinking I’m some savior, acting only in the name of justice, let me remind you that I’m a murderer and violence is what I know. If anything, I find excuses to take lives, not unlike some of the people I so despise. It’s not even so much a craving or an addiction, but I don’t think this world will ever grow kind, and neither will I.”

“But why did you ever start?”

“Because,” I began. I had to pause, and I thought to myself, wait. Am I really going to go through my life story with a stranger I assumed wanted to kill me? Fuck it. I’m doing this. “I’m all too familiar with authority abusing their power. Back in my old life, when I was young and still had a family, there was a high ranking member of society who was found dead, a puncture wound through their chest. I was blamed for it, an unassuming girl who stayed home all the time and helped out with her family. But once I was accused, that same family disowned me, regardless of whether or not I had actually committed such a thing.”

“Did you?”

“No. But that didn’t matter, I was just a commoner, so my word didn’t mean much, and there was less proof that I didn’t than proof that I did, even if either way was inconclusive. Regardless, I was set to be executed; beheaded, actually. Two men with swords beside me, one in front. All against my throat. However, I managed to fight back and steal the two men’s swords, then cut them all down. After that, I hid out in an abandoned shack. Later on, I found out who the real killer had been and killed him myself. After, I fled. That didn’t stop me from being pursued, but I cut anyone down who dared to try.”

“That’s kinda badass,” she commented. I had to stop her right there.

“No, just bad. My life should have ended that day, as the person I am now was the person I was once accused of being. But no matter how many close calls I’ve had, I’m still here, like some kind of cockroach.”

“And your company?” She asked, and I knew where her real focus was.

“They picked me up a few years back, though in my mind it was centuries ago. They told me that they could offer me protection, be paid to take out those who would abuse their authority. By then, I knew it was only a matter of time, with whole armadas after me. So I accepted.”

“I see.”

“Do you know what we did in that company?” I pondered.

“I get the gist of it. It’s unpleasant, but I can’t just fault everyone when I don’t know them.”

“Huh. Interesting answer.”

I stared down at my blade, then sheathed it. It had been a while, but not unheard of, since I just...sat next to a would-be victim and heard them out. I kind of missed it, as often when it did happen, I would end up sparing said person and coming to a better understanding of them.

“Say, back when you worked there, did you know of someone named Remora?” She asked again.

Remora...Remora...does that ring any bells? No, I don’t think it does.

“No, sorry,” I replied.

“Uh...shivers a lot, always cold, doesn’t understand people well. Looks kind of like you, except not really. I mean, your guys’ faces and hair is totally different.”

“Oh, you mean Rhea,” I corrected, as there was no other person I could think of who was like that.

“No, no. Her name’s Remora. She says she knew of Rhea, but was never in the same place as her.”

Hmm...that was a curious thing, all right.

“Sorry, but I don’t think there was anyone named Remora, but you definitely described Rhea. One time, we were all at the bar, and she ordered a screwdriver. So I watched as she sat alone at a table and she pulled out an actual screwdriver. I watched her lick the screw driver, make a disgusted face, then looked around to make sure no one saw her. But I saw everything.”

“Is there a difference in taste?” Demetria asked, and I really had to wonder how someone so dense could exist.

“That’s not the point. The point is that she may have been this serious person who wanted to be left alone, but she was also just a total oddball. Even her attempts to be serious could be odd sometimes. Like one time, she tried to do this verbal takedown on a guy named Douglas Fir by listing out all his negative traits in alphabetical order.”

“I don’t think I could do that, but then again sometimes I wonder if I’m dyslexic,” she replied. Again, not the point.

“Whatever the case may be, I didn’t really think of her that much at the time, other than a few notable occurrences, but looking back, I kinda miss her. Then again, I miss most everyone in that company. Save the really shitty ones, but that’s neither here nor there. I know we were all eccentric amoral people, but it was like a community to me, and it felt like the closest thing I had to a home at the time.”

Really, I could reminisce for days.

“There was this other woman, Aurora B, and I suppose her, Rhea, and I could’ve been a ‘dream team’ except if put in a group, one of us would have killed the other two rather fast, thus negating the need for a group. Aurora because she wouldn’t be able to get us all to cooperate, Rhea because she prefers to work alone and would probably use her teammates as bait, and I’d probably notice something about the both of them that wouldn’t sit right with me and decide they’re both scum. Still, the idea is fun.”

“Wait, Aurora B? There’s an Aurora B in the arctic! She’s got a train and a band of thieves! I stabbed her and she robbed the restaurant I worked at!”

I blinked, then burst into laughter.

“Oh, that’s wonderful! There’s a version of her in this timeline and I bet she’s still just as rowdy! Oh, that must be fun!”

“What? Version of? This timeline?” She seemed confused.

“Yeah, like, you know, time travel and all that. Multiple universes, multiple versions of the same person.” I was surprised she knew about the company and yet didn’t know about that.

“I never considered that…” she muttered, then got up. “I think I’ll take off now. Thank you for that.”

“What? Already?”

“Yeah, I’ll just say that you were too strong for me and leave it at that.”

“Well if that’s all you needed, you should’ve just come by in the daytime. We could’ve had a nice chat over pizza.”

She waved goodbye, as if I wasn’t some dangerous force of nature, and I continued to sit and shake my head.

“I must be getting soft. First I injured someone rather than killed them, then I let the second person just walk away unscathed, and we had a nice little chat. I’m betting the third person who comes by I’ll end up buying them a drink.”

I couldn’t help but imagine the insanity of it all. My howls and laughter echoed through the almost empty building.

Once I calmed myself down, I stared up at the ceiling. How I wished I could fix up the place. Now I had to fix up the vents as well. There was always one more problem.

“What about you?” I addressed my last guest of the evening. “Have you come to kill me or just to chat?”

In one of the nearby rooms, a door opened up. Soon a figure approached me, a long rifle in hand.

“I’ll be quick. I just wanted to confirm that you were who I thought you were,” replied a low, icy voice.

“What, did you stalk her? Were you listening in on the whole thing?” Whoever said guest was, I would have at least liked a knock or something.

“No to the first one. Yes to the second.”

Direct. I liked that, at least.

“So what about the gun? I take it you’re the only person so far who even stands a chance against me.”

“I’m hoping it won’t come to that.”

“Mm,” I mulled it over. “I see. So I take it you know who I am already, but that’s what bothers me. I don’t seem to know who you are.”

“Yes. I’m not sure if you ever saw me. I was never around at the same time she was. I couldn’t have been. For the most part, I was kept isolated from most everybody else. Not that I minded.”

“No, I suppose you wouldn’t have. So, why Remora?” I wondered. “You’ve got over a thousand different names, don’t you? Couldn’t you have started a new life with one of those?”

“It’s because...I met someone important to me the day I chose that name.”

I shrugged. “Who am I to judge? One time an old man decided to call me Trout. True story.”

It didn’t take much for me to figure out what was going on. Who I was talking to.

“So you’re an alternate version, huh?” I asked. Rhetorical, I know.

“Yes. I am younger than she was, but I went through similar things and took on missions all the same.”

“They used you like a back up, I take it. In case the main one died. Which is what happened. Doesn’t that disgust you?”

“It is what it is.”

Right. Such emotionless responses.

“In a way, though, it’s relieving. Knowing that there’s a version of her that’s still around and can experience freedom, like me.”

“I’m just a version of myself. I’m me. Not her.”

“But you do share several names and a background, yes?”

“She was irresponsible. She knew what her job was and she got tired of it, so she died. That’s all. She didn’t even have to, she just wanted to. Yet people won’t shut up about her when she was never worth the attention to begin with,” she growled, working up a rant. It seemed I actually struck something of a nerve.

“Hey, that’s my friend you’re talking about. Don’t talk about my friend that way,” I shot back.

“You two weren’t friends,” she scoffed. I wondered if that was the most mad she had been in a while.

“I just decided that we were. Seeing as she’s not alive to object, I think I can make that decision,” I gave a sly grin.

“That’s not how that works. Did you two even talk?”

I lifted up my index finger and closed my eyes.

“Once. Just once.”

“About what?”

“Some guy was bothering her and she was uncomfortable, that much I could tell. She also looked ready to break a bottle over his head, and I wasn’t really interested in a fight breaking out. I think I said something like, ‘is he bothering you, queen?’ Then pushed him aside. She looked confused, asked ‘queen?’ And I think I laughed and said not to worry about it. I remember she thanked me, and chattered her teeth while trying to sound out the words to do so. I told her not to mention it and offered to help her with anything if she ever came to me.”

“And?”

“Needless to say, she never came to me. I think when I told her that, she said something like, ‘thanks, I’ll think about it’ while turning her head from side to side, so she probably wasn’t ever going to consider it. But makes me wonder about what could’ve been. Like maybe it would’ve changed something.”

“It wouldn’t. There’s nothing you could have done. That’s just how she was,” she replied, all brisk and choppy.

“Yeah, I guess so. Still –”

“Shut up about her,” she snapped, although her voice didn’t even manage to raise all that much. I could just tell with her gestures. The shake of her fist. Everywhere shook, in fact, like it was more than just a shiver.

“It bothers you that much, huh? Is it the name, or just being reminded?” I really wasn’t trying to push any buttons. I didn’t even realize there were any buttons to push. But I guess that’s what I needed to expect, with there being differences and all.

“No. I’m not bothered. It’s just a name. Just someone who’s not around anymore. That’s just why I think people should shut up about it. That person’s gone. Gone. Poof.”

Real convincing.

“Is it because it feels like you’re constantly being compared to with another version of yourself? Or how people might see her as a superior version of you?”

I waited for a response. When I got none, I figured I hit the nail on the head.

“I’m me. Just me. I’m the only version of me there is,” she concluded. Less robotic, but still choppy. Almost downtrodden in her tone.

That’s fine as long as you believe that.

“What about that friend of yours? Demetria?”

“We’re not friends.”

