#it’s not like nico purposely forgets to drink water

[stressedanime]

will “always has a water bottle within 5 feet of him” solace vs nico “doesn’t remember the last time he drank water” di angelo

[starboy14176]

you have my attention with the horse.

go on, tell me about the trench horrors.

Get fucked I’m telling u my source memories

In dema no one but the bishops are aloud to speak unless your at a Service (for praying purposes). FPEs aren’t aloud to speak at all. Everyone communicates via sign language unless your profession absolutely requires verbal communication.

School ends at 13, once your 13 you are moved into your own apartment and are assigned a job. Most of the time your assigned a roommate to begin with and then once you hit 18 you can apply to be matched with a spouse.

Every few years, two are chosen to be sacrificed. These people are referred to as rabbits. Part of the ritual requires that at some point the rabbits were free so the two scarifies are aloud to escape. The two rabbits are then slaughtered for there blood, the blood becoming the black stuff used 2 mind control people. Keons likes it to be clean, he prefers his rabbits to be sedated. Nico..does not.

The water is drugged. All of it. Not even just the stuff in your apartment in dema. There’s a lake in trench that’s so drugged if you drink from it you’ll forget everything. If you take another drink you’ll die.

[lunnamars]

strange connection - chap 2

Chap 2! First part can be read [here].

Can also be read in AO3 e FFNET.

Chapter 2 - waves

When Tashigi called again, the field mission had been complicated as usual, but with a different result. She had won, she had been able to protect civilians successfully and the pride she felt of herself filled her chest to the point of overflowing. On those days, she even goes out to celebrate with the crew.

But she was stupidly surprised and furious that a certain green-haired man was the first thing that came to her mind.

Surprised because it was Roronoa Zoro. Furious because it was Roronoa Zoro.

But... I wanted to tell him that I won.

So, instead of going out to celebrate the victory, she decided to go back to the base, take a relaxing bath and… who knows, maybe not be annoyed by the infamous pirate.

However, when they finally answered on the other end of the line, she didn't expect Nico Robin's voice.

"Hello, Captain Tashigi. What can I do for you?", the pirate's calm voice still made her feel shivers down her spine since the confrontation at Alabasta.

"N-Nico R-robin! I-I-I just called-"

"To talk to our swordsman?"

The captain suddenly shut up.

Great. Give your feelings in a silver platter to the clever Nico Robin, Tashigi.

"I'll take the silence as a yes. He's not here at the moment. The den den mushi is always at the little table next to his bed, so when he comes back from the shower, he can call you back. Want to leave a message?"

Tashigi heard no malice in the archaeologist's voice and she seemed genuinely solicitous. But Tashigi was surprised to feel genuinely uncomfortable. "Y-Y-You-are in his b-bed?"

"If you stutter more than that, I won't be able to understand you, Captain. But yes, I am. Do you have any problem?"

"N-n-no!!", Tashigi got a little more worked up than she should have.

I don't know.

"Fufufu. Anyway, I'll have to go now, Captain-san, but I'll let him know. Have a good night!"

Maybe I won't have it anymore.

"R-Right! G-Good n-night!"

Tashigi hung up, but continued to stare at the den den mushi as if he could miraculously explain what she was feeling. Because the captain herself had no idea.

Nico Robin in the boys' room.

Nico Robin near the den den mushi that was in the hands of Roronoa.

In Roronoa's bed.

What… can that possibly mean?

Tashigi was convinced that Zoro wouldn't return the call, because, during these past few months, the girl had been the one who initiated any interaction since every week she contacted the crew in order to take the den den mushi back. But deep down… the snail was no longer the main reason.

In the first few weeks, she could easily recite, without stuttering or thinking twice, the reasons why she would call week after week. But over time, Roronoa's baritone voice became a sweet lullaby every time they spoke and Tashigi always slept very well on those nights, but until now she still couldn't understand why.

The only thing that Tashigi was able to realize was the fact that, in the vast majority of situations, she is able to remain calm in the same way that peaceful waves crash in the ocean on a sunny day. But when his voice answers on the other side, for some reason, the waves seem to become uncontrollable and unpredictable.

The captain had also talked to most of the Sunny's crew - Nami, Sanji, the cutest reindeer of all the seas, even Luffy (she remembers that it was one of the funniest conversations she had in her life since the boy didn't have a serious bone in his body) and every time, the waves remained calm.

Perhaps the water has been static because all these times, these people on the other end were never in his bed.

This is none of your concern, Tashigi. Just forget it.

But she couldn't because the girl kept going through all the conversations she had with Zoro through den den mushi until then. There weren't many of them to the point that Tashigi could say she knew him very well as if they were longtime friends, but in general, they were… good. Occasionally, Zoro would offer pieces of his thoughts and Tashigi always imagined that these conversations were like small wrapped papers spread on a table. Depending on the subject or the mood, he would open a random one and share it with her.

However, it wasn't always like that. Initially, the two would just fight with each other through the snail...

"How the hell do you have such a bad sense of direction, Roronoa? You are so clueless!!"

"Haaaa? And you're a pain in the ass, woman!!",

Or calling each other stupid names ...

"You sword nerd!!"

"Marimo."

"HAAA? REPEAT THAT, FOUR-EYES!!"

...or competing for the most foolish things.

"I am sure that if I throw you in a maze, you will die there because you will never be able to find your way out!!"

"Whaat?? You insufferable, are you challenging me??"

"My God, you are so thick-headed."

Until one day, when she passed by Zoro's wanted poster, she had a huge urge to know where he was and what he could be doing. It was so incredibly sudden that Tashigi thought she had been hit by a bolt of lightning because of the shock that ran from her hair to the tip of her toes.

She stopped dead on her tracks. Her heart sped up without warning.

Maybe he was… kicking Sanji? Calling Nami a witch? Giving attention to Chopper? Training? Drinking sake? Sleeping?

Thinking about her?

No. Impossible. He has said over and over that he hates me.

