#me who has bad joints‚ my girlfriend who has bad feet‚ M who is in a wheelchair‚ and S who has a few things going on

[we-met-at-mount-sinai]

I went with my girlfriend again to services yesterday! It was really nice, and at the point when the rabbi was asking about people's interpretations of the Torah portion, she gave what I thought was quite an interesting interpretation (usually no-one speaks at that point and it gets quite awkward so having someone speak was seen as quite welcome).

Also one of the other members came up to us and interrogated us slightly (apparently he does that a lot) because it was odd for him to see so many young people at the synagogue on a typical Shabbat morning. My girlfriend told him that she was "exploring her options" because she doesn't know yet if Judaism is right for her, but she enjoys being at the synagogue and participating in services, so she's trying to determine if it's the right path.

Anyway. On this Shabbat evening she wrote a poem about the Shabbat candles, she's been doing Shabbat and learning Hebrew with me for a few weeks, and she's also been very invested in discussion about helping me to keep a Jewish home when we live together. So even if she doesn't end up converting, she's definitely being very supportive and participative of my conversion and our future of keeping a Jewish home together.

[bowdownbucky]

𝐁𝐀𝐃, 𝐁𝐀𝐃, 𝐁𝐀𝐃 !

part 2 <3

summary: you have an encounter with your best friend’s brother bucky!

pairing: innocent! reader x college! bucky

warnings: cursing, asshole! steve rogers, kissing, drug use, oral (female receiving) fingering.

your heart began to beat heavily, bucky didn’t care that his sister was outside of the door but you started to feel guilty. this was so wrong of you and you didn’t even want to look at yourself. “you better answer her sweethear, she’s not gonna leave.” bucky taunts you, he hand trails your stomach, groping your breasts hard. “uh-im almost finished, i h-had to ohhh.” you slap you hand over your mouth, bucky smirks as he pinches you nipple again.

“what?” rebecca moved closer to the door. “are you okay? i’m coming in.” your eyes widens, you pushed bucky away and slowly cracked the door. “i’m f-fine, the um…pizza! the pizza went down the wrong hatch.” you lie. rebecca’s face screws up. “ew i did not need to know that y/n” you watch as she walks into her room. you close the door, leaning your head back onto the wooden frame.

you closed your eyes and hoped that this was all a dream, that you didn’t actually kiss your best friends brother. you slowly open your eyes only to meet a pair of blue eyes, bucky laughs at you. “went down the wrong hatch? seriously?” you cross your arms in front of your chest. “well what was i supposed to say, sorry can’t talk now i’m making out with your brother. she’s kill me!” you exclaim, you ran your hands down your face in an irrational manner. this was too much for you and bucky didn’t see anything wrong with it.

“would you chill out? here take a hit, it will make you feel better.” bucky offers the small bud once more, you smack it out of his hand. “do you always solve your problems with weed!” you hiss. his eyes were low, he watched as the joint flew onto the ground. you hitch your breath realizing what you did, you see his tongue rub his lower lip. you almost melt at the sight.

“your gonna regret the doll.” he seethes into your ear. he pushes you against the door, you let out a yelp but he covers your mouth. “i know a way you can make it up to me, and you are gonna make it up to me. you know why baby?” you shake your head. “because you don’t want to get on my bad side. i would hate to ruin that innocence of yours.” he whisperers, he hands managed to find their way to you ass, giving it a light squeeze before letting you go.

you move from the door and he exits the bathroom, leaving you alone with your thoughts. you could barely comprehend what happened let along what he meant by his bad side. you grabbed the nail polish remover and walk back to rebecca room. “finally! you took forever.” you mumble a small sorry and sat on her bed, she lends you her hand and you get to work on her nails, she chose a peach color and wanted you to add a french tip, such a classic.

as you continue painting her nails she squeals making you mess up the curved line. “becca! your nails!” you groan. “i don’t care! why didn’t you tell me?” you tilt your head confusingly. “you and steve hooked up and you didn’t tel me?!” you eyes go wide. “what! no! where did you get that from?” you ask her. she huffs. “no, no, no, no don’t try to act all innocent! you and chris did it and there is evidence on your neck. i rest my case.” you rush off the bed and check your neck, you internally face palm seeing dark purple marks all over your neck.

“i had no idea steve was like that. i guess i have to stop making fun of him now.” she chuckles. “just taking me home my ass! so how was it? was he big? why arent you giving me details.” rebecca whines, kicking her feet in her bed. you ignored her and attempted to kneed out the hickies. as you run the marks you notice bucky staring at you from his room door, you could practically feel his smirk as you watched his reflection go back to his room. you heart raced as you tried to come up with an excuse.

“it’s no big deal i just burnt myself with a straightener.” you curse to yourself knowing she wouldn’t fall for that. “fine don’t tell me! i’m going to sleep, all this secrecy has made me tired.” rebecca yawns, you hoped she wouldn’t ask you about the hickey again because lying was never your forte. you lie in the large bed, clouded in your own thoughts.

did he like you? was he just messing with you? you had so many assumptions of why he kissed you, what bothered you the most was that you had steve. steve was a jock and you were an outcast, you didn’t know how it would work. even though you and steve hadn’t officially said you were together, you still respected him and wanted to be faithful.

the next morning at school, you kept your head down and didn’t talk to anyone for the most part. no one really seems to notice because you were kind of a nobody. you sat in your forensics class, jotting down notes here and there. you stop writing when you feel a hand creep up your thigh. you turn your head toward steve, he kept a straight face and didn’t acknowledge how unamused you were.

“what are you doing?” you whisper. steve’s hand tries to travel up your skirt but you close your legs firmly. “steve!” he turns to you. “we’re in the middle of class.” you point out. “i’m sorry you know i can’t resist you baby. let me make it up to you but taking you out after homecoming.” you hault yourself as you almost roll your eyes at him. steve could be pushy sometimes especially when it came to losing your virginity to him. you hated that rebecca told him that, now he wouldn’t leave you alone.

“oh really.” you say pretending to be intrigued. “the guys and i bought hotel rooms for tonight and we get to bring a special girl along. and you know since your my favorite girl, i thought we could go together and have fun. go swimming, watch movies, kiss, cuddle, the whole nine and maybe some other stuff if you want.” you remove his hand from your thigh and continue writing notes. “i told you steve i’m not ready for that stuff yet.”

steve huffs, returning back to the lesson. your virginity wasn’t something that you kept sacred but you wanted you first time to be meaningful and steve hadn’t even asked you to be his girlfriend yet so your answer would always be no if he asked. when school ended you took the bus home, you quickly packed a bag full of makeup, hair supplies and your clothes for homecoming. you checked the time, almost cursing yourself seeing how you were going to be late to rebecca’s house.

you ran as fast as you could to the barnes’ house, you could practically feel the lecture rebecca was going to give you. luckily, you live a few blocks down from the barnes so it wouldn’t be too long of a walk/run. when you arrived at the barnes’ you quickly rang the doorbell. the door opens’ revealing a shirtless bucky who looked like he just got out of the shower. “can i help you?” he smirks looking down on you.

“becca t-told m-me to come, for homecoming.” you gulped attempting to maintain eye contact. his couldn’t help but peek at his glistened abs, you really hoped he didn’t catch on to you checking him out. before he could let out a snarky comment rebecca came gritting down the stairs with curlers in her hair. “there you are! y/n your late and we only have three hours to get ready.” you pushed pass bucky and ran up the stairs.

bucky watched at how nervous you were, it was like the fuel he ran on. rebecca closed her door and pushes you onto her vanity chair. “please tell me i have creative freedom tonight!” rebecca pleads with her big blue eyes staring at you. you sigh and nod. she kisses your forehead before beginning your makeup.

after a few hours of prodding, poking, blending, and brushing, rebecca finally finished your makeup and hair. normally you wouldn’t wear makeup because you didn’t know how to do it very well but when you did have it on you truly looked like a princess. “now carefully get into your dress y/n, i swear to god if you mess up an eyelash i will kill you.” she threatens you with her high pitched voice. you removed your jeans and shirt revealing your body, you quickly unzipped the dress as you start to compare your body to rebecca’s. becca was tall and slim while you were a little curvy. you had a small tummy with stretchmarks and she had a flat tummy with a slender waist. your best friend was beautiful and you didn’t want to see mom jealous, so you put up a front and delt with it.

you and rebecca were finally dressed, rebecca looked stunning in her white and pink dress. with the help of rebecca and mrs.barnes, you had pick a pale green dress, the curve of the dress fit you like a glove. the creases on the dress made you look more mature and sexier. you were never use to being sexy so the look on your face made rebecca freak out. “you totally hate it, i knew we should’ve gone with the black dress.” you shake your head. “n-no! it looks…great. thank you becks.” the door opens, your heart quickens when you meet a pair of bright eyes. you noticed bucky had put on a shirt, a part of you were bummed out. “would it kill you to knock! we’re girls who need privacy!” rebecca yells. bucky didn’t give his sister the time of day, his eyes were fixated on you. you felt self conscious as he stared at you long and hard. “mom and dad are going to a banquet dinner in manhattan. they won’t be back until tomorrow.” he tells rebecca. she crossed her arms in confusion. “what? no! i was supposed to have the car tonight. how the hell are we supposed to get to hoco?” rebecca flings her arms up dramatically.

bucky chuckles at his sister’s agony. “wait!” you spoke up as bucky was about to walk away. “c-can y-ou drive us?” you ask quietly. rebecca pulled your arm. “are you crazy? do you know what people say if we shows up to homecoming in a pickup truck?” rebecca vocalized. you couldn’t care less what people had to say, you just wanted and excuse to be see bucky. “becca this is important to you and even you said yourself we had to be there under any circumstances.”

rebecca whines. “fine but you’re dropping us off a block away. i need to retouch my hair, you’ve made me stress away the curls.” you watched as she pushes past bucky, leaving the two of you. you stare at him for a second then turn around, attempting to act uninterested. “you know you should skip this whole homecoming thing altogether.” bucky told you. “what! no, this is important to becca and i promised her i’d be there.” you felt his presence behind you, your back was pressed to his front. “come on doll, you never seemed like the type to be into this stuff anyway. i have a few places we could go instead. wouldn’t that be way more fun.” he was baiting you and hell, you were falling for it very hard. he pushed your hair to the side, laying a kiss on your shoulder. his hand cupped your waist, pulling you as close as you could get.

his pressed more kisses up your neck, he liked testing you, he would make you beg for it if you gave him the chance. “c’mom dollface, don’t you wanna have fun with me?” you almost gave him a nod but refrained. “i should go help rebecca, see you in a few james.” you walk away smiling to yourself, you won this round of the game but best believe, bucky was going to win the next level.

you sat in between bucky and rebecca once more, y’all were currently picking up nathan and steve, your dates for the evening. “you look beautiful beck.” nathan smiles at his girlfriend. rebecca left you in the front with bucky so she could kiss her boyfriend more. steve walks to the front car door but bucky locks him out. “hey man, open the door.” steve groans. the two had seem to have history and now you were going to be in between it. “you know the rules big guy, no douches in the front seat.” bucky smirks. “then why are you sitting up here asshole?” steve sarcastically jokes. rebecca huffed from the back, leaning in the front of the seat. “hey dickheads, we don’t have time for this, have your cat fight after hoco. let’s go!” she demands. steve huffs, taking a seat next to the couple who had no problem with pda.

the ride to the school was pretty silent except for the rock music playing from the radio. you stared out of the window, you could tell bucky was mad because of how tight he was holding the steering wheel, his knuckles were almost white from the tight grip. suddenly, his hand was on your thigh. your eyes widened, you quickly look back to make sure no one saw what was happening. “what are you doing?” you whisper. he doesn’t say anything to you, his hand stays on your thigh and his eyes stay on the road but you could still see the smirk on his face. you tried to push his his hand away but he only moves it higher, almost touching your core. you didn’t want to play games anymore, you were never built for them, you open your legs up more, instead of doing what you wanted, he removed his hand. “alright guys, have a good night.” rebecca and nathan were the first ones to leave the truck. steve exits the truck and stands by youre window. “you coming?” you nod to him. “i’ll be out in a second.” steve walks away from the window, bucky bursts out into laughter.

you throw a punch at his arm but he doesn’t flinch at you. “thats not funny! you’re so mean.” you pout. “no what’s funny is you actually going out with steve.” you eye him in confusion. steve was a good guy, he could be a little pushy but that was just high school boys. “he’s nice and he asked me to go with him. i really don’t see what’s funny bucky.”

“you think just because the guy asked you to a dance, he suddenly changes his player ways. i think you forgot i use to be one of those guys. guys like that don’t fal for girls like you” he pauses. “all he wants is to get you under him and then he’s gonna hop to the next willing participant. god you’re so naive.” you crossed your arms. “you’re such a jerk james! at least he has the decency to not play with my feelings! you’re sister was right! you’re nothing but a-an…asshole.” you yell, leaving the truck with a slam of the door. you surprised yourself at how you went off on him, what did he know about steve. you knew being involved with bucky was bad but now you officially got your sign to stay away from him.

you walked into the school looking for steve. you pushed pass people grinding and dancing on each other. when you find steve you see he’s not alone, he was dancing with lila miller. the two were close together, you turn you back in disgust once you catch the two of them share a very tongue-filled kiss. you sit at the table in annoyance. of course bucky would be right about steve, you hated the fact that he was right.

it took an hour and a half for steve to find you sitting at the table, watching everyone have fun. “hey y/n sorry i was waiting for you but then the guys wanted to go take some shots in the bathroom.” steve leans over to kiss your lips but you dodge him. he looks at you with a confused face. “come on let’s go dance.” he offers you his hand, you play with the fork that was covered in strawberry cake. “i’m good, maybe you should go dance with lila instead.” you say. steve sits back down in the chair, he cleared his throat. “you saw that? i didn’t think you’d be mad, it’s not like we’re together or anything.”

you roll your eyes, pushing your plate away from you. you get up and begin walking to the double doors. as you enters the hallways you ignore steve calling your name. “y/n! can you just wait a minute!” he yells, pulling your arm back causing you to hault. “it was just a dance, i was being nice. you can’t just get mad at me like that, i asked you to be my girlfriend more than once and you said no.”

“because all you want from me is sex which is not ready to give to you. you don’t think i hear about you hooking up with girls in the gym closet. i don’t want to be the next dumb girl who becomes a play thing for you.” you snap on him. “oh come on, sex is just sex, why do you make such a bug deal over this?” he groans.

“it’s not just sex steve, i want it to be meaningful and memorable. i’m sorry if i don’t want to hook up in a sleezy hotel.” you yell, your faces were extremely close. “and you think barnes is gonna make it special? god you’re so naive.” you furrow your brows, what did bucky have to do with this situation. “he has nothing to do with this steve! you asked me to come to this dance with you only for you to dance with another girl and make me look dumb sitting there waiting for you. you can’t take your hotel invite and shove it up your ass.” you walk away from steve, this time he didn’t bother calling your name. after he heard you curse at him he knew you guys were not going to work this out

you sit on the stairs of the school, tears slowly slid from your eyes. you felt so stupid and used, you knew steve was right but it still hurt. you two weren’t together and if he wanted to take another girl to the hotel he could because you weren’t together. you cringe at how bucky was right about steve, you wanted to be angry at him but he did warn you.

you decide to head home, walking alone the lonesome streets of brooklynn. you were wet due to the copious amount of rain fall, you shiver once more and continue to walk to your house. you noticed a familiar truck driving beside you. bucky rolls down his window. “get in.” he tells you. you continue walking, deciding to ignore the older boy. “come on doll it’s raining. a pretty girl like you shouldn’t be walking alone.” you couldn’t believe he as trying to flirt with you right now. you were hurt by his words and you were standing your ground, well that was until you heard a loud crack of lightning. you quickly rushed into the truck, slamming the door behind you.

before bucky could speak you began to talk. “just because i’m sitting in here with you, doesn’t mean i forgive you.” you seethed. bucky nods at you. “okay.” you angrily slap his arm. “okay? are you serious right now? how about a sorry for being a jerk!” you yell at him. bucky doesn’t acknowledge you, he starts looking for something in his truck. “god! boys are stupid! all you do is crave sex and hurt girls!” you rant, arms crossed over your chest. once you finished your rant you peek over at bucky holding two blunts. “wanna get high?”

you later found yourself in bucky’s room, high as a kite. you didn’t know what effect he had on you but you gave into his temptation. you sat on his bed, letting him shotgun smoke onto your mouth. “god you’re so hot.” bucky kisses your right shoulder. you softly hum in response, he trails his kisses to your exposed neck. you knew this was wrong on so many level but it felt so right.

“kiss me.” you whisper against him. the drugs in your system had your hormones at an all time high, you needed him to touch you. bucky locks his lips with yours, tongue roaming each other’s mouth in such a sensual way. bucky’s hand roams your body, cupping your breasts then your neck. you moan as he applies pressure to your throat.

he slides down you dress straps, with every kiss and touch you felt your dress being pulled lower and lower. bucky lifts you up on his lap, helping you out of the green champagne dress. you were fully exposed to him, his large hands grope your ass. he slaps the soft skin sending your lower half to grind against his tight jeans. bucky groans, pulling you closer to his bottom half. you felt the jean material rub against your clothes clit, your body shakes at the new feeling. “god you have no idea what you do to me princess.” he moans into your neck. his right hand unhooks your bra, you let the bra fall off of you. bucky eyes your bare chest, his blue eyes darken filling with lust.

he pulls your breast into his mouth, twirling his tongue around your swollen nipple. you grip onto his shirt, when moves your ass back and forth on his pants. “p-please bucky.” you whine, your body was aching for him to touch you. “what do you want doll?” you grab his, guiding him to your clothed cunt. you slip his hand under you, allowing his to grope your pussy. your mouth gapes open when bucky slowly rubs your clit back and forth.

when he notices you like the feeling of him touching you, it sends him into a deep lustful trance. he flips you over, bucky’ dog tags dangle over you. he kisses between your breast, trailing down to your stomach then he comes in contact with your laced white panties.

you can feel his breath on your wet core. he inhales you, moaning as if your cunt was the drug he was addicted to. he removed your panties from your body, bucky’s cock hardens once he caught a look at your pussy, your cunt was glistening from how wet it was, it took everything in bucky not to dive right in. “your so wet for me baby, and i haven’t even touched you yet. your pussy is begging for me to devour it.” bucky taunts. he slips one finger in your folds, your back arches at the finger passes your clit.

“bucky…please. i’ll do anything.” you beg. bucky perks an eyebrow at you. “anything?” you nod vigorously. “you’re going to cum for me three times. understand?” you nod your head. bucky licks a stride up your cunt. he moans at the taste of you. bucky wraps his pink lips around your clit, your legs spread wide as you beg for him to devour you. your back arches more, his hands pin your waist down to keep you steady, you screw your eyes shut as he sucks your clit into his mouth softly.

you moan out in pleasure, letting your hands grip his soft brown hair. you tug on his roots, attempting to push him closer to you. bucky pulls away earring a whine from you, he slips his middle finger into your core. at first his movements were slowly, he was preparing before adding his ring finger. you rode his fingers, moaning as he pumped you. you watch as he spits on your core, watching his saliva mix in with your cunt. you felt your stomach tighten, bucky felt your pussy clench around his fingers, imagining you around his cock.

he wastes no time, diving into your pussy. his tongue rapidly worked your clit, his fingers pumping you at a fast pace. your body was overwhelmed by all the stimulation. “bucky!” you scream at the top of your lungs. you were now grinding against his face, he didn’t tease you anymore, now he was on a mission to give you your orgasm. your legs shake, you cry out for bucky, your toes curled and your back arches to its full extent. bucky slows his movements as you come down from your high.

you collapse on his bed, you shiver as you feel bucky remove his hand from your pussy. you try to catch your breath, bucky hovers over you. “who knew my babydoll had that in you.”

[parkers-gal]

ag! reader on her sweetener/tun tour with Tom in the Front row and She’s constantly interacting with him and talking/ holding hands stuff

Thank u!!!!

hope you like this ;) here’s a pic of the stage for reference (for my non-ari familiars) <3

wc | 1.3k

see u soon

｡☆✼★━━ requests are closed ━━★✼☆｡

“Ladies and gentlemen,” You smile, adjusting the microphone that’s attached to your head. You glance down towards the front of the mosh pit where Tom is located, and you smile a little wider. “And Tom,” you add on quietly, sparking hundreds of screams and cheers. “Welcome to the Sweetener World Tour.”

As the first Act of the tour goes on, you sing your heart out during “bad idea” and “break up with your girlfriend, i’m bored.” As you head backstage for an outfit change and a short interlude, you’re heading back up a bit earlier than usual, having rushed into your next costume so you could interact with the crowd a little more. No doubt, in less than two minutes, your band will be ready to start again, but for now, you enjoy the cheers of excitement that get louder the closer you get towards the front of the stage.

“Hi, everyone!” You say softly, sweetly, giggling into your microphone. You successfully make it to the end of the stage, pausing to gauge the crowd’s reaction and truly take in the sight before you. It’s beautiful, really. “Thank you all for coming. How’re we all doing tonight? We having fun?”

Screams of assurement go around and it’s enough to spark another giggle out of you. You lock eyes with Tom, and almost subconsciously, you walk over to the left side of the stage where he’s at the barrier, by a staircase that leads to the center of the mosh pit. There’s a platform in the middle of the pit where you will eventually perform later in the night, and Tom’s in practically one of the best seats in the entire stadium.

Realizing the space that’s set between the stage and the crowd, you decide to sit on the edge with your legs dangling down off the platform. The security guard moves to your side, watching your safety. You smile at him, reaching for Tom’s hand. He sports a blush, hand connecting with yours and interlacing your fingers.

“Hi, baby,” You say into the microphone. Murmured “aw’s” and cheers go around again. “Everyone say ‘hi’ to my baby, Tom.”

Tom scrunches his face up in that cute fashion, and you chuckle again, admiring his adorableness. Your fans comply, sending their greetings towards Tom, whose blush has grown a cosmic amount.

You pull the microphone away from your face for a brief moment, sending questions towards the Brit’s way. “You’re alright? Need anything? Water?”

He shakes his head with a gentle smile, body against the metal barrier that separates the two of you. “I’m alright. How’re you, Ms. Pop Star?”

You giggle again, this one making it through the speakers and echoing in the large venue. “‘M good.”

Glancing behind you, you realize you still have some time before you’re due on stage again, to sing, that is. Standing up, you send Tom a kiss, one he pretends to catch & pocket. The action catches the eye of a few people — and their cell phones. It’s on twitter in less than a minute.

“Oh-em-gee,” You smile, “We should take a selfie. Should we take a selfie?” You look to your front rowers, who nod enthusiastically, and you grab your cell phone from the crew member that conveniently brought it up for you. “Okay, okay, everyone smile.” You hold the phone up, with you in frame, and you snap a selfie of the entire stadium.

You spin around, walking back over to Tom and capturing a few pictures and videos with him, some of which happen to make it onto your Instagram story. Walking to the center of the stage, you hold your phone up, ready to record.

