#kevin price there is something about you that makes me go crazy

[wherepoetswentodie]

watched a book of mormon bootleg last night and now my eye is twitching and my laptop keeps on opening on a blank google docs

[fairyoftbz]

rêveur | b. jacob

☕ pairing: (shy) pastry chef! jacob x fem! reader (with barista!kevin) ☕ word count: 4.2k (。_。) (oops i got carried away) ☕ genre: fluff, sort of slow-burn (more like jacob and the reader rejecting their feelings) ☕ tw: maybe some occasional swear words and one (1) mention of the reader’s ex but nothing too crazy.  ☕ synopsis: you find yourself always coming back to the café down the street where you absolutely loved the pastries and befriended the barista, but you’ll soon discover the culprit of your sweet tooth. ☕ a/n: gosh it’s long but i couldn’t stop myself writing for him 🥺 i’m just too soft for him. ☕ requested: yes! i hope it’s not too bad!

╰☆☆☆☆╮

No matter how hard you tried, the efforts you put to prevent you from coming back, you always found yourself going at the local café every single week. You didn’t understand if it was the atmosphere or the warmth of the place, but you always found yourself there. The fact that it was located just down the road gave you the excuse of hanging around there more often than you should.

You could be busy, studying for finals or hang out with friends, the café was always hidden in the corner of your mind. As soon as the street works ended, your neighbourhood became the most tranquil place you’ve ever lived in. All your neighbours were friendly and polite, sticking a little note in the lift to warn the other neighbours of a potential party or loud reunion, helping each other at any occasion. Some residents, including you, owned a pet, and you were grateful that none of them was a pain in the butt for the rest of the building. When you told your friends how quiet and different it was from your former apartment, they never believed you.

While some of them would have killed to study or sleep at a place like your current one, you always found yourself going back to this local café. This little, Japanese-like coffee shop became your new obsession over the months, randomly finding it once while you wanted to go to a flower shop at the end of this street. The employees were welcoming and caring, completely catching you off guard as you were used to going to Starbucks, where some baristas and waiters could use a good lecture about politeness and respect. In the small coffee shop, their goal wasn’t to make the most money possible, it was more to please people and make them discover new coffee or pastries flavours. Everything was homemade, and that’s what encouraged you to become their number one fan. The workers, especially one, started recognising you by dint of your regular appearances at the shop, remembering one of your visits.

“Morning Y/N! Caramel macchiato, as usual? Nothing else?” Kevin, the barista, greeted you with a smile, which you returned alongside with a nod.

This barista was a social butterfly, always striking up a conversation with everyone. And he didn’t care, he just kept going, even if the customers were rude or remained quiet. You were admiring because you were among the people that stayed reserved yet polite when he started talking to you, but his ease made you comfortable enough to joke and laugh with him, striking a conversation with him whenever you had the chance, quickly becoming friends over your many visits.

“Yes, please! I need a lot of caffeine today,” you murmured, and he sadly chuckled, understanding your great need for energy. “Rough night?” he asked, and you agreed again, chuckling as you realised how lame it was. “I assisted my dog being in pain while giving birth,” you explained, and the barista’s eyes widened, his mouth falling agape in excitement. “But that’s amazing! How many did she have?” he seized your credit card without even telling you the price of your purchase - in his defence, you were so used to coming here that you knew the price of your order by heart by now - and typed on his screen, closing the cash register in a slam as it randomly opened.   “She gave birth to four healthy puppies, they’re so adorable,” you replied, and the man in front of you smiled as brightly as you were.

“Those are great news! Oh, by the way, would you like to have a taste of the discovery of our pastry chef? You should have seen how happy he looked when he finished the batch this morning,” he explained, and you followed him to the window display, indicating with his finger what resembled a mille-feuille. “That looks nice, I’ll have one, then,” you stated as you were to hand him your credit card again, which he hesitantly took before looking at the back office. You asked him if something was wrong, but he shook his head with a smile and gave you a tray with your drink and the pastry. “Have a great day Kevin!” you thanked him while he washed his hands, head turning to you before shooting you a friendly wink. “You too, Y/N! And you can always tell me if you need someone to take one of the puppies, I’ll gladly adopt one. I only have to talk with my girlfriend first,” your eyes turned into crescent moons filled with joy at his words, and you lifted your thumb excitedly. He quickly waved before serving the next customer, his signature undying smile plastered on his face.

Comfortably sitting down at an empty table, you took off your coat and gulped a sip of your drink, your mouth salivating at the sight of the food. Grabbing the fork, you slid it against the pastry and brought it to your mouth, the sugary taste melting against your tongue. You ate more and more until you finished, almost tempted to go back to Kevin and ask him for another one. But you ignored your love of good food and started getting to work, getting a book and your computer out of your bag, touching up your project that you had spent a lot of time working on. It was one of the last things you had to do for university, and you were delighted to get it done to finally move on.

“Is everything okay?” You recognised the voice of your favourite barista, smiling as you watched him clearing your tray. “Yeah, thanks! Actually, can you tell the chef that it was amazing? I loved how incredible it tasted,” you explained, and Kevin smiled brightly, nodding. “I promise I’ll do it. Jacob gets so happy when he receives recognition, I’m sure it’s going to brighten his day,” nodding at you, he took your empty tray back to the counter.

Quickly saving your paper on your computer, you turned your head to the side to stare at the barista, smiling as you noticed him disappearing in the back as he called his friend’s name.

“Jacob!” Kevin spoke as he wiped his wet hands on his apron, his friend slightly flinching as the voice filled the silence he was used to working in. “Are we out of something?” the baker worriedly asked, and Kevin shook his head, a chuckle escaping from his mouth. “No, no, I’m just doing my job, being a messenger,” Jacob slightly frowned and stopped spreading yolk on the biscuits. “One of my friends, Y/N, came and ate the mille-feuille you made this morning. She said that it was excellent, and she wanted me to tell you,” Kevin explained, and the baker blinked a few times, the tip of his ears getting progressively red as he processed his friend’s words. “Thank you, I appreciate it,” the baker replied with a smile, peeking out of the back office to try and get a look at the customers. “Is she still there?” he asked, and Kevin peered closer, shaking his head as your seat was now found empty.

Jacob nodded and went back to work, a bit disappointed to not have been able to see you, hence the pout forming onto his face, but he was touched that someone complimented him on his skills. Of course, it was his job after all, but it always felt nice to receive compliments and validation that what you do is fantastic. Jacob wasn’t the most confident person in the world, so your words only brought him the daily dose of happiness and the credits he deserved.

You came back the next week, the atmosphere of the café had changed into something quite hectic, almost stressing you out when you came here to relax and chill out from your day at uni. Now that your project was done and submitted, you had some hours to kill before meeting up with some friends. Without even noticing, you arrived in the middle of rush hour, people jostling one another to get some pastries or a quick coffee before going back to work. You had to put back into place a businessman that tried to overtake you to place his order, feeling your heart hammering in your chest while doing so. The excuse of being in a rush didn’t persuade you, riposting that you also had to go somewhere so he went back behind you, breathing out of frustration to make you feel guilty, but it didn’t work. You only rolled your eyes and waited, smirking to yourself as the man behind you gave up and left, cussing.

A hand settled the pastries in the window display in a rush, people massing together to decide on their order. Kevin was all over the place but still an angel, a tired yet bright smile adorning his face. Once it was your turn, a man walked behind your friend and recognised the thin hands that placed the pastries in front of you a few minutes earlier. “Jacob? We ran out of chocolate chip cookies, we need a new batch asap, bro. We’re selling them like hot cakes.Y/N, hi, the usual?” Kevin said, and you looked up at the name, the baker stopping in his tracks and nodded, a tired look on his face. Kevin seized the opportunity to grab a chocolate croissant from the tray his friend was holding, wrapping it in a napkin.

Your eyes connected with Jacob’s for a second, his light brown pupils holding something warm and gentle towards you. He wiped the flour off his apron before quickly looking back at you, pushing the strands of hair away from his eyes before replacing his baker cap. He looked in great need of sleep, the bags under his eyes enhancing the empathy you had for him. He was handsome and adorable at the same time, your heart not being able to choose what side to fall for. The baker tiredly nodded at his friend’s request and disappeared, hearing him hastily get back to work.

“Oh uhm, yes, please,” you stammered, and Kevin smirked, humming in agreement, and typed on his screen. You shyly cleared your throat as your friend probably understood your train of thoughts since you weren’t so discrete in observing the baker, but thankfully, he didn’t raise it.

Once the rush hour had calmed down, and the coffee shop quieted down again, just like it was when you came last time, Kevin took his break with Jacob. The manager took over, leaving the two employees time to take a much-needed break and breathe for a while, gathering enough energy to make it to the end of the afternoon.

“It was her that complimented your mille-feuille,” Kevin revealed as he motioned to your table with a nod, where you were happily calling a friend and munching on the pastry the barista had placed on your tray.

Jacob followed his friend’s finger, and an honest, tired smile emerged on his face when he noticed how bright and sunny you looked. You looked so soft and nice to have around, making the baker wonder how it was to have a conversation with you. Eyes turning into crescent moons as you laughed at one of your friend’s joke, you failed to notice the employee looking in your direction, his colleague observing him out of the corner of his eye while sipping his iced americano.  

“She’s pretty, right?” Kevin mumbled, but Jacob didn’t hear him. “What did you say?” The pastry chef mindlessly asked, gaze trailing on your figure. “Y/N. She’s pretty, don’t you think?” Jacob’s eyes widened and stared back at his friend, who was giggling. “It’s okay, I’ll keep it a secret,” the barista nudged his tired friend in the ribs, finishing his drink. “You better,” his colleague finished his coffee, throwing the paper cup in a bin before going back to work, leaving a chuckling Kevin behind. “Why do I feel like cupid out of a sudden?” the barista mumbled to himself, a smirk appearing on his face as he stood up and went back inside.

The next week, as you hung around, you felt the same way of tension as soon as you stepped into the café as last time. Jacob was surprisingly serving customers, juggling between the coffees and the pastries baking in the back office. “H-hi!” you greeted Jacob, and he slightly froze at your word, greeting you with a bright smile. You were surprised when he didn’t even ask for your order, getting straight to work and wishing him a nice day as you walked to your usual seat. However, as you took your first sip, you felt your stomach churn and a disgusting taste landing on your throat. Shivers travelled down your spine as you swallowed the bitter liquid you recognised that belonged to the iced americano. A wave of memories invaded your mind as you remembered how terrible it tasted once you took a sip from your ex’s drink, who was addicted to this type of beverage.

Jacob got your order wrong, and you swallowed thickly several times, pondering if it were a good idea to add more stress to the poor baker’s shoulders by pointing at his mistake, but you couldn’t bring yourself to drink this no matter how hard you tried. You stood up and walked to the side of the counter, waiting for the people to get served before you caught the baker’s attention. You started to calmly explain the uncomfortable situation you were in to the barista, his ears became bright red as another customer came and seemed to have your drink in your hand. The customer got extremely mad as he was apparently in a rush, yelling and cursing at the baker.

“You are paid for doing this, how could you make an order wrong? It’s not that difficult!” the man exclaimed, and you noticed Jacob’s eyes darkening. You knew that he wanted to talk back to the customer, but he didn’t plan on getting fired, so he just listened and nodded. “Jacob, don’t worry I can wait, serve him first,” you said before walking back to the table after offering him a smile, noticing him nodding again and take the two drinks that you and the other man laid on the counter.

The baker cleared his throat as he arrived a few minutes later with your correct order and a slice of chocolate cake.

“I’m sorry for giving you the wrong order. I am the only one here because Kevin is on holiday and my manager was supposed to come, but he left me in the lurch. So… I’m a bit stressed out,” Jacob explained quickly, earning a reassuring smile from him. He swallowed thickly but felt a wave of relief crash onto him as you didn’t look mad at all.  “It’s okay, Jacob, it’s human to make mistakes. If it were another drink, I wouldn’t have said anything but I really can’t drink strong coffee. Thank you for the pastry, and uhm… good luck for today?” you said as he stood up, his tired eyes shining with thankfulness as he got back behind the counter. You quickly enjoyed your food and left after trying to wave at him timidly, but sadly, he didn’t notice you.

When you visited the café on the other days, he disappeared again in the back office, Kevin taking back the lead. There, with your caramel macchiato in hand, you started daydreaming about the pastry chef, his dreamy hands and beauteous face. You imagined romantic dates and activities you could do together, such as baking you new pastries before offering them at the coffee shop or even spending a day at the park together, a lost yet gentle smile on your face.

Everything about him made you dream. He exuded comfort, fondness, and warmth, his eyes always pearly with delight. Even a blind man would not have missed how amazing and passionate he is when it came to baking. You once overheard a conversation between him and Kevin, talking about a new receipt he found on the internet and how excited he was to try it out. His soft voice never failed to make you smile, his fluffy hair making you wonder how soft it was and how good it’d feel if you carded your fingers through his locks as you hugged him.

It was undeniable and inevitable, you had tried to deny those feelings during the past few weeks, but you couldn’t reject the fact that you had a massive crush on Jacob. Kevin gently teased you about this when his friend appeared, making sure to say his name aloud to catch your attention when you sat at a table, only to watch him quickly find a hiding place. You also wished you would see him more often, feeling quite defeated to see him escape your gaze as soon as he saw you. With the number of times you came to the coffee shop and saw your friend, your crush’s brief appearances weren’t enough to fulfil your little heart’s happiness. You wanted more of him, but, much to your dismay – and secretly Jacob’s – you didn’t know what to do.

“Ah Y/N! I talked with my girlfriend today, and I was wondering if I could adopt one of the puppies? I showed her the pictures you sent me, and she is all over the moon for this one,” Kevin said as he placed your order on the tray, quickly getting his phone out after checking whether some customers were waiting or not. “Yeah, no problem!” you smiled as you recognised the crazy, adventurous one. “I asked the vet, and he told me that they are old enough to be adopted. Is it okay if you come with your girlfriend within the next few days? I can’t wait for you to have one, they are precious!” you exclaimed but calmed instantly, heart hammering in your chest as your lovely baker appeared from the back office, visibly in a bad mood. He didn’t even glance at you, his attitude sent a pang in your heart, but Kevin just shook his head, winking at you. “Can we come tonight to your place? I’m excited to meet my future baby boy!” Kevin made sure that his friend heard, noticing that he was listening carefully yet discreetly, hence his movements coming suddenly to a halt. The barista gave you a knowing smile and kept on chatting with you as if nothing happened.

That night, someone knocked at your door, and you excitedly walked to the main entrance, happily greeting the couple, and welcoming them in, eyes widening as Jacob had tagged along.

“What a great surprise!” you awkwardly mumbled, and he nodded, his smile outshining the sun as you let them all inside. Kevin and his girlfriend were quick to follow the yaps of your dogs to her newborns, leaving you with Jacob, who was quick to grab your wrist gently to make you stay with him. You mindlessly smiled, but deep down, you were sure that Kevin did this on purpose.

“I couldn’t help but hear your conversation with Kevin, and I’ve always loved dogs, and since yours gave birth, I wanted to see them,” he explained, and you smiled, heart hammering in your chest. “Yeah no worries, you are welcome here! Let’s go see them before they steal all the puppies.” 

With Jacob on your heels, you went to the spare room that became your dog’s nursery, the couple already cooing at the black puppy as you slowly opened the door.

“Look how proud she is,” his girlfriend said, looking at you with twinkling eyes. Your dog walked up to you, tail wagging as she got all the attention on her and the puppies. Since your dog only allowed you to reach inside the box, you were quick to lift the only black puppy out of the four and placed it in your friend’s arms. “I named him Squishy, I had no inspiration for the names,” you giggled as Kevin pet its belly, the puppy trying to lick his finger.

You brought everyone to the living room, where you offered your guests some drinks and started talking together. Your friend’s girlfriend was adorable, over the moon with the dog, just like Kevin had predicted it. Jacob was more on the reserved side, just like at the café, your dog climbing up the couch to rest her head on his thigh, asking for caresses. You felt a sense of betrayal rushing through your veins as she preferred a perfect stranger over you, retrieving her head every time you tried to pet her. Your dog looked at you almost with a mocking look, as if she wanted to show you that she dared to go up to him, unlike you.

It was getting late, but you were having fun, the couple confirming that they adopted the puppy. You helped packing everything necessary for the puppy and got ready to leave, thanking you for your kindness and hospitality. You were happy but felt a bit sad that someone already adopted one of the puppies. It was hard not to get attached to those cute little creatures, but you were reassured that he’d be treated like a king by living with your friends.

Jacob, on the other hand, was stuck on the couch as your dog prevented him from doing the slightest movement.

“She is quite stubborn,” Jacob shyly giggled as he tried to move his leg, only to have the dog whining and yapping. “Luna, stop! Let Jacob go, now!” you walked up to the couch, and she fled, strolling away from you each time you tried to get closer to her.

After many unsuccessful attempts, you managed to lure her into the nursery, shutting the door shut and she barked, but the apartment was quick to fall in silence.

“Finally,” you said as you went back to the living room, where Jacob was quietly admiring the photos on the wall. He gave you a quick smile and went back to his observations, you standing next to him with a slightly embarrassed smile. “It was nice to come here, but I’ll still reconsider my choices. I don’t want to decide on a whim, I wanna make sure that I’m settled and ready to welcome a puppy.” You nodded at his words, throwing him a reassuring gaze. “I completely understand, Jacob. You can take all the time you need. I’m planning on keeping one anyway, so if you change your mind, you can always come and visit,” you said, and an awkward silence installed around you two, Jacob scratching his neck as he avoided your gaze.

“Y-you know. I enjoy… what you bake, really, and I can’t wait for your next pastries,” you shyly mumbled to the man in front of you, who looked up with red adorning his cheeks. “I’m touched by what you’re telling me, thank you so much,” he said and quickly looked outside before inhaling and turning back to you.

“I’m going to go, but… I was wondering Y/N… y-you know, you’ve been friends with Kevin for a while and come around the café regularly, so I was wondering if we could also hang out, but you know… only the two of us? Maybe without Kevin?” Jacob was finding his words, thickly swallowing as he tried his best to tell you what he wanted. You giggled at the way he said things, imagining Kevin on his own while you were together. “Sure! Sure thing! You probably have a hectic schedule, but we can find something that works for the two of us?” you suggested, and he smiled, taking out his phone from his jeans pocket, holding the device with a nervous grip.

“Can I get your number, then? It’s gonna be easier to communicate rather than you coming around the café all the time. I- It’s not what I mean though, I really like having you around the shop, but you know, it’d be easier for the two of us,” you both shyly giggled as he messed up, the tip of his ears glowing bright red.

You were quick to enter your number in a new contact, confirming it before returning the phone to its owner, who gave you the warmest smile you had ever seen on his face.

“I’ll call you tomorrow then,” Jacob said as you walked him to the door, him thanking you just like your friends did. “Drive safe,” you whispered, and he nodded, giving you a soft smile before getting closer to you and softly pressing his lips on your cheek.

Your eyes widened at the sudden display of affection but smiled, feeling a wave of embarrassment invading your body. You waved at him until the elevator arrived, closing the front door with your heart pounding in your chest, doing a little dance of joy in the corridor as something concrete was starting to form between the two of you.

And the best was still yet to come. ♡

[andrews-jort-loving-pipe-dream]

“You look good in it.” & neil :)

AHHH, sorry this took a bit!!! It’s been a crazy busy week :)

Thank you for sending this and feel free to send me more if you’d like (I’m in for the night and plan to just read a bit)

***

“Do you own anything nice?” Allison asked, shoving aside another t-shirt. She poked her finger through a hole in the armpit of the one behind it, rolling her eyes. “Neil,” she started with the patience of a kindergarten teacher, “honey have you ever owned a nice shirt?”

“I have the black ones Andrew gave me,” Neil said from his bed, scrolling through the third Exy video Kevin had sent him. “One of those will work.”

Allison scoffed, crossing the room to yank the tablet out of Neil’s hands. She ignored his protests, throwing it onto Kevin’s bed, and stood over him with her hands on her hips.

“Neil, you are objectively attractive.”

Furrowing his brow, Neil said, “Thanks?”

Ignoring his confusion, Allison continued, “You have a nice build, and while you’re not exactly tall what you lack in height you make up for in personality.”

“I’m flattered, really, but I’m not into you...?”

“Oh my God,” Allison exclaimed, exasperated. “I swear, what are we going to do with you?” She placed her hands on his shoulders, meeting his eyes, and said, “I am not flirting with you. I am paying you a compliment, something that terror of a boyfriend clearly does not do...”

“Andrew and I aren’t like that?”

“Please stop ending all of your statements with a question mark.”