“But she’s important to you, isn’t she?”

“In a way.”

“So you care about her, then?”

“No.”

“Were you worried I was going to kill her if she found me, so you followed behind?”

“Yes. But that doesn’t mean anything.”

Oh bother. It was fun at first, but now it’s like I was talking to a child.

“That whole aloof thing you got going isn’t a very good look for you,” I lectured.

“I’m not aloof.”

“Sure Jan,” I looked over and replied. “Look, I used to be like you, so I get it. I wanted to do everything on my own and I didn’t have much to share with others. But I’ve been blessed to have met a few good people here and there. I’ve survived due in part to the kindness of others.”

“Well…” She thought it over. “I don’t want to be aloof.”

“Bark like a dog, then,” I commanded.

To my surprise, she did just that: her best impression of a dog barking, anyway. I expected more of a Shiba Inu, but instead it came out as a yip, like a Chihuahua.

I cracked up; burst into laughter. Sides split and everything.

“Now you’re a woof,” I told her.

She growled, and I was inclined to say like a dog, as well.

“I hate you, you know that?” She whined.

“Aw, but I thought you loved puns,” I teased.

Changing the subject, she went back to a topic I thought would make her uncomfortable.

“By the way, do you even know what her last job was?”

Probably referring to the R-word.

“No. I was already here doing my own thing when it happened, so I never got to find out,” I explained.

“Well, if you ever want to know, I can give you Ves’ number.”

OK. Someone I don’t know about. Not useful at all.

“Why? Is she single?”

“Stop that. She’s got a cute wife.”

“Oh? Cute?” I should’ve told her I wasn’t really interested in either, as I knew she was the type to take everything seriously. “Like Demetria?”

“She’s cute too, yes.”

“So you admitted it,” I observed.

“Objectively speaking, anyway. Besides, that’s not the point – Ves was the one who killed her. She could fill you in better than I could.”

I see. She should’ve explained that sooner. I looked over and blinked.

“I don’t have a phone.”

She stared as well, then said, “oh.”

“Well, look: I’m working at this diner in the arctic for these people named Sunny and Ray. They thought I would be fun to work with, and not, well...me,” it seemed like Remora was just trying to proposition me with something, anything. I didn’t understand why. “So if you want to sometime, you could go up there. You’re probably more what they were looking for to begin with.”

I shook my head.

“No thanks. The cold’s your thing. I’m not really tied down to a motif. Besides, I’m a homeless old bat. How do you expect me to get up there?”

“I don’t know. You’re resourceful.”

True. I couldn’t deny that bit. Before I could answer, I started to cough. Like a tickle or a scratch at the back of my throat.

I leaned over and covered my mouth with my fist. Remora looked down.

“Are you sick?”

“Why do you care?” I smiled, even as I continued to cough.

“I don’t, but if you are, I don’t want to catch anything.”

As soon as she said that, the cough went away.

“Don’t worry. It’s not something you can catch.”

“What is it, then?”

If you or a loved one have been diagnosed with meso – no, it’s not that. I don’t think so, anyway.

“Sometimes a cough is just a cough. I’m getting old, anyway. I might die any day now.”

“Somehow I doubt it. You’re like a cockroach.”

“Yeah, but even cockroaches aren’t immortal,” I reminded her.

There was a moment of silence. That moment grew. Nothing more was said. Nothing more that I could recall. I soon drifted off to sleep, the silence having consumed me. In spite of the intrusions, I think I got the deepest sleep I had in a while.

[nilesarchives]

Coffee and Coke ― CANON. (current verse)

Nick and Miles see each other at Starbucks and Miles goes back to Nick’s place to meet his new pet. Things escalate, as they often do.

The past month or so had been an absolute whirlwind. Shit had almost completely hit the fan and Miles wasn’t entirely sure what to make of it. One of the biggest things was he and Nick deciding they needed some space, for real this time; the whole New Years thing was sort of a wake up call for both of them, that they might not actually be ready for much right now, not while they both had their own things to work through. And that was just what Miles had been doing, dealing with his demons. Or one singular demon: Greg. It was weird that Nick, his best friend, was no longer entirely caught up to speed. Despite the fact that keeping their distance had so far been a good thing, Miles felt that the new developments in his life deserved more than a simple text. So it had been days of going back and forth, wanting to show up at Nick’s place to talk to him but not wanting to intrude, but fate had a funny way of making things work. That was what Miles realized when he stepped away from the Starbucks counter with his iced latte to see said best friend sitting a little further away. Miles would recognize that curly hair anywhere. He approached the table, perhaps a little too eager to see him after what felt like forever, and slid into the chair across from him. “Come here often?” he asked, placing his elbows on the table and leaning toward him.

For once, Starbucks wasn’t totally jam packed, which Nick counted as a blessing if he’d ever seen one. He’d always liked coffee shops; they got him out of the house and the smell of coffee seemed to wake him up before he actually downed any. And it was a lazy sort of day, so he found himself at the Starbucks a few blocks away in order to kill some time. With his frap in front of him on the corner table he was lucky enough to snag, Nick allowed himself to relax, giving his phone his full attention. Alternating between various job applications, Facebook, and texts — he was completely absorbed when a familiar voice interrupted him. Glancing up instantly, he smiled at the surprise. He hadn’t seen Miles in what seemed like forever, and this time it wasn’t because of some weird fight they had or because of hurt feelings. He understood that they both had to take some time for themselves, and he had no hard feelings towards him, even if he’d missed him and his heart still seemed to clench when he saw him. “Once in awhile.” He replied as he lowered his phone back to his lap. “You stalking me now?”

It was almost like Miles was seeing him, really seeing him, for the first time all over again. Since shit had gone down, Miles wasn’t sure if he and Nick would ever be the same again. But now that he was dealing with his own stuff and figured Nick was starting to take the time to do the same, Miles’ faith was renewed. They still had a chance, and that was all he wanted. Looking at him now, he was reminded of just how attracted to Nick he was — and fuck, was he attracted to him. He’d throw their drinks across the room and lean across the table to kiss him if it were socially acceptable. But they’d build up to that. Preferably in private. “Maybe,” he said nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders as he leaned back in his chair. “To be honest, I just thought there was a hot guy over here so I came over. Turns out that window behind you is just super reflective.” He couldn’t let Nick get too cocky. “Really, though…I wanted to talk to you about what’s been going on.” He paused, glancing down at the table for a few long moments before looking back up at him. “But I wanted to see you.”

It hadn’t been that long since they’d last seen each other. God knows they’d ignored each other for longer during previous fights. But it felt like longer, because as much as Nick wanted to see him, he knew he couldn’t. They had things he had to come to terms with and think about, and hanging around each other wouldn’t help much. Nick wanted to say and do so many things — he wanted to pull him closer and show him how much he missed him. He couldn’t even do that before everything happened, though, so he knew damn well he couldn’t do that now. “Oh, you did. I dropped my napkin so I had to stand up for a second.” He countered, before he sobered up at the comment. “Is… everything okay?” Nick asked carefully, not sure what that meant. He knew Miles was struggling with the Greg thing before, and didn’t know what happened after that. It bothered him that he didn’t know, but he wasn’t about to pressure him into telling him. “I wanted to see you, too.” He lowered his voice, pausing for a moment. “I missed you.”

Miles nodded. “Everything’s okay,” he said, and he meant it. Everything was okay, or at least it was going to be. He nearly lost his train of thought at Nick’s words, the words ‘I miss you’ never quite failing to excite him. “I was just trying to…come to terms with everything. Figure out where to go from here,” he started slowly. He was tracing the lid of his drink with his finger. “I knew I was gonna have to face it eventually, you know? Not like I could just pretend it never happened.” He took another pause, this time sucking in a deep breath and holding it for a moment before exhaling. “We got the ball rolling. With Greg.”

Nick nodded as Miles spoke, listening quietly until he was done. At Greg’s name, anger cut in through the other emotions. Miles was just dropping a bomb on him — and frankly, Nick wasn’t sure if it was good. So naturally, he jumped to conclusions. “Did he try to contact you?”

Miles shook his head immediately. “No. I just—” He stopped again. Greg was never an easy topic. “I took everything you said to heart, talked to my mom. I finally went to the police. I told them I want to officially press charges.” It was still a lot for he himself to process. “So I’m getting ready to go to trial. I guess I’ve got good odds ‘cause I’m not fully recovered from my injuries, apparently. So…yeah.”

As Miles explained what at happened with Greg, surprise settled in, followed by relief. At least that’s one thing that went right. “Thank God.” Nick breathed, mostly to himself, but also to Miles. “I mean. That’s good. I’m glad you did it.” Well, clearly. “Are you feeling okay? About the trial?” He paused again. “And your injuries too.”

“I guess? Not really. I don’t know.” Miles hated the thought of sitting in the courtroom, but he knew this was necessary. “I don’t want to tell it all over again but I don’t have a choice. Guess it’ll be worth it when he’s thrown in jail. He didn’t think I was going to press charges so at least this caught him off guard.” Fucking asshole. “I feel fine. They just tell me I haven’t fully recovered and I can still suffer certain side effects. I dunno — it’s all medical crap I don’t know about. But it’ll help me win, that’s all I know.”

It was clear Miles had gone through a lot the past month, and Nick wasn’t sure how he could comfort him. He was glad that Miles got when he was trying to help, even if Nick knew he couldn’t do much. “I know it’ll be hard… but you’ll be safe, you know? He can’t do shit to you now.” Nick knew his words were true, even if personally he knew it was way easier said than done. “That’s scary shit, dude. You need to keep an eye on yourself. Just in case you start feeling bad.” He hoped he wouldn’t, though. “Do you know when the trial will be?”

