#poor drunk paps

[bharv]

Happy Gortoween everybody. Thanks @gortash-week for all the food!

Sweet Thing

Modern AU verse Durgetash. Prompts: Costume party, sweet delights, the devil you know. CW implied feederism and coercion.

(This is basically fluff for me.)

“Come on. We’re going out.”

He’s drunk, because of course he is, though he’s not sweating enough yet to have moved onto anything harder. Manva moves to shut the door, but he catches it and moves past her before she has a chance.

“I’m not going anywhere. It’s late.”

“It’s bloody nine-thirty! What is it with your generation. You’re tucking yourself in with your teddies by nightfall.”

“I have a class at six tomorrow.”

“Christ. I didn’t think students got up for anything before ten.”

“A Pilates class, not a class-class.”

She’s already exhausted by his presence. Decked out head-to-toe in black, his hair pushed back and the only hint of colour an ugly pair of red-tipped boots that must have been some designer’s idea of a joke, he strides through the grey of the studio apartment like a fly across a fruit bowl.

“Come on,” he says again as he opens up the fridge and takes out one of her sparkling waters. “Get something black and slinky on and let’s pop out. I’ll have you back by midnight, promise.”

He walks back to her, slipping a hand over her waist, his thumb pushing past the fabric of her vest. There is a smile playing at the edge of his lips, and she knows why. He has already won, and they both know it.

He calls a cab and takes them into old soho, the backstreets of the city that heroically resist the lure of gentrification. They stop down an alley with one illuminated door with missing letters, and she follows him down a narrow staircase that leads to a tatty looking retro diner. There is a DJ feebly playing generic fifties music, and they are led by a lone waiter to the far corner of a tacky, tattered old red Formica booth. She had worried that she was underdressed; the only black clothes she had in her wardrobe was a two piece Lycra workout set, but as she shrugs off her coat she only thinks of how the plastic seats will stick to her arms.

“This can’t be what you’re all dressed up for,” she says as she fingers a sticky menu on the table.

“I’m going on,” he explains as he pulls out a cigarette. “Lady Jannath’s Costume Masquerade.”

She recalls seeing the photos when she was younger in Orin’s copies of Tatler. Wisteria Jannath and her daughters in couture garments that would have been just as welcome at the met ball.

“And where is your costume then?”

“Ah yes,” he replies, and pulls out a cheap pair of plastic horns from his inside pocket that he places on his head with a flourish.

She hates that it makes her laugh. “Hardly up to the dress code, is it?”

“Dress code is for people coming through the front to be papped,” he explains, lighting his cigarette and taking a long, measured pull. “I’m there for the real party. Oh, I almost forgot…”

He pulls out a tiny witches hat from the jacket, a delicate little hair clip that he reaches across to place on her head.

She flinches. “I don’t do Halloween.”

He scowls, pulling his cigarette from his mouth and flicking ash across the table. “Why not? Lighten up a little.”

“It’s not… for me. I don’t want to.”

“Come on. Don’t be such a little-”

“You can’t smoke indoors, Mr Gortash.”

A heavy, masculine, and above all exhausted voice pulls her out of their little bubble. She feels embarrassed as she looks up at the poor waiter, who is surely only doing his job and is sick of late-night nonsense like-

“Quite so,” Enver replies with a smile, and takes another quick puff before pulling out his wallet. “Bring me an Old Fashioned, two Ring-a-ding-ding burgers, and a milkshake. Chocolate, dear? Strawberry?”

He doesn’t even look at her as he pulls out a wedge of cash and folds it for the waiter. It must be at least three hundred.

“I don’t want anything,” she tells him.

He smiles at the waiter and puts the money in his hand before leaning back.

“Chocolate, I think. With all the toppings. Bring it over with the whiskey bottle and then leave us be, there’s a good chap.”

The food arrives and it is fine, nothing remarkable, with generous portions of fries and beef-bacon instead of pork. She looks around the room as Enver talks about his day, something about international markets that is impossible to follow as he tops up his glass, and notices that the room is full of suited men with women. Some look younger, others perhaps hired. All of them tucked away, just like she is, in dimly-lit booths.

“Why did we come here?” she asks him as she dips one of her fries in the melting ice cream. “We could have stayed at mine.”

“Maybe I wanted to treat you.”

“But not enough to take me to the party.”

“Would you have wanted to go?”

She considers it, just for a moment. The crowded space, the photographs. The feeling of hanging on his arm. “…No.”

“That’s what I thought.”

“But why here?”

“It’s an old favourite. Now come on. You’ve barely touched your food.”

She looks down at the half-eaten burger and seemingly endless chips. She already knows how heavy her body will feel tomorrow on the reformer, how it will sit on her chest.

“I’m done.”

“Truly?” He moves closer to her, and runs his hand over her stomach openly as he leans into her neck. The feeling of shame lurches in her as she tries to pull away, but there is nowhere to go as she traps his hand in hers. “You don’t feel full at all,” he murmurs against her neck. “And there’s not much to hide behind, is there?”

“Enver-“

“Fine. If you’re sure.”

The hand on her stomach slips from her grasp, chasing up her skin as he leans in to kiss her. The kiss is hard, forceful, and she almost chokes on it as she pulls away.

“I want to go home,” she tells him, her hand reaching to try to find her coat as he laughs at her.

“Then go! Do you want to go back to the home that I pay for, the one I furnished and supply for you with only the ask of your company in return, or would you prefer to go back to your real home?”

He leans in and kisses her again, and she can feel her head swirl as if he has drugged her. She knows he has not, would not.

It wouldn’t be so fun for him if he had.

He pulls away, holding her by the back of her neck. “A girl your age should be out at a party, getting felt up in the corner by some quivering boy for a quick fumble in the dark,” he tells her. “Chasing little memories, gathering little discretions for the diary. But you’re not there. And you’re not at home. You’re here, with me, and you’re here because you like it. You like what I am.”

She breathes in the scent of him, takes in the feeling of his thumb moving down her collarbone and his other hand reaching down her thigh as everything dissolves but him. Smoke and ash, the silly plastic devil horns an unnecessary addition.

Perhaps it is better to stick with the devil you knew, after all.

[91dawsonmercer]

𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒 𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆:𝐃𝐀𝐖𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐄𝐑 𝐗 𝐇𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐄𝐒 𝐒𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑!𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄

We've been adjusting to the move pretty well for the most part. The Devils are playing the Canucks tonight so mom and dad are visiting and Odessa is absolutely loving all of the attention she has been getting.

Poor Quinn has been getting her ipad shoved in his face every five seconds, Luke was forced to play dolls and Jack is honestly the only one that hasn't been tortured with something yet.

"What team are you rooting for tonight, Dee!?" Dad asks, and Quinn smirks at Jack and Luke as she runs into the room with her baby Canucks jersey on.

"Odessa!? Get that garbage off right now." Jack says, shaking his head. "What happened to the Devils being the best team?"

"Not when Quinner is playin'." She tells him, and Quinn holds up his hand for a high-five. "That's right, Dessa. Let them know where they rank."

"I'm telling your buddy that you're a traitor." Jack says.

She shrugs, holding her arms up for Quinn to pick her up. "Owen will forgive me."

During warm ups Owen immediately pointed out that Odessa's jersey was for the other team and after a little bit of explaining he understood why.

The whole game the kids were talking about stuff that was going on with the bench.

"Dawsy has an ipad?" Odessa says, pointing.

"Do you think he's watching coc'melon?" Owen asks.

Reanne and I both laugh.

"That's definitely what he's watching, guys." Reanne answers.

The Canucks end up winning six to four and Odessa is letting Jack and Luke have it.

"You lost." She points at them.

"Yeah, Dessa. We know." Luke says, picking her up.

"Where's Dawsy?" She asks, looking around for him.

"He already left. You'll see him at home." Jack tells her and I look at him confused.

"What?" I ask.

"Mom, Dad and Luke are babysitting. We're going out." He says.

"Don't I have a say so in this?" I question.

"Nope."

Back at the apartment, Odessa is giving Luke attitude about getting ready for bed.

"Your clothes are on your bed. Go get changed." He tells her and she shakes her head no. "I waiting for Daws."

"We won't leave without you getting to ask him about the ipad, Dess. Let's go get changed into your pjs." I say, picking her up and carrying her into her room.

I get her changed and she grabs her blanket from her bed before running back out of the room.

"Dawsy!" She yells, her voice echoing through the apartment.

"Hi, Dess. I heard you got something to ask me." He says, picking her up.

"You lost."

"I did. Was that all you had to tell me?" Dawson laughs.

She shakes her head no. "Were you watching coc'melon?"

They all look over at me confused.

"She seen you on the ipad and Owen and her were taking bets if you were watching cocomelon or not." I tell him.

"Oh. No, I was watching a replay of the previous play." Dawson tells her and she nods.

"Okay, you asked Dawson your question. Now it's bedtime." Mom says, causing Odessa to reach for her.

"Be good for Mimi, Pap and Luke, Okay. Don't give them any trouble about going to bed." I kiss her cheek and she wipes it off. "I won't, Mommy."

"Alright, let's go before she somehow manages to get out of going out." Jack says, practically dragging me out of the apartment.

In the Uber ride to the bar, Jack turns around in the front seat so he's facing us.

"We aren't being sappy emotional drunks tonight, got it y/n." He tells me, and I nod.

I've always been the type to get drunk and let my emotions get the best of me, but I'm determined not to let that happen tonight.

I bought first round because I technically owed them it since they all helped me move in, but after that, the guys wouldn't let me pay.

Jack and Nico went to get us more drinks, leaving Dawson and I at our table. The drinks start to hit, and I start to think about everything and feel like I'm failing Odessa. I start to cry, and Dawson looks over at me.

"What's wrong?" Dawson asks, pulling me into a hug.

"I just… I feel like I'm not doing enough for Odessa. She's been through so much with the move and everything, and I just want her to be happy. But sometimes I feel that I'm not doing a good job as a mom."

Dawson pulls back slightly to look at me. "Y/N, you're an amazing mom. Odessa is so lucky to have you. Moving to a new place is tough, but she's adjusting. You're doing everything you can for her, and that's what matters. Don't be so hard on yourself."

I smile weakly. "Thanks, Dawson. I really needed to hear that."

Jack raises an eyebrow at me as he puts my drink down in front of me. "Everything okay?"

Jack and Nico return to the table, carrying a fresh round of drinks.

"Yeah, just had a moment." I reply.

We drink our drinks and uber back. Deciding to go to Dawson's apartment so we didn't risk waking Odessa up.

"Nico and I will take the couch. Y/n, you're with Dawson." Jack tells me.

"Is that okay with you?" I ask Dawson, and he nods.

I follow Dawson back to his room, and he grabs a pair of sweats and throws them at me.

"The bathroom's right there," he says.

"Thank you," I reply, heading into the bathroom. I change into the sweats and return to the room.

We get into bed, and can hear Jack and Nico yelling at each other in the living room.

"Get your nasty feet out of my face!" Jack's voice rings out.

"Get your face out of my feet, Hughesy," Nico retorts.

Dawson laughs, shaking his head. "Those two are like an old married couple."

I laugh, nodding in agreement. "They really are."

As we drift off to sleep, I feel a sense of contentment wash over me. Tonight may have had its emotional moments, but being surrounded by people who care makes it all worth it.

[writingsofwesteros]

An instagram post on a Targ fanpage causes some discourse, haters be hatin, and Aegon may have posted this when drunk-

AllthingsTarg

500,057 likes

AllthingsTarg New crumb- Daenora and Aemond spotted down on the family's private beach in Dorne, hand in hand (Picture via DorneDaily insta account)

view all comments

user4: naw cause how'd Aemond get so JACKED up in the office pls-

user5: you can tell Aemond spotted the camera and got annoyed

user14: not literally there was a video from when they took this pic on the DorneDaily insta and you literally see him glare up at the camera, say something, and then Nora stops smiling

KeepingupwiththeTargs: @ user14 I'm all for crumbs from our favs, but the media takes it too far sometimes, they deserve their privacy

user24: @ KeepingupwiththeTargs no literally, and some fans serious have no boundary issues, snapping pics of them when they're out like chilllll

hater1: people rlly out here defending them when ya'll know they live for the attention, chill, the incest freaks will be fine

hater2: they out here flaunting their incest and then get mad when the paps snap pics, pls

user15: it's not about their personal choices, it's about privacy, @ hater1 @ hater2

user47: there are literally camera caught incidents of cameras getting shoved in their faces, there's a video on insta of a pap at some party downtown shoving a camera at Helaena and she fell and clearly hurt her ankle, there's a limit regardless of if you like them or not, @ hater1

user59: fr, that was wild, someone posted the vid after and you can see how insanely rude the paps were, and when she fell Aegon punched the camera guy while Aemond helped her into their car, poor Helly.

aegonT: @ user59 and I'd do it again, better believe

aegonT

tagged @ daenoraT, @ helaenaT

700,000 likes

aegonT my big titty queens 🥵

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daenoraT: AEGON

jacaerysV: I mean, we don't disagree, Aeg

aemondT: more shots, they said- this is what happens

helaenaT: 🫣🫣🫣

bestieinsta: can confirm

aemondT: you aren't making it better @ bestieinsta

aemondT: though...yes, can also confirm

Stark_Creagan: we do all in fact agree with this collectively as a society

daeronT: time to take away this account, bro (not wrong tho)

daemonT: Targaryen blood runs deep, it's no surprise

!!!!!!!!

Grumpy Aemond is like a cat!

user4: naw cause how'd Aemond get so JACKED up in the office pls- SO TRUE ! HE'S SO DAMN HOT

Aegon is just a menace , he needs a break from the account but we would miss him

[youcouldstartacult]

Is it weird to say that the way a lot of fans have been like oh poor niall i hope he's doing well or oh he must be so devastated or oh i hope he has a good support system is so weird to me? Like I know it comes from a good place of them wanting him to be happy and well and stuff but god does it sometimes feel like they're almost enjoying imagining him being sad about stuff. Does that sound horrible? Probably but that's the vibe some of it gives off, like it's so vicarious and rubberneck-y. Sorry, you don't have to post this, I just felt like you might get it (also I'm drunk) (also also I'm not sure if rubbernecking is a phrase in other places so sorry for that too lol)

hmmmm, i think a good amount of it comes from a good place. i think a lot of people really care about niall and it was hard to see him get papped & have his instagram comments flooded with horrible accusations.

i think in general though, directioners can often infantilize niall / use him as a sounding board for their angst. like he is a 31 year old man, he’s experienced everything under the sun, i trust that he can handle what life throws at him.

(i think it’s a really disturbing, voyeuristic thing where they want to see him outwardly sad and depressed so they can use it to push a liam redemption narrative/one direction together-forever yap but maybe i sound crazy)

[nancydrewwouldnever]

Thank you, Nancy and thank you to everyone who sent in old tea about the now defunct IMDB boards. It was the laugh we all needed. “To be fair, it was mostly Adderall & Alcohol when I was with him.” 😂

Sip or spit, everything is a reminder that he has always been messy. In fairness, a lot of people are in the same (messy) boat. He’s not unique in that regard.

Given his previous alleged behavior, none of us should have been shocked by what we’ve seen from him in the last 3 years, starting with the London pap walk. (Happy Anniversary to that ‘WTF r u doing Christopher’ moment. 😑) It’s all par for the course as far as I’m concerned.

I hope he is enjoying the silence after deactivating his SM (the smartest move he has made in years).

It was wonderfully fun to have a break yesterday from all the fandom drama. If anyone still has old IMDB board memories, please, keep sending them in! I'll keep using the "bottle girl gossip" tag even if it veers from bottle girls, just so we can always find it.

Honestly, though, how messy was he? Tons of young celebs were doing far worse in the aughts. Remember all of Lindsey Lohan's arrests? Or poor Britney's head-shaving, umbrella wielding breakdown? Mostly, he just got drunk and acted like any young man in his 20s, maybe just with some Hollywood veneer thrown in. He wasn't clubbing in Ibiza at the drop of a hat, or showing up at the birthday parties of Russian oligarchs. Honestly, most of his "mess" from then is pretty normal, vanilla, and almost quaint.