“Am I?” Neil gave her an incredulous look and she sighed. “So, I am?”

“This is a waste of time.” She grabbed his hand, yanking him to his feet, and said, “We’re going shopping. No arguing, please, you will lose.”

Neil barely had time to grab his phone off the dresser before he was dragged out of the room.

***

They, or more accurately Allison, settled on a dark blue shirt that brought out his eyes. According to her. Neil just saw it as a nice shirt. Long sleeves, made of some soft material, probably not cheap, but Allison insisted on paying for it so Neil never actually saw the price tag.

He wore the shirt once and then promptly forgot about it. It wasn’t something he planned to ever wear again, only allowing Allison to buy it so she’d stop bothering him about his outfit for her party.

He was running late Tuesday, having slept through his alarm. He grabbed his bag, shoved his feet into a random pair of shoes (he suspected they might be Andrew’s) and rushed out of the room only to bump into Andrew leaving the bathroom.

“Hey,” he said watching as Andrew rolled up the sleeves of the dark blue shirt he wore, armbands already in place.

“You look like the American college boy,” Andrew retorted smirking, looking at Neil’s disheveled appearance. “The hair could use a little work.” He reached up and ruffled Neil’s hair a bit with his fingers. He stepped back, admiring his work. “Now you look like someone who was thoroughly fucked and then was forced to make the walk of shame to class.”

“Ha ha,” Neil said sarcastically, flattening his hair as best as he could, adjusting his backpack strap on his shoulder. He vehemently ignored the flush creeping up his neck. “I’m late for my 8AM class.”

“I know,” Andrew replied moving towards the coffee pot. “Better hurry along, young man. You might miss something very important.”

“Are we still going out tonight?” Neil asked, already heading towards the door.

Andrew sighed. “I guess I can gussy myself up for you.”

Neil snorted, opening the door. He stepped outside, stopped, and looked back at Andrew. He really studied him, finally noticing the blue shirt. It looked familiar, (it occurred to him it’d been the one Allison had bought him), and it also made Andrew appear softer.

“Hey, that’s my sweater,” he said dumbly.

“Is it?” Andrew looked down and shrugged. “Consider it retaliation for all the times you stole my stuff.” He pointedly looked at the shoes on Neil’s feet.

Neil couldn’t fault Andrew for that, he had stolen a lot of his clothes in the past. He also couldn’t believe how good Andrew looked in blue. All this time seeing the guy in black, any other color had been unfathomable.

He looked... nice.

“You look good in it,” he said softly and he noted the tips of Andrew’s ears turning pink.

“Get the fuck out of here before I stab you,” Andrew said gruffly, turning back to the coffee maker.

“I love it when you talk dirty to me,” Neil retorted and shut the door seconds before a coffee mug crashed into it.

[mae-gi-writes]

Kevin Frost | Kevin Moon (The Boyz)

Summary ❄ Being sick every winter sucks, until winter itself decides to bring itself to you in the form of Kevin Frost.

Genre ❄ fluff, fantasy, inspired by Jack Frost (as per my beautiful @nyuwings​ request)

A/N ❄ for my lovely @nyuwings​ with whom I’ve bonded with so quickly I keep wondering whether we’re soulmates. Thank you for your presence and for just being you. Ily. ❤

° . · ❄ · . °

Sighing for the nth time, you placed your hands up against the window, palms turning icy cold as you took in the array of snowflakes floating to the ground. It was that time of the year again, a time that signified celebration as the town of Sleva would get covered in a blanket of what your brothers liked to call fairy dust. Snow would bathe the entire streets white and would glimmer in the light of the street lamps lining the streets. You could already spot the Christmas lights in variants of red and green and yellow gold strung across the main intersections, probably where the Christmas market would be. Right about that time merchants would line the streets with their wooden carts, shouting out about all the fresh sausages and special meats they’d offer for a good price for the festive season. 

You knew Christmas season like the back of your hand. It was ironic then, that you were the only person not allowed out whenever Christmas and winter came around. 

“You’re sick,” your mother had scolded you once when you had mustered up the courage to ask her why you were the only one being left behind, “you’ll die if you go out in the snow.” 

And it was true. Your lungs were small, pea-sized, as the doctor had mentioned at one of your checkups. It was about the same time when you started asking questions, curiosity finally picking away at your logic. Going out in the snow and allowing your body to suffer the cold would deliver a fatal blow to your nervous system. 

He had not, however, told your parents to keep you locked in like a prisoner that would instantly face death the moment you caught wind of cold. But while your parents had taken dramatic measures to keep you tightly tucked in warmth until summer came around once more, you’d like to think that it was more of an exaggeration as an extension of their concern for your well-being, and not the actual truth. 

So that was why you were sitting like the pathetic picture that you were, staring out at the countless other people trudging through snow and laughing as they made up snowballs and built snowmen in their driveways. You wondered briefly what your friends were up to, knowing full well from their recounted stories that at this time of year they’d flock to the bars to catch glimpses of the beautiful young men, soldiers and men from military that would come home from their basecamps on these special occasions. 

“We can sneak you out!” One of your friends exclaimed the first time you had explained the real reason as to why you could barely set foot outside, “And we’ll bring you home before your parents wake up.” 

You shook your head though, politely denying their requests as your heart ached, “it’s fine. You guys have fun.” 

“We’ll find a nice catch for you, Y/N,” another winked at you and you plastered a smile on your face right up until they had turned the corner.

You had cried yourself to sleep that night.

So there you sat every day and night, surprised that your butt hadn’t made an indentation on the chair yet as the sound of your mother’s cooking echoed up the stairs. The attic was where you liked to spend most of your time. It was a place where you could be at peace with yourself and enjoy your own company, the silence that came with it filling your mind with nothing but serenity.

Something flashed across the window. 

Probably a snowball, you thought to yourself as you rubbed your eyes. The smell of your mother’s famous dumplings wafted through the attic room and you sniffed the air, stomach growling in anticipation. There was bound to be a feast on Christmas eve. It was a tradition your family never missed out.

A group of children were busy building a snowman in the yard opposite yours and snuggling a little closer to the window, you pulled your blanket tighter around your frame as you watched them, giggling amongst themselves, while sticking the carrot to form its nose. 

Another flash. So fast and blurred that you cried out in shock and almost toppled over from your seat. 

Blinking, you stared long and hard at what you thought you had seen. If you weren’t mistaken, you swore that it had looked a lot like--

“Hello!” 

You screamed, toppling over for good this time. You landed on your butt and must’ve caused a ruckus for your mother’s voice to float up questioningly, “Y/N? Are you okay?” 

“Fine!” you cried back without tearing your eyes away from the window. 

A boy gazed back at you with amusement glimmering through his eyes. No, not a boy. More like a young man in his twenties, maybe about the same age as you were.

And he was floating.

You opened your mouth only for the words to choke the back of your throat. You coughed instead and didn’t realize that the said young man had propped open the window until you heard him ask, “you good there? That was quite a fall--”

Rushing to clamp a hand over his mouth, you hurriedly looked back towards the staircase. Thank god it seemed like your mother was so engrossed in her cooking and you sighed in relief, before realizing that you were a little too close to the said stranger. 

Pulling away quickly and tugging your blanket over your frame, you hissed out, “who are you?” in a tone that you hoped was threatening enough for him to understand you were not here to make friendly conversation. If anything, he was a stranger and he was weird.

But either he was used to people’s rude demeanour or he just didn’t care, for he merely brushed some snow out of his raven coloured hair before settling himself on the window frame more comfortably. He had a wooden cane gripped tightly in his left hand and his feet were left bare. You wondered briefly whether he was cold.

“My apologies for barging in without introductions,” his voice was melodic, smooth, “my name is Kevin Frost. I’m...winter?” 

Your eyebrows dipped into a frown, “excuse me?”

“I’m winter personified. Kind of like a guardian, weather guardian. In my case, guardian of winter,” he lifted his cane as if proving a point. Except, what was so special about it? It just looked like a tree branch he’d picked up along the way, “I’m responsible for the snow, I guess?” 

“You guess?” 

This guy was crazy. 

It seemed like he read your mind, for he sighed and threw you a sympathetic look, “you don’t believe me.” 

“You end your statements like they’re questions. How am I supposed to be convinced by that?” 

Kevin lifted his hand at your words and as he twirled his fingers through air, a wisp of snowflakes suddenly danced along his knuckles as if by magic. Blinking in astonishment, your jaw fell open without warning and he chuckled, “close your mouth, sweetheart. You might catch a fly.”

You snapped your mouth shut, “there are no flies in winter,” you muttered through narrowed eyes while crossing your arms over your middle, “so say what you’re saying is real...What does that mean?” 

“That I control winter, kinda. I come around every year when the season rolls around.”

“Why?” 

“Why? Because the world needs winter,” he scoffed as though you had asked the most stupidest question, “without winter, the cycle would be broken.” 

“Well, you can take your winter and use it elsewhere.” 

He looked at you for a second too long that you couldn’t help but shift uneasily under his darkened gaze, “What?” you asked, though averting your eyes at the sudden change in his demeanour.

“You don’t like winter.” 

He said it like a statement. Without question. Confident that what he told was the truth. 

And he was right.

“What?!” it was his jaw that fell open this time, “so what? You’ve never touched snow before?” 

“I don’t,” you answered.

"Why not?"

Biting the inside of your cheek, you said, “I...my health isn’t the best during winter. I can’t go out.” 

You shook your head and his eyes grew even wider if that was possible, so baffled by your statement that he almost dropped his cane, “Oh that is really shitty.”

“Oh yes,” your eyes glued themselves to the floor, “that’s me.” 

The silence that followed made your heart drop. Why were divulging your darkest thoughts to a mere stranger? And one that climbed through windows and could weld snow like it was as easy as breathing? 

But Kevin’s hand reached out, palm open and facing upwards as his face softened. It was almost like he understood what it felt like to be different, deprived from something that everyone else could enjoy, “I think I can help with that.” 

“Uhm,” your eyes were skeptically analyzing the small wisps of cold air surrounding said hand, “I don’t think that’s the answer--”

“Just trust me.” 

“You’re a stranger.”

“And I’m the only way you can enjoy winter.” 

Maybe it was the truth that rang through his words despite barely knowing him, or maybe it was the idea of finally being free of the bodily chains that held you down and just out of reach of the unknown. But one look at the dark obsidian orbs that swam with nothing but an open invitation was enough to make you reach out, hand gently placing over his and shuddering slightly at the icy coldness of his fingers. 

"Allow me,” he murmured as he wrapped an arm around your shoulder before tugging you with him. And before you knew it, you were tumbling out of your window and into open air as you whipped along with the wind that carried you forward, over the houses, over the cityscape bathed with snow with Kevin’s hold tightening every so slightly on your frame. 

A gust of wind blew in your direction and your shoulders tensed, readying yourself to feel the air nip at your skin and skittle across your clothes with those icy fingers. 

But nothing. Nothing but a soft warmth that slowly spread through your limbs, almost as though you had sat by a warm campfire with a mug of warm hot chocolate. Your eyes shot up to meet Kevin’s, who only grinned at you with playful mischief. 

“Told you that you’d be safe with me, didn’t I?” 

With that, he swooped you along, the edge of your dress skimming the top of houses. You didn’t realize you were yelling in delight the higher you went as your legs dangled. Tingles shot down your spine and into your feet as you looked down at the ground, butterflies roaming your stomach in a mixture of fear and excitement. 

“Oh!--” the air stuck in your throat the moment you spotted the Christmas market, “Is that--Is that the Christmas market?!”

His chuckle grazed your ear, “sure is.”

“And that’s the church! Oh my gosh--It’s so pretty!” Gasping at the wondrous sights that appeared before you like a movie you’ve been dying to watch, you can’t help but tear up in blind joy. This, this is what you’ve been missing out on all this time? You couldn’t believe it; how magical it all was, how authentically beautiful and breathtaking. It was almost like looking into a snow globe. Untouchable. 

“Are you--Are you crying?” the panic laced in Kevin’s voice made you burst out laughing as you felt the ghost of his hand swiping at your cheek. It felt weird hanging in mid-air being too close to a man -- or could you call him a man? -- that was currently wiping away your tears like it was the most mundane occurrence. But at this point you couldn’t bring yourself to care.

“No I’m just--It’s beautiful. I--I can’t believe I’ve been missing out on all this,” you spluttered out, chest tight with emotion, “why hasn’t anyone ever told me?” 

“Well to be fair, we are above all humans,” his murmur was so close to your ear that you turned out of curiosity, only to swallow hard at the closeness of your faces. 

You looked away, “and you’re not human?” 

You sensed his hesitation, “...not exactly.” 

“Then what are you?” 

Another round of silence as he struggled to give a coherent answer. Something told you that you weren’t going to be fond of all that he had to say. 

“It’s complicated.” 

You didn’t fight him, knowing full well that it would provoke more questions than provide you answers. He tugged you along silently over the house chimneys, allowing you to ogle at the arrays of food merchants littering the streets and settling you atop one of the roofs to enjoy a live show of musicians in Sleva’s Square. Curiosity burned at the tip of your tongue whenever you caught yourself looking at him for a second too long. But it seemed like your earlier conversation had dulled the light in his eyes and you decided it was best to keep your mouth shut, instead focusing on clapping along to the sound of merry jingles floating through the air.

It was past midnight when Kevin deposited you at your window sill, gingerly settling your feet onto the ground as you allowed your eyes to find his own dark orbs reflecting the dim light of the attic. 

You licked your lips that had run dry from the slow ebbing warmth of Kevin’s presence, “thank you, for today.” 

His grin was contagious, for you felt your own lips tug into a smile, “you’re welcome, sweetheart.” 

You couldn’t help the blush from spreading up your neck at the little pet name that he had garnered, “so who’s the next lucky lady then?” you were quick to change the subject, “you can’t tell me I’m the only who gets to ride along with Kevin Frost.”

He smirked and you swore your heartstrings tugged. Reaching up with his hand, he proceeded to tuck your hair behind your ears and only grinned a little wider when your face flushed.

“You are,” he whispered, and with another cold gust of wind, he was gone before you could utter another word. 

° . · ❄ · . °

Kevin Frost’s presence was starting to become a constant in your life that winter, dropping by on numerous occasions throughout the day and night as he kept you company. He entertained you with stories of his day; how he’d helped a few children ice skate by freezing the entire lake over, or how he’d made it snow a little harder for others to get enough snow to finish off their snowman.

Sometimes, he would whip up some Christmas creations in your attic itself and wrap you in his arms as he danced along to the snowflakes cascading from your ceiling. He’d hum to a few Christmas tunes as you went, stepping onto his feet and him on yours because-- you’d realized shortly after -- that he wasn’t as such of a good dancer as he claimed he was. 

Most nights though, he’d make it a must to fly you to one of the rooftops to enjoy the scenery. You would huddle closer for warmth, your blanket heavy on your shoulders and his arm around you keeping you heated while you exchanged stories of your past and childhood. In exchange he would recollect where he’d come from; how his earliest memory had started from the moment he’d fallen out of an icicle in the North Pole and how, from that day onwards, he’d fly around the world to provide snow when it was necessary.

“So that means you’ll be gone once spring comes around?” you couldn’t help the words that slipped from your mouth. Coughing a little, you nestled closer out of instinct. For some reason, you had been a little weaker these past few days, reason being the numerous secret outings after dinner time. Not that you had mentioned that to your mother when she’d commented on your physical state. That was recipe for disaster.

"My duty will lie elsewhere when that time comes."

"I notice you always talk in riddles whenever you don't want to say things that will hurt people."

He glanced at you, maybe out of shock or maybe just because he already knew how you'd picked up on his habits in the few days that you had spent together.

When he spoke next, his voice was a raspy whisper, “I don’t like hurting people.”

"Don’t avoid my question, Kevin Frost.” 

The words hung between you like a cold breath of winter. Kevin’s skin was warm and yet, your fingers felt numb from gripping one of the roof tiles too hard. 

“Yes,” he pressed his lips together, “I’ll be gone. Until the next winter season.” 

“So you’re leaving me.”

“I never said I was going to stay.” 

The words stung like bees, as though someone had reached into your chest for the sole purpose of squeezing your heart until it pinched with pain. 

He must’ve regretted his outburst, for in the silence that followed there was a soft mumble of his apology. 

"And you said you didn’t like hurting people,” you scoffed and saw him wincing from the corner of your eye, “that’s exactly what you’re doing.” 

Gathering up your skirts and wrapping the blanket a little tighter around your shoulders when you felt a gentle whoosh of the winter air scald your skin, you muttered, “I’d like to go home now.” 

The fly back was laden with a heavy silence that pressed down on your throat and made your eyes burn with the onset of tears, though you refused to cry for him. You knew, deep down, that he’d be gone in the blink of an eye. He wasn’t the personification of winter for nothing and it ultimately wasn’t his fault for leaving you. 

He wasn’t to blame. 

It was just a matter of unleashing your own frustrations because you were going to miss him. More than he could imagine.

The moment your feet touched the wooden edge of your window sill, you fought the urge not to turn around and bury yourself into his arms. He grasped your hand, the other around your waist as he helped you inside like he always did, except this time your heart skipped a beat despite the small pang of pain resonating through your chest. 

“Y/N,” came his murmur the moment your feet touched your attic floor. You turned around reluctantly, heart collapsing the moment you caught sight of the glistening wetness in Kevin’s dark orbs. 

“I--” he took a shaky inhale, stepped towards you until you were close enough for your feet to touch, “I never wanted you to get attached, nor did I want to get attached...to you.”

Your head angled to the floor as you bit your lip, not wanting him to see how much you were breaking inside. 

"Oh come here sweetheart,” and that was when his arms laced around your middle to pull you close, a movement so surprising that it made you gasp. Your hands flew to his chest to push him away, only for him to hold on a little tighter and nuzzle his face into the crook of your neck. Your heart felt like it had suddenly been ignited with fireworks, heat coursing through your veins at the sudden display of affection that left you lightheaded.

“I don’t like seeing you unhappy,” his whisper echoed through your ear and as if on impulse he tightened his hold. 

“You’ll...” you broke off when the tears started choking you up, arms going around his chest to press your cheek against his collarbone, “you’ll come back though. You can promise that...right?”

Feeling him nod, you pulled away to get that same affirmation from his eyes, which you did once your gazes locked. Gently, Kevin’s hand went up to hold your cheek, brushing his thumb slightly over your cheekbone and causing your breath to stutter inside your throat. 

Time felt like it had stopped as you stood there, unmoving, just watching the shades of dark brown moving to soft maroon of Kevin’s eyes as the light danced against his face. 

And then he leaned down. His lips feathered over your forehead before pressing a soft, chaste kiss upon it, “I promise.” 

° . · ❄ · . °

As Winter slowly ebbed away with the arrival of Spring, so did Kevin Frost. It was as if you were waking up from a dream all this time, a dream that you hoped would last forever. It was only when it was warm enough to step outside that you spotted all of his silent messages displayed across the town. Ice sculptures depicting two miniature figures flying through the sky, dancing on rooftops and laughing together paved the way from the door of your backyard to the edge of your fencing and you swore that if you had been alone you would’ve broken down into tears.

But you held on to that thin strand of hope that Kevin Frost would return the next winter. You hoped. Believed that he would keep his word. 

Summer was a daze where you occupied yourself helping your brothers, who had recently bought a stand to open up a bakery shop at the end of your street. As you slowly started learning the ropes of rolling dough out and making confectionaries that the locals were so fond of, you slowly developed the skill of decorating them to your liking; which was winter-themed. Soon enough, cookies in the forms of snowflakes were being displayed, there were icy popsicles in the shape of ice-skating rollers, cakes to show the frozen lake and small figurines dancing atop its surface icing. 

The one creation that sold the best out of all these was the pastry depicting a scene from when you and Kevin Frost had sat upon a roof, heads nestled close and looking like there wasn’t anywhere else in the world you’d rather be. You had carved into the dough with the best of your ability, with the details springing from the golden crust once it had gone through the oven as bits and pieces of white chocolate made up the snowflakes falling in that idealistic landscape.

"My daughters just love your creations!” One lady once stated as she bought a cake box and about dozens of your pastry, “she finds them so adorable that she shares them with her friends at recess!” 

“Thank you, ma’am. I’m glad she likes them,” you smiled back as you exchanged the box of goodies for some gold coins. Your brother, named Hyunjae, nudged you the moment the woman was out of earshot, “so now that we’ve established that you know how to bake. Care to elaborate where you met this man?” 

“What?” you tried keeping your face impassive. But you’d be a fool to think your brother would be satisfied with your obliviousness. 