Miles nodded. “I know.” That was the most important part, after all. Just keeping Greg away. Not just away from Miles, but from everyone he loved as well. His mom deserved much better, for one thing. Though Miles would be glad if she didn’t date anyone for a very long time. “I’m fine. I take care of myself. Scout’s too smart to let something happen to me anyway.” Miles sighed, nodding. “A couple weeks, I guess. So Greg can get shit squared away with his lawyer or whatever.” Miles wished they could just take his word for it and call it a day, but he knew that couldn’t happen. All the talk about Greg naturally made Miles think about Jude, but he didn’t want to bring him up and make Nick upset. “What’s going on with you?” he asked after a moment, realizing he’d tell him if there was anything worth noting.

“How’s Scout?” Nick asked after a moment, genuinely curious, since he hadn’t seen her since the last time he was over. Not like much changed with dogs, but hey, you never knew. “Oh…wow. That’s…soon.” But it was good it was soon. The sooner the better, in his opinion.  That meant Greg could get locked up faster. “I don’t know. Nothing that would interest you.” He tried to smile, before he remembered something, and smiling became a little easier. “I found a pet. He was playing in the garbage so I got him before the trash man could.”

“Badass as ever.” Scout didn’t do much, but she was an incredibly good girl, if Miles said so himself. “Yeah. I mean, there wasn’t much to prepare for. He knows what he’s walking into, so.” Miles shrugged. Greg was clearly guilty so he wasn’t worried about the outcome. It was just the whole process. “Well, I’m glad you didn’t go and get married or anything.” Although he had gotten married once. At the mention of a new pet, Miles raised his eyebrows. “Oh?” He wasn’t sure the trash was the best place to find a new companion, but to each his own. “You didn’t think it maybe belonged to someone?” Miles shook his head. “What kind of pet?”

“Good for her.” Nick laughed and reached out for his melting frap to take a small drink. “It’s a good thing you did.” Nick said as gently as he could when he set his cup back down. “Even if it’s a bunch of bullshit to deal with. I’m proud of you, you know?” And he felt weird for saying that, so he was going to change the subject. “Hey, I never said I didn’t. I just don’t remember it if I did.” Much like the first time, but thankfully his wife had been there the morning after to remind him. “Yeah.” He nodded, almost enthusiastically. “He was dragging around an empty McDonald’s fry cup so I figured it was pretty much meant to be.” He grinned at him. “No, definitely not. If he’d belonged to someone they would have given him a full thing of fries. He was clearly homeless.” So he gave him a home. At the moment, he lowered his tone just a bit, because he knew how Miles felt about Coke’s kind. And he wanted them to get along. “Just a cat.” He said, before quickly following up. “He’s a kitten though.”

“Yeah, she’s got her shit together.” Clearly more than Miles did. “I know.” The conversation led Miles to believe that there were no new developments with Jude. And that was okay. One step at a time. “Well, I guess that sucks if you did.” There went Miles’ chance. “Jeez. So obviously you’re a hero.” He could almost feel the tone of the conversation shift just slightly, and it made sense when Nick told him his new pet was a cat. Miles’ face immediately fell. “You’re joking.” It was a statement because he wanted to believe it. “Nicholas…” He trailed off, leaning forward again to get closer to him as he lowered his own voice. “You did not actually get a cat.” Miles hated cats. Quite a bit. And Nick knew this better than anyone.

“She’s an icon.” Nick said, before falling silent for a moment. There was a clear elephant in the room, because Miles was doing so good by going forward and pressing charges against Greg. But Nick, on the other hand, was still adamant against not doing anything about his own situation. He was still trying hard not to think about it. He’d spent the last few months trying so hard not to think about it that he ended up thinking about it regardless. So that’s when he tried to distract himself with things — food, work, Coke. Then he found the cat, and it became a distraction too. “Not really a hero, it just gave me an excuse to go get us some fries.” He felt sheepish as Miles full named him. “Look, George.” Ok, maybe this wasn’t the time for that. “Miles. I didn’t get a cat. I got a kitten. He’s a child. If you gave him a chance, you could even be bros.” Nick actually believed that. “Come on, it’s not that bad. It could be worse. I could have actually gotten married.”

Miles couldn’t disagree with that. The whole cat ordeal was very…Nick. He had to admit that. It wasn’t particularly surprising to hear that he’d taken in a stray cat from the garbage. He wasn’t thrilled about it, but it also wasn’t his cat. “Don’t George me. You’re the one in the wrong here, keeping demons in your apartment. If anything I should be middle naming you too.” He’d hold back for now, though. “I have enough bros already. I’d almost prefer that you got married.” Miles was a drama queen and everyone knew it, but to be fair, cats were serious business to him. And he was selfishly enjoying single Nick.

“He’s not a demon, he’s hilarious. Last night he scared the shit out of Murphy by jumping on his leg when he wasn’t paying attention. You should have seen his face.” In Nick’s opinion, Miles was severely judging Coke without even meeting him first. “One more bro won’t kill you. Please, just give him a chance. I want you two to meet.” He knew Miles wouldn’t take this well, but his hands were tied here. “He sleeps on your shoulder like a parrot. Makes you feel like a pirate. He’s cool, I promise.”

Miles almost rolled his eyes, but refrained. Still, his point was made. If the cat didn’t get the Murphy seal of approval, he certainly wasn’t getting Miles’. “Scout doesn’t scare people,” he muttered. It was sort of a lie because Scout got pretty loud, but still. “If he gets on my shoulder we’re going to learn very quickly if cats actually always land on their feet.” That was a promise. He wasn’t going to let the cat out of his direct line of sight, that was for sure. “I promise we won’t get along. But I’ll come. It’s not for him, though.”

Even if Miles was disrespecting his cat, Nick was glad he could distract him from the prior conversation. If only for a little bit. “Not every animal can be perfect like Scout. He may have his flaws, but I love him.” Nick raised his hand to rest it against his chest, right over his heart. Dramatic effect and all that. “He’s strong, but he’s not unbreakable. Be gentle with him, please.” He didn’t want to have to Pinterest cat casts because he was too poor to take him to the doctor. “Maybe he’ll surprise you. But thank you. I’ll even give you a deal and say that can be my really early Christmas and Birthday present. All I want is for you to not try to exorcise him like he’s a demon.”

“Well, you’re right. Scout literally has no flaws so I guess it’s unfair to hold other creatures up to that standard.” He gave her too much credit. She definitely had her flaws. But Miles refused to admit them. “I’m not actually gonna throw your cat. But I really don’t want him sitting on me.” The thought alone sent a chill up his spine. “Please. You know I’m still gonna get you something that’s gonna make you cry when you think I don’t know it,” he teased, even though he really hadn’t ever seen Nick cry happy tears about anything. Rarely even sad tears. “At the very worst, if I can’t stand him, I’m just gonna pretend he’s not there. So don’t worry.”

“Just try to have an open mind.” Nick knew he couldn’t expect them to be best friends over night, but this was a start. “Fine, he can sit on me, where he’s wanted.” Miles’ distaste was almost funny, because he didn’t really get it. The cat had done nothing but good since he got him. Except for the times he peed on the floor and scratched on his couch. But those were just small issues. “Good luck with that, I don’t cry. That’s you when I give gifts. But I appreciate the effort.” He teased. That was a straight up lie. He just cared about who saw him cry. “Okay — good enough.” For now. “You’ll have to come over soon and see him.” But mostly he just wanted Miles to come over to see Nick.

Miles took a long sip from his almost-forgotten latte, fighting the urge to shake his head once again. He couldn’t believe Nick had betrayed him in this way, allowing such a creature into his home. Although he knew if the roles were reversed he’d do the same thing — if Nick happened to hate dogs and Miles had come across a baby Scout rolling around in trash, Miles wouldn’t even think twice about giving her a home. “We all know you got emotional about the Thundercats t-shirt when I was out of sight.” He couldn’t be sure, but he could assume. “I mean, we’re talking about the same softie who couldn’t help but kiss the guy he likes in front of everyone on New Years Eve.” His voice had that same teasing tone as he flashed him a grin at the reminder. He liked no longer being afraid to bring things up. “I mean, I can meet him today if you aren’t sick of me yet.”

Nick had never had an animal of his own before. Whenever him and his siblings were allowed to have them, his siblings would always seem to stake claim before he could really bond with it himself. The thing about Coke was that he found him right when he probably needed him. And no one else liked cats, it seemed, so he was Nick’s. So he wasn’t sorry about keeping him. “Eh, you can’t prove it.” He was right, though. It was hard to not get emotional over it, and Miles knew that. “I can prove the tear in your eye I saw when you saw your record, though.” He smiled back, reaching out to hold his drink in his palm when he faltered. He thought Miles forgot about that. “Who’s that guy? Didn’t see him; he sounds gross.” Nick felt his face warm, and distracted himself by taking another drink and setting the cup back down. Before Miles had to take some time for himself, things between them had started to get all the more confusing, but in a good way. Nick was sure that it was over with the second shit hit the fan and they decided they weren’t ready, which he understood, but it still was a hard thing to come to terms with. But seeing him again reminded him of how he hadn’t exactly let his feelings for him go, because he could tell by the excitement gathering in his chest that they were still painfully there. Being gay for your best friend was kind of a bitch sometimes. “I’m not sick of you.” He said, almost too quickly. “I haven’t seen you in awhile.” Nick shrugged, trying to be casual now. “It’d give us a chance to hang out again.”

Miles wished he had some sort of proof, but he’d still stand by it. “You cannot prove that!” It had absolutely made him emotional, but Nick had no right to claim that. Even though they both knew exactly the type of person Miles was. “You might know him. Tall. Curly hair. Skinny. Sometimes goes by the name of Dalton Oliver.” Maybe a step too far, but it wasn’t like they didn’t test each other’s boundaries like that over the years. He wasn’t worried about it. The fondness he felt when Nick told him he wasn’t yet sick of him had Miles sipping his drink to hide the bashful smile, similar to what he had just watched Nick do moments before. They weren’t fooling anyone, especially each other. “Well, let’s stop taking up this killer corner table then,” he said, pushing out his chair to stand up. If they stayed staring at each other for any longer before going Miles knew he was really going to start blushing, and he couldn’t have that.