“Okay, I’m gonna take a video of you all. My sweet, babies, my lovely fans. Everyone get ready to scream.” You’re about to record when you stop, “Wait, should we scream something? Like a lyric?” You laugh into the microphone, a bit indecisive. “I’m a lost cause, honest to god.” You giggle again, something that makes Tom’s smile widen. You walk back over to him.

“Tommy? What should we say? Simultaneously, that is.”

He hums, and you scoot closer to the edge, shoving the pink microphone towards his lips. He chuckles and the microphone catches it, sending it through the speakers. You giggle again.

“Maybe… god is a woman?”

“Ooo,” you bring the mic back, sending Tom another kiss before standing upright. “What do we think? Is that aesthetic enough?”

After a few beats of supportive cheering, you hold up your phone again. “Everyone say ‘god is a woman’ on three, ready? One… two… three!”

It’s a magnificent sight, what you get. The joint voices of your fans goes through your ears, sending shivers up your spines and tingles down your arms. Goosebumps rise on your arm while you end the recording. “Honest to god… honest to god knock me out. That was the coolest fucking thing ever.”

The crowd laughs, something you can hear clearly, and when you turn around, you realize your band is back and ready for action.

“Back to the show, babies,” You frown enthusiastically before running towards Scotty, your choreographer. You hand him your phone while the intro to “R.E.M.” begins.

“Love you, Tommy,” You slip out.

This song is to be done on the floor, alone while the backdrops and digital designs take over and stun the crowd to a high level of impression.

All the while, you’re singing while making eye contact with your London boy. Tom’s silently singing along — a rare occasion for him to sing in public where anyone can record him and upload it.

“Last night,” you sing, “When I was asleep… boy I met you, yuh.” You chuckle, cutely, into the mic again. When the lyric pops up, you can’t help but smirk. “Excuse me, Tom.” You replace the ‘uhm’ with your sweet boyfriend’s name, turning the mic towards the audience for them to finish the lyrics.

The night goes on like that. During “NASA,” you gather, with your dancers, around the edge of the looped stage, holding hands with the fans. When you perform “everytime” on the platform in the center of the pit, you grab Tom’s hand while passing the small set of stairs he’s located by. You do it every time, making sure to at least get a sliver of his fingers. It makes his heart giddy, fills his stomach with butterflies, and makes his eyes love the sight of you even more.

“Before we end tonight,” You pant into the mic, having just performed a song & dance right before the ending act — thank u, next. “I just wanna say, thank you so much for coming, for being here, for supporting me, for listening to my music and being here. Especially thank you to Tom,” You turn to him with your lip jutted out a bit, smiling through an exhale. “For being my number one supporter for all the days and, hopefully, the many more to come. I hope you enjoy this last one,” You smile. “We’ll be right back for ‘thank u, next.’” You smile again, nodding and waving.

You catch sight of Tom, who’s looking at you with such a loving expression that you can’t help yourself. Your feet move before your brain can protest, and you’re running towards the stairs, leaning over the railing just a bit. You’re on the third step, pulling Tom in for a kiss you couldn’t wait for. Slightly, you can sense people are recording, and you smile into the kiss. Tom has to stop himself from moaning aloud.

“See you soon,” you whisper before running off with your backup dancers, finding your way backstage for one final time this night.

[maybebanks]

Bad Boyfriend

jj maybank x reader

⚠️ angst, lil bit of violence, a bad relationship

You bit your lip as you stared at the man who has your heart. It’s broken though, and you can feel it.

The morning rooster annoyed him, so he woke up. And if he was awake, you would be too.

“Your makeup’s smudged,” your boyfriend, Noah, comments, he is lying next to you. You’re looking up at him from between the sheets.

“Oh..I’ll go clean it off,” you reply, sadness laced in your words.

“No, stay here. I don’t care. You’re pretty,” his hand met the side of your neck and he tried to caress you.

“Really?”

He scoffs, but then, his hands meet your waist and he throws you to his side. Then he hops over you. His necklace swinging down near your face.

“Noah, what?-“

“Shh...” he whispers, “morning sex baby,” he whispered again.

He started kissing your neck.

“Um...Noah?” Your throat was dry.

He hummed and continued to kiss your neck. You placed your hands on his shoulders as if to stop him, but he took it the wrong way and went to remove your shirt.

“Please. Wait...I..can you...” you didn’t want to disappoint your egar boyfriend.

You squirmed in discomfort when he attempted pull your pants off.

“Let me see that ass,” he said, his voice raspy.

“I don’t..know...”

“I said, let me see that ass,” he chuckled.

He removed your shorts, and you were left in only underwear.

“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this, babe,” Noah says.

You didn’t want this.

“Noah..I don’t want to do this, I’m not..I can’t right now,” you said pushing his chest back.

Noah frowned, “excuse me Y/n?” his tone was extremely defensive, and sharp.

“I just-“

“Are you fucking serious? No seriously, what the fuck is wrong with you?!” His voice was raised.

“I’m just not feeling it..”

He scoffs, “you’re not feeling it? You took off your god damn clothes? Don’t be such a fucking tease,” he starts to pull at the hem of your underwear.

“No...seriously. I’m not ready,” your hand meets his wrists and you try to pull him back.

“Ah, fuck!” He shouts, he immediately moves off of you. Stepping back and cursing under his breath.

“I’m sor-“

“Do I not turn you on? Seriously Y/n, what the fuck is up? We’ve been dating for weeks and you won’t let me fuck you?”

“I’m not trying to offend you, I just don’t want-”

“That’s a lie. Everyone wants to!” He shouts.

Your stomach turned with anxiety, “why don’t we just get breakfast?” You suggest.

“No, just forget it.” He states, then grabs his phone and leaves the room.

“Wait!” You called after him, throwing on a random guys shirt and running after him.

You caught his arm before he opened the porch door, “don’t be mad. Please,”

“Fuck off,” he rejected your touch and pushed you back.

“Noah!” You shouted.

Grabbing his shirt, as it was the only way to pull him back.

This angers him, he grabs your wrists tightly and pulls you close to his face, “call me when you want to stop being a fucking prude,” he spits.

Your eyes stung with tears from the insult.

He pushed you back and stormed out of the house, slamming both doors on his way out.

You sighed, you were about to collapse in tears, but you wanted to wait until he drove away first.

You got to the porch to get a better view, but when you got there, you saw JJ, lounging on the couch with his arms crossed and a red snap back on his head.

“JJ?” You asked, startled, “what the hell are you doing here? I thought you were with John B at Pope’s,” you blurted.

JJ let out a deep breath, “you know, I really hate it when that guy comes over,”

Your heart dropped at the thought of JJ just hearing the previous conversation, “I-..um..how long have you been here?”

“Just 10 minutes,” he shrugs.

You scoff, “that’s a huge invasion of privacy JJ,” you scold him.

JJ just chuckles and gestures to your outfit. You wear wearing one of John B’s oversized tees and just your under wear.

You rolled your eyes, “ugh,” your mind wandered back to the fight you just had. JJ was your best friend, and maybe he would make a good guys point of view. But you felt embarrassed to talk about it.

“You okay? You look kinda sad,” JJ admitted, starting to roll a joint.

“Yup, I’m okay.”

“What were you two fighting about?” JJ asked nonchalantly.

When you didn’t answer for a few seconds, JJ looked up from his joint, and saw your teary eyes.

His eyes widened, he don’t know how to react to a crying girl. He was always protective of you, it was just an instinct.

He invited you to sit next to him, waving you over with a single gesture of his hand.

You bit your lip to keep your composure, and sat down next to JJ.

JJ wanted to put his arm around you, but he didn’t want to over step.

He saw you upset, and it made him mad, “did he hurt you? I swear to god I’ll beat the shit out of him...”

“No,” you croaked out, “c’mon JJ. You know I hate it when you fight,”

“I’ll come in...slicing and dicing,” JJ says, ignoring you, throwing fake punches.

“It’s my fucking fault,” you groaned, looking down at your wrists, they were slightly irritated from Noah’s harsh grasp.

JJs eyebrows furrowed.

You shrugged, and turned your eye contact away.

“He wanted to have sex. And I just..I didn’t,” you admit.

You bit your cheek for JJ’s reaction. He just pulled you closer to him.

“His loss, Y/n. Don’t worry about it. He’ll come around if he knows what’s good for him,” JJ assures.

“Yeah but..we’ve been dating for a month now. Do you think it’s not normal that we haven’t..done it? I mean...would you?”

JJ coughed, if he was being honest, he had thought about what it would be like to have sex with you. He was attracted to you in a way a friend shouldn’t be.

“I don’t do relationships, Y/n,” JJ responded.

“Right. So I’m the worst girlfriend ever? I didn’t think he would get so mad...”

“It was just a kick to his ego. To be honest, I think you should drop this guy,” JJ suggests.

You twisted the rings on JJs finger.

“Like I could do better,” you mumbled.

JJ places his hand on your chin and moves your head up to his eyes.

“You could 100% do better. Best girl I know. And if a guy doesn’t see that, without sex, then first I’ll kick his ass, but then, he’s a fucking moron,”

You roll to eyes, “your shitting me,”

“Know your worth! Your hot as fuck and got an amazing personality on top of that!” JJ exclaims.

“He’s the first guy I’ve ever dated,”

“I don’t blame him for wanting sex, but if he makes you feel like it’s your fault, you need to leave him.”

He gave you a sense of clarity. Causing a smile to tug at your lips.

“Alright,” you settled, running a hand through JJ’s hair in an attempt to tame it as he slid a joint between his lips.

“Thank you,”

———————

But that night you didn’t break up with him. In fact he convinced you to stay. And just that night, you let him take you. You lost your virginity. And broke your promise to JJ.

It broke you too, and it made you bound to him. Or at least that’s what he thought.

You were his now.

But now, it was a week later.

And you were fighting with Pope.

“Why are you mad at me? It’s just one time!” You retaliated.

“It’s not one time. It’s every time we want you to hang out! I get it, he’s your boyfriend, but he shouldn’t force you to lose your friends,” Pope says.

“He’s not! Plus it’s not exactly like I could say no,” you mumbled.

“This is a problem Y/n. And I prefer you to see that before you lose us,” Pope says, then he walked closer to Kie.

You fought tears, but it was hard to fight.

“I thought you were going to break up with him,” JJ said, with his hat in his hands.

“I was,” you answer, “but I can’t now,”

“Of course you can. You just won’t,” Pope said.

“That’s not true! Pope you think you know everything but you just don’t!” You shouted in frustration.

“Y/n calm down,” Kie added, standing up next to Pope.

Pope looked at JJ and they exchanged a weird glance. Pope signaled “no” with his hands but JJ stood up anyway.

“Are you afraid of him or something?” JJ asked.

���What? No! Guys this is crazy! I can’t deal with this bullshit right now,” you denied, now trying to leave the boat.

“Y/n!!! Stop lying!” Pope shouted. He was angry, and maybe he had good reason. But if you admitted it to them you would have to admit it to yourself.

“I’m not...” your words trailed off as you stared at your friends, a mix of confusion, concern and anger evident on their expressions.

“I....” you stared at them, and that’s when a few tears fell, “...I don’t want to lose you guys. I promise. It’s just tough, okay?”

Popes expression dropped, “that’s what I’ve been trying to say Y/n,”

You knew they would need an explanation of why you felt trapped. Why you couldn’t simply “break up” with Noah.

You nodded, eyes falling to the floor.

“I should go anyway. I’m sorry. Bye guys,” you concluded. Moving quickly towards the driveway.

“JJ go after her,” you heard Kie plead. But you just ignored it.

You were almost inside your car, when you felt a gentle hand on your shoulder.

You quickly tunrned, JJ gave you a soft smile, then took off his hat and ran a hand through his hair.

“Y/n. I can talk to Noah for you. If you’re serious about ending things,” JJ offered.

“Um...JJ I can’t ask you to do that,” you said nervously.

“You’re not asking. I’m offering. I really think it’s what’s best for you,” JJ added, looking sympathetic.

“How would you know!?” You scoffed, feeling annoyed at his condescending actions.

“Look, I’m just trying to help,”

“Well then stop trying.” You responded sourly.

JJ took a deep breath.

“I’m not going to give up on you. You’d do the same for me,” JJ answered.

“We’re not the same. Not even a little bit,” you told him. Trying your best to push him away.

“Not true,” JJ muttered.

“Excuse me?!” You pressed.

JJ shuffled on his feet, you could tell he didn’t want to mention it, “your boyfriend, my dad,”

You looked at the dirt, “my boyfriend doesn’t hit me,” the words spilled from your mouth, it was a lie. But it was natural.

JJ frowned, “I saw him, Y/n,”

“What you saw, JJ, was an argument. We were arguing. That’s all. He wouldn’t,” you spit.

“More lies. When will you quit, Y/n? When will you let me help you?” JJ asked, grabbing both your shoulders.

“It’s none of your business. Why do you even care?!” You shoved him off.

“I care because...Y/n for god sakes, I love you. And I can’t let you get hurt like this. Not anymore,”

[danlusional]

08 - our moment

book: Platinum pairing: M!Avery Wilshere x Cassidy Lowe warning: none word count: 1,704 summary: after finishing up their world tour, Avery and Cassidy take a break to talk about their past, present, and future

As her fingers grazed against the sheet of the bed, she found nothing aside from the crinkles and folds of last night’s remnants. She tried once more, reaching as far as she could without opening her eyes, but still nothing. Cassidy sat up and rubbed the sleep off her eyes before looking all over the small, quaint room from left to right. He wasn’t there. 

This wasn’t the first time she found him missing from their bed, but usually, she would’ve had a lead to where he was. A humming, a gentle melody playing on the piano, or anything. Unfortunately, they weren’t in his New York townhouse or her apartment. The lovely Bed and Breakfast his sister owned offered nothing but peace and quiet, something they needed — and now, something Cassidy wished had a piano lying somewhere to give her a clue. 

She walked over to the window, overlooking the lush field with the sun peeking from behind the trees far on the other side of it. As her eyes lowered from the view to the bench in the backyard, she found him. Cassidy couldn’t help but to smile and quickly get dressed to embrace the cold weather of the morning, not wanting to miss out on the view as well as the answers to her burning curiosity.

“You gave me a scare, mister.”, she announced her arrival with her arms wrapped gently around his shoulders from behind. “Leaving me in bed alone.”

Avery only chuckled before turning his head to plant a tender kiss on her cheek. “You looked like you needed the sleep, love. You did sleep well, right?”

His voice, his smile, and his overall presence could warm her from the inside out. How did she get so lucky? “I did, but I also don’t want to miss out on the experience of Blackawton’s sunrise.”, Cassidy walked around the bench to take her seat next to him, snuggling up to his side as their eyes fixated on the view. 

The morning fog was thinning with each passing minute and she could hear birds chirping from a distance. After wrapping up their joint world tour, Avery thought it would be great to take some downtime by visiting his hometown once more. This time, staying a little longer. It was an idea Cassidy took instantly. Aside from meeting his family and getting to know more about where he grew up, she thought they both needed it. 

The media attention and schedules were a circus. Despite them sharing a bed anywhere they went, there were nights where they just didn’t exactly meet. They still had good and bad days as a couple. They still had the pressure and gravity of being celebrities.

“What are you thinking about?”, his voice was only a whisper as he tightened his arm around her shoulders, bringing her closer when a cold gust of wind breezed through them. “You have that pensive look on your beautiful face.”

“Always the flatterer.”, Cassidy rolled her eyes in jest before tilting her head to look at him. “Have you ever looked back? I mean, this is our quiet time… Did you think about the tour? And… I don’t know, do some self-introspection?”

Avery stayed quiet for a few moments, trying to compress almost a year of traveling into one conversation. It was challenging, especially doing it as an artist from a newly-formed record label, only riding on his and his artist-slash-girlfriend’s popularities. They pulled through, and they made it, but he couldn’t lie by saying there weren’t times that made his relationship with Cassidy as a chip on the gambling table. 

“I do, and that’s why I came out here this morning, actually.”, their eyes met. Neither of them could get used to it; the jolts and the sparks when they looked at each other. Cassidy still had disbeliefs she could see his face, in real life now, not just as an audience in his concert or from the posters in her room.

As for Avery, after meeting all the beautiful people in the world, this girl was still the most beautiful one, the one his heart soared for, and the one he wanted to sing all the love songs to. “I thought about how we worked hard… How lucky I was to be able to do all of this with you… But also, the troubles we faced.”

She closed her eyes, feeling the nerves bubbled in her gut, but she let him continued with her hand reaching to his free one to hold. The rumors about their alleged breakups, photos of their discourse that happened here and there on tour, and how the media kept insisting they only sold the relationship as a publicity stunt (something that still made Cassidy scratched her head, confused) were enough to rock their boat a couple of times.

Fiona tried to keep the sharks at bay but the media were getting even more brutal with Avery and Cassidy’s popularities climbing to the peak of stardom.

“What do you think we should do…? Do we need to change anything?”, she asked him quietly, not wanting to disturb the peaceful ambiance around them. The sun was already out, showering both of them with golden light. Her eyes opened once more to look at how Avery’s golden hair gleamed, the rays kissed his skin so perfectly, and how enchanted he looked whenever his blue eyes made contact with hers.

“I love touring with you but I also don’t want to trouble you. You still need to grow and expand the record label, you still have so many things to do as an artist. I don’t want to be a hurdle in your path.”

“Nonsense!”, his eyes widened, surprised that she could even think of herself that way. “Cassidy, I love you and you’re an amazing artist. I’m not saying that because we’re dating or you’re under my label, but it’s the truth. Did you remember your interview with Tim Schenectady? Even he was impressed by your passion for your music. You are not and will never be a hurdle.”

Their gazes locked for a little before Cassidy let a grin blossomed on her face. “You have such a way with words, Mr. Wilshere.”

“All those interviews Fiona put me through has its benefits.”, he laughed softly. 

“So, what should we do once we get back to the States? We only have a few days left of—“, her hand waved to their surrounding before chuckling. “All of this.”

“We still need to finish your comeback album. Don’t think I forgot about that.”, a little smirked decorated his lips as Avery gently tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I heard you only need one more song.”

Cassidy bit her bottom lip, preventing the grin to made its appearance once more. “I do and… I was wondering, if you would sing with me again, as an official collaboration.”

Not counting the songs he invited her on stage during the tour or their Indio Music Festival performance, they haven’t had an actual collaboration. Cassidy held back the question ever since she wrote the song during the tour. Watching him on stage night after night as a fan and his lover brought so many emotions in her as he dazzled her and thousands of other people like it was the first time she had seen him perform. 

“Are you sure? I mean, I’ll be honored to.”, he showed her his brilliant smile as he pulled her in for an embrace, wanting to show her all the love and support he had for her. “When were you planning to actually ask me about it?”

“When I finished the song, but… Since it’s a collaboration, not just a featuring, I want your words in it too.”, Cassidy smiled encouragingly when she pulled away. “I know you can do it.”

There was a pause from him. Despite not being under the Overknight rules anymore, Avery still had reservations about writing his own songs. This was something they argued about before, and Cassidy didn’t know how he would feel about it. “Do you remember the song you made back then? The one I strongly thought you needed to put in the album?”

“It was an experiment, Cass. Even after everything he did, Ellis had some things right. What if I’m not cut out as a songwriter? Just a pretty face with a voice to sing other people’s words?”, he avoided her eyes, averting his gaze to the dewy grass on their feet. 

She sighed. Knowing him, he would bury this insecurity talk behind a smile if she relented. Cassidy stood up and walked back in, leaving Avery agape in surprise. He didn't know what to do. Did she have enough fo this private side of his? The one who was self-conscious and unsure of branching out to try new things? 

Before he could self-deprecate any longer, his girlfriend returned with her trusty acoustic guitar. "Maybe hearing what I have so far will trigger that beautiful brain of yours.", Cassidy sat back down and smiled, fingers already softly strumming the strings.

"Every time you look at me, you have me on my knees... I wanna say I love you, baby, in every lifetime and my dreams...", she sang with her eyes never leaving his. "Anywhere I go, I want you there with me, 'cause now I know, you're the only one I need."

Without missing a beat, Avery finally joined in, much to her relief. His voice sounded like the morning they were having; the warm sun, the fresh air, and the coziness of home. "My home is where my heart is... And baby, my heart is with you... Thank the stars and the galaxies, you're my dream come true."

The melody ended, and they relished the moment with their eyes still locked on one another. Their breathing and the distant muffled sound of other people in the Bed and Breakfast were the only ones filling their ears. "Avery... That sounded beautiful."

"Only because I have a talented partner and inspiration.", he leaned in and pressed his lips for a chaste kiss on her forehead. It was then, Cassidy realized, they could withstand anything. 

[deadagainmaevepetre]

— yet (moment by painful moment, breath by painful breath) one got through things.

SUMMARY: on behalf of titania, maeve begins pushing il sangue di faerie to the wealthy, young elite of verona. she kills two boys in the process. in addition, she secures test subjects for faerie’s ring, a new capulet drug in development.

dates: april 14 — 23 trigger warnings: drugs, murder, rape mention featuring: @la-bella-falco / @dukemassetti​ / @oliviorivera​ / @theodoramoreaus​

APRIL 14. 

For the most part, Maeve doesn’t love being a Capulet. But there are, admittedly, some perks — namely, access to some of the most famous teenagers of Verona. They have no idea that their opulent house party is her target, and that she is gunning for their wallets as surely as she is aiming for their souls. With her makeup and outfit masterfully orchestrated by Bunny, Maeve slips in with a group of influencers as if she’s one of them.

She takes a selfie in front of the elaborate entrance to enhance the illusion. Instead of uploading it to Instagram, Maeve sends it to Orion: dad, i’m an influencer! she texts. Her lips tick as she walks toward the crowd. It makes her feel like Orion is there with her; she can almost hear him insisting that it will all be okay.

Maeve nearly stumbles when someone steps in front of her. “Hey, I’m Luca.” He nods down at her phone, brows raised inquisitively. “Texting your boyfriend?”

Is this the part where she flirts with him? She summons her inner Lucrezia, hoping that she will make her superior proud with the subtle shift in her body language. Imagining her jaws cracking as it opens for a taste of him, Maeve leans in. “I’m just texting my friend, she’s supposed to meet me here.”

Her phone dings, and Maeve pulls it out and scans a text from Orion. She smothers the smile that threatens to paint her mouth and instead, for Luca’s pleasure, she pouts. “She’s not coming. Damn.”

“Let me introduce you to some people, then.” He begins to move towards her, and Maeve angles her phone away from Luca before he can see the screen. As his hand rests on the small of her back, she slides the phone back into her pocket and follows his lead. She meets his friends, the small circle of Verona’s youthful elite. Laughing at their jokes, rolling her eyes as she speaks of her made-up, flakey friend, Maeve pretends to be one of them.

And isn’t she close enough to be one of them, truly? She is Maeve Petre, the only daughter of one of the wealthiest men in Verona: privileged and pampered, beautiful as if she is one of Aphrodite’s chosen. But she lacks their ignorance, that naivety that sparkles like gold under the light and becomes a bullseye in the dark.

“This party is so boring,” Camilla whines, leaning against Mia’s arm. “Let’s leave.”

