#naya make the words go

[languishedlaughing]

My part for the SWM Server Big Bang. The theme was autumn and dates and my specific prompt was apple picking. I may have gone a little far, but a date is a date ;)

[rbfclassy]

STILL IN LOVE! #10 — TOJI FUSHIGURO

SYNOPSIS...after still messing around with your ex husband, you began to wonder if you’re still in love with him after finding out about his new girlfriend…

INFO...ex husband!toji x fem!reader, reader & toji have two kids, megumi is readers bio son, jealousy, smut, angst, arguments, alcohol, drinking problem, family problems, arguing in front of kids, toxic behaviors, crying, mentions of divorce

OTHER...likes and reblogs appreciated

this chapter contains smut

You walked towards the front door, slowly opening it as Toji stood there in his hoodie. “Hey,” you said, quietly.

“Hey,” he simply responded, stepping foot inside the house. “Where are they?” He asked, a slight smile on his face.

You pointed towards Megumi’s room, Toji nodding before trying his hardest to silently walk over without making any noise. He could hear Megumi playing his video game from the television and Naya laughing. Toji glanced back over his shoulder to look at you, seeing you were trying your hardest not to laugh. “Go!” You yelled in a whisper.

He finally made it to the room, staying just out of sight before he knocked on the door. “You can come in, mom,” Megumi spoke, pausing his video game.

Toji slowly swung the door open before saying, “mom?” Standing there to see his kids faces light up with excitement.

“Dad!” Megumi yelled, tossing his headphones and control to the side, running up to his father.

“Daddy!” Naya screamed, dropping her dolls and running to Toji.

“Hey!” Toji chuckled, ruffling his sons hair and hugging him with one arm while he used the other to pick his daughter up, her little arms wrapping around his neck to hug him and kiss him on the cheek.

“I thought you weren’t coming until tomorrow?” Megumi questioned, looking at his father.

“Yeah! That’s what mommy said!” Naya chimed in, pouting.

You walked around the corner behind Toji with a smile on your face, arms folded across your chest. “Surprise!” You laugh. “Your dad wanted to prank you guys.”

Toji laughed along with you as he put Naya back down on the floor. “Mommy told me you guys were so sad. Really missed your old man, huh?”

Naya nodded her head, fiddling with her fingers. She turned to look at you, her eyes glowing bright like a lightbulb just went off in her head. “Mommy, can daddy stay for dinner tonight? Please, please, please, please!” She begged.

“Please, mom! You make enough food for all of us and I know dad loves your cooking! Right?” Megumi looks over towards his father.

You and Toji glance at each other as the kids beg and beg you to get him to stay. You truly didn’t mind, you usually end up always cooking extra for leftovers anyways and you knew the kids missed him like crazy. “It’s up to your father. I’m not sure if he’s busy or not.”

Almost immediately Toji answers, “I can stay.” His eyes searching yours.

“Yay!” Naya cheers, jumping up and down as she holds his hand.

“You two get back to playing and I’ll help mommy out with cooking, okay?” He looks between his two kids and they both nod at him, running back to their respective spots and going back to playing. “So, what are you making?” He asks as he trails behind you into the kitchen.

“I was thinking beef stew over white rice. Megumi has been asking for it, says it’s his favorite, so yeah,” you respond.

He chuckles at you words, “just like me, isn’t he?” Toji leans against the countertop. He watches as you grab the meat out of the fridge and the ricefrom the cabinet. There’s a few seconds of silence before he breaks it again. “Is, uh, everything sorted out between you and your boyfriend?” He asks, hoping the question didn’t come off too strong.

You scoff, “well, we’re actually no longer seeing each other anymore.” You purse your lips together, taking a deep breath.

“Shit…I’m sorry, mama. The argument couldn’t have been that bad, could it?” Toji wonders.

“It’s a little more complicated than that to him. I guess it wasn’t just about the argument.” You turn to look at him. “But what can I do? If he wants to leave, then so be it. He was a great guy, I have nothing against him, but I can’t make him stay.” You shrug. From where Toji was standing, he could see that you were hurt over the situation. He wasn’t going to keep asking questions and pry, reopening the wound again just to make you talk about it. “It just ended so quick, he ended it so quick like nothing. I just…I’m starting to think that maybe it’s me, you know?” You admit.

“No, no,” he shook his head, “don’t say that.” He placed his hand on the small of your back, trying his best to comfort you.

“I being honest, Toji. Look how I went off on you just this morning, screaming and cursing, blaming you when it was me who asked you to come. I just,” you sigh, “I just think that I need to work on myself before anything. Obviously, the kids are always first, but you get what I mean.”

Toji pulls you into his embrace, his arms wrapped around you. “I just think you’re someone who’s been through a lot. But don’t blame yourself for it, mama. No one is perfect. Hell, I should know,” he chuckled.

You laughed with him, resting your head on his shoulder. It was times like this that made you wonder if Nanami’s words were true. How effortlessly you sat in his arms, let him hold you. You trusted him so much, appreciated his words too. “Thank you, Toji.” You pulled away from him, staring into his eyes, and he stared right back. His eyes flickered down to your lips for the quickest second before you pulled away. “Alright, time to make dinner!”

“Right, what’d you need me to do?” He cleared his throat.

Megumi scarfed down his second bowl of food like he hadn’t eaten in days, taking spoonful after spoonful. You and Toji both watched him, the little boy in his own world, just nothing but him and his bowl of food. “Megs, slow down before you get a stomachache,” Toji ordered.

“I’m fine,” he spoke, mouth full of food.

“Listen to your father, Megumi,” you demanded.

The little boy looked up at both of you, sauce and rice stuck around the corners of his mouth as he put the spoon down and actually chewed his food. “Sorry,” he mumbled, grabbing his napkin. His bowl now empty.

“I’m done, mommy!” Naya showed you her empty bowl.

“Good job, baby girl. Go put in the sink.” You pointed into the kitchen. Megumi followed behind her, wiping his mouth and throwing it in the trash.

“Kids,” Toji mutters.

“They’re carbon copies of you—personality wise.” You roll your eyes at the man, a smirk on your face.

“Yeah, yeah, sure,” he playfully scoffs.

The kids walk back to the table. “Can you and daddy come tuck us into bed now?” Naya asked, rocking back and forth on the heels of her feet.

Toji stood from his chair, grabbing his daughters hand as she lead him towards her bedroom. You grabbed Megumi’s hand, following him into his. “Goodnight, sweetheart. See you in the morning.” You placed the blankets over him as he curled into bed, planting a soft kiss on his forehead.

“Night, mom.” He smiled before you walked out his room and into Naya’s just as Toji did the same.

“Goodnight, baby.” You leaned down and kissed her cheek, seeing that Toji already turned her nightlight on, the patterns decorating her ceiling.

“Goodnight,” she spoke softly. You shut off her light and closed her bedroom door, Toji doing the same with Megumi.

“They’re getting too big.” Toji smiled, but it was a bittersweet smile. It was like only yesterday when he remembers Megumi being born. A head full of black hair and chubby little cheeks. Now, he’s only two years away from being double digits.

“They’ll always be our babies no matter how old they grow.” A tired sigh left your lips, and for a brief moment you closed your eyes. Toji studied you, noticing your soft and tired expression. He thought about what Gojo had told him—to kiss you. He doesn’t know if he can despite doing it many times before. It’s too soon. You’re still hurt over Nanami, and you only allowed him to stay so late because of the kids. He didn’t want to overstay his welcome like he did before.

Just as he was about to grab his keys from his pocket, you blurted out, “you remember when we first met?” You softly chuckled at the memory, looking towards him. “You had this grumpy look on your face and you were with Gojo. I was celebrating my birthday, super drunk with my friends.”

Toji nodded, grinning. “Yeah, I remember. You stumbled between me and Gojo at the bar, interrupted our conversation just so you could order another drink,” he added. He moved closer towards you, both of you just now standing in the hallway, leaning against the wall, staring into each others eyes. “You caught my eye, had me staring for minutes on end.”

You laughed at his comment. “I could say the same. I mean, who wouldn’t stare? Tall, muscular man with dark hair and a handsome face? I was sure every girl in there wanted you.” You rolled your eyes.

“Yet, I was only looking at you. The birthday girl.” He stared at you with soft eyes. “And then that birthday girl soon turned into the mother of kids and my wife. I couldn’t ask for anything better.” Suddenly, he gently grabbed your hand. Toji contemplated on whether he wanted to express his true feelings right now. And he knows he’s already told you so many times before, shown you so many times before, but that light of hope won’t die inside of him no matter what. “You were the best thing in life. You still are. You and the kids. I think about you so much, so fucking much, y/n. And I miss you so much, mama. I really do. I miss being a family. I fucked it all up…” He shook his head, lightly squeezing your hand in his.

“I was jealous,” you admitted. “Back when you were with that girl, when you dropped the kids off. I was jealous, hurt. I…I thought that maybe all of those nights and mornings we spent together even after the divorce…I had thoughts of getting back together with you,” you said in a soft tone. “But, then I saw her and knew you were spending more time with her and I felt like I was being used until you found someone else to fill what I couldn’t for so long. I just thought that if I forgot and moved on, then we could put this all behind us. I was trying to deny it. I was so wrong.”

Toji’s hand cupped your face, the pad of his thumb caressing your cheek. You melted into his touch, letting out a shaky breath. “I was only trying to do the same, but I did it in the worst way possible. No matter who I tried to replace you with, I couldn’t do it. It wasn’t the same. They weren’t my wife. So that’s why I always came back to you, mama. You and the kids are my home, my heart. I don’t know where we went wrong in our marriage, but I’d be a damn fool if I didn’t try and fix it. I’m in love with you. I never stopped loving you.”

Tears pooled in your eyes and it felt like everything you’ve been so unsure about became clear. “I…I love you too, Toji. Fuck, I love you.” You finally were able to speak your true feelings instead of shoving them away, pushing them into pits of darkness. His eyes searched yours before he decided to push all his second thoughts aside, planting his lips on yours. Your arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him in closer as you kissed him back. Your skin felt hot, his hands roaming all over your body, kissing you like a starved man.

“I’ve missed you so fucking much, mama,” he panted, speaking between kisses. “I don’t think you understand just how much you’re on my mind. I should’ve never let you go.” Both of you fumbled into your bedroom, Toji shutting and locking the door behind him without breaking the kiss.

Your back connected with the plush bed, Toji’s mounting you. Your hands snaked up under his shirt, trying to remove it. He pulled away from the kiss with a devilish smirk, reaching for the shirt and pulling it over his to exposed his muscular build. Not wasting another second, Toji helped you remove your shirt, earning a chuckle when he saw you weren’t wearing a bra.

It feels like forever since he’s seen you like this, since he’s been so vulnerable with anyone. He pulls down your shorts along with your panties, tossing the articles of clothing on the floor. You shut your legs together as Toji’s removed the rest of his clothing. It felt like your heart was going to beat out of your chest.

“Don’t be shy, mama, come on.” He glided a hand down the side of your abdomen.

“I know, it’s just we haven’t done this in a while,” you shyly say.

“It’s nothing I haven’t seen before, yeah? Making love to you ten years straight,” he chuckled. “Let me see her, wanna make you feel good.” He sunk down onto his knees, big hands gently opening your legs, pushing them back to your chest as he set eyes upon your pussy. “Fucking hell,” he muttered. “As pretty as I remember.”

A small gasp left your lips at the feel of his tongue dipping between your folds. His hands held your legs back while his tongue circled around your clit. Your hand immediately tangled in his hair, small whimpers leaving your lips as you tried not to be too loud. He sucked on your clit before lifting his head with a pop, pressing kisses to your inner thighs and the outside of your pussy, teasing you. “Taste so good, baby,” he moaned, licking a long stripe from your fluttering hole to your aching clit once again.

“Ah, Toji,” you moaned, raking your fingers through his black hair. “Oh my god.” Your eyes rolled back, the tip of his tongue penetrating your hole. “Mmm, fuck,” you panted.

Toji spit onto your pussy before slurping your juices, licking up every last drop as he focused on your swollen clit. “Oh, fuuuck. I love the way you taste.”Your hands clasped over your mouth in an attempt to stifle your moans, the pleasure starting to build up, your skin hot to the touch. It was so intense. You lifted your head, watching the way he devoured you, licking, sucking, and slurping like his life depended on it. You nearly came on the spot when he looked up at you, dark and lustful eyes staring right back at you. He lifted his head, his chin coated in your juices. “Good job, mama. Keep those eyes on me. I wanna look into them while you cum.”

You propped yourself up on your elbows, your bottom lip tucked between your teeth. “Yes, yes, right there, baby.” Your brows furrowed in pleasure, toes curled as ecstasy coursed through your veins. “Oh shit, I’m getting close,” you moaned. Toji pushed your thighs back further, feeling your fight against him when the feeling became too much.

“You gonna cum?” He cooed. You nodded, whimpering when you felt him slip two fingers in. “You’re so wet, oh fuck,” he breathed out. He curled his fingers up to hit your g-spot, doing a ‘come hither’ motion. He watched as your eyes rolled back, jaw slack and the way your body shuddered under his touch. His tongue laid flat on your clit as he practically made out with your pussy, watching the way you struggled to keep yourself sitting up.

“Toji!” You squeaked, feeling your orgasm approaching quickly. “You’re gonna make me cum, oh—ah, shit, shit—mmph!” You put your hand over your mouth once again as your orgasm raked through your body, falling back onto the bed as your entire body quivered at his touch and your eyes rolled back. He didn’t stop until he drew your entire orgasm out of you, making sure you enjoyed every last second and felt every last bit of pleasure.

“That’s my fucking girl,” he praised, pressing kisses to your thighs as you came down from your high. Those kisses soon reached higher, traveling up your stomach, then on your sternum, then your neck, and lastly your lips. Your hands cupped his face, tasting yourself on his tongue as he settled between your legs. “Look at me while I put it inside,” he whispered, his forehead pressed against yours.

Biting your lip, you nodded, and spread your legs a little further for him. Toji shuddered as he aligned himself with your entrance, taking every chance to tease you and himself. The tip of his cock rubbed up and down your slit, nudging at your clit and sliding between your folds. It felt like the breath was sucked out of your lungs when he finally slipped inside, pushing slowly, inch by inch, making eye contact with you the whole way through. The stretch made you wince slightly, always forgetting just how thick he was, but it was so deliciously intoxicating. “Feels so good already,” you mumbled against his lips.

Finally, he bottomed out, his cock throbbing inside of you before slowly started moving. “Ah, fuck, you’re already clenching around me,” he breathily chuckled, picking up his pace, your body rocking back and forth. “Feel so fucking good wrapped around me—oh shit.” Your legs were pushed up to your chest, your arms wrapped around his neck as you tried to pull him in closer than he already was. His cock dragged along your walls, pulling out before slamming right back into you. “I’m gonna go faster, baby,” he warned, wrapping his arms around your body, settling his head in the crook of your neck.

His hips began moving at a much faster pace than before, the tip of his cock reach deep inside of you, grazing over your sweet spot with each thrust. He squeezed at your flesh, holding onto you like he never wanted to let go. “F-fuck!” You squealed, sucking in a breath. Your nails clawed at his back, hands sneaking up to rest in his hair while he fucked you into the mattress.

“You’re doing so well for me, beautiful—ah, oh shit,” he moaned as you squeezed around him, sucking him in. Toji lifted his head to look at you, his lips connecting with yours, passionately kissing you, tongues messily moving against one another. You moaned into the kiss, his hips repeatedly slamming against yours, your legs instinctively wrapping around his waist. He felt like he was on cloud nine, head spiraling. Your two sweaty bodies pressed up against each other while he whispered dirty things into your ear. Filthy moans and whimpers leaving your mouth while you begged for more. “Fuck,” he groaned. He pushed deeper, practically putting you in a mating press, your legs over his shoulders.

“Toji!” You cried out. “It’s too much—fuck I think I’m gonna cum again.” You were barely able to speak, broken moans filling the room. “Yes, yes, right there,” you whimpered, clawing at his biceps. “Please, don’t stop,” you begged, staring at him in desperation.

“I know, mama, I know. I’m sorry, you just��ngh, fuck—feel so fucking good,” he moaned out. His hair stuck to his sweaty forehead, his cheeks a rosy red as the light reflected off of his sweaty body, defining his muscles. “You make it so hard to control myself. Driving me fucking crazy,” he panted. You immediately pulled him down for a sloppy kiss as he kept drilling your sweet spot over and over again until your legs were shaking, sending your body into overdrive. Your eyes screwed shut as your orgasm hit you like tsunami, body quivering as you held onto Toji with at your strength.

“I love you,” you whisper, pressing your forehead against his, a lazy smile on your lips.

Toji smirked, pecking your lips one more time. “I love you too, baby—love you so much.” He kissed you again. His thrusts grew sloppier and harder, his orgasm approaching. “Ngh, shit!” He grunted. “You’re gonna make me cum if you keep looking at me like that,” he let out a breathy chuckle.

“Cum in me,” you whimpered, nodding at him.

“Mama, don’t say that—fuck! Please, don’t,” he whimpered. Those three words drive him crazy, and you out of everyone knew that. It didn’t help how deep he was inside of you either.

“Please, Toji,” you cup his face and place your lips on his. “Cum in me, baby.” You whisper against his lips.

Toji let out a shaky moan, his hips stuttering with each thrust. “Oh, fuck, don’t…don’t do that to me—oh my fucking god you’re squeezing around me. Shit!” He breathes heavily, chest heaving up and down. He can’t contain himself, losing all self control when you beg him once again, pulling him in close. A series of moans and grunts fall past his lips when he pushes deep inside, fucking you hard and slow, filling you up. Slowly he pulls out, leaving your legs quivering. “Oh my god, come here.” He grabs your jaw, pulling you in for a kiss, his tongue moving against yours. “Breathe, baby,” he kisses you, “just breathe.” He places his lips on yours again. “That’s it, mama, deep breaths.”He tries to catch his breath, lying down beside you. “Shit.” He stares up at the ceiling with a soft smile, wiping the sweat from his forehead. He feels you snuggle in beside him, resting your head on his chest. He looks down at you, snaking his arm around your waist. “You doing okay?”

“Yeah, I just need to catch my breath.” You nod, placing your hand on his chest. “I can’t believe we just did that,” you said, shocked before laughing.

“Does that mean I get stay for breakfast?” He asked, jokingly. You slap him on his arm, rolling your eyes at him. “Ow!”

“You just came inside me and you’re asking if you can stay for breakfast?” You lift your head, brow raised with a playful smile on your face.

“Can’t a guy be gentleman?” He shrugs.

“You’re insufferable,” you mumble as you lean in, pecking his lips.

“Well you’re possibly gonna give me a third kid so you gotta put up with it, mama.” He smiles against your lips before landing a slap on your ass.

“Ow!” You gasp.

“Payback,” he says, smugly. Both of you sit in silence for a few, enjoying each other’s company, eyes closed, and the only thing you can hear is the sound of both of you breathing. “I love being like this with you.” He breaks the silence. His fingers trace patterns on your skin, sending goosebumps all over your body. “No fighting, nothing. Just us. I want that back forever.”

“I miss it too, but we can’t just jump straight back into it. I know we literally just had sex,” you laugh, “but let’s take the whole relationship thing slow, yeah?”

“I’ll wait however long.” He brushes a hand against your cheek, looking over your features. “Just wanna be able to call you my wife again, put an even bigger ring on your finger. I wanna do right by you and the kids this time. I should’ve never taken you for granted.” He cups your cheek. “I’m lucky that you’re even giving me another chance.” He takes your hand, placing a soft kiss on your knuckles. “You’re so special to me. I want you to know that.”

You sniffle a little, tears brimming your eyes—happy tears. “Just don’t fuck it up. I don’t know if I could stand going through that all over again, Toji.” You slightly frown, squeezing his hand.

“I don’t think I’d be able to stand it either,” he admitted. “I love you too much. I���m sorry for acting like a fucking idiot in the past.” Gently stroking your cheek.

“Can you hold me?” You asked, voice soft and delicate. He doesn’t respond, he just wraps his arms around you and pulls you on top of him, pulling the blankets over you. His rubs his hand up and down your back, soothing you.

“We have to get cleaned up in a little bit, okay? Don’t fall asleep,” he murmurs against your forehead before pressing a kiss to it. You nod in response, shutting your eyes slowly. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

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[dragonnarrative-writes]

Best In Show

Simon "Ghost" Riley x Naya "Bambi" Walker (OC)

Read on AO3

Word count: 4.8k

CW: BDSM, Sexual Content, kink negotiations, hucow kink, speech restriction, themed lingerie, lactation kink, breeding kink, dirty talk, so much dirty talk, pre-nut insanity (one of my favorite flavors of Simon), fantasies of dub-con (no actual dub-con), post-nut laughter

Notes: This was supposed to be a short addition to the Kinktober prompts, but obviously I am bad at keeping things short. Also, the working title for this was "Moo Moo Moo."

Simon is hiding something. Maybe that’s the wrong way to look at it. There’s something he’s not saying, not making obvious. It itches at the back of your mind.

It starts with looking at your own nude body in the mirror after a shower. You’ve been going to the gym, just a little bit. Weight training and cardio to keep up with all of the sex you’ve been having since moving in with Simon. You haven’t really lost any weight. In fact, your hips are wider, with no real change in the pouch of your belly.

Simon makes an interested noise when he walks into the bedroom. “Guess we should ‘old off on supper, eh?”

“No, no, I want to try that recipe I found,” you say, ignoring his discontented noise as you pull on underwear. The pleased noise he makes when you tug on his shirt is predictable, just like the kiss he presses to your cheek. “I was just… looking at myself. Kind of surprised that I’ve got more hip. Still got the belly, though.”

Simon surprises you by saying, “Tit’s’re bigger, too.”

“Are they?” You bunch the shirt in the back, and take yourself in. “Huh.”

“More pectoral muscle,” he says with a shrug. “More breast.”

“That’s not how that works,” you scoff, shoving him playfully before leaving the bedroom. “Besides, I heard your tis are the first to go when you lose weight.”

“Then I hope you don’t lose weight,” Simon answers, following you into the kitchen for a kiss. “I like all’o you.”

He spends extra time worshiping your thick parts, that night. Kisses you and kisses you and kisses you while rubbing your belly and groping at your hips, stroking and pinching at your breasts, your thighs, your love handles, your arm fat. He’s ravenous as he eats you out. The two of you are loud as he takes you apart. You fall asleep completely drained and covered in sore spots.

It doesn’t occur to you that you’ve been missing anything for a while after that. In fact, nothing seems off until he catches you masturbating a couple of months later. One moment, you’re alone at home, in bed, and the next he’s climbing in next to you with a groan and a sigh of relief.

“Whatcha wachin’?” he asks over your surprised yelp. “Tha’s not y’r usual boyfriend.”

“What do you know about my usual porn,” you laugh as you pass him your earbuds to place on the side table. You roll to kiss him as you admit, “It’s not really exciting, I was mostly done.”

“What counts as exciting?”

“I dunno,” you shrug, cuddling up. He smells so good. “You know my usuals, why don’t you tell me?”

Simon chuckles into your hair. “Big dicks ‘n ‘elplessness. Bonus points for dubious consent.”

“…Well… You’re not wrong.”

“I know what my girl likes.”

“Okay,” you giggle. “Well, what’s exciting for you?”

If you didn’t know him, you would have missed the split second pause before his answer. As it is you barely catch the way his hand twitches against the curve of your ass.

But he says, “You know what I like. A beautiful woman asking for what she wants.”

“And getting it until she cries,” you purr, rolling on top of him.

“Lies and slander,” he deadpans, grinding his hips up into yours. “I’d never enjoy seeing you with those pretty tears in your eyes, beggin’ me t’ keep goin’ and t’ stop at the same time.”

Of course, you both prove him wrong in short order. After, he holds you while you tremble, pressing kisses to the crown of your head. He laughs, just a little, when you can’t sit up enough to get your water on your own, but he also helps you, so that’s okay.

The next day, you realize that you actually don’t know what porn Simon finds exciting. He’s shared some with you, of course, on the nights where sex was too much work until it suddenly wasn’t. Every now and again, though, he would scroll past something with a dismissive noise. It wouldn’t be noteworthy, except… well, they’re all videos he’s saved in his favorites. So he likes them, but doesn’t necessarily want to share them with you. Which is fine. Heaven knows you’re deleting your porn history regularly. Whatever you look up when you’re ovulating is between you, Bowser, and God.

But the last straw for your curiosity comes when you borrow his phone to do some quick online shopping. A friend is having a themed pool party and wants everyone in shades of blue. You’ve been on a pink and purple kick, so you don’t actually have an appropriate bathing suit. So you pull up the search engine and look up bathing suits.

And there, in the search history: ‘Cow Print Bikini’.

Your research brain goes, “Jackpot.”

There’s no way to tell what, if anything, Simon looked at in the search results. But you’re good at knowing where to look. More importantly, you know your man. And after a full 24 hours of research, you have a pretty good idea of the shape of things.

  -

  “Hey Simon,” you call, a week later.

“In the den,” he answers.

“Can you… actually, I’ll be right there!”

When you get there, he’s playing one of his video games. He turns his head to kiss you, then curses under his breath when a pink slime eats the fruit he’d been trying to harvest. It’s such a sweet, domestic moment that you almost don’t want to interrupt.

“Do you have space for a kink discussion?” You settle onto the couch next to him, and pull your legs up under yourself. “Nothing bad. Just… maybe some negotiations. You can keep playing.”

He taps the controller against one of his palms, twice, then says, “Sure.”

You take a deep breath, then ask, “Have you ever heard of hucows?”

The pause menu comes up immediately, but Simon doesn’t look at you. In fact, he’s so still that you’re sure he’s stopped breathing. When he doesn’t say or do anything for a full ten seconds, you look up at him.

His face is blank, and he looks back at you from the corner of his eye.

“I’m going to take that as a yes,” you whisper.

He blinks, then shakes himself back into his skin. He looks back at the television, but doesn’t resume the game. “Why do you ask?”

“I’ve been doing some research,” you answer. “And I thought you might find it… interesting.” When he looks at you again without saying anything, you confess. “And there were cow print bikinis in your search history.”

All of the air leaves Simon in a whoosh. He leans back into the couch and scrubs a hand over his face. “’M sorry. I don’t… I wouldn’t ever… You know I love you. ‘N that I respect you. I’d never-”

“Woah, woah, wait!” You grab one of his hands in yours. “Hang on. You love me, I love you. I trust you. Do you trust me?”

Simon doesn’t answer for a long moment, and then he says, without taking his hand from his face, “I trust you to be ‘onest with me. Trust you’ll accept a no. Trust you’re not g’nna yell. Trust you not to punish me if you’re upset.”

“Acknowledged,” you breathe against his bicep. “I trust you to be honest with me, too. And I trust that it’s okay to tell you if I’m not comfortable with anything we discuss or do. I trust that you won’t yell at me. I trust that you’re not going to hurt or harm me on purpose to correct my behavior. Acknowledge.”

Simon sighs, again, then peeks through his fingers at you. “Acknowledged.”

“Okay,” you say, coaxing him to release some of the tension in his shoulders. “So. I did a little research. But I just want to know for sure what you think, what you find exciting.”

He’s pink when he asks, “Y’ve seen the videos?”

“No!”

That finally makes him look at you skeptically. “No?”

“I wasn’t snooping through your stuff,” you protest. “I literally searched for a bikini on your phone and it had the little history symbol next to it. I got curious.”

“Hell of a distance between a bathing suit an’ niche kinks.”

The hint of humor in his voice gives you the permission you were waiting for. You climb into his lap and throw your legs over one of his arms. He hugs you exactly the way you want, just as loving as ever.

“So then,” he eventually says. “What did you find?”

“So much bad porn, oh my god,” you answer. “Not that the actual hucow stuff itself is bad. It’s just that the non-paywalled stuff is steeped in so much spam. And what isn’t pure spam doesn’t really seem like your kind of thing. Just… lots of humiliation and degradation and misogyny kink. Stuff you’ve already said takes you out of the mood. And if that’s sometimes the mood, that’s fine, too. I know we don’t always masturbate to things we’re usually into-”

“It’s not that,” Simon interrupts.

You’re both quiet after. You realize that his heart is racing under your hand, and your heart is beating just as fast. But he keeps holding you, and you keep petting over the dip of his collarbones.

Your stomach churns. “I shouldn’t have said the porn was bad. I’m sorry.”

“It is bad,” Simon snorts. “’S part of why I never mentioned it. Some of that shit is nasty.”

“I like nasty.”

He hums and rubs a hand over your back. “I know, beautiful. But this feels… bad. Some ‘f it… ’S ‘ard to find the words. But I didn’t want you t’ think I see you that way, that I ever want to see you that way.”

“Porn isn’t real life,” you remind him. “Things that happen in a scene that everyone consented to-”

“Yeah, yeah.” He rolls his eyes as you glare up at him. “Let’s not pretend that kink has no basis in reality. Our dynamic is special to me, Naya. I don’t want to… disrespect it, or you, or us, with this.”

“Okay,” you whisper, tucking your face into his neck. You take one of his hands back into yours. “We don’t have to keep talking about it, if you don’t want to. But,” you can’t help but add with a smile. “I did get cow print lingerie. And a headband. It’s got little ears and horns.”

Simon groans. “No, you didn’t.”

“I did!” You press a kiss to his chin. “I’m glad I didn’t try to surprise you with it.”

“Would’a given me an ‘eart attack.”

“That would have been fun to explain. ‘Oh gee, Captain, I didn’t think he’d like it that much.’”

“Oi,” Simon growls.

He dips down to press his lips to yours. You don’t hesitate to wrap your arms around his shoulders and shift to straddle his lap. The kiss is sweet, a reassurance. Like aftercare. Maybe it is. Both of your bodies relax, until you can’t even hold yourself up to keep your lips on his. You lay your head on his shoulder with a content sigh.

You’re like that for a long time before Simon speaks again.

“Its the idea that her body… your body… could be nothing but pleasure and instinct. That I could pull pleasure from you until it would be pain not to.” He’s quiet for a moment, then continues when you don’t reply. “There’s something about it. But it’s a fantasy I never intended to bring to the bedroom. It’s… just something to think about, sometimes.”

  Simon presents the cow print bikini on a Thursday. At first, you’re confused. Then you’re amused, because a year ago you would have worked yourself into a tizzy trying to figure out what he was saying about your weight. But Simon loves your body, and you, and after months of avoiding talking about it, this is a huge step. So you stay silent, and look up at him expectantly.

“Would like to do a scene this weekend,” he says. “Acknowledge.”

“Acknowledged,” you answer, biting back a smile. “What are the parameters?”

Things seem downright vanilla for the first half. A whole day of pampering - spa, nails, hair - that means he’s been planning this for a while. Your favorite, just fancy enough food for dinner, and a dessert to go. All the usual rules apply: Simon’s in charge, you promise to be honest. All in all, a perfect date night.

And then he says something that boggles your mind.

“Okay, wait. I put on the cow print, and then I can only moo? After we get home?”

“No,” he surprises you by saying. He takes a deep breath, then continues. “I want you to wear it all day. An’ you’re only allowed to moo. Except durin’ your appointments. Please don’t moo at your stylists.”

“But at dinner…”

“I’ll order for you,” He says. His eyes flick away, then back to yours. “I’ll take care of everything.”

“But we won’t talk,” you press.

His ears go pink, but he cracks a smile as he says, “I’ll talk. And it’s not a rule that you have to be silent.”

He’s embarrassed, you realize. He’s finally acting on this thing you discussed so long ago, but he’s still nervous about what you’ll think. You have to stifle the part of you that wants to coo.

“Okay,” you say, taking his hand and pressing a kiss to his knuckles. “Unless I’m using a safeword, I can just… make cow sounds. All day. Acknowledged.”

  The day of comes quickly. And then you’’e contemplating the lingerie you bought months ago. It’s much nicer than the flimsy thing Simon got, “just as ‘n experiment, no sense in wastin’ money ‘f things aren’t good as the fantasy.” The bikini he got you is… cheap. Your purchase will certainly fit under your clothes nicer.

As you pull on the silky material Simon apparently didn’t believe you actually ordered, you take a couple of deep breaths. You’re going to wear cow print for your partner. It’s not much different, you reason, from asking him to graze his knife over your skin while he watches TV. It’s not not his thing. And this isn’t exactly your thing. But you love each other. So you’ll do this thing, because his enjoyment can be yours.

Yeah.

  -

  By the end of dinner, you’re much deeper into a submissive headspace than you ever expected to be. You’re so aware of the urge to talk and the fact that you can’t. It’s a constant cue to look to Simon. More than once, you almost slip up. The words catch in your throat and you have to pivot to a lowing sound, a drawn out vowel that leaves you feeling helpless as he smiles and pets at your hand. You expect it to be maddening, but it’s not. Simon anticipates your needs so well that there’s nothing you need that he doesn’t already provide for you. All you can do is shiver at the way he gives you everything, touches you everywhere.