Even though she knew that, she called him at night on the pretext of trying, once again, to persuade them to return the snail. Zoro just laughed smugly and said no, Tashigi snorted, but after a certain silence, the swordsman asked how her hunts for the Meito swords were going. She was astonished because, judging by the complicated relationship they have, the captain thought the swordsman would have already erased any relevant information about her from his mind. Especially a lost memory at a sword store in Loguetown.

Although he realized that my rank has changed.

But after the astonishment passed, she happily told about some successful operations.

That day, they talked until midnight. That day, she realized that something about her had changed.

Since then, Tashigi seemed to be always living inside her own mind, always replaying that night. The conversation, his voice calm and low, an almost silent laugh that didn't seem pretentious at all. She was constantly thinking about how, at least for that short time, their relationship seemed to be more friendly.

And how she had liked that.

プルルル purururu

She almost threw the den den mushi on the floor when it ringed.

"H-Hello?"

"Oe, madam cap'n. Robin said you called…"

She thought she was either imagining things or he was talking to someone close because she heard a whisper that sounded a lot like "after two months...".

Two months. Sixty-one days and twenty-two hours (it was coming to sixty-two days now). She knew it was two months because she counted every day and fought against herself to not call. It's impossible that Roronoa Zoro would have bothered to count too.

Impossible. He must be talking to someone else.

"A-Ah y-y-yes. Y-Yeah."

"Why the hell are you stuttering so much?"

"F-For n-nothing!!"

"Something happened because you're really stuttering."

"I already said it's nothing, damn it!!"

"Great, you stopped. So what do you want?"

She wasn't going to lie that she was surprised that he pissed her off just so she would stop stuttering. Annoying each other is something that came naturally due to the eccentricity of their relationship, but knowing that doing that could also be used for another purpose like getting her to stop stuttering?

And why the hell did she stutter so much?

Tashigi was stunned for a few seconds and thought about it in silence.

"Four eyes?"

His voice seemed to awaken her from any spiral of thoughts she was having and she remembered why she called. And, just for now, she would let herself be taken once again by the illusion of companionship between them.

"I won today."

"Congratulations.", Zoro simply replied.

"You don't even know what I'm talking about, you blockhead."

"Yes, I do know."

How? How do you know?

For some reason, the two had this strange connection that was completely inexplicable and Zoro usually managed to understand it somehow. Tashigi always found it very curious because… what could that mean? Maybe they were always doomed to know each other? A connection between rivals? A connection from friends in another life?

Or maybe... a connection in the form of a very imperceptible red line tied to her pinky?

Yeah, right. Don't be stupid, Tashigi, she thought.

Anyway, she always forced herself to never think about it because he most certainly did not.

"Why did you call that night?"

Once again. The inexplicable connection. She knew what night he was referring to because she thought about it every day and, for a second, she thought about denying it and saying she didn't know what he was talking about. But as she couldn't explain the connection and she knew he would be able to pinpoint the lie the moment it'd leave her mouth, so there was no reason to run. If she is going to live this false camaraderie just for today, then what is wrong with speaking the truth?

An illusion. Only for today. Don't stutter.

"Because I lost and wanted to talk to someone."

"And you called me.", Zoro didn't ask, he just spoke as a matter of fact.

"Yes. I usually… don't have many people to talk to, so I thought you could listen to me. At least once... without caring about the issue of navy and pirates. But... it's completely wrong and silly of me. I mean, I'm a marine and I shouldn't-"

"You didn't call for two months.", Zoro totally ignored Tashigi's last words.

So he had actually whispered that, but... either he read her thoughts or the snail had some way of seeing the last call. It's not possible that he had counted the days and weeks. How did he know then?

Lie. Lie. Lie.

Don't say it was because of him.

"Ah yes. I was busy working on the G-5 and after Smoker-san found out, we ended up leaving the den den mushi with you guys once and for all, so I didn't have to call-"

"Liar.", Zoro cut her off once again.

"Liar?! I'm not a liar, you madcap!", Tashigi was already snorting with the pirate's audacity. It was amazing how easily he managed to get her worked up.

"Liar."

"Roronoa-!"

"If you're going to keep lying, I'll hang up."

"Then hang up! I don’t care!"

"Fine."

"Fine!"

Why couldn't she be honest with him? Why couldn't she act right around him? Maybe… because she didn't want him to think she was weaker than he already does? Because she didn't want him to have an advantage over her in any way? Because she didn't want him to find out that his opinion has become important to her?

Give in just once, Tashigi.

Then she swallowed her embarrassment and pride and answered in an almost inaudible voice.

"I don't like being a nuisance. I never liked. But anyway... what difference does it make whether I called or not?"

"Haa? Wasn't you who said you would be my conscience since I told you about my fight against Mihawk?

"Yes, but because that was stupidly stupid!! I still can't believe you were stupid to that extent. I honestly can't understand how your crew lets you do these stupid things.", Tashigi exclaimed once more. Yeah, it looks like Zoro was really skilled at getting her to act that way.

"Oee, there were many 'stupid' there!!"

"Anyway. It's not like you need me for something, so it makes no difference."

"But you called today. So… does that mean it's you who needs me?", Zoro replied in the blink of an eye and his deep tone momentarily stunned Tashigi.

Silence.

She could almost see his cocky grin as if he himself was in front of her. She could hear her own heart beating frantically.

Perhaps.

"W-W-what ?? W-What are y-you talking about???!!!"

Tashigi knew that he had no way of seeing her through the den den mushi, but the action of hiding her completely red face with her arms was totally involuntary. Zoro just laughed out loud and she could hear Sanji's voice in the background (“Oe shitty marimo, shut up! Hey… are you talking to Tashigi-chan?!? You bastard, let me talk to her!!”).

"You're always so uptight. I'm just kidding, four-eyes."

But somehow... you nailed it.

She couldn't speak anymore because, apparently, Sanji had decided to take the den den mushi from Zoro's hand and now the two were fighting. In the midst of so much insult, Tashigi could make out just a few sentences - the cook asked how she was doing, how the children were doing and the swordsman shouted at him telling him to leave because “she called to talk to me and not the pervert of this crew!”. Soon, Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp joined the chorus and everything became a mess.

