#just realised i put the masters wedding ring on the wrong hand but it’s fine

[bluuscreen]

silly silly silly

i’m apparently not immune to the idea of domestic saxteen [and tensimm is also there. if that’s what that in the top left of the canvas counts as]

[sprnklersplashes]

heart of stone (14/?)

AO3

It’s a little after 10 when Damian comes home, his face paint starting to rub off and his puffed shirt untucked from his pants. While the bus is almost deserted at this hour, tonight it was half full, mostly consisting of drunk college students (and some high schoolers) on their way to or back from some party and reeking of alcohol. Damian had sat at the front the whole journey, his bag held between his legs and his eyes down. Maybe he should reconsider his stance on getting his licence.

When he opens the door, it’s to the sight of his mom standing in the hallway with their trick or treat bowl in her hand, her eyes shooting upwards when she sees her son on the doorstep rather than some neighbourhood kids. She looks a little disappointed too. She does love handing out candy, and fawning over every single costume, no matter how scrappy it looks. It’s her little Halloween tradition.

“Damian,” she greets. “You’re back.”

“Yep,” he replies, pulling off his coat and running his fingers through his hair. His mom nods, slightly speechless, but smiling, nonetheless. Damian peers into the bowl of treats in her hands. “Did we have much success tonight?”

“Oh, loads,” he says, holding the bowl out to her. He picks up a funsize KitKat and a lollipop, slipping the former into his pocket and the latter into his mouth. It’s one of those dark ones that’ll turn his tongue blue. “Sometimes I thought it would have been easier to just hang out at the door and wait for people. I had barely sat down before another one showed up.”

“Well, that may be because everyone knew you were making your famous death by chocolate this year,” he reminds her, poking their finger at his chest. His mom has a bit of a reputation in all circles for being a master baker. School fundraisers, boy scout meetings, weddings, funerals, she bakes for all of them and she bakes to perfection. Damian and his sisters have all insisted she go on some big baking competition and win them all a big juicy cheque. “Speaking of which…”

“Yes, your slice is in the fridge,” she tells him, caressing his cheek. She can barely ask if he has room for it before he speeds off to the kitchen, leaving her chuckling behind him. Cara and Maisie are sitting at the kitchen table, Maisie with a tutu attached to her skeleton outfit, Cara with a pirate’s hat beside her and a mountain of candy sits between them.

“Oh, someone had a good night,” he comments, giving Maisie a fright. “You two little terrors raid the neighbourhood?”

“Yep,” Maisie chirps. “Everyone gave us so much stuff! Mrs Jenkins at number 17 even gave us a whole packet of gummy worms each!”

“And where’s mine?” he asks.

“Mom says you got food at your school thing,” Cara reminds him, her eyebrow raised. She has far too much attitude for a 10 year old. He doesn’t mean to sound like a boomer, but he thinks kids these days grow up far too quickly. He knows that Cara may be on her last years of trick-or-treating and that she’s desperate to go out to parties with the big kids. “So she said you didn’t need to save you any.”

“I did indeed get food at my school thing,” he tells her, closing the fridge door with his cake in hand. “Thank you very much, little miss.” She rolls her eyes, but he catches her smile as he sits down beside them. “So, spill, I want to hear everything.”

“It was fun,” Maisie says. “We went all around this block and then we went to the next block. Just a little bit though, because we were worried about getting lost.”

“I wasn’t,” Cara says, an edge in her voice. “Damian and I used to trick or treat on that block all the time.”

“Yeah but we had Janis too,” he reminds her, watching her sink back in her chair. “And even then we didn’t do every house.” He loves Cara with every bone in his body, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t willing to put her in her place. That no matter how big she gets; attitude doesn’t fly in this house. He dreads to think what will happen when he leaves and his mom is left with her. Hopefully, she’ll have mellowed out by then.

“Did you see Janis at your school thing?” Maisie asks, pushing her candy around the table. It’s an innocent question, a sweet one even, born out of genuine curiosity and his sister’s ever-growing love for Janis. And it’s an easy answer too. But none of that means he’s not uncomfortable with it.

“Yeah I did,” he replies.

“So she’s finished with hospital now?” she asks again and Cara visibly stiffens beside her. After telling his mom, they both agreed to give the girls slightly different versions, based on what they can handle. All Maisie knows is that Janis had to go to hospital for a while and that she lost her hair. Cara is the only one of them who knows about ‘the C word’.

“Not quite yet,” he tells her. “She will be soon though. But her doctor let her come out for a few hours to hang with us.”

“Oh,” she says. She tosses a candy bar between her hands, her expression thoughtful. “Well, that’s good. Could you give her this when you see her?” She pushes the bar across the table. It’s big, probably the biggest one she has, packed with caramel, according to the wrapper. And Maisie loves caramel. His breath catches as emotion stirs in him, pride swelling in his chest. “Just in case she needs to be cheered up.”

“Thanks, Maise,” he tells her. “Next time I see her, I’ll give it to her.” His sister smiles at his assurance and goes back to sorting through her own loot. Cara avoids his gaze, her chest rising and falling heavily and her fists clenched on the table.

“And… how is she?” she finally asks. “Janis, I mean.” He doesn’t miss the way her voice cracks when she asks, the anxiety seeping into her words, and he places his hand over hers.

“She’s good.” He doesn’t get why they words feel so clumsy in his mouth, because they’re the truth. He saw it with his own eyes, felt it when she jumped on him and wrapped him in one of those tighter than tight hugs. He could feel the strength in her body. She’s good. She looked good, not just costume wise (although he did like her minimal approach). She looked healthy. Ish. Not like she used to, but that’s normal. Even if her skin was a little paler than he remembered it, or the fact that she’s far thinner than she used to be. And she had to zip up her jacket as much as she could, and even then she was still shivering, but that’s fine. And as the night went on, she did spend more and more time leaning either him or Cady, but that’s normal. They’re all side effects, and they all mean that the treatment’s working. And once they get out on the other side of it, they’ll be fine.

He blinks, pulling himself out of whatever wormhole he just fell down. There’s a slight ringing in his head from it and he tries to shake it off, Cara and Maisie both eyeing him with concern.

“Janis is great,” he tells them firmly. He takes Cara back a little. He takes a deep breath in, his surroundings settling and grounding around him. “Uh, hey, you guys have a lot of candy here. How about we see if we can wrestle the remote from Mom and watch Halloweentown?”

“For real?” Cara asks, her face breaking out into a smile. “Okay, cool! I think Mom’s nearly done with her thing anyway. I’ll go check.”

“Meanwhile I’ll go change into something more comfy and movie-watchy,” he says, stretching as she stands. She nods, excitement sparking in her eyes, before she sets off down the hallway. Damian laughs and helps Maisie pile everything into two big bowls, planning to fit them on either side of him so that the girls can snack as they wish. Before he goes, he picks up the candy bar from the table and taps her nose with it, a soft giggle escaping her mouth as he does.

“And don’t you worry,” he tells her. “I’ll get this to Janis as soon as I can.”

“Can she come trick or treating with us next year?” she asks. “It’s no fun without her.”

He blinks at her and suddenly, the smile on his face feels fake somehow. Hollow. Like it’s hiding something, even though he doesn’t know what.

“She’d love that,” he tells her. “Now come on, this movie isn’t going to watch itself.” He runs upstairs to change, pulling on a pair of pyjama pants and his Halloween sweater, the comfort a treat after a day of walking around in character shoes. The photo sits in their message log, not changing no matter how long he looks at it. He makes an effort to be okay with it, really, knowing that right now there are any number of reasons she might not be looking at her phone, and that none of them have to be bad. She always does answer, nine times out of ten with a perfectly reasonable explanation like she was asleep, so why should this be any different? The day probably tired her out, that’s all.

It’s only when he realises five minutes have passed that he shoves his phone in his pocket, shaking his head like that will straighten everything going on inside.

“You’re losing it Hubbard,” he mutters to himself. And for the one who normally has it, that’s bad. He takes a deep breath in, and then another one, until he feels more like himself again, and heads downstairs.

Much as he appreciates how important what Janis is doing is, he also can’t help wishing they could just skip past all of it to the part where she’s better and they’re normal again.

It’s the day after Halloween when Janis makes a realisation. She’s sitting in her bed, shaking off the last of what she likes to call a “chemo hangover” when she notices something in the reflection of her phone. She doesn’t know how she hasn’t noticed it before, nor does she know how long it’s been there for, but now that she’s seen it, she can’t unsee it, especially not when she gets up and looks in the mirror to take a better look.

Her eyebrows are gone. Mostly. One’s half-gone, one’s about three quarters. Like a plucking job gone terribly wrong. And she managed to not notice until right now.

It makes sense. Her hair fell out, so the logical thing should be that her eyebrows disappear. Her eyelashes are gone too, most of them anyway. It’s normal, it’s obvious, and she should have worked out that this would happen back when she shaved her head. Maybe she should have went for the eyebrows too and plucked at her eyelashes. Just got it over with in one fell swoop.

She looks weird. Again, that’s news to no-one, but she does. She’d just started getting used to the being bald thing and the fact she looks like a skeleton now. But this is just something else on top of that and it feels like she’s taken a thousand steps back with it. All the way back to square one. And somehow it feels weirder. People notice losing weight and the beanie in place of her hair. People don’t notice her now having eyebrows until they get close enough and maybe even then it might escape their notice.

So maybe with that logic, she shouldn’t worry so much about it?

Nice try, she tells herself, flopping back down on the bed again. That turns out to be a mistake, as black spots dance before her eyes or a few seconds and the room seems to tilt and slide down to one side. It’s only after she squeezes her eyes closed and shakes her head for a bit that it subsides. Clearly, she’s not quite shaken off that last round yet.

When she opens her eyes, she nearly jumps right off the bed. Cassie, that woman from the Cancer Fund, is standing in the doorway, her mouth hanging in a miniature ‘oh’ and her hand half extended towards her. Relief floods her face as she power walks towards her bed, apparently oblivious to the heart attack that she just gave her.

“Oh are you okay, hon?” she asks her.

“Yeah I’m okay,” she sighs, shifting just enough to be out of her reach. Something about her means Janis want those peach-painted nails nowhere near her. Cassie either manages to pick up on that or hangs back of her own accord, since she simply sits down beside her, her hands folded in her lap.

“You left the door open, and I was going to knock, but then I saw you-”

“I’m fine,” she says firmly, pressing her hands into the mattress. She takes a deep breath and manages to not scowl at her, which is an achievement by her standards given how awkward she feels and her overall discomfort around her. Never mind that she was kind of dealing with something before she walked in. “Um… what’s up?”

“I just wanted to check you’re all ready for this Saturday?” she asks. “For the photography project.”

“Yeah I know that’s Saturday.” In the very, very back of Janis’ mind she does think that maybe, a little bit, she’s being slightly too gruff here. Especially since the woman’s only trying to help out here. “Yeah, I’m all set. My friends are coming. Well, my friend and my girlfriend.”

“Oh that’s great,” she says. “So it starts at 12:30, but you might want to get your friends around a bit before that just to make sure everything’s going to be set up in time. And the photographer’s said that you can have a little play around with the camera first, just so you can see how it all works. Although something tells me you’d be a natural with one of those anyway.”

“Well I wouldn’t say a natural,” she says with a shrug. “Although I did do the photos for my school paper in freshman year.”

“See. I knew this would be right up your alley with all your artsy stuff,” she says and Janis actually laughs. Maybe this lady isn’t so bad. She’s kind of like Karen in some ways with all that perpetual sunshine and optimism, just a little smarter. Maybe that’s what Karen could do after school. Work with people like her. Cassie taps her leg with the folder she’s carrying, giving her a smile that scrunches up her face. “See you Saturday, bright eyed and bushy tailed.”

“Aren’t I always, Cass?” she asks her.

“And your mom told me about all the fun you had at your school,” she adds on her way out. “I’m so glad you had such a nice time.” Janis nods at that, giving her a small wave as she leaves. She lets out a long breath and cranes her neck to look at the mirror again, sad to see that her eyebrows haven’t done a miraculous regrow since two minutes ago. They must have fallen before yesterday, she thinks. She has to wonder if anyone else noticed them. If Damian did after she tackle hugged him or if Cady did when she kissed them. Janis rubs the back of her neck as another unwelcome question creeps into her mind; did they simply not notice, or did they notice and just decide not to tell her?

It seems that today she’s the popular one, because Cassie isn’t the only one to call into her room. Because that night, when her last round is due, Doctor Wiley accompanies the nurse on duty that day. Her dad is over too, making her already small room feel even tighter.

“Good evening Janis,” Doctor Wiley agrees. “And Mr Sarkisian, nice to see you.”

“He’s here for the burgers and the burgers only,” Janis says dryly, smirking over in her dad’s direction. True enough, there is a plate on his lap with a half-eaten burger and the remainder of fries.

“Sometimes I just don’t want to cook for myself,” he replies, giving an over-exaggerated shrug. Janis chuckles; as does Wiley as the nurse hooks up her IV. Her eyes move anxiously towards her dad. She’s never been given the impression that this bothers him, but nine times out of then he comes over when she’s already been hooked up or is here way before it’s due. He rarely sees her getting hooked up and since it’s not a great experience for her, it’s not something she wants many people to see.

“So, Janis,” Wiley asks. “How are we feeling tonight?”

“Fantabulous,” she replies, throwing up a little reflexive peace sign. She always delights in the look of happy confusion on Wiley’s face when she pulls stuff like this. “How are you doing?”

“Oh, well I’m doing well,” he says. He goes to ask something else, but the nurse interrupts him.

“Okay, I’m going to put this in now, okay?” she asks.

“Just make sure you actually hit my vein, Lucy,” she says. Her dad laughs at that, but he’s the only one who does. She makes a mental note to tell him about every time she’s been made to feel like a human pin cushion. Luckily, Lucy is an old hand at this and she only has to bite her cheek and curl her toes in once.

You’d think that, over two months into this, she’d be used to stuff like this.

“Okay, that’s you for the next two hours, hon,” Lucy tells her. “You comfy enough?”

“Like a queen,” she says. Lucy nods and bids goodbye to her parents before heading off, surprisingly without Doctor Wiley. Something shifts in Janis, and she reaches out and pulls Purrlock towards her. Just in case.

“Would you mind I closed this door?” he asks. Janis holds Purrlock even closer.

“Um, no, of course not,” her mom says. “Is there something wrong?”

“I wouldn’t say so,” Wiley says. He sits down on the opposite side of Janis’ bed. “Just that I’ve been talking with some of my colleagues, and we think now would be a good time for a bone marrow aspiration to monitor Janis’ progress.”

“Bone marrow aspiration?” Janis asks. “What’s that?”

“Just a small procedure to monitor how well this is going,” he explains. “We’d just be taking a sample of your bone marrow to check how well the treatment is going. At this stage, we’d like to think you’re well on your way to being finished, but we just want to make sure. And if the results are good, we can carry on as normal and finish up as planned?”

“Alternatively, they could be super, super good and I could be let out early,” she says.

“Well, we’ve never seen that happen,” he says. “But we do like to hope for miracles around here. So what do you say?”

Janis looks over at her parents, but it’s a no-brainer really.

“Sounds good,” she says. “When do we start?”

“Well, any point next week really,” he says. “We’d obviously like to get it done as quickly as possible so we can give you your results as soon as we can.” Janis nods, chewing the inside of her cheek as her stomach twists uneasily. This test thing is important, she can’t deny that. And if it’s good news, then she’ll know for sure she’s on her way out of here. Maybe she can start packing everything else up and taking it back home, so she can move out as fast as possible.

But the last time she got a test like this done, it didn’t work out so well. That’s the reason she’s here to begin with. A little black cloud had followed her around throughout that day, dominating everything. Like she knew what was going to happen. And while it may just be her brain playing tricks on her, she feels an unpleasant kind of déjà vu. If there’s one day she’d never want to live again, it’s that one.

“You okay kid?” her dad asks. Janis blinks, back in reality, finding her parents both looking at her expectantly and Doctor Wiley having already left while she was zoned out. She probably missed something there and he just assumed she was listening.

“I’m fine,” she says. Her hand rests on her arm, just over where the needle breaks through her skin. There’s a collection of little bruises on that arm now, alarmingly dark against her pale skin. She looks like a dalmatian there. “Hey Mom, can you get me a yogurt from downstairs? I’d go myself, but…” She gestures at her IV and the conversation ends there.

“Yeah, sure, no problem,” she says, shooting up. “Be back in a second.” Her dad nods, squeezing her hand gently before she goes and Janis feels the need to avert her eyes. Not for the first time, she’s reminded she isn’t the only person affected by this.