By the time you’re in the car home, you’re a mess. You can’t sit still, find yourself staring at the side of Simon’s face as he drives. You’re startled when he looks back at you at a red light. He reaches out and you lean in, then jump when he pinches your nipple just hard enough to make you gasp. He watches your face as he pets and plucks, chuckles as you pant and groan and moo.

When the light is green again, he stops. You’re very aware of your right breast.

At the next red, he says, “Give me the other one.”

You do.

“Sweet, pretty girl,” he praises as he tugs at you again. He hums, pleased, as you arch your back. His eyes are dark when he says, “Not wearin’ what I gave you. C’n se y’r nipples beggin’ for attention.

When you look down at yourself, heat flushes through you from your crown to your toes. He’s right, the thin bralette that you’d chosen does nothing to hide you body’s reaction to being teased. And the dress he’d picked for you was already tight around your chest…

The light turns green. You moan as he releases you and turns back to the road.

“What’re you wearin’?” He asks. When you look at him, he’s smirking. “Tell me. Wha’s my pretty girl got under her dress?”

You open your mouth, and your voice sticks. “…Moo?”

“Oh, tha’ sounds nice,” he chuckles. He takes your hand in his. “Lookin’ forward to seein’ it.”

Your thoughts and legs stumble into themselves when you finally walk through your front door. Simon doesn’t let you get far. He catches you around the neck with a big hand and brings you close for a kiss. As soon as the door is shut, his hands make their way to the back of your dress. He unzips and then guides the soft material down until it’s past your hips, and drops down to your feet.

When he pulls away to look at you, his breath catches, and his whole body goes still. You’re so caught in the way his pupils dilate that it takes you a moment to remember the bralette, the panties, the garter belt. The cow print feels like an exaggeration of itself, when you look down at your own breasts. You vaguely remember feeling silly, when you’d put them on, but you don’t remember why. Simon’s eyes are so hot when he looks at you, you can’t help but preen a bit.

“Thought you was jokin,” Simon murmurs, cupping one of your breasts in his hand. His other hand cradles your jaw and makes you look up at him when he pinches your nipple again. His thumb dips into your mouth when you gasp. “But my sweet girl don’t lie to me. An’ she’s always show ready, huh? My sweet, soft girl,” Simon murmurs, going to one knee. He takes one of your hands and kisses your knuckles before placing it on his shoulder. Then he gently lifts your calf to take one of your shoes, then the other as he says, “Not a worry in the world, an’ you still give me so much.”

Even kneeling at your feet, he takes your breath away. His hands smooth up your stockings until he can dip his fingers under the straps of your garters, then he groans. You groan with him. You never know what to do with yourself when he gets like this. Hungry. Reverent on his knees. With a sigh, you close your eyes. You don’t need to know what to do, because he does. The gravity of him makes you sway forward as he leans forward to kiss just above your belly button.

You must signal your mental shift, because Simon stands and lifts you into his arms in the same movement. He kisses your lips like he’s starving. And you try to meet him, try to put everything you haven’t been able to say into the drag of your lips against his.

I love you. Thank you. I love you, I love you, I love you.

You expect him to be rough with you, heavy handed. But Simon is gentle as he touches you all over. When he lays you on the bed, instead of diving into your chest, he keeps kissing your mouth, your neck, down to your shoulder. You can’t stifle a giggle as he sucks kisses into your bicep and down to your forearm.

“Fuck,” he growls. He takes a hold of your hips and gives you a little shake. “You’re so perfect. ‘Ips ‘n thighs ‘n this arse. So strong and still so soft for me.” He dips down to press a kiss to your hip, even as one of his hands starts pinching at your nipple through your bralette again. “Eatin’ good and’ workin’ out ‘n sleepin’ better. Gonna let me give you that life of leisure? No more workin’, pretty girl. Just whatever feels good, whatever makes you ‘appy an’ soft, whatever I c’n give you.”

You try to gasp something that might be “yes” or “please,” but it turns into another drawn out moan. It doesn’t really matter, because Simon flips you onto your hands and knees so fast that your head spins. You almost fall over, but he catches you.

“Sorry sweet girl,” he chuckles. “But you’ve got me so caught up. ‘M gonna take care of you, don’t worry. Just so pretty - distractin’ me.”

Then he’s kissing across your shoulders, then makes his way down to your hipbones. You moan and sigh as his hands grope at you. His hands squeeze at your breasts, then your belly, your thighs, back to your ass. When he bites you, you yelp and groan, arching away from his teeth and into the hands.

“Shh, pretty girl,” he hushes. “’M sorry, I’ll give you what you need. Easy, tha’s it.”

You’re surprised into a gasp by his fingers rubbing gently over your clit through your panties. His other hand eases your back down - from cat to cow, you giggle to yourself - with another shushing sound. The tension bleeds out of your spine at the sound. Simon’s got you, he’s going to take care of you.

“There you go,” Simon rumbles as you drop your head between your arms. He strokes a hand down your back as his other hand gives you just a hint more pressure. “Is that better? Feel nice an’ relaxed?”

You’re feeling less relaxed by the second. Simon knows how to touch you if he wants you to melt. This? Is not that. He’s giving you just enough to tease, to make you instinctively chase his fingers. You shake your head and whimper, shuffling your knees knees further apart and arching your back again. You don’t even try to swallow a grunt of frustration when nothing you do makes him speed up or give you more pleasure.

“Hm?” He presses his lips against your hip as he asks, “Wha’s wrong, pretty girl? You need something?”

You open your mouth to beg, then remember that you can’t say anything. This motherfucker. When you tilt your body to glare at him, his eyes are sparkling with mirth. It’s hard not to smile back, to hold your frown long enough to let him know that you know what he’s doing.

But as usual, he’s a step ahead of you. As soon as you open your mouth to moo sarcastically, he slips a finger under your panties and into you, just as his other hand shoves the bra out of the way to pinch your nipple.

“So wet,” Simon whispers against your cheek. “Took care of everything else today, but you still need more, don’t you? Greedy girl.”

You are wet, have been since before he plucked at your nipples in the car. Since dinner, when he’d explained the cut of his steak, why he liked it. Since he paused and visibly considered what he couldn’t see you wearing. Since he’d looked at you with so much hunger that you’d had to take a sip of your water to gather yourself. You couldn’t say anything, then, by his direction and your own body’s need. You couldn’t make any sound at all, had practically ground your teeth together so you wouldn’t moan like a whore at the table.

Your jaw isn’t clenched now. The sound you make as two thick fingers push in is exactly as obscene as you imagined it would be. They press into you exactly where you want it as his other hand sends sparks through your chest and down your spine. Simon echoes you, breath hot against your face. You can’t keep yourself from chasing his lips with yours.

“Yeah,” he pants between biting kisses. He growls when you rock back into his fingers, and pinches your nipple until you gasp. “Settle, Bambi, ‘m gonna take care o’ you.”

His words melt you. Even as he ratchets your body into more tension, you believe him, and the promise alone is nearly a relief. When he pulls his fingers free, you don’t even think to protest. All you can do is hang your head between your arms and try to catch your breath. Something like a sob scrapes it’s way from your throat when he pushes back in with three.

The sound of Simon undoing his belt makes you tip your hips back and up, automatic. He groans again, deep in his throat, and slaps the meat of your ass. The sharp sting of it reminds you to be almost embarrassed, and you drop to your elbows to bury your face in the bedding.

“There you go,” Simon grunts as he lines himself up. He pushes in slow, so slow, as you pant and writhe and make animal sounds. One of his huge hands comes down to grip the back of your neck as he grunts and shoves deeper. “There’s my sweet girl. Shouldn’t’a kept you waiting. You can take it now, tha’s it.” He leans down, pushing just that little bit deeper as he plucks at your nipple again. He growls against your shoulder, “Gonna do this every day, yeah? Quit your job so I c’n keep you soft like this all the time. Breed you up proper, bet y’re gonna taste so sweet when your milk comes, when it’s all y’ve got to do, just a life of milk ‘n honey.”

You almost can’t make out what he’s saying over the sound of your own noises and the wet sounds of him pushing in and out of you. The fireworks up and down your spine have you writhing back into his thrusts. You can tell he’s rambling, that he’s so lost in your bodies that he’s losing control of his mouth. A change in angle has you crying out again, every nerve on fire as he pushes into you just right. The orgasm that had been building steadily rushes over you. It’s impossible to stop, shakes through your limbs until you collapse onto your chest under him.

“Tha’s it,” Simon hisses, pace steady and devastating as he chases you down to the mattress. “This what you need? Need t’ be bred an’ fucked ‘til you can’t think of nothin’ else? Yeah, tha’s what you need. Gonna make you come on my cock again, fill you up the way you like. Then I’ll hook you up, huh? Can’t leave you wantin’ jus ‘cause I need a break. C’n put a pump at each o’ your tits an’ keep fuckin’ you with a machine, too, ‘til I’m ready to go again, yeah?

Jesus, you think, giggling under him. Your pussy flutters as he gasps something else you can’t quite make out over the rushing in your ears. He wants to ruin you. You want him to, to do all of these things he’s growling about. The thought that he might is thrilling and terrifying, that after he comes and breeds you full he could go to the closet and pull out the machine and the dildo you bought for when he’s deployed to keep fucking you…

Your stomach swoops as you get caught up in your own fantasy. He doesn’t have to stop. You’d be too weak to fight him. And if he tied you up, bound you where he wants to keep you, he could do whatever he wants. Did he actually have a pump, something to pull at your nipples while he watched across the room? Would this be the time he finally surprises you with something you hadn’t quite negotiated? He could, he could, you’d let him, you’d beg-

“Simon!”

The second orgasm hurts. It hits so fast and hard on the heels of the first. You can vaguely feel the wetness running down your thighs as you squirt, legs shaking. Above you, Simon goes abruptly silent as he comes, breath coming out in barely-there grunts as his cock kicks and twitches inside of you.

All of the air huffs out of your lungs as he partially collapses on you. Another giggle stutters out of you. It turns into a moan as he guides your legs down and open so he can grind into you some more until you’re prone. His own gentle chuckle tickles your ear.

“Fuckin’ ell,” he pants. The arm that’s braced to keep his weight off of you shakes a bit. “Gimme… fuck, gimme a minute. ‘Ll get up in a mo’.”

“Mmm,” you hum, kissing at his wrist. You tip your head back to grin up at him. “Moo.”

He crushes you a bit when his laughter makes him fall, but you can’t even pretend to be upset.

[episodes-ff]

Aftershock

Terry

Sitting up against the wall as I stared across at the door to our room, I waited in peril prepared to explain myself and apologize to Anaya. What I did was beyond the pail of disrespect and I want the chance to express how extremely disappointed I am in myself. Rubbing my eyes as I fought sleep for the umpteenth time to endure her wrath, I looked outside and watched the sun rising with the morning breeze. Hearing the door to the bedroom creaking open, I connected with her beautiful, red puffy eyes and watched as she and Maya exited the door. "Ny, ple-" Shoving her hand up, she angrily stormed past me into the kitchen to prepare some food for Maya as I blew a frustrated breath and shook my head. Taking a whiff of myself, I shuddered at the must entering my nose before going into the room to shower.

Finishing the much needed shower, I changed into a quick t-shirt and sweats before hurrying down to the kitchen. Halting in my steps as I spotted my mom and dad sipping their morning coffee as Anaya fed baby girl, I swallowed the major lump in my throat. "Good morning, everybody. Um, Anaya, can I speak with you for a moment?" "No need, your family is waiting on you in the living room." She spat viciously as she let out a vile chuckle and handed Maya to my dad; storming past me, she made sure to bump me hard on the way up. Knitting my brows in confusion, I glanced over to the living room to see Bree and I's son, Trey perched quietly on the couch on his tablet. "Anaya, wait!"

Running up the stairs behind her, I made it to the bedroom to see her sitting on the bed in tears. Dropping to my knees in front of her, I gently removed her hands from her face as she whined feebly trying to shove me away. "Get the fuck off of me, Terrence! You make me sick! Move!" "Please just let me explain, Naya." "Why?! Why would I want to sit here and listen to you talk about fucking this bitch and getting her pregnant? Cheating on me and disgracing our marriage? Hiding it from me for two years? Why are you trying to put me through this trauma?!" She ranted sobbing.

Lowering my head in her lap, I shook my head wrapping my arms around her waist. "There's no amount of words I can say to express how fucking sorry I am, baby." "You're not sorry, Terry. And you don't love me. This?! This isn't love, not in the slightest." "It's the worst mistake I've ever made, and I'm so ashamed that I ever hurt you like this. I know you don't want my word, but you have my actions that I will make this right." I pleaded crying as she hiccuped holding her face. "Your actions have done enough, I just need to be away from you right now, Terry. This all just hurts too much." Nodding as my heart shattered, I kissed her forehead gently before making my way back down to tend to the kids.

Anaya

After recovering my nerves and feelings, I took a relaxing enough shower and got dressed. Pulling my phone and wallet along with my purse, I slowly made my way back to the kitchen. "Oh, you look pretty dear. Where are you headed?" Miss Teresa asked as Terry looked up from holding Maya to stare at me. "Thank you, Mama. I just need to clear my head for a little while. I'll be back." "Understandable, sweetheart. Take your time." Nodding, I hugged her close before grabbing the rental keys and leaving the house. Sitting in the car for a little while as it warmed from the winter chill, I sighed before turning off my location and driving off.

Finally making it to the cemetery, I grabbed the fresh poinsettias as I trekked through to my desired spot. Making contact with her headstone, I set the plant down and thought of what to say. "Merry Christmas, Mommy. I know you would be so proud of your grandbaby right now. She's so smart and bright, reminds me a lot of you. She definitely has your personality." I smiled reminiscing on Maya's sassy side before I felt my emotions kicking in. "Mommy, please! Help me through this pain! I don't know how much more I can take. It just hurts so much." I cried thinking on all this drama. "Anaya?" Looking up, I wiped my tears as my gaze met with his. "Hi, Eric." I said addressing Terry's best friend as he smiled. "Well I'll be damned. When did y'all get into town?" "Um, we got in yesterday." "That's wassup, that's wassup! Where's my godbaby with her adorable little smile? I be seeing her here and there on FaceTime." "With her bitch ass father." I accidentally spat with venom as he looked up confused.

"You good?" He asked concerned as I nodded. "Uh, yea, my bad. It's just a lot happening right now." "Hey, it's no biggie. Everything ok with you and Tee?" "No comment right now." "My fault my fault, well I know y'all will get through whatever is going on. That man loves you to death as do you." He added making me scoff quietly. "Yea, well I'll see you around, E. I'll have him FaceTime you with Maya later so you can see her now." "That's a bet, thank you. You be safe, now." "You as well." Parting ways, I shook my head before finishing my conversation with my mom and heading to the car. Feeling a bit of hunger kick in, I groaned stopping at the store to get a light snack. I haven't even been able to hold down any food because of all this stress, and my appetite has been gone since I saw that bitch standing in the foyer with that little boy.

Shaking my head as I held back my evil thoughts, I strolled the aisles in a hurry for a snack when I ran into a hard figure. "Ohhh shit, my bad. I didn't even- Wait a minute?" The handsome voice soothed before helping me up. Dusting myself off, I looked up and smiled seeing him standing in the flesh. "Rome?" "Yeaaaaa, Anaya right?" "Yea." I blushed as he kissed my hand. "You know, I was waiting on that call but it never came. What have you been up to?" "Uhhh, well, I became a mommy and wife, and we moved to Miami." "Ahhh damn. I knew you weren't gonna stay free for long. Who's the lucky guy?" "I'm not sure if you remember Terrence." "Wait, that belligerent knucklehead from the club?" He asked as I sheepishly nodded. "Yea, going on five years married, seven in a relationship." I admitted flashing my ring. "I guess you like what you like." He casted shaking his head as I nodded. "Well, I guess that's my cue. It was nice seeing you again, beautiful." "It doesn't have to be a goodbye." I perked up reaching forward. "May I?" I asked at his shocked but smug gaze. "Go ahead." Smirking, I smoothly pulled his phone from his pocket and typed my phone number before sliding it back in his hand. "Call me sometime." "Most definitely."

****

Walking into the dark house, I set my purse on the kitchen table before reaching into the refrigerator to grab a water. "I know you're there, what the fuck do you need?" I sighed turning to face what I knew was him on the adjacent love seat. Finally flickering the lamp, he leaned forward into his lap as I watched him wiping more tears from his tired face. "Can we please just talk, Anaya? Why did you turn off your location?" "Don't worry about that. Where is Maya?" "Anaya." "Where the fuck is my child, Terrence?" Scoffing, he shook his head. "She's at the Christmas parade with my parents." "And your son?" "She came and got him before my parents left. Anaya please? Can we talk?" "I have nothing to say to you unless it pertains to my fucking child." I chuckled bitterly. "She's not just yours, Anaya." "Oh trust me, I know. Thank you for your services, soldier." I spat giving him a round of applause.

"Stop doing that." He gritted standing up. "Doing what? Acknowledging you in your truth?! We get it, Terry. It was a funky ass 'mistake' and you're oh so damn sorry. What the fuck am I supposed to do with that information, huh?! You still cheated, with Bree of all fucking people. And a fucking child is here as a result, has been for three years now." "Anaya!" "NO! You're done talking and frankly, so the fuck am I! I'm filing for separation in the morning." "WHAT?! Baby, no!" He shook walking over but I stopped him in his tracks. "Don't even. You've made it plain that I'm not your baby. We not about to sit up and continue to treat you like you're such a loving, doting husband when you obviously don't want to be one. I'm not discussing this shit anymore with you, Terry. You've crossed one too many lines, and I'll be damned if you cross me again. I'm filing in the morning and that's it, end of discussion." I clarified as he fell to his knees.

Tags: @violetmuses @theereina @kaylaahisthebestest- @mymindisneverhere @simpledopeme @believeinthefireflies95 @brisunique @madxlov3 @casualsludgeshoetoad @mauvecherie-writes @nahimjustfeelingit-writes @kumkaniudaku @geneziesm @megamindsecretlair @goldenjasssy @vivaalenaa @playgurlxoxo @ghettogirly @ranikyani @luuvprincess @perfectlyimperfectme @tbmotw @comfortzonequeen @melanin-honeyy @qdancer22 @strawberrymoon45 @luckygirlszn @kindofaintrovert @secretlifeoofmarpessa @cmbmjbfan @summwerella @ihateyallniggas @rebelrel0987 @cheracherachera @bhristpher @cocooned-butterfly @theblessedcap @deijalee @catha2003 @magik22 @sweettea-and-honeybutter @pinkbuzzlightyrrr @kimuzostar @j0joworld @justicefordeanthomas @liv10002 @withoutmusiclifewouldbflat @brattyfics @pocketsizedpanther

[nicromancytarot]

Back at the start of October I became educated on the Palestinian genocide and advocated for those in Palestine on various platforms of mine. I do not feel comfortable with my silence on this account as I have a fair amount of traction here. So here is my 4000 word document on the conflict in Gaza, it has educating history and information, as well as updates.

There is a fair amount of information missed out due to losing my password to the account this was posted on, but I plan on getting back to updating it as soon as possible!

——————————————

FIRSTLY - PLEASE TAKE YOUR TIME TO SHARE OR DONATE TO THESE GOFUNDME’S SO WE CAN GET THESE PEOPLE TO SAFETY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

Mahmoud and his family

Dana and her family

4 year old Naya and her family

Samah’s family

Hasan and his family

Haneen’s family

Young Omar and his family

Mosab’s treatment

Student Khaled and his family

Ahmed and his family

Bisan and her family

Mariam and her family

Help baby Omar

Dr Saber and his family

Ashraf and his family

Mohammed and Shelly the tortoise

Misk and Ahmed

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In 1947 the United Nations recommended the partition of Palestine and separation of Jewish and Arab states.

This meant that they would be giving away the Palestinian land and giving part of it to the Jewish (now mainly Israeli)and part to Arab (mainly Palestinian) people.

In 1948, Britain (who were in occupation and control of Palestine) finally gave the land up and departed back to England, leaving the Jews and Arabs to fight out who was going to get the land – this turned into the war that we know to have been the ethnic cleansing of Palestine by the Israeli government.

since that day, Israel (as it came to be) have been taking over more and more land, by doing so, they are killing, capturing and torturing the innocent Palestinian civilians.

This has been going on for 75+ years, and the media refuses to allow us to speak about it.

Hamas is an extremist group fighting for liberation of their land,we have to take note that Hamas wouldn't be doing what they are doing now had the Israeli government not taken over the Palestinian land.

80 years ago Israel did not exist, Palestine was where Israel now stands. Innocent Palestinians have been captured, killed and put into concentration camps which live on the Israeli land. Yet the media never talks about it.

Even if this is a supposed war against Hamas, Hamas does not represent the entirety of Palestine.

With what is happening in Israel right now innocent Palestinians are being murdered once again, yet the media is refusing to talk about it.

The Israeli government have shut off water supply to Gaza (home to 2,000,000 Palestinians, half of those being children) and have started launching white phosphorus, a harmful chemical that can cause burns and even death, due to injury and illness.

recently Israel has mentioned that they are going to bring Gaza to the ground, every building will be nothing but rubble by the end of it.

Israeli government had recently given Palestinians the opportunity to leave to Egypt for a safe passage, letting the citizens know which paths were safe and which were not, the Palestinians loaded themselves onto open trucks, so the planes belonging the the Israeli government could see them and know that they are innocent. Isreal bombed the trucks and the passage. Killing many, including children.

They warned Palestinians in Gaza to head to South Gaza so they could bomb the north, many evacuating to the South. Israel bombed the South, killing even more.

And then continued to bomb ambulances those in need of medical assistance were in.

Israeli propaganda is trying to make us believe that these are mere defence tactics, yet the majority of us can see that this is just another ethnic cleanse in the form of self defence. Israeli government is trying to get rid of everything and everyone from the land, which will no doubt become Israel in the near future if their "defence mechanisms" go to plan.

The media is trying to convince you that Israel is in the right by starting the war and fighting back, since "Hamas started it."

But the 7 decades worth of oppression of Palestine in the hands of the Israeli government says otherwise.

Israel has one of the most progressive militaries in the world (declared in 1967 during the Jerusalem massacre) meanwhile also receiving guns from the US, which are illegal in Gaza.) But Palestinians have nothing, only the rocks and stones from their blown up homes.

It's not a war if it's not a fair fight.

They want you to see Palestine as an enemy that they must eliminate, but once again – this is just Israeli propaganda.

standing with Palestine does not mean you support terrorism, it means you support resistance and liberation. Standing with Israel means that you support the mass-murder, genocide, torture and ethnic cleansing of Palestine and Palestinians.

For every city in Israel is a concentration camp home to thousands of Palestinians.

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Israeli forces have killed 2750 Palestinians in the recent attacks, 1030 of those are assumed to be children.

Israeli forces air-struck a supposed Hamas base inside of Gaza hospital Al-Ahli, 800 Palestinians were killed in the attack.

Israeli human rights activist against antisemitism Hananaya Naftalí was seen posting to twitter reporting on Al-Ahli, in his first post he was seen to say "BREAKING: Israeli Air Force struck at Hamas terrorist base inside hospital in Gaza."

He then deleted that tweet after backlash and reposted a new one saying "The mysterious explosions in Gaza." "Hamas blames Israel for this. I believe it is either a failed rocket that hit the hospital or something that was done on purpose in order to get international support."

check out @/aquilahel on tiktok for the tweets.

For anyone who thinks that this is just a two sided issue, I will tell you why it is not.

6 year old boy Wadea Al-Fayoumi was stabbed and killed by his landlord in Plainfield, Illinois for being Palestinian and Muslim. The 71 year old landlord Joseph Czuba forced his way into the house when Wadea and his mother were home, stabbing the mother once, she managed to hide from him and waited until he left. After he left she came out to find her son stabbed 26 times. Joseph was found sat outside the apartment complex by police.

This is not just an issue for Israel and Palestine, this is affecting Palestinians and Muslims all around the globe.

We have received some good news, the president of Columbia Gustavo Petro has stated he "does not support genocide" and has sent humanitarian aid to Gaza.

We have also been notified that "ground operation" (Israeli forces operation to leave Gaza on the ground) has been posponed due to "weather disturbances", with further investigation we can see that the date it is set to happen on has clear weather and no disturbances, yet we have seen that Columbia's Gustavo Petro announcing he doesn't support genocide and sending help to Gaza has caused Israeli forces to pospone the operation due to the lack of support from a member of the United Nations.

Our voices really do make a difference.

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Israeli forces have bombed a 2000 year old orthodox church in Gaza where groups of people who had either evacuated or had to leave their homes were seeking refuge. It was reported that 18 Palestinian-Christians were killed, and 18 more injured.

The united nations had a meeting to discuss the plans for the Israeli attack on Gaza. They were asked whether or not humanitarian aid should be let into Gaza.

IN FAVOUR FOR HUMANITARIAN AID (6)

Brazil, China, Gabon, Mozambique, Russian Federation, United Arab Emirates

AGAINST HUMANITARIAN AID (1)

United States

8 abstentions (refusing to vote), leading to the failure of adopting a solution for humanitarian aid.

The United Nations held another meeting to discuss the possibility of a creasefire on Gaza, the results are as shown.

IN FAVOUR FOR CEASEFIRE (5)

China, Gabon, Mozambique, Russia, United Arab Emirates

AGAINST CEASEFIRE (4)

France, Japan, United Kingdom, United States

ABSTAINED (6)

Albania, Brazil, Ecuador, Ghana, Malta, Switzerland

Currently there are no updates on whether a solution has been put together.

Scottish Priminister Humza Yousaf has called for ceasefire on Gaza, and has said that Scotland is willing to take Gazan refugees.

Multiple countries have given humanitarian aid to Gaza, but it is all in trucks at the border, which is closed. The border between Gaza and Egypt was supposed to be opened by Israeli forces on Monday 16th October,

Saturday 21st October Israeli forces have opened the gate, letting in only 20 trucks, this will not be enough to sustain and aid 2 million people and they know this.

Total statistics from Thursday 19th October:

At least 3,785 Palestinians have been killed and 12,493 wounded in Israeli strikes in Gaza since October 7th.

Jewish-American conservative talk show host Ben Shapiro posted a picture of a "burnt Jewish baby" claiming that it is one from the Hamas-Israel attack. He posted this photo to twitter after receiving backlash from "Jew haters" (as he called them) who did not believe that any babies had been harmed by Hamas. (as there is no real proof of any individual attacks by Hamas.)

The picture has since been proven to be artificially generated.

Shapiro only 19 hours ago took to the internet to tell everyone how "America will avert world war three." Talking on the Palestine-Israel situation. (It's more likely America will cause world war three than avert it, Ben.)

UPDATED DEATH TOLL: 4,385 killed. 1,756 assumed to be children. 967 assumed to be women.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Israel has sent a warning out to hospital in Gaza Al-Quds, telling the people seeking refuge in there to evacuate so they can blow it up.

They have been bombing around the hospital for the last few days and now plan on taking it down completely.

12,000 people are there right now, it is their only place of shelter and safety, there are medical staff treating patients in need of medical aid, and the doctors refuse to leave.

this is inhumane, they are going to kill 12,000 people and this will not stop until gaza and palestine is wiped out completely.

So many babies and young children are there with their families. If you care about the hypothetical babies in the Hamas-Israel attack, you NEED to care about these.

We should not have to tell you that innocent babies and children are being killed for you to listen and realise that this is terrorism.

Do not listen when they tell you Hamas did it.

United States has donated $100 billion to Israel, backing this current attack and the many more to come.

United Kingdom's priminister Rishi Sunak has stated that the UK "stands with israel" and "are friends with Israel", and that he wants Israel "to win." (We do not stand with Israel, our stupid priminister does.)

There is no winner to a war that has more death than solution.

And there is no war if the other side cannot and does not fight back.

Gazan children are having to write their names on their hands to ensure that they can be identified after death. No child should be having to think or worry about death, let alone go through it.

This is genocide.

This is mass-murder.

This is terrorism.

This is dehumanisation.

This will not stop until Gaza and Palestine as a whole are nothing but Israeli land.

But we will not stay silent about this.

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UPDATES: 24th October

23 reported masacres in the last hours of the 16th day of attacks, which caused a current total of 436 deaths, 182 of those were reported to have been children. These people were mainly from the South of Gaza, the place Gazans were told to relocate to by Israeli forces as it would be "safer."

TOTAL NUMBER OF VICTIMS:

5087 killed,

2055 children,

1119 women,

217 elderly,

a total of 15,273 injuries and 1,500 people including 830 kids have been reported missing under the rubble.

Severe burn injuries are being seen across Gaza, some including melting skin which they have never seen before, and in which is being proved hard to treat with the limited resources they have.

12 hospitals and 32 healthcare centres are unavailable due to targeting and lack of fuel.

Hospitals that are available have reached mass capacity and the medical teams are struggling to help those injured due to the lack of recourses and fuel.

130 premature babies lives are at risk, these babies are in incubators which run off of electricity, when Israel shuts this off (which they have been doing a lot recently) these babies will die as they will have no way to breathe and will therefore suffocate, if they can breathe on their own, loss of electrical function will cause the thermal system to fail and therefore the babies will die of hypothermia.

Day 16 was reported to have been the worst bombing Gaza has seen since the beginning (7th of October.)

The night sky was lit up red by Israeli bomb lights. (After having been a complete blackout at night since the 7th.)

This is only the reports for today, this is only going to get worse. As it is going, we unfortunately believe that this "war" will not stop until Gaza and the west bank are erased from the land completely.

Please keep talking about this, make posts, tell friends and family. Be Palestine's voice in a time when they cannot use theirs.

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UPDATES: 26th October

Hospitals have made it to their full capacity and are now being reported as reaching their "total collapse" as result of the israeli airstrikes.

People in need of medical aid are being treated with whatever is left, patients are having to be seen to while laying on the ground and having their wounds and injuries seen to while under no anestesia.

Since October 7th: 5,791 people, including 65 medical staff, 2,360 children, 1,292 women and 295 elders have been killed, with 16,297 injuries. This only accounts for the ones that have been found and identified.

It has been said by the ministry spokesman, Ashraf al-Qudra that "children, women and elderly make up around 70% of the victims."

But that does not mean we disregard for the 30% of the Gazan men, and the rest of them that are working hard to find and help people in need, I unfortunately keep seeing men unaccounted for in these attacks due to fear and stereotypes. They deserve our attention too.

16 year old Muslim girl on a train in New York was attacked and discriminated against due to her religious beliefs.

When heading to Union square the girl sat down on the train, a man sitting next to her. The unidentified individual then told her "you're a terrorist, you don't belong here." Before pulling on her hijab.

The man ran away after another passenger intervened and tried to help.

There have been no arrests made at this time.

This is the impact of what is going on around the world. For so incredibly long Muslims and Arabs have had to fight the stereotypes that the Western media has written for them. May I remind you that no one person fits into a group of stereotypical values. No matter what ones religion or culture is, they are an individual with achievements, goals and dreams. Stop trying to generalise a group of people because you don't like what they stand for. It's pathetic.

I ask you to step away from Western media, when you come across it, ask yourself "what do they want me to think and what are they hiding from me?" Make your own judgments by doing your own research, do not follow the rest.

Accounts on various media platforms are being deleted for talking out about what is going on in Palestine and Gaza,

Instagram account "eye.on.palestine", one of the biggest Palestine news update accounts was recently deleted, luckily it is said to be restored soon enough.

But not all pages will have that outcome, they are trying to silence us because we know the truth.

So keep talking.

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UPDATES: 27th October

Death toll in gaza reaches 6,747

Biden has stated he has "no notion if palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are killed" genocidal denialism at its best, not only that - he is straight up stating that their lives are much less valuable than anyone else's.

Palestinan officials have sent him a 212 page document on all the names, age, sex and official identification number in response.

281 of them are missing information as they have not identified them yet.

Schools in the West bank have been bombed by Israeli forces, once again - Hamas doesn't exist there, I beg you to tell me the reason to kill and scare innocent people, especially children.

Do not turn your back to the children of Palestine and then complain to me about the hypothetical children killed in Israel by Hamas.

Hamas have released some of their hostages, the hostages that were interviewed have stated that they were treated well and ate the same food as Hamas did, and received medical attention. They were kind to them and caused them no harm. It is reported that the current hostages released (at least a few of them) were given back due to needing medical aid that can only be given to them outside of Gaza.

I would also like to add, for the people who think they are hero's for speaking out about this issue, please shut up. The majority of the time this is white savour complex and I am tired. You are not a hero for doing the one thing you should be doing. Well done for doing it, but it doesn't mean you should be praised.

Also please stay respectful about what you post about Palestine, edits of the war are strange and using the genocide to promote your music is even weirder.

Stay safe out there.

Also for anyone who does not believe that Israel is the problem, I ask you to look into the issues with the West-bank Palestine, and how Israeli forces treat the people who live there even without Hamas (Whom are supposed to be the reason for this "war", right?)