“Sure I can, I saw it with my own two eyes.” He didn’t, but it was still fun to tease him about it. Nick got emotional about things too, he just hid it better than Miles did. Not that Miles couldn’t hide things. Nick was just better. “Never met the guy. Dumb name. He sounds sexy, though.” He smiled, and for a moment they didn’t say anything. It was a weird moment, because it wasn’t necessarily awkward. But it made him realize how much he missed this; how much he missed Miles. “Okay, but I hope you know the chances of us ever getting it again is rare. I guess I was just lucky today.” Secretly, he felt like maybe he was, since he got to run into Miles after weeks of not seeing him. Nick patted the table and swooped his drink up with the same hand before he was standing up. “Alright, let’s go. You sure you don’t have any other plans for today?”

“Lying is a sin, y’know.” Miles was guilty of it, too, to be fair. He rolled his eyes playfully at Nick’s response. “He has bad jokes, though. Kinda hard to listen to sometimes.” Who was he kidding? He found Nick hilarious. He couldn’t tell him that, of course. It was Miles’ job to keep him humble. “Couches are better than corner tables,” he pointed out as they started toward the door to head to Nick’s. “Oh, I had several important business meetings today. And a hot date. But I decided to squeeze you in instead.” He shrugged nonchalantly. As if.

“I think all the others I’ve committed in my life time cancel it out, so I’ve got a free pass.” Nick said as he tucked his chair into the table and made sure he had everything. “Sounds to me like he’s a genius and just under appreciated. If you see him again make sure to give him my number.” He said straight faced, although he wasn’t offended, because he didn’t think his jokes were all that great himself either. It still didn’t stop him from making them. “Yeah, but we’re gonna be on my own couch soon, so it’s not too much of a loss.” He wasn’t sure which one was cleaner, though. “Oh, I see. I’m second choice.” He nodded as they headed out and down the street. “It’s cool. I have one too later. I promised a spa day to someone special.” In other words, Coke needed his nails trimmed and he was going to have to do it.

“We’ve collectively committed quite a few sins. We’re on the road to hell together, dude.” Miles didn’t mind. He’d accepted his sins a long time ago. “I’ll think about it.” He wanted to joke that someone else already had their eye on him, but he didn’t know what counted as overstepping in Nick’s eyes. So he kept it to himself. “Except there’s also a cat there.” It was going to take a lot of getting used to. “Since when are you certified to do that?” He wasn’t sure if he’d let Nick handle a spa day for him. He finished off the drink in his hands and tossed it into a trash can they passed by as they went. “You can’t fool me, anyway. I know it’s Murphy just needing a manicure.”

“Oh, well, what can you do? There’s going to be an overpopulation problem there anyway ‘cause of all the people there who aren’t politically correct. So they’ll probably just bounce us to heaven so they don’t have to deal with us.” That was a bold statement, and Nick was hoping no one else heard him say that. “Think of the cat as a roommate of mine you’ve never met. He sleeps a lot and mooches off us for food, and occasionally tries to fight me. But he’s good with strangers.” He knew he shouldn’t keep tying to defend Coke, and just have Miles get to know him himself. He couldn’t help it, though. “Since I looked up how to’s, Miles. You don’t need to go to school for anything as long as there’s YouTube.” Though he wouldn’t test that on everything. He’d probably be a little hesitant to try open heart surgery. “Yeah… it’s Murphy. You caught me.” Sure, he’d go with that. “I’m not sure if he’s home or not. He wasn’t when I left, but maybe he’ll hang out with us.”

“I highly doubt that,” Miles replied with a slight laugh. They totally didn’t belong there. “But he’s also a cat and that just ruins the whole thing. So let’s just let the relationship form naturally.” Honestly, maybe he would be surprise and it would seem more like a dog than Miles was anticipating. He wouldn’t get his hopes up, though. “I still don’t trust you. Especially not with this face.” He made a hair flipping gesture to prove his point. “Knew it.” Obviously. “Well, I guess we’ll see. He has a habit of popping in whenever he feels like it.”

“Okay — fair enough. I’ll let it happen on it’s own.” Nick laughed as they continued their way back to his apartment. “Fine, don’t trust me. But you’re missing out. I would have invited you and everything, free of charge. You’re going to regret it when I blow up on YouTube as the next big beauty guru.” Literally never, ever, ever going to happen. Ever. “I know, I wonder where he got that from. It’s pretty rude, honestly.”

“That’s the motto. Just go with the flow. Unless you ask Drake. Then the motto is YOLO.” Miles has spent a lot of time thinking about that, clearly. “I don’t trust you with a lot of things. This just happens to be one of them.” Miles was more inclined to trust Nick with secrets and shit like that. Not his face. “Calia can be pretty nosy in her own right too. I think all of you have a little bit of it in you.” Miles shrugged. Not that he was the most well-mannered person himself, but still. “I swear to god,” Miles began in warning as they started to head inside, “if this cat makes any sudden movements, I’m outta here.”

Nick paused for a moment, then spoke, very seriously: “I love it when you quote Drake at me.” He meant that, straight from the heart. “Well, okay. That’s rude, but okay.” Though, truthfully, he wasn’t all that offended. He didn’t really trust himself near anybody’s face, either. “Yes. Except for me.” He lied as they neared his apartment complex, making their way to his door. When they made it, he fished inside his pocket for his keys, busying himself with unlocking the door as they spoke. “He might come running because he’s excited someone’s home, but he’s not going to hurt you. Are you really that scared?” He rose an eyebrow as he lowered his voice to a playful whisper. “Do you need me to hold your hand?”

Miles quirked an eyebrow at him. “Try to keep it in your pants.” He wanted to add that he wasn’t at work, but he refrained. “It’s just the truth. I thought we agreed to he totally honest. I’m just doing my part.” Nick really couldn’t blame Miles for thinking it, let alone saying it. “Oh, shut up,” he muttered, rolling his eyes. “You know I’m not scared, you douche. I just don’t enjoy his kind.” He turned his head to glare at Nick. “You just want an excuse to hold my hand and you know it. But I’ll pass. Sorry to crush your dreams.”

“Relax. You’re not actually him, so don’t get too excited.” Nick half grinned to himself as he worked on finding the right key to his door - a problem he often had. “Well thanks for your brutal honesty. Hopefully it’ll toughen me up and get rid of my annoying emotions.” He almost laughed at Miles’ reaction. “It’ll be fine, man. If you really don’t like him, we can put him in another room for awhile. I’m not going to torture you with him, you know.” Nick said, dropping the joking attitude for a moment, because he wasn’t a total dick. “Nah. I don’t need your hand when I have a paw to hold now.” He said as he finally twisted the right key in the door and pushed it open, walking in first in case Coke did decide to run at him. Hearing the familiar jingle of the bell on his collar, he figured he’d make an appearance any moment now. He held the door open for Miles to come through before closing it behind him and walking further into his apartment. “It’s me.” He called out, for both the cat and for Murphy. He didn’t hear Murphy, but soon a familiar white face with blue eyes was peeking around the corner before meowing and walking toward them. Nick smiled and glanced back at Miles. “See? It’s all good.”

“Wow. You prefer your fantasy world with Drake over me. I see how it is.” Though if he were being honest with himself, Miles felt the same about Harry Styles. “That’s the goal, isn’t it? So we aren’t so sensitive about stuff.” Maybe that wasn’t exactly the idea, but it seemed good enough. “I’ll be fine. I’m a man,” he stated, maybe more to remind himself. He watched Nick open the door and enter, following slowly behind. It was a long few moments before the cat actually appeared. He didn’t want to say anything too ridiculous, but he didn’t like the sight before him. “I’m not enjoying this,” he settled on after a moment, maintaining eye contact with the cat from afar.

“I’m sorry, he’s just the complete package.” Nick shrugged. “Emotions are overrated, anyway.” Honestly, who needs them? He glanced back at Miles to check to see how he was handling the fact he was about to meet a cat. “Are you sure?” He asked, about him being fine, not about him being a man. That’d be too mean. Soon enough, Coke was out in the open. And Miles clearly didn’t like it at all. “Okay — hold on.” He closed the distance between him and the kitten and stretched down to swoop him into his arms. Straightening up, he looked at Miles in amusement, because he couldn’t help it. Coke stretched up to knock his head against his chin, purring as he did so. “See? He’s harmless. I can put him up if it really bothers you. Or you could pet him, if you wanted.”

“I could do Hotline Bling better than he could,” Miles retorted, though it was a blatant lie. His firm nod was completely forgotten about when there was this cat he didn’t even want to meet in the first place. He wasn’t particularly afraid of cats. He just didn’t trust them. He knew a lot of people felt the same way about dogs. Overall, Miles just preferred to keep his distance. “I can just see the anger deeply rooted in his eyes.” He was joking, purposely being dramatic now and he hoped it came off as lighthearted as he meant it, even with the scowl on his face and he stepped toward Nick and the cat. “You don’t have to lock him away. That’s stupid.” But Miles didn’t particularly want to pet him, either. He kept his eyes on the cat, who would look back at him every once in a while; mostly, though, the cat didn’t seem to care that he was there. “What’s his name?”

“I’d like to see that.” As much as Nick liked Miles, he still didn’t think anyone could do any of Drake’s songs justice like the man himself. “I think you’re confusing anger with love. He’s purring, I think he likes you.” Of course, Nick couldn’t confirm that, because it’s not like he could ask Coke for his opinion. But the kitten hadn’t stopped purring since he picked him up, despite him looking at Miles in curiosity. Nick took that as a good sign. “Good, because if he started crying I’d have to let him back out anyway.” He admitted. As Miles asked his name, Nick smiled. He took a moment to scratch under Coke’s chin, glancing down at the kitten in his arms as he bumped against his hands in search of more petting. “Miles, meet Coke. Coke Vaughn if you need his full name.” He introduced them with sincerity, so used to his name now that he didn’t think twice about it. “Coke, this is George. But he doesn’t like that. So you have to call him Miles.”

