#like the locals will ask him to fix up their clothes and he'll do it

[starswallowingsea]

i keep all my madashu thoughts in my dms with kiki but i am constantly wanting to post them on here. do you know how much the cowboy au we've written up rotates in my mind?

[mistriavalley]

Telling Shane about the Junimos

Gender neutral

TW: established relationship, mentions of drug consume (it was just a potion from the wizard), mentions of alcohol

Masterlist

It's no secret that Shane doesn't believe in magic or anything that hasn't been backed by science

You on the other hand are over here fighting all sorts of monsters while helping a bunch of round forest spirits to rebuild the community center and seeking advice from the local wizard. Your hands are full with all the stuff that hasn't been proven by scientists yet

Obviously Shane doesn't think much of the strange items you bring to the community center or the amount of times you ran to the tower in the west with a poisonous mushroom. So what if you need a Bream for the broken down house in the town? It's just your way of fixing things...apparently

The two of you had that talk so many times where you ask him if he's absolutely sure that he doesn't believe at least a little bit in magic

"Nope."

One day you decide to take him to the community center to show him what exactly you're doing there. Of course he won't see the Junimos, but maybe he will be convinced by the item lists they need from you and the boxes where you put said items inside

But to him the letters look like scribbles of either a madman or a toddler that hasn't learned how to write yet and the boxes where you put the items in are...well they must be your doing, right?

He doesn't know how to react to your frantic explanation about some spirits that look like apples. The old Shane would have told you off and walked away, but you're very important to him and the new Shane doesn't wanna hurt your feelings in any way or at least tries to avoid it

"You did all these things for the community center? Wow. You're doing great."

The tone in his voice makes it more than crystal clear that he doesn't believe a word you said. It's frustrating, but he'll see

"Do you trust me, Shane?"

"Uh..."

He looks around the place. He always knew you were a bit quirky, but now he's pretty sure he's apparently dating a second Emily

"I want to open your eyes."

He blinks a few times

"Sure?"

That's all you need to hear to grab his hand and lead him towards cindersap forest

Shane's mind is racing and he has no clue what to expect. The expression on your face is so serious that it's almost scary. What do you plan on doing with him inside the goddamn woods of all places? Will you perhaps sacrifice him? Hah! What a ridiculous thought! And even if. At least it would be happening by the hands of his hot significant other

You lead him up some stairs towards no other place than the tower. It's taller from up close. Shane had looked at it many times from the ranch, but only the tip of the roof is visible from that distance

But is this really happening? Is he seriously going to meet that crazy dude who lives on the border of Pelican Town? Shane doesn't know if he should feel worried or excited. He never particularly cared for that guy or what his business here is so it's difficult to say

Once you two take a step through the wooden front door, Shane is being hit by an earthy smell. This place smells more of the forest than the forest itself. The room wasn't particularly big and it lacked furniture. The big, colorful sigil on the floor is the first thing that catches his attention

Inside the alien looking symbol stands a man with a thick, purple beard and black clothes. The man's eyes light up at the sight of you, but it's immediately being replaced by a frown once his gaze meets Shane's

You pull the stranger aside and started a hushed, but heated discussion with him. Shane feels out of place with his worn out joja sweater and old cargo shorts. Everything here is so mystical and Shane is...well, he is Shane

The sound of a cough rips him out of his thoughts and his legs seem to be moving by themselves as the purple man waves him over to an enormous cauldron. The reassuring smile on your face is the only thing that keeps him sane at the moment

A cup filled with a bubbling, green liquid finds its way into his hands and he just stares at it for a long time, unsure about what to do now

"Drink it."

"Hold up, buddy! You want me to do what exactly?"

Shane has mentally prepared himself to be sacrificed by his partner (for some reason) and not by some old guy who smells like he uses dirt as deodorant

You gently put a hand on his shoulder and plant a kiss on his cheek

"Nothing bad will happen to you. You have my word. I had to drink it too in the beginning."

Okay, so nothing bad will happen, but something definitely will happen to him. Cool. Yea.

"Just pretend it's beer, Shane. Alright. Bottoms up."

The moment the liquid touches his tongue he feels the strong urge to spit it all out onto the floor. It tastes of donkey ass or at least that's what he imagines it to taste like, but it's not that what he should be concerned about

Almost right after thag horrible experience, an explosion of colors hits him and what the fuck? Are those trees flying around him? His knees cave in and he plops down onto the hard floor. By Yoba. Not even Gus' strongest hits like this

Thankfully this odd feeling vanishes as quickly as it came

"Did you fucking drug me?"

"It was a potion."

"That doesn't answer my goddamn question!"

You tell him that it was no drug and that this will help him read the letters and see the spirits. Since he doesn't have a natural connection to nature like you do you had to ask Rasmodius to change the potion a little bit

"I'm so sorry. I should have warned you, but he told me you won't feel any side effects like I did."

"No, don't worry. I'm not mad at you."

But the wizard on the other hand shouldn't show himself around these parts

It doesn't take long for you guys to leave the tower and it feels like as if something is being lifted from Shane's shoulders the more distance he puts between himself and that place

"How do you feel?"

"Fine? I think? I keep expecting to fall over and die though."

"Noooo! That won't happen."

He doesn't want to imagine what the guy put in that so called "potion" of his. Raccoon shit? Poisonous berries? Worms? He shivers at the thought

Once again Shane finds himself inside the old community center with you and once again nothing looks out of the ordinary. Well, except for the dead fish that are piled up in the corner

But then he spots something in the far corner and rubs his eyes. It's gone. Ah, that was probably just a trick of the light

You startle him by holding up one of the letters infront of his face and...wait a minute. Where are the unreadable scribbles? Why can he read the writing now? Shane shakes his head violently. You must have exchanged the letters, but when? You hadn't left his side at all today

He goes through every room, reads every letter and checks every single box. The content of the boxes fit. So you actually do have a system here even though he can't find a sense in it

Then he hears a noise echoing through the hallway to the right

"What was that?"

"A Junimo."

For the first time since forever he finds himself praying to Yoba. He has gone mad. The "wizard" has made him mad with the raccoon shit drink

Shane bolts out of the house and stumbles back home. Back to the ranch. Part of him is trying to drag him towards the saloon to drown the madness in beer, but he can't drink now. He needs to think

After this incident you don't see him for a whole week. Every now and then you do spot him in town, on his way to work, but decide not to approach him. Obviously he's avoiding you right now and you don't want to push things. He had gone through a lot now and probably just needs the space. It still worries you

A week later someone knocks at your front door right as you were about to hop into bed. Shane is standing there, looking more tired and exhausted than ever. You feel the familiar sting of guilt in your chest

"Can we talk?"

Without saying a word, you step aside to let him in. Both of you sit down in the living room infront of the still glowing fireplace. A comfortable heat eminates from it

"You weren't kidding when you said you'd open my eyes."

"I'm sorry."

"No. Don't be. I mean it kinda sucked, yea."

An unbearable silence stretches on. This moment is like torture to you. You have no idea what to expect. Is he angry? Is he sad? Will he break up with you now? You banish these thoughts before your mind can wander any further

"Thanks."

Wait what? That came...unexpected

"But I only thank you. Not that wizard dude in that shitty tower with his raccoon shit potions. I guess...I guess I needed something like this. I needed to know that we're not alone in this world. It's kinda comforting in a way."

You throw your arms around him, relieved that he doesn't hate you. It also feels like a burden has been lifted from you, because now you don't have to keep these things to yourself. Now you have someone to talk to

"I'm free tomorrow. We could go through the lists in the center together maybe and see what we can do."

"Shane..."

"Stop. No. Don't. Don't get all soft on me and shit. This is still super fucking weird."

"Oh."

"Yea! Like why the fuck do these spirits need raw fish? How the fuck do you repair a building with dead fish?"

"OH!"

[gremlinmodetweeker]

König is Naturally Nerd!König

A lot of people suggest nerd!König (which is essentially regular König in my books) would be into DnD, or Star Wars, or Lego, but I disagree.

Normal and Nerd!König are obsessed with miniature armies. He has little models of airplanes and tanks that he puts on display in his room. He only has two World War models (and even then it's WW1), and those are the planes that Baron von Richthofen flew. Otherwise, he collects medieval minis and paints them.

He creates whole dioramas of them, and they're surprisingly good. He has the money to sink into his hobby, and it fills his time when he's not at work. He fidgets a lot, but he's gotten good at doing fine detail work. They're not award winning, but they're really quite good.

In addition, he's a major reader. If you want to know more about what König reads, check out this post here. If you don't want to read it, the gist of it is that König loves reading and reads all the time. He's probably the type to sniff and say the book was better than the movie. He's right, but he doesn't need to be so snobby about it.

Through the military, he has an extensive knife and gun collection. He can use all of them, sure, but he really doesn't need that many. He used to have only one room dedicated to them, but he's since had to move twice and torn down a wall most recently to make a big enough room for everything. He kinda sucks that way. He really takes up a lot of space.

However, Nerd!König didn't end up joining the military. He instead went into nuclear engineering and earned an excellent living to fund his expensive hobbies. He also ended up having more time to devote to his crafts, which led to...

More under the cut.

Nerd!König is a Snob

König is a pathfinder 2e type of guy. He's that pedantic. He'll have the rule books memorized, and he has links to download the pdfs ready at the flick of a wrist. He's ready to convert you. Your DnD supplies will be absorbed into his Pathfinder 2E.

A big reason he's into Pathfinder 2E is because he was introduced at a young age and so collected the supplies, but when he heard about the Wizards of the Coast scandals he decided he'd use that as his reasoning. He gets up on a soapbox about it whenever he can. He really, really hates Wizards of the Coast. It's a firey rage that burns within.

He also likes Warhammer. He's a disgusting Warhammer lover. He plays a ridiculous Adeptus Mechanicus army that he's painted himself. It's surprisingly good painting, too. Having painted Adeptus Mech before, I'm telling you it's really hard. He makes it looks easy with craft paint and crazy glue. He's disgustingly good at it. I hate him for it. How dare he be so good. He is genuinely a fantastic painter. That said, we saw what happened with the last Austrian painter, so maybe it's a good thing he stuck to painting minis.

Nerd!König also loves to collect ancient weaponry. To make it worse, he actually practises with it and has become pretty decent with it. He's feared among the LARPing community because he's known to be a fearsome competitor. He'd be more well liked if he didn't accidentally break people's wooden shields so often. As it is, he's not fully blacklisted, but he's skating on thin ice. He'd be banned for sure if it weren't for the fact that the forest on his property is amazing for LARPing.