Watch Joe Rogan's podcast interview with journalist Abby Martin, who talks about the month she spent in the West-bank, it's highly educational.

If you are Palestinian or Muslim, please stay safe and take care of yourself.

———————————————

EVERY CEASEFIRE NEGOTIATION SINCE OCTOBER 7TH 2023

October 9th, Hamas offered Israel an unspecified number of women and children to be released from gaza, in exchange of 36 Palestinian prisoners held captive in Israel. Israel denied.

October 16th, Hamas says they'd release all hostages in exchange for 6000 Palestinian captives. Israel denied.

October 17th, Hamas said they'd release all Israeli hostages if Israel stopped bombing gaza. Israel denied.

October 28th, all hostages for all Palestinian captives. Israel denied.

November 17th, all Israeli hostages for a 3 day ceasefire. Israel denied.

January 2nd, Hamas would release 40 hostages in order for Israel's gradual 3 day withdrawal from gaza, on the last day Israel would stop the war and give back all Palestinian captives. Israel denied.

January 22nd, Hamas would be in leadership of gaza, they would release all hostages in exchange for all Palestinian captives and the end of the war. Israel denied.

February 7th, all hostages from both sides and the end to the war. Israel denied.

March 15th, Hamas would release all elderly, children, women and sick captives held in gaza in exchange of 700-1000 Palestinian captives being held in Israel. Israel denied.

May 7th, Hamas offers all female hostages for 50 Palestinian hostages and an 11 day ceasefire before Israel finally dismantles all military structure from gaza and allows gaza to begin reconstruction. Israel denied.

it's never been about the hostages, Israel could've got them out 7 months ago if they really cared about them, they are a tool being weaponised to mask ethnic cleansing.

IMPORTANT MESSAGE REGARDING CELEBRITIES, INFLUENCERS AND EDUCATION

I am so sick of people saying they are not educated enough to speak about this. 7 months. SEVEN FUCKING MONTHS. I cannot be nice about this anymore, I am tired, Palestine is tired, GAZA IS TIRED, we are all so fucking tired of this performative bullshit that everyone is spewing. I am so so sick of hearing that people cannot boycott Starbucks, that Mcdonald's is too good to stop eating, that Disney is important to them. SHUT THE FUCK UP. People are dying, they are being brutally murdered and you are crying about your fucking coffee??? GROW UP!!! This is life, you either grow with it or you don't. No one is asking you to sell your kidney for Palestine, but most of us would do it in a heartbeat.

For the celebrities and influencers, do not complain about not knowing enough when you've had 7 months to learn it, I was reciting "in 1947 the United Nations requested partition and separation of the Jewish and Arab states" in my dreams dude, I literally had a dream last week where someone offered me a Starbucks and I stood up shouting "BOYCOTT". This is what should be happening to everyone, it should be so drilled into your head that you think about it every waking moment. So trying to sit there and complain about your lack of understanding and education is a bunch of bullshit. Why be an influencer if you cannot influence??? 7 months to pick up a book, to listen to Palestinians who explain it to us for free on social media, to watch videos.

I saw a picture of a baby the other day, unlike normal I wasn't prepared for this, it wasn't censored and I had just woke up, it was on my Instagram feed, a young girl, not old enough to walk, I doubt she could even crawl, a small bow in her hair, a onesie, her ears pierced. A baby, someone's child, someone's entire life. half of her face and body was skinned, you could see her organs. While this baby was murdered in cold blood, Israeli's gathered at the Rafah border to celebrate the ground invasion. WHILE THIS CHILD WAS MURDERED.

If you are not angry, why the hell not? Our people are being killed, we may not be Palestinian, but we are all connected by humanity. So where is it when it comes to them? Why kill the people who cannot even fight back????

That land is not yours, it will never be yours. No matter what your bible says, God would never make you exchange a soul for soil.

————————————————

30TH MAY 2024

I struggle to find the right words when I write this, and this is now my third attempt. It is great to see people advocating for Gaza now after having seen the pictures, videos and media coming from Rafah. However I cannot hide my anger when it comes to the way people have done this. Posting an AI image which does not convey the atrocious actions Israel has and still is carrying out on Gaza and Palestine as a whole on your timeline on whatever social media you have, is peak performative activism. It is unfortunate that people have utilised this time now to post something so out of touch while we have actual images from Gaza relaying the terror, we have videos and quotes you can use, why share an AI image when you have gofundme's and families who you can advocate for during this time?

Another thing I would like to mention are the videos now coming out with people chanting for a ceasefire, but saying that it's "never too late". I will not reprimand you for not educating yourself on this situation prior, and I will say now that it is great that you are getting involved and helping out the best you can by spreading the message. However while you do this, please remember that for the last 8 months while evidence from Palestine has been circulating social media, you were turning away and swiping past - and therefore are complicit in genocide. Acknowledge your mistakes and ignorance while educating yourself and others going forward.

The more people involved, the more people we save. But it will not bring back 40,000 people who did not have to be killed.

And do not promote or hype up Piers Morgan, he is one of the main advocators for the genocide on Gaza since the 7th of October and the main reason people in the UK feel so comfortable with their hatred towards Palestinians and Pro-Palestinians. And still now he is on the wrong side of history when saying "Israel has the right to defend itself" - that proves that he knows nothing of the conflict even while he asks for a ceasefire.

————————————————

5th June 2024

I just saw a video of the IDF running over an already dead, or injured man with a bulldozer, they crushed his body. In the video you can see the soliders redirecting the vehicle to ensure the man is fully under. Whether that man was dead or not, will forever fail to take away the just reason of crushing his body under a bulldozer weighing approximately 62 tonnes. He was not a Hamas responder, he was a civilian wearing normal civilian clothing. He was someone’s someone, a crucial part of a family, a connection, and that was all taken away from him. I do not know what will be left of his remains, however I fear for his loved ones and for what parts of him they will find. He will not get a proper burial. His family may not even recognise him if or when they manage to find him. His life was stolen for the sake of land, land that belonged to him.

May his sweet soul rest in peace, and those of justice deal with the hardly-human soliders that killed him.

————————————————

12TH AUGUST 2024

Surviving family members of those killed in Gaza are being given liquidated body parts of unidentified bodies weighing the age of the victim they mention because there are no full bodies found in Al-Tabin SCHOOL where Israel struck yesterday.

“I told them my son Ali is 6, they gave me a plastic bag with 18 kilos of body parts & told me to bury it. I don't know if it's my son or not... We can't find his body anywhere"

- Hassan, a Gazan father sheltering at the

school bombed by Israel.

————————————————

30th September 2024

Documenting a genocide with words is something you’d feel you would never be made to do, not after everything we learnt in school about the atrocious acts of our history, and the silence the west responded to such things with.

But that’s what I wanted to talk about; the world’s silence and complicity, and how it has affected sane minds and reactions even to this day. During world war II, eight groups of our community were targeted wrongfully by the Nazi’s. Those were made up of the Roma’s, Disabled people, Poles and Slavs, communists and socialists, Jehovah’s witnesses, the LGBTQ+ community, afro-Germans, and most of all, the Jews.

We all know about the holocaust, it is one past time that the entire world feels rightfully guilty for, and so they teach us about it over and over again until we understand what happened and how it affected people. However, what we haven’t been taught is that now people are so held back by the guilt that they feel for their people not intervening, that now we are at such a crossroad where people refuse to question Zionism because of it.

You can have a Jewish state without colonialism, you can have a place of sanctuary without stealing from others and murdering them on their land. The west refuse to admit that Zionism is wrong, and that’s why what Israel are doing is barbaric.

Palestine. Lebanon, Yemen.

What is next?

Does it make you such a bad person to question the logic that goes behind using the religion of Judaism to violate laws and hurt those who have only the desire to live? Is it so wrong to say that it is not right for religion to hold such a power over a life, or many? And am I wrong for saying that people are so scared to question Zionism and Israel, because it means to question Judaism?

What logic is there in letting people steal land because a holy book that only exists as an ideology and has no harsh proof, said that they are owed it?

Free Palestine. Free Lebanon. Free Yemen.

My heart goes out to any and all victims, you deserve much better than the world has given you. Ameen.

I ask you to open your eyes to the truth.

Do not be on the wrong side of history.

Palestine needs our voices now more than ever.

Free Palestine until it's backwards 🇵🇸

[sluts4matt]

PARTY

pairing: soft!dom matt x mixed!reader

summary: after a long week, you intended on staying home and relaxing. your roommate; however, had different plans dragging you to a close friend's party.

warnings: SMUT, use of weed, nic, and alcohol, p in v, teasing, light choking, pet names (princess), orgasm denial, praising, slight embarrassment kink? (i think)

word count: 3074

authors note: i feel like this is kind of all over the place, i apologize, i haven't written in like a good month or two. not proofread or edited.

it had been a long day, work not going so greatly. that's why as soon as you walked through your apartment door you had greeted your roommate then went to your bedroom, pulling out a pre roll from your nightstand drawer.

you sighed, laying on your back, looking up at the ceiling, lighting the end, then inhaling deeply. the smoke left your lips, your eyes blinking a few times. you jumped at the quiet knock on your bedroom door, coughing slightly.

"it's open," you say. the door opened revealing your roommate naya, her red curls up in a messy pony tail. "bad day at work?" she asked, joining you on your bed.

you passed the joint over to her, which she accepted with a smile bringing it to her lips. "some chick ordered a triple shot expresso with caramel and white chocolate syrup, had me put caramel drizzle on top right?" you start and she nods.

"i repeat her order, she looks at the screen she's goes, yep looks good. then i go to give her the drink and she goes-" you take a breath before talking in a slightly snobby tone, "-'this isn't what i ordered, i need this remade right now' i looked at like, are you fucking serious right now?"

naya started laughing, passing the joint back. "so did you remake her drink?" she asks, "yeah, after arguing with her for ten minutes." you both laugh. "god, i hate being a barista sometimes," you state.

"wanna go to austin's party to take your mind off of work?" she asks. "i dunno, nay. i'm not in the mood to deal with drunks and people trying to make a move on me." you say. "then just stay next to aria the whole time, guys don't really approach her. come on please," she gave you puppy dog eyes, her bottom lip jutting out as she clasped her hands together.

"when was the last time you went to a party?" she asks, you think for a moment. "um, the one josh threw at the frat house that you brought me to." naya giggles, grabbing your hand, "sweety... i'm gonna hold your hand when i say this, that was almost six months ago." you snatch your hand away, giving her an annoyed look.

"that's a lie, we were at a party for channing's birthday two months ago." you defend, "birthday party's don't count, neither do family reunions or get togethers," she points out.

"oh god fine," you sigh. naya squeals, wrapping her arms around your waist. "oh my god thank you!" she says excitedly, "okay go, we gotta get ready," you say, shooing her away. she sticks her tongue out, getting up and walking out.

you stand up, going to your closet to pick your outfit out. once you find your clothes you put on your shower cap and hop in the shower, washing your body. after you're finished you wrap a towel around your body, going back to your room to get dressed.

you slip on the outfit, pairing it with a pair of black thigh high socks and some black mary janes. you take a comb through your hair, getting out most of the knots. naya knocks on your door as you go to apply your eyeliner, "come in."

she opens the door, she had put on a pink crop top and high waisted jeans, she had her hair down and her curls were bouncy. she was holding her black boots, "i'm stealing some of your eyeliner, can't find mine and lord knows you have enough."

"okay," you mumble, consentraiting. she walks up, opening the drawer and grabbing one of the many felt tip liners you had. she sat on the floor, looking into her phone camera, as she applied the eyeliner.

you grab a pink lip liner from your drawer, lining your lips before putting some lipgloss over them. you smack your lips together, to coat the two evenly, smiling at yourself when you were done. you pulled the look together with a pair of hooped earrings, grabbing your silver side bag.

"let's go!" naya says excitedly, grabbing your hand and leading you out the door.

the two of you hopped into the uber that she had scheduled while the two of you were getting ready. the car ride was filled with naya talking about the cute boy who works at the grocery store near the apartment.

"like, i didn't realize how much i liked green eyes until i saw his, they're like emeralds, really they are," she swoons, you chuckle, shaking your head.

"we're here," the uber driver states. you open the car door, walking in. "the party's here," she states loudly, gaining the attention of austin talking to a group of three boys who all looked relatively the same.

he looked over, smiling widely, waving his hand in a motion to come over. "omg, i'm glad you guys' could make it," he says, sporting a glittery sheer top and sparkly silver eyeshadow.

"i'm not sure how long we're staying, we're just stopping by for a little bit," you say, austin gives you a fake pout. "no fun, excuse us," he states to the three boys dragging you and naya to the open bar.

"lets take shots," he says, naya eagerly nodding her head as he grabs a tray with glittery shots on it. "i'm good," you say. "no, sweetheart, we're doing shots," he says, pushing one towards you.

"fine," you mutter, picking the shot glass up. "on the count of three," he says, "one, two, three," the three of you all bring the shot glass to your lips, downing the shot. the liquid burned as it went down your throat. you shook your head slightly, "rookie," naya giggled.

"i'm gonna go find aria, don't die," you say, "have fun!" austin and naya shout after you. you weave through the crowd, looking for a head of pink and black striped hair. you bumped into someone, stumbling slightly, "sorry," he mumbles as you look up.

it was one of the guys austin had been talking to when you and naya first got there. you smiled slightly, "all good, it was my fault anyways, wasn't paying attention," you state.

"matt," he says, sticking his hand out, you smile slightly, taking his hand, "y/n," you state, shaking his hand. "are you looking for someone?" he asks. "uh yeah, aria?" you ask, he looks at you slightly confused, tilting his head slightly. "shorter then me, black and pink hair," you describe, "tattoos, like, everywhere except her neck and face?" you ask.

"oh! she's over there talking to chris," he points to the back of the room. "thanks," you say, going the direction he pointed to. you pushed past people, finally finding the short girl.

"hi!" you shout, the two turn to look at you, "there you are," aria states. "who's this?" chris asks, "my wife," she states loudly, he chuckles but looks slightly confused. "you wouldn't get it," she explains.

"you okay?" she asks, "yeah, fine, just need to take the edge off, i guess," you sigh. she pulls out a pre rolled blunt, lighter and a vape. "i love you," you sigh, taking the strawberry kiwi vape from her acrylics.

she hands the lighter to chris, "light," he does as she asks, bringing the lighter to the blunt that was between her lip. she inhaled, holding it in for a moment, then blowing it out. she passed it to you, earning a smile from you.

"work fucking sucks, why'd you quit," you playfully whine, a pout on your lips as your bring the blunt your lips. "because i would have ended up hitting that bitch of a manager," she states. you exhale the smoke, handing it back to her.

"she's not that bad anymore," you state, "i call bullshit," aria says. the three of you stood, smoking as people pushed past. "i'm gonna go find matt," chris says, "okay," the two of you respond in unison, causing you and aria to break out into a fit of laughter.

"god, i can't believe it's been six months since i worked at that hell hole," she states. "yeah fuck you," you giggle. you remember the day you had met aria, you were both just starting at the local cafe, quickly bonding over the fact that you two were the newbies.

after working together for a couple of months, she had introduced you to austin. austin then introduced you to naya, who quickly became your roommate. the four of you had grown quite close, always spending time with each other.

"lets go dance," she squeals, dragging you towards the center. the two of you began swaying and jumping, the music blasting through the speakers. chris had joined soon after, dragging matt with him. you giggled at the brunette haired by slightly watching his attempt to move his hips to the beat.

"white boys got no rythum," aria states, her hips swaying. "no shit," chris says, moving his shoulders. "oh god," you and aria giggle, shaking your heads at their terrible attempts at dancing.

"like this," aria instructs, her hips moving as her hands run over her body. you do the same, letting the music take over your body. the two of you danced like no one was watching, not that you cared.

the music was blasting and the air was heavy, the room smelled like alcohol and sweat, but at this point you didn't care, you were having too much fun.

you jumped slightly when you felt a pair of hands being softly placed on your hips, "is this okay?" matt whispers, his breath fanning your shoulder blade. you nod, leaning back, placing your hand behind his head, playing with the strands. you felt his thumb slowly moving in circles, causing your heart to speed up.

when you look towards aria, you see her arms wrapped around chris as she giggles at something he had said. the two were in their own little world, the rest of the party seeming to disappear.

your hand raked through matt's hair softly as you moved your hips, feeling his grip tighten. you bite your lip, "so," you state, "how'd you get roped into this party?"

"nick and chris, glad i let them rope me in though," he mumbled. "why's that?" you ask, looking down slightly. "because then i would have missed this," his breath tickling your neck.

you felt your cheeks heat up slightly, your head slightly tilting involuntarily. his lips gently brushed against the crook of your neck, leaving feather like kisses. your breath hitches slightly, closing your eyes.

"come on," he says, pulling back taking your hand as he leads you out the front door to his car. "get in," he says, opening the passenger door. "what are we doing?" you ask, slightly out of breath.

"star gazing," he says, putting the car in reverse and backing out of austin's driveway before putting it in drive and driving it to one of the parks that wasn't visited very often. "actually?" you ask, slightly hoping he wasn't serious about star gazing.

"do you not want to?" he teases, parking the car. he looks over at you tilting his head, one of his hands still on the wheel. you raise an eyebrow at the boy you've known barely two hours, your arms crossing. "what?" he asks, his tone playful.

"you know what," you state. "no, i don't, maybe you should tell me," he says, a small smirk spreading across his face. your eyes narrowed, your thighs squeezing together.

"oh?," he states, his head cocking to the side. his hand finds its way to the side of his seat, sliding it back. "well what do you want to do then princess?" he asks, his arm going behind your seat, turning his body so that his body was facing yours.

your mouth gaped open slightly, not knowing how to respond to the sudden change in attitude. "come on, words," he chuckles, his lips curling into a slight smirk.

"i-," you pause, not knowing what you were about to say. "yes?" he questions, his arm resting on the back of the chair. "i um," you mutter, looking at him with big eyes. "kiss me," you whisper, biting your lip.

"good girl," he praises, his hand coming up to cup your cheek. he pulls you in, his lips brushing against yours, causing butterflies to fill your stomach. his lips molded to yours perfectly, moving in sync.

his lips were soft and warm, your lips parted slightly, allowing his tongue entrance. his hand moves down to your throat, his fingers wrapping around. his other hand moves to your hip, guiding you over the center console to his lap.

your hands run through his hair, tugging lightly, causing him to moan slightly. you feel him buck his hips slightly, pushing up into the thin fabric of your underwear. you gasp slightly, giving him the perfect opportunity to slip his tongue in.

you feel him smirk slightly, his hand leaving your throat, traveling to each of your shoulders. his fingers slipping the thin straps down your shoulders. his lips leave yours, kissing down your neck, causing you to tilt your head slightly.

"so pretty," he mutters, his hands pushing the fabric down your chest. his head dips, his tongue swirling around your nipple. your breath hitches, your hand moving to his hair, your fingers threading through.

he groans slightly, his hips pushing up into you. "matt," you breathe, his teeth grazing your nipple. you feel him smile against your skin, his fingers tweaking your other nipple.

"fuck," you whine, tugging at his hair. "you want more?" he asks, his hand sliding up your leg to the bottom of your skirt. "yes, please," you whine. his hand slides up your skirt, his fingers pushing aside the fabric of your underwear.

his finger traces your clit, teasing you. your thighs shake slightly, causing him to chuckle, "desperate." you roll your eyes, your fingers tightening their grip on his hair. his hand wraps around your throat, the metal of his rings cold against your neck as he squeezes lightly.

"be nice," he whispers, his finger slowly circling your clit. "or what?" you challenge, his eyes narrow. his fingers speed up, a breathy moan leaving your lips. his fingers work you, making your eyes roll back.

"matt," you whine, pushing yourself down onto his fingers, "fuck," you whisper. his fingers continue working your clit, your breathing becoming uneven.

"you close?" he asks, his voice laced with lust. you nod quickly, your hips rolling. his fingers slow, stopping right before you reach your high. "no, no, please," you whine, your hips bucking.

"awe, does someone not like the consequences of their own actions?" the boy mocks, his hand still holding your throat. "no, please," you whine, looking at him with pleading eyes.

"you think just because you give me the puppy dog eyes i'll give you what you want?" he chuckles, jokingly bouncing your body. you nod your head, a pout forming on your lips. "please," you whimper, your hips trying to push into his hand.

"begging, pretty," he smirks, his fingers starting to circle again. you whine, the coil in your stomach tightening. his fingers speed up, pushing you barely over the edge before stopping again.

"matt, no," you whine, his hand moving from your neck to your shoulder. he pushes you backwards, your back hitting the steering wheel. his hands go to the button on his pants, undoing it before unzipping them. he lifts his hips from the seat slightly, pushing them down to his knees.

his boxers were a light grey, a slight wet spot showing on the front. he palms himself through the fabric, moaning quietly. his other hand goes to your waist, moving your body so that you were directly over him. he pushes his boxers down, moving the fabric of your soaked panties to the side.

he pushes the tip in, moaning. you whine, feeling his grip on your waist tighten as he pulls your body down. "fuck," he curses, his head falling back. your hand grips the back of his seat, his length filling you.

you start to move your hips slowly, moaning softly. his fingers dig into your hips, helping guide your movements. his hips thrust upwards, meeting your slow pace.

"god, you're so pretty," he mumbles, his head tilting up to look at you. his thumb moves down to your clit, rubbing fast circles. your head tilts back, "fuck, i'm gonna cum." "not yet pretty girl," he says denying you, once again.

your hand moves to the top of the seat, the other gripping his shoulder as your hips begin to stutter. "matt, i can't," you whine. "hold on for me, your doing such a good job," he whispers, his hand leaving your hip, tangling itself in your hair.

"fuck, you feel so good," he moans, his hips picking up their pace, slamming up into you. the windows had fogged up, the air in the car humid. he brings your lips down to his, kissing you harshly. his tongue slips into your mouth, his teeth lightly pulling on your bottom lip.

"cum," he states, his thumb moving faster on your clit. the coil in your stomach snapped, causing you to let out a moan, pulling away from his lips as you buried your face in his neck. his hips slammed up into you a few more times before he pulled out, jacking himself off, his cum spilling on your thigh.

"fuck," he whispers, his chest rising and falling. "fuck," he repeats, reaching over to grab a napkin from the glove box. "shit," he mumbles, wiping the cum off of your thigh, throwing it in the backseat.

he lifts you up slightly, pulling his boxers and pants up. he grabs another napkin, cleaning in between your thighs, throwing it in the back.

"did you have fun?" he asks, looking up at you. you giggle, nodding, "yeah?" he asks. "do you want food?" he asks, your head tilting slightly. "what?" he asks, chuckling, "like, did you want to get food, or would you like me to take you home," he clarifies.

"i could go for a burger," you state. "burger king or five guys?" he asks, "five guys," you respond. he smiles, fixing the strap of your top before pressing a soft kiss to your lips.

tag list:

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[szariahwroteit]

Chapter 21 of All That Glitters • A Jude Bellingham Erotic Novel.

18+ minors DNI.

“You’re such a baby,” Naya smiled softly as she continued to gently move the tips of her fingers over the contours of Jude’s face, straddling his lap as he melted against her touch.

“I’m not, what you’re doing feels good,” Jude all but hummed in contentment, his voice completely relaxed as he closed his eyes, savoring the sensation of Naya's delicate touch. The warmth of her body pressed against his, creating a sense of intimacy that he craved from her. Naya's presence was like a soothing balm to his soul, easing away all the tension and stress that had been weighing him down over the last few days.

Following England's loss in the European Championship, Jude worked hard to stay away from the expected harsh criticism and mistreatment that he knew would come from fans and the opposing team.

After departing from national football duty, he made his way back to Madrid in search of a little peace and clarity after such an emotionally draining tournament.

Naya, noticing the lingering shadows in Jude's eyes despite his relaxed state, leaned in closer, her breath warm against his ear. "You've been through a lot, haven't you?" she murmured, her voice filled with empathy.

Jude nodded, feeling grateful for Naya's understanding without him having to spell out his struggles. With her, he didn't have to put on a brave face or pretend everything was fine. She saw through his facade and offered him comfort without judgment.

Pressing a kiss to the stubbled skin of his jaw, Naya whispered, "it’s easier said than done, but you don't have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, Jude." Her words were like a gentle caress, and he felt a sense of relief wash over him.

As they sat in a comfortable silence, Jude realized how much he needed this moment of respite, of being cared for without any expectations.

With a contented sigh, Jude wrapped his arms around Naya, pulling her close as they stayed intertwined in a cocoon of warmth and understanding.

“I’m going to make something for dinner,” Naya whispered softly into his ear as she went to remove herself from Jude’s lap, only for him to tighten his hold on her, not ready to let go of the comfort she provided.

"Stay with me a little longer," Jude murmured, his voice filled with a rare vulnerability. Naya smiled, her eyes reflecting warmth and affection.

“Come in the kitchen with me,” she said as she leaned back slightly to look into Jude's eyes. "Help me make dinner. Cooking can be therapeutic, you know?"

Jude nodded, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he wrapped his arm around Naya’s back before standing to his feet so he could walk with her into his kitchen.

“Before we get started, I have to warn you there is absolutely nothing therapeutic about me being in anyone’s kitchen,” Jude joked making Naya laugh as he placed her down onto her feet.

Naya playfully swatted his arm, a bright smile on her face as she teased, "Well, lucky for you, I happen to be an excellent chef. You just need to follow my lead."

Jude chuckled, feeling the weight on his shoulders lifting even more with Naya's lighthearted banter. Together, they moved around the kitchen, gathering ingredients and sharing stories, the atmosphere filled with easy companionship.

“Do you know what this is?” Naya asked teasingly as she held up a potato to Jude.

Jude raised an eyebrow, pretending to examine the potato with great seriousness before answering with a grin, "Hmm, let me guess... a rare and exotic fruit from a far-off land?"

Naya burst into laughter, shaking her head at his playful antics. "Close, but not quite," she replied, showing him the correct way to peel and chop the potato for their meal.

As they worked together, the tension that had been weighing on Jude seemed to melt away with each shared joke and shared task. Cooking with Naya felt like a breath of fresh air, a moment of peace in the midst of his turmoil.

For dinner they were making steak and mashed potatoes, an easy meal for naya to prepare when she was alone, but with Jude present focusing became a task all in itself.

"Jude, we're supposed to be flying to Brazil tomorrow morning. I doubt that'll happen if we end up burning down your kitchen," Naya whined as she felt his lips on the curve of her neck, his hands gripping her waist as he stood behind her.

Despite his near insatiable desire for Naya, it wasn’t lust that brought about this specific bout of affection.

Seeing Naya so comfortable and at home in his space felt right. It was as if she belonged there, as if she belonged with him. Jude couldn't help but revel in the feeling of having her close, of sharing these mundane yet intimate moments together.

As they continued to cook together, their laughter filling the air, Jude couldn't shake the feeling of gratitude for having Naya by his side. She brought a sense of normalcy and joy into his life.

As they sat down to enjoy the meal they had prepared, Jude found himself looking at Naya with a newfound appreciation. She was more than just a source of comfort; she was his partner in crime, his confidante, and his safe haven.

“Why are you staring at me?” Naya blushed as she put down her fork, using both hands to cover her face.

Wrapping his hand around her right wrist, Jude gently pulled her hands away from her face, his gaze soft and full of affection. "Because you’re beautiful," he said sincerely, making Naya's cheeks flush even more.

"You're too smooth for your own good," Naya teased, a playful glint in her eyes as she leaned in to press a quick kiss to Jude's lips.

They continued to enjoy their meal, savoring the flavors and the warmth of each other's company.

As they cleared the table together, their hands brushed against each other in silent communication. When Naya picked up the plates from the table to take them to the dishwasher, Jude stopped her in her tracks.

Taking the plates from her hands, he set them back down on the table before lifting Naya and placing her on it too so he could stand between her legs as he gazed down into her eyes.

From just single look the air between shifted, lust danced in Naya’s eyes as watched Jude’s hands reach for the first clasped button on her oversized shirt.

Naya's breath hitched as Jude's touch sent a shiver down her spine. His movements were deliberate yet gentle, his eyes never leaving hers as he slowly undid each button, revealing the soft skin underneath, her nipples hardening instantly.

The air crackled with anticipation, the intimacy between them palpable. They hadn't had sex since Jude surprised Naya in London well over a week ago when was still at Wimbledon.

So much had happened in their careers that desire took a backseat. But tonight, judging by the carnal look in Jude’s eyes and the pulsing of Naya’s clit between her thighs as she looked into them, that was all set to change.

Allowing the shirt to fall from her shoulders, Naya sat before Jude clad in nothing but a black cotton thong, that didn’t do much in the respects of covering her pussy, already seeping with her arousal.

"I'm fucking addicted," Jude sighed as he used a single finger, running it from her wet cotton-covered entrance to her clit and back again.

Naya moaned softly at the sensation, her hips instinctively moving towards Jude's touch. His fingers worked their magic, teasing and coaxing her arousal to new heights. The chemistry between them was undeniable, the connection electric as they lost themselves in each other.

Jude's desire for Naya was palpable, his own need evident as he undressed, his gaze never leaving her flushed face. As he stood before her, their bodies so close yet not touching, the tension between them crackled with raw passion.

Naya reached out to him, her fingers tracing the lines of his chest, feeling the warmth of his skin under her touch. Their bodies moved closer together, fitting like two puzzle pieces finally finding their match.

Their kisses were hungry and desperate, a reflection of the pent-up desire that had been simmering between them. In that moment, nothing else mattered but the feeling of each other's bodies, the heat and urgency of their connection.

From the counter, Jude moved Naya to a barstool, her legs rest on either shoulder as he feasted on her, his lips and the tip of his nose glistening with the wetness he elicited from her. Naya's hands tangled in his hair, her moans growing louder as Jude expertly brought her to the brink of ecstasy.

“You taste so fucking sweet,’ Jude groaned against her sensitive flesh, the vibration of his voice sending a chill down her spine and making her toes curl.

Naya’s eyes brimmed with tears as Jude brought her to heights unknown, her body trembling with pleasure under his skilled touch. As she reached the peak of her pleasure, her whole being seemed to explode with ecstasy, waves of pleasure washing over her in a torrent of sensation.

“Cum for me, that’s my good girl,” Jude encouraged softly as held her close, his words sending Naya over the edge as she finally succumbed to the overwhelming pleasure, her body shuddering in ecstasy as she cried out his name.

As Naya slowly came down from her euphoric high, Jude held her close, whispering sweet nothings in her ear as they savored the intimate moment they had shared. The air around them was thick with passion, a connection that went beyond physical realm.

With a gentle touch, Jude wiped away Naya's tears, his eyes filled with tenderness.

“I want you,” Naya said just above a whisper, she felt a little dazed and tremors of her orgasm still coursed through her body, but she knew exactly what she wanted in the moment.

And as their eyes locked, words didn’t need to be shared for Jude to know what she needed of him.

The barstool Naya sat on provided Jude with the perfect amount of leverage to fuck her slow and deeply. Placing his hands on the back of her thighs to keep her in place, he watched in awe as his length disappeared inside of her.

“Look at the way I’m stretching you open,” Jude groaned, a deep crease in his brow as his eyes met Naya’s.

Naya's breath hitched as she felt Jude's strong hands on her body, his touch electrifying and sending shivers down her spine. She arched her back in response to his words, feeling the delicious ache of desire building within her. Jude's intense gaze held her captive, the raw passion in his eyes igniting a fire deep within her soul.

“It’s yours,” Naya moaned as she reached down, running the tips of her fingers over her swollen clit.

Jude groaned at the sight, feeling the heat between them intensify. With a growl, he shifted his angle, hitting a spot inside her that made Naya cry out in pleasure. The barstool creaked beneath them as they moved in perfect synchronization, lost in the intense connection they shared.

“I want if from the back,” Jude said as he pulled his length from Naya with a slow, deliberate motion making sure she felt every ridge and vein that lined his perfect shaft. Positioning her on all fours on the barstool, he entered her from behind, the new angle sending waves of ecstasy through both of them.

“You’re such a good girl,” Jude cooed into her ear.

Naya's body trembled with anticipation, her breath coming in short gasps as Jude's words fueled her desire. She pushed back against him, meeting his every thrust with a hunger that matched his own. The rhythm of their bodies coming together filled the room, the sound of their moans and skin slapping against each other echoing off the walls.

Jude's hands gripped her hips tightly as he leaned into her, guiding her movements with a primal need that consumed them both as he felt her trying to slip away.

“Don’t you fucking dare try to run, take it all,” Jude growled as he increased the pace, his thrusts becoming more urgent and demanding. Naya's body responded to his dominance, her senses overwhelmed by the mixture of pleasure and pain coursing through her. Her moans grew louder, mingling with Jude's grunts of satisfaction.

The barstool rocked beneath them, a symphony of desire and need playing out in the dimly lit kitchen.

