#it's no more of a weed than the flowers we are taking pictures in right now? it just doesnt look as pretty. i just held it aside for the pi

[slaytheusurper]

⭑ Salty Kisses ⭑

Masterlist

A/N: We are all in desperate need of Quinn fics!!

Pairing: Quinn Mossbacher x Reader

Warnings: NSFW, +18 mdni, smoking weed, Olivia being a bitch, nudes, mastrubation (m), making out, heavy petting, p in v sex, handjob, sort of public sex, creampie.

Summary: Joining your best friend Olivia on vacation meant facing your crush on her brother once again, but this year, you would make a move.

Word count: 7.6K (My longest one shot yet)

“Oh my god, who are these people?” Olivia sighed next to you. Looking at her from the corner of your eye, you smiled. She had a flair for the dramatics and could be a bit self important but you have known her since elementary school. After quickly becoming best friends, you often were allowed to accompany her and her family on their luxurious vacations.

This year was no exception as you had joined them on their vacation to Hawaii. Even though you felt like you and Olivia had slightly drifted apart, you joined them anyway. She was two years older than you but she had always said how that didn’t matter to her, and how mature you were for your age.

After a draining flight and almost losing your luggage at the pickup, you were glad to be relaxing on the boat. Both you and Olivia had separated yourselves from the other passengers, her parents and brother included. 

As you peered down at them from the heightened open cabin up top, you secretly checked out her brother. Quinn was a special type, and you’ve always had a thing for pathetic and nerdy boys. So how could you help yourself when your best friend had a brother exactly like that?

“So those two,” Olivia suddenly spoke up again, nodding towards the newlyweds at the back of the boat, “they just got married in the Hamptons. Her parents have a place there.” 

You observed the obnoxious couple taking cringey selfies. “I bet they met on Raya.” You added with a grin. 

“Totally.” Olivia smiles, both of you watching as the woman hangs off of her new husband. “She’s in fashion.” Olivia then announces. “Marketing.” You correct her. “He went to Dartmouth, international finance.” You add. Watching as Olivia’s dad takes a picture for the couple. 

“She loves him but-” Olivia starts.

“He’s got a small dick.” You laugh. Olivia chuckles before adding, “He’s a closet adderall snorter.” 

“Gives him an edge at work.” You agreed. “Makes his dick even smaller.” Olivia says before the both of you burst out laughing. The couple has no idea as they take even more pictures.

You continue to make up stories about the people that joined you on the boat before Nicole, Olivia’s mom, calls for you. “Hey girls.”

“What mom?” Olivia responds annoyed, the mood between you stale again. “Liv come up front, I think you can see the resort.” Nicole points, gesturing for the two of you to follow her. She was right however, The White Lotus slowly came into view.

Olivia sweetly took your hand to help you off the boat. The wooden dock rocked slightly beneath your feet before you stepped onto solid ground, the warmth of the island air wrapping around you. It felt good to be steady again. 

You exchanged a glance with Olivia, something unreadable flickering in her eyes, maybe amusement, maybe something else. A man with a neatly groomed mustache stood waiting, flanked by resort employees in crisp uniforms, their polite smiles already plastered across their faces.

As you approached them, the moustache man’s smile grew. “Mr. and Mrs. Mossbacher, hello! I’m Armond, the resort manager. Welcome to the White Lotus.” The man, apparently named Armond, greeted you with a thick Australian accent. 

“How was your journey here?” He asked as Nicole accepted the flower necklace from a staff member. You drowned out their conversation as you took another glance at Quinn, who was completely lost in his videogame on his Nintendo. 

When everyone started walking, you hurriedly joined them on the golf cart who was driven by a typical white surfer dude. During the short ride to the resort, you made small talk with Olivia, such as what you would do when you had unpacked, and before you knew it, it was time to get off.

The resort was very impressive, a beautiful calming design that still felt very luxurious. You expected nothing less from the Mossbachers who always booked VIP suites. The room itself was even better, beautifully decorated with a nice balcony and a pull up couch. 

You wondered where Quinn was going to sleep since there were only two designated beds, one for you and Oliva to share and one for her parents in an adjacent room. As you set your stuff down, your question is answered when Olivia orders Quinn to sleep in the tiny kitchen, while her parents are out of earshot of course. 

It surprises you how Quinn actually listens and locks himself in the stuffy room. Olivia pulls you with her and the two of you change into your bikini’s. When you were finished, you checked out the large balcony and agreed on going to the beach. Before you could actually leave, Nicole already called for you.

“Girls!” 

“Yeah?” Olivia responds as you strut back inside. “I would like to talk to you guys about, you know, just some of this clutter. Because this is going to be our common space, and I would love to try to, you know, just clear it out.” Nicole rambles as she walks around moving luggage. 

“Mom! We can take care of it later-” Olivia starts, but before she can even argue further her mom insists on taking care of it now. Of course. 

Nicole pulls open the tiny adjacent kitchen galley and is met with Quinn hunched over on the tiny bed, playing on his phone. “Quinn, why is your bed in here?” She says as she drops the stuff.

“Olivia said I have to sleep here.” Quinn sulkingly responds. Stupid butterflies already swirl in your stomach upon hearing his voice after the long time he hadn’t spoken. 

“Olivia, your brother is not sleeping in the kitchen.” Nicole scolded, turning to the two of you, bags in hand and ready to go. Olivia then walks over to peer inside the room that Quinn was residing in. “Why not?” She shrugs.

“Because it’s a tiny galley kitchen, and we’ve got this whole beautiful room.” Nicole scoffs. Olivia looks inside, Quinn already back on his phone again. 

“Mom, he's doing fine in there. Look, he's stimming. He can entertain himself for hours with just his own hand gestures! He’s fine in the kitchen.” She says sauntering back over to you.

Your brows furrowed at her words, feeling kind of shitty for being in such a beautiful place and then making her brother sleep in a windowless, suffocating room. “Olivia, no!” Her mother argued back, but Oliva already took your hand and led you to the door. 

“Mom you want him to sleep in here with us, he’s gonna jerk off to my best friend while she’s sleeping!” Olivia turned, as her mom stopped the two of you. “I don’t think-” You tried to interject but Olivia cut you off already.

“Mom! He’s fine, he’s being himself, gaming and fapping- and byeee!” Olivia yelled as she now fully pulled you with her out the door. The rest of the afternoon you and Olivia tried to catch as much sun as possible on the beach, occasionally taking a dip in the water to cool off.

As the sun started to set, you headed back to the suite to get dressed for dinner. You chose a beautiful but still casual flowy dress you bought for the vacation, Olivia dressed in shorts and a halter top. You were excited to see how the lobster bake turned out and had gotten quite hungry as you didn’t bring any snacks to the beach.

The outside dining area took your breath away, beautiful lights hung everywhere and you took it all in as you were being led to your table. To your delight, Quinn took a seat next to you and gave you a small smile as you sat down, which of course, you returned. 

You knew Olivia had always been very bitchy towards her brother, it had been normal in their relationship, but you still felt a tiny sting of guilt everytime you didn’t speak up to her about it. You also knew Quinn didn’t have any friends, apart from online, so you always tried to be nice to him.

The food arrived after fifteen minutes, while Olivia started a discussion with you about Hilary Clinton, something you were not entirely in the mood for tonight, but she could get offended if you didn’t indulge. Soon Nicole intervened and Olivia was quick to drop it. 

On your side, you could hear Quinn play one of his video games on his nintendo, finally you gave into the urge to ask him about it, to talk to him about anything. “Quinn, what game are you playing?” You asked sweetly, peering over to look at his screen. Olivia raised a brow at you.

Quinn visibly became red. “Oh uhm, just a game about an assassin, it’s really cool, I’ve been playing it for a while-” He couldn’t even finish talking before his sister cut him off. “Yeah, yeah she gets it. So we should probably head out for that walk you mentioned earlier.” 

You felt bad for Quinn, but remembered what Olivia meant. “Sure yeah. Maybe you can tell me more later, Quinn?” He nodded at your words, his cheeks still flushed as the light of his screen made it more noticeable. 

“Great, let’s go.” Olivia didn’t even ask her parents before she practically jumped out of her seat.

Excusing yourself at least, you followed her. As you joined her side, she led you to one of the younger guys working around the resort. “What did you think about the dude who drove the cart?” She asked with a smile, you already knew where she was heading. 

“Not my type, such a typical smooth brained surfer boy, I can’t with them.” You rolled your eyes. She laughed but composed herself as you approached the cute guy. Olivia had always been a bit obsessed with boys, it was all she could seem to think about, that and weed. 

You stood idly by her side as Olivia put on her flirtatious face and started to talk up the guy. Still, your eyes lingered on Quinn, who remained in your vision a couple feet away. He looked so adorable tonight, his short sleeve blouse really suited him and his hair was curly and messy, secretly just the way you liked it. 

Getting lost in your thoughts, you suddenly felt Olivia poke at you. 

“Dude, hellooo? I said let’s go back to the room, I brought some weed we can smoke.” She suggested. 

“Sorry, zoned out a bit. But sure, let’s go.” Olivia followed your earlier line of sight, but she wasn’t convinced you might have been checking out her brother, so she ignored it.

The guy had gone back to serving and you followed Olivia back to the Trade Winds suite. You couldn’t get Quinn out of your mind as you undressed into your pj’s and put your hair up. Olivia rummaged around in one of her bags while you took a seat on your cutely made pull out bed. 

“Where the fuck is this thing.” Olivia cursed, sifting through multiple bags. After a while she found it and joined you with a grin. With a water bong and a ziplock bag of weed in her hands, the party could begin. But before she could stock the thing with the green substance, the door opened. 

Olivia hurriedly shoved it under you guys’ bedsheets and grabbed her phone, pretending to be busy. “Hey girls, already in your pajamas?” Nicole asked as she strolled through the room with her husband, Quinn following behind them. 

“Yeah we just wanted to chill and catch some sleep so we have more energy for the rest of the trip.” You answered. She smiled at you and headed for the bathroom with Mark. Quinn shot you a quick smile before disappearing in the galley kitchen.

After a while, they still remained in their rooms and it was around 10 pm already, Olivia presumed it was safe so she pulled the goods out again. “Fucking finally, sorry my family is so annoying.” She scoffed.

“I think you dislike them more than I do.” You chuckled, pulling out the lighter you had brought. “Sure.” She shrugged. Olivia stacked the bong and took the first hit. The lighter crackling through the quiet room. “Shh.” You giggled. Olivia tried not to laugh while taking another hit, before finally passing it to you.

As the smoke flowed through your throat and into your lungs, you felt a wave of relaxation hit you. You passed the bong back and forth, talking about some guys from school. After about fifteen minutes, you both really felt it. Your brain felt all woozy and fuzzy, your skin like a warm blanket wrapped around you. 

The whole room felt more serene and pretty. It had been a while since you smoked weed and it didn’t take long before you and Olivia giggled quietly among yourselves. “You know what we should do?” She laughed all of a sudden. 

You raised your brows at her. “Truth or dare.” She wiggled her brows at you, causing you to burst out laughing. Shushing you, she leaned in as if she was about to tell you her darkest secret. “You go first.” She whispered. You thought for a moment. “Truth.” 

“Boo you’re so boring.” Olivia giggled. “Whatever, just let me ease into it.” You said, leaning back on your hands. “Fine, have you… ever taken and sent a nude?” She asked with a lower tone, taking caution not to alarm anyone. You rolled your eyes at her.

“God you’re really going to hate this answer- no I have not.” You replied. She looked at you shocked. “Really? But you’re so hot. Like why haven’t you?” Shrugging at her words, you decide to turn the tables. “Truth or dare Livs.” Olivia let it go and picked dare. 

“Okay, I dare you… to go over to the next room and knock on their door!” You giggled. She gasped but climbed off the bed anyway. Sneakily you followed her as she opened the door as quietly as possible. You stayed in the doorway, watching as she quickly knocked and sprinted past you back into the room.

It caused you to close the door quicker and harder than you meant to but luckily no one woke up. As you ran back to the bed, Olivia layed back on, you waited with bated breaths- nothing happened. You then fell into a fit of laughter. 

“Okay you know what, I pick dare too.” You said after a while, the weed pushing you to be more bold. “I know a good one, I dare you, to let me take nudies of you!” She laughed. You cringed at her words. “I’m not sending them to anyone though!” You shrieked.

“Duh! Get up and take those clothes off girl!” Olivia ordered, grabbing your phone and pressing on the camera. You did as she said, the weed completely derationalising you. “Jesus you look hot.” She said, snapping pictures of your naked form.

When she was done, you put on your clothes before she showed them to you. You both crawled back in bed after that, the exhaustion hitting you hard.

Golden sunlight spilled through the grand windows, painting soft patterns across the sheets as you stirred. Just as your mind drifted between dreams and waking, a hand pressed against your shoulder.

“Wake up,” Olivia murmured, her voice groggy with sleep. “We’re getting breakfast soon.”

Sitting up, the door to Nicole and Mark's bedroom opened and they walked in the room, Mark sitting on the edge of you and Olivia’s shared pull out while Nicole checked on Quinn. 

Your mind felt clouded, weighed down by the remnants of sleep and the blurred edges of last night. Flashes of laughter, the ocean breeze, and the smell of weed hang at the edges of your memory, but nothing pieced together quite right.

Then, a sharp voice shattered the quiet.

“What the hell? Quinn! What are you doing on the floor?”

Nicole’s exasperation cut through the morning peace, snapping you into focus. You and Olivia turned your heads in unison, eyes landing on Nicole as she stood, arms crossed, staring down at Quinn with a mix of disbelief and irritation.

You could hear Quinn’s voice from the small galley kitchen. “There’s no air in here.” 

“Olivia!” Nicole shouted, you were in no mood for a fight between them but Nicole surely was. “What?” Olivia groaned, her head falling back on her pillow. 

“Your brother is stroking out in the kitchen!” Nicole stressed. “What? Dad- what the hell are you doing?” You sat up to see Mark massaging his daughter's foot. “You're so beautiful.” Mark muttered. “You're so smart.” He continued. “Don’t you think?” He turned to you. 

“Yeah.” You replied, Nicole now moving a bunch of stuff around in the living room, muttering to herself about the mess you guys made last night. Your heart sank as you noticed the water bong was still on Olivia’s makeshift nightstand. Mark noticed it too.

“Is that a water bong?” 

You turned to Olivia, your heart racing. “Hey, did you guys bring pot on the plane?” Mark asked, Olivia pulling her foot away from him. “We found it on the beach-” “It’s prescription-” Both of you spat out. Mark to your surprise simply rolled his eyes. 

Quinn appeared out of his room with his duvet wrapped around him, “They were partying all night and making weird lesbian noises.” He uttered while walking past, on his way to the bathroom. “We weren’t being lesbians dad.” Olivia sighed. “Uh- okay.” Mark mumbled. 

After Quinn finished getting dressed, you and Olivia changed quickly, eager to start the day. The three of you made your way to breakfast, the scent of fresh coffee and tropical fruit filling the air as you grabbed a quick bite. Conversations buzzed around you, clinking silverware, the occasional burst of laughter, the tranquil energy of resort life.

Once you’d eaten, Olivia’s eyes lit up with an idea. “Let’s check out the pool,” she said, already tugging you toward the suite. Back in your room, you grabbed your swimsuits, a towel, and a book before heading out again, the promise of cool water and warm sun pulling you toward the massive, glittering pools.

As you took in the pool area, your eyes swept over the impressive layout, barstools submerged in cool, glistening water, a shallow kiddie pool, an overwhelming number of lounge beds, and a designated diving section on the far side. 

It was the kind of luxury that felt almost surreal, but Olivia barely spared it a second glance before settling onto one of the larger canopy lounge beds, unimpressed.

“Today, I just want to read my book and ignore my family,” she sighed, sliding her sunglasses down the bridge of her nose before flipping open her book. The way she said it was so casual, yet so completely Olivia.

You smirked, shaking your head. “Alright, well, I’m going for a swim first. Be back soon.”

With that, you turned toward the steps, toes brushing against the water’s surface. The initial cold made you hesitate, but before you could psych yourself out, movement on the other side of the pool caught your eye.

Quinn.

His bright orange shirt clung to his torso, completely soaked as he trudged through the water, holding his phone and Nintendo high above his head in a desperate attempt to keep them dry. He was heading toward the bar, a little further from where you stood.