Luca laughs. “This is your party, Camilla.”

“Shouldn’t that tell you how bad it is?” she snaps. Mia tenderly pats her girlfriend’s arm until Camilla curls back into her, piercing glare melting to a merely unhappy frown.

It’s her opening, and Maeve doesn’t hesitate to seize it. Like she’s presenting a secret, she meets Camilla’s eyes and confesses, “I might have something to make things more fun.”

“Yeah?” Luca puts an arm around her shoulders, and Maeve fights the urge to shrug it off. She is working, though he doesn’t know it. It makes her feel unprofessional, or like this whole mission is a joke. But it’s not a joke; it’s her chance to prove herself, and Maeve isn’t going to waste it.

Her teeth are clenched behind a close-lipped smile that Maeve hopes passes off for flirty. “Yeah.” When she’s sure that they’re all watching her, she casually brushes her finger below her nose, flicking her finger up at the end for emphasis. It takes only one try for Camilla and Mia to get the hint, and they look impressed; it makes her heart pitter-patter with pride.

Luca is a little denser. “What is it?” He looks from Camilla, to Mia, to Maeve.

Mia rolls her eyes. “Come on, principessa delle fate. He’ll figure it out eventually.”

This time, she doesn’t hide her pure elation. Mia doesn’t know how fitting of a nickname that is.

—————

APRIL 20.

In almost a week, Maeve has expanded her circle of three clients to twelve. Word about il sangue di Faerie has spread quickly among Verona’s teen gods, gilded and gifted and glorious. Her reputation is beginning to precede her; Mia’s nickname has caught on, and they call her principessa delle fate. With a wild grin, Maeve accepts the crown they offer her and wears it with glee. She’s gotten used to their gratitude and how they lick the palm of her hand in hopes that they’ll find a delicate, powdery residue that will fill their minds with madness.

They are only the troubled and poisonous youth, with tongues made of polished gold, fingers and necklines laced with diamonds. They sit on their man-made thrones and consider Maeve beneath them. Just a deliverer of pleasure, a messenger of fantasy.

They never look past her bright eyes and splattered freckles for the gleam of something wicked and silver.

Each day, Camilla sends another friend her way. Then they send their friends, and their friends — and the circle expands. It’s as if she’s breathed life into clay, and they cannot stop coming back to her. Maeve grants them small doses at a time, until she says, with a petulant frown as if it hurts her to say it more than to hear it, that she’ll have to increase the price for how quickly they want it.

It almost makes her giggle, how quickly they agree.

She texts Olivio frequently, asking for his advice on how to create demand and desire without removing the illusion of access. Every word from his mouth is taken to heart, and Maeve executes it as if it’s law. Maeve promises to bake him cookies and a cake as a thank you; already that number is piling high, as Olivio helps her navigate tricky situations and complex requests.

She doesn’t think to ask Olivio for his advice when Luca asks to meet with her in private — she regrets it, later on.

"We used to go to this other guy, you know?” Luca says, a joint casually hanging from his lips. He shakes off the ashes, not caring if it marks the carpet. Maeve internally screams.

He offers her a hit, and Maeve shakes her head politely. Not at work, and not even with her friends, which Luca is certainly not. He seems to think her success is his own, as if he discovered her. How many times has Maeve bitten her tongue until she drew blood to stop lashing out at him? You only discovered me because I let you. You found me because I wanted to be found.

Instead, Maeve feigns interest. “What do you mean?” She shifts her position on his couch to face him, one arm propped up, chin on her palm and knees tucked beneath her.

“He used to deal us this other thing every once in awhile. Nothing fancy, just standard shit. I told him about you though, and he’s interested.” Luca inhales, deep into his lungs, as Maeve steels herself for the worst.

Luca exhales. “He’s interested in helping out. You know, help deal your shit and give you a cut of the profit.” He looks at her blankly, as if he doesn’t care for her answer at all. “You in?”

It can’t hurt to meet him, Maeve thinks. It might even show some initiative. She did well enough to get the general public interested in il sangue di Faerie. A quiet thrill hums through her veins, the thrill of exceeding expectations a different kind of drug entirely.

She smiles sweetly at Luca, liking him for the first time since she’s met him. “Sure. Sounds interesting.”

“Meet us tonight, then. I’ll text you some directions.” Luca grins, stupidly high. 

Maeve almost laughs at how dumb he looks and is. “Okay. See you tonight.”

———

APRIL 20, BUT NIGHT.

She doesn’t expect the night to end like this.

One bloodied body at her feet, the life slowly seeping out of him as the crisp night air fills her lungs.

Another bruised but breathing one facing her, crouched and tense with a mere pocketknife extended towards her.

Maeve might have smiled at how cute it was that he thought a pocket knife was good enough, if not for the fact that she’s drenched in Luca’s blood. As awful as he is — was — he was still just a boy. He made her laugh. He reached out to her when she was a new face, and let her into his inner circle without a second thought.

“He didn’t have to die,” Maeve warns the other boy, with the gentleness and concern of a mother telling her child not to eat a scorpion.

“You’re the one who killed him, baldracca.” His voice shakes, and Maeve feels a pang of pity for him.

She’s sorry. He may not believe her, but regret and grief both overwhelm her now. She’s just become better at withstanding it, is all. She knows how to carry it now: the way the shadow plays with the light, how pain intermingles with pleasure, how love and loss are long friends who always stop to chat and hold hands. She knows how to suffer it quietly. 

“You came to attack me. To steal from me. And,” now it’s her turn to tremble as she considers the worst, “who knows what else.”

“You were charging way too much—”

“Luca was a rich little boy, mommy’s favorite,” Maeve interrupts harshly. “This has nothing to do with money, and everything to do with power. You wanted to teach the little girl a lesson. You wanted to see if you could make her cry and scream.” Her grip on Little O turns white. “You wanted to make her weak.”

He doesn’t say a word — for a moment.

When he finally speaks, he seals his death.

“You’re not a drug dealer,” he says slowly, as if coming to the realization himself. “You’re a Cap—”

Maeve’s knife sinks into his chest before he can finish the word. She holds it there for a moment, meeting his eyes and hoping he sees the tears in her own. 

“I’m sorry,” she whispers one second before she pulls the knife out.

———

APRIL 23.

It’s a testament to how far buried the old Maeve Petre is — how quickly she returns to normalcy.

She attends another party, keeping an ear to the ground as Verona mourns the death of Luca and Angelo (that was his real name, Angelo). They’re not sure who murdered them, or if it was a murder at all.

Maeve doesn’t have to pretend to be too choked up to speak. The others go as far as to comfort her, patting her back and saying awful, horrible things like, “We all know Luca was your favorite, Maeve. We know he loved you.”

Loved me? She swallows back a scoff, and it burns her throat on the way down. He wanted to rape me.

When they ask her for something to ease the pain, she summons everything Olivio taught her to revive her spirit. With the same, affectionate grin that Maeve has become known for, Maeve pulls out a small packet of powder and drops it into their hand. “This one,” she says gently, “is on the house.” It will come out of her own pocket, if it has to.

“Thank you, Maeve.” Mia tucks it into her pocket and is about to walk away when Camilla interrupts.

“Do you have something... different?”

Maeve blinks bewilderedly. “Like... weed?”

“No, no. Like shrooms or acid, you know?” Camilla looks around with a faraway look in her eyes, as if she’s not seeing any of them at all. “Just something different.”

She remembers a project Theodora has mentioned, a rumor she’s heard on the wind... “I may have something, but it’s super underground. I’m not even sure if they know how powerful it is yet.”

There it is: a familiar spark in Camilla’s eyes whenever a reckless and novel adventure appears. She’s learned to capitalize on it; she’s learned to use it to propel her own name among Verona’s young and careless. “Can you get us some?”

Maeve hesitates. She knows nothing of Theodora’s project, and she knows nothing about how much she’ll be able to get her hands on. But she also knows Camilla loves to be a part of something exclusive, something urgent, something inaccessible and otherworldly.

She also knows Theodora is the best in Verona at delivering exactly that.

"You know that it’d be kind of risky, right? It hasn’t been tested that much, and I don’t want to be responsible for anything bad happening to you, Camilla...”

Like Luca.

Mia puts a hand on Camilla’s arm as if to stop her, but Camilla shrugs it off. “I’m in.”

Maeve smiles and winks, though her heart hurts and her throat aches with a need to scream her lungs out. “I'll see what I can do.”

[nomnomsik]

Lesson Plan - (m)

Summary: The ever-growing rapper, Min Yoongi, arrives in LA for his first American interview with Vogue. His English Tutor and lover, Jung Hoseok, supports his endeavors. Wherever the rapper goes, he follows. But what happens with the tutor messes up a translation...on purpose?

Pairing: Rapper!YG x English Tutor! Hoseok

Word Count: 2.9K

A/N: Letting out all of the pride power this month. Exude that gay power! June is the month to fully let out all the gay wbk. What better way to do that than SOPE? The sope content we all need. @kimseokmomjins thanks for coming up with the title. Also stayed tuned cause we both going full gay this month. 

Trigger warnings: sexual themes, dom/sub dynamics, sexuality dysphoria, profanity, and unprotected sex. Please do not read if you are sensitive to these topics. 

IMPORTANT STORY NOTE: Italics = English, normal = Korean 

»»————- ♡ ————-««

“Wake up, Yoongi.”

"...”

“Wake upppp!!” The voice whined as their hands ruffled the silk blankets. “I said, wake up now!!!”

Yoongi groaned as the warmth and comfort of his own blankets that he paid for with his hard-earned money for this lavish hotel were stripped off him. He aimlessly waved his hand in the air, desperately looking for those soft cushions blankets to cover him.

“I don’t want to.” Yoongi sighed, turning to the other side of the queen-sized mattress.

“Don’t be a big baby, Mr. Rapper. Now get up, we have an interview with Vogue today.” Hoseok brought both of his hands on each side of his hips, looking in disapproval at the rapper.

“Didn’t Vogue say I could speak in Korean? They’re gonna translate it anyways.” Yoongi muttered, rubbing his eyes.

Hoseok let out a sigh, closing in eyes as he brought a hand up to his face. “You still need to practice your English, mister. You’re in the heart of LA. Now get up, or else.”

“Or else what?” Yoongi countered.

“Or else we’re taking a long English exam tonight. And by we’re, I mean you. I’ll be watching.” Hoseok threatened, turning away and walking into the spacious living room of the hotel suite.

Yoongi stretched his arms out, grunting as his feet hit the soft cushion of the rug floor. With a toothbrush in his mouth, Yoongi walked into the living room, flipping on the TV as he aimlessly brushed his teeth. Hoseok looked over from his bag, meeting the rapper’s eyes.

“Yknow, for someone whose job is to write raps, you really suck at fighting back.”

“Don’t make me write a whole diss track about how much my English tutor sucks,” Yoongi muttered, toothpaste in his mouth.

“You wouldn’t though, because, you, LOVE, ME.”

“You’re lucky I do,” Yoongi muttered before returning back to the bathroom.

“Touche.”

“What?” He called after spitting the paste in the sink. 

“You don’t know touche?”

“I know touche.” He deadpanned, taking a seat in the living room. “I meant what do you mean I’M lucky that YOU love me?” 

“There are so many people that won’t put up with your crap, no matter how big their heart is.” 

“Oh, so you’re a poet now? Great.” 

“I didn’t know poets called their partners ‘crap.’“ Hoseok sighed, shaking his head. “Why are you being so stubborn this morning, mister? Did you sleep on the wrong side of the bed?” 

“Maybe it’s cause you didn’t sleep next to me and I’m angry.” Yoongi folded his arms, turning his head the other way. 

“You’ve got to be kiddin-” He started. 

“No. Don’t talk to me. I’m angry at you.”

“Yoongi are you seriously being a brat right now?” 

Upon no response, Hoseok shook his head. 

“Oh dear...This isn’t going to be good... Would you like an apology-”

“NO! I don’t like you right now.” Yoongi glowered from the opposite side of the living room. 

“Oh boy.”

»»————- ♡ ————-««

“What’s wrong with the two of you?” 

“Yoongi’s silently rebelling against me, sir.” 

“And why...?” The manager scratched the back of his head. 

“He’s angry at me, sir.” 

The three of them sat in the living room of the hotel suite, joined by hair stylists and make-up artists who all worked on the rapper. Yoongi sat annoyingly in the studio chair, busying himself with his phone. Attractive women stood beside him, spraying foam into his hair and make-up artists touching up his look. 

“Did you do something to anger him?” 

“Perhaps...” 

An awkward silence was shared between the two before a lightbulb clicked inside the manager’s head. 

“Oh, I see. Is Yoongi being petty right now?” 

Hoseok stopped for a moment, staring at the older from his seat on the couch. His eyes met Yoongi’s the mirror, Yoongi’s eyes snapping back down to his phone. 

“In a way... I guess you could say yes.” 

“Care to share?” The manager asked, taking a seat beside him. 

“Don’t you dare, Hoseok,” Yoongi warned from his seat. “I swear, I’m going to fire you if you do that.” 

“You cannot fire him, Yoongi. That’s not how that works.” His manager forced a smile before looking back at the younger. “Well?”

Hoseok cleared his throat before continuing. “I taught him an English lesson last night when we arrived. And afterward, I went out for a drink because I don’t get jet lag... and well...” 

“Well?” 

“I crashed on the sofa but he doesn’t believe me.” 

“Of course I don’t! I would’ve heard the door-” Yoongi shouted from his seat, the stylists jumping from their spots. Hoseok sent him a dirty glance from his seat, his nose scrunching up.

“He thinks I’m bi, I swear he makes me go insane.” 

“YOU HAD A GIRLFRIEND BEFORE!” He countered. 

“I DID NOT! YOU JUST TELL YOURSELF THAT WHEN YOU’RE DRUNK!” Hoseok yelled back. 

“Do you even hear yourself? Me? Drunk? You’re the lightweight here. The bottom!” 

Hoseok’s face flushed red as the manager just shook his head. 

“That was a TMI.”

“Take that back!” Hoseok wailed, standing up from his seat. “I-I... This is so embarrassing...!” 

“I still won’t forget what you did last night.” Yoongi glared, folding his arms across his chest. “Let me explain and you’ll see why.” 

“Ugh, not this again...” Hoseok muttered. 

»»————- ♡ ————-««

“Okay, today, we’re learning how to say ‘I love you’ in English. Ready?”

Yoongi sighed, laying down on his newly made bed. 

“I just got arrived in LA and the first thing you want me to do is to study? Really?” He complained, throwing his arms in the air to exaggerate. “Besides, why that phrase? When am I going to use it?” 

Hoseok walked out of the bedroom, pulling a chair from the suite kitchen and plopping it down in the room. He waddled over to his backpack, taking out his Ipad before seating himself down. 

“Ready?” He asked, completely ignoring the older’s comments. 

Yoongi groaned. “Fine, fine, fine. I’m ready.”

“Repeat after me. I. Love. You.”

Yoongi paused, sitting up to stare at his tutor. He sighed once again, shaking his head in annoyance. “Like I said before, I already know how to say that.” 

“If you’re that confident then show me. It’s important you say it right to thank all your fans and send your appreciation and love to them.” 

“Yeah, yeah.” He spat, before lowering his voice to a whisper. “I love you.”

Hoseok smiled from his seat, the stylus of his tablet clinking against his chin. “Okay! That wasn't too bad. But I think you need to pronounce the o-sound more.”

It was unfortunate for Hoseok that Yoongi had said it perfectly, but couldn’t he be selfish for once? Yoongi was rarely the one to woo someone with words despite the fact that he could spit raps and absolutely drag him through the dirt. But, to hear Yoongi say another form of “I love you” melted his heart and soul.

“I. Love. You.” Yoongi repeated, looking up for approval.

“Again.”

“I. Love you.”

“Just one more!” Hoseok smiled.

“I love you,” Yoongi repeated, his eyes twitching and annoyance growing.

“Yes! That was good!”

Yoongi squinted, his eyes darting around in irritation. “How was that any different from the other times I said it?”

“It wasn’t…Hehe.”

Yoongi flushed a red color as he mumbled something under his breath. His bucket hat covered his face as his fingers played with each other.

“I hate you.” 

“Mhm, keep telling yourself that Min Yoongi.” 

»»————- ♡ ————-««

“Don’t.” 

“I didn’t even open my mouth.” Hoseok countered, taking a seat beside him in Hyundai Palisade. “I can’t believe you’re still mad abo-”

“I said, don’t. Do you not know Korean?” Yoongi hissed, completely dressed for his interview with Vogue. 

“Fine,” Hoseok responded calmly, folding his arms across his legs. He adjusted his frames, pushing them a bit higher on his face as the car drove off. 

“Hello! Welcome! We’re so glad to be here with you today.” The interviewer spoke in the mic, giving a bright smile to the duo. Hoseok sat next to the rapper, a notepad in his hand ready to begin translating. 

Yoongi gave a small nod, unaffected by the numerous cameras that surrounded him. 

“So how has LA been treating you, Suga?”

Hoseok spoke quickly without missing a beat. “He wants to know how it feels to be in LA so far.” 

Yoongi nodded, tilting his head to the side before answering. 

“It’s been alright, I guess. It’s somewhat warm even though it’s supposed to be Fall.” 

Hoseok scribbled his words down, picking up his microphone to translate. “He says that LA is really warm despite the Autumn weather, but he’s enjoying it.” 

The translator smiled before moving onto the next several questions, Hoseok always following without fail. 

“So what message were you trying to spread with your latest album?” 

A smile crept on Hoseok face at an actual good question, hoping for a positive reaction from his partner. 

“What was your goal for this album in terms of the message for your audience?” 

Yoongi smiled, his eyes scrunching as he held the mic close to his mouth. 

“I wanted to write about the problems I had to persevere through and encourage to whoever listened that they can do the same. As for my raps... it was more of outbursts of emotions that I needed to let out. It was therapeutic.” 

It took Hoseok a few seconds longer as he frantically tried to follow up, jointing down important words as he carried the mic to his lips. 

“Ah, sorry about that.” Yoongi giggled, to which the interviewer joined along. 

“So, Suga said that he wanted to be more transparent with his audience, regardless if they were fans or not. It was about his personal stories to help bring up anyone who was going through similar issues. For his raping tracks, he created them to release emotions he built up over time which was remedial to him.” 

“I see, that’s great you’re spreading a positive message.” The interviewer replied back, looking at the remaining questions in his notebook. 

Yoongi let out a small “thank you”, before shyly squirming in his seat. Hoseok gave him a smile and a thumbs-up. 

“For our next question, do you have a girlfriend? Are you planning to get one soon?” 

Hoseok’s translation faltered a second later to which Yoongi immediately noticed, not that he didn’t understand the question. The word ‘girlfriend’ was in everyone’s vocabulary. Hoseok picked up the mic, trying to hide the sadness in his face as he translated it. 

“They want to know whether you plan on g-getting a girlfriend or n-not sometime… soon.”

Yoongi sighed internally, knowing the tape was recording his every reaction. He tightly gripped the mic, looking to the side before replying back to Hoseok. 

“Tell them I’m not planning on getting a girlfriend because I have a wonderful boyfriend, right, here.”

Hoseok’s cheeks reddened as he refused to meet the older’s eyes. He spoke quickly, hoping to mask the embarrassment building up in his face. 

“He said not anytime soon because he wants to focus on his career.”

Yoongi’s eyes widened as he shook his head frantically. He pointed to Hoseok, almost suffocating him as he scooched closer to his partner. 

“No…!” Yoongi continued to point. ”Boyfriend. Here. He is… him. Him, him, him!”

»»————- ♡ ————-««

Yoongi slid in his hotel card in, listening to the bright electronic sound of the door and the illumination of green light of the lock. He kicked the door open, pulling in Hoseok, his hands bundled in his clothing.

“I’m disappointed.” 

“...” 

“Do you want to know why I’m disappointed, Hoseokie?” 

“No...” He murmured. 

“Well too bad. I’m disappointed you didn’t do your job properly as my translator.” He carried the younger through the door, walking slowly in the spacious living room. 

“Isn’t it your job to properly translate what I say?”  

“Yes, it is.” 

“And what did you do?” 

“I didn’t translate it properly... but that’s because-!”

“No.” Yoongi cut in, throwing up the bedroom door. “Why’d you change my answer? Was it to save my career? Was it to not lose fans? Or was it because you were ashamed?” 

“What- I just didn’t want you to get negative publicit-” Hoseok frantically replied. 

“And you thought you knew what’s best for me? Who told you to make a decision for me? Am I not older than you?” 

Hoseok remained quiet before Yoongi stopped in the master suite of their room.

“Look at you.” Yoongi grit, tossing him onto the bed as Hoseok’s body bounced before he laid flat. Yoongi climbed on the sheets, locking eyes with Hoseok. “What do I have to do to make you understand that I’m yours? Are you embarrassed by me? Are you so embarrassed that you’d rather lie just to avoid some judgemental eyes from people you don’t even know?”

“N-no… Of course, n-not. I just-” Hoseok whispered, his body feeling weak. The pair collided foreheads as Yoongi ran his tongue over his own lips.

“What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue?” Hoseok stood motionless, just staring up at his partner with his mouth slightly agape. “Don’t you like this?” Yoongi snickered.

Yoongi slowly pushed his knee into Hoseok’s crotch as he let out a grunt. “I thought you liked it when I ordered you around.” He muttered.

“A-ah…” Hoseok panted, his face flushed as he shuffled around nervously.

“Is this okay?” Yoongi whispered near his ear, his hand coming up to his partner’s belt. Hoseok nodded, mumbling a quiet ‘yes’.

“Do you know how long we’ve been together?” Yoongi whispered, throwing the belt onto the floor. 

“U-um, t-two years?” Hoseok whimpered as he felt his pants slide down his legs. 

“Is that a question?” Yoongi teased before crushing his lips on Hoseok. 

“Mmpf.” Hoseok moaned before dragging the older down with him. With a pop, their lips separated. “Maybe two and a half...” 

“Yeah, two and a half.” Yoongi cooed, brushing red strands of hair off to the side. 

“AH!” Hoseok yelped before he was suddenly flipped on his stomach, his knees propped up to support him up. 

“Open the cabinet and pass me the bottle of lube,” Yoongi instructed. Hoseok stretched his arm to the nightstand, pulling the drawer open as Yoongi stared at his back. His muscles stretched and his back curved, revealing an erotic sight. 

“Here...” Hoseok muttered to which Yoongi squeezed a generous amount on his hand. 

“It’s gonna hurt. You do know that right?” 

Hoseok nodded, jutting his ass up in the air. Yoongi took hold on his hips, taking several minutes before he fully submerged himself inside his lover. 

“You okay?” 

Hoseok nodded again, biting his lip to suppress the pain. Hoseok brought both hands to his mouth when Yoongi began to move, muffling his cries. As Yoongi increased his pace, Hoseok got louder and louder.

“So I wasn’t wrong when I said you’re a bottom,” Yoongi smirked, grabbing hold of Hoseok’s hair.

