#me who already has trouble with a simple *click one of those buttons* puzzles and has never animated anything

[tarn-ati0n]

I got to stop watching devlog videos. They are putting ideas in my head that I don't have the time/skill/resources/anything for.

[hualianff]

Birthday Boy HC

Modern AU with police chief HC who is very dedicated to his job, especially because he grew up in a “bad” area and has first-hand experience from inadequate police service in poor neighborhoods. His co-workers and friends never see him go on second dates or have one-night stands. When HC’s birthday comes up, he insists he doesn’t want a grand occasion.

However, a simple party, he will permit.

Leave it to HX’s partner, SQX, to invite all of HC’s friends and acquaintances to HC’s own penthouse for a surprise birthday party, scheduled for the evening since HC typically works very late. When the police chief arrives home, still in his black uniform pants and red dress-shirt that goes under his suit jacket, the party is on the precipice of a full swing celebration.

HC is a bit put off by how loud and crowded his home is but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. Things are lonely, he will admit. And if this is a once-in-a-blue-moon thing, then HC won’t stop others from enjoying themselves and frankly, spoiling him.

At the height of the party, right when YY is about to present the birthday cake, SQX whistles for everyone’s attention.

“All right, Hua Cheng, time to sit on that chair over there,” SQX says while steering HC from behind, pushing on his shoulder. The chair is placed in the middle of the living room, in the perfect spot to watch the front door open.

The lights are gradually dimmed.

HC is too confused to protest. He cautiously sits down.

The front door pivots open. The person who walks through the door makes HC’s eye widen in surprise. They are dressed in all black: jean-booty shorts, stilettos, and a tight-fitting crop top. A sheer veil is also draped over their shoulders, falling gracefully behind them as they enter the room. They wear a headband with pointy horns and dark, red lipstick.

As the person gets closer, HC’s breath picks up.

“You didn’t-“ he whispers mindlessly, directed at SQX. His best friend’s partner merely holds their hands up in surrender, as if saying they did nothing wrong.

The scarcely-dressed person looks around demurely, aware everyone’s eyes are on them, ogling at their outfit that exposes lots of skin.

And then they set their gaze on HC, who sits frozen in the chair, hands gripping his thighs.

“Are you the birthday boy?” The stranger asks, smirking slightly. HC audibly gulps, not quite believing the sight of his childhood neighbor standing right in front of him, dressed like a demon summoned for punishment for his sins.

(It takes .05 seconds for HC to tent up in his pants.)

HC can’t bring himself to speak without stuttering like a fool. It’s clear that he’s the birthday boy—he’s sitting in a chair in the middle of the room, goddamn it. But for whatever reason, HC feels like he needs to respond to every one of this man’s signals.

So he stiffly nods, managing to maintain eye contact.

XL’s smirk widens mischievously, holding a secret promise behind those glistening lips. He prowls forward slowly, the click of his stiletto heels echoing across the marble floor.

“It looks like I’ve gotten myself into a little trouble,” he says with faux-innocence, slipping the veil off his shoulders. Instead of coming onto HC, XL slinks around him, letting the veil skim across HC’s lap, up to his chest, and over his face.

It faintly smells of peach.

“All right, Mr. Policeman,” XL addresses, pausing to stand behind HC. “What should I call you?”

HC breathes out harshly through his nose, desperately wanting to tilt his head back in order to get another glimpse at the angel- no, minx who has evoked the intensity of desire and lust long-buried under HC’s skin. It steadily rises to the surface, heating HC’s skin, making him feel too hot in a room where too many people remain to watch the show.

“Hmm, will ‘chief’ do? Or perhaps...sir?”

“Hua Cheng is just fine,” HC grits out. He gives in to looking behind his shoulder with curious eyes. XL’s face is startlingly close, amber eyes holding a sultry look that sends pleasure down HC’s spine.

Then, those eyes fixate on him, getting a really good look for the first time. Familiarity flashes across XL’s expression but he quickly wipes it away in favor of connecting their foreheads.

“Hua Cheng it is.”

The click of handcuffs binding HC’s wrists behind the back of the chair makes his heart drop to his stomach. He whips his head around to SQX and HX who stand off to the side. HX raises an amused eyebrow.

Somehow, SQX convinced HX to steal a pair from the office.

These are his own cuffs.

“Is this okay, Hua Cheng?” XL whispers genuinely in HC’s. When HC audibly hitches, he giggles.

“Yes.”

XL unties HC’s low ponytail to card his fingers through the police chief’s hair.

“Does it feel good?”

Fuck, XL is barely touching him, but the light brush of his fingers ignites a flame in HC’s heart, making him feel alive.

XL unbuttons the top three buttons of HC’s shirt.

“There. All ripe for the taking,” XL purrs. He drags the veil up and over HC’s face as he walks away. A strong bass pounds from HC’s built-in speaker SQX has managed to operate.

XL begins dancing for HC, swiveling his hips and rotating in time with the music. HC’s breath quickens up, his police attire also feeling unbearably hot. XL ditches the veil, and then he’s walking to HC, long legs crossing with every step.

HC is certain he won’t survive this.

***

It turns out to be nothing more than a sensual lap dance. There was no kissing on the lips, no groping on HC’s part, and no intimate touches because XL isn’t that kind of dancer. SQX knew this. He also knew HC wouldn’t want anything more than a bit of teasing anyways.

Luckily, SQX contacting a fellow friend who he’d modeled with once has allowed HC to see XL again. When he’s released from the cuffs, HC stands up and approaches where XL picks up his veil from the ground.

“Gege?” HC questions quietly. XL turns to look at him, a pink blush dusted on his cheeks.

“Oh, hello again, San Lang,” the other man greets, nearly the same height as HC with the stilettos on. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“Hmm.”

It hadn’t been either of their faults. Or maybe it was both. HC traveled to another part of the country to be enrolled in the most prestigious academy in the nation. XL moved to a different big city to pursue a degree in economics. Years of separation caused them to drift apart from best friends in high school to strangers living very different lives.

“Well, it’s really nice to see you again. The circumstances are a bit... unconventional, but I’m glad it was you,” XL laughs lightly, readjusting his headband with pointy horns. HC tries not to stare at how well they suit the other man.

XL shifts a bit uncomfortably, hugging the sheer veil tighter around his body. HC feels a natural smile curl upon his lips in hopes it soothes XL’s qualms about his state of dress.

“I’m glad it was you too, gege,” HC says honestly. XL’s face lights up like the golden fairy lights he had pinned on his childhood room walls. “If it’s not too much trouble, I ask if gege can stay?”

“Oh.”

“At least for cake-” HC rushes out, praying to whatever bastard up there that XL will say yes. “It’s strawberry,” he adds, softer. XL tilts his head in astonishment.

“I thought your favorite flavor was coconut?” XL asks in surprise.

“It is. But...I asked for strawberry this year,” HC finishes lamely.

Was he being too obvious? Would XL figure him out and be repelled? Sure, it was only a cake flavor, but what are the chances XL’s favorite is still strawberry?

XL takes his phone out of the canvas bag SQX brought to him after the dance. He scrolls for a few seconds, then quickly types something out. Turning the device back in its place, XL meets HC’s gaze with a cheerful smile.

He closes all the distance between them, a certain bounce in his step.

“I believe,” XL starts. “I can keep the birthday boy company for a little while longer.”

HC smiles widely, flashing his front row of teeth–his right canine pointier than the rest.

“Brilliant.”

***

Turns out, “a little while longer” meant talking until every last person called it a night and headed out. They catch up on all the years they missed out on each others’ lives.

Four years ago, XL adopted a daughter, Ban Yue. Ban Yue was a split-second decision when XL was a year out of university, unsure of what direction his life was heading. He says it’s the best decision he’s ever made.

“She brings me so much happiness. It was like I had a Ban Yue-shaped hole and she was the missing puzzle piece,” XL says enthusiastically. He pauses to take one more sip of his baijiu. “Does that even make sense? Hahaha….”

“It does,” HC reassures from beside him. They sit on his plush, velvet couch, holding their respective drinks with practiced form. XL leans back against the cushions, sighing in relief.

“San Lang, I knew you would understand,” he murmurs.

He doesn’t elaborate.