Finally, he's into Renaissance fairs. He goes and does public sword fighting, once again, LARPing. He'll also show off his weaponry collections, and will gladly go on hour long spiels to anyone unfortunate to ask about the history of an item on his table. He is on good terms with the blacksmiths, and he's always having to pay the local seamstress to fix his clothing back in the traditional style. He will also go up to the ferret keeper and play with their ferrets, and then beg you to get some. He just wants a cute little ferret. Can't he have a couple? No, not one! They need playmates. You need at least three.

Either way, Nerd!König is a big silly guy. He's a bit friendlier and gentler than regular König honestly. He also is super passionate about his hobbies. He's so excited to show you his hobbies, and he really wants you to enjoy them too.

Just so you know, all these hobbies are expensive. Very expensive. It's a good thing he's making so much money, because otherwise you'd go bankrupt overnight, because, "Games Workshop released a new edition of the walkers! I need them for my army!"

[lonleywriters-blog]

Gotham characters x metalhead reader?

(James, Barbara , Lee, Bruce, Oswald, Edward and Jerome?)

Gotham x metalhead reader

Kinda shit because it's late but I'm trying to write while I have motivation

Honestly he probably steals some of your stuff because it's cool.

He's rich so any band you like, he's looking for tickets.

Tries to understand the actual history behind the style and culture.

He will let you practice pain on him, maybe even let you do it before he leaves as Batman.

Alfred secretly gets down to the music

Bruce actually likes it, but never lets you play it in the morning

Spoils you with merch and accessories like every week

She tries to be supportive but she does not like the music

She will let you listen to it when she's not around or if it's not as loud

She will set up small concerts of local metal bands at her club for you

She buys you anything you want including tickets, clothes, makeup, ECT.

The one time you caught her enjoying metal was listening to an underground female band

You both met at a concert, at the bar actually

She loved your outfit and bought you a drink

She was surprised to actually get along with you, and want to spend more than a night together

Let's you practice make up on her, even asks you for some tips

Definitely steals accessories, especially your belts

She thinks chains look great on top of a black dress

Just don't play anything too early, she will get mad if you wake her up to metal

Hasn't a clue about any band that's not in the radio

He might know a few 'divorced dad' type songs

He doesn't judge, he'll just silently be supportive

Y'all look cool side by side though, since he's always in a suit

He will go to concerts but he's not popular there, given he's like a famous Gotham cop

"name three songs" type guy

She definitely knows some songs and mainstream bands

She loves the style but can't dedicate herself to learning about everything

Not to say she doesn't try, she does

She just doesn't have the best attention span for this kinda stuff

Shes always complimenting you, like religiously

If you guys go somewhere you'll feel her fix your hair or accessories

"sorry babes, loose strands."

His gothic look next to your metalhead look

Y'all are the most fashionable couple around

He honestly listens to more classical music but he'd enjoy a few of your songs

He doesn't love going to concerts, too many people, and way too much sweat and noise

Both of you suffer in all black in the heat together

"Can we go find shade, my love?"

Oswald does love when he gets to watch you get ready

Watching you do face paint is so alluring to him

Please let him buy you things, please he loves spoiling you

He grew up in the circus, he's always loved more dramatic looks

Loved your style, especially if you had face paint or heavy makeup on

Definitely comes on strong and hard, won't leave you alone for a second

He will come to any all concerts with you, probably sneaking in and/or stealing tickets

He loves stealing you accessories while he's out, his way of showing affection

Don't let him talk to anyone at a concert, he will be loud and wrong

He loves learning about all your favorite bands and songs and all their meanings

He doesn't know much about the fashion but he knows about the history

He likes to help you get ready, it's nice to watch your routine

Compliments all the time

He does have sensitive ears so he may not always let you play music

Please let him give you headphones

Don't take him to a concert, he will get lost and overwhelmed

[beanghostprincess]

(Usopp is trans It will come up later)

Syrup village all have their own individual families with their own individual kids. But they all share one kid and that is usopp. After his mom passed and it got around the town everyone's first thought was him. Usopp is the local menace but he's still a child, when he's out in the morning yelling about pirates someone comes in and cleans his house and fixes breakfast for him. When he's out playing, another villager gathers his laundry and washes and folds them by noon Usopp 'steals' something to eat off a food cart. All vendors allow usopp whatever he needs. (why they don't tell him that idk)

Moms of the villages are always watching him in the distance and will drop toys and books for him to find. On occasion a mom will just take Usopp home and bathe him complaining he's stinking up the village. They huff and complain about taking care of him wanting to make usopp feel a little guilty or annoyed forcing him lean to do things his own like cooking and self grooming. (it's all just tough love)

By the time he's 12 he knows how to cook and clean and does things on his own. He even taught himself to repair some things around the house of course he's no expert and still asks some of the villages for help. They don't complain that much when it comes to tasks like that and they're happy to teach him.

He was gaining Independence but they still took care of them and still worried about him. They gave him bigger clothes, shoes that hell have to grow into, they started nothing using bandages for his chest area. One morning one of the villages noticed something very concerning during his usual cries about pirates. He was bleeding! blood was running down his leg with a red stain on his pants.

Most of the village men looked away, too embarrassed to say something. Apparently this is normal because when one of the moms asked if usopp knew what was going on he just shrugged and told her it happens sometimes I don't know.

At first he thought he was dying because he got crampy and achy when it happened. He laid down in his mom's bed as his final resting spot but it never happened. He just shoves toilet paper down there and waits for it to be over. When she asked did he tell anyone or did someone know about it Usopp mentioned that the man that helps with laundry knows but doesn't say anything.

Letting her anger subside at the moment she wrapped her sweater around his waist to cover and took him to the store apparently this was his fourth time getting it. She bought him napkins, some clean undergarments, a calendar, heating pad and a book.

She explained what he needed to do with everything she bought and explained what was happening and what was going on in his body. She doesn't notice Usopp starting to get very upset having a mixture of feelings.

Is that why people looked at him strangely and avoided him. Was the stain bad? Did they think he was gross? He cleans like they taught him to do. How often do I need to change the napkin? What happens if he forgets? Why does he need to track it? what does that do? He's 12, he can't keep track of that stuff! Why does he feel embarrassed about it? She says it's normal but it doesn't feel normal and nobody acted like it was normal. Why is this happening to him? He wishes his mom was here she would know what to do she could have helped him.

Being overwhelmed by new feelings, and a lot of information usopp breaks down. He wants to stop talking, wanting this whole conversation to be over! Go away! This never happened! He never had a period it's just..... It's a disease yeah that's what it is. It's a disease and if anyone mentions the disease to him, they die in 7 days go away!

The village lady leaves letting him settle down and do this by himself he'll figure it out. She gave him the tools he just needs to learn how to use them.

This sucks he ended up crying in bed by himself alone and scared as usual. He still has the village lady sweater and at this point it is well past ruined. She was nice enough to give it to him. He can't give it to her looking like that. He gets up cleans himself, he opens the pack of new underwear and reads the directions on the back sanitary napkins box he puts them on. He still doesn't get marking the calendar but he does it anyway. Picking up his clothes, sheets and the sweater he grabs peroxide, a bucket of cold water and soap he begins cleaning. This wasn't so bad, it's not great but it's not as bad as he thought. He can do this every month no biggie maybe he's just overthinking things like usual.

The next day he gave the now clean sweater back to the nice village lady and apologized for his little outburst. She accepted the apology and reassured him that if he needs anything just ask her or the other mothers in the village

Years later he's at sea with the straw hats sailing free. Fixing the merry, forcing Luffy to bath and helping sanji prep food. He checks his calendar and stocks up on pain killers and produces for himself. Like the others do for themselves for the months ahead. Except for Zoro. Zoro being Zoro he doesn't track anything and just lets shit happen when it happens. After being yelled at by usopp he teaches him how to wash blood out (he should know how to do that he's a swordsman! Swords = blood stains idiot!!) and he makes him track his own period so he doesn't have to waste his products and do laundry twice a week.

Nami thinks it's funny when he gets like this. He is so motherly at times. Fixing, cleaning, lecturing taking care of others. Where does he get this from? She asked. Usopp doesn't really have a solid answer. He guess he picked it up from his village lecturing him and teaching him to do things on his own.

The way I kept screaming happily reading this,, It's just so sweet. And I love him so much. I love the whole village helping him out but doing it with tough love so that way he's independent,,, It's just great. The whole thing about Usopp knowing how to do these things is great because tbh half of the crew doesn't, and this just proves why I keep saying he's the most genuine/domestic out of all of them. I think in his teenage years he ended up telling Kaya about it (his illness. Because that's what he still calls it. He refuses to let people make the correlation between period = woman in front of him) and she just tells him she's glad it's only for a few days and that he can always come to her house for hygiene products if he runs out.

And also, yes, Zoro just lets it happen. Tbh that's relatable af because my period is pretty irregular and happens whenever it fucking wants and atp of my life I just live in fear. Props to Zoro for not giving a fuck, although he should probably take care of himself. I'm sure Usopp is great at taking care of all of them <3

[se7ens-oc-heaven]

Jakob! (hopefully that's the correct spelling hdjdhdh)

Ok so did this and a bunch of others literally years ago, but for each one I had a question I'd stall on so then I just. Never actually posted. Any of these.

So I'm fixing that now! Context is this was a character ask prompt - might be the template was thanks to @iolitewyvern ? If so lmk so I can link it properly I lost the original post lmao

As for spelling, it can be! Jake's name spelling denotes if he's in the fantasy au setting or not. Jakob is fantasy, Jacob is not. So I answered these based on fantasy Jake!

(Best image I have, but it's normal Jake and also humanized lmfao. He's like. Sonic furry wolf so ykno. Picrew source)

Who are they?

Full name?  Jakob Alhers

Nicknames? Jake

Gender/pronouns? Male, he/him

Orientation? Demiromantic/arospec, gay

Age/Birthday? About 16, birthday is on a separate calendar than ours but is most likely in the local winter months of his home country.

Fun fact! Zodiac? ^^^^ (would most likely be Capricorn)

What’s their personality?

Major good traits? Cares deeply about others around him, dry sense of humor

Major flaws? Very prideful while also having zero value of self

Goals?  Living up to what is expected of him, as royalty and a deity

Fears? Hurting another with his own actions, losing someone important to him

Optimistic or pessimistic? Pessimistic

Introvert, extrovert, or ambivert? Introvert all the way

Empathetic or un-empathetic? Hmm... he can empathize if he's aware, but he struggles to pick up cues... so maybe that's more sympathetic?

Do they wait and plan or dive right in? Bit of both, he tries to plan but if he's panicked or upset enough he'll lose his cool and charge in

Do they go with the flow or forge their own path? He will not go with the flow. Out of spite even.

Relations to the world?