[zumpietoo]

They met a whole person in Venice!!!

ETA: turns out, not even----endorsement for Air BnB....heelarious!

Alsoooo.....

As if on cue, suddenly

includes A pic of Mark, cuz everybody's been pointing out how FASCINATING it is that she's the ONLY ONE ever papped on set, as if, you know, again, she arranges this crap majjjikkkally....

And the BB is verryyyyyy pissed off that it's pointed out (not by me, but this person and I should be friends!) she's a fucking scab. And continue to miss every point made.

Umm....nooo.....she's "just in a cult and likes to scab", Silly....and she was the one "for drunk and did drugs" (sic) as she routinely brags. This is a cult project, no "hustling" involved....

Again, now we know who my troll was, yesterday, "documented", huh? And, actually, seems like Mark kinda is....which, again, deeply disappointing, but there it is. PP absolutely didn't "plan" and doing a student film is most assuredly not "winning".....

We'll see it flop on Netflix and be a rough one and done....hopefully everybody finally recognizes fully how talent-free Cooper is, at last.

Ummm....dude, seriously, THAT'S your narrative, not a strike, everybody snorted? And it's a "fucking fact"/paying the price? Please explain how Cole was front row at Vogue World, now in Paris then....orrr how freakin' Bella Thorne attended actual premieres (versus dumb side parties) while in Venice? Or even Crotchi at NY Fashunn Week....

Dude, I get you want to pretend this, but the "facts" are PP's doing this cuz it's thru/for her cult and she's probably not getting paid.

Also, what about Sweatboi? He seems unemployed and poor?

[manny-jacinto]

"someone 10 years younger than you? you married a woman you saw growing up? you convinced the world that you're a poor little meow meow but you're in fact a disturbing, drunk and unprofessional rotting man"

could you share who these are..im guessing the last one is rdj

first one is like half of hollywood but it's kinda directed at ewan. i'm aware it's not catastrophic and not "as bad" as the other stuff people did in my text post but it's still not great imo and the whole thing was so messy. like he was not even divorced and there were paps pictures of him and mew kissing in restaurants like WOT

second one is wood* all€n

3rd is jabba debt

[alarrytale]

You mentioned few times that haylor was a really difficult time. May I ask you why? I wasn’t during 1d but looking back on photos or videos it seems that Harry always tried as little as possible to participate or make it believable and the ny kiss was not even a kiss. Now everything is so much more intense because Harry himself is enthusiastically involved in stunting and tries much harder to sell these relationships, with fishkissing emrata or Olivia, spending almost every day with Olivia and being papped kissing/dancing on the yacht or tattooing her name next to his private area, etc

Hi, anon!

You sent this just as i answered that last anon. So i refer to my last anon in regards to haylor vs holivia.

When it comes to harry participating more in stunts i agree that he does pull his weight more now than before. I don't think it's very enthusiastically as you say, but he manages it in a way he didn’t during haylor. I think he treats it as work, he shuts off his emotions and acts. He's better at compartementalising, and i think Louis deals better with it too. Sometimes he's drunk while doing it, maybe that helps him. His 'fishkissing' as you call it is a very poor attempt at acting passionate and to show physical attraction. He dosn't pull it off, he overcompensates, so he looks inexperienced and people laugh at him.

I think he knows how to handle pr relationships by now, due to having more under his belt. Maybe it's conditional now from the other part that harry participates more (because they saw how lackluster he was during haylor). If he participated less the relationship/stunt would look more fake and fewer would buy it. He's got more things riding on his participation now than before. If he participated less he'd also have fewer people wanting to stunt with him. That would mean less opportunities, fewer brand deals and so forth.

I also think pr relationships are more commonly known of now than 10 years ago, so the stakes are higher to sell it. Many of his other relationships are being uncovered as fake (like this today) so he's got to work harder than before. Before he could maybe sell it with a small peck, now he needs a snogging session. Before they got away with matching nacklaces or swapping clothes, now he needs more permanent things to sell it like a tattoo. I would much prefer a tattoo than a dog or a fake baby to sell the committment.

It's still not worse than Haylor to me though. But it's equally fake.

[julia-edits]

“i know i shouldn’t be saying this, but i’m glad uncle murphy is gone, his stare was void of soul. he never said much, but the way he peered sent a shiver down my spine. i knew what he was thinking, what he was feeling. i guess i can’t blame him for doing what he did, i would do it too.

my daddy works a lot and mama’s a drunk - daddy says we can’t leave her alone - dad says him and maria will work it out one day, then it’ll be just me caring for mama. not like he cares about her much already. maria is fine. mama drinks so much cause of her, cause of maria. that’s at least what aunt hildy says

aunt hildy is kind of crazy, she hates mama. nobody truly hates mama, besides aunt hildy. speaking of mama, conner and patricia were asking about her this morning. said mama was “making a lot of noise”.

it was 1:08 am. i was sitting on the twin’s bed, or the couch. both work in our situation. bailey and texas were with friends, tommy with papa [pap-aw]. mama comes home slurring, yelling. i come responding, waving my hands, shushing. conner might wake up and then he definitely won’t make it to his soccer game.

my siblings. truly love.

tommy doesn’t know we have it bad though. he thinks his weekend visits with papa are a fun treat. lord knows how’d he’d respond if he ever found out. i i’m glad he doesn’t know. although soon i might got to tell him. he’s gonna have to start helping soon once maria’s baby comes along. daddy says it ain’t his, but we all know from his twitchin’ and mulling that fetus is his.

im truly alone in this. much like uncle murphy. i’d be where he is too if i didn’t have my people. mama, tommy, patricia, conner, toby, and the twins. soon enough ill have maria’s baby running around and i’ll be full over time.

mama won’t notice when maria’s baby gets here. she’ll be too drunk to get off the couch. not like she gets off the couch for her own kids anyways. she doesn’t notice us. i hardly thinks she knows our names.

we don’t blame her, mama is sick. thats atleast what i tell patricia when mama is yelling for her next case. we’re too poor for any good kind, she just does it so she doesn’t have to be a mother.

in case you were wondering, i’m the oldest. 13 years old. my birthday ain’t til september, but gran says im close to my permit.

after me comes tommy, tommy’s 8. he likes lightning bugs and the color purple. he likes tomato soup and shaved carrots. most of all, he likes mama. i wish he didn’t.

after tommy is patricia. patricia is 4 and she speaks primarily romanian. it’s the only thing she can gather from her cartoons. mama got a knock off tv from uncle murphy after he left, and daddy’s too cheap for american cable. patricia likes barbie’s and tiaras. her teacher lets her take home toys that have been around too long. i think it’s more for me than patricia at this point.

she sees my walking up to school, the twins and conner strapped into the wheeler, toby attached to my hip. she always smiles and tells me what a delight patricia is to have in class. i can tell she’s bluffing. i think i make it worse when i go to parent teacher conferences. daddy said he would but we both know it was a lie. maria first, then work, then kids.

the only barbie’s we have in our house is ones we make. taking some of mamas old marlboro boxes, sniffing in the stench now burning into the box. we would draw faces, sometimes add yarn for hair.

conner and toby are too young for that. conner is 2 and toby only 6 months. i do homeschool so i can take care of them real easy. i don’t have many friends, but i have my headphones. and buddy. buddy’s a stray who sticks by. he and i are similar.

we are both homeless.”

[97-liners]

the second meeting doesn't go much better, because seungcheol shows up drunk.

you must have gone and told on him, because the morning after that first meeting, seungcheol had gotten an angry call from his agent. "do you think you're brad fucking pitt or something," jeonghan seethed over the phone. seungcheol, still in bed and half awake, listened to the sound of angry little footsteps as jeonghan paced up and down his kitchen, something seungcheol has seen (and heard) him doing hundreds of times, mostly when seungcheol has fucked something up. caught by the paps. checked out of rehab early. showed up on set drunk. he groans and swipes his hand over his face as jeonghan begins the well-practiced spiel -- the industry isn't exactly welcoming to him anymore. seungcheol has run out of second chances. and then jeonghan starts talking about you, about the awards you've won and the books you've written, and he starts talking about how this might be seungcheol's last shot to garner any kind of public sympathy. to have an image outside of the washed up has-been that he's been (rightfully) called.

and seungcheol is used to it now-- he might be a washed up has-been, but he's not delusional. he knows since his sitcom was cancelled 20 years ago, he's fucked up every chance that's come his way.

"i'm trying my goddamn best to salvage your career," jeonghan hisses. "you're meeting them again, tomorrow night." seungcheol listens as jeonghan rattles off an address, and recognizes it as an upscale bar about a block away from where he lives.

but. between the phone call with jeonghan and the second meeting, seungcheol turns jeonghan's words over and over in his mouth, worrying the phrases "genius" and "award-winning novelist" between his teeth. and then he googles you. reads every article he can find about you. breaks out a bottle of whisky and drinks it, room-temperature and angry. seungcheol finds interviews from when you were in grad school. he reads a review of your 21-year-old poetry. he finds a manuscript of your phD thesis online, and he tries to read it, but he gets about 3 sentences in before giving up. and then, in a stroke of horrible luck, he finds your husband's instagram account. no, not your husband-- your ex-husband.

and when he shows up at the meeting, he's already thrown the last bits of his impulse control down the drain. he collapses in the chair opposite from you-- you're already nursing a drink, some fancy little cocktail with a sprig of rosemary poking out through the ice and little red flowers floating on the surface-- and seungcheol scoffs.

"don't pretend to be all high and mighty," he slouches, grinning at your surprised expression at his sudden appearance. "why are you doing this, huh?"

you frown. set down the cocktail. and you say, "i write books, why wouldn't i take on a project to write another book?"

seungcheol raises his eyebrows. and before his brain can catch up with his mouth, he says, "got some bills to pay off?"

you stiffen. "what do you mean?"

"you're in the middle of a divorce," he grins. "it's a messy one, isn't it? i'd guess that he's probably asking for half of everything, judging by how long it's been going on. should have signed a pre-nup, i guess. though he probably didn't think the person he married would end up as a literary genius, either."

you stare at him, wordless, as he lets his mouth carry him forward like a runaway train. "nineteen's pretty young to get married. let me guess, he took care of you through school, and as soon as you published your first novel and took off, you abandoned him. and that's why he's asking for everything." seungcheol shakes his head in mock pity. "poor kid."

you put your drink down, slamming it so hard, the rosemary sprig falls out of the glass. your hands are shaking and your jaw is tight. seungcheol wishes he could wipe that look of disgust off your face. he knows your type-- arrogant, pretentious, thinks they're always the smartest person in the room. he's always hated people like that. his dad's old boss who sacked him for a simple mistake, their landlord who evicted them when he was 12, his first agent who sneered when seungcheol first mentioned the stage. a pretty face like that is made for dumb teen magazines, not shakespeare. don't start thinking you're a real actor.

you open your mouth to say something, probably mean and biting, and seungcheol braces himself with a grin. he wonders how low you can go, waiting with some kind of sick, masochistic anticipation. but instead, you just stand up and walk away.

just like that.

and seungcheol is left with the sinking thought that he might have gone too far. you can't keep sabotaging yourself like this, he hears jeonghan's voice in his head, because you're afraid of what might happen if you don't.

is anybody online rn???

uhm. ghost writer au

[randomnessunicorn-imagine]

"Pants are just an illusion" with a drunk US!Papyrus and his s/o?

— Post Scriptum: Here the reader has the same name of the last time I wrote about Swap! Papyrus, the one I used here was Max, since it’s neutral and I like it. I realized, in those fanfictions I find always the way to talk about Papyrus’ alcohol issues, poor star, I am so sorry for him. Anyway, I don’t know if I should consider these kinds of stories fan-fictions or just longer scenarios, uhm… I hope you still enjoy them!  

Prompt: “Pants are just an illusion”. ( From this list ).Pairing: Underswap! Papyrus x Neutral! ReaderRating: Green (General contents).

Oh, alcohol, my old friend. My true love~

Everyone knew the problems Papyrus got even if he did not like talking about them, because they were his problems and he was able to take care of himself –that was what he hoped, since most of the time he ignored his issues so they were not going to be resolved-. It was not good for his health, at all. Neither for his beloved ones or for his friends was easy, since he constantly made them worry, it was so difficult understanding what he was thinking because he was such an enigmatic skeleton with that lazy smile on his face all the time. These last days, he has tried so hard to stay away from the alcohol but it seemed the bottle called for him. It was just one of the unhealthy drugs and substances his body assumed, it was never enough. He felt like a sort of experimenter, in his past he was truly someone who conducted researches to find out solutions that could help the monsters race to have a better life, but his scientific side suicided itself so many years ago, nothing remained of it. His dreams became dust just like the one he saw in his nightmares every night. For this reason, the only things he liked experimenting were those poisons called drugs. He truly tried every type of them, from cigarettes to serious drugs. They were just a way to make him forget about reality. He wanted to be like Alice in Wonderland, disappearing inside the hole and do not come back at this reality anymore. Unluckily, he was already inside a hole. He would say he felt inside a butthole, finesse was not his speciality, but maybe it has never been. Papyrus was trying so hard to stop this bad habit, but he was sure it was impossible for him. He promised to Sans he would have lived in a healthier way, but he had lied to his brother and to himself. Sans was quite disappointed and worried because of his behaviour, so he decided to take the situation in his hands, hiding his alcohol bottles, or throwing them away. Papyrus was a sly old fox and he always found out a way to procure something because he could not stay too much sober. Sobriety brought back to life the demons of his past; everything was too much clearly and real for him. He did not want to think about his life, it was the reason why he got drunk. The date has begun, and he was so excited. He looked at them and they looked at him, like it was the greatest meeting of the existence. Papyrus bounded with his hand, with a delicate gesture, their hips as if they were ready to dance. No dancefloor. The company of each other was the most important element. He came closer, whispering words of love because he missed them so much. It was a magical moment, which he was yearning with all his soul. Then, he settled his inexistence lips to their mouth, and he started to enjoy this enchanting moment of ecstasy. Pure delirium of joy. It was all he wished for. The fresh liquid slipped through his throat and his brain lighted up, coming back to life again. Nobody could have believed in something like it, that he was truly cheating his mate with some alcohol. It seemed so hilarious to believe. It was sadly the truth because while he was tasting the joy of Bacchus, he forgot something very important. Indeed, he would have had another date, with a real person. Papyrus should have met Max, his partner, but he was too busy to ruin himself in this bad romance to remember what was truly important. He felt so stupid, so he drunk a little more. He downed it in one shot, then one another because he could not feel that terrible guilt. The same shame to be alived. How could Max love a worthless person like him? Who preferred to lose himself drinking like a loser than seeing his chosen one? He would have never forgiven himself for such a sin. He was unforgivable. Another shot. To forget the pain, like usual. Then, another one. Until he was high enough to forget his name and his sin, too.