He doesn’t need to. It’s no secret XL’s parents would’ve disapproved of him for single-parenting a random orphan with no known heritage or background. But they were already out of the picture, disowning XL right after high school graduation when he was outed by a family friend whose advances XL rejected.

“Perhaps you can meet her one day,” XL adds as an afterthought. HC matches XL’s position, reclining against the cushions, keeping his body turned towards XL, offering him HC’s full, undivided attention. It’s a simple gesture that means everything to someone like XL.

“I would love to,” HC says.

XL hums happily, then goes on to explain that he’s a telemarketer by day, which allows him to stay home with flexible work hours that fit around Ban Yue’s school schedule. (She’s in the third grade now.)

XL also mentions that he occasionally dances at night for an extra income. Nothing too intense or frequent. Just dressing up and dancing for special occasions, at parties like HC’s. XL typically has MQ or FX babysit Ban Yue during those nights.

The word family echoes in the hollow of HC’s chest.

“Gege’s been leading a very eventful and prosperous life,” HC comments with satisfaction. He leans forward to tug the maple-red coat he lent back over XL’s shoulders, ensuring the other man stayed warm.

“Nonsense, my life is just like anybody else’s,” XL says, waving his hand in a lax motion. “But I am very interested in hearing about San Lang’s life. Police chief, huh?”

“Gege…” HC mutters shyly. Against his will, his mind replays the moment XL asked if he should address HC as “sir.”

Boners don’t get boyfriends; sexy, mature conversations do, HC tells himself.

“Please, San Lang? I won’t force you to talk too much about yourself! I know we don’t...know each other as well as we used to,” XL says, a bit embarrassed. “If you want, we can just end right now and I can leave-”

“No! Not at all, I’ll tell gege anything he wants,” HC says, scooting even closer to XL so their hips bump against one another. XL sets down his empty glass, his unsure expression morphs to contentedness.

As it should always be.

“Well…” HC trails off, taken aback by how vivid XL’s amber irises gleam as they pin HC down. “Actually, there isn’t much to tell-”

“Just tell it is how it is, San Lang!” XL laughs, reaching over to playfully bat at HC’s arm.

“Okay, okay! I’m on it.”

[kittystargen3]

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13534569/1/Return-of-the-Survivors

Alternate Universe- What if Anakin's mother survived and Anakin never went dark side. Padme has the twins on Tatooine and survives. Anakin tries to help the surviving Jedi, while still keeping his family secret. Meanwhile Darth Sidious has been crowned emperor and is going after the remaining Jedi. Rumors have it he's looking for a new apprentice. Anakin gets to be a daddy.

I've got an update for you on Return of the Survivors. Yeah, I know, Finally. Below is a small selection. Click the link above to read more.

Chapter 65 - Clandestine Strategy

“Thanks Stevie,” Han shouted.  “Another, Oh, I better not.  We’ve got friends on planet and…”

Chewie bellowed a loud moan  “Rooooooaaaaaaaaaargrh.”

“Yeah, we’d better go meet them before they call us late.  It was fun.  We should do this again.”

“Grrraaaaaaaagrh,” Chewy waved.

Han’s friend Stevie ran the junk yard at Ord Mantell, and though his place wasn’t listed in any tourism guides, It was Han’s favorite place to visit.  Not just because his friend had a taste for the real drinks, not that fancy stuff the casino’s serve.  But also because Stevie knew how to spot that rare part that to other junk dealers was just another piece of trash, and his collection was the best place to shop.  The Falcon wasn’t just any Freighter, no she needed the best parts.  So what if some of them weren’t being made anymore.  It was still better than an imperial era engine, and nothing would convince Han to change that.

“Now, we won’t be telling anyone where we got the new part.” Han said to Chewy.  “The princess might not approve.”

“Rrrrrrrrgrrrrh hrrrrrrrrrrrgah?” Chewy asked.

Han rolled his eyes.  “Which princess,” He muttered to himself.  Then he laughed.  “Leia, of course.  If Mara finds out she’d just go ewww, and refuse to touch it.  Leia’s the one who’d blame “That trash” for every hiccup the Falcon has.

“Mrrrrrrrrrrrmmmmmmmrgrh.” Chewy rolled his eyes.

“Hey, I’ll have you know, it’s not just a crush.  She’s into me too.” Han rushes after the Wookiee.  “She spends most rides with me in the cockpit.  Why would she do that if not for my company.”

Chewy growls something mocking Han, as he climbs on board the Falcon.  Han came behind him and was about to respond, when he noticed the lights were already on in the ship.  “Did you leave that on?” he asked Chewy.  At the same time he was reaching for his weapon.  Chewy gave a low growl denying it.  Han pulled out his blaster and crept quietly through the ship.

Then suddenly a small green head popped up.  “Gone, the intruders are.”

Han gasped, then took a moment to let his breathing return to normal.  He barely managed to not shoot the little Jedi.  “Master Yoda.  Where are the others?”

Yoda’s expression became serious.  “Explains that, the recording does.”  He pointed to the nearby table, on which sat a new device.  “This for you, the intruders left.”

Han was curious now, so he walked over and pushed a button on the device.  A holographic figure appeared above it and started talking.

“Han Solo.  I am Skorr of the Bounty Hunters Guild.  Christophsis Incorporated has issued a bounty on your head, one I am here to collect.  Now, I could come in there guns blazing and try to take you by force, but then I might break a nail.”  The holo camera was turned and several other figures took form.  Amongst them Han could clearly make out Luke and Leia.  They were tied up and kicking, but it was all in vain.  Then the holo camera turned again and Skorr’s ugly, half cyborg mug was back on the screen.  “If you want your friends to remain free, you will turn yourself in.  Travel to these coordinates…” He moved his hand and a set of numbers was displayed holographically above his hand.  “Come alone, without your wookiee or Jedi friends, and when you are in bonds, we will release the prisoners.  Otherwise I will have to see who else is willing to pay for their pretty little faces.”

Han could taste the bile from his throat.  The thought of that man harming Leia, or any of the others, made him mad.

“Clouds the mind, anger does.  Help, it does not.” Yoda spoke up.

“Master, I…” Han started, his tone apologetic.

“Unnecessary, this is.” Yoda didn’t listen.

Han still felt it was necessary, so he continued, “He’s right about the bounty.  But I looked into it.  It was small.  It shouldn’t have gotten any attention all the way out here.  Leastwise any guild attention.”

Chewy growled and placed a hand on Han’s back.  “Rrrrrrgrrrrrrraaaaaaah.”

“Correct, he is.  Your fault, another’s greed is not.”  Yoda took a few steps closer.  “Know where they are being kept, we do.  Leave soon, we should.  If free them, we are going to.”

“Alright.  Chewy, if we are going to get into trouble, take the new part and install it in the gun turret.” Han didn’t look for a reply as he turned to the cockpit.  Yoda followed him and it was an unusual sight, the little Jedi making himself comfortable in the larger wookiee’s co-pilot seat.  Yoda used the Force to make levers move and push buttons.  Soon the craft was prepped and Han took off.

“Okay, there are the coordinates down there,” Han said.

“That warehouse, yes, that’s it.” Yoda said.

“Okay, Chewy and I are going to go in.  You stay here and keep this ship running.  When we leave, I have a feeling we’re going to need to make a quick getaway.”

Yoda shook his head. “Unfasten force cuffs, you are going to?”

“I’ll find one of his men and get him to do it.   I don’t plan on asking nicely.”  Han said in a low voice.  Then he turned his head and shouted, “Chewy, go get the big toys.”

Yoda shook his head.  “Looked for, your assault will be.  Stealth, we’ll need.”

“Stealth.  Not when you have the bigger guns.” Han said.

Whack!  Yoda’s stick came down on Han’s knees.  “Always a bigger fish, there is.”

“Oww!”  Han rubbed his knees.  He imagined for a second what it must be like for Leia, to listen to his prattle as wisdom every day.  ‘That must be what being a Jedi is like.  Sore knees…’

“Come, I will.”  Yoda continued.

“Wait.  I have an idea,” Han said.  Han leaned forward to whisper his plan to the Jedi Master.  Yoda absorbed his thoughts with critical eyes.