“Y/N, I’d like to know whatever’s going on in that little head of yours,” Hyunjae slung an arm around your shoulder with a sly smirk, “so do please enlighten your brother before he finds that man and lands him one.” 

You gasped, “You wouldn’t dare!” 

“Well it seems like he’s breaking your heart, whoever that man in the pastry is.” 

"I--He’s--There’s no one.”

“Y/N.” 

“Hyunjae, leave her alone,” your eldest brother, who went by the name of Younghoon, just threw Hyunjae a stern stare, “she’ll tell us when she wants to.” 

“You’re no fun Younghoon.” 

Before you knew it, the temperature had dropped and the lush greenery of the foliage adorning the town slowly turned to warm hues of orange and red and yellows that fell to the ground, signalling that a new season was making its way through Sleva. Working in your house kitchen was a given now that it was too cold for your body to handle. You woke up before down each day to prepare the set of pastries and adorned cakes that your brothers would then transport to the market place as you watched, waving until their figures disappeared behind the wooden structures of the buildings. 

And then, the first snow came. 

You weren’t exactly sure when or how Kevin Frost was going to make his appearance. It had been so long that your memory fogged up whenever you tried to remember the details of his features. Did he have a mole at the corner of his eye or was that just a figment of your imagination? Nevertheless, the first time you spotted snowflakes drifting to the ground, there was a rush of adrenaline through your heart and you just knew that Kevin Frost was here.

That night, you set up the fire in your attic as per usual and gathered your blanket around you before huddling over to the edge of the window. No expectations, your mind told you, no expectations that he’d make it to you today. And that was alright.

Your hand went to press against the window pane. It was cold. It sent a shiver through your body and you coughed slightly, muffling it with your palm. 

Who were you kidding? There was absolutely no reason why you sat at the edge of the window with your palms bearing the cold if not for one glimpse of Kevin Frost, one sign from him that he had returned with the winter that buried Sleva in its magical beauty.

You imagined him now, that playful asymmetrical smirk and those gorgeous feline eyes and the tender way he would look at you whenever you would spark a conversation that would keep you awake till the early hours of the morning.

You missed him.

Breath fogging up the glass as your nose went to press against it, you took this moment to close your eyes. 

Get a grip Y/N. You had to live your life just like he was living his. He wasn’t even human, so why? What made him so important that you felt like your heart was constantly dancing to the rhythm of his voice? 

Your eyes fluttered open as you took a breath--

Only to look straight into Kevin Frost’s eyes. 

Gasping in shock, your jaw fell slack as you gazed at his face from behind the window pane, his hand pressing up where yours was as he grinned back at you.

“Kev--” your throat felt tight, “Kevin?” 

Your hands scrabbled for the latch. You flung it open.

He was here. He came back as he had promised.

Your heart swelled twice the size of your chest, tears gathering along your eyes so that they made your sight all blurry as you reached out to feel his hands clasping your own and before you knew it, you were being cradled to Kevin Frost’s chest as he held you as though he was never going to let go.

“Kevin?” your murmur was muffled against his shirt and reaching out to cup your cheek, he tilted your face towards his in a manner so gentle that your lungs seemed to stop functioning altogether. 

His eyes were the same dark obsidian, his nose scrunching in that same manner of his whenever he was deeply amused and whether it was due to your shock, you weren’t about to make a comment when he was here in the flesh, in your arms. 

“Long time no see,” his mouth was pressed to your temple and he pecked the area, over and over again like he himself couldn’t quite believe it, “sweetheart.” 

His pet name made you laugh, though the tears now pooled down your cheeks, “long time indeed.” 

“Kept my promise though, didn’t I?” his hand went up to smooth over the back of your head in an affectionate manner and you swore you felt your heart melt at his touch.

“Still as cocky as ever.” 

“Admit it, you missed me.” 

You grumbled out a small whine of agreement while looking away and Kevin only chuckled in response. He pushed back your hair, curled it behind your ear before cupping your cheek once more as he searched your gaze.

The intensity of his dark orbs made something in your chest constrict, hands tightening ever so slightly on his shirt, “what? Why are you looking at me like that?” 

“I wanted to try something.” 

“Oh?”

“Yeah, I saw a bunch of couples doing it so it got me thinking.” 

Heat spread through your cheeks and coursed down the back of your neck at how casually he seemed to handle the matter. It must’ve been obvious from the look on your face for Kevin only chuckled and bent down so close that his nose brushed yours, eyes slowly drifting shut when he angled his head to the side.

When his lips touched yours, you swore your heart burst into a million of fireworks. 

A shy, tentative kiss. A first kiss for Kevin Frost. That was for sure. 

It felt unreal, cold lips against warm ones that made you shudder out of the sheer sensation. His hand moved to the back of your neck, holding you in place as he caught your lower lip between his own. You let out a small sound of appreciation and spurred on, he kept on kissing you that way over and over again while his other arm tugged you close so that you were pressed up to him, all of your curves molded to his hard frame.

He pulled back and for the first time in forever he was the definition of being flustered, red cheeks and shy smile, “how...how did it feel?” he asked like a little five year old boy. 

The grin that almost split your face in two was priceless and you'd never know that his heart was racing hundred miles an hour the moment you did.

"Cold," you giggled at his confused frown, "...and magical."

Satisfied with your answer, the young man pressed another kiss to your cheek in a manner so delicate it made your insides blossom with butterflies.

"So," Kevin turned towards the now open window which was now coated in snowflakes, "shall we?"

Your hand slipped into his as you made your way to the ledge, noting the gentleness of his arm as it wound around your waist and caressed your side.

"Show me what you've made of this winter, Kevin Frost."

[jemej3m]

Alice in wonderland fix but I really don’t know what character Andrew would be. Like the twins seem so obvious but I think the Cheshire Cat would be better bc of the smile and also how extremely unhelpful he is? Or maybe the mad hatter idk. Riko’s definitely the queen of hearts, and Kevin’s the white queen. I just think the concept of Neil running from his parents and falling down a rabbit hole is neat.

brUHHHHHHHH

(i didnt bother with the anthropomorphic shite because effort)

*

Neil flattened his palms on the hem of his sky-blue skirt, wondering how the hell he was going to get out of this place. He’d followed a harrowed-looking man with three red hearts tattooed and a pocket-watch clutched in his hand into a rabbit hole, and now he was standing in a field of talking flowers after growing to the size of his father’s manor and back down to an eighth of an inch. 

His father would be furious. He’d vanished from a very important gathering, of which Nathan Wesninski’s son was expected to attend. Then again, his mother would be relieved he’d found an escape, even if it meant she paid the price for his absence. 

Neil was terrified of his father, but he didn’t want his mum to bear the weight of his actions in his stead. So he had to find a way back. 

“Why,” said a voice. “Are you lost, young one?”

Neil looked up. Perched on a large mushroom was a woman, not too much older than himself. She had a head of golden ringlets and a superior-esque smile: between her fingers she held a pipe, smoke drifting and curling in an absent breeze. 

“Who are you?” Neil demanded. He was sure she hadn’t been there a moment ago.

She shrugged. “People call me Allison. You can, if you like. Would you like a puff?”

Neil, who missed his mother already, reluctantly nodded and clambered up the mushroom to sit beside her. 

“A lovely day for a stroll,” she said, slotting her pipe between his fingers. 

Neil took a drag. “What is this place? How did I get here?”

“How would I know?” Allison retorted. “I’m just a girl sitting on a mushroom, smoking. Breathe out, won’t you?”

He did: she curled her finger and he watched in awe as the smoke warped and rippled, forming shapes in the air. The young woman frowned, squinting. 

“Change is imminent, boy. You’d best be off.” 

“How did you -” 

“Goodbye, Neil,” she said, taking back the pipe and disappearing behind a cloud of smoke. He blinked. How had she known his name?

He slipped off the mushroom and lost a black slipper on the way. He walked around the dirt pathway’s bend and found a large, gnarled tree, the path splitting around it and veering off into two directions. Both were shrouded in darkness. 

Neil huffed. Refusing to overthink it, he veered towards the left. 

A new voice stopped him. “I wouldn’t go that way, if I were you.” 

“Well, you’re not me,” he said, petulant. The voice had come from above him: looking up, he spotted a short man, perched on the old tree’s thinnest branch. Another blonde, another strange place, another cryptic message. Neil was beginning to understand this place: it sucked. 

The man hummed, eyebrow arched. “Not many have been stupid enough to ignore me. What did you say your name was?”

“Neil,” Neil snapped. “And I want to go home.” 

“Really?” He fell backwards off the branch and swung, holding on with his knees to look at Neil whilst upside-down. “Why are you here, then, if you’re so keen on where you once were?”

“I just followed the man with the watch,” Neil argued. “I wasn’t looking to get stuck here. Wherever here is. Which is where, exactly?”

“Everywhere,” the man said, voice flat and ineffectual. “Nowhere. You’ll never find answers with questions like those.” 

“Fuck you,” Neil said with false cheer, walking around the man and continuing on the path he’d been told not to take. Spite was a powerful motivator, after all. 

“Neil,” said the man. “Say hello to Betsy for me, won’t you?” 

Neil flipped him off: the blond barked out a single laugh, which echoed in the darkness. 

Neil wasn’t afraid. There were worse things than the dark. His own skin was proof of that. 

Wherever he was going, he hoped to never encounter blonde men lazing on tree branches again. This day was already strange enough: he didn’t need a headache on top of that. 

A house appeared on the edge of the darkness, the dilapidated cottage on a cliff overlooking a large forest. In the distance was a looming castle, shrouded by a melancholic cloud that occasionally sparked and rumbled. A gust of wind sent shivers down Neil’s spine and he curled his arms around his stomach, wishing for a cardigan. 

Behind the cottage was a long table, set for tea. Despite the dozen spots, only three individuals were present, each one as perplexing as the next. 

The first was a tall man, bronzed, hair curling around his ears. He was practically hopping up and down in his chair, talking a million miles a minute. 

The second was a tiny man, sleeping inside of a teapot on the table. With dismay, Neil realised he looked exactly like the blond man who he’d encountered in the dark woods. How had he already arrived, when Neil had just spoken to him?

The third was a woman, oddly calm and composed. She was plump with greying brown hair and smile-wrinkles around her eyes. When the bronzed man poured the teeny blond into his cup of tea, she plucked him out and sat him in a teacup full of sugar cubes. 

“Who are you?” said the tall man, finally acknowledging Neil’s presence. “Are you here for tea? Betsy! We have another guest!” 

“Quite,” the woman said, smiling. Neil didn't trust that smile one bit.

“So you’re Betsy,” he said. 

“Ah,” she nodded. “Come across Andrew, did you?”

“He said to say hello,” Neil curled his fists in the hem of his dress, ignoring the tall man’s lavish stares. 

Betsy’s laughter tinkled like bells in the wind. She readjusted her hat. “Sit Neil. We were just about to serve tea.” 

“Next time, don’t serve me,” the tiny blonde grouched, crossing his arms. He wasn’t Andrew, Neil decided. It was rather plain to see, now that Neil had heard him speak.

“That’s Aaron,” Betsy said. “Andrew’s twin. This is Nicky, their cousin. I am Betsy, though you already knew that. Sugar?” She picked up the cup that Aaron was still in, ignoring his squawk. 

“No, thank you,” Neil said, remembering how his father would pinch his side if he forgot his manners. “It’s an odd time for tea, isn’t it?”

“We are always having tea,” Nicky said, voice saddened. “We are doomed to a constant tea party, where no one ever shows. But it is what it is!” He and Betsy clinked their teacups together and took a sip. “How about you, Neil? What did you do to the King?”

“I’ve done nothing to the King,” Neil said, affronted. “I don’t even know who he is!” 

“But you will,” Aaron said, clambering out of the teacup. “Not knowing him is a grievous offence. Everyone must know and adore the King.” 

“But I’m not from here,” Neil said, miserable.

Without the constraints of a teacup or teapot, Aaron grew to a normal (albeit still short) size, identical to that of his brother. He immediately yawned and ignored the broken crockery and spilled milk, curling up for a nap. 

“Don’t mind him,” Nicky said. “It’s better that he sleeps. He is brilliantly angry when awake.” 

“None of this makes any sense,” Neil insisted. “I just want to go home. Where can I find the man with the pocketwatch? He was the one I followed.”

“Three hearts on his cheek?” Betsy inquired. Neil nodded. She looked over her shoulder at the large castle. “You’ll find him in the castle. He is cursed to never be quite on time: you should be able to catch up with him, if you hurry.” 

Neil looked at the castle’s horrid silhouette. “You’re mad.”

“Yes,” Betsy agreed. “But aren’t we all?”

“I’m not going there. I don’t want to die.” 

“Craziness or death,” Nicky said, sullen. “You can’t escape your fate, and there's only two options.”

“You should visit the Queen before you go to the castle,” Betsy advised. “He may be able to help.”

Nicky was right: Neil was still alive here, so he had to be going insane. “He?” 

“Indeed,” Nicky said. “Why, is there something wrong with that?”

Neil just blinked. There was something wrong with everything here. He hadn’t once encountered something that behaved in a way Neil could predict. “No. Let’s go visit the Queen.” 

*

in a hypothetical pt. 2, we’ll meet the others!

(renee as an enslaved human form of the Jabberwocky??? anyone????)

[casmybelovedass]

The Destiel Folder: Season 8

[Season 4; Season 5; Season 6; Season 7]

Oooohhh this is where things start getting JUICY

Episode 1:

Again, Dean copes with the idea of Cas not being there by lying to himself

Parallel from S6: Dean behaves exactly like he was while looking for Lisa and Ben, looking for Cas. "Where's the angel!" (16:57)

Dean clearly states he won't leave PurGAYtory without Cas (22:45)

Episode 2:

Since Dean has come back, he has been snappy with Sam and Crowley about Cas, but every time he remembers PurGAYtory, he is either looking for Cas or with him, and that's all he thinks of

Again with the paraparallels with Lisa and Ben (12:21), also "You'll find your angel there." (13:19) ICWAW, come on, do I have to point that out?

"There are some in Heaven who still believe, despite his mistakes, that Castiel's heart was always in the right place [...] I think... too much heart was always Castiel's problem." (22:25) Samandriel says all of this while looking directly at Dean

Look at that hug. Have we ever seen Dean hug Cas before? The gring on Dean's face. [This is so fucking funny too me, the "Nice peach fuzz" reaction to Cas' beard VS the Sam's "That's the most disgusting thing I've ever seen!" reaction in season 14] (23:21)

"I prayed to you, Cas, every night!" (24:37) Cas once again chose to leave/hurt Dean in order to protect him, even tho he really doesn't want to leave him. "There've been things hunting me. [...] I've a price on my head and I've been trying to stay one step ahead of them to... to keep them away from you." (24:54) Those fucking eyes kill me

Dean is willing to risk it all to get Cas out with him. "Cas, buddy... I need you." [yeah, let's see how well that ages on episode 17], also the little "Dean... " after that... BABIES (25:33)

That smile, those eyes... LOOK AT HIM. This is such a "You and me against everything" moment that, ICWAW, would be considered HELLA ROMANTIC

"I'm not leaving here without you. Understand?" (25:51) for fucking finally, also 12 seconds of STARE + LICK of the LIPS action. Oooohhh ICWAW... just imagine

Let us remember that all of this ⬆️, Dean remembers after Samandriel told him "too much heart bla bla bla"

"... [Kevin] thinks people I don't need anymore, they end up dead." (40:36) 'you', Dean? Only you? That's so much guilt you are packing. And immediately after he thinks about trying to save Cas from PurGAYtory and failing... Alrighty then

Episode 5:

I get why some people ship Dean and Benny, but they really do struck me as a bromance. When they call each other "brother", I believe that. With Cas, Dean pulls the "brother card" whenever he's opening his heart to him, basically "no-homo"ing it at the end. Weird right? (12:03)

Benny bitches about Cas being a danger to them because of the attraction monsters have to him, and Cas himself tries convincing Dean he has to leave him behind for his own good, but Dean is having none of that shit and is ready to die trying to save him (12:56)

FUCK MY LIFE we are getting flashbacks from both Sam and Dean, Sam about the time he spent with Amelia, and Dean about looking for, finding and trying to save Cas. I MEAN??!!! ICWAW you BET this would be seen as a ROMANTIC PARALLEL

"He's a friend." "A friend? Dean, you don't have any- all your friends are dead." "That's not what I called to talk about!!" Ouch (25:27)

Episode 6:

"I was in Purgatory." "Like 'purgatory' Purgatory?" "No, the one in Miami." ... that's a gay bar, Dean, how would you know? (11:23)

Dean's lying to himself about Cas letting go (35:32)

Episode 7:

Parallel to S1 Sam seeing Jess while in the car (2:31). Kill me. Also Dean allucinates Cas just like Sam did with Jess (10:15) band tries coping with it by repeating to himself that he didn't leave Cas behind

Every scene in Purgatory where Cas tries to reassure Dean that, if he doesn't make it, it's just the way it is, and Dean insisting he won't leave without him. "I'm just saying... if it doesn't work.. Thank you. For everything." (12:50) I'm dying

Cas comes back and all Dean does for the first few moments is check him out (16:16-16:21) He says he kept trying to reach for the boys, but wasn't at full power, tho somehow Dean was the only one who could see him. And Dean's eyes looking back at Cas (17:58) End me now

FUCKING👏BONER👏SHIFT👏 (20:38)

LOOK AT HIM!! He's checking him out, making THAT face and SHIFTING IN HIS SEAT WHILE PRESSING A HAND TO HIS CROTCH. THAT'S A BONER SHIFT. Look at Sam and then at Dean (20:44) One is a friendly fond reaction, one ISN'T.

ICWAW, we wouldn't even be QUESTIONING it!

The amount of checking out in this episode is crazy. Look at Dean checking out Cas. Look at his face! THE EYES (24:08) ICWA- OH COME ON DO I HAVE TO POINT THAT OUT?!

"Did you not trust me?" "Dean..." "I did everything I could to get you out. Everything! ... I did not leave you." "... So you think this was your fault?" OH MY GOD SO FUCKING #MARRIED LOOK AT CAS' EYES (28:06) ICWA- I'm not even trying anymore

So many soft shoulder touches (34:42) also HOT SCENE I don't know why "I'm going in." "Cas, no. You're not strong enough." (35:15) precious babies

"You could've gotten yourself killed. Why didn't you wait for me?" "Well, I didn't get killed, and it worked." "And if it didn't?!" "It would have been my problem." "Well, it's not the way I see it!" (37:36) #MARRIED they're SO MARRIED

Dean keeps blaming himself for Cas not getting out "I don't need to feel like hell for failing you like I've failed every other godforsaken thing I care about." SEE??! (38:16) Dean preferred believing he had let Cas down, something he is used to, than he had sacrified himself for him (38:48). Dean can't believe Cas thought he deserved to stay in Purgatory. Also THE WAY THEY'RE LOOKING AT EACH OTHER (39:38) And Dean's deeply hurt by the fact that Cas would leave him to safety and remain in Purgatory as self punishment for what Dean had painted as all Cas' fault. And he is full of regret (41:30)

Episode 8:

[How fucking cute is it that Cas wants to become a hunter. I'M SQUEELING]

They are so #MARRIED my heart ACHES (5:02) and the way Dean looks at Cas is so fucking SOFT. And 6 seconds of just staring and... well, Cas in general (5:13)

"What? I was being bad cop." "No, you were being bad everything!" (9:12) #MARRIED (12:04) I'm dying, they're so cute

"I don't sleep." "Okay, well, I need my 4 hours, so-" "I'll watch over you *puppy eyes*" (12:52)

"Hey, can you lift this?" sure, Dean, every excuse is valid to have Cas be hot by effortlessly moving an anvil. And see how Cas looks at Dean, like "Really? You even had to ask? I'll fucking show you I can lift this shit". Look at how he looks back side-eyes at Dean here (14:16), like he's making sure Dean is watching him being hot. I'm dead

This is such a fucking sweet moment [I mean, kinda looked like the begging of a porn at first] (16:01). Dean can sense Cas is not okay, and gets him to open up about his feelings. And when Cas admits being suicidal, Dean is speechless, not even being able to imagine such an outcome. Anyway, it is so fucking sweet that they're always able to show themselves vulnerable to each other

Shut up. Look at this scene (18:51-18:53). Mute the video and just look. This is Sam marrying Cas and Dean. PERIODT.