“N-no, I’m n-not…” Hoseok whined, panting and his entire body shuttering from the pleasure. Yoongi let go of him, Hoseok’s head falling back down.

“You’re not?” Yoongi asked amusingly. “Cause it sure looks like you are right now.” His hips snapped harshly as Hoseok’s body shuttered again, clutching onto the pillow tighter.

“Nnn…No… I’m n-not…” Hoseok moaned, burying his head into the soft cushions. “Ahh… Wait a bit-” Hoseok reached his arm behind, pushing Yoongi’s chest a bit away from him. Yoongi looked at him with delight before grabbing Hoseok’s arms and pulling him onto him even more.

“AHH!” Hoseok cried out, biting his lip as his right hand tightly bundled the sheets underneath him. “Y-yoongi..!” Hoseok shouted, his body meeting his partner’s thrusts. “I can’t… No more. I can’t-”

“No more?” Yoongi grunted, releasing his hold on Hoseok’s arm and placing both hands on his hips. When Hoseok nodded, Yoongi slipped out, breathing hard. “Shit...Hah…” He brushed back strands of his white hair before staring down at Hoseok’s fucked state.

“You... you actually stopped?” Hoseok questioned, slowly breaking out of his daze. 

“Of course.” He responded nonchalantly. “You weren’t used to it.” 

“Because I’m not a bottom...” Hoseok whined, grabbing at the blankets to cover up his bare body. “Ahh, this is embarrassing...” 

“Why?” Yoongi asked, throwing the clothes off the ground and onto his dresser. He pulled a shirt over his head as Hoseok stared at his back. 

“I guess I’m still not used to this... Dating a celebrity and all that. I can’t help but feel... small.” Hoseok explained, laying down on the soft pillow. 

“I guess... I’m still a person though.” Before Hoseok could reply back, Yoongi stormed into the bathroom. 

“Don’t bother me. I still have a problem to fix.” 

“Ah... right...” 

Before the door shut close, Hoseok ran over, bursting it open. 

“Wait! I can actually help with that.”

[morningfears]

Same Ole Situation [Chapter One]

Rating: M | This is smut! No one under 18!

Summary: Venus (whose real name is still a mystery, even to those closes to her) loves a good party just as much as the next person but when she’s got an entire tour to prepare the wardrobe for, she just wants to get to work. But when the band she works for is going on tour with one of the biggest bands in rock and roll, she can’t really turn down the party invite. Especially when her best friend insists she join him. Ashton just wants to live his rockstar fantasy. What happens when it turns out to be more than any of them could’ve ever imagined? (Featuring Motley Crue!)

Word Count: 4.3k

Warnings: Drug use (cocaine, heroin), exhibitionism, very brief mention of harassment (like, blink and you’ll miss it but still).

Disclaimer: This is fiction. It is not meant to represent anything real, even if it alludes to things that did happen to actual people in the 1980s. It’s not meant to be historically accurate or suggest anything about anyone.

Los Angeles, October 1986

“This is fucking insane.”

Venus hears a murmur of agreement from the group standing behind her as they stand in the paved driveway and stare up at the massive mansion in front of them. It is, without question, the biggest dwelling any of them have ever seen and it takes a moment for each of them to comprehend the grandeur of it all.

It takes even longer for them to comprehend that this is where the party is going to be held.

“I honestly feel like I don’t even belong in this neighborhood, let alone this fucking house,” Calum breathes, his words leaving his lips in an exhale of cigarette smoke. “What the fuck did we sign up for?”

“A tour with Mötley fucking Crüe,” Michael reminds him with a grin. “This is gonna be the best,” he cheers, his words already slurring as he gestures to the mansion in front of the group.

The others, although somewhat uneasy, cheer at Michael’s words. Calum takes the bottle of Jack from his hand, downs a gulp of whiskey, and passes the bottle to Luke. “Something feels weird,” Luke murmurs before he takes his own gulp from the bottle. “Something’s not right,” he asserts as he passes the bottle to his most recent girlfriend (Lucy? Lacey? Lisa? No one is really sure).

“That’s the drugs, mate,” Ashton reminds him as he grabs the bottle from Luke’s girl and takes a gulp. “Makes you paranoid. Come on, it’s a party,” he reminds them with a grin as he glances at the group of giggling girls, all scantily clad, stumbling up the driveway toward the open front door, “what could go wrong at a party?”

“A lot,” Luke murmurs, his eyes heavy and words slurring. “A lot can go wrong, mate.”

Ashton ignores Luke’s comment and shakes his head. He feels good. He’s on top of the world, living the live he’s always imagined, and he’s not going to let Luke’s drug-induced paranoia sour his mood. Instead, he chooses to ignore Luke’s words as he tosses his arm around his best friend’s shoulders and lets his fingers tap a rhythm only he can hear against her skin. The pair of them lead the group up the driveway, Michael and Calum cracking jokes and laughing with the girls they’d brought along while Luke and his girl (Luna, maybe?) trail behind and speak in hushed whispers.

“She gives me the fucking creeps,” Ashton hears Venus murmur as they move closer to the front door. “Ever since he and Hannah broke up, he’s been bouncing between groupies and each one is harder to deal with than the last. Like, I get it. Fuck whoever you want. But, Jesus, they don’t have to be so fucking awful.”

“She’s a cunt,” Ashton agrees with a laugh. 

“What’s her fucking name?” Venus (whose real name is, ironically, just as much a mystery to the group) asks as she returns her full attention to Ashton.

“Lauren, maybe?” Ashton shrugs as he takes the bottle of Jack from Calum’s outstretched hand.

“I thought it was Lilly,” Calum’s friend for the night offers as she brushes a lock of platinum blonde hair from her eyes. “Or maybe Lana…”

“Do you even care?” Michael asks with a laugh as he closes the distance between himself and Ashton and Venus to grab the bottle from the pair of them.

Venus pauses for a moment, pretends to think about it, before she shakes her head. “I really don’t.”

“Well,” Michael hums, pausing to take another sip from the bottle, “I care about getting inside. I’ve heard their parties are fucking insane.” He glances at the rush of people stumbling up the driveway past their small group and grins as he catches sight of mini skirts and high heels. “This is what being a rockstar is all about.”

“I thought it was about the music, asshole,” Calum teases as he drops his finished cigarette to the pavement and crushes it beneath the heel of his boot. “Isn’t that what you always tell us?”

“The times, my friend,” Michael trails off as he locks eyes with a woman Venus is certain has graced the pages of Playboy at least once.

“They’re changing?” Venus finishes, an eyebrow raised in half-amusement. When Michael shoots her a grin and a wink, she rolls her eyes and turns to Ashton once more. “You sure letting these assholes loose in a Mötley Crüe party is a good idea?”

“It’s the worst fucking idea any of us has ever had,” Ashton informs her with a grin, “but it’s going to be a great night.”

The others in their group echo Ashton’s sentiment and release a happy cheer as they pick up the pace toward the front door. As the boys murmur about the girls they already see milling about the driveway and near the front door, Calum and Michael’s girls close in on Venus. “There are tons of bands here,” Calum’s girl informs Venus with a grin as she obnoxiously pops the bright pink gum in her mouth. “Gonna find a hot rockstar for yourself?” she asks with a faux innocent tilt of her head.

Venus wants to roll her eyes at this. Calum’s girl has been making eyes at Ashton for the better part of the night and when she’d learned that the two of them weren’t together, it only made her more eager to go for it. Venus has half a mind to remind her that she’s with Calum, not Ashton, but she doesn’t want to seem like a jealous bitch. So, instead she shrugs. “I’m not a groupie,” Venus informs her. “Not interested in fucking rockstars who never even learned my name.”

“We’ve been friends for four years and I still don’t know your real name,” Calum reminds her as Luke and his girl catch up to their group.

“Guess that means I’m never gonna fuck you, Cal,” she counters with a grin before she sends a half-hearted smirk to his date for the evening. “Don’t get too fucked up tonight, yeah? You guys are recording tomorrow.”

“Don’t worry, mom,” Calum teases with a roll of his eyes. “We’ll all get super hammered and record through our hangovers tomorrow,” he promises her before he presses a kiss to her cheek and steps around her to enter the fray.

Michael raises his hand in a mock salute and grins at her. “I’ll make sure to pass out somewhere convenient for you guys to get me home,” he promises before he mimics Calum’s kiss on the cheek and drags the girl he’d brought but wouldn’t be leaving with further into the crowd.

Luke and his girl wander past Ashton and Venus without a word, neither of them looking wholly like they know that they’re even at a party, and Venus shakes her head. “Fucking creepy bitch,” she huffs before she turns to glance at Ashton. “Have fun, don’t do anything stupid.”

“Same goes to you,” he points out before he leans in and presses a kiss of his own to the corner of her mouth. “See you in the morning, V,” he calls before he allows himself to be swept up into the madness that is the party they’re attending.

Venus watches the boys disappear in various directions before she shakes her head and glances around for the kitchen. She’s assuming they’ll have good booze, if the show of wealth is anything to judge them on, and isn’t disappointed to find the counter littered with bottle after bottle of booze and various party favors lying around. She rolls her eyes at the insanity of it all as she fills her glass.

Four years ago, even a fraction of the alcohol in her bloodstream would’ve been enough to knock her on her ass. A glimpse of a joint or a baggie of cocaine would’ve been enough to send her running for the hills, desperate to be anywhere else in case something bad happened, but after four years of working with the boys, she doesn’t even blink as she catches sight of someone doing a line off a stripper’s breast. The lethal amounts of drugs sitting out in the open, the sight of a band member getting a blowjob in the middle of the living room, the shattered glass littering the floor where someone dropped it but couldn’t be fucked cleaning it up; Venus barely notices it anymore.

What she does notice, however, is the tall man with black hair eying her from across the room the moment she steps into the living room.

She’s gotten used to ignoring rockstars’ advances. She’s trying to make a name for herself as a designer and has been on tour with the boys for a better part of the four years she’s known them. She’s made everything from stage clothes to casual wear for them and doesn’t want anyone to even consider the idea that fucking some asshole who can’t even tune his own guitar is what has kept her in the game for so long. So, she doesn’t let anyone who even looks like they play an instrument get too close.

Ashton included.

The first night they met, Ashton was sure that he was going to end up with Venus in his bed. The band was getting bigger, girls were throwing themselves at their feet and the party was just getting started, but Venus didn’t give a shit about what band he was in. She didn’t care that he could twirl his drumsticks and he’d nearly asked what was wrong with her when she turned down his offer to buy her a drink but now, four years and a solid friendship later, he’s glad that she’s still in his life.

Their relationship was strictly professional in the beginning, they only saw each other when she needed to make alterations or fit them for new designs. However, long nights preparing for tour turned into them bringing her along to make alterations as needed on the road. Venus became a permanent part of their tour family and an even more permanent part of Ashton’s life. The pair of them live together, along with Calum, and she’s certain she wouldn’t have it any other way.

She’s also glad that he didn’t walked away the night that she told him to go fuck himself.

She’s assuming that the tall man approaching her is going to be much the same in terms of persistency, only this time, she hopes that he does take the hint and walk away when she tells him to fuck himself.

“Haven’t I seen you around somewhere?” he asks, a charming smile on his lips as he leans in close enough for her to hear him speak.

“I doubt it,” she hums before she takes a sip of her drink. “I travel a lot.”

“Yeah?” he asks as he unabashedly checks her out. “Me, too.” He pauses for a moment, his eyes lingering on her breasts, before he meets her eyes once more. “I’m Tommy.”

“I’m not interested,” she returns as she turns her head to glance out at the group of people milling about the open space.

Tommy is momentarily taken aback before he grins and laughs. “Damn, you’re mean. I like it,” he informs her before he gulps down the remainder of his drink and gestures to her glass. “I’m gonna get another drink. You want one?”

“No,” she breathes before she thinks better of herself and adds, “thanks, though.” He’s not quite getting the hint but his heart seems to be in the right place, she thinks, as she watches him nod.

“I’ll catch you around, then,” he nods. “And maybe I’ll catch your name before the night’s over.”

She doesn’t reply. Instead, she offers a half-shrug meant to be vague enough to keep him from trying even harder and he seems to accept it as he grins at her once more before disappearing in the crowd. She rolls her eyes, not nearly intoxicated enough to deal with this, before she follows his lead and gulps down the rest of her drink. 

She decides to avoid the kitchen for the time being, hoping that she can avoid Tommy, and decides to take a seat on the leather sofa near the wall of windows. She doesn’t much feel like partying, not when she doesn’t know half the people wandering around the room and she’s fresh off a cross-country flight with way too much work to do the next morning. She thinks that maybe she should find Ashton, tell him that she just wants to go back to their place and get some sleep, but before she can move, a hand enters her field of vision.

She can see a rolled bill between the man’s fingers and she frowns as she turns her head to meet his gaze. He’s leaned back against the couch, an arm slung over the back as he raises an eyebrow at her. He looks similar to Tommy, long black hair teased to hell and back with a cocky smirk on his lips, and she wants to roll her eyes as she asks, “What do you expect me to do with this?”

“You look like you could use something to get you out of your head,” he offers, expression never faltering as he gestures to the lines cut on the table. When Venus continues to stare at him, eyes narrowed and suspicious, he laughs. “I was just offering,” he shrugs as he sits up and moves closer to the table. “But if you’re not interested…”

She watches him lean down and snort a line before he sits back up and reaches for a different rolled bill. She stares at it for a moment as the voice inside her head tells her to get up and walk away. However, she decides that she wants to enjoy herself. She’d rather be too high to remember being miserable than too sober to experience every moment of it. So, after a moment of hesitation, she takes the bill from his fingers and rolls her eyes at the grin on his lips when she moves closer to him to reach the table.

The man beside her doesn’t move so she’s forced to lean over his lap as she stretches to reach the drug. She can tell that he’s enjoying this position, if the grin on his lips is anything to go by, but doesn’t let herself dwell on it as she does a line of her own. The man looks somewhat impressed as she tosses the bill onto the table without so much as flinching and Venus rolls her eyes when he shifts closer to her.

“Why are you here when you clearly don’t want to be?” he asks as he tilts his head to get a better look at her. 

His tone isn’t judgmental nor is it rude. It’s just curious, she notes, as she turns her head to face him. She allows her eyes to roam over his face, to take in the smudged black eyeliner around his eyes, before they trail down to the expanse of chest exposed by his unbuttoned shirt. He’s beautiful, that much she can admit, and she wants to look away. Venus doesn’t want to let her guard down and get too comfortable because even though she’s gotten good at turning down rockstars, she’ll be the first to admit that it’s hard. Especially when they’re fun to look at. And she knows that with the drug soon to be coursing through her system, it’ll be even harder to turn this one down.

However, she reminds herself to stay strong. Judging by the look in his eye and the smirk quirking his lips, he’s more trouble than he’s worth.

“You done checking me out?” he asks after a moment of silence.

Venus blinks before she glances up to meet his eyes once more. He looks amused now, nearly giddy, and she does roll her eyes. “Bite me,” she huffs before she reaches out to grab the bottle of Jack off the table.

“Sure,” he shrugs, smirk prominent on his lips as he reaches out to grab the bottle of Jack from her, “but I didn’t think you’d be into that sort of thing.”

Venus rolls her eyes before she watches the man take a gulp of whiskey from the bottle. His eyes never leave hers, even as he leans forward to return the bottle to the table. It’s stupid, a fucking staring contest to see if he can get her to blink, but she doesn’t relent. She meets his amused gaze with her own level one and waits for him to be the one to give up.

“You didn’t answer my question,” he reminds her as he shifts a little closer to her.

“Do you really want an answer?”

He pretends to think for a moment, his eyes narrowing as he sees the fire in her eyes and hears the challenge in her words. “No, not really,” he finally answers.

Venus’ own eyes narrow and she can feel the frown on her face. She isn’t sure what to make of the man in front of her. Usually, she’s good at reading the asshole rockstars who hit on her. They stare at her tits, try to sweet talk her, flash their wealth, or even go so far as to attempt to touch her. This man, however, has done none of those things. He hasn’t followed the pattern his predecessors have set and that throws Venus off enough to make her blink. Across from her, the man grins and reaches for the bottle once more.

The pair of them sit in relative silence for what feels like a lifetime. Venus stares unabashedly at the man beside her, attempting to read him, as he lazily glances around the room. She can feel the drug beginning to take hold in her mind. She can feel her heart beginning to race and her judgement clouding. She’s no stranger to a casual hookup, she does let loose and have fun every now and again, but hooking up with a rockstar is something she’s tried her hardest to avoid (she won’t admit it to anyone but she failed and hooked up with some guitarist after getting a little too fucked up on her first tour with the boys).

However, she can feel her resolve crumbling the moment the man turns his head to look at her once more.

“Who the fuck are you?” she manages to ask, even though she can feel the sense of euphoria building in her mind and threatening to drown out anything that isn’t going to contribute to her high.

“Who the fuck are you?” he returns, voice just as amused as it’s been the entire time she’s sat with him.

She’s impressed that he didn’t fire back with some variation of, “Don’t you know who I think I am?” He’s completely dodged every rockstar cliche she’s catalogued in her brain and it annoys her. She’s not afraid of a challenge but some things should just be easy, like knowing when a man is more trouble than he’s worth. This one, however, is proving to be difficult and she doesn’t like it.

As she stares at him, eyes narrowed and frown on her lips, he rolls his eyes and moves closer to her. One of his hands grips her thigh while the other moves to the back of her neck as he leans in to kiss her. Venus is surprised but she finds herself leaning into the kiss rather than pushing him away. She knows that it’s a bad idea, knows that rockstars only mean trouble, but she can’t bring herself to care as she feels the drug fully settling into her body. She feels her high begin to envelope her and all she can focus on is the taste of whiskey and cigarettes as she returns the kiss.

His hand moves up her thigh and dips beneath her black leather skirt. She can feel the callouses on his fingers, confirming her suspicions that he is, indeed, a musician. However, that realization doesn’t even begin to faze her as he nudges her thighs apart. She wants to care that he’s got his hand up her skirt in the middle of a crowded living room but, if she’s being honest, she doesn’t. She knows that this isn’t the most fucked up thing anyone has seen over the course of the night and she’s certain that their’s won’t be the only act of exhibitionism anyone witnesses. So she gives in to the high, gives in to the man whose teeth are sinking into her bottom lip as his fingers nudge the material of her panties to the side.

His hands are rough but skilled. Her fingers tangle in his hair as his thumb brushes her clit before he sinks two fingers into her heat. He’s able to keep a steady rhythm despite the stimulants coursing through his system and Venus can’t help but imagine how good other aspects of this man will be as she shifts closer to him.

Across the room, Ashton and Calum stand with a group of girls who are all too aware that the boys will be opening up for Mötley Crüe on their latest tour. They understand that these girls only see them as a steeping stone to the bigger stars but they don’t care. It’s fun, it’s relatively harmless, and everyone gets something from it. Why question a good thing?

However, before he can get too comfortable with one of the girls, Ashton hears someone exclaim, “Fucking Nikki!”

He glances over to see Tommy, Mötley’s drummer, shaking his head and turning back to the kitchen. He turns his head to see what had caused the exclamation and nearly drops the glass in his hand when he realizes what he’s looking at. “What the fuck?” he exclaims, his voice louder than he intended. “Is she fucking stupid?”

Calum, surprised by the sudden outburst, turns his head to follow Ashton’s gaze. When he sees Venus on the couch with Nikki Sixx, his hand up her skirt and hers unbuttoning his pants, he blinks. “Whoa,” he laughs as he shakes his head. “Didn’t think the first rockstar she hooked up with would be him but good for her.”

“What do you fucking mean, good for her?” Ashton questions as he turns to face Calum. “She deserves better.”

“Chill out, mate,” Calum huffs as he nods to the counter where lines have been cut. “Take a bump. She’s enjoying herself, you should, too.” When he sees that Ashton wants to argue, Calum rolls his eyes. “She’s an adult, Ash. She can do whatever the fuck she wants. Or do whoever the fuck she wants,” he amends as he glances over to see Venus on Nikki’s lap, skirt bunched around her waist and hands gripping his shoulders. “Jesus, she’s hot. How the fuck did he manage that?”

“Everyone wants Nikki,” one of the girls with them giggles. “He’s gorgeous and, like, totally fucking rad.”

Her friend nods in agreement but Ashton doesn’t pay them any mind as he glares at the pair of them on the sofa. Venus and Nikki are making no attempts to hide what they’re doing (he suspects the massive amount of blow on the table in front of them has something to do with that) and the cocky smirk on Nikki’s face as Venus rides him makes Ashton’s blood boil.

Venus’ eyes are screwed shut, her mind blank of anything except the man beneath her as she feels his fingers dig into her skin. He’s letting her do most of the work, letting her fuck herself on his cock as he watches her tits bounce, and she feels as if her heart is going to explode as her orgasm builds. She doesn’t even attempt to keep her moans quiet and she can hear cheering from some of the partygoers as she begins to fall over the edge but that only spurs her on.

Nikki cums not long after Venus and the pair remain still for a moment before she moves off of his lap and returns to her seat beside him. She tugs her skirt back down as he tucks himself back into his pants before she leans over and grabs the bottle of Jack from the table. After she takes a gulp, she passes it to him and he smirks at her.

“Nikki,” he introduces as he passes the bottle back.

“Venus,” she returns, and just like that, she can feel the shift in the air.

As Venus attempts to wrap her hazy mind around what’s happening, the party goes on. 

Ashton follows Calum’s advice and takes a bump. After fifteen minutes, he can’t remember what he was so angry about and doesn’t attempt to stop the hot blonde from dropping to her knees in front of him. Calum, who usually prefers to keep his wits at least somewhat about him, manages to keep his clothes on but does find himself downing more Jack than he probably should. Michael, whose date for the evening has gone on to bigger and better rockstars, finds himself with his head between the thighs of a gorgeous brunette as the rest of the party cheers around him. And Luke, who is farther gone than even he realizes, finds himself holed up in a bathroom with Laura and more China White than either of them need.

It’s the same ole situation, the same story they’ve all heard a million times before, only this time, they’re the ones living it.

Author’s Note: Again, I promise there will be more Ashton. This is just. To get us started? And I honestly wanted an excuse to write Nikki smut, whoops. The Dirt reminded me how in love with him I was as a kid, tbh. Also, you can imagine whichever Mötley you want. Personally, I imagine MGK!Tommy and real Nikki but, like. Whatever floats your boat. Also, if anyone wants an actual fic for one of them, let me know.