Naya felt drunk on lust as she gave herself over to Jude completely, there was no where to run as he rearranged her from the inside out. She clung to the chair as her eyes rolled back and a tear of unadulterated pleasure rolled from the corner of her right eye.

Jude's movements became more primal, his control over her body absolute. Naya surrendered to the overwhelming sensations coursing through her, her mind consumed by the intense pleasure he was giving her. Every thrust, every touch, sent her closer to the edge of ecstasy.

As their bodies moved in perfect harmony, the tension between them reached its peak. With a final, deep thrust, Naya shattered, her whole body convulsing in waves of pleasure as her orgasm washed over her. Jude followed closely behind, his own release echoing hers in a symphony of shared bliss.

Breathless and spent, they collapsed onto the barstool, their bodies entwined in a tangle of limbs and sweat. Jude held Naya close, whispering sweet nothings in her ear as they basked in the afterglow of their passion.

In that moment, nothing else existed for them but the deep connection they shared, the raw intensity of their desire binding them together in a way that transcended the physical.

Jude carefully lifted Naya off the stool and carried her into the bedroom, setting her down softly on the bed before joining her, lying on top of her.

Jude’s body melted against Naya’s as she softly moved her fingers up and down Jude’s back as he lay with his cheek resting on her chest as she held him.

There wasn’t much to be said after such intense sex. Their bodies spoke volumes, communicating a language of passion that words could never fully capture.

As they lay intertwined in each other's arms, the only sound that filled the room was the quiet rhythm of their breathing, a soothing melody that lulled them into a peaceful state of contentment. Jude felt a sense of completeness with Naya in his arms, a feeling of being truly understood and accepted.

Naya's fingers gently traced patterns on Jude's back, her touch grounding him in the present moment. They were no longer just two individuals, but a unified entity bound by respect, understanding and desire.

In the soft glow of the bedroom, Jude lifted his head to meet Naya's gaze, his eyes full of unspoken emotions. Without a word, Jude pressed his lips against hers as she hummed into his mouth.

“I can’t wait to be in Brazil with you,” Naya said as they parted lips, still close enough for their mouths to touch.

Jude smiled against Naya's lips, the warmth of her words filling him with anticipation for the future. "I can't wait either," he whispered, his voice filled with sincerity.

[eretzyisrael]

The article on Rihab Faour is a great example of a primary disinformation campaign the BBC has been running since Oct 7. The BBC completely misleads readers about the culture, and make-up of the societies being discussed. The truth is that Hezbollah is even more embedded into Shia Muslim Lebanese society, than Hamas is into Gaza – but this truth does not suit the narrative the BBC journalists want to spread around.

Instead, the BBC describe a fictitious landscape, which suggests 99% of the local population has nothing at all to do with the terrorist groups (that most of them voted for!). What this does is create a completely false illusion – as if Hamas and Hezbollah are aliens that have invaded these lands, and have forced themselves on all these poor, innocent, locals. This is a blatant misrepresentation of the truth and places the IDF in an impossible war.

But a very different story is hidden away behind the words in the article – or in some cases omitted all together. For example, even though it can be found easily online, the original village Rihab Faour came from is (strangely) not mentioned in the BBC article. I found it on the FB page of her husband’s workplace. It was Bint Jbeil. Which means that the BBC journo did not have to go far, to give some colour and context to the piece, because BBC News has previously referred to Bint Jbeil as ‘Hezbollah heartland’. For whatever reason – this information – that the family lived in a Hezbollah heartland, was left out.

Then the article tells us the family left ‘their unnamed village’ – and headed to a suburb of Beirut –

“The Israeli bombs fell close enough to Rihab’s village that the 33-year-old and her husband Saeed, an employee of the municipal water company, gathered their daughters Tia, eight, and Naya, six, and fled to Rihab’s parents’ house in Dahieh, a suburb of the capital Beirut.”

A responsible journalist would probably have added here that the Beirut suburb of Dahieh – is the capital of Hezbollah’s ‘state-within-a-state’, which is WHY the suburb was being specifically targeted. But the BBC is not publishing this article to INFORM readers – it is being written to MISINFORM. So nowhere in the article is that vitally important fact mentioned either. The family left one Hezbollah outpost – and headed to another.

And it gets worse. The family moves again, and is tragically struck (and children being killed is always a tragedy), during an Israeli attempt to kill Wafiq Safa, the head of Hezbollah’s co-ordination and liaison unit. Which means (whether it was successful or not) that the third place we know the family had set up home inside, was in, or next to, a building being used by Hezbollah’s leadership.

And then there is this from Saiid Kabalan – Rihab Faour’s husband. Posted on his timeline 11 years ago. A statement he is proud to be considered a terrorist, and is ‘at the service’ of Hezbollah:

Whatever the truth, the death of the two children is a tragedy. But it is not the whole story. While the article is a one-sided demonisation piece full of unverifiable tales, five vitally important and easily checked facts were completely missing:

The family lived in a Hezbollah stronghold

The family moved to another Hezbollah stronghold

The family moved again – and again it was to a place used by Hezbollah leadership

Shia from the south overwhelmingly support Hezbollah

The husband had publicly signalled support for Hezbollah.

These things certainly change the entire tone of the story – and they clearly do raise questions (that the journo never based to ask). They are also five crucial facts that the BBC did not want its audience to know.

[ashmp3]

closing #heyteo 💌

i want to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart who's ever tagged me in their posts! i can't put it into words how grateful i am for having such talented, sweet people around me that wanted to share their beautiful creations with me. i cherish them all and i hope yapping in my tags conveyed that. Honestly i could talk about them in great lengths (and mostly i did...) so this is why i feel like i think its right time to wrap this up - i feel bad when i can't sit down, talk my ass off and give my full attention to each and every single post. Sadly i don't think its possible for me to do it now which is why i am writing all this, with a tear in my eye honestly. I checked and saw i have 925 (and counting!) posts in this tag and first of all - that is CRAZY! I am so grateful you have no idea. I really, really cherished this little corner of the internet that i called my own so this is all bittersweet but i think it's for the best! Lastly, i don't plan on going anywhere just yet so of COURSE feel free to tag me in anything you think i shouldn't miss (especially Jeonghan and your selfies... of course) - you already know a block of tags will be coming your way! And for being my amazingly talented friends i wrote little thank-you notes for everyone that made #heyteo one of the best decisions i made on tumblr 💌 I appreciate you all SO so so so much!

@jeonwonwoo -> my angel and the reason i even made this tag miss zaynab! We would be here for weeks if i started talking about how thankful i am for your existence. My no1 source of Jeonghan gifs, someone who perfectly matches my freak - thank you the MOST! (And ofc you can still expect me to go on tangents under your gifs i mean... that's what this blog is all about!) Love you!🩷🫶🏼

@kimsuyeon -> my talented lili, with the most wonderful gifs that are just so YOU! Always so wonderfully curated and colored, your idol + era collection is for the HERstory books if you ask me. Thank you for sharing them with all of us. i am so happy to have you around and i am thankful that you have been one of Thee contributors to #heyteo 🫶🏼🩷

@pink-vacancy -> i think it wouldn't be wrong to call you my yuna and mina supplier 🤭 cherry yuna is for the history books and you are the biggest contributor to that fact! thank you so much for always tagging me and making my tag a tad bit spicier and sexier with the gorgeous, stunning women you gif! love you and appreciate you SO much 💌🍒🫶🏼

@scouped -> MAX you are such an integral part of #heyteo through your many sideblogs and i am always so so sooo grateful for it! i love everyone but of course i love svt just a tad bit more so seeing your sets always made me so giddy and excited 🫶🏼 again, one of the people that really pushed me to make this tag in the first place so i want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. love you!!! 💖🌟

@vcrnons -> j!!! my dear sweet darling J that wanted to kill me on more than one occasion. thank you so much for tagging me and sorry for all the things i said under your gifs its like they hypnotize me... And ofc i am excited to be annoying under your tags in the future 🫶🏼💖💖💖

@scoupsies -> my naya funniest sweetest most talented darling... You've been thee highlight of my user tag - and i promise i will still be yapping under your gifs like how could i not?! you best believe i will be checking you blog so i don't miss anything because well that would just be devastating for me. thank you so much for tagging me i love you & appreciate you SO much!!! 🫶🏼🩷💌

@neonsbian -> my wayv supplier and source of updates 🤭 thank you so much vinnie, for always tagging me in everything so far & i always enjoyed seeing my twin yangyang in the tag (for better or worse) 💖

@no1boa -> lulu! absolute master of gifs thank you SO much for always tagging me in your dreamy, beautiful creations. honestly i will miss them SO much... so expect me to go through your blog like a morning newspapers and look for new sets 🙂‍↕️🫶🏼🤍

@taeiltual -> i always say this in the tags but every single company would benefit from a BexTM master class on editing! Thank you so much for sharing your works and thank your for tagging me 🤍🫶🏼🌟

@facethesuns -> em your posts always make me feel like ground is shaking... Thank you so much for tagging me in your stuff & of course i am excited to keep yapping in the tags in the future 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️💖

@ningtual -> MY SUNWOO SUPPLIER oh henna this is for the better or worse because my blood pressure rises whenever i see him... thank you for tagging me in your beautiful aespa edits (and nunulino...) love you mwah mwah!!! 🫶🏼🩷

@talksaxy -> even though we haven't been mutuals for a long time, whenever you would tag me in sungchan you best believe i would kick my feet and get giddy... thank you so much for adding a beautiful fawn touch to my tag! & ofc expect me to be in your tags either way, and yeah this kinda reads as a threat but you can't blame me really can't you... thank you sooo much. mwah! 🫶🏼🌟💖

@28reas0ns -> oh wwill first of all i want to say i love your vision and how we both sometimes make similar connections... You have such an eye for the aesthetics and it was such an honor to seen every post you made so thank you SO much for tagging me it truly meant so much to me 🫶🏼💖🤍💖🤍

@isabelleadjani -> first of all thank you for using it for its intended purposes (selfies!!!). and second of all thank you for tagging me in your beautiful, gorgeous gifs. You always go one level up and its so evident in the way you present your sets. I would still love to get tagged in your selfies of course thats a no brainer really 🫶🏼 Thank you so much & i really appreciate your presence on here 🤍🤍🤍

@junmail -> oh its been such a delight to see all the junhui in my tag (along with others of course) so thank you SO much for tagging me and sharing your beautiful gif sets with me (and everyone else)🫶🏼💖

@doyeons -> BELLA!!! first of all. thank you for sungah and seohyun gifs that was kinda legendry don't you agree. Thank you for amplifying frommy gifs in my tag they made me so crazy but also... i am very thankful 🙂‍↕️ And you best believe i will still be under your posts like a pathetic little guy. Kiss!!! 🫶🏼💖

@eightshotamericano -> elly my local jeonghan enthusiast i want to thank you for tagging me in your posts i really enjoyed them always 💖 and i appreciate you for thinking of me, love you!🥹🫶🏼

@seonghwasblr -> I know there wasn't many but i still want to send my virtual thank you card for including me in your beautiful gifs of jeonghan my darling maja i really appreciate it!🫶🏼💖

@jeonwon-wonwoo -> maddie thank you for tagging me in your lessera gifs back in the beginning of the year - it was so sweet of you! 🫶🏼💖 again, a huge thank you to everyone who’s tagged me in their posts. it truly means a lot, and I’m so grateful for each and every one of you who’s taken the time to include me. I appreciate you all more than words can express 🥹🥹🥹🫶🏼🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍

[rbfclassy]

STILL IN LOVE! #5 — TOJI FUSHIGURO

SYNOPSIS...after still messing around with your ex husband, you began to wonder if you’re still in love with him after finding out about his new girlfriend…

INFO...ex husband!toji x fem!reader, reader & toji have two kids, megumi is readers bio son, jealousy, smut, angst, arguments, alcohol, drinking problem, family problems, arguing in front of kids, toxic behaviors, crying, mentions of divorce

OTHER...likes and reblogs are appreciated

It’s been an entire month since your argument with Toji. Neither of you had said a word to each other, not even when he comes to pick up or drop off the kids. He keeps his distance, not bothering to wait by the door with them, instead he waits on the sidewalk and waved goodbye to them when you open the door. It seems like the kids haven’t took notice of the hostility between you and your ex husband and you wanted to keep it that way. You didn’t want them to witness anymore than they already have. Occasionally, Naya asks if she can go over Toji’s more often, growing an attachment to her father, but you always have to explain to her that he’s busy working during the week. It breaks your heart knowing that your children aren’t growing up with a fully family. You know deep down, they question why they have to go back and forth between houses just to see their father, or wondering why their mommy and daddy aren’t together like the other kids. But knowing how young they are, they wouldn’t understand a single thing. Hopefully when they’re older, they’ll learn from the mistakes you and Toji have made.

You and Nanami have been going strong recently, finding that he makes you forget about the hardships in your life. He hasn’t met the kids yet, which you don’t plan on letting happen anytime soon. He’s a nice guy, great intentions, but you want to take things slow before overstepping your own boundaries. He has took you out on two more dates ever since the first one, and each time he impresses you more and more. It feels like you can be open with him, comfortable without getting judged. He’s also a great listener, not saying a word and just letting you vent all of your feelings out until you feel better. He puts a smile on your face when he knows you’re feeling down or thinking about something that stresses you out. And most of all, he doesn’t mention what happened that morning when Toji showed up at your house. You know he heard most of everything and it was embarrassing to say the least. Toji embarrassed you.

“Mommy, can I go see daddy?” You daughter tapped your leg as you were cutting up her and megumi some fruit to snack on.

You looked down at her with a soft smile. “Tomorrow, baby. You’re gonna see him tomorrow.” You popped a raspberry in her mouth, her favorite fruit.

“Dad’s been drinking a lot.” Megumi walked into the kitchen, stealing a piece of pineapple off of the cutting board.

“What do you mean?” You immediately question, placing the knife down.

“Beer. He gets uncle Gojo to buy it for him and drinks a whole bunch,” he explained. Your lips pursed together, inhaling deeply before you let out a frustrated sigh. You shook your head in disappointment, trying not to show the anger flowing through you right now.

“So can we go see him? I’m worried!” You daughter batted her eyelashes at you, a small frown on her face. No wonder she’s been asking to see Toji so much, it all makes sense now.

“How about you guys call him to say goodnight, mommy isn’t driving right now. Plus, it’s late.” You picked up the knife, cutting more pineapple into smaller chunks.

“Please! Please! Please, mommy!” You daughter grabbed onto the hem of your shirt, nearly ripping it off of you with the way she was begging.

“Naya, cut it out! Mom said no!” Megumi slightly raised his voice, an annoyed look on his face.

“I wasn’t asking you, dummy!” Her brows furrowed in anger, her gaze now on her brothers.

“Shut up, idiot!” Megumi shouted back.

“Aye! Cut the shit!” You warned, sharing looks between both of them. Naya huffed, stomping her little feet over to the living room. “I don’t need you guys calling each other names, alright? Naya, I said no, and that means no. And Megs, stop being mean.”

“She called me it first!” He exclaimed.

“I don’t care who did it first! I don’t need y’all fighting. Naya, come here!” You shouted from the kitchen. “Eh, stay here.” You pointed at Megumi when he tried to walk away. He let out an annoyed sigh leaning against the counter. “Naya!” She turned the corner with a frown on her face, eyes watery as she looked up at you. “Baby, what’s wrong?” As soon as you asked her that question she burst into tears. Before you could even place the knife down, Megumi picked her up and held her in his arms while she cried.

“Ny-ny, what’s wrong? I’m sorry I called you an idiot, okay? I was mad, but I shouldn’t have said that,” he said softly, rubbing her back as she cried on his shoulder. The little girl hiccuped softly, wrapping her arms around her brothers neck tightly. “Do you wanna tell mommy what’s wrong?” He asked, looking at her. He brought his hand up to her face, wiping the tears.

“Da…daddy!” She sobbed, trying to catch her breath. “I wanna see…daddy!” Tears streamed down her chubby cheeks as she laid her head back on her brothers shoulder. Megumi turned to look at you, and you could see that he was also worried about his father, even if he wasn’t as vocal as it. “Mommy!” She cried.

You reached your hands out, picking her up from Megumi and holding her to your chest. “You really wanna see daddy?” You asked, wiping off her tears with your shirt. She nodded, still whimpering and sniffling. She rubbed her puffy eyes, little fists holding onto the fabric of your shirt. “Okay, we’ll go see daddy then. Megs, put your shoes on.”

You held Naya’s hand as you walked up the steps with them. She had a little smile on her face, excited to all hell to see her father. Megumi rang the doorbell, waiting patiently with you in the cold. “You excited, huh?” You chuckled, looking down at your daughter.

“Who is it?” Toji’s deep voice spoke from the other side of the door.

“Dad, it’s us!” Megumi answered. You were a little nervous to see him, knowing that this was going to be an unexpected surprise, but you had a very valid reason for showing up here. Toji unlocked the door, confusion written all over his face when he seen you and his two kids standing outside in the cold. He barely had time to register the situation before Naya ran over to him and hugged him.

“Daddy!” She yelled followed by a giggle.

“Hey, peanut!” He picked her up like she weighed nothing, sitting her on his hip and giving her a kiss on the cheek. “What’re doing here so early, huh?” He asked with a smile.

“She’s been asking about you all day…all week actually,” you spoke. “She started crying cause she missed you so much, so I brought her over here,” you explained.

Naya fiddled with her dads lip scar, as Toji stood there and stared at you for a few minutes. It’s like he almost forgot how you sounded, it’s been so long. “Well, uh, would you like to come in or are you just dropping them off?” He asked, clearing his throat.

“Yeah, I’ll come in.” The only reason you accepted was because you wanted to speak to him about his drinking problem that Megumi suddenly brought up.

“Hi, buddy.” Toji ruffled Megumi’s hair, giving him a kiss on top of his head. He closed the door behind you, your eyes immediately taking notice of the four beer cans that sat on his coffee table. A rush of disappointment came washing over you as you continued to stare at them. “Don’t mind the mess,” he awkwardly chuckled, quickly trying to clean up as he sat Naya down on the couch.

You stuffed your hands in your coat pocket, standing in the middle of the living room as he grabbed the cans and quickly took them into the kitchen. “I told you,” Megumi whispered. Toji walked back into the living room, looking at you.

“So, uh, she was crying you said?” He asked.

“Yeah,” you nodded, “she…she was like full on sobbing for you. Scared me shitless at first if I’m being honest.”

“Ny-ny, you can’t be scaring mommy like that.” Toji walked over, pinching her cheeks until she giggled. You watched the scene in front of you, seeing the smile on your daughter’s face when she was with Toji made your heart swell. “If you want, I can take them early, and come pick up their stuff tomorrow. You look…tired.”

You shrugged. “Just a little. It’s been a long week.” Toji nodded in agreement, standing back up right as all you stood there in silence while the two kids watched whatever was on the tv. “Toji, can I speak with you?”

“Yeah, yeah, what’s up?” He asked.

“In private.” You stared at him.

“Um, yeah. Megs, Ny, stay here, okay? Watch whatever you wanna watch.” He smiled at them.

“Megs, can we watch The Incredibles again?” Naya clung to her brothers arm as he grabbed the remote.

You followed Toji down the hallway to his bedroom. “How have you been?” You asked, shutting the door behind you.

“Me? I’ve been fine. How are you?” He asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. Your eyes were locked onto him as you stood there by the door. Toji had a confused expression on his face. “Something wrong?”

“How have you been, Toji?” This time you asked with more sternly, clenching your jaw.

“I don’t get…I don’t get it.” He looked around the room as if he was being pranked, awkwardly rubbing his hands on his thighs.

“Megs told me about your drinking problem. You got Gojo going out and buying beer for you all the time? Getting drunk when the kids are here?! I can smell it on your breath!” You yelled in a whisper, folding your arms across your chest.

“I only drink enough to get tipsy, okay? I wouldn’t get drunk around the kids, y/n,” he sighed, holding his head in his hands.

You scoff, “like that makes it any better. Naya keeps asking about you because she’s worried, crying her eyes out because of it, because she misses you. Megumi doesn’t say a word about how he feels, but I can tell he’s scared, Toji. You had four beers on the fucking coffee table when I walked in!” You exclaimed, eyebrows raised.

“I know,” he sighed. “I’m sorry. I just…I’m dealing with shit, y/n.” He rested his elbows on his knees, looking down at the floor.

“We are all dealing with shit, Toji, but you gotta be there for our kids! I’m not here to argue with you, okay? I just want to know what is going on. The kids want to know what’s going on.” You looked at him with concern as he avoided your gaze completely, head still hung low.

“I can’t say it.” Toji looked up, finally locking eyes with you.

“Why?” You asked.

“Because it won’t matter, y/n. I’ve made mistakes, and I’m dealing with them. That’s all there is to it.” He bit the inside of his cheek, closing his eyes.

Your expression softened. There was no need for Toji to explain what he was talking about because you already knew. He was talking about you guys, your relationship, your marriage, your family. “It wasn’t just you, Toji,” you spoke softly. “It was me too. We grew apart. It happens.”

He shook his head. “You were only acting that way because of how I was treating you. It’s not your fault so don’t say it was, please. I’m the one who fucked it up. Back then I fucked it up, and now I’m fucking it up. Every time I got something good going on I find a way to ruin it.”

“Toji…” Your voice was barely above a whisper.

He stood up from his spot on the bed and walked towards you, his muscular and tall frame trapping you against the door. “I’m sorry. I miss you, I miss what we had, mama. You gotta understand me.” He cupped your face in his hands.

“No, no, don’t do that.” You shook your head, removing his hands from you.

“Do what, mama?” He asked softly.

“That, Toji.” You kept shaking your head at him. “I can’t. We can’t.”

“Why not? Hm?” He tried to catch your eye.

“I’m with someone else,” you bluntly said. Your heart was beating loudly in your chest, almost deafening in your ears as you stood there against the door. There was nothing but silence from Toji. He took a step back from you.

“Is it him?” Toji asked. All you did was nod. He scoffed. “So y’all are really together?”

“Yeah, we are,” you answered. “He treats me good, makes me happy.”

“So you don’t love me anymore?” Toji questioned.

“I didn’t say that!” You looked at him in disbelief.

“That’s not what you said the last time we spoke to each other. What you said fucking hurt me. You hate me. You wish you never married me. Remember that?” Toji cocked his head to the side.

“I was upset, Toji.” You rolled your eyes.

“You just don’t say shit like that, y/n. Never once in our entire relationship together have I said some shit like that to you.” He stood there, waiting for you to say something, but you didn’t.

“Well, I don’t know what you want me to say! I came here because Naya was worried about you and Megumi told me about your drinking problem. That’s all I came to talk about! I didn’t come to talk about what we had going on, okay? So just fucking drop it. I’m happier, I’m better. I’m getting treated the way I deserve to be treated for the first time in my life." You snapped.

“For the first time in your life? Are you hearing how you sound right now? I know I wasnt perfect, but I did everything I could to make you happy. Yes, there were some things I could’ve done better, but I loved you like you were supposed to be loved. Why else would I marry you?” Toji walked towards you again.

“Then you should’ve showed that love. Just know I’ll be better without you.” You opened the bedroom door, walking down the hallway.

“Y/n!” Toji shouted. He followed after you as you ignored him. “Y/n!” He shouted again.

“Stop following me, Toji! I’m leaving!” You screamed.

Megumi and Naya looked over at both of you, seeing you two yelling. “I’m not done talking to you!” Toji grabbed your wrist, pulling you back.

“Well, I am!” You snatched your arm back from him.

“Stop it!” Megumi yelled, covering his little sisters ears.

You and Toji looked over at the kids sitting on the couch, Naya’s eyes watery, lip wobbly as tears threatened to spill from her eyes. Megumi shared looks between both of you, concern and fear written on his face. “Come on, let’s go back home. You’ll see daddy tomorrow.”

“I wanna stay!” Naya pouted.

“Naya, please, get in the car.” You sighed in frustration, grabbing her hand.

“No! No!” She started screaming, dropping to the floor and kicking around, throwing a tantrum.

“Get up, Naya! I’m not gonna ask you again!” You lifted her off of the floor, grabbing her hand again. She pulled away from you, running over to Toji, hugging his legs.

“Fine. Fine. Stay with your father. I’ll see both of you in a few days. I love you.” You grabbed your keys from your coat pocket, walking to the front door, slamming it shut behind you.

“Come here, baby girl.” Toji picked his daughter up.

“You two always fight! I hate it!” Megumi stormed out of the living room and into his bedroom, slamming the door behind him, making Naya jump. Toji stood there in the living room with his daughter, a lump forming in his throat. He let out a choked sob, immediately hiding his face from his daughter.

“Daddy, don’t cry.” She wiped his tears away.

“I’m sorry, baby girl.” He sniffled. Your family was falling apart right in front of Toji’s eyes. Megumi is looking for a way out of this family at such a young age, indulging in video games and tv to drown out the real problems. Naya conflicted with her feelings, crying constantly because of the state both of you were in, affecting her. Nothing is like it was before. Toji hated this was happening. This is was last thing he ever wanted.

You sat in your car outside of his house, wiping your tears from how overwhelmed you were. You were at a loss on how to fix this. Each time you tried, it ended the same. You were fearful it was going to keep getting worse, worse until there was no way to reverse the damage done.

series masterlist

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[dragonnarrative-writes]

Data Breach

Read on AO3

Word count: 12.8k

Alternatively titled "Lockdown."

CW: Public partial-nudity, references to sex work, Kidnapping, implied trafficking, threats of violence, anxiety/panic, body horror, brief mentions of medical trauma, character being hunted, brief mention of cannibalism, guns, knives

Notes: Naya "Bambi" Walker and Veronica "Bricks" Mason are my characters. Morgan "Sparrow" Voss belongs to @sentientcave.

I'm very excited because this is my first "complete" fic. And I wrote it within my first year of posting fanfiction! Thanks to everyone who has been here with me through it all!

The genetic and cybernetic enhancements that the public took for granted were a drop in the bucket. No one protested the same-day medical procedures for aesthetics and practicality and security. What harm is a microchip to automate one’s home, modified musculature that needed less exercise to maintain? Who was ever going to protest genetically coded locking mechanisms?

Soldier modifications are a violation of human rights. The deployment of those soldiers isn’t, unless they use their enhanced abilities to commit a war crime. But the process of modification, experimental and unregulated, driven by greed, desperation, a cold war that bled and screamed…

In the early days of accelerated genetics, on the heels of the prosthetic revolution, things had been hellish. Rejected limb grafts.    Explosively contagious viral infections previously rare in humans. Incompatible bones and organs and structures drowning experimental groups in their own fluids. Hunting and prey drives that only became apparent on the battlefield.

The deployment of modified soldiers isn’t a violation of human rights. But if even a single civilian is caught in the crossfire, it’s a war crime.

What the governments of the world did to the men and women who served them - and the populations they were supposed to serve - was a flood of destruction that led to international court-martial and proposed executions.

Only proposed though.

Naya, green around the gills from her latest information dive, wonders if maybe those proposals had more merit than she’d initially thought.

The files she found about the modified joint task forces, the Ghost Team JTFs, are more horrifying than anything she’s ever seen. Bone and dental removal, replacement, and additions. Brain implants, deeper and more invasive than most civilian interface units, which go just under the skin. Increased metabolism, shortening of the digestive tract, automatic injectors with stim packs that keep soldiers awake and lucid through unimaginable horrors.

Her hands shake, spilling tea leaves on the counter as she disconnects from her VPN network. She’d stumbled upon the initial files surrounding what had been Task Force 141 days ago, had quickly skimmed and duplicated their contents to read and review on her own time. Those had been bad enough. Reading about a Scottish soldier, shot in the head and brought back only to have his body altered. Another sergeant suspended in a tank as his genetically altered body attempted and failed to process all of the poisons they wanted him resistant to. A lieutenant who’s frontal lobe was hacked through to make room for a larger processor. The Captain captured and tortured and changed for investigating what was happening to his unit…

And that was before the videos.

Finding more information on Ghost Teams is virtually impossible. Official reports, even the ones she breaks into, list the 141 as defunct. Her fellow archivists don’t have any other information, and aren’t willing to help her dive again.

>>>Flower: even if the GTs are still alive >>>Flower: it’s too dangerous >>>Flower: too many powers want them to stay buried >>>Flower: we’ll lose everything if we go digging >>>Bambi: you don’t have any contacts i could ask? >>>Flower: i‘m sorry bambi

There’s more security, when she returns to the original server, too much for her to feel comfortable to try to force her way in. Her bots identify a couple of devices on the network that might be exploitable - a printer, two coffee machines - but she leaves them alone, for now.

Instead, she trawls conspiracy theory forums for any mention of experimental modifications, missing soldiers, and questionable medical equipment shipments. Experience means her bots filter through everything, which saves her more than a few headaches, but also means that she waits hours before a possible hit. And that hit is a dead end.

The hours turn to days before she’s able to find an abandoned, locked forum with deleted answers to heavily coded questions. The last post is seven years old, ostensibly informing community members of upcoming changes to the forum. The veil over the warning of government surveillance is thinner than tissue paper.

It’s the closest thing she has to a lead, so she makes a new post and sets her bots to monitor it.

>>18|\/|48(Guest): GTJTFs producing new 141 units? Leaked production reports, new specs?

She doesn’t expect a response, but maybe an auto-responder will give her a clue of where to look next. So it’s jarring when she gets an encrypted email with a reply from “dimentionspoker@noreply.co,” an hour later.

new units? have info on old units if you need references. let me know.

—

The middle city isn’t the safest, for all that the well-to-dos topside like to pretend that the truly unsavory elements aren’t that close to their picturesque lawns. Naya’s lived here her whole life, though she’s worked above a time or two. Even so, she’s never ventured this close to the freight shafts down to the docks.

The bar she steps into is loud and smells like liquor and motor fluid. It’s dim, and smoky, and she feels eyes on her as she makes her way to the bar. Her interface lights up with pings and an attempted ID and bank chip skim. All they get for their trouble is her least informative ID tag - Bambi.

The bartender, a large bodied person with the simple tag of Engine, operates behind the bar with four cybernetic arms. There’s no digital queue for her to log in to, or even a service request button on the seemingly organic wood bar. So she stands, hands folded on top of the bar for them to finish pouring drinks and notice her standing there.

Just as the barkeep’s attention slides her way, a warm body presses up behind hers. She stiffens as a the person jostles her to lean heavily on the bar. “Eng! Another for me. And whatever my cute new friend wants.”

A refusal is on the tip of her tongue, but when she looks up into slitted yellow eyes haloed by curled black and purple freeform locs, she gets an encrypted message.

>>>Bricks: Hello Bambi. >>>Bricks: Order a drink and come with me.

—

"They shouldn't be locked up. They're people, not mindless killing machines."

Across the table, under the dim lights, the woman called Bricks cocks her head. She’s a true cyborg, someone who’s modifications are probably keeping them alive. The cybernetics of her left arm extending well into her ribcage. She doesn’t hide it. Under dark overclothes, a slouching shirt exposes the metal of her collarbones, the servos that whir as she breathes. She swirls her glass of Jack and Coke with an amused look on her face as a barely muffled moan pierces through loud music.

Naya takes a deep breath to keep from fidgeting. It took three months to arrange even this meeting with the elusive American arms dealer, in the back of this dingy bar on a busy Friday. She wasn't about to lose the lead just because she could hear lewd comments and barely muffled squeals of pleasure from the nearby hall to the washrooms. The more concerning noise was coming from behind her, anyhow, the thump of knives into a dart board, distressed beeping from the unlucky mini-droid bound to the target.

"You want me to set up a meeting with the Watcher," Bricks drawls, sitting back in her chair. Her pointed cybernetic nails drum against the table. She doesn’t bother to whisper, but both of them have been disrupting any listening devices in range. "So you can make sure that Price's monsters are being treated humanely?"

"They're not monsters," Naya hisses.

"You've never seen them." It's not a question.

"I don't need to see them to know they shouldn't be kept locked in cages."

Bricks freezes with her glass halfway to her lips. Her eyes narrow. “Cages?”

“That’s what I saw.” Gritting her teeth, Naya hisses. “Look. You know what it means to be augmented, what extensive modifications are like. But without anesthesia? I wouldn’t wish that on anyone, not even my worst enemy.”

“You’d be surprised what I would wish on my worst enemy, sweetheart.” Bricks chuckles and throws back the last dregs of her drink. "But you know what? Fine."

"Fine?"

"Fine. You want in so bad? I'll set up a meeting with the Watcher, and Price."

Well. That was easier than expected. "What'll it cost me?"

"Oh, your whole life, probably. Your whole world view, certainly," Bricks chuckles. She gives Naya an obvious once over, gaze lingering on her breasts. "But you don't owe me any more than a quick flash of your tits."

That does make Naya’s confidence falter. "W-what?"

"You heard me. C'mon, give me a little peek, and I'll send a message right now. You can have Price's monsters off their leashes by the end of the week." Bricks grins, slit pupils pulsing wide with interest. "We don't even have to go anywhere, just pull down your shirt a little bit."