"You're so pretty, Charles. [...] You were quite the bounder." DEAN'S FACE (20:27) He's so in love, and immediately after he LICKS HIS LIPS

While Sam talks about running away from your problems (referring to Amelia), and having to wake up in order not to destroy everything, the pan focuses on Cas (35:33) Subtext, gentlethem, subtext. CAS, FACE YOUR FEELINGS. SOON

Dean's face when Cas says he's not coming back with them (38:16-39:21)

Episode 10:

I now this scene is supposed to be funny, but the way Cas looks at Dean AAAWWW (6:53-7:01) Also do you really have to walk so close to Cas, Dean? Do you? While CHECKING HIM OUT nonetheless?! (7:54)

Remember when in 7x01 Dean was totally comfortable watching porn in front of his brother? Well, Dean goes on and on about Cas being a "brother", but his fucking reaction to Cas being in the same room as him with porn on his computer, is BY FAR the same he has with Sam, hell he even keeps watching with Sam! (8:05) Is it because the last time he, porn and Cas were in the same room, Cas popped a BONER?

Random guy @ Dean: "Are you serious?" Cas: "*leans in to look at Dean* That's his serious face, yes." And Dean's reaction (12:59) SO FUCKING #MARRIED

Dean, that's not the way you look at a friend, or a BROTHER (13:38)

LOOK!! I swear to GOD ICWAW that would be seen as nothing other than CHECKING OUT YOUR CRUSH

"Hey, how about we say, if this doesn't pan out, we had back to that beer and bacon happy hour a mile back, huh?" Translation: "Since I'm starting to realize I might feel something more for you, let me take you on what is totally not a date unless you want it to be" (16:58)

(24:02) #MARRIED

Dean, will you stop checking out Cas during missions? (25:06) Same goes for you, Cas, don't check if your husband's got a boner for you being the hero here (25:08)

Since the start of this season, we've been getting parallels between Sam & Amelia and Dean & Cas. The flashbacks, the guilt for leaving the other half behind, and now Dean tells Sam he's jealous he got a chance at being happy with Amelia (37:32)!!! I MEAN- and fuck my life when I tell you there are parallels with the whole Sam-Amelia-Don & Cas-Dean-Benny thing. I'M TELLING YOU

Episode 11:

"Trust me, this life... you can't afford attachments. You just gotta... let go." "... Are we still talking about Sam, or did you break up with someone too?" (21:17) CHARLIE KNOWS. TELL HIM CHARLIE

Episode 13:

Bitch... Dean's reaction to getting publicly hit on by a dude, so not the one a straight guy, confident in his sexuality and masculinity, "no-homo bro" would have (15:36). Just saying, we have seen Dean turn down what he thought were avances, and other implications regarding his sexuality, with either sarcasm/humor or anger... this is new. Progress?! [Wait till we get to 15x7]

Episode 16:

[Keep in mind how Dean's bedroom looks. Trust me]

Episode 17: OOOOHHH BOI

Cas has been tortured, mind-fucked, obligated to kill fake Deans over 1K times, in order to be ready to kill the real one. Let that sink in

Dean prayed to Cas, I'm sure almost every night, and can already sense something is not right with him ever since he came back from Purgatory (11:31), but when Sam questions his prayers to Cas, Dean doesn't know how to respond. Like, what, do I need a reason to try and contact my crush?

"There has to be another way. [...] This isn't right! [...] I won't hurt Dean!" (29:51-31:00) "Cas, fight this! This is not you! FIGHT IT!" and he does. Cas fights it. [and as soon as Cas starts fighting back, Heaven tints with BI COLOURS! LOOK AT THEM WINDOW THINGY (31:16) OF ALL COLOURS]

Dean is on the verge of tears, kneeling in front of Cas, telling him "This isn't you!", and to fight. He is pleading. And by the end, bloody, hopeless, "Cas... it's me! We're family. We need you... I need you." and Cas stops. (33:13)

Cas breaks the connection Naomi had installed in him. Once again, when presented with the choice, he chooses Dean over Heaven. All of this because Dean needed him. And let's not forget Dean was originally ment to say "I love you.", and that would've been the reason Cas snapped out of the control. I MEAN ICWAW THIS WOULD FUCKING BE CANON

Dean, thinking Cas is going to kill him, clutches onto the coat's sleeve for dear life, to the memory of his Cas (34:21) KILL ME

"What broke the connection?" The look in Cas' eyes... "I don't know." OH YES YOU DO (36:15) and Dean's face when Cas says he needs to protect the angel tablet. Dean knows he's gonna leave again (36:23). ICWAW, this whole scene would be the UMPTEENTH CONFESSION

Episode 18:

"I'm fine. Are you okay?" "Me?" "Yeah. Cass dinged you up pretty good." "... and?" "And I just wanted to make sure you're okay." "...What, like, my feelings?!" "If that's what you wanna talk about, sure." Dean gets pissy pretty easily when talking about Cas, who left once again, and his feelings. Also, Sam knows, and he ships it. He's president of the Destiel Company (4:02)

Episode 19:

The thing with the Deanny relationship is: Dean is naturally affectionate towards Sam, and he expresses the same towards Benny. His relationship with the both of them is very very similar, while see Dean showing affection towards Cas [same as he does with Sam] only during extreme emotional moments. Dean is known for repressing his feelings, and having a tendency to maintaining a "macho" exterior. He shows himself vulnerable in front of Cas, but not enough for him to think less of Dean. So, think about it

Episode 20:

Charlie, a lesbian, who has only ever heard of Castiel through Dean, describes him as seeming "dreamy" while talking to Dean... GAYDAR ANYONE??!!! (9:16)

Episode 21:

"In the words of a good friend... 'bite me'." Cas is quoting Dean, and if I remember correctly, Dean will quote Cas' "ass-butt" later on (16:"10)

Episode 22:

I hate when Dean treats Cas poorly, badly, because he can't deal with his feelings. In the heat of the moment, Dean is always forgiving, helpful and caring, but as soon As things cool down, he goes back to being cold, bitchy and snappy, like nothing ever happened. Repressed mother fucker

The small flash of hurt on Cas' face when Dean ignores his "Good morning" (3:33) fighting coupleTM. "Dean, I can go with you. *is ignored* Dean... I'm sorry. [LOOK AT THAT FACE]" "For what?" "For everything." "Everything? Like ignoring us?" #MARRIED

Cas is buying porn, beer and pie to make amends to Dean. "Where's the pie?" "I think we're out." "*grabs store clerk* You don't understand. I need pie!" (14:50) they are so fucking #MARRIED

Episode 23:

This is such a sweet moment. Cas is about to close the doors to his old home behind himself forever, while risking getting killed by his own kind, and Dean is worried about him. They are sharing drinks while longingly staring into each other's eyes. This is so sweet. Also, Dean warned Sam he might not be coming back. Why? Cuz he would probably die while trying to protect Cas from other angels. To them, they are probably spending their last moments together, while looking at each other like THAT (22:38) And 5 seconds of STARES (23:10)

In love. Fucking fools in love, that's what they are.

This is so stupid but they have just witnessed a cupid matching up two dudes, after all of the above⬆️ (23:53) AND IT'S JUST FUNNY!! Dean is stunned and all, while Cas is complitely fine and professional (24:04-24:17-24:21) DEAN'S FACE

"Talk first, stab later." (26:21) Cas is like "Bitch, you talking? That was our first date!" #MARRIED

[I'll just leave this here (37:00)]

Now shit's getting real

[Season 9>>]

[adamwatchesmovies]

Aftermath (2021)

At first, Aftermath shows promise. Its setup is creepy and you want to find out what's going on. Amid its multiple storylines are key details astute viewers can use to deduce its ending, which is critical to this viewing experience. The sooner you figure out what’s happening here, the better you can prepare yourself for the film’s laughably gonzo conclusion.

To save their marriage, Natalie (Ashley Greene) and Kevin Dadich (Shawn Ashmore) move into a new home - a palace they got at a great price because the previous occupants were killed in a murder-suicide. Natalie feels something amiss about their new dwelling but is it just guilt of her affair playing tricks on her? Is Kevin trying to get her back for what she did? Could the house be haunted? What if it’s something else entirely?

On paper, director Peter Winther and writer Dakota Gorman do this concept right. There are so many sub-plots you might miss the clues that tell you what's going on between Kevin going back to school and getting awfully close to a sexy classmate, Natalie getting the break of a lifetime at work, Kevin’s brother coming back into the picture to threaten their marriage, Natalie’s no-good sister stirring the pot, her irresponsible mother creating a wider divide between everyone, and more. Unfortunately, these sub-plots are nowhere as interesting as the “what the heck is going on with this house?!” story.

Things that would have the rest of us packing our bags frequently get shrugged off. Kevin brushes off Natalie's concerns like it’s nothing, which should prompt her to take pictures and prove you’re not crazy or bypass her husband and go straight to the police but nah. She's content living in a home that terrifies her, as you do.

Then again, it’s hard to fault the wife for failing to contact the police, as the man assigned to investigate their concerns, Officer Richardson (Sharif Atkins) is so unhelpful you suspect he might be in on it. Either he’s the most passive-aggressive and lazy police officer you could ever get, or he reaches a legendary level of incompetence.

This movie cheats multiple times. When you find out what’s going on, your mind fills with so many “but wait, if that happened, then shouldn’t…” questions your brains will need to be scraped off the walls for weeks.

I need to immortalize my experience so I can remember this movie later when I’m assembling my “worst of the year” list by telling you all about it's lame twists. First, Natalie is nearly raped by a man who breaks into their house. She fights him off, he’s arrested… only for Officer Richardson to tell us charges will be difficult to press. See, the house’s previous owner (Alexander Bedira) has been messing with them, hoping they'll resell him the house at a discounted price. He’s goaded other people into torching their car, sent flowers to make it seem like Natalie is having an affair, gotten pornography delivered under Kevin’s name, hacked into their social media and credit card accounts to ruin their reputation (how? don’t worry about it), and tricked the stranger into thinking Natalie was a lonely housewife who fantasizes about having sex with strangers who break into her house. The whole thing was "a misunderstanding"! So he’s the one responsible for poisoning Kevin and his dog too, right? Wrong. The true culprit - here comes the crazy twist - is some weirdo living in the house’s hidden basement, the secret lover of the dead wife who lived here before. She had the house built specifically so he could live there (how?! Why?!). He’s been messing with their stuff. I’d say it comes out of nowhere, but thanks to the camerawork, I had it figured out immediately. It still didn’t prepare me for what was coming.

When Aftermath (dumb title, by the way) begins, you’ll wonder what the bad reviews are for. By the end, you’ll be laughing, making jokes, yelling at the idiotic characters, asking questions no one could answer, and having fun - for all the wrong reasons. (August 5, 2021)

[luci-cunt]

Hey, idk I'd you're still doing this but for the AU prompt mash up thing, andriel with royal and criminal! 😊(only if you want to of course)

Yes indeed-y I am still doing this and loving it!! love you anon!!

[Psst– send me two fic prompts and I’ll tell you how I’d mash them ;)]

Oh boy I love royal aus and I love criminals and I love andreil so this is everything I hope you enjoy non!!!!

(sorry in advance I really couldn’t stop myself, it just kept. on. going. XD):

So, Luther is king of… we’ll call it something super original: Carolina.

He’s crazy, super religious and burns people for being “witches” and stuff.

Tilda is his sister (duh), she’s also crazy but in a “I’m-gonna-go-on-a-forty-day-bender-and-come-back-unwed-and-pregnant” kinda way.

When she actually does this, Luther flips, covers the whole thing up, and throws a ball to celebrate her very sudden marriage. At the ball tho, this old lady comes up and asks if Tilda wants to know the gender of the baby, which is crazy, cause no one knows she’s pregnant ‘cept Luther and Tilda. Luther tosses the chick into a fire but not before she can spout off a prophecy, something clever and pretty vague and easily mis-readable like–

“REUNITED TWINS WILL BE YOUR DOWNFALL YOU ROTTING SIRE! AND BEWARE THE BUTCHER’S HEIR!”

However, the prophecy counts death as a reunion, so Luther can’t just kill both of them and he decides killing one of them is too risky. Luther scars one of the boys so they won’t be so identical and then boots him.

And so, Andrew Doe grows up family-less and scarred while Aaron grows up a very well guarded secret who’s not allowed to leave the palace. No one knows that Tilda has a son– let alone two– and everyone assumes the only heir to the throne is Nicholas Hemmick who’s on a weirdly long business trip? 

(naw he ran and fell in love with his husband and is thriving on another continent)

That bit about the Butcher is pretty concerning, since Luther’s main executioner is Nathan Wesninski, the infamous Moriyama family Butcher who was given as a gift of good will to Luther. It’s not like he can kill Nathan, so he just bans him from ever having kids.

Nathan’s like “fine by me” so exactly 0 of the women he fucks survive to tell the tale.

UNTIL– Mary. She escapes just barely and nine months later Neil is born but here he’s called Abram and not Nathaniel for obvious reasons XD

Anyways, Mary raises Neil on the run at the same time as Andrew’s doing the opposite of thriving. They meet by accident, Mary leaves Neil in the town Andrew’s living in and Andrew tries to rob Neil and almost gets gutted for it.

They’re like, 13 so Andrew’s like “teach me how to do that now” and Neil’s like “no go away” and he bolts off to find a new hiding spot. Andrew finds him though, and Neil runs off again. Rinse and repeat. (look, Andrew’s like 14ish and bored out of his mind)

Eventually Neil gives in and agrees to teach Andrew to protect himself if Andrew agrees to steal some fresh fruit for Neil as payment

Andrew agrees, steals fruit and Neil starts training with him and they become quick friends. Neil mentions he wants to become a Knight someday and explains that him and his mother are running from his father (but doesn’t mention who that is)

Andrew spills that he’s never had anyone and that he thinks Knights are stupid.

But then Mary returns, she snatches Neil up and whisks him away to another town and Andrew’s alone again. He doesn’t like this, and there’s nothing in the town to keep him, so he finds Neil again.

Mary catches on and picks up the pace, threatens Andrew, and just tries to loose the kid any way she can but no matter what he always pops back up.

Eventually Nathan catches up to them, but this time Andrew is there. Neither he or Neil are fast enough to save Mary but they get themselves away to safety.

Together, in the dark of a barn with sheep and pigs rustling around in the warm night air, they make a vow. They swear to kill Nathan Wesninski.

Neil still wants to be a knight but he realizes that becoming one of the kings soldiers in order to kill one of the kings men isn’t exactly the smartest idea, so instead, him and Andrew go to Palmetto, a tiny little kingdom that’s on the verge of death and has an extraordinary crime rate. The queen, Kayleigh Day, died and her son went mysteriously missing, leaving the kingdom in turmoil.

Wymack is the leader of one of the largest gangs in Palmetto, but Neil and Andrew go to one of the smaller gangs first. They join, work their way up, and then talk to Wymack as equals, having taken over the gang. Wymack’s impressed, if a little wary of the two, and he offers Ally-ship.

(btw this takeover has taken years, they’re like, roughly 20′s now)

The two agree and tell Wymack about their plan to kill Nathan, Wymack admits to having contacts within the castle who could help but– it comes at a price.

He knows where the real prince of Palmetto is, and he needs them to go and rescue him. Neil and Andrew don’t like this plan but Wymack’s help is kind of necessary so they agree, queue a kickass rescue/ kidnap scene where Neil, Andrew, and the foxes all gang up to save Kevin who doesn’t know he’s being saved. 

During this tho, they run into Riko since Kevin’s basically his personal servant, his “2nd in command” blah blah or whatever

Riko has met Aaron, and he knows vaguely about the prophecy because it was kind of a hot topic, but, as far as he AND the Moriyama’s were aware Tilda only gave birth to Aaron, except, Andrew is just uncannily similar to Aaron and– oh is that Butcher hair? What did you say your name was? Neil? huh…

Riko manages to trick Neil into getting caught but Andrew and the rest of the gang escape with Kevin. Riko tries to get Neil to admit who he and Andrew are but Neil won’t admit he knows who Nathan is and he genuinely has no idea who Aaron is. 

By the time Riko finds out Kevin’s gone he’s beyond pissed. He doesn’t want to admit that he lost Day (who’s going by Kevin. No last name, the More-yams aren’t very good at hiding people) and he doesn’t want to hand Neil over without knowing that he’s the Butchers son. 

So he decides he’ll handle the whole problem himself, and then boast to Ichirou about how clever he is later, so he tells Andrew that he’ll give Neil back if Andrew gives Kevin back. 

Andrew’s like .2 seconds from doing just that but he also knows Riko probably doesn’t plan on giving Neil back at all, so he agrees to the deal but crafts a plan– he can’t kill Riko, but he can embarrass him to the point of Riko not being about to say shit without fucking himself over. 

And so Andrew takes Renee and a couple other foxes and they go to meet Riko, little does Riko know that Kevin is actually a bear enchanted to look like a man and also enchanted to be chill until they let him go (Renee’s a witch, forgot to mention that). 

However, little does Andrew know but Riko’s cursed Neil so that he has to come back to Riko in at least two days or Andrew will die. 

The deal goes down, Neil’s traded for bear-Kevin and it all seems to work out well since as soon as Andrew’s got Neil the whole group books it and once they’re out of eyesight they hear roaring and screaming. 

Everyone celebrates but Kevin knows it was too easy and he asks Neil about it, which leads to Neil spilling the facts. Kevin tells Neil that Riko doesn’t have that kind of power, there’s no way he could cast a curse that effects someone he’s never touched, but Neil doesn’t want to risk it. 

Unfortunately (or fortunately) for Neil, Kevin tells Andrew and so when Neil comes to do the whole “thank you, you were amazing,” Andrew just locks him in a room. 

There’s some tense waiting since there’s a slim chance that Riko does have that power and Andrew’s about to die– but then the deadline’s up and Andrews still around!

Now Andrew and Neil have another name on their list though, Nathan and Riko gonna die. 

Neil tells Andrew about Aaron, and they question Kevin, who barely knows anything but Andrew decides he wants to steal Aaron since their first kidnapping was so successful. 

Uuuuh, this is really long so: they kill Riko, Nathan, and Luther, Kevin is back to being king of Palmetto and quickly takes over Carolina and everyone lives happily ever after. 

(idk, if you want the ending or some shiz lemme know XDD or if you want a dif. prompt mash up also lemme know! This is so much fun XD)

[screamingintosilence]

Darling, You're the One I Want

Songfic Writing Challenge Day 9

Paper Rings - Taylor Swift

A/n: we're back, babes! Oof, post vacation has me needing another vacation just to recover

--

She saw Jughead's wince out of the corner of her eye as she unwrapped a brilliant pair of white diamond earrings gifted to her by Veronica. It was so tiny that only someone who spent every day with him and knew him better than he knew himself would have caught it.

“Only the best for my B!” Veronica clapped happily from her perch on Archie's lap. Betty thanked her profusely, getting up to give her a hug, her smile genuine with gratitude to one of her favorite people, but still worrying about Jughead in the back of her mind.

Betty was surrounded by her friends in celebration of her 25th birthday and she felt truly blessed to have all these people in her life.

Toni was sitting with her legs lapped over Cheryl's, the newly engaged - as of last month - Veronica and Archie in their little bubble of joy, Fangs and Kevin curled up next to each other deciding that they are definitely “on” again, and Sweet Pea and Reggie sitting at the kitchen table, being very much Bros and having an arm wrestling contest...again.

And then there was Jughead Jones the third, the love of her life since they were only 15. He was her saving grace as much as she was his. He had recently signed a publishing deal on his book about Jason's murder and the out fall that it caused, a long fought battle that he'd finally won out.

She was so beyond proud of him. She knew all of their friends were, but she had seen him through every long night, every midnight cup of coffee, every frustrated rejection. She had seen the full ten years of this book in the making, and seeing him finally achieve everything he had wanted since he was a little kid writing stories in Archie's treehouse, she knew how much he'd deserved this.

As she opened the next gift Cheryl, a beautiful, white Michael Kors purse, she saw Jughead’s mouth tick as he forced a smile as he abruptly stood, quietly saying that he'd “be right back” and rushed out of the room.

After she hugged her cousin, telling her how much she loved it, and gave it to Veronica to ogle, she followed after her love to their bedroom.

She stood in the doorway, watching him pace back and forth in agitation, biting his thumb nail and running his hand through his hair. She bit her lip in worry.

“Juggie?” His eyes snapped up to her, widening and looking like a cornered animal. “Are you ok, sweetheart? You're worrying me.”

He visibly deflated, reaching out and pulling her towards him, wrapping his much larger frame around her smaller one. Shoving his nose into the strands of her hair, he breathed deeply, letting the smell of her calm and comfort him.

“Jug?” she asked again, her hand stroking up and down his back in assurance that she was there.

He let out a deep sigh, shifting his face so that his cheek rested on the crown of her head.