“Work, that might.  But training you will need.”

Han rolled his eyes, “Yeah, I was afraid of that.  Hold on, this gives me the chance to try out this new toy too.”  Han reached up to grab the golden dice he kept in his cockpit.  Attached to the golden dice was a single button remote, that when pressed, would start up the Falcon’s engines from anywhere and prep her for flight.  This would make it a simple matter of running on board and jumping into the pilot chair to take off.  Necessary if they were to make a quick run for it.

When Anakin gave him the engine startup remote it had a silver ring attached to it, which puzzled them all.

“What’s that for?” Luke had asked his father.

“Oh, that.  I found it in the restoration center.  They were going to throw it away, but I thought, maybe he could stick some metal keys on it or something,”  Anakin answered.

“Keys!  Who keeps metal keys anymore, Dad?” Luke had found that idea preposterous.  But Han thanked him anyway.

He did find something to put at the end of the remote.  Those gold dice weren’t keys, but they did open up a whole new world to him.  They were what won him the Falcon, and he found them the perfect attachment...

[hattale-au]

HatTale: Chapter 4

[Also on AO3!]

Standard Disclaimer: None of us own Undertale or A Hat In Time, they belong to Toby Fox and Gears For Breakfast respectively.

–

     * The immense power yo̠̎ȗ͉ now̬̿ ho̩͡lḍ͘ ̡̂fi̩ḷ̑l̲͘s ̠͋yo̬̍ṵ̞̓͆ ̦̖͆w̛͈ith̫͑̏͟ ̙͘d͙̉ e͈ ṯ͕͌͒͗͢ e͓̳͗̐̿ͅ r͉̐͗̕͜͜ m̻̣̝̈́͗̃ ḯ̯̘͇̐̅ n̺͚͈̊͡ á̢̳͉̂͊ t͍͖̭̆͗̄ i̛̼̞̘͋̓ ó̟̠̻̆͠ n̮̮̬͌͂̂  

         She felt… strong, powerful. She could take on the whole world and win. She wasn’t the wimp anymore, nor the weakling always picked on. She was a fighter who nothing could stop. These monsters were, for all their bravado, pretty cowardly. They’d be a good-

       “Kitten?”

       “Oh, sorry!” ...what had she just been thinking about? “Coming!”

       Ah, well, it couldn’t have been that important...  

       ---

       “Now this here’s a puzzle, they’re something of a tradition for Monsters, somewhere between a good challenge and a way to protect important stuff. There’s many throughout the Ruins and the Underground as a whole.”

       The girl examined the six huge staggered buttons in the floor (gosh, they were as big as she was!). It was  really   kinda anticlimactic that the giant, grand, sweeping entranceway just led to this dinky little room.

 Mask chuckled at her obvious disappointment and Cookie’s obvious ignorance of it. “Don’t worry, the Ruins get better.”

     They better, she thought as she rolled her eyes.

 Cookie whistled to get their attention, then walked over to the shut door and pushed. The door didn’t budge.

 “See,” she turned back to look at the girl, “the door won’t open ‘til you solve the puzzle. For practice, why don'tcha solve this one? The hint is here-” she gestured at a metal plate on the wall next to the door, “Here’s the lever ta pull once you complete it, also has the nice perk of resetting the puzzle if you don’t get it right,” She tapped the yellow lever as it was closer than the plate, “I’ll be here for help if you need it.”

 And with that, she was on her own.

 Internally, the girl groaned so hard she wouldn’t have been surprised if it became externally. Then she smiled and nodded.

 Alright! Puzzles! It wasn’t like those were the work of hell trying to disguise math and other dumb boring  hard   school stuff as “fun”. She could do this!

 Step one, gather clues! She walked over to the metal plate and scrutinized the writing… she scrutinized it real hard …

 She could feel Mask’s and Cookie’s concerned stares at her back. Whatever! It would make sense soon!

 …

 … No it didn’t.

 Hey, it wasn’t her fault! No one told her that the gosh dang instructions were going to be a puzzle too! Now peck, was that a “d” or a “b”...?

 She shivered at the sensation of Mask touching her shoulder, “ ...do you want some help? ”                The girl’s first instinct was to bristle and deny that statement, but then she sighed and mumbled, “...yeah.”

 She braced herself for the usual wow, you need help with that? But it’s so easy! You’re so stupid…    

 To her surprise though, he just leaned over his shoulder and started reading, “‘Only the fearless may proceed. Brave ones, foolish ones. Both not walk the middle road.’”

 ...oh. She ran back over to the buttons. Now she noticed that a little bit of the path extended under the middle two. It made way more sense now!

 So, “both bravery and foolishness make someone fearless…”

 “M-hm”

 “And they’re the only ones who get to continue on…”

 “You’re getting close, Kitten!”

 “And they don’t walk ‘the middle road’!” The girl cheered as she stepped on the outer four buttons and then pulled on the yellow switch.

 The door opened with a clang!  

 The girl did a little happy dance while Mask and Cookie clapped for her.

 “Good job, Kitten! I knew you could do it!” Cookie praised. She stepped towards the door and gestured for the girl to follow, “Now come on, we still have a long way to go,”

   —-

   The next room was somewhat more impressive than the last. More brick walls and ivy, but now there were also some small streams with bridges linking the paths on opposite sides and spikes blocking the doorway at the end. Oh, and it was also about twice the size. Less claustrophobic that way. Wait were those what she thought they were-  

 “So here’s the next one, Kitten. It’s pretty simple, all you have to do is-“

     Click, click-  

     Clunk  

 Mask and Cookie both stared at the girl, who was standing next to the newly-solved-in-record-time puzzle’s second lever.

 “...what? The path-“ she pointed down at the path under her feet, the path under the first lever, and the very conspicuous absence of a path under the third, “-made it really easy.”

  Cookie chuckled a little, “I guess so,” then she turned and walked through the now much safer doorway.

 Mask floated after her, “the next puzzles will be far more interesting, trust me…” then stopped, as he realized that the girl hadn’t followed. She was looking at a wooden sign next to the path with a confused stare.

 “I… I can’t be reading this right…” she mumbled as he joined her.

 She glanced up at him, he was shaking his head, “that’s what I thought too,”

 “Okay, but,” she huffed and crossed her arms, “what does ‘press Z to read signs’ even mean?”

 He shrugged, “Your guess is as good as mine…”

 Both considered the odd sign for a moment more, then moved onto the next room.

   —-

   The next room was small, cylindrical, and contained only a single dummy.

 “ ... well that’s new.”

 Before the girl could ask what he meant, Cookie clapped for their attention.

 “So, er, we monsters don’t have the best history with humans… and well… point is, you’re liable to get attacked-“

 “Been there done that,” the girl chimed in.

 Cookie sighed, “Yeah, that mean little flower, right? Sorry ‘bout him.” she gave the girl a reassuring smile, “as long as you’re with me or one of my friends he shouldn’t be a problem.”

 The girl nodded.

 “ ... that’s not gonna stop him if he’s really determined to get you.” Mask muttered from somewhere over the girl’s shoulder.

 She looked back and glared at him to which he just shrugged with a sheepish smile, “What? It's the truth.”

 “I guess,” the girl rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to Cookie.

 "Well!" Said the cat with a smile. "If encountered by a monster, your best bet is to strike up a friendly conversation! Stall for time until I'm able to come for help, and it'll all be okay. Here kitten, you can practice on this dummy!"

 Chat with a dummy? She could do that!

 "Hi Mr. Dummy! How's it going?"

 The dummy, of course, stayed silent, but Cookie was very pleased.

 "Fantastic!"

 The girl hesitated, “... should I keep going?”

 Cookie shook her head, “You can if ya want, or we could keep moving.”

 She thought for a moment, then glanced up to where Mask was hovering above her. He read her questioning expression and shrugged, “It would probably be best if we continued on.”

 She nodded and started walking over to where Cookie was standing in the entrance-way to the next room. Before she got there though, the girl turned and waved to the dummy, “Bye Mr. Dummy! Let’s talk again sometime!”

 The girl followed Cookie’s chuckles and Mask’s snickers into the next room.

   —-

   “This here is the next puzzle,” Cookie announced while the girl examined the room, “Though this room is only part of it, the next is down that hall,” the cat pointed at the hall in question.