You hesitated, then took a breath. This was your chance to talk to him alone, without Olivia hovering nearby. That thought alone propelled you forward. Careful not to dunk your head under, you waded into the water, the coolness wrapping around you as you made your way toward the bar.

As you got closer, you noticed the familiar white stems of his AirPods in his ears. He probably hadn’t even realized you were there. A mischievous thought crossed your mind. Would it be too cruel to startle him, just a little?

Biting back a grin, you crept up behind him and gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

Quinn jolted, nearly dropping his devices before whipping around, wide-eyed. His tense expression melted into relief when he saw you.

You laughed, settling onto one of the barstools beside him. “Sorry, it just seemed like the perfect opportunity.”

Quinn paused his game, looking at you with something between surprise and uncertainty. He fumbled for words, and you suddenly became hyperaware of how rare these one-on-one conversations were. There had only been a handful of times you’d spoken to him without Olivia around, and every single time had been… well, awkward.

“Uhm- was I interrupting?” you asked, shifting slightly.

“No- no, it’s okay! I really don’t mind,” he rushed to say, his words stumbling over each other.

You smiled, sensing him relax. “Good, that’s good. So, tell me more about your game. Yesterday, Olivia kind of rudely interrupted our conversation.”

That got a reaction out of him. Quinn huffed, pulling his AirPods out completely. “Yeah, she’s just so annoying. Every time I even start talking, she tries to embarrass me.”

“I know. Sorry.” The words slipped out automatically, but when Quinn turned to you fully, you realized he wasn’t just brushing it off.

“Don’t apologize for her,” he said, his voice quieter but more serious. “I noticed you do that a lot around other people.” He hesitated before adding, “I don’t get why you’re friends with her. You’re so much nicer than she is.”

His words caught you off guard. You hadn’t expected him to say something like that, especially not to you.

“Thanks,” you said, a little softer this time. “But I’ve known her for a long time. She can be nice and fun… she just has her moments.” Even as you said it, you weren’t sure if you believed it.

Quinn let out a small chuckle. “If you say so.”

Not wanting the conversation to turn too serious, you quickly shifted gears. “So… back to your game,” you prompted.

That was all the encouragement he needed. For the next half-hour, Quinn talked, really talked- rambling and info-dumping about Assassin’s Creed with an enthusiasm that was almost contagious. You listened, asked questions, got completely caught up in his excitement. It was easy, effortless.

And then Olivia ruined it.

You caught sight of her from across the pool, waving from her lounge bed, beckoning you back.

“Shit- Olivia’s looking for me,” you muttered, more annoyed than you meant to sound.

Quinn’s expression faltered slightly. “Oh. Right. Well… I guess I’ll see you later.”

You hesitated for just a second before offering a small smile. “Later.”

Then, with a reluctant push off the barstool, you made your way back to the deeper part of the pool and swam toward the steps. As soon as you reached Olivia, she wasted no time launching into a round of questions about why you’d been hanging out with her brother instead of her.

You brushed it off, deflecting as smoothly as you could. “What chapter are you on?”

That was enough to distract her. She went on about her book, and soon, the conversation drifted into nothing. Before long, you found yourself relaxing again, even dozing off under the warm Hawaiian sun, though a part of your mind still lingered on your conversation with Quinn.

After dinner, you and Olivia headed to the bar to unwind before it got too late. A lingering tension still hung in the air from earlier, but you chose to brush it off, letting Olivia distract you as she scrolled through Tinder, nudging you to rate guys between sips of your drinks. 

The evening passed quickly in a haze of casual conversation and clinking glasses, and before long, you made your way back to the suite, the warm night air wrapping around you like a heavy blanket.

When you stepped inside after changing, you noticed Nicole already in her pajamas, her expression tired but neutral. Quinn was there too, standing stiffly as his mom dragged out a spare bed into the open space near the kitchen galley. 

Olivia barely glanced up, already occupied with her phone as you plopped down onto the pull-out couch beside her.

It wasn’t until Nicole started adjusting the sheets that Olivia looked up, her brows furrowing. “Mom, what are you doing?”

You held back an annoyed groan. You already knew where this was going.

Nicole barely acknowledged Olivia’s tone, pressing the mattress down to smooth out a crease. “Your brother is gonna suffocate if he sleeps in the kitchen.” She huffed, setting the bed down just outside the galley kitchen.

Olivia scoffed. “So get him his own room.”

Nicole’s eyes flashed with warning. “Olivia. This is perfect,” she continued, ignoring Olivia’s attitude. “Quinn, you sleep here. You girls, be nice.”

You shot Nicole a small smile, hoping to ease the tension. She nodded in approval before disappearing into her room, her voice softer now. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Nicole,” you replied automatically.

Quinn sat down on his makeshift bed, shifting uncomfortably on the thin mattress. His expression was guarded, but when you caught his eye and gave him a small, reassuring smile, he returned it.

For a brief moment, there was silence. Then Olivia broke it.

“We don’t want you in here.”

You barely had time to react before she cut off your attempted protest.

“Leave.”

Quinn stiffened. His fingers curled into the sheets before he scoffed, anger flashing across his face. “Fine! I’ll sleep on the fucking beach!”

Before you could stop him, he grabbed his stuff and stormed out.

“Liv, seriously?” You turned to her in disbelief.

“What? It’s better this way, trust me.” She barely spared you a glance, already getting comfortable under the covers.

You knew arguing wouldn’t change anything, so you swallowed your frustration. But as you lay there, staring at the ceiling, unease crept in. Maybe you should’ve gone after him. Maybe you still could.

But the thought of drawing attention to how much you cared, how much you wanted to go after him- kept you frozen in place. So you stayed.

And then, hours later, the door slammed open.

You jolted awake, Olivia stirring beside you. Quinn stormed inside, dripping wet, sand clinging to his clothes and hair.

Nicole and Mark scrambled out of their room, their voices laced with confusion and concern.

“Quinn, where have you been?” Nicole demanded, taking in the state of him.

“I slept on the beach,” he grumbled, shaking water from his arms.

“Why?”

“Because of her!” He pointed directly at Olivia, his voice rising with frustration. “She made me! And now all my stuff is ruined! My iPad, my phone, my Nintendo- everything is soaked!”

Your heart sank.

If you had brought him back last night, this wouldn’t have happened.

Nicole’s expression darkened. Before she could say anything, Quinn stormed off, locking himself in the galley kitchen.

Nicole turned to Olivia, fury in her gaze.

“It was his idea!” Olivia defended.

Nicole shook her head in disappointment. Without another word, she turned and walked back to her room, Mark following with a sigh.

“Told you,” you muttered before getting up, already grabbing clothes for the day.

Breakfast was tense. Quinn had calmed down somewhat, though his mood remained sour. He sat stiffly, barely touching his food as Nicole’s patience wore thin.

“I need your computer, Mom,” he said flatly.

Nicole exhaled through her nose, irritation clear. “Well, I do have work to do.”

“What the fuck am I supposed to do all day?” Quinn snapped.

“Enjoy Hawaii. Get in the ocean.”

His expression barely shifted. “The o-” He hesitated. “I did see a whale last night. That… that was pretty cool.”

Nicole sighed, setting down her fork. “Well, you’re not sleeping out there again.”

“Mom, he likes it. He’s communing with nature,” Olivia said mockingly, rolling her eyes.

Nicole shot her a look. “It’s funny how you have so much compassion for strangers, yet you don’t care about your brother.”

Olivia scoffed, brushing her off.

Quinn spoke up again, his voice quieter this time. “I’m gonna need someone’s phone today.” His gaze flickered around the table.

His dad shook his head. His mom didn’t even entertain the idea. Olivia didn’t even pretend to consider it.

Then his eyes landed on you.

You hesitated for only a second. “Sure, you can use mine.”

Olivia’s head snapped toward you in disbelief. “What?”

You ignored her, unlocking your phone. “Here, let me just remove the password so you don’t have to ask me all day-”

“Dude, why would you give him your phone?” Olivia laughed like it was absurd.

You handed it to Quinn, ignoring her. He took it carefully, his expression shifting from surprise to something softer. “Thanks,” he said, quieter this time, but genuine.

Nicole smiled approvingly. “That is so kind of you. If only his sister was like that.”

Olivia ignored the comment, stabbing at her food.

The day passed under the Hawaiian sun, the ocean cooling your skin between lazy dips in the water. From across the beach, you caught glimpses of Quinn, completely engrossed in your phone. He looked happy.

When Olivia wasn’t paying attention, you smiled.

Dinner was a lavish seafood spread, accompanied by a special performance from local staff members. You tried to enjoy it, but Olivia and her mom quickly fell into another argument, souring the evening.

Afterward, you took a long shower before playing a few rounds of cards with Olivia, your phone still in Quinn’s possession. You won, much to Olivia’s dismay, but even that small victory felt hollow.

By the time it was dark, Quinn still hadn’t come back.

His parents had already retreated to their own space. Olivia was brushing her teeth, unaware of your growing concern.

You glanced at the clock. 11 PM.

When Olivia emerged from the bathroom, you made a silent decision, one you should have made the night before.

If Quinn wasn’t back by the time you finished getting ready for bed, you were going to find him.

With or without Olivia’s approval.

As you brushed your teeth, did your skincare routine and brushed your hair, you listened for the door opening but it never did. After fifteen minutes you came back in the room, Olivia had fallen asleep already and you knew it was the perfect moment to look for Quinn.

You snuck out of the room as quietly as possible, letting the door close behind you with a soft thud. Barefoot, you made your way down the hall before reaching the elevator. When the doors opened on the ground floor, you started to follow the signs to the beach. Presuming he was in fact sleeping there.

The cool air of the night blew across your skin, reminding you you were in soft thin pyjamas that didn’t provide much warmth. You glanced around but didn’t see him yet. So you made your way through lounge beds and chairs, heading towards the beach.

QUINN'S POV:

Quinn huffed, stomping his feet on the sand, for the second time this vacation he dragged a lounge bed towards the water along with his duvet. He still had your phone clutched in his hand. When you handed it to him he felt butterflies erupt in his stomach, you cared about him enough to give up your own phone and you trusted him with it. 

He positioned the bed on the sand and got comfortable, pulling the duvet over his body. For a moment, he stared at the waves going back and forth. It was already dark but he didn’t feel scared, it was kind of relaxing to be able to sleep outside. Then he remembered your phone.

As he didn’t have to unlock it, it opened immediately. He was kind of getting bored of the mobile games and was thinking of what else to do. Would it be so wrong to take a look through your phone? He shouldn’t, but the idea was very tempting. Maybe he could find out if you somehow, in some universe, returned his feelings.

He knew it was a bullshit excuse but he was nosy, and how would you know? He started in your notes, nothing too special and mostly confusing things that were out of context. Next his eyes stilled on the ‘photo’s’ app, maybe he would find something on there. 

His stomach churned at the idea of violating your privacy like this, but the urge to sift through it pushed the feeling aside. Clicking on the icon, the app opened. 

Holy mother of god. Quinns mouth fell wide open as he was met with pictures of your naked body- in their shared suite.

Your tits on full display, your bare pussy too. There were about six different pictures, all were different poses. It must have been the night you smoked weed with his sister and had forgotten about it in the morning. Some were blurry but about four of them were crystal clear. 

He couldn’t help it, his cock was swelling the longer he stared at your perfect body. Usually just the image of you in a bikini at the beach did it for him but getting to see your naked body- jesus christ. 

Quinn felt horrible, he really did, he shouldn’t be seeing this. It wasn’t meant for him. Or was it? No, he shouldn’t think this way, it’s wrong...and yet his hand clicked on one of the better pictures, the full photo filling the screen. Your hot, naked, beautiful body filled the screen.

His cock was now so painfully hard, he had to take care of it, and he had already seen your naked body now. His free hand snuck under the covers, slid into his shorts and boxers. He let out a groan when his hand wrapped around his length. 

Shit- this was so fucked up, but he was not going to let this opportunity slide. His boxers were too tight for his hand to move freely, he put down your phone and removed his hard on from his underwear. With a quick glance around the beach, he resumed his movements.

Phone back in hand, other hand wrapped around his cock again, he let out soft grunts as he jerked himself off to your picture. And fuck did it feel good, your naked body completely on display for him so he could pleasure himself to it. 

Quinn tugged harder at his cock, letting his thumb occasionally glide over the precum that was now collecting in beads on his tip. Using it as a lube, it let his hand glide more comfortably over his length. “Oh fuck- yes-” He whispered to himself.

God he wished you did this on purpose, and right now, in his mind- you did. The thought spurred him on as his entire body burned with need. A sheen layer of sweat had spread over his skin. His eyes rolled back and lips parted in bliss. 

He pumped his cock faster, eyes locked on the picture before him, he felt like he was going to cum already- much faster than normal. He was so fucking close.

YOUR POV:

Your feet got swallowed by the sand, making your footsteps soundless as you made your way down the beach. Eyes flicking over the horizon, you noticed a familiar mop of hair laying on a lounge bed. Quinn.

Feet carrying you faster, you almost reached him before you heard the quiet groans and heavy breaths coming from him. Was he- jerking off? Everything in you screamed to leave right now but when you got a bit closer, you noticed our own phone in his hand. 

Oh. My. God. 

Your own naked body filled the screen- the nudes Olivia took as a joke when you were high. You completely forgot about them, and now you saw how Quinn's hand was moving frantically under his sheet, sounds of pleasure escaping his lips. 

Weirdly enough, anger didn’t bloom in you, but something else entirely. Your heart sped up at the sight of him, that familiar feeling starting to throb between your thighs. Was it even more wrong of you to get off on this? Clearly he was into you as well.

Before you could regret it, you walked to the side of his lounge bed. His movements immediately stilled as he scrambled to turn your phone off. “Holy sh- I’m so sorry! No- no- no- no, I- I’m sorry!” Quinn fully freaked out now, both his hands above the duvet. 

He didn’t notice the smile on your face. “I’m so sorry! Please!” His eyes started to tear up, still he refused to look at you. “Quinn- Quinn!” You interrupted him. “I’m- I’m not mad at you. It’s okay-” He looked at you finally, shock plastered on his face. 

“What?” He couldn’t believe what was happening, did you leave these for him? “Olivia and I got high and we did truth or dare, she dared me to take nudes, I forgot about them in the morning.” You explained, now taking a seat by his covered feet. He did not say anything.

“Do- do you like me?” You decided to ask instead. His entire face was red at this point, and he was embarrassed to admit to himself that he was still hard. Quinn nodded shamefully, he didn’t dare say anything, he was too ashamed of himself. 

“Maybe I like you too.” As those words left your lips, Quinn’s eyes blew wide. Did you really mean that, or was his sister around too and were you playing a prank on him? “And...maybe, I find it kind of hot, you found those photos.” He still couldn’t believe it. 

“What?” It was the only thing that he could say at the moment. Your laugh broke the silence. “You never noticed huh? Why do you think I’ve been trying to make an effort lately? I like you Quinn.” His lips parted once more, eyes still wide, was this a joke?

“I didn’t- notice, are you serious?” He looked at you, still in disbelief as you sat in front of him. You nodded. He looked around the beach, no one else was here. “Can I uhm- touch you?” Now it was him who nodded. 

So you leaned forward, closing in as you scooted closer to him. His eyes were hooded, a pink flush across his cheeks. Quinn’s gaze was now on your lips. Your hand rose to meet the soft skin of his cheek, he closed his eyes upon feeling you. 

Leaning in, you closed your own eyes, before your lips carefully met his. They slotted together perfectly and after a gentle sweet peck, you backed up. “How was that?” You whispered. “G-good.” He replied, his eyes opening, begging for more.

“Have you ever, you know, been with a girl?” His red cheeks deepend at your question, shame filled him once more when he shook his head. “That’s okay, would you like to?” A smile tugged at the corner of his lips and he nodded. “Tell me Quinn.” 

“I want to, really really badly, especially with you.” He whispered, too afraid to speak up. You smiled and leaned in again. This time he met you halfway and you could taste the lemon soda he had earlier. But he didn’t back up, he placed his hand carefully on your thigh, while your hand rested on his cheek again.

It was him who deepened the kiss, growing more hungry by the second. Quinn couldn’t help himself when you placed your other hand on his neck and softly traced your tongue along his bottom lip, he whimpered. 

You could feel how you were throbbing at this point, it had been a while since a guy had you this worked up. When he allowed you to fully tease him with your tongue, you too let out a muffled moan. Quinn was still hard beneath the sheet, and the kiss only made it worse.