[xfangheartx]

Red Strings- Ch. 2

Ch. 2- Inuyasha’s Lament

Sesshomaru pulled up in front of a gigantic mansion that stood at the top of a flight of stairs, prompting Inuyasha to open the back passenger door and get out. "Don't I get a 'thank you'?" asked Sesshomaru. "Yeah, thanks," Inuyasha said before he muttered "pompous-ass schmuck" under his breath. "I heard that," Sesshomaru said. Before Inuyasha could even open his mouth and retort... "My baby!" "Oh, no..." Inuyasha bemoaned as he turned around, only to nearly be toppled over by a woman that reached up to his chin, wrapping her arms around her. Her hair was so long, she practically dragged it behind her. She was wearing a beautiful dark red velvet dress that reached down to her ankles and she was also wearing a black coat with brown fur trimming around the collar. "OOF!!" Inuyasha cried. "Hi, Mom...!" "Oh, Inuyasha, you're okay!" Izayoi said as she hugged her son. "I was so worried!" She then began to smother his face with kisses. "M-M-Mom! Mom, stop it!" Inuyasha cried. "I-I get it, I love you, too, but come on! Not in front of Sesshomaru! I'm not 5 anymore!!" Sesshomaru smirked while Rin giggled, though she tried to stifle her laughter by covering her mouth. "Thanks, again, Sesshomaru," said Izayoi. "Sorry I interrupted your date." "It's all right," Sesshomaru replied. 'It was worth seeing Inuyasha getting smothered in kisses.'

He then got back into the car, but not before Izayoi looked in through the window. "Bye, Izayoi!" Rin waved. "Bye, Rin," said Izayoi. "Sesshomaru, if you see Satomi, tell her I said hi, won't you?" "Yes, I'll give Mother your regards," Sesshomaru replied as he drove off.

"And as for you, young man," Izayoi said as she grabbed Inuyasha by the ear and dragged him up the stairs, causing him to cry out in pain, "you should know better than to worry your poor mother!" "Ow! M-Mom, ouch! Ow!!" Inuyasha cried. "Let go!! Dammit, I'm 21 years old!!"

"How could you leave so late at night?!" Izayoi asked. "And forget your phone, no less!" "I'm sorry- OW!!" Inuyasha cried. "Mom, that hurts!!" Soon, they were inside, revealing a lavish kitchen with black tile floors that looked so clean, you could eat off of them, and it even came with a bar area that had all sorts of liquor, including premium sake and imported wine. The living room had a 36" plasma screen TV- which, by the way, had a show about a talking sponge- and was set in front of a couch and two extra armchairs with leather upholstery. The sliding door revealed a large pool in the backyard, at least 10 feet wide and 7 feet deep, complete with a diving board. "Don't ever do something like that, Inuyasha Taisho," Izayoi scolded. "From now on, you take your phone with you so that someone can contact you! Do you hear me, young man?!" "Mom, I'm not-" Inuyasha started. "I said 'Do you hear me'?!" Izayoi asked. "...Yes, Mother..." Inuyasha muttered as he planted his rump right on the couch, causing a voice to yelp as he bounced up into the air before landing right back on the cushion. Inuyasha turned to his right to see a little boy of at least 4 or 5 years with red hair that was tied up in a ponytail with a turquoise ribbon. He had on a light blue shirt that had a swirling pattern of greenish-blue flames over the word "FOXFIRE" in dark green letters, as well as a pair of blue shorts. His most prominent features were a pair of golden yellow paws for feet and a bushy tail sticking out of his backside. "Oh, hey, Shippo," Inuyasha greeted as he gently ruffled the boy's hair. "Hi, Inuyasha," Shippo replied. "Welcome home." Shippo was Inuyasha's adopted younger brother. He had been living at Taisho Manor for about a year, now, ever since his father had been murdered by the infamous demon serial killers, the Thunder Brothers, Hiten and Manten. After their arrest, Shippo had nowhere to go and no other known family to turn to, so Izayoi decided to adopt him. At first, it seemed that Inuyasha and Shippo wouldn't get along, but eventually, they grew on each other. As Inuyasha settled onto the couch, he heard a loud bark coming from the hallway followed by the clacking of long claws against the floor, causing the half-demon to smile before he stood up from the couch and pat his chest. Before long, he was jumped upon by a red Akita Inu, who proceeded to smother his face with licks. Thankfully, Inuyasha didn't lose his balance. He just laughed as the dog kissed him while wagging his curly tail. "Hey, Taro!" Inuyasha exclaimed. "I'm happy to see you, too, boy!" Taro barked as he kept licking his master's face. "Dad's mad at you, by the way," Shippo said, causing Inuyasha to sigh as he put the dog down on the floor. "What else is new?" Inuyasha asked while he gave Taro a few strokes on the head. "At least he's still at the fucking office so I don't have to hear it from him." "Hello, son." Inuyasha's eyes went wide and his ears shot straight up before he turned around to see a rather muscular man wearing a police uniform, standing on the third bottom step of the stairs. Just like Inuyasha and Sesshomaru, his hair was as long and white as theirs and he had jagged blue stripes on his cheeks. Strapped to his back was a sword case that held a sword with a pearl in the hilt. "...Hey, what do you know?" Inuyasha asked with a sheepish smile before he glared at Shippo and clenched his fangs. "It's Dad!" Shippo shrugged, not knowing what to say while Taro whimpered and hid under the coffee table, his tail tucked between his legs. "Shippo, go upstairs, please," said Toga, prompting the young fox demon to hop off the couch and head upstairs. "And as for you, Inuyasha, we need to talk." "Toga, not now," Izayoi said as she approached him while handing her son a cup of instant noodles. "Inuyasha's had a rough night and needs some time to relax." "Thanks, Mom," said Inuyasha as he took the cup in his hand and began to eat the noodles before he picked up the remote and flicked the TV onto something else, but then Toga grabbed the remote and clicked the TV off. "Hey!" "Don't you 'hey' me," Toga said before he turned to his wife, "and as for you, Izayoi, don't coddle him because you make things worse." "But Toga-" Izayoi said. "He's a 21-year-old half-demon, living under our roof with no job!" Toga interjected. "You don't gotta rub it in," said Inuyasha as he flicked the TV back on, "and I'm working on the job part, okay?" "What happened to that application I gave you?" asked Izayoi. "You know, the one for WacDaniel's?" "I threw it out," said Inuyasha. "I don't wanna work in a greasy fast food joint. Besides, the burgers aren't that great." Toga grabbed the remote and flicked the TV off, again. "Okay, are you gonna keep doing that?!" Inuyasha questioned. "Yes," Toga began, "because you are going to shut up and listen. This has been going on for too long, Inuyasha. It's bad enough people discriminated against you since the day you came out of your mother, but what do you think people are going to say when they see you now?" "I don't care what people think," Inuyasha said as he turned the TV back on, but Toga promptly shut it back off, again, further irritating him. "You should care!" Toga argued. "Do you know what my friends down at the precinct call you? A lazy deadbeat half-demon who mooches off his parents!" "What are you gonna do?!" Inuyasha asked as he stood up and glared at his father. "You gonna kick me out, like you did to Sesshomaru?!" "That was different!" Toga yelled. "Sesshomaru left of his own free will!" "That's enough!" Izayoi shouted as she got in between them. "Let's not fight...please." "You know something, Dad?" Inuyasha asked. "I don't gotta sit here and take this. I only left last night and got my ass drunk because I wanted to get away from you!" "No," Toga countered. "The reason why you left and got drunk is that you can't get over your dead girlfriend!" "Toga!" Izayoi cried while Inuyasha tensed up. "You said you wouldn't bring that up again!" "...I don't gotta take this shit," Inuyasha cursed as he pushed his way past his father and headed up the stairs. "Inuyasha, I'm telling you this for your own good," Toga said as he glared after his son. "Look...I understand that you loved Kikyo...but you have to move on. It's been three years since her death!" "...Kikyo died because of me," Inuyasha said as he glared at his father. "And I would have saved her sooner if you hadn't been dragging your ass." He then headed up the stairs, and after about 5 seconds, they heard the sound of a slamming door. Toga sighed as he sat down in his chair while Izayoi put her hand on his shoulder. "Are you all right, dearest?" she asked. "...I shouldn't have said that," Toga said. "I just got tired of seeing him act so depressed." "I hate seeing him like that, too," Izayoi said as she sat next to him. "...I just want him to do better, Izayoi," Toga said. "You may think I'm tough on him, but it's only because we can't keep treating him like a child." "...I know," Izayoi said, sadly, "but every time I see him looking so forlorn, I just can't help it. I want to show him he can still lean on his mother for support." "There's a fine line between support and coddling, Izayoi," said Toga. "And...I understand how he feels. He finally had someone who loved him and he loved in return...but then..." He then sighed while Izayoi rubbed his shoulders. "I just pray that one day, our son finds some form of happiness, again," Izayoi said. "That's all I could ever want." "...Me, too," Toga agreed. XXX Inuyasha lied in his bedroom, staring up at the ceiling. The walls were plastered with Aerosmith posters and ACDC. He had a PlayStation 4 hooked up to a 24" Samsung TV and dirty clothes littered the floor. "...They want me to be happy, huh?" he mused as he glanced over at the vent. "Sometimes, I wonder..." Just then, he heard his phone vibrate, causing him to pick it up from his nightstand and swipe his finger on the screen. NEW TEXT MESSAGE FROM MIROKU: "Hey, it's me. U didn't pick up last night. R U OK?"

Inuyasha sighed before he began to tap on the keypad. INUYASHA: "I went to the bar last night. Forgot my phone. Had 2 much 2 drink. Just got home a while ago. My jerkass brother dropped me off."

There was a brief pause before the phone vibrated again. MIROKU: "Where were u last night?"

INUYASHA: "Some girl's place."

MIROKU: "A girl, huh?" ;)

INUYASHA: "Don't get any ideas, perv. I don't even know her. Besides, I'm not gonna see her again."

MIROKU: "If U say so. So what R U doing l8r?"

INUYASHA: "I dunno. Maybe take Taro 4 a walk, later."

MIROKU: "Do U want me to come over?"

INUYASHA: "No thx. I'm good."

MIROKU: "Call me if U need me."

INUYASHA: "Whatever."

With that, he clicked off his phone and put it back on the nightstand and rested his hand on his stomach...but as he looked down at his finger, he saw that same red string, again. 'What the hell is this thing?'

[samingtonwilson]

Relationship Tutor: (12) Cooperative Napping

relationship tutor masterlist

Summary: College AU. Bucky, a relationship novice, asks for your help in dating your friend. Unable to say no to him, you agree despite everyone and everything telling you not to.

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Warnings: language

A/N: FINALLY time for my absolute favorite part bih!

Bucky was nursing a mocha latte he suddenly no longer had an affinity for, the far too creamy, far too sweet beverage making his heart race and his teeth gritty. He scowled with every sip he took as if he didn’t already have a grimace in place.

He sat back against the cushioned booth bench, his head lolling against the wall behind him. He would’ve given anything to just shut his eyes and take a nap right there.

Natasha made that difficult, though. She was surveying the circumstance from every angle, devising plan after plan for Bucky to finally win the affections of the person he loved.

She brought up several cliché tactics— all of which seemed to center around jealousy.

“Give me a gross pet name. Like ‘Natty’ or ‘Tatty.’”

He made a face. “Absolutely not.”

“How about we start using terms of endearment? Like, I’ll call you ‘babe’ and you call me ‘sweetheart.’”

“Does that idea come with an airsick bag?”

“No, but you come with an attitude apparently.”

She continued after a few moments of silent contemplation. “Kiss me in front of her.”

He snorted. “Pass.”

“Fine, I’ll kiss you in front of her.”

“Oh,” he mused sarcastically with a nod. He dropped his indulgent smile and narrowed his eyes. “Pass.”

It made Bucky uneasy to even contemplate the idea. Jealousy was not only a childish technique but, in this case, it was a dishonest one— and, partially because of you, he knew he couldn’t be dishonest to someone he cared so deeply about.

“She’s in my head, Nat. I can’t lie to her.”

Natasha shook her head, smirking as she tucked a wavy lock of ginger hair behind her ear. She held a cardboard cup of herbal tea in her hands, long nails which were painted blood red scraping against the sleeve embellished with the café’s name. “This would be much easier if you weren’t such a saintly person.”

Even if only momentarily, he smiled at that. “Wanting to be honest doesn’t make me saintly. It should just be expected.”

“You’d be surprised by how few men feel that way. You’re in the minority, Barnes.”

He fiddled with his phone in his free hand, toying with the lock button and swirling his fingertip over the touchscreen. “I can’t just tell her you and I aren’t dating anymore?”

“If you want to tell her that, feel free to. I’m just asking that we have a little fun with this.”

“Fun?” he repeated with narrowed eyes. “In what way is any of this fun?”

“It is for me,” she shrugged as she took a long sip of her tea. A corner of her lips quirked up in a smirk when she noticed his incredulous expression. “What? You needed her guidance to even have a conversation with me, went on four dates with me, and kissed me twice only to need my guidance in getting her.”

“Getting her,” he repeated as if the two words left a bad taste in his mouth. “She once said something about that objectifying women as if they’re prizes to be won.”

“God, keep talking like that and I’ll sabotage this whole thing to keep you all to myself.”

He smiled and shook his head. “Do you have any other ideas or has the well run dry?”

She sat in silent contemplation for a few beats. “How about we just don’t tell her we’ve stopped dating?”

“What?”

“Just don’t tell her that whatever we were has ended.” Her smirk grew more pronounced when he tilted his head like a confused puppy hearing a wayward, unfamiliar noise. “We’re still friends, we can still hang out around her— we’ll just omit the fact that we’ve ended.”

“Isn’t omission just fancy lying?”

“Okay, Saint Barnes, you need to determine the degrees of all these evils and settle on the lesser one.”

Bucky mulled each idea over, wiggling his jaw back and forth and reading the ridiculous names of the drinks written on the chalkboards bolted to the wall behind Natasha. “I’ve been going to her every couple of days for the last few weeks asking questions. What if she wonders why I’m not doing that anymore?”

“Say you don’t need her help now— that you’ve got it handled. Which is true, you handled ending it very well.”

“You ended it.”

“Yeah, but you handled listening to me end it very well.” She narrowed her eyes after a brief pause. “Were you ever actually interested in me?”

“Of course I was. I don’t enlist help for building foundations with just anybody.”

“But you couldn’t get her out of your head, huh?”

“It’d be nice to get her out of anywhere,” he snorted. “I am sorry for all of this, though. You didn’t deserve to be caught in the middle.”

She waved her hand dismissively. “No harm, no foul. You never told me this was a relationship— you said you wanted to try dating and we tried dating. Not to sound like a broken record, but I appreciate the honesty.”

“I had a good teacher,” he replied fondly, his phone vibrating under his fingers with an incoming message. Your name brightly written across the screen, his smile grew but shook a bit with the feeling swarming his stomach.

“I, uh,” he began, still staring at your simple message. “I’m gonna leave.”

“Is that your girlfriend?” she asked in a juvenile tone, laughing when Bucky scowled. “Go. I’ve got work to do as it is— I don’t need you wasting my time like this.”

He rolled his eyes with an exaggerated sigh and gave a single wave in goodbye.

For only a moment, Bucky felt profoundly foolish. It only took a text message from you to send him to his feet, racing to his car and speeding to your apartment. A lot of his friends would call him pathetically whipped, completely helpless to your every whim— and, maybe during his teenage years, he would’ve found that to be mildly shameful. He would have thought it was like he had no backbone when it came to you, no freewill.

But now, when Bucky thought himself to be slightly more evolved, he wasn’t embarrassed by how quickly he succumbed to you. Especially not when the reward for it was so sweet.

Of course, it was never an objectively substantial reward— he didn’t think an objectively substantial reward was ever even merited. However, subjectively he was rewarded substantially each time. May that reward have been a genuine smile, a gleeful laugh, a sigh of relief, or just a chance to be around you longer, he always felt as if the universe was being undeservingly kind and gracious to him for every minuscule thing he did.

It wasn’t as if he needed the rewards to do anything he did. If you wanted him there, he would rush over without a second thought at even the concept of reciprocation. It was something he’d read somewhere that didn’t birth the lack of expectation but gave it a verbal reason— very roughly paraphrased, it was something about never looking for reciprocation in love.

And he was in love— so, so in love. He flirted with the idea that he’d been in love with you from the moment he met you as Steve continuously teased him for, but he remained committed to the notion that it was a love that bloomed from a simple infatuation.

Infatuation that took root the second you walked into the  party in the apartment he shared with Steve with an overly-tabbed Romantic period volume of The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Highlighter in hand, you nodded at Steve and went straight to his room to finish your reading assignment before letting yourself have even one hit of the joint waiting for you.

When you blew the smoke out in a perfect stream and let your chest collapse in relief, he elbowed Steve in the ribs to introduce him to you. You only smiled politely, gave him a playful two finger salute, and offered up the joint with a giggled, “Take a hit, pretty boy. Consider it a ‘Welcome to the world’s most boring university’ gift and a one-time offer.”

But that was all it took for Bucky to ask Steve about you— how he knew you, why he’d never mentioned you, and if you all hung out a lot. Steve replied with a suggestive eyebrow waggle and a cooed, “Sounds like Bucky’s got a li’l crush!”

A year of self-control later, Bucky would have applauded himself for his restraint had that restraint not been so imbued with fear. After all, it wasn’t noble fear. It wasn’t as if he was keeping himself away from you for fear of your heart breaking because of him like some terrible excuse for a martyr. He kept his overwhelming feelings to himself for selfish reasons— reasons ranging from not losing the warmth of your presence to not losing the rush of your gaze.

He only had to knock twice before you pulled the door of your apartment open, looking breathless and a little tired. “Bucky,” you sighed in relief and he could’ve sworn no one had ever said his name in such an addictive manner. “Thank God, please save me.”

He tilted his head questioningly as you let him in, watching as you pulled your jacket on and tucked your phone into your pocket. “Save you from—”

A loud, almost shrieked moan answered his question, his mouth falling open so a disbelieving laugh lifted your own lips despite your sourness. He pointed in the direction of the adjacent hall. “Is that—”

“Yes. I withstood it at first— figured it would stop soon enough. But Sam is so… The man has some steely control and quick recovery because this is, like, the third time I’ve heard a complete stranger climax.”

Bucky continued shaking in laughter. “Do you know who he’s with?”

You shook your head as you pulled your boots on. “I didn’t see.”

“Why didn’t you just leave?”

“It’s colder than the fucking tundra out there and my car’s getting serviced.”

He frowned in consideration, poised to reply until another moan cut through the room. He covered his ears with his hands, earning a laugh from you.

You started towards the door, gripping the lapel of his jacket to tug him behind you.

He let you guide him through the hall and to the stairs, his eyes tracing your form and the way even the minimal sunlight pouring from the dusty windows seemed to love you as much as he did.

“Where are we going?”

You shrugged and let go of his jacket, putting your hands in your pockets instead. “As long as it’s not the library or any other place Sam’s fucking the living daylights out of someone, I don’t care.”

“You need to give me more to work with, doll.”

“Doll?” you repeated, stopping in your tracks to look at him with raised eyebrows and amusement over your every feature. “S’been a while since you’ve called me that, Buck. You sure Natasha won’t have your balls for it?”

“My balls are secure, trust me.” He glanced at you when you shoved the lobby doors open, a smile over your lips despite the extreme coolness of the outside air. “You hungry at all?”

“Not really. I’m more tired than anything else.”

He hummed noncommittally and unlocked his car as the two of you approached it.

You sat back quietly and only opened your eyes after two minutes of driving, the heat from the vents comfortably caressing your cheeks as Bucky’s music played at a calm volume. You narrowed your eyes at the passing landmarks. “Are we going to your place?”

He nodded, keeping his gaze on the road. “You can take a nap there.”

“What are you gonna do?”

“Watch you sleep like that creepy ass vampire in those books my sister reads.” His smile widened when he glanced at you rolling your eyes. “I’ve got a paper due in four days. Might as well start it.”

“Wow, you’re going to start an assignment four whole days before it’s due just so I can take a nap?”

He nodded once more. “Basically.”

You sighed dreamily, placing your hand on your chest. “My fuckin’ hero.”

He wore a self-satisfied smirk and pulled into the parking lot of his apartment complex. “You’re lucky I just cleaned my room this morning.”

“So I won’t get to bury myself under your piles of clothes, you utter embodiment of indecisiveness? Color me disappointed.”

He put the car in park and popped his door open. “Color yourself grateful instead.”

“I already called you my hero. I don’t know why you think you can expect so much from me.”

You followed him up the stairs to his apartment and practically ran to his bedroom once the door was unlocked, kicking off your boots and tossing your jacket onto his desk chair as you fell onto the freshly washed comforter and sheets. You hugged one of the pillows to yourself and sighed as you heard his soft chuckle from the doorway as he entered. “Why does it smell so nice in here?”

He heard you despite your voice being muffled by the fabric you were snuggled into. “Steve bought this bullshit lavender powder you sprinkle onto the carpet before vacuuming. He forced me to use it.”

You set your chin onto your folded arms and narrowed your eyes at him as he tried miserably to stifle a yawn. “Are you sleepy, too?”

He half-nodded. “A little.”

While you knew it wasn’t your greatest idea, the selfish part of you won out and you shuffled to the rightmost side of the full size bed. You patted the side closest to him. “Come on.”

A single eyebrow of his rose. There was a dryness in his throat he needed to cough to speak over. “What?”

“Nap with me.” You pulled his dark green fleece blanket over yourself. “We’ve been married for fifty years and you still have to contemplate this? It won’t constitute cheating on your mistress and I’ll keep my hands to myself.”

He didn’t think on it for too long. He just did what he really wanted and climbed into bed, his shoes strewn beside yours, his jacket tossed alongside yours. He took half the blanket and risked a glance in your direction.

He smiled as he traced your shut eyes, your peacefully parted lips, and your messy hair with his gaze, snapping his eyes closed when you cracked yours open.

You noticed the slight redness dusted over his cheekbones and the bridge of his nose, smiling to yourself as you suppressed the urge to run your fingers over the dark, stubbly beard that contrasted with his skin almost starkly.

When he shivered a bit, you moved closer to him and he instinctively moved closer to you. There were still a few inches separating your bodies when unconsciousness took you both under heavily and relaxingly but in the middle of your slumber, you somehow ended up with his chin atop your head and your nose near his sternum, his arm thrown over your waist and your legs tangled with his.

Bucky made that discovery when the shutting of the front door woke him, sleepily delirious as he confusedly looked over the scene before him. He wished he could breathe deeply and slow his heart rate so as to not disturb you with his heightened nervousness, his body’s reaction to the sparking nerves everywhere your skin met his— but he knew the beating in his chest would take a few moments to calm.

There was a knock at his door much to his dismay and he held his breath as he pulled away from you at an almost snail speed. He climbed out of the bed onto tired legs and combed his fingers through his hair to pull on the ends.

He opened the door to Steve and his wind-bitten cheeks, blonde hair in disarray and coat still done up.

Bucky decided to step out and shut the door behind him, his voice gravelly as he asked, “What’s up, man?”

“I was gonna ask if you wanted to order a pizza for dinner,” he began, peering at the door with narrowed baby blue eyes. “Is Natasha here? I thought you two ended things, Bucky.”

“We did, we did. Nat’s not here.”

“Then who— You told Y/N you were turning a new leaf and you said you would finally tell her how you feel. You can’t fuck this up now, too—”

“Mother Rogers, if you could stop lecturing me for half a second,” Bucky started, glaring, “I could tell you that Y/N is the one in there—”

“What?”

“— and she’s taking a nap,” he continued. “Wilson’s got a girl at their place being loud as fuck. She just needed somewhere to go, I offered up our place.”