“It’ll take a few drinks first,” Miles told him simply. He’d be more than willing to perform the whole song, but definitely not entirely sober. “Nah, I’m good at reading hidden body language. He’s plotting.” He narrowed his eyes comically at the tiny kitten who literally just wanted Nick to pet him. Clearly a demon in disguise. When Nick told him the name, Miles’ gaze flashed up to his face instead. “Coke,” he repeated. “Your cat’s name is Coke.” He proceeded introduce Miles himself as George, leading Miles to immediately roll his eyes again. “I honestly…don’t have words,” he said after a moment, shaking his head. “You are seriously the strangest part of my life. Everything about you.” It was true in every sense. Nick’s entire being confused Miles more than anything else. “You named your cat Coke. I can’t imagine it was after the drink.”

“Dang. I wish you told me that on New Years. I could’ve had my own concert.” The next time they drank together, Nick would have to remember to make the request. “Plotting what? Look at how tiny he is. He can’t hold that much evil, it won’t fit.” Now he was just baby talking Coke, who continued to revel in the attention. “Yeah. You don’t think it fits?” He asked in amusement as he looked back up at Miles. “Should I take that as a compliment?” Nick laughed, although he knew that no, it probably wasn’t a compliment at all. But he already knew that he said weird things sometimes, and that he probably put Miles off by it every once in awhile. But somehow, he was still his friend. “That’s part of it. He just gets really hyped up and wiry. One time I watched him chase his own tail for an hour.” Maybe he shouldn’t have said that he spent a whole hour watching his cat play. That could be an indicator that he needs to get a life again. Nick leaned back down to set Coke on the floor. “I don’t know if he’ll do that now, though. He looks like he just woke up.”

“No one said I was going to do it just because you wanted me to. I’ll perform when I feel like it.” Miles shook his head again. “There’s evil in there. You just refuse to see it.” He was a strong believer that the evil tendencies lay deep within every cat. Miles just didn’t know what the triggers were to unleash it. “I just— you’re something else, Nick.” Maybe it was just that his own pet was named after a book character, but something about the name Coke was just so very Nick and Miles couldn’t entirely hate it. “Sounds like you,” he pointed out teasingly, watching Coke be put on the floor. “I’m kinda jealous. I wish I had just woken up.” He looked back up at Nick. “Or that I was still sleeping. ‘Cause now I have to put up with this cat and his owner who clearly has it out for me, bringing animals I hate into his life.”

“Well, hopefully I’m around when you do feel like it.” Nick shrugged. “I guess love is blind.” Even though he truly didn’t think Coke was evil. He could be playful and a little rough sometimes, but Nick liked that about him. He had a cute personality. “I hear the judgement in your voice.” He said lightly, smiling down at the cat who was now walking across the floor and towards Miles. “Maybe. It’s okay, because we understand each other.” He knew Coke was about to try to come all the way up to Miles and try to sniff him. “You’re welcome to take a nap here, if you really need one. He might try to join you, though. It looks like he’s trying to get to know you.” He warned him lightly, even if he knew Coke wasn’t going to hurt him. He was just curious. “Hey, I didn’t think I’d ever see you again, I didn’t do it intentionally.” He said absentmindedly, not thinking about how that might sound. “He was a surprise.”

“It’s likely.” Miles generally tended to drink when Nick was around. Not always, but still. “I haven’t been hiding the fact that I’m judging everyone in my immediate vicinity,” he pointed out, his eyes following the path of the little cat as he started to come closer to him. “I’m good on the nap.” He walked slowly as he spoke, not necessarily to get away from the cat, but to get to the couch to sit down before the cat got to him. Before he knew it, Coke was at his feet, sniffing his shoes. Miles didn’t take his eyes off him. “Ever again? Jeez.” Miles didn’t think it had seemed that serious at the time. “I didn’t think I made you feel that disposable to me.”

“Judge us all you want. It’s not going to break our bond.” Nick said as the cat slowly stalked towards Miles, and a smile crossed his face at the sight, even if he knew Miles just freaking hate him right now. “Knock yourself out. Just don’t be surprised if you wake up with a cat on your chest.” He teased. Although Coke really did like to snuggle, surprisingly. By his name most would assume he never settled down. And for the most part, they’d be right. But he had his moments. “Maybe not ever again.” He admitted with a nod. “But not as much as before.” He paused, and before it could get too awkward, he moved on. “If I wasn’t before, now that I have a cat I’m sure I am. I know I’m on your shit list now. Though if you ask me it’s totally unjustified.”

“I’m judging you as separate entities, not as one collective unit.” Miles judged Nick for getting a cat, and Coke for being one. “I said I’m good on the nap. As in no thank you. Just as I’m judging everyone in this room, I also don’t trust you at all.” Which was a total lie. He’d slept in front of Nick several times. Coke was a different story, though. He looked up from the cat to look at Nick instead. Obviously it was serious if he dared to let the animal out of his sight. “You’re not,” he said genuinely. “I just needed time. I would’ve needed you eventually.” He had already hit that point, truthfully, which was brought him here today. He knew Nick wasn’t trying to get deep, and Miles smiled just a bit as he looked down again. “I don’t know what kind of people you hang around but most people don’t drop the L bomb just for the hell of it.”

“That sounds more like a you problem than a me problem.” Nick wasn’t phased; he’d already expected this reaction out of Miles if and when he found out about his new pet. Stupidly, perhaps, he was optimistic that he’d come around eventually. But maybe that was just wishful thinking on his end. “Well, now you’re just trying to hurt my feelings.” He said, not taking it to heart because he was sure that Miles was just kidding. At least Nick hoped that he was kidding. He tried not to smile at the sight of Coke cautiously feeling Miles out, but he couldn’t help it. Surprised by Miles’ next words, Nick had to take a small pause. He really hadn’t expected them to really vocalize what had happened between them before their time apart. He was sure they’d revert back to their old ways of strictly not talking about things. But here Miles was, bringing it up. And it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. It just caught him off guard. “No, but most people have better luck than we do.” He finally said, shrugging and dropping his attention down to Coke. “Things came up. Not anyone’s fault. Just didn’t think things would be the same, you know?”

“Eh, I’d say more of an us problem. We both have our faults here.” Miles could admittedly be a bit more accepting. He honestly was just having more fun giving Nick a hard time about it, at this point. Coke was clearly not a threat to him, simply sniffing where he could reach and at one point rubbing against his leg. Miles still couldn’t bring himself to feel the urge to reach down and pet him or anything, but it was better than nothing. “Nope, just being honest.” He knew there was a chance for things to go sour whenever he brought up something serious. Nick obviously wasn’t always to blame, because Miles jumped to conclusions and made assumptions. It was really a hit or miss with them. But it seemed to be okay, judging by Nick’s response. They were getting there. “I guess,” Miles agreed, mirroring Nick’s shrug. “I mean, things really aren’t the same, to be fair. But I still—“ He cut himself off, knowing he probably shouldn’t say it. Even if he wanted to; even if he really meant it. “It’s all good, though. We’re good.” He looked up at Nick again, nodding firmly to assure himself as well. “All good.”

“Speak for yourself. I bet you can’t even name one of mine.” Actually, that was false, Nick was sure he could name several right off the bat without even thinking about it. And he’d probably be right about every single one. Maybe Nick should just shut up — but being unable to seemed to be one of the main items on the ‘what’s wrong with him’ list. “Oh, so being mean is okay if you’re just being honest? That’s good to know.” He teased, coming over to the couch to join him, lowering himself down on the cushion next to him. “I know… they’re not the same.” Nick replied carefully. He wasn’t expecting them to be the same. Not after everything. Miles was about to go to court against his stepdad. And Nick still had things he was trying to deal with, too. Maybe they weren’t good for each other, or maybe it wasn’t the right time. For a little while, he let himself believe that there could be a chance. But now he wasn’t so sure there would ever be a real one — just a bunch of feelings towards his best friend that made him feel like a mess. “But we’re good.” He repeated, then swallowed, nodding his head. Then, unable to help more truth from slipping, he spoke again. “I’m glad I ran into you today.”

“You really want to take that chance?” Miles challenged. In truth, he wouldn’t particularly enjoy sitting there listing all the flaws Nick had. It wasn’t like Miles didn’t have several of his own. “Honesty is honesty. It’s not my fault if you’re offended by it.” He grinned, just as a reminder that he was still trying to be funny. Nick wasn’t that sensitive but still. He watched him sit next to him and listened to the way he spoke. It often didn’t sit right with him, the way they talked to each other. They were cautious despite everything, even when they were being totally honest. There was always some sort of wedge between them. Sometimes it wasn’t too intense, though — like now. Miles didn’t feel like he was being completely shut out by him. In fact, at Nick’s last words, Miles felt the opposite effect. He watched him carefully, his gaze lingering a little too long, but when Nick didn’t seem all that fazed by it, Miles went for it, leaning in and kissing him because he wanted to. It wasn’t like there was anyone to hide from, and especially not like they hadn’t done it before, but it always felt just a little bit scandalous. Miles couldn’t help but feel like it was something he shouldn’t be doing every single time. Yet he couldn’t ever help himself.

“I do, but maybe on another day. Not feeling like being berated today, for some reason.” Nick laughed. “Lucky for you I don’t get offended easily.” A lie, because he did sometimes. Just not by Miles. The atmosphere shifted between the two of them, and before Nick could snap himself out of it they were just looking at each other. And there’s so many things Nick wanted to say and do that he wasn’t brave enough for. But he didn’t have to be brave, because it was Miles who was leaning in to kiss him. And Nick should know better by now. He should be strong enough to end it before something else went wrong again. But instead of pulling away, he was raising his hands to cup both sides of Miles’ face while he gently responded to the kiss. His heart was pounding at that moment, because he’d missed this, even if this was different from the other times they kissed. Miles knew how he felt about him now — or should know. Nick wasn’t trying to hide the fact that he cared; that he still cared. But he still knew it was something they shouldn’t be doing. But just like the other times, he ignored that voice in his head in favor of scooting himself in closer, breaking their kiss just briefly before urgently pressing their lips back together.