Who’s their family? His mother Allison, and his father Alher

Where are they from? (Gestures vaguely at northern fantasyland)

Where do they live now? (Gestures to same vague region)

Do they have a job? If so, what is it? Crown prince of his country

How are they with technology? He's in your very basic very generic fantasy au so uh. Not great if he ever saw any lmao

Connections to religion or spirituality? Well his dad is a literal god, does that count?

Powers or magic? He has strong ice magic that grows stronger with age.

Fun fact! Connections to the lore? He is in fact a demigod, son of Winter itself

Favorites?

Favorite season/weather? Summer, hot and sunny days

Favorite place? He hides in his room a lot, so it's hard to say.... Maybe his room lmao

Favorite food? Probably some sort of steak dish? Idk, something I'm not familiar with lol

Favorite clothes/accessories? He's limited for various reasons, but highly values sentimental accessories, such as his family crest brooch or jewelry made for him by Pandora

Favorite animal? He's a furry so this is a loaded question to answer lmao. Might not even be an animal as we know it.

Favorite/most frequently used mode of transportation? I think he prefers to walk places himself...? He doesn't usually travel lol

Favorite holiday? Doubt it'd be one we know of, although he doesn't strike me as big on social events like most holidays are

Hobbies? Sculpting, practicing swordfighting

Favorite thing about themself? He takes a lot of pride in his swordfighting skills, at least for a prince ;)

Relationships?

Best friends? Nerezza

Closest family member? He's close with both parents, but spends more bonding time with his mom overall

Partner/s? Pandora DeSales

Enemies? He considers the murderous Crow an enemy for constantly attacking his loved ones

What organizations/clubs/etc are they in? N/A

Fun fact! What are they like with their best friend or partner? With his partner Pandora, Jakob drops a lot of his composed and distant persona, he can be a bit childish but is also a lot more casual and easy to make laugh. He's also not afraid to play the sly prank or do other shit he knows he can get away with just to mess with him.

With Nerezza he isn't quite as open in the same way, but the two of them bond over being snarky royal spawn with little affinity for their title or the expectations that come with it. The sarcasm in the room tends to increase tenfold if you put these two together.

[honeycombstrawberry]

Today I kinda drifted away and ended up thinking about how the hell does Adrian get his suit done/fixed? Sometimes it's beyond repair and would need a new one, and a suit like his and for the use he gives it good construction is a must. We don't know if he made it himself, but he could be 3D printing the armor part. As for the suit, maybe he comissions someone and they're like "this dude does cosplay of a wanted murder but he pays good" ? And it gave me an idea: "y/n" is a recently graduated fashion design student whose prices are kinda low cuz they're just starting, one day they find an offer to make a suit and commit to repairs. The dude pays good so why not? He's kinda funny, and talks a lot, they find out they have things in common. They hang out sometimes and get too cozy for a pair of friends. When Adrian comes with a very trashed suit they start to wonder "is this the real Vigilante?" and asks him about it. He denies it at first, "y/n" replies "ah, what a pity, would be hot to do some roleplay before sex. I kinda have a mask kink" 👀

gonna try doing my first headcanon thread here!!

okay so, adrian and his partner-in-crime who makes his costumes headcanons, here i go:

when adrian first decides he wants to be a "costumed hero" his first thought is of course WHAT sort of costume he is going to wear. he knows he has to look dope as shit and also has to stop himself from dying. and his priorities do go in that order

his first thought is that he'll make it himself but when he puts together stuff he got online and from local stores he realizes he looks like a shitty cosplayer and he's like fuck this never mind i'm not dying look like this

his next thought is to try 3D printing his armor but then he accidentally falls in a river one day and his armor melts down into his clothes and he's like fuck this i'm not built for this shit

he goes on craigslist because he's a nutjob and puts up an unhinged listing like "need full body armor (with cool design) and consistent repairs. serious offers only." and expects lots of people will want to be involved

absolutely nobody wants to be involved with whatever the fuck that is, except one person: you

you have recently graduated from design school and you have absolutely no idea what to do with your degree. you've been thinking about taking an office job just to have steady work and to make ends meet, but you really would like to do something in your field, if you can help it

you're googling for design jobs in the area and you get a hit from a craigslist ad and you figure there's no harm in just looking at the ad. nobody knows if you look at a craigslist ad.

you actually think the offer is-- it's not conventional, obviously, but it's intriguing. and he's actually offering money in the more detailed description below, and he offers to meet in a public place to discuss everything, some local italian place.

you think about it for, like, three days straight, and at the end of the three days, the craigslist ad is still up. so you decide, fuck it. whatever. you don't have a job and this is at least something and if it doesn't work out you can just take an office job then, that's just fine by you. at least you gave this a shot before you went into something else completely

you agree to meet up with this guy in the afternoon at the italian restaurant and you show up there to realize the dude works there. he's a busboy and his name is adrian and he's got these dorky glasses and this big grin that you can't help but be endeared by.

anyway he shows you some relatively shitty drawings of ideas he's got and he basically begs you to turn them into something. when you ask him what it's for he says it's just for a project he's working on

you're like wow this dude is kind of weird. he wants to cosplay as a hero but with like all the real stuff. he must be legit. and he pays fine, and he seems nice, so you agree to at least discuss it. adrian gets up to get you guys drinks, and comes back talking a mile a minute about ideas he has

he talks for at least half an hour before he's told his lunch break is up, and he asks if you think you might be interested, and really, there's no reason to say no-- he's sweet, and he's smart, and he's so interesting, and the two of you do have so much in common. you agree, and he's so excited

you agree that he'll pay a third, you'll come up with the design for his approval and edits, and once you have a final draft, he'll pay another third; then, you'll come up with the costume itself, and when everything was done, he'd pay you the last of it. every time it got busted, he asked, he'd be able to come back and pay you to fix it again, on standing order, and you're delighted by the prospect of an ongoing dynamic with him, even if it's only a business relationship

it quickly becomes More Than A Business Relationship

adrian and you exchange numbers so you can talk about the work, but you start texting about pretty much anything and everything. it's not long before you're sending pictures of your progress, and he starts sending random pictures of things he sees throughout the day, and then you're doing the same, and then-

-and then you have a final draft of your design, and adrian loves it. he asks if he might be able to see you make it, just because he's curious, and you agree. you invite him over with a little thrill, excited to have this man alone in your home with you

you start working at making the suit, but it's not just that-

he comes over all the time

he comes over and makes dinner. he comes over and brings movies to watch. he comes over just to talk with you.

you find yourself putting off finishing the armor suit for him just because you don't want to stop spending time with him. but eventually you have to be done and you present him with the final product but you also ask if maybe he might still want to hang around a little bit sometime

he agrees eagerly and, even though his costume stuff is done, he still keeps coming around. the two of you actually start hanging out so often, it seems like you're spending every weekend together-- then most nights together-- then every other night together-- then it seems like you're spending pretty much all of your free time with him, and him with you

there's a few almosts, you know. a few nights where you stay up late and things get heated and tense and the two of you are drowsy and lax and you almost but then something stops him. something always ends up stopping him and you don't know what it is but you know it's something

then one day adrian brings the suit back in absolute tatters and just asks you sheepishly if you want to try the first repair

you're bewildered but it seems like the suit did its job-- whatever happened to adrian while he was wearing it seemed to shred the suit but leave him intact, so you can't be too upset about what's happened. even though it's kind of obvious now that he's not just using this for cosplaying and what have you

it doesn't take long before you're watching the news and you hear about this new costumed anti-hero-- masked menace-- local weirdo-- vigilante-- and you see a grainy photo of him taken on someone's cell phone and you recognize that armor and you pause the television to stare at it

you eventually take a picture of your tv, send it to adrian, and tell him that he needs to get over there immediately

adrian dawdles a little bit because he's afraid you're pissed and he doesn't want to have to say goodbye to you. but eventually he nuts up and makes himself show up at your place and he's ready to deny it, already saying he has no idea what you mean as if you wouldn't recognize the suit you made

he tells you the photo's shitty, then he tells you he's just cosplaying as that guy, but then you ask why he's lying to you, and his whole face just falls

he weakly denies it, but you see an opening here. this, you realize; this is what's been holding him back. every time the two of you have almost, he stopped himself because you didn't know all of him. but-- now, you do. you know all of him, and you--

you still love him. and that's the first time you realized you love him at all, but you realize you still do, that the feeling hasn't been diminished for finding out what he's been doing in the suit the two of you built together-- the armor you built for him, that keeps him safe and alive

you decide to prod him a little in both regards, and you tell him, "it's too bad you don't know who vigilante really is. because part of the whole reason i took this job in the first place is that i kind of have a thing for guys in masks."

adrian looks at you then and you just know he knows, and you know he knows you know he knows, and he just tells you in a rush, "i'm so sorry, i didn't want you to be mad, or get hurt, or--"

you stop him. you know what he meant here, and you get it, even if you're upset that he didn't tell you sooner. at least now, though, you can be an active part of this. you can find out what materials will be best, lightweight but most durable, best designed to keep him safe; you can really dedicate yourself to making his suit the best that it can be. first of all, you think, you should figure out how to make a prescription visor-- and one with better night vision, since you see him stumble around and bump into things at night

it's hard to reconcile adrian and vigilante, but not impossible, because they are the same, and you realize that with a snap, as if they're coming into focus as one man

when you realize it, adrian's right there, and the two of you finally stop with your almosts and finally kiss and adrian doesn't just bring you the suit when it's in tatters anymore, but he brings it to you when he wants to see you, and when he wants to show you something, and when he wants you to take the suit off of him. it becomes about so much more than that-- it becomes everything-- and you can't stop thinking about adrian out at night, with your armor keeping him safe

okay please tell me if you you liked this or not because i kind of loved doing this format and might want to try some more like this too!!!!!!

-

adrian chase taglist:

@violetrainbow412-blog @bigassbisaster @amysuemc @sunflowerfive @papitas-con-sal @saturnngal @neptuneswritingwork @jewishdelis @myguiltypleasures21 @pinkygunslingy @violinchick @r3tr0sp3ct @chaseadrian @breathing-in-waves @rishlurh @x-milf-hunter-x @goblynnrockz @theowritesstuff @jaysfav

[6okuto]

Fluff prompt!! Felix taking mc on that date he talked about wanting to have?