“Hey dad?” she asks quietly. Her hand curls into the blanket, the question catching in her throat. “What do you do all week when we’re not home?”

It catches him off guard, it caught her off guard too. She may love her parents, and they may have been through more with them than other families have, but this kind of blunt and open earnestness is unusual for her. She gives him a shrug and picks at the blanket as he tries to find an answer.

“Well… I go to work,” he says. “I watch TV. I make dinner. I walk the puppy. I play with the puppy. I feed the puppy. I call people. I keep busy.” He hesitates for a moment before moving over to her bed, his dinner sitting abandoned on the chair. He pokes her side, the corner of his mouth turning up into a smile. “I’m okay, Janis. I keep myself entertained.”

“Do you… do you get lonely?” She doesn’t miss how her voice shakes as she asks the question and she suddenly feel so much younger than she is. “Y’know, without me and mom?”

There’s a long pause, and then he answers “Sometimes. A lot of the time, yeah.” His hand is on her shoulder now, where he would have run her fingers through her hair. “And that’s why I keep so busy. So time goes faster until I can see you again.”

She nods. She imagines him all alone in their big house, eating breakfast by himself, the kitchen being the only light on in the house. Maxie barking at him because there’s no-one else to bark at until she comes home. Watching TV and working and checking the clock. Eating dinner for one. She tries not to get too emotional when her dad is around, but the way the guilt comes is almost too much, rolling in waves over her. Even for someone as experienced in hiding as she is, it’s hard to suppress fully. It’s only because Damian has already chastised her for it that she doesn’t apologise for it, instead opting to squeeze his hand tightly.

“Oh, don’t tell Maxie I told you I get lonely,” he tells her, a serious edge to his voice. “I don’t want him to think I don’t appreciate him.”

She lets out a laugh at that, like a little patch of blue in her grey mood.

“I won’t,” she tells him, equally as severe. “Besides, I think Max knows you love him really.”

                                                                                                    ******

The first thing Janis does on Saturday morning is down a cup of coffee. No exaggeration, the first word out of her mouth when she wakes up is ‘coffee’. She normally doesn’t like eating or drinking anything in the mornings, having learned from experience that the nausea means she’ll only puke it up later, but she’s decided to make an exception this once. She did the calculations the night before; if she gets a coffee and drinks the whole thing before her first round is due, then her body will absorb all the caffeine before she can vomit it back. And then she gets another one about an hour before Cady and Damian arrive, just to make sure she’s at her peak performance today. It’s a fool proof plan if she does say so herself, even if Cady had been a little sceptical of it when she told them. Still, they had said that if Janis was sure, they weren’t going to fight her on it.

“Besides, I’m sure your doctor would tell you if this was a bad plan,” they had said. “Right?”

“Right,” Janis had agreed, silently crossing her fingers behind her back. It wasn’t technically a lie, since Cady had never asked if she’d run her plan by a medical professional, but it still felt like one.

But it seems to be working, since she’s walking into her room with her second coffee in hand, stirring the five sugars she had dumped in it. It’s not her usual order, but since she can barely taste anything, she figured she may as well go crazy. And more sugar plus more caffeine just means more energy, right?

In addition to planning out her coffee equation last night, she also planned out her outfit. She had sent her dad a list via text of what to bring over on Wednesday so she could pick it out; meaning he had walked in with a confused look on his face and a grocery bag full of her old stuff that she hadn’t seen in months. At some point she had started leaving her nicer things at home and started investing in comfort over style. It felt a little odd, taking out all her old stuff. Like she was looking through old photos of herself.

She spent more time than she cares to admit deciding between outfits, swapping out garments and swapping them back again, mixing and matching until she found a combination that she deemed cute enough. Still comfortable, but something she would have worn normally before all this started. That’s what she’s after. Something normal.

She locks the door, just in case, and takes her pyjama top off, picking up the grey sweater she had chosen for today, decorated with a white thread skeleton on the front. Just as she pulls it on however, she comes to a depressing realisation. It’s too big on her. She doesn’t-won’t-look in the mirror, but she can tell from how lost she feels inside it, the fabric swamping her. The sleeves envelope her hands, her fingers poking out like icicles on a roof. She pulls off her leggings and grabs her tights, hoping that it looks better when it’s all together. She can’t believe she didn’t think of this. She’s said to her mom that a lot of her stuff doesn’t fit her anymore and she’s even been grown up enough to order sweats and t-shirts and pyjamas in smaller sizes. She and her mom have even had arguments over who’s paying for it. So far, winning has been split 50/50. So how did this slip her mind?

The tights don’t pose a problem, and neither do the shorts up until she has to close them. They hold up, for now, but barely hang onto her hips. And that’s when she’s standing still. She looks through the bag until she finds a belt for them, glad she at least had the foresight to ask for one. She threads it through and pulls it to the last hole, relieved to find it at least does something. They don’t exactly feel like they used to, but they’re at least secure enough for her not to worry about them.

She never thought she’d be glad for that.

She completes the look with a little shimmering black beanie, gifted from Gretchen (“I just saw it in the mall and thought ‘wow it’s so Janis’,” she had said), before checking herself in the mirror. She doesn’t know what she was expecting really. The outfit looks good-she looks good, if she may be permitted to say so. She can’t complain about the outfit, really. She chose well. It just doesn’t look like she thought it would. Where the sweater would have hugged her body before it hangs limply off her frame. Tucking it into the shorts is only a slight improvement. She hadn’t thought about how wearing the shorts shows off how thin her legs are now, nor how much room she has inn. She looks like a kid playing dress-up. They don’t look like her clothes. Nor do they look like they belong on her body.

She pulls her eyes away from the mirror, swallows past the lump in her throat and picks up her phone. According to Cady’s text, she and Damian are five minutes away, her point proven by a picture she sends of the two of them cheesing at the camera while riding the bus. That brings a smile to Janis’ face despite her little wobble, and she slips the phone into her pocket and grabs her bag before heading out into the foyer, following the sound of echoing voices and the occasional flash of light following a camera shutter.

She isn’t the only one who got dressed up for this occasion, she sees. The pyjamas are all put away for today, her friends putting on what she assumes is their finest. They didn’t even plan this, but for some things they all go into a hivemind here. The place is packed and not just with patients; friends and family have come around for this. She recognises a few moms and dads and waves accordingly, but the friends are all foreign to her. Melissa throws her head back and laughs, talking to a dark haired boy Janis guesses is from her school. Janis waves and while she doesn’t get one back, she’s okay with it.

She finds Maddie in the crowd too, a camera around her neck and surrounded by what she can only describe as a group of ‘mini-Maddies’. They all look different, but all have the same toothy grin and wide eyes, all dimples in cheeks and limbs a little too long for their bodies. When Maddie tries to wave them over to a wall, they all move as one big flock of teenage girls, and Janis has to laugh. They’re adorable at that age, so she’s heard.

“Oh, hello!” A voice to her right grabs her attention and admittedly makes her jump a little bit. When she turns around there’s a young-ish guy in a leather jacket, holding a professional looking camera in his hand, and there’s no prizes for guessing where he’s from. “You’re one of the kids right?”

“Nah I just really like hanging out here,” she says flatly, only one corner of her mouth turned up. He gets the sarcasm, thankfully, and even laughs at it, extending his hand.

“I’m Sebastian.”

“Janis,” she tells him, shaking his hand.

“Okay, well I see you haven’t been given a camera,” he tells her. “So here.” The camera he had is deposited into her hands and despite her own experience with photography, she’s surprised at the weight.

“Oh, okay,” is her response, her body suddenly a lot less stable with such an expensive piece of equipment. “Uh, I’m still waiting on my friends to show up…” Her phone buzzes in her pocket, making her heart almost drop to the floor. She can’t take any shocks, not when she’s holding something that, again, looks like it costs her college tuition. “And that’s probably them now.”

“Okay, fantastic!” Sebastian says. “So here, I’ll just put your name on this here, and then you and your friends can go and take all the pictures you like. Did you bring any props?”

“All in here,” she says. She goes to pat the bag before thinking better of it and nods at it instead. “I wouldn’t call them props really. Just bits and pieces of stuff from my room. My paintbrushes, a flag, my stuffed animals.” She gives a shrug. “I’m only sad I couldn’t bring my dog with me too.”

“Trust me, you are not alone,” he says. “Anyway I’ll leave you to it… and I assume these are your friends?”

Janis blinks and turns around, finding Cady rushing up to her side, Damian just behind.

“Hey,” Cady greets, about to go for a hug.

“Woah, woah, I am holding possibly the most expensive piece of equipment in this hospital right now,” Janis says. She goes for a little half-hug instead, and it works just as well.

“Sorry,” Cady says. “Just excited. This actually seems really cool.”

“Really, really cool,” Damian chimes in. “They’ve got a proper modelling shoot going on over there.” Another flash goes off just as he tells them, and Janis can vaguely make out a girl standing pouting against a wall.

“Well you know what we’re like in here,” Janis says. “Any chance we have to get dolled up and pretty, we jump for it.”

“There’s a Zodiac joke in there but I’m not sure if it’s offensive or not to make it.”

“Okay, you joke about that,” Janis jokes. “But I’ve met three people in this ward alone who are actually Cancers! Crazy right?”

“Sure sounds it,” Cady says before clasping their hands together, looking around the room expectantly. “So… do you have a plan of action here?”

“I do indeed, Caddy.” She fiddles with the camera for a second before finding the strap and throwing it around her neck, leaving her other hand free to hold out to Cady. She takes it with a grin. “Let’s go my little poppets.”

She pulls them into a corner, away from the bigger action, and kneels down on the floor, the other two following suit.

“Okay so I kind of have this thing planned out,” she explains. “This whole thing is about showing the ‘person behind the cancer’, right? Like you know, show how we’re still… people. Individuals, right?”

“Noble cause,” Damian says as Janis opens her bag. Realisation dawns on his face as she does so.

“So I just brought a bunch of stuff that’s important to me,” she finishes.

“Do we count as stuff that’s important to you?” Cady teases, already knowing the answer.

“You two are my most important stuff,” she says, dropping a kiss onto Cady’s nose. She looks between the two of them, awkwardness slowly building up in her. “So I kind of wanted some photos of me like… drawing and stuff. You know, what I’d normally do.” She shrugs, a timid grin tugging on her lips. “And you two can play photographer for this part.”

“Oh fuck yeah,” Damian says.

“I also want photos with you two,” she adds. “A lot of pictures with you two. They said… like I’m not sure exactly but they said that they’d put up some of everyone’s work on the walls but we’d also get to keep all our own ones in this little book thing they’ll make for us. I don’t know, I’ve probably explained this to you before.”

“You did, sort of,” Cady says, tucking her hair behind her ears and straightening her shoulders. “Okay, so why don’t we start with some shots of you drawing? It’s sort of you in your natural habitat after all.” She looks over at Damian, excitement sparking in her eyes. “Uh… Damian? Do you mind if I use the camera first?”

“Oh, does someone like the big shiny toy?” Janis teases.

“Do I mind?” Damian says at the exact same time. “Young child, you take as many photos as you want.” Janis hands the camera off to Cady, her heart admittedly picking up a little as she does so. “Meanwhile, I want to play director.”

“Director?” Janis echoes, looking over at an equally confused Cady.

“Yes, director,” he says. “Well you can’t expect to model yourself do you?”

“Jerk,” she says, grinning even so. She sits up and shakes her head, tossing imaginary hair over her shoulders. “Okay genius. Sculpt me.”

That’s all the incentive Damian needs. He climbs over to her as she gets her sketchbook and pencils out of her bag. She tries not to let him see how much emptier her book is compared to last year’s. If he does notice he doesn’t show it even as she opens on a half-finished drawing. He pokes at her and turns her head as she fights off her laughter, her shoulders shaking with the effort.

“This lighting is terrible,” he declares.

“What lighting?” she asks, gesturing to the window. “The sun?”

“Yes. The sun is terrible. Fuck the sun.”

“I remember the myth of Icarus slightly differently to you it seems,” Janis says.

“Okay, okay, now just move that pretty little head of yours down by a millimetre,” he says. “And… perfection. All yours Cady.”

Cady mumbles something that sounds like ‘finally’ before the flash goes off in Janis’ vision.

“You know your way around that thing,” Janis comments when she’s sure they’ve finished. Cady shrugs, a proud grin on her face.

“Back in Kenya I took some photos of the animals,” she explains. “Research purposes, you know?”

“Indeed. So do I look good here?” she asks.

“See for yourself.” Cady fiddles with it for a bit and turns it towards her. Janis’ breath hitches when she sees it. She picked a good one, and Damian did a good job too; she sits with her book balanced between her knees, her fingers fiddling with the pencil. The light that Damian hated so badly drapes across her, chasing away the pale complexion she’s become used to. She has this faraway look about her, lost in her artwork, just the way she loves to be.

“Oh I do look good,” she says.

“Do you want a moment alone with the camera?” Damian asks, an eyebrow raised. She gives him a tiny flip off before pulling herself up, her muscles groaning just slightly. At least everything is sitting still for her today. That coffee she took must have been better than she thought.  They take a couple more of her posing, looking wistfully out the window, Purrlock sitting on her lap, throwing peace signs up at the camera.

“Okay, I know what I want to shoot next.” There’s a little bit of a buzz about her as she pulls her next thing out of her bag; her pride flag. She still remembers the day she got it; she was 14 and practically shoved it across the counter of the little store in New York, the unplanned purchase that turned into her most cherished possession. She wraps it around herself now, the flimsy, thin fabric wrapping around her like a trusted blanket and grins at them.

“I love it,” Damian says as Cady snaps a picture of her again and again, her trying out a million different poses, being silly, being serious, trying and failing to be sexy, hoisting it in the air like a flag. When she asked about it, Cassie had told her to bring props that meant something to her, that showed who she really is inside. Of course her flag was one of the first things that came to mind.

“Hey, Caddy,” she says when the flashing subsides for a moment. “You brought yours too, right?”

“Yeah,” they reply. “I just brought the little one, though I don’t really get it…. Oh.” Realisation dawns on Cady’s face, lighting it up from the inside out. Janis opens her arms to her, laughing as she struggles to pull her own flag out of her backpack. After a bit of deliberating, she hangs the bag and the camera to Damian, who swings the former up on his shoulder, and rushes over to Janis, the colours of her bi flag meshing into a blur. When she crashes into Janis’ body, her head smacking into her chin and her waist, that’s when Damian decides to take the picture.

“Hey!” she snaps. “No fair, we weren’t ready!”

“But you looked so cute!” he squeaks, rolling his eyes when Janis gives him a pointed look. “Okay, okay, fine. Get into poses you little lovebirds.”

Cady’s head settles on her shoulder, her flag circling the both of them as she puts her arm around them, her cheek coming to rest against her hair. Cady’s free hand circles around her waist and slides into her pocket, her touch warm against her skin. Despite Damian’s wording, it doesn’t feel like a pose. It feels so, so natural, just like breathing.

She presses her lips to Cady’s head and feels her smiling against her just as the camera goes off again.

“God you two are so cute,” Damian sighs. She swears she sees his eyes misting over, overly sentimental monster that he is. Even if he tries to shake it off and pretend to be the tough guy. “It reminds me that I’m single and lonely.”

“And ready to mingle!” Janis reminds him. Cady’s hand trails off her waist and takes her hand, fingers laced together, and Janis swings their hands between them. “Okay I have one more idea… and I need the two of you in it.”

“Okay, then who’s taking the picture?” Damian asks, his eyes scanning the room for someone, as if they’ll come rushing over to help them. And around here that is often the case, but not today, what with all the nurses enjoying their momentary break. Janis shakes her head instead, a gleam in her eye.

“We are,” she says simply before grabbing Damian’s hand and pulling him closer. “Old school style.”

Getting into position for this isn’t easy, especially not with the two of them being so much taller than Cady and Janis feeling extra cautious around the camera. Bubbly lover of life that she is, Cady initially tires jumping on Damian, and he actually does manage hold her up, even if they do wobble a little. The two laugh at themselves and then each other, the sound so light and musical that it makes Janis’ heart swell. She snaps a quick photo of them, remembering to turn the flash off. It might not have been planned, but when she looks at it, a moment frozen just for her, she’s so glad she caught it.

“Hey Janis come over here!” Damian calls, Cady’s legs wrapped around his waist. “Or are you just going to sit there and look at yourself all day?”

“I’m coming, jerk,” she sighs, running over and kneeling beside him. Cady’s hand comes and rests on the back of her neck; she guesses it’s equal parts affection and trying to keep herself steady. Janis stretches her arm out as far as she can, the screen turned so they can see their themselves, laughing and helpless, fighting for a spot in the frame. Their backs slowly start to hurt, their cheeks aching from so much smiling.