And just like that, they were gone again. Miles had never had any intention of pretending nothing had happened. Their situations put a hold on things for sure, but it wasn’t like it made him stop feeling what he felt for Nick. He didn’t say all the things that he said for no reason. And while he knew Nick didn’t want things to get too far emotionally, Miles just couldn’t help the fact that he wanted him. It was difficult not to, and downright impossible to fight the urge. So he didn’t. And Nick clearly wasn’t either. He wasn’t quite frantic, but his hands weren’t necessarily gentle as they twisted in the fabric of Nick’s shirt. They had very little control over themselves around each other. That was clear from their very first kiss, even more so in Greg’s car, and now, here, as Miles felt his own skin warming as their legs pressed together from their awkward sitting position. He pulled at Nick’s shirt, urging him to move toward him so they could more adequately fit comfortably on the couch.

Rationally, Nick understood that he shouldn’t keep doing this with Miles. But he’d never been very rational when it came to, well, anything. And he especially wasn’t rational when it came to Miles. He’d wanted him for awhile now, even when he tried to act like he didn’t. But he couldn’t quite seem to shake him. He wasn’t in the best head space, and his thoughts had been more of a mess than usual lately. Having Miles grabbing at his shirt and tugging him closer, though, helped to push everything out of his mind. He wanted Miles. He missed him. And right now, that’s all he could think about. Nick followed along and came closer still while still maintaining their kiss. Without thinking, he lowered his hands to Miles’ shoulders and gently urged him to lay back on the couch, hoping the change in position would allow them to get closer.

Months ago, Miles probably would have cared a lot more about the fact that he was kissing Nick of all people. Now, it wasn’t quite that; he had gotten past that weird internal ‘whoa, I like my best friend’ thing. It was more the fact that Nick had this…internalized homophobia, for lack of a better term, and was adamant about the fact that he didn’t want this. He didn’t want to hurt Miles by not giving him what he wanted, yet here he was, pushing Miles backward so he could literally move on top of him. It wasn’t all that confusing. He knew that, like himself, Nick just couldn’t find it in him to fight the physical urges, and Lord knew they would go back to acting like it didn’t go beyond that. At the very moment, Miles couldn’t bring himself to care that much as he finally lay down on the couch, his fingers going from tangling in the fabric up to thread through Nick’s hair instead. He wasn’t worried about whatever was going to happen after this — at least, not yet.

For the most part, Nick had already come to terms with how he felt about his best friend. He knew he loved him; enough to tell him that to his face on two separate occasions. With everything that they were both going through, though, this wasn’t smart. But fuck it — because he never claimed to be, anyway. As Miles began to lean back, tangling his hand in his hair as he did so, Nick let out a soft groan into his mouth. He moved along with him, balancing his legs on either side of his body so he could keep kissing him. His hands began to make their way down Miles’ body, roaming down his chest, before a loud squeaky meow interrupted his thoughts. And before he knew it, Coke was suddenly jumping up directly onto Miles.

He figured it was probably the groan that really did him in. The second he heard that clear confirmation that Nick was just as into it, Miles sort of lost his inhibitions — not that there was much to be said about them to begin with. But coupled with the hands sliding down his chest, it had Miles pulling a little harder on Nick’s hair to keep him there while simultaneously pressing his body up into Nick’s. They really should stop. It would be smarter. But Miles didn’t have any intention of doing that. At least, not until he felt fur graze his cheek, followed by the feeling of tiny paws right on top of his head. It happened very quickly from there. Naturally, Miles reacted a bit more intensely than was at all necessary. His immediate intention was to get away from the cat, which meant lifting his head. He ended up trying to sit up immediately. His forehead collided with Nick’s before they even came apart from each other, and in response, Miles instinctively clenched his jaw, which meant biting down directly on Nick’s lip. After the whole ordeal, Miles finally recoiled and sat up, Nick still awkwardly positioned over him. He glanced over his shoulder to where Coke seemed startled, now having ended up back on the floor next to the couch. Miles took a moment to catch his breath before turning his attention back to Nick. “Did I…” He trailed off, knowing the answer to his own question, and listed a hand slowly to his own lips. “Holy shit. I’m sorry.”

In the very, very back of his mind Nick knew that Coke had jumped up there with them, because he heard him as he did so. He even figured he’d have to put him up, if this continued to escalate, which it did. Well, at least it was before suddenly Miles jerked up, their foreheads colliding. And almost at the same moment, he could feel Miles’ teeth bite down on his lower lip. Wincing, Nick jerked back himself, his hand flying up to cover his mouth. He watched with panicked eyes as Miles realized what had happened. Before Nick spoke, he ran his tongue over his lip, both trying to see if he was bleeding and trying to soothe the sting. “Yeah you did.” He replied, words muffled as he covered his mouth still. Finally, Nick moved off of him, the mood officially ruined. “It’s okay — it’s… fine.” But the awkwardness was clear in his tone. Nick stood up and took his hand away from his mouth so he could swoop down and pick up Coke. “Sorry. He’s never seen people… make out before.” He didn’t want to say that, but really, that’s what they were doing. “He just wants attention, I guess.” So did Nick, but that was effectively ruined. Even still, he couldn’t be mad at the cat.

Miles was truly mortified. He’d been so startled by a kitten that he’d ruined the entire mood by legitimately biting him. “Holy shit,” Miles said again, because he couldn’t even believe that he was this way. Nick was covering his mouth and Miles didn’t know if he’d made him bleed or anything. He watched as Nick finally got up and went to pick up the cat. Miles nodded dumbly, understanding that that was just what animals did because they didn’t know any better. He just couldn’t believe he’d reacted in such a way. “Fuck,” he said a little breathlessly, bringing a hand up to run through his hair. Things had gotten out of hand and then came crashing down in such a short period it almost made Miles dizzy trying to keep up. Maybe he should have asked Nick to put away for a while after all. But what could he do now? “I think he knows what he did.”

Nick could taste a faint hint of iron, and while he wasn’t like — gushing blood or anything, Miles had made him bleed a little bit. He wasn’t sure he should tell him that, though. The mood was already ruined. No need to further drive it into its grave. Licking at his bottom lip, he chose to look down at the kitten in his arms disapprovingly. Though, as Coke once again began to purr in his arms, he didn’t have it in him to truly be mad. His face still kind of ached from the impact, though. “No he didn’t.” Nick shook his head, sighing deeply and petting the kittens head with just his pointer finger. “He saw me rolling around on you so he probably wanted to do it too.” Nick avoided looking at him as he spoke. “Uh — Murphy could be here any minute though. You can watch TV or something if you want. Until he gets here.” Unless he wanted to leave, which Nick wouldn’t blame him if he did. He kind of wanted to leave, and it was his own damn apartment.

Miles saw how Nick kept licking his lip. He figured he must have been bleeding a little bit, and Miles couldn’t help the guilt in the pit of his stomach. He knew it wasn’t a huge deal, but he certainly wished he didn’t care so much about a little cat. “I was just kidding.” He obviously didn’t think the cat had it out for him. “I know that.” It was always worse after they did something they knew they probably should have. Miles couldn’t even be angry about it; he had known that this was going to happen. The inevitable awkwardness made itself known, and Miles sighed as he stood up, smoothing out his shirt. “All good. I’ll leave you guys to it,” he said, gesturing toward Coke. It wasn’t like he wanted to dip just because something had gone off the rails; he’d just rather leave things on a relatively high note, having been happy to reconnect with Nick at all, rather than creating more of a chance for things to go sour. “It was good seeing you, though. I’ll see you soon.”

Maybe Coke interrupting them was for the best, but Nick was admittedly still disappointed about it. He didn’t think him and Miles would do that kind of thing again, not like they used to before. Too much had happened, and it felt like they were more like adults and less like awkward fumbling twenty somethings. But here they were — once more awkward and fumbling and unsure of what to say or do. “Okay… Yeah. Yeah, I’ll see you later.” He said, trying to sound at least a little normal. But that failed, when he suddenly remembered something. “Wait—“ He blurted out, setting Coke down again in the process. “I have something for you.”

Admittedly, things were better than before. Miles still thought about when they had actually had sex in Greg’s car, and immediately afterward, it was like they did a complete 180. They couldn’t even look at each other, let alone recognize what had happened. Now, it was much less dramatic, but fairly uncomfortable nonetheless. Miles figured it was due to the fact that there wasn’t technically anything between them but at the same time, it didn’t mean nothing. So it was hard to make sense of it, and therefore easier to just leave before anything got worse. He stopped himself from leaving when Nick spoke, though, and Miles turned to look at him expectantly. “Okay,” he said simply in response.

It seemed like not much had changed, after all. They both clearly still had some type of feeling toward each other. Nick had tried to push him out of his head, but it didn’t work. And now he was left with this feeling of weirdness in the pit of his stomach, because he was still painfully into his best friend. And now that much was obvious, once again. “Okay.” He nodded before holding up his hand, silently signaling to him that its only be a second. “Hold on.” He said before he turned in order to walk back to his room. He felt awkward about even doing this, but he’d gotten it for him when they weren’t talking, and he didn’t want to forget in case they were both too awkward to talk again for another two weeks. Nick could feel Coke run behind him, and as he reached his door he faltered, like he always seemed to do. But he was fine now, he could go in now. He’d worked on that over the past month or so. Having Coke go in with him every night had seemed to help. Right now, Coke was still in the living room with Miles; he could hear his bell shake. But he was still fine enough, because he knew who was around. Pushing his door open, he walked to the desk he had re-arranged to the other side of the room and grabbed the item out of one of the drawers. Leaving the door open behind him, he came back out to the living room and came to stand in front of Miles. “Okay, hope you’re ready.” He said with a small grin before dangling the Stranger Things Dustin keychain in front of him. “It’s not that much of a gift. But it reminded me of you, because you remind me of Dustin. And we still haven’t finished all of Stranger Things, so I thought this would be a good reminder for us to, you know — do that.” He smiled slightly. “I got Mike for myself. Because he’s the leader. Obviously.” But also because he’s secretly always wanted to be a D&D Dungeon Master.