Steve smiled and playfully punched Bucky’s shoulder. “You gonna tell her when she wakes up? Maybe before the party tomorrow night?”

“I’ll tell her when I want to tell her, Steve. You can’t rush this shit.”

“S’been over a year, Buck. Glaciers move faster.”

PART 13: COMPETITIVE CONFRONTATION

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[percyjacksonfan3]

Finding Home

Part 1

Written for the pjohoobigbang2017, this baby really took a lot out of me guys. Coming to a grand total of 64 446 words I am super exhausted but also super proud to be in this and included amongst all of the other wonderful writers and am so, so grateful for having the chance to meet so many great people. 

Which leads me to thanking my lovely beta, @lemonlestered. You put up with my constant changes in the story and fixed everything I was too blind to see and I can’t thank you enough!

Finally thank you to the amazing @dianas-steve, her artwork is just incredible guys, please go and check it out! 

Read on AO3: http://archiveofourown.org/works/11833296

Alright! On to business! 

Pairing: Percabeth, obviously it’s me, but the other couples of the Seven are included as well.

Rating: M, cause there’s violence and sexual themes, language, that kind of thing

Summary:  The second time Percy’s kidnapped, it isn’t by Hera. No, this time, it’s a giant who wants revenge- and he’s smart enough to get it. Of course Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter aren’t going to take the abduction of Percy lying down. Especially with Annabeth there to kick their ass.

The first thing Percy is aware of is the sound. 

He hears dripping. It's coming from feet away and he listens to the constant sound of liquid splashing into what sounds like a puddle or a quickly-filling bowl on the ground.

The first thing Percy feels is the cold, and he automatically shivers, letting out a raspy groan at the pain from the movement. He's in nothing but his Camp Half-Blood t-shirt and jeans, and the cold air bites against his bare skin.

The first thing he sees, when he finally manages to open his eyes, is a fire. The light from it is so bright, casting hulking shadows on the surrounding walls in the surrounding darkness, that Percy has to squint until his eyes adjust. It's too far away for any heat to reach him but the light seems unnaturally bright in the enclosed space.

His shoulders are throbbing in agony. His knees are frozen, water having seeped through his jeans; it feels like it's seeped through his very skin to his bones. The joints are smarting from being pressed against the floor for so long, having grown stiff. More than anything though, he feels sharp shooting pain coming from his wrists.

He blinks his eyes once, twice, three times more, before everything comes into focus.

Dread is an icy pool in his stomach and his heart speeds up from fear.

A cave.

He's in a cave.

Memories of Tartarus, of Grover trapped in a wedding dress and of the Labyrinth come back to him in a sudden rush. Percy hates being enclosed. Absolutely hates it. His breath picks up. The cold air scrapes his throat and he wonders if there's something more to the weather in here. It shouldn't be this cold in the cave, especially with the fire right there in front of him.

His head lolls, he lets his eyelids flutter closed, and his thoughts leave him.When he comes to again his thoughts are clearer.

He's in a cave and his wrists are chained to the wall above his head. His body hurts where it’s kneeling on the cave floor, in as comfortable a position as he can get, his wrists raw and shoulders aching, drives agony through his veins with each shift of muscle. His knees feel like they're bruising by the second and freezing just as fast. When he tries to stand, his legs shake and his shoulders scream in protest, so he stops moving and slumps down once more.

Percy can't remember how he got there.

He only panics for a few seconds before he shakes his head and tries to think; tries to look around and get some idea of what the Hades is going on. He remembers waking up from his Hera coma, Lupa standing over him and growling. He remembers how off guard he'd been and the fact that it had almost gotten him killed.Never again, he'd promised himself. He's been through worse than this. He's sure of it.

He can see the cave opening faintly in the distance, there's moonlight shining, illuminating the opening, so the cave must be pretty deep. He must be a fair bit in. Everything except the fire and a couple of logs beside it are shadowed and too dark to make out. No sound except the  dripping water. There's something, something that makes his senses prick, and when he takes a deep breath he smells something that is strangely like...

...french toast?

He panics again, mind jumping. Before you have a stroke you always smell something, right? What was that again? Was it french toast?

Burnt toast, Seaweed Brain. Annabeth's voice, calm and teasing, breaks through his thoughts and he relaxes as much as he can in his current position. Burnt toast is before a stroke. French toast is... odd.

Annabeth.

He looks around again but he can't see anybody else. No other sign of life. The only thing he notices is the sound of water dripping closer to the entrance- and the feeling of blood on his face. When he scrunches his nose some dried red flakes fall.

Once again he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. Nobody else is here, which means if there had been people captured with him they'd either escaped or...

He shakes his head. Without knowing anything for sure, he shouldn't freak out, shouldn't jump to conclusions. Annabeth and his mom both tell him he's bad for that. Anything could have happened. This could be anything. Just think, he tells himself. There must be something to tell you what happened. Something you can do.

Use your surroundings, what do you have? Annabeth’s voice rings out in his mind again and he calms down a bit.

There's a weight in his pocket that could be Riptide, but with his hands chained he can't make sure. He tries to think back, but he has a headache and his memory is foggy at best. How did he get here? And, more importantly:

How was he going to get out?

oooOOOooo

Grover really loves his girlfriend.

Like really, really loves her.

Juniper is such a constant in his life now that he can't picture a world without her. Thank the Gods her tree is only about 50 years old. It would be such a bummer if she were too young for him.

Grover comes back to Camp from searching for more demigods exhausted, every time. Sometimes he finds half-bloods, sometimes he doesn't, but Juniper is always there to greet him at the hill and it makes up for whatever the journey had taken from him.

Then there's the nights after Council of Cloven Elder meetings when Grover is frustrated and bleating angrily about Silenus and Maron. For example, when they wouldn't agree to send more satyrs out searching for demigods when Olympus closed, instead keeping more satyrs than ever back at Camp. Grover had fought hoof and nail for them to widen their search for any unclaimed demigods, but no, it was too risky until they knew what was happening. Even though the solution seems obvious to Grover- don't leave the kids stranded, obviously- Silenus and Maron are older and have a different perspective.

This is what Juniper tells him. Grover bleats that they're old and outdated.

(He doesn't actually think so. To a certain degree, he actually respects his companions more than most satyrs. It's just frustrating when they don't agree with him based on the experiences he and his friends have had.)

It will be ages before he calms down enough to even think about anything else, and Juniper will listen and nod, occasionally butting in to disagree with him.

She puts up with him disappearing and going through the Labyrinth on quests with Apollo to take down the Triumvirate, she defends Camp while everyone leaves to go help the Romans defend their home and she always, always threatens to kill him if he dies while away on a quest.

She's a gift from Zeus himself, and Grover is so, so in love with his girlfriend.

Of course, there were also the months when Percy was missing. First the empathy link dulled until it was barely there at all, which caused him to panic. Then it came back full force and he was helping Annabeth as much as he could, both of them staying in Bunker Nine all night, not sleeping, and not eating enough either. Satyr searches for their friend came back empty handed, and Grover didn't get a good night’s sleep again until he'd helped Annabeth and Jason pinpoint Percy's exact location at Camp Jupiter on a map.

Juniper went through all of that with him. Some nights she would stay with them, just to be there. Others she would drop of plates of food before she went to her tree for the night. Everyday she would remind them to eat, to sleep, to shower and get out to speak to people.

"Let the Hephaestus kids build the Argo II." She asked him, eyes wide and soft, caring and full. "Come have lunch with me."

Annabeth was harder to persuade, but occasionally Grover took Juniper up on it. He realized he'd been neglecting her and took her on picnics by the streams, and they watched the Camp fireworks together.

Of course, then Leo said the Argo was finally ready and the five travelers (including Hedge) set sail, leaving Grover behind to wave at them from the ground.

That's when things got scary.

It was alright for a few days. When Percy and Annabeth reunited Grover actively had to dull their empathy link because the emotions were so strong. But at least it was a good day, at least they were happy emotions.

A few days later Grover was picking up so much distress, fear, helplessness and anger that he was crying from the feeling without realizing it.

Piper Iris-messaged Chiron later that night. Percy and Annabeth had fallen into Tartarus.

Juniper was one of the only things that got Grover through that week, and then the next. In Tartarus it wasn't easy to feel anything concrete because Percy's emotions changed so rapidly, and some were too terrifying for Grover to comprehend. At one point Percy seemed to have the mind of a murderer, and Grover was hyperventilating as the feeling rose and then subsided all at once.

Juniper held him close and whispered soothing words in his ear. She clutched his hand and woke him up from the nightmares. She grounded him by making Grover remember that he wasn’t Percy, he wasn’t in those situations, the fear and anger weren’t his own. She was there for him to talk to about everything. About how he was worried for his friends. This was the first quest, the first real quest, that Annabeth and Percy had gone on without him involved. Sure Percy had recovered Hades' Sword with Nico and Thalia, and yes Annabeth and him had found Festus in the woods with Beckendorf and Silena without Grover being there, but this was a a real, true quest with Chiron’s permission and warnings from Rachel and they were out there without Grover.

He hated it. He knew why he'd had to stay behind, but he hated it.

In Tartarus it wasn't like he couldn't read Percy's emotions or occasional thought, it was more that it changed so rapidly it was impossible to keep up and get a concrete idea. He got occasional glimpses and feelings, but it was overwhelming and Grover more often than not tried to focus on other things.

It never shut off completely though. It was always there in the back of his mind, constantly pulling at him to look deeper. Even when Percy was asleep for all those months, the buzz was there. Faint and too hidden to trace, but the feeling was always there. Grover knew he was alive and, for that time, calm.

So that was why today Grover shot up from sleeping at the base of Juniper's tree with a start.

It took him a few minutes to figure out what had woken him. Juniper appeared from the trunk of her tree almost immediately to crouch before him.

"What is it, Grover?" She asked urgently. "A nightmare? Are you alright?"

He met her eyes and breathed in deeply. After calming down a bit he'd finally searched his head and realized what had woken him- or, more accurately, what's absence had woken him.

"It's the empathy link." His lip trembled but he quickly got it under control. Juniper's eyes never wavered from his. "It's gone."

Juniper gasped and her hands flew to her mouth as her eyes went wide.

He nodded and went into her embrace immediately, clutching back at her desperately. She smelled like she always did, and his breathing calmed down a little bit as she held him close.

His head was just... empty. Where before there was that gentle tug, now there was nothing. He hadn't had his head all to himself for about five years.

The fact that he wasn't reincarnated as a fish or something didn't help ease his worries. Neither Percy nor Grover knew what would happen if one of them died. Percy could become a shrub, Grover could become a sea creature to join Poseidon, or they could be completely fine, just with no more empathy link. It was all uncharted territory for them.

Which really didn't help Grover. If their empathy link was gone- well. There was only one explanation he could think of for that. Percy didn’t know how to dissolve it.

Juniper held him and Grover let his shoulder rest on her shoulder. "Something's happened on the quest," Grover muttered, eyes squeezed shut and trying, as hard as he could, to reach out and find his friend. "I can't feel Percy anymore."

Juniper stays with him until he finally calms down. "We should go see Chiron, Grover. You should tell him. Maybe he'll know what's happened."

Together they go to the Big House and Grover knocks timidly on the door.

He stumbles backwards when Mr. D answers them, his face looking very uninviting.

Mr. D did not readjust to Camp nicely. Being able to live on Olympus for months with Ariadne during the lockdown was what he'd waited for since being sentenced here. Having to go from Camp, back home and then sent back to Camp to finish his sentence was not agreeing with him.

So could you really blame him for his attire?

A fuzzy purple bathrobe that was really not as long as it should have been caught Grover's attention first. (Also shouldn't a god's knees be more... godlier? Less knobbly? Not that Grover would ever day say that out loud to Mr. D's face. Ever.) Secondly, he noticed bright tiger striped boxers peeking out from underneath, and purple slippers on the god's feet topped off the whole ensemble. Mr. D's curly hair was sticking up on one half of his face, and the other was all pressed in to form a crater-like shape. His eyes were narrowed even more than usual.

"What?" He barked. "Do you know what time it is, Mr. Underwood? When the stars are out that means I should be in my bed, not woken up at 2 in the morning and standing on this Zeus-forsaken porch with a satyr and his girlfriend."

Grover cowered in fear.

Juniper giggled.

"I- Mr. D, I'm so sorry, I was actually looking for Chiron-"

"Oh, were you?" Mr. D drawled. "Oh Fates, my mistake, I do apologize. Why, I get up to answer the creature banging on my door before dawn and lookee here, it's not even me he needs. How perfect." He stomps past them to go stand on the lawn in front of the Big House and looks up at the sky. "Is this you testing me again, Father? Sending these two to punish me for stealing that wine from Olympus and bringing it back here? Was me waking up to find it gone not enough amusement for you?" He's yelling and Grover looks at Juniper, shuffling his hooves. She looks back and shrugs at him, but there's still a faint smile still tugging at her mouth.

The clip-clop of hooves makes them both turn around. "Mr. D I thought Zeus had taken all of the wine back to Olympus-"

Chiron's voice cuts off abruptly at the sight of Juniper and Grover. "Oh, my apologies. I thought Mr. D had managed to get drunk after all."

Mr. D's humph of disgust is loud behind Grover, but the satyr doesn't turn from Chiron. "Chiron, I need to tell you-"

"Make these two clean the toilets tomorrow, my dear centaur." Mr. D proclaims, climbing up the steps and making his way back to the door.

"They come here and wake me up, just for fun it seems-"

"We told you, we were looking for Chiron-" Juniper tries but Mr. D holds up a hand and she quiets immediately. A god in a ridiculous bathrobe and slippers is still a god; something both of them know well.

"Looking for me?" Chiron intervenes before Mr. D can speak further, making the god cross his arms and humph at them all again. "At this hour?"

Grover nods. "I need to-"

"Well come in then." Mr. D snaps and Juniper frowns in irritation before Grover gulps and nods. "No need to stand outside for anyone to see."

They follow Mr. D, Chiron bringing up the rear and end up in Chiron's office. Mr. D takes the liberty of sitting in the only chair available in the room, so Grover and Juniper are left to stand. Chiron moves to stop behind his desk.

"Well," Mr. D snaps his fingers and rests one leg across the other, causing both Grover and Juniper to flush an alarming shade of crimson at the reappearance of the tiger boxers. "Get on with it, Mr. Underwood."

Grover peeks nervously at Chiron. "My empathy link with Percy is gone."

Chiron shifts so that it appears he's leaning away from his desk. His face remains impassive. "I see."

There's a beat of silence.

"Is that it?" Dionysus interrupts the silence. "That was the urgent news that couldn't wait 'till dawn?"

"Mr. D, that means something's happened." Grover says politely, trying not to bleat in frustration instead. "That Percy could be-"

Mr. D lets out a sigh. "You're all so young." He scoffs. "Empathy links end, my dear satyr. Sometimes it's because one of the participants has died, other times because they've been gravely hurt. It can also be because one of them has decided to cut off the connection- oh yes, it is possible- or that the magic has simply exhausted itself. From my understanding, you created the link in a time you needed it, as a last hope for your survival. You had no former training in empathy links and were entirely unsure of both it and your powers, making it shaky at best. Since then it has undergone a tremendous amount of use and strain considering the lives both you and Porticus lead. The magic may have simply ceased, Grover, it does happen."

Grover glanced towards Chiron who nodded. "It is probable that Mr. D is right, Grover," the centaur says gently. His eyes were soft but Grover thought he saw worry in them. "Empathy links, especially one cast by a satyr who has no experience with them, can simply end. However." Grover and Juniper both look at Chiron sharply. "Knowing Percy, and seeing as he was sent out on a scouting mission meant to return today I believe there is cause for concern. You were not rash to bring this to us."

Grover didn’t relax at the words. "Thank Gods," he muttered and Mr. D raised an eyebrow at him. "If something's happened-"

"I can Iris-message the group right now," Chiron says smiling gently. "No doubt Percy will have been woken just as you were. I believe he will most likely still be awake."

Grover nodded. "Thank you, Chiron, Mr. D."

Chiron smiles once more and turns towards the fountain in the corner of his office. He grabs a drachma from his desk and tosses it in the constant rainbow. "Iris my dear, would be you be so kind as to show me Perseus Jackson?"

The image flickers. For a moment the mist turns pitch black, impossible to make anything out of, and then a face appears.

The goddess smiles but her eyes look troubled and her voice is frenzied. "Hello Chiron! Why is it always this demigod I have trouble with? Perfect service for the last thousand years… well forgetting that nasty Nero business of shutting me down, and then last year Percy Jackson has to come along and ruin my stellar performance rate. Soon, I'll have to start giving out discounts and getting Fleecy to send out apology baskets of all-organic baked goods. Do you know what this will do to my reputation, Chiron? Hermes will have me fired!"

Chiron blinked at the sudden onslaught and Grover could see him mentally sifting through the wave of information. He settled on the question Grover himself wanted to ask. "Is it not connecting?"

She throws her hands up in the air. "Tell your demigod to stop finding people who can block my magic! First Hera, now this new guy, who really doesn't look so friendly. Percy’s making friends with a whole new sort." She frowns. "I told him to stay at my shop with us. Spare him everything."

She meets Chiron's eyes. "Obviously he didn't take me up on the offer."

"Speak plainly, Iris." Mr. D snaps. "Can you get us to the demigod or not?"

"Oh," she pouts but it's not happily. "Hello, Dionysus. How's sobriety? You're really helping your liver you know, I'm so proud of you! Perhaps you'd like to reinvent your diet altogether and start a completely organic lifestyle. Really flush out your system."

Dionysus grins wickedly. "Not likely."

She shrugs. "I almost convinced Ariadne once. She declined, saying she needed the wine while you were away." Iris cocks her head. "Truly, all those parties you two have must hurt your health."

"Iris, please," Chiron injects quickly before the fire in Mr. D's eyes becomes harmful to those in the room with him. "Do you have any idea of where Percy could be?"

"Oh, no, Chiron, I'm sorry. The one with him is quite powerful in cloaking magic. If my Iris-message can't get through not much will. However, I can connect you to Percy's friends. They're just waking up now to look for him actually. And don't worry, take as long as you need, Chiron, for the inconvenience."

"Wait, who is Percy with-" Grover tries to interrupt but Iris is already gone and Piper takes her place.

"Chiron! Oh thank the gods!" Piper's voice is panicked. "Something's happened, Chiron, Percy's gone!"

Piper's hair is out of it's usual braids, and she's wearing the Camp store's p.j. set, complete with tank top and shorts. Sold at the first Camp Half-Blood store near you!

"McLaren, slow down." Dionysus interrupts. "Explain."

"Well we were scouting out the area, like you guys asked us to, but there was no sign of anything suspicious," she says, ignoring Mr. D getting her name wrong. They’re all well used to it by now. "Nothing that hinted at what could be attacking and kidnapping the people around here. Jason hasn't seen anything resembling the monster from his dream."

Chiron nodded, urging her to continue.

"Well we were going to come home tomorrow after deciding there was nothing here, so we just settled down, made camp around a fire like usual. Percy was with us all night, and then he went to sleep along with everybody else. Leo left Festus on watch even though the rest of us were doing it in shifts. It was a completely normal night."

"What woke you up?" Grover asked them.

"Oh, hey Grover, Juniper.” Her voice brightens before the frown comes back. “Erm, well it was Festus. One moment we were all sleeping, the next he was roaring and making this awful sound. He was looking and running around, sometimes he even lifted off to fly. Annabeth was the first person to notice Percy wasn't with us when we woke up, and after that Leo realized that Festus was looking for him. And then, well, you called."

"Where are the rest?" Chiron asked. “I don’t see them with you.”

"Leo's up with Festus, they're flying and trying to see if Percy sleepwalked away or something like that. Annabeth's checking back the way they searched today, seeing if Percy went to get something he'd lost, that kind of thing. And Jason was checking our campsite some more but he's back now."

"Hey guys," Jason's head pops into view. "I checked all around, Chiron, there's no sign of him. His bedroll and pack are still here, it's like he just up and left. Annabeth said he was wearing a Camp shirt and jeans so we're checking for any sign, but so far..." He trails off and the look in his eyes is calculating. "So far there's nothing."

"Grover," Piper said. "Could you do your thing- you know, use that link you guys have-"

"That was what made us message you, Piper." Chiron interrupted, voice sounding grave. "Grover came and told us that his link with Percy has..."

"It's gone." Grover said, speaking past the worry lodged in his throat. "I can't sense anything."

They both blinked. "What?" Piper whispered. Her face had gone pale. "Like... when he was under Hera's sleep gone? Or gone-gone."

Juniper placed a hand on Grover's arm. He leaned into the touch. "Gone."

The two of them paled further and glanced at each other. Jason and Piper seemed to share the way Percy and Annabeth had of having silent conversations. Finally Jason turns back to them and says, "But that means-"

"It could be an unfortunate coincidence," Mr. D. said carelessly, though Grover notes that his eyes are following everything carefully. "Empathy links are never reliable. Perhaps Peeta's dangerous situation has been the catalyst for the link's termination. It does not mean he is dead."

"Thank you, Mr. D, for those comforting words." Chiron looked back at Piper and Jason who were watching them all with scared looks. "When Annabeth returns-"

"Who's that?" Annabeth's distant voice is audible to them all in the room. "Percy?"

"No, Annabeth, it's-"

"Chiron." Annabeth appears and cuts off Jason's answer. "Chiron, it's happening again. Something's going on."

"My dear-"

"He wouldn't just leave! Not without telling me." She says, hair flying around her face from her quick movements and eyes sparking dangerously. "You know he wouldn't. Especially not after last time."

Chiron is quiet for too long. Grover looks from him to the Iris-message. "Annabeth." He hopes he doesn't sound as scared as he feels, but the way Annabeth looks at him makes him know she understands. "Our empathy link is gone."

"Gone." She repeats flatly. "Gone like Hera's coma gone or gone-gone?"

"Gone-gone," Piper says softly. "Annabeth I-"

"Is that true?" Annabeth asks Grover. "It's completely gone?"

He nods.

Chiron finally speaks again. "I want you all to come back."

Grover actually takes a step back. "What?"

"Yes," Mr. D says, finally sitting up to lean towards the centaur. "I must repeat my satyr's sentiment, Chiron. What?"

Chiron turns to Dionysus. "There's something out there kidnapping people. I suspect it's been doing that to lure us out there. So, we bring them back home. And we regroup. Then we send people out again to find Percy."

"You're not doing that," Annabeth says disbelieving, not even a question, like an unsure command. "You're not just leaving him out here alone. Not you."

"Annabeth-"

"I'm staying." She crosses her arms. "They can come back and tell you what's happened. I'm not leaving until I find him."

"You will not." Chiron says, and his voice is stern, with no room for argument. "Annabeth, I will not leave you out there alone when there is something killing people. Something we have no defense against."

"But you'll do that to Percy?" She asks. "Chiron, this isn't you. It's Percy, you wouldn't just leave him-"

"Come back." Chiron interrupts, and his front left hoof is pawing at the ground nervously. "All of you. If Percy isn't found by dawn then you leave to come home. We'll decide what to do from there."