— felix taking mc out on a date

note from nia: HEEESHEOSFH anon ily i'm giving u a metaphorical kiss on the head

he plans everything out very specifically and thoughtfully & he thinks if it doesn't go according to his little list he'll be failing. failing what? that's not for us to figure out. dating, maybe

he's so nervous. this guy is sweating. he's fidgeting with his hair and clothes. he's pacing around. stares in the mirror and asks "should i get a haircut? no. no, no what am i saying"

felix about to lose it and asking sage and anisa for help and sage just smirking at him like "Oh? is felix going on his first date? a little nervous about his first school dance?" and he 😐. but in all seriousness they tell him to stop worrying and just act like usual

"felix you've gone out together before." "but those weren't considered dates! there's a difference."

imagine mc dressing up a little :[ felix thinks he's ready but then he sees them in an outfit he hasn't seen before and they look so nice and they dressed up for a date with him and now he's already stuttering

"mc, are you ready for a day w—oh! you..you're...um," "does it look bad? i thought i'd try wearing something new but if y—" "No! it's great! you look incredible as usual, really i—i just wasn't expecting it." someone help him

mc asks him where he was planning to take them and he says "well, i think i heard that that new café has a new deal going on." liar. you know they do because you got saw an ad and went to confirm it yourself the day before

i always imagined it as felix taking mc around town . going into a bookstore or one of those local antiquity shops that sell a bunch of random cool/weird stuff, getting drinks

if you want his specific order it would be like...1) get drinks and eat for the day and talk 2) go to the bookstore (novel they've been waiting for) 3) antiquity shop (no drinks allowed! is written in his notes) / walking

possibly because i think if you made felix just sit down somewhere for a couple hours for a first date he wouldn't know what to do with himself ?? also he thinks that might be a little dull and wants to make sure mc is enjoying themself and starts over-compensating

he offers to pay for everything. he's stubborn about it but not unbreakable,, push enough and say please with sincerity and he tumbles

mc holding his hand while they walk and he panics. What if my hand is sweaty. (it isn't but he'll sneakily wipe his hand on his pants just in case)

he loses sight of mc in one of the stores while trying to find a gift for them and when he finds them he realizes they were getting a gift for Him. his heart is about to explode

his biggest mistake was the idea that he'd be keeping track of the time to leave spots when he thought he would. as if this guy isn't completely whipped and distracted by talking to mc or letting them stay as long as they want wherever they are

felix laughs at a joke they make and watches them do something completely mundane like fix their hair, something he's seen them do countless times before, and it hits him that he didn't have to be so scared and plan everything to a T

it's still just...him and mc . he really should have known things would turn out alright when it was the two of them together

and it's a good thing he realizes that the date didn't have to be perfect because i know something would go wrong because he's just that lucky

like he seems like the kind of person to say yes to whatever the worker offers because he wasn't expecting it and comes back to the table like oh god what did i just order.

or mc tries to surprise him with a hug and he knocks over an entire display and frantically apologizes while cleaning it up

he's so embarrassed . it would definitely not be helpful if mc said sorry and kissed him on the forehead and promised to make it up to him! /sarc

felix trying to pull a cheesy romantic scene from one of his books...

not to be dramatic but if it started raining he would try to find cover and pout about it ruining things until he sees a fantastic opportunity. he gently pulls mc into the rain and asks them to dance. but that is just my humble opinion as someone who suddenly wants a cg of felix smiling in the rain

when the date ends...and felix looks down at the things they bought...and realizes he didn't think about any of his problems or anything the entire time...he just got to enjoy time with mc...Ok.

they go back to his room to hang out for the evening and mc finds the page he wrote his ideas and plans on. it's as he's about to thank them for everything,, poor guy

"mc, i just want to—" "is this..an itinerary?" "...what? what is—n-no! don't look at that—"

[mylevisdontfitanymore]

Okay hear me out-

Steve with this body:

(Cred. Adamtots)

(My first ask!! Ah! Sending you love 🥰)

I am hearing you loud and clear.

I will present you with two ideas of canon divergence and canon compliance. One (1), canon divergence in lumberjack Steve that likes his cottage dwelling, gardening enthusiast boyfriend's cooking a little too much. And two (2), roughly canon compliant Steve, dipping his toes into the life of retirement, living with Bucky in Wakanda when he accidentally puts on a few pounds.

Kinky waffling (lol) under the read more cut

One

Lumberjack/mountain-man Steve leaves their cabin every morning groaning as he mounts his ATV, jostling his overfull gut. The only reason it's not hanging out of the bottom of his shirt is that his fannel has buttons too strong to pop under the pressure. The thick cloth is meant for outdoor work and strain and sweat.

Steve takes the ride to the edge of their property and into the neighbours homestead that's been sold out for lumber slllllllow. Stifling burps and hiccups on the way over. Trying to not get too flustered by the way he can feel every bump and rough bit of trail with his bloated gut hanging heavy from his strong frame.

He should've known that Bucky staying up to make his pie the way he wanted (making everything from scratch himself) would only mean that he would have to work his way through half the damn thing this morning. Rather than being stuffed full of the delicious treat and made to sleep it off, Bucky gave him those sweet doe eyes, feeding it to him forkfull by forkfull after he already took down a real hearty breakfast this morning anyway. A true lumberjack's breakfast: 2 sunny eggs, thick slice of ham, 2 fried bacon strips, 2 sausage patties, and 3 mighty large pancakes (not to mention the slice of toast he swiped and smeared in butter before the feast was ready).

Steve is already out late- later than he told himself he would be but he's fixing to get off his ATV as soon as he can anyway. He's gotta rest up, all those hearty calories tugging at him. Getting him sleepy. He's gonna ride up, turn off his ride and get his back propped up against one of the huge trees he's supposed to be wailing on and nap instead of chopping. He'll have to pop the buttons of his shirt, pull his undershirt up so his poor gut can hang out, and run his calloused, thick fingers over the tight stretch of his hairy, overtaxed stomach. The gurgle of his stuffed, aching gut should put him right to sleep. He can digest at the same time, then work after.

Two

Steve stays with Bucky for a hot minute in Wakanda. Not thinking about anything but their flock of goats, the other sheperds around them, the kids everywhere soaking up the sun and learning and just being fuckin' kids. Well. He also thinks a lot about food but... he's not thinking productive thoughts. He's just living. Enjoying himself. Enjoying Bucky. Enjoying allowing Bucky to show him all the local foods he's come to know and love. If possible Steve likes the local fold more. He likes the grin Bucky gets, dangerously charming, when he feeds Steve something new and Steve can't help but moan in appreciation of the flavors. Eating and eating whatever it is, a new experience, until he's full. Then eating more. Because of that smile.

Steve stays for much longer than any of the Avengers bet. He lasts out a hell of a lot longer than they thought he would, but he does return to the tower in under a year. He's just a little restless. He's gonna stay for just for a mission or two. Work off some of the guilt he's been having difficulty keeping at bay- he's been build to do good, or more accurately, to stop evil. So... shouldn't he be doing that? Anyway. Steve returns from their little hut in Wakanda, a peaceful, quaint life to the Avengers' tower (not the apartment Bucky and Steve still own in Brooklyn) and finds himself fresh out of the shower after an evening eating takeout in the communal floor. Cleaning up before bed. On the way to bed.

Steve catches himself in the full body mirror. Their little hut in Wakanda doesn't even have a handheld or a compact sized mirror anywhere in it. This mirror is more than full body. Its floor to ceiling and...

Oh.

Where did that come from?

Steve notices, stripped down to his underwear and nothing else, that he's got a gut growing. A swell of soft, heavy fat tacked onto his front. Sticking straight out, ignoring gravities pull, where he last noticed there being abs. Huh. And furthermore... around his arms, his thighs, fuck, yup, Steve thinks, turning in the mirror, also around his ass... there's a layer of fat. Round and robust, protecting his muscles. He looks, well, he looks thick. Not quite fat but... working on it.

Still mostly naked, Steve sits down on the bed. He feels his gut jiggle when he fwomps down. Steve puts his hands on it. Rubbing. Touching. Doing some more jiggling and noticing that, huh, his pecs jiggle too when he shakes the fat on his stomach. A slight frown forms on Steves mouth but... he's not mad. He's just, uh, exploring (?) the shape of himself that he wasn't aware of until now.

Steves first thought, hilariously, is that he needs to call Bucky and talk to him but what the hell is he gonna ask? He can't just ask, "hey, babydoll, were you planning on telling me I'm getting fat?" or "doll, were you by any chance feeding me all the local cuisine you discovered in monster portions so I'd put on weight? Or is this just a fun side-effect of your rediscovered taste buds?"

And, actually, pinching much more than an inch of blubber at his waist, Steve feels a flicker of something low in his groin, that doesn't sound like a bad idea. And... huh, he doesn't hate the idea of being fat because Bucky made him fat. His life with Bucky building him into yet another new body.

[apocalypseornaw]

Always be Yours- 2

Word Count 5,437 *not my gif*

Story Summary: Inspired by the 2 part I did of the same title. Follows Dean and Reader through season 9 into season 10

Chapter Summary: Adaddon is back and using two hunters to draw the boys into a trap so of course you're right there with them

Warnings: cursing, fights, minor character death

Dean could hear your laughter drifting down the hall the moment he stepped out of his room. You'd only been at the bunker a week or so but you'd always had a habit of making any place feel your presence. Hell even Crowley asked if he could see you when he found out you were there. Kevin was acting more normal than he'd ever seen the kid and it was a bit of a relief to know he wasn't the only one keeping a close eye on Sam should Ezekial decide to not hold up his end of the bargain.

He headed towards the kitchen and could hear music. The closer he got he made out the tune of "You give love a bad name" when he stepped around the corner he was met with the sight of Sam spinning you around while you sang along word for word. Kevin was sitting at the table working on a large stack of pancakes and laughing at the show of you and Sam dancing around the kitchen in your pajamas. The two of you had formed a close friendship back when you were both the youngest kids being pawned off on Bobby during hunts and Dean would be lying if he said he didn't wish you were as comfortable around him as you were Sam.

He could still remember the first case him and Sam worked solo with you. It was the Croatoan virus. You hadn't blinked an eye when you refused to leave Sam's side when he was exposed telling them both that if they were giving in so were you. Over the years you'd been in and out of their lives and the day he'd been dragged out of hell you showed up at Bobby's and had a blade to his neck before him or Bobby could explain. When they proved it was really him that was the first time you'd ever hugged him. You'd pratically squealed when you jumped into his arms "Dean! You're back!"

You always had a habit that no matter how long you went without seeing him or Sam you always treated them as if you'd just seen them the day before. When Sam was soulless you helped him to track down Death to get Sam's soul back. He'd never seen you back down from a fight especially if someone you cared about was fighting.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when you slid to a stop in front of him and held a hand out to him. "C'mon Dean" you pleaded and he shook his head "I haven't even had my coffee yet Y/N" you being the ever persistent woman you were rolled your eyes then looked over your shoulder at Sam "Be a good little brother and fix the man some coffee" Sam grinned as he moved to grab Dean's mug and you turned back around to Dean with a smile "So now what's your excuse?" the song switched to "Have you ever seen the rain" and your eyes lit up when he hummed the first couple bars before hesitantly taking your hand.