 The girl nodded, time to focus then and see if there were any hints in this room.

 The room was a lot like the others, old purple bricks, lots of ivy growing, a path on the ground. Weirdly, the path didn’t lead from the door to the other door like in the other rooms. Rather it started at the left side of the room, meandered to the right side, then abruptly ended. Considering there were no signs to read in the immediate vicinity, she would just have to go with her gut and assume the weird path was a hint.

 “Already trying to figure it out? You haven’t even seen it all yet,” Mask remarked as he followed the girl and Cookie to the hallway.

 She shrugged. A little ways down the hall was a sign- her feeling was right! ...But she was having trouble reading it. Rather quickly, Mask was behind her, ready to help out.

"The western room is the eastern room's blueprint."  

 Now that just made her confused.

 She contemplated the strange message for moment, before a loud cawing sound took her by surprise. Whipping around, the girl saw a small little crow (which, strangely enough, had glowing eyes) bouncing up towards her.

 The bird seemed angry, but it was also… cute!! Just as with Cookie, the girl's guard had dropped.

 Which she instantly regretted as it jumped up and pecked her hand. Hard.

 "Ack-!"

 Rushing over at the sound of the girl's voice, Cookie shooed the bird away.

 "Oh, kitten! Are you alright?!"

 The girl nodded, shaking out the targeted hand. "Yeah, I'll be fine! Been through much worse!" Her slightly nervous grin was met by a worried look from Mask.

 Cookie smiled warmly, and took the girl's non-injured hand. "C'mon, kitten. This puzzle might be a little much, I'll lead you through!"

 The girl was about to protest, but then she saw a room who's floor was almost entirely spikes. Yeah, she was definitely keeping quiet and following the cat.

 Getting close to the sharp bringers of death, certain ones slipped back into the floor upon their approach. Cookie maneuvered them with practiced ease, leading the girl behind her along the path.

 They reached the end and the girl grinned. Spikes weren't that bad, if you had a guide. And she was glad she had a guide, very glad, a guide who wasn't going to leave-

 "I'm sorry to do this, kitten. But you must walk through this hall by yourself."

 And then her guide sped off.

 The girl watched as Cookie sprinted down the rather long hall, then hid behind the singular white pillar near the end.

 She glanced at Mask. "She… she knows I just saw her hide, right?" He shrugged, and the two continued on.

---

---

"sorry for the long wait :/" - Twyst

"Ya we kinda dropped the ball on this... But hey! It's here now, so enjoy! (;;ouo)" - Novi

[paladin-of-nerd-fandom65]

Taking Action

FINALLY. Months of writer’s block and my typing laptop’s battery finally dying, my next chapter in the Mary Grayson Talon story is here. Call this a very late Christmas present for you all. 

Constructive criticism is always welcome.

@lightdusk96 @fireflyxrebel @tarisilmarwen @nightglider124 @robxstar , Thanks for everything, you beautiful bastards 

As the Xenothium factory hummed down below from her rooftop position, The Talon lets a breath that shows itself as a little cloud of fog courtesy of the cold air. Red X was in position, as he signaled bird clad warrior,

“Alright ma’am, I’m rolling up to the front doors.”

“Ok, so far so good. I guess I’ll be making my way around then.”

“Before you do anything though, remind me again how this can put a dent on these Court guys again?

“Easy, the owner of this cooperation is an Owl. I have scared off plenty already but it looks like they’re moving ahead with their little plan and I can’t, I repeat, I CAN NOT risk the Titans or even the candidates for the Mayor get caught in the middle of something I can stop. So letting this one know of what we prove a turning point.”

“How exactly���?”

“In recent years, The Court has been supplying their Talons with Xenothium based weapons, weapons that can pass even through a metal detector without any hassle, in which can only boost their killing power, and bear in mind that power was pretty deadly before I was even there…”

“So take away the big boys’ toys, and they’ll go sulk to their rooms for bed”

“Precisely”, nodded the Talon as she flipped off the last flag pole in her descent from the rooftop and begin making her way to the garbage truck parked outside the Xenothium factory.

As Red X, wearing not his signature suit but rather a simple workers uniform complete with a standard issue cap and convincing fake moustache hanging onto his face, makes his way pushing an entire hand truck’s worth of ‘Xenothium-filled’ barrels into the main entrance, he can’t help but not one puzzling question he has to address before he has to start talking to their workers around him.

“What about Chuckles and his happy little friends?”

As Mary Grayson the Talon knocks out a guard with the bunt end of her knife before dragging his unconscious body to the side, she replies with, “If the Titans or hell even Zucco’s men do take notice and start coming after us, you can get start making a run for the Xenothium and do what you do best.”

“So I’m bait?”

“Bait, who just so happens to have a way out.”

“Oh yeah, there’s you” X chuckles to himself.

Just in time too, for he’s now arrived at the main processing part of the factory itself, numerous machines humming a glorious and thunderous but calm buzz in their atmosphere, the random banging emerging from the top signifying the crushing of individual atoms that give Xenothium its nuclear sting when in use. Next one of these machines, X places one if his four barrels at a spot just close enough but not enough for anyone to take notice as the other barrels next to it are a relatively further distance from the machines. X does this three more times before finally just letting the hand truck go and making his way back to the doors.

“Alright, Ma’am, Phase 1 is a go.”

Mary, now making her way into the factory’s offices towards the owner’s own room, gives a nod and then a reply,

“Ok then, you might want to start dressing up for this party then.”  

Red X couldn’t help but slip a small smirk as he exited the factory since now all it takes is a good signal to get everyone out of the way of what will soon be a firework show on par with that little comic he reads, V for…something, he forgot.

As X made his department into the streets, the Talon had finally reached the door to the owner’s room and to further increase her chances of entering, no guards were present. All she needed now was confirmation of the owner being present inside. Placing her ear on the door, Mary can hear a distinct, rough, almost Russian accent coming through…

“…Yes My Grandmaster. The weapons are almost ready. The night this city shall onto grips will soon come. By this week’s end, the prey of our fierce might will be consumed in the sharp claws of our might. Yes, the Titans will not even know what hits them by the time they even reach…the labyrinth. Those brats will know fear alright. Hail Barbatos.” The phone clicks off as said device was placed on its place. Now was the moment to strike.

With a blazing swiftness, the rouge Talon slips the door open and pins this man, Nikita Jughashvili, onto the wall with some wire sprouting from her knives keep him there. At any minute, she can trigger these wires to discharge a large voltage of electricity onto Nikita’s flesh. But for now, she didn’t want that, at least not yet, for now she wanted to talk.  

“Mr. Jughashvili, I would like to discuss about your business.”

The wealthy man, along a streak of white and grey hair on his sideburns and one glaring brown colored eye with the other just a black orb in its place, just look at his assailant with a bit of shock

before letting it slip into… arrogance out of all things.

“Well, well, well, the golden girl of the Court finally decides to face me directly.”

“Why the smirk, Mister, you do realize of what I can do…”

“Though, I don’t care. Your defection however, intrigues me.”

“How’s that…?” Mary asks, right before being cut off by the sudden whooshing noises right behind her. Next thing she knew, three mores Talons, all in similar uniforms to hers, landed and whipped out their swords. Mary looks back at Mr. Nikita, who now had a nasty smirk growing on his face.

“You did not seriously believe your terrorism against the Court would go unnoticed now did you? Against the power of Gotham’s true fathers, there can be no victory. Do not spoil yourself and your already meaningless life fighting. Reconsider your efforts, simply let me loose from these wires, come upon your knees and say ‘I surrender to my Master with all intent and will forever grovel at his…”

*SLASH*

Nikita Jughashvili had never had a chance to finish his little monologue before Mary Grayson performs a clean yet bloody slice to the disgusting man’s throat, leaving his head to roll to the other Talons’ feet. They took this as their cue to lunge forward with their blades up in front, hoping to impale the rouge right here right now. That decision does not go well as Mary quickly draws her own swords from her back as the battle begins.

In the midst of sword clings and slashes that scratches all four birds, Mary manages to tap unto the communicator on her ear to signal X of the…little side block to their plans.

“Red X, can you hear me?”