"I'm not..." Naya looks around, furtively. "This isn't exactly priv-" She flinches as she's interrupted by a loud moan, followed by a cheer from the rest of the bar.

"You're asking me to let your hands get real dirty, sweetheart." Bricks stands and circles the table to crowd Naya against the wall. She dips down to breathe into her ear. "And unless you want word to spread of a cute, clean cut, little topsider digging into illegal soldier mods, you're gonna pull your tits out and take the money I give you, after, Bambi."

There’s something behind the predatory look in the taller woman’s eyes. A challenge. She’s called Naya’s bluff, hasn’t she? When she refuses, Bricks will send her off with a laugh and a pat on her ass. And she’ll be back at square one, unable to face the danger of diving deeper again.

But Naya’s never been accused of knowing when to back down.

It’s the work of a moment to have the various video feeds in the room start a ten second loop. Her bots use movement patterns to make the video seem natural to anyone not looking closely. Bricks makes an interested noise when the video feed from her cybernetic eye continues showing Naya’s darting eyes and regular breaths. Her organic eye takes in the way Naya’s hands come up to unclasp the front of her shirt.

She takes a deep breath before hooking her fingers into the neck of her undershirt. She looks down as she inches it down to reveal the scalloped edge of her bra, instead of looking to see if Bricks is aroused or amused or some other, worse thing.

Before she can truly expose herself, a warm hand touches her wrist. “So eager. Not even gonna give me a little tease?”

>>>Bricks: Nice trick with the cameras, but you’re going to call attention.

Naya tips her chin up and immediately regrets it when Bricks leans down to meet her. Her breath shivers between their lips. When a metal arm comes up to block her view of the rest of the room, she turns her face away.

>>>Bambi: It’d be more suspicious if I let everyone have a clip for distribution.

“Smart girl,” Bricks whispers against her temple. “Take the credits.”

The fund transfer Bricks initiates has a public comment attached. ‘Classy. Could almost be the real thing.’ Naya glares up at Brick’s smirking face as she accepts the transaction. Two hundred. It feels like too little and too much money at the same time. Almost immediately, she gets inquiry pings from six other patrons the bar.

“And that’s your alibi,” Bricks chuckles, stepping back so quickly that she barely has time to put herself to rights. “Let’s go, sweetheart.”

—

Naya tries not to fidget in the freight elevator, down, down, down, into The Throat. Bricks's arm is a possessive weight on her shoulder. On the other side of the lift, a startlingly tall man stares at them through the holes in a cloth sack. When she meets his eyes, something writhes where his mouth should be.

"Eyes to yourself," Bricks growls when he takes a half step in their direction. Her cybernetic arm crackles warningly.

The man visibly considers his options before making a guttural sound. A thick appendage, tongue or tentacle, Naya can’t really tell, pokes out from under the hood. He mutters something she doesn’t understand in under-tongue. Bricks hisses something back, pushing Naya behind her as she takes a threatening step forward. The man flinches, then crowds himself into his corner. He doesn’t even look in their direction for the rest of the descent.

When the doors open, Bricks holds her back until the man leaves, then steers her out into the street. Naya's been under-city before, but not in this bloc. The air is just as stale and hazy as she remembers, but this shaft doesn't see as much vertical commuter traffic as some of the others, so the street is dark instead of lit with neon. The faintest bit of light filters down from straight above.

Groping for something to say, she asks, "Did you know that guy?"

Bricks snorts, keeping an arm around her's waist as she steers her along. "Yeah."

“What did he want?”

She gets an uninterested shrug. “The same thing any bottom dwelling opportunist wants.”

It’s not hard to imagine what she means. When she doesn't say anything else, Naya searches for another topic. She swallows her pride and forces herself to say, "Thank you for setting up this meeting."

"Don't thank me yet, sweetheart. You're gonna hate me soon enough."

"I know it's dangerous for you," she insists as Bricks draws her down a side street. Dangerous is an understatement, if the Ghost Teams are so far gone that they’re experimenting on human beings. "Even if things are hard, moving forward, I appreciate your help."

Bricks doesn't answer. Instead, she knocks on a barred door. It opens a crack, and she and the other person hiss low words at each other. A shining green eye looks Naya up and down, the door shuts, and Bricks draws her away.

They stride, briskly, back to the main street. Bricks asks, "Do you have a respirator?"

"Yes."

"Put it on, don't speak."

Wordlessly, Naya unfolds the mask from her pocket and covers her mouth and nose. Bricks pulls a dark scarf from her shoulders and wraps it around Naya’s head and neck, and then drops a poncho over her head. Somehow, the mercinary looks bigger in just her thin shirt, the muscles and metal in her shoulders more pronounced.

Ten minutes into their silent walk, a man melts from the shadows and starts walking on Naya's other side. Though she can’t see much under his baggy clothes, his gait speaks to digitigrade modifications. When she glances up, he has a faceplate under his own hood. His voice, when he speaks, is robotic. "Bricks."

"Roach."

“You’re looking smug and determined.”

“I’m on a very… interesting job.” An encrypted message gets passed between the two of them, and Naya frowns behind her mask. She shouldn’t be able to tell that a message was sent, though, so she bites her tongue. Bricks smirks down at her, then turns her eyes forward. “What’s on your mind?”

"Shadows are hunting you. Seven thousand credits."

"That's insulting," Bricks dismisses. "Mace take the job?"

"That's insulting," Roach parrots back. Somehow, his metered and inflectionless voice sounds amused. A flurry of encrypted messages flows between them. Once those have finished, he says, "Come see us when your business with the Watcher is done." And then he fades away into the shadows again.

"Good job," Bricks whispers. "Stay silent. Keep taking deep breaths. Walk straight ahead. Don't run." And then she ducks down a side street, leaving Naya alone in the dark.

Fuck.

She keeps putting one foot in front of the other. Measured. Brisk, but unhurried. A couple of people pass on the other side of the street, then a man passes on her side. Under her poncho, she palms her pocket knife, but no one spares her a second glance.

After a full minute, Bricks slides out of the next alley and falls into step with her, a cigarette that smells like real tobacco between her lips. In her cybernetic hand, she has a twitching, bleeding length of what looks like an octopus tentacle the size of Naya’s forearm.

"You can talk now,” she says. “But you don't want to ask about this."

—

The respirator makes a lot more sense when Naya is led to a shaft to the Belly.

She’s never been to the middle level of the true undercity. Technically, no one should live in this industrial level, so there’s very little in the way of individual commerce and amenities. There is an abundance of dead “topsider tourists” every year, mangled and hacked to drain all of their resources before anyone can realize that they haven’t come home.

This lift is much smaller, just big enough for her to stand behind Bricks as the woman primes her arm. The edge of a plasma knife glows blue from within the mechanics of her bicep. When Naya activates the plasma in her own knife, Bricks looks over her shoulder at the near silent hum.

“You ever use that before?”

“Once.”

That earns an interested noise as the other woman faces forward again. “On a person?”

“…No.”

“Well, there’s a first time for everything,” is all she says about that as the elevator shudders to a stop. “Stay behind my right arm. If I tell you to drop, you fall to the ground and don’t move until I tell you.”

When the door opens, it’s into a pitch black alley. The only light is the obscured gleam from with Brick’s left shoulder. Something in the darkness hisses. Bricks strides forward, and Naya has no choice but to follow after.

They walk for a few minutes without incident before Bricks knocks on a nondescript door. Next to it, a biometric scanner creaks open and scans one of her eyes, then one of her metal fingers. Naya flinches at the noise of a series of locks grinding open.

A stern faced blonde woman is on the other side of the door when Bricks gestures Naya inside. She’s not wearing a respirator, but then, neither is Bricks. The woman doesn’t say anything, so Naya doesn’t either. She just waits for Bricks to finish securing the door, then returns to her spot just behind her.

“Watcher,” Bricks greets with clear good humor. “I brought you a little something.”

Naya huffs a surprised breath from her nose, but stays silent. The Watcher. The overseer of at least one of five active Modified Task Forces. She looks so… normal. A woman in her mid forties, maybe, face lined with stress but open. Naya feels a little thrown off. When the lights flicker, however, she catches the red shine of a cybernetic eye. Whatever mods she has, they’re hidden so well that Naya can’t even sense them.

The Watcher’s eyes scan her for a moment before she’s looking back to Bricks. Naya only has a moment to wonder why she hasn’t been pinged before she asks, “Alive?”

“You always pay more when they’re alive.”

What? Naya stumbles backwards until she hits the door. “What?”

Bricks throws a grin over her shoulder. “I told you not to thank me.” Turning back to the Watcher, she says, “Thirty thousand credits. Had a run in with the King on the way here.”

“No one told you to bring her alive. Fifteen, and we void the Shadows bounty on you.”

“Twenty five. You want her alive, trust me. And I can handle the Shadows on my own.”

Naya gapes at the two of them. A quick glance over her shoulder and query to the door confirms that the locks won’t open again without a lot more force than she could manage, even if she wouldn’t have to fight Bricks to get out. And the Watcher… isn’t motivated to let her live. Fuck. The little knife in her hands feels less than useless.

“She wanted to meet you,” Bricks continues, crossing her arms. “And Price.”

That makes the Watcher pause and look over Naya again. “Oh?”

“She used his name,” Bricks confirms. “Real skilled code-breaker.”

“Hm.” The Watcher frowns, then says. “Thirty thousand is a low ball offer, then.”

“She thinks you’re keeping the task force in cages,” Bricks chuckles. “I want to watch when she sees them for the first time.”

That gets a huff of amusement. “Thirty thousand and a show… Deal. Bring her.”

When the Watcher turns away, Bricks looks back at Naya with a surprisingly gentle smile. “Good job. Now comes the hard part. Let’s go.”

“What’s going to happen to me?” she doesn’t want to walk forward, but there’s not much else to do. She tries to stand away from Bricks, but it’s hard in the narrow hallway.

“Nothing, now,” Bricks laughs. “Got you through the door alive, and Watcher can always use a code breaker.”

It’s hard not to feel stupid. Naya struggles to keep her voice even. “So this was just… a bounty for you?”

“Better me than König.” Bricks wiggles the tentacle that she’s still holding in metal fingers. “And better now than when an actual bounty was on your head. Diving into secure government information brings out the worst kind of trouble. The Shadows would have killed you in your bed. Kortac would have chipped you, if they decided keeping you was worth it. This way, everyone gets what they want.”

“Except me,” Naya points out.

“You’re still alive, for now,” the Watcher points out from a few steps ahead, without looking back. “Considering the problems you’ve caused me, it’s tempting to kill you myself. But Bricks is right. I can always use a Breaker.”

“I don’t do that professionally,” Naya protests weakly.

The Watcher doesn’t break stride. “You do, now.”

They get into another elevator, big enough for eight people. There aren’t any floor indicators, but as soon as the doors close, it starts to descend. Wrapping her arms around herself, Naya shivers. At this rate, she realizes, she may never see the sky again. She’ll be locked in a cage next to the 141, underground, let out to circumvent code for… what? To support more killing? More human experimentation? If she doesn’t cooperate, will they experiment on her? Put a processor in her brain to erase everything about her except for her skill?

Tears gather in the corners of her eyes, and she can’t help a sniffle.

“None of that,” comes the surprisingly gentle voice of the Watcher. When she approaches, she puts a gentle hand on Naya’s shoulder. “You’re here now. There’s no going back. But we take care of our own.”

Bricks snorts. “For given values of taking care of. You are keeping the boys in cages after all.”

“That’s not helpful,” the Watcher says, producing a tissue from her pocket and dabbing at Naya’s eyes. She pushes the makeshift hood back and gently removes her respirator, scanning her face with hard blue eyes. Eventually, she asks, “Why did you come here, Bambi?”

Shoulders coming up around her ears, Naya gets the feeling that because I’m an idiot isn’t the answer she’s looking for. She looks down at her sensible shoes, bracketed by the Watcher’s own worn work boots, and confesses, “Bricks said I could meet with you, and Price. And… I thought I could… encourage you to treat the modified soldiers more like people than animals.”

“And I suppose this encouragement was going to come with a threat to leak records to the public?” The Watcher’s mouth twitches into a sardonic smile when Naya looks up at her again. “Bold.”

Bricks chuckles. “Naive.”

“Hopeful. And some of the best plans are the simplest,” the Watcher dismisses.

Naya wouldn’t call her plan to connect to the building’s intranet and threatening to disrupt all of the life support systems “naive.” Now that she’s locked in, it feels like a distinctly hopeless course of action. She’ll have to think of something else, fast.

The Watcher steps away as the elevator comes to a stop. The doors open into a large control room, huge observation windows giving a 360 degree view out into dimly lit halls. Bricks ushers Naya out, heavy hands on her shoulders, until she pushes her into a chair facing a window to the left side of the room.

“Did we miss feeding time?” Bricks grins and pulls a puzzle ball from her bag. Her cybernetic hand twitches and whirs as it clicks through combinations.

“Luckily for Bambi, yes.”

Before Naya can ask what feeding time entails, something drops from the ceiling on the other side of the glass, startling a yelp from her. It’s a man, tall and lean, slitted eyes shining a red orange as he stares at her face through the glass. He’s half dressed, only in loose pants. Thick, dark streaks of something wet cover his chest and splatter down his legs. The grin that splits his pretty face puts three pairs of sharp canines on display, stained red.

The Watcher pushes a button, an intercom. “Gaz.”

“Who’s this cute little thing, Laswell?” Naya shivers as Kyle “Gaz” Garrick looks her up and down. He looks just like his personnel file, except for a wildness around his eyes that changes his face from welcoming to something dangerous. “Could practically smell her from the street.”

“Back away from the glass, you’re filthy. What the hell did you roll in?”

The man ignores the Watcher, face going soft as he leans down to get on a level with Naya. “Hello, honey. Such a pretty girl, what are you doing down here? You a friend of Bricks?”

Something about his crooning voice makes Naya’s hair stand on end. At the same time, she finds that she can’t look away from the man’s eyes as he tilts his head. They’re such an interesting color, and he keeps shifting ever so slightly in ways that draw her eyes to follow. He jerks quickly to one side when her eyes dip down to the red and brown splashed down his chest, then smiles when she looks back at his face. His teeth - even the extra ones - are perfect and red. Naya’s heart beats a little faster.

A loud pop and sudden flash makes Naya jump as Gaz reels back with a snarl.

“I told you not to touch the glass,” the Watcher grumbles. “Clean up. Make yourself presentable. And remind the others to put their masks on.”

“Sir, yes, sir,” he hisses. With one last, sweet smile to Naya, he turns and strides away before leaping up to grab an exposed beam and hoist himself into the shadows above the observation room. He disappears in the space of a moment. No matter how Naya squints, she can’t tell where he’s gone.

“Don’t look any of them in the eye,” Bricks whispers from close behind, chuckling at the way Naya jumps. “They’re predators, sweetheart, and you’re the sweetest bite of prey they’ve had in a long while.”

“Bricks,” the Watcher (Laswell?) chides. “Get her keyed in. Bambi, you’re not to be alone in here. We’ll get you interfaced with security so you know how to do a lockdown sequence before you’re introduced to the Task Force.”

When she’s handed an interface chip, Naya blanches. “I can’t, I don’t have a hard disk reader. Why do I need to know the facility’s lockdown sequences?”

“There’s no where in this facility that they can’t get,” Bricks replies, distracted as she opens a floor panel to extract a series of wires, and what looks like a very robust integration cable. “And if you’re going to work here, you’re going to need to be able to keep them from dragging you off and eating you.”

“Bricks.” Laswell snaps. To Naya she explains,    “Everyone who works here needs to know how to lock down in case of emergency.”

Naya gapes. “Emergencies? They can - They’re not -! They have full access to the facility?”

“Of course. They can get out of the facility, too,” Bricks snickers. “Who’s going to stop them?”

“Bricks!”

“All of the records say that they’re severely restricted.” The tight squeak in Naya’s voice is undeniable. “What do you mean they could eat me?”

“Old records,” Laswell answers without looking. A terminal lights up under her fingertips. “The only way the SAS would let us keep the facilities without bomb chips. Let me know when you’re ready for input.”

“The part about eating me?” Naya flinches as Bricks circles behind and pushes her hair up to expose the port beneath her left ear.

“If you’re as good as I think you are, you don’t have to worry about that,” Bricks says, shoving the cable into place. “Go.”

“What-”

Laswell launches the integration before she can get the question out. Naya’s whole body jolts, brain flooded with sudden input. She doesn’t dive into the data so much as she’s dragged under the tidal wave of the facility.

The whole structure unfolds around her, five floors, twelve stories down, three shafts up, two elevators, one stair. She’s in the observation tower, which descends three more floors. Heat, cooling, air filtration, power, food storage, office of Watcher One Kate Laswell, office of Bravo One John Price, research labs east and south, conference rooms, break rooms, sleeping quarters, inventory, directory of personnel.

Access Denied.

It’s nothing to shuffle the alert away. Asset Records. Veronica “Bricks” Mason, Gary “Roach” Sanderson, Mason “Mace” Ward, [Redacted] Nikto, Morgan “Sparrow” Voss. The list goes on. Task Force 141. Kyle “Gaz” Garrick, John “Soap” MacTavish, John “Bravo One” Price, Simon “Ghost” Riley. Vital statistics steady, duplicate identification signals, three dead copies, one living set. Security, kill switch overrides. These doors won’t close, but they’ll tell the observation tower that they have. Interesting.

Diving a layer deeper, she observes three separate security records. One is distressingly familiar, the records she’d found before, that spurred her to find Bricks, full of echoes of old code, now that she can see it. Then the one with logs going to Watcher One Kate Laswell, current and accurate. Except that the third log indicates security discrepancies and pings to KGKLJMJPSR. She logs the discrepancy on her own, internal system, a reminder to see if she can piggyback on someone else’s clearance.

Now that she’s thinking about it, she scans for what her clearance is supposed to have access to. It’s the second level, the one that doesn’t actually close the security doors surrounding the servers, sleeping quarters, and the observation tower. Well, that won’t do. She makes a digital copy of KL’s access and patches it into her own.

Just as she finishes, four ID tags simply labeled “Ghost” enter the lowest observation tower floor. That’s a glaring red security alert, and it only doubles in urgency as he accesses the hatch to the system port cable.

“Oh, that’s bad,” she hears herself say aloud as she gropes, blindly for the cable in her neck. “Ghost is accessing, I need to disconnect before he-“

Three more security alerts come up as the ID tags for Bravo One, Gaz, and Soap appear around the top floor of the observation tower, their floor. Naya quickly circumvents the overrides on the blast doors, and half observes rolling shutters covering the windows as Laswell makes a startled noise. Unfortunately, Ghost finds her while she’s distracted.

And he is a ghost, sliding between the layers of Naya’s own security code like a cold breeze. He rifles through her ID cards before she can even try to lock down. When she tries to lock him out of her interface, he slams through so fast it sends her reeling. Unfortunately for him, and for her, he trips over her Brain Blast in the process. The packet of musical theater data explodes to override everything she’s connected to, knocking her out of her connection to the facility and blaring Ohmigod You Guys through the speaker systems of the facility.

“What the fuck,” Veronica Bricks Mason shouts, covering her ears.

“Sorry, sorry,” Naya yelps. She manually reopens her access to the facility and cuts the sound. Her head spins with new information that she doesn’t have time to let her organic brain process. Ghost is nowhere to be found, but she doesn’t wait around to see where he pops up again before locking herself down and physically removing the cable from her neck. “Ghost tripped my security protocol.”

“You shouldn’t be able to influence any part of the facility,” Watcher One Kate Laswell observes. “Which means you’re every bit as good as Bricks says you are. Why did you lock down the tower?”

“Just this floor,” she answers absently, looking around as her interface flashes and labels new data points about her surroundings. It takes a moment for her to filter through everything enough to focus. “Bravo One, Gaz, and Soap were approaching as Ghost tapped in on the bottom floor.”

“I should have charged more,” Asset:Mason chuckles.

“Maybe you should have, Veronica,” Naya replies without thinking.

The woman just laughs. “Oh ho ho, you’re even better than I thought.

Watcher One Laswell drums her fingers on the table. “You don’t have a hard disk reader. Can you still access the facility without a hard line?”

Naya has to shake her head before she runs a quick system check. A ping to the 141 Facility gets a happy little ping back. “Yeah. My, um… my interface is a bit more robust than standard.”

Watcher Laswell nods. “Noted. Reset the security settings.”

Naya almost does it on autopilot, but stops herself. Running a quick check, she shivers. “They’re still out there. Three of them.” When Laswell only nods, she nudges the blast doors and security shutters to open. It takes a moment, but eventually they start to rumble to life.

Worryingly, when she can see through the windows again, Bravo One, Gaz, and Soap are no where to be found. The only active vitals in the facility say they’re right across the glass from where Naya is sitting. It sends a chill down her spine. Diving through the facility systems, she had felt untouchable. But she’s been outmaneuvered again. Unless…

She stands and leans closer to the glass, looking up into the shadows above.

Three pairs of eyes shine down at her from the darkness.

“They’re up there,” Naya whispers. When Laswell simply answers in the affirmative, she activates the intercom with a gulp. “Um. I’m sorry about the noise.”

“That’s quite alright, sweetheart,” a deep voice answers. “Ghost has a way of startling pretty girls. And I quite like a bit of theater.”

Well it’s not Gaz, and there’s no hint of a Scottish accent. “Are you… Bravo One? John Price?”

“You are a clever one.” One of the pairs of eyes squints and tilts. Another shuts, and doesn’t open again. Soap’s tags move a short ways away as Price continues. “Bricks says you asked to meet me.”

“Yes, sir,” Naya says, and then remembers too late that Bricks said not to meet their eyes. She tears her eyes away and jumps at the sight of John “Soap” MacTavish standing a few feet down the hall in front of her.

He looks good, surprisingly so. His hair is long, braided mohawk shining. A gleaming scar is the only indication of the wound that almost killed him. He’s healthy, big and bulky and dressed casually in black joggers and a tight black tshirt. Bright blue eyes with crossed pupils scan her face with interest. When he grins at her, his sharp teeth flash with titanium augments.

“Gaz wisna exaggeratin,’ ye smell quite nice, Bambi,” Soap purrs.

“What part of ‘masks on’ don’t you all understand?” Laswell grumbles.

“They’ve already got her scent,” Bricks snickers. “Did Ghost get your tags Bambi?”

“He did,” Price confirms from above. “Naya Walker, also known as Bambi. Computer scientist, you’ve sold a couple of database systems. Quite impressive.”

A pit opens in her stomach. Ghost had access to her system for less than three seconds. Her throat is tight when she says, “Thank you, sir.”

“So polite,” Gaz chuckles from above. “Come say hello, doll.”

Naya chances a glance back at Kate, then looks back at Soap, then up at the single pair of shining eyes above as Price’s ID winks away from your awareness. “I’m not sure I have clearance for that.”

“You didn’t have clearance to know about this facility,” Gaz points out. “And yet, here you are. Pretty as a picture.”

“Jesus,” Bricks mutters as Laswell makes a startled sound. “We really should put a bell on you.”

And then a huge hand presses against the glass next to Naya’s face. She startles backwards and runs into a huge, solid body, and yelps as a strong arm catches her about the waist.

“Caught ya,” a fourth, deeper voice rumbles above her. His other hand catches both of her wrists and immobilizes her as she stares at dark brown stains up to his wrists. “Been teasin’ us f’ months, dippin’ in an’ out ‘f m’code. So careful, li’l fawn. But not careful enough.”

“Ghost,” Laswell says. The whine of a plasma weapon being primed pierces through the otherwise silent room. Naya squeezes her eyes closed.“Hands off. That’s my Breaker.”

“’S’at so?” Ghost bends down, so far down, it seems, to drag the tip of his nose along Naya’s temple. “Seems she moight be mine, since I invited ‘er.”

“Speaking of,” Bricks interjects. “I’ll take my finder’s fee, now.”

“Bricks.” Laswell hisses.

“Transfer’s cleared, Bricks,” John Price says with a chuckle. “Pleasure doing business, as always.”

Like Gaz and Soap, Captain Price is bigger than his file made him seem. They’d shaved him, when they had replaced some of his bones with metal, but now his facial hair is as full and vital as the rest of him. This close, Naya can see the mechanics whirling within his eyes.

Leaning against his free side, Gaz licks his lips with a tongue that seems too long. But she only sees them for a moment before she’s being turned around, still wrapped in Ghost’s arms.

On the left side of the room Bricks lounges in a chair, tossing and catching and cycling through the combinations on her ball. She’s grinning like she’s gotten away with murder. Maybe she has - she’s been paid three times today for possibly the easiest bounty of her career. Across from her, Laswell holds a glowing knife in a loose grip by her side, shooting an annoyed glare at the other woman.

“What the hell is this?” Laswell hisses.

“You told us to stop hunting your techs,” Price chuckles.

“Bambi is mine,” Kate reiterates, glaring out the glass.

“Just a wee taste, Watcher,” Soap burrs from somewhere. “Ghost is code breaker enough, ye dinnae need another.”

Naya feels her entire body go cold. She takes a deep breath, reconnects with the facility, and runs Flash_Bang.exe.

—

The underground building has a straightforward layout, but that’s dangerous. Naya flicks away the alert when Ghost manages to patch his way back into the facility and silence the music - fuck, it only took him twenty eight seconds? - and ducks under a desk in the office she broke into, one floor down.

It’s hard to stay one step ahead of him, but her spiders and bots repair the five second camera feed loops as soon as he forces the cameras back online. He only wastes time breaking a third of the bot codes before he seems to realize that they’re replicating and switches to tagging, leaving them to run their processes.

It takes two agonizing seconds for her to open the audio relay from the observation tower without revealing her location to Ghost’s sweeping pings.

“-vilian running wild and scared through a secure facility, John.” Kate snaps.

“I thought she was your new breaker,” Gaz snickers. “Not really a civilian.”

“Nae,” Soap interjects. Naya is glad she doesn’t have video to see the nasty smile she can hear in his voice. “Watcher’s right. We cannae let her get too far.”

“She’s fucked the cameras,” Ghost chuckles. “Could get them back online, but it’d take some time.”

Price hums. “Location?”

“West labs’re pingin’,” Ghost answers. He sounds pleased. “Don’t mean much. She’s got bots spoofin’ her IDs.”

“Smells like she’s gone to the east wing,” Gaz purrs. “Lots of classified documents that way, Laswell. Hate to think of what she might come across if she makes it down to the third floor.”

There’s a tense silence before something slams. Eventually, Laswell hisses, “Fine. Bring her back. Alive and unharmed.”

“No promises,” Soap laughs.

Naya scrambles from her hiding spot as she confirms that the cameras in this south wing hall are looped. She needs to get back to the north side of the facility to get to the stairs that might take her up and out. But first she needs to get them off her trail… Somehow.

There’s a janitor closet two doors down, and she spoofs the signal to unlock the door just long enough to slip through it. She looks for bleach and prays it will be enough to mask her scent, then curses to herself when she realizes the bleach will be an obvious mark of her presence. She can’t just erase herself in the physical world the way she can, digitally.

An encrypted message alert calls her attention.

>>>Bricks: Soap will run at you directly. Gaz likes to ambush. Good Luck!

“I c’n see that, Bricks,” Ghost rumbles.

“She’s already at a disadvantage,” the mercenary chuckles. “Poor little thing, you’re going to eat her alive.”

“Oh, she’s not as harmless as all that,” Price laughs. “Took over the whole facility, gave Ghost the slip-“

“I let her go,” Ghost interrupts.

“Set up the meeting so there’d be no one here but us. Got her hands on the codes she thought would let her take control of us, the mindless killing machines.” John continues. He chuckles. “She’s a smart little thing.”

“She got the deadswitches?” Bricks sounds genuinely surprised.

“Command codes. The first ones,” Ghost confirms. “Duds, since we don’t have the chips, but she don’t know that.”

Well, she does now. Naya grabs three bottles of bleach and puts her respirator back on as her mind races. Part of what made soldier modifications so disgusting were the control processors. The irony of finding out that the 141 had somehow removed theirs was not lost on her. They’re already as free as she’d hoped to help them be, and they’re using that freedom to hunt her like animals.

The IDs for Soap and Gaz are still a floor above, moving slowly, following her trail. Ghost and Bravo One are still in the observation tower. She opens one bottle and rolls it back down the hall she came down, then jogs the other way, splashing the bleach as she goes. The observation tower in the center of the floor has mirrored glass, spiking her heart rate every time she catches sight of herself out of the corner of her eye. It’s so jarring that she almost doesn’t realize Gaz and Soap are coming out of the nearest elevator.

She ducks into an office just as the bell dings around the corner.

“Ach, that’s nae very nice, Bambi,” Soap calls. When he speaks next, it’s muffled, likely by his own respirator. “Ghost, she’s scent bombed the whole steamin’ floor. Where is she?”

“Don’t be lazy, Johnny,” Ghost chuckles. “’Ardly a hunt if there’s no challenge.”

“She’ll want the stairwell,” Gaz says. “Lock it down.”

“Already done,” Ghost says. “But locks aren’t exactly a deterrent, if you ‘aven’t noticed.”

“Bottle rolled down this hall,” Gaz says. “So she probably took the other.”

“Aye, that’s what she wants us to think,” Soap chuckles. “I’ll clear this side.”

Naya holds her breath as heavy footsteps start toward her hiding spot, then go so light she almost can’t hear them. She watches the light under the door and resists the urge to flinch at the appearance of a shadow. The man - Soap’s ID sits like a brand so close to her own in her interface - lingers by the door for a long moment then moves on. He’s so quiet that she keeps the map of the floor up to watch his progress. He’s listening for her, she realizes, stopping at each door. She’s lucky that the air circulation vents are above the door, or he might have heard her heart racing.

When Soap and Gaz each turn corners to start investigating the south wing, Naya finally lets herself take more than the shortest breath. She eases the lock open with a flinch at the mechanical click, but neither Soap nor Gaz change their trajectory. When she opens the door and peeks out, the hall is empty. So she eases her way out, crouches low, and shuffles as fast as she can to the stairwell.

She gives the locks three scans before coding them to unlock. The light turns green without incident. She waits for a moment. Soap and Gaz move just a bit farther away. Naya breathes a silent sigh and eases the door open.

“Got her,” Ghost says. “She’s in the stairwell.”

Above her, a door slams open. Naya yelps and starts jogging down the stairs before she can hear what Captain Price yells down at her. She brute forces her way through the lock codes for the third floor and pulls the door open, throwing her bottle of bleach at the wall before slamming it shut. She trips every proximity alarm she can, leading west through the third floor as she throws herself down the next flight. At the fourth floor door, she creates a signal loop, mindful of the door sensor she’d overlooked before. She hears Gaz and Soap slam through the second floor door open just as the door to the fourth closes behind her.

Too late, she realizes that she can’t hear into the tower anymore, and the map of this floor is all static in her interface. The schematics she had before are corrupted - Ghost’s doing, most likely. She can still see the locks on the doors, the terminals connected to the intranet in the various offices. It will have to be enough.

She darts into the eastern wing of the floor and realizes that no, it won’t be enough. The layout is different than the upper floors. The observation tower has no windows in this direction to speak of, for one. And the cameras are few and far between. The doors are also farther apart, and low pile carpet gives way to hard linoleum.

When she turns the corner, she gasps and ducks. Not that it would have helped any. She’s faced with a gymnasium, weight machines and benches and treadmills like a normal gym, except with weights so large it’s almost comical. There’s no one here, but the open space feels like a threat all the same. She turns tail and jogs back toward the observation tower.

As she turns south, she realizes that the tower has no windows on this floor. It’s not a relief, not really. Even if no one can see her, she’s trapped. Gaz and Soap are still looking for her, one floor up. How long will that last? The bleach trick can only work for so long, probably. And Ghost is good, it’s only a matter of time before he breaks into the camera bot code and finds her. How is she going to get up, past the first floor, let alone the next twelve flights of stairs to the streets of the Belly.

God, how is she going to make it home?

Her vision blurs with tears before she can finish taking her next breath.

“No, no, no, no, no,” she whimpers before a hiccup jolts through her. Her breath shudders from her throat as she swipes at her eyes. “No, no, keep it together, it’s gonna be okay. I can figure this out, I can. I can, it’s okay.”

“Bambi? Talk to me,” Brick’s serious voice comes through, suddenly, fuzzy but definitely there. “Those sound like tears, sweetheart.”

Naya sobs, she can’t help it. It’s a few seconds before she can force more words out. “Why did you do this to me?”

“You asked me to bring you,” Bricks reminds her with a soft chuckle. “Didn’t know you were gonna try to take over the whole facility, or I might have set something else up. But if you come out now -“

A hand touches Naya from behind and she screams, throwing a HardReset packet into the space before she can even wonder if that would have any impact on Soap or Gaz. When she whirls around, though, a man she doesn’t recognize is slumped against the wall, barely keeping the weight of a bricked cybernetic leg from dragging him to the floor. Her interface has a moment to tell her this is “Mace,” before she’s darting around him and running again.