You slid your arms up around his neck and he put his hands at your waist careful not to catch the bare skin when your shirt rode up slightly. Normally he'd feel stupid as hell dancing in the kitchen? Especially with an audience but the smile on your face was worth it, most of the time you tried to keep up the front of a fearless hunter but since Bobby's death you'd started to let your guard fall more often and around more people than just Sam. When the song ended you winked at him and said "Who knew Dean Winchester can dance?" then moved to turn the player down. Sam cleared his throat and looked from you to Dean before holding the coffee out "Want your coffee Dean?" when you turned your back Sam raised his eyebrows and Dean shot him a glare "Thanks Sammy" you thankfully didn't see the look passed between them when you turned around to ask Kevin if he wanted orange juice.

-------

The ease of the morning was interrupted by a phone call coming in about a busload of bodies found on a naval base. That mixed with the freaky storms and dead cattle circling that area screamed demon. You grabbed your duffel bag and the bag with your fed suit then stepped out of your room and met up with Kevin in the hallway. He glanced down towards the armory so you shot him a smile "Just stay away from him Kev. He'll try to get into your head and it's not worth it" he gave you a small smile in return "I'll stay away from him Y/N" he turned to head to the library so you headed for the map room where Sam and Dean stood waiting. Dean's eyes skimmed over you and your crossed your arms "Is there a problem Dean?" he met your eyes and smirked slightly "Naw, just you're gonna be a lot more fun to look at all day than Sammy here" you rolled your eyes and chunked your duffel bag to him considering they both already kept go bags in baby's trunk "Easy tiger, we got work to do"

You walked next to Sam up the stairs talking about the case and what could possibly be waiting.

------

When Dean rolled to a stop right outside the area that had been tapped off you slid your ID into your pocket then climbed out the backseat. You had stopped off about ten miles back for all of you to change into your suits. "This place reeks of sulphur" Sam muttered and you nodded "Between the stink and the storms.." "Mixed with the dead cattle I'll take demons for a thousand Alex" Dean finished holding the police tape up for you to walk underneath.

The MP noticed the three of you and headed your way so you pulled your badges out while Dean did the introduction "Agents Stark, Banner and Barnes. FBI. Just need to have a look around" She didn't hesitate to ask "Why? This is a military case, not a federal one" "Well that's not what our supervisor said" you interjected and if anything you speaking seemed to make her attitude that much worse "That so? Then maybe him and I ought to have a chat" Sam cut his eyes at you and Dean said "Ok" then pulled his phone out. You wondered what he was doing and leaned up slightly to see him hit Kevin's number.

"Hey boss, we got a little problem" poor Kevin you just hoped he knew to play along. After a beat Dean continued "Yeah just a local badge needs a little confirmation we're supposed to be here. How the word came down from FBI headquarters in D.C." you were glad you were used to situations like this because if not you probably would've laughed imagining how confused Kevin must be but nonetheless Dean said "Yeah" then held the phone out to the MP.

She looked between the three of you before saying "This is sergeant Miranda Bates. Who am I talking to?" She looked back at Dean who you knew by far wouldn't break before asking Kevin "How old are you?" you were started to get annoyed with her attitude when she said "Listen kid, I don't have to do anything and I don't take orders from the feebs so unless you can give me one good reason you got a couple of pretty boy agents and their handler poking around my crime scene" "Handler?" you scoffed and Sam reached a hand out to pull you back next to him as she kept ranting "I'm gonna put them in cuffs and spank your ass raw"

Her face fell at something Kevin said "What?..How did you find that?" You looked between the boys to see if they had any idea what Kevin was telling her but they both shrugged. She finally said "Yes sir" then handed Dean's phone back and walked away.

Dean was barely holding back a smile when he said "Kevin, what the hell did you just do?" Sam motioned to the bus so Dean waved the two of you ahead.

You stepped on the bus behind Sam and went to the first body while Sam started looking over a different one. "Sam look" you pushed back the guy's shirt with a pen to show the bullet hole in his chest. All the bodies had fatal wounds but they were all also long dead.

Dean then stepped up on the bus and asked "Got anything?" Sam nodded to the body nearest you "This guy was shot in the heart" "That what killed him?" he asked and Sam looked at you so you shrugged "Maybe? but like ten or twenty years ago" Dean glanced at Sam who added "All these bodies have fatal wounds but they're all old" "So meatsuits?" Dean guessed so you nodded "Bodies took a licking but demons kept them ticking"

"And now they're riding the soldiers" Sam added. Dean looked behind Sam "Hey" you looked up to see sergeant Bates walking up onto the bus with a tablet in her hands "Excuse me agents. We pulled this off the security camera. You might want to take a look" Sam reached out for it so you moved to the side so Dean could see the screen as well. It clearly showed the soldiers walking away but Sam froze on one woman in particular. You knew they couldn't tell you why in front of Bates but the moment the three of you stepped off the bus Dean said "Abaddon? Seriously?" and you knew why Sam had frozen the screen. That was the demon that had attacked the men of letters and who killed their grandfather Henry after him and her jumped through a magical portal to recent time.

"I thought you kentucky fried that meatsuit?" Dean asked Sam who shrugged "I did Dean" "Then how did she get it back?" you asked and nodded to the cop that held the tape up for you to pass. "And why's she playing G.I. Joe?" Dean said and Sam responded "No clue. Why don't you ask her when we find her?"

You slid into the backseat and pulled your suit jacket off while Dean pulled out onto the road and said "Oh I will and then I'm gonna chop her freaking head off..again"

------

After stopping off long enough for all of you to change back into normal clothes you got back on the road to the bunker. It was already dark out and you were laid across the backseat when Sam's phone rang and you heard him say "Hold on Kevin..Wait..slow down" Sam cut his eyes back when you sat up then put the phone on speaker while Kevin repeated the coordinates he'd been given then said "And she gave me two names. Irv Franklin and Tracy Bell" "Irv's a friend, don't know Tracy" Dean cut in before Kevin continued "All right, the lady said they were hunters and that if you didn't go save them that she would kill them" "Yeah heard that song before" Dean grumbled but you were looking up the coordinates to see where you were all headed.

"Dean, who was she?" Kevin asked so you answered without looking up "The bad guy" Dean asked Kevin to dig up everything the men of letters had on the knights of hell. Abaddon was one although you didn't know exactly what that entailed. After Sam hung up with Kevin you leaned up between him and Dean "The numbers point to a spot on the outskirts of Eugene, Oregon" then glanced between the two of them "Are we gonna adknowledge this is a trap right?"

"Yup" Dean said matter of factly. You turned your head to look at Sam when he asked "And we're just gonna walk right into it?" "Guns blazing" you answered and saw Dean glance your way in the mirror. "Well Y/N's with me, Sam?" Sam of course said "You know it"

------

You drove through the night and stopped a few miles shy of where Abaddon wanted to meet so all of you could be as well prepared as possible. The place was completely abandoned. Dean gave voice to your thoughts when he asked "What the hell happened here?" "A local chemical plant sprang a leak years ago. They evacuated three square blocks. Guess it's still contaminated"

"Wait? So this whole place is poison?" you asked, a little worried. "Yeah" Sam replied and you laughed when you saw Dean's hand move to cover his crotch "That's not gonna help" Sam told him with a sigh. Dean realized you'd seen him and shrugged "It doesn't hurt"

One thing you'd gotten used to was that when you hunted with them both they had a habit of keeping you between them when they could. You weren't sure if it was on purpose or not. The three of you walked further into the town then heard a slam coming from an old diner that caused you and Sam to pull your guns. Dean nodded so you covered Sam while he kicked the door in.

"Clear" you and Dean went in behind him so you kept an eye on the kitchen to make sure there was no surprises while Dean untied Irv and who had to be Tracy. You glanced back when he said Abaddon had been torturing hunters to get information on Sam and Dean. If you hadn't been with them she might have gotten her claws on you.

Dean gave Irv a shot of holy water while Sam gave one to Tracy who rolled her eyes "Happy?" she was slinging more aggression towards Sam than you would've liked but now wasn't the time. Irv nodded to you when Dean untied him "Y/N, good to see ya" "Yeah" you said then once again Tracy got mouthy with Sam when he introduced himself. You knew the look you had when Irv quickly explained "She's new. We worked a shifter job in Sacramento together. Smart but got a mouth on her" She scoffed so you clicked your tongue "Honey we ain't got time for whatever you got going on. We need to gear up and clear out" Dean tilted his head towards you "What she said"

------

You were helping Dean lay out every weapon you'd grabbed. "We got jesus juice, devil's trap bullets shoot a demon with them and put em on lockdown" He explained and you spun an angel blade in your hand "Angel blades work"

Irv took a gun loaded with Devil's trap bullets about the time Sam said "They're coming" "Good" Dean said handing you a vial of holy water. "They've got assault rifles" Sam added and you cursed under your breath "Ok, less good"

Irv looked at Dean "So, what's the play?" Dean looked at you "Give me your phone" you handed it over without question and watched him record a voice memo of himself saying "COME AND GET IT YOU DICKS" and knew his plan. You grabbed one of the cake trays and drug it over in front of him "Prop it up here" he did as you said then looked between everyone else. "Let's go"

------

All of you made it out behind the cafe so Dean looked around "We got to flank seal team douche in there so uh Irv, you and me will go left. Sam, you Y/N and Tracy go right" "Ok let's move" Sam said and reached for Tracy's arm but she shoved him back "Don't touch me" "What is your problem?" you asked feeling Dean grab you around the waist with one arm to hold you in place while he repeated the question.

Tracy's eyes never moved off of Sam "My family's dead because of him" "What?" Sam asked and in that moment you could've knocked Tracy flat just for the guilt in his eyes. She looked back at you then at Dean before saying "I watched a demon slaughter my parents and the whole time it talked about how it was celebrating how some dumb kid let Lucifer out of his cage" you looked over your shoulder at Dean and he slid his arm from around you. "Ok we got to move. Y/N you go with Sam and Irv, Tracy with me" you didn't really want to leave her with Dean in case it became a your brother did this to my people so I'm gonna do this to you type of thing but it wasn't like you were in a position to start an argument. You simply nodded and tapped Sam's shoulder "Let's go"

------

You were walking close to Sam gripping your gun and trying to keep an eye out, He had the demon blade in his hand and Irv was behind you. "Sam you copacetic?" Irv asked and Sam nodded "I'm good" Irv glanced at you then said "Good. Give me that toothpick, grab Y/N then you two get Dean and Tracy and get the hell out of here" "What?" you asked in shock and Irv explained "I'm going in there alone. I'll buy you as much time as I can"

"Irv, that's death" Sam glanced at you for help but you didn't know what to say at a friend basically asking for the two of you to be ok with him killing himself. Irv looked ashamed when he finally spoke "Yeah, well it's what I got coming..It's my fault. I was in some dive and I was sloppy and lonely" Sam glanced at you as Irv continued "And I met some girl and the next thing you know, I'm strapped to some bed and she's twisting things that ain't supposed to be twisted" "She who?" Sam questioned but you had a feeling you already knew the answer Irv saying "Abaddon" just confirmed you were right.