“Just strapping on my last and got my handy dandy trigger to distract the…”

“Push that trigger, now!”

“Um…what was that?” Red X asks with a tiny bit of shock.

“It was a step up! They knew what we’re doing!! Check your sides!”

As if on cue, X looks to his left side, narrowly avoiding the sword blade and allowing it to hit the concrete block wall before swinging his leg without his boot on and slamming the Talon right on his head. Oh yeah…classic booby-trap. So one button press later…

Meanwhile…In Downtown Jump

Robin had just secured another tight landing on the neighboring rooftop after about three times in a row of doing such right after a classic grapple hook swing. The patrol had been going on for about three hours by now. Every now and then, a Trade Fed Helicopter would pass by but otherwise no activity had been reported for them. No lead up on his long lost mother, no clue on Slade’s whereabouts, not super criminal robbery, not even a dang small time gang fight. For the most part, the lack of activity both relaxed and infuriated Robin. The normally quiet nights always signaled to him that while having a soothing and calm atmosphere in which he can use to hang out with his friends, something sinister can using this time to plan cunning and damaging schemes that will, not can but will, hurt his friends and the city they’ve defending for years by now.

Both thankfully and regretfully, Robin’s wish for action was fulfilled when a massive explosion both in gunpowder and the red distinctive glow of Xenothium echoed from the Lokiva plant about 10 miles away. Something’s causing trouble, so now he knows who to call.

“Titans, meet me at Lokiva plant, NOW!”

“Roger that!” replied Cyborg

“Understood” replied Starfire

“On my way” replied Beast Boy

“Same here” replied Raven, and finally

“It’ll just take a minute” replied Kid Flash

Two minutes later…Lokiva Xenothium Plant

As all six member of this Titans team land in the outside of the plant, they frankly wish they hadn’t due to the amount of heat generating from the huge fire they see in front of their very eyes. The tall and daunting trees of flame and ash erupting from the building were the stuff of legend in terms of the size of pure destruction they have ever witnessed. On many levels, this flame storm reminds them heavily of Trigon’s ascension onto the mortal plane, and that’s a VERY bad reminding they need.

To their collective relief, fire trucks and police officers were on duty, tending to the numerous workers who’ve escaped and rushing into the towering flames pulling more of those workers out of the fiery maelstrom. That’s where they come. So then, a grand total of thirty minutes and about three back drafts in which would’ve leveled the entire block plus more had it not been for Kid Flash and Cyborg’s quick timing and thinking, and while every civilian was in fact accounted for and safe, now the question becomes very obvious: who started this explosion?

As the firefighters pressed onward dousing the towering flames, the answer became all the more

clear when Robin notices something on the rooftops on top of them all, what seem to be two distinct glowing little lights looking down upon the fire, perching like an owl glaring for its next prey. With an urge to chase down the lights, Robin’s body begins to slightly tense since he knows at the moment that this particular crisis was more apparently than hunting down the Talon. However, the Police Chief running the operation, Chief O Hara, had noticed this anxiousness and walks up to Robin, “We’ll take it from here, whatever you needed for, you can go.”

Robin nearly double takes, ‘But Chief, we can try helping with the…”

But then the good old O Hara places his hand on Robin’s shoulder, “I know the look of when you have something or someone vital to find, sonny. We’ll all be okay.” He finished with s small smirk and a nod

With that, Robin now knows what he and his Team must do and nods too.

“Titans, the firefighters can take it from here. Follow me!”

With that, Mary Grayson begins her chase across the rooftops away from the burning factory. By the time Mary reaches the third rooftop away, the distinct glows of Starfire, Kid Flash, and Cyborg appear rising from edge of the roof she was once on. It was made clear they would indeed follow her until they can get their hands on her. This was precisely what banked on though as she taps until her earpiece, communicating with Red X.

“They’re right behind me and closing,. are you on the spot?”

The feedback had a  tad bit  of static coming through but otherwise fine enough, “Yeah, I’m at the spot. Let me tel you something though, those Talon friends of yours REALLY don’t know the meaning of ‘piss off’”

A small chuckle came from Mary’s end, “Well that’s what they are trained and meant to do. Nut anyways, I’m closing in, stick to the shadows.”

“Gotcha”

The microsecond Mary taps out of her comm link, the distinct yellow lightning of Kid Flash nearly hits her face, indicating a missed punch. With that, she knew where she was now and with one more leap, Mary begins her descent down from her last rooftop and towards the alleyway down below. Barely dodging more of Kid Flash’s attacks and now Starfire’s trademark star bolts as she flips and hops down the building stairs, Mary only now begins to spot some UH 60 Blackhawk helicopters hovering above her and the pursuing Titans, indicating of Boss Zucco’s Trade Federation forces joining in the chase. This quick little speculation was confirmed with  TF troops beginning their own descent via ropes coming out of the Blackhawks.

Finally, the rouge Talon touches the concrete, only to be met on both sides of the alley with opponents she really hadn’t banked on being together. Towards her left were the faceless and well armed TF troopers, all taking aim with apparent now pure shotgun, assault rifle and sub machine gun firepower and red dot lasers out of their aiming sights to ensure accuracy int his nighttime operation. On the opposite end were the Titans, living breathing spirits of strength made into teenage flesh and bone, all led by the one person she considers her dearest love in the whole world. Said love, whipping out his two escrima sticks with tasers at the ends, stared her down as Mary simply stood and stared back.

“Look whatever you are doing has gone far enough” Robin firmly yet loudly enough states with a tad bit a shakiness, “I know what you might be doing might be for the best for me, but the facts are that innocent people are getting hurt and maybe far worse, your little war has turned into full blown terrorist attacks! I-I-I don’t to say it l-l-like that…but you HAVE to stop all of this before more innocents are caught in the…” Robin never had a chance to complete his sentence. Mary simply just raises her hands into the air, dropping her bag unto the ground. Both the TF and Titans were simply…stunned. They didn’t honestly expect that.

They almost certainly didn’t also expect the lone Talon to simply walk up to them, not taking out any of her swords or knives, slightly dropping her hands in front of her, in a submissive position.

“Okay,” the Talon mutters, almost cheerfully, “you can take me in right now.”

“Uh ma’m?” Cyborg questions, his index finger on his left hand rightfully pointing out the swords on her back. Said question was almost immediately answered with the Talon proceeding to unstrap the swords from her, letting them and the belt of throwing knives drop to the ground.

Robin, taking said dropping as his personal cue, puts away his escrima sticks in place of high powered handcuffs. Apparently, his mother wanted them, so why not?

Taking note of the TF troops moving up by a least two steps as they prepare to apprehend his mother, Robin simply raises his hand up,

“We’ve got this.” he says with now absolute firmness behind it.

The troops look at each with expectant questioning looks on their faces. So much questioning so that the lead troop, distinct by his blue/red bandanna underneath his helmet, taps unto his own communicator to talk with the Boss himself. The almost silent atmosphere between the TF and the Titans lasts a grueling one or two more minutes before the lead troop taps his ear piece off.

Beast Boy felt and unnerving sense of what should the right question be at this moment, 'What The freaking hell is actually going on here and what we are doing exactly?!’.

Such a question will have to asked maybe later though, as the lead TF troops signals his squad via

head and hand cues; the Boss said the target was clearly in Titan hands and if we try blowing them away over this, the city officials especially the cops will notice and with all the publicity looking for ANY sort of scandal, big or small, they can use to discredit him, they will use this as their way to do so. Besides if anything, despite his deal with the Court, it’s clear that they weren’t not really so good fellas any and where mostly likely gonna take him out eventually and maybe, just maybe the team he openly bashes in his speeches will be far better as allies at the moment anyways. With the Talon on their hands, maybe they can even get an answer or two out of her without pointlessly torturing her like they would’ve done. So the order was given, “Stand down and just let the kids take the dumb-*ss bird lady anyways.”

With that, the TF begins their climb back up the ropes to their Blackhawks with the last troop to go up giving an unseen glare towards Robin and the Talon before the command of “Come on, Kenny!” from his comrades above in their Blackhawk cue him to take the rope back onto the flying craft.

“So….that was easy.” Kid Flash comments as the Blackhawks fly off and they are left with their bird themed prisoner.