“Fuck!” the man shouts. “Watcher what the fuck- No, I’m on the fucking training floor, why the hell-“

“Bambi,” Bricks shouts, “Do not go into the w-“

She slams the connection shut and tries, unsuccessfully, to wipe her tears away. The distraction is probably why she doesn’t realize she’s heading north, but she knows her mistake as soon as she hears the stairwell door open.

She screams again, right in Gaz’s face, can’t help it now that she’s finally made noise. She dodges his reaching hand and bolts, knowing she can’t outrun him, but what else can she do?

“Shite. Ghost!” Soap calls. “Lock it doon!”

Naya dives through a blast door as it slides shut, ignoring the myriad of voices that shout at her. Through the panic, she terminates all of her bots and slams all of her processing power into separating Ghost from the security access from the floor. He puts up a fight, but another BrainBlast and FlashBang gives her the two seconds she needs to take control.

An alert flashes.

<<Message from: WatcherOneKL. Accept?>>

Sitting on the floor, panting and sniffling, she gulps a deep breath. Someone pounds on the door, but it’s solid, and Ghost can’t get past her bots to regain control. She’s safe.

—

In the observation tower, Price frowns at the data pad in his hands. “Ghost, Bricks. Where did you say you found Ms. Walker?”

“Found us, really,” Ghost mutters, focused on the 3D hologram of the facility. Bambi’s ID markers dance all over the place. He’s running algorithms to try to find a pattern, but she’s three steps ahead, it seems. “Set out a lure and she tore through it like tissue paper. An’ then she made a forum post lookin’ f’r information on soldier mods.”

“Scrubbed everything clean,” Bricks adds. “We couldn’t find her for days after she blew through everything. I got lucky that I found the forum post, it didn’t even trigger Ghost’s spiders.”

Price hums. “And… did either of you confirm which hacker group she’s a part of?”

“Didn’t really have time,” Bricks answers with a shrug. “As soon as I confirmed who I was, she demanded to meet Laswell, and you.”

“Interesting. Any of you ever hear of a group called the Archivist Collective?”

Laswell frowns. “Collective for Anarchy?”

“No.” Price shakes his head. “Archivist Collective. It’s the only thing coming up with her background check. And she’s not a known member of any of the major hacking groups.”

Bricks shrugs. “Obviously, she’d use another alias.”

“No,” Price says again, walking over to show Laswell and Bricks the data pad. “None of her aliases are connected with anything but this Archivist Collective. And their only mission is to ‘Counter censorship through the collection, preservation, and dissemination of contested and classified texts.’”

Ghost makes an interested noise and leaves the hologram to start another terminal whirring. “Let’s see what they’ve got then -… oh.”

Bricks sits up from her sprawl. “Oh?”

“They’ve got an archive. Barely any security at all. Hosted on the GaiaPet: Craft servers.”

“GaiaPet?” Kate frowns. “Isn’t that a… virtual pet game? Where people make things with voxels? Procedurally generated…. They’re definitely robust enough servers for cyberattacks-“

“It’s jus’ a fuckin’ library,” Ghost grunts, navigating through. “Huge text files, embedded images. Some of it’s definitely classified. But tha’s oll… Oh, shite. Jus’ found our records.”

Bricks looks from the terminal in Price’s hand, to Ghost, and back. “Wait. John, you said she sold a couple of database systems. She’s got to be working with some data brokers, at least.”

“This says she developed and sold literal systems,” John says, horror dawning on his face. “A spreadsheet editor and a UI designed to organize complex data sets. As far as I can tell, she doesn’t sell information. Everything she’s got, besides those systems, is open source.”

“Oh, fuck,” Ghost breathes.

Kate strides up to look at his screen. “What?”

“She’s got an active account on GaiaPet. A pet frog named Señor fuckin’ Snuggly. Her last login was today, and her chat with the AI said ‘Wish me luck, if we can’t get those soldiers released, we can at least get the information out there.’”

The silence in the room is palpable. And then Bricks says, “Bambi? Talk to me. Those sound like tears, sweetheart.”

—

Naya keeps her arms wrapped around her knees until she stops shivering. In that time, two more message request alerts pop up, from BravoOneJP and GhostSR. All of them are marked maximum priority, and she has no desire to touch them. She can see the signal burst of Bricks trying to talk to her, but she’s muted the feed so that she can just have… a single second to breathe.

Her interface pushes everything away to prioritize an SOS signal, then automatically begins transcribing the subsequent Morse code message.

SOH. West wing dangerous stop. Battle androids stop. 15 active 20 inactive stop. GSR give code for control stop. Confirm stop. SOH. West wing dangerous stop. Battle androids stop. 15 active 20 inactive stop. GSR give-

She minimizes the message and sucks in the deepest breath she can, holds it, and forces herself to focus on her body. If she thinks about fifteen battle droids on this side of the door while modified soldiers hunt her on the other, she’ll start screaming and never stop. A part of her wants to lay down and just… give up. A big part. The whole part.

She opens the message from Laswell.

Bambi: You’re in a hazardous section of the facility. Ghost is standing down, for your safety. You will have to establish connection with the control tower to gain codes for control of battle -

Naya deletes the message and opens the one from Price. It’s more of the same, a demand that she open communication, a warning that the west wing of the floor is dangerous. She almost doesn’t open the message from Ghost, but… she doesn’t have much to lose.

She jumps when the message contains an audio file.

“Bambi, fuck, we didn’t know you was a literal archivist. Bricks an’ I fucked up. This is a truce, a suspension of hostilities. SOH. The training floor you’re on is fuckin’ dangerous, Bambi. Too dangerous for me to try t’ take it from you. You gotta take control of the droids. I can’t fuck wit’ ‘em while you’re in control of the space. I managed to confirm shut down of 20, but there’s 15 more. I c’n try to send the control codes this way, but the codes expire every 2 seconds. Better if you open comms. If you can’t, Morse confirmation, I’ll send the codes. Once you grab one, the rest will come for you. You’re fuckin’ fast, I know you can do it, but if you have an issue, open the door an’ Soap and Gaz’ll support.”

She’d rather be shot full of holes by military grade turrets than open the door. Her map of the facility is complete again, and she can see four IDs on the other side of the barrier. Soap, Gaz, Mace, and the redacted asset, Nikto, mill around, pacing between the blast doors and the central tower. But no one is pounding on the door or trying to open it, physically or otherwise. When she checks, her bots are idly cycling through access code randomization, but there’s no attempts at a breach.

Maybe Ghost is telling the truth?

She sends a Morse message.

Received stop. Hold for confirmation stop.

The answer is immediate.

Received stop. Holding for confirmation stop.

Does she want to open the comms? What if it’s a trap? Without knowing how long the code chains are, she’s at a disadvantage without a direct link to the tower. But if she opens connection to the tower, how can she guarantee that Ghost won’t command the androids to terminate her? On the other hand, if he is telling the truth, and the codes expire that fast, there’s no way she can locate and override that many machines that are actively trying to keep her out in time. And they are definitely trying to keep her out - her spiders have been able to confirm twenty units on standby, and fifteen empty holding stations, but there’s no sign of the other droids.

With a shaking breath, Naya opens the comms.

Brick's voice is the one she hears first. "Oh, thank fuck, she's back. Bambi? Can you hear me? Sweetheart, I need you to keep the blast doors static. If they cycle, they might start a lockdown sequence, and that will get the droids moving.” It takes two tries to get the words past her tight throat. "I don't want to die." "I'm so sorry, dove," Captain Price croons. "We’re gonna get you out of there.” "I won't tell anyone, I promise," Naya babbles though gasps. "I just want to go home." "You're gonna be okay, Bambi," Ghosts voice is surprisingly gentle. “Cleverest breaker above and below the city, yeah? Gave Soap an’ Gaz a proper chase an’ knocked Mace on ‘is arse. Coupl’a droids don’t stand a chance.”

“I’m not - I don’t know how to fight,” she whimpers.

“Who said anythin’ about fightin’? Pretty girl like you don’ have t’ lift a finger. Laswell?”

“Working on it,” the woman mutters. “Bambi, I need you to try to give us cameras without initiating any other processes. That’ll help- oh. You are fast. Give me a few seconds to find the nearest droids and we can give you the serial numbers.”

“She’s so small,” Price notes, somewhere in the background. “Possible the droids won’t even register her as a target.”

“I think we’ve fucked up enough today that we don’t need to risk it,” is Brick’s bone dry reply. “Sparrow is going to beat all of our asses.”

“Well, we’re about to give Bambi control of thirty-five full combat units,” the Captain points out. “Might not be much left of us to kick.”

Laswell breaks in. “Ghost-”

“Got em,” Ghost answers. “Bambi, ‘ve got a bead on the nearest units. ‘ow do you want to do this?”

Naya takes a couple of deep breaths and tries to hype herself up. It’s just code work. There are other variables, but at the core of it all, it’s just code. Yes, many of the variables have potentially painful and fatal consequences… But in the end, she can either do the code or not. And if there’s one thing she can do, it’s code.

“H-how,” she clears her throat and blinks back tears. “How many bits, per unit? For the key, I mean.”

“Forty ninety-six.”

Oh, just the highest security rating in the world, she thinks to herself, a little hysterical. She nods to herself and talks through the urge to giggle with nerves. “Okay. That’s seven hundredths of a second per unit, with the key. That’s… not so bad. I can probably handle them in batches of 5. Can I have the first hardware address? Morse, please.”

It takes a second, but the information comes through. It only takes a moment for a spider to highlight the machine in the network. Very quickly, her bots are able to identify and tag seven other units on her map. She shoots a summary data packet back to Ghost.

“Are these all droids?”

“Yeah, that’s half of ‘em. Laswell, she was able to identify all of the A-27 units, do you have eyes on any of the E-243s?”

In the background, Price mutters, “Kate hasn’t even laid eyes on all of the 27s.”

Another data packet comes through, and Naya is able to tag seven more dots on her map. Fifteen battle androids, and two of them just down the hall and around the corner on either side.

Naya takes another hiccuping breath. “How fast can they move?”

“A-27s are closest to you, they’re about a meter per second. The 243s move at about 4 per second.”

“Okay,” she says, holding her breath through another hiccup. She has two of her bots run movement simulations, and decides she’ll focus on the closest two A-27s, then the closest four E-243s. She has the processing power to do it, between her own interface and the facility. But… “I’m going to need these six keys first, but I have to let the doors cycle. How long is the lockdown sequence?”

Bricks makes a concerned noise before answering, “Fifteen seconds before you can open the door.”

So, if she messes this up, she’ll be dead for about 11 seconds before they’d be able to retrieve her body. Wonderful. “Ghost, I need all of the codes at once, in two packets, with the keys in this order. And then the next set of keys as soon as you have them. There’s a half second delay, so I need them as soon as they’re generated.”

Laswell sounds genuinely concerned when she asks, “Is that going to give you enough time?”

Naya runs the numbers again, and realizes that she’s fallen into a very peculiar state of calm. “I should have one point three seconds plus a little wiggle room per key. That’s plenty, for the first part. And if the first part doesn’t work… I don’t really have to worry about the rest of it.”

Captain Price’s voice is stern as he gives commands. “Gaz, tell Nikto to power up the cutter, in case we need to get you through the door. Bambi’s going to override the droids.” He’s quiet a moment, then, “Ghost says she can do it, and from what I’m seeing up here, I’m inclined to believe him. But the resets she did mean the door is going to lock down before she can open it again.”

Ghost says, “Ready to send the next round of codes on your mark, Bambi.”

Naya squeezes her eyes shut and sets her bots to be ready to receive and engage the keys. She takes one long, deep breath. Another. Lets all the air out in a huff. “Mark.”

As soon as the packet comes through, her interface is a flurry of executables and intrusion alerts. Her bots are fast, but the activation of the keys isn’t instantaneous. Just as she was warned, as soon as the first set of keys starts running, all of the droids set themselves to Active:Seeking, Objective:Eliminate. But almost as fast, they’re all placed back into Standby:HoldPosition in a wave that flows through the entire wing.

"That's all of em," Ghost sighs, four seconds later. Something creaks, probably the chair he's sunk himself into. "Fuckin' 'ell, she got all of em. Don' think she even needed me to provide the third set of keys. If she don't run screamin', I want her runnin' the damn-" Naya's heart spikes as an alert pings her interface. Her voice squeaks when she calls, "Ghost? There's two units coming online. They’re not listening to me, I can't stop them. What do I do?" Before she can hear his response, the power to the hall cuts out. Naya holds in a scream as everything goes dark and then red with emergency lighting. Captain Price's voice is overtaken by static, and then she loses the tower completely. Somewhere, in the darkness, she can just barely hear the whine of attack units Riley and Merlin priming their weapons.

—

“Goddamn it,” Kate snarls. “It’s the 9s. They’re jamming the signal.”

Bricks jumps up from her chair. “Bambi’s in there without access to the system?”

Ghost makes a disagreeing noise. “They’re active because she’s not an authorized user. They’re jamming anything that isn’t local to the wing, I should be able to patch- Johnny!”

“We cuttin, LT?”

“Forward these packets to Bambi, nothing else.”

“Aye - fuck!”

—

A message request from SoapJM flashes on Naya’s screen just as she finds out that these new droids can move at thirteen meters per second. When she opens it, she gets an immediate key packet. Every bot she has gets set to receive, but the keys are expired, so she has to wait an agonizing three-quarters of a second before the next ones come through.

Just as a next packet arrives, a blue beam of light slices across the end of the hall, then a second from the opposite side. She barely has time to match the keys to the hardware addresses before two furry muzzles round the corner, guns glowing from their shoulders. Naya has only a moment to recognize the controversial K-9 battle units before they both take a step in her direction. And freeze.

It’s an harrowing second of silence, two, three. She doesn’t even breathe.

With a whir, mounted turrets power down and withdraw back behind artificial fur. The K-9s change their status to Standby:AcceptNewObjective with identical head tilts. The one tagged Riley wags its tail and trots forward, tongue lolling like the average bio-dog. Merlin approaches with a little more hesitant body language, though Naya can see the way it’s integrating her tags into the authorized user list in its software.

She flinches away from the door at the high pitched whine of a plasma cutter on metal. Hastily, she sends an ‘All Clear’ message back to Soap, just as the lights come back on.

Captain Price’s voice resolves with renewed connection to the control tower. “-both of your necks. What were you thinking?”

“Oh, suddenly we’re all about vetting assets?” Bricks laughs. “You recruited me with a bag over my head.”

“You were an establlished CIA asset,” Laswell grits out.

Bricks scoffs. “And Sparrow and Nikto?”

“We wasn’t wrong,” Ghost interjects. “Bad intel aside-”

“No intel!” Captain Price half-shouts.

“-she took the facility from me twice and disarmed 15 droids in less than 4 seconds without any formal training. She’s good.”

“None of that matters if she’s dead,” Laswell snaps.

Naya clears her throat. “I’m not dead.”

“Bambi!” Bricks sound downright cheerful. “Doors are almost done cycling, you’re almost out. Hold tight.”

Petting a hand over the soft fur of Riley’s head, Naya feels for the lumps of it’s internal machinery. Of course, she can’t find it - K-9s were built for stealth and surveillance, to blend in with any other dog. These ones are modified for combat, but they’re still adorable.

It’s almost hard to believe that they were going to shoot her, less than ten seconds ago.

The blast door’s status changes to ready, an almost cheerful ping in her interface. She barely gives it a thought before initiating another lockdown sequence, then queuing two more behind it.

Ghost notices. “Bambi?”

“I need a minute, please,” she answers, then cuts the camera feeds.

Merlin eventually comes and sits just out of reach, tail thumping once against the ground. Naya pulls up it’s configuration settings and examines the personality controls. Calm, but friendly, alert, reserved, breaks “arbitrary dog rules” at a rate of 6%. Riley: open and playful, eager to please, breaks rules 17% of the time. Both locked to 141 facility 4th floor, west wing training center.

Do Not Remove.

—

When the blast doors open, Naya is standning a few feet back. Riley and Merlin lay on either side of her feet, solidly in a sleep cycle. Her fingers dig into the opposite sleeves of her cardigan as Soap and Gaz come into view, along with a fully functional Mace, and a fully helmeted cyborg she can only assume is Nikto.

“Steamin’ Jesus, bon,” Soap says taking a step forward. “Ye gave us a wee fright!”

“If you get within three feet of me,” Bambi says, pausing for a deep breath. “I’ll shoot you.”

Three set of eyebrows shoot up. Nikto’s faceplate remains unchanged. Gaz looks at the others before answering, “We’re sorry we frightened you, love. We didn’t know Bricks hadn’t-”

Naya interrupts him. “I would like to leave now.”

“Well…” Soap says with a shrug. “We can take ye back t’ Laswell?”

“That’s fine. Riley, Merlin, up.”

When the dogs “wake” and stand, Mace says, “They can’t pass that door.”

She takes a step forward, flanked by the dogs. “I think you’ll find that they can.”

“Nae, Bambi,” Soap says gently. “They’re hard coded-”

Riley’s turret activates as soon as Soap takes a step toward her. Naya takes another deep breath, and repeats, “If you get within three feet of me, I will shoot you.”

“Well you certainly won’t be doing that with the dogs,” Gaz scoffs. “We won’t touch you, but you really should come with… us.”

The dogs cross the threshold of the door with her, and the plasma cannon in Merlin primes with a dangerous, high pitched sound. When the stunned soldiers don’t step back, the dog’s chest panel opens with a blue glow.

“Three feet,” Mace says, taking two big steps back, hands in the air near his head. “You got it.”

“Yes, sir,” Gaz says aloud, taking his own step backwards. “The doors are open and we have eyes on her. She’s got the 9s with her. Well sir, it seems she’s taken a liking to them.” He pauses. “Soap did tell her that, but apparently she doesn’t really care.”

Naya rolls her eyes and enables the cameras in the hall. “So you’re all allergic to just saying things outright?” The muted audio feed is a flurry of activity, but she just gestures down the hall. “After you.”

—

In the end, everyone ends up in a second floor conference room. Naya stands by the far wall, Riley and Merlin a deadly guard panting in front of her feet. The other eight sit and stand at the other end, fidgeting and clearly searching for a way to break the silence.

Bricks tries first, “Sweetheart-”

“Give me a reason not to overload the filtration systems,” Naya interrupts.

That makes everyone flinch. Laswell clears her throat. “What-”

“Because,” Naya nearly shouts, “I could shoot at least two of you, but then you really would kill me this time. But if I backflow and spark the air, that would kill all of you.”

“Kill ye, as well,” Soap points out.

“I thought I was going to die about five times in the last hour,” Naya says, much calmer than she feels. “Mention me dying again and I’ll fry your interface.”

“Ghost just aboot did tha’ already,” Soap mutters.

“Need a hacker for an op. Thought you was a professional,” Ghost finally admits after a moment of tense fidgeting. “Way you ate through the files I laid out, blew through a 256 like tissue paper. Couldn’t find you after… Figured you knew what you was doin’. And y’do.”

Naya’s eye twitches. “And you couldn’t send me an email? Set up an interview?”

“I did try,” Bricks points out. “But you said all the keywords that tend to get a person fast tracked to a very classified meeting.”

“A very classified meeting where you sell me, twice and then hunt me for sport?”

“Everything sounds bad when you say it like that,” the other woman chuckles.

The air circulator over the door falls silent. In the ensuing silence, Naya can hear the servos whir in Bricks’s arm.

“Clearly, we made mistakes,” Laswell admits. “So. What do you want?”

“I want to not have been sold and hunted for sport. Barring that, I would like a time machine. I’d love to know what you consider an equitable offer, Watcher One.”

“What the fuck did you do?” Mace hisses at Captain Price.

“Apparently we made a tactical error,” the man grumbles. “And then a series of compounding tactical errors.”

“You did not ask Nikolai,” Nikto says, matter of fact. It’s the first Naya’s heard his voice, human and heavily accented. “Or Sparrow. She will not be pleased, I think.”

“None of Nik’s contacts c’n do what Bambi c’n do,” Ghost counters.

“Bambi can kill every person in this room,” Naya says, voice flat, emphasized by the glow of two plasma cannons. “Bambi can turn this whole facility into a goddamn crater. Bambi can post videos of the human experimentation to the holonet.”

“Woah, woah, woah,” Gaz says. “What human experimentation? No one’s experimenting on anybody.”

“I saw the videos!” Naya yells. “People in cages, people on operating tables, awake, screaming, crying. I saw people eating raw meat, off of leg bones, eating people!”

“Oh fuck,” Ghost says, voice wavering. His face is stricken when she looks at him. “Bambi, that weren’t for you to see, fuck, ‘ow deep did you fuckin’ go? I didn’t even-”

“That’s the job,” Bricks cuts in. “That’s why we needed a hacker, because we’re trying to stop that from happening, and we can’t get through their walls or exploit their vulnerabilities.”

“Oh, that’s just the “bad guys”?” Naya scoffs. “Okay. Why was Gaz covered in blood when I arrived?”

“Blood!” Soap yelps. “That was hydraulic fluid an’ oil! One of the bikes is actin’ up, and our mechanic isnae aroond!”

“It was in his teeth!”

“He’s bonnier than he is graceful!”

“Oh, fuck you, Tav!”

“You said you couldn’t promise to bring me back alive! Ghost called it a hunt!”

“Ah was jokin’!” Soap runs and hand over his mohawk. “We’re a right frightful lot, and sometimes we sneak aboot, but mostly people just cannae always hear us coming! Ye’d think we could catch one wee little civilian withoot incident!”

“You’re the one who was running through a secure facility,” Captain Price points out.

A plasma cannon discharges into the wall above his head. The whole room freezes for a beat before Naya hisses. “If you ever even think of implying-”

“Any information you find about Makarov and his dealings, you can make public,” Bricks interrupts. “Who, what, when, where, how. All of it can go into your archive.”

Laswell scowls. “Now hold on-”

Bricks talks over her. “We don’t have anything you want that you can’t just outright take, Bambi. That’s what you came here for. Information, and to get people out of cages.”

Nikto looks at Bricks and snorts before muttering something under his breath in Russian. Mace crosses his arms, leaning back in his seat and doing a much better job of keeping his thoughts off of his face than Soap and Gaz. The sergeants look horrified. Ghost looks about ready to throw up. Captain Price and Laswell share a sour, resigned look.

“You’ll have our backing,” Laswell sighs. “You’ll need something a bit more secure than the GaiaPet servers, or you’ll be tracked. But yes. You can disseminate the information.”

There’s a long moment of silence. Naya considers her options, arms around herself. The air circulator kicks back on.    Eventually, she says, “I want an advance. Thirty thousand credits, plus however much Price paid.”

“Done,” Bricks answers.

“And… I want seventy five credits an hour.”

“…Fine,” Laswell agrees.

“And I keep the dogs.”

Captain Price makes a disagreeing noise. “Those are government property.”

“Either I keep them, or I set them to self destruct and detonate every android on the fourth floor.”

Nikto says, “You are a bloodthirsty hind.”

“I’m really not,” Naya says. “But I’ve had a very long day. Do we have a deal?”

“Don’t think we have much of a choice,” Captain Price concedes.

Just then, the door to the conference room opens, and a brunette peeks her head in. Morgan Voss, “Sparrow,” as her ID tags her, nods at Laswell. “Just got in, didn’t know there was a meeting scheduled. What did I miss?” Her eyes drift up. “What the hell happened to the wall?”

[boyfhee]

⋆ NOW WE DATE ! · psh

CHAPTER THIRTEEN · dating hotspot

SYNOPSIS · everyone knew you were sunghoon's biggest fan— or so you claimed to be— it didn't take a scientist to guess after your nonstop gushing about him during enhypen's debut. now, they didn't know you found him 'so babygirl' not until you accidentally tweeted it on your main.

warnings · teensy bit of angst + suggestive dialogues, profanities

it took naya sixteen tries and forty-five minutes to convince you to come to the hybe cafe with the group. 

she didn’t think it would be this hard, considering your fixation with the desserts they serve. however, you happen to be sceptical and tend to sit and over analyse everything, and something about naya texting jake, and then asking the whole group to go to the cafe the first thing in the morning doesn’t sit right with you. 

you like giving people the benefit of doubt and believe that things are exactly how they seem, that naya and the rest of the girls only want to spend some time at the cafe since it’s been a while all four of you have been there, instead of there being a bigger, darker, picture. the four of you stand in the lift while waiting to get to the second floor as you watch naya type relentlessly on her phone.

“who are you texting?” you ask, pressing your lips in a thin line, raising your head up to get a peek if possible, however she tilts the screen towards herself, giving you a nonchalant shrug. 

“my brother,” and the lie rolls off her tongue ever so efficiently— it was bound to happen, her plan was deemed too good to fail. from what jake has told her, sunghoon is absolutely fucked in the head about you. not to mention, how he’s jealous of the fact that the actor park sunghoon got to kiss you first— although, for a scene— instead of the actual, real, park sunghoon who has real feelings for you and would like to kiss you on and off camera, every time, all the time. she is convinced that her plan has no loopholes, and that’s why her thumb softly taps over the send button ever so confidently as she texts jake about their arrival at the cafe. 

“uh, i’ll be right back,” yeon interjects as the girls take a seat, grabbing yinuo’s hands as she pulls the youngest member along with her, excusing herself to the washroom. 

naya smirks to herself as she sees the other two leave, looking over at you. “what do you want to eat? i was thinking if we should get macaroons or shortcakes, what do you think?” 

“macaroons would do,” and naya excuses herself to the counter, utilising every millisecond of her time to walk, occasionally stopping in her tracks to text jake on the situation. now, it’s just you and your suspicion sitting together at a table. 

and, the gaze of a certain australian boy projecting in your direction from a few metres behind. 

. . .

“sunoo, i need you to not fuck this up,” jake warns the boy again, hands on his waist as if this is about life and death (it almost is because they’re dealing with sunghoon) as he replies to naya, telling her that sunoo will be up there soon. 

“i’m telling you, i’ve never flirted with anyone in my entire life,” it’s sunoo’s last attempt at getting out of this situation, which is probably not possible because the rest six of enhypen members are terribly stubborn and practically threw him under the bus when it came to picking the ‘bait.’ “i’ll most likely end up laughing,” 

“dude, just tell her she’s cute,” heeseung pipes up, making sunoo roll eyes at his words. “compliment her hair or something,”

“why don’t you do it instead?” it’s evident how sunoo is sulking about the situation and jake is taking none of it, pushing him a bit as sunoo groans and walks up to you, making sure to look normal and like someone who’s approaching you without any hidden intentions. 

“oh, yn?” and sunoo is channelling his inner song joong ki as he fake gasps as you, making you turn around to look at him as you stand up and greet the boy. “wow, what’s a coincidence, i can’t believe you like food at hybe cafe too,” 

that’s the fakest, most unbelievable shit that has come out of sunoo’s mouth. even the intonation isn’t how he normally sounds, and he’s trying to be very normal here. he can see jay making annoyed faces at him from his peripheral vision although he tries not to react, focusing on your instead. you seem to believe is normalcy, and it’s going so good so far. 

“yeah, the macaroons here are quite good,” you reply with an awkward laugh, not internally screaming because naya is taking eternity to come back and it seems like yeon and yinuo got flushed down the toilet. you’re not the one with overflowing social anxieties, but how does one continue a conversation with someone who you have never really talked to so far? 

“just like you,” sunoo wants to dig a grave and bury himself alive because you look like you just heard the most inhumane thing ever. “i mean you and an idol, like your vocals are so good and i really look up to you. your dance style is cool, i like you—” 

and the next thing you remember is seeing sunghoon only a few steps away from you and sunoo, watching you two with a confused expression before he ran out. 

PREV · NEXT · MASTERLIST

note : crazy how i keep forgetting i have a smau to update anyway guys the writing here is shit i wrote that in ten mins hope u still like it though (idk how to end it)

[sillyname30]

Naya Rivera’s Ex Ryan Dorsey Speaks Out for the First Time About the Glee Star’s Tragic Death and Raising Their Son Alone (Exclusive)

"I'm not a big believer in everything happens for a reason because I can't ever think of a reason why he doesn't have his mom," the actor tells PEOPLE

This summer will mark five years since Glee star Naya Rivera’s shocking drowning death, but for her ex-husband, actor Ryan Dorsey, reminders are everywhere.

“I’m here in L.A. working at Warner Bros., and Forest Lawn Cemetery [where she’s buried] is on the other side,” Dorsey, 41, tells PEOPLE in this week's issue, on newsstands Friday. “So many songs make me think about her, like Amy Winehouse's 'Valerie,' which she sang on Glee, and ‘Sunflower’ by [Post Malone and Swae Lee] because I always used to get her sunflowers on Sundays.”

There’s also the fact that Dorsey’s son with Rivera, Josey, now 9, closely resembles his mom — and he has her personality to match.

“He’s definitely his mama’s son, because when he doesn’t get the answer he wants, he keeps talking,” Dorsey says with a grin. "He likes to talk, and that's mama for sure."

As Josey poses with his dad during their PEOPLE photo shoot at Calamigos Guest Ranch in Malibu, Calif., on Feb. 3, he comfortably strikes up conversation with the adults around him, cracking jokes and excitedly describing his favorite video games (Minecraft and Plants vs. Zombies, to name a few).

“He doesn’t know a stranger,” Dorsey says. “He is such a happy kid.”

Josey’s resilience isn’t lost on his dad or anyone familiar with their story: Josey was only 4 when he watched his mom drown at 33 on July 8, 2020, while they were swimming off a rental boat in Lake Piru in Ventura County, Calif.

“I treat him differently than I would a normal kid because of what he’s been through,” Dorsey admits. “For me, it’s not a big deal if he hears a bad word or if he sees someone get killed on TV. I don’t know if that’s a bad way to go about raising him, but it is the cards we were dealt.”

While Dorsey has largely remained quiet in the years since losing Rivera — still beloved among fans for her role as outspoken cheerleader Santana Lopez on Glee from 2009 to 2015 — he finally feels ready to talk about the tragic events and what his and Josey’s lives have looked like since.

"I've never been one to talk about my life like this," he says. "I've turned down so many of these kind of things, because it was too hard. I still can't really look at pictures of her, and it's still hard to talk, but I feel like I'm ready. There's just so much that happened."

The day Rivera died began without much fanfare for Dorsey. He had driven from L.A. to Big Bear Lake, Calif., for a friend’s birthday and was in a Ralphs supermarket when he received a call from Rivera’s mom Yolanda’s husband to tell him that Rivera was missing after taking Josey swimming.

“I instantly said, ‘What do you mean? She knows how to swim,’” Dorsey says. "He said, 'They jumped in, and Josey got back on, and they're trying to find Naya.' I collapsed into a pallet of drinks. I didn't know what to think, but I feared the worst.”

He immediately got into his car and sped the 145 miles to Lake Piru.

“I drove 100-and-­something the whole way with my four-way hazards on, chain-smoking cigarettes — and I don’t even smoke, really — and just crying,” he says. “I just wanted to get to Josey.”

Josey had been found asleep and alone on an adrift pontoon boat that Rivera had rented three hours earlier that day.

“If we’d have lost both Naya and Josey, I don’t know how I would continue on with my life,” Dorsey says. "I don't know what I would've done, but I'm sure it wouldn't have been good."

For five days search-and-rescue divers looked for Rivera.

“It was the worst five days of my life,” says Dorsey. "There was a fear, what if we don’t find her? It was just awful."

The search concluded on July 13, when Rivera’s body was found in a remote part of the lake. Dorsey says Josey has recalled more details of that day over time. He remembers that it was windy and describes being worried about getting into the water, but his mom told him, “Don’t be silly!

After some time swimming, Rivera noticed the boat — which hadn’t been equipped with an anchor or flotation devices, points that Dorsey included in the wrongful-death lawsuit he filed on behalf of Josey against Ventura County that was settled in 2022 — was drifting.

She told Josey to swim back. He remembers grabbing “the tanks” and pulling himself “around the boat,” says Dorsey. (The incident report said Rivera drowned after exhausting herself getting Josey back on the boat.)

“He said that the last thing she said was his name, and then she went under, and he didn’t see her anymore," Dorsey says, tears welling up in his eyes. "It just rocks my world that he had to witness her last moments.”

Dorsey says Josey still holds a lot of guilt.

“Something he’s said over and over is that he was trying to find a life raft, and there was a rope, but there was a big spider on the rope, and he was too scared to throw it,” Dorsey says. “I keep reassuring him, ‘Buddy, that rope wasn’t going to be long enough.' That obviously still sticks out in his head because he feels like he could have saved her. I think she just got caught up in a brush — that or a weird undercurrent from the dam. It was just a freak occurrence."

Dorsey — who dropped 40 lbs. due to the stress of Rivera's death — also can't help but think that if he'd been there, he could've done something to change the outcome of the day.

"I probably would have jumped in, and I like to think I would've saved the day," he says. "But on the other hand, I think maybe something bad could have happened to both of us. I don't know."