Papyrus’ phone had so many missed calls, all from Max who had called him a million times without receiving any answer. This was a reason to make a person worried, so Max decided to come back home because they had a certain suspect of what Papyrus was doing instead of preparing himself for their date. Max knew very well the lazy skeleton Papyrus was, even if they did not expect to find him in those horrible conditions. Papyrus was too drunk, he was laying on the floor like a beached whale, laughing like a fool and Max could understand the reason why he seemed so happy. Max entered the room and their expression was confused and tired because they hated seeing Papyrus in that state. «Oh, God. What did happen to you? I thought you have stopped to drink that shit! », Max said while they were trying to help him to pick himself up. He murmured phrases without any sense, «Ouch, Max…! I am perfectly fine, I didn’t know you had a sibling. Helloooo….! ». No, he was too high. He started to laugh again, saying between a hiccup and another, «Oh, shit… Or are we on a roller coaster… I would prefer going to something slower. How about the Ferris wheel? ».  No, he was totally gone to the drunkenness planet. Max sighed, talking with a lower tone of voice because they could imagine how the sound appeared louder through his head. «Oh, God! We are not at the Luna Park. We’re at home, and I am trying to get your skeletal ass together». It was not easy like it seemed. The only answer they got from Papyrus was a laugh. Max had successful to put Papyrus on the couch and he was saying nonsense stuff, again. «But my ass is perfectly fine… Ah, now that I’m thinking about it…», a hiccup came out from his mouth, «My ass pains me. Ouch-!». Max looked at him with a confused face, then they got up directed to the kitchen to bring a glass of water to Papyrus. It was not a good idea leaving him alone with his folly. After Max came back to the living room, they were more shocked than before since Papyrus was undressing himself like he was doing a Strip-tease even if his moves were not that sexy. He moved like a drunkard and it was so embarrassing. Papyrus laughed again, in all his fake happiness. « Pants are just an illusion. So, I made them disappear, it’s real magic, kid!». He seemed slimmer than his usual, and he was still a skeleton so he was not a fat person for sure.Max could not ignore it, and they did not feel turned on because of it, at all. They were so worried for Papyrus, not amused. «Put your clothes back on, please. You’re freaked out, you should take a rest. I don’t care if you forgot our date!». The next morning and when he was sober again, he would have felt truly concerned about it. If he was fine from the principle he would have never drunken, reducing himself like a crap. Max was sure it was not the end of this situation, and Papyrus would have gotten drunk again, so maybe they should have only take advantage of it. It was the time to take a video of this epic moment, since Papyrus was not listening to Max’s worries and words in general. They took their phone starting to film the skeleton, just for fun. They wanted to show him how idiot he appeared when he was too drunk. Maybe it could be an incentive to make him stop. After some time, Papyrus finally fall asleep. Max could not believe that one day they would have been happy seeing Papyrus asleep. It was hilarious. At least, he was calmer despite that horrible smell of alcohol he was wearing. It was time for Max to throw away all these bottles, again. Maybe Max could have blackmailed him with that video but Max was not that kind of person. They had a better idea, they could have pranked him, replacing the alcohol inside the bottles with water and sugar, it was the perfect revenge. Pranks and jokes were always the perfect revenges, especially with this particular skeleton.

[userlando]

✧･ﾟ 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞 (𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢'𝐦 𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮) 

billy hargrove x fem!reader [12.1k] summary ⤍ jason can’t seem to keep his grimy hands off of you at tina’s yearly halloween rager, and billy really does not like that. warnings ⤍ 18+ (minors dni), petname use, sexual assault (jason touches reader without her consent), explicit language, mentions of alcohol and smoking, fingering, oral (f receiving), protected piv sex, light choking, hair pulling. a/n ⤍ this idea came to me thanks to this gif and could not leave me until i wrote it down. obviously billy isn’t the racist douchebag he canonically is, so keep that in mind. please let me know what you think <3

The soles of your shoes stuck to the hardwood floor as you weaved between the crowd of sweaty, drunken teenagers. Your eyes were searching for Nancy, Robin or even Steve but you were beginning to lose hope, seeing as you had lost them about twenty minutes ago and not caught a glimpse of them since then.

You grumbled under your breath, recalling your pact to stay together in case things got out of hand. Which, it was bound to happen seeing as it was a rager hosted by none other than Tina herself; On Halloween night nonetheless. Her parties always ended up with the cops getting called because some genius decided that jumping from the second floor into her pool was a good idea. Or maybe some poor sucker had wandered drunkenly over to the next house over and vomited all over the lawn belonging to an old couple.

It felt like half the school was here, and you were beginning to regret coming in the first place. It wasn’t that you hated parties, they were almost always fun and eventful. But, you would’ve been perfectly happy with a horror movie night and so was Robin at first. She was the one who’d suggested it earlier this week at Family Video all up until she’d heard that Vickie was making an appearance and suddenly Fright Night and Day of the Dead were far from her mind and all she could focus on was your costumes.

Your own costume was starting to itch, the humid air in the house making it stick to your skin but you shook the discomfort off in order to find the kitchen. The costume you were wearing was a slight replica of Madonna’s Like a Virgin dress, it had so much tulle and lace but it was gorgeous and made your chest look way more defined than usual.

Nancy had done most of the work in assembling it to look even remotely close to the original, and Robin had laughed at the absurd amount of tulle but you looked good and that was all that mattered.

A senior you didn’t even recognise took a step back into you, disturbing your wandering mind and you pushed at him with a frown when he drunkenly stumbled into you. Of course it just happened to be the stickiest, bloodiest boy who smeared half your arm with whatever he’d slathered himself in.

“Oops, sorry.” He gave you a grin that was far from sorry, and promptly turned his back to you.

You had a half a mind to kick him in retaliation before thinking twice, turning around and making your way to the kitchen instead. The crowd was already rowdy and insufferable, but it went up in volume as people gathered by the front door. Someone popular had clearly shown up. You took it as an opportunity to sneak off into the kitchen, a major sigh of relief escaping you when you caught sight of Steve’s mop of styled hair.

“There you are!” He exclaimed as he saw you, reaching an arm out and pulling you in by the shoulders when you got close enough.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you guys.” You sounded accusing even to your own ears, but you couldn’t help it.

“I kn - What the fuck happened to you?” He took a step back and held you at arms length, inspecting the artificial blood smeared on your arms in mild shock and concern.

You squinted your eyes when you inspected his own, glassy ones. The boy was clearly inebriated and it made you grin. Drunk Steve was fun.

“Just some asshole that bumped into me.” You looked around for paper towels and quickly gave up when you couldn’t find any amongst the mess in the kitchen. “It’s fake Steve, you don’t have to look so queasy.”

Steve shoved gently at your shoulder.

“M’not.” He grumbled, even though his face said otherwise. “You having a good time?”

“It’s fine,” you said, choosing not to be a debby downer and tell it as it is. “Where did you go off to?”

Steve downed the last of his drink, bobbing his head with a grimace and you watched in amusement when his hair moved with him. He gestured vaguely with a hand behind him where the backyard was.

“Was talkin’ to Casey,” he said casually, as if he hadn’t been pining over her for the past two weeks.

“Oh?” Your eyebrows raised, intrigued.

Steve rolled his eyes, “She was a dud.”

“Well, that’s disappointing.” You muttered loudly enough for him to hear, to which he nodded with an expression on his face that said whatever.

You watched him refill his drink, pausing when a girl you didn’t recognise walked up to him. She seemed drunk, if her glassy eyes were anything to go by, but she was pretty and definitely Steve’s type. He seemed to recognise her, straightening up his posture and striking her with that deadly charming grin. You watched them for a moment before losing interest, deciding that the bathroom was where you needed to be so you could clean yourself up a bit.

Your arm had been rubbed raw but you’d finally gotten rid of most of it when people started pounding on the door. Someone distinctively yelled about taking a piss, voice getting lost in the pulsing music coming from downstairs and you quickly unlocked the door.

The jock on the other side gave a sigh of irritation - or was it relief? You couldn’t tell - before he shoved you aside with minimal care to make his way into the bathroom. You followed him with your eyes, turning around to quickly escape when you realised he was halfway to unzipping and shoving his pants down.

The party had gotten even more obnoxious and louder as you descended the stairs. You watched on in mild amusement as a couple stumbled up the stairs, giggling and groping each other.

“Hey,” the voice was loud enough to make you stop before you’d taken the last five steps down, coming face to face with the last person you’d hoped to see. “Fancy seeing you here.”

“Jason.” Your voice was dry as you gave him a tight smile from where he stood at the bottom of the staircase, blocking your escape.

The jock in question grinned, seemingly unfazed by your lack of enthusiasm as he took a step up, bringing him closer closer - and taller than - you.

“I’ve looked around for you,” he said. “figured you’d be here when I saw Harrington around.”

You didn’t even want to question what he meant by that, arms crossing over your chest when his gaze lingered uncomfortably.

“I was just leaving, so…” you trailed off with a polite smile, taking a step to the side closest to the wall.

You realised your mistake the second you made your move, because Jason sidestepped with you and successfully trapped you between the banister and himself.

“Leaving me by myself, babe?” He pouted his lips in what he thought was probably endearing, but it was starting to make your skin crawl.

How this guy was one of the most popular people in school, you didn’t know. He had spent the last two months asking you out when he had the chance and there were only so many polite ways you could say “fuck no” before you were starting to lose your patience.

Your eyes flitted over his shoulder, hoping to catch anyone’s eyes long enough to signal them for help. No one was looking, too into their own worlds to notice how Jason was trapping you like an animal that’d found its prey.

“You’re hardly alone, Jason.” You tried laughing it off, but the sound died in your throat when you felt something grazing your thigh.

Your eyes shot down to see his fingers fiddling with the hem of your dress, the tulle fabric concealing most of his movement but you felt dread shoot up your spine all the same. You didn’t expect your hand to automatically shove his imposing hand away, and judging by Jason’s face, neither did he. His mouth opened but your heart was pounding too loudly in your ears and the music was starting to hurt your head. It didn’t help that his face was right next to yours, breath smelling of booze and cigarettes. It had your stomach rolling dangerously. Maybe there would be some satisfaction to chucking up all over Jason Carver’s front, but you weren’t in the mood to be the talk of the school for the next two weeks.

“I need to go.” It was said with more stuttering than you would’ve liked but the whole place was starting to feel very claustrophobic. You didn’t know whether the walls were closing in for real or if you were just imagining it.

Before he had the chance to speak, you side stepped and made your way down the stairs as quickly as you could, your eyes locked on him in case he would try to do anything else to you behind your back.

“Hey, where are you going?” He didn’t sound too happy.

Your breath quickened when you saw him turn around and in your haste to escape, you managed to run right into something. Someone. Your hands came up to grip onto leather, shaky gasp evading your lips as an arm snuck around your waist to keep you from falling straight on your ass.

It took you a second to realise that you were face to face with a very naked, very sweaty and chiselled chest. Your eyes trailed up carefully, taking in the thick neck and stubbly chin surrounding a beautifully pink mouth. A mouth that was stretching into a smirk you were familiar with - It looked funny, the way he managed to keep the lit cigarette from falling from his mouth as he bared his teeth in that animalistic way.

There was no denying the slight surprise in Billy Hargrove’s face as his eyebrows raised on his forehead.

“Hello to you too.” The boy’s voice was teasing, voice smooth as if he’d been slathering honey all over it and you would’ve taken a moment to secretly appreciate it any other day. A day where you weren’t on the verge of a suffocating panic attack.

You didn’t have time to speak before Jason’s grating voice cut through the booming music.

“C’mon, don’t be so uptight. I’ll loosen you up.”

Billy’s eyes cut to the boy over your shoulder as he rounded the corner, eyes squinting and you could almost see the gears turning in his head as he assessed the situation he had - quite literally - ran into. You watched as his gaze flickered back to yours and it didn’t take much of a genius to understand what was happening. Your frown, the shaking lips and pleading eyes were enough of a giveaway. His arm that was still wrapped around you gently pushed you to the side before he took a good look at the jock in front of him.

If your knees weren’t shaking as badly as your hands and your thoughts were running a mile a minute, you would’ve laughed at the difference in both boys. They were the same height almost, but the way Billy carried himself made him look infinitely more scarier than Jason.

“You never give up, do you, blondie?” Billy spoke, voice muffled from the cigarette still shoved between his lips, but scary all the same.

Jason pulled his shoulders back in defence.

“The fuck’s that supposed to mean, freak?”

People were starting to look your way, way more interested in the impending fight happening in front of them. Some people were looking at you, and it made you want to shrink. You hated the attention and had half a mind to turn around and run.

“You know exactly what it means,” Billy grabbed his cigarette that had turned into a bud from his mouth, puffing out the smoke in the blond’s face.

It looked like they were gearing up for a fight. In your desperation to stop it from happening, you found yourself grabbing Billy’s arm with a small tug. It was soft, but enough for the blue eyed boy to glance back at you.

“Please, just leave it.”

Your relationship with Billy was complicated; You weren’t exactly friends but you didn’t hate each other either. Ever since he transferred schools, he’d been in your radar one way or the other. You’d catch him behind the school with a doobie, walking in the halls where he’d throw a flirty and quite frankly, cheesy pickup line that had you rolling your eyes. Sometimes you’d let him copy your answers from a test if you were in a good mood, and he’d let you swim an extra hours after closing time by the pools. It became almost impossible to steer clear of him once Max was thrown into your odd group of friends, and you’d run into him so often that Billy started teasing you about stalking him.

It was a ridiculous accusation, of course. But it amused Billy to no end either way.

During all your interactions and random bump ins, he’d never seen you look so uncomfortable and scared as right now. Your hands were clutching his leather jacket, and although he had every intention of beating Jason fucking Carver into a pulp, it wouldn’t make that scared expression on your face disappear.

So, he gave you a small nod that he hoped looked reassuring before facing Jason who looked pissed. Whatever the latter boy had seen pass between your brief eye contact, was enough to grind his gears. It was evident in the way his jaw clenched and mouth pursed.

You watched as Billy leaned close to his ear to say something. It almost looked like Jason was about to push him off before his face turned sickeningly pale. They had a slight staring contest before the jock turned on his heel and walked off. Billy watched him until he’d disappeared completely, before turning around to face you.

“You okay?” He asked, and there was no mistaking the tension in his voice.

The boy was pissed. But he seemed to hold it together pretty well for the sake of not causing a scene.

“Can we get out of here?” You asked.

Nausea was making your stomach roll, and you weren’t in the mood to stick around for any longer than necessary.

.・。.・゜��・.・✫・゜・。.

Billy’s Chevrolet Camaro smelled exactly like he did. It was weird, but he always managed to smell like cheap cologne, smoke - whether it’s from a joint or a cigarette - and musk. It wasn’t an unpleasant smell, but you found your mind wandering to places they shouldn’t be.

If you had a nickel for every time you’d found yourself in Billy Hargrove’s car, you’d have exactly one nickel. It had been late in the winter when your piece of shit pick-up truck had broken down in the middle of nowhere and Billy had just so happened to drive past. Looking back on it, that had been the start of your odd friendship.

A Metallica song was blearing when the boy next to you turned the key to the ignition, and he was quick to reach forward to turn the music down with an annoyed grunt before peeling out of the curb and onto the road. You sat in silence, hands in your lap as you glanced out the window before tilting your head to his direction.

The silence wasn’t necessarily uncomfortable, but you were still feeling a little shaken up and exposed in your dress; All you were yearning for, was the burning stream of your shower.

Billy didn’t seem like he was in the mood to talk, his eyes looked faraway and that was your only indication that his mind was straying. You watched as his eyebrows jumped, like he’d come across an unpleasant thought, and he seemed to grow more agitated when he sighed heavily and rolled down a window in harsh jerks.

The smell of the cigarette he lit up between his teeth made you feel a little queasy, but you didn’t utter a word. It was clear that he needed some kind of stress relief and you figured that you’d let him have that after saving you from Jason the creep. Besides, you were used to Eddie’s chain smoking and Steve sneaking in a cigarette here and there.

“You okay?” His question caught you off guard, and you realised that you’d been staring a little too hard at his side profile.

You averted your eyes with a light sigh, taking in the dark road and the passing, yellowing trees blurring as Billy drove you home.

“Yeah.” You replied. “Are you?”

His response came in the form of a shrug.

You wrung your hands as you considered your next question. It had been nagging you ever since you left the party and seeing as the meek conversation was dying down, you figured now was a good time to come out with it.

“Hey, can I ask you a question?” You tilted your legs to point at Billy as you turned to face him in your seat.

You watched as his hair by the neck ruffled as the wind blew through the windscreen. It was hard not to stare at him, the slope of his nose, his sharp jawline and his pink, plushy lips. The boy was gorgeous.

It was like he’d read your mind, because he tilted his head to look at you, lips pulled into his little signature smirk and you didn’t even pretend to act as if you weren’t looking at him.

“You just did.” He said and you gave him a dry look until he relented. “Fine, what?”

“So, back at the party…” you trailed off until he hummed in acknowledgement. “What did you whisper to him? Jason, I mean.”

Billy’s eyes were on the road ahead and you could only see his side profile, but there was no mistaking the clench in his jaw and his hands tightening around the steering wheel. You briefly wondered if you should’ve left it alone, but you were too curious to let it go.

“I’m just asking because he seemed to back off pretty quickly after that,” you continued when the air grew thick with silence. “Dude practically created a Jason shaped hole in the door with how fast he ran off.”

That earned you a slight twitch of his lips and you would’ve missed it if you hadn’t been staring so intently at his face.