Miles watched curiously as Nick walked away. He didn’t miss how he seemed to slow down a bit before actually going into his room. It wasn’t like Miles forgot everything that had happened. He knew Nick physically couldn’t go inside at a point, and Miles wondered if he should approach him now and offer to go for him. He hated not being caught up on the past month. But soon he disappeared into his room and Miles exhaled with relief. When Nick returned, he presented him with a keychain that had reminded him of Miles, and Miles couldn’t help the smile that immediately appeared. “Oh, wow,” he said slowly, taking the keychain from him and admiring it in his hands. “This is cool, man. Definitely a necessary reminder. Thanks.” He immediately pocketed it for safe keeping. He’d have to deal with it for real when he got home. “I pegged you as more of a Lucas myself. But I’ll take it.”

Nick didn’t know why he was so nervous giving him a keychain, but he felt himself get anxious as he handed it over. Seeing Miles take it from him, he smiled and relaxed his shoulders. “I thought so. We’ll have to watch more, soon. When you’re not busy.” And when they weren’t feeling quite as awkward. “I wouldn’t mind being a Lucas, either.” But all those kids were way cooler than he was at that age, in all honesty. “Anyway… yeah. I’ll see you later, man.”

[writefasttalkevenfaster]

Aaron Hotchner / Forget it

As requested by anon: 

“Hotch x wife/coworker! reader where the reader goes through the situation that elle did in season2 ep5. how would hotch handle the situation since it’s his wife?” 

I loved this request, although I took some liberties with it since even though I do like Elle, I don’t agree with what she did in Season 2, Episode 5. So I did make some changes to it, but I think this makes it more interesting since it’s not just a rehash of the same scene! Please enjoy! 

“Look who it is,” You got to your feet, unwavering in your fury. Mr. Jones: a wretch of a man. Although his appearance didn’t first show it. Like most ugly things, the devil was in the details. 

His smile appeared to be charming, the things that came out of it weren’t as lucky. His face was that of a Greek god: chiseled, angular, strong, but he had the attitude to match; overbearing, controlling, and manipulative. His clothes exuded wealth, from head to toe. His shoes could easily mortgage a house. Though no matter how much money he has, he was impoverished when it came to any facet of empathy or decency. He did not show a hint of remorse for the ladies he claimed not to rape, strangle, and dump, nor did he flinch when you showed him the crime scene photos. Why would he? He was too busy admiring his handiwork, a glimmer of pride evident on his face for only a moment. 

The rest of the team didn’t see it, but you did. Because he wanted you to. 

And you didn’t forget it. 

You didn’t forget it as they kept him in interrogation for all day; you didn’t forget it when his lawyer arrived; and you didn’t forget when they had no choice but to let him go. You watched him leave, his hands in his pockets, as he smugly strolled out of the precinct. Aaron tried to lead you away, your anger evident on your face, even so you stood your ground, staring. Jones only chuckled when he saw you glaring daggers sharp enough to kill, returning it with a wink. You had stormed out of the precinct, walking out to watch him only drive away in his Maserati. You remembered how could only stare in the direction the car drove off in for several moments, until you felt a hand touch your shoulder. 

“Y/N,” Aaron Hotchner stood in his familiar intimidating fashion, well intimidating to those who weren’t married to him, which you were. You twirled your ring around your finger, his brown eyes drifted to your hand, before becoming hard with both frustration and worry, his shoulders stiff. “Don’t even think about going after him,” 

Aaron was one thing, if not a great profiler, then a mind reader. You took his hands, pressing them to your lips. “Aaron,” 

“Don’t try that,” His tone was terse, serious. He wasn’t your husband right now. He was your boss. “You can under no circumstances go after him, that’s an order. Just forget about him.” 

You narrowed your eyes, crossing your arms. His eyes flickered down to them, and back up to you. He knew he was going to sleeping on the couch tonight. “Yes sir, anything else?” 

“Go get some rest,” He took out his phone, scrolling through his messages. “I’m going to rejoin the team,” He glanced up to find your face twisted in anger, brow furrowed and lips pursed. “I’m doing this for your own good. I hope you know that,” He put his arms around you, and you allowed him to. 

“I know,” You whispered, as he pressed a kiss to your lips. And with that he left, thinking you would listen to him and go back to your room and forget it, like a good little agent. 

But you didn’t. And you weren’t. 

That’s how you found yourself here, face to face with Jones himself, outside his overcompensating tool of a mansion which towered over pompously over the other nearby houses. You lied in wait for him for an hour, when you saw his car pull up, you sat on the hood of your car, to make sure he didn’t miss you, and he didn’t. His expression that of not surprise, but joy. 

“Came by for a nightcap? It must be my lucky day,” His smile made your stomach turn in disgust, and you didn’t bother to hide it by his next words: “Aw, you must at least like me a little to wait out here for so long,” You strode up to him, unaffected by his remark, hands tight in fists.

Okay, so maybe it affected you a tad. 

“You’re not man enough to handle me,” You clapped him on the shoulder, with a smirk that made his bravado waver. “Just like you weren’t man enough to handle any of the women you raped. That’s why you had to rape and kill them.” You turned your back from him. “And that’s why I’m here, because I will catch you, and I will be the one to put you away for the rest of your miserable life. And each day you spent in that box, you should remember who put you there.” You glanced at him one more time, before making your wayk ba to your car. 

“So, tell me, is your boss is he man enough to handle you?” You stopped in your tracks, and you could almost see the smirk on his face as you turned on your heel. 

“Excuse me?” 

“The ring on your finger, the way he tried to hurry you away before I walked out, the way he looks at you,” He shrugged, taking a step towards you, a sleazy smile plastered on his face, satisfied he struck a nerve. You recalled something Aaron had told you about unsubs making the best profilers. “You’re married to him? Yet, you’re here with me. I doubt he would be very delighted that you’re here with me,” 

“And why is that?” 

“Because you’re here, and he’s not,” He came closer once again, but you didn’t move. “You’re here because he doesn’t please you, not the way I could,” Your hand went instinctively for the gun you had concealed in your pocket. He was only a step away, not even arm’s length away. It would be so easy to simply shoot him right here and now. He wouldn’t hurt another woman, he wouldn’t be in some cushy jail cell, he would be nothing but an empty vessel, a vessel that once housed a monster. 

You snorted, his expression flickering from smug to anger. “My husband would have you pinned to the ground in three seconds flat,” You crossed your arms, a smirk growing on your face. “Me on the other hand, you would be dead before you hit the ground,” 

“Why don’t you then?” He dared you, and you felt your hand twitch, the temptation beckoning you, to do it. Women would be better off. The world would be better off. You would be better off. Would you? You thought of the team, of Aaron. You knew what he would say. You would simply be playing into the unsub’s hands. He wants you to engage him. He wants to get under your skin. He wants you to take that shot. And part of you wanted to. 

But you didn’t. You simply turned from him. “Because you aren’t worth it,” You turned to go, when his hand grabbed your wrist. 

“Don’t you walk away from me, you bit-” You cocked your gun, centimeters from his face. 

“Let go of me,” You said slowly, as his fingers only seemed to dig into your wrist. Your heart was practically out of your chest, but your voice remained level. “Now,” 

“Why don’t you make me?” Silence washed over the two of you, as you both sized each other up. You tensed your arm, trying to rip it from his grip, but he only laughed, pulling you harder, dragging you to his gate. You struggled, and fought, but he was trying to reach for your gun. That’s when you finally broke free, and you shot him. The aftershock shook you to your very core, throwing you off balance, as you spotted him fall to the ground, like you had threatened, lifeless. His face grew pale, his expression twisted. You stared at his body, as the crimson blood slowly seeped into his former driveway. Funny. He wasn’t as hideous now that he was simply an empty shell.

I knew it. He knew you wouldn’t listen. Hell, he couldn’t think of a time you did listen to him. That was part of the reason he was attracted to you. You challenged him: you forced him to be more, to think harder, to do better. He was a better profiler, leader, and person because of you. He needed you, damn it. He needed to see you. To see you were okay. You were frustratingly vague on the phone. You had called Reid, not him, Reid of all people. You probably knew he would be angry, no furious with you, but more than furious, he wanted to hear your voice. He stopped the car with a screeching halt, making Reid jerk backwards, as he stepped out of the car, sprinting toward the police officers that surrounded you. A detective stopped him. He held out his badge, thrusting in his face. “That’s one of my agents, I need to speak to her,”

“You can’t speak to her until we finish processing her,” Aaron didn’t bother to pretend he was listening, his eyes scanning you for any sign of injury or wound. He spotted the beginning of bruises on your wrists. He tried to push past the detective, but he stopped him. “You can’t speak to her until-”

“That’s my wife! She’s not just an agent, she’s my wife,” His voice raised, his heart pounding in his ears. “And I need to speak to her right now, so get out of my way, before I make you,” The detective flinched, but seemed rather unfazed by his actions, only shaking his head, trying to take on a more understanding affect. 

“Let her get processed first, and you can talk to her in the ambulance,” He led Aaron to the ambulance, his eyes meeting yours for a brief second. Your eyes were empty, cold, and scared. He stood next to the vehicle, waiting for you to be escorted on. You finally were taken to him. In that moment, he didn’t care that you hadn’t listened; that you had left him with flagrant disregard for him, the team, and even Jack; that you had almost died. In that moment, he just felt lucky to hold you again. Your body tucked perfectly into his, as you shivered against his chest, and he wrapped his jacket around you, pressing you closer. He helped you into the ambulance, and neither of you said a word the entire ride. You both were simply were grateful. 