After Rivera’s funeral, Dorsey took Josey back to his home state of West Virginia to get away from paparazzi. When they returned to L.A., Rivera’s younger sister Nickayla, 30, moved in with them for about a year.

“She was such a big help,” he says. “I had to go to Vancouver for five months and Josey came the last month to stay with me, but during the time I was gone she held it down and kept that consistency. It was very surreal sometimes because the way she would say things to Josey would sound like his mom.”

Throughout their relationship Dorsey and Rivera were no strangers to having to weather headline-making ups and downs. They met during a night out in 2010, after Rivera's Glee costar Heather Morris approached Dorsey and told him, "My friend thinks you're cute. Go talk to her."

"I'm not the approaching type of guy," Dorsey says. "So Naya finally walked up and said, 'What's your name?' That's how we started talking."

Through the years, Rivera and Dorsey dated on and off, but "when we were apart, I always thought about her," he says. "I thought she was someone that I could marry, because we were just so silly and we got each other."

They officially rekindled their romance after Rivera split from her ex-fiancé, rapper Big Sean, in April 2014.

"The girl I was talking to would always see these headlines or pay attention to TMZ, and she knew of our history, so she was like, 'Oh, did you see what happened to your girl?'" Dorsey recalls. "I forget what the drama was, but I reached out. I sent an email, like, 'Hey, I saw this happened. I hope you're doing all right.' She responded, 'Where are you?' We met up and had dinner, and that was kind of the catalyst for us starting to get back together.

During one of their breakups, Naya found out she was pregnant with Dorsey's child and got an abortion. She didn't tell Dorsey about it until later.

"I just remember telling her, 'I wish you thought you could have trusted me with that information so I could have helped you do whatever you wanted to do,'" he says. "When we got back together, we both were like, 'Oh, this is a second chance.' This sounds silly, but I felt like the world deserved that second chance of me and her having a kid."

They wed on July 19, 2014, Dorsey's birthday, and when they found out they were pregnant with Josey, "I jumped up and started crying," Dorsey remembers.

"I've had tears of joy three times in my life," he says. "The first time was my first job when I booked Parks and Recreation. I had five lines. The second time I had tears of joy was when they said, 'It's a boy.' Every guy wants a boy, right? The third time was our wedding."

Things took a rocky turn in their relationship in 2016 when Rivera filed for divorce but had the filing dismissed months later. In 2017 Rivera was arrested and charged with misdemeanor domestic battery after she allegedly hit Dorsey while taking Josey, then 2, for a walk. She filed for divorce for a second time shortly after, and the charge was dismissed at Dorsey’s request.

“It was a monumental disaster,” says Dorsey, who plans to share more details about the arrest in an upcoming memoir.

Even after their divorce, “we went back and forth playing house,” Dorsey says. “We were going to try to have another baby and all the things. We went to Maui to look at places and get a fresh start, and then we fell out again ... If I knew what I know now, I would’ve tried to do things differently to make it work.”

And no matter whether they were off or on, "we always put Josey first," Dorsey says. "He had a good schedule. If one of us couldn't do it, we always would fill in. We never had any real turmoil about raising him together. We were very good co-parents."

Since Rivera’s death, Dorsey has been feeling the weight of juggling fatherhood and his career, especially as Josey has started asking questions he can't answer.

"We made this book of memories for Josey that sits by his bed, and during the holidays he was crying looking at it," Dorsey says. "You can only give him a hug and tell him, 'I know, life is not fair. Bad things happen and there's no reason for it, and you just have to do your best to be a good person.'"

"It's hard trying to explain things that you can't really make sense of no matter what age you are," he continues. "I'm not a big believer in everything happens for a reason because I can't ever think of a reason why he doesn't have his mom."

His move back to West Virginia with Josey two years ago has made things a little bit easier.

"When we were living in L.A. for the two years after Naya's death, I was auditioning in my garage, rent was $6,000 a month, and it's like, I'm getting nothing for Josey's future," he says. "It didn't make sense to stay because COVID changed our industry to where all my auditions were on tape, and I can audition in a garage anywhere. West Virginia is just a completely different place. There's not much to do, but it feels safe and there's no traffic."

Another benefit to West Virginia is that it offers "more bang for your buck," he says.

"I'm a single parent, I'm the only one earning money for Josey," he says. "Everyone thinks that if she was successful, and if I'm on TV, that you have a bunch of money, but no one really knows the financial situation. I didn't leave L.A. because we were just sitting on a bunch of money."

He next appears as the mysterious Frank Whales in the Feb. 16 episode of the CBS hit Tracker — "I have a good face for crime, apparently," he jokes of often being cast as the bad guy — and has been in L.A. filming for a "very cool" Apple TV+ show he can't talk about just yet. He also has partnerships with brands like Happy Head and Soula supplements.

"I'm a bit of a journeyman actor," he says. "I haven't gotten my big break yet as a series regular, and I'm hopeful that's going to happen soon. There were so many people who were influential in the business that reached out when Naya died, like, 'Yeah, we'll look out for something for you and we'll get you on something.' Then they turned into ghosts. It was disheartening, but it's fine."

Outside of work, he's getting pressure from Josey to date.

“It’s sad but sweet that he’s been telling me for years that he wants a brother and a stepmom,” says Dorsey. "Expecting someone to sign up for my life and his life, it's not easy. I think he's easy, but all the variables, it's a lot to ask from someone."

In the meantime he’s focused on keeping Rivera’s memory alive — he’s going to throw a "blowout" birthday bash for Josey when he turns 10 on Sept. 17 that he hopes would make party planning-pro Rivera “proud" — and relishing every day with his son.

“I’m trying to be the best parent that I can be and raise a good little man," he says. "He gives me a reason to keep going with my life.”

[siriusly-parker]

(this is for a jjk oc of mine if that is okay!!) her name is inayah nasri (her friends at tokyo jujutsu call her ‘ina’ or ‘naya’). she is egyptian! she has red eyes, dark skin, and long black hair with blonde highlights. she is a 5’10 libra ESFP!! she is studying at tokyo jujutsu because she got in trouble back at home for her curse technique lol. ANYWAY, she loves karaoke, romantic comedies, sanrio, cats, fashion, pottery, and romance books!! she really wants to make friends but she doesn’t want to intrude on the already formed trios/ friendships :( but when you know her, she’s a huge extrovert that wants to do anything and everything with the people she loves!! thank you so much can’t wait to see who you choose! <3

Okok hear me out 😭😭🙏 i feel like she’d be distrusting of the first years because of the way she was treated back home. They seemed like a great trio!! She just didn’t want to barge in their little party.

Being a crazy extrovert, i feel like she’d try (key word TRY) to tone it down. People often thought she was too much, so she needed to give a good first impression and not mess it up. She ends up having small outbursts like raising her hand in class for something stupid or laughing a little too loud or interrupting a conversation. She’d just shut down every time though. Melting on her school chair or just turning her back to the group of friends talking.

The first years thought she was a little weird, sure, but she was nice! Clearly she was just nervous!! One day though, after running away from a pretty embarrassing joke she made (which really wasn’t embarrassing, everyone thought it was hilarious, and Yuuji peed his pants a little ngl), you bump into Yuuta (little harsher than a bump though, quite literally he has to hold you so you don’t fall).

“Are you okay?”

And that’s where the unlikely friendship started. You started hanging out with him more and opening up to everyone. After that, it was easy to just be yourself. You got along well with the other three in your class, but you had to admit, you often opted to hang out with the older group. Maybe it was because of a certain special grade, but who am i to go around telling other people’s secret crushes?

(shy boyfriend x extroverted girlfriend!!! Yuuta would actually be the one forcing you to hang out with the others in the beginning tho. But after it’s all settled, you’d be dragging him along any adventure of yours)

Yuuta is my baby and i love him 😫🙏💗💗💗

[sapphic-agent]

As a POC I could not handle any longer the way they excused Lea's actions on the Glee subreddit. I left permanently because of it. It angered me the day someone on the sub said that Lea apologised. Lea did not apologise. More than enough times, I've seen Lea be defended on that sub and people get upvoted for it and I couldn't stand it any longer.

The tipping point for me was that people started to say that Santana fans can't keep their feelings about Naya separate but at the same time they're known strong Rachel fans and Rachel defenders and have shown support to Lea multiples all the while being overly-critical about Santana. It was just brewing into hypocritical territory for me.

As a teen, Naya helped me in ways that's hard to explain. Her passing affected me deeply. To see that a few people, going off of the multiple upvotes, were agreeing with comments made accusing Santana fans of mixing their feelings about Naya with Santana in an unhealthy manner was hurtful. Lea fans also double down on putting Rachel on a pedstal to not talk about Lea's past actions on the glee sub but it's not spoken about.

So grateful that you spoke up about this major issue when it comes to Lea on the Glee sub. Your willingness to speak up about the issues on the Glee sub makes me feel less alone.

Omg thank you! That's so nice of you to say. I really do try to steer away from real people on this blog because I want to be primarily media-based. But the Glee sub makes me so fucking mad. They're the definition of performative activism and double standards. Supporting and/or forgiving Lea is just shitty, no matter how many times they try to justify it.

Naya- and Heather- helped me a lot too. They brought to life one of the healthiest, most important sapphic couple of the 2010s (my username was inspired by them lol, that's why they were my old pfp). They made me feel okay to be myself and comfortable in my sexuality. Her passing affected me for a long time too, it was like I couldn't process it.

I know exactly what you're talking about, when people would accuse Santana fans of conflating Santana because of Naya's passing. Like, right after it happened. It was really an awful thing to say because a woman was dead. Her life and memory were more important than their favorite character getting shit. They're vile.

If anyone can't separate the actor from the character it's Finn fans. Cory was a great guy- people always said him and Dianna were the nicest of the cast- and he also passed while the show was still running. A lot of Finn's "likability" came from Cory's charisma and comedic timing. If Cory was still alive I really don't think as many people would defend Finn.

(Tbh, I think Cory himself would shit on Finn. His mom once said that Santana slapping Finn was his favorite scene)

I also feel like people (including other POCs) don't actually understand why Lea was (is?) racist. Racism isn't just "I hate minorities and don't think they deserve rights." It's way more complicated than that. Lea might not have been throwing the n-word around (though, she was derogatory at least towards Samantha with that "shit in her wig" comment), but she absolutely viewed her being white as being superior to her WOC coworkers.

It's a pretty common thing for Black girls. Hell, I even experienced it from girls I called my friends. They're so "down✊🏾" but will be quick to remind you how more cultured and better than you they are.

If you haven't been taught about or experienced these things, you won't know that. But attempting to shut down WOC who have experienced it is shitty. Lea fans trip over themselves to defend someone who went out of her way to bully a younger Black coworker just because she could.

(Also, she was outwardly transphobic. Not letting anyone forget that either. If she was so willing to be transphobic, what makes you think she wasn't racist?)

Lea fans have no excuse. I liked and looked up to JKR too, but the people she hurt (and continues to hurt) are more important than how much I admired her or how much I enjoyed Harry Potter. I was disgusted by her and had no issues condemning her. Lea fans are hypocritical, self-righteous performative activists

[khoicesbyk]

The Royal Romance.

Forevermore.

A/N: this is the next chapter in the journey of my OTP. Follow along for the fun.

Rated: Mature (at times can and will be Explicit. I'll be sure to change the rating when and if that happens). | Contains sexual content and strong language. (You know? The usual. Y'all should be used to this from me by now 😁) | Bolded and/or italicized words are conversations and thoughts of the characters. | Main Characters: King Marquise Rys (LI) and Queen Shanelle Miller-Rys (MC) | All Characters and names: (except MC and original characters created by me and/or other authors [their characters have been mentioned and/or used in the story with their permission] ) are property of Pixelberry.

Current Word Count: 10K words. (may be slightly more or may be slightly less. Look, I stop counting after editing and re-editing and driving myself insane. 🤷🏾‍♀️)

If you’d like to be added to my tag list. Just reblog or DM me and I will gladly add you! 😁😘

This series is rated Mature and/or Explicit. It is NOT reading material that is safe for those under 18. Reader discretion is STRONGLY advised!

Missing a chapter or want to read a chapter again? I got you covered! Click ——> Here!

Tag List: @tessa-liam @choicesficwriterscreations

Chapter 13.) Breaking Point.

It had been a few weeks since Lord Tariq Sauvageon's televised press conference. While he offered a somewhat sincere apology for his deception, he gave his support to Lord and Lady Gallagher. Citing that he couldn't in good faith trust the current Monarchs to lead the kingdom forward. Many in the kingdom couldn't believe he had been alive for years or that he had a brother living in his place. And they questioned his integrity and intentions after his meeting with Princess Naya went left and she hit him with a suit for his infidelity. 

Meanwhile, Their Majesties had other matters to attend to. Including the return of The International Art and Food Festival and The Sovereign Unity Ball, which they were hosting for the upcoming visit of the Drakovian Royal Family. 

"So a ball and a festival all within a week and a half of each other. Are you sure about this?" Shanelle asked her husband over breakfast with their children. 

"Totally sure. We haven't hosted the International Art and Food Festival since before Khari was born." Marquise replied. 

"Yeah. Daddy said there will be a lot of artists there, and face painting and lots of food and music." Khari spoke up. 

"Face paint sissy?" Kylo asks. 

"Yes, my love. There will be a lot for you three to do next weekend. They'll even have my favorite charity art auction and show. And to make it even better, we'll make it a big family trip." Marquise replied. 

"Whole family doe (go) Daddy?" Zyon asked. 

"Yes, my boy. It'll give us a chance to have lots of fun. And we'll even get to meet your new cousin." Marquise replied. 

"We'll get to meet baby Noah Daddy?" Khari asked. 

"Yup! And! We'll be staying at a new bed and breakfast that just opened up," he replied. 

"Ooooh!" the children said in unison. 

Marquise smiled at his children before addressing his wife. 

"It'll be a good time and it has been a while since we visited Castelsarreillan. And admittedly I want to see where Kiara stands on this challenge issue." 

"You don't think she'll turn on us like last time, do you?" Shanelle asked. 

"No. I think she learned her lesson about turning against us but it doesn't hurt to be sure."

"Fair point. But what about the ball?" Shanelle asked. 

"With Lydea being crowned the new Queen, I'm hoping she'll be a tad more receptive to helping Kasnia in the war than her mother would've been," he replied. 

"What makes you think she'd be open to helping?" 

Marquise took a thoughtful sip of his coffee. 

"Because she's actually more pragmatic and diplomatic than many give her credit for. Even us. Also, this impending war would be just as bad for them as it would be for everyone else. And well, King Desaad hates them almost as much as he hates us. I also have it on good authority that he reached out to Her Majesty with a proposition to join him in invading Kasnia."

"He did?" Shanelle asked. 

"Yes, and Lydea all but told him to go fuck himself. He was hoping she'd look past the fact that her father and Richard had become friends over the years. He and Audrey attended Maksim's retirement gala." 

"So you're thinking you can sway her into helping Kasnia?" Shanelle asked. 

"You never know what you can and can't do until you try," Marquise replied.

"True. Well, let's finish breakfast so we can get little Miss Thing over here off to school. And I'll get the boys ready for their doctor's appointment Shanelle said to her husband. 

"Remember: no shots Mommy!" Khari warned. 

Marquise snorted as Shanelle rolled her eyes. 

"Finish your breakfast my love so you can get ready for school." Marquise said to Khari before asking Shanelle, "What time is the twins' appointment?" 

"10:30 AM. We'll have to head into Nadia's office. Her office called and said they were swamped today so she won't be able to make it here to the palace," Shanelle replied. 

Marquise looked at his watch. 

"Okay. I have a meeting with the generals right now but I should be done before their appointment." 

Shanelle nodded. 

After getting Khari off to school, Marquise headed to his meeting, while Shanelle took the boys to get them ready for their doctor's appointment. Soon Their Majesties and the twins were off to the pediatrician's office at the children's hospital. With their teddy bears in their arms, the boys walked into the office with their parents. Stopping to say hi to everyone they walked past. 

Once inside the exam room, the boys went around trying to inspect everything they could see. 

"Hello everyone! It's good to see you all this morning." Nadia said in greeting to them.

"Nadi!" the boys said as they ran to her. 

"Hello, my little ones! It's so good to see you both." she said as she hugged the boys, "Oh! Big hugs! Very big hugs from my boys!" 

She then smiled at her niece and nephew. 

"And how are Mama and Daddy?" she asks. 

"So far so good," Marquise replied. 

"Uh-huh. What's this I hear about Dr. Andersen having to increase your blood pressure medication?" Nadia asked him. 

"He told you?" he replied.

"Of course, he told me. You forget I am not just the heirs' pediatrician, I am the head member of the palace physician staff."

Marquise shook his head with a small smile. 

"I'm fine Nadia."

"No, you're not, nephew. Dr. Andersen didn't increase your blood pressure medication on a whim. Now, I know what I'm about to ask you to do is nearly impossible for a man in your position but, I need you to stop stressing out so much."

"Easier said than done, Nadia."

"Indeed it is my King. Especially with this so-called challenge, you both have to deal with. But I know you can relax, nephew. You must."

"Are you prescribing rest for the king doctor?" he asked in a lighthearted tone. 

"I am indeed. And you will follow that prescription. Won't you?" Nadia replied.

Marquise snorted.  

"By your command, Your Grace." 

Nadia shook her head with a soft smile before turning to Shanelle. 

"And how are Mama and Baby doing?" she asked. 

"I'm doing okay," Shanelle replied with a hand on her baby bump.

"Any nausea or morning sickness?" 

"No. Well not as much as I had with the boys."

"To be fair Your Majesty, you were pregnant with twins the last time."

"True."

"Have you kept up with your prenatals?" 

"Yes ma'am. I took my morning ones earlier. And I will take my evening ones tonight."

"Good very good. Now while I will be checking in with Reyna about you and the baby's progress periodically, you'll be sure to let me know if anything is wrong won't you?" Nadia asks. 

"Of course. I'll be sure to keep you in the loop." Shanelle replied. 

Nadia nodded. 

"And now, for my little ones. Are you boys ready?" Nadia asked the twins. 

"Uh huh!" Zyon replied.

"Yeah yeah yeah!" Kylo replied. 

"Very good, my little ones. Now let's get started." 

The boy's checkup went smoothly. Even when they had to get their shots, Nadia made sure they were comfortable the whole time.

"Okay, my little ones. I know you don't like this part, so let's sing a song to make the time go by."

"Song Nadi?" Kylo asked. 

"Yes, my dear. Now repeat after me, I know that shots can be scary but they help me grow big and healthy. Now Kylo, you're first, can you sing it with me?" She asked Kylo. 

He put on his thoughtful face and then nodded. 

"I know that shots can be scary but they help me grow big and healthy." They sang together as she administered his shot, "Very good Kylo! You did a great job. You were very brave."

"Brave? Yike (like) knight?" Kylo asked. 

"Yes, my dear. Just like the knights of old. Now I have Transformers bandaids. Do you want Autobots or Decepticons?" she replied. 

"Opmus (Optimus) Prime," Kylo said to her. 

She put the bandaid over the spot. 

"There. Much better. Now Zyon, are you ready?" She asked. 

After squeezing his teddy bear nervously, he shook his head no. 

"No! Don't yike (like) shots! Scary!" He said. 

Kylo grabbed his brother's hand. 

"Not scary! Promise!" Kylo said to his brother. 

"Not scary brudder (brother)?" Zyon asked. 

"Nope nope nope! Dotta (gotta) be brave. Yike (like) knights." Kylo replied. 

Zyon thought for a second. 

"Otay (okay) I be brave." Zyon said to his brother, "otay Nadi. I ready."

"Okay my sweet," she said to Zyon, "Now sing it with me, I know that shots can be scary but they help me grow big and healthy."

He sang with her as she gave him his shot.

"Well done my dear! You were also very brave," she said to Zyon, "Now do you want Autobots or Decepticons?"

"Decepicons (Decepticons)," Zyon said to her. 

"And there, all done. Thank you both for being very brave today. Now do you two want a sticker or a lollipop?" She asked the twins. 

"Sticker!" Zyon replied. 

"Lollipop!" Kylo replied. 

Shanelle leaned over to whisper to her husband. 

"I think we just found the twins' villain origin story."

Marquise snickered. 

"And now that we're all done I have a few recommendations for you," Nadia said to the parents. 

"Which are?" Marquise asked. 

"I would like to schedule an appointment with a child behavioral development specialist. It's nothing alarming but I do want to be able to track their behavioral and mental development." Nadia replied. 

Shanelle nodded slowly. 

"I promise you both, it's totally safe and it could rule out any defects in their development, such as autism." 

"Alright. You go ahead and schedule it and let us know."

"Of course my King. To make it a little easier I will be there with the therapist and I'll have them meet the twins at the palace."

Nadia gave Shanelle a reassuring smile. 

"I promise you, my dear. They will be safe. The therapist I have in mind is great with children. They will be as gentle with them as possible. Of that I assure you."

Shanelle nodded. 

"Okay. I trust you."

Nadia nodded. 

"The other recommendation is to get them in with a child optometrist. Out of precaution, I'd like to have their eyes checked. I noticed a little dilation in Kylo's pupils so I want to have them checked just in case."

"Do you think he'll need glasses?" Shanelle asks. 

"Hard to say at this point but if he does, I can say he won't be the first Prince to wear glasses. Sebastian wore them as did his grandfather King Leonidis when he was Prince, and my father Lawrence did as well." Nadia replied. 

"So does my dad and I wear them as well on occasion," Shanelle added.

"So I'll go ahead and schedule that appointment as well. I'll contact you both once it's scheduled."

"Alright. Thank you, Nadia." Marquise said to her. 

"Of course. It's always a pleasure to care for my little ones. I'll see you both soon for the Princess's checkup. And hopefully, then it'll be at the palace."

"We don't mind coming to your office Nadia. You know this." Marquise said to her. 

"I know. Now remember what I told you, nephew. You need to relax more."

"Yes ma'am. I will try."

Nadia shook her head with a smile. 

"I will see you all soon," Nadia said to them before leaving the exam room. 

After leaving Nadia's office and stopping for lunch at their favorite bistro in the city center, Their Majesties and the twins arrived back at the palace. After a quick kiss to his wife who took the twins with her, His Majesty headed to his office. When he got there he was greeted by an unhappy-looking Lord Gallagher. 

"Well, it's about time you got here! I've been waiting here for hours while you and your wife were out lollygagging around." he sneered at Marquise. 

Marquise looked at his watch. 

"Are you going to explain yourself or just stand there?!" Lord Gallagher asked impatiently. 

"If you must know my Lord, I'm waiting for you to shut up and get out of my way," Marquise replied. 

Lord Gallagher looked at Marquise indignantly.

"How dare you speak to me in that matter!" 

"As the King of this kingdom, I can and will speak to you however I damn well please," Marquise hissed at him, "Now if you will excuse me, I have actual business to attend to. And oh! One more thing, not that this needs to be said but, no formal request from you, no audience with me. Now do have a day you deserve, my Lord." 

Marquise then walked past Lord Gallagher and entered his office, locking the door behind him. After taking several deep breaths he walked toward his desk. Once at his desk, Marquise opened his laptop and started a video call with King Balthazar of Kasnia.

"Richard! It's so good to see you again," he said in greeting.

"Hello, Marquise! It's good to see you as well!" Richard replied. 

"I know I shouldn't ask this but how are you doing?" Marquise asked. 

"I am...remembering to breathe and not yell and throw things every five seconds," Richard replied. 

"I can imagine. How is Aunt Audrey?" he asked. 

"She is holding us all together. But I worry this is taking a toll on her as much as it is on me." Richard replied.

"I can understand. I am sorry that you both are in this position in the first place."

Richard waved him off. 

"It's not your fault, my boy. If anyone is to blame it's that god-awful ignoramus, Demetrius," King Richard hissed, "I've known of his arrogance and greed for years but even I didn't think he'd stoop this low. Then again, he ousted his cousin from the throne so I guess it's pretty much on-brand for him." 

"Indeed. And I do apologize for not being able to do more for you and your people at the moment."

"I am thankful for what you have done. The artillery package you sent has helped. I've never seen so many weapons! And the tanks you sent! I might have to sneak into your armory again."

Marquise snorted. 

"Didn't you do that when my mother was alive?" Marquise asked. 

Richard rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

"So I took a few weapons. So what? Your father certainly wasn't going to do anything with them and your mother didn't seem to mind too much." Richard replied. 

"And you think now I'm just going to let you walk into one of my armories and take what you want?" Marquise asks. 

"You are your mother's child, Your Majesty," Richard replied with a snicker. 

Marquise snorted. 

"It's good to see you laughing, Richard."

"All thanks to you. I really do appreciate all you've done to assist my kingdom. Again the artillery package has helped us in this fight and your being willing to open your borders to my people who have fled, brings me so much relief. I thank you for everything you've done."

"Of course Richard. It is my honor to help you all. When our Defense Council is ready, I hope that we'll finally be able to send troops."

"I wait for that day. Well, I won't take up too much of your time, my boy."

"Alright. We'll speak again soon."

Richard nodded before ending the video call. Just then there was a knock at the door. 

"Come in!" Marquise said to the door. 

Margo walked in.

"There you are. I've been looking everywhere for you," she said to him as she entered the room. 

"I was just speaking with King Richard."

"Richard? That's wonderful. How is he doing?" Margo asked. 

"As good as can be expected. He was very appreciative of the artillery package we sent over." Marquise replied. 

"Good. And how are you doing, my King?" Margo asked. 

"I'm okay. We had the boys' checkup today." Marquise replied. 

"How did it go?" she asked. 

"Good. They got shots today so I'm not too sure that the Princess will approve," he replied, "Nadia also wants them to see a child behavioral specialist and an optometrist. She wants the boys to have their eyes checked." he replied. 

Margo nodded. 

"I know you didn't have to tell me but thank you for telling me anyway."

"Of course Mama. You are their grandmother on top of being their defender. It is vital that you are up to date with their health. Khari has an appointment with her in a few weeks. Right now, we're preparing for the International Art and Food Festival."

"The International Art and Food Festival? I didn't know you were starting that again."

"Yes. After the success of The Five Kingdoms Festival, I thought it'd be a good time to host it. I will be meeting with the committee later to go over the final details and categories."

Margo nodded. 

"You know your uncle helped to bring the festival to Cordonia."

"No, I didn't know that."

"Oh yes. He and Duke Theron spearheaded the effort shortly after George and I joined the palace staff."

"I knew he loved to attend but I didn't know that he helped bring it to the kingdom."

"Mmmhmm. Your father used to say that Sebastian hounded him about it for weeks until he finally caved."

Marquise chuckled. 

"From what I know about him, that sounds like something he would do."

"And it didn't help your father's cause that Sebastian had the support of your mother in this endeavor as well. It was right after they got married." 

"Now that sounds like something my mother would do. He always whined about her not always agreeing with him."

Margo smiled at him wistfully. 

"What is that smile for?" he asked. 

"Pride," she replied. 

"Isn't that one of the seven sins?" he asked teasingly. 

"A mother's pride for and of her children is never sinful," she replied.

"I hope you remember that when I finally turn into a psychotic axe murderer." 

Margo snorted. 

"Tease me all you like. I will always be proud of you. Even then."

Marquise shook his head with a smirk. 

"That is why I love you."

"Indeed it is. Well, I have taken up enough of your time, my King."

"Nonsense."

"I shall go check on Her Majesty and the twins. I shall see you later, sire."

Marquise chuckled. 

"Very well Madam. I will see you later. Thank you for spending time with me."

With one last smile, Margo left and Marquise got ready for his next meeting. Margo made her way to Shanelle's office where the boys were playing in a corner. 

"Gammy!" the boys said to her. 

"There's my two turtle doves." Margo said to the boys as ran into her arms, "I will never get tired of hugs from you two."

When looked over to Shanelle, she had her head down on her desk. 

"Your Majesty? Are you alright?" she asked Shanelle. 

When Shanelle looked up, she had an uneasy look on her face. 

"No. I think what I had for lunch is not agreeing with this baby," she replied with a groan.

"Oh dear."

"What wong (wrong) Gammy?" Kylo asked. 

"Mommy doesn't feel good my dear," Margo replied.

"Oh no!" Kylo said. 

"Uh oh!" Zyon said. 

Margo smiled at the twins before looking at Shanelle. 

"Here, why don't you go lay down and leave the little ones to me?" Margo asked. 

"Are you sure?" Shanelle replied. 

"Yes, my dear. Leave the boys to me. You go lay down." Margo replies.

Shanelle nodded. 

"Thank you. Really. I was fine earlier when we were at their appointment. But! Morning Sickness strikes anyway." 

"I totally understand my dear. I'll have the kitchen bring you some apple tea to settle your stomach. Off with you now."

Shanelle smiled softly. 

"Yes ma'am."

"Bye, Mommy!" Zyon said to her. 

"See you yater (later)!" Kylo said to her. 

"See you later babies." 

With a hug and kiss to each of her boys, Shanelle went on to lie down. 

"Now my little ones, let's go check on our garden," Margo said to the twins. 

"Darden (garden)?" Zyon asks. 

"Yes, my love. We have to water our flowers and check on our carrots. They should be ready to harvest." Margo replied. 

"Yeah! Doe (go) outside! Amon (come on) Gammy! Let's doe (go)!" Kylo said. 

Margo followed the boys outside to their garden. After watching them water their flowers and then run around playing for a while, she and the twins then went to pick Khari up from school. When she saw her granddaughter, she couldn't help the flutter of her heart.

"Hi Grammy! Hi boys!" Khari said to her. 

"Sissy!" the boys said in unison. 

After giving the boys each a hug, she wrapped Margo in a loving hug.

"Hello, my sweet. How was school today?" she asked. 

"It was good. Mommy and Daddy aren't coming?" Khari replies. 

"No. Your mother wasn't feeling good and your father had back-to-back meetings. So here we are."

Khari giggled. 

"That's okay. You're just as good as them, Grammy."

"Shall we go?" Margo asks. 

"Yeah. Can we stop for a snack?" Khari replied. 

"Snack!" the boys cheered. 

Margo bowed her head with a smile. 

"Of course my dear. Let's go get a snack."

Later that evening after putting their children to bed, Marquise checked on his wife. 

"How are you feeling?" he asked her. 

"While I understand why your mother swore by it during her pregnancy, I think I've had enough apple tea to last me a lifetime," she replied. 

Marquise chuckled. 

"I know. But as long as you're feeling better, I'm happy." 

"How were your meetings?" she asked. 

"Productive. Everything is ready to go for the start of the festival next Friday." he replied, "I even spoke with Duke Theron."

"And how did that go?" she asked. 

"He is excited for the festival to begin. He even tried to talk me into hosting the International Auto Expo," he replied. 

"One thing at a time, please. And what about the ball? Is everything ready?" she asked. 

"Yes. I sent word to Her Majesty and she replied that the Royal Family will be in attendance," he replied. 

"Will all of them be attending?" she asked. 

Marquise snorted. 

"Unfortunately yes. All of them will be there. Including Kasper the kleptomaniac." he replied. 

Shanelle's face soured. 

"But I have it on very good authority that he will be under the close watch of his sister's guards and ours."

Shanelle sighed. 

"The last thing we need is her kleptomaniac little brother getting his hands anywhere near anything valuable. But as long as he's under the guard's watchful eyes, I think I will be okay."

He kissed the back of her left hand. 

"You needn't worry, my love."

"In the meantime, my King, we have a festival to get ready for."

"Indeed we do." 

That following Thursday, The Royal Family travelled to Castelsarreillan. While looking out the window, His Majesty looked out to see an open field, when inspiration struck. 

"Diego! Pull over! Now!" Marquise told their driver. 

"What?" Shanelle said to him. 

"Huh?" Khari asked.

"What doing Daddy?" Kylo asks. 

"What wong (wrong)?" Zyon asked. 

Once their limo pulled over to the side of the road, Marquise got out. 

"What are you doing?" Shanelle asked him. 

"You'll find out in a second. But first everybody out! Come on boys! Come on Khari! Out of the car!" Marquise replied. 

Shanelle watched Khari unbuckle herself and her brothers and they got out of the car. After a second Shanelle got out after them. When Shanelle got out she watched her husband signal the rest of the motorcade to pull over. 

"What has gotten into you?!" Shanelle asked Marquise. 

"This." he replied before turning to their daughter, "tag! You're it!" 

"Hey!" 

"Can't catch me!" he said as he took running. 

"Come back here Daddy!" Khari said as she and her brothers took off after him.

Shanelle was shocked. 

"Oh! My! God! My husband has lost his mind." she said to herself. 

She watched as her children tried to catch their father. 

"I'm gonna get you, Daddy!" Khari said to him as she and her brothers ran after him.

"You gotta catch me first!" he called out to them.

Shanelle couldn't believe what she was seeing. The children had him surrounded with Khari finally tackling her father to the ground. 

"Ha! Got you!" she said to him. 

"Yes, you did. That means...I'm it!" 