Twenty Minutes Later….Titans Tower Holding Cells…

Mary Elizabeth Llodveski Grayson, now mostly stripped of her Talon gear including her mask and now fitting with most plain clothing that of course exposes her arms, face, and neck of the near grey and blue vein skin albeit with her still shining dark red hair wrapped in a ponytail, takes note of the relatively decent sized but still frustratingly apparent cell being in the shape of an average looking bedroom. More specifically, her own bedroom that she and her late husband John shared during their days as the Flying Graysons, right down to the poster  of their troop on the wall right on top of her bed, the exact same spot she had back at the circus. She guessed her son had some courtesy to make sure she was comfortable in her stay, or rather imprisonment, in their Tower. Not that comfort would matter too much since her mission was accomplished; unbeknownst to both the Titans and the TF at her arrest, Mary had secretly dropped a USB drive unto the ground but at an angle neither side can see it right away. The only one person who knows of this drive was Red X, the politely albeit rough around the edges young man who’ve helped her escape the TF crackdown a few weeks ago and worked with her on covering her assault on one of her targets in this city. By now he should be safe and sound in his secret headquarters (i.e. the Robert Kane slums), USB drive in hand with all the info of what he needs to give the proper warning to both Zucco and most especially her son of what the Court plans to do…

Whoosh

The sliding doors open, revealing a certain red, green and yellow clad vigilante with a black domino mask and steel toed boots as he approaches Mary’s cell door.

“Why did you do it?”

“You mean the surrender part or the destruction of the Xenothium plant? Or even that maiming of that family?”

“All of it and you should know that Mom”

A deep sigh is heard from the other side as Mary gathers her thoughts, “It’s quite easy, Little Robin. A warning. to be specific, the first incident was meant to warn the Court that they will not make their city their own unless they get through me first. The last two things however, were more of their warning to me.”

Robin raises an eyebrow, “What do you mean?”

“Well, i knew it but it’ll be a matter of time before the Court themselves took notice of what was I doing to their members left and right…”

“You mean that little girl whose limbs you shattered and now Mr. Jughashvili’s beheading?”

“And I freely admit my apologies for those two..”

“You better be thankful that we asked the Law and the TF to let us take you into our custody and you’re very lucky you can’t really die again, otherwise given what you’ve done and the type of people after you…”

“It’s okay, it’s okay Little Robin. I understand and frankly I do deserve whatever sort of punishment should be done to me right now and…”

“MOM!” Mary quickly gets stunted into silence.

Realizing his shout, Robin quickly breathes out to collect himself before letting his emotions get the better of him once again. “I’m simply here to ask you about why you surrendered. I can tell there’s something bigger you’re up to and need answers to them.”

“Please mom, you got to work with me here. Whoever’s planning whatever and if it puts innocent lives in grave danger, you HAVE to let us know.”

Mary, knowing of a semi desperation in Robin’s request despite no apparent signs of showing it, looks unto her hands to note, with her streak maiming and killing, it’s quite surprising her morally driven (a fact she’s very proud of) son would demand her the truth without resorting to much more…rougher methods of extracting the information she wants to tell them but couldn’t out of fear for their safety. Given what she knows now and the building pressure in the atmosphere, well might as well spill the beans.

“The Court of Owls are preparing for a certain night. Maybe later this week or even tomorrow, they are readying their finest assassins and soldiers into an all out assault. ”

“What soldiers?”

“Every Talon that’s not me, they’ve probably shipped about at least tens to hundreds of them here from Gotham probably just today. The Lokiva Plant was run by a well member of the Court, secretly crafting and preparing Xenothium  weapons that these Talons can use.”

“For their attack? Mom, what kind of night are talking about here because it sounds like something we should’ve prepared for months by now.”

“They’ve prepared this night, A Night of the Owls, for months actually, a contingency should one of their own turn his back on them as they secret convert this city and its criminal underground into their own. Granted, they never had total control of even Gotham even when you were little, given the amount of villains that hellhole already has…”

“The point?”

“By at least the end of this month from now, a full entire Private Army of assassins like me but without any thought of their own will target ANYONE that can stand in their way of claiming this city as their own.”

“Anyone? As in whoever’s running the city?”

“Along with whoever’s running to take charge like Zucco and especially it’s resident self proclaimed protectors.” Mary finishes somewhat mournfully given who she means with that last statement.

“You mean us.”

“(sniff) Pretty much yes. And it’s all my fault. Had I not thought of you and rebelled. I would’ve made sure none of this happened. I should’ve long dead by now. I should’ve let that fall just finish me off and I could’ve known you were going to be in good hands instead of the Court’s. (sob) God damn it all. (sob) Have could’ve been so God damned stupid?! How could I..?!”

Mary abrupt found herself cut off a sudden tightening around her chest section. Looking around her was the notable red tunic her son wears on duty now wrapped her as his arms were wrapping around her. Mostly one of the Graysons’ trademark 'cool down’ hugs they would give to each other whenever their own goes through emotional distress, like what she was.

As Robin finishes his cool down hug to his mother, his Mama, he quietly steps back outside her cells and gently closes her door before finally collecting himself to speak.

“Whatever comes our way, we’ll take it down. We will not let this city fall as far as we are concerned.”

Mary remains silent in near wonder of her son’s determination that she can clearly her.

“If we can beat a madman who went as far as torturing me on a mental level literally whenever I was in the dark, an entire of school of egotistical kids who want to be criminals or even the Devil himself and save our friends numerous times in the process, we can beat these Talons and this Court. The Court are just enough group of bad guys. They just so happen to be a little grey around the edges.”

“Can you?”

“We will Mom. And once the Court are beaten, no matter what night it’ll be, we’ll find a way.”

Noticing her son’s valiant determination in his little speech, Mary feels something else besides the usual Mother’s Love and pride at work work…something rather more on her mind..something that says to her “Yeah, you didn’t really need to do all of this, but this is your chance to free yourself from these criminals and live a new life outside”…something that says confidence in her future ahead,,,something that let’s her know it’ll work, no matter if it’s the hard way or not, it’ll all work out in the end…something that says…hope.

Yeah..that was it…hope. And her son gave it, of course he would, he is her Little Robin after all.

Epilogue : Robert Kane Slums

As Red X entered his abandoned house/HQ via the secret window, he checks his belts for signs of that dang stick of plastic Mrs. Talon made such a fuss earlier that day to make sure he got once she was taken in by Chuckles and his friends.

Quickly noting the USB drive safe and sound and making his way to his little laptop, X turns on the little computer as he pulls off the skull like mask of his face , letting loose his black hair with a white streak on the front end and his near pale skin, with a notably 'J’ mark on his right cheek so said facial features can breathe in fresh air as the laptop loads.

As the laptop screens finally shows and the USB given by Talon in secret registers, one note file appears, “WARN THEM ALL; ASSEMBLE THE TITANS”. Clicking open the file, X couldn’t find himself both amused and even alarmed of what was being loaded onto his screen.

'Ofelia Garibaldo, City Manager.’ 'Tina Polanski, Jump Public Advocate’ 'Slade Wilson, Criminal Mastermind and Former Mercenary for the League of Shadows and United States Government’ 'Jason Haywood Todd, Local Thief known as the Red X’ The names went on, up to probably a thousand and growing by the time the file was halfway done.

On yeah, this was big. X might not be a hacker or expert of sneaking onto Titans lines by any means…but he knows he has to…given what the birds here are going to do. Better act fast though.

Meanwhile, Jump Civic Authority Party Headquarters, Downtown

“You heard me right guys. I quit.”

“Certainly, you must be joking of such. No single man dares to defile a deal made with us and expect no consequences as a result,”

“Oh I know, I’ll get consequences. I’ll be expecting those birdies or yours to barge in my office and saying the usual 'The Court has sentenced to die’ shtick maybe while I’m doing some paperwork or listening to ave maria while trying to perform urinating in my toilet upside down out of boredom on the day you’re ready. Frankly, I can’t even give a damn if I try with sincerity.” Zucco states as his cigar smoke reaches the ceiling fan as the hologram call from the masked Owl glares him down as if he was on spot, given said hologram showing the man in his appropriate size when faced for real.