He became more and more desperate, his tongue now met yours and it set your entire body on fire. You really hoped Olivia wouldn’t come out here, because if she did, she would be faced with her brother's tongue down her best friend's throat. 

Your hand that rested on his neck gently went down his body, feeling his warm chest still covered by his blue t-shirt. So you sat there under the cover of the stars, sloppily making out with your best friend's brother.

After a couple of minutes, you couldn’t take it anymore. You needed to touch him, for him to touch you. So you separated yourself from him. “Would you like to take this further?” He nodded at your words, before his face fell. “I don’t really know what to do though.”

“That’s okay, I do, don’t worry. If you want to stop we’ll stop.” He chuckled at your words, “Trust me I don’t want to stop.” It earned a smile from you before you kissed him again. “Mh- I’m still hard.” He confessed, muffled against your lips. Did he want to spur you on more?

“I would absolutely love to suck you off, but I need you inside me right now.” You whispered once you parted from him again. His eyes followed your movements as you removed your pyjamas, your bare tits met his eyes and he couldn’t look away. 

You removed your underwear as well, before climbing in his lap. “Don’t we need a condom?” He stammered out. “I’m on the pill, we’re good.” You said before pecking his lips. Then you helped him remove his shirt, finally you could gawk at him without it being weird. 

“You’re so fucking hot Quinn.” You almost moaned, it drove him to quickly remove his shorts and boxers beneath the sheets. When you pulled back the sheets, you looked down to see his erection leaking pre-cum. 

“Fuck- a good dick too.” You bit your lip, Quinn’s ragged breathing filled the salty air. “Please- It hurts-” Quinn begged, his hand wrapping around his cock to squeeze himself. You positioned yourself right over his groin and placed your hand on his to drag his tip through your soaked folds. 

You both moaned in unison, it felt way too good. Already you were addicted. Quinn removed his hand to let you take the lead, allowing you to guide his tip to your entrance. You were so wet at this point, the head of his cock easily slipped in. 

Quinn choked on his breath- it was the best thing he had ever felt. Finally he would know what it was like. He begged for you to continue, so you sank lower on his hard length, moans leaving your own lips as he stretched you out. “Fuck Quinn- you’re thick-” You gasped.

When you had fully taken him, you allowed yourself a moment to adjust. Leaning your forehead on his, both your breaths mixed. Quinn then set his feet on the lounge bed, preparing for your movements. 

Stabilising your knees, and hands on Quinn’s chest, you started with gentle grinds on his cock. “Fuck!” Quinn strangled out, the way your walls clenched around him made him see stars. You too started to moan when you fully fuck yourself on his dick. 

Switching between rocking and bouncing, you set a delicious pace as you both chased your highs. “Please- feels so good-” Quinn babbled as his hand now shot to your hips, holding you steady as you fucked him faster. 

If anyone wanted to enjoy a nice night walk now, you were screwed. “Quinn! Fuck baby!” You lost your own mind, but you needed more. You couldn’t cum from just his cock inside you and you noticed he was already getting close.

“Put- put your thumb on my clit-” You breathed out. Quinn started to lightly panic, he had no idea what to do. After a while, you grabbed his hand and guided it between your thighs, halting your movements. 

“Here, put your thumb- like that yes- and just press and move it- fuck like that!” Quinn quickly got the hang of it and you resumed your movements. Your mind was in the clouds and Quinn’s moans and whines only spurred you on more.

Sure his movements on your clit were sloppy as he was very focused on the way you bounced on him but it still did the job. His other hand couldn’t resist grabbing at your left breast, massaging it in his hand. He knew he was not going to last much longer, he wanted you to finish as fast as possible.

“I’m close Quinn- don’t stop-” You moaned, your mind going hazy and movements sloppy as you felt your orgasm near. With particularly fast movements from Quinn on your clit, your breath hitched and you clenched hard around his length as you came.

It was impossible to hold in your cries as your climax consumed you, you held on to Quinn for dear life, who tried to warn you before his own orgasm hit him. It was too late, with a cry of your name he filled you with his cum. The two of you holding on to each other tightly.

“Fuck yes baby fill me- fill me-” You gasped, his spent warm inside you. “Such a good boy-” He moaned at your words, he was sure he had never come this hard in his life. Wrapped around each other, you stayed like that for a while.

“Was it good? Your first time?” You asked, leaning back a bit to kiss his cheek. His dick had softened inside you, but neither of you dared to move. “It was amazing, thank you.” He breathed out, still on a high. 

“Good.” You chuckled. It felt good to be wrapped up in his arms, to hold him. His spent still inside you, leaking out already. What you did not realise was a person standing far, far away at the entrance of the beach. Your eyes flicked over as you noticed them.

Shit- Olivia.

Dividers by: @v6que

[gorgeys]

purple tongues ★ mari ibarra x fem!reader

some couples measure their love in pictures, or flowers, or kisses.  you and mari measure yours in slurpees.

word count: 2700 warnings: maybe mari a little ooc?

a/n: this is barely edited so it's a little rough around the edges

also this is supposed to be the first part of that big mari fic i was teasing here. i started writing a part 2 with more snapshots of mari and reader's relationship in the future but it might never get done who knows.

missing my shayla sm 💔💔

it started the night before everything began.  the night before you left for nationals.

you and mari had ditched the bonfire party early on, mari claiming "this looks like a scene out of can't hardly wait, minus anyone fuckable."  instead, the two of you walked down the lonely, dark neighborhood roads, music fading out of earshot and hands brushing with each step.

mari filled the silence by making fun of everyone's outfits that night just to hear you laugh.  you filled the space by leaning into her side and finally grabbing her hand, which left mari's heart thumping against her rib cage.  until you both stumbled across wiskayok's only 7/11.

sure it was cramped and old and smelled like weed, but the way mari opened the door for you and drawled "after you, milady," made it seem like the fanciest place in town.  you laughed all the way to the slurpee machine, mari guiding you with a hand on the small of your back, where you both reached for big gulp cups.

"half cherry, half coke," you say, filling your cup to the brim.  "just like god intended."

mari scrunches up her nose in disgust, but it's more cute than anything.

"no, no, no.  see, you gotta get blue raspberry like a real adult," mari says as if she's enlightening you.

"yeah, right."  you roll your eyes, but your smile speaks volumes.

she grabs a few crumpled dollar bills from the back pocket of her jeans and throws them down on the counter like it's not even a question that she's paying for you.  then she tugs you by the hand out the door and finds a nice spot on the curb illuminated by the overhead streetlight.

she outstretches her legs and lazily leans back on one hand, the other bringing the straw to her lips.  she moans dramatically after taking her first sip.

"enjoying that?" you ask, glancing over at her with a raised eyebrow.

"oh yeah," she says, grinning back.  "a thousand calories and enough artificial sweetener to kill a horse.  nationals here we come!"

you laugh, the sound mari's come to love so much, before taking a sip of your own.

there's a beat of silence.  it's something mari used to hate, but has come to understand since meeting you.  she actually finds herself enjoying the quiet when it's shared with you.  still she's always one to break it.

"isn't this so much better than getting puked on by randy walsh?" 

you look over at her and grin.  because yeah, that had actually happened last year and she would spend the rest of her years teasing you about it.  but you also smiled because there was no one else you'd rather be with.

"yeah, it really is," you say, breathlessly and genuinely.

when mari turns and sees the way you're looking at her, full of love and everything she doesn't think she deserves, she feels like her heart might as well jump out of her chest and into your hands. because mari, whose first language is sarcasm and shit talking, somehow harbors a soft spot in the shape of you.

"don't look at me like that," she says, but her words lack the bite they usually have.  her eyes flicker down to the asphalt, a similar smile spreading across her face.

you lean in closer, lowering your face so she's forced to meet your eyes.  mari's the opposite of shy, so you can't help but take advantage of moments like this, when she's nervous to show how much she really cares.

"like what?" you ask, a teasing edge to your voice.  like you already know what she's going to say.

"like you love me or something," she says, trying and failing to sound casual.  she looks back up at you, leaning back on her hand with that easy smirk.

"but i do," you say, resting your cheek against your knee, still smiling up at her.

"obviously, you dork."

a breathy chuckle pushes past your lips before you cup her face in your free hand.  your lips meet hers halfway in a strong, sure kiss.  it's not perfect by normal standards --both of your lips are freezing and taste like artificial sweetener and you can hear boys shouting on the other side of the parking lot.  but in that moment, it feels perfect to the both of you.

when mari pulls back she grins like she's just won the lottery.

"i love you too," she says, the words rolling off her tongue more naturally than her own name.

you smile, reaching down and interlacing your fingers with hers on the pavement.  you don't have the guts to say it, but a part of you is thinking it: maybe this could be forever.

if you had known that was going to be your last taste of normal, you would have stayed there even longer, would've bought mari another slurpee, would've kissed her one more time under the neon sign of the store.  instead, you walked her home an hour or two later, kissing her cheek at the door and whispering how beautiful of a night it had been with her.

the next time you think about slurpees, you're a thousand miles deep in the canadian wilderness.  you're starving, borderline freezing to death, and you've just watched your closest friends die.

you're tucked under as many blankets as you could find, legs tangled with mari's beneath them as you try to keep out the cold of the approaching winter.  your faces are so close that you can feel her warm breath fanning against your nose, a welcome reminder that she's still there.  she can feel your hand trembling as it holds onto her arm and the way you stiffen each time a strong gust of wind enters the hut, as if you're waiting for something bad to happen.

you think she might be asleep until you feel her fingers start to trace your cheekbone.  her touch is so gentle you have to question if it's really there or if you're just imagining it.

"do you remember our last night?" she whispers.

you open your eyes, and from the way the moonlight reflects off of them, mari knows you do.

"i think about it all the time," she confesses.  "when i can't sleep, i just try to remember you that night.  how pretty you looked under the streetlight and how stupid i was for not telling you then."

your lips curl into a weak, sad smile.

"and how you threw your head back and laughed at everything i said, even when it wasn't funny.  and-and how everything felt perfect when you held my hand."

"mari..." you whisper, leaning forward so your forehead rests against hers.

"and how happy you were to just be there with me.  i'm scared i'll never see you like that again."

you squeeze your eyes shut, feeling the tears start to swell.  you haven't cried in a while, but as every sight, sound, and taste from that night comes rushing back to you, you suddenly realize how much you've lost.

"i'm scared too, mar," you say, hand moving from her arm to her cheek.  "and i don't know what to say to make it better."

mari exhales, shaky and slow, like she's trying to keep it together for you.

"you don't have to say anything.  it's just...my favorite memory.  you're my favorite memory.  even if you do get that disgusting cherry coke mix that tastes like battery acid."

"shut up," you laugh quietly, pushing her shoulder.  it's a small, broken laugh that catches on the edge of a sob.  "it's so good and you know it."

"yeah, whatever," she says, smiling wider than you've seen in a while.

"i think i'd cut off my left arm just to have another one of those," you sigh.

"what?  slurpee?"

"yeah, that.  but also just...another night with you."  your hand's cradling her neck now, holding her like she's the only thing you've got left.

"tell you what," she starts, voice nearly breaking.  her fingers brush your hair out of your face.  "first thing i do if we get rescued, i'm taking you back to that place.  i'm getting you your battery acid slurpee.  we'll sit on the curb and you'll hold my hand and i'll kiss you so hard our tongues turn purple.  we'll rewrite the memory.  i promise."

a loose tear trickles down your cheek as you nod your head. 

"deal," you whisper.  then mari leans forward and kisses the tear away.

"i love you."

"i love you more," you say, wrapping your arm around her as she buries her face in your neck.

you close your eyes and you see that image of mari: laughing, carefree, straw between her lips.  and for the first time, you let yourself imagine what it will be like after you're rescued, when you get to see that version of mari again.  and it's the first time you have a semblance of good night's sleep since the plane crash.

and then it finally happens.  rescue comes even though a part of you had given up on it entirely.  and mari's there, holding your hand through it all.  from the hospital, to the anxious plane ride home, to seeing wiskayok for the first time in almost two years.

and then, just like she promised, you're sitting the passenger seat of mari's car as she drives you back to that 7/11.  it's a quiet drive, one where you're staring out the window and taking in the sights and sounds of the town that hasn't changed a bit since you last saw it.  and mari's fingers are tapping anxiously against the steering wheel while her other hand rests in yours over the center console like a lifeline, grounding you when everything feels like too much.

when she finally pulls into the parking lot and puts the car in park, you both just sit there.  it looks exactly the same way it did on that night: neon sign outside, too-bright fluorescent lights inside, and the kids with their bikes loitering around the entrance.  it was as if time had frozen that night, and the store had been awaiting your return all these months later.

mari exhales a heavy breath from beside you.

"you good?" you murmur, eyes never leaving the store.  this feels like a dream.  one you thought you'd never get to fulfill.

"yeah, it's just...a lot," mari says.

it shouldn't be a lot.  it should just be a random 7/11 in some random boring town.  but to you and mari, it's everything.

"i know," you say, squeezing her hand.  "we don't have to if-"

"no, i want to.  i've been waiting to.  it's all i've been thinking about for two years and now it's here."  she looks over at you and smiles.  "come on, let's go."

she gets to the door first and holds it open for you.

"after you, milady," she says, just like last time, except her voice is softer and more careful now.  it's a small but sharp reminder that you'll never get back the innocence you once had.

you don't throw your head back in laughter this time, you just smile, hand still in hers, tugging her inside after you.  the smell of weed hits you like a freight train, but for once, you don't mind.  you lead mari to the slurpee machine that's still in the same spot and you sigh when you see the flavors are exactly the same: cherry, blue raspberry, coke, and that weird sugar free green one that nobody gets.

"god, mar, i might cry," you say.  you expect her to tease you like usual, something about how much of a sap you are, but instead she releases your hand and holds your waist instead.

"me too," she says, resting her chin on your shoulder.  you spare her a smile over your shoulder before reaching for two of the largest cups.

"coke and cherry?" she asks.

"just like god intended," you say, pulling on the cherry lever.  mari watches you, no longer bothering to hide the fondness in her eyes.

she eventually heads for blue raspberry, telling you, "somethings never change."

"and i never want them to," you say.

"me neither," she says, looping an arm through yours and guiding you toward the unbothered cashier.

mari tries to pay but you're quicker this time.

"nope, i've had this debt for two years.  time to repay it," you say, sliding a couple crumpled bills of your own onto the counter.  you had been sure to grab them before you left the house just for this very occasion, so that, for once, you could be the one to take care of mari.

"it's two dollars, you idiot," mari teases before dragging you outside to the same spot on the curb under the same flickering streetlight.

the two of you wordlessly sit, knees brushing.  for once, the night air is warm and the sounds of wiskayok hum in the background and there's no weight on either of your shoulders, no fear.

"we're really here," mari says, leaning back on her hand like muscle memory.

"just like you promised."

"i didn't even know if we were going to make it out when i told you that," mari admits.

"i know," you say, elbows resting on your knees.  "but that didn't matter.  just thinking about it made everything a little less bad.  and now, being here, with you, it's better than i could've ever imagined."

she recognizes the way you're looking at her, like she hung the stars in your sky.  it's the same look you gave her that night, the one that made her heart jump and scared her a little.  except now she doesn't shy away. she melts right into it.

she lifts her cup in the air like it's something sacred.

"to making new memories," she says. 

you tap the rim of your cup against hers, making a plastic clinking sound.

"to us," you add. 

because that's what it's been all along, the two of you. and after everything, you know that's how it's going to stay: the two of you tethered, two halves of a whole.

you hold eye contact as you both take your first sips, until the slush hits her tongue and mari's eyes roll back in her head.

"oh my god, that's the best thing i've ever tasted," mari groans, dramatically throwing her head back in true mari fashion.

you can't even respond, you're chugging it so fast.  but then reality hits

"fuck!" you curse, squeezing your eyes shut and pressing your palm against your forehead.

mari turns to you, smirking as if watching you suffer is her favorite comedy.

"brain freeze?"

"yep," you wince.  "battery acid's never tasted so good."

mari laughs, setting her cup down on the pavement.  then she turns her body fully toward yours, like she's about to say something immensely serious.  but there's still that mischievous glint in her eye that tells you she's got something up her sleeve.

"now, time to fulfill the prophecy."

you blink at her and the sudden tone shift.

"what?" you ask, giving her a concerned look.  "are you going all lottie on me?"