“Have you got this?” Cady asks. “It’s fine if you don’t, I’m comfortable up here.”

“Speak for yourself you little twerp,” a red-faced Damian gasps.

“Okay, okay, okay there we are!” Janis says, tapping the floor in excitement when she sees all three of their faces in the frame. “Okay we only have this for a millisecond so say cheese you two! Three, two, one!”

After the shutter goes off they collapse on the floor, the sound of their laughter echoing off the polished walls. Nurses run over to help them, no doubt on alert seeing one of theirs on the floor seemingly suffocating, and the worst part is none of them can catch their breath long enough to tell them that they’re okay. All it takes is one to look at another and their progress in fixing themselves is gone; they’re one again reduced to cackling messes on the foyer floor.

God, Janis thinks as she sits up, pulling Cady into a sitting position beside her and hugging her close. What would she do without these two?

Later that evening, Damian is draped across her bed, flicking through her mom’s magazine. The three of them had hung out as much as they could when they had finished up, but Cady had been pulled out of it by her phone reminding her of another tutoring session.

“I’m sorry,” she had sighed. “It’s not normally on today, but they were sick so we had to reschedule. I should have moved it earlier, I didn’t think-”

“Nuh-uh, Heron,” Janis told her, tapping her nose. “Don’t you go apologising for your magnificent service to the North Shore community.” Cady scrunches up her face at that. “Besides, you’re probably bringing the average of the entire school up and I don’t want Mrs Norbury coming for me when her classes start failing again.”

“She never would,” she said. They paused for a moment, stuck in a half-embrace, until Damian took the hint and turned his attention to the outside of Janis window. Satisfied, Cady stood up on her tiptoes and pressed their lips to Janis’ in a sweet kiss. “I had a lot of fun today.”

“I had hoped so,” she murmured against her, sneaking another peck. She rubbed her nose against Cady’s, debating whether or not she should convince her to stay. Eventually she let her go, squeezing her hand one more time and promising to text her tomorrow before she left.

And now she’s here, munching on a cereal bar and scribbling in the corner of her sketchbook. All day, but especially since Cady left, her new development had hung around her mind, never really leaving and letting her have peace. The mere idea of not telling Damian just doesn’t sit right with her at all. Not just because he’d know if she kept something from him anyway. He’s given up so much because of this, all for her.

The question is how does she tell him? It’s not like it’s a ‘sit down and take a deep breath’ kind of moment, but it’s not something she wants to brush off either. It’s important, and she’d be stupid not to recognise that. After pondering on it, she finds just being blunt seems to be the best approach, so she taps his shoulder, opens her mouth and-

“So I have a thing next week.”

Wow she thinks. That went well. She guesses she put way too much faith in her communication abilities there.

“A thing?” he asks, turning to look at her. “What kind of thing?”

“It’s…” She clears her throat. “It’s a bone marrow aspiration.”

“Oh.” He turns around to face her then, his eyes wide with concern as he nods seriously. She lets out a snort in response, her demeanour the opposite of his.

“You have no clue what that is, do you?”

“I know what bone marrow is,” he replies. He picks at his nails, his jaw setting. “And I guess it’s about you. Your cancer, I mean.”

“It’s to see how well I’ve progressed since getting in here,” she tells him, her voice more quiet than she thought it would be. She shrugs weakly as he takes it in, growing only slightly worried at how quiet he is. “Just to check everything’s working like it should.”

“And are you…” He waves his hand in the air. “Confident about it?”

The question takes her by surprise. She had never really thought about it as a question of confidence. Confidence is for her the things she has control over; her friendships, her art, her future. Not for this.

“It’s not really up to me, is it?” she says with a shrug. “I mean I’ve been doing everything I should be doing. Guess all we can do right now is hope.” Damian nods again, his hands clasped in his lap almost like he’s praying. Silence stretches out between them, marked only by the ticking of the clock, and it’s unsettling. They’ve had their fair share of heart-to-hearts, but they’ve always ended with jokes and smiles, holding hands and resting on each other, one holding the other up. Now he’s sitting away from her, his eyes unreadable. “Damian?” asks after a long while.

“You’ll be fine.” He looks up then with a fierce determination in his eyes, his voice stronger than she’s ever heard it. Not even onstage has she ever seen him like this. “You will be.”

She takes a deep breath. That’s what everyone tells her; her doctors, her parents. It’s what she tells herself, really. That she’s been doing everything right, and with the way this medicine is kicking her ass, it has to be working. And she wants to believe that she’ll be fine, that everything will be as it should be. But that’s what she thought the first time around too. If there’s one thing she’s learned by now, it’s to not take things for granted.

And it hurts seeing him like this. It hurts seeing him believe something so much when she can’t guarantee it. She remembers clear as day the first time she told him, the two of them alone in her bedroom, how it tore at her heart to tell him. How much it had crushed him. How does she stop that from happening again?

She shuffles towards him, her heart crawling up her mouth, and takes his hand, finding it as cold and clammy as her own is.

“Damian,” she whispers. “I need you to promise me something.”

“Anything.”

It’s only when she sniffles she realises she’s started crying.

“I think this will be okay,” she tells him. “I think when I go in and I do that test, I think those results will say I’m doing good. That’s what the doctor thinks.” She swallows past the lump in her throat. “But if it’s not-”

“Janis-”

“Can you just listen to me?” she asks. When he closes his mouth, lips pressed into a thin line, she continues. “But if it isn’t, I need you to promise me you’ll be okay with it. That you aren’t going to worry about me every day. That you’re going to go ahead and live.” She wipes at her face. “Just be okay for me. Promise me that.”

“You know I can’t promise you that.” He shakes his head. “I’ll be okay when you’re okay.”

“No.” She shifts onto her knees, looking him right in the eye. “Listen to me, Damian. You need to promise that whatever happens to me, you aren’t going to fall apart.” His hand comes up and he laces their fingers together. “I don’t know what I’d do if I knew you weren’t okay and it was because of me.” She pokes his cheek and wipes his tears off his face. “So just promise me that… in the unlikely event that it’s not what we want to hear… you won’t fall apart.”

It feels like a lifetime before he nods too, his own eyes wet and glistening under the lights. He then pulls her into a wordless hug, her fragile body held in his strong arms, his hand running up and down her back. She lets out a shuddering breath and it feels like weeks’ worth of frustration and loneliness and downright misery is let out as well, all as she melts into his arms.

“God you really know how to kill a mood, don’t you, Sarkisian?” he whispers and she finally laughs. “Here, I got you something.”

She pulls away from him just enough for him to reach into his pocket and produce a candy bar packed in a silver wrapper, one she vaguely recognises but can’t place.

“Courtesy of Maisie,” he says. She lifts it carefully, treating it with the utmost care. “From her Halloween haul. You should be real grateful; she doesn’t give that up lightly.”

“I am,” she says, a slight laugh in her voice. “Tell her that for me, okay?” He nods as she pulls it out of the wrapper and breaks it in half, holding one out to him. She raises an eyebrow when he shakes his head. “Come on, you deserve it too.” She looks up at his head, hidden under a rainbow coloured beanie. “You said I wasn’t going through this alone. And that includes the good parts too.”

He rolls his eyes but takes it all the same, a smile on his face that’s as soft as his soul is. She turns so that they sit hip to hip and her head can rest on his shoulder, their hands clasped between them, eating in companionable silence, sharing the occasional smile.

It’s not that she isn’t worried, she is. That foreboding feeling won’t leave her alone and she’s given up on trying. It’s just that when she’s sitting here with him holding his hand, the black cloud doesn’t seem as close as it was.

[kaspbrak-tozier-reddie]

May seem like a strange request but some Spencer angst based on that season finale of season 14? Thanks 😊

It’s fine I haven’t written much angst, so bare with me 😭

I haven’t watched the episode since it aired, so bare with me. Some of the events and lines may not be completely similar. I don’t ship Jeid nor do i think JJ is a mean person, in fact she’s probabymy favourite female character in the show.

Warnings: just a lot of angst and a bit of swearing

Requests open

———————————————————————

Y/N, JJ and Reid were all trapped in a jewellery store with an unsub, victim and an innocent bystander. “Come on man put the gun down.” Y/N pled. She just wanted to get back alive to her handsome 10 month old baby boy, Luke.

“Truth or Dare, that’s your game, isn’t it?” JJ questioned the unsub.

Y/N felt a shiver run down her spine, she looked toward her secret fiance for aid but he was too caught up in JJ. Tears pricked her eyes but shook them away, she needed to stay on board with the case.

Tuning out of the situation, she put all focus on ways to get out. If there was any possible way to get around to the counter to open the door or bust open the coded back door.

“Truth or Dare?” She heard the unsub say to JJ. She heard JJ respond but she was too focused on her task.

But alas! If she moved he would see her and she’d be either injured or killed in the process.

She turned back to see JJ now sitting with a gun pointed at her. “Truth or Dare!” The unsub bellowed again.

“Spence.” JJ started, y/n snapped her head to look at the blonde woman. “I know given the circumstances it’s wrong but I’ve always loved you.” Y/N couldn’t believe. She didn’t know what she was feeling. A mix of sadness, anger and jealousy? She didn’t know. What she did know was that there would be nothing for JJ to do or him to do. JJ wouldn’t act on those feelings, if she still had them, would she?

A gunshot pulled her out of her trance and she snapped back to reality. The rest of the team had entered the store assisting in the victims. Spencer helped her get out of the tape but she bolted.

The way he looked at JJ was like he wanted her too. It was the look that he gave to y/n and their child. She ran to the police station, she needed to get all her anger out but it wasn’t good enough.

****

Back in Quantico, she didn’t head back to headquarters with the team, she claimed that she wasn’t feeling too well and wasn’t sure if she’d make it to Rossi’s wedding. She told Emily that her paper work was done and had placed it in Spencer’s bag.

“Mum, I’m back.” Y/N called out.

“How was it sweetie?” Y/M/N’s asked her daughter.

“Alright until JJ told Spence, she loves him.” A trembling breath escaped her mouth. “I know that we’ve kept our relationship a secret but I expected him to deflect the statement instead of staring back at her like the way he looks at me and our son!”

“Oh honey.” Her mother enveloped her daughter in her arms letting her daughter sob.

“I feel sick, i rushed here, Spence and the team were heading straight to the reception after they get changed at headquarters.”

“Why don’t you go?” Her daughter didn’t give a response but got up from her place on the sofa to get some much needed bourbon.

She missed the burning sensation almost 19 months of not touching a single ounce of alcohol.

What would Will think of JJ, especially since she had 2 kids with him!

If she didn’t have Luke then she would’ve dumped Spencer in a heartbeat. “You need to talk to him sweetheart.” Y/N shook her head at her mother’s statement. “Want me to stay.” Y/N nodded her head.

On her mother’s way out, she snatched the bottle of whiskey from her daughter’s grip and headed towards the master bedroom where Luke’s crib was.

Ever since Luke was born, Spencer and y/n had started looking at houses, so that they had a backyard and some room for a dog.

Spencer had found a house not too far from headquarters and not too far from a 24hr day day care for the nearby hospital and FBI HQ.

Y/M/N walked back out to the living room with Luke in her arms. “Here.” She said handing her cute grandson to her daughter. She watched as her daughter slightly let slip a few tears on the blanket that was wrapped around the baby.

“I can’t mom. You know I can’t. We have a son.”

“I know, but you work with JJ as well, if you don’t say something now, it’ll blow up in your face and it’s going to be worse for you and especially Luke.”

Y/N lokked back down at her son and bust out crying, she pulled him closer towards her but careful not to wake him at the same time.

****

The next morning she could smell fresh coffee and heard the clatter of ceramic on the counter top and a woman playing ‘peek-a-boo’. She pushed herself off the couch only to see her mother in the kitchen with her son sitting comfortably on the bench.

“Where’s Spence?” Y/N asked groggily.

“He didn’t come home.” Y/M/N replied laced with a melancholic tone.

“Oh.” Y/N replied, sipping lightly on her coffee.

Before she could say anything else to her mother, the sound of keys turning echoed through the apartment. She pulled out her gun ready to shoot the person that came in through the door in case it wasn’t Spencer.

The door opened slightly, her finger moving closer toward the trigger. But a head full of curly brown hair peeped through and she placed the gun back in her holster that she must’ve forgotten to take off last night.

“Why didn’t you come home last night?” Y/N asked not wanting to beat around the bush.

“I got a bit drunk so I stayed over at JJ’s.” Spencer replied.

“You expect me to believe that with what she said on the case?!” Spencer’s face dropped. “I wasn’t bothered by it at first until I saw your face and you consistently looking at her!” She placed the mug of coffee down and shooed her mom and her son out of the room. “The whole flight home you were looking at her the way you look at me, well the way you used to look at me.”

“Y/N -“

“Don’t Spencer! Did you forget that we have a son?! That son of ours is what is keeping me from fleeing because i don’t want him growing up like we did!”

Spencer didn’t say anything. She wanted reassurance that he didn’t feel the same way as JJ but that never came.

“Was I supposed to be some sort of rebound? Were you never supposed to fall in love with me?” He still didn’t speak.

“That’s it! Goodbye Spencer. You can see you son when I feel a little better.” She took the ring off her finger and walked into Spencer’s bedroom and started gathering her belongings and Luke’s. Her mother helping her pack her suitcases and bags.

Spencer stood there unable to process what just happened. Everything she had said was effectively true, he still had feelings for JJ and y/n was a means of getting over JJ but he fell in love with her. He had forgotten all about JJ but inve she said those words, it opened a flood gate of old memories.

“Y/N wait.” Spencer said as Y/N passed him with her arms full of bags.

“No Spencer, you had your chance to speak and you blew it. Goodbye.” Y/N walked out with four bags followed by her mother carrying Luke and a backpack full of Luke’s things.

****

“Where’s Y/N?” Spencer asked Emily a few days later.

“I’ll tell you once the others get here.” Emily responded.

That’s when the two are greeted by Garcia, Rossi, Matt, Luke, Tara and JJ.

“I have an announcement.” Emily said. “As I’m sure all of you are wondering why Y/N is not here. She has taken a more flexible job in Florida.”

“I don’t understand.” JJ muttered.

“As you all know, Y/N has a child and she explained in her letter that a more flexible role had opened up in Florida where she could work from home.” Emily replied. “She wanted to do what was best for her and for her child.”

“What the fuck?!” Spencer yelled, making every agent in the room look at him. “She seriously hated me that much?! Oh my fucking god!”

“Something you’d like to announce Spencer?” Emily asked.

“Oh yes! That my fiance took my child states away because she’s pissed off at me and JJ!” JJ looked at the curly haired man in shock. “Sorry, ex-faince now.”

“Why’s she pissed at you and JJ?” Tara asked.

“It doesn’t concern any of you.” JJ screeched. “I am so sorry, I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

“I know but every point that Y/N made was correct. I’ll uh, tell you later.” Spencer said to the blonde woman. “Look, I don’t want to answer any questions about Y/N or my child. Can we just get on with the case?”

****

“How’s the Florida job?” Y/N’s mother asked over a skype call with her daughter.

“Great! I basically work from home. So i get to spend everyday with the little one and be a normal mother who doesn’t put her life in danger!” Y/N replied.

“That’s fantastic to hear.”

“Oh, I’m sorry mun but work’s calling.”

“Of course sweetheart. Talk to you soon.”

*

Over the course of the hour meeting, y/n realised how much she loved being able to have time to herself. Working as an intel agent, it allowed her to have the information sent and faxed to her and she would wizz though every bit of information searching for links or clues.

It was essentially what she did when she worked at Quantico but she did it wherever the team was headed. And more often than not, she would be in the field, that’s what scared her the most. She wasn’t a field agent and she had a kid that she needed and wanted to come home to, alive.

And now she could because she didn’t have to leave.

[singledarkshade]

Come With Me If You Want To Live

Part Four Miranda let out a soft sigh as she cuddled close to Rip who was sliding his fingers through her hair. She’d missed him so much, missed talking through theories with him, missed falling asleep in his arms and missed waking in the morning to his smile.

“This will work?” Rip murmured, “Won’t it?”

She chuckled, “If we follow Gideon’s orders, it will.”

Rip sighed softly, “I’ve missed you.”

Miranda turned and kissed him. Rip pulled her close again, sighing in annoyance as a knock came on the door.

“Captains,” Gideon called from the other side, “I am sorry for the interruption, but I cannot soothe Master Hunter back to sleep. Even though I have tried everything the books have told me to.”