She just laughed and calmly called the cook.

"Sanji-san."

"Yeeees, Tashigi-chaaan!?"

"I will hang up soon. Can I say one last thing to Roronoa?"

She heard Zoro mocking Sanji, but couldn't understand what it was. Tashigi laughed softly because she always thought their relationship was funny and was always impressed to see Zoro so free when they argued. Nami said that the cook was one of the few able to get on the swordsman's nerve, but that Tashigi was not far behind.

In the end, Sanji accepted, cursed Zoro once more and said goodbye to her. Apparently, the others did the same - all saying good night to the captain. And with the cook's departure, the silence returned. It was an old friend of theirs - at times it was suffocating and unbearable, but at times it was welcoming.

 "Sorry for the mess."

"It's okay."

A heartbeat. Tashigi decided to muster courage. She couldn't sleep with that question stuck in her throat.

"Roronoa."

"Hm?"

"Why was Robin-san in your bed earlier?", she asked on an impulse but regretted it right after. What kind of question was that, Tashigi??

"What?? What kind of question is that??"

"I just wanted to know."

"Don't you think you wanna know too much?", Zoro sounded really uncomfortable.

"Right. Forgive me.", she knew she shouldn't have asked that because it was none of her business, but she couldn't help it. Robin's voice and Roronoa's bed echoed in her head over and over until he called. The waves were very violent in that short time.

Then she forced herself to remember the reason for the call. "Roronoa."

"What."

"I'll get stronger.", Tashigi spoke with determination because giving up was not in her nature.

"I'm waiting for that.", and Zoro replied as if he understood the meaning behind her stern voice.

"Thanks and good night."

"Yeah. You too."

Tashigi did not call for the next two weeks because it was only now that she began to have a vague idea of ​​what had changed since the day they talked until midnight.

The legend of The Red Thread of Fate says that everyone is born with a red thread tied to his finger that would be linked to someone else.

I really think it applies to Zoro and Tashigi - something that may have to do with destiny, whether they believe it or not. :)

[corpse--diem]

The Organ Trail | Nic & Erin

Tips hat in shady

@bountybossier

White Crest seemed incredibly open about their less-than-mundane characteristics and that was what Nicodemus appreciated about it. The less complicated his job, the more streamlined he could keep his internal database. It didn’t take long to find a bounty worth his time. A bigwig at Nichols’ Funeral Home. Shit, if there were ever a place to be inconspicuous while slinging a body bag over his shoulder. At least the day was burrowing into the evening and no one was likely to pay him any mind. He adjusted the body and rapped at the back door. “Evening.”

Erin wasn’t expecting anyone that night. The staff had just finished up, filling the house with that sweet silence she could only truly enjoy for a few hours of the night. Not willing to waste any of it on sleep, she disappeared to the basement, the influx of new arrivals ready and waiting. The “sky fish”, as she’d seen on the news, had reigned down on more than a few unfortunate souls that week. Between the skull fractures and the heavy bruising, she finally had some worthwhile challenges to sink her teeth into. It was gonna be a good night. But when the knock came, her first thought went to Dale. That wasn’t right, though, was it? He wasn’t due for another few days. Today was Tuesday, right? Scalpel in hand, she held it to her side as she opened the door. Not Dale. Definitely not Dale. “Can I… help you?” She asked, though her eyes were locked on the hefty bag he had in tow.

Nicodemus blinked complacently and shifted his weight to his right side. The client had told him that there’d be someone else at the building when he arrived. On purpose, too. At least she hadn’t come out swinging at him, though he could read the tension in her shoulders well enough. It wasn’t anything for him to bat an eye at. His arrivals typically ran the route of unexpected. Of course, it did likely look strange. A man with a bodybag and more than a few scratches to show for how he might have got it. “Nichols, right?” He said after a shared silence, voice gravel on a broken road. He remembered the name the client gave him, but had placed the client’s own on the backburner. It would only matter if the check bounced. “I hear you know your way around organs.” His grip tightened on the body bag. “Your boss said that you do a hell of a job an’ all.”

Her boss? Great. Erin’s lips pursed together as the initial shock eased into an angry-shocked hybrid. “Jesus,” she mumbled, stepping back to open the door wider. “Yeah that—that’s me.” Body bags were normal around here. Walking in with one slung over your shoulder? This guy was trying to look as suspicious as possible. Nonchalant as can be - like he was a pizza delivery boy or something. “Get in, hurry up,” she took a quick glance, seeing and hearing nothing, then locked it behind her. “What is this?” Her voice grew shrill and her eyes popped open. “Who is this?” That sinking feeling she got every time she slipped a bag of organs into the freezer instead of placing them back where they belonged overwhelmed her. “Who are you?”

Nic’s brow furrowed as he stepped in. “You got it.” She hadn’t been expecting him. Annoyance thrummed against the back of his eye. His teeth dug into the inside of his cheek. He would demand a higher price the next time he spoke to her boss, because dropping a werewolf body on an unsuspecting person most certainly cost extra. The hunter creed didn’t mean as much to him as it did others. Even then, he tried. “So he didn’t tell you.” Even saying it outloud had his arm clenching tighter around the still-warm body bag. He swore and took in a breath. How to explain? The straightforward route seemed appropriate. “Your boss wanted a certain set of organs from a certain type of person,” he explained, casual as the weather. Whether or not it would set her mind at ease, he couldn’t be certain. A body was a body was a body to him. “I’m just the guy your boss hired. Nic works fine.” He glanced around carefully. “There a sink I can use?”

A certain set of organs from a certain type of person. Erin hated the way those words fell so smoothly from this man’s lips. As if he’d done this before. Or something like it, anyway. She hated that this man probably also had something to do with whoever it was inside that bag. She hated that there was absolutely nothing she could do about any of this either, unless she wanted to wind up in one of these too. She pointed to an empty metal slab for him to lay the body down. “Cold day in hell before anyone does anything but dump things in my lap,” she muttered darkly. Before she even realized it, she was slipping on her scrubs, mind slipping into auto-pilot. “Over there,” she tilted her head toward the sink at the end of the room. “What, uh--” she paused to swallow, fighting with her rubber gloves. “Did he mention what he wanted? Specifically.”