Irv's voice broke when he said "I gave em up. Pete,Tracy,even you Y/N. I gave em all up. So Sam you hand me that blade and you let me do what I got to do or so help me" but he had moved to the point his back wasn't blocked by any building and a shot rang out a second before Irv fell. Sam instinctively pushed you back and pulled his gun. You nodded that you were ok then you both leaned out to return fire then make a break for the diner that was across the street.

You fell in behind Sam and looked up to see one of the demon's holding you at gunpoint "Boo"

He snatched you to your feet and Sam dove for him with the demon blade but another demon popped up and knocked Sam sideways then both of you were thrown over the counter. You scrambled to your feet again about the time the third demon walked around the corner and smiled "Cool. I didn't miss the best part"

------

Safe to say you and Sam were getting your asses handed to you. He had his head slammed into a wall and you thought he was unconscious then suddenly his eyes glowed blue and he looked at "GET DOWN" "Bout time you pop up" you muttered diving back behind the counter and tucking yourself into the smallest ball possible as Ezekiel's wings shown on the wall of the diner.

You stayed in that position until the door of the diner opened and Dean called your name. He let out a visible breath when you popped up. "Fuck don't hide again!" "He told me to!" you argued pointing at Ezekiel who was stabbing the last demon in the head with the demon blade. "They were going to kill him and her Dean" "Ezekiel?" Dean asked and you nodded. "What the hell did you do?" Dean pushed and Ezekiel turned to face him "I was protecting your brother and Y/N. I thought that was what you wanted" "Yeah of course, Thank you we're just still getting used to all this" you cut in and Ezekiel looked around "As am I" "Sam's ok?' you asked and Ezekiel explained that he had been knocked unconscious and in a way still was and wouldn't remember what happened. "So what the hell am I supposed to tell him when he comes to?" Dean asked and Ezekiel held the demon blade out "Which was why I used the knife"

"Right, smart" Dean took the blade then looked at you when Ezekiel spoke "You are troubled still" Dean turned back towards him "Yeah it's just that uh. Yeah this is on me. I was the one who talked Sam out of boarding up hell so every demon deal, every person they kill you're looking at the person who let it happen" "Dean" you tried but he wouldn't even look at you. "You were protecting your brother" Ezekiel offered then continued "I am in Sam's head. Everything he knows I know. and I know that what you did you did out of love"

Dean scoffed "Look Zeke, I'm gonna call you Zeke. I'm not really with the whole uh love and well love" you were standing there looking between the two of them when Ezekiel said "but it is why I said yes" "Yeah and if that goes sideways that's on me too" you finally snapped at Dean "PLEASE STOP HATING YOURSELF FOR FIVE SECONDS"

They both looked a little startled so you took a breath and said "We're trusting you Ezekiel" Dean finally shook himself out the shock of you hollering at him to say "and I just hope you're one of the good guys" "I am" Ezekiel said then added "But I suppose that's what a bad guy would say...Dean Winchester you are going the right thing" you took a deep breath and look at Ezekiel "How about letting Sam take back control? me and Dean will clean up before he wakes up" Ezekiel nodded then walked over to where Sam had been knocked out and sat back.

------

Once his head drooped over you moved to help Dean load the weapons back into the bag. Neither of you spoke until Sam started to stir.

When he groaned you made it to his side first "Sam?" "Sammy?" Dean asked helping Sam to his feet. Sam looked at you "What the hell happened?" you shrugged "You took a shot to the head, I was about to be the pinata for these asshats before Dean decided to slide in and save our asses"

Sam looked at Dean "You killed three demons, alone?" Dean shrugged "Took them by surprise. Got a little messy, I got a little lucky oh and I'm awesome so there's that" Sam looked around and you smirked when he said "You are pretty damn awesome"

You heard an engine roll up and looked out the window to see Tracy roll up in baby and looked back at Dean "She gets to drive baby and I don't?" Dean tried to explain but you simply grabbed the weapons as the three of you headed outside.

------

Tracy looked at Sam "You good?" "Yeah, more or less" and you smiled when her reply was "Good." She chunked the keys to Dean "I got everything but guess I'm late to the party" "Lucky you" you muttered and walked around to get in behind Sam as Dean said "Let's blow this toxic dump. Burgers and silkwood showers on me"

------

After you dropped Tracy off at one of her friend's houses you and the boys got back on the road. You hadn't really said much to either of them. You were thinking about Ezekiel and if he truly was a good guy. Sam was used to the way you'd get quiet sometimes but Dean had looked in the mirror about a dozen times before you finally said "Speak Dean" he shrugged "You pissed at me?"

You knew you had to look as confused as you felt so he clarified "Tracy driving baby?" you laughed "Naw if you wanted to let me drive her you would" and shrugged he looked a bit hurt so you winked at him to let him know you weren't upset about that. 

------

Twenty miles from Lebanon Dean decided to stop to get Kevin some food. You were sitting in the backseat with your head leaned back while Sam checked his emails.

You glanced up when the door closest to you opened and was surprised to see Dean holding the car keys out to you "I really don't want you killing me in my sleep" you grinned and snatched them from him not risking him changing his mind.

-------

When you pulled up to the bunker and killed the engine you looked back at Dean who was watching you and smiled "Thank you" he took the keys that you were holding out and nodded "Wait, you're still staying around right?" you didn't stop to think Sam hadn't heard that conversation between you and Dean before he said "What?" you shook your head and climbed out the car "Don't worry about it Sam I'm not going anywhere any time soon."

-------

Kevin was nowhere to be found and considering Crowley killed his mom the three of you ran to the armory.

Crowley was beat up but at least not dead and neither was Kevin. "Who worked you over?" Sam asked. Crowley looked at you then said "Martin Hayward and Brandon Favors" "They did this?" you asked but he shook his head "No they're demons. Your boys wanted names, I'm giving names. They're underperformers. Spike them, You're doing me a favor"

Dean smirked "Wow, you break easy" Crowley rolled his eyes "Please,your little plan to have me stir in my own delicious juices? Pathetic. You want intel, I want things too. Maybe we can come to some kind of arrangement. Quid pro quo gentlemen" "So these names are freebies?" you asked and Crowley smiled at you "Not at all sweets.You can consider them fair trade for the enjoyment Kevin gave me" "What the hell's that supposed to mean?" You and Dean asked in unison and Crowley quirked an eyebrow at that before saying "He's my new favorite toy. Wind him up and watch him go" You glared at him "You red eyed bastard" then spun around to walk out the armory and find Kevin. You heard Dean tell Sam "Check the names, I'll help Y/N find the kid"

------

You found him packed up and trying to leave "Where are you going?" Dean asked but Kevin kept walking so you stepped in his path. "Y/N you can't keep me locked up here. I'm leaving" "Like hell" Dean said and you cut your eyes at him "Kev we told you not to talk to Crowley he messes with your head" "He said my mom was alive, that if I let him go he'd give her back"

"And you believed him?" Dean asked with a scoff. "He's still in there isn't he?" you moved to put yourself between Dean and Kevin before saying "Kev, Crowley's lying" "And if he's not?" he asked and you were glad for once that Dean answered "Than she's dead, in every way that matters anyways. We're sorry Kevin"

"I know you're dying to bolt. I get it but out that door it's angels and demons and they'd all love to get their hands on a prophet so even with Crowley here..It's still the safest place for you" you took a breath hoping you'd gotten through to the kid. "and we need you" Dean added.

It hurt your heart when Kevin assumed "Because I'm useful?" but you couldn't help but smile when Dean answered "No,because you're family. Same as Y/N. If you don't think after all we've been through together we all wouldn't die for each other man I don't know what to tell you. We're all we got but hey if none of that matters to you then I won't stop you and I won't let Y/N"

Kevin looked at you then slowly nodded "Ok" you cut your eyes at Dean "I'm gonna get him to his room then I'll come find you and Sam" 

-------

You walked into the library and heard Dean telling Sam "You have helped a lot more people than you've hurt" and guessed it was due to what Tracy said so you stepped further in and Dean waved you over and sat a glass of whiskey in front of you. 

You took it then sat down next to Sam. Dean looked back at him then said "All of that was then" he held up his glass so you did the same and bumped Sam's shoulder so he'd join in when Dean said "Here's to now"

You clicked your glasses against theirs then took a sip. "You both ready for it?" Sam asked so you looked at Dean who questioned "Ready for what?" "Fallens angels, Abaddon. Cas losing his halo, Crowley living in our basement"

You half laughed "Dean you invited me to move into a freakin sitcom" Dean shrugged "At least you have company?" Then turned his attention to Sam "What about you? How's the engine running?" 

Sam looked between the two of you before saying "Honestly? I feel better than I have in a long time. I know it's crazy out there but I look around here and I see friends and family. I'm happier than I've been in forever. It's just things are good" Dean met your eyes and nodded "Never better" 

------

Sam had already headed to bed and Dean went to check in on Kevin. You knew you wouldn't wind down for a while so you collected the books Kevin had pulled about the knights of hell and laid them out across one of the tables in the library. 

You poured yourself another glass of whiskey then sat down. You were halfway through the first book when Dean cleared his throat and you glanced up to see him leaning against the doorway "I figured you went to bed" you said and held the bottle out. He took it then sat across from you "I figured you did too"

He poured a glass then reached for one of the books so you slid it across to him. The two of you read in silence for a few minutes before he called your name. You glanced up "Yeah?" "What was that about?" You weren't exactly sure what he meant so you asked "What was what about?"

He closed the book and for once there was no humor in his face when he asked "You yelling at me about not hating myself for five minutes?" Oh that was what he meant. You finally answered "You're very self deprecating Dean even worse than Sam. I can't stand it" he nodded but still pushed "Why?"

You sighed and laid the book down pulling your bottom lip between your teeth and trying to get the words right before you spoke them "You're a good man Dean. You damn near raised Sam, you have saved so many people. You have a good heart and even when you fuck up it's due to good intentions and don't start about the road to hell being paved with good intentions you know what I mean. When it comes down to it there's no one else I'd rather have to back me in a fight or as a friend" the corner of his lips ticked up in a small smirk "um thanks?" You shrugged "It's the truth. Now let's finish with these books we're currently on then I think we should head to bed" "Yours or mine?" He teased with a smirk but you knew the best way to handle Dean was to give his own medicine right back to him so you quickly fired back "Oh honey I just don't think you could handle me"  and laughed at the look on his face "Yeah I can definitely see why Sam likes having you around" "oh and you don't like having me around not even in the least?" You asked and and he rolled his eyes then pushed the book you'd been reading back at you "Read your book Y/N" 

You turned your attention back to the book but noticed the way he kept glancing your way for the next half hour. When you finally closed your book to head to bed you stood and stretched "See you in the morning?" He nodded "I'll be the best looking one" you shook your head with a smile then headed to your room.