“Nothing you should concern yourself with, dimples.”

You grimaced, and you weren’t sure if it was because of his vague answer or the nickname he’d one day just randomly decided to call you a year ago. It used to make you roll your eyes and fake gag, but now there was a small flutter in your stomach and you weren’t sure what to make of it.

“Why not? The guy had his hands up my dress, I think I have the right to know.” There was a slight shake to your otherwise determined voice.

Billy must’ve caught it because he gave you a quick glance, gaze shooting down to your exposed thighs before he looked away. He cleared his throat and flicked the indicator to make a turn into your street.

“Maybe you should invest in pepper spray.” He said.

It didn’t take a genius to see how he was clearly avoiding answering you.

“Billy.” You said in your best no-bullshit voice.

The boy in question hung his head for a few moments, the ringlets of his bangs following the movement. He blew out a breath that sounded a lot of frustration and sucked his teeth.

“Fuck, fine.” His eyebrows pulled together before he relaxed his face and finally answered. “The douchebag got caught with his hands up Paisley Newman’s skirt behind the bleachers while she was telling him to stop.”

You sat back in your seat, mouth slack. Billy flicked his barely touched cigarette out the window.

“Paisley the cheerleader?”

Billy grunted but gave no further information. You knew Jason was an asshole, he’d be insistent and hardly take no for an answer but you didn’t imagine he’d dare lay hands on someone without their consent. You grimaced. Well, at least that’s what you thought before tonight.

Paisley Newman was also one of the nicer cheerleaders in the squad and that’s where most of her popularity derived from. She loved what she did, which was why it came as a shock to most students in school when she’d one day quit out of nowhere. It hadn’t made sense back then, but it all became a little clearer now.

Jason must’ve been her final straw. The cheerleaders shared the auditorium with the jocks. Seeing someone who’d sexually assaulted you every day must’ve been awful.

You were so deep in your thoughts that you hadn’t realised that Billy had parked in your driveway, ignition shut off. It was quiet without the loud rumbling of the motor, and suddenly you realised that you didn’t want to be alone.

You briefly considered walking back to Nancy before remembering that she’d stay at Jonathan’s tonight. Steve was still at the party and Robin lived too far away to walk or bike.

“Do you wanna stay?” Your mouth asked before your mind could catch up, meeting Billy’s disbelieving eyes as he turned to squint at you in the darkness of his car.

He clearly wasn’t expecting that, and neither were you.

“What?”

You’d assumed he would say yes and suddenly repeating the question felt ten times more embarrassing and terrifying all at the same time.

“Shit, I’m sorry. I don’t -“ you cut yourself off when Billy’s eyebrows climbed higher in amusement.

“You askin’ me to spend the night, sweetheart?” His voice had a teasing lilt to it.

You hated how it made your stomach clench up.

“No.” You glared at him, but his smirk stayed as he regarded you silently. “Just for a movie or something. I kinda don’t wanna be alone.”

Billy’s hands fell from the steering wheel as he craned his neck to peek out the windshield. The neighbourhood was quiet, void of trick-or-treating children considering it was way past their bedtime. His eyes flitted to your house, taking in the dark windows and looming stature.

“My parents are out of town.” You replied before he could ask.

He looked at you before nodding once, reaching to pull the key out of the lock cylinder. You hurried to scramble out of the car, shivering when the cold air hit you full force. The slams of the car doors echoed and you didn’t wait for him to reach your side of the car before you started walking up to your front door.

The scuffle of Billy’s shoes let you know that he was following you, and you hurried to unlock the door and step inside.

It was silent between the two of you, and you tried not to let the awkwardness show on your face as the both of you kicked your shoes off.

“Do you want anything to drink?” You asked when you passed the kitchen.

“You don’t need to get me drunk to fuck me, dimples.”

You rolled your eyes in hopes that he wouldn’t see your flustered expression, walking into the kitchen to retrieve two bottles of water before you started ascending the stairs.

The both of you entered your room, silence thick between you as you set the water bottles down on your bedside table before reaching over to click the bedside lamp on.

It was clear to the boy that you were nervous. He could see it in your restless movements and your shifty eyes. It wasn’t unusual of him to fluster you but you’d always come back with a biting response that had his stomach clench up with want. He’d had plenty of girls who acted the way you did, puttering around your room to have something to do, anything to avoid looking at him. He would usually put his charm on and literally seduce their pants off, but this was you. He felt a little lost on what to do or how to act.

Billy took to looking around the room in silence, taking in your sage wallpaper and the photos and posters pinned to it. He eyed your vanity cluttered with makeup and other crap, before he settled on your bed. The room looked exactly like he’d imagined it.

“So.” He sucked his teeth, and you tried not to think of how attractive he looked.

“I’m just gonna have a quick shower, need to get the smell of booze off of me. And the fake blood.” You grimaced at your arm. “Do you mind waiting?”

He smirked then, the prospect of seeing you showered and void of any cosmetic crap on your face secretly thrilled him. He couldn’t say that he minded your Madonna costume though. You looked like an angel wrapped up in sin.

“Go ahead, sweetheart.”

You rolled your eyes at the name, but there was a slight tug to your lips and Billy counted that as a win. He watched you turn around to grab a pair of shorts and a t-shirt before pausing at a drawer. His interest piqued when you cautiously glanced over your shoulder, blushing when you caught him staring. You sighed and opened a smaller drawer before plucking out a pair of panties that you hid behind the shirt in your hands.

Billy grinned. Blue cotton. Of course.

“Make yourself comfortable.” you said to break the silence and then paused when you saw him raising his eyebrows.

You narrowed your eyes in thought before turning around to your drawers. If only to evade his piercing eyes.

You knew rifling through your drawers was futile; There was nothing there that was fitting enough for Billy to wear, and standing with your back to him made you a little nervous. You could feel him observing you as he sat perched on your bed, so you made a noise in your throat and moved on to the next drawer.

It was almost like universe was on your side for the first time tonight, because staring right back at you were Steve’s shorts he’d forgotten on one of your many group sleepovers. You picked it up and sent a small apology to your friend as you turned around. Steve would cry if he knew who was wearing his clothes.

At some point, somehow, Billy had shed his jacket and was sitting in his jeans, bare torso on display. You’d seen it a hundred times before; gym class, at the local pool, outside Max’s house as he tinkered with his Camaro when you picked her up. The boy loved going topless any chance he got. But the sight still made you falter.

“Here,” you threw the shorts over to him, watching him catch it in silence. “Those are Steve’s, but you can borrow them for tonight.”

Billy’s lips stretched into a slow smile and the sight almost made your knees knock together.

“Have a thing with, Harrington?” He waved the material in his hands.

You couldn’t resist your grimace, arms folding against your chest.

“What? That’s gross. Steve’s just a friend.”

Billy grunted.

“Can’t blame a guy for askin’,” his voice was low. “Wouldn’t wanna step on his toes.”

That made you let out a surprised laugh; it sounded too loud in the quiet room but you couldn’t help it.

“Oh please, you’d walk all over Steve if you could.”

Billy narrowed his eyes, but he couldn’t take much offence when you were finally looking like you’d loosened up a bit. The tension was still in your shoulders, but your face was smiling.

“Are you gonna shower?” He asked in annoyance.

You smiled.

“I’m going.” You turned around and started to walk towards the joined bathroom.

Billy let his eyes slide down your legs, taking in the smooth expanse of them as they moved. Fuck. He’d fantasised so much about having them wrapped around him. It was sick how much they affected him but how could they not? You loved your shorts in the spring and your flowy skirts in the summer.

He didn’t realise that you’d turned around, his eyes shooting up with a guilty expression on his face to find you staring at him with raised eyebrows. You didn’t look particularly mad, just smug. Your heart was doing somersaults, though.

“Try not to do anything stupid until I get back.” You said, voice slow like honey and Billy smiled in amusement when you glanced pointedly at your underwear drawer.

He hadn’t planned to snoop. He hadn’t, really. But you’d put the thought in his head and now it was hard to think of anything else. You left him to battle with his own mind, closing the door behind you to grab a quick shower and scrub the night off your skin.

When you’d stepped out and dried yourself enough to struggle into your clean clothes, your stomach was twisting into knots. The thought of Billy Hargrove sitting in your room on the other side of the door was odd. You never thought he’d be even close to your house, but you somehow - behind your jitters - felt safe. He could be an asshole, a player, whatever Hawkins residents had labelled him. But he had been nothing but gentle and protective over you tonight, when it mattered the most. No one had batted an eye when douchebag Carver had cornered you, but Billy had been two seconds away from beating the crap out of Jason and that counted for something.

Billy was lying on your bed when you stepped into your bedroom, in Steve’s shorts and a bare chest with his hands behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling with a contemplative tilt of his lips. He sat up slowly when he heard the door open and the both of you locked eyes.

“You hungry?” You asked, draping your wet towel over your desk chair.

Billy’s eyes never left yours as you walked around in the room, and he shook his head lightly. He wasn’t even sure what you had just asked him, too busy staring at your wet hair dripping down your cotton shirt and your bare face on display. It was clear that you were a little nervous, or maybe just feeling out of place so Billy averted his eyes and swung his legs up on your bed to sit with his back to the headboard.

“So what are we watching?”

Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to go ahead and watch those horror flicks that Robin had picked up from work. You were beginning to regret this horror movie. It was interesting, but it had you feeling on edge as you sat with your legs hidden under the covers and hands covering your eyes, only thirty minutes in.

“For someone who was so insistent on watching this shit, you sure hide your face a lot.” Billy’s voice broke the tense silence.

You let your hands fall to your lap, a glare making its way to your face when you looked at him. He looked amused, arm behind his head and half sunken in your bed. The epitome of comfortable. The difference between your straight and tense back versus his placid form was laughable.

“It’s scary, okay?” you couldn’t help but giggle at the situation though. “This is all Robin’s fault.”

Billy huffed out a laugh, glancing at the screen.

“She’s got a weird taste in movies.” he muttered.

You tried to imagine him saying that to Robin’s face, and it made you grin when you turned back to watch the movie. Almost immediately, as if to taunt you, there was a jump scare that had you gasping and your hands shoot up in front of your face.

“Shit!” You swore quietly, separating your fingers slightly to peek through at the television screen.

The blood, gore and screams made you wince and your stomach roll. Maybe you should’ve gone with a milder movie that didn’t require you to watch it through your fingers or behind a throw pillow.

Billy was having the time of his life though. He had spent the past hour watching your face for reactions, the bend in your eyebrows and the sparkle in your eye as the light from the screen reflected in your eyes. It was dark, but he was mesmerised by your facial expressions and gasps. He didn’t know if you were aware of your little hums you made every time there was something particularly interesting happening in the movie. If you’d turned around right now and asked him to name one thing happening in the movie, he’d give you absolutely no correct answer.

He grew bored quickly though, abandoning the movie completely in lieu of watching you instead. His eyes started wandering from your face, taking in the curve of your chest and he almost squirmed when he realised you weren’t wearing a bra. Your t-shirt was a size too big, but you’d hooked an arm right beneath your breasts and he could see your nipples poking through the thin material.

Your jumping almost made him jump, and he couldn’t help but grin at your silent curse words that were tumbling out of your mouth in distress. He didn’t even think twice about it before reaching an arm out, breaking the barrier between you two.

You glanced down at his hand he’d clasped around your arm, eyebrows rising in question when you met his eyes in the darkness. He tugged and you tried to ignore the similar tug in the pit of your stomach when he tucked his bottom lip between his teeth.

“C’mere,” he grunted and you followed him without question.

You situated yourself in the middle of your bed, breath stuttering when he draped an arm around you to pull you into his naked chest. He was warm, way warmer than you expected, and you tried to calm your racing heart when you made yourself comfortable in his arms.

“Good?” He whispered, a slight rasp in his voice.

You hummed your assent, tucking a hand under your head where it rested on his pec.

It was hard to concentrate on the movie beyond that point, the gentle pulse of his heart under your hand was distracting you to the point where you started squirming. It didn’t take long for the boy under you to notice, grunting when you accidentally elbowed him in the side.

“Sorry.” You whispered, embarrassed.

He didn’t say anything, but his fingers found your chin to lift it up so you could look at each other. You hadn’t really let yourself think of how fucking intense his eyes were before, but it was hard to keep that thought away when they were boring into yours and clearly memorising every bump and scar on your face. You squirmed, shyly this time, and Billy tightened his grip on your chin; Thumb digging into your skin.

”What?” His voice carried over the sound of the movie.

A movie you’d once been immersed in but now acted as background noise. You frowned at the teasing smile pulling at the corners of his lips, trying your best not to let your gaze drop to the movement. You didn’t know if it was his sweltering skin, or your temperature rising above average, but you were starting to feel warm.

You didn’t know why you did what you did next or where your courage came from, but you found yourself pushing yourself up to peck his lower lip. It looked inviting, and the small graze of your lips against his was soft. His eyebrows rose comically, as if he hadn’t expected you to do that.

“Sorr-“ the apology died on your tongue, sharp gasp taking its place when he leaned down to kiss you, lips more insistent than previously.

You lost yourself in his taste, the slow slide of his tongue as he smoothly pushed you down on your back so he could crowd your space. He tasted of cigarettes and minty chewing gum you always saw him smacking on, an intoxicating mixture that had you opening your mouth wider so he could kiss you deeper. You felt it in your toes, thighs struggling to close but his body was in the way and he clearly liked the way your thighs felt around his hips.

“Fuck, dimples.” He groaned against your mouth, sliding his lips across to your jaw to suck at the sensitive skin there.

You felt your eyes roll at the sensation, raising your hips up so you could grind your centre against his. He responded with a growl, one hand sliding into your hair to grip it tightly.

“Why do you call me that?” You asked, curiosity finally getting the best of you at the worst of times.

Billy loved on your lower lip, teeth sharp and tongue wet as he mumbled out an absent what? in response. He was relentless in his exploring, sucking a filthy path from your lips, jaw down to your throat.

“Always calling me- oh,” your breath hitched when he found your sweet spot right underneath your ear. “Callin’ me dimples. I don’t even have them.”

That had him pulling away, and the downright dirty smile on his face made your stomach twist. He looked sinful, and you found yourself yearning for more.

“Sure you do.” he grinned, planting his arm on one side of you to keep his weight up as to not drop on you.

You gave him a confused stare, hand coming up to play at his messy locks at the nape of his neck.

“Two weeks after I moved here,” he began, his free hand grazing your tummy where your t-shirt had ridden up. “you were standing by the lockers, and you had this fucking top on you. Looked like an angel.”

He trailed off with a smile, his eyes glazing over a bit when he followed the path of his wandering hand, recalling the memory; Reliving it.

“It rode up your back several times in class and I could tell it annoyed the shit out of you,” he suddenly glanced up, locking eyes. He smirked, pulling his hand away from under your shirt to touch your forehead, right between your eyebrows. “could tell because you get this wrinkle right here when something’s bothering you.”

You groaned in mock embarrassment, but it was disguised wonder because you hadn’t realised just how observant Billy was. It was like you were seeing him in a different light.

His hand returned to its former place, resting on the side of your torso as he narrowed his eyes in thought.

“You dropped your notebook in the hallway that day and you bent down, shirt riding up…” he murmured, trailing off to instead slide his hand around your torso and sinking his fingers into your tailbone. “You have two dimples on your back here, baby. Sexiest thing I’ve ever seen in my fucking life.”

Your chest caved in time with your deep breaths, eyes staring up at him in silence because what the hell were you supposed to say to that? You were turned on beyond belief, and you were sure your eyes were begging him to touch you, fuck you, anything to get rid of this aching need. You would’ve been embarrassed of looking so needy in front of Billy Hargrove, but the moment was so intimate and the amount of detail the boy was paying attention to you made you flush all over. You needed him.

“Had me so hard, I had to sit in my car like a fucking creep and jerk myself off.” He grinned at the memory, looking at you with more heat than you could handle.

The thought of it, although hot, made you giggle. There was something very powerful knowing that you had that effect on him. The known player at school, who’d essentially flirt and fuck anyone with tits and a heartbeat, crumbling just because of back dimples. There was a part of you that was scared of being another notch in his bedpost, but looking at him now, you couldn’t bring yourself to care one bit.