For as rough as he could be, Nicodemus laid the body down carefully. He reached up and stretched his shoulders, popped the bones in his clavicle as he shook himself out. It really cramped up the body to lug a corpse around. “Ain’t that just the way,” he said in response as he headed toward the sink she indicated. He rolled up the sleeves of his henley and scrubbed away at his skin, his face, until the water went from red to clear. He dabbed at his face with paper towels as he returned, maintaining a respectful distance. “Livers and kidneys, I think,” he answered. “Y’know, the good stuff.” His expression was just as flat as his voice. “So, boss really didn’t tell you, huh?” He sighed low into his chest. Unbelievable. It could have been disastrous and he wasn’t above choking a man out in front of a grieving family. “Pretty fucked up. He prone to shit like that?”

Erin kept an eye on Nic as she unzipped the bag. Didn’t miss how warm the body was the second she touched the bag, either. This was something she’d done a thousand times. Never hand delivered by a stranger without proper documentation, though. “I’m still new to this, but I’ve gathered he’s the ‘does whatever the fuck he wants’ kind of guy.” Like, having his henchmen murder a guy and have his mortician slice him up like she was on fucking retainer or something. Her shoulder rolled, and she took a final steadying breath before unzipping the bag. Something was wrong, just not in the way that she had anticipated. Her body sagged and she glared up at Nico. “This is a dog,” was all she said, her voice flat but also slightly relieved.

The hunter watched her watch him as she opened the bag. “Yeah, I’m gathering as much. These black market types usually are, but they can’t be bothered to actually do a damn thing themselves.” As much as Nicodemus could complain about it, it kept him, for lack of a better word, employed. He folded his arms and leaned back against the nearest counter. The appearance of fur in the bag didn’t phase him a bit. Wolves died however they lived, just how the world worked. His face screwed up at her statement. “The dog has thumbs. Big fuckin’ ones,” he stated, just as flat. “That ain’t a dog.”

Erin would’ve cringed at hearing the words black market actually spoken out loud to her, but all she could focus on was the dead dog in the body bag. “A dog, a wolf—whatever. I’m not a fucking veterinarian.” She let the bag close and stepped away, searching for a cooler to put the organs into. The relief was there, but the confusion stepped in where the initial fear had been. “He couldn’t have sent this thing to a—a butcher or something to take care of this?” What a fucking day this was turning out to be. “I can’t believe this guy,” she mumbled, shaking her head. “Boss guy, not you,” she corrected, not forgetting this guy had killed something before he got here. She had a rough idea of how this would go, but she’d never dissected a dog before. Her first cut was careful, intentional, desperately trying not to puncture one of the nonspecific organs requested.

Nicodemus stared blankly at the mortician. “And I’m not fuckin’ Jesus, but sometimes we have to make wine out of water.” Even if she thought it was just a dog, that didn’t stop her from grabbing organ coolers anyway. He could appreciate her work ethic and the way she handled a scalpel. “Well, if we’re gonna be frank...” He figured they had established a report of honesty, dog thumbs and all. Maybe it would be helpful if her boss continued to pull fast ones of the organ collecting variety. “Bossman said you were good when it came to matters of the delicate type. And considering that’s a werewolf you’re gettin’ handsy with…” He paused and searched for his flask to take a small sip. A shrug followed. “I can follow the logic.” A quick glance at his flask and then back to her. “...you want a drink?

Erin tilted her head a bit. Glad to know her shadowy boss figure at least had some faith in her. Was she glad, actually? At least of all his henchmen, Nic was up front about his intentions. Her nose turned upwards at the smell of dog filling the room, fingers exploring warm innards—“what?” She asked, caught off guard. Werewolf? It was a big dog but—a werewolf? It’s barely been a week since she’d just touched on the fact that vampires and bear-people were a thing. And already she was elbow deep in a fucking werewolf? “Werewolf,” she repeated the word, an exasperated laugh following. “A werewolf. Naturally. Of course it is. Of course.” She pulled her hands out of it’s chest, reaching for the flask with the gloves hand with the least amount of blood on it. If this guy killed this thing, what did it matter? “Yes,” she answered. “More than you know.”

“Yup,” Nicodemus affirmed. Better to rip the whole fucked up world view bandaid off then try and take it slow. “A whole ass werewolf.” He wasn’t attuned to any normal sense of human expression, but she seemed to be taking it well. She hadn’t fainted, screamed, or stabbed him yet. All perfectly acceptable responses. Maybe that meant it was going well. For the time being, he would assume that it did. He blinked in surprise as she reached for the flask, a quiet hell yeah sounding in his head. “You got it. Don’t worry, I won’t tell your boss you were drinkin’ on the job,” he said with a half-smile as he passed it off to her. The place was fucking freezing but his neck felt warm. “This not your first, uh, rodeo then?”

For all of the internal screaming she was doing, Erin was thankful that Nic was at least trying to be a calming presence during this. Plus, he brought the alcohol, and was thoughtful enough to share. “I think there’d be more cause for concern if I didn’t drink,” she gave a small smile back before she felt the liquid burn down her throat. Tried to rub off any blood onto her scrubs, but couldn’t help the little bit that stuck to the flask. She gave an apologetic wince when she handed it back. “Not my first collection. But it’s my first werewolf. Thank you so much for sharing this experience with me.” Nic kept saying it, and she’d said it a few times now, but all she could see was a dog. A massive, dead dog. She raised an eyebrow at him. Oh, great. “So did you think about whether or not bossman wanted the heart before or after you stabbed it?” She questioned, pulling out a chunk for him to see.