“Yeah, I'm ok Betts.” She stayed silent, his tone lingering at the end, letting her know that he had more to say. “It's just hard sometimes, ya know? Seeing all the nice things that Veronica and Cheryl can get for you, and you deserve it! Don't get me wrong, you deserve the world and then some, but knowing it's not me that can give it to you? At least, not yet, even with the signing bonus. It's just...it's just so hard and-and I know I'm not handling it with the most grace, but I-I don't know,” he broke off abruptly as if realizing he was rambling.

His arms were tight around her, as if scared she might disappear. She was the very best thing to ever happen to him, his absolute favorite person in the whole world.

“I guess I'm just scared that one day you'll actually wake up and realize that there is someone who can give you all those things, more than I'll ever be able to no matter how many books I publish, and you'll leave me behind.” Betty snorted. “I know, it's crazy, but-”

“Not only is it crazy, it's probably the dumbest thing I have ever heard you say, and I've heard you and Archie play video games.”

“I know, I know. But it's just… I want to marry you Betts. I want to give you this big rock so everyone within a mile can see that you're mine, because it's what you deserve. But it sucks because I want to marry you now and I don't have the ridiculous amount of money for something like that.” Betty pushed him back so he could meet her eyes.

She framed his face between her palms, gently stroking his cheekbones with her thumbs. “Forsythe Pendelton Jones the Third, you listen to me, and you listen good, ok?” He nodded.

“Cheryl and Veronica have a skewed sense of the world and spend money just to spend money, that's what happens when you're an heiress. They don't really have an appreciation for anything less. And yeah, the things they get me are nice and lovely and I like them a lot, but I know that the price of those things barely affects their bank accounts. Knowing how much you toil away and save to get me anything nice is just more to me, especially from you because you're my whole world, Jug.

“And I don't want or need a big rock, good Lord it would be obnoxious.” He laughed at how her nose crinkled at the thought. “Honestly, sweetheart, you could ask me to marry you with a Ring Pop or a paper ring, like the ones we used to make when we were 5, you remember?”

“Yeah,” he chuckled. “You always made the prettiest ones.”

She smiled, “My point being, you can ask me without spending a dime and I would say yes every time, Juggie. I love you and I want to marry you no matter what, ok?” Her green eyes stared into his blue intently.

His gaze held hers, discerning that she was telling him the truth, not that she would ever lie to him. Betty never did with him, their relationship was based 100% honesty. Letting out another sigh, this time of relief, he nodded before pulling her into a passionate kiss.

There was a knocking from the doorway that brought them back to attention that they still had an apartment full of friends and that know wasn't the time to get lost in each other.

“Hey lovebirds, everything ok in here?” Archie inquired, forehead creased in concern for his two best friends.

“Yup!” Betty chimed with a genuine, trademark, Betty Cooper megawatt smile, her hand squeezing Jughead's tightly in continuous reassurance.

“That's great,” he grinned back. “You just have Jug’s present left to open Betty.”

She felt Jug squeeze her hand back, a little too much for just a moment, before relaxing once more into a comforting grip.

She practically skipped out of the room, both boys following in her wake, chuckling at her enthusiasm.

Once back in the living room, Jughead scooped up his present from the coffee table where all the gifts had been gathered, handing it to her with a flourish.

She grinned up at him and wasted no time ripping through the wrapping paper. She got through the tape securing the flaps of the cardboard box together with minor difficulty, only to be met with an explosion of tinsel hiding whatever was in the box from her gaze.

“Really, Juggie?” She gave him a sidelong glace of faked annoyance as their friends laughed. He smirked in response, nodding at her to continue.

“This is going to be a bitch to clean up,” she quipped, throwing handfuls of the glittery strands onto the floor, searching for whatever it is he had hidden in the depths of cardboard.

Her hand wrapped around a small velvet box and she froze, the room going quiet as her eyes grew wide. She couldn't move her hand from still inside the cardboard box, her mind racing, realizing what it was.

“Betts?” Jughead's voice wobbled in slight concern. Her eyes snapped up, reaching his equally as wide eyes, taking in his stance in front of her - one knee on the ground, the other bent.

His hand reached into where hers still was frozen, taking the box from her grasp and pulling it out so all their friends could see. Her eyes never left his as she still was trying to figure out how to breathe.

“Elizabeth Cooper, baby, Betty, Betts. You're my everything. Everything good in my life is because of you, because you fought for me and made it that way. You make me the best possible version of myself, I couldn’t be me without you. I-”

Her brain and her breathing had finally caught up to where she needed them to be, comprehending just what was happening before she launched herself at him, cutting off the rest of his speech as she tackled him to the ground.

“Oof, Betts, I-”

“Yes! Yes yes yes yes yes, a million, billion, trillion times yes!” She pressed her lips his hurriedly, her tongue seeking entrance into his mouth, only vaguely registering all their friends cheering, wolf whistling, and squealing (which distinctly sounded like it came from Reggie).

“You didn't even let me finish!” Jughead laughed, pulling back from her.

“I don't care!” She was sure her face could power Manhattan from how brightly she was smiling. “You can finish it later, I'm just… Oh my god, I'm engaged! I love you so much,” she pressed her lips to his once more, trying to deepen it before he gently pushed her back.

He chuckled at her furrowed brow at his rejection. “Don't you want to see your ring, sweetheart?” He popped the lid of the velvet black box that had stayed securely in his grasp through the altercation, displaying a beautiful thin gold band, with a single brilliant white diamond. Simple, delicate, elegant - Betty in every way.

“I know it's no paper ring,” he ribbed.

“You know I usually hate the word, but it's perfect, Juggie. Even I couldn't make a paper ring this good,” she laughed as he slipped the cool metal onto her left ring finger.

She gazed at it lovingly, watching the facets catch the light, before pulling her fiance in for another kiss, loving just how right the weight felt on her hand.

[okimargarvez]

TASK FORCE - 10

Original title: Task force.

Prompt: during the Doyle case, FBI Director calls five teams to catch him.

Warning: A.U., what if for S6, character’s death, crossover.

Genre: action, family, angst, romantic.

Characters: Penelope Garcia, Luke Alvez, Aaron Hotchner, Emily Prentiss, Jennifer Jareau, David Rossi, Derek Morgan, Spencer Reid, Phil Brooks, Kevin Lynch, Sam Cooper, Mick Rawson, Gina La Salle, Beth Griffith, Jonathan Simms, Jack Garrett, Clara Seger, Russ Montgomery, Matthew Simmons, Mae Jarvis, Mary Meadows, Owen Quinn, Jack Flicker, O.C.

Pairings: Garvez (Penelope x Kevin, Luke x O. C.), Hotchniss, Katt (slight), demily (slight), Mick x Gina, O.C. x O.C.).

Note: oneshot 74 in Garvez collection.

Legend: 💏 😘😈🔦🎲 🕶️🎈⚰️.

Song: La differenza tra me e te, Tiziano Ferro

Task force - Masterlist

See the notes for more informations.

GARVEZ STORIES

My life makes me lose sleep... always makes me realize that it is clear... the difference between you and me...

*first rain and fractures

He wanted to go to her as soon as he got out of that place, but, first point, he was afraid of what he could do, with all that anger in his body, second point, he didn't know her address. The next day, at work, he hadn't had a moment's respite, and so did those afterwards. At least Dalia had in turn been forced to give up tormenting him.

Today, however, Vladimir ordered all his subordinates to take a break. Until Interpol provides the latest data, there is nothing they can do. Especially he, who has been deputy to the action, but cannot move without coordinates. Even computer scientists have been left free. But this time he has a plan. After that evening, it would have been pointless to deny it, so on the way home, he admitted it. Phil screamed so loud that the windows of some houses lighted up, even though the windows were not lowered. He said he was a little jealous, but then he congratulated him, as if they were already a couple. Luke therefore had to add one detail: that she was engaged to Lynch, of BAU2, as everyone called the team headed by Cooper, not in the presence of its members, it is clear. Phil told him this wasn't necessarily a problem. She was the first woman who managed to scratch his armor, so he shouldn't have thrown this chance for anything in the world. He didn't have to sleep with her; he just had to make her understand how things were, show his cards and then let her decide. His plan, however, wasn’t about Penelope.

-Hey, Dalia, there was one thing I really wanted to ask you...- Phil intercepts the woman before she can reach his best friend, who then is free to go to the office of the supreme genius. As he walks down the corridor, he recognizes that excruciating noise. The closer he gets, the more he gets confirmation. It comes from there. He doesn’t knock, opens the door and enters. She is bent, with her head in her hands. Her sobs bounce into his chest as if he were crying. She does not turn to check who has entered, so he manages to reach her and put a hand on her shoulder.

Hot like lava. She frees himself with a violent move, but in doing so allows him to scrutinize her face and accumulate details. Anger doesn’t last long enough in her eyes. It goes out as quickly as it turned on. Penelope collapses on herself, without even turning back to the desk. Luke feels a little bad for being been rejected. The only thing he cares about is knowing the reason for so much despair. And if possible, to do something to improve it. No matter if he would have to "eliminating" the root problem.

He keeps silent, allowing her to let off steam, for at least five minutes. She breaks out again for no apparent reason. -Go away! Get out! The knowledge office is closed for today! The streets are flooded, if you haven’t noticed.- she laughs at her own joke, but after a second she breaks again. Luke isn't going to satisfy her, not this time.

He loosens her clenched fists, making a lot of effort. It does not seem, but she is very strong. He takes them among his, although she seems to be trying to escape him, but she can't do anything if he decides to seriously use the weapons that mother nature has provided him. After thirty seconds she gives up. As soon as she surrenders, Luke lets her go, confusing her to the point that she interrupts to cry for a few moments. However, the man's hands reappear on her face, on her cheeks. It is even worse than resting her head on his shoulder. She never allowed Kevin to do it, only Morgan can.

Yet another wrong thought. She curses herself, starting to cry again and wetting his fingers, but he doesn't seem to be bother. He begins to move his thumbs on her eyelids, on her cheekbones. She doesn’t know if she should consider them as caresses. But she hopes the answer is negative. Then he starts talking. -Penelope, hey, Penelope.- he is violating the rule imposed on him on the first day, but she no longer has the strength to protest. -Tell me what happened to you, I really care and when you have told me, I will go away and leave you alone.- although it is clearly not what he wants. And he sees all this clearly reflected in his eyes, not dark enough and too close.

If the only way to get rid of him is to talk, then that's exactly what she will do. In addition, the man's voice is so low and deep, decidedly persuasive, bewitching, almost a medicine for her emotional wounds. Too bad for that almost. -One of my best friends has disappeared, she doesn't answer me and I don't even know if she is still alive.- she begins, even if she eats half the words in sobs, he understands anyway. The movement of his hands seems to become sweeter. -And my boyfriend, very understanding, has just broken up with me, because he cannot understand that I don't want to go to dinner with him, play video games and then make sex.- he asked for the truth and obtained it, without any censorship.

The image of the woman clinging to Lynch peeks into his mind, but disappears fairly quickly, fortunately. Because she said they broke up. She is single. And he doesn't want to be so mean as to feel pleasure for something that makes her suffer. Yet here he is, fighting to mask the shadow of a crazy smile, that will make him locked up in an asylum.

In order not to let her know, he decides to take two birds with one stone. He leaves her face free and stands up, feeling aching legs for being uncomfortably crouched at her feet. He grabs her by the shoulders, pulling her against him and hugging her. She never stops crying and trembling and after a short time (too much, for his tastes) she gives up, lacing her arms in her turn around the man's body and sinking her face into his spacious chest. She mentally thanks him for choosing not to comment in some shabby or rhetorical way. His fingers in her hair and his caresses are more than enough. Gradually she manages to calm down, but something else awakens in her, to be so close to him, to be able to touch each of his muscles with her hand. She strokes his neck quickly and hears him moan like a novice teenager. However, she greatly likes the power she seems to have over him.

-Now you have to go away.- she says, her voice still a bit strange, mainly because of the stuffy nose. But not because she really wants it. Her goal is to test him, to challenge him and to understand his point of break. Luke separates and looks at her. He takes her face in his hands again.

-Is that what you want me to do?- the asshole wants to unload all responsibility on her. Too easy like that. She doesn't answer, she just keeps staring at him and he does the same thing. But he sayst to himself that it was Penelope's fault, not his. If she hadn’t openly challenged him, perhaps he would have been able to restrain himself. But he still has the data from reading the file on the Jason Clarke Battle case that are passing through his head and traces of her tears on his shirt. Penelope understands what is about to happen a few seconds earlier; she digs her fingernails into his cheeks, until leaving scratches that will be fun to explain tomorrow, but in this moment he doesn’t care. They don't even hurt, nothing more than a slight tickle. The woman's fingers melt, as does her entire body, when the man's lips meet hers. Her eyes close instantly. She didn't want this kiss, but she kisses him back as if her life depends on it. She grabs him by the shirt, pulling him closer and risking to break it. It would have been an acceptable price for Luke to pay. Specially to feel her voluminous breasts pressed against his chest. He mumbles again, running his hands down her back, stopping just before her butt. Penelope thinks that he's too good guy, even if she doesn't even notice it, because as quickly it is born, as quickly this thought dies, disappears into thin air. They are so wrapped up in their vortex that they lose their balance and end up on the chair, she first and he on her, even if he tries to stay up not to weigh too much, until he feels her bare leg in the middle of his ones and he loses what little self-control he had tried to preserve. His hands go along her rib cage and are stopped just as he reaches the final goal or one of the main ones, at least.

Penelope pushes him away with force. It seems that his kisses have given her energy back. -No, no!- she looks at him badly, as if it were only his fault, as if he had attacked her and she hadn’t been able to prevent him. -That's enough! Don't you understand that it's wrong?- less than a minute ago, she was trying to trace new horizons with her tongue on his palate. -Kevin and I will get back together, you know, this is just one of our thousand breaks.- he wonders how she can think he knows. Has Morgan said something? No, it is unlikely. -I love him...- he just can’t stay quiet after this last declaration. He lifts her up until they are back on the same level. She stares at him terrified (even of herself).

He approaches her, but Penelope continues to walk backwards, until she condemns herself, colliding with a wall. Luke smiles at her, ironic, almost in a bad way. He reads her mind. Trapped. -Oh yeah, do you love him?- he challenges her to repeat it, shaping his own forms on the soft ones of the blonde. -Then why do you two make this back and forth? Do you think this is love?- she doesn't even know what makes her angrier: that she is so close to him that she can hardly breathe, her own excitement or his words, his speech, his pretensions.

She puts her hands on his chest but gets nothing but electric shock. -And do you think you know what it is?- she doesn't know why she is conducting this discussion, when she would simply like to start kissing him again and maybe discover some other details. She has a concrete clue right there.

Luke grabs her by the hips; his hands are so large that with his thumbs he touches the inside of her thigh. -I don't pretend to know the truth, but for me love is... totality.- he looks at her in the eyes, intently, never looking away and she can't do it either. -It's finding the person who completes you, who fits perfectly with you.-he presses her against himself. -And yes, even the bullshit they say in the movies. To need her like air.- Penelope opens her mouth wide, for his last exit or for the thing that pulsates between her legs, she doesn't even wonder.

The only weapon she has left is her irony. -And would you make me believe that you feel this for me? Really?- she must not cert or simulate unbelief. Luke is annoyed, irritated by the subtext of that claim. She thinks she isn't attractive enough to him, because she doesn't wear the same size of Dalia's clothes. And she doesn’t want to understand that this is precisely the point. He is physically, magnetically attracted to her body. For the way she is.

He lets her go for fear of hurting her, because he is angry, furious. -Why it's so hard to believe! I have never felt this way before, never.- he confesses, without any embarrassment. -I have never been in love.- he has never allowed it to himself, but love is not something you can put in break. If it has to happen, it will happen. And if it hasn't happened to him until now, it's because he was waiting for her.

Penelope begins to vibrate for fear and no longer for anger. The change is evident, and he notices it. The desire for her doesn’t diminish but subsides enough to make room for apprehension again. -So how can you say you are now?- a good question. About a week has passed since he met her. Can someone really fall in love in such a short time, in real life?

But Luke doesn't hesitate, not even for a second. The right words come out of him, whether he agrees or not. -Because I find it hard to concentrate on work, I think of you constantly, I act like an idiot...- he caresses her cheek too delicately. She hates him because she knows exactly what he's going to say. -And I know you feel something too.- he silences her protest or her attempt to deny by placing his index finger on her lips, still swollen from his kisses, on her mouth with his savour. -When we look into the eyes, static energy becomes almost visible.- she opens her eyes wide, but she knows that she is now screwed.

-Static energy?- she can continue to pretend as much as she wants, it will only prolong the agony. -But how do you speak?- so similar to her. So opposite. So much confusion in her head. They've been talking for too long, for Luke's taste. He misses her mouth, so he catches it. She doesn’t reject him, on the contrary, as before, she clings to him as tightly as possible and, not entirely voluntarily, she rubs herself against his groin.

Luke moans and it excites her so much that she imitates him. She bites his lips, so hard that it hurts. He pulls off, panting and looks at her. She doesn't understand why he had to stop. Did he not understand that he must take advantage of these moments and not give her any excuse to go back to her senses and run away? -You are convinced that I just want to take you to bed.- Penelope surprises him further, reaching out and touching the evident swelling of his jeans.

The intensity increases in her eyes, while she is performing this act, giving it a value completely new. -Isn't that so?- it's his turn to bother her. He grabs her by the wrist, in a firm but still delicate way and forces her to place her hand on his heart. He sees the shadow of a smile or laughter in her eyes, but she remains serious.

He shakes his head. Penelope struggles to stay focused, because she is as if spellbound, bewitched by the beating of his heart. She feels a tremendous fear that it may stop working at that very moment and an absurd pain affects her cardiac organ. -No.- Luke denies. -I don't just want to have sex or make love with you.- this specification makes her start shaking again, especially for the fucking way he says it. He cannot know that she has always protected herself from possible love sufferings by joking excessively on this very point and that therefore she has never made love, despite having been in bed with men she loved. -I am not satisfied with owning your body.- he is continuing, without any restraint. -I want... I would also like to touch your soul.- that correction at the last second is almost the last drop.

-Luke...- it is the last desperate attempt left to prevent what she also wants.

The man doesn’t grant it. -It's the truth.- and she sees that he is fucking scared too. How did Morgan define him? Taciturn? No, reserved. But with her, he opened up completely and she knows she's going to do it in turn... In more ways than one. -Ridicule, or whatever you want, but still the truth.- he lifts her chin, even if there would be no need, because she's already staring at him. -You can deny it looking into my eyes?- she flutters her eyelashes and shakes her head. This time she throws herself first on his mouth, sucking his lower and then upper lip, while he nibbles her earlobes, sending her to Heaven, and then he leaves marks everywhere on her neck, so the world will know she's his, thinks Penelope, because after all she is about to become that or perhaps she always has been.

When an excessively high moan escapes from her, because he is simultaneously massaging her breast and carrying out a first exploration of the lower area, she is forced to block him. She doesn’t deny that she wants him, she wants all this, however as wrong as it is. But she has a small request and hopes that he will show himself understanding. -At least, can we change places? Not here.- Luke doesn't care much about the background around them, so he nods, moving to the side and staring at her throughout the system shutdown phase. He looks at her with the awareness that he has had a taste, but the act is about to be consumed. And it doesn't seem real to him.

-

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[fromwinnipeg2everywhere]

Winnipeg is Good: Support Local Businesses!

My husband and I love to dine out and all of our favourite places are small, locally owned restaurants. I also enjoy posting pictures of food on Instagram, and though it may seem a tacky habit in the eyes of some people, for me it is my way of showing appreciation and support for the restaurant. Whenever I post something, I am hoping that it encourages other people to try that place or make them aware that it even exists in the first place!

The local restaurant industry is one of the hardest hit during the Covid-19 pandemic. Restaurants, with their razor-thin margins, depend on customers to stay afloat, and with everyone stuck at home, the sad reality is that there is a lot of laid-off restaurant staff, and local restaurant owners are having to find creative ways to keep their doors open. Instead of closing their doors, some restaurants have pivoted to delivery/pickup only services, some are selling pre-prepared meals to heat at home, and some like King’s Head Pub and Bodegoes have re-opened as a grocery-delivery service. My husband and I are making an effort to support the local restaurants by still ordering delivery/pickup with the hope that whatever little support we can give help them make it to other side of these crazy times. How else can you support restaurants during the pandemic? Follow them on Instagram, buy gift cards, order directly from them and do pickup if you can (food delivery services such as Skip and Doordash pretty much eats what little profit restaurants make in commissions), and tip generously!