Rip laughed, sliding out of bed he quickly pulled on the pyjama bottoms before heading out to find Gideon looking more than a little put out. Miranda pulled on the top half of the pyjamas and followed on. Gideon had removed the baby monitor Rip had sitting on his bedside cabinet before they went to bed, advising them that she would be watching over Jonas all night so there would be no need for the monitor while she was here.

Heading into Jonas’ bedroom, where the little boy was sitting, screaming with big fat tears rolling down his cheeks. Rip scooped their crying son up into his arms and tucked the little boy against his chest. Walking the room, Rip bounced the boy gently while he sang softly to him. Jonas’ cries lessened. Rip took the bottle Gideon offered him and began to feed the little boy.

Soon Jonas was fast asleep again.

Gideon tilted her head in confusion turning to Miranda who smiled as she watched Rip gently rest Jonas back in the cot and cover him up once more. Turning he motioned them all out the room, so they didn’t wake their baby.

“I tried to carry, and sing to him, so I did not have to disturb you both on your first night back together. He would not calm, and he would not take the bottle even though he was obviously hungry,” Gideon said annoyance in her voice, “Why did it work for you and not me?”

Rip shrugged, “I have the gift.”

Gideon frowned at him as Miranda chuckled softly.

“My voice is deeper and not synthesised,” Rip replied, wrapping his arm around Gideon and giving her a hug, “It’s the vibrations that calm him, not the singing.”

“Don’t feel bad, Gideon,” Miranda rested her hand on Gideon’s shoulder, “At least you had an idea how to soothe him. I didn’t.”

Rip hugged her, “You will, you’ll learn just as I did.”

“You should both return to your bed,” Gideon told them, “I shall continue to monitor Master Hunter.”

Rip smiled, “He should sleep until morning now but thank you, Gideon.”

“Goodnight, Captain Hunter,” she smiled, “Captain Coburn.”

Effectively dismissed, Miranda took Rip’s hand leading him back to bed. Even if Gideon was right and could ensure the Time Masters didn’t discover them, Miranda was not wasting any time with her husband.

                                *********************************************

  Sara grimaced as she stepped out the small vessel Gideon piloted onto the surface of the planet. The air was heavy with red dust and she was relieved Gideon had ensured Sara wore a breather before stepping onto the surface.

She looked around the world she was suddenly on. Sara had seen a lot since the Queen’s Gambit had gone down but never had she thought she would be on another planet.

After the Mirakuru incident, the League believed she was dead thanks to Nyssa, and she moved to Central City to start a new life. Getting a job in the gym, Sara picked up her college courses hoping, once she finished them, she would know what she wanted to do with her life.

The apartment she’d found was nice, close to her work and the college, as well as her mother.

The day she moved in she’d found Jonas sitting in his doorway watching her carry boxes from the car, he was so cute and inquisitive that Sara instantly fell in love with the little guy. Rip was another matter. Sharp, defensive Sara took a while to get used to him, but they warmed up to one another as she came to understand he was so defensive because he was a single parent whose wife had abandoned him with a child, and they became friends.

It was the biggest victory in their friendship when Rip asked her to watch Jonas for a few hours. Everything that was happening was just insane, but she couldn’t not help stop whoever was trying to hurt the little boy she adored.

“Where are we going?” she asked Gideon after a few minutes.

“The information I have,” Gideon replied as she continued walking, “Only gives me a general area. I shall be able to locate Captain Coburn once we are in closer proximity.”

Sara grimaced, “Great.”

“If you wish to make another suggestion,” Gideon noted without looking back, “I am open to them.”

Shrugging Sara followed the other woman, or whatever she was, towards the small collection of buildings in the distance. They’d been walking for about ten minutes when Rip called them for an update. Sara chuckled slightly as she listened to Gideon advise they were fine and basically telling him to stay quiet while they were on the surface. It was interesting to listen to her handle him, Rip was always a bit highly stung especially when it came to Jonas and Gideon obviously knew him very well.

“One thing has been bothering me about all of this,” Sara spoke up after they’d walked a little more.

“Which is?” Gideon glanced back at her.

“Why have Miranda leave him?” Sara asked, “Why not let them think she was dead? It’s more permanent.”

Gideon nodded, “My hypothesis is that they felt if Captain Coburn did contact Captain Hunter after he believed she was deceased he would instantly take her into his life again. A miraculous return by someone he loved and who loved him. But if she left him, with an infant son…”

“There would be mistrust if she reappeared. Rip wouldn’t listen because all he’d remember would be her leaving him and their son,” Sara shook her head angry at the thought, “These Time Masters are devious bastards.”

Gideon tilted her head, “Yes, they are.”

Reaching the outskirts of what Sara realised was a small town, Gideon pulled out what looked like a phone and started to tap a few buttons.

“Should I ask?”

“Captain Coburn will have her wedding ring with her,” Gideon explained, “It is made of a metal that I can track, even through the interference.” Gideon returned to studying the screen and focussed on a small building at the edge of the street, “Follow me.”

Reaching the building Gideon stopped again and turned to Sara with a frown on her face.

“What’s wrong?”

“I am now getting a conflicting signal from the other side of the street,” Gideon explained, irritation in her voice, “Honestly, the pair of them are too smart for their own good sometimes.”

Sara sighed, “So, what do you suggest we do?”

“We check both domiciles,” Gideon told her, “You take this one and I shall check the other. Be careful. Captain Coburn is as well trained as you are in hand to hand combat. Plus she picked up Captain Hunter’s tendency to have at least one hidden knife on her.”

Not quite sure what to say to that piece of information, Sara simply nodded.

“Call me if you need me or if you find Captain Coburn,” Gideon ordered before she left Sara alone staring at the door.

  Wishing she had any of her weapons on her, other than the taser Gideon had provided before they left the ship, Sara opened the door. The inside was dark, but she could hear someone moving around. Focussing on her surroundings, the way she had been trained to do, Sara stepped inside.

Moving slowly Sara’s senses were heightened but she was somehow taken by surprise from behind as a body collided with her. Being thrown forward Sara reached out and managed to stop herself on the wall. Spinning she saw a figure standing, small and wrapped up she couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman. The person attacked again, and Sara barely managed to get out the way but was struck a moment later. She blocked several more punches, but her attacker knew this place better, and possibly had a way to see in the dim light forcing Sara to lose ground backing her into a corner.

Her attacker closed in and Sara grabbed the taser, since they were now close enough, but she miscalculated. Before she could use the taser, her hand was grabbed and the only weapon she had was thrown across the room.

“Captain. Stop,” Gideon’s voice snapped from nearby.

Sara took a slow breath as her opponent stepped back, removing part of her mask revealing a woman. From the small part Sara could see of her features there was a familiarity to the woman.

“Gideon?” she demanded angrily, “What are you doing here? Your orders were to find Rip and Jonas, to get them to safety.”

Gideon stepped forward, “And I have, Captain. They are onboard the Waverider waiting for you.”

  Miranda let out a gasp of relief at Gideon’s reply. It had been a long few days as she hid from the Time Masters, desperately hoping that Gideon was able to find and protect the two people Miranda loved more than anything. Who she hadn’t seen in three years.

Turning to the woman watching them she asked, “And you are?”

“This is Miss Lance,” Gideon answered before the other woman could, “She is Captain Hunter’s neighbour and friend. She insisted on coming to help protect your son.”

Hearing the rebuke and warning in Gideon’s voice, Miranda nodded to the blonde, “Thank you. And sorry about attacking you.”

“No problem. And it’s Sara.”

“Miranda,” she reciprocated before turning back to matter at hand, “Gideon, where’s the ship?”

“Just outside town, Captain,” Gideon replied, “We should go now unless you need to retrieve anything?”

Miranda motioned the pack she wore on her back, “I have all I need.”

“Then we should leave now,” Gideon told them, “We cannot remain in orbit for much longer.”

Nodding Miranda motioned Sara to follow Gideon while she took the rear. After retrieving the taser Sara started out the building and Miranda followed on knowing that she would see them soon.

They walked back to the ship in silence, Miranda wanted to talk to the blonde woman who had come with Gideon to find out exactly what her relationship was with Miranda’s husband and son. But in all honesty, she was too scared to ask.

Reaching the jumpship, Miranda took her seat next to Sara as Gideon slid into the pilot’s chair.

“Captain Hunter,” she said as the ship began to ascend, “We’re on our way back. Captain Coburn is with us.”

Miranda frowned that she didn’t get to hear his reply, to hear his voice but it would only be a few more minutes and she would be with them once again. Watching the planet that had been her refuge for the past few days Miranda felt relieved to be leaving. A few moments later, as the sky turned to black, she saw the ship waiting for them.

She’d be able to hold her baby in her arms again soon.

  Rip stood on the bridge waiting for his wife to be brought back onto the ship. He wasn’t sure what he was feeling, wasn’t sure of anything anymore other than Jonas was all that mattered.

“The Jumpship has now landed, Captain Hunter,” Gideon’s voice interrupted his thoughts, “We will join you on the bridge in a few moments.”

He nodded before adding, “Thank you, Gideon.”

Taking long slow breaths to calm his nerves, Rip watched the doors waiting for them to open. Finally, after what felt like forever, the doors opened, and Rip saw her standing there.

Dressed in several layers and covered in red dust, her long black hair fell around her face as she stared at him.

“Rip,” she breathed.

As Miranda neared him, Rip automatically took several steps back. At her hurt look he shook his head, not sure why but not able to close the gap between them.

Miranda stared at him, “Rip, I know this is confusing for you.”

“I remember you walking out,” Rip said softly trying to temper the anger that was surfacing, “I remember holding Jonas while he sobbed reaching for you as you left us. You left your son.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered sadly, “Rip, I didn’t want to leave you but when they found us again, we had no other choice. Druce told us the only way to protect Jonas from the others was to alter your memories. At the time, we still believed that he gave a damn about us and it was the only way to protect Jonas, to protect our son.”

Rip shook his head, “I don’t remember Druce or anything about the Time Masters.”

“Do you remember me?” Miranda asked softly, “Do you remember how much I love you?”

“I know you did,” he replied, “Once.”

Miranda closed the space between them and rested her hands on his chest, “Always.”

Looking down into her dark eyes, memories stirred, slow and nothing he could grab a hold of, but his hand slowly moved to stroke her cheek.

“We’re together again,” Miranda whispered, “And once this is over, we’re going to be a family.”

Before he could say anything, Miranda’s lips touched his. Without thought, Rip pulled her close as their kiss deepened.

In another part of the ship, Gideon smiled to see them together once more.

[angrylizardjacket]

Asher Kids Do An Interview

Choose an OC.

Answer them as that OC.

Tag 5 people to do the same.

Tagging @siriuslymooned​ @sam-writes​ @toplesstaylor​ @rogerandhishair​ and anyone else who sees this and wants to do it!!

[aydtd]

Note: Astrid is the oldest. Cate is the middlest. Barney is the youngest.

1. What is your name?

Cate: Cate Taylor.

Barney: Barney Clarke- Taylor... Sun. 

Astrid: Astrid Taylor.

2. Do you know why are you named that?

Cate: It’s short for Catherine.

Astrid: Is that what it’s short for?

Cate: Shut up.

Barney: What are you short for?

Astrid: That’s just how I grew.

Barney: You grew?

Astrid: I didn’t come out of ma at five-foot nothin’, yeah I fuckin’ grew, ya turnip.

Cate: Barney’s short for Barnabus.

Astrid: Barney’s short for a giant.

Barney: Taller than both of you.

Astrid: Taller than everyone.

Cate: ’s not difficult to be taller than Trid.

Astrid: Shut it; Barney what’s the deal with your last name?

Barney: Clarke is my professional name, I was born a Taylor, and I married into Sun. So legally I’m Barnabus Sun-Taylor, but I’m usually credited professionally as Barney Clarke.

Astrid: Huh. Nice; I didn’t realise you and Mickey [Barney’s partner] hyphenated. I’m named Astrid ‘cos dad liked how it sounded.

3. Are you single or taken?

Barney: Taken. [Barney wiggles the fingers off his left hand, to show where a wedding ring sits neatly on his ring finger.]

Cate: Taken? Taken. Not married though, almost made that mistake before.

Astrid: Single as.

4. Have any abilities or powers?

[There’s a long silence, the three of them look at one another with confusion.]

Barney: I played a superhero once.

Astrid: Oh yeah, you were good in that, what was it-?

Barney: X-Men.

Cate: Did you really forget X-Men?

Astrid: He’s been in a lot of movies!

5. Stop being a Mary Sue.

Cate: The next time you read an alcoholic, lesbian, disaster Mary Sue, can you please send me a link? 

Astrid: Hey!

Barney: I’m pretty sure it’s ‘Gary Stu’ for me?

Cate: You’re not a Gary Stu... Actually-

Astrid: Maybe a little?

Barney: I’m successful, there’s a difference, I think.

Cate: (amused) Did you put yourself through the litmus test?

Astrid: There’s a litmus test?

6. What’s your eye color?

Astrid: Blue.

Cate: Blue.

Barney: Ma’s eyes all the way; green.

7. How about your hair color?

Barney: Ginger.

Cate: I dunno, I think I’d consider myself a strawberry blonde.

Astrid: We’re a weird sliding scale between mum and dad; I’ve got dad’s blonde hair.

8. Have any family members?

[They look at each other with amusement.]

Astrid: (sarcastically) No, I’ve never seen these people before in my life.

9. Oh? How about pets?

Cate: My daughter’s been asking about getting a dog and I’m pretty sure Joe’s gonna get her one if he gets wind of how much she wants it. 

Astrid: God, imagine her little face if Joe gets her a puppy, oh Christ.

Cate: She’d cry, she’d absolutely cry, like happy tears but... oh, God I’m gonna get a dog aren’t I?

Barney: Pets are great; I love Sir more every day.

Astrid: I hope [Cate’s] dog is nothing like Sir, that cat is an asshole-

Barney: Only to you.

Astrid: Barn, your cat is an asshole.

Barney: You’re an asshole.

10. That’s cool, I guess. Now tell me something you don’t like?

Astrid: Barney’s fucking cat.

Barney: Astrid.

Cate: Calm down you babies. I don’t like wearing high heels.

Astrid: Seconded.

Barney: Thirded.

11. Do you have any activities/hobbies that you like to do?

Barney: I box.

Astrid: That’s your go-to, isn’t it?

Barney: Fine, I also enjoy swimming, spending time with Mickey, and mixing drinks. 

Cate: That’s cute.

Astrid: I enjoy drinking the drinks he mixes.

Cate: That’s less cute.

Barney: Drinking isn’t a hobby.

Astrid: Alright, I enjoy going to pubs to listen to music, driving fast cars, and spending time with pretty people.

Cate: Yeah, that checks out. I don’t have a lot of time for hobbies, though I play music, my bass mostly, and, ah, studying languages I guess. And spending time with Claud [her daughter], obviously.

12. Have you ever hurt anyone in any way before?

Astrid: Bar fights, mostly. Smacked a few assholes who’ve heckled Barn’s movies while I’m trying to watch them.

Barney: That’s actually kind of sweet. I’ve only been in one bar fight, and Trid finished that guy off, but other than that, and a few stunts gone wrong, a few hits in boxing, not really.

Cate: (visibly uncomfortable) Not, uh, not physically.

13. Ever… killed anyone before?

Astrid: What the fuck? No.

14. What kind of animal are you?

Cate: I think I’m a meerkat.

[Astrid immediately raises her hands up to her chest like paws, perking up and looking around, imitating a meerkat. Cate smiles, and imitates the gesture.]

Barney: Yeah, I can see it. Trid’s that terribly taxidermied- ah, [he pulls out his phone, and taps away at the screen for a moment] cheetah! 

[Astrid shoves him, but both he and Cate are laughing.]

Astrid: You’re your asshole cat.

15. Name your worst habits?

Barney: Oh, Mickey actually hit the nail on the head when we did the Husband Tag on their channel the other day- follow Mickey, they’re sunteamick, all one word, on YouTube.

Cate: What did they say?

Barney: I’m too unperturbed.

Astrid: You’re too chill?

Barney: They said I’m a danger to myself because of it; got hit in the face at boxing a few months ago, broke my nose - not the first time, but still not pleasant - and went home instead of to the hospital because I didn’t think it was that bad. It wasn’t; I still should have gone to hospital but it wasn’t that bad. Much worse things could have happened, it’s just a nose.

Cate: You need to be more perturbed?

Barney: I need to be more perturbed.

Astrid: Being unperturbed isn’t exactly a habit.