Nicodemus snorted and shook his head. He hadn’t expected them to idly chat while a werewolf’s entire innards were on display, but he had stranger ways of making a first impression. “Yeah, I’d hate to see you try this shit sober.” The smell was the first thing he had to become accustomed to, his grandfather all but sticking his face into gut rot night after night. After that, the rest came easy like Sunday morning. He eyed the blood on the flask, but didn’t pay it much mind when he stuck it back into his pocket. Wouldn’t be the last time blood got in weird places. “Oh, sure. Wouldn’t miss it,” he said. “Not just a dog anymore, huh? Told you, it’s the thumbs. Besides, her boss had wanted him there anyway. After what he had learned, he assumed it was meant as some sort of intimidation tactic. He could only hope that her boss would see his remark of being good at killing shit other than beasts as one too. His mouth turned down thoughtfully. “If he wanted it, he should have been specific. He wasn’t. Besides, everything else is more useful.”

“It’s not the thumbs—“ Erin sighed, but gave up halfway through with a roll of her eyes. “It’s just not the weirdest thing I’ve seen in the past few weeks.” A deformed dog. A werewolf. Whatever it was, it would be out of her basement faster than she could study it. She tossed the heart chunk into a waste bin next to her, “Well if he asks, be sure to let him know you played chop suey with it, not me,” she told him rather than asked him. She realized she had very little control in any of this, but she could pretend, right? She kneeled a bit, digging in a little further, getting to the good stuff, as Nic has put it. “So,” she glanced up after an awkward moment, making careful slices around the creature’s liver. “Is this your, uh—thing? Dog catcher and delivery boy?” A hint of a smile followed, remembering again that he was still the one with the bigger knife here.

He didn’t fight the slim smile that cracked his relaxed expression. “Fair enough,” Nicodemus hummed. “Plenty of fucky stuff around here that this might as well be white bread.” His eyes crept across the room, taking in every sharp and shiny edge. A far cry from the back alley chop shops he wandered into every now and then. Erin Nichols was a lot more accommodating, let alone easy to talk to, than the last man he met that simply went by Butcher Pete. “By the time I’m done talking to him, the heart’ll be the last thing on his mind,” he said as he pulled out the flask again, tightening and loosening the cap to keep his hands busy. The hunter was about to take another drink when she spoke up again. Delivery boy? A frown lacking any true distaste appeared. “Depends on the order,” he answered after a drink. “Sometimes I deliver, sometimes I don’t.” He shot her a knowing look. “It’s different every night, but as long as the check clears...Little bit of both.” With her elbow deep in werewolf and him sprinkled with blood, honesty came easy among thieves of a varying nature. “Should I be doin’ anything other than just standing here?”

“Why, do you plan on sweet talking him? Or giving him hell for not preparing either one of us for tonight? ” Erin had seen enough crime movies to get the gist of what Nic was saying. He was a hitman for hire, from what it sounded like. Not unnerving at all. Her hand only shook a little as she tried desperately not to knick the dog—the werewolf’s—internal organs. “Gotcha,” she nodded, cautiously pulling out the thing’s liver, setting it inside the cooler. Raised a brow at his question as she dove back in. “Unless you know how to remove werewolf kidneys, just keep sittin’ pretty,” she smirked up at him. This wasn’t the worst shady interaction she’s had since moving back to White Crest. “There’s whiskey in the cabinet by the sink. I don’t think there’s enough in that little flask of yours for the both of us after this.”

"A little somethin' like that," Nicodemus said as he tipped his head to the side. "Givin' him hell an' all, 'cause I'm a little rusty at sweet talkin'." The hunter tried to gauge her reaction, but if she was bothered at all by what his words all but confirmed, she kept cool about it. The werewolf's liver came out and he was looking at that instead of her. He didn't stick around too long to see what the parts he delivered were ever truly used for. There was a distinct feeling that would change while he was in White Crest, especially if the two of them made a night of organ harvesting a weekly endeavour.  "Well, can't say I do, so yes ma'am, sittin' pretty it is." He bit back the dry smile that threatened to creep. At the suggestion of whiskey though, his brows rose. Oh, really? He hadn't expected that. Unlike her boss's surprise, he liked that one a bit more. Hell of a lot more. The bottle was quickly found and he held it up to the light. "Well goddamn. Probably makes it easier dealing with your boss."

“You? Rusty at sweet talking?” Erin scoffed, but she still shot a smile his way. “I don’t believe it.” This guy was dangerous, but there was something… warm about him? Maybe that wasn’t the word, but she probably wasn’t as terrified as she should have been. Or maybe she was still numb to this. Either way, he was doing a fantastic job at making this oddly casual. “I didn’t start keeping that down here until I found out about our mutual… friend,” she grumbled. A few more organs came out and Erin gave pause, almost forgetting the big one. “Sorry, buddy,” she murmured to the wolf as she dug around for her brainsaw. It wasn’t often that she got to use it, as the medical examiner usually got to this part first. “Hope you’re not squeamish,” she said a little louder to Nic as the saw buzzed to life. A few minutes later, and some snipping around the edges, the surprisingly large brain joined the rest of the organs in the cooler. “That should do it,” she said, clicking the container shut. Thank god.

“Well, shit. Give it time, you’ll see.” Bashful was not a word the hunter would ever use to describe himself. Nor would anyone else under threat of an imminent throat punch or nighttime garroting. That being said, socially unprepared for anything less than a business conversation wouldn’t be inaccurate. Her smile unnerved Nicodemus. He wanted to frown back as some sort of equalizer, but his face, the bastard, betrayed him. Just like he knew it would. Something would have to die after this, that would probably help stifle anything. Suddenly, he became very interested in the organs she pulled out. “This isn’t my first impromptu anatomy session. I ain’t gonna faint.” The top of the bottle came spinning off as soon as the organ cooler shut. All he had done was bring the werewolf in, yet he felt like a drink was suddenly incredibly important. “Looks good to me,” he said with a nod. Considering the blood and guts, he turned on the sink for her and stepped aside. A thought slipped by him and he snorted. “Got any clean jars around? We could really old school the hell out of this if we wanted.”