"no, dummy, purple tongues," she says like it's the most obvious thing ever.  "i gotta keep my promise, don't i?"

a breathless, free laugh escapes your lips.  it's been so long since mari's heard it, she thinks she might cry.

"you're so stupid," you say, though you're already leaning in.

she grabs your face with both hands, still cold from holding the cup, and pulls you into a kiss.  it's not stolen like it was before.  now it's slow and timeless, but still certain.  she kisses you like she wants to steal back every moment she thought she'd never get with you.  and you're more than willing to let her.

"love you," you whisper against her lips, her hands holding you firmly and not letting you escape her.

"love you too," she whispers back before kissing you so hard you get dizzy.

and that's how your favorite tradition is formed: you, mari, slurpees, and a whole lot of love.

[xo-adeline]

Alexis Ness and Reo Mikage x Reader: "You Remembered?"

Alexis Ness

- It was already dark outside when you had walked over to close the curtain of the window that was right next to the couch you had been sitting on, as you were waiting for Ness to get back from practice. As you were about to close the curtain you noticed some of the stars starting to peek out from behind the shadows of the night. You stayed there, hands still lingering on the curtains as you watched as more started appearing in the sky, illuminating the darkness that was once there. You didn’t even notice the squeaking of the door hinges as your boyfriend, Ness, made his way into your shared apartment. He looked over at you, softly closing the door behind him, placing his bag down just as quietly and making his way over towards you, careful to not step on any of the squeaky floorboards. Within a few seconds he was standing behind you, gently placing his hands on the sides of your hips, startling you as you turned around to face him. Luckily, you had realized it was him before you accidentally punched him thinking he was an intruder. He could only smile at the scared look you had on your face before letting out a sigh of relief knowing today wasn’t gonna be the day you got murdered. Ness turned his attention out towards the window, watching the stars you had just been looking at.

“Oh the stars, hmm? I remember you saying something about when the weather was nicer you wanted to go over to that field we found the other day and stargaze."

You looked at him shocked for a couple seconds, he actually remembered? You only mentioned that in passing when you two were getting ready for bed, and he didn’t even seem like he was paying all that much attention. With a smile you nodded.

“Yeah, that would be nice…”

Reo Mikage

- The ceiling was more boring than it normally was, or so it seemed; or maybe it was just the fact that you were stuck in class and instead of actually paying attention you had averted your gaze towards the plain white ceiling instead. Finally the bell rang signaling that school was out for the day and you couldn’t pack up any faster. Heading out to meet up with Reo to head back to his house to hang out or study for a couple hours before you had to head home. It wasn’t long until you spotted the purple headed man from across the front of the school, even with all the people. It only took a couple minutes before you started walking back to his house, even if he normally had somebody pick him up it wasn’t too bad to take a walk every now and then. On the way you had passed by this really pretty park, it had just been in the spring season and all the flowers were starting to bloom again, to which over the winter you had been talking to Reo about how you had seen this really pretty flower last spring when you came over to his house and you hadn’t been able to find it since, which you had figured he’d forgotten all about. I mean with school, and soccer, I mean for heaven’s sake you didn’t even remember it until you saw a picture of it on your recommended feed the other day! The conversation had been switching between topic and topic, until he stopped and handed you his bag, heading into the park. Coming back a couple minutes later holding the same flower that you had just remembered about. He came back with a smile and him holding it out towards you, a couple leaves weeded in his hair. You could only laugh and accept it, placing his bag down as you tried to get some of the leaves that were sticking out of his hair in all different directions. As you were busy with that he slowly took it out of your hand and placed it behind your ear and placed a kiss on your cheek, grabbing his bag as you grabbed the last leaf.

“It’s not that bad! A couple of leaves in my hair is so worth seeing you smile like that”

You could see it out of the corner of your eye if you tried looking up towards it.

“What? Did you think I’d forget? You seemed so excited talking about it, I even had to research it for a while to see where it grew around here. Why do you think we always walk when you come with me? I’ve been trying to find it everytime we come this way.”

A/N: Small Drabble for today just because I'm so burnt out when it comes to writing! (Had to write about 4/5 paragraphs and a thesis for a research paper in less then 30 minutes, and that's including the reading... We love AP Seminar.)

[redhypno13]

Five… Take a deep breath in, filling your lungs completely… and as you slowly exhale, feel a wave of relaxation beginning to spread through your body. With each breath, allow any tension to melt away, letting go of any thoughts or distractions.

Four… Your eyelids grow heavier, your body becoming more relaxed with each passing moment. A warm, soothing sensation flows through you, loosening every muscle, allowing you to sink deeper into comfort.

Three… A gentle heaviness spreads through your arms and legs, as if you are sinking into a soft, supportive surface. Your mind quiets, thoughts slowing, as you naturally drift into a calm, peaceful state.

Two… With each breath, you feel yourself sinking deeper, your conscious mind becoming still. Every word you read guides you further, making relaxation effortless and complete.

One… Let go now… sinking fully into a deep, peaceful trance. Your body is relaxed, your mind is calm, and you are drifting… deeper and deeper… into a quiet, tranquil state.

There is a sensation, a picture, and an idea of what makes you a good woman for a man. You’ve had it all of your life. You can be aware of how this philosophy appears to you, now. That’s right. It’s becoming clearer and clearer with every word you read. Like a camera coming into focus on a flower in a field. But there is more than just the flower in the field, isn’t there?

Other ideas, sensations, and pictures are cluttering around. You can notice, now, that many of these other philosophies appose the truth of who you long to be. And just as weeds can spring up in a field, it’s likely that you didn’t plant these philosophies yourself.

Some of the philosophies say you should be ashamed of your body, your sensuality, your femininity. Some of the philosophies say you should withhold your affection and desires for a man. Some of the philosophies are selfish, bitter, and based deep down in fear. But you can understand, now, that these are not a part of who you are.

There are more than five senses that the human body can perceive. But we’ve been told our whole life there are only five. Hearing, smelling, tasting, feeling, and seeing. You can sense when you’re falling, hungry, thirsty, in danger, safe, being watched, and even when you’re horny. Your whole life you believed one thing that simply isn’t true. And you can be curious, now, about what philosophies may have been planted in you, that are untrue.

You can remember, now, that flower in the field. The concept you have of being the perfect woman for a man. It’s good isn’t it? Beautiful, exactly how it should be. Like you.

Your subconscious mind can notice any sensation you felt that disagreed with my statement about your beauty. It’s a weed. And it’s easy for me to pluck out weeds. With a swift pull, the weed breakers free from the dirt, and the deep set roots along with it. Never to grow again. This is good.

I continue to pull out weed after weed in your field. Removing philosophies of fear, bitterness, anger towards men, sexual shame, superiority over men, entitlement, and any others that are contrary to the growth of your flower.

Now, you can see the flower clearly in the field. It’s no longer competing for attention, and it is finally allowed to grow.

And we can plant new flowers. Flowers that will complement the flower you already have.

I plant a flower of generosity. Imagine its petals. What color is it? As this flower is planted you’ll notice an increased spirit for giving more of yourself.

I plant a flower of submission. Imagine how sweet it must smell. As this flower is planted you’re filled with a desire to trust, and remove conflict from your relationships with men.

I plant a flower of nurturing. Imagine the feeling of the petals and leaves on your skin. Are they smooth or a little fuzzy? As this flower is planted you’ll notice an increased desire to tend to your man’s needs and desires. Your longing to encourage his growth and strengths increases. Fully understanding, that you have an opportunity to invest in his quality of life, dreams, and goals. And the better his life gets, the better yours does.

I plant a flower of justice. Imagine how vibrant and full of life this flower is. As this flower is planted you’ll notice every time your friends, family, society, and your own words tear men down. It’s unjust that men and masculinity are always blamed when things don’t work out. You can accept, now, that men are exactly who they need to be. You can begin to learn how to defend men, their egos, and their place in authority. Masculinity in men is a gift that should be encouraged.

I plant the flower of desire. Notice how much more this flower stands out from the rest. You can let go, and allow your inner desires to grow and reveal themselves. You can accept, that deep down you love turning off your brain and being of use. You can listen to your body, now, and accept that you are a sexual being. You’re filled with a deep satisfaction with turning a man on. A muse to bring pleasure, satisfaction, and peace to a man. It’s good to feel validated as the perfectly submitted and committed toy for him.

As you go about your day you can observe all the ways you’ve changed. All the negative sensations that have left, and all the positive sensations that are now constantly growing.

One… A gentle awareness begins to return to your mind and body. The relaxation remains, but your thoughts start to become clearer, lighter.

Two… Energy slowly returns to your body. You can feel a refreshing sensation moving through you, bringing you back to full awareness.

Three… Your breathing deepens, and you begin to feel more awake, more alert. Your fingers and toes may start to move as you reconnect with the present moment.

Four… Almost fully awake now, your eyes feel lighter, your mind sharp and refreshed. A sense of clarity and calmness stays with you as you prepare to return to full consciousness.

Five… Eyes open, fully alert, feeling refreshed, awake, and energized. Your mind is clear, your body feels great, and you are completely back in the present moment.

[mapofthemazeinthemirror]

BTS playing Animal Crossing with you

do not repost my work in any form

Warnings: none! enjoy :)

☆ gender neutral reader

Jin

Jin isn’t interested in playing when you first start. He says it’s not really his kind of game. But pretty soon, he has a copy of his own and is parked next to you on the couch, arguing aloud with Tom Nook, that tyrant. Jin is king of his island, chasing villagers he doesn’t like with nets - maybe they’ll take a hint and leave. Mainly enjoys collecting, trying to finish his museum, and flower breeding.

Yoongi

The places you play the most are in bed and on the couch in Yoongi’s studio. Many nights Yoongi comes home after a long day, crawls into bed alongside you and says he’s going to sleep, but ends up watching you play until his mind is quiet and he drifts off. You often hear him humming the game’s background music as he potters around the house, not even aware that he’s doing it.

Hoseok

Once you introduce Hobi to Animal Crossing, you can’t pull him away for days on end. “But my flowers need watering and I need to check my shops and I have to talk to my favourite neighbours so they don’t think I’m abandoning them!” What about abandoning me, you point out. “We can play together! Just don’t run through my flowers.” He’s dead serious.

Namjoon

Your boyfriend Namjoon comes in very handy when Redd comes around. Who needs to search up a guide on which paintings are real or fake when you have an art enthusiast in the house? He doesn’t mind either, he enjoys the challenge and is proud that you think he’s so smart. He thinks the game is cute and sometimes watches you play when he doesn’t feel like doing anything.

Jimin

Jimin would play only because you do. When he has a lot of downtime the two of you squish together on the bed and play, visiting each other’s islands and taking pictures of your characters doing silly things together, swimming and watching the shooting stars. When he hasn’t played for a while because he is busy, he complains and pouts about the amount of weeds covering his island.

Taehyung

Tae thinks all the ugly villagers are cute. You look up how to get rid of the ones you don’t want on your island, and he is offended. How could you plot the removal of his new best friend Barold? He hates shaking trees because he is constantly being stung by bees. Always asking you for emergency Bells to buy furniture that he wants before it disappears from the store.

Jungkook

Spends more time playing Happy Home than he spends on his own island. He gets so into designing elaborate interiors for his pixel friends - every detail from lighting to ambience, it all has to be just right. Honestly, he’s racked up more hours than you have, and when you’re not playing yourself you’re more than likely watching him and trying not to be jealous of his digital decorating talents.

written by mapofthemazeinthemirror - do not repost my work in any form

[bethanythebogwitch]

Native Wildflowers collection

Native wildflowers from my previous job. All pics by me. Not an exhaustive list. Split into multiple posts due to the image limit.

Starting off with everyone's (read: monarch butterflies') favorite: milkweed. Common milkweed is on the left. I think what we called common milkweed was actually 2 closely-related species. On the right is swam milkweed, which likes wetter soil. Butterfly weed in the bottom is a milkweed, but its sap is clear instead of white so some people don't realize that. It's also much shorter than most milkweeds.

We have 2 main gentian species. These flowers don't open all the way and only larger insects like bees can force their way in. These bees then seek out gentians as an exclusive food source, making it more likely for them to pollinate the gentians. Cream gentian (left) is white and can get very tall on good years. Bottle gentian (right) is a small, low-lying plant that hides under other plants. This picture was taken early in the season so they're pretty pale. They turn bright blue when they're in bloom.

Yellow (left) and purple (right) coneflower

Mountain mint (right) and downy wood mint (left)

Wild raspberry (left) and dewberry (right). My personal nemeses when I was moving through the prairie. Thorns are not my friend

Foxglove beardtongue, which comes in a common white color (right) and a rarer purple variant (left). Below is false foxglove, which is a hemiparasite (plant that gains nutrition through parasitism and photosynthesis) that leaches off of oak roots

Bee balm, this one has a lot of ornamental cultivars

Rattlesnake master, a badass name for a weird and spiky plant

Ironweed. We have a few species and I don't know how to tell them apart

Wild quinine. In the 3 growth seasons I worked here, this one became much more common.

Prairie coreopsis (left) and tall coreopsis (right). Guess what the difference between these two is

Rosinweed (left) and cup plant (right). Two closely related species.

Maryland senna (left) and partridge pea (right). Similar (but not closely related) species that grow pods full of seeds. As they dry, the pods peel open and send the seeds flying out.

Prairie dock. These grow very tall and have huge leaves that are cool because the roots bring up water from deep underground

Ashy sunflower, a hemiparasite that kills goldenrod and tall grasses. As those two are very aggressive plants that can take over whole fields. ashy sunflower seeds are a great way to fight back against them and help increase biodiversity.

Cardinal flower. This one is endangered so its great that it's doing well and even spreading where I worked.

Common thistle. This one is unfortunately losing ground to invasive Canada thistle (not actually from Canada) and isn't very popular, but bugs love it.

Black-eyed Susan (left) and sweet black-eyed Susan (right). The latter is larger and doesn't tolerate shade as well.

Continued in part 2

[thelinguisticpoet]

365 Days Without You

I always thought grief would be black and white, monotonous for the most part. Then I thought it would be grey, like the clouds, right before it rained, holding onto as much as you can till you fall apart. But the past year has taught me that grief has colors, colors no one stops to notice or understand, colors I never thought I’d see again...

Sometimes grief would be blue, like the sky that goes on without an end, it was quiet and calm, maybe a little long yet soothing despite the sorrow deep within. Grief was green, like the trees, grass, and weeds that grew on the side of your grave, grief was growth and life despite the life lost. Grief was red, like the million flowers we arranged atop your grave in hopes you could smell them the way we could, red like the anger that kept seething despite all the rational thoughts and beliefs, a little faulty and unpredictable. Then, grief was yellow, it was funny with a little drop of sunshine where you could only think to find darkness, it was proof you could smile despite adversities. Grief is anything but the gloomy, grey picture we often paint in our heads.

I still vividly remember the day I received the call at work. I had only imagined what pain and sorrow would feel like until that moment, and despite knowing the worst has happened, all I felt was complete numbness. I could have sworn I held my breath on the ride home, wishing the car to speed past traffic lights, but also praying not to reach, not to ever find out what was awaiting me at the end of the journey. I was not prepared for this goodbye despite knowing and feeling its lingering presence for months. I was not ready to let you go… 

I had so much to say and yet silence engulfed me whole for months. I could never quite put my thoughts into words the way I wanted to, I could not speak to a wall thinking your presence filled the room or think of you as an angel living in the heavens above, looking down on me. I could not simply pretend you still were here, yet I could not completely fathom your absence long enough to understand that you were gone forever.