You pulled at his hair slightly to have him lean down, lips seeking out his desperately and he went willingly with a deep groan in his throat. It was clear that he was losing control, arm pulling you flush against his body as he ground himself against you. The feel of his hardness against your pussy made you whimper, teeth biting into his lip a little too harshly. He didn’t mind though, if his moan was anything to go by.

“Fuck me, Billy.” You whispered, feeling your cheeks warm up at the sheer desperation in your voice.

He cursed under his breath, caging your body between his knees as he kissed down your throat; Hands grabbing everything he could reach, like he didn’t know where to start.

You watched him as you caught your breath, the way he pushed your t-shirt up with his ringed hands to kiss your exposed stomach. You had to remind yourself to keep breathing when he snuck his hands under your shirt to grab at your tits. The gasp you let out had him moaning in response as he laved at the skin beneath your bellybutton.

“Smell so good, baby.” He rasped, pressing his nose against your skin and you giggled when he opened his mouth to bite at your flesh. “Gonna fuck you so good.”

One hand let go of your breast to pull at your shorts, your panties following along with them, making a home on your floor and your breath stuttered when the cold air hit your very slick center. Billy tutted loudly, disapprovingly and shoved your thighs apart.

“Don’t you fucking dare.” He glared up at you, heat in his eyes as he shuffled down the bed to lick and bite at your thighs.

“Billy, please.” You whispered.

Your hands sought out his tousled hair, fingers digging into his temple when his mouth finally, finally found your core. You yelled out when he went directly for your clit, mouth sucking on it just to get a reaction out of you. His eyes sparkled as he glanced up at you, looking ten different shades of sinful when he widened his tongue theatrically and dragged it from your hole to your clit.

The shudder that went through you seemed to please Billy and he tilted his head to feast on you as you moaned out loud into your room. It was downright filthy, the way he ate your pussy out like a man depraved. The sounds made you turn your head in slight embarrassment, cheek burying into your pillow and eyes clenching shut when he added his fingers into the mix.

They were thick, and he couldn’t get them all the way in thanks to his rings adorning the base of them. But he made up for it easily by crooking and scissoring them as his tongue laved on your bud.

Billy was losing his mind, the shuddering sounds you were making had his hips grinding into your mattress. You looked beautiful with his name on your tongue, voice whiny that quickly turned garbled when he upped the speed of his lapping tongue.

He knew you were on the verge of coming, thighs closing in on his head and hips lifting off the mattress to chase his aching mouth. His jaw was locking, tongue exhausted, chin fucking drenched in your slick but he was determined to make you come before he buried his dick inside of you.

Billy Hargrove wasn’t a relationship kind of guy, he ran at the first sight of attachment from his partners. He loved having sex though, the chase of it all thrilled him to no end and nothing satisfied him more than making a girl come. But that’s where it usually ended for him, he’d get his orgasm and be on his way.

He’d never been so enraptured before, so fucking turned on that he was humping a mattress like he was just entering puberty. The sounds you were making would’ve made him a little worried of your neighbours hearing, but they were like music to his ears so he couldn’t bring himself to care. And his eyes didn’t stray from your face as your back bowed and you screamed into the void, pussy clenching around his fingers and body spasming.

“Yeah, baby. Come for me, fucking squeeze my fingers.” His words were garbled, but your frantic nodding indicated that you’d heard him.

He couldn’t get enough of your taste, tongue digging into the space between his fingers buried inside of you. He was careful to not touch your clit as you came down from your high, but he couldn’t resist a nudge or two with his tongue. Only to watch you squirm and hear your breathing hitch.

You laid there for a long time, chest heaving and eyes locked on your roof unseeing. It felt like you came your brains out, thoughts scattered all over the room and you had no desire to put them all together again.

Billy kisses up your body and you smile when you lock eyes, his own lips pulling into a smug smirk. His chin is glistening with your slick and you weakly reach one hand up to wipe at it, as if to get rid of the evidence.

“You make the prettiest sounds when you come,” Billy says, turning his head into your touch.

You narrow your eyes at him, albeit a little tiredly. Your limbs still feel like jelly and you’re not sure how you’re supposed to function. But you feel like giving back, especially when Billy was so generous and the poking of his hardness against your thigh makes you feel hot all over again.

With a bite of your lip, you reach a hand down and pull him out of his shorts with a soft tug. He’s hard and warm in your hand, heavy and thick in a way that has you writhing beneath him. There are these small noises coming from Billy’s mouth as you collect his precum on your hand, forming a circle around his head and stroking down to the base.

You gaze up at Billy and find that his eyes have fluttered shut at your touch as he thrusts into your grip. His arms that are holding him up tremble, and a hiss escapes him.

“We don’t have to go further if you don’t want to.” He says, breathless. He opens his eyes to look at you, and he almost looks like a deity where he’s hovering over you.

The light from the television behind him was illuminating his form, creating a halo and making him look like an angel. You tilt your head.

“You saying you don’t want this?” You tightened your grip lightly around his cock and he hissed, eyebrows furrowing beneath the strands of his unruly bangs.

He lets his weight drop on you, face seeking out the juncture between your neck and shoulder to kiss at the skin. You let go of him to grab at his broad shoulders, nails digging into his flesh as he sucks bruises in your neck. You vaguely wondered how you were supposed to cover the hickeys up, but that concern is out the window when you feel the thickness of his cock brushing against your still slick and sensitive pussy.

“Condom,” you whisper, breathless. “In the drawer.”

He makes quick work of leaning over to yank the drawer open, searching blindly for a foil packet before ripping it open with his teeth. You slide your hand down to touch your clit, only to take the edge off while he rolls the condom on and returns to his previous position of hovering over you.

You reach to guide him into you, gasping quietly as you felt the thickness of his head breach your hole. It stretched, stung for a moment but you forced yourself to relax and focus on his low murmuring against your ear.

It took a few seconds to realise that he was whispering small encouragements, a string of “So tight baby, you’re doing so good for me. Feels amazing, fuck.”. It made you momentarily squeeze him, drawing a shudder from him.

“Yeah?” His breath was warm against your cheek as he nosed the skin there. You turned your head for a kiss, mewling pathetically as he bottomed out slowly against you.

His arms, that were caging you in, trembled and you watched him drop his head as if to collect himself.

“You good?” He asks, voice strained.

“Yeah please, please just fuck me, Billy.”

He doesn’t need any more affirmation than that, sliding out slowly before thrusting back in. It has your eyes shutting tightly and your mouth drop open in an obscene moan. He bites and nips at your jawline, setting a pace of steady, thrusting hips.

The slide of him inside you sets your nerve endings alight, goosebumps raising your skin as he gets up on his knees; Wobbly, eagerly. He eyes you up as he slows his thrusts and your body heats up at the look he gives you.

It’s dark, the movie is still playing in the background and providing little to no light to the room but you’re grateful for it right now as his gaze eats you up. He frowns then, halting his movements and you open your mouth to question him when he grabs your t-shirt and signals for you to raise yourself so it slipped off.

“Fuck, you’re gorgeous,” he sounds breathless, hands grabbing your tits in handfuls and thumbs swiping over your perked nipples in a practiced movement. “been waiting to see these for a long time.”

You whimper when he starts fucking you with more force, driving into you in a spot that has your head spinning. “Billy—“

“I know, baby, I know.”

The moan you let out is obscene and the boy falters at the sound of it, hunching over you and pressing his nose against your cheek. He’s groaning in your ear, and you start clenching around his thick cock as you feel your orgasm approach; Slowly, toes tingling and your blood roaring in your ears.

“Mm touch me…” you sound pleading to your own ears, but you can’t bring yourself to care.

Especially when Billy doubles down, fucks you harder into the mattress and brings a shaking hand down between the two of you to work on your clit. It doesn’t take much, a few rubs and filthy words panted into your ear and you’re flying off the edge with a scream. You didn’t think you could make a sound as loud as that, but you can’t stop it as you buck your hips and arch your back. Billy’s groans sound like music in your ears when you dig your nails into the small of his back.

It feels like you’ve blacked out, vision spotty and body jerked higher up on the bed as he fucks into you with animalistic grunts. He pulses inside of you, comes with a force that has him trembling in your arms and you hold him close to you in hopes of bringing him some comfort and to calm him down enough to stop the aftershocks.

There’s a distant scream from somewhere and your heart jumps before you register that the movie is still playing in the background. Billy laughs breathlessly at the sudden tension in your body, shifting in your hold to relieve some of the weight off of you. He still doesn’t remove his face from the nook of your neck, and you feel his face change shape as he smiles.

There’s a joke to be made about you getting your brains fucked while the poor girl in the movie is getting hers carved out, but you’re too lazy to voice it out loud.

What you do end up doing is sliding your fingers into Billy’s sweat damp hair, pressing your face to his temple and closing your eyes as your breathing regulates again. He smells like smoke and booze, but there’s a hint of cologne and Billy in there that’s weirdly comforting.

Your legs are starting to hurt so you unclench them from around Billy’s body and lower them gently onto the mattress. A hiss escapes you both as he gently pulls himself out, but he doesn’t move to get rid of the condom or even clean up and it has you giggling as you tilt his head up with the help of your fingers in his hair.

He looks fucked out, lips swollen and eyes dazed and it’s so obscene that you tense your thighs around his form.

“Don’t,” he sounds breathless. “I need a minute to recharge.”

You laugh at that, head thrown back on the pillow and Billy grins lazily at the sound. He slides a hand up from your stomach, over your tits before it makes a home around your bared throat in a gentle grip. It’s a random gesture, but it makes your stomach swoop.

“We’re not going again, I’m too tired.” You whisper, eyes tracking him as he shuffles up a little so you’re face to face.

He doesn’t let go of your throat as he kisses you, licking your bottom lip with a soft groan. It tastes a lot like a promise, but you’re careful to get your hopes up. Because even after all this, you’re still not sure of his intentions. If he decided to up and leave you, you would’ve been okay with it. Your ego would’ve been bruised, heart a little sore and you’d probably not show your face for a few weeks, but you were prepared for either outcome.

“D’you wanna stay the night?” You ask, voice small in the space between your lips. Billy locks eyes with you and you struggle not to go cross eyed as you lean your head back to see him more clearly.

It makes him smile, “Thought you’d never ask.”

Your fingers reach up to his lips, touching the side of his smirk and the prickle of his moustache. “I like this.” You tap his lips, seeing his brow twitch in confusion.

“Like what?”

“Your smile. It’s nice.” You say.

Billy smiles in response and it makes your heart flutter dangerously. You ignore the feeling, feeling a small rise of panic at the unusual intimacy between the two of you. There’s a meagre shift in the air as you come to the realisation that there might be something more going on between you than the usual bickering and playful glares.

There’s not much said as you decide to clean up and recuperate, shutting off the television and pulling your clothes on after your respective trips to the bathroom.

The silence is a little stifling as you lay in the dark next to each other, no other sound than your breathing. That’s why it makes you startle with a gasp when he reaches a hand out and pulls you into him.

“I can hear you thinking from over here.” He murmurs.

You can’t see his face in the dark, but he sounds amused. “I’m just… confused.” You cringe at the vulnerability, as if the boy under you would laugh at your confession.

Unsurprisingly, he doesn’t. He just grunts as he runs his fingers down your arm, watching your flesh goose pimple.

“Don’t be.” He said, as if it was that simple.

You wondered if it really was as simple as that. But you were curious by nature and you didn’t want to be another girl on his list of people he’d fucked. “It’s hard not to be. We just went from exchanging three words a week to… orgasms.”

Billy’s laughed rumbled in his rib cage and you allowed yourself to smile at the sound.

“I’m just wondering whether I’ll be seeing you with a new girl next week.” Your voice sounds meek, and you regret saying it as soon as the words were out your mouth.

Billy’s wandering fingers stop moving and you stare into the darkness of your room. You listen to his breathing. It’s unnerving, but it’s clear that he’s contemplating his response.

“You won’t.” He settles on at last, voice laced with finality.

“Okay.”

Billy pinches your chin with his fingers and lifts your head up. It’s hard to see him fully, but you can make out the lines of his face thanks to the brightly lit street from outside your window.

He searches your eyes for a moment before leaning in to kiss you. It’s not much in terms of words, but it reassures you enough for tonight.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

The sound of a car door slamming from down the street roused you awake. You blinked your eyes open, wincing at the brightness of the room and turning your head to face the other way from the window. The sight of Billy’s sleeping face almost made you jump, heart speeding up as last night came back to you.

It was then that you felt it. Your lips felt dry, cracked from sleep combined with the over excessive kissing last night. And— God, the soreness between your legs was something you hadn’t felt in ages. You felt strangely relaxed though, limbs languid and comfortable.

Billy was sleeping soundly on his stomach, little puffs of air escaping him as he breathed. It was the most relaxed you’d ever seen him, no wrinkle or tension on his face. He looked gorgeous in the morning light, lips pouted naturally and eyebrows slack. You couldn’t keep yourself from bringing a hand up to brush a lock of blond hair from his forehead, careful not to disturb his sleep.

It was a struggle to escape from the bed without making too much noise, but you managed to find your clothes and an additional sweater to pull on top of your shirt because fuck it was cold.

You caught a glimpse of the time - 9:52am - and winced, thinking that you could’ve stayed in bed for a little longer since it was a Saturday after all. You made a trip to the bathroom, freshened up moderately without being too loud and went on a hunt for a spare toothbrush that Billy could use when he decided to wake up.

It was cold in the house and there would usually be some kind of noise in the downstairs area at this time of the morning. Your mom would always play her radio too loud while she puttered around the kitchen and your dad would often talk an octave too loudly.

You walk into the kitchen, preparing coffee and seeking out bread to make cheese toast. The roiling in your stomach doesn’t settle as you think of Billy, about last night and of how it had taken a turn you didn’t expect. Was this only a one time thing? Did he even want breakfast? What if he didn’t like coffee and preferred tea?

A noise from behind you has you whirling around, and you spot Billy walking slowly into the kitchen; Eyes taking in the surroundings before they land on you. You watch his lips stretch into an easy smile and sigh a little in relief because what were you so worried about?

He was still in Steve’s shorts, hair unruly and in need of a shower. He still looked a little sleepy, eyes puffy and bleary eyed in a way that almost made your stomach clench with how adorable he looked. There was something about Billy in the morning that made him look more vulnerable than you’d ever seen him before.

“Smells good.” his voice is raspy from sleep, and he stretches a hand out to scratch at his stomach with a yawn. “Shit, it’s too early.”

“You could’ve stayed in bed.” You said, plating the two sandwiches and reaching for a mug to pour the hot coffee into it.

Billy grunted and you didn’t know what that meant. He didn’t give you time to think on it too hard, your mind going blank when he pressed his front to your back, hands sliding beneath your hoodie and shirt and chin hooking over your shoulder.

“Billy!” You squealed at the touch of his cold hands on your skin, skin rising in goosebumps when he chuckled against your ear.

“Sorry, baby. It’s just so fucking cold.” He nuzzled his face into the crook of your neck and you wriggled a little in his grasp when his hair tickled you.

“It’s okay,” you picked up his mug and did your best to turn around without spilling it all over the both of you. “I made you coffee. There’s creamer and sugar if you want that. I don’t know how you like your coffee…”

You trailed off awkwardly when you looked up and find him looking right back at you. His amused smile grew bigger and he grabbed the mug, taking a sip of it.

“Your rambling’s cute,” he murmured against the rim of the mug before taking another sip. You narrowed your eyes at him, tracking his movement as he reached around you to set his coffee down on the counter. “I like it black, as it is, by the way.”

He slid his arms around your waist to pull you into his embrace and you let him, humming happily when he slid one hand over the side of your neck.

There was a question in his eyes, you realised, and you nodded your consent before he went in for a kiss, allowing you to taste the mint of the toothpaste and coffee on his tongue. It was a lot chaster than you anticipated, but it had your breath stuttering all the same.

“Good morning.” He murmured against your lips.

“Hi.” You whispered back.

Billy let his fingers slide into your hair, the other hand pulling you in even closer by the waist. He searched your face, blue eyes surrounded by dark eyelashes that most certainly had all the boys and girls envious of them. “You feeling okay?”