Even before the pandemic, we made a conscious effort to support locally owned businesses and restaurants. Of course, not everything (or everyone) local is good (ahem, Nygard and Fun Mountain) so do your research, but I can say with certainty that everything good is local! There are many reasons to support local businesses. Many of our local businesses pay living wages. What does that mean? It means, yes, you will have to pay a little bit more for your coffee or your donut or your book, but that also means you are supporting a business that ensure their staff are paid fairly. Many of our local businesses and restaurants focus on sustainability – for example, they use environmentally friendly containers and they support local growers, farmers and suppliers (which means the ingredients and raw materials don’t have to travel far!). Supporting local means more of your dollars stay within the community – to the owners, the suppliers, the staff – local people who are very passionate about their craft and their business, and their profits are then reinvested to our community. Aside from the economic reasons, our local businesses are also very active in giving back to the community, for example, the first week when all the restaurants were forced to close their dining rooms to customers, many of them came together to donate their extra inventory to Chef Ben Kramer who then cooked all the food donations for local soup kitchens. Last, but not the least, these local businesses are what makes Winnipeg unique. Think of the last time you travelled somewhere? Where did you go to eat? Somewhere local, that you can only find in that place, I hope! Well, why wouldn’t you do the same at home?

So how do you know which businesses and restaurants to support? A lot of them have social media presence, so follow them on Instagram. They usually have stories that gives you a glimpse on how they run their business, for example, I saw a story where the owners visited a farm and showed us how it practiced ethical farming practices. I mean, I wish we could all be vegan or vegetarian, but the reality is the majority will not be, but that does not mean we have to support inhumane, factory farming methods. Instagram stories and posts will also have specials that you won’t normally find on the menu, so it’s a great way to try new things! I know that it is sometimes hard not to let the prices dictate where we decide to buy something, but if you can, think of the reasons why something is a little bit more expensive (fair wages, economies of scale – small businesses can’t compete with Bezos! -- quality of ingredients, keeping local dollars local) and make your decisions on value, not cost.

I have put together a list of our favourite local businesses and restaurants with the hope that it encourages you to support them. Not sure which ones are open now, but check out their Instagram pages for latest info.

Restaurants and their specialities (in no particular order)

1.     Merchant Kitchen – Asian Fusion. This is our go-to. You can’t go wrong with the Thai Fried Rice and Korean Fried Chicken.

2.     Yujiro/Saburo – ramen, premium sushi, donburi bowls

3.     Gaijin Izakayya - reasonably priced, good sushi

4.     Blufish – premium sushi

5.     Sushi Cushi – reasonably priced, good sushi

6.     Cho Ichi Ramen – I like their noodles, closest to Ichiran (Japanese ramen place) that I’ve tried

7.     Dwarf No Cachette – Japanese food that is not sushi – okonomiyaki, takoyaki, donburi bowls, Japanese curry

8.     Sabai Thai – Thai food

9.     Pho Hoang – Vietnamese food

10.  Kum Koon – lunch dimsum service is the best!

11.  Maque – Asian fusion, for a super fancy anniversary dinner (or for a regular Tuesday night dinner, whatever!)

12.  Myrna’s – Filipino breakfast, cash only!

13.  Kyu – ramen, rice bowls, heroshima sandwiches

14.  Mitzi’s – chicken fingers

15.  Passero – Italian. Another fancy anniversary dinner place. Make sure you make a reservation!

16.  Harth – Italian. The prosciutto di parma plate!

17.  Kevin’s Bistro – If you are a fancy mac & cheese fan

18.  Red Ember – Our favourite pizza place in Winnipeg

19.  Pizzeria Gusto/Gusto North – A close second

20.  Burrito del Rio – Hands down THE best burritos/tacos in town

21.  Hermano’s – South American Food

22.  La Fiesta – Salvadoran food.

23.  The Good Fight Taco – Good taco

24.  King and Bann – Fancy sandwiches. Best BLT.

25.  Clementine – Brunch. They don’t accept reservations so go early and/or prepare to line up

26.  Miss Browns – Brunch. The menu on William is more extensive compared to Hargrave Street Market.

27.  Pineridge Hollow – come for brunch, stay for the petting zoo!

28.  Forth Cafe – cocktails, coffee, light lunch – avocado toast is delish!

29.  Langside Grocery – breakeven scotch bottles every Sunday! Check insta for more details!

30.  Amsterdam Tea Room – cocktails, snacks

31.  Thom Bargen – coffee and pastries

32.  Fools and Horses – coffee, breakfast sandwiches, banana brulee french toast (Broadway location only), the Forks and Hargrave Street Market locations only sells coffee and pastries

33.  Deer & Almond – small plates, fancy dinner place

34.  Little Goat – mussel specials!

35.  One Great City – beer and yummy food

36.  Yellow Dog Tavern – beer and cheap eats!

37.  Nonsuch – beer and THE best burger in town

38.  Yard Burger – second best burger in town

39.  Punjab Sweet House – best samosas in town, and they’re like $8 for a dozen giant size samosas – best value in town!

40.  Famena’s  - best roti and stand up routine by the owners

41.  Tehran Cafe – Iranian food

42.  Jenna Rae Cakes – macarons and cupcakes

43.  Chaeban Ice Cream – best ice cream (also available at Sobey’s)

44.  Oh Doughnuts – go early, they sell out! Or order online the night before for a discount.

45.  Camille Bakery – closest to Dominique Ansel cronuts I’ve tasted

46.  The Common – Food hall

47.  Hargrave Street Market – Food hall

Other non-restaurant businesses

1.     Morden’s Chocolates – Russian mints!!!

2.     Fromagerie Bothwell – award winning cheese made in Manitoba!

3.     Banville and Jones – for all your wine needs

4.     DeLuca’s Wine – more wine!

5.     Torque Brewing – beer!

6.     Stone Angel Brewing – more beer!

7.     Little Brown Jug – and more beer!

8.     Kite and Kaboodle – Toys

9.     Toad Hall – Toys

10.  McNally Robinsons – books!

11.  Browluxe – eye brow pencil and cruelty free

12.  Coal and Canary – candles

13.  DeLuca’s – Grocery

14.  Piazza di Nardi – Grocery and bakery

15.  Hilary Druxman – jewelry

16.  EMK Clothing – clothing

17.  U.n.luggage – luggage store

18.  D’arcy’s ARC – pet shelter and pet supplies store

19.  Winnipeg Pet Rescue Shelter – pet shelter and pet supplies store

20.  Lavilash – eyelashes

21.  Brows by G – eyebrows

22. We Heart Winnipeg - hoodies!!

[my-hetero-side-just-won]

Fan fic time! Ok! So, I feel this fic defiantly has more of an actual story than others if that makes any sense. Like, more of a conflict and solution. It’s a little sappy at the end with a bit of angst, but I hope you enjoy it!

Our Secret

“Do you like boys, Kevin Price?” 

Shit. Kevin looked in disbelief at Nabulungi. How should he respond to that? He wouldn’t really mind if Nabulungi knew, but he was standing in the doorway and could feel the other missionaries staring at him from the couch.

“Of course not!” Kevin smiled and tried to appear convincing.

“Really? Because I saw you and Con—“

“Alrighty then!” Kevin quickly walked out and shut the door behind him and Nabulungi. “What did you see?!”

“You and Connor McKinley walking and holding hands—“

“But that’s just like a friend thing, all friends do that.”

“And then you kissed his cheek—“

“Oh, that? No no no, you have the wrong idea. You see—“

“And then he grabbed your tie and pulled you into a kiss, and then you started making out and—“

“Ok, and that’s enough of that!” Kevin rubbed his temples. “So, you saw Connor and I on a walk? Then you came to the mission hut to ask me about it, in front of all the other elders?”

Nabulungi smiled. “Yeah!”

Oh boy. “Well, yes I am dating Connor. But please, I beg of you don’t tell anyone. Can you do that for me?”

“Of course!” 

Kevin sighed. “Ok, you’re going to come into my room, and we’re going to talk. Then, we’ll explain this all to Connor when he gets back from the village. Ok?”

“Ok!”

Kevin grabbed Nabulungi’s hand and led her across the hut to his room. He shut the door quickly behind them.

“I like your room!” She took a seat began to bouncing on Kevin’s bed.

Kevin smiled and sighed. What the hell was he going to do?

•••

“Hello everyone!” Connor said cheerily, closing the door behind him. “So, how have you all been—“

Connor was interrupted by Kevin’s head peeping out of his room.

“Hey, Connor, can you come here?” Kevin said, urgency in his voice.

“Sure...” 

Kevin disappeared into his room, leaving Connor confused. What was happening? Why couldn’t Kevin leave his room?

He was about to open Kevin’s door when he heard one of the other elders talking.

“Isn’t Nabulungi still in there?” Nabulungi? What was she doing in the mission hut? In Kevin’s room? 

Connor opened the door and found a distressed Kevin sitting on a bed next to a content looking Nabulungi. 

“Hi Connor!” Nabulungi smiled and waved.

“Hey Nabulungi...what are you doing here?”

Kevin looked at Connor. “She saw us. Walking. And...you know.” Kevin put his head in his hands.

“Oh...Nabulungi would you mind if I spoke with Kevin for a moment?”

“Ok!” 

Connor motioned for Kevin to follow him across the room. 

“Connor, what are we going to do?!” Kevin whispered nervously.

“Take a deep breath, it’s all going to be okay.”

“How the hell will this be okay?! We’re not ready. I’m not ready. I just—I don’t know what to do Connor, I’m scared, and I—“

Connor put his hand on Kevin’s face. “Hey. It’s alright. We’ll just explain the situation to Nabulungi. I’m sure she’ll understand.”

Kevin sighed. “Ok. It’ll be okay. It’s fine. It’s alright.” Kevin tried to calm himself, but his attempts weren’t working too well. Everything felt too overwhelming right now.

Connor took Kevin’s hand in his and walked towards Nabulungi.

“So, Nabulungi, you’re probably a bit confused about why Kevin locked you in here and refused to let you leave over something seemingly insignificant.” 

Kevin squeezed Connor’s hand and blushed slightly, avoiding eye contact with Nabulungi.

“Well, let me explain to you what’s happening.” Connor continued, glancing at his boyfriend to make sure things were okay, “Kevin and I are dating. You see, the other missionaries here are aware that I like guys, but none of them know I’m dating Kevin because Kevin’s not quite ready to tell them yet. But that’s alright. I just have to keep things secret until he’s ready. But now you know our secret, and that gave Kevin a little panic attack. So, could you do us a favor and not tell anyone about us or what you saw?”

Nabulungi looked from smiling Connor to uncomfortable Kevin, who had his eyes on the ground. 

“Of course! I won’t tell anyone, I promise. I’m sorry Kevin, I didn’t mean to worry you. I didn’t understand this was such a big deal—“

“No, it’s not your fault Nabulungi, you don’t need to apologize. Thank you.” Kevin smiled at Nabulungi.

“Well, I think I’m going to go to the village. Arnold said he was going to be there all morning teaching and planned for us to hang out in the afternoon. But I’ll see you later!”

Nabulungi wrapped Kevin and Connor up in a big hug. Kevin’s eyes met Connor’s, but he quickly looked away, causing Connor to smile. His boyfriend could be so confident and cocky. Seeing him so flustered was strangely refreshing.

Nabulungi walked out of the room. Kevin took a big sigh and sat on his bed, putting his head between his hands.

“I’m sorry, Connor. I just— I don’t know why I did this. It was stupid. All the elders are going to think I’m crazy. I overreacted I know, but—“ Suddenly, Connor grabbed Kevin’s face and kissed him. 

Kevin blushed slightly from the sudden action. “Wow. Con, you’re—“ Kevin cut himself off at the sight of his boyfriend, who despite just confidently kissing Kevin, was blushing more than ever.

Kevin laughed. “I love you.” 

“I love you too. Please don’t feel bad about this whole coming out scare. I totally understand where you’re coming from, and, heck, if I weren’t out and that happened to me I probably would’ve reacted way worse.”

“You would’ve just had a whole breakdown in front of Nabulungi and explained everything from your first gay thought to the walk she saw us on.”

“...ok, so I would’ve reacted a lot worse—”

“And then you would’ve come up with some whole elaborate plan to convince the other elders you weren’t gay and dating me and it would completely fail, so then you’d have a break down in front of the other missionaries and you’d explain everything from your first gay thought to your elaborate plan to convince them we weren’t dating and—“

“I think we get the picture, Kevin.” Connor blushed.

Kevin smiled, but it quickly faded. “I don’t know, Connor. I’m scared. What if Nabulungi tells Arnold? What if the other elders ask us what happened? What if everyone finds out? I’m not ready, I don’t know what to do, I’m worried, and I…” Kevin swallowed.

Connor carrassed Kevin’s face. “Kev, relax. I know you’re worried, but—“ Connor had to stop. Kevin was on the verge of tears. Instead of continuing to try to work through this with words, Connor pulled Kevin into a hug.

“Let it out, Kevin. I know this is new to you.” 

And Kevin did. He allowed himself to sob in his boyfriend's arms. Eventually, Kevin pulled away, a snot faced mess.

“Thank you, Connor. I’m sorry, it’s just been a lot lately…”

“I understand. Things can be hard when you have no one to talk to, but I’m here. You can always come talk to me.”

Kevin smiled and pulled Connor up onto his lap. He gently kissed Connor’s cheek. Connor smiled and wrapped his arms around Kevin’s neck. 

He looked at Kevin’s face. Gosh, his boyfriend was the epitome of cute...and, if he was being one hundred percent honest, hot.

Connor blushed at his own thoughts.

“What?”

“Nothing…” Connor snuggled up against Kevin’s chest. When they were together it felt like nothing else mattered. Not Connor’s fears of his family, not Kevin’s worries of coming out, and certainly not the group of confused missionaries right outside the door.

[destieltropecollection]

Destiel Trope Collection 2019 Day 2: Amnesia

a feeling you thought you'd forgotten | @alullabytoleaveby Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 18242 Main Tags and Warnings: AU, Established Relationship, Amnesia, Kid Fic Summary: When Dean wakes up with five years of his memory missing he knows that something supernatural is at work. But without much to go on, there's no simple solution to fix it. Navigating this new world where he's married to Cas and they have a kid isn't going to be easy, but nothing is going to be harder than tackling the guilt he feels over forgetting their life together.

Forget-Me-Not | @lemonsorbae Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 4771 Main Tags and Warnings: Christmas, Post-Canon, Temporary Amnesia, Fallen Angel Castiel Summary: The angels have fallen. Along with Castiel’s grace Metatron’s also taken his memories. Kevin lives. Sam is on the mend.

Nothing Else Matters | @breathingdestiel Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 2092 Main Tags and Warnings: s13 canon divergence, de-aging, referenced canon character death Summary: Dean is deaged, which leads to him and Cas talking about their feelings.

Angel In the French Quarter (WIP) | @a-winchester-scorned  Rating: Explicit Word Count: 17792 Main Tags and Warnings: Castiel/Dean Winchester, Destiel, Jo Harvelle/Kevin Tran, Billie (Supernatural: Form and Void)/Crowley (Supernatural), romance, angst, soulmates, eventual smut, mcd, untagged ships, s11, Canon divergent, amnesia, Summary: Dean has had a rough week. He takes an impromptu trip to New Orleans to spend some time in his favorite little tourist neighborhood, the French Quarter. There he meets Cas, who seems to Dean like a distant memory, or family he hasn't met yet. Is Dean going crazy? Will Cas scare Dean off with his obvious interest and lack of social awareness? What's Bobby doing here? All this and more, this week on, "ANGEL in the FRENCH QUARTER."

Unthought Known (WIP) | @noiproksa Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 12280 Main Tags and Warnings: Profound Bond, Platonic Soulmates, Amnesia, Friendship, Self-Made Family, Canon Compliant, Case Fic, Soul Bond, Team Free Will Summary: Dean wakes up in an abandoned mental institution with no memories and two strange guys, ‘Sam’ and ‘Castiel.’ They have to work together if they want to find out who they are and what happened to them. And what the hell is this profound bond he seems to share with Castiel? (Intended as gen, but can be read as Destiel pre-slash.)

holy, holy, holy | @deanirae Rating: Explicit Word Count: 54106 Main Tags and Warnings: memory loss, emotional manipulation, major character death, angst Summary: There was a hell-hound gnawing at the bones of Dean’s legs, each bite a payment for Sam’s breaths. To the very end, Dean thought it was a good price. He was willing to pay. But the angel who listened had learned about the great plot of using a brave, righteous man to start a petty Apocalypse and sacrificed everything to ensure it would never begin. It was 2008 and it’s probably still Wednesday now and Cas is keeping Dean safe, away from Heaven, from Hell, from everything. Despite Castiel’s best efforts, everything remains pretty determined to either get its hands on Dean or just get him back where he allegedly belongs. But there’s at least four theories about where that is and Dean seems to be the only one who doesn’t have one. Most of the time he just feels something is amiss and he keeps wondering when it’s going to be Friday and if the purple dog is ever going to come back.

The Wedding Night | @60r3d0m Rating: Explicit Word Count: 4951 Main Tags and Warnings: Amnesia, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Bed Sharing, Fluff, Humour, Dubious Consent, Happy Ending Summary: When a monster starts targeting newlywed couples, Dean does the logical thing and offers his hand in marriage. Cas accepts. And it's all going good. Maybe Dean's a little too dedicated to the ruse when he accidentally calls Cas 'sweetheart' in private a couple of times, and maybe he kind of takes it upon himself to be the Best Husband Ever, ushering him around with a hand to the small of his back while uttering a disproportionate amount of praise, but other than that, it's all under control. But then the monster attacks and Cas doesn't remember anything anymore. And then there's a snooping innkeeper who makes it impossible to tell Cas about their sham marriage. And it probably doesn't help that it happens to be their wedding night and Cas is intent on seeing their consummation through.

[jemej3m]

a comprehensive set of rules (p.2)

i have no control over my writing schedule. it has been completely consumed by this au. this is all of y’all’s fault. 

heavy tw: blood and gore and bodies. also, bad people talking about raping allison and using homophobic slurs.

*

July:

“Andrew,” Renee called out, rapping her knuckles on the guest bedroom gently. 

Andrew was currently living out of one, black suitcase: he’d spent half his time at different hotels and half his time at colleagues’ homes, though calling Allison a colleague was a bit of a stretch. Wymack had let him camp out in his girlfriend’s spare room, seeing as his place was apparently too small for the both of them. Dan and Matt had even let him crash on the couch between motel rooms. 

Andrew was really fucking excited to get his place back. According to Neil, his father was pulling out all stops to get rid of him, or whoever was aiding him. As far as Andrew was concerned, Neil was in more danger, but the man refused to exonerate himself from the situation. The next best thing was ensuring that Andrew was untouchable. 

“Andrew, can I come in?” 

Andrew grunted, still bent over his files in the middle of the room. He’d pushed the bed to one side to make room and was suddenly shirtless, fan pulsating in the corner. He never did great in the heat. 

“Oh,” Neil’s voice squeaked like an elementary schooler’s clarinet. “Uh - I can come back?”

Andrew squinted up at him. “The fuck are you doing here?” he got to his feet and made his way over, reaching up to tug on Neil’s hair. Definitely real. “Huh.” 

Behind Neil, Renee snorted. Andrew glared at her: she put up her hands in surrender and paced off to do something else. 

Andrew shuffled Neil into his room and shut the door, treading carefully around his work. 

“This...” Neil looked over it, carefully avoiding the many photos and files and labelled evidence bags as he walked. He was silent as he moved, unnoticeable if he wasn’t always on Andrew’s radar. 

He also looked much more presentable than the last time Andrew had seen him, which had been before Dimaccio was arrested. A button-down, much like he wore when they first went to dinner. The collar was irritatingly popped, and his trousers were properly pressed, the shoes delicately shined. He looked like a rich man’s son. 

Andrew hated it. He also hated how good it looked.

“Sit on the bed,” Andrew instructed. “I don’t need you scuffing anything up.”

“This seems like a lot more than what’s necessary,” Neil said, avoiding looking at Andrew as he tugged on a shirt. “Also a lot more than we originally discussed.”

Andrew pointed at the profile of a smiling woman, and various other men. “Williams. Reacher. Jenkins. The three of them worked tirelessly on gang violence. They completely eradicated the Terrapin family from the game. Countless Bearcats and Catamounts have been locked up by them. But as soon as they turned to the Wesninski family, they were never found again. Three different detectives. Almost three consecutive years. They deserve justice too.” 

Neil was, clearly, not expecting to have to put names and families to the bodies his father had diced and scattered. His expression had become shuttered as Andrew talked, fingers curling into tight fists, the fabric of his trousers ensnared between his whitened knuckles. 

"You’re afraid.” 

Neil looked at him, eyes blazing. “He is all I’m afraid of. I can’t just - turn that off.”