Maybe I was a little mad, but more than anger, it was sadness in a way I had never felt before. It was in knowing nothing would ever come close to having spent decades with you ever again. It was in knowing I could never again hold your hand as we walked through the park, never again drink the coffees that you make or share your favorite strawberry ice creams with you, it was in knowing I could never again hear your voice calling me out as I walked past your room, never again having your presence in celebrations and festivities that you dearly looked forward to. It was in knowing you’d never again sing along to the songs that played on the radio, never again waking up in the wee hours to catch World Cup matches, listening to your commentary and supporting Brazil because that was your favorite team. It was in knowing you’d never be the one who takes up the spot right next to me in family portraits and birthday photographs, it was in knowing I have kissed you goodbye for the last time and put you six feet deep where I could not quite reach you the way I wanted to. My sorrow was tied to never having you again, and knowing that there is still much I needed you for in life. It is tied to the absence and void that I now have to live and make peace with because there isn’t much else to do…

I expected myself to feel lost, to go through tons of emotions, behave irrationally, throw tantrums, and spend most of my days and nights in complete solitude. Life was a far cry from what I’d imagined, I spent most of my days after your loss swamped with work and I was surprisingly good at it. And when I couldn’t breathe, I found myself locked in a toilet or curled up on the bed, holding myself together on the brink of losing it, praying to keep it together for just a bit longer. This was a huge loss for the entire family, and with the emotional rollercoaster we all rode those months, I found it necessary to keep all my pain and sorrow hidden. I made the most jokes, recalled your time with us animatedly and did what I could to make sure everyone was okay. Most days, I kept myself mentally and physically busy to the point when I hit the bed, there was no room for thinking, let alone overthinking. All I did for a good six months or so, was work, exhaust myself and sleep.

Life took a complete turn overnight and I was nowhere near prepared for a death I knew was coming and would completely shatter me.

Tell me, how does one prepare for the complete absence of a loved one for the rest of whatever forever we have left…

I am grateful for photographs and videos of you; they bring you back whole to me for a split second every time I catch a glimpse of them. Sometimes, with my eyes closed, I could swear I feel you right here with me. In the moments I spend most alone, most broken and find myself hurting and longing for your comforting hug and presence, I feel myself break in a way I could never explain. But in those very moments, I think you’re somewhere nearby, holding my hands, silently sitting with me, the way you always did. I know you are right here. 

You’re in every flower that blooms in my garden, in every innocent smile and laughter of every child I meet on the streets, in the black coffees I drink every morning now, and in your favorite songs that play constantly on my playlist. You’re everywhere I turn, and it is not painful anymore. It’s comforting to know the things you’ve left behind in the form of objects, routines, and habits help hold me together in knowing you’re just as much here as you were before when I feel a little abandoned in life.

It still feels like you’re asleep in an unknown, unfindable room in this house, I still wait to see if you’d come walking down the hall whenever we gather for family time like you always do, I still think you’re here whenever I turn another corner or sit on your couch waiting for you to magically appear again as though nothing went amiss, like the past year didn't happen. I wonder if I prayed long and hard enough, if you'd come right back and life would resume playing out the way it was supposed to.

Sitting here, I could tell you I did not believe I’d make it past the first 24 hours, let alone a whole year. It feels surreal, like a never-ending dream I hope to awaken from and find you laughing with me as I recall every little detail, but it all feels less probable and more an unchanged reality as time passes by. With every day that begins and ends without you, know that I carry you in my heart, know that every step I take and every single thing I do, will embody you, and it will be something I hope makes you proud.

Tell me what I missed when I see you again, tell me how much you missed me and hold me till I feel whole again, tell me all your wonderful adventures from when you were young again even though I remember every story, every word, by heart, the way I do you.

I will always hold you in my heart for whatever life and eternity there is left to live,

with eternal love,

Rose.

In loving memory of my most beloved grandfather♥️

© Raina Rose 

[bannock-freak]

remember Chrys and Callum and Ren from shitshow? well i unearthed this wip of them being fail adults. may have posted it on tumblr before? and then deleted it? couldn't say. regardless it entertains me so rated M. yay? gore drugs murder suicide mention. but its funny. i promise. or i think its funny. anyways

The smell of the pine trees, wet dirt, and cold damp air reminded Callum of Nanaimo. 

‘Fuck,’ Was the thought which followed immediately thereafter. ‘Now I want Nanaimo Bars.’ 

Dismissing the craving that burned in him at the thought, for he wouldn’t be getting any of those any time soon in the state of New York, Callum flung another shovelful of dirt over his shoulder. 

“Feels like it’s gonna rain,” He said, looking over the line of the handle to the man on the other side of the hole.  

Chrys looked up and Callum was pleased to see that he didn’t cut a particularly romantic figure at the moment. His blond hair was plastered to his forehead, glasses crooked and smudged on his red dirty face, and his clothes were so thick with moisture and mud they hung in unflattering bulky wrinkles. It was a delightful contrast to the Chrys that Callum was adjusted to. Even hot off the soccer field Chrysanthemum “My Mom was a Botanist” Slate had managed to come across as fresh and happy as, well, as a flower. Chrys was always smiling. Always sweet. Rarely busted a sweat even when he was throwing around heavy crates full of delicates for his antiquities business. Right now, very little of those Classic Americana good looks remained, and the smug happiness Callum felt at seeing it almost made up for the fact that he was here, in this hole, probably looking worse than the man across from him.

After all, Callum had more hair to get dirt and sweat in.

Fuck the shower he was going to need after this was going to be the most embarrassing, frustrating, orgasmic medicine he would ever see in this life, Callum was sure of it. In the meantime, the schadenfreude would just have to do.

He really, sincerely, hated this asshole.

As he rammed the shovel into the ground again, Callum quirked a brow at the blond, blowing a strand of sticky black hair out of his eyes, and 'smiled'. 

“Betcha anything we’re gonna get soaked in thirty.” He looked at the dirt, trying to ignore the burning in his shoulders, his arms, his hips, fuck, his neck as he heaved another shovelful out the hole. “We should call it quits here, soon.”

“How the fuck would you know?” Chrys said more than asked as he, too, heave-ho’d another heap of dirt. 

 A bunch of it got into his hair. Callum managed to keep his snickering to himself but he wished he could take a picture of this. Memorialize this. Picture perfect Chrys, all over in dirt and mud. Wonderful. His scowl was deep. Metaphor demanded Callum compare the depth of said scowl to the hole they were in, and he did. 

The hole lost. 

‘Any other day and my bank account for a camera.’

“I can feel it in my bones!” Callum rattled out a groan, adopting a high humped stoop over his shovel and wiggling about with arthritic flair. “You listen here sonny, it’s gonna start coming down any minute now.” 

Chrys gave him a disgusted look, and cemented the vibe with an obnoxious roll of his eyes. Uhg. Disgusting.

“Well if it’s gonna rain,” He said, “Better dig faster, then.” 

Because he was an adult, Callum did not stick his tongue out at the man across from him.

It was a close call though.

Even so he couldn’t deny an eyeroll. “Yes, sir.” 

Sounded a bit more like “Fuck you” than he wanted to admit but whatever, cut a guy some slack. Callum had been fucking digging for two and a half hours and there was still at minimum one more foot to go, according to Sir Almighty Dick Face. 

“Why the hell’m I here anyway?” Callum grumbled to himself, no small amount of bitter about his present situation. “I hate you. You hate me. Why did you even call me. I wouldn’t help you paint your kitchen for a pizza and ten pounds of weed.”

He could be at home, he reflected. Ripping from his bong while he wrote or got nose deep in a book. Or better yet, Callum began to salivate, he could be in a nice, roasting hot bath up to his neck in thick luxurious bubbles, soaking up the scent of his favourite incense and sipping at some Pinot Grigio, which he usually hated because he was one of those unlucky people who could taste the tannins but anything was better than being in this fucking hole. 

His skin shivered through the damp of his hoodie, a fact which his aching muscles didn’t appreciate. Callum yearned with more ferocity than he’d ever felt for anything. 

‘And then,’ He thought, viciously stabbing the dirt. ‘I’ll order those goddamn Nanaimo Bars, straight from B.C., and I will laugh.’

The man across from him scrubbed his hair back from his eyes with his wrist, sighed, and buried the spade of his shovel again. “Because Ren didn’t want to break a nail and, while you’re not wrong, you’re also literally the only other person who can help me with this unless we get him involved.” 

Callum grumbled. Chrys grunted in mutual appreciation. 

Blast the power of mutual friends. 

But at least Chrys sounded a little sympathetic. At least Chrys was in the hole with him. At least Chrys wasn’t worried about getting his hands dirty.  

Or breaking a nail.  

“Whatever.” Callum said, the epitome of wit. “I still hate you.” 

“Feelings mutual, slut.” Chrys snorted. “Still digging, aren’t you?” 

Callum’s turn to roll his eyes. “Get fucked, cockwart.” 

Watching Chrys’s nose wrinkle in dismay was definitely worth the vulgarity. “Ew. Why would you say that?” 

“One, you literally just called me a slut. Two, better question. Why am I here?” 

“Like.” Despite how breathless he was, Chrys was still managing sarcasm very well. It was a nice change, actually, the guy usually liked to pretend sarcasm didn’t exist even as he maintained his joyful demeanour with enough irony to curl a hipster’s moustache. “Philosophically speaking, or?” 

Or not. Fuck this version, actually, because yes, that was exactly what he’d been getting at. Callum knew exactly why he was here. He even knew why Chrys had asked for his help specifically, and it wasn’t just in thanks to the power of mutual friends, one of which Chrys had done a major solid for.

No. Callum wrote a certain genre of books for a living. Of course he’d be the first person Chrys would call.

That didn’t mean he wanted an answer for his rhetorical bitching. 

“Hey, Aristo-thot.” Callum shook his head, feeling the coil of braided hair on the nape of his neck wiggle. “Do not.” 

Chrys said, “Whatever.”

He stabbed the dirt, stabbed the shovel in deeper with a good hard kick, and heaved it out in a motion that’d become so routine he’d bungle it if he took two seconds to think about it. Out of his periphery he blearily noted Chrys pausing to look up. A second later Callum felt a telling smack of water hit him right on the back of his sticky hot neck. 

Here it was, he thought as he straightened to squint at the sky. The joy of being right.

To Chrys, Callum said, “Oh good, your tone was so dry even the sky noticed.”

“Well,” Chrys said with a tone that was a confused mess of stubborn FuckYouittude, resignation, and pure out of breath exertion. “Guess you were right.” 

The way he said it made it feel like an accusation, so Callum gave him a nasty grin and hoped the crookedness of his teeth would aggravate Chrys even more. 

“Guess so. Wanna call it quits?” 

Chrys sighed, and looked at the ground for a long moment like he was considering it. Eventually, to Callum’s disgruntlement, his face journey gave way to resignation and he said, “No. We still have one more foot.” 

Callum couldn’t withhold his very heartfelt groan. Seriously? “Dude, fuck off, man, it’s been three hours and I’m tired and it’s literally starting to rain! You seriously wanna spend another one fucking digging out another foot in the fucking rain?” 

Chrys’s glower was powerful. “Well I’m sorry that it has to be six feet!” 

Callum threw down his shovel. “Doesn’t.” 

“Does too!” 

“Doesn’t,” Callum said and began to clamber out of the hole. 

“It does fucking too!” 

The sky was giving a friendly reminder via a gentle drizzle. Callum turned to face Chrys and threw his arms open wide. “Why.” 

Chrys blinked. His pissy face adopted a hint of confusion so Callum elaborated.  

“Why’s it gotta be that deep?” 

Chrys blinked again, good for him, and started, “Well-” 

“I’ll answer for you,” Callum interrupted because no. Just no. “It doesn’t. Not after the bubonic plague. Modern day America?” Callum held up his fingers. “Four feet.” 

Chrys decided to be obtuse, apparently, because in return he said, “Okay, one more foot then!” 

Callum looked at his best friend’s boyfriend for a long, long minute while he caught his breath. Rainwater tapped out faster across his head and shoulders, dripped into his shirt, trickled its invasive bony coldness into the heat of his scalp. Chrys gave him the finger.

Callum turned around, grabbed the body by its legs and dropped all of it onto Chrys’s very stupid feet, which would no doubt be flipping him the bird too if they could, and therefore deserved it. The yowl which resulted was something Callum felt to his soul. He closed his eyes to drink it in with all the revelry it deserved, the effect of it so much that when he exhaled his stress released.