Barney: I also leave the cap off the toothpaste after I use it.

Cate: That’s bad and you should feel bad.

Barney: I do, but I’ll never change. It perturbs Mickey.

Astrid: My worst habit is that - I’m a stunt driver sometimes, right, and I do mad dangerous stunts, and every time I get injured or have like, a near death experience, I don’t think like ‘oh maybe I should slow down’, I think ‘how long until I can get this fuckin’ cast off and get back behind the wheel?’.

Cate: You’re an adrenaline junkie.

Astrid: But only with dangerous car stunts.

Barney: You perturb me.

Astrid: Good.

Cate: I bite my nails.

16. Do you look up to anyone at all?

Astrid: Physically or metaphorically?

Barney: You look up to everyone physically. 

[Note; Barney Clarke is 6′4. Astrid Taylor is 5′0.]

Cate: Our parents, obviously. They’re very successful, and have been through a lot. I grew up idolising them because they’re my parents, but as I came to know more about them as people, it was just natural to idolise them as people too.

Barney: Yeah, mum and dad, also Alec Baldwin.

Cate: Alec Baldwin, really? I wouldn’t have picked that.

Barney: Did you see him in Streetcar? [he hums appreciatively] That man’s career, his talent, all the stuff of legend. Meryl Streep, too.

Cate: Yeah no, I get that.

Astrid: Meryl Streep can get it.

17. Are you gay, straight or bisexual?

Barney: Uh, I’m pan?

Cate: I’m probably on the asexual spectrum, I haven’t thought about it in a while. Not aromantic though, I guess I’d be bi or pan romantic? Queer. I’m queer.

Astrid: I’m- look at me, I’m a whole damn lesbian.

18. Do you go to school?

Astrid: I take a few classes here and there, but I actually didn’t finish high school, dropped out in Year 10 with my parent’s blessing and started working as a mechanic.

Cate: I haven’t studied in a while but I have a Masters in Public Relations.

Astrid: And she speaks like eight languages.

Cate: Five.

Astrid: Still, you’re a very impressive lady.

Cate: Thanks, Trid. 

Barney: I finished high school, but I’ve been working pretty steadily since then, don’t have a degree or anything.

19. Ever want to marry and have kids one day?

Cate: I’ve got Claud, I almost married her dad, but... but that would have been bad for everyone. I’m not in a hurry to get married, let’s say.

Barney: Mickey and I don’t really want to be parents just yet, maybe one day, but we’re happy just spoiling Claud when we can.

Astrid: Oh, absolutely seconded; that kid is terrifyingly sweet for how spoiled she is.

Barney: She’s so great.

Cate: She really is.

20. Do you have any fangirls/fanboys?

Astrid: I run a Barney stan account on Twitter.

Barney: Really?

Astrid: Fuck no, but he does actually have fans.

Cate: I guess we all have fans in our own way, but a lot of that, like minus Barney, who’s genuinely a star, is more because of mum and dad.

Astrid: Imagine if Claud grows up to be a Queen stan on tumblr.

Cate: That’s horrifying.

21. What are you most afraid of?

Cate: The concept of Claud finding smut about Joe.

Astrid: The concept that Cate’s found and read smut about Joe.

Barney: Why would she need it? Couldn’t she just-

Astrid: Maybe before they were together?

Cate: I hate you both.

Barney: Well, that’s not a ‘no I haven’t read smut about my boyfriend’. Also I’m afraid of submarines.

Astrid: Submarines?

Barney: The big hole in the front of them gives me anxiety.

22. What do you usually wear?

Barney: Astrid doesn’t get to answer this one because she doesn’t know what fashion is, and dresses like a single dad in the middle of his mid-life crisis.

[Astrid shrugs but keeps quiet; her shorts have oil stains on them.]

Barney: Good. I’m a fan of colourful button-downs and slacks.

Astrid: Gucci [pronounced Gucky, like ducky but with a G] button-downs, you mean. 

Barney: (quietly, but with a lot of feeling) I hate you.

[Cate is laughing too hard to answer. She wears a pastel sweater and well fitting jeans.]

23. What’s one food that tempts you?

Astrid: Kracken Rum.

Cate: That doesn’t count as food.

Astrid: I’m not changing my answer.

Cate: Fine. Original Glaze Krispy Cream Donuts.

Barney: Like the ones dad used to buy us when we’d visit him on tour in America?

Cate: Yeah! God they’re good.

Barney: I’m always tempted by whatever Mickey cooks, though they don’t do it a lot. I usually cook. I enjoy it a lot.

24. Am I annoying to you?

Cate: No, you’re fine.

25. Well, it’s still not over!

Astrid: How many questions left?

26. What class are you (low/middle/high)?

[All three of them seem to become uncomfortable with the question.]

Cate: We- we’re comfortable. Our parents are Roger and Ash Taylor, we’ll always be comfortable.

27. How many friends do you have?

Cate: I’d say we’ve all got good circles - very different circles, sure-

Barney: If Astrid could stop collecting my pretty-boy costars that is.

Astrid: (smugly) It’s not my fault I’m good at making friends with your pretty-boy costars.

Barney: I’m glad people don’t realise we’re related, sometimes.

Astrid: Because I embarrass you?

Barney: (grumbling under his breath) Because everyone thinks you’re cooler than me.

Astrid: Men are so easy to get; look good, drive fast, and drink hard. Once they find out I’m gay and I can help wingman them really well, and maybe fix their cars, I’ve got ‘em, hook, line, and sinker.

Barney: That’s a bit of a generalisation, don’t you think?

Astrid: Fine; pretty boys in Hollywood are easy to get. 

Barney: That much I’ll give you.

28. What are your thoughts on pie?

Cate: Actually, Barney, that apple pie you made for Easter was stunning, I was meaning to tell you.

Astrid: Easter was months ago.

Cate: I’ve been busy!

Barney: Thanks, I can send you the recipe if you like.

Cate: I’d never have the time to cook it.

Barney: I’ll make it for you again, then. 

29. Favorite drink?

Astrid: Kracken. Rum.

Barney: Peanut butter and chocolate milkshake.

Cate: (again, uncomfortable) Orange juice, I guess.

30. What’s your favorite place?

Barney: The kitchen of my LA apartment, with a roast dinner in the oven and Mickey sitting at the kitchen island talking to me about their day.

Cate: Awww!

Astrid: That’s really sweet, Barn.

Cate: Well mine’s probably being side of stage at one of dad’s concerts with Claud with me.

Astrid: (quiet) Mine’s gonna sound stupid.

Cate: No, it’s- well, maybe.

Astrid: It’s just- I don’t really have like a favourite favourite place, you know? I have like, moments with people that just stick with me. Like, I shared a cigarette with Ben [Hardy] during one of Cate’s gigs and I just remember talking and laughing and looking up at the stars, and I could hear my talented as all fuck sister playing inside, and I just- it was lovely. 

Cate: Trid...

Astrid: And you know, I do remember X-Men, you know? Because when you flew with that scream-thing you do in the movie? I fucking cried. I was so fucking proud, dude. My favourite place is in a cinema watching my little brother on the big screen, or at a bar watching my sister smash out some of the best rock and roll of our generation, or watching dad play, or seeing mum’s smile when she’s finally happy with an outfit- fuck, sorry I didn’t mean to get all sappy and shit.

Barney: No- Trid, no, don’t apologise.

31. Are you interested in anyone?

Astrid: Not in a long-term sense.

[Cate and Barney share a frown, before turning their identical ‘are you kidding me?’ looks on the interviewer.]

32. That was a stupid question…

Barney: Yeah, I’m married.

33. Would you rather swim in a lake or the ocean?

Cate: Ocean, always the ocean.

Barney: Yeah, I’m with you on that one.

Astrid: But the ocean has submarines in it.

Barney: Well I can’t see them so it’s fine.

Astrid: Fair cop, I also have to say ocean.

34. What’s your type?

Astrid: (teasingly) Cate likes cute, goofy actors with dumb perms and big grins and-

Cate: Astrid likes all girls ever, especially if they buy her a drink.

Astrid: Guilty as charged.

Barney: Two opposite ends of the spectrum? Every girl ever and Joe Mazzello specifically?

Cate: ... Pretty much.

35. Any fetishes?

[Astrid opens her mouth, but Cate smacks her hand over her mouth.]

Cate: That’s information I don’t need to know about my sister, thanks.

Barney: (grinning) Bondage.

Astrid: (muffled) Nice.

Cate: Christ.

Barney: That’s the tame shit, Catie.

Cate: You are my Baby Brother, shut your mouth. Ow!

[Astrid has bitten Cate’s hand. She removes her hand from Astrid’s mouth.]

Barney: I’m a married man!

Cate: I don’t want to know what you guys are into, and I don’t want you to know what I’m into, okay? We all know too much about our own family, I’d like some modicum of privacy.

Astrid: Yeah, after you see your mum bare it all in a photoshoot from the seventies with Bowie, life does get a little weird.

Barney: Oh, I forgot about that. Okay, moving on.

36. Camping or outdoors?

Astrid: Camper van.

Barney: I like hiking, but not really camping.

Cate: Claud camps in the backyard sometimes, it’s fun to join her, sometimes we stargaze.

Astrid: That’s a grossly cute image to end on.

Barney: Does Joe stargaze with you guys?

Cate: (blushing) Once or twice. Claud fell asleep on him last time. It was pretty cute.

Astrid: Oh that’s actually really cute.

Cate: Yeah, it was.

[swissmissficrecs]

Hi! I really really love works like Through the Clouds and The Sea in a Chasm and Horse and Carriage where one of the boys proposes marriage or retirement together and the other struggles with what that means about their "friendship". Do you have any other fics you can rec me along that vein? I'd also love fics where Sherlock marries them without telling John!

Reply: I love these too! First of all, here are some relatedlists:

Fakerelationship

Couplestherapy

Gettingtogether late in life

And here are the ones you mentioned in case anyone else would liketo look them up:

Horse andCarriage by flawedamythyst (60K, Teen, Johnlock)Sherlockproposes. John thinks the whole idea is ludicrous.

Through theClouds by mazarin221b (20K, Explicit, Johnlock)Sherlock takesa remarkably early retirement at 47, and convinces John that a changeof pace would do them both good. They buy an old cottage on the SouthDowns, and exchange their nonstop life in Baker Street for quietcontemplation, bee studies, and book writing.They might go completelyinsane, but sometimes it takes stepping outside of the life you’reliving to find the life you want.

The Sea in aChasm [orphaned] (17K, Teen, Johnlock and John/OFC)WhenSherlock decides to retire to Sussex, John decides to find out who heis without Sherlock.

Now I know I have read a couple of fics where Sherlock (or Mycroft) secretly procured a marriage license for them for medical or case-related purposes without John’s knowledge, but unfortunately I am not able to find them right now so if anyone else knows one please let us know! I can give you a bunch of others, though, in which thoughts of marriage lead to angst and re-examination of the relationship:

This is a very close second (and one of my all-time favorite fics)in which Sherlock pretends to be married to John without John’sknowledge:

The Good Morrowseries by greywash (213K, Explicit, Johnlock)My post-S2series where everyone has a lot of feels about everything andplausibility isstretched unto breaking. Also: fucking.

In this one, Sherlock thinks John is going to propose but hedoesn’t, leading to relationship re-evaluation:

Stood in History by philalethia (18K, Explicit, Johnlock)He discovered the ring in John’s sock drawer. It all went a bit downhill from there.

In these, one or the other of them thinks about proposing for areally long time:

a good old-fashioned happy ending by darcylindbergh (32K, Explicit, Johnlock)And Sherlock stands there, in the middle of a Christmas market as John hums along to Silent Night, John’s hand warm in his with fingertips a little gritty from the cinnamon-sugar doused churros they’d shared, and thinks, oh, that’s–that’s an idea, isn’t it?*For Christmas this year, Sherlock wants to get John something special: something every fairytale deserves.

The One With the Proposal by kim47 (22K, Explicit, Johnlock)Proposing shouldn’t be this difficult.Written for this prompt at the kink meme: Remember that episode of Friends where Chandler is going to propose to Monica and how he pretends that he doesn’t care about marriage so she’ll be really surprised? How about a version of it with Sherlock and John with Sherlock being the one that wants to propose but pretends that he has no desire for it?

About Sleep and Coffee and the Existence of Fate by Atiki (17K, Explicit, Johnlock)Naturally, John was startled when suddenly the ultimate solution occurred to him: Marriage. This was, of course, a bit of a fundamental problem rather than an actual solution. One didn’t simply use the words “Sherlock” and “marriage” within the same sentence. Not even in a hypothetical context. (Five times John kind of wanted to propose to Sherlock, and one time he didn’t have to.)

In these, both of them angst a whole lot over getting married:

Sketchy Part 2 by serpentynka (158K, Explicit, Johnlock and Mycroft/OMC)What (and who) will be left when nobody cares about your Work?   A slow-burn fic with cases, places, mistaken identities, unfair choices, essential changes, violent feels, blatant lies, fearless portraiture, family secrets, high-risk bespoke gifts, durable friendships, bedtime stories, foreign travel and tongues, sickness (and health), and the significance of things which are slow to unfurl – but cannot be ignored. Oh, and…porn. (A continuation of plot arcs from Part 1 of Sketchy) When the world’s only consulting detective starts dreaming of bowing out, his dearest person in the world is more than willing to go with him.  It would seem that all that’s left to do is choose a date and leave London.  The machinations that be are never quite what they seem.

God Help Me, I Do by PlainJane (90K, Explicit, Johnlock and Mollstrade)A consulting detective, two doctors, a forensic pathologist, a DI, a senior citizen, a recovering alcoholic and the British government walk into a register office…John and Sherlock have resolved to be together as much more than just colleagues or friends, but how will their relationship change between the proposal and the wedding? Follow along as they learn about themselves and about each other. How will they share their news with those closest to them? How will John adjust to the reality of being in a relationship with a man instead of a woman? How will they both find time and space for personal and professional lives? And how will Sherlock cope with the intensity of true love? Cases, chuckles, angst and lots of good loving on the journey to one very unconventional wedding day.

Set in Stone by SilentAuror (39K, Explicit, Johnlock)Sherlock and John are back from Ravine Valley and planning their wedding. However, as they move past the trial of the human traffickers, Sherlock can't help but wonder if he's imagining that John is becoming a little distant. Surely he isn't getting cold feet about the wedding...

This has a similar premise to Horse and Carriage:

The Important Bit by Solshine (10K, G, Johnlock)Just where exactly is the line between “to love” and “to be in love”? What difference is required between “flatmate” and “husband”? (Besides the rings, obviously.) No, the important bit is that they have each other. Thirty years, give or take, in an atypical marriage. Basically a long bit of platonic domestic fluff.

And finally these in which they get engaged/married for a case(with John’s knowledge) and it becomes serious:

Thanks to the Barbarians by queen_jadis (10K, Explicit, Johnlock)John and Sherlock get married for a case, which both of them find hilarious - until they realise that they can’t get a divorce. The offensive piece of paper has more effect on their relationship than John thinks it has any right to do.

A Case of Identity by jkay1980 (91K, Teen, Johnlock)John and Sherlock have succeeded in rebuilding their friendship after Sherlock’s fake suicide, but an unusual case puts their relationship to the test. They pretend to be engaged and attend a marriage counseling workshop. Under the pretext of the case, Sherlock turns out to be a master of seduction, and John finally learns he might like Sherlock more than he thought. Slowly, John discovers that he loves Sherlock not only in a friendly, brotherly way, but both men have to fight their own demons before they can think of taking their relationship to a new level… 

Till Death Do Us Part by prettysailorsoldier (15K, Mature, Johnlock)When Sherlock links a recent spree of murder-suicides to a psychologist who specializes in marriage counseling, there’s really only one thing to do: Go undercover as a couple in hopes of drawing the killer out. Faking a relationship seems easy enough, but things take a turn when their real issues start to creep into the sessions, and, all the while, a killer is watching, waiting in the shadows for their chance to strike.

Abstinence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder by distantstarlight (96K, Explicit, Johnlock)For his entire life Sherlock Holmes has had complete mastery over his transport. He drives it harder than he should, is careless with it, and makes it bend to his will. His transport has always done it’s duty but lately Sherlock’s transport has been making some demands. 

A Silver Sixpence by _doodle (16K, NC-17, Johnlock)John, we need to get married. 

Mountebank by Odamaki (26K, Mature, Johnlock)“I am calm,” John snaps, leaning on the door to glare out at the dark streets around them. Sherlock’s not said where they’re going; all he knows is they came off the ring road to the west of London and have vanished somewhere into the depths of Berkshire. All he knows is that he’s been trussed up in a suit that wasn’t hired from anywhere and if brought new would edge up into the triple figure margins. “Be calmer,” Sherlock advises, with a trace of irony. “We’re going to a party.”