Andrew crouched down on the floor in front of him. “You’re allowed to be afraid. You have to promise me that you won’t run away because of it.”

Neil’s shoulders were curled inwards. “I don’t want to become him. I don’t -” he looked at the photos of the officers and the remnants of their bodies and the ruination caused by his father’s work. “I don’t want that. I don’t.”

“So leave it behind.”

Neil grit his teeth. “I can’t! Look at me. Look at me. You think this is my father? Parading me around at events, trying to find me a wife who can bear my child, tracking my every move? Of course it’s not. My father is someone else’s weapon, a well-enamoured thug at best. He’s a Baltimorean gangster. He’s not the one in control here.”

Andrew put his hand over Neil’s wrist and let him breathe for a moment. 

“They know that he’s fucked,” Neil continued, eyes squeezed shut. “They know they’re going to lose him. So I’m being conditioned. I’m being shaped up to replace him. You know I’ve been in New York for the past two weeks?” He shoved his hair out of his eyes. Andrew opened his palm upwards, and Neil let himself tangle their fingers. “I want to escape my fate so badly, but my family has been indentured to them for - I don’t even know. Forever, it seems like.”

“Who, Neil?” 

He let out an aggravated sigh. “Who else controls enough of the east coast to keep the fucking Butcher in check? It’s the bloody Moriyamas.” Andrew stiffened. “If you breathe that name outside this room, I’m dead. You’re dead. Everyone you ever loved will die. They’re so well protected that the crazy second son can go off and do whatever he likes, including training to be a police officer and almost killing the partner he’s given, but it doesn’t even matter. It’s hushed up within the week.” 

He held tight onto Andrew’s hand. “The best I can hope for is a negotiation. A price that I can pay off in - a decade, maybe. Possibly two. Maybe securing a new family to pass the relationship to. I don’t know.” 

“Then that’s what you do,” Andrew vowed. “We deal with the monster under the bed first. Then the basement that lets them out. Don’t run,” Andrew insisted, his hand having worked its way up Neil’s arm to grip the back of his neck. “Don’t hide. You can’t afford to, not now.”

Neil rested their foreheads together. “I’ll try.”

Andrew’s thumb brushed circles under Neil’s jaw. “That’s all I ask.”

*

Breaking news: Nathan Wesninski being brought to court for multiple homicides, including Baltimore police officers and Mary Hatford, his wife...initially being assessed for money laundering and tax evasion, Wesninski is now being persecuted for multiple acts of violence, mutilation and extortion. Police officers under Captain David Wymack have collated resources and new-found evidence and will attempt to put Wesninski behind bars permanently.

*

August: 

Andrew’s heart was pounding. They’d tapped into comms just over an hour ago, received the corresponding telephone data and locations, and now they were paging the block. 

It was eerily quiet, and too dark for a suburban area. The cul-de-sac had no streetlights and all the houses were either empty, with for sale! signs posted on their laws, or all the blinds were drawn closed. It was only nine in the evening. 

Andrew took out his gun as they approached the house. Renee was at his shoulder. 

The house in question was two-storey, seemingly empty, the garage locked shut. The gardens were immaculately kept, the painted finish on the house brand new. God knows what was happening within: Andrew hoped that whatever mess had been made within wasn’t irreparable. 

Andrew’s radio cackled. “How do you want to go about this, Minyard?” 

Andrew cracked his knuckles and fished out his lock picks from his back pocket as he radioed back. “Silent entry. I’m going to unlock the door, and only our squad heads in. Everyone else surround the premises if they notice and escape.”

“Alright, sarge,” Matt said, jokingly, a few feet behind Renee. Dan must have pinched him because he immediate said “Ow!” 

Andrew and Renee crept up onto the front balcony: Andrew crouched down and worked for about two minutes till the lock had opened. Kevin had already phoned the security firm to let down the alarms, so Andrew and Renee stepped inside, unnoticed. Dan, Matt and Kevin dispersed, but Andrew always headed to the basement. 

The light was on. 

“...We should get back to Junior,” one voice said. “God knows he’s probably slipped free by now.”

“You kidding? We had him practically halfway into a coffin. Let’s just clean this up first.”

“Maybe pretty Alli’s woken up. If Junior wasn’t so fervently protective of her I’d’ve had her bent over by now.” 

“Christ, Romero." But the man was laughing. “Maybe now’s your chance.”

Disgust crawled down his spine. He glanced at Renee, just as they approached the doorway: she had her eyes closed momentarily, lips moving with a prayer. The door was left ajar. 

One, he mouthed. 

“Didn’t think boss had the guts to get rid of little Junior.”

Two, she returned. 

“Maybe he liked that bitch of a wife, after all. He could’ve had a kid with Lola and gotten rid of the pathetic faggot, but he stuck by Nathaniel anyway.”

Three, they both nodded, kicking the door wide open with his foot and grasping his gun in both hands. 

“Hands up,” he growled. “Drop whatever you’re holding.”

“Kneel,” Renee said, softly. “We will shoot you if you don’t comply.”

Neither of the men had guns. They dropped their knives to the ground and knelt down, furious. By them was a body, heavily dismembered. The hair was neither auburn nor blonde.

“Basement,” Andrew barked into his radio, training his gun on the one he recognised as Romero. His hands were limp, twitching by his sides. Andrew wanted to cut them from his body and watch him bleed. 

The other three skidded into the room, guns ready. 

“Go find them,” Renee murmured, under the cacophony of Dan and Kevin wrangling the perps to the ground, Matt kneeling by the body. “Andrew, go.” 

He nodded stiffly, falling back. Up the stairs and to the left was the door to the garage, which he kicked down. Switching the lights on, he looked to the two persons still on the floor, tied up and beaten down. 

“Andrew,” Neil gasped, covered in blood and cuffed at the wrists and ankles. Allison seemed alright, if a bit groggy, with a gag in her mouth and her hands tied behind her. 

Andrew grabbed the hedge clippers from the wall of gardening tools and broke through the handcuffs, cutting Allison’s rope bindings and tugging off her gag. 

“Perps restrained, fall in through the front,” Dan said through the radio. “Victim dead. Get a stretcher: Forensics team definitely not necessary.” 

“We can’t be found here,” Allison hissed. “We can’t be brought in.”

“Jesus Christ,” Andrew muttered, fishing the keys to his cousin’s place out of his pocket. “Fine. If you can get him on his feet,” he jerked his head to Neil, who muttered I’m fine. “Go to Nicky’s place. I’ll meet you there later. Unless you need a hospital?”

“It’s all superficial,” Neil mumbled, wincing. Andrew felt concern curl and knot in his stomach. He looked to Allison. 

“Maybe you should do a first-aid cert.”

“Maybe that’s not a half bad idea,” she grunted, hauling Neil to his feet. 

“The back should be clear of cops now,” Andrew said, cutting through the padlock on the garage door. “Get out.”

“Good to see you too, Minyard,” Allison drawled, pulling Neil along. With a wink, they were both gone. 

Andrew rubbed at his temples, giving himself only a minute of reprieve, before heading back into the fray. 

*

Nicky’s house was cold and dark. The two of them had been on a spontaneous trip around Europe for the last few months, visiting Erik’s family. Nicky wasn’t stupid: when Andrew offered him this and that, he took it without question and knew there was a reason why.

“When I get back,” he insisted over the phone. “When I get back the three of us are visiting Aaron. Got it?”

“Fine,” Andrew had grunted, hanging up on his cousin without a goodbye. 

Neil had parked himself on the couch, staring at the ceiling with square bandages across his cheeks. Bruises mottled his skin, and his hands and forearms were mummified in a similar fashion. 

“I was going to try and contact you,” Neil said, not needing to see Andrew to know who’d entered the house. “I would’ve called you.”

Andrew sat on the end of the couch as Neil drew his feet up to give him room. “Right.”

The man struggled into a seated position. “I was.” 

“Should’ve let them kill you,” Andrew muttered, glaring at the unused television. Neil snorted, swinging his legs off the couch and settling next to Andrew. 

“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.” 

“Just - shut up.” 

For a while they sat in silence. Andrew lit up a cigarette and smoked it through to the filter. Neil seemed to lean a little closer, attracted to the scent. 

“Hey,” he murmured, when Andrew threw the stub onto the coffee table. 

Andrew turned and looked at him. His eyes were clear, purposeful. Andrew remembered their first date, their second. Cleavers and thugs and light, candle light and club lights, striping across Neil’s cheekbones like something from a painting. 

Kissing him felt - 

Normal. Right. Like coming home. Like finding - not the last piece of the puzzle, but the last edge, making a solid shape to be filled in, something clear and decisive. Andrew’s fingertips found his jaw and he felt Neil’s fingers curl in the collar of his vest. His police vest. 

It was enough to draw him to a stop, pulling back just enough for him to breathe. 

“You don’t swing,” Andrew accused, poorly hiding how winded he was.

Neil huffed, equally as breathless. “You don’t date.” 

Andrew’s teeth ground together. “You don’t date cops.” 

“And you don’t date mobsters,” Neil retorted. “What’s your point here?” 

“Yes or no?” Andrew demanded, because he needed to know. He needed to know for sure. Without a doubt, with complete surety, with perfect clarity - 

“Yes,” Neil answered. “Obviously.” 

“‘Obviously’,” Andrew parroted with a scoff. “I hate you.” 

When Neil’s lips curved up into a smile, Andrew kissed him quiet. 

*

September: 

“You know I’ve got a week off, after next week,” Andrew said, trailing his fingers over the threadbare t-shirt that Neil wore. He said ‘next week’ and not ‘Nathan’s trial’. They’d both come to an agreement that where they could avoid talking about it, they would. 

It was out of Andrew’s hands, anyway. All the evidence was with the prosecutor, and it was their job to put him behind bars. 

There was no way Nathan Wesninski was getting out, now. Not a single chance. 

Which meant there was no reason to talk about it. Or about Neil’s future inheritance of his father’s position, or Andrew’s award of recognition for his work. Which felt rather cheap, really - he was just lucky that Neil had decided to give him a second chance. 

Then again, policing was mostly luck, and a bit of charisma. Andrew was usually lacking in both, but right now, in the golden afternoon sunlight, with Neil in shorts and unkempt hair, he felt incredibly lucky. 

Neil craned his head back to look at Andrew. His new scars were bright red, but healed over at this point. “Just Chicago?” 

Andrew hummed assent, closing his eyes and pressing his nose to the crown of Neil’s head. Casual intimacy had always been - too much. Too soft, too nice, like it was covering up something sinister. Never had Andrew felt so relaxed, not even after sex, which usually resulted in Andrew grabbing his shirt, shoes, phone and wallet and leaving immediately. 

And they hadn’t had sex yet. Andrew didn’t know if Neil would ever want to have sex. That was - unsurprisingly - not the most important thing on Andrew’s list of wants and needs. 

Instead, here he was, lying on his back in Nicky’s guest bedroom. Neil was lying next to him, on his side, head cushioned on Andrew’s shoulder. And he did want this. He’d been tied up and exhausted for months: now it was all coming to its peak, the finish line right around the corner. And they were - okay. Ish. Maybe. Probably. Andrew wasn’t peeved about it. 

“Don’t die whilst I’m gone,” Andrew muttered, fingers threading through his hair. 

“I have to go to New York, anyway,” Neil said, sullen. “Might as well do it whilst you’re away.” 

“How many times are they going to pull you up there?”

“Till they’re confident I won’t screw everything up in the change-over, I guess. Or maybe it’s about the wife thing.” 

Something in Andrew’s chest twisted. He simply hummed. 

Neil shifted, propping himself up on his elbow to look at Andrew properly. “You know I’m not going to go through with it, right?”

“And if they threaten you?” Andrew reminded him. “Your life isn’t exactly yours.”

“Fuck them,” Neil said as he leaned forward, forever antagonistic. Andrew sighed: Neil paused. “No?”

“Yes,” he muttered, pulling Neil down. One hand brushed along the slither of exposed skin that revealed itself as Neil’s shirt rose up: Andrew relished in the shiver that flitted across Neil’s skin. His scarred fingers - covered in circular burns from a dashboard lighter and various scratch ridges - felt familiar and known when Andrew guided them to the back of his head. Neil was careful, as always.

Andrew had intended on asking when the hell Neil had heard about Andrew’s past, but he wasn’t sure that he wanted to know. He didn’t want to talk about it now, anyway.

Just as Neil let Andrew push his shoulder back, following him over to kiss him into the mattress, Allison’s nails tapped impatiently on the bedroom door. Andrew broke away, startled, just as Neil cursed, sitting up. 

“Yes, Allison?” Neil demanded, clearing his throat. “What is it?”

“You sound odd,” Allison remarked, door handle turning. 

“Uh - !” Neil scrambled off the bed, looking to Andrew with wild eyes. “I’m - naked! Don’t come in.”

“Right,” Allison drawled. “Should I just wait in my room for him to leave, then?”

“I hate you,” Neil complained. “What do you want?” 

“Andrew’s phone was going off in the kitchen,” Allison said, slyly. “Sounds like the prosecuting lawyer wants some of your time, Andrew. Nice of you to glide by without saying hello.”

“I’m busy,” Andrew retorted. 

Allison just laughed, strutting down the corridor with her heels tapping on the wooden floorboards. Neil crossed his arms, red-faced. 

“C’mere,” Andrew said, still sitting on the bed. 

“But Thea,” Neil tried. 

“The law can wait,” Andrew insisted, extending his hand.

The look in Neil’s eyes sent sparks flying across Andrew’s skin. 

*

“Took you long enough,” Thea Muldani said, a master of clipboards and abridged glares. She was a lawyer worth Andrew’s time, he knew that, but he also didn’t feel like putting up with Kevin’s heart-eyes or Renee’s unsubtle glances. 

Jesus Christ, he thought, slamming his bag on the table hard enough to cause everyone to jolt. “I’m here, now.” 

“Congratulations,” Thea remarked. “Don’t care. We have a problem.”

Andrew narrowed his eyes. 

“Nathan Junior’s prints are all over a tonne of this evidence. If we don’t have him accounted for, defence is going to be all over it.”

“Are you serious?” Dan demanded. “Nathaniel would’ve been 15 when Mary was murdered.” 

“Doesn’t matter. If the evidence has been tampered with, it could be rendered useless. It would be extremely helpful,” Thea said pointedly. “If people’s CI’s could come forward and testify. We have almost no witnesses, except for Andrew and Renee, who claimed that Jackson Plank and Romero Malcom were acting on orders from Nathan whilst murdering Janie Smalls, last month. Neither of them will confess to any sort of collaboration with Wesninski, and two unidentified blood sources were found in the garage.”

“That sounds like circumstantial bullshit,” Dan argued. 

“And can we prove them wrong?” Thea shot back. “No. We can’t. For all we know, it’s been Nathaniel behind all of this instead. He’s certainly old enough now.”

Andrew stood out of his chair, grabbed his things and turned to leave. 

The lawyer gave him an appraising look. “I haven’t dismissed this meeting, Minyard.”

“I don’t care,” Andrew said. “If you won’t do your job, then I suppose I’d better go and fucking do it for you.” 

“It’s Thursday,” Thea reminded him. “Case starts on Monday.”

Andrew ignored her, making sure to slam the door on the way out. 

*

Romero Malcom was a sullen man. His skin was papery thin, even only a few weeks into his prison stay. Andrew couldn’t say that he pitied him. He sat down with his cup of coffee, leaning back in his chair with his leg crossed at the ankle. Romero was locked to the interrogation table opposite, shoulders curled in, fingernails scratching against the table top. 

Trying to get a rise. It wouldn’t work. 

“Honestly, between you and your sister, you seemed like the more rational one,” Andrew said, eyebrow arched. He put his coffee down and opened up his file. “Did you think about how your lifestyle had an expiry often? Nathan had Dimaccio as his right-hand man, but kept Lola as his carefully concealed weapon. You and Plank seemed just like...more prized cannon-fodder.”

Romero’s eye twitched. 

“You know, you said something that caught my interest,” Andrew leaned forward. “You said you’d’ve fucked Nathaniel Wesninski’s friend. What was her name?”

“Allison,” he said. 

“Right. You said you’d intended to rape her.”

“No wonder you’re so hung up on it, Doe,” Romero sneered. So they’d all done their research. “Well I didn’t, did I? Not that she’s shown up. She knows Nathan’ll kill her. He’s pretty sure she’s the rat.”

“Do you think she is?” Andrew inquired. “Mind you: I know who the rat is, and you don’t.”

“I think she’s the rat.” Romero sneered. “Princess bitch won’t be loyal to nothing but herself.”

“Which was why he asked you to kill her. She’d betrayed you all.” 

“We didn’t kill her.”

“No, but you were going to. He wanted you to kill all three of them.” 

“It was probably Junior that called the cops on us,” Romero scoffed. Andrew’s jaw ticked. “Fucking brat. It was about time.”

“About time for what?”

“To get rid of him.” Romero rolled his eyes. “Not that Plank could manage that, either. Useless. But Nathan gave us the call. We were waiting for it, honestly. Killing off Junior meant there was more of an incentive to keep Nathan out of jail. Otherwise there’s no other options.”

Moriyamas, Andrew thought, but he had no interest in involving them. “So Nathan called the two of you, ordered you to get rid of Allison and Nathaniel.”

“He didn’t want them showing their faces and causing trouble.” 

“So why Janie?”

“Wrong place, wrong time,” Romero laughed. It sounded like rusted truck breaks. Andrew was very close to knocking the scalding coffee onto exposed skin. 

“Nathan probably ain’t happy,” Andrew amended. 

Romero barked out another laugh. “He’ll be livid at this point. He sent me an email on exactly what he wanted me to do to your tiny little body, Minyard. An email. Who the fuck sends emails anymore? Anyway, yeah. He’s pissed.”

Andrew stood up from the table, carefully putting his audio recorder into plain sight as he picked up his coffee. “Well, I’d say it was a pleasure, but it wasn’t.” Romero looked at the recorder, slightly sickly. “Have fun in here, Malcom. I’m sure your sister sends her regard from max.”

With that he spun on his heel, the sweet sounds of Romero’s panic putting a hop in his step all the way out of the centre. 

*

“I’ve never...” Neil chewed his lip. “Get a blood sample? That’d put me into the system.”

“And help me identify your pieces as they come floating down the river, if your father’s bosses ever learn about this,” Andrew reminded him. “If I can prove that Romero and Jackson were ordered to kill you, there won’t be any ground to stand on. Neil. Remember what I said.”

The man looked at him from an extended moment of time, evaluating and revelautating. 

“Alright,” he said, voice barely a whisper. “Okay.” 

*

October:

Andrew leant his head from side to side, letting his spine slot itself back into place. He hated everything about flying, so much so that even his cousin’s persistent chatter hadn’t been enough to distract him from his living nightmare. 

“Well!” his cousin said, somehow still animated. He and Erik had spent their time in Chicago getting over jetlagged and playing with Aaron’s new puppy, whilst Andrew spent his time watching their antics and silently drinking coffee with Aaron, save for the occasional question here and there. 

Heard you made a big bust, yeah. How’s the residency. A nightmare. Katelyn and I want a baby when it’s done, though. Interesting. You can be the Godfather. Save that for Neil. Neil? Like, the criminal guy? Don’t mention it. Andrew - I said, don’t mention it. Oh, fuck. You’re serious. Jesus Christ, okay. 

“Shall we get a cab?” Nicky inquired. 

“Neil can drop you home on the way to mine.” 

Nicky narrowed his eyes. “Neil? Like, absolute hottie Neil? Allison’s friend? The one you never called back because you’re an idiot?”

“I hate you,” Andrew insisted. 

“Oh my god!” Nicky squealed, tugging on Erik’s arm. “I didn’t know y’all were together. How long has it been? Andrew, you gotta tell me these things!” 

“On second thoughts, you should take a cab,” Andrew grunted, lugging his luggage to where he knew Neil would already be standing, waiting for them to arrive. 

Nicky’s laugh rang out like bells, just as Neil rose up his hand to wave the three of them over. 

Yeah, Andrew thought, letting Nicky gush whilst Neil looked at him like that. 

This isn’t half bad. 

*

And that’s how they got together! andrew will continually tell himself that neil inherited the syndicate after they got together, even if there was only like a month or so between their first kiss and nathan getting locked up. neil will continually tell himself that andrew was only interested in him for the case. they’re both stupid liars who are in love. 

[perish-the-creator]

Making The Move

Rodorah Stockholm Fic:

Part1, Part2, Part3 

Ghidorah’s three sets of eyes watched with satisfaction as Rodan sat on the floor. He was folding up the laundry like his list of chores had commanded, but he sat in a fashion that made their mouths water. His position showed off the yummy thickness of his thighs and the perfect curves of his ass. Not to mention, he wore some pretty small yet tight booty shorts the captor had gotten for him. 