Tags: @akshi8278 @facadeformyrealblog

[katedrakeohd]

The softer side of Neville..

I had fun writing this for @sirbeepsalot and the #SofterSideofNeville prompt. I hope everyone likes it.

Word count: 4164..( it kind of got away from me. LOL)

Writer tags: @dcbbw @choicesarehard @jovialyouthmusic @ritachacha @tornbetween2loves @bobasheebaby

Warnings: None really, I guess you could rate it PG.

_______

_Masquerade_

A month after King Liam's coronation the Capital city was abuzz with preparations for the annual Harvest Festival. It was the last social event of the year where the Palace and grounds were open to the public. All over the city Cordonia's citizens were gathering their family's best recipes in hopes of winning the pie baking contest.

A week before the Masquerade Ball, costume designers and local stores were busy with shoppers looking for something special to wear. It was a black tie event and by invitation only. Rumors among gossip magazines, entertainment blogs, and social media outlets were flying with who among Hollywood's elite might be there.

In a menswear shop on Fenton Street, the Capital's posh upscale shopping district, Lord Neville Vancoeur and his friend Earl Rashad Domvalier were browsing through designer suits.

"Neville if you show up in another boring Armani suit it's hardly going to be a costume." Rashad scoffed.

Neville rolls his eyes, "No kidding. So this time I'm looking for some inspiration. If I'm going to be rubbing elbows with commoners, nobility and celebrities alike I want to look good. For the first time in decades, Cordonia has a young King who everyone wants to get to know."

Rashad was looking forward to seeing the ladies at the Ball. His father was anxious for him to find a wife and settle down, but Rashad wasn't quite ready for commitment just yet. He was more interested in finding a hot Hollywood girlfriend. He wasn't sure about Neville's romantic ambitions though, he'd never seen his friend successfully pick up a date at any one of these events.

"So Neville, do you have a theme in mind for your costume? A rakish, well dressed comic book supervillain perhaps? Or  something more from a classic movie character angle." Rashad wondered out loud as he looked through a rack of pinstriped dark suits.

Neville pauses from where he was looking at dress shirts, "Hey, that's not a bad idea."

"Which one?" Rashad raises an eyebrow.

"Either one. Hmmm, do you think I could pull off that dark grey pinstriped suit and that fedora as a gangster or something?"

Rashad narrows his eyes, trying to picture Neville as Al Capone or Elliot Ness from the Untouchables.

"Eh, I don't know. But that dark suit with a top hat would make you an excellent Penquin from DCs Batman."

Neville tilts his head, trying to picture it. "You know what? I like it. I wonder if they have a suit jacket with tails?"

As Neville walks over to the shop employee to ask, Rashad chuckles to himself. He could totally see Neville pulling off the dapper yet cunning Oswald Cobblepot.

Rashad frowned in thought. What could he wear to the Ball? He wanted to look handsome, not foolish. Checking out his reflection in the mirror he considered his dark features, piercing eyes and slim but athletic build. What heroic movie character could he fit into?  Spotting a black pair of suit pants and an embroidered white shirt on a rack behind him in the mirror, his eyes go wide when his mind clicks onto an idea.

Zorro. Oh my goodness why hadn't he thought about that before?

Spinning back around, his eyes searched the shop for clothing pieces he could put together.

At the Palace boutique, Hana, Madeleine, Riley and Olivia were looking through dresses for costume inspiration. Riley would be on Drake's arm and she had convinced him to wear a tuxedo. He had balked at the idea of dressing fancy but she had insisted. Now she was wondering what to wear to look nice next to him.

"No, no, no." Olivia protested. "None of these dresses are the right style." She had planned to wear a sexy vampire costume with a mask. She'd already had the mask custom made to fit her face, and none of the Palace dress offerings were good enough to go with it.

Hana and Riley both roll their eyes at Olivia's whining. Riley speaks up, "You must have something suitable at home then. I know how much you covet the color red."

Madeleine turns away from the rack she's looking at and folds her arms, sneering at Olivia. "Oh please, she'd look much better in something black to match her cold dead heart."

Olivia scowls at her, "You're one to talk. Why Liam chose you as Queen is beyond me. Oh look Maddy, here's an icy blue dress that would suit your cold heart too."

Hana smirks, "Oh would you two just let it go already."

Riley picks up on the 'Elsa' reference and bursts out laughing. Olivia and Madeleine both scowl at her, not getting the joke.

Still giggling, Riley tries to catch her breath. "So Hana, do you have a date for the Ball?"

Hana bites her lip, "Not really. But I'm assuming Maxwell will be without a date either, so he'll make do as a companion."

Olivia scoffs, "You two are both so foolishly cheerful most of the time you make a good pair. I'm assuming Riley is going to stumble around the dance floor with the oafish Mr. Walker."

Riley frowns, "Hey, we've been taking dance lessons. I'm sure Drake and I will manage just fine."

Olivia turns to leave the boutique, "Whatever you say. I have some calls to make to my favorite dress designer. Good luck Ladies."

The night of the Ball, Drake goes to Riley's room to pick her up. Stopping outside her door he tugs at the white collar of his dress shirt, trying to loosen the strangled sensation his black bowtie was causing around his neck. Sucking in a deep breath to calm his nerves, he lets it out slowly then knocks.

Standing at her mirror, Riley fixes her earring. She was wearing a long black satin gown that skimmed her curvy figure in places, and hugged it in others. It was cut low in the back, and dropped into a deep vee in the front. She hoped the ballroom wasn't going to be too chilly. On her face she wore a black lace cat mask. Her hair was in a partial updo, secured with a black sparkly clip, the rest of her hair falling in chestnut curls  against her shoulders. Her makeup was simple, so as not to be ruined by the mask, and she wore a bright red lipstick that matched her fingernails.

"Come in," she says when she hears Drake's knock.

Drake swings the door open, "I hope you're rea-.." Then his mind goes blank. Wow, she looked incredible. Turning around, Riley smirks at his dumbstruck expression. Walking over to him she straightens his tie.

"What's the matter Drake, cat got your tongue?"

The cat's got my everything tied up in knots at the moment, he thought.

Having her so close to him in that ridiculously sexy dress, those red lips of hers turned up in a sly grin, he felt warm all over. He needed to get control of himself, quickly, if he was going to lead her into the ballroom and not embarrass them both. Damnit she was still touching him, smoothing the lapels of his jacket...

Drake steps back, brushing her hands aside. "Ahem, enough fussing over me Brooks. I already feel like I'm dressed like one of the waiters."

Riley scoops up her clutch from the desk and then takes his arm.

"Nonsense Drake, you look very handsome, even if a tux isn't really much of a costume. Who are supposed to be?"

Drake leads her out of the door then closes it. He hadn't a clue what to say at first, but then glancing at the cat mask she was wearing he had a spark of inspiration.

"I'm Bruce Wayne."

A red carpet lolled out of the doors of the Palace like the long tongue of a snake. Flashbulbs of press photographers bombarded each limousine and sleek luxury car as it pulled up to eject its passengers.

Flocks of Nobles from all over Cordonia and Europe, Hollywood movie stars, and local dignitaries were arriving. Some wore elaborate costumes, some wore formal wear and masks, and some were just dressed in formal wear.

Neville and Rashad shared the backseat of a limousine. Waiting in a long line of other sleak automobiles, they were both getting impatient at the delay.

Rashad shifted in his seat again, adjusting his mask, every time he moved the sword he wore at his side rattled. Neville rolled his eyes at him and sighed.

"Seriously Rashad, the Palace security isn't going to let you into the Ball wearing that thing. Even if it is part of your costume."

Rashad looked over at Neville. With his top hat, monocle, and cane he looked like the dapper gentleman. He felt kind of foolish in his black mask, bolero hat and tall boots. But he had no doubts about who was going to catch more attention from the women. He wish he could have arrived on horseback since it suited his Spanish persona better. The press would have eaten it up.

Hana and Riley are standing next to a table of hors d'oeurves and sipping champagne. Drake had ditched Riley shortly after they made their grand entrance into the ballroom. When the camera flashes had gone off, Drake's body had stiffened and Riley had to keep a death grip on his arm to stop him from running away. Once he had spotted Hana at the hors d'oeurves table he escorted her that far and then made himself scarce. Riley didn't mind, because she knew these sort of events weren't his kind of thing, but she had made him promise to give her at least one waltz before the night was over.

The two ladies were oohing and aweing over the various costumes and trying to pick out the celebrities and nobles that they recognized.

Hana, in her flowered goddess of spring costume dress was getting plenty of looks of her own. With Riley's dark and sleek next to her sweet and ethereal they were the perfect picture of opposites. Yin and Yang.

Hana took a sip of her champagne and then gestured to a group of men standing across the room, nursing drinks and plates of food of their own.

"I can pick out Drake for sure, because for once his dressed up tuxedo looks casual compared to the other guys. But who is that guy in the tophat, tails and gloves? I don't recognize him."

Riley takes a moment to appreciate Drake in his tux, and then looks over the other men. She didn't know many of the noblemen at court, but she could pick out most of the Hollywood celebrities.

"I haven't a clue but the tall man in the bolero hat and boots looks like a tasty snack."

Hana takes in his costume and frowns. "He looks like a cross between a thief and a pirate. What is he dressed as?"

Riley takes a sip of her champagne and then smiles as she catches his eye from across the room. "He's not wearing the sword, but that is definitely a Zorro costume."

"What's a Zorro?" Hana asks.

"Not a what, a who. He stole from the rich and gave to the poor, sort of a Spanish version of Robin Hood." Riley says.

As the orchestra begins the first waltz of the evening, guests start pairing up. Drake stays rooted to his spot, there wasn't enough whiskey in him yet to attempt any dancing foolishness. The costumed  men next to him were openly debating which available women they wanted to proposition to be a dance partner. He eavesdropped on their conversation, waiting for the chance to defend the honour of Riley or Hana if they received any harsh comments.

Neville sipped his wine, and listened to Rashad talk about his options as he scanned the room himself.

"The dark haired vixen over there keeps looking at me." Rashad says, tipping his hat at Riley.

Drake frowns and then interrupts, "Actually I think she's wearing a cat mask."