“You shall pay for this defiance.’

"I paid for plenty in my life, Paid for stuff i didn’t even do. The fact of the matter is that I didn’t get your Talon and you probably going to take me out once I was elected anyways. The deal was off the minute she got away from my boys twice by now. So yeah, bottom line is, it’s off and you better have enough Talons to try to get me when this 'Night’ thingie blows over. IF push comes to shove, I’ll fight alright. Screw you guys, I’m staying at my new home.”

“YOU WILL-”

“Ah ,ah. Screw you guys.”

Thus Zucco hangs up and the Owl’s hologram fades out.

“Come and get me. I dare you”

[losille2000]

A Saving Grace, Chapter 4

TITLE: A Saving Grace CHAPTER NUMBER: 4/? + Prologue AUTHOR: Losille2000 WHICH Henry/CHARACTER: Actor!Henry GENRE: Drama/Romance FIC SUMMARY: All press is good press, right? Not if you ask Henry Cavill. After recordings from a disastrous interview go viral, Henry’s life begins to crumble around him. He has no idea how to stop it from happening. Fortunately, he has a new assistant who could be his saving Grace. RATING: M (sex, language) WARNINGS: None yet. AUTHORS NOTES: Enjoy!

Chapters: Prologue - 1 - 2 - 3 . Also on AO3!

Chapter 4

After the tour of Henry’s palatial house, Kal following close at their heels, they ended up in the office to concentrate on some real work. Grace was still unsure as to what she needed to do, but was grateful to find that she had her own desk in the large room, off in a quiet corner. Henry’s desk sat in the middle, one of those huge oak desks with intricate carvings that probably cost more than her car. Okay, maybe that wasn’t hard. Her car was a piece of shit and in the shop again, hence being reduced to an Uber ride from her next-door neighbor. Still, it was impressively sized, the offhanded comment that he was compensating for something playing at her lips.

She carefully reined in the urge to put a voice to it. Instead, and probably more troublesome, she thought frivolously about how it was one of those big, sturdy desks perfect for fucking if he were so inclined. But she wasn’t going to put a voice to that, either. In fact, she was going to completely forget about it and shove the thought out of her head, as unacceptable as it was.

Henry sat down in the chair behind his desk like it was a velvet-cushioned throne covered in gold gilt. It took him several seconds to find a comfortable position before he eventually focused on the computer sitting in the center. The top workspace of the desk was tidy and sparsely decorated: a few notepads, a cup containing pens and pencils, and a landline telephone. A tray for mail and other documents as needed sat at the right corner. Very much a business setup, but also with a lot of unused space. This puzzled her; he didn’t seem like such a minimalist. No man who spent his free time on women and clubs and luxury to excess was a man who kept a regimented and sparing workspace.

Unless she’d got him all wrong from the outset.

She didn’t know what to make of him, honestly, especially after their little conversation-slash-argument. Ultimately, she’d wanted to poke at him. Test his weaknesses where the subject of his problems were concerned, to get some sort of baseline to anticipate how he might react in future public situations if someone mentioned it, as they were sure to do. The story was getting old; the press wanted fresh blood in the water. They’d try anything to get a rise out of him to sell more magazines and get more website hits.

She hadn’t intended to let her personal opinions mix into the discussion and let it become as heated as it did. Worse yet was that she couldn’t really find it in herself to totally condemn him now that she’d spoken with him. Before, it’d seemed so clear cut. She’d been able to put him in a box with Dave. Meeting him, feeling him out, watching his body language, had humanized him in such a way that she had not been prepared for it.

Yes, sure, what he’d said in that damned recording was horrible, but his reasoning and explanation? She almost understood him. That, more than anything, was the cause for her initial ire. Working for Dave, and what Henry had insinuated, was a sore spot. But she also understood Henry’s yearning for a woman who met him halfway in a relationship.

After all, that’s all she wanted from a guy, too. Hadn’t she just gone off on the straight male species the previous afternoon, after her last breakup email? None of those idiots ever met her halfway, in the way she wanted them to. She gave and gave only to never reach equality in the relationship. The only difference was that she didn’t have cameras and recorders shoved in her face to catch her inevitable meltdown and spread it across the globe.

So, despite her better judgement, Grace found herself begrudgingly accepting of her new boss. He deserved a second chance as much as anyone else, right? It pissed her off. She didn’t want to accept him, and it was very clear he didn’t want to accept her, considering the way he warily glanced in her direction, but at least they’d reached an impasse.

“What?” he asked, an errant curl falling across his forehead. He flicked it to the side with his fingers. They were long and thick, like the rest of him.

“I apologize for earlier,” she said softly and turned to the laptop Dany had mentioned earlier. She flipped the lid up and hit the power button. “I’ve been working for Dave too long and I automatically think every guy I work for will be the same.”

Henry huffed. “I didn’t exactly give you the best impression of me outside, or with what I said a little bit ago. It’s my fault, really. I mean, you’re here for that reason. My mouth gets me in trouble.”

Grace nodded, and looked over her shoulder at him. “I just need you to be aware that I will not hesitate to call you out in the future.  I really want you to prove me wrong—hell, I want you to prove the world wrong.”

“I look forward to it.” He tried to hide it, but she saw the twitch at the corner of his mouth that threatened to turn up into a smile.

Grace spent the next half hour in the silent office familiarizing herself with the set up left by his previous assistant, ran through most of the emails in the inbox, and then returned to her own work laptop for any pressing matters.  The first thing to arrive was a notice that Henry had a new engagement in a week at a charity ball for the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. In Atlanta.

Grace groaned. For the first engagement after something like Henry’s fuck up, it seemed a little heavy. In fact, it would be incredibly difficult for him to show his face there with no cushion of some positive press prior to it. These people were going to eat him alive, or they were going to completely forget about the recording. She hoped it was the latter, for everyone’s sake.

“Did you see the—” she began, but paused when she glanced back at him.

“Yes.” His jaw clenched, the word spoken tersely. “I’m all for it, but it seems like a lot after they’ve kept me under lock and key for so long now.”

She agreed. Then she lied to make him feel better. “I don’t think it’ll be too bad. You just show your face, do the photo op, write a check at the auction. Besides, you might be sexist, but I don’t get the abusive vibe from you.”

He guffawed. “That’s something, I guess.”

“Sorry, I just—” She bit her lip. She really had to watch herself now; sitting behind a computer monitor on social media the last five years had made her feral when dealing in real person-to-person relationships. Maybe that was why she found it so difficult to like him? “Yeah, I’ll just shut up.”

Henry chuckled. It was a surprisingly nice, deep rumbling. “It’s also a masquerade, so if things go dodgy, I can always cover my face and no one will recognize me.”

Grace frowned and scanned his hopeful face, dropping her eyes to his broad shoulders and chest. The simple cotton t-shirt strained against the muscles contained within it. “Yeah, I don’t think a mask will be much help.”

A single brow rose in a suggestive arch. “Are you checking me out?”

She shook her head as she turned back to her computer. “If I were checking you out, you’d know it.”

“Right.”

So why was her face blazing hot with a blush? Grace grumbled under her breath and clicked angrily at the web browser to open the correct link to secure plane tickets for the trip. “How long would you like to stay in Atlanta? In and out? You have a radio interview the morning of the ball, but nothing else scheduled.”

“Let’s fly in the day before, come back the day after,” he said. “Since I’ve got the time.”

Grace pressed her lips together, dying to question him about the note of frustration she’d heard in his tone about having free time. Instead, she asked, “Private or commercial?”

“Commercial,” he said. “And I’m leaving Kal at home, so you’ll need to make those pet hotel reservations.”

Kal popped his head up from the large memory foam dog bed in the opposite corner of the room. Grace laughed. “I never knew a dog could look so dejected.”

Henry huffed. “He’ll be fine.”

“Will his master be fine?”

“Why do you ask that?”

Grace again turned in her chair and held up Henry’s information booklet. She wanted to know what she was dealing with emotionally that he kept Kal certified as an ESA. “It says he’s—”

Henry cleared his throat and trained his eyes on his computer, trying too hard to not get invested in the conversation, and in the process lasered in on whatever had come across the screen with a scowl. “He’s both, but it’s not flying I need him for. Sometimes it’s just nice to have company on long shoots where you don’t know anyone.”