The question caught you off guard for a moment before you realised what he was asking. He was concerned. It hadn’t registered your mind that he was searching your face for any clues of discomfort, and that warmed your heart as you put both of your hands flat against his pecs.

“I’m great,” you smiled before you paused. “Are you?”

“Always am.”

The both of you didn’t separate too far from each other, opting to stand close by as you nibbled on your cheese toasties. Billy wasn’t much of a chatter in the mornings, but you had a pleasant conversation as you finished up your breakfast.

You had your back turned to him as you placed the dishes in the sink, making a mental note of washing them later on, when Billy grabbed your hand and tugged when you turned your head.

“C’mere, let me love a little on you.” He said right before he leaned forward to kiss you.

You let yourself get immersed in the taste of mint and Billy, making small noises at the back of your throat when his tongue slid against yours. It wasn’t rough nor particularly passionate, just gentle and slow. The peaceful quiet of the morning was disturbed by a loud rumbling of a car engine outside, and you pulled back from Billy’s hold to look over your shoulder. You peered out of the window looking out onto your driveway and felt your stomach drop at the familiar car pulling in.

Billy could clearly sense your sudden tension, hands gripping your waist lightly, “What? What’s wrong?”

You didn’t respond, watching the doors open and the familiar mop of hair belonging to none other than Nancy come into view. Judging by the distant rambling, Robin was with her.

“Ah,” Billy laughed, prompting you to turn to him. “I’ll go get dressed and leave the mob to you.”

It wasn’t really a secret that Nancy disliked Billy, she’d always found him distrusting and full of himself and you couldn’t blame her. Robin and the rest of your friend group shared the same sentiment and you could only imagine what they’d say if they found out where you’d disappeared last night.

You gave the boy a slight smile, leaning into his kiss when he pulled you into it. It left you in a small daze when he drew back, making his departure from the kitchen and up the stairs. You jumped when the doorbell rang, smoothing your hair down subconsciously as you went to answer the door.

“Where the hell did you go?” Was what you were greeted with, Nancy’s voice shrill and tinged with worry.

“Nance, she’s fine. Don’t be so dramatic.” The other girl said, hand reaching for her shoulder before she drew it back at Nancy’s glare.

“Please, like you weren’t the one coming up with theories about how she was laying in a ditch somewhere.” Nancy gestured wildly with her hands, and you couldn’t stop the laugh from escaping you.

Robin winced as if she was recalling the memory, “Yeah, I’m never drinking tequila again.”

Your mouth dropped open at that, and you almost stomped your foot like a child at her reveal.

“You drank tequila? I missed it!” You said, a little sad because tequila-Robin was the funniest. You couldn’t count on two hands how many times you’d had one too many shots with her and ended up the next morning covered in mysterious bruises or cryptic clues about the night before.

“I mean, you did disappear,” Robin paused with a scrunch of her nose. “Speaking of, whose car is that?”

You felt heat spread over your cheeks as she gestured to the Camaro parked on the driveway, right next to where Nancy had parked her vehicle. They both looked at you, one with her eyebrows raised and the signature stubborn tilt of her mouth and the other with a curious wide eyed look.

Your mouth opened and closed, at a loss of how you were going to tell them the events of the night and morning without making either of them faint or go into hysterical mode.

“Well… it’s a funny story.” You laughed nervously, but you didn’t have time to say more as you realised that you’d completely lost their attention and they were now looking behind you.

Robin made a noise you couldn’t decipher and your mouth opened to question their behaviour when the unmistakable sounds of footsteps thundered down the stairs. God, even his footsteps sounded nonchalant.

“Ladies,” Billy’s voice sounded in the suddenly quiet space, and you turned your head only slightly before he appeared at your side in yesterdays clothes. Like magic. “Dimples.”

You looked at him, poking your tongue into your cheek to keep yourself from smiling at the absolute shiteating grin on his face. He knew what he was doing. Asshole.

“Um— I’ll follow you to your car,” you flicked your gaze to your friends. “you guys can wait inside, I’ll be right back.”

You pushed at Billy to get moving in front of you, and he complied with a smile. The girls waited until you were a little further from them before they started whispering aggressively, reluctantly retreating inside. You watched them over your shoulder with an amused smile, knowing they’d probably press their faces against the window to spy on you.

Billy huffed out a laugh, as if he’d heard your thoughts, and stuck his keys into the door to unlock his car. He left it unopened, opting to look at you instead.

“You’re an asshole.” You said, but your smile was too wide for it to have any real heat behind it.

Billy laughed, and that confirmed everything you needed to know. He wanted to show off to your friends and leave their mouths gaping open. Now you’d have to go in there and probably feed them every detail. Hell, you wouldn’t be surprised if they were already calling Eddie and Steve over. You just hoped the latter two were too hungover to answer their phones because you really couldn’t handle both Steve and Nancy at the same time.

“You can’t tell me you didn’t get a kick out of that,” Billy reached out to wrap an arm around your waist, he pulled you into his embrace and you went willingly. You watched his eyes, how they looked breathtakingly bright and blue in the morning sunlight, and the stubble on his face looked enticing. “Wheeler is losing her shit right now.”

“What?” You asked breathily, a little lost in his long lashes and stunning smirk.

He nodded inconspicuously toward the direction of where the window would be, and you made to turn your head but Billy’s tutting stopped you.

“Don’t look,” he murmured, voice dropping low. “Give me a kiss.”

Such a simple sentence. A command. And yet, your toes were curling and your chest was heaving a little deeper as you struggled to breathe. Billy was intoxicating, and you realised you weren’t sure if you were quite ready to let him go.

You stood up on your toes to reach his lips, hands sliding into his hair to grip it firmly as you pressed your lips together. The kiss turned deeper than you expected, his mouth opening yours wider to taste your tongue. A little whimper escaped your lips when he turned his head, nose digging into your cheek and hands sliding over your waist and around to your tailbone.

“Fuck,” Billy cursed as you pulled apart, resting his forehead on yours to catch his breath. “The things you do to me, sweetheart.”

It was cheesy, playful and it made you smile all the same. You pushed at his chest where he’d grabbed one of your hands to press against his naked chest and he stumbled with a teasing laugh.

“You goin’ soft on me already, Hargrove?” There was an unexpected softness to your voice that made Billy smile genuinely.

His smile still jarred you. Whereas before you’d see teasing smirks and dirty bites of his pink lips, you were now seeing a whole new smile. It reached his eyes, made them look brighter surrounded by endearing crinkles at the corners of his eyes.

“Never soft when you’re around, baby.” He said and you glared at him.

“Gross,” you said, as if he hadn’t buried himself inside your guts just hours ago. “now get going so the girls don’t explode.”

Billy rolled his eyes, casting a glance behind you to - presumably - stare at Robin and Nancy. He pinched your chin and pulled you into a quick kiss to your mouth before he turned to open the door.

“See you tonight then?” He asked, prompting a confused stare from you.

“Tonight?” your stomach flipped and it felt a lot like hope.

Billy produced a cigarette from the pocket of his leather jacket, sticking it between his teeth and patting the remaining pockets for a lighter. You’re nearly bouncing on your socked feet when he finally looks up at you, smiles around his cigarette at your wide eyes.

“There’s a new diner I wanna take you to,” he says. “we could get some food, maybe catch a movie.”

There was a moment where you thought he’d want to come over just for a quick fuck, but hearing him talk so casually about a date has your mind reeling. Surely it must mean that he wants something more than just sex, right?

You’re nervous to ask, but you have to know just for the sake of your own sanity. “You asking me on a date, Billy?”

He has never heard anything as sweet as your voice saying his name, and it should make him nervous over how fast his heart is beating. But he really can’t bring himself to care.

“That depends.” He answers cryptically.

You raise a brow, “On what?”

“On if you say yes.”

You’re not sure if you’re imagining the slight nervousness in his voice, but it endears you and excites you anyway. It’s with that in mind that you decide to make him sweat a little, giving him a crooked smile and turning around to make your way to your front door.

“Is that a yes, then?” You hear him call and you cast him a look over your shoulder without halting your pace.

“Pick me up at seven.” You reply, getting a quick glance of his smile before he turns and disappears into his car.

You force yourself to keep walking, not looking back once as you open your front door and step inside. Your heart is beating fast and you take a moment to catch your breath when the door’s closed. It doesn’t take long for Robin’s shrill voice to break the silence and you jump.

“Billy Hargrove?!”

Well, shit.

[noladyme]

La Cuervo - Chapter 11

She is used to the biker-life, having grown into a woman in the familiar embrace of SAMCRO. A bad decision and a gun-shot later, she gets whisked off to Santo Padre, and put under the protection of another club. What is supposed to be a short stint in the Mayan headquarters just north of the border to Mexico, turns into something more; when la quervo begins to develop feelings for el angel - and he seems to return them in kind...

TW: violence, blood, drug use, alcohol, smut, fluff, angst

In the spirit of "The Crown Princess of Charming", this is a story about O.C. Nina and Angel Reyes. It is obviously non-canon, as characters who have passed on on Mayans M.C. are present in it, and others have been excluded completely. Nina is written as a cis-female, but I have tried to keep her race and looks as ambigous as possible. Should you find any of this story offensive, please let me know.

Nina was seated at the table in Felipe’s small kitchen, having been brought there by EZ a few hours earlier. The sun was setting outside, and she was looking at the orange sky, becoming red, and then dark blue.

“You haven’t touched your food…”.

“Huh?”. She was deep in thought, and almost knocked her glass of lemonade over, when Felipe spoke. Managing to stop it from falling, she took a sip. “Sorry”.

Felipe got up, and walked over to the fridge, grabbing a can of beer. He opened it, and set it down in front of her.

“Looks like you need this”, he smiled. Nina took a welcome sip of the beer, and smiled at Felipe.

“Thanks…”.

She went back to poking at her food. It smelled delicious, and she forced herself to take a bite.

“EZ wouldn’t tell me what’s going on, but I’m guessing it’s not good”, Felipe said. Nina tentatively met his eyes. “Are you in trouble?”.

“I’m… I don’t know”, she replied.

“Pregnant?”.

Nina’s eyes widened.

“What? Fuck no!”. She took a big gulp of the beer. “Sorry…”, she added, embarrassed at using profanities in front of the man.

“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked”, Felipe said, looking down at his hands.

There was a long moment of silence.

“You seem almost disappointed at my answer”, Nina muttered. Felipe blew out a short laugh.

“Maybe it would get my son to settle down… And you’re not the worst choice of nuera…”.

“I don’t think we’re quite there yet”, Nina replied. Felipe shrugged.

“I don’t know… I saw how Angel looked at you yesterday. He cares about you”.

“Yeah…”, Nina breathed. She knew Angel cared; but she knew how the life was. His club came first, and she was quite sure that same club was getting ready to ship her back home to Charming.

EZ stepped into the kitchen with his phone in hand.

“They finished at the table. Angel’s on his way”. Felipe got up to get a plate from one of the cabinets; obviously aware of the state of the fridge in his eldest son’s house. EZ placed a gentle hand on Nina’s shoulder. “Are you ok?”.

“I guess I don’t know yet”, she said. “Do you think they’ll make me leave?”, she added, almost in a whisper.

EZ didn’t reply, seemingly unsure what to answer. He sighed, and went to grab a beer for himself.

Unable to stomach even a bite more of the food, Nina pushed away her plate.

“Do you mind if I smoke?”, she asked Felipe.

“Yeah, he doesn’t…”, EZ began, but stopped when Felipe placed an ashtray in front of her.

“Go ahead”, the elder Reyes said with a soft smile. EZ looked confusedly between the two, but ultimately shook his head, and settled in a chair.

Nina took deep draws of her cigarette, and stared straight ahead of her. If the Mayans wanted her gone, she still had a home in Charming; but as it was, the thought of leaving was extremely painful. Whatever Angel and she had, was something real and beyond what she’d felt for any other person. She didn’t want to go, but at the same time the thought of Angel backing the MC in the decision made her think it might be for the best.

She wiped away a stray tear, and Felipe handed her a napkin.

“Like I said, I don’t know what the hell is going on, but I think it requires something stronger than beer”, he said, and moved into the living room.

“Oh no. Pap is bringing out the mezcal”, EZ said.

“Why oh no?”, Nina asked.

“If you thought the Ferris wheel story was bad…”. EZ looked terrified. Nina finally let a smile reach her lips.

“Can’t wait”, she said.

A short while later, they were on their third shot of mezcal and laughing, when Angel walked into the kitchen. He took one look at Nina’s cigarette and the liquor, and frowned in confusion.

“Is this a party?”, he asked. Felipe got up and gave his son a half hug.

“Let me get your plate”, he said.

“Sorry, pap. We gotta go”, Angel replied. The mezcal had gone a bit to Nina’s head, and she scowled at the biker.

“Sit your ass down and eat your father’s cooking. Taking me back to Charming can wait 20 minutes”, she grumbled.

Angel looked at her confusedly, and took the plate Felipe handed him, before pulling up a chair to the small table. EZ poured him a shot.

Felipe sat down again.

“Where was I…? Oh, right. So, we’d let Angel be in charge of filling the piñata for EZ’s birthday, but he’d gone into the wrong section of the drug-store…”. Angel groaned.

“Nah… Not this, pap. Please…”, he pleaded.

“You think I want to hear this story again?”, EZ said. Felipe waved their objections away with a dismissive gesture, and continued.

“He picked the most colorfully wrapped things he could find, and filled it before Marisol and I could see what he’d gotten. I got this, pap; he insisted… Come the party, Ezekiel is banging away at the poor piñata, and breaks it open…”. He halted to laugh to himself for a moment. “And a shower of condoms rains over him”. Nina had to hold her belly from laughing.

“I thought it was candy!”, Angel exclaimed.

“Sure you did”, EZ said disbelievingly.

“I was 12…”, Angel said. Felipe chuckled at his sons bantering.

Angel downed his shot, and began shoveling food into his mouth, while Felipe and EZ went to do the dishes. Felipe resolutely declined Nina’s help, and poured her another drink to keep her seated.

While the eldest and the youngest Reyes got on with getting the kitchen back in order, Angel finished his meal; his eyes on Nina the whole time. She did her best to avoid meeting his gaze, once again feeling the pain of their impending goodbye. He handed his plate to EZ, and got up; reaching out his hand to her.

“Let’s go…”, he said. She took it, and sighed deeply.

Felipe wiped his hands, and came over to her, pulling her in to a tight hug.

“Take care, mija”, he said, and kissed her cheek. He patted Angel’s shoulder, and Angel nodded at EZ, before he led Nina out of the house, towards his bike in the driveway.

“I just need my stuff at your place”, she rasped.

“Why?”, Angel asked.

“Because I’m not going back north without my shit”, she hissed.

Angel frowned at her, once again sporting the deep furrow between his eyebrows.

“Nina…”.

She let out a flustered groan and stomped over to the bike.

“Let’s go!”, she said. When Angel didn’t move, she walked back towards him, and pulled at his cut. “Take me the fuck back to SAMCRO. Let’s get this over with!”.

“You’re drunk, cuervo”, he sighed.

“Yeah… So?”, Nina said.

“Ma’, the only place you’re going is home to sleep it off”, Angel said calmly.

“Yeah, like I said. Take me back to Charming”.

���No. Back home to mine”. Nina tilted her head confusedly. He grabbed her arm and led her over to the bike. “Can you ride?”.

“Yeah…?”, she muttered. “But…”.

“Not here”. He grabbed her helmet from EZ’s bike, and put it on her head, snapping it shut under her chin, before getting on the bike. Nina simply stood, open mouthed and wide-eyed. “Come on! Jesus… Look, I’m not taking you back north; but we do have something we need to talk about. When you’re sober”.

Nina clambered on behind him, and Angel drove them off into the night.

---

The smell of coffee woke her up. She opened her eyes and saw Angel setting down a mug on the bedside table, next to a glass of water and a bottle of Advil. He was topless and sweating, and it looked like he’d been working out. Turning her head, she found she was right in thinking so, when she saw that his barbells had been moved around.