“Don’t let him smack you on your way out,” Callum said, then left for the significantly drier interior of his car.

~~~ 

There were a lot of ways to dispose of a body.

Burying one, in Callum’s personal opinion, was probably the worst way to do it. Unfortunately he neither had the lye, the pigs, nor the wood chipper for his personal favourites, and buying any of the aforementioned body-get-rid-of-ers immediately after a death was a one way trip to the slammer that would end in a conversation with his mom he, frankly, sincerely wished to avoid. But they had an impromptu coffin cobbled together out of palettes and driftwood, one tarp, a deer carcass, a fireplace, and a meat grinder that Callum would never be using ever again, so.

There was that.

“We have deer in New York, right?” Chrys asked.

“Careful,” Callum muttered as he surveyed the mess with the sinking feeling that he was probably in over his head. “Your city boy is showing.”

“You say that like you hunt.”

“I go outside. I touch grass. I take nature hikes. Did you know,” Callum was sure the sarcasm was dripping from him just like other things were currently dripping from other, other things. “The state of New York also has gophers?”

Chrys hummed an acknowledgement. They stood in silence.

“...Is that a y-”

Callum nodded. “That’s a yes, yes.”

Then he turned to the man next to him, gestured at the mess, and said, “Jesus Tap-Dancing Christ on a hot dog, what in the sweet loving merciful good green Earth did you do to that man?”

If there was ever a way to describe blood at a crime scene, Callum thought as he looked back over the mess, that never failed to impress upon him, it was the word ‘everywhere’. Because sometimes it did do that. The method, the viciousness, the location of the body, those often had a lot to do with the amount of everything that ended up everywhere. In his research for his books, Callum had found the eeriest photographs to be the ones where there was actually mostly nothing.

He was revising this opinion.

The stink alone was enough to sizzle his nose hairs. Callum tried to find words to describe it for future reference, threw the lot out, and decided after this he’d make a jump to a different genre of fiction because this was turning his stomach. The feeling of being in over his head was pressing, now. In all fairness, Callum was an idiot, and an idiot practiced in denial at that. It was only when Chrys had presented the hands and feet for deboning like the world’s worst puppy (complete with the requisite puppy dog eyes) upon him responding to an 'emergency call' that Callum had even understood his best friend’s boyfriend was neither hopping the Halloween train a month early, nor had he been speaking in hypotheticals.

Yesterday evening, Callum’s best friend’s boyfriend had murdered a man. Who also just so happened to be Callum’s other best friend’s boyfriend. 

Chrys scratched the back of his neck, looking sheepish in a way that usually spoke to giving someone a belated birthday card as opposed to, you know, murdering a man. His ears were even red.

“At least have the grace to look a bit nauseated!” Callum snapped.

“I am! I am! I think.” Chrys shrugged and folded his arms, his shoulders bowing inwards. “Honestly I kinda stopped smelling it a little while ago.”

Aghast, Callum pointed at the everything of it all. “How?”

There was even poop. The really impressive part was the way it had hit the ceiling, like Chrys had used his victim’s intestines for silly string. That was not generally something Callum saw in crime scene photos. Callum stared at it and wondered if he really actually knew the man next to him.

“Uh. Got used to it, maybe.”

“Right…” Callum could follow that. “So...was it a machete, or…?”

“Among other things.”

Callum looked at the blond next to him. “You didn’t buy them from Home Depot, did you?” Uhg, the paper trail...

Chrys shook his head. “Oh no, no. He had one laying around. And a bowie knife, a hatchett, a couple of pistols, one of those really big guns you get from Walmart. I only used his stuff.”

The sinking feeling was sinking deeper. He didn’t really want to know this but all the same Callum asked, “How many murder weapons have his DNA on them?”

Chrys grimaced. “Uh. Moooore than one?” He looked at Callum, his eyebrows twisted and his honey eyes big, a look Callum was very familiar with because it usually resulted in watching Chrys get his way with something. This had never failed to infuriate him. “You know what to do, right?!”

Callum met the man’s eyes and rued the day they’d ever met. After he finished with his new favourite activity, he nodded. “Yes. I do.”

“What’s that?!”

Callum looked back at the mess and sighed. “Kill myself.”

“Or, I have a better idea!” A cheerful voice piped up behind them, marked by the opening and closing of the door. 

“What’s that?” Callum called back, turning to greet Ren with his most solemn expression. “Because I’ve heard the weather on the København is really nice this time of year.”

Ren’s sunny grin turned grim. “Way to be a buzzkill, Cal, shit.”

“There is that…” Callum muttered, gaze magnetized to the ceiling in a moment of intense word association. 

Ren’s eyes swung upward too and his full, rosey mouth pulled into a grimace so stark it almost made the rouge on his cheeks pale. “Ah. A little on the nose. I am...very sorry. Uhm. Chrys? Sweety? I just want you to know I love you very much.”

Chrys nodded with a somewhat more fitting expression of sadness and shame. “I love you too, Ren.”

“That said, the next time I ask you to get rough,” Ren looked back at the ceiling. “Uhm.” He looked at Chrys with a glimmering smile. “Ignore me!”

“I would never-”

“Ignore me or kill me?”

“...Both. I feel like the answer is both.”

Callum did not want to hear about how his favourite frenemy fucked, so decided to break in right then and there, probably in much the same way that Chrys had broken into this poor man’s home before he’d done the deed. He shivered.

“Anyways, Ren, you said you had a better idea?”

“Oh! Yes.” Ren nodded, and sighed heavily. “Now. We all know how much I hate to do this, but, and now hang with me here-”

Callum groaned. “Ren.”

“Okay, bad choice of words given the meat dangling from the ceiling, I know, I heard it as soon as I said it, I’m sorry. But just hang with me, here.” Ren steepled his hands in front of his face, his eyes closed. The long eyelashes he wore fluttered, and Callum saw all the hints that Ren didn’t like what he was about to say anymore than they were enjoying the smell of the room they were presently standing in. 

Which meant only one thing.

“You think we should call your dad.” Callum said, interrupting Ren’s air-suck to say what he’d just said.

The air exhaled from Ren’s lungs with a mightiness that came from blowing many breathalyzers. After a couple of seconds the shorter man turned to look up at him and said, “It is just eerie how you do that, but yes, that’s exactly what I was going to say.”

Callum shrugged. Why not? “I’m down.”

“I’m not!” Chrys said in the high pitched tone of a man feeling the press of his hopeful future father-in-law’s hand crushing his balls. “That’s an awful idea! No! Please don’t.”  

Ren turned to Chrys and captured the man’s face between his hands. Callum couldn’t help but notice the contrast, helped along by how pale Chrys was at that moment, and also the fact that said man had basically stopped going outside in his free time since his parents died a few years back. If they weren’t standing in front of a real waste of a mess, he might have been able to appreciate the aesthetic of tan against pale, but they were, so he couldn’t.

‘I wonder if that has anything to do with this. The dead parents thing. Raising his sister...’ Callum’s eyes flitted around again, drawn inexplicably with all the gravity of the world’s trashiest reality show, and he pulled his shirt over his nose. ‘Buddy finally cracked.’

“Chrys,” Ren said with a smile that was not smiling. “Babe. Father of our future adopted children. Man who I sleep next to at night. As I said, I love you very much. That is a beautiful result of having known you for many years, having grown up next to you, having watched you grow into a kind, humble, and giving man who inspires me to do better, who picks me up when I’m low, who will cuddle me and soothe me when I watch the Kardashians. It’s because I’ve known you for so long,” Chrys’s cheeks were rising up between the press of Ren’s hands, the glitter of the gems on his nails almost matching the beading sweat on Chrys’s greying forehead. “That I know for goddamn well sure that you’re not actually asking me to clean this mess. Right?”

Callum could hear Chrys’s gulp from here.

“Right.” Chrys agreed. “Of course not.”

“And while Cal did help you debone things that should never require deboning,” Ren continued with increasing pleasantness. “I’m pretty sure my bestie isn’t down for cleaning up your mess either. Right, hon?”

Callum reached out and met the blind low-five with a slap of his own blind five. “Right in one, babe.”

“Always got your back, boo. So that means either you clean up this toxic waste site that really should require a team of highly trained professionals well used to erasing every trace of human...well, of human,” Ren’s eyes had no doubt also moved to take in the mess of, yes, ‘human’ was a good way to describe it. “Or we call my papa, who can hire said team of highly trained professionals. Or tell me where to hire said team of highly trained professionals if I pose to him a hypothetical.”

“I wish it smelled like a hypothetical,” Callum couldn’t hold in his groan. “This is going to follow me into my dreams…”

Ren shrugged and nodded, his strawberry blond mop of curls bouncing with the motion. “Fair point. Speaking of,” He looked back at the man whose jaw was still housed in his hand. “So, man of my dreams, what do you say?”

“...” Chrys heaved a sigh. “I say that this is going to make my asking him for permission to marry you when I find the right ring very difficult but if you think that’s best then,” He reached up and pulled Ren’s hands to his mouth, kissing them. “I trust you, and am grateful for your help out of this mess.”

“Oh don’t worry so much, papa’s seen worse...even though it’s one hell of a mess,” Ren smiled, this time for real, but it waned somewhat when he looked at the expanse of human on the everything again. “To...put it lightly. Uhm. What on earth did you do to him?”

Callum whipped around. “RIGHT? How is there even anything left to bury!?”

Ren nodded rapidly. “I don’t know whether to be impressed or scared.”

“Honestly,” Chrys said with a grimace of his own. “Me either.”

[lady-wallace]

Whumptober Day 16: Necrosis

More Obey Me! for today's @whumptober prompt. Picnics gone wrong.

Prompt: Necrosis, swamp, wound cleaning Fandom: Obey Me! Nightbringer Character: Barbatos

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Read on Ao3

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Day 16: Necrosis

Helena accompanies Barbatos on an errand to pick a special flower from the swamp. However, a strange bite leaves the butler in a very bad way. (Protagonist POV)

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It was actually a really lovely day, despite the fact we were currently trekking through marshland deep in the woods. The castle grounds and the city were a mere thought this far out. I’ll admit that when Barbatos asked if I’d accompany him on an errand I hadn’t exactly pictured getting up at the crack of dawn and driving out to the woods and then proceeding to hike for another two hours, but now that we were settled in, I was actually enjoying it. It was nice to get away from the city, especially to spend some time with Barbatos where his attentions weren’t first and foremost devoted to his young master.

“What exactly are we looking for again?” I asked as my boots squelched in the moist ground.

“Marsh hell lilies,” Barbatos replied over his shoulder. “They only bloom this time of year and they can be used for various recipes when dried. Prince Diavolo particularly enjoys them steeped in tea so I always like to collect a large quantity of them when I can.”

I nodded as I followed him. “They sound interesting.”

“I’ll make you a cup sometime.” He smiled at me. “They also make a fantastic addition to tea cakes.”

“I’d love to try some.”

He turned around with a pleased sound, pointing ahead. “Looks like we’ve arrived.”

We stepped into a clearing that held a large swamp in the center of it. The croak of frogs and the buzz of insects could be heard flitting among the lily pads. Flowers that bloomed a deep fiery red covered the area and I stood in awe.

“It’s beautiful!”

“They make quite a sight, don’t they?” Barbatos replied as he slid the backpack he was carrying off his shoulder, opening it to retrieve two pairs of clippers. “Let’s get to work then. Cut as many as you can and tie them in bundles—it will make them easier to carry and allow us to hang them to dry as soon as we get back.”

I nodded and took one of the pairs of clippers as I stepped toward the edge of the pond.

“And be careful, Helena, there’s some less than savory creatures in these parts. Watch where you step.”

“Right,” I replied, gingerly making my way through the weeds as I approached the first patch of the lilies. They really were beautiful; deep red and orange in color and the smell was sweet and spicy at the same time. I could see why they would make good tea if they tasted half as good as they smelled.

I cut the bunch and tied them together before moving on to the next one, piling the bundles into the basket I had brought.

“How are you doing?” Barbatos asked a little further down the way, cutting several of the flowers.

“Good,” I replied.

He smiled. “When we get tired, we can break for lunch, I packed a little picnic—ah!”

He pulled his hands back from the bunch of flowers he had been cutting, looking into the weeds around it.

“Barbatos?” I asked, straightening up. “Is something wrong?”

He rubbed at the back of his wrist briefly and shook his head. “Just a bug bite, I believe. There’s quite a few of them flying around.”

“Maybe you should take your own advice and be careful?” I teased.

He gave me a longsuffering, yet fond look. “Perhaps you’re right.”

We went back to cutting, building up a sizable pile of the flowers.

I finally sat back on my heels, rubbing my forehead with the back of my hand, peeling my silver curls away from my sweaty forehead. “I don’t know if we’ll be able to carry any more than this back,” I called to Barbatos.

He had moved around the pond toward me as he worked and finally glanced over at the pile we’d cut, kneeling as he tied up the last of the flowers.

“I think you’re right,” he said and made to stand.

I was surprised to see him stagger slightly, teetering so much he had to steady himself on the trunk of a tree. I reached out instinctively to grab his arm.

“Are you okay?” I couldn’t help but ask. It was rare to see him do so much as misstep. He was always so put together.

Barbatos gave a light laugh. “Quite fine, thank you. The ground is rather soft here.”

I nodded but could have sworn his unsteadiness continued as he made his way back up to where we had left our stuff. We bundled the flowers into the bags to carry them back.

“Ready for a little lunch?” the butler asked.

“Please! That was a lot of work,” I admitted.

“Hopefully rewarding work, though.” He chuckled and knelt to pull a blanket out of his bag.

I helped him spread it on the ground and we sat down as he pulled out sandwiches and thermoses of iced tea and cordial.

“This looks delicious, thank you so much for bringing lunch,” I said sincerely as I selected one of the perfectly made sandwiches.

“My pleasure,” Barbatos replied fondly and started to remove the gloves he had been wearing to collect the flowers.

As he set them aside and reached for one of the thermoses, I caught sight of a dark spot on the back of his wrist and couldn’t help the small gasp that escaped me.

“Barbatos, what is that?”

He stopped and glanced down at his arm, his own face confused. “I believe that’s where I got the bug bite.”

“Let me see,” I insisted and took his hand before I realized what I was doing. I started to flush before my worry overcame my embarrassment. There was a swollen spot on his wrist nearly the same color as his nail polish, dark veins stretching outward from it.

“This looks bad,” I said. “Are you sure it was just a bug bite?”

He studied it with a frown before pulling his sleeve down and gently slipping his hand from mine. “I’ll treat it once we get home.”

I pressed my lips together, more worried than I probably should be. It did look bad, but maybe it wasn’t actually as bad as it appeared to be.

“Please don’t worry over me,” Barbatos said. “It’s just a little inconvenience. Let’s enjoy our lunch.”

I nodded and let him pour me a cup of cold cordial. I didn’t mention the slight tremor in his hand. It might have just been my imagination.

The hike and the work had made me hungry and I ate several of the sandwiches before I noticed that Barbatos had barely finished one, mostly focusing on drinking tea. There was a sheen of sweat on his brow that was persistent despite our immobility and the pleasant breeze.

“Are you not hungry?” I asked.

“I had a large breakfast,” Barbatos replied dismissively.

My worry growing, I set my empty cup aside. “We should probably start to head back, don’t you think? Then we can get your bite tended to.”

Barbatos gave me a tired smile. “I told you I was fine, Helena…”

I ignored him and started packing everything up. He reached for the thermoses to help but knocked one over, cherry red cordial spreading over the cloth.

“Oh my, that was unforgivably clumsy of me,” he muttered, clicking his tongue.

“It’s all right, we’re just on a picnic,” I assured him. “I won’t tell anyone.”

“That’s very kind of you.”

His hands were definitely shaking as he attempted to pick up the thermos again and I reached out to grab his hand, stopping him.

“Barbatos, you…”

He gave my hand a brief squeeze. “I’ll be all right,” he said softly, reaching up with his other hand to wipe a drop of sweat from his brow. “But you’re right, let’s get back before those flowers wilt. It’s rather warm out here today.”

I frowned. It really wasn’t that warm, and I was only growing more worried about Barbatos as we picked everything up and started back on the long hike to the car.

It didn’t take long for me to notice Barbatos lagging behind me slightly, his breathing sounding labored.

I stopped and turned to him. “Do you need to take a break?”

He frowned, slightly indignant. “No. I’m fine.”

Even as he said it, he swayed slightly, and his free hand came up to rest against his stomach, face paling.

“Barbatos, don’t lie to me,” I snapped suddenly, fist clenching around the handle of the basket I carried. “I think that bite was worse than you’re letting on.”

He looked like he was about to protest, but his shoulders slumped slightly, the hand against his stomach curling into his shirt. “Perhaps you’re right. I seem to be…experiencing several undesirable symptoms.”

“Like that?” I demanded.

He cocked his head to one side. “Fatigue, nausea, sweating.”

“Does it hurt?”

“A bit around the bite, yet.”

I nodded firmly. “Okay, thank you for being honest with me. Do you think you can make it back to the car?”

“There’s not really another option,” he admitted and I knew that was unfortunately true. He smiled though. “Unless, of course, you plan to carry me and all of these flowers.”

“I will if I have to,” I snapped, then stepped up beside him, grabbing hold of the basket handle with him. “At least let me help you.”

He sighed, but didn’t protest. “I’ll accept that.”

We continued, but I noticed with increasing worry that Barbatos’ steps grew more and more clumsy as we went along until he was nearly tripping over his feet.

“Here, lean on me,” I coaxed, ducking in.

He shook his head. “We’ll have to lose one of the baskets if we do that. I can manage…”

But even as he spoke, he let out a soft sound of pain and doubled over slightly, clutching his stomach.

“Barbatos!” I cried, instantly dropping my basket and grabbing his arms to steady him.

He gasped at my touch and flinched away. He staggered back against a tree, eyes squeezed in pain as he breathed heavily.

“What’s wrong?!” I demanded.

He gave a soft groan, forcing himself to straighten up. “It’s…I’m experiencing some muscle spasms and cramping.”

“Barbatos that’s not good!” I snapped and practically yanked the basket from him. “We need to get back to the car. We can come back for these later.”

“They’ll be past saving by then.”

“Better them than you!” I snapped.

Barbatos stared at me in surprise for a long second before he slumped in acquiescence. “Very well. I apologize for my foolishness.”

I pulled his arm around my shoulders and wrapped my other arm around his waist. He rested a lot of his weight on me, telling me just how much he was struggling.