Was this supposedly dangerous man trying to fight that smile on his face? Was he actually having a good time right now? Despite the circumstances, the better question - was she? Erin was wholly perturbed at the thought, even as she pulled the bloody scrubs off and watched him turn the sink on for her. “Glad to know I’m not your first,” she smirked, then narrowed her eyes in confusion (mostly at herself) after she turned. This was weird. She needed that drink more than ever. After washing her hands, she leaned down and sorted through one of the cabinets. “You’re just in luck,” she said as she dug, the sound of glasses bouncing off each other echoing through the room. “I promise, these have been thoroughly sterilized.” She set them down on one of the empty metal tables, snatching the whiskey back from him. Found herself smirking up at him again as she poured. “I can’t imagine all of your ‘meetings’ go exactly like this though.”

The hunter made a sound like a cross between a snort and a laugh. Nicodemus was glad for the momentary reprieve from her gaze, as he looked down at the floor, completely bewildered. What the utter absolute hell was happening? Biting the inside of his lip brought him back to reality, as well as the smell of blood that settled heavy in his nose. At least he could thank his senses for making him completely incapable of just projecting his way out of a room. “Holy shit, I was half-joking, but hell yeah,” he said as he found his voice again, gravel and all. “I’ll take your word for it, but if I get dysentery, I’m gonna be pissed.” His hand stayed suspended after she grabbed the bottle. Right, hands were used for shit and he grabbed the jar. Damn it, he’d need to kill something else while he was out. “They sure as shit don’t, but it hasn’t been that bad. Was it good for you, organs an’ all?”

Erin wished she could blame some of the flush in her cheeks on the drink from his flask earlier. But nope. All her. And a lot thanks to him, too. “Dysentery for two, then,” she laughed, lifting her jar and clinking it to his. She almost choked on her sip, the alcohol burning her sinuses as it tried to force its way back up. “Wow, well, when you put it that way,” she nodded, sure that now whatever cool demeanor she’d been projecting was entirely out of the window. “Not my worst organ collection, no. You’re better company than the usual guy. Dale? Total dick. Never offers booze. Just a lot of creepy smirks and vague threats.” She let out a longer laugh now, shaking her head, trying to stare at her drink instead of him. This was her life, huh? That’s when her eyes fell back onto the wolf carcass. “You’re going to take that with you too, right?”

"Dysentery for two," Nicodemus agreed, eyes on the shaking surface of the whiskey for a beat before he finally looked at her. He took a long draw of his drink, relishing the burn to distract him from the heat rising up the back of his neck. He was a grown ass man, this was ridiculous. But she was also a grown ass woman and she was smiling at him like he'd never really been smiled at before. What the fuck was he supposed to do with that? The tally for the night grew larger. They were supposed to just be digging for organs and calling it a night, not whatever this was. "Dale, huh? Yeah sounds like a real chip on the shoulder." Fuck he needed to leave. Immediately. The distraction of the carcass worked wonders. He finished the rest of his drink with a hefty swallow. "Well, appreciate the drink an' all but gotta hit the ol' dusty trail…" He set the glass down and swiftly shut the body bag as an answer to her question. It was easier to fall back into that rhythm. Body bag slung over his shoulder and a small smile on, he went for the door. "See you at the next harvest."

It was hard to gross out a mortician, but the feeling swelling in Erin’s stomach was enough to make her nauseous. Especially when she was torn between relief and disappointment when he started to pick things up. Be cool, she internally screamed at herself. This guy had killed a… thing she wasn’t entirely unconvinced was just an oversized wolf he found in the woods. “Safe travels,” she nodded, shaking her head at the harvest joke. Fuck. He was funny. She held the basement door for him, handing off the cooler like she was handing off his lunch pail. “Hey, uh—give bossman a little extra hell, just for me, won’t ya?”

[sky-girls]

A slip of the tongue, a slip of the mind

So I’m just gonna say that I took this two a step or so further than I usually make them go. Have that in mind 

She looks up when the door opens, two guys walk in, they are stumbling a little and Luna is not sure if it’s because they are drunk or because they are purposely bumping into each other, their loud laughs are filling the place as they walk towards one of the empty tables like they own the place. They go right to her section, passing next to her, there’s no smell of alcohol left behind, so she doesn't think they are drunk. She hears a loud laugh coming from the one with straight  hair as the other one hits himself pulling out the chair, for some reason, the guy with curly hair flips his friend off, making him laugh even harder. They might not be drunk but she will still ‘forget’ to take the drinks menu to them.

She turns around to gather to menus and walks to them, they seem calmer as she approaches them, but the teasing smile is still present in one of the guys.

“Hello, my name is Luna.” She says cheerfully as she hands them the menu. “Shall I give you a moment to look at the options or you want to order right away?”

The guys skim over the words in front of them for a second.

“We will order something to drink now and let you know about the food in a while.” The curly haired one says, looking at his friend with a questioning  look. He nods and she  smiles at them, the one who talked smiles back, making something inside of her stomach stir.

“Okay then.” She says looking at the other guy, he is safer. “What will you get to drink.”

“I will get a coke.” He mumbles and Luna nods, before turning towards the other customer and finding deep brown eyes staring at her intently, she looks down for a second, biting her lower lip.

“I’ll have a water, thank you.”His voice is deeper than it was seconds ago and it makes a small shiver go down her spine.

“They will be here right up.” She exclaims and runs to the kitchen, she thinks she feels his eyes following her but she doesn't want to look back to make sure.

“Are you okay?” Pedro, the chef, asks and she nods going to the fridge to look for the bottles.

“Are you sure?” Simón asks from behind her, reaching the water for her when he notices she has problems. She smiles thankful at him.

“Yes,sure.” She mumbles. “I just tripped out there, that's why I came in like that.”

They both chuckle, shaking her head  at her clumsiness and Luna sighs with relief, knowing that they will drop the topic now.

She takes a deep breath before going out again and the first thing she notices are those brown eyes locked into the door, he looks away when he notices she is staring back. She takes a step forward, feeling distracted enough that she is afraid that the tray with the bottles and the glasses will fall down to the floor.

“Here you have them.” She says putting everything on the table in front of them. “Do you guys know what you want to order?”

“I will have a milanesa with fries.” The guy with straight hair says and Luna writes it down quickly.

“And you?” She asks to the other guy. “What do you want to order?”