Jason nods behind Annabeth's shoulder.

"No!" Juniper says just as Grover cries, "Chiron, what are you doing?"

"Hush, satyr." Mr. D is watching Chiron with a curious look on his face. "You heard him. The rest of you, come back in the morning. That is all."

He waves a hand and the Iris-message disappears. "As for you two." He turns to Grover and Juniper but he's distracted. "If you wake me at this time again it won't only be one of you that is a piece of nature, I assure you. Now get. Return in the morning and we will discuss a course of action. Chiron and I must talk."

And with that he kicks them out of the Big House.

oooOOOooo

After getting back from Boston and meeting Magnus with Annabeth, Percy had thought they deserved a couple of months of respite. He hadn’t been naive enough to expect things staying peaceful forever, there always seemed to be a new set of gods waiting to screw things up for him, but so far they'd been averaging three, maybe four months between potential apocalypses. He's kind of been counting on having those few months.

Of course, that was forgetting Apollo was still at Camp Half-Blood. The god practically invited danger their way with his presence alone.

And, obviously, Apollo expected Percy and his friends to help him out of these horrible situations and save the world, etc., etc. Because they were such good buddies and all. Now that he’d become a god again, he was about to leave for Olympus, but not before giving one more quest.

"With Meg gone there's no one else around I really trust to get the job done, if you know what I mean," Apollo had muttered after pulling Percy away to talk in private. They were at the entrance of the dining pavilion, and seeing the other demigods eating breakfast had been making Percy's stomach growl. "Plus, you've got years of experience under your belt. It'll be fine."

Percy had raised his eyebrow. "What about your cabin? You know, your kids? People who would love to go on a quest with you?"

"Oh, I'm not going." Apollo had shaken his head and laughed as if the idea was completely outrageous. "I have things to sort out on Olympus, talks to have with my Father, that sort of thing. And a certain Jaime I must find… an accountant student you know.” He said to Percy, as if expecting him to have any idea what Apollo was talking about. “And I’d rather my children stayed here, where it’s safe. But I've known something wasn't quite right since we defeated the Giants, and Nero hinted at something… one last trick up his sleeve. If I had still had my gifts of prophecy and foresight before..." He trailed off, looking out into the distance and leaving Percy standing in front of him, his foot tapping impatiently at the god's dramatics. "Well, now even though I have them back,  I’m coming up blank. And since your friend Jason's had his dream, it puts things into perspective. I need a group of you to go and check things out. After consulting Rachel, of course."

"You realize Annabeth and I just got back from saving the world, right?" Percy asked, looking at the Athena table to find Annabeth watching them curiously. She raised an eyebrow and he made a face in return, causing her to purse her lips. "The Norse gods are almost as bad as you-"

"No, no, no!" Apollo covered his ears and shook his head vehemently, squeezing his eyes shut. "Can't hear you, blah, blah, blah." He stopped imitating a dancing squawking chicken after peaking to find Percy not saying anything, just watching him unimpressed. He cleared his throat and straightened up, blushing slightly. When he glanced towards the suddenly silent eating demigods they all looked away quickly before he could see they'd been watching. "There's a reason we don't run in the same social circles as the other mythologies, Percy." Apollo said, regaining his composure. "Bad, bad things, the unraveling of the world being the least of them, would happen. It's testy to even let you run around with the other demigods. Best not to mention or even think of them in our presence. It's bad enough I can detect their stench on you." Percy opened his mouth to protest because he was getting really tired of immortal beings telling him he stank, but Apollo just clapped his hands over Percy's mouth to stop him.

"This has nothing to do with them, this is strictly Greek with maybe a hint of Roman. You and your friends need to take care of it for me."

Percy had wrinkled his nose at Apollo’s hand covering his mouth, letting out a sigh when the sun god removed it. "Someday, I don't know when, but someday I'll be able to say no when you guys ask me for something. And it's going to be really satisfying."

"Please," Apollo had replied, becoming serious. "You're a Hero of Olympus, Percy. Whenever any Olympian needs something it's going to be you we turn to. It's the fate of our heroes."

The familiar feeling of unfairness had swept through Percy, but with a deep breath it was replaced with grim acceptance. "Sure. Where are we going?"

Apollo had smiled victoriously. "Perfect. Let's gather the others and go see Chiron, shall we?"

From there it had all been normal- or something that was quickly becoming normal for Percy. They'd decided on a group of 5 to go and scout out an area in Iowa. There'd been increased reporting of kidnappings there, but Apollo had said it wasn't a human doing the kidnapping. Jason had agreed, saying in his dream he'd seen a huge four legged creature, oddly shaped and prowling outside some sort of cave. Chiron had told them to take Festus and scout the area so they could figure out what kind of threat they were facing. Annabeth had gone to see Rachel and that was that.

So they’d went, none of them expecting it to be a dead end mission.

It had taken just half of the day to fly with Festus to Iowa. There had been no monster attacks, something they all agreed was odd, and even with five passengers Festus flew fast. When Leo finally directed him to land it made Percy’s stomach swoop at their quick dive from the sky. He may have trusted pegasi in the air since he’d convinced himself they were some middle ground between Zeus and Poseidon (the horses and the sky) and even the Argo II had seemed to be a compromise, what with being a flying boat and having the purpose of helping save the gods and the world.

This mode of transportation however was not on Percy’s Top 10 Ways to Travel list.

He liked Festus, really he did, and on the Argo II he liked to think that the two of them had reached a new understanding, what with their history. Percy had been there when the Camp had rediscovered Festus close to a year ago; Hades, he’d been one of the four of them to do the rediscovering. Silena, Annabeth, Beckendorf and him had battled giant Myrmekes for Festus and while Percy definitely hadn’t been too fond of the automaton, watching Beckendorf and the rest of the Hephaestus cabin reprogram, upgrade and take care of him had been heartwarming.

Of course, that also meant that he’d had a front row seat to watching as the Gold Dragon (he hadn’t had a name back then) had slowly gone haywire after Beckendorf’s death. Percy had tried more than a few times to help the camp capture the giant machine once they’d realized it was dangerous, hoping that his powers with water would help counteract the flames from the old thing.

Nearly being burned to death and seeing what had happened to Jake quickly put a stop to those missions.

It was okay now though, because here they were, with a tame, lovable and caring dragon taking care of them. Leo had obviously given Festus some major T.L.C., because before the Argo II, last time Percy had seen the dragon there had been scorch marks on the metal plates and the distinct aroma of ash following the automaton like cologne. He’d heard the dragon had been torn apart in the battle against Commodus before Leo and Calypso had begun staying at the Waystation. Now the scorch marks were gone, the metal polished until it gleamed and the ash smell had been replaced with Tabasco sauce. The fully recovered dragon was like it just came out of Hephaestus’ shop.

If it made Percy sad to see Festus so cooperative with Leo, to see how far the dragon had come since losing Beckendorf, well, that was his problem. He didn’t need to say anything about it. He knew that sometimes when he met Annabeth’s eyes and saw the sadness from his own reflected there that she felt the same way.

So they’d landed in Iowa, just outside of Missouri Valley. They’d touched down on a patch of grass surrounded by trees, near the Missouri River and as soon as Festus had landed Percy had slid down and walked out the nerves in his legs. Annabeth had followed, slinging her pack from her shoulders and taking out a granola bar before sitting down and watching him pace. She’d raised an eyebrow, he’d stuck out his tongue and she’d smiled before taking another bite after realizing he would be fine.

It was their special way of telling each other they were alright. Very romantic. Born from years of being around one another and a deep pool of affection. That’s what Grover liked to say.

The others jumped down after them and Leo went around to Festus’ head, speaking in gentle tones. Festus’ mouth opened, teeth whirling in something Percy guessed was a smile before walking a few feet away to curl up and rest.

“Not a fan of air travel, Percy?” Piper had asked kindly, unpacking a Ziploc baggie of nuts from the pack she’d brought before handing Jason a PB and J sandwich. She sat down beside Annabeth and got out another sandwich for herself.

Percy grimaced. “Try being a child of Poseidon who’s been personally threatened by Zeus multiple times about going in his domain and see how you feel.”

Jason shuddered. “So that’s why I hate boats.”

“Hey!” Leo chimed in. “You loved the Argo II.”

Jason sat down between Piper and Leo before smiling at him. “That’s why I hate boats, with one major exception.”

Leo took a bite of his chicken sandwich before saying, “I wish you’d told me you didn’t like flying before we left, Percy. Maybe I could have made something to help.”

“He’s fine,” Annabeth answered knowingly. “Honestly. It’s more the fear of Jason’s dad than anything that makes him nervous.” She looks back at him when he moves to stand behind her. “And we all know the King of the Gods wouldn’t smite his own child out of the sky, so we’re all safe, right Seaweed Brain?”

Percy had nodded, not feeling reassured. “Yeah, uh huh.”

Jason raised an eye. “You seriously think he hates you enough to throw a lightning bolt at you when I’m here?”

Percy opened his own pack and pulled out a couple of blue cookies, taking a bite and ignoring the now familiar exchange of looks at his coloured food that came from the trio. “Zeus really hates me. Besides, a lightning bolt probably wouldn’t hurt you, Jason.” He told Leo, Piper and Jason while Annabeth just gave a nod beside him when he sat down. A small rumble from the sky had the four of them looking up while Percy rolled his eyes. “I’m sorry, I mean the All Mighty Immortal Ruler of the Skies really hates me.”

The thunder rolled once more but quieted quickly, making Percy think Zeus may have picked up on his sarcasm. Just a little. And then the rest of the gods had been so busy laughing the King’s anger had quickly switched to them.

Piper bit her lip. “You really shouldn’t taunt them that way. The god’s I mean. Don’t they punish people for that?”

“Not that I’ve seen,” Percy replies, taking another bite of cookie.

“Seaweed Brain,” Annabeth mutters, sounding half annoyed and half amused. “Yes, they do, as you know. Chiron keeps telling you names have power, sooner or later you’re going to be sent up there to be someone’s personal slave for the day.”

Percy almost choked on his cookie and set it on his knee. “No.”

Leo looked up. “Would you mind? I mean, just a day can’t be that bad and at least you’d get to spend it in Olympus.”

“Knowing my luck it would be Ares, and I’d get to switch between being his personal punching bag and cleaning toilets all day. And believe me, by now I know every inch of Olympus by heart from Annabeth’s blueprints. I swear they’re tattooed behind my eyelids from all the times she’s shown them to me.”

Annabeth turned a glare on him. “Oh really?”

It’s not exactly fear that fills Percy at the look in her eyes, but it’s a near thing. “Not that I don’t love seeing your plans. Any time! They’re all so perfect, and exactly what the gods want! In fact I love your architecture so much, I want you to design our future house! How does that sound?”

“Oh, Hephaestus,” Leo mutters to Jason quietly, watching Percy practically grovel. “Do we all do that with our girlfriends?”

“You definitely do, Valdez,” Piper replies, taking another bite of sandwich and watching amusedly as Percy pleads with Annabeth. “You’re the most whipped out of you all. Calypso has you wrapped around her finger.”

Jason watches the humor in Annabeth’s eyes grow as Percy leans forward to kiss her and she dodges out of the way. “Really?”

Piper looks over and hums. “If either of you were dating Annabeth do you think you’d be acting any better?”

Jason and Leo exchanged looks and winced. “Well…” Leo trailed off.

“I mean…” Jason started.

“Don’t even try it, Sparky.” Piper pecked him on the cheek before standing up and dusting off the crumbs from her lap. “Anyway, if you feel Percy’s earned your forgiveness, Annabeth, should we start looking around?”

Annabeth’s sitting and watching Percy with crossed arms, but a smile keeps threatening to break out over her face. He’s currently trying to sing You Are My Sunshine with very little success.

“-My only sunshine! You make me happyyyy, when skies are grey!” He frowns. “Umm, there’s something… you’ll never know… there’s something you’ll never know… which obviously isn’t true, because you know everything.” Annabeth’s eyebrow climbs even higher and Percy hastens to rectify his mistake. “I mean not everything, obviously one person can’t know everything and you’re not as smart as your mom of course-”

Percy gives up with a groan and flops down to lay on the grass, throwing an arm over his eyes. “How does this happen every time I say something stupid?” He peeks out from under his arm. “Have I mentioned I love you?”

Annabeth’s mouth twitches again. “Next time I think you should just lead with that.”

Percy groans again and his arm comes back down over his eyes. “If I’m missing tomorrow, it’s Annabeth. She looks all forgiving and loving right now in front of you three, but when my body turns up somewhere you’ll know who did it.”

Jason rises to join Piper, mouth twitching. “The question is, will any of us turn her in? What if we think you deserved it?”

Leo jumps up excitedly. “Sorry man, Annabeth’s too scary to double cross. I guess you’re kidnapping will remain a mystery forever.”

Percy sighs. “I knew it. Abandoned by my friends, left to suffer at the hands of this-”

Annabeth interrupts him. “If you finish that sentence I can tell you that the kidnapping and torture will start right now, even in front of the witnesses.”

She’s smiling though, just resting her arms on her knees and watching her boyfriend with a happy, relaxed look in her eyes. He removes his arm from his eyes and moves to kneel beside her, closing the distance.

“You wouldn’t.” He dares, meeting her eyes, seeing the happiness there.

“Care to test that?”

“Not a chance.” He grins and stands, holding out a hand to pull up his girlfriend. “We both know you’d win. Again.”

“I keep telling you, even strength bows to wisdom.” She shoots him a knowing smile and he returns it.

“I thought that was only sometimes?”

“Is this foreplay? Is that what I’m seeing right now?” Leo interrupted, turning to speak again to Jason and Piper. “Are they going to sneak away again together and ‘just fall asleep’?”

The last three words are accompanied by air quotes, and both Annabeth and Percy turn to look at them and flush.

“We did fall asleep!” Percy protests. “I told Frank that so many times.”

Annabeth’s face is so pink it makes Piper giggle. “Get it girl!”

“I didn’t! I mean I don’t! I mean-” Annabeth’s blush turns from pink to red in seconds and Percy’s follows. “We only fell asleep.”

Jason claps hands over his ears. “I don’t need to hear this.”

“Weren’t we going to start searching?” Percy breaks in, almost desperately. “You know, looking for the big scary monster so we can start saving innocent citizens, that kind of thing.”

“I don’t know guys, if you think you can be alone together and keep it PG.” Leo says, holding his hands up in a wardIng off gesture. “None of us needs to witness anything personal, you know?”

“Oh my gods,” Annabeth mutters, grabbing Percy’s hands and stepping back. “Okay, Percy and I will look around here for anywhere the monster could be living. Apparently the people’s bodies always show up here, Leo?”

The son of Hephaestus loses his grin and a serious look overcomes his face, making him nod. “Yeah, this is near the place Jason saw. And where Apollo said to land.”

“Good. We’ll go that way. You three?”

“I’ll search from the air with Festus,” Leo says after shooting a quick look between Jason and Piper.

Jason and Piper look at him in surprise before meeting each other’s eyes. “Okay, we’ll…?”

“Search this half of the clearing and a little in the trees?” Piper finishes, waiting until Jason nods. “Meet back here when?”

“For dinner.” Percy says immediately, rummaging through the pack for another sandwich. “Whenever you get hungry.”

Annabeth rolls her eyes and checks her watch. “Let’s say six then. That gives us roughly five hours to look around and find anything suspicious.”

So they’d split up, Annabeth and Percy still holding hands, but not speaking until they’d reached the edge of the trees, because by then Percy had finished his sandwich and worked past his embarrassment enough to start.

Percy had cleared his throat. “So, Piper doesn’t know that we-”

“Yeah.” Annabeth cuts in, her grip on his hand tightening slightly as she studiously looked at their surroundings and not at him. He followed her example.

“Oh.” Percy replied. “So she thinks that night  on the Argo II we really did-”

“Wait, what?” Annabeth glances at him. “No. She knows we didn’t on the Argo II.”

“Then why’d you say yes before?”

“What were you going to ask before?”

“Whether she knew we didn’t do anything on the Argo II.” They stop, hands falling to their sides, looking at each other. “Why, what did you think I was going to ask?”

Annabeth flushes once more. “Nothing.”

Percy grins and looks at her until she meets his eyes. “Come on, what?”

She opens her mouth and closes it again before speaking. “I thought you were going to ask whether or not I told her about the other night.”

“Oh.” Percy closes his mouth, not expecting that, and he feels his face flame.

Last week they’d been at his apartment and Annabeth had slept over. Mom and Paul had been out, wanting one last date night before the baby came.

They’d been alone. In his apartment. No one had been trying to kill them and yeah, maybe they’d gotten a little carried away once they’d started kissing.

So they’d taken a step. A big one. A good one.

“Oh.” He repeats dumbly before his mind starts to work again. “So, wait- you told her? Piper knows?”

Annabeth bites her lip. “I mean, when you ask whether I told her-”

“You did tell her!” Percy asks, not sure whether to be indignant or proud. “What did you say?”

“You know, the same stuff you told the guys!” She hesitates. “Just that it was- it was good, and you were good, and… stuff.”

“What do you mean, same stuff I told them? I didn’t tell the guys.” Percy told her. “I didn’t tell anyone.”

Annabeth looks up at him. “You didn’t tell anyone anything?”

He shakes his head. “You told Piper everything?”

“I- no, not everything! Of course not! But… a lot, I guess.” Annabeth replies. “Don’t you guys talk about stuff like that?”

“No way.” Percy says. “Everyone at Camp is like family, we’re all like brothers and sisters. That would be weird.”

“Huh.” Annabeth says, turning to keep walking. “Yeah, well, Piper knows.”

Percy cocks his head. “What kind of things did you say?”

Annabeth shakes her head. “I’m not going to tell you!”

“Why not? You told Piper! Plus, I was already there! Technically,” he holds a triumphant finger in the air, in an Aha! gesture, “I already know.”

“Yeah but I told her things like, what you did, and how.” Annabeth blushes harder now, if that’s possible. “And how- how much you have to work with.”

Percy stops abruptly. “You did not.”

Annabeth’s face is permanently stained red now and she looks down. “Of course I did. Girls tell each other those things.”

“You told Piper- Piper knows how big- oh my gods.” Percy stumbles back to lean against a tree. He’s not proud anymore, but he’s not angry either. He’s more... stunned. “I can’t believe you told her that!”

“She asked!”

“Why would she ask that?”

“It’s just a curiosity thing!” Annabeth replied. “Believe me, she’s definitely not looking at you any worse for it.”

“Annabeth, oh my gods!” Percy covers his face with his hands. “Don’t tell me that!”

“It’s true! She said Jason’s-”

“No! Nope, we’re not doing that.” Percy shakes his head. “I don’t need to hear anything about that. Gods, I can’t believe you know about- about Jason, and what they’ve done.”

“They haven’t done what we did, so calm down.” Annabeth assures him. “And fine. I’m just saying, you definitely have nothing to be insecure about. She was very impressed.”

“Just leave me here.” Percy tells her, hiding his face in his hands once more. “Here, on this patch of Earth, Percy Jackson made his last stand but was eventually overpowered by the embarrassment of his girlfriend telling all of his secrets to her best friend. May he rest in peace.”

“Don’t be such a drama queen,” Annabeth said, but she’s watching him closely. “I- I didn’t say anything bad, Percy.” She moves to take his hand and stand closer to him. “You know it wasn’t bad for me.”

“It wasn’t great for you either.” He mumbles, thinking back.

“First times usually aren’t for girls.” She reminds him. “Honestly, I’ve heard stories from a lot of different people. I think ours was perfect. Just because I didn’t, you know.” She bites her lower lip again. “It was good. I liked it. Please don’t think I didn’t.”

He sighs. “I don’t want Piper- or anyone else- thinking I’m that kind of guy. Who just- you know, does what he wants and doesn’t care about you.”

“I know you’re not that kind of guy.” Annabeth says. “And believe me, nobody I’ll speak to about this, ever, will think any different. Anyway, next time-”

“Next time?” Percy asks incredulously.

She draws back, cocks a hip, crosses her arms and raises an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, were you planning on remaining celibate for the rest of your life?”

“Well, no.” He blushes. “But shouldn’t we… wait, or something? Do we need to talk about it? We just did it for the first time.”

She laughs. “We don’t have to wait unless you want to,” she reassures him. “And all I was going to say was that next time we’ll be able to help each other out. Improve. Tell each other what we like. Then we’ll both… you know. It all comes from experience, Percy.”

He nods. “Right, yeah. Okay.”

She squeezes his hand. “I’m not trying to pressure you. I just want you to know that all of this… I’m okay with it.”

He meets her eyes, seeing her searching his own for something. So instead of replying he leans forward to kiss her.

It makes his gut tighten from anticipation and a low simmer start in his blood when her tongue slips in his mouth to meet his. When he reaches forward to hold her waist she moves forward, pressing against him, walking him back to lean against the tree and his arms wrap around her and pull her closer once he has that support behind him. Her hands have moved from his to slide up his arms and rest at the base of his neck, one of them playing with the hairs there.

“Maybe Leo was right and we can’t be left alone,” he gasps against her mouth when she pulls away to catch a breath and her grin is as good a reply as any. Now that he knows what she feels like, what all of her feels like, he can’t seem to get enough.

“Soon we’ll have time.” She answers. “When we get back to Camp?”

“With the gods watching who comes into their cabins at night? No thanks, I don’t think your mom would let me live if that happened.”

She sends him a knowing look as they continue to scout the trees after fixing themselves. “Your cabin, obviously. I have siblings that sleep in the same room at night. And be honest, would your dad really turn me into a dolphin?”

“Maybe not him, but your mom would definitely not hesitate to make me an owl. Not to mention if Chiron found out.”

“Chiron pulled you into the Big House and gave you condoms months ago, he told me already.” Annabeth replies, looking down at a pawprint in the ground before moving on. “He’s already given me the safe-sex talk too, if it makes you feel any better.”

“Did everyone thinks we were already doing it?” Percy asks, feeling slightly offended.

“I think the Argo II story got around.” She says back thoughtfully. “Clarisse was sending me some weird looks after we got home.”

“Gods, even Clarisse?” Percy asked. “Hey, do you think she and Chris-”

“Oh yeah,” Annabeth answered right away. “A lot. The long-distance thing does not stop those two.”

“Ew. That was not the answer I expected.” Percy said, wrinkling his nose.

From there the talk devolved into who was crushing on who (Travis on Katie, like always, Reyna on the new arrival, Stacy, at Camp Jupiter), who were the cuter couples around Camp (Juniper and Grover, of course, and Will and Nico), and how Frank and Hazel might come out to visit soon; either that or how soon the two of them would go to Camp Jupiter and visit before college. The summer air was warm and the weather was so beautiful it was like taking a walk in Central Park.

“Can you imagine us in New Rome?” Percy swings their hands back and forth perhaps a bit dramatically but Annabeth doesn’t seem to mind. “Going to school together, safe from monsters… listening to professors drone on and on about normal people stuff, like statistics.”

She hums and he sees a soft smile grace her lips. “Is it awful of me to say I can’t wait? I know someone has to keep saving the world, but I’m going to be happy when it’s not us anymore.”