“How’s the head, cuervo?”, he muttered, and sat down on the edge of the bed. He pushed a lock of hair out of her face, and stroked her cheek.

“Fine…”, she lied. Angel took two pills from the bottle, and held them out to her.

“Here…”. Nina frowned and shook her head. Angel scowled at her, and straddled her waist; sitting over her hips. He picked up the glass, and held the pills to her lips. “Open… Don’t make me hold your nose, little miss lightweight”. Nina sighed, and held out her tongue to accept the pills, before taking the glass, and chugging it.

“Happy?”, she grunted.

Angel took the glass, set it back on the table, and kissed her forehead.

“Good girl. Now are you gonna tell me what that was about last night?”.

Nina shifted underneath him.

“Are you going to get off me? Maybe put on a shirt?”.

“Nah. It’s easier to talk to you like this. It makes you less smart”, Angel grinned, and flexed his pectorals.

“Yeah. Your sexy body makes me stupid…”, Nina scoffed, and pushed at his chest; trying her best not to show how stupid she was in fact feeling. “I gotta pee”.

Angel got off her, and let her get out of the bed. She walked into the bathroom without looking at him.

While she was washing her hands, she noticed Angel had set up her toothbrush next to his own. An overwhelming sensation of warm joy and ice-cold embarrassment washed over her. She picked up the toothbrush, and stormed out of the bathroom; straight into the arms of Angel, who’d been waiting for her by the door. She threw her arms around his neck, and buried her face in his chest.

“I’m sorry”, she whispered.

“For what?”, he chuckled.

“For being an idiot… and drunk… and throwing up in the bushes before we made it inside last night”.

Angel laughed, his chest rumbling against her ear.

“Yeah, that was a different kind of fertilizer than I usually use”.

Nina tilted her face to look at him.

“I thought you were… that the club would vote to send me away”. Angel grinned and stroked her temple.

“You think I’d let them do that? Fuck no. You’re mine, and you belong here”. Nina smiled, and went to kiss him, when Angel pulled back, grabbed the hand she was holding the toothbrush in, and held it in front of her. “Your breath stinks, ma’. Use this, and then I’ll kiss you all you want”.

She almost ran into the bathroom, and thoroughly brushed her teeth, before putting the toothbrush back next to Angel’s. Once back in the bedroom, Angel smilingly pulled her into his arms, and kissed her greedily. They were all tongues and groping hands, when suddenly he pulled back, and looked somber.

“We need to talk”, he said. Nina sighed.

“I have a feeling I‘m gonna need that coffee now”.

Angel put on a beater, grabbed her mug for her, and led her into the living room to sit on the couch.

“There’s a snitch in the clubhouse…”, he began.

In spite of not being surprised, Nina let out an exasperated sigh.

“Do you know who it is?”, she asked. Angel nodded.

“We think it’s Daniella. You saw how she was all over Sala at the party. She was there when they were talking about the inhaler, and EZ told Bish that she saw you use it in the trailer. Then Creeper had Camille in there…”.

“So it was my fault…”, Nina croaked. Angel grabbed her hand.

“No, Nina. That’s not on you”. He kissed her knuckles. “But we need to find out how deep in with them she is. What she’s been telling them. You know I can't tell you too much about club business; but... this isn't the first time Palo has made moves on our territory”.

“She only just met them that night…”, Nina began.

“Did she though? What about that stuff in the alley? That’s what brought the Vatos to San Pad”.

“She wasn’t there, Angel…”.

“No, but someone might have told her. This isn’t a big town, word travels…”, he said. “And why are you defending her? That bitch is…”.

“Someone you used to sleep with”, Nina said. Angel looked down and didn’t reply. “You did, and you don’t have to pretend you didn’t… Look, I don’t like her, but…”.

“You’re gonna like her even less in a minute”, Angel cut her off.

Nina took a deep sip of her coffee, and lit a cigarette.

“Tell me”.

Angel got on his feet, and began pacing the floor.

“This wasn’t my idea, you gotta know that, querida”.

Nina was growing more and more anxious.

“Just… talk”, she demanded.

Angel sighed.

“We gotta split up…”.

Nina shook her head, and blinked in confusion.

“We… what?”, she snarled. “One second you’re telling me you’re not letting me go. The next…”.

“It’s not for real, though. Just like an act”, Angel said. “I need to let Daniella think we’re done”.

Nina scoffed, and stubbed her cigarette angrily.

“With your dick”, she growled, and got up to stand. Angel looked almost desperate, trying to explain himself.

“No, I just gotta let her think I want to hang with her again. Spend some time with her; get her to talk. We need to know how much she’s been sharing with the Vatos…”.

“Fuck that! I’m not gonna sit in this house, while you let her rub her infected cunt all over the back of your bike!”.

Angel cleared his throat, and looked away; seemingly very uncomfortable at meeting her eyes.

“You won’t be here… You gotta go back to the trailer”. It felt like a, explosion in Nina’s head, and white, hot rage spread through her body. “You need to go back on lockdown, so the club can protect you. And, so it looks like we’re really over”.

Nina stormed into the bedroom, trying to get away from him.

“Shove it up your ass, Angel!”, she roared. She picked up a pillow from the bed and threw it at him as he stood in the doorway. “You want me to stay at that clubhouse and watch you two… hang? Fuck you!”.

Not thinking, she kicked at a barbell. A burning, blunt pain spread through her toes, and she instantly fell to the floor; holding her foot. Angel rushed over to look at the damage.

“Querida…”.

“Don’t!”, Nina hissed, tears streaming from her eyes. “Don’t fucking queridame… Fuck that hurt…”.

Angel sighed, and scooped her into his arms, to place her on the bed; before leaving the room. He came back a moment later, with a bag of frozen peas covered in a dishtowel. She tried to push it away, but he manhandled her hands away, and put the pack on her foot. He checked her toes.

“You didn’t break anything…”, he muttered.

Nina watched him gently put the pillow she’d thrown at him under her foot, to elevate it.

“I hate you right now”, she croaked. He met her eyes with a sad expression.

“I know… I might even deserve it”, he said. “Maybe I could have said or done something; come up with a better plan… But I’m not that smart. This was the only plan that made sense when we were at the table. I don’t know how else to get Daniella to talk”.

“Whose idea was it?”, Nina sniveled. He frowned slightly.

“I don’t think…”.

“Was it Bishop?”. Angel’s silence confirmed her suspicion. “Shit… Of course, it was. And here I thought he was beginning to like me”.

Angel gently began moving her toes back and forth. It tickled a bit, but Nina didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her smile.

“He does… This is for you as well”, he said. Nina scoffed and shook her head. “We need to find out if the Vatos are coming for you, and maybe…”. He didn’t finish his sentence.

“Maybe, what?”, Nina said. He looked at her reluctantly.

“Maybe, if I keep her happy, she’ll lose interest in hurting you, and she won’t tell them who you are”.

Nina scoffed, and drew her lips back in a sneer.

“Maybe you should just take me back to Charming. Keep me out of sight”, she said.

“We have to make her think we don’t know we’ve been made, by hiding you away”, Angel said.

He scooted closer to her, and lifted her hand to kiss her knuckles.

“I hate this as much as you do. I don’t want you sleeping anywhere else than next to me… This…”. He pointed between them. “This is right. I don’t want no one else”.

Nina let him put his forehead against hers.

“It wasn’t supposed to be like this, Angel…”, she said.

Angel pulled back and stared deep into her eyes; and seemed to make a decision.

“Te amo, cuervo… I know it’s still early, but I fucking do”. Nina gasped, and parted her lips to speak, but couldn’t find the words. “You don’t gotta say anything. But I needed you to know that”.

She wanted to reply, but couldn’t find the words to describe what she felt about him in that moment. She was hurt, and so very angry; but her heart also fluttered at his words.

In the end she sighed, and closed her eyes.

“When are you gonna…”. She couldn’t finish her sentence.

“Tonight…”, Angel said. “I just gotta make a call. Get her to the clubhouse”. Nina nodded.

“Do it… Just, please go into the kitchen. I don’t wanna hear it”. He nodded shortly, and left the room.

She went to pack her bag. The house wasn’t so big that she couldn’t hear Angel on the phone; and she clenched her fists as she listened to him speak.

“Hey, baby… Yeah, I know… Look, I was thinking you could come by the clubhouse tonight. We could catch up… Nah, that’s over… I’m telling her tonight…”. He laughed a little. The sound made Nina want to break something, but she stayed quiet. “You looked hot yesterday… Yes, really. Fuck, Dani; you got me all worked up, when you… Yeah, ok. See you then”.

He moved back through the living room, and Nina pretended to ignore him as he entered the bedroom. She had to wipe away a tear, when Angel handed her her toothbrush.

“I’m sorry”, he muttered. Without another word, he pressed his lips against hers. Knowing she would probably regret it, she didn’t reciprocate the kiss; she simply didn’t have it in her.

They drove back to the clubhouse, Nina holding on to him harder than necessary. Angel didn’t once complain.

---

As plans went, Nina knew that Bishop’s was probably the best for their situation. That didn’t change the fact that she felt the urge to slap him across his face when she saw him on the porch of the clubhouse. He looked grave, but didn’t speak.

Angel squeezed her hand after she got off his bike, but she avoided being pulled into his arms; just turned her back to him, and walked back to the trailer.

She picked the .38 out of her bag, and sat for a long time on the cot; just holding it in her hand and looking at it. She was drained emotionally and physically, and so very tired. After a while, she put it down on the table, put her inhaler next to it, and laid down; falling into an almost comatose sleep.

It was dark outside, when a gentle hand shook her awake. EZ was standing over her with a solemn expression.

“Bishop told me to… Daniella is arriving in a few”.

Nina nodded, and sat up. She rubbed her eyes, and blew out a deep breath.

“Do you know what we have to do?”, she asked. EZ nodded.

“Angel filled me in. He’s not happy about it… There’s a dent in the table at his seat in templo, from where he stuck his knife in it”. A smile ghosted his face. Nina shrugged, and got up to stand. “This is going to suck, but if you need to talk to someone…”, EZ said.

“I know… Thank you”. She tried, and failed, to smile at him; then left the trailer, to get dumped by the man who claimed her loved her.

Angel was seated by the bar, drinking a beer with Gilly. He met her eyes for a short moment, but looked down at his drink quickly. The rest of the charter was spread throughout the room, chatting to hangarounds and each other; and doing their best to avoid eye-contact with her. Only Bishop came up to her as she entered.

“Nina, I know this is…”.

“Don’t… talk to me right now”, Nina said, trying to keep her voice even. “I can’t promise I won’t attack you with a broken beer bottle if you do”.

“That fair”, Bishop said. “But when you’re ready, I’ll be here to let you slap me around… I’d prefer without the broken beer bottle”.

Nina nodded shortly, and went behind the bar. She picked up a rag, and began wiping down the counter.

A few moments later, Coco came through the back door, and nodded at Angel. Nina watched as his face fell, and he met her eyes. His were pained, probably reflecting her own; and it was all she could do to keep from throwing herself into his arms.

Nina blew out a deep breath, as the door opened, and Daniella walked in. Angel’s face immediately grew indifferent.

“Sorry, I got other plans, ma’”, he said to Nina. He turned around and looked at Daniella. “And here they are now. How are you doing, baby?”. He smirked, and went over to hug the blonde tightly. Daniella gave Nina a smug smile over Angel’s shoulder.

Nina couldn’t help but gasp at the sight.

“Angel…”, she croaked. Angel led Daniella over to the bar, and looked at Nina like she was a complete stranger.

“Yeah, we’re gonna need a… screwdriver, right?”, he said.

“With ice”, Daniella gloated. Angel chuckled, and brushed his lips against her ear.

“You’re bad…”.

Bile rose in Nina’s throat, and she couldn’t contain it anymore. She dropped the rag, and ran out the door; only making it down from the porch and over to a trashcan, before she threw up. Even when she had nothing left in her stomach, she gagged, and it felt like the muscles in her belly tried to push out her very intestines.

EZ came running out after her, and held back her hair. He rubbed circles on her back to try to get her to calm down.

“It’s ok… It’s just an act, Nina… You’ll be ok”, he whispered. The sound of laughter from inside made Nina retch one last time, before she fell to her knees. EZ crouched down next to her, and pulled her into his arms. “I’m so sorry…”.

Nina was heaving for breath, and was finding it hard to get any oxygen into her lungs.

“Inhaler… trailer”, she rasped.

EZ got her to her feet, and dragged her with him to the trailer. Once inside, she took a hit from her inhaler, and collapsed on the cot.

“Can I get you anything?”, EZ asked.

Nina looked up at him, and began sobbing. He sat down next to her, and pulled her into his arms; just holding her close and stroking her hair.

The last few months, years even – everything that had brought her up to this point – rushed through her head, as if what she’d just witnessed turned on a faucet of memories that had shaped her. It was overwhelming.

… Throwing up behind a dumpster, when a pair of white sneakers comes in to view. “Are you ok, darlin’?”…

… Picked up at school by the coolest guy in town, and speeding down bumpy roads; laughing and squealing in glee…

… Crying in a smelly cell, before being let out, and enveloped in Jackson’s arms. The scent of leather, cigarettes and mint chewing-gum. “You’re better than this, Nina"…

… Walking in to the clubhouse with his hands covering her eyes. “Surprise!”. Filip kissing her cheek, and handing her a lit cigarette. “Congrats on not being knocked up, luv’”. Tig nabbing the smoke from her lips. “She’s got asthma, you idiot. Get her a pack of condoms instead”…

… “You’re not my fucking dad, Jax!”. “No, but I am your brother. Dropping out is a shit idea”…

… “Hi. I’m Juice". He’s almost too cute to handle. Jackson grabs the collar of his cut, and starts dragging him away. “No". “But Jax…”. “Just no"…

… Holding Jackson tightly, as he crumbles in her arms. “He's so tiny, Nina… I don’t think he’s gonna make it”. She strokes his hair, and forces him to look at her. “Abel is your kid, Jax. If anyone can survive something like this, it's him”…

… Holding Thomas for the first time, hours after his birth. “Your daddy loves you. He’s gonna be out real soon”…

… “Thank you for being there for Tara, while I was inside”. “It’s what family does. You taught me that”…

… “This is how it has to be… I have to give my boys a shot at a life away from this”. “You can’t do this to them. To me!”. He kisses her forehead, and holds her close as she sobs, before pressing a leatherbound journal into her hands. “Give this to them when they’re old enough. I love you, little sister. So much. You gotta live for me; be happy”…

… His cut on the casket. No more tears to cry. Filip’s arm around her, unable to tell who is supporting who…

… Too much alcohol. Too many cigarettes. Too many makeout-sessions in dark corners of parties, before a strong hand belonging to Happy, Tig, Filip, or someone else pulls the guy away; and makes her get on the back of a bike. “We promised we’d take care of you, ‘luv”…

… Wendy’s excited voice over the phone. “Abel got an A on his book-report”…

… Stumbling out of the car, Gael at her heels. “You gotta follow through now”. “I don’t want to”. His ice-cold smile, as he presses her against the wall, and lets his hands wander up and down her body. It’s too much. She can’t push him away; he’s too strong. “What would Teller say, if he knew I was about to fuck his little sister?”. Her shaking hand as she manages to pull out the gun, and he takes a step back. “You’re not gonna shot me”. He rushes forward, and she pulls the trigger. It’s like a red cloud behind his head, and she gasps, dropping the gun on the ground…

… “Nina?”. Footsteps running down the alley. Filip looks down at her disheveled state, and then at the dead body on the ground; and his face drops. “She’s here”. “Shit, muffin. What happened?”. “Chibs, do you know who that is?”. “Not now, Hap’. Let’s just get her out of here. Get the gun”. One of them scoops her into their arms, she’s to rattled to notice who…

… A long ass ride south. A pair of dark and intense eyes. Butterflies in her stomach as he removes his hands from the handlebars. His warm and devouring kiss. “I want you to trust me”. Wanting and needing him. Him wanting and needing her. This is real. “Te amo, cuervo”…

Her breathing calmed, and she managed to pull out of EZ’s grasp.

“I need to be alone right now”, she croaked. The prospect nodded.

“Bishop said you need to stay on the lot”, he said.