“You.” He blurts out before he can notice apparently, because as soon as the word is out of his mouth his eyes widen,looking completely horrified by it. Luna can feel herself blushing,the heat taking  over her cheeks quickly as the laugh of the guy at her other side fills her ears.

“You have any recommendation?” He asks, clearing his throat, making his friend wheeze with laughter. It’s not by any means a good safe but she will let it go because they both look just as mortified by his words .

“My favorite is the margherita pizza.” She says awkwardly showing  him where the pizzas are in the menu. “We have individuals.”

“You like italian?” The other friend asks,struggling to breath through the laughter. Just then she realizes that the accent the other guy has is italian. She blushes even more, she didn’t know that was possible.

“I’ll have the pizza.” The guy says before she can even answer, saving her from an awkward silence, his eyes are avoiding her face but they seem to wander back to it no matter how hard he tries.

“Of course you will, Matteo, of course you will.” The guy teases and she blushes, mumbling an okay getting tb menu back from both of them and running to the kitchen again. She leaves the order with Pedro and then runs to the most far away place from him she can find, thanking the fact that Simón is busy outside. She takes a deep breath, as embarrassed as she is she can’t get those words out of her mind and what they might imply, what she wants them to imply. Her mind is coming up with so many pictures of slightly rough hands touching every inch of her skin, chapped lips kissing her neck, going lower and lower. Heat pools on her lower stomach and she has to take a deep breath. She can’t get like this about some random customer, especially when she is only seeing him again to give him his food and then bring the check.

Pedro calls her letting her know that the food is ready. She has no idea how she will face the guy again.

Matteo.Her brain reminds her. His name is Matteo.

She sighs, having a name of the fantasy makes it so much harder, she can already hear that name coming out of her lips.

Pedro throws her a weird look, luckily he has no idea what has been on her mind, she couldn't handle any more embarrassment.

She walks slowly towards them, trying to ignore the way his eyes are fixed on her.

“Here’s your food.” She mumbles. “I hope you enjoy it.”

“He probably won’t enjoy it as much as he would enjoy something else.” Matteo’s companion says,putting just enough of an inflection on the word something so everyone can get he actually mean someone. She sees a foot move under the table and y winces, Luna smiles to herself, glancing at Matteo, when he notices he winks at her and she quickly excuses herself and runs. Can’t this guy have some consideration with her poor heart.

The small restaurant is mostly empty so she can hide away for a while without feeling any guilt. She is in no condition  to go out there and find those eyes that can light up her whole body with a look. She is probably hormonal or something because there’s no way this is a normal reaction to just some hot guy.

She sits on a stool, playing around on her phone, trying to make the images of Matteo leave her mind. She fails spectacularly.

She looks outside they are basically done eating, soon enough she will have to face him again, she will have to hear his voice, see his eyes. How is it possible to want and dread something so much at the same time?

She takes the menus again, she really doesn’t want them to stay any longer but she has to offer them desserts. She should have gotten another job.

“How was the food?” She asks them.

“How was it,bro?” The straight haired guy asks and Matteo glares at him.

“Shut up,Gastón.” He mutters annoyed before turning to her with a charming smile. “It was all perfect, thank you.”

She thinks she hears a small whisper that sound like ‘Mostly her, right bro?’ bit she ignores it for her own mental well being.

“Would you like any else?”She asks.

“Nothing else, thank you.” He answers.”Just the check.”

“Do you really want to leave so soon, Matteo?” Gastón teases. “We can stay longer if you want.”

Matteo glares at him again and he smiles innocently. Luna clears her throat feeling awkward.

“Just the check.” He repeats, and she nods.

They leave not much longer and Luna can finally breath easy again, luckily for her this doesn't happen very often. Ir actually it has never happened at all. The rest of her shift is pretty normal, the weird interactions she has between the expected ones when you deal with people and awkwardness is kept to a minimum.

She is leaving by the back when her day gives another turn. The brown haired, brown eyes from before is there, looking nervous and like he is debating  if he should be somewhere else. Her mind needs a moment to come across of his name again,it had  blended into the background between the many others that day. But she finds it sooner than usual. Matteo made an impression.

His eyes meet hers, looking like a deer caught on highlights.

“Hi.” He mumbles somewhat awkwardly.

“Hi.” She repeats, her hands clinging to her backpack stripes. They stay in silence, looking at each other and Luna is seriously considering just running inside without a word, but truth be told she wants to see where this goes. He licks his lips,making her bite hers and the atmosphere between them changes instantly, they are not close at all and she still feels the tension on the air. She  takes a step forward without thinking of it, the need to touch him, to feel the warmth of his body taking over her.

“What are you doing here?” She says in a small voice. Not managing anything else.

“I actually have no idea.” He clears his throat, looking down at his feet for a second but he can’t seem to keep his eyes away from her lips too long. The logical part of her is telling her to go away, the other is praying that he finally does what he seems to crave. “I just...I just thought you were so fucking gorgeous and so fucking hot and I made myself a fool in front of you this afternoon and I was like, I can’t leave her with that impression and honestly I just wanted to see you again but now that I’m  saying this out loud it sounds very wrong and very stalkerish and I’m  so sorry, I better go.”

His rambling is adorable and it I lowkey stalkerish but she is not expecting or demanding anything from her, she guesses she can see where this goes.

“How long have you been waiting here?” She asks before he turns around completely. He turns to her with a slight blush.

“Not long actually.” He says sheepishly. “My friend asked this waiter, Nico I think, at what time you got off work to tease me but in the end the information was too tempting even if I know how weird it is to just randomly appear…”

He hadn’t noticed until now but she had walked closer to him and now she is right under his chin, looking up at him. His sentence dies and before Luna can’t process what she is doing she  is standing on  her tiptoes and kissing him. He needs less than a second to react, his lips moving against hers  as he softly pushes her into a wall, his tongue traces her lower lip, asking for entrance and she is more than happy to oblige. His hand goes to her neck, deepening the kiss as the other goes down her back slowly making her shiver before he picks her up. A part of her brain lights up with a warning sign, reminding her that she is making out with a stranger in the back alley of her job. The other, the much bigger one, can only feel the waves of pleasure going around her body when he moves his hips against hers, she does the same searching for some friction,some small amount of relief, he groans and she bites his lower lip, pulling away from the kiss for a second. Needing to catch her breath.