The Newlywed Game: Johnlock Edition by patternofdefiance (9K, Explicit, Johnlock)What it says on the tin: John and Sherlock pretend to be married in order to be contestants in a Newlywed Game.Of course it’s for a case.Of course it doesn’t stay that way.

The Pretence of an Unacknowledged Truth by stickleworting (28K, Explicit, Johnlock)  He’s decided to just be himself, cliché as it sounds. The lie about being Sherlock’s mate will be difficult enough to keep up, he’s not going to think up more of a charade regarding himself on top of that.  If he uses the wrong fork at dinner, fine. If someone calls him on it, he’ll just stab them with it. Job done.First attempt at Omegaverse because a very good friend of mine likes it, and I like my friend. She asked for: alpha!John/omega!Sherlock; age difference; pretend bondmates to meet Sherlock’s family; synthesised bond scent; and bonding in Sherlock’s old bedroom. I think I’m managing to cram it all in for you, sweetpea ;) No mpreg, I’m afraid. That was a stretch too far.

[smutmylifeup]

Out Of The Office Drama: Rose Bangs Seasonelle. Client Profiles: Kaoru Kirishima x Akiyoshi Zaizen.  (MATURE)

MJS: @smile-smile-ichthys @hifftn @whatdoyouexpectthistime

Staring at her reflection in the mirror, Rose smoothed down her dress.

That’s right, her dress.

She sighed. Dresses weren’t her thing, while she could admit the simple strappy, long length, black dress looked great on her. She just wasn’t a dress person.

Give her a pair of ripped jeans and a shirt and she would be happy with that. Unfortunately for Rose, the event she was going to required something a little more upscale than that.

Luckily for Rose, her parents being designers, she was often gifted with unreleased or handmade garments specifically made for her on special occasions – such as Christmas and birthdays. So she didn’t have to worry about making the effort to buy such items.

This one, she received earlier on this year as a birthday gift from her Mother. Her Father designed it and her Mother hand sewed it. They were a dream team when it came to this stuff – they worked so well together, like needle and thread.

Rose smiled, her parents were great and she really did appreciate and love them a lot. She’d have to take Ryosuke to see them soon. And hopefully she’ll get to introduce him as her boyfriend – it still sounded weird, but maybe that was perhaps because he wasn’t actually her boyfriend yet, not even close.

Ultimately, Miho and Rose hadn’t come up with a feasible plan to get Ryosuke to ‘bare his fangs’. All of Miho’s ideas where pretty X-rated and would probably kill him. Poor pup.

A little buzz from her phone snapped Rose out of her thoughts. Ah, speak of the devil.

Miho

‘Rooosseeee, I’m going to be a little late. So get the party started for me.’

Chuckling, as if she could actually hear Miho saying the words and fluttering her eyelashes unapologetically at Rose, she replied with a simple ‘Fine.’ She didn’t want to know why she was going to be late – probably something Goto related. They were even more inseparable than they were before, if that was even possible.  

Rose put her phone back in her bag and gave her appearance a once over before she got ready to leave.

This party was going to be a test for Rose, in more ways than one.

Getting out the taxi, Rose sighed. She wished Jazz and H or even Izumi had decided to come – they were invited after all. But she understood since the people hosting the party had only dealt with Rose and Miho.

Rose looked up at the familiar tall building and sighed again. She was here now, may as well get it over with.

“You actually showed up?” A voice said as soon as Rose walked through the door. “I was expecting you to bail.”

Rose turned to see Minato leaned against a pillar a few feet away from her.

He wasn’t wrong, she did want to bail initially. Parties and fancy dos along with dresses were not her thing but Miho had encouraged her to go – well, her actual words were ‘If you don’t go, I’ll fire you.’ So she really didn’t have much choice.

Although with Rose no longer being a test driver, she wasn’t exactly sure what her position at MJS would be or if she even had one. She’d have to ask Miho after her wedding, no use stressing her out about it now.

“Waiting for me like a good Master?”

Rose smiled a little sinisterly at the sudden panic on his face as he realised what it must look like him standing there and Rose showing up at that moment. He quickly composed himself and pushed off the pillar and leisurely walked towards her.

“Don’t get too big for your pommy boots. I just needed some air, that party is too loud.”

Rose linked her arm through Minato’s and ignored him. The gesture completely innocent on her part, she didn’t do it because she wanted to touch him, more because he was something familiar in the unknown. It may have been inconsiderate of Rose to do something so casually and not consider his feelings but she looked up at him and he didn’t look the least bit concerned or affected by it, just simply allowing it. As if he understood.  

It wasn’t as if she was afraid to walk into a party, it was more that while Miho hadn’t arrived she was the sole representative of MJS. And with Rose’s abrasive, blunt and somewhat lacklustre personality, it could negatively affect the others and MJS.

“Sorry, Mr Man of the hour,” Rose rolled her eyes, “Congrats on your article’s success by the way.”

She began to walk as she spoke, walking into the party would bode better with Minato than on her own, he could introduce her rather than she introduce herself. Especially, since as far as she was aware Minato was the only person other than Miho that she’d know at this event.

That wasn’t true and Rose was going to find that out very shortly.

The reason for the event was thanks to Minato’s article on MJS. The magazine had sold so many copies that they had to increase production. Rose remembered on a day of one of their trysts, Minato bringing her a copy of the magazine not long after it hit the shelves.

It was a really good article, tasteful and conveyed how professional and how much dedication everyone at MJS put in to finding each person the perfect match. Minato had a way with words that was quite impressive, he was a smooth talker under that arrogant side to him.

“Thanks, I couldn’t have done it without you,” Minato rubbed the back of his neck a little shyly as they walked through one set of doors. “And Miss Fujiwara.”

Rose nodded, that was true. Although, he should be thanking Miho more so than her. But Miho wasn’t here yet so she would accept it on Miho’s behalf.

The noise of the party started to ring loudly in their ears as they walked further down a corridor. Rose let Minato lead her, her last time at Seasonelle she barely managed to navigate the many different floors and corridors.

Although, they were still on the ground floor, makes for an easy escape – And Rose might just need it.

Words were sparse between Rose and Minato as they stood outside the doors to what Rose assumed was where the party was being held. It was awkward, they didn’t actually talk all that much. They just let their bodies consume each other.  

But it was comfortable that way. There was no reason to get attached when they didn’t know very much about each other. That’s why their fuck buddy relationship worked so well.

And now that it was over, they had to figure out what they were to each other which was the awkward part. Perfect strangers or friends?

It wasn’t like either of them disliked the other, after all – there was a mutual connection there through their lonely hearts and that connection wasn’t just through the insatiable lust to consume and be consumed sexually.

“Are we just gonna stand in front of the doors all night?”

Rose asked as she loosened the already loose hold she had of his bicep. She looked up at Minato and saw his brow was creased and his expression looked like he was having an internal war with himself. Perhaps he too was trying to figure their situation out.

“Showing up and looking like that after breaking off our ‘friends with benefits’ relationship,” Minato paused and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You’re really making it hard for me, literally.”

Rose chuckled.

There was no malice in his words, no underlying anger or upset with Rose and her decision just sexual frustration.

“Did you want me to show up in jeans and a t-shirt?”

Rose nudged his arm intending to make a joke of the situation.

“Wouldn’t have made a difference, I know what you look like underneath them,” Minato shrugged and looked down at Rose. “Although, I’m not sure I’m looking forward to every guy in that room creeping on you, so maybe jeans and t-shirt would have been better.”

“You’re being incredibly honest today.”

Minato shrugged.

“Shall we?”

Minato gestured as he placed his hand on the door, ready to push it open. Rose nodded back letting go of his arm and smoothing down her dress, she needed to get this over with so she could go back to figuring her love life out.

Lucky for Rose, when Minato pushed the door open, the atmosphere wasn’t as formal as she was expecting. This wasn’t a grand entrance and people weren’t staring or whispering as she stepped over the threshold and into what she thought was going to be hell.

Rose let out the breath she hadn’t realised she was holding and she scanned the room, searching mostly for Miho hoping that she was already here although she knew she wouldn’t be.

There were groups of people casually drinking and laughing and enjoying the success of their top dog editor. It was funny really, out of everyone that should be happy, the man of the hour looked like he was pouting.

“Minato, there you are!”

An all too familiar voice came from the right of them.

“Where have you been hiding? This is your party.”

The voice grew louder as he approached and Rose had almost forgotten that Minato and Shusei were from the same magazine.

“Went out for fresh air and bumped into this one.”

Minato had turned towards Shusei and motioned with his head backwards to Rose who was shielded from view by Minato’s broad upper body. Rose took that as her cue to step from behind Minato and into view.

“Hey.”

Rose said, her smile pleased to see him but wishing it was in a different environment.

“Rose! Minato said he didn’t think you were coming.”

Shusei stepped forward, bypassing Minato’s protective stance and ignoring the glare from his best friend. He bowed at Rose and she stared blankly back at him. Formal greetings like this were another of Rose’s least favourite things. Especially after being around three women who weren’t originally from Japan and didn’t use such greetings with people they were friends with or familiarly acquainted with.

“Don’t do that,” Rose said, touching his arm lightly. “I didn’t know if I was either, but Miho said I had to come.”

“Of course you did.”

Minato said, throwing his 2 cents into the conversation rather than watching idly.

“Minato’s right. Without you and Miss Fujiwara, the top dog wouldn’t have been able to write his article and the big bosses wouldn’t have thrown this party for us.”

Shusei smiled, that same beautiful boyish smile with a hint of mischievousness she remembered from about a month or so ago. Rose smiled back, she was happy to learn that after he picked one of the matches Miho and Rose had chosen for him, they began dating almost a week or so later.

“Did you get the flowers I sent you?”

Rose nodded, she remembered when they arrived at MJS. She had never seen such a large arrangement of flowers. All roses. Mostly red but there were a few white ones, it was beautiful and before reading the card attached to them, she somehow knew they were from Shusei.

“They were beautiful. I think that was the first time I’d received flowers.” Rose smiled.

Shusei had leaned in to have this private conversation, although the music and chatter of other guests probably masked their conversation very easily. But with a quick glance over Shusei’s shoulder at Minato, she could see that the closeness of them both pissed him off.  

“Shusei.”

A monotone voice came from behind Rose. She looked up to the sky scraper of a guy behind her and her heart nearly fell out her ass.

“Ah, Kaoru. Don’t worry, I found Minato.”

Out of every god damn crazy fucking coincidence in the world.

Rose was pretty short stood amongst these three men but she now wished she was even shorter or better yet, she wished she was invisible.

Noticing her gaze Kaoru looked down.

“Rose?”

“Hi.”

Rose said, her voice coming out as shocked as she looked.

“How do you know each other?”

Minato’s voice boomed through the awkward atmosphere.

But that was a question neither of them could answer without lawyers becoming involved.

-FLASHBACK-

Rose sat in the restaurant verified as a ‘safe place’ by Takao and H. Her client was sat opposite her, his face stoic but expressionless at the same time.

He read over the menu, aware but not phased by Rose’s gaze as if he was completely used to the attention of eyes on him.

His face was handsome and his eyes intense as he read over each meal option. Messy black locks, that looked untouched as if he’d just woken up, framed his chiselled bone structure. His upper body, even though he was sat down, still towered over Rose’s. He could certainly be a model if he wanted to be.

Yet, he was a journalist – that seemed to not to like to talk. Rose had a little chuckle in her head of the irony of a not so talkative journalist.

Which in reality didn’t bode well for the observer – who also wasn’t an extraordinary conversationalist. But this was work and she needed to know more about him in order to find his perfect match. And that required talking.

But first, the waitress arrived to take their orders.

Rose hadn’t even looked at the menu once, she was too buy gawking at her client. So she ordered the same as him – it sounded good enough. And all she really needed was something to fill the gas tank. It’s not like she enjoyed food all that much, unless it was with Ryosuke.

Rose shook her head, now was not the time to think about her childhood friend.

She was working.

“You okay?”

Rose’s head snapped up to the looming presence opposite her.

Staring at his expressionless face made Rose’s heart thud against her chest once. He was handsome while he was staring at his menu, he was even more handsome when he was directing his attention directly at her.

She wondered briefly why so many handsome men come to MJS. They clearly would have no problem finding a girlfriend.

“Yeah, sorry,” Rose said ignoring her own thoughts. “So Mr Kirishima, a journalist huh? That must be interesting?”

“Mm, it can be.”

And that was all the response Rose got. Well, getting him to open up will be pretty hard.

He didn’t seem uninterested or disappointed in her being his partner for the date scenario. More like he was just a quiet and reserved person. And Rose could respect that since she was similar in many ways. But that respect was only to a degree, she had a job to do after all.

“You can call me Kaoru.”

Rose was a little shocked as he shifted his gaze a little bashfully.

“You can call me Rose.”

She said back, looking directly at him and smiling as sweet as was possible for her.

“Rose.”

He repeated, an almost smile playing on his own lips.

After the awkward second introductions were made, things seemed to drastically change. The atmosphere wasn’t nearly as intense – more relaxed even with the silence.

“What are you looking for in a future bride?”

Rose asked, she toyed with the idea of getting her notebook out but that seemed too formal for a date. She could make mental notes for now.

“Likes cats.”

Kaoru said after a brief moment of him furrow browed and thinking hard.

Rose did a little squeal in her head – all animals were great but cats and dogs for Rose were like her kryptonite.

“Do you have a cat?”

Rose asked – definitely for the profile and not for her own sake…

“Yeah, her name is Tama.”

Kaoru smiled fondly as if she was in front of him right now and Rose’s hand that was fiddling with the edge of the napkin twitched slightly. His smile was unexpected but so beautiful.  

“Do you have a picture? If you don’t mind showing me of course.”

Rose asked, a little more eagerly than she had intended and it showed as Kaoru let out a dry chuckle as he reached for his phone in his pocket.  

He said nothing but complied with Rose’s request and it took him less than second to pass his phone over the table to her.

Rose’s hand damn near snatched the device out of his hand before he’d even reached it to her. She gave a small smile as an apology but quickly turned her attention to the screen.

A fluffy little grey tabby curled up in what looked like Kaoru’s lap – Rose hadn’t had a chance to look at that area yet but she assumed. She looked soft and sweet and totally comfortable being around him.

“You can tell how much she loves and trusts you even though she’s sleeping. She’s so cute.”

Rose smiled, her heart warm but also a little envious. Her parents never allowed her to have a pet. Before they moved away, they couldn’t afford one and always joked that Ryosuke was her pet anyway. And when they could – they didn’t think Rose was capable of looking after something when she was still so young. Eventually Rose just gave up on the idea all together.

She could get one now. But was that really fair when she was working and studying all the time? No, it wasn’t. Maybe after her degree.

“Do you have any pets?”

“No.”

Rose shook her head, mostly to get rid of the slight tinge of green lacing her bloodstream and passed his phone back over to him.

“I’m too busy and won’t be able to take proper care of one.”

Kaoru looked at Rose for a long moment. It was like he was looking at her for the first time. And Rose stared back, unable to look away from his hypnotising gaze.

“Are there any other qualities you’d like her to have?”

“Who, Tama?”

“Tama?”

Rose cocked her head before realising that he thought they were still talking about his cat.

“Oh, no I meant your future bride.”

He looked down again, his brow furrowing once more.

Rose rested her head on her hand as she watched him think. Perhaps he hadn’t actually thought that much about his future bride. He was only twenty-six after all, there was still plenty of time for him to figure out what he wanted.

The food came an interrupted both of their train of thoughts.

Dinner was quiet.

Rose ate whatever it was on her plate. Not really noticing the taste – like she expected, it tasted of nothing. Kaoru ate too, sitting tall and stoic.

Dinner really was quiet.

But somehow it was comfortably quiet, not intense or awkward, just quiet. The last question Rose had asked hadn’t been answered but she almost didn’t want him to. She could see the pain in his eyes each time he lost himself in thought. She didn’t want him to hurt.

She was not the person who could take that pain away. Maybe she could find someone to heal him though.

A broken heart needed patience and understanding. Rose knew that and she hadn’t even had her heart broken. Although she often wondered if she had a heart anymore. But she remembered to write it down in her report.

After dinner, they went up to the hotel room – Rose wondered if Miho had anything to do with this rule rather than H and Takao. Save money on expenses like travel and such. She wasn’t a cheap skate by any means, but with the increase on security since the stalker incident. Money was considerably a lot tighter.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Rose got out her sketchbook while Kaoru went and looked out the window at the beautiful view of Tokyo.