As soon as you were in the hospital room alone, you suddenly found your boss with his arms crossed, stone faced. “Aaron, I’m sorry,” 

“You’re sorry?” He raised his eyebrows. “Y/N, you almost,” He cleared his throat, moving past his currently failing voice, “you almost died tonight, and you’re sorry? I could have lost you tonight. Jack could have lost you, the entire team. We need you. I need you,” His voice broke, and guilt crashed over you, washing away any semblance of composure. “I already lost Haley, I couldn’t bear to lose you too,” You both pulled each into a hug, as you held him tightly, making sure he knew, you were still there. You were still alive. 

You pulled apart a bit, facing him as you explained. “I had to go, I couldn’t forget his victims’ faces, the families…” Your voice wavered for the first time tonight, your hands shaking. “I didn’t want to have to shoot him…” You broke off with a sob. “God, I’m sorry. I didn’t want this to happen,” 

Aaron’s expression softened, as he pulled you into an embrace, running his hands through your hair. “I know, you’re okay. You had to do it,”   

“If I didn’t go, he wouldn’t be dead,” 

“He was going to jail for a long time, he would have hurt more women,” He told you, no room for disagreement. He steadied your hands as they shook. You didn’t need his criticism right now, you needed his support. There would be time to discuss this later, thankfully. “You defended yourself. That’s all. No more, no less.” 

You swallowed, as silent tears streamed down your face, no longer able to shut your eyes as his face appeared each time you did. You looked up at Aaron’s concerned face, running a hand down the side of his face. “I love you,” 

“I love you too,” He pressed a kiss to the top your forehead before chuckling, “even if you’re not a very good agent,” You gave a bitter chuckle, burying your face in his chest. “You need to get some rest,” You laid down on the bed at his prompting, you made him lay next to you. “Just try to forget about it for a few hours,” He soothed you, pressing a kiss to your forehead. You placed your head right over his heart, letting his heartbeat lull you to sleep. But as you escaped reality, his dead body flashed before your eyes. 

And that’s when you realized you would never forget it. 

Ever. 

[victor-v]

so yesterday i finished all for the game for the second time in my life (weird thing i've never read a book or series twice) and it wrecked me for the second time. it was unexpectedly nice that i actually understood everything with so much clarity, but that makes sense i've got lot of practice in reading english since then. also, i wrote my thoughts on the book this time.

i can't understand how a book can have such an impact on me, i hate that and i love it, everything else that crossed my mind is under the cut

★huh andrew really bullied aaron into dressing identical to mess up with neil

★"i don't swing either way" is the phrase that made me feel more valid that the whole queer community ever

★neil is pure nihilism

★how can i EVER forget neil wore a tight long sleeved TORN tshirt that andrew bought this is way too much

★seth is dead and all kevin can think about is the line up tbh i do that often

★they are making a scandal about how they sit

★kevin telling neil "destroy him" filled me with power

★the most unreal part is neil ALWAYS keeping his roots another colour the guy must dye his hair every fucking week

★how did neil buy andrew's promise to protect him from the japanese mafia's professional murderers when the only people he physically bullies is an obsessive young adult with anxiety, a princess in high heels and his sunshine sister in law

★wait a fucking minute andrew saw neil filled with terror while holding the phone and immediately gave him the car keys so he could be alone fuck

★nicky fucking hemmick attended to improv class

★ according to dan few athletes were crude enough to start trouble at an ERC event, you mean as crude as neil?

★how to take care of your teammate while he's in a crisis according to: andrew→show concern and reassure him. wymack→10 seconds of vodka

★"hey, jean. jean valjean" is peak comedy

★the ravens walking in v formation is genuinely the most cringy thing you can think of

★neil first finds out the only possible person to date him is andrew because he was jealous of renee are you kidding me

★andrew only missed 13 from 150 shots on goal for fucking real what a Man

★renee is an angel, she's specifically andrew's angel

★neil truly is a watcher

★bee wearing a bee costume is the only good thing on this world

★dan and matt dressed like greek gods!!!!! they can adopt me already

★can you believe nicky is the one who got into neil's brain and planted the idea of realying on someone, and since then neil actively pursues an investigation on andrew's relationship status how on god's name i missed that HOW he's not even subtle about it damn

★he first worries about renee now about kevin goddamn it josten how can't you se how much you care about him

★it's funny how sexuality is such a heavy topic between them when they sure as fuck have some pretty huge stuff going on you know like dying in the hands of the mafia or being tortured

★i imagine andrew running to renee all bonkers like "listen if the cute guy asks, for fucks sake tell him i'm gay but make it ~casual~ maybe this way he'll get it"

★the sole mention of thanksgiving dinner makes me want to die

★kevin is checking the scores in a newspaper I forget this book is so 00's

★they should have spent the day eating turkey and frozen pie at abby's fuckkkkkkkk

★are you kidding me they are in the middle of a conversation and andrew casually chokes neil a little but it's ok they carry on wtf

★"we are all going to regret this" is the fucking worse piece of foreshadowing in this book

★neil interrogating andrew the same night he was raped what kind of fucking piece of shit does that

★i can't fucking believe neil went ahead and shoved andrew's hand under his tshirt in front of kevin, wymack, betsy and two fucking lawyers are you kidding me

★neil asking "are we? friends?" to nicky is so relatable because i also would have an aneurysm if someone told me i am their friend

★someone else tries to flirt with him and he immediately considers andrew how i was too ace to see it the first time i read

★jesus fucking christ riko is one truly fucked up sociopath and neil is the bravest motherfucker on the land

★how can he face riko like that in the nest and be extremely pure in other occasion

★"are we watching the ball drop? i want to make a wish" he wants to make a wish and i want to die thanks

★i can't believe the whole if it means losing you then no and side effect of the drugs shit it's unreal fucking unreal how oblivious neil is too ace to realize anything SOMEONE JUST CALLED YOU "DREAM" THE LEVEL OF ROMANTICISM

★the amount of heavy staring in this trilogy is ridiculous and all i can think about is twilight

★these books made me see how far from the 00s we are, for many reasons, but mostly for some jokes that can't let slide; like calling neil a battered wife, domestic misogynistic violence is not a joke

★i can't believe from all people, wymack was the first one to get andrew was into neil

★"that doesn't mean I wouldn't blow you" is such a funny phrase to be said casually why is it

★"you are a racoon, not a fox" oh andrew

★it only took andrew admitting he had a crush for neil to be all sentimental and shit, and that disarmed andrew too

★they are like some kind of animal that while you think they are fighting, they are actually mating, that's exactly what nora meant with feral

★half of last book is neil mooning over andrew jfc

★nicky made neil smile while distracting him from riko im gonna throw myself off a cliff

★i can't quite believe neil goes through a detailed monologue about andrews memory the man is impressed and borderline turned on about every talent on his crushe's shelf

★i literally can't follow and will never understand the quarrel/promise/agreement between aaron and andrew what a bunch of pretentious idiots

★every time neil's phone buzzes all i fear is the fucking countdown

★i thought "i want to see you lose control" was a collective fever dream i can't believe it's written on the books

★if i was nicky i already have told andrew to stop his freaky pretentious shit towards me

★neil to the upperclassman: ha ha fellas is it gay to unthinkingly call andrew in the middle of a anxiety breakdown

★"you gave me a key and called it home" is as soft as heartbreaking i want to jump off a cliff

★"i won't be like them, i wont let you let me be" is actually pushing me off that cliff andrews feelings are a fucking storm

★neil was kidnapped and tortured the day of my bday and that's not a coincidence

★neil's talent to twist the truth in order to convince andrew of anything is outstanding

★excuse me they have no right to be this soft i hate them

★they miss so many opportunities to be funny about the whole "protection" thing

★did he really had a mental breakdown over where to fucking sit on the bus lmao

★"don't come crying to me when someone breaks your face" is the second most awful piece of foreshadowing

★lets be honest for a second andrew should be a fucking writer because all those things he says? edgy myspace pretentious poetry

★im sorry but i don't care about literally anything except neil smiling onto andrew's neck bye

★andrew ghosted a kiss across neil's hip im dead for real

★abby kissed neil's forehead farewell after cleaning all his injuries i have no words he's recieving all the affection he deserves

★cant believe you don't see aaron is fucking worried neil is taking advantage of andrew

★i mean yeah ok don't talk love but neil is sad that nicky thinks it was only hate sex, and he immediately acknowledged it meant more than that to him bc his demi btw wtf does hate sex mean i can't believe you hate someone so much you wanna suck his dick

★they all went horseback riding when will i have a group of friends like that

★"who's humanising who in that relationship" i know right nicky

★kevin locking himself to have a panic attack is the most relatable thing

★the car encounter with ichirou holds the same tension as a mr robot scene

★the proposal of playing olympics and being unstoppable feels like marriage or smth

★neil is literally having his hot girl summer

★i adore neil's overflow of emotions after swallowing everything for so many years. represented, thanks.

★andrew terrorising katelyn who the fuck does he think he is what an annoying asshole

★"did you know i've never been skiing" is the most epic line

★i cheer to the sole mention of laila

★alvares can deck me right now and i would say thank you

★"war is profitable" aaron knows what's up

★sometimes i want to slap them is2g

★that scene at eden's where they are all discussing how roland found out and aaron ends up being the only straight one lmao boy it's your punishment for being so homophobic

★the whole "deadliest piece on the board" spech is 100 times better when you consider kevin was wasted and overly exaggerating every word and gesture

★can you imagine those few fans supporting kevin's new tattoo screaming YAAAAASSSSS QUEEEEEEEEEN while snapping fingers i'm cackling

★matt in court body slamming into anyone that's been a problem to the foxes: VIBE CHECK MOTHERFUCKER

★neil kissed andrew in castle fucking evermore the audacity i adore him