His hand goes under her shirt , wasting  no time to cup her breast over her bra, she arches into him, making a sound that can only be described as a whine and she would be so embarrassed by it if she wasn’t busy feeling so, so much more.

“First thing I want you to know that this wasn’t what I planned at all.” He says against her neck, his teeth grazing her skin before he bites on it, making her moan. “I was planning to ask you out in a date like normal people do.”

“What’s the second thing?” She asks breathless.

“Is your house close?” He asks and looks at her with a smirk.

“Do you have any condoms?” She asks and he nods, his brown eyes are almost black because of her and she loves it. “Then yes my house is five  minutes away.”

[coffee-and-vroomvroom]

Ship thing: Nico/Jenson

(Sorry that it took me forever to write these, here they are, I hope you like them!!)

From this post (in case anyone else wants to request these)

WHO…

Gives nose/forehead kisses: In both cases, Jenson. It’s probably a height difference kind of thing, but he loves dropping little forehead kisses whenever Nico is in the kitchen making one of his yummy pizzas, or pecking Nico’s lovely nose whenever he’s engrossed watching Bayern München play. Nico, on the other hand, is rather fond of kissing Jenson’s neck.

Gets jealous the most: Definitely Jenson. It’s not that Nico never gets jealous, because he does, but Jenson notices the way Nico turns heads left and right wherever he goes, and how Nico likes the attention he gets. So yeah, even when Jenson knows Nico is coming back home with him and no one else, he still gets a bit territorial when he sees Nico being a flirt to others (both men and women). And maybe, MAYBE, Nico does it a bit on purpose because it usually translates into very hot, possessive sex once they get home…. IF they make it home, that is… ;)

Picks the other up from the bar when they’re too drunk to drive: they usually don’t drink much (old habits…), but there was one time, after Jenson went through a bad breakup (with another German)* and a couple of months before they started dating, when Nico had to go and pick up a totally wasted Jenson from a bar, and then stayed dozing on Jenson’s bedroom armchair all night just to make sure he was ok.

Takes care of on sick days: It goes both ways… But Nico seems to handle the situation much better. He’s way calmer and in control whenever he has a sick Jenson on his hands. Jenson usually panics a bit and doesn’t know what to do. Jenson jokes that Nico acts like a mother hen whenever he’s sick, and Nico doesn’t even bother denying it. He loves Jenson, so he gets protective. Sue him.

Drags the other person out into the water on beach day: Nico. Jenson is the one who’s always bringing books to the beach, but he never gets past the first two pages because Nico will try to convince Jenson to go swim with him by whispering in his ear all the naughty things he plans to do to Jenson in the ocean.

Gives unprompted massages: Whenever they are away from each other, Jenson is the one that sends the most random messages. Half-finished thoughts, comments about a random song playing on the radio, or maybe a picture of something that caught Jenson’s eye on the street… Anything. And Nico loves it because it’s Jenson’s way of letting him know how much he misses Nico, and each random message makes Nico fall a little bit more in love with him.

Drives/rides shotgun: Of course, they both love driving, but Nico doesn’t really mind riding shotgun if Jenson is the one behind the wheel, because then he is free to stare at Jenson’s handsome face for as long as he wants while daydreaming about making Jenson pull over and just showing him *HOW MUCH* he loves watching him drive.

Brings the other lunch at work: For obvious reasons, they never brought the other lunch while they were in F1. And now that they have enough free time, they can pretty much have lunch together every day. But sometimes, when Jenson is busy with some projects that require a lot of sitting down at a desk reading and filling out paperwork, Nico is the one that kindly reminds him that he should take a break and eat some of his delicious homemade pasta.

Has the better parental relationship: Both have always had a great relationship with their parents, but Jenson usually points out to Nico that he is fortunate to have the relationship he has with them, and it breaks Nico’s heart a bit, because Jenson clearly miss his dad so fucking much most of the time Nico wishes he could bring him back.

Tries to start role-playing in bed: Nico, that dirty bastard. He’s always surprising Jenson with a new costume, or just with a new brand of dirty talk that always makes Jenson discover a new kink he didn’t know he had.

Embarrassingly drunk dancer: Definitely Nico. Drunk dancing and karaoking is his thing, and Jenson enjoys watching Nico dance so freely, right until he grabs the microphone and starts howling cheesy romantic songs “FOR JENSE!” right in front of their friends. He’s always torn between dragging Nico off the stage or simply make a run for the car and escape.

Still cries watching Titanic: Jenson (and Nico teases him for it every time).

Firmly believes in couples costumes: Nico. Maybe it’s because they never got to be teammates while they were both in F1, and Nico always wished they were.

Breaks the expensive gift rule during Christmas: Jenson. EVERY.SINGLE.TIME. It’s just that he cannot help himself when he sees something that knows Nico will love. He just imagines the way Nico’s face will lit up the minute he opens the gift and never bothers checking the price tag.

Makes the other eat breakfast: Sometimes Jenson is stressed or worried about something and he tends to forget to eat something with his morning coffee, so Nico comes to the rescue  and feeds him chocolate cake to cheer him up (spoiler alert: it always works).

Remembers anniversaries: They both do, but Nico likes to pretend he forgets so he can then surprise Jenson with celebration plans Jenson knows are impossible to put together in a day, let alone a few hours. Sneaky bastard.

Brings up having kids: They are having breakfast one morning, and Jenson asks Nico out of nowhere if he’d like to have kids. Nico is caught off guard so much by the question that he snorts half his coffee out of his nose and dissolves into a coughing fit. Jenson feels crushed for a minute there, thinking that Nico’s reaction means no, but then Nico looks straight into his eyes and tells him “With you? I’d love to.”

* that was a last minute addition for @theianitor for being a bad influence xD

AO3 link