One flick of Rose’s pencil and she was off. She got lost in her drawing and in Kaoru’s profile. He was every artist’s dream – so beautiful on the outside but what was underneath the surface she wanted to scratch away with her pencil and capture completely. There was something so soft about him despite the distance he keeps between himself and other people. And maybe if Rose and he had met under different circumstances, she may actually want to close the distance.

“Oh, god damn it.”

Rose snarled in a English as she pressed too hard on the page and the led in her pencil snapped clean off.

“You speak English?”

Kaoru said suddenly, making Rose remember that she was working. She wondered how long she had been immersed in her drawing for a second before answering.

“Um, not a lot. One of the girls I work with is from England. She curses in English all the time and I kind of learnt it from her.”

Rose chuckled remembering H chunter and swear in English over that Butler she was having disagreeables with.

“Do you?”

Rose looked up briefly before she went in search for another pencil.

“Mhm. German too.”

Rose’s head snapped up again.

“No way? My other co-worker is German.”

Rose’s eyes sparkled with mischievousness as she stared up at Kaoru who was now facing her with his back leaning against the window.

“How do you say ‘Lost any knickers today?’ in German?”

Kaoru looked at Rose, if he was confused it certainly didn’t show on his face.

“Heute schon dein Hoschen verloren?”

He spoke clearly but it went straight over Rose’s head.

“Hut shun dein Hosen verlor?”

Kaoru laughed, the first human like emotion she had seen on his face other than when he was talking about his cat. And that made her smile, instead of being embarrassed about her terrible attempt at speaking German.

“Nice try. But not quite,” He said after he finished laughing and came to sit next to her on the bed. “Heute.”

“Heute.”

Rose repeated.

“Schon.”

“Schon.”

“Dein.”

“Dein.”

“Hoschen.”

“Hoschen.”

“Verloren.”

“Verloren.”

Rose kind of regretted asking him to teach her such a long sentence. German was so much more difficult than she had anticipated.

“Now say the whole thing.” He instructed.

“Heute schon dein Hoschen verloren?”

Kaoru smiled and patted Rose on the head. If this was anyone else she would feel incredibly patronised by this gesture but somehow she knew this was his way of saying ‘well done’ without actually having to say it.

Rose repeated a few times until she was sure she had it memorized – she even wrote it down, after finding her pen.

“Okay, how do you say ‘A Butler knows how to service their Master.’ In English?”

Rose knew what ‘Butler’ and ‘Master’ were in English. She just needed to fit them into a sentence. Plus, she knew this would piss H off and she’d go off into an angry tangent and they were kind of amusing to watch.

Seems like Miho was rubbing off onto Rose.

“A Butler knows how to service their Master.”

“A Butler knows how to service their Master.”

Rose repeated not needing any more help than that. She wasn’t fluent in English by any means but she could string an almost sentence together. Kind of.

“You got that easy.”

Rose beamed at Kaoru, her mischievousness satisfied for the time being. She’d say them as soon as she saw the girls the next day.

“Thanks, I can’t wait to use them!”

She looked at Kaoru who was now looking at her sketchbook that she had placed in between them while she wrote down notes for her language lessons.

“Ah. Sorry, I kind of draw people without asking. My hands kind of have a mind of their own.”

Again, Kaoru’s face was back into ‘expressionless’ and he was harder to read than Goto. She wasn’t really sorry, but she learned it was probably better to apologise in case he didn’t like the idea of being the subject of her artistry.

Before Rose had time to apologise again or offer to rip up the drawing, she was on her back. Kaoru’s large hands wrapped tightly around her wrists which he had pinned either side of her face. One of his knees lodged between her thighs.

If Rose wasn’t here for the purpose she was and didn’t want to sleep with him, she would had kneed him straight in the crotch. Rose didn’t push the sex part of the date scenario because it wasn’t like he had to and she couldn’t read him well enough for any signs that he did. But she also wasn’t going to stop him if he wanted to.

She wanted to say something, to ask him if he was okay, to check he actually wanted to go through with it. But he kissed her before she could.  

While his hold on her was rough and tight, his kiss was as gentle as kitten kisses. And Rose found herself moaning at the contrast. It was something that turned her on so much.

She clenched her fists, her fingers that had been desperate to capture the tornado of his beauty on paper now itching to just touch him. To feel the sparks of his feelings surge through her.

Clothes were shed quickly. Kaoru taking full control. Undressing her then himself.

Rose made a mental note that he liked to take the lead.

After clothes were gone. He held her again, this time he was on his side, his arm under her head as she laid on her back. It wasn’t quite as dominating as his first intimate touch but still wonderful all the same. There was something more than just sex lingering in his touches and Rose had to wonder if maybe he was imagining someone else.

His fingers that had left marks around her wrists were now dancing with persistence down her bare stomach. His lips hovered over her ear and his hot and heavy breaths echoed through her ear drums right down to her nether regions.

He was slightly teasing in the lowering dips of his fingers that immediately retreated back upwards when Rose’s body began to tremble with anticipation.

Small growls escaped from her to show her frustration and desperation to be touched lower than her belly button. And Kaoru chuckled sadistically in her ear as his response but seemed just as frustrated with his own teasing and made a beeline for her pussy.

The first touch was bliss on its own. His large finger pad touching her bundle of nerves with little to no pressure but it felt good. Then he began to move his finger anti-clockwise and it was so good even the narrator had trouble thinking of a word to describe the pleasure Rose was feeling.

He did this for a possibly twenty seconds, making her clit swell with desire before he moved his digits lower. Sliding his fingers through her wet folds and collecting some of her wetness onto his fingertips as lubricant before teasing her open.

Rose turned her head towards Kaoru when his finger was inside her. His digits were long and certainly reached further than anyone else’s fingers ever could. She wanted to say something, make an innuendo or some dirty talk but when their eyes locked, he began to move and broke Rose’s train of thought.

He knew what he was doing. He could read Rose better than she would have given him credit for. Especially after only meeting twice and barely speaking at all. That explains how he can be journalist without having to talk much.

The first few pumps of his wrist were soft but quickly gave way to faster and slightly rougher ones. Rose’s cries increased with each thrust and she needed to grab onto him, thankfully her hand was level with his crotch, she pressed her palm softly against his cock.

Already fully stood to attention.

That stuttered his continuous wrist action but he didn’t stop. He slowed his pace and waited for Rose to wrap her fingers around his length – which by the way matched his height, although was a little girthier than expected, and start to stroke him before he continued the previous speed of his movements.

Harmonies of their moans and deep breaths began to fill the room. The air con that was blowing silently in the air was null and void with the amount of heat radiating off them both.

They were still staring at each other while they continued. Kaoru occasionally kissing Rose or resting his forehead against hers when their paces began to pick up.

“Are, are you close?”

Kaoru whispered against her sweaty forehead.

“Y-yes.”

Rose replied, her hips bucking against his hand. Her eyes shutting ready to fall into abandoned bliss when he moved his hand so his palm grazed against her clit with his thrusts.

But she didn’t.

Kaoru removed his hand from her and untangled himself from their position.

Rose was almost there and then poof. She could feel the rush of blood circulating to her orgasm starting to thin. She opened her eyes when she felt the bed dip and his warmth leave her.

He padded over to where he’d thrown his trousers, searched through one pocket and then the other before pulling out a little foil packet and then returning to her.

“From reading the rules, this is over once I cum right?”

Rose stared at him for a moment before nodding her head slowly. That was the rule Miho and Jazz came up with. But Rose had heard many stories of them breaking their own rule.

The sadistic flicker in his eyes made an appearance for the first time. It made the blood in her veins thicken and head straight back to her pussy.

“Seems unfair if you get to cum as many times as you like but I only get to cum once.”

He smirked and Rose couldn’t hide the surprise on her face. She liked to pride herself in being able to read people very well. But Kaoru seemed to have become a master of poker face.

He ripped the foil, tossed it and rolled the condom over his cock. Rose watched, the anticipation making her heart thud hard against her chest.

Kaoru rolled Rose onto her front, her torso laid flat on the bed as he raised her ass upwards. When he was sure Rose was comfortable, he ran his cock from her clit to her entrance and back again before he sheathed himself inside her. Fractionally pushing her up the bed.

“No cumming without permission.”

Kaoru said and Rose nodded and whispered a ‘yes’ into the bedsheets.

Rose had experienced orgasm denial many times. It was one of Kyobashi’s favourite kinks and he specifically enjoyed teasing Rose about how much she actually loved it as well. Which she did but admitting it to Kyobashi was the same as admitting to Ota that he made a good piece of art.

Painful.

He was relentless from his entrance. His hips were fast and brutal with their thrusting. The sound of skin slapping against skin was loud and echoed throughout the room.

The soft and subtle moans that were once occupying Rose’s windpipe were now dry and hoarse as she nearly screamed with each pound from his hips. When he introduced his well-practiced fingers strumming a perfect rhythm on her clit, he was making it damn near impossible not to cum.  

When Rose would feel her orgasm coming close, Kaoru would feel it too. The increase of the clench of her walls surrounding him and he would stop and change position.

They ended up going at it for hours – against the wall, the window (curtains closed, Rose remembered that even in the heat of the moment), she rode him, she gave him a blowjob, he ate her pussy, each time they both felt their orgasms right around the corner they would deny themselves it.

Kaoru’s stamina was impressive, even with Rose’s alarm blaring in her bag that the date was over. They continued. Until finally, in the missionary position, kissing and holding onto each other’s hand in an almost loving hold. They came, Rose first followed seconds later by Kaoru.

In the end she didn’t need to ask for permission, it was like after how long they had been going at it, it didn’t matter anymore.

It was strange, after they’d cleaned up and got dressed. Kaoru was exactly how he was when they first met in the restaurant but he seemed a little lighter and like he wasn’t brooding anymore.

He handed her the drawing back that ended up somewhere on the hotel room floor.

“I want this when you’ve finished.”

He said, rubbing the back of his neck once Rose had accepted the sketchbook off of him. She looked at her drawing and tried to understand what about it made Kaoru make his move. She couldn’t see it, but she was often told she captured parts of people that they thought they’d mastered at masking.

“You got it.”

Rose closed her sketchbook and put it back in her bag. Satisfied physically and with how the date scenario went.

-BACK TO THE PRESENT.-

“She found my cat.”

Kaoru suddenly said, making Rose blink twice, remembering how she couldn’t walk properly for the next two days thanks to him, before going along with the story.

“Yeah, she was stuck up a tree meowing at me, so I got her down.”

Rose smiled slightly, as Minato stared at her, then looked to Kaoru for further explanation.

“I was looking for Tama and bumped into her getting her down from the tree.”

Kaoru shrugged, his face that emotionless canvas it was when Rose first met him. Suppose it was good that he had the face he did especially when these kind of situations pop up. He gave nothing away that he was lying.

Shusei however, smiled a little more than necessary as if he knew. Which he probably did. After all, he knew how MJS worked better than Minato. And he also knew that Rose was a test driver, which Minato didn’t.

“It’s great that we don’t need to introduce you or anything but we should probably introduce her to the Chief, don’t you think Minato?”

Shusei smiled at Rose for a second before looking at Minato.

Rose wasn’t that phased but was still grateful for Shusei’s attempt to change the subject. She’d been in more awkward situations than this before but she had to be careful what she said and who she said it to. If she somehow accidently breached MJS protocol that could cause some major trouble.

“I guess, just keep an eye on Yuasa. We all know he’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

Minato began to walk away, Shusei following behind, leaving Rose with Kaoru.

“Thank you for the picture.”

He said patting Rose on the shoulder before following the direction of Minato and Shusei. Rose walked behind him. She knew her little legs wouldn’t be able to keep up with his pace so she didn’t bother. She was actually surprised when he slowed down to walk beside her.

“It’s really good. When you have your own exhibit can I write a piece on it?”

Kaoru asked and Rose found herself smiling in response.

“Sure, you might be waiting around a while though. With work and doing art projects I don’t get much chance to do pieces for myself.”

They continued to walk, leisurely following Shusei and Minato as they hunted down this ‘chief’.

“Oh, thank you for teaching me the German and English phrases. They went down wonderfully.”

Rose chuckled as she remembered the way both the girls reacted.

-MINI FLASHBACK-

“Hey Jazz, Heute schon dein Hoschen verloren?”

Rose said as soon as she walked through the office doors to MJS. She had been reciting these phrases the entire journey to work. Nothing would be worse than missing the pun because of mispronouncing a word or leaving out a word entirely so the sentence didn’t make sense.

Jazz, H and Izumi were all stood around his desk. Prime time for using the sentences in their natives tongues. Two of her victims in one place, it was perfect.  

“What the hell did you just say?”

Rose grinned before repeating the phrase Kaoru had taught her.

“I, I don’t know whether to be impressed or insulted that you know how to say that? Who taught you?”

Rose tapped her nose, implying that is was a secret.

“Avoiding the question huh? Guess it must be a few then?”

Rose shrugged her shoulders.

“I’ll have you know, now that I am happily in a relationship, I don’t lose them. Just misplace them in various places in the apartment.”

Rose laughed but then her attention turned to H and Izumi who were staring at them with a questioning eye.

“H, I figured out the solution to your Butler problems.”

Rose smiled, although it wasn’t a smile of sincerity, more of mischief. H eyed her, clearly expecting something unhelpful to come from Rose’s lips.

“A butler knows how to service their Master,” Rose said clearly in English “So you just have to become his Master.” The second part of her sentence was in Japanese.

Rose was surprised that nothing came flying at her like a pen or a ball of paper or Izumi – H was like the Hulk when she was angry. She didn’t hold back and that was something Rose loved about her. Women were still so reserved in Japan – not expressing the extent of their feelings. So coming across likeminded women was one in a million chance. But here she was surrounded by three of them.

“You’ve been waiting to use these since you learnt them, haven’t you?”

H said rolling her eyes hard at Rose before laughing at the grin she had plastered on her face.

Overall, it was a success. Neither were offended, quite the opposite they both seemed pretty impressed. Rose needed to thank Kaoru again for the language lessons.

-BACK TO THE PRESENT-

“Heh, I’m glad. You didn’t screw up the pronunciation then?”

Rose raised her eyebrow, the little tease in Kaoru’s tone was a nice change from the deep monotone voice she had grown to think was the only tone to his voice. She was also a little surprised by how chirpy and talkative he seemed in comparison to when they met.

He was obviously in love with the girl whose profile he picked. That was good.

“Heute schon dein Hoschen verloren?”

Rose said, proud that even though she had used them and probably wouldn’t have need to say them again, she still could remember and pronounce them correctly.

“Impressive.”

Kaoru acknowledged.

“Ah, Rose. Over here.”

Rose turned to the direction of Shusei’s voice and saw him waving to her through a crowd of a couple of people.

“After you.”

Kaoru said, waiting for Rose to walk before he did.

Considering this was an event that she didn’t particularly want to come to nor did she want to be the sole representative of MJS. She was actually not hating it – she nearly forgot she was in a dress, nearly. Yet she still couldn’t wait for Miho to arrive.

Smiling as nicely as she could she stood next to Shusei and Minato and looked between them before looking to the other man they were with.

Rose’s heart had already nearly fallen out of her ass when she bumped into to Kaoru. Now it definitely had.

Her eyes widened but she kept a small smile on her face. The look on his face was professional despite his eyes widening the same as Rose’s.

“Rose, this is out editor in Chief – Akiyoshi Zaizen.”

Minato said and Rose nodded and bowed slightly. She had already admitted to meeting Shusei and Kaoru under false pretences, surely none of them would buy it if she made up another little lie about how she knew their boss.

Best to play dumb.  

“Nice to meet you, I’m Rose, from MJS matchmaking and wedding planning agency.”

Rose introduced herself even though he knew EXACTLY who she was.

“Pleased to meet you. Thank you for allowing one of our journalists to write a piece on your business.”

He bowed back. The politeness something Rose remembered well.

-FLASHBACK-

“Thank you for joining me this evening.”

Akiyoshi said, standing when Rose reached him at the bar he was sat at.

“The pleasure is all mine.”

Rose responded before going to pull a chair out to sit but Akiyoshi beat her to it and pulled it out for her and gracefully sliding her close but not too close to the bar once she had sat comfortably before reseating himself.

“What would you like to drink?” he asked.

“Whiskey please.”

Rose said and smiled at the little bit of shock on his face when she’d asked for such a ‘strong’ drink. He ordered both of them a drink and sat silently as the bartender poured them and then once the bartender had gone to serve some other customers, he turned slightly to Rose.