He squeezes her hand. “Me too.”

They share a quick smile before turning back to scouting the area. It takes them a few hours but finally they each admit that there’s nothing there to find and head back to meet with the others.

Leo is already there and they find him sitting against Festus, head back and soft snores coming from his mouth. Annabeth’s mouth twitches and Percy holds back a laugh with nothing less than sheer willpower.

“He’s exhausted after his mission with Apollo,” Annabeth says softly. “He didn’t get many days to rest at the Waystation with Calypso. We should let him sleep while the food cooks.”

Percy had agreed, and he and Annabeth had set about making a fire and cooking dinner until Piper and Jason showed up a short time later. Piper woke up Leo by knocking his foot softly with her own. “Who’s the princess now, Sleeping Beauty?” She teased him.

Leo started and a jet of flame burst from his left hand. Luckily it landed on the already burning fire, causing Annabeth to fall backwards on her butt in surprise. Percy laughed at her and Jason couldn’t hold back a snort, making her eyes narrow as Leo rubbed at his eyes. “Ah, Pipes what the Hades?”

“Dinner time.” Piper announced happily in answer, handing Leo a cheeseburger and munching happily on her own tofu burger. She sunk down to sit beside him, crossing her legs. Festus shifted but allowed both of them to rest their backs against him.

“So,” Jason sat beside Piper. “Did we find anything?”

Percy and Annabeth both shook their heads while Leo frowned. “No. I mean, I don’t think so. But there was one spot Festus and I flew over and it felt… weird.”

“Weird how?” Annabeth leaned forward to question. “You didn’t see anything there?”

“That’s the thing, it looked exactly the same as the area around it. Nothing strange at all. I don’t know, it just had a weird energy or something.”

Piper frowned. “Weird energy? Like evil spirits energy or something creeping up behind you energy?”

Leo waved a hand in the air, as if batting away pesky questions. “Just weird.” He looked down for a few seconds before shaking his head suddenly. “Look, it’s probably nothing. I’m just stressed from everything going on. There’s probably nothing here for us to find, we should just go back to Camp.”

Percy frowned now and looked at Leo closely, just as Jason said, “But what about the missing people? Apollo’s feeling? My dream?”

“Mortals go missing all of the time.” Leo snapped. “Life sucks, okay, there are kidnappers and murderers. Monsters exist in the mortal world too, not just ours.”

All of them looked at him in surprise at his outburst and his eyes flickered from one pair of eyes to another before he looked down again. “Look, all I’m saying is I don’t think it’s something to worry about. I didn’t find anything. What about you guys?”

Piper watched Leo for a few more seconds. “Well if you’re sure,” she said, moving to place her hand over his. She squeezed and Annabeth saw Leo squeeze back.

“I’m sure.”

Piper nodded and then turned to Jason, taking her hand back to continue eating. “Well we didn’t see anything either. Everything looked normal. What about you two?”

She turned to Percy and Annabeth and Percy immediately flushed when she met his eyes, remembering his conversation with Annabeth earlier. His skin prickled uncomfortably and he looked at Annabeth, silently urging her to speak.

Annabeth, noticing his blush, bit her lip  to stop her laughter before replying. “Nothing with us either. As far as I can tell it’s just trees and this clearing. We saw a few animal pawprints but apart from that…” She shrugged. “Seems ordinary.”

Jason poked at the fire with a stick. “That doesn’t make sense. I saw something. And Apollo did too. He said it wasn’t a human doing this. We can’t both be wrong.”

“I think we should go home.” Leo said watching the flames. “Regroup, tell Chiron what we found before coming up with another plan. Maybe they’ll just forget it.”

Annabeth frowned. “I’m with Jason. Something doesn’t feel right. Maybe we’re just looking in the wrong place.”

“But if Leo’s right and there’s nothing to find?” Piper said. “Then we’re just wasting time when we should be focusing on other things. Like recovering from Nero’s attack, for example.”

Leo shuddered. “Don’t like him. Or his toilet seat friend.”

“I think we should go back to Camp too.” Percy agreed. “Talk to Chiron.”

Annabeth looked at him in surprise. “Why?”

Percy glanced at the other three before meeting her eyes. He was trying to tell her something, she could see it, but he never said it out loud. Instead he said, “Piper’s right. We shouldn’t spend time on a problem we don’t know we have and ignore a bigger one. If something else happens we can come back.”

“But people are dying out here!” Jason said. “We can’t just leave them-”

“We also have no idea what we’re up against or how to stop it.” Percy interrupted. “We don’t even know if this is a monster. Leo could be right, there are monstrous people in the world too.”

“And my dream?” Jason challenged. “The creature?”

Percy hesitated, meeting Jason’s eyes, and something in the sea green ones looked pained. “Jason, you don’t even know what you saw. You said it looked like it had four legs and was furry. That could be anything. A wolf, even a bear. Sometimes dreams are just dreams.”

Jason searched his gaze before crossing his arms. “No. You don’t believe that. You think there’s something here.”

“I think we should talk to Chiron.” Percy said firmly. “Do we need to vote on it?”

He turned to face Annabeth and she saw something grim in his expression. She cleared her throat. “No, I don’t think so. Jason, Piper?”

Piper shook her head but Jason kept watching them both carefully. “What is it? What do you two know?”

“Nothing,” Percy insisted. “We scouted the area, that’s all we were meant to do. Chiron will want us back.”

Jason narrowed his eyes. “Fine.”

“Good!” Leo clapped his hands and his voice was bright but he was watching Percy, head cocked. “We’ll leave tomorrow morning.” He looked away from Percy to turn to Festus. “Get ready for another trip, Big Guy.”

It was getting dark by that point and Annabeth managed to grab Percy’s hands when they were packing up the food. “Hey. What was that, back there? You know Jason saw something, and if Leo thought he felt something weird-”

Percy glanced at the others who were sitting by the fire, laughing. “Did you see him?” He asked her in a whisper. “He was talking about feeling something weird and then a second later, bam, he says he made it up? Do you know what that reminds me of?”

Annabeth’s mouth thinned, immediately knowing where his thoughts were at. “The Eidolon’s.”

“Or something like them. The way he snapped at Jason? That wasn’t Leo.”

“You think something’s controlling him.” Annabeth said, and it wasn’t a question. She had a light in her eyes, the same one she got when she had figured out a difficult problem. “You’re right, getting him back to Camp and telling Chiron is the best thing to do. Making him think it’s his own plan is smarter.” She looked at Percy with appreciation. “Have I told you how much I love you?”

He grinned. “I have my moments.”

She glanced at Piper and Jason. “We should tell them.”

Percy frowned. “Can’t we wait until we get back? We know, isn’t that enough?”

“Seaweed Brain,” Annabeth said. “You can’t keep putting this distance between you guys. Especially you and Jason.”

Percy rubbed at his shoulder and looked away. “I don’t know them like you do,” he muttered. “I like them, you know I do, but-”

“I know.” She said gently. “But they’re my friends, Percy, and I think if you tried they would become really good friends of yours too.”

Percy swallowed. “Every time I look at Leo I remember him blowing up New Rome, or making you, Piper and Jason grieve for him for weeks when he let us all think he was dead. Not to mention the way he used to treat Frank-” He faltered. “I remember Jason trying to kill me, and Piper...”

“What about Piper?” Annabeth asked, a bit defensively.

“She knows how big my-” Percy broke off his harsh whisper and looked at her helplessly. “That’s weird.”

Annabeth laughed. “Percy. Leo was under the Eidolon’s control when he blew up New Rome. Same with Jason when he tried to kill you. And yes, Piper knows things about you and me. Do you think that’s what she remembers every time she sees you?”

“Yes!”

“No,” Annabeth giggled. “Not at all. She has more important things to worry about, believe me.”

Percy pouted, slightly hurt at that, but Annabeth just rolled her eyes before getting serious. “As for Leo not letting us know he was alive, believe me, he’s paid for that.”

Nico had told them of his little lineup idea when Leo had arrived back on Festus, Calypso behind her. Piper and Annabeth had joined, a little late, but carried out the punishment like all the rest. Jason had just taken one look at Leo and wrapped him up in a hug, the girls soon to join.

“And Frank’s a big boy, Percy. He and Leo worked it out, didn’t they?” Annabeth looked at him softly. “You don’t always have to protect everybody you know.”

He looked at the fire and Annabeth sighed. “Look, tomorrow we’ll be back at Camp. Maybe you could, I don’t know, try talking to them? This distance isn’t helping anybody, especially on quests like this.”

Percy nodded. “But do we have to tell them? I could be wrong.”

Annabeth shook her head. “No, I don’t think you are. You’re right, Leo’s attitude was weird. And the fact that he was the one to sense the ‘weird feeling’ and then started acting odd? Too much of a coincidence.”

“Hey, lovebirds!” Piper called, winking at Percy once the couple turned towards her. “Care to join us? We’re betting on whether it will be Katie to ask Travis out or the other way around.”

Percy and Annabeth looked at one another, both of them smiling, and Annabeth raised an eyebrow. Percy sighed, shrugged one shoulder and nodded slightly, giving in and admitting that once again she was probably right.

“Oh, no.” Percy answered Piper, taking Annabeth’s hand and dragging her over to sit with them. “You three are late to this game, the Camp has a betting pool about that already. It’s been going on for years.”

“Really?” Jason asked.

Percy glanced at Annabeth and she smiled, warmth in her eyes. Maybe she was right. These three weren’t that bad, and Percy did like them a lot. Maybe he should let his guard down.

“Oh yeah,” Percy nodded, turning back towards them. “There were a lot of betting pools going on. Katie and Travis became the couple to bet on after Annabeth and I, though neither of us knew it at the time…”

oooOOOooo

It’s slowly coming back to him.

His memory. What led him here. He doesn’t recognize where he is, but outside it looks like the same forest they’d been sent to scout. Of course Percy’s not Grover, and trees have never been his strong suit, but he’s pretty sure it’s the same ones.

Like a good 65% sure. Which is enough for him. He’s gone off worse odds before.

Reckless, Annabeth’s voice sing-songs, and Percy almost wants to grin.

As far as Percy can tell, he’s been here for a day, maybe two. Most of the time he’s been unconscious or sleeping, he’s not sure which probably a bit of both, and right now he’s starting to get really, really hungry. And thirsty. The constant drip of water is driving him crazy.

He wants his mom’s homemade lasagna. Annabeth’s PB and J sandwiches. Even one of Piper’s tofu burgers or Grover’s vegetarian enchiladas sounds pretty good-

Grover!

Percy’s thoughts are still slow, and sluggish and he blames that in the fact that he’s never thought of using the empathy link before now.

The only problem is this; he can’t feel Grover.

Percy closes his eyes and concentrates. He’s never really used the empathy link to communicate with Grover it’s usually the other way around with Grover connecting with him in his sleep. Still, there was always this feeling, this tenuous thread in his brain that he could tug or nudge that would make him feel something.

Percy searches his mind, searches every corner he can and feels deep into his very core, but he can’t feel anything. He’s empty.

Which brings another fact to his attention.

Water is surrounding him. It’s dripping from the roof, it’s soaking into his jeans and freezing his skin and bones. Yet there’s no connection, there’s no feeling in his gut or prickling of his senses. He can’t feel the water, apart from how cold and wet it is.

He feels how cold it is because it’s getting him wet. His clothes, his skin… it’s seeping through to his bones.

No matter how hard he tries to dry himself, or move the water away, stop it from dripping, anything, he can’t. There’s just the constant drip, drip, drip and the ice moving through his bones, making him cold and his teeth chatter.

Again he thinks that there’s magic in this cave, because it’s summer in America and he’s absolutely freezing. Sure he’s wet, but he shouldn’t be this cold, should he?

Panic fills him. Blind panic that absolutely consumes every nerve and cell in his body. His powers are gone. His memory is gone. His wrists are rubbed raw and he’s stopped struggling because he feels blood dripping down his arms whenever he moves. His legs are like ice, he has no connection to Grover and no idea where he is or who has him here.

Percy’s control is gone. He’s helpless.

He wants to cry, he wants to scream and yell. He wishes he’d inherited his father’s power over earthquakes, but then again he supposes that he wouldn’t be able to use them.

He misses Annabeth.

Percy misses Annabeth and his mom, Grover, Tyson and Paul. He misses them in that moment so badly it hurts and, not for the first time but definitely stronger than he’s ever felt before, Percy realizes there’s a high possibility that he’ll never see them again. That he’ll never go to college, marry Annabeth and grow old with her.

Gods, he might not even meet his baby sister.

He can’t remember being so powerless.

Somehow he doesn’t cry. Maybe he’s so dehydrated (his throat is like sandpaper, he has a huge headache and his muscles are killing him) that he has no tears.

Instead he breathes deeply. He tries to think of something, anything that could help him. Again, he remembers Riptide and he’s pretty sure the weight in his pocket is the sword. However, without a free hand, Riptide is useless.

He looks up, craning his neck to see what’s holding him up. Chains attached to manacles that are firm and cold metal around his wrists.

Percy cringes. He knows how to escape from manacles, they learn how to escape common bonds at Camp. Of course, all it takes is breaking your thumb. Or is dislocation enough? Percy can’t remember.

He grits his teeth. This memory thing is becoming a real pain.

He looks up again, neck starting to hurt at the bad angle, and wriggles his hands. One of his arm shoots with pain and Percy cries out.

Nerve damage, Seaweed Brain! Annabeth’s voice rings in his ears and Percy breathes deeply, slumping down. Be careful, dummy!

“Ah, finally! You’re awake!”

The deep voice makes Percy yell and scramble backwards as fast and as far as he can, gritting his teeth against the wave of fresh agony, eyes flying open.

Fear, as terrible and creeping as a drug in Percy’s veins, sweeps through him.

Standing in front of him was a giant.

He wasn’t as large as some others Percy had seen, like Polybotes or Porphyrion, and he didn’t look as strong as them either (though Percy knew looks could be deceiving), but there was a look in his eyes that made the fear take root and grow in Percy.

“I thought you would never wake up, just keep moaning and tossing your head around like an animal! It was amusing at first, but lost it’s charm fairly quickly, please don’t do it again.”

Percy opened his mouth, closed it. Opened it again and tried to speak, but a cough and rattle of breath was all that escaped.

“Oh, how rude of me!” The giant clapped his hands and Percy saw something yellow fly from the huge palms at the action. Something that looked almost like… was that egg yolk? “You must be thirsty, I’m so sorry, I’ll grab you some water.”

Percy would have laughed if he could at how distressed the giant seemed to be over his thirst yet completely oblivious to the fact that his entire body was in pain from being hung up and chained.

“And food too!” The giant had a lumbering waddle as he moved past the fire, throwing his features into sharper relief. His hair was pitch black, though it might have been the darkness in the cave, and his scales were a deep, emerald green. He had a large, round forehead with a smooth hairline, but his chin came to a soft point. The cheekbones were angled and sharp, leading Percy’s eyes to his lips, which were puffy and a paler green. His teeth were jagged and yellow, but all there. The giant’s eyes were deep grey and full of intellect, a sharp glint in them making Percy suspect this giant knew exactly the persona he was giving off and the impression he was making. It was a look letting Percy know that this giant was in charge and he knew it.

You know. In case the fact that he was chained to a cave wall wasn’t a big enough clue of who the real boss around here was.

“I will give you my favourite, I just made it fresh!” The giant returned, moving to go next to Percy. His skirt of leather (dark, black leather which hangs in strips from a metal chain at his waist) reaches his mid-calf and flies out slightly behind the monster when he slumped to sit down. “First though, you drink.”

A rather large bowl was placed in front of Percy and he looked at the giant warily.

“No poison, this I promise.” The giant said, eyes solemn, and Percy hesitated. “I do not break promises, Perseus. This you will see.”

The use of his full name made Percy’s gut clench in fear even more. It seemed to be a common trait of his enemies to call him Perseus, one he was quickly tiring of. Percy turned his attention back to the bowl. It was possible this had been the bowl collecting water dripping from the roof and Percy decided if he was going to die here he might as well have a drink first.

He slowly placed his lips to the bowl’s rim and the giant tilted it upwards. Percy could smell the monster’s stench, and again the overwhelming scent of French Toast came over him, surrounded by maple syrup.

Maybe he’s Canadian, Percy thinks stupidly. Then he thinks of Frank and is reminded that he needs to get back home as soon as possible. That means keeping his strength up.

So he drank, slowly at first, and then longer, steadier gulps. Water sloshed over the bowl and landed on his shirt, making him colder than before, but Percy didn’t stop, just kept gulping.

“No.” The giant pulled the bowl away suddenly. “Drink too much and get sick, this I will not let happen. You will drink again after food.”

Percy cleared his throat and finally manages to speak. “Who are you? What am I doing here?”

The giant looked at him as if he was in pain. “Questions and answers after, I have many for you as well. First you will eat. I do not know much of mortals but I think you must be hungry by now.”

He brought forward a plate and the smell strengthened. When Percy looked he saw French Toast and he wanted to laugh.

“French Toast?” He asked instead.

The giant sighed. “One question before we start, then.” He looked back at the plate and brightened. “Yes, French Toast! I love it very much, so sweet. I’m quite taken with it, I’d never encountered it before. Sadly there are no restaurants that sell it for breakfast in Tartarus. Do you not care for it?”

Percy felt like this was all a dream or nightmare. Likely the latter. Or reality, because that’s just how his life seemed to be now.

“Of course.” He said distantly. “I like it too.”

“Perfect!” The giant clapped his hands again, making more egg yolk fly. “Obviously I will feed you as you are a bit, how do you say, tied up at the moment.” He giggled and Percy realized that the monster in front of him might not only be a giant escaped from Tartarus, but an insane giant from Tartarus.

He didn’t say anything. He only bit from the (rather large) pieces of French Toast that the giant held up on a fork for him to eat.

It could be poisoned, Annabeth’s voice goes through his head again but Percy can’t do anything about it. He’s hungry and there’s no way to check and see if the food is going to kill him.

Percy grudgingly admitted that it tasted amazing.

“There, now I hope you are feeling better! Not so sore of a stomach now, yes?”

Percy refused to thank the giant, but he did nod.

“Wonderful. Now, Perseus Jackson,” the giant turned very grave very suddenly. “I would like to introduce myself. I am Aristaeus and we must talk. I have many things to say to you before I ruin you for killing my family.”

[empresskira]

(I AM AWFUL I DIDNT EVEN NOTICED THESE I”M SORRY) (Plus I am just answering the quesitons for these, thank you all~!)

tagged by @fire-lark and @awkwardonthedancefloor

Always repost the rules

Answer the 11 questions posted for you

Create 11 new ones

Tag 11 people (if you want!! No pressure <3)

1. What is your favorite quote from One Piece (or any other anime)?

“Pirates are evil? The Marines are righteous?... Justice will prevail, you say? But of course it will! Whoever wins this war becomes justice!” - Doflamingo Donquixote 

2. Favorite fictional genre?

Fantasy or like school/slice of life stuff.

3. If you could wish for one thing, no limits, what would it be?

To be all honest? Whenever I go to buy something, money is always there for it, so I could donate or buy for people as well.

4. Oldest/middle/youngest sibling? Or an only child?

Youngest and have an older sister.

5. What is worse? Being too hot, or being too cold?

Being too hot. I can at least try to stay warm if cold.

6. Tell me a funny story!

There once was a hero named Ragnar the Red! --- Hahaha,Skyrim reference~! But funny? I guess just a few days ago I thought there was a snake in the house, but it was just a ribbon. I am near sighted, so I was having a mild heart attack while trying to figure out what it really was. XD

7. What’s the first word that comes to your mind? Type it down :D

Phoenix 

8. Do you have a favourite plot bunny/art idea you haven’t been able to work on yet?

Yes, I want to do a story where Ace and Sabo set off together instead of separate as planned. But like, Sabo helped Ace through his whole anger stuff, but still wants to duel Whitebeard. Anyways, kind of the same happens but instead in his exhaustion makes a deal that if he can’t beat Whitebeard, that he will become part of the crew. Sabo, of course, protests but at the same time doesn’t fight it too much since he knows Ace is thick headed and as he has heard is that the WB pirates weren’t bad. Plus, Sabo is looking out for his brother so he thinks maybe it will do them both some good. Sabo and Ace eventually both become the second commander as a joint position like they did when they were Captains.

9. When did you start writing/drawing/creating in general?

Drawing was like seven and then I started typing stories at 12.

10. If you could make a crew of characters to sail on the Grand Line, who would you choose?

I will just join the Whitebeard pirates, I don’t even care if I was a nurse. 

11. If you were to go on a trip, where would you like to go?

Denmark, believe it or not. Or possibly Japan.

1) What is one project that you’re most proud of?

At this moment for story wise is ‘The Maiden’s Light’ I think I did fairly well with that one. As for painting, I did a mermaid and dig it mostly since it was my first really painting project. Drawing would have to be my recent one of a worn out version of me, but in anime style XD 

2) What’s one word that does not describe you? And you never want to be associated with?

Outgoing. To be all honest, I am not at all. I am a hermit, but sadly I am associated with it a whole lot.

3)  Have you ever broken something that you couldn’t fix, no matter how hard you try? (Like an egg?)

Besides an egg, lol. One of my Buddha statues had a shelf fall on it. There is no way I can fix his head.

4) Who do you love the most in the world right now? (Family, friend, s/o, etc)

It’s always going to be family, but I have amazing people on here and the ones that review my stories are high on my list even if I don’t know them because they make my day so much better.

5) What’s your arch nemesis? (for me it’s mayo, and mean people, and chinese)

FEET. I absolutely cannot have feet touching me. I absolutely hate feet with a passion, I only find mine pretty!

6) If you could play rock paper scissors with anyone in the world, who? ( They can be ancient people, like “the last emperor of china”.)

Probably my Nana or Grandaddy so I could have one more moment with them.

7) What was your most successful lie?

I actually lied to my mom a few times, one being that I stayed at a friends house and she told her parents she was staying with me. Our parents never communicated and we went to another town to go drinking. But karma back to bite me later when I tried to lie again about something and got into n ATV accident, so yeah... you learn. lol

8) Who changed you?

To be all honest, my ex-girlfriend did. We don’t talk anymore because of me getting married and complications in her life and miscommunication between us. But a lot of the occasion, I wish I could talk to her still.

9) If you could go back to the past, but could not interact with your past self…what would you do? (no notes, no warnings, no advice)

Tell other people that they should get me to be more adventurous. Though, then again, I wouldn’t have my beautiful daughter, so I guess it would be tough to decide on if I wanted to do anything. Maybe tell someone the winning numbers to tell myself? Someone I trusted to write it down since I can’t. Lol

10) If you could be a plant, what plant would you wanna be? (I wanna be a tree, like a giant ass tree so that I could look down on all the tinier trees.)

A Mongolia tree. My grandmother used to have one and it was gorgeous~!

11) If you were stuck on a deserted island….. Yeah, that’s the question. “If you were stuck on a deserted island…”

If I was stuck on a deserted island... I would most likely be able to live. I have some pretty decent survival skills, but I would probably turn delusional with my imagination. Picturing myself on a One Piece island or something XD