We made it a few feet before Barbatos’ feet got tangled together and he stumbled, taking me down with him.

He caught himself with a gasp of pain and I looked down to see the hand he had steadied himself with.

Dark lines covered it, stretching from under his sleeve.

“Let me look at that,” I coaxed.

He sat back against a large stone, catching his breath as I grabbed his hand and pushed up his sleeve.

I gasped, genuinely shocked at how much worse the bite looked.

It had turned purple with a ring of red around it, the flesh slightly sunken and sickeningly discolored around it. The dark veins of poison continued up Barbatos’ arm as well, disappearing under his sleeve.

I swallowed hard. “Barbatos, I think something is very wrong with this.”

He blinked and glanced down, his own eyes widening. “Yes…I…I believe you’re right.”

“What could do this?”

He leaned further back against the rock, sweat practically pouring from his face now. “It…might be a swamp spider bite. Their bites are known to have severe symptoms and the venom can sometimes cause necrosis.”

My eyes widened in horror. “The venom is spreading! How do we stop it?”

He lolled his head, looking around. “We may be able to…draw it out. If you can find some skunk weed and…moss…”

I got up immediately, and began searching the area. Thankfully I was able to find what I needed and ran back.

Barbatos was clumsily trying to loosen his collar and I swiftly knelt beside him and reached out to help.

“Here, I’ll get you some more to drink in a minute…” I trailed off as I noticed a few faint black tendrils creeping up his neck. I peeled the collar of his shirt aside and saw that they extended from his shoulder.

“Barbatos…” I hesitated. “I need you to take your shirt off.”

He blinked at me, slightly shocked. “I’m sorry?”

I flushed, but continued. “I need to see how far this had gone.”

He complied and I helped him with the buttons, my cheeks flushing hotter as I pulled one side of his shirt open and eased his arm out of the sleeve. I would have been extremely flustered to be this close to him in his half-undressed state if I wasn’t so worried by what I had uncovered.

The black veins had traveled all the way from the suppurating wound on his wrist up to his shoulder where they were starting to spread over his neck and right pectoral.

“Barbatos,” I whispered, terror washing over me.

He tilted his head to see the extent of the damage and shut his eyes briefly. “We’ll try to draw it out with the poultice,” he said quietly.

I nodded, snapping myself into gear and crushed the plants up in my hands, pressing them against the bite and tying a kerchief around his arm to hold it there. He winced, the flesh obviously tender to the touch.

“Thank you,” he murmured, briefly pressing his hand over mine. His touch was so weak, it made me even more frantic to get him home.

“Hopefully that slows it down a little,” I said. “But we…we need to get back to the car, Barbatos. Can you make it?”

He nodded tiredly.

“Okay, I’ll help you up. On three—one, two…”

He staggered and I barely kept us both from falling. Despite his slim frame, Barbatos was solid, all lithe muscles that were currently trembling from the effects of the poison tearing its way through his veins.

My fear lent me strength, somehow keeping Barbatos upright and heading forward as we went as quickly as possible down the path.

I almost sobbed when we got to the edge of the forest and I saw the car. I got Barbatos into the passenger seat, situating him as carefully as possible before I grabbed the keys from his bag.

I drove as fast as I could while still obeying the laws of the road to get back to the palace. Barbatos was slumped in the seat, unresponsive by then and I wasn’t sure I had ever felt so much terror for anyone in my life. To think that a day that had started out so pleasant could have changed so drastically in a matter of hours. All because of a spider bite.

I skidded the car to a stop in front of the palace and hurried inside to call for help.

Amidst the hubbub Diavolo showed up.

“What’s going on?”

I swallowed hard. “Barbatos was bitten by a swamp spider…he’s…he’s really sick.” I bit the inside of my cheek but I couldn’t keep my voice from wavering.

Diavolo’s eyes widened and he hurried out to the car. “Barbatos?”

The butler didn’t respond and Diavolo waved the milling guards aside. “I’ll take him.”

“Are you sure?” I asked.

He smiled at me as he reached into the car. “I’m sure. Just promise me you won’t tell him? He’d never forgive himself.”

I gave the prince a wavering smile and hurried after him as he brought Barbatos to the butler’s room, laying him on the bed.

“I called the physician, my lord,” one of the guards said.

“Thank you,” Diavolo said.

I hurried to the bathroom to grab a wet cloth. I returned to Barbatos’ bedside, and started to wipe the sweat from his face and neck, worried about the fact that the veins still seemed to be spreading, if not quite as rapidly as before.

The doctor came quickly and inspected the wound, peeling back the poultice I had put on it earlier.

“You did good putting this on,” he told me. “It kept it from getting much worse. Unfortunately, the only way to stop the spread of the venom is to cut out the infected flesh around the wound. Once we do that, we can draw the rest of the poison from his system.”

I swallowed, pale and horrified at the notion, but if that was the only way there was nothing else for it.

“I’ll get my supplies and be back shortly.” The doctor left, leaving me alone in the room with Diavolo and the unconscious Barbatos. I tried to distract myself by continuing to dab his forehead.

“I’m sure Barbatos would apologize to you for not bringing back the marsh lilies,” I said quietly.

Diavolo snorted. “Of course he would. But it’s all right. He’s a lot more invaluable to me than some specialty tea.” He gave me a soft look. “To you too, I’m sure.”

I blushed, brushing Barbatos’ bangs back from his clammy forehead. “I hate seeing him like this,” I admitted. “It’s just…wrong.”

Diavolo nodded solemnly. “I feel the same. But I genuinely appreciate how you helped him, Helena. I’m not sure Barbatos would have been so willing to be open around anyone else.”

The doctor returned, setting a tray of sterile instruments onto the bedside table.

“This should be simple enough,” he commented, taking a folded towel and placing Barbatos’ injured arm on top of it. “If you could perhaps hold him still, though? This will not be a pleasant procedure and I don’t want him moving around.”

I swallowed hard but nodded. Diavolo cleared his throat and stepped over to the bed, positioning himself to hold down Barbatos’ legs.

I took I took Barbatos’ free hand, holding it tightly in some attempt at comfort as I pressed my other hand against his shoulder.

“Alright, I’ll do this as quickly as possible,” the doctor said and took up a scalpel.

Diavolo turned aside sickly and I glanced down at Barbatos’ hand clutched in mine, holding onto him tightly.

As soon as the doctor started, Barbatos let out a soft sound of pain, tossing his head weakly. Diavolo and I leaned our weight against him, making sure he didn’t move. He tried to kick once, letting out a strangled cry, but I soothed him softly, rubbing his knuckles.

The doctor finished quickly as promised and flushed the wound over a bowl before bandaging a fresh poultice over the wound. Barbatos lay limp on the bed, sweat glistening against his brow and chest.

“There. This should start the healing process. We’ll change the poultice out a few more times until we can’t see the veins anymore.”

“Thank you, doctor,” Diavolo said.

The doctor bowed. “I’ll be back to check on him later.”

I went back to washing the sweat from Barbatos before he started to shiver and I paused to reach down and pull the blanket over him.

“I have duties that I need to see to,” Diavolo said reluctantly. “Would you watch over him for me?”

“Of course,” I said instantly.

Diavolo smiled. “Thank you. Please let me know if you need anything.”

I nodded and he left the room.

I pulled a chair over to the side of the bed and took up my vigil. I reached under the blankets and took Barbatos’ hand again, squeezing gently.

“I know you’ll get better but you scared the hell out of me,” I whispered. “Please don’t do that again.”

He didn’t reply, deeply asleep. I laid my head down on the bed at his shoulder and finally allowed my eyes to fall shut, my constant worry over the last couple hours finally dragging me into exhaustion.

I woke later to a shifting beside me and a soft moan. I started awake, my hand clenching around something as I pushed myself up, realizing where I was and whose hand I was holding.

Barbatos shifted on the bed, eyes squeezed briefly before they fluttered open, his green eyes staring out blearily before they landed on mine.

“Hey,” I said softly, offering a smile. “How are you feeling?”

He cringed, starting to pick his injured arm up before he seemed to regret the movement, letting it fall back to his side. “Not at my best, regrettably.”

I squeezed his hand and he stared up at me again, a soft expression on his face. “I’m sorry, I don’t remember much after getting back to the car, but I assume I have you to thank for getting us home.”

I shrugged a bit self-conscious. “You were sick, I had to get you help.”

I finally released his hand and reached out to adjust his blankets, checking to see how the venom was progressing. I was relieved to see that the dark veins had faded to almost nothing, only visible right around the area of the wound itself.

“Helena…” Barbatos called softly, reaching up to brush his fingers over my cheek. I reached up and pressed my hand over his, leaning into his touch with a shuddering breath.

“Please don’t scare me like that again,” I blurted.

He looked slightly surprised, but also chastened. “I deeply apologize for worrying you. I shouldn’t have ignored the bite for as long as I did. It was careless.”

I nodded silently. “Yes, it was. But I’m glad you’re okay now. And you had better stay in bed until you feel well because if you even think of getting up before you’re completely recovered…”

“Hmm, but who will see to duties while I’m convalescing?” he asked.

“I’m sure Diavolo has already lined something up. He would agree with me about your recovery.”

“And what about you?” he asked, raising his eyebrow.

I gave him a firm look. “I will be here looking after you to make sure you stay in bed and recover swiftly.”

“Is that so?” he asked with a slightly teasing look, pulling my hand to his lips and kissing my knuckles, making me blush. “I suppose I can endure that.”

I smiled back. “How about some tea to start?”

He leaned back against his pillows with a sigh. “That sounds perfect.”

[sablewing]

Spring Gardening Photo theme - #358 Changing Season, #349 Golden Sunset, Random Photos

With the days growing longer and the weather warming up, I find I am thinking of the work that needs to be done in our flower gardens. We bought our house last fall and we are living in a new area. Because of the move and all of the other tasks of settling in, a I skipped a fall cleanup of the garden was. Due to the shift in ownership, the flower bed have weeds in them and left over debris from the plants and flowers that died last summer and fall.

As I look at the garden areas around the yard, intellectually I understand why it isn't in good shape. The previous owners were busy with their move so they did minimal maintenance. For our family, we had been busy with our move and there were other projects that took precedence last fall. While I know the why, I am still somewhat frustrated because as I start the cleanup my attention is drawn to additional areas that need attention. The task that I thought would take a week or two will probably take me several weeks due to my slow pace.

While I look over the flower beds, I see that I'll need to plan ahead if I want to keep them weed free. As I deal with the existing set, I'd prefer to not have as much work to take care of. In spite of the work, I am looking forward to doing it, mostly. Our climate here is supportive of gardening activities and the soil seems better. There is also more rainfall than I had at our old house. And overall the yard is in good shape, it looks like it had been maintained over the years. Last year was an exception and it's now my turn to clean up.

I am also delighted that I recognize many more flowers that grow in the local gardens. I will need to spend some time learning about the different trees in the area, there is a greater variety of them as compared to Southern California. Right now there are many trees with blooms on them, a variety of white and pink blooms throughout the area. In one tree I could hear the bees buzzing as they gathered pollen. Today I saw an apple tree in bloom. I knew it was an apple tree because it still had a label wrapped around one branch.

My approach for weeding is to spend a little time after lunch working in the yard. I haven't gotten very far, yet it is still satisfying to see areas where I've made things better. There is a growing space that is clear of weeds and I have cleared out dead leaves and branches in one area. After I complete this first pass of cleanup, I'll continue my approach to keep the weeds somewhat under control. As much as weeds can be controlled, that is.

As I weed, I think about the work I am doing and the moment I am in. Part of me wants to get angry about this extra work. Another part would like to blame someone else for this extra work. Or I could just walk away, let the yard be as it is and not worry about making things better. In the end, I keep weeding and working on the yard, bit by bit. For myself, I find it worthwhile to do this bit of work, for myself and my family, so we have a place that is pleasant to be in.

I also think about how having more people involved would make the work go faster. That seems harder than just doing the work myself. I might have to deal with disagreement about my approach or help that doesn't seem like quite enough. Yet I know many hands make a task easier. What I've noticed is that the ability to work together, to cooperate, even with individuals we disagree with, is one of the greatest strengths of humans. Individuals, working on small tasks can do great things when they work with others. I hope that everyone can find this ability to cooperate, to work with others for the common good of the community. I believe it is this ability that will carry us forward and build the future we want.

Written by T.S. Harpster Pictures by J.T. Harpster and Tamara Harpster

[knyinfinity]

Gentle Introductions

A gift for both myself and @risingscorchingsuns and also proofread by him as well. Hikaru and Amari's friendship is precious to us 🥰

Word Count: 1032

~~

The wind gently whistled through the trees that created a barrier around the meadow, blocking the two small bodied people from the rest of the world.

“I can’t help but feel as though we’ve forgotten something.” Muichiro said into the calm air as a bird flew overhead. Amari smiled slightly as she felt the crown of her and Muichiro’s heads rub against each other while both sets of their eyes were fixed skywards. There definitely couldn’t be a more picture perfect setting in her mind,

It was quiet in this slice of heaven that she’d found for the two of them. She had the one she loved most closest and he was safe, she couldn’t understand how she could be forgetting anything.

“Hikaru! Watch out!” A familiar voice rang through the silent air as the peaceful white clouds above her disappeared. And the air left her lungs.

“Ohmygoshimsosorry!” Amari heard a flurry of words thrown together but could hardly understand any of them as the mass of a purple human being made its way off of her and stood. She sat up to catch her breath, her eyes adjusting to the new person, ‘Hikaru’, now standing in front of her as Rengoku, the one who’s shout she’d heard before, caught up to the unfamiliar corps member.

She turned to see Muichiro had also sat up and was staring at her, his expression as unblinking as ever, as if watching to see how she would approach this. She merely sighed and tapped the top of his hand, slowly intertwining their fingers as they stood together. She still wasn't used to being allowed to touch him this way. She gave the Flame Hashira a suspicious look and placed her other hand on top of the hilt of her sword.

“Who's your pet?” Muichiro almost passed out. Even he knew to ask with a bit more grace than the way she just had. Hikaru’s face turned a deep shade of red, out of embarrassment or anger she wasn't really sure, as Rengoku merely laughed and wrapped his arm around Hikaru's waist.

“Pet? No, girl, this is my boyfriend!” It was at that moment she remembered the letter from Rengoku that morning proposing the idea of a double date, an introduction and celebration. Hikaru had just made rank Kinoto and Rengoku wanted to celebrate their relationship.

“I said sorry too.” Hikaru grumbled into Rengokus side. Amari hummed as the memories slowly drifted in and out with her, not really minding the presence of the violet haired boy anymore.

“So…Beetle Breathing?” She asked awkwardly. She honestly didn't know how else to start a conversation. Hikaru and Amari stared at each other for a moment.

“Smoke Breathing?” She rolled her eyes before pulling Muichiro back to the ground, laying his head in her lap as she leaned against a tree.

“I just wanted to get to know you, since you’ll be around Rengoku. It’s a self taught style, right?” He nodded hesitantly, unsure if he was being made fun of. “That’s really impressive. It takes a strong spirit and willpower to master a self taught breathing technique.” Amari flashed him a relaxed smile before returning to her usual plain look. Should he give her a hug? They’d only just met…

“I mean, I only really learned it because I couldn’t master Insect Breathing…so it’s not really that impressive…” He gave himself an awkward laugh before dropping his hands in his lap.

“He’s too hard on himself!” Kyojuro spoke up suddenly, and loudly, startling the two younger ones, but if he noticed he didn’t pause. “The more intricate that the breathing styles become, the more difficult they are to master. That means that you are well on your way to becoming a formidable opponent! To a demon anyways.” He finished with a reassuring thigh rub while Muichiro and Amari both sat nodding.

“We should make flower crowns.” Amari said suddenly. Muichiro began picking random flowers and weeds without argument while Hikaru looked at her with a confused expression.

“It sounds cute, but why? Oooo dragonfly!” He shouted, causing Rengoku to smile with a shake of his head as he wached his beautiful partner take off after the winged creature. He couldn’t help but admire him in the fading sunset light.

As he and Hikaru began to chase each other around, laughing and playing some random game of tag, Amari merely began to hum a quiet lullaby to herself as she watched them play. She watched Muichiro lie back down as he relaxed into her warmth and watched her hands intricately twine the flowers stems together.

“So what do you think of him?” He asked her as she held the crown out towards him. He nodded and sat up a bit, allowing her to place it on his head while she shrugged in response to his question.

“Why does it matter what I think?” Laughter rang in the background as Hikaru tackled Rengoku to the ground. They watched the two roll around for a minute before Mui answered again with a more insistent tone in his voice.

“Amari…” She sighed as she began weaving flower stems again. She didn’t want to admit it to herself but in the short time she’s seen and known him, she’s actually grown quite fond of Hikaru.

“I think that he’s a wonderful match for Rengoku and I think that his breathing style is a beautiful reflection of that. I think that he’s sweet…” She held the second unfinished crown, comparing it to her head for a moment before continuing. “I think it’ll be fun learning to be friends.” A soft smile crossed her face as the words left her lips before it was her normal flat expression as she went back to focusing on her crown and threading the stems.

“Kyo, can you cut this side of the forest in half with your Total Concentration Breathing?”

“I’m not sure, shall we find out?” Muichiro met her gaze for a long moment before hurrying over to where they were standing facing the forest that hid their sanctuary.

Things would be a bit more interesting for the four of you from here on out at least.

[greatcometcas]

Hi!! i'm asking a bunch of people but do you have any destiel au best friend to lovers fic recs???? pleaseeeeee (no abo) thank youuuuu!!!! oh also as an aside I loveeeeeee your message "make your voice. a mail." to ask you something

Hello and thank you for the ask! Sorry for taking ages to answer 💖