"Uh oh!"

"This is the part where you start running."

"RUN BOYS RUN!" Khari told the others. 

Marquise watched the children go in different directions before running after them. Margo sidled up to Shanelle. 

"My son has gone insane. This is your chance to have him committed so you and my granddaughter can rule," she whispered. 

Shanelle cackled.

"The genius of my mother-in-law strikes again." 

"Mommy! Help!" Khari called out to her mother. 

"Excuse me whilst I go save the children from the big bad gone mad King." 

Shanelle kicked off her shoes and then joined in on the fun. Soon Marquise had mostly everyone traveling with him running around laughing and rolling around in the field. The fun came to an end when everyone was out of breath and laughing. 

"What has gotten into you?" Shanelle asked her husband who was still out of breath but laughing. 

"Many years ago, we were traveling with my father to a state dinner that Duke Theron's father was hosting. And my father had his nose deep into his notes." Marquise replied. 

"I remember that. According to your mother at the time, your father was trying to impress a visiting Duke and his family." Margo added. 

Marquise nodded. 

"Yes. That's right. Anyway, as we rode along, my mother looked out the window and saw a field. She had the driver pull over to the side of the road, dragged us all out of the car, and then said to my father in no uncertain terms 'Tag your it.' and took off running. Leo and I looked at dad and ran after my mother. And before we all knew it, my father was chasing after all of us. She got everyone who was traveling with us to play with us." he replied. 

Marquise shook his head with a smile. 

"You all should have seen it. Nobles and children alike just running around laughing. It was one of the few times in my life that I remember my father genuinely smiling and laughing and just having a good time. It was one of the only times that I remember when he didn't have a care in the world. So when I saw this field I felt inspired,"

Khari wrapped her dad's arm around herself. 

"I like that memory, Daddy," Khari said to him. 

"I do too." Shanelle agreed. 

"Famy (family) hug!" the twins piped up. 

Marquise gathered his family in his arms for a big hug.

"Alright, I think we've had enough fun for now. We have to get to Castelsarreillan before it gets dark." Shanelle said to everyone. 

"Okay. Come on everyone." Marquise said. 

Soon the Royal Family was once again on their way to Castelsarreillan. When they arrived at the bed and breakfast, they were greeted by a small welcome reception. After getting the children situated in their rooms, Marquise joined his wife out on the terrace of the bed and breakfast. 

"And how are you feeling, my love?" he asked her as he sat down. 

"I'm okay. This bed and breakfast is beautiful. How did you find it?" she replied. 

"The owner's granddaughter and I went to school together, and they reached out and I just couldn't say no. As much as I love staying at the Theron estate, I wanted to stay somewhere more family-friendly. And as much as he tries, Duke Theron's estate isn't exactly childproof."

"This is true. I think he'd have a heart attack if the kids ran around and then accidentally broke something."

Marquise snorted. 

"Speaking of the Theron Family, will all of them be at the festival tomorrow?" she asked. 

"Mmmhmm. Joelle, Penelope, and Ezekiel will be hosting the charity art auction and His Grace is on the selection panel this year. They'll be determining what other countries join this year. And before you ask, Kiara will be there as well." he replied. 

"And you're sure she will be on our side?" she asks. 

"I am indeed. While I do know that Lord and Lady Gallagher have reached out to her, I don't think they've been able to convince her to join their cause," he replied. 

"Well we'll find out Saturday won't we?" 

"We sure will. In the meantime, I am excited for tomorrow." 

"I know. We get to meet our nephew. I can't wait to hold him." 

"Take it as practice for our little one."

Shanelle smiled at her husband. 

The next morning they were joined by the rest of their family. And were introduced to their newest nephew Noah. 

"Eeeeee! Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" Shanelle squealed as the baby was placed in her arms, "Ohhhh my goodness! You're so tiny and so handsome." 

She looked at Jenna with a smirk. 

"You oughta be ashamed of yourself."

Jenna scoffed. 

"You're one to talk. You gave me a niece and two nephews. And I gave you a niece and two nephews. So we're even."

"For now." 

"Jen Jen! You're here!" Khari said to her aunt. 

"Hey, my sweet girl! And my two gumdrops! Oh, I've missed you three so much!" She said to Khari and the twins, "Here come meet your cousin." 

The boys toddled over to their mother and peered at the baby in her arms. 

"What's dat (that) mommy?" Zyon asks. 

"This is Noah. Your new cousin." Shanelle replied. 

Kylo looked at the baby curiously. 

"That's alien Mommy!" Kylo said to her. 

Shanelle snorted as she shook her head. 

"He's not an alien. He's a baby. This is what a baby looks like." she explained to the boys. 

"Not me! Nope nope nope!" Kylo said in protest. 

Marquise snickered. 

"Yes, you. And your brother. And your big sister. And your cousins. All of you looked like this. I would know. Thank you very much." 

"Mommy, can I hold him?" Khari asks. 

"Sure come sit down," Shanelle replied. 

Khari sat next to her mother before she passed the baby to her. This made the twins even more curious. 

"What doing sissy?" Zyon asks. 

"Holding the baby. See?" she replied, "You hold the baby in your arms like this. It helps support them." 

The boys were enamored with what they saw. 

"I try sissy?" Zyon asks. 

Khari nodded before looking at her aunt Jenna.

"Is it okay Jen Jen?" she asks. 

"Yes, darling. They can hold him with you," she replied.

Khari nodded then turned to her brothers. 

"Okay Zyon, come sit down next to me," she said to her little brother. 

Zyon toddled over and sat down next to Khari.

"What I do now sissy?" Zyon asks. 

"Here," she said as she placed the baby in his arms, "you hold him in your arms like this."

Shanelle helped him hold the baby. 

"Like this mommy?" Zyon asks. 

"Yup. Just like that." Shanelle replied. 

"I do it! Yay!" Zyon cheered. 

"Inside voice sweetie. You don't want to scare the baby." Shanelle said to him.

"Oh! I sorry. I use my inside voice now."

Zyon gently rocked the baby in his arms. 

"Brodder (brother) you try now," he said to Kylo.

Kylo looked at Jenna. 

"I try now Jen Jen?" he asked. 

"Of course sweetie. Go try," she replied. 

"Otay (okay) I ready now," he said as he sat down in his mother's lap. 

Shanelle helped him hold the baby close. He smiled at the baby. 

"Helyo (hello) baby. My name Kylo," he said to the cooing baby. 

After spending most of the day with their family, Their Majesties met with the organizers of the International Art and Food Festival to finalize the plans for opening day. 

The next day was the start of the International Art and Food Festival. The grounds of the Pavilion at Lake Regent were filled with all sorts of artisans selling their wares. Food vendors galore. A petting zoo, lots of music, and a charity art auction.

Marquise walked around the festival with the boys. Showing them the art of funnel cake. 

"What's that Daddy?" Zyon asked. 

"They're making my favorite: funnel cake," he replied.

"Funnel cake?" Kylo asked. 

"Here let Daddy show you," he replied before picking the boys up to show them. 

"See? It's like the churros you boys like."

"Yike (like) churro?" Kylo asks. 

"See? They fry the dough then they put powdered sugar and one other topping of your choice. Sometimes they put strawberries on top or sometimes they put my favorite, chocolate on top." he replies. 

"Yike (like) chocate (chocolate)! Have some Daddy?" Kylo asks. 

"Of course my love," he replied. 

After speaking to the proprietor, Marquise walked away with three funnel cakes covered in powdered sugar and chocolate. While Khari and her mother got gelato. 

"Okay, kiddo, what kind do you want?" Shanelle asks. 

"Chocolate! What kind are you getting?" Khari replied. 

"My favorite kind, Hazelnut." 

As the couple walked around with their children, Shanelle couldn't shake the feeling they were being watched. And after scanning the crowd, she was right. They were being watched by Lord and Lady Gallagher while they were seemingly speaking with Lady Kiara. And Marquise noticed.

"Ignore them," he whispered to his wife. 

"I'm trying. But seeing them so cozy with Kiara is starting to worry me," she whispered back. 

"No need to worry."

"You said that yesterday."

"Exactly. So trust me."

It brought Marquise so much joy to see his people out and about and enjoying themselves. The art auction was a hit. With millions being raised for St. Jude Children's Hospital and the Elena Charroux Cancer Foundation. He made sure a few pieces that were bought would hang on palace walls. 

When it was time for the closing of the first day, many looked to the King for the closing remarks. 

"I want to thank everyone for attending and participating in the opening festivities of the International Art and Food Festival. It is an honor and a privilege to be able to host again. The food has been amazing. My wife had to not so kindly ban me from the pop-up that is serving my favorite chicken tagine."

"You would've eaten them out of house and home. I was doing them a favor." Shanelle piped up. 

The crowd laughed. 

"Anyway! Today's opening festivities were the most successful we've ever had. Seeing all of you enjoying yourselves, selling your artwork, playing music, and dancing everywhere, it's all a reminder of why we are one the most successful kingdoms in the world."

He looked out at the crowd where Lord and Lady Gallagher were looking smugly back at him and to where Lady Kiara was standing with her family. 

"Now I do believe that our hostess, Lady Kiara Theron has a few words she'd like to say," he said to the crowd. 

Kiara made her way to the stage and cleared her throat before addressing the crowd. 

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I also want to thank you and Her Majesty for the opportunity to host this great Cordonian event. It is an honor and privilege that my family and I are very grateful for. I also want to thank the selection committee. It is an honor to host you all this year. And lastly to everyone here, thank you. You all have made this year our most successful year to date. I could not ask for a better opening day."

The crowd applauded. 

"Now before you leave, Your Majesty, I do have something else I want to address while I have you here. As everyone else may know you have been challenged for the throne by Lord and Lady Gallagher. I want to be upfront with you and everyone here and say that my family and I spoke with them."

Marquise nodded. 

"As one of the Great Houses of Cordonia, House Theron is known for its steadfast and unwavering loyalty, commitment, and wisdom. Our house sigil is a mighty owl after all. And while Lord and Lady Gallagher gave us a very generous offer for our support, after discussing it with my family, we have decided that it is in the best interests of our family and our duchy to...continue supporting the crown. Your Majesties, House Theron, and all of Castelsarreillan remain committed to you both in this challenge."

Shanelle breathed a sigh of relief, while Marquise bowed to Kiara. 

"Thank you, my lady. It means everything to me that one of Cordonia's Great Houses will support the crown in this endeavor. You and your family will always have our gratitude."

The crowd gave Lady Kiara and Marquise a standing ovation as they stepped off the stage. Marquise looked over to Lord and Lady Gallagher who were both fuming and winked. 

The next day the family returned to the palace, where Shanelle and Marquise discussed gaining the support of House Theron. 

"Okay as much as I hate to admit it, you were right," Shanelle said to her husband. 

"O ye of no faith, of course I was right."

Shanelle rolled her eyes good-naturedly. 

"How did you know House Theron would side with us?" she asked. 

"I have been speaking with Duke Hakim for weeks. And after Mama reminded me that Sebastian helped to bring the festival to Cordonia with him, I might've played on his sympathies." he replied, "it also gave me an idea."

"What?" she asked. 

"We don't really need many of the noble houses on our side if we can convince the Great Houses to side with us," he replied. 

"Okay, so what are you thinking?" 

Marquise thought for a second. 

"How do you feel about hosting a Queen's Tea?" 

Shanelle snorted. 

"You want me to host another one after the last one I hosted?" 

"Good point. Well, hopefully at least this time you won't be fighting anyone. And you'll have the kids and me to back you up."

"You'll be attending?" 

"If you'll have me. Also, it'll be a good way to get Madeleine on our side. She does enjoy a good afternoon tea."

Shanelle nodded. 

"Okay, I'll meet with my duchy staff and get the ball rolling on that end."

"Alright. In the meantime, we have a ball to prepare for." 

"Yay..." 

The next week went by in a flurry. As the palace staff prepared for the Sovereign Unity Ball. While the palace prepared itself, Their Majesties hosted Queen Lydea and her family for a small lunch and signing of a declaration that signaled both kingdoms would send as much aid as possible to Kasnia in its war with Sulovaria. 

After welcoming the Royal Family of Drakovia to Cordonia, both families as well as members of the Defense Council and their families all sat down and dinner was served. As dessert was being served, the princess had to go to the bathroom. 

"Daddy, I have to go to the bathroom. Can I be excused?" she asked her father. 

"Of course my love," he replied before turning to his mother who had just returned from putting the twins to bed, "I know you just got back but, do you mind taking her to the restroom?"

"Yes my King." she replied before speaking to Khari, "Come along my darling."

Margo took Khari's hand and led her to the bathroom. While Margo waited for Khari to finish her business, she didn't notice that she was being watched or that there were no guards patrolling the hall. 

"Grammy! Help!" Khari called out from the bathroom. 

"Yes, my darling. What's wrong?" she asked as she entered the bathroom and saw Khari on the floor.

"My hair is stuck in my dress!" she replied. 

"Oh goodness! How did that happen?" she asked. 

"I think I twirled around a little too much then fell. And my crown and bracelet flew off. Help!" Khari replies. 

Margo shook her head with a chuckle. 

"Are you hurt?" 

"No, I'm just stuck." 

"Oh, good grief. Okay now hold still so I can help." 

Margo worked Khari's hair free of her dress. 

"And now that we have your hair free of your dress, let me find your crown and bracelet."

"I'll help."

The pair worked together to find Khari's crown and her charm bracelet. 

"Now let's put your bracelet back on," Margo said to Khari, "and now for your crown. There. All better now."

Khari looked in the mirror and smiled. 

"Grammy you're the bestest!" Khari said as she quickly hugged her grandmother, "Thank you for helping me."

"You're welcome my sweet. Now let's get you back to the ballroom because they're serving our favorite dessert."

"Oooh! Let's go!" 

As they left the bathroom, they were stopped by Prince Kaspar Thorne.

"Good evening to you both," he said to Khari and Margo. 

Margo placed herself between him and Khari. 

"Good evening, Your Highness. Can I help you?" she asked. 

"I wanted to introduce myself to the Princess if that's okay," he replies. 

"Grammy, who is that?" Khari asked Margo. 

"My Princess, this is Prince Kaspar Thorne. He is a member of the Drakovian Royal Family," Margo replied. 

"What do you want?" Khari asked him. 

"As I said, I wish only to introduce myself to you," he replied, "that is a beautiful bracelet you have on Your Highness."

Khari placed her left hand over her bracelet. Margo and Khari had confused looks on their faces before turning around to see Prince Kaspar's sibling Emika behind them. 

"What is the meaning of this?" Margo asked Kaspar.

Margo never got an answer, instead she was rushed and knocked down from behind by Emika as Prince Kaspar grabbed Khari's arm.

"Let me go!" Khari yelled. 

Kaspar was able to snatch Khari's bracelet off her wrist and grab her crown. 

"I got them!" Kaspar said to his sibling. 

"Good! Let's go!" Emika said to him. 

As he tried to run in the opposite direction, Margo was able to trip him up. 

"Let go of me!" he said as kicked her in the stomach. 

That's when Khari picked up her grandmother's cane. 

"You leave my Grammy alone!" she yelled as she swung the cane. She was able to hit him twice before he finally got away only to collide with his sibling.

The commotion reached the attention of the grand ballroom. That's when Khari's scream rang out. 

"DADDY!" she screamed. 

Shanelle dropped the glass in her hand and Marquise choked as his heart dropped. 

"GUARDS! FIND MY DAUGHTER NOW!" he commanded. 

He helped Shanelle to her feet. 

"Let's go!", he said to her.

As the couple and the guards ran out of the ballroom, many in the dining room were talking fiercely. 

Marquise and Shanelle followed their daughter's voice. 

"Daddy!" she called out, "Daddy help!" 

"Khari! Where are you?" he called out to her before commanding the guards, "Guards! Lock down the palace! Now!" 

When they found Khari she was holding her grandmother's cane looking shaken. 

"Are you alright?" he asked her.

"Are you hurt?" her mother asked. 

"No. But Grammy is! They hurt her." she replied, "we gotta help her! Come on Daddy! Come on Mommy!" 

"Where is she?" he asked. 

"In there." she pointed to the bathroom, "she's hurt! They hurt her!" Marquise's heart seized at Khari's words.

"Stay here with her," he said to Shanelle before going to his mother's side. 

"Find Sir Bannon! Now!" Shanelle said to the closest guard to her. 

"Yes. At once Your Majesty." the guard replied. 

"Mama! No!" he said before racing to her side. He helped her sit up as she clutched her side, "Are you hurt?"

"Only my pride, my love," she replied with a pained wince.

"Here let me help you up. Can you stand?" he asked. 

"Yes I can stand," she replied. 

He slowly helped her up. Allowing her to lean against him to steady herself. 

"Grammy! Are you okay?" Khari asked. 

"Yes, my darling. I'm alright." she replied with a wince. 

"Margo, what happened?" Shanelle asks. 

"What happened?! Those two Drakovian mongrels attacked us! That's what happened!" Margo replied. 

She took a deep breath. 

"I apologize, my Queen. I forgot myself for a moment. I had no right to speak to you in that manner." 

"Don't worry about it."

Margo inhaled then exhaled.

"We were ambushed and attacked. Plain and simple," she said to Shanelle. 

"And you said it was two Drakovians?" Shanelle asks. 

"Yes. The two twins of the Royal Family," Margo replied. 

Marquise let out an explosive breath. 

"Come here. Both of you." he said to his daughter and mother before wrapping them in a protective hug, "I am so sorry this happened. This is my fault. I should've had guards go with the two of you. I failed you both."

Margo shook her head no. 

"It's not your fault my love. They attacked us. And I did my duty as the Princess's defender and tried to defend her."

Khari nodded. 

"And I protected my Grammy!" Khari added.

Shanelle looked around but didn't see any patrolling guards. 

"Where are the guards that are supposed to patrol this hallway?" Shanelle asked. 

"I don't know, I didn't notice there weren't any around. My apologies, my Queen. I should've been more aware of our surroundings." Margo replied. 

Khari looked around.

"My bracelet!" she gasped. 

"What about it?" Shanelle asked. 

"It's gone! They took it!" Khari replied. 

"She's right. That's why they attacked us. They were after her bracelet." Margo added. 

"They stole my bracelet! They stole it!" 

Marquise and Shanelle looked at each other. 

"Let's get you two out of here," Marquise said to them.

They walked out of the bathroom to a hallway full of guests and paparazzi. 

"Your Majesty, I demand you explain your daughter attacking my siblings," Lydea said to Marquise. 

When Marquise saw Kaspar, he saw red. 

"Guards! Seize the Prince and his twin sibling!" Marquise commanded. 

At His Majesty's command, the guards surrounded the twins.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Lydea asked. 

"You're about to find out," he replied, "Search them!"

"Absolutely not! If your guards take one more step I will consider this an act of war!" Lydea said to Marquise before a guard spoke up, "My King!"

The guard held up Khari's bracelet and her crown leaving Lydea stunned. 

"What is that?" she asked. 

"That Your Majesty...is my daughter's charm bracelet and crown..." Marquise replied, "that your brother stole from her." 

"You can't be serious."

Marquise looked at her. 

"Your brother is a thieving kleptomaniac. So can you really be shocked?" he asked, before turning to the guard, "bring me my daughter's bracelet and crown."

The guard handed Marquise Khari's bracelet and crown. When she looked at her bracelet, her face fell. 

"It's broken. They broke it." she said as she looked at it. 

"Don't worry, my love."

"But they broke it, Daddy! The clasp is broken! It's ruined!"

Marquise tapped his lips.

"It will be alright precious. It will be fixed as good as new." he said to his daughter. 

"How can you be sure Daddy?" she asks.

"Because Her Majesty will be the one to pay to have it fixed," he replied. 

"Excuse me?! I will be doing what?!" Lydea asked. 

"As I just said, you will be the one to have my daughter's bracelet fixed. Because if you don't I will consider your brother attacking my daughter and mother as an act of war. Declaration be damned." Marquise replied. 

Lydea let out an explosive breath as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Fine..."

She then turned her fury on her siblings. 

"You two are so dead." she sneered at them. 

The twins looked at each other. 

"But! We didn't do this alone!" Kaspar said to his sister. 

"What are you talking about?" Lydea asks. 

"We never do anything without a plan Lydea," Emika replies. 

"Plan? What plan?" Shanelle asked. 

"We had help from the inside," Kaspar replied, "a member of your court has been supplying me with info on your family and the palace."

That sent many into a fierce chatter. 

"What?!" Lydea asked her brother. 

"For the last three weeks I've been in communication with a member of the Cordonian Court. They helped me plan this whole thing," Kaspar replied. 

"He's right. I verified that they are a member of the court." Emika added. 

Shanelle looked at her husband. 

"Who?" she asked. 

Kaspar pointed to a primly dressed man in the crowd. He pointed to Lady Makenna's older brother Lord Oliver Laurent. 

"You have got to be fucking kidding me!" Shanelle seethed. 

"That's a lie! My brother would never!" Lady Makenna immediately objected. 

"And yet I believe him," Marquise said.

"You would believe a Drakovian over a member of your own court?" Makenna asked. 

"Considering how much of a pain in the ass your house has been as of late, yes I would." He replied before turning back to Kaspar, "If what you two say is true, what proof do you have to support your claims?" 

Emika produced their phone as well as Kaspar's phone. 

"Here. You can check our texts and calls." 

Just as Marquise began going through Kaspar's phone, Margo's son Bannon came running up. 

"Your Majesty! The guards came to get me. What has happened?" he asked before looking at his mother, "Mother? What happened? Are you alright?"

"I am now my love," she replied. 

"What happened?" he asked. 

Shanelle told him everything that happened. 

"Oh my God! Mama! I am so sorry you and the Princess were attacked." he said to her before turning to Marquise, "who is responsible for this?"

"They are," he replies, nodding to Kaspar and his sibling, "they attacked Mama and my daughter. Stealing my daughter's crown and charm bracelet." 

Bannon started to step toward the twins before Marquise stopped him. 

"But Your Majesty!"

"I understand your anger brother. You are right in your anger. Our mother was attacked. But I need you to tend to our mother and my daughter."  

Bannon took a deep resigned breath and nodded. 

"Yes sire."

Marquise laid a hand on Bannon's shoulder. 

"I promise you, brother. Justice will be served swiftly. I will be sure to defend my daughter's and our mother's honor." 

"Alright. I trust your judgment my King. I will stand by your side. Even if all I want to do is strangle that imbecile!" 

Bannon looked around. 

"Mama, where is your cane?" He asked. 

"Right here uncle Bannon," Khari replied, "I think I bent it when I used it to protect her."

Bannon nodded with a proud smile. 

"May I?" he asked. 

Khari handed the bent cane to him. Bannon bowed to her before kissing her on her forehead.

"I am so proud of you, my Princess. Thank you for doing what you could to protect your grandmother."

Khari gave him a small smile before looking at her grandmother. 

"I'm sorry, Grammy. I didn't mean to bend it."

"My little warrior. Thank you for defending me. Even though it's my job to defend you.”

"We defend each other, Grammy."

"Indeed we do, my love. And do not worry about my cane Princess, your father will just buy me a new one with all the bells and whistles on it won't you?”

Khari nodded and Marquise just shook his head. 

"Bannon, I need you to take Mama and my daughter back to the residence and call Dr. Wembley so he can check her over. Please." Marquise said to him. 

"By your command, my Liege." 

Bannon offered an arm each to Margo and Khari and led them down the hall to the residence. Marquise took a deep breath before scanning through Kaspar and Emika's text messages. He saw something very interesting and Shanelle noticed. 

"What is it?" she asked him. 

"This," Marquise replied as he dialed a number.

Soon a loud buzzing was heard. It was a phone ringing. Everyone looked around. It was Lord Oliver Laurent's phone ringing. Everyone turned their attention to Lord Laurent. 

"You might want to answer that," Marquise said to him. 

Lord Laurent swallowed the large lump in his throat. 

"Oliver! What did you do?!" Lady Makenna asked her brother. 

"I-I-I-I–" he started to say before Marquise cut him off, "he committed treason of the highest offense. Didn't you?"

"No! Your Majesty! I assure you I didn't know they would attack the Princess! I thought they would make their way to the vault." he blurted out. 

"You did what?!" Shanelle asked. 

"The plan was for them to steal from the vault. And in exchange they would convince Queen Lydea for her favor for my family in this challenge," he replied. 

"Then why did you text them that you would distract the guards patrolling the hall outside of the bathroom for them?" Marquise asked. 

Lord Oliver couldn't speak. 

"Give these back to the twins," he instructed as he handed the phones back to a guard. 

Marquise set his jaw, put on a pair of black gloves before slowly stalking towards Lord Laurent causing him to back away. 

"Your Majesty, please! I meant no harm." he said as he backed up to a column. 

Marquise stopped in front of him, inhaled deeply then exhaled slowly, before grabbing his face smashing Lord Laurent's head back against the column. 

"Oliver!" Lady Makenna gasped. 

After watching him crumple to the ground, he turned to the guard closest to him.

"Drag him to the dungeons!" he hissed. 

"At once Your Majesty!" the guard replied. 

Everyone watched as the guards took Lord Laurent away. Marquise then turned around and marched towards Lady Makenna and grabbed her arm. 

"How dare you! Let me go!" she yelled at him. 

The look in Marquise's eyes scared her. 

"That is the second member of your very prestigious house to commit an act of treason! If you plan on winning this challenge then I suggest you get the members of your house in order! Otherwise, you will force me to eradicate your entire family! Do I make myself clear Kenna?!" he sneered. 

Lady Makenna swallowed. 

"Crystal," she replied. 

"Good."

He let her arm go and walked toward Prince Kaspar. He grabbed him by the neck, pinned him against a column behind him, and squeezed. 

"If you ever step foot in my kingdom again, not only will I consider it an act of war, but you meet the same fate as your father's uncle. A VERY public beheading." he sneered at a choking Kaspar. 

"Stop it! You'll kill him!" Lydea said to him. 

"That's the idea," Shanelle piped up.

Marquise let the Prince fall to the ground, gasping for air. He turned around and looked at Lydea with a smirk. 

"Sorry. I got a little overzealous."

Lydea scoffed. 

"I'll say. Besides, no one gets to kill him but me. Got it?" she asked. 

"Understood Your Majesty," he replied. 

"Good. While it has been good to see you and your wife, I think it is time my family and I took our leave."

Marquise nodded. 

"Very well. We'll speak again soon?" he asked. 

"How about next week?" she replied. 

"Perfect. I'll put it on my calendar."

Shanelle blinked at Lydea. 

"You're not mad?" she asked. 

"My brother and his twin are idiots. This gives me all the reasons I need to torture them both when we get home." Lydea replied. 

Shanelle snorted. 

"I knew I liked you." 

Lydea nodded. 

"Likewise, Your Majesty." 

Later that night after all the commotion of the evening, Marquise couldn't sleep. His anger couldn't let him rest. He couldn't get the images of his daughter and mother in trouble out of his head. So he got up, left his bedroom, and walked down the hall to Margo's room. He had to check on her. He had to make sure she was okay. He quietly watched her sleep from her doorway before going to check on Khari. 

She was safe but in his mind, he almost lost her. Again. Hearing her screaming for help and that feeling of helplessness will forever haunt him. 

After standing in Khari's doorway and watching her sleep, His Majesty quietly closed the door. He then walked down the hall to his office. Once inside he headed straight to the liquor cabinet, grabbed his favorite Bourbon, and poured himself a drink. After he sat down at his desk and took a sip, there was a knock at the door. It was Shanelle.

"What are you doing awake?" he asked her.

"You kinda woke me up when you got up," she replied before sitting down on the edge of the bookshelf behind him. 

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up."

"It's okay. Why are you up?" she asked. 

Marquise downed his drink before pouring another. 

"I couldn't sleep so I went for a walk down the hall. And while I walked I went to check on Khari and Mama," he replied, "I had to make sure they were okay." 

"Babe..."

He sighed as he swirled the whiskey in his glass. 

"My facade is starting to crack."

"What do you mean?" she asked. 

He gave her a look. 

"I was afraid you'd say that." 

He shook his head. 

"I shouldn't have lost my temper," he said with a heavy sigh.

"No you definitely should have."

"Shanelle..."

Shanelle shook her head no. 

"Don't you Shanelle me! Our daughter and your mother were ambushed and attacked. You had every right to feel angry. On top of the fact that another member of the illustrious House Gallagher was caught committing treason."

Marquise let out a breath.

"You know...no matter how much I try to hide or downplay it, I can't outrun the fact that the blood of one Constantine Rys still runs through my veins."

"I know it does. But that doesn't mean you're anything like him." 

"I am exactly like him whether I want to admit it or not," he said with a scoff before downing his second drink.

"No, you are not! You are a devoted father and son. Two pillars of your heart and life were in danger. You can't be blamed for how you react." 

Marquise poured another drink before turning around to face her. 

"What kind of message am I sending?" he asked. 

"You are more than just the King of a kingdom or the face of a great Monarchy. As I said before, you are a devoted father and son. There is nothing you wouldn't do for your family. You do everything you can to protect and defend us. But not even you can't predict every single thing or protect us from every danger lurking around the corner or in the shadows. What matters the most is that you never stop trying." she replied. 

Marquise swallowed. 

"I think it's my PTSD. But the thought of Khari being in danger...I felt paralyzed. I felt helpless. Even though she's fine physically and she's safe and sound asleep in her bed...I still feel like I failed. It is my job to always keep her, the boys, and our newest baby safe."

"For the record, it's our job to keep our children safe. Yours and mine. And what I'm saying to you is that sometimes you can't do everything. You're not Clark Kent. You don't wear red and blue tights and fly around with a super-sized red S on your chest."

Marquise snorted. 

"You saying I'm not Superman?" he asked. 

"You're more like John Stewart," she replied. 

He chuckled. 

"The Green Lantern? Not bad."

"Babe it's my job as your wife to remind you that while you're great at many things you are still just a man. You can't do everything." 

"Doesn't mean I won't try to." 

Marquise shook his head with a small smile before placing a hand on her belly. 

"Thank you for talking me off a ledge."

"Always. Now last drink. No more drowning yourself in pity and bourbon." 

"I am not drowning myself in pity."

"Still the last drink."

Marquise rolled his eyes good-naturedly before taking his final drink and standing up. 

"What would I be without you?" he asked as he wrapped his arms around her. 

"A raging alcoholic," she replied. 

Marquise snorted. 

"The only reason I'm gonna let that slide is because I love you."

"I love you too handsome. Now come on, let's go get some sleep." 

"Okay. I'm right behind you."

"Nope. I'm behind you. I need to make sure you actually leave this office." 

Marquise rolled his eyes before putting his liquor back in the cabinet and walking out with Shanelle. 

As they walked down the hall, an attendant came running up to them.

"Your Majesties! You must come quick!" she said in a rush.

"What is it?" Marquise asked. 

"It is Princess Naya, My King. I think she may be in trouble," she replied.

Marquise shared a look with Shanelle before they followed the attendant. When they got to the sitting area Naya was there looking upset. 

"Naya, what's wrong? Why do you look like that?" Marquise asked. 

"I need your help! Please!" she said with tears streaming down her face. 

"What is it Naya? What happened?" Shanelle asked.

"They took her! They took my baby!" 

"Who?" Marquise asked. 

"Edward! Please! You have to help me!" she said before breaking down into tears. 

"Okay come sit down," Shanelle said to her.

Shanelle led her to the couch closest to them. 

"Now tell us what happened," Marquise said to her. 

Naya took a shaky breath before she began to speak.

"He took Bernadette! Edward came into my home and took my daughter from me! I couldn't stop him." 

"In the middle of the night?" Shanelle asks. 

"Yes. About an hour ago. We were both asleep. Tarlov tried to stop them but even he couldn't stop them. I don't understand. I don't understand how he was able to do this." Naya replied. 

"I do. But I need to gather more information. I will get to the bottom of this." Marquise said to her. 

Naya nodded her head slowly. 

"In the meantime, you can stay here at the palace. At least until your daughter is returned to you." Shanelle said to her. 

"Thank you both." 

Shanelle turned to the attendant who alerted them. 

"Have a room prepared for the Princess please," she instructed. 

"At once, Your Majesty," she said with a bow.

"Now Naya you go with her. Everything will be alright." Shanelle said softly to Naya. 

Naya nodded before going with the attendant. Shanelle let out a breath. 

"I can't believe Edward would do this."

"I can. He's trying to send us a message."

"What's the message?" she asked. 

"That this war for our kingdom is far from being over," he replied, "that he and Genevieve will be willing to do anything to force us out. Even if it means going after innocent people." 

Shanelle nodded. 

"So what will be our message to them?" she asks. 

"Our message is simple, we are going to thoroughly enjoy crushing them into dust," he replied. 

Shanelle nodded. 

"Well that's a good enough reason for me." 

Marquise stood up offering a hand to his wife. 

"Come on. Let's go get some sleep. We have a long day ahead of us." 

The pair then headed down the hall towards their bedroom.