“Because no one could ever make new friends.”

His shoulders tensed, his face becoming slack and impassive, almost as though he’d checked out for a minute, as though he were having a memory of something. Finally, he seemed to animate again and said, “You know, it’s not as easy for some as it is for others.”

Grace didn’t say anything. It was a sore subject, clearly, and she wasn’t going to get anywhere with their working relationship if she continued to harp on it. In fact, she guessed he didn’t really need to explain anything. She already understood the reason for her assignment to him, and it was that his social anxiety manifested itself in a myriad of ways.

When they’d met outside, she instinctually paid attention to Kal first, simply because she adored dogs and she thought it would be a good ice breaker. Now she understood that Henry probably used him, at least in a few instances, to ease the awkwardness of new acquaintances. It gave two people something to talk about for a bit, that could flow into a normal conversation. Even so, it was still strange to look at the man sitting so kingly behind his desk and know that, on the inside, he was just a bundle of awkward nerves.

Honestly, the fact that he didn’t have it all together made him a little more relatable. At least he was human; a human who made stupid comments in public settings, sure, but still redeemable. She wondered why Dave didn’t think about going with that angle for Henry’s new publicity plan. Introverts and socially awkward keyboard jockeys everywhere would love a role model to show the world that foot-in-mouth disease was a real affliction plaguing even the most successful and handsome of men.

“You’re sure you don’t want him to come?”

“Why? I’ll have you.”

“Am I a friend, then?” Grace asked.

“No, you’re my employee that I can use and abuse,” he said.

She tossed the book back on her desk and stood up, smoothing her blouse over her stomach. “In that case, I’m taking my mandated fifteen-minute break and getting some coffee. Do you want some?”

“Are you any good at brewing it?”

“Usually I let the percolator do that,” she quipped. “But my hand has been known to slip on occasion and add a few extra scoops.”

His grimace made her laugh.

“Don’t like strong, bitter coffee?”

“I come from the land of tea, love,” he replied, his voice dripping in a much-pronounced accent. The curl on the top his head fell back across his forehead.

Grace gagged. “Ugh, I hate that stuff. Just go for the fully leaded experience! Quit wasting your time with leaf flavored milk water.” She added a visceral shudder for good measure. “And just so you know, this conversation is not part of my break. Because I’m still dealing with my slave-driver of a boss.”

His face lit up in a bright smile. Really, despite the initial awkwardness between them—meeting outside, and then the brief argument earlier—he already seemed to be much more at ease. Maybe his social problems weren’t as severe as some, but they were still deep-seated if they continued to bother him at thirty-four.

She wondered if, perhaps, he didn’t need a psychologist more than he needed a publicist.

Henry stood from his seat and moved around the desk. Grace frowned at him. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m going to supervise,” he said. “That’s my job.”

“It’s coffee, not rocket science,” she replied. “If you want coffee, I’ll be good and give you some weak ass coffee.”

He shook his head and brushed right past her out the door of the office. She stood still watching his swiftly moving ass, shaking her head. Maybe the next few months wouldn’t be that bad after all, now that he seemed to be loosening him up. And that ass, man. She felt certain of her ability to bounce a quarter off its flexed surface.

Rolling her eyes at herself, she pushed those thoughts down. But even as she tried to do that, he paused briefly as he turned a corner down another hall, glancing back in her direction. He must have caught the look on her face and the position of her trained eyes, because he laughed a dangerous, deep laugh.

Okay, that time, she’d been checking him out.

 Henry had whiplash.

One minute they were arguing with each other, and two hours later they’re laughing with each other over coffee. Oh, and she started checking him out, trying to be sly about it, but he caught that appreciative female twinkle in her eyes more than once. She could try to deny it all she wanted, but he wasn’t an idiot. Nor was he immune to an attractive woman eyeing him up.

They’d only just met that morning and he still wasn’t sure what she thought about him. Though he knew a great deal of physical attraction to someone rested in the intellectual—whether they particularly liked each other or not—a person could still objectively find someone else physically pleasing. She might hate him for all he knew, and simply found herself transfixed because she was human and could appreciate a nice body. The incredibly confusing problem was that he didn’t get the objective feeling from her, as though she were a scientist clinically considering is attributes. There was heat there, in her gaze, when he’d turned back and caught her staring at his arse.

Had her ire earlier all been for show, to test him?

Not that it mattered anyway, one way or another, about what she thought of him. She was his employee. De facto, yes, but his employee for the foreseeable future all the same. Most importantly, if he allowed himself the opportunity to consider her in the same way, he was, in a way, proving her and everyone else right. What could be the most sexist thing a man in a position of power could do? Oh, yeah, hit on his assistant. Talk about devaluing someone. He refused to allow himself the pleasure of considering her in any way but professional. It would save them all a lot of heartache down the road.

Besides that, he couldn’t trust himself. After months of imprisonment in his house, mostly away from the general public and female companionship, he had no way to gauge whether his mutual attraction—purely physical, mind—was due to lack of options or borne out of a real interest. He wasn’t about to ruin what was left of his dignity on something like this when he had so little to go off of.

Still, though, he found himself watching out of the corner of his eye as she moved around his spacious kitchen. They’d both agreed to disagree on the coffee, and he set a pot to brew while she rummaged around the refrigerator looking for lunch options. She didn’t seem satisfied with anything, and her perusal stretched on and on while they drank their coffee. Finally, she stepped back, her hand on the refrigerator door, and stood up to look at him.

“You have the most well-stocked fridge of any bachelor I’ve ever met,” she said. “My older brothers—they live together—have beer, like five boxes of cold pizza, and a door full of hot sauce. Oh, and a place with tons of fast food sauce packets.”

He couldn’t contain his laughter. “That’s not even as full as it usually is. I’m on the ‘clean everything out because I’ll be gone for most of the rest year’ phase.”

She scrunched her nose up and looked back inside. “What do you want? I can’t decide on anything. There’re too many choices.”

“You don’t have to make me lunch,” he said.

“Aren’t I supposed to?”

He sighed. Sure she was, but he didn’t want her to do it. It would just cement her unfavorable opinion of him. “You’d be responsible for securing food for me when I’m either in the middle of a shoot day or in the middle of interviews on a junket. That sort of thing. Otherwise, I can take care of it myself.”

Grace nodded and shut the refrigerator. “Good thing, because I’m a horrible cook. I can burn water.”

“There’s no such thing as a horrible cook if you can read a recipe,” he said.

“Then I lack the tenacity for it,” she replied with a laugh. “And you have to admit, there’s something in the way certain people just ‘know’ when something’s done in the oven.”

He rolled his eyes playfully. “Yeah, they use a thermometer.”

Grace scoffed.

“But you’re probably right,” he conceded.

Having won the argument, she shook her head and closed the door. “Have you been out of this house at all since—”

“Just my jog this morning with Kal,” he interrupted.

She moved over to the kitchen island and leaned against it, setting her elbows on the granite countertop and resting her chin in her hands. “Would you like to go out for lunch?”

“You’re serious?”

Grace chuckled. “Yes?”

He stepped away from his spot and rounded the island. Then he grabbed her in his arms and planted a giant kiss on her forehead. When he set her back down and she peered up at him with startled wide eyes, he almost felt bad for doing it. But he couldn’t contain himself. “I’m sorry, it’s just been a really long time since I’ve been out.”

“You act like you’re a caged lion and I’ve just let you back into the wild,” she said with a light laugh. Her skin on her neck had filled with a bright red blush.

“I am and you are,” he said.

She looked at him a long time, considering him a little more closely. Then she sighed. “I would have told them to fuck off.”

“That’s what got me into trouble in the first place,” he said. “Let me find some shoes and get my wallet.”

“There are ground rules, though!” She called after him. When he turned to look at her, she continued. “No alcohol. No clubs. No women.”

“But you’re a woman.”

Grace coughed. “Well spotted.”

He thought she wanted to say more, considering the way the muscles in her face relaxed… and then brightened with a sweet smile. There was definitely something else, but she didn’t say it.

Instead, she laughed again. “Hurry up, I’m hungry.”

He didn’t need to be told twice.