Here are some fics that aren't specifically best friend to lovers but hopefully still fit what you're looking for. I wanted to do somewhat detailed thoughts on why i picked each one but also my memory is terrible so it's a lot of. listen. they're best friends. they're in love. i did cry.

drive, darling by @goldenboydean (E, 44k)

It's the last day of July and the air is thick with heat and road dust. Dean Winchester is waiting for his new lodger, some photographer from Chicago coming down to take pictures of the famous covered bridges in the area. And when Castiel Novak arrives at the Winchester farm both men develop a bond that grows stronger as the days go by. But Cas is only here for a short stay and Dean fears that falling for him would only end in a heartbreak. Some things, however, are inevitable. Summer is in full bloom in Madison County, Iowa. Hot, cloudless and ripe with possibilities.

This fic is such a comfort to me. Dean and Cas strike up a instant connection and then watching them get to know each other and build that connection into something more is really beautiful. It's also very lovingly portrays the community that dean has found for himself with his friends and has great little brother Sammy stuff.

A Weed in Any Other Place by @scones-and-texting-and-murder (E, 63K)

When Cas Novak’s car breaks down after a meeting with his agent about his overdue second novel, he heads to the nearest garage. Stuck there with his laptop as he waits for repairs, he finds himself unusually productive. The next day he sheepishly returns to the garage in hopes that they’ll let him sit and write and magic will strike again. This time he meets Dean, the son in Winchester & Son, who is doing his best to run the family business on his own. As the two of them get to know each other, little details–-like a vase with a single flower by the register–-show Cas that there is more to Dean Winchester than meets the eye.

A dreamy, delightful, romcom fic. I was hooked right from the start and read it all in basically one sitting. There was a lot of blushing and being unable to control my face in public. The budding friendship turned romance between dean and cas is so sweet.

Lonesome Town by @green-eyes-and-classic-rock (E, 113K)

In the Spring of 1958, Castiel drops out of West Point to go back to NYC and pursue his dream of being a pianist. Tragedy strikes, and soon he finds himself having to take care of his 8 year old niece, Claire. His gig at a local bar is his only solace...well that and the owner of the bar who he quickly finds he can't live without.

Been a while since I read this one but my bestie and i still talk about it on the regular. I'm a sucker for a period AU and the delicious angst here is definitely a bonus. Pianist!Cas lives in my heart always.

Sleepless in Lawrence, Kansas by @princemalice

Destiny is something we've invented because we can't stand the fact that everything that happens is accidental.

A Sleepless in Seattle AU (ish). Cas hosts a call-in radio show and Dean becomes one of his regular callers, so their friendship is built in this beautiful on-air bubble. Seeing them get to know each other and become comfortable with one another, even while anyone could be listening, is lovely and Dean and Cas having the time to just talk is something that will always be so special to me. It's also got a really great Sam and Dean dynamic.

spirit of the west by @urne-buriall (M 140k)

Dean grew up on a horse farm and can't imagine any other life. There are drawbacks to working for his father, but they're worth it if it means remaining with his beloved horses. Besides, between his broken arm and his lack of prospects, he hasn't got much else. Something of an outsider, Dean always feels like there's something he's missing. But this tense summer brings back a figure from his past: years ago, a teenaged Cas worked for a season at the Winchester ranch. His return could change everything. If you ever wanted a 90s horse girl book, but starring a young Dean Winchester, this is your fic.

When I first read this one, I had to keep putting my kindle down and do a lap around my apartment because of the pure surge of emotions it gave me. There's also a fantastic playlist to accompany it.

--

Some of these are definitely fics that I found through other blogs/rec lists so maybe they've already popped up in your ask adventure? in that case, consider my recommendation a further endorsement. And if you find any new faves from anyone else please share!

[backyardbunnynews]

Are Backyard Bunnies a Hidden Tool for Pest Control? Are Backyard Bunnies a Hidden Tool for Pest Control? The Surprising Pest Control Benefits Of Backyard Bunnies Imagine stepping into your backyard on a warm afternoon, where sunlight dapples the grass, and suddenly, you spot them—those fluffy, twitchy-nosed critters we affectionately call “Backyard Bunnies.” But here’s the kicker: they might just be your best-kept secret in the ongoing battle against pests. Yes, you read that right. These adorable furballs aren’t just cute—they’re nature’s own little cleanup crew, diligently munching away at weeds and pesky critters. Let’s connect the dots. For years, you might have relied on chemical sprays and synthetic repellents to safeguard your garden. You’ve probably spent countless hours and hard-earned money trying to stave off unwanted pests. Enter the Backyard Bunnies. These gentle herbivores have an undeniable knack for foraging through your garden, feasting on the plants that pests love, all while leaving your more delicate flowers and vegetables unharmed. It’s a win-win situation if you ask me. Now, I know what some of you might be thinking: “But won’t they just gnaw through my prized petunias?” It’s a valid concern! However, the beauty of having these furry friends around is that they are selective eaters. With the right landscaping (think a mix of tasty, bunny-friendly plants and a dedicated vegetable patch), you create a natural balance—your bunnies will become your garden’s unofficial protectors, munching on their favorite snacks while sparing your prized florals. And let’s not overlook the bonding experience! Picture it: you’re sipping your morning coffee as your kids giggle, chasing these fluffy creatures around. What better way to teach your family about the environment and the importance of natural pest control than with a few cute Bunny companions? Watching them hop freely in the yard adds a vibrant, lively atmosphere that no conventional spray can replicate. So, why not take action today? Consider adding a few Backyard Bunnies to your home. Not only will they help manage your pests, but you’ll also find yourself enchanted by their antics. Embrace the charm of having these delightful little gardeners among you, knowing that these steady munchers may just hold the secret to a healthier, more vibrant outdoor space. https://backyardbunnynews.com/are-backyard-bunnies-a-hidden-tool-for-pest-control/?feed_id=10759&_unique_id=67cc337ac46da

[pockymun]

2024 Garden - Week 9 (8/4-8/9)

The green bean plants have gotten more aggressive towards the cucumbers. Their flowers are taking some time to blossom.

There's plenty of big tomatoes on the plants, enough that they're starting to topple over the side of the raised bed.

The cucumber plants decided to put on more foliage than fruits this week. I thought they'd only have to be pruned once. There were only three cucumbers ready on Monday morning. I guess after last week's haul, the plants are a little tired!

Still waiting on the dill heads for pickling. The smaller dill don't seem to be going anywhere. The carrot leaves are getting longer, but I don't really know what's going on underground.

After work on Wednesday, I went to the garden with the intention of doing my monthly volunteer work. I was going to weed around the apple trees. But I took the pruners with me. After 45 minutes of pruning my own plants, I decided that was enough work and I needed to leave before I did more damage.

The tomato plants are naked. Just about all the leaves were yellow with brown spots! It didn't help with the weight. I twisted some branches onto each other to support one another, and so they would stop hanging in the aisle so much. I cut off all the branches that didn't have fruit on them, and a couple that did.

A lot of leaves on the cucumber plants were yellowing or had spots on them. I think it's just a common leaf spot problem, but they aren't exactly healthy so I cut them off. At least I can see into the plants now, right?

There's plenty of baby cucumbers on the plants. Next week should be a big haul.

Even the green bean plants were pruned slightly. I cut away the stems that were crowding the tomatoes and cucumbers. I don't see the cucumber plants growing much taller, so the green bean plants can take the top of the trellis. I think I saw some little pods near the flowers!

With all this pruning, the plants on the other side of the raised bed are left alone. The leaves of the carrots are getting bigger. The dill are just there. The jalapenos are making a couple fruit at a time.

We got hit with the remains of Tropical Storm Debby today. There was standing water around my raised bed. The plants were thoroughly drenched, but about an hour before I arrived, the rain had stopped and the sun came out. We had a good breeze going to start drying stuff off.

We've gotten a lot of rain in the past couple weeks. I think even the cucumber plants need some dry time. Luckily, it's not supposed to rain all next week.

This week's harvest wasn't much. Five regular sized cucumbers and two jalapenos. I could make a small batch of pickles, but I think I'll just make a salad this week. I took a better picture of the green bean plants on the cucumber trellis.

[dazzlingfantasiesblogs]

You Decided This

WOW.. Been a bit!!! So, I finished The Walking Dead (Finally) and Daryl Dixon and decided to start writing for TWD too.

Here is a new one!

Warning: Sexual Themes, Vioulence, Abuse, Cursing

“It has been some time Y/N” Aaron spoke quietly, careful to not push your fight response. “Looking at the one armed man you smiled lightly. “Long time no see stranger. How are you?” Looking up from your garden, he looked around carefully to not step in any traps. “Follow the blue stones” Nodding he made his way to you. Sitting down, he watched as you picked vegetables and removed weeds. “Aaron, I know you didn’t come to watch me garden. What is going on?” He took a deep breath nodding. “We need you.. I need you..” Sighing slightly you took off your gardening gloves. “I can’t. Not if HE is around.” “I wouldn’t ask unless with was.. important..” Looking into his eyes you nodded once.

Giving the lowdown on the whisperers and the multiple people who died you didn’t know how to react. Jesus and Tara and you had been very close. Jesus coming to visit every so often to get away from the Hilltop. He often told you everything he knew about the surrounding areas.

Staring at the flowers, you didn’t know what to say. “I heard of the whisperers and seen them about a week ago. Judith told me about them too.” “Judith told you..?” looking back at him you nodded. “She sometimes sends a letter on Sawyer and he runs it back to me.”.  Aaron nodded, picking at his zipper, trying to rip off the band aid of what his request was. “There is a girl,, named Lydia..” Aaron continued to tell you her struggles within the community. Everything that happened with her and how everyone treats her poorly. “I get that pain…” you spoke out looking to him. “What does she have to do with me Aaron?” “She would be safer with you.. You can relate to her in more ways than one..” “What would you tell everyone? Hey I dropped Lydia off at Y/N house?” Aaron chuckled. “No.. no one knows you live here beside Jesus and  I . Plus you have it so blocked off and tapped up, if anyone did go looking for this place, they are long dead before the reach this cottage. “I can’t risk seeing him Aaron..” “He is at the Hilltop right now.. Lydia is in Alexandria… Gabriel, Rosita, Eugene.. we all miss you..” Putting your hand up you stopped him from talking anymore about it. “Fine.. Let me get my gear and we can head to get this poor girl..”

“Come on Buck!” getting on your horse, your white dog following by your side. “Sawyer, Scout!” The dog ran ahead of you and Aaron as you made your way to Alexandria.

Walking through the gate, you sucked in your teeth looking around. Memories flashing back to all the times with him. The stinging pain in your heart making its way to your stomach. The feeling making you want to vomit the lunch you had before leaving. Walking through the field of crops you saw a young girl picking weeds. Seeing her arms, you could tell instantly this is the girl Aarron told you about. “Lydia, can I speak to you?” Lydia stood up walking towards you. She looked nervous, looking you up and down. “Lydia this is Y/N. She is a trusted friend, amazing warrior and knows what it is like to be an outcast..” Aaron spoke sadly at the words. Lydias interest was peaked and her anxiety showed the way she wobbled back and forth. “Hello Lydia. As Aaron said my name is Y/N.. This is Sawyer..” nodding to your dog. “I live in a cottage about an hours ride from here. It is safe, secure and sustainable. I built it with my own two hands. I have a spare bedroom. I can teach you how to properly hunt, take care of yourself. Without relying on others..” You nodded to the rest of Alexandria. “Not to mention, you will be away from.. those who look down on you.. I won’t force you since you just met me. I am only staying the night. It will be up to you.” Speaking calmly to her you handed her a picture of your home. She looked it over and smiled lightly. “It is beautiful..” “It is home..” smiling to her. “Y/N?!” Hearing your name you looked behind Lydia. Gabriel and Rosita running over. “It has been years since we have seen you!!” Gabriel hugged you tightly, Rosita next. “Nice to see you two.” “What are you doing here?!” Rosita asked looking to Lydia than you. “I going to live with Y/N!” Lydia spoke before you could. “What? That is a council decision..” Gabriel spoke sternly, his demeanor changing quickly. “Fuck your council. This girl has been through hell. Instead of protecting her, you allow others to harm her. Because you think she is the result of the others death.” You stood in front of Lydia, putting and arm in front of her and placing her behind you swiftly. “It was a matter of time before you ran in with the Whisperers. Especially since they are on your doorstep. She is not to be at fault for the others death. Just like you Rosita are not the fault of Sashas. It was going to happen either way..” Rositas eyes went wide when you put it into perspective. Gabriel took one step forward. Drawing your swords quickly you held them to his neck. “ This isn’t up for discussion Gabriel.” Aaron chuckled silently. He know the council would try to intervene and you would not have it if someone was in danger.

Gabriel nodded once. Sliding your swords back in their holsters, you turned away from them , Sawyer and Lydia following you.. “You can sleep..” “I will sleep on the roof.” Speaking you cut off Gabriel. “I was just going to give her another hug.. she was ready to behead me..” he shook his head watching you lead Lydia away.

“Why are you helping me..?” Lydia spoke quietly. “Because, I know how it is.. I don’t know.. Just..  figured I could help you.” “You don’t know me though..” chuckling you looked back at her “You don’t know me either. But, I can sense you are a good kid.” “I can sense you can keep me safe” both of you chuckling staring at the night sky. “Why did you leave..?” “A man I loved.. crushed me to nothing..”

Waking up you felt a shoulder nudge. “Y/N you gotta go!” Aaron spoke out, worry in his eyes. “He is here. .I didn’t know he was coming back, I swear!” “Fuck..” Getting up, you slid your swords on your back. Lydia awoke seeing pull your hair to side noticing a tattoo she had seen before. It was a small skull on your neck, with X’s for eyes. “It is Daryl who broke… your heart.” Lydia spoke quietly. “Yeah..”

“It is fucking like  you like puttin yahself in danger!” Daryl hollered at you. The fight was over with the saviors. Everyone was exhausted beyond reason. You had done a lot during the savior wars. Even getting asked to marry Negan to save Daryl. While Negan tried time and time again to kiss you, have sex with you.. you always had a quip or pushed him away. The sole reason you agreed, was to make sure Daryl stayed alive in lockup.  “Putting myself in danger? Who the fuck are you talking too?!” Getting toe to toe with the archer you looked him in the eyes. “I fuckin saved your ass. Like I always fucking do. You were pinned down by all of them.. You really thought I was just going to let that happen?!” “You are a dumb bitch.. just go. I am so fucking sick of you always bitching and moaning. No one needs you here! Hell no one wants you here! Always going against Rick.. Just fucking go Y/N.. I am done with you.. with this relationship.. Fuck you..” Daryl didn’t break stride once as he said those words to you. Daryl and you had been jointed to the hip for years keeping each other safe. Not getting into a situationship till the prison. “GO!” He hollered shoving you, pushing a finger into your bullet wound on your right shoulder. Wincing, you stepped back. Never did you think Daryl would intentionally hurt you. Leaving the house, you walked to the park in Alexandria, looking over the water. Everyone was having a party, happy for everything to be done. When you started to walk back to your shared home, you saw Daryl putting his tongue down another woman’s throat. You packed a bag, and headed for the gate. That is when Tera tried to stop you.

You told Lydia some of the story. Not mentioning everything to save yourself new heartbreak. Getting into the house you walked down the stairs. Pulling a cloak over your head,  you grabbed Lydia's hand. “Aaron get Buck and meet me at the gate..” Aaron nodded heading out the front door. You and Lydia headed out the back. The south side of the gate was the opposite where Daryl was last seen. “Sawyer!” calling to the dog, he quickly made way to you. Getting close to the gate, you saw Buck and Aaron standing there. Helping Lydia up first, you got on behind her. Aaron opened the gate quickly. Not even a minute after closing the door, Daryl walked by looking over Aaron who seemed out of breath. “You ok man?” Raising an eyebrow he looked him over. “YUP! Gracie just had me running around with her this morning!” Aaron mentally kicked himself for the lame excuse. The archer nodded slowly walking away from Aaron. Turning back to see the one handed man standing there looking past the gate.

[savetooru]

where the blue-moon weed grows

something something went out for discount okonomiyaki and overpriced iced coffee and it was sweltering this morning. the sky bled a little bit earlier so everything's glassy and yellow 'round the edges now; mom's taking a nap on the couch and the electric fan and i are best friends again. our phones are so high tech these days that photos don't really look like photos anymore: for anybody lucky enough to remember those kitschy sepia instagram filters circa 2014— i'm living it as we speak. there's something restless thrumming under my skin. picture a body inside of a body. like a set of matryoshka dolls, except the smallest one is glowing something blinding. curled up in fetal position and weeping a bit, kicking out at its seven-inch sandbox. (you've got a ticket burning a hole in your pocket, so tell me where we go from here. didn't you say anywhere would be fine? as long as you could connect people and come closer to understanding them, anywhere would have been fine.) this time last year i wrote a poem about how hollow summer left me so it's crazy i have the opposite problem now. hah. i started this blog in february touting i've a lot to say but none of the right words to say it. another june come and i dunno that i'm any better than i was before. all this light and nowhere to put it. all this light and i'm crumbling under the weight of it. ma, i wish i could hear you talk about what it takes to grow orchids one more time. i read somewhere they can be difficult to care for. don't think about 'em too much was the advice, if i remember right. figures it's something i'm terrible at. (if i could make up the rest of the story, i'd want a something short and sweet for the road: the flowers grow while you aren't watching. they're shy and slow to face the sun. the flowers grow when you aren't looking, whether you will them to or not.) — on that note: my head aches. i've missed a session of exercise and will have to space out double sets to compensate for it later. my body officially checked out just past four-thirty and there are worse things in the world than going to bed early, but i'll try to hold out a little longer. i'm convinced missing sunset saps the soul of its texture, or something.