“This is my first date in a while, so please forgive my awkwardness.”

He said twisting the glass in his hand.

Rose smiled at him, the honesty from him was nice. He looked incredibly put together and sure of himself from first glance but she could see the fidgeting as signs as nerves.

It was cute.

“You’re not awkward at all.”

Rose smiled, he was six years older than her and maybe in his age and lack of dating lacked the confidence of her previous clients.

“But we should probably get all the ‘work talk’ out the way if you want this to be more like a date.” Rose said.

Although much of these conversations would have been had back at the office with Miho, it was best Rose had a clear idea of what kind of person he was and the kind of woman he’d like to end up with. Not just what she’s like in the sack.

He nodded his agreement and turned more fully and confidently towards her.

“What would you like your future wife to be like?”

Rose took a dainty sip from her whisky – which wasn’t her usual style of drinking but she had to be fully alert to be able to remember everything he said.

“She has to be patient and understand I am married to my job first.”

Patience, important for other reasons too.

“I don’t mind if she can’t cook since I can but she has to be willing to learn. I can think of nothing more homely than being stood side by side with my wife cooking dinner.”

He seemed a little bashful at his comment but continued anyway.

“She has to have drive and passion.”

“Are we talking about towards her goals or in the bedroom?”

Rose asked deadpan. It was a serious question after all.

Akiyoshi however was caught by surprise and a light sheen of beer that he’d sipped into his mouth sprayed out from between his lips and all over the bar surface. And he grabbed a napkin from the dispenser next to them to clean it up.

Rose cocked her head. Really? Twenty-nine years old and a woman saying something like that had him all shook? He was like a blushing virgin and somehow it reminded her of Ryosuke and she found herself smiling without even meaning to.

“Um, well both I guess.”

He answered as he scrunched up the used napkin.

“Well what about her appearance? Short, tall, curvy, skinny, ass, boobs?”

“I don’t have a ‘type’ when it comes to looks. She just has to be confident in herself and her appearance. That makes a woman one hundred times more beautiful.”

Rose nodded, she agreed. Nothing was sexier than a woman who loved herself.

“You for example are not the type of beautiful the media portrays.”

He started before Rose interrupted.

“Watch it.”

She glared but there was no anger behind her gaze but he wasn’t afraid of her reaction. He was right though, she wasn’t the type of girl you’d see in all the magazines and called the face of ‘2017’. She was sat with him in a plain pair of black jeans and a tucked in white polo shirt with bright red hair and simple make-up.

Not exactly what you see on the cover of magazines or on mainstream tv shows.

“But you are so beautiful because you are confident in what you have.”

Rose’s eyes widened slightly. Two compliments in one sentence. This guy was a real smooth talker and it looked like he didn’t even know it.

“Thank you.” Rose smiled.

“No need.” Akiyoshi smiled back.

This was more like a date than any of her other clients. It felt almost easy talking to Akiyoshi about anything, like when she was with Ryosuke.

You seriously need to stop thinking about him when you’re working, girl. Otherwise these weird feelings of guilt in the pit of your stomach are gonna make that whisky come back up straight into Akiyoshi’s face. – said the narrator to Rose.

“Shall we?”

Akiyoshi said bringing Rose out of her internal conversation with the narrator. He’d offered Rose his arm after they’d finished their drinks and like a true gentleman escorted her perfectly up to the hotel room.

Rose was quite amazed by how gentle, patient and kind he was to her. Once in the hotel room, he took her bag and her jacket and placed them sensibly and carefully on a chair by the door. They say romance is dead but Akiyoshi clearly didn’t get the memo.

Normally, Rose would have started drawing her client by now, this was the first time she hadn’t had her sketchbook close to her – especially when such a delicious model was stood in front of her.

She hadn’t really noticed in the dimly lit bar just how incredibly built he was. His shoulders were broad and looked toned and muscular. His neck was long and pale. She licked her lips thinking about how beautiful a pattern of hickeys would look on is skin.

Drawing him is a must.

“Feel free to say no to this request,” Rose started, heading towards her bag. “But would you mind if I draw you?”

Rose wasn’t one to normally ask for permission before drawing. She had a bad habit of letting her inspiration take hold of her before common sense. But with how polite Akiyoshi was, she had at the front of her mind the curtsey to ask first.

“That, that might be the first and probably the last time someone has asked to draw me.”

He said, a little unsure on the question and the answer he wanted to give.

“If you’d agree, I’d ask you to be my model all the time.”

Rose said evenly.

“That’s a big compliment from an artist.”

He nodded.

Rose nodded with him. It was a big compliment – she didn’t just draw anyone. There was something in everyone she met recently that made her want to draw. The inspiration hitting her like a truck and if she let it pass by she wouldn’t be able to create anything worthwhile.

“I don’t have problem with it but I can’t guarantee I’ll be a good subject.”

Akiyoshi seated himself on the edge of the bed while Rose shifted the chair into a good position and got out her equipment.

“That position doesn’t look comfortable, here.”

Before seating herself, Rose walked over to where Akiyoshi sat and encouraged him to sit against the headboard. He’d be much more comfortable and that would make his expression better.

She tipped his chin slightly up towards her as she stood over him. She had intended to move his face into a position where she could capture the length of his neck.

Their eyes met in a shojo manga style ‘almost kiss moment’. But unlike those kinds of stories, Rose wasn’t one to shy away from a kissing scene.

BUT.

She also didn’t like making the first move with clients, it was their decision to make. Not hers.

“Can I kiss you?”

Rose grinned, that wasn’t the first move she was expecting. But it matched the way he acted the rest of the date. And it was insanely adorable. Like they were on a real date.

Even though she was smiling and not opposed to the idea in the slightest, Akiyoshi didn’t bring his face any closer to hers or attempt to bring hers to his until she voiced her consent.

“Yes.”

Wrapping his hand around her neck and under her hair, Akiyoshi brought Rose’s face lower until their lips met.

It was just a peck at first, then another and another, until pecks gave way to making out. Rose naturally gravitated to seating herself in his lap.  

Adjusting himself, to get her comfortable first before worrying about his own comfort was another mental note Rose made. He said he was married to his job first before a relationship but Rose could tell in his actions even if he was busy with work, he’d do anything to make sure his woman was aware of how much he cared and loved her.

The woman he ends up with was going to be cherished.

He was even so gracious as to ask permission by licking Rose’s bottom lip before their tongues made an appearance into their kiss.

Rose still wasn’t used to soft and gentle sex. She didn’t dislike it, but rough sex didn’t complicate feelings quite as much. And while Rose was fully aware she didn’t have feelings for Akiyoshi, everything he was doing was something that she had lacked experience in and made her a little nervous.

Not in a bad way.

His hands eventually wandered from her hair and trailed down her back until he reached her ass and softly grabbed onto her. Grinding her hips into his using her ass as leverage.

Rose broke the kiss.

“Ass man, huh?”

She pecked his lips and started to grind on him a little harder. She couldn’t help saying something to perhaps spice it up, she would claim to herself that it was to see all sides of his sexual preference but it was more for her own.

“With an ass like yours, I don’t know a man alive who wouldn’t be.”

Rose smirked, she wasn’t known for her outrageously big ass or even her boobs for that matter. But she prided herself on them both being firm, well-rounded and perky. She could thank practicing martial arts since she was eight for that.

“And here I thought you were being a gentleman all night, but you’ve been staring at my ass.”

Rose ran her fingers through his hair, tugging slightly so his head tilted and his neck was on show to her, all while she continued to grind. Enjoying when she increased the pressure on his lap and the soft groans that escaped him.

She kissed his neck once, then twice.

“You make it hard to be the perfect gentleman.”

He groaned into Rose’s shoulder. And she smiled into his neck before nipping at his skin. She wanted desperately to bite down on the plain canvas of his neck and leave a bright red mark that would evolve into a beautiful purple, yellow and red flower but she knew she couldn’t.

“I know, I can feel just how hard.”

Rose breathed into his neck. Every so often she could feel the bulge under her press into her and it was teasingly wonderful.

Abruptly and almighty growl escaped Akiyoshi as he rolled her onto her back and positioned himself above her. The sound he emitted reminded her of the roar of a male lion laying his claim to his territory. It was a sound she was sure he could make, but she wasn’t sure it was one he would make in the throes of passion.

Rose giggled in response, not squirming but move sensually under him. Acting as enticing as a dying wildebeest to the king of the African plains. Her hands slowly travelling over her own chest before moving up to his. The feel of the firmness of his pecs under his clothes was solid and soft at the same time.

God, he was hot.

Akiyoshi kissed Rose again, this time not asking for permission to initiate it or the use of his tongue. He wasn’t forceful but he was dominate.

Clothes were slowly shed, he took his time in appreciating each part of Rose that was exposed to him. He was still tentative in his actions, allowing her the time to react if she didn’t like something he was doing.

VERY tentative – noted.

Once Rose was naked under him, it was her turn to undress him. He was busy kissing her chest and making his way to her nipples and breasts but she stopped him and he let her.

She pushed him up until he was kneeling on the bed and she joined him in that position. Ridding him of each article of his clothing. He kept contact the entire time, making sure to kiss her at every opportunity that presented itself.

Once he was as naked as she was, she pushed him down onto his back.

So he was okay with relinquishing control and letting his partner hold the reigns – noted.

Before Rose chose her position, she scurried over to her bag to retrieve protection. While most of her clients were the ones to bring the condoms, it was always safe for her to have some on herself in case they ‘forgot’ one.

Straddling his thighs, she took hold of his cock. Giving him a fair amount of attention before she teased the condom over him.

Jazz would have been proud.

Straddling him once more but this time directly over his cock and with her back facing him – so her ass was in his eyeline, she placed herself against his cock and began to run her pussy up and down the length of his cock. Raising her hips and repeating when he growled sexily behind her and gripped onto her ass much harder than his previous touch.

“That feels so good.”

Rose smiled to herself and continued for a few more moments before the almost infuriating friction she was causing on herself was just no longer enough. She raised her hips high enough to break contact between their intimate parts and used her one hand to steady herself on his thigh while the other she used to hold his cock steady herself onto.

His tip stretched her open to make way for the rest of him. Rose’s head fell back with each inch that entered her. It seemed never ending, when she was sure she was at the last in there was more. When she finally rested her ass against his hips, she let out the breath she didn’t realise she was holding in.

“Shit.”

Rose breathed out but didn’t allow herself to enjoy the sensation of him filling her up.

She moved her hips, grinding once more in his lap before she leaned forward, gripping onto his knees and raising her hips and bringing them the same speed back down.

Akiyoshi was a proper ‘growler’, the animalistic noises that came from him each time Rose thrust herself up and down on him was spurring her on more and more. She kept a change of pace going, grinding then riding then back to grinding. Keeping him of his toes.

His grip on her hips and ass area was bordering on painful – just like Rose liked.

Sweat coated both of their skin as she rode him, it wasn’t until she felt his thighs begin to quiver under her that Rose slowed down.

At that moment Akiyoshi gripped her arm, she looked behind her and down at the heavenly body under her.

“Turn, turn around. I want to look at you.”

Rose like the authoritive tone to his voice, it was superior to that of anyone she had ever heard before and it was like music to her ears but there was a sweet fondness there as well. One that she could certainly get used to hearing but knew she couldn’t and wouldn’t.

She complied and rotated herself to face him without disconnecting him from her.

As soon as she was comfortable he sat up just enough to pull her down to his face for a long heated and slightly sloppy tongue and saliva dominating kiss.

His hips moved before hers, bucking up into her and encouraging her to move along with him – which she did, more than happily. And she encouraged him to use a hand to give some attention to her severely neglected clit.

They remained in this position until they both reached their orgasm. Their gazes locked, occasionally their lips and at one point their hands too.

By the way, she got to draw him after their tryst – well a certain part of him, until it filled full of blood and needed some relief. But Akiyoshi was a gentleman and made sure she came first both times.

-BACK TO THE PRESENT-  

“It was a great article. You have a good team.”

Rose smiled and bowed back.

“Of course it was a great article, who do you think wrote it?”

Minato looked down at Rose with that shit eating smirk of his and Rose wished she hadn’t complimented him in front of other people.

It was at that point looked around herself.

She had slept with four people that worked for Seasonelle. She couldn’t help but feel like that was some kind of achievement. But she couldn’t understand why had Miho not told her that they all worked for the same damn magazine and that they would all be at this damn party?

She was just glad that they all didn’t know that she had slept with them. She could just imagine the headline:

‘Rose bangs Seasonelle.’

Obviously they wouldn’t actually write that as an article but she wouldn’t be surprised if Miho made a ‘fake’ magazine with that as the headline now that she was aware she’d slept with the majority of the Seasonelle editorial team.

“Would you like a drink?”

Akiyoshi asked and Rose nodded.

He turned to the table behind him with the various amounts of liquor sitting on it. After pouring a drink he turned back and handed Rose her drink.

Whisky.

Uh-oh. They were playing the ‘perfect strangers’ role but he remembered the drink she chose at the bar. This was bad.

“Whisky’s a little strong for a lady don’t you think, Chief?”

Shusei questioned.

“Is he trying to get her drunk so he can have his way with her?”

A blond haired man said as he entered the group. Rose glared at him, she remembered him from the day she came to the Seasonelle. He made her hackles go up back then and this time he made her hackles go up and her claws come out.

“No, but isn’t it obvious I don’t drink the frilly girly shit that’s obviously in your glass?”

Rose growled but immediately regretted it when she remembered where she was and that she was here representing MJS.

“Woah, defensive Pommy jumping to the Chiefs rescue.”

Minato said a little taken aback and disgruntled by Rose’s change in loyalty and Master to no other than his Boss.

“Looks like she is a little fond of the boss.”

Shusei joined in on the teasing.

“Knock it off, all of you.”

Akiyoshi growled that made all the men recoil and zip their mouths shut. It was a similar type of growl to the sound she made when Rose was riding him. And she had to sip her whisky to stop herself from smirking.

“I apologise. These guys are idiots, is whisky okay? I’m sorry I just assumed it was your drink of choice.”

Rose smiled sincerely.

“Whisky is my poison, thank you.”

After the close call, they stood huddle in a group chatting and getting acquainted for quite a while. Minato seemed to read Rose pretty well every time the blonde she found out was called ‘Chiaki’ spoke or got to close to her, he would purposely put himself into the conversation or physically moved between them both.

Rose however was almost at the tipsy point – she’d lost count of how many drinks she’d had to cover up the intensity of the situation and the uncomfortableness she felt of being here without Miho. She could feel her skin getting hotter and getting redder. She decided that was a good time to stop drinking, she wasn’t sure getting drink around four people she’d slept with was a good idea.

Miho would be mad, so it would definitely be a bad idea.

Overall though, the alcohol had given her the confidence to enjoy this as much as she could. She was chatting away and getting to know each man when they were amongst friends and their peers.

It wasn’t until she was chatting to Minato that she noticed that people were staring at direction of the door. She couldn’t see what everyone was staring at. Everyone around her seemed like giants in comparison.

The huddle of Seasonelle journalists she was stood with were too interested in what was taking place by the door.

Eventually the cause of the commotion made herself know.

“Miho.”

Rose looked her boss up and down and realised why her boss had made a wave in the crowd.

“Am I drunk or is she wearing a cat woman suit?”

Rose said to no one in particular, but Minato moved next to her.

“No, she’s wearing a cat woman suit.”

Rose sighed.

“If I’d had known this was the reason she was going to be late, I wouldn’t have given her that suit as a Bachelorette party gift.”

Rose let out a slight chuckle, sometimes Miho could be so unpredictable.

She let out a breath happy her boss was finally here but still a little taken back by her extravagant entrance. However her gratefulness of her boss finally arriving was short lived when a copper haired male that was following behind her came into her line of sight.

“Ryo?!”

Rose nearly shouted but managed to capture her voice. Her surprise but happiness to see him was shown on her face, she couldn’t hide the smile that began to take hold of her lips as she watched him sheepishly look around the room until he looked directly at her, his gaze intense and unreadable.

Unreadable.

That didn’t make sense, he was always pretty easy to read.

“You’re welcome.”

Miho stated when she got close enough before she walked back the way she came.

“What the hell, Miho?”

Rose called after, but Minato put his hand on her shoulder as if to stop her and pointed in the direction of Ryosuke.

Whose gaze intensified when Minato touched her. He made his way towards her, his footsteps full of purpose.

“Akane, we’re leaving.”

Ryosuke grabbed her hand – the touch as rough as his tone, and then turned dragging her behind him leaving behind a whole room of confused journalists and publishers.