Rashad smirks at Drake, "Oh believe me, I know a fox when I see one. Pardon me, I think I've found my first partner for the evening."

Before Drake can protest, Rashad weaves his way across the dancefloor and makes his way over to Hana and Riley.

Neville notices Drake's frown deepen as Rashad sweeps his cape to the side with a flourish, removes his hat and bows low to kiss Riley's hand.

"You seem to be interested in her as well, do you know her?" Neville says turning to Drake.

Drake tears his eyes away from Riley and Rashad, just realizing that the stranger next to him had asked him something.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I know her." Drake says, downing the last of his whiskey. 

When he looks back across the room he sees Hana standing by herself. Damn, that Zorro dickhead took her for a dance. He searches the crowd for his ridiculous hat, seeing them both on the far side of the room.

Neville gestures to Hana with his wine glass. "Well now that Rashad has claimed the girl in the black dress, why not take her for a spin instead? She is quite attractive."

Drake attempts to swallow the lump in his throat. He knew he couldn't keep up with the rest of the gentlemen dancers on the floor. He decides to spare Hana's toes from getting stomped on.

"Go ahead. She's a nice dancer. Her name is Hana by the way."

Neville grins, pulling off his hat and gloves and handing them to Drake. "I wouldn't mind at all, she does have a lovely smile. Here hold these will you?"

Drake is left alone at the bar, reluctantly holding Neville's things, as he strides over and approaches Hana. Looking down, he shoves the hat and gloves toward the bewildered bartender and then walks away.

Riley smiles up at Rashad as he whisks her across the dancefloor. He was an excellent dancer, even if she had to keep moving his hand off of her ass from time to time. He kept blaming it on the slippery nature of her gown, but she knew better. He held her against him a little too firmly at times as well, but she just went along with it. The dance wouldn't go on forever, and he was ridiculously charming. From time to time she spotted Hana dancing with someone as well. The dance steps of Hana's partner were more precise than romantic, and Riley wondered who he was. She'd lost sight of Drake entirely, and her scanning the room for him meant she often fell out of step with Rashad. He kept correcting her, and was losing his patience from her not following his lead.

Maxwell, carrying a plate of appetizers, finds Drake standing alone in the corridor between the ballroom and library. "Hey there Drake, I thought you came to this shindig with Riley?"

Drake sighs with exasperation. "Yes I know, but dancing isn't really my thing."

Maxwell looks hurt for a moment, since he was Drake and Riley's dance teacher, "But you were doing so well with your lessons."

"Dancing with Riley in private is one thing. But dancing with Riley with everyone else watching is something else." Drake replies, he really hated the idea of Riley dancing with somebody else, but he didn't want his own limitations to get in the way of her enjoying herself.

Maxwell pats him on the arm. "I understand buddy, big events like this can be overwhelming. But she's your date, and I know she would rather dance with you, squashed toes or not."

Drake nods, swiping the last shrimp canapé from Maxwell's plate and eating it. "You have a point. I promised her a dance afterall."

Maxwell smiles as Drake turns and walks back into the ballroom. "Go getter tiger."

As Drake makes his way through the crowd, he sees Liam talking with Madeleine nearby. Liam waves him over. Once he's within earshot Liam smiles and says, "So Drake, how are you enjoying the festivities so far?"

Drake shrugs, picking up a glass of  champagne from a passing server, "The food is tasty, but the drinks are better. So everything is fine."

Madeleine smirks, "High praise from Mr. Walker, so glad we're keeping you entertained."

Drake frowns at her and then downs his champagne. Stifling his burp with his fist. He feels amused at Madeleine's look of disgust.

Liam just shakes his head and grins. "So Drake are we going to see you on the floor during the upcoming Cordonian Waltz?"

Drake's eyebrows shoot up, and his eyes desperately search the crowd for Riley. "Uh, if I can find where my date has run off to sure!"

He breathes a sigh of relief when he sees Riley walking over to them. "Oh look there she is."

Drake smiles as Riley steps up to him and tucks her hand under his arm. "Good evening your Majesty, Countess Madeleine." she says with a curtsey.

Liam looks Riley over from top to toe and gives her a warm smile.

Madeleine quirks an eyebrow, taking in Riley's risque choice of dress. "Good evening Riley."

As the orchestra begins the opening notes of the Cordonian Waltz, Madeleine pats Liam on the arm to draw his attention away from Riley. "Uh sweetheart, shall we dance?"

Liam's face flushes slightly as she leads him away, "Oh certainly..."

Drake slips an arm around Riley's waist, feeling how thin her dress actually was, sweeping his hand over her hip he didn't feel any discernible undergarments. Leaning in he whispers in her ear, "Please tell me you're not naked under this dress."

Riley turns her face toward him, her lips a breath away from his. "Maybe, maybe not." she says.

Closing his eyes, Drake groans and then looks away. "You're trying to kill me aren't you?"

As Riley leads him onto the dancefloor she whispers, "You'd die a very happy man Drake."

As guests start pairing up again, Riley sees Hana being led onto the floor by Rashad, Penelope is in the arms of his friend.

Taking up the starting position Riley checks Drake's form, he seemed to be ok. "Ready?" she asks.

"Yup," he lied. Drake was terrified.

As they sweep through the first few steps without any problems, Drake feels his confidence rising. Maybe he could do this afterall.

They both stumble a little but manage to avoid eachother's toes, and the other dancers. Drake holds up his arm and watches Riley do her spin. He smiles and brings her in close, her back pressed up to his chest. As the music changes, Riley twirls out of his arms again. When she gives him a slight curtsey and then turns toward her next partner, Drake starts to panic. Oh crap! I forgot this was supposed to be a group thing.

Drake turns to accept his next partner. It's a woman in a bluish green costume dress, he guessed by the design and the sequins she was supposed to represent a mermaid. She flashes a dazzling white smile at him as he takes her hand, leading her through the same steps as he did Riley. He tries not to step on the hem of her sparkly dress as he goes through the motions. Her red curly hair kept whipping him in the face, and he clamps his mouth shut so he doesn't have to taste it too. When he raises her hand and she does her spin she giggles and nearly trips over her dress. He gasps and reaches out to grab her by the waist to steady her. When she leans in close and attempts to kiss him, he panics and pushes her away gently. "Uh sorry, but no thanks."

Looking at the other dancers around them, to see which move he was supposed to be doing, he carefully turns her around and after giving her a slight bow, hands her off to the next gentleman.

He takes a quick look around the room to see where Riley was. She was with a man he didn't recognize, but by her smile and blush she did seem to recognize him. Drake tries to ignore the person who was tapping him gently on the shoulder with a shrug. "Um Drake?"

He turns to see Hana, and then breathes a sigh of relief. "Oh thank God it's you. Please tell me this waltz ends soon."

He takes Hana's hand, not fighting her as she corrects his form and they go through the rest of the steps smoothly together. "Don't worry Drake," she says with a smile. "I should be your last partner."

Drake doesn't mind dancing with Hana, as she participated in Maxwell's dance lessons with him and Riley. She knew how to avoid his clumsy feet and smiled and nodded as he performed steps of a dance correctly. She was an excellent and patient teacher.

Drake smiles as she dances gracefully next to, and with him as the music ends. As he bows and she curtsies to end the waltz he's deeply relieved. "Thanks Hana. I'm so glad you didn't turn out to be another drunk mermaid."

Hana giggles and takes his arm as he leads her off the dance floor. "Oh my goodness Drake you poor thing."

Drake and Hana meet up with Riley, Rashad, Neville and Maxwell by the bar. Riley smiles and settles in next to Drake. He wraps his arm around her again, laying his hand on her hip. She wraps her arm behind him as well, tucking her thumb into his back pocket and cupping his ass cheek. Drake shoots her a warning look and she just smirks back at him with defiance.

Hana cozies up next to Maxwell, giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Rashad and Neville exchange a surprised glance, assuming they're standing with two couples. Rashad removes his hat and mask, raking his hands back through his hair to fix it. He smiles and extends his hand to Maxwell in greeting.

"Lord Beaumont can you properly introduce us to your friends? I know we've both danced with these lovely ladies tonight but didn't know they were friends of yours."

Maxwell laughs and then shakes Rashad's hand, "Oh I'm sorry, sure. This lovely goddess of spring next to me is Miss Hana Lee of Shanghai.  Hana meet Earl Rashad Domvalier."

Hana and Riley remove their masks. Hana smiles, "It's a pleasure to meet you Rashad."

Rashad smiles, bowing low and taking Hana's hand and kisses it. "The pleasure is all mine Miss Lee. You are a lovely dancer."

"Thankyou Rashad, you're too kind."

No he's not, thought Neville. He's a lecherous lothario and if you only knew, you'd probably want to wash that hand Miss Lee.

Rashad straightens back up again, and then smiles, patting Neville on the back.

"Oh where are my manners? Lord Maxwell, Miss Lee, this gentleman next to me is Lord Neville Vancoeur."

Neville nods and smiles, "It's a pleasure to meet you both. And who are your other friends Lord Maxwell?"

Maxwell turns and indicates Drake and Riley. "Oh this is Drake Walker and Riley..."

"Riley Brooks!" ... Neville's eyes go wide. "Oh my goodness I recognize you now. Those tabloid photos of you and Tariq didn't do you any favours did they? You're far lovelier looking in person."

Riley's smile falters, not sure how to respond. Drake's arm tightens around her protectively.

Neville's expression goes from one of surprise to being apologetic, "Oh don't worry I don't believe the trash in the tabloids."

He steps forward and gives her a slight bow. "It is a pleasure to meet you as well Miss Brooks, and from what I've read you're being sponsored by the Beaumonts, a most honorable house."

Riley smiles, relaxing a little, "Thankyou Lord.."

Neville smiles, "Oh please, just call me Neville."

Drake extends his hand in greeting, "Lord Neville."

Neville shakes it, "It's a pleasure to meet you as well Mr. Walker... Walker?..Why does that name sound familiar?"

Drake braces himself for some kind of commoner insult. But it doesn't happen.

"The son of Jackson Walker I presume?" Neville's smile widens, he keeps a hold of Drake's hand, placing his other hand on Drake's arm to extend his warm greeting.

Drake frowns slightly. "You knew my Father?"

Neville shakes his head, "No unfortunately, but it's an honour to shake the hand of the son of a National Hero."

Drake grins, feeling a mixture of pride and embarassment. He'd never been acknowledged that way before. "Th..thanks."

Neville lets go of his hand, still smiling. He turns toward the others in the group. "Well now that we're all acquainted, why don't we all celebrate with a round of drinks?"

Drake glances at Riley, raising an eyebrow. "Sure, why not?" She says with a smile.

Everyone turns back toward the bar.

"Bartender? Six whiskeys please." Drake says.

-- the end--