It was no telling if the Hispanic individual knew the effects he was having on the three-headed being, and the thought of him being blissfully unaware made it all the more arousing. It had been two weeks since Ghidorah had torn and discarded those clothes. He even went as far as making fake blood with a small pinch of Rodan’s own. (The fella had accidentally cut himself while cooking.) Thus far, they were in the total clear. The news, for the most part, said that the case was to be closed, but there were still some annoying few who demanded a body to go along with those clothes. For closure as they’d put it. But Ghidorah knew they’d have to just wait a little longer before Rodan’s absence became nothing more than a failed mission that’ll be overshadowed by some scandal. 

“Can we have pizza tonight?” His sweet voice snapped the three from their trance. 

“Huh?” Kevin asked. 

“Pizza,” Rodan repeats with a shy smile. “There was a commercial and it just made me want some. I mean if not that’s fine, I can still cook up the spaghetti I said-” 

“We can do pizza.” Ichi instantly booms, too caught up by the adorable voice of Rodan. Funny how art first the three almost hated it. It was a bit rough to hear. The voice of a guy who’s been through shit. But the longer he stayed the softer it got. It honestly sounded more natural than that thick tough-guy tone he first pulled. “What do you like on it?”

“Plain pepperoni or cheese is fine.” He replies before getting back to folding the clothes. Ichi nods and motions for Ni to order the food. Ni was a lot better at talking to people over the phone. He had to patience and voice for it. Alas, they could never make a phone call sitting down. They needed to move. 

So they walked towards the kitchen, pacing in circles as Ni calmed told the people how he wanted the pizza and how he expected it to be on time or else he won’t pay. He also adds a little prize too to make sure that their pizza is the very best.

Rodan deserves the very best after all.

When the order is completed and the phone call ends, they sit down and sigh. Stress has been a recent guest in their household. They were still making good funds while gaining a few lackeys, but the overall hype is slowly dying. They had Rodan. They had something to lose and couldn’t be as careless anymore. They needed a new way to make money soon or things were going to get real dicey. 

From the living room hear that godamn annoying commercial. It was the one about insurance or something. Regardless of its purpose, they hated the jingle. It absolutely catchy and took forever to get out of your head. So as they stormed back in there, ready to angrily change the channel, Ghidorah stops.

Rodan dances around, moving his hips and laughing. 

“Yeah yeah get your protection!! Death is free!! But pay our prices, don’t roll those dices, saving your whole family!!” He seemingly knew the jingle by heart and looked as if he enjoyed it. Ghidorah just watches, awestruck and impressed. Their eyes wander down his body and a part of them hardens. Oh wait, THAT part of them hardens. It’s been six months, going on seven now, maybe it was finally the right time to make a move. 

“Nice dance moves.” Kevin interrupts with a snarky tone. Ichi bites his horns in retaliation for ruining the moment. Rodan pauses before laughing nervously. 

“Oof, you three saw that? Heh, well now you know I have no rhythm.” He returns to his previous position on the floor and starts folding again. The two bothers scold Kevin for ruining their fun, but he just kept a stupid grin on his face. 

For another 20 minutes, they sit down in relative silence with the only sounds coming from the tv. That is until the doorbell rings. Ni snorts at the determination of the pizza guy.

When they answer the door, they are greeted by a baby faced little dragon. He couldn’t be any older than 17 at the most. He nervously handed over the pizza before standing there like a dork. 

“I paid over the phone. You can go.” Ni told him but the guy just shook his head and held his hand out. “Oh fuck, yeah the prize. Bold little dude.” Ghidorah walks away from the door, forgetting to close it while they went to go get the jewel the promised. That’s when the nosy bastard leaned in and saw Rodan sitting on the floor. 

The kid’s eyes shot out his head as he began to drool a little. Geez, whoever that was had a nice ass!! Just then, a shadow is over him, and he looks up with a gulp. 

“Fuck the prize. Were you just gawking at my husband?” Ni said, just low enough to where the guy could hear but Rodan was left in the dark. The guy quickly shook his head. 

“N..no sir...sirs!! I would never-”

“Get the fuck out of our faces,” Kevin growled before slamming the door in the kid’s face. Rodan is startled a little and looks toward the large being. 

“Everything okay? Did the pizza come?” He asked curiously as the three heads threw on fake smiles. 

“It was just a huge bug was on the door and we didn’t want it coming in.” Kevin lied. “But yeah, the pizza’s here.” Rodan smiled and skipped towards the kitchen, happy to enjoy a meal he hadn’t tasted in so long.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What’s with the face bro?” A voice asked the dragon as he walked back into the pizza shop. The dragon chuckles and walks back behind the counter, washing off his hands and preparing to make some fresh dough.

“Went to that Ghids order or whatever’s place to deliver his shit. Well, turns out the bastard has three heads.” His friend’s eyes widened. “Yeah, bro. THREE!”

“A hydra?! Dude I thought those folks went extinct years ago.” The mammal based friend responds. The dragon nods his head. 

“But that’s not all. Bastard got a nice ass husband. And I mean nice ass~.” His friend laughs a little. “I’m serious. It wasn’t super phat but fuck man those curves were no joke. Damn tease was wearing some sweet booty shorts.”

“Hold up, before you go any further into detail, what species we talking bout? Cause my little guy only launches for certain folks.” 

“ Pteranodon I think. Mostly due to the horns and the tail. Had his wings retracted though so that’s a bummer.” His friend once again gives him a surprised look. 

“Bro! Those fuckers are the best fucks. They a kinky species. Blade said he fucked one once a few years back, though I think he’s lying. Ain’t a lot of them left though so that Ghid bastard lucked up.” The mammal sighs and puts the pizza in the oven.

“Man imagine having a husband that fine. I tell ya he wouldn’t step foot out my house. I’d have him walk around with no clothes or sexy lingerie for sure. Mmm, might even snatch up a cutie like that if I saw him on the streets.” The dragon licks his lips as he daydreams. 

“You’re a crazy dude. Well, good thing he’s with someone who loves him and clearly gained consent and not a crazy kidnapper like you.”  The two laugh and continue on with the last few orders of the night. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ghidorah leans against the front of the shower, each head panting softly. A sense of dread and anxiety washed over them. Rodan had been spotted; had been stared at! And they did little more than giving that bastard a door to the face. There weren’t many pteranodons left, especially in this city, and despite the discarded clothes, there were still people looking for Rodan. If the damn idiot ran his mouth then rumors would start and people would talk and then form conspiracies and before they knew it cops would be busting down their door and dragging their sweet Rodan away from them. 

“Should...should we try now?” Kevin asked with an unsteady voice. “Before it’s too late. Go ahead and mark him. That way if the cops come they-”

“Marking won’t stop them separating a captive from their captor. No matter how we or he phrases it, we’ll be separated.” Ni replies with a saddened tone. There was a feeling in their chest that they hated more than anything. 

Fear.

For the first time, it appeared the world was crashing around them. For the first time, they actually worried about a future beyond their own. 

They hear the bathroom door open, followed by the sound of clothes falling on the ground. They don’t look up to see what it is until the shower door opens and Rodan steps inside; completely nude. 

“R..rodan!” Kevin blushed as did the others. But Rodan held a determined look as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him. His eyes were trained on the large soul in front of him.

“Touch me.”

The three heads though they legit died for a moment. Did he really just? No! Wait is he? Was this?

“I want you Ghidorah.” The words were like bullets to each head and as Rodan pressed his body against theirs it was being more and more clear that this was in fact real life.

“We...we want you too,” Kevin responds on behalf of his brothers who are too awestruck to speak. Rodan smiles before guiding their hands on his body. 

“I’m yours.”

Needless to say, the water wasn’t the only thing steaming that night.  

[bamby0304]

With Wolves- Ch.29

Series Masterlist

Bamby’s Masterlist

Summary: Known as The Omen, your reputation puts fear in some of the most dangerous and deadly Alphas. So when you’re caught and sent to the worst maximum security facility unknown to man, no one expected an unclaimed Omega to walk through the gates in shackles and an orange jumpsuit. Word circulates, and before long there’s a price on your head. Who will claim the untamed Omega?

A/N: Thank you @sculptorofbeginnings, @kittenofdoomage and @crispychrissy for looking the chapter over :):) xx

Warnings: Explicit language. A/B/O dynamics. Heat. Violence. Angst. Death. Bit of a time jump. Medical stuff. Fluff.

Bamby

“Now, is that anyway to talk to a lady?”

Both you and Ketch turned to the doorway and froze.

Standing there, in the usual long, dark coat that covered their equally black suit, was your boss. What was a little unusual about the sight of him, was seeing the gun in his hand as he kept it pointed at Ketch.

“Who the fuck are you?” Ketch snarled.

Your boss shrugged. “I wouldn’t worry about that if I were you… more pressing issues at hand and all.” His head tilted in your direction, to remind Ketch that he had bigger fish to fry at the moment.

Ketch shifted on the spot, suddenly unsure. If he tried to attack you, would the new comer shoot? If he tried to run, would they shoot? What could he do that wouldn’t get him shot?

Sighing, your boss checked his watch impatiently. “Y/N, darling, times ticking. Do you need me to deal with this wanker?”

“No.” You shook your head, moving across the room. “He’s mine,” you stated as you reached for Ketch’s gun as it lay on the ground, abandoned.

Ignoring your boss as he shrugged and let you do your thing- while keeping watch to have your back- you started towards Ketch again. His eyes darted from you, to your boss, and then back, clear uncertainty in his eyes. Still, despite the fact his options were dwindling by the second, he was trying to weigh his chances and figure out his next move.

There was only one more move for him.

“On your knees,” you ordered, lifting the gun to aim it at Ketch’s face.

He scoffed and refused to move, but a flicker in his gaze let you know it was all bravado. He was scared.

You cocked the gun. “Get on your fucking knees, before I shoot you in each and make you kneel.”

Swallowing hard, eyes going wide, Ketch did as he was told and dropped to his knees, one at a time. Once he was on the ground, you moved closer to him. Despite the rage burning inside you, your simmering heat, and all the chaos, you remained cool, calm and collected as you stared him down.

“I hate you,” you started. “Do you know how rare that is? I feel nothing for Alphas. Every fucker I’ve killed was out of self-defence, for a job, or because they were a walking knot with no brain. But I didn’t hate any of them. Maybe their species, but never an individual. I never bothered feeling anything for them. But you? I hate you.

“You killed Mick because he helped me. Kevin is dead because you threw me in with Alphas, knowing they wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation. You killed Bobby and Rufus. Then you tossed the rest of us into the Pit, which is where Benny was killed. You hunted us, and killed Gabriel. Dean…” Your eyes darted to your Alpha’s unmoving body. “I swear to fucking Jesus fucking Christ, if he’s dead…” Your voice shook.

Ketch remained on his knees, eyes trained on the gun that was trained on his face. It was a staring match he would not win.

“You ruined everything. You almost killed me, gutted me, humiliated me, tried to rape me.” Tears stung your eyes. “You walk around that place like you’re some kind of god, but you’re nothing more than a weak man. You’re no better than the fuckers I’ve killed. You’re just another one to add to the list.”

As he opened his mouth, no doubt ready to try his hand at begging, you pulled the trigger.

Shooting someone in the face wasn’t something you’d done many times before, but Ketch wasn’t your first. This time was different, however. There was this satisfied feeling that didn’t quite feel like every other kill. This wasn’t just a job, or an Alpha… this was an enemy, a threat, a monster.

Now he was nothing but a corpse on the floor, with a gaping hole in his head.

“Dean!” Sam’s voice boomed outside of the cabin. “Y/N!”

Instead of waiting for him, however, you dropped the gun and rushed to Dean. But as you dropped to your knees by his side, and reached for him, you knew the truth.

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no.” Your throat began to ache as you felt your eyes fill with tears. “Dean.” Grabbing his shoulder, you shook him gently. “Dean, please wake up.”

Sam came rushing into the cabin then, passing your boss without a glance. His eyes were glued on you and his brother, as you began to cry, realising you were too late… you were all too late.

“Y/N?” Sam stumbled a little, dropping to his knees beside you.

Choking on a sob, you turned to him. “He’s… he’s…”

“Fine,” your boss cut in. “Or he will be if you let my people help.”

Both you and Sam looked to the cabin entrance then as more people walked in. People you recognised. People you’d missed. People you could almost call friends.

There was Garth, a scrawny guy that was all smiles. Most people assumed he’s Beta because of his seemingly timid attitude, but the guy could be ruthless if the time was right… or the price. You’d seen him do things that left your jaw hanging open.

Meg was there, too, grinning at you like a vulture. Oddly, though, you didn’t mind. The Beta girl was a menace to society, but had saved your ass more times than you cared to admit. In between all the madness and death in your lives the two of you had formed an understanding that resembled something of a friendship.

Charlie was an actual friend, and you were honestly surprised to see her out in the field. She was a computer girl, preferring to stick behind the desk. In earlier years she’d begged to be out there, working like the rest of you. Her first kill had been her last, and had changed her forever. To this day, she reminded you that if it wasn’t for your acceptance and patience, your willingness to be there for her, then she never would have survived the aftermath.

As you looked to the new people your attention was caught by one last person as they stepped through the doors. Cas. His eyes scanned the room, taking in the scene, before they landed on you. There was concern and relief in his gaze… he’d been scared for your safety and was glad you were okay.

Sam’s attention quickly turned away from the newcomers as he instead focused on your boss. “Crowley?”

You weren’t expecting that.

Crowley grinned. “Hello, Moose.”

Looking form one man to the other, you frowned, confused. “Wait… you know each other? How?”

“It’s a long story, darling. Why don’t we wait for explanations once we get your Squirrel fixed up?” Crowley nodded to the other people. “Get him in the chopper, I want him to get the best care. And she needs to be looked over, too.”

Not having a say or choice, you let the people pull you away from Dean as they got to work. Standing there, you watched as Garth and Cas took Dean. At the same time, Meg moved to help Sam while Charlie offered you a hand, but something came over you, and suddenly you snapped.

“Touch him and I’ll gouge your eyes out,” you warned on a snarl as Meg reached out towards Sam.

She paused, hand hovering. It was clear she was tempted to take the chance, to see if you would go through with it. But then the other part of her- the part that was holding her back- didn’t feel like doubting the crazy Omega who was in heat and could possible lose her other Alpha that night.

“Meg,” Crowley called form where he still stood in the same spot, watching. “Help the others.”

With an order given, Meg walked off with a huff.

The second she was gone, you were reaching for Sam. His arms enveloped you, holding you to his chest as he buried his face into your neck to breathe in your scent.

“As beautiful as this moment is… we should all be getting a move on. The guards aren’t finished looking for you three, and Dean really does need proper medical help.”

Reminded of the danger you were in, you and Sam separated enough to follow Crowley out, while remaining hand in hand. No words were spoken as you all hurried through the woods, following your boss as he led you to his chopper, and to your freedom.

***

You sat by his bed, where you’d been for the last two days. An echo rang in your mind, the sound that came when Dean flatlined… when he died, with your hand in his. Dean had died.

But he was back now. Crowley had money, power, influence, it really wasn’t a surprise that he had everything you might need to save someone’s life. The second the chopper landed in the yard of Crowley’s mansion, people were bustling about to save your Alpha.

Sam stuck by your side until he was dragged away. Being Alpha and family, he had genetic material that could held save Dean’s life. So, he was taken away to give blood in the hopes it would save Dean’s life. When that did very little everyone turned to you.

Having been claimed by Dean, your DNA had changed, mutated to match his.

With both your blood and Sam’s, Crowley’s personal nurses and doctor managed to save Dean and bring him back. But even after you were reassured that he would be okay, given time and rest, you still couldn’t get forget that moment where he’d died.

The flatlining machine, the panic in the room, your scream as Sam held you, trying not to break down himself. God, you were crumbling, a mess, practically dying right with Dean, and Sam was still strong, still there for you. He was… he was everything you needed in that moment, despite losing his brother and possibly his Omega, and you were just screaming, falling apart at the seams.

You were still a mess, still distraught. Sitting by Dean’s bed, with his hand in yours as you rested your head on the mattress he lay on. You were half asleep, determined to stay awake until his eyes flutter open. Two days had past and he hadn’t woken, while you’d refused to sleep.

“’Mega…” Sam walked into the room. Lifting your head from the bed, you turned to him as he stood in the doorway. “You should eat something.”

“No.” You shook your head and looked back to Dean. “Not until he wakes.”

Sighing, Sam walked further into the room to stand by your side and grab your free hand. “What would Dean say if he knew you hadn’t eaten? Or rested? You haven’t even changed out of the robe they gave you days ago.”

Eyes wandering back to Sam, you took in his jeans, his buttoned up white and blue faded flannel… his so very mundane look. Sam suited life on the this side of the bars.

“And you’re still in heat, don’t even try to deny it.”

“Wasn’t going to,” you huffed.

“I can feel you fighting your biology. It’s just going to make you sick. The doctors will have to focus on you and leave Dean until you're better,” he noted, playing on your guilt. It worked, too. “Come on.” He tugged on your hand gently. “Let me make you some food.”

With one last glance at Dean, you let your hand slip from his grasp as Sam led you out of the room.

***

You were seated on a leather lounge in one of Crowley’s many sitting rooms. Sam sat behind you, his legs spread, one leaning against the back of the lounge, while you rested between his thighs with your head on his chest. He two of you were nibbling on the sandwiches that had been made for you by the chefs in the kitchen- when Sam had tried to make you food himself, they ushered you back out.

In all honesty, you did feel a little better now that you had food in your stomach. But the worry in your head and heart was still weighing you down. It wasn’t just about Dean, there was so much going on, so much to do…

“Now this is a surprise.” Your head snapped up to look over at the room’s entrance as Crowley walked in. “Y/N and the Winchesters… and here I thought you would be a spinster forever, dear.” He grinned.

Eyeing him carefully, you saw the tell-tale signs of a lie. “Did you set this up?”

“What ever do you mean?”

“Did you send me in there knowing what would happen?”

“Do you mean, did I send you into that hell hole knowing the Winchesters and Castiel would be there? Knowing that you, my most loyal employee, would meet two of my other… friends? And that a bond would grow between the three of you, because honestly no one else in the world could possibly be built for three head strong and violent people?” Crowley smiled slyly. “Of course not.”

You glared at him. “My life isn’t some toy for you to play with.”

“No, but you are valuable, and so are the Winchesters. I needed the Morningstar dead, and I wanted you back out in the world to help me run business like usual.” Crowley shrugged as he walked further into the room. “The only way you were getting out is with help. I knew the brothers would be some kind of assistance, but I can honestly tell you I didn’t expect to see those for at least a few months.” His gaze dropped to your neck.

Bringing your hand up to where his eyes were staring, you brushed one of your marks.

“Did you kill Nick… or Lucifer… or whatever the kids are calling him these days? Did you kill him?”

Attention drawn back to Crowley, you nodded. “He’s dead, but I didn’t kill him, so I don’t deserve the payout. Sam does.”

Crowley looked surprised. “You shared a job? The only person you’ve ever done that with is Castiel, and even then, you always take the kill.”

“Let’s just say… Sam had some unfinished business.” You shrugged.

“Fair enough. I’ll have Garth gather the money for Sam, and get Meg to go out and get you supplies.”

“Supplies? What kind of supplies?”

“Clothes, Y/N. You need clothes.”

You raised an eyebrow at him. “And you’re sending Meg?” You scoffed, “No. Send Charlie. I trust her. She won’t come back with everything leather.”

“What’s so bad about leather. You, my dear, look exceptional in-” a low growl from Sam had Crowley cut himself short. “Fine. As you wish. No leather,” he sighed as he started to leave. “Oh, and one last thing.” He turned back to you. “I’m giving you one of my safehouses.”

“A safehouse?” Sam asked.

“Yes, Moose, a safehouse. You’ve claimed an Omega and you’re all fugitives, you do realise you’ll need some form of security,” Crowley noted. “As soon as Dean is well, I’ll have you all escorted to your new home. You’ll be safe there. It can be a place to retire in, or a place to go to between jobs. I don’t expect anything more from any of you, despite hoping you’ll continue to help me and my associates.” His eyes landed on you then. “But I promised you one last job, and a deal is a deal.”

“We’re… we’re done?” You couldn’t believe it… after years of being one of Crowley’s lackeys, you were finally free to live the way you wanted. It felt too good to be true.

“You’re done,” he assured you. This time, when he turned to walk away, Crowley didn’t come back.

Sam’s arms wrapped around you as he buried his face in your neck. “We’re free.”

Bamby