“I know. I won’t go anywhere. I just need… quiet”.

EZ got up and went for the door.

“Breakfast tomorrow?”. She wiped her eyes, and nodded. He smiled sadly, and left the trailer; closing the door behind him.

Nina dug through her bag, and pulled out the journal. She hadn’t opened it since the night of her fight with Angel in the cage. Opening the page of her favorite and at the same time most hated paragraph, she sat back with her legs folded under her.

“I know you’ll face pain, suffering, hard choices; but you can’t let the weight of it choke the joy out of your life. No matter what, you have to find the things that love you. Run to them…

There’s an old saying. That which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. I don’t believe that. I think the things that try to kill you make you angry and sad. Strength comes from the good things… your family, your friends, the satisfaction of hard work. Those are the things that will keep you whole. Those are the things to hold on to when you’re broken…”.

He’d been in such pain, and at the same time so optimistic. He’d trusted her with these words; maybe even meant them as much for her, as he had for his boys. It felt like everything she’d done since the moment of his death, had been like a big fuck you to his legacy. She felt ashamed and heartbroken.

“I’m sorry, Jax…”, she whispered.

Laying back on the cot, clutching the journal in her arms, she made a decision. She had to follow through with this plan Bishop had laid out.

They were going to get the truth about Palo’s plans. Both her families would be safe. Angel loved her.

Those were the things she was going to hold on to.

---

[haveyouseenthisskeleton]

How would Disbelief!Papyrus react if he found himself dragged to other realities? No explanations, he just woke up and found himself in UT, UF, US or HT and met the skeletons from that AU?

Ok, I’ll go with universes still underground. Would you like a cup of tears with your angst ? Because I do.

In Undertale : First time he saw Sans, he burst in tears. He thought that was his universe, that his brother was alive again, but then the other Papyrus came out and all his dreams were crushed. Sans was very confused too. Once he explained everything however, there’s now way Sans let him go alone. He absolutely doesn’t care if he had twins brothers now, he knows what that poor Papyrus go through and there’s no way he abandoned him behind. Papyrus is totally ok having a new brother too. That’s gonna be a lot of spaghettis at home. Their friends are so confused too, but won’t questionned for very long. Disbelief!Pap’ is extremely good at fighting since he absorbed Frisk soul so it will blew Undyne’s mind. Now she have to make both Papyrus royal gards since she doesn’t want the other Papyrus to be sad. Eventually, after a while, Disbelief!Papyrus and Alphys will find a way to reject Frisk soul out of his body. Barrier is broken, everyone can go on the Surface. This is the best timeline ever.

In Underfell : Well that’s akward. He was walking in Snowdin when his duplicate found and captured him. Edge won’t stop calling him stupid-looking and threat to kill him because it’s too weird they are looking that similar. Sans is troubled too, but won’t say a thing. But when the kid fall, Papyrus knew it was started again. He begged Sans to free him and insisted very hard on the fact his brother was about to die. Sans didn’t believe him, but he was so determined that he freaked out and let him. Papyrus jump between the human and Edge just before the human slained him. He dies happy, knowing this Papyrus won’t live the hell he saw.

In Underswap : He met Blue first and was so confused. This Sans is even more energic than he is. That’s creeping him out. He much more prefered his lazy brother than that. It’s like looking in a mirror. But then he met Honey and it was even more confusing ? Papyrus thinks he is drunk or something. Or dead. He’s not sure. At first, Honey will not trust him, but Papyrus is so happy to find a face he knows he won’t leave them. Blue is delighted, Papyrus is trying all of his puzzle and they both having fun. At night time, Honey won’t let him enter their house however. So Papyrus just slept in front of their door, in the cold. When Blue found him in the morning, he was so pissed as his brother that Papyrus felt bad. Eventually, after a while, Honey will warm up, seeing as similar he is to his own brother. He also let him sleep in his house at the condition he takes his sentry job since they are twins and stuff. That didn’t work very well with Alphys. Everything will mostly go after that like in Undertale. Papyrus found his place, helped break the barrier and bough a house next to Blue one. It’s different from his universe, but that’s still ok.

In Horrortale : He runs into Sans first and had a really bad emotion shock. “Wh... What happened to your skull ?” He’s horrified. That must hurt so bad ! Sans is also anormally tall. That’s weird. Well, meeting his clone was even weirder since he surpasses him by two heads. Horrortale Sans is having an existential crisis right now. After a bit of explanations, Papyrus is terryfied of what is going on here. On the other Papyrus advice, he won’t leave them. He tried to help his best but won’t touch human meat spaghettis. He prefered to starve, really. Sans will have to trick him too, sorry. Now you have two Horrortale Papyris. When monsters finally got free, he will follow them on the Surface. After all they get threw, they are family. Sans is happy to have two brothers to take care of him and they learned how to heal and forget together.

[larryfanficcatalog]

June 2021 Recs

Gravity Pulls On You And Me (4k)

Summary: Having to hide his relationship isn't easy. Harry knows it's the price he has to pay to be able to be in One Direction and still be with Louis. Keeping his love a secret is slowly starting to upset him more and more. One night, he reaches his breaking point.

Red Brick Heart (98k)

Summary: Harry had turned up at the halls of residence expecting fun, new friends, and maybe a life experience or two. What he doesn't expect is a surprise roommate who's loud and dramatic and obsessed with tea and is maybe, actually, all he's ever wanted.

I Can Count On You After All That We’ve Been Through (10k)

Summary: Harry and Louis have a little too much to drink on Christmas Eve and do some late night, overly enthusiastic karaoke to celebrate Louis’ birthday. Needless to say, Santa Clause makes a few mistakes that night. Poor Harry and Louis don’t know how to set it right.

Finding Lou (60k)

Summary: Louis is the nomadic stranger who wanders into Harry’s bookstore. Harry is the skeptic who falls for him.

Bigger Than Life (49k)

Summary: “Boybander Harry Styles spotted leaving West Hollywood joined hand in hand with new beau, Xander Ritz”

His heart drops in his chest as he scrolls down, ignoring the short irrelevant article and looking desperately for a picture. Sure enough, there’s pap shots of Harry and Xander, walking hand in hand, looking drunk and cheerful and together.

And that’s—that’s really not what Louis was expecting at all.

To Kill The Mess We’ve Made (43k)

Summary: Harry and Louis are both models, and they decide being friends-with-benefits is a great idea. It isn't.

Baby, Hold On To My Heart (7k)

Summary: Louis gives Harry a ring as a joke, but Harry starts wearing the ring everywhere he goes.

[septic-skele]

UF - Out of Reach

Summary: Classic and Blue have it good with their brothers. They make displays of love and affection look so easy. Red can’t help but feel bitter about it. He stands no chance of ever having anything like that with his boss.

Well, not with that attitude about it, Blue says.

Red couldn’t understand it. Logically he figured it was because Classic and Blue came from drastically different backgrounds. They weren’t living with eye sockets in the back of their heads or half-formed, sharpened bones under their pillows like he and Boss did. They were probably just as baffled about him and his behavior, but there was something Blue had said once that wouldn’t leave his mind.

Red had walked in on a private moment and for reasons beyond him, he hadn’t taken a hasty shortcut back out. He stopped and stared and couldn’t help being taken aback when he saw Blue cradling his Papyrus’ skull against his shoulder, murmuring comforts to him. Red had never seen that casual, laidback Papyrus so drunk, weak and vulnerable, much less Blue so solemn.

“I love you, Papy,” he soothed. “I’d love you no matter the ‘reset’, whatever that may be—no matter the world, no matter the universe. A good, proper Sans would never give up on his brother, and I am just that.”

Good, proper. Red had no illusions of propriety but the idea of it nagged and frustrated him. Any time he had tried to console Papyrus in recent memory, it had ended with all the wrong things being said and door hinges buckling under the strain of being slammed.

Red already knew what Blue would say if he heard of this. “You can always try again! I believe in you, pal! You simply need to persevere! You’ll get through to him, I know it!” Disgusting.

The worst part of it, however, was that even Classic did it better than he could. Classic—depressed, cynical, apathetic, a liar to Papyrus’ face more often than not—still loved his brother better.

Somehow the six of them had survived a night in together, though the argument over the TV remote had almost come to blows and the throw pillows may have sacrificed some of their stuffing. Now that they were all retiring, Red wandered down the hall to hear strains of Classic’s voice from one of the nearby bedrooms. He didn’t sound anything like the blasé character Red usually knew; he was lighter, actually putting effort into this.

“…Peekaboo had become a game of hide-and-seek! Where could her friends have gone? Fluffy Bunny wondered, bounding across the green, green field to look for them. She searched high! She searched low!”

“She searched near and far,” Papyrus chimed in.

“You bet she did. She searched east and west, under rocks and up in trees. But Fluffy Bunny couldn’t find her friends anywhere! Wherever could they be?”

Maybe they ditched her for wantin’ to play such stupid games, Red mused with a snort, although as Classic continued he was distracted by an old, old memory fluttering forth.

He had spent hours poring over the dump, fishing out as many old, damaged books as he could find. Drained and shivering, he’d lugged them back to the nook where he’d left Papyrus, safely out of sight. Before he could find sleep, Papyrus had thrown himself over Red’s back and pitched a fit about learning how to read.

“Show me, brother! I want to do it like you do, I want to try! It doesn’t have to be the long one! Just show me how, please! Please, please, please, plea-a-a-ase!”

Red had capitulated only because he didn’t want the tantrum to draw unwanted attention, but that wasn’t the part that stuck with him. Papyrus had curled up against him, half-tucked under his coat, watching him trace letters with intent focus. As he haltingly sounded out the words, every small success made him light up like a star, clutching eagerly at Red’s ribs for his approval.

“Did you see that, Sans?! Did you hear me?! I did it!”

“Yeah, yeah. Pipe down, kid, I saw. Nice one.”

Red’s opinion and praise had still meant something to Papyrus back then. Stars, he was still willing to cuddle with him, despite the filth and the damp clinging to his clothes from the river.

Had Boss ever really been that hopeful, clingy little baby bones or was Red trying to convince himself that was how it had happened? It was so long ago. Pap could have just fished those books out and taught himself while Sans was away, trying to find work. That sounded far more likely.

“G’night, bro,” Classic concluded, sliding the book onto the nightstand and giving his Papyrus an affectionate squeeze of the hand.

Balking, Red ducked back toward the stairs before he could be found snooping, all too well aware of what Boss might do if he ever dared reach out that way. He’d probably end up losing a few fingers.

It wasn’t fair, something small and spiteful in the back of his mind huffed. The idea nearly made him miss one of the steps, torn between shock and scornful amusement. Since when had fairness ever been part of the equation? If things were fair…

If things were fair, they would probably look a lot like the scene he had just left, as well as the scene he was walking into now. Blue perched prim and proper on the end of the couch, surfing idly through channels. His brother was stretched across the rest of the cushions, head propped against Blue’s lap, swaddled up in blankets, the whole nine yards.

Jerks. They were intent on showing off now; they knew exactly how good they had it. Sparks of irrational anger crackled along Red's jaw and spine. If he had something immediately on hand to hurl at them, he would have, but he had already shucked off his boots and summoning a bone would be a waste of magic.

“Edgy me?” Blue called in a faux whisper, making him tense. “I would have thought you’d be asleep already.”

“Yeah, well, it’s kinda hard to rest easy with Classic jabbering on about fluffy bunnies through the wall!” Red snarked, louder and sharper than necessary. He took little satisfaction in the way Blue winced, resting a hand on Papy’s skull as if to muffle the noise.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” So genteel, so polite, he still offered an inviting smile. “If you’d care to come and join us, any of the chairs from the dinner table are free! Mweheh, I honestly have no idea how Papy sleeps like this; the side I sit on is the only one without mangled, broken springs. It’s probably all of his tossing and turning that’s done it. I’ve been meaning to get them repaired, but he hardly ever leaves the couch to let me at it! He really ought to—”

“Shut up already, would’ja? I don’t care! Besides—Tch, wouldn’t want to interrupt your cute little ‘brother bonding’ time.”

“Oh, no, y-you’re not interrupting anything! Did I imply that somehow? I’m sorry! If you want part of the couch, I can wake him and ask him to scoot over—”

“How d’you make it look so easy?” It broke free before Red could fully comprehend how irrational it would be to ask. Jaw clenching so tightly that his teeth squeaked, he drew back from his own brash demand. Blue tilted his head.

“I’m sorry?” That counted three times in this conversation that he’d apologized for nothing. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

He should have retreated. He should have spat, “Never mind!” and transported to his room to seethe in privacy. Instead his foolish, fat mouth blundered on. “How d’you get him to do that?” He threw an irritated gesture at the sleeping lump on his lap. “How d’you make him…relax, with you there? It’s as if he likes having you around!”

Even that was saying too much and yet just enough. Realization dawned in Blue’s eyes, followed by—oh, stars, there was pity.

“Well, I…I’m not really sure. If there are no other comfortable surfaces around for him while he sleeps, I’m happy to help! The last thing he needs is a cramp in his neck. Heh, I’m not tall enough to fix that for him so why not try to prevent it entirely? We’ve huddled up ever since we were baby bones; it’s always been this way.”

Of course. Cheekbones flaming, Red ducked his head. They never had raging fights that lasted until dawn (or until they started losing their voices, whichever came first.) Blue and Stretch had it all sorted out from birth, cozy and coddled.

“…Papy always caught cold too easily. I’d make up some rather impressive beds for him with grass and water sausages so he wouldn’t have to sleep on the rock, but the dew would leave him shivering all night! I couldn’t let that stand! Those chattering teeth of his kept me awake too so I made the noble sacrifice and slept on the damp side while he nestled up to me.” Blue chuckled, an uncharacteristic note of something laced through it. “With our two shirts tucked together, we could almost imagine a full hoodie like he has now!”

“Wh—You? That’s rich.” That was decidedly not what Red had been picturing as a life that could spit out someone as sickeningly sweet as Blue. “You’re not tellin’ me you two were homeless.”

“I preferred to think of us as explorers!” Blue corrected. “I told Papy that we were on an adventure to find the perfect place for a new start. We experienced all that the Underground had to offer a couple of wandering baby bones: scavenging, hide-and-seek, games of chase with older monsters, who were rather poor sports when they couldn’t catch us. I grew strong and magnificent thanks to all of that exercise and my brother…well, he tried very hard!”

Red shuffled uncomfortably in place. Funny, how familiar all of those experiences sounded—but from someone else’s mouth?

“Then Papy fell terribly ill. He was poisoned, in fact. It was the first time I really wondered if I’d lose him.” Ignoring how Red startled, Blue glanced pensively down at his snoring brother, smoothing his fingers more gently over his skull. “It may have been an accident, but I was responsible for his safety; I should have been paying closer attention. In part it was my fault.”

“And he…forgave you for that?” An accident like that, caused by a slip in Sans’ attention, could probably get him disowned.

“On the contrary, he blamed himself! He blames himself for a great many things and he thinks most of them can’t be helped. I try, I always try to help. What’s infuriating is that he acts as if he doesn’t deserve it. Despite what you may think, there are plenty of times he doesn’t want me around. He shuts down, he pushes me away, he tells me I’m wasting my time.”

Red’s eyelights flicked off.

“Shut up, Sans. I don’t want to discuss it.”

“You idiot! Get away from me!”

“Useless. What a waste of time.”

“I think he’s scared of what might happen if he lets his guard down…Perhaps he thinks I’m not strong enough to face whatever is underneath,” Blue continued. “Perhaps he thinks that if he lets me too close, it will be the thing to drive me away for good. Nevertheless! With time and patience, I know I’ll convince him.”

“But how?! How am I supposed to—I mean, how do you keep trying when it never does any good?”

“It does do some good, I’m sure of it! I keep pushing to help him so he knows beyond the shadow of a doubt that I won’t be driven away so easily. Maybe Papy just isn’t ready to show me the good it’s done yet. He has to learn to trust himself before he can trust me, but he can never say that I don’t care about him. I’ll show love to every part of him, even the bad, and it will be an influence for the better. I will break down those barriers!” Blue concluded with a fiercer grin.

A good Sans would never give up on his brother.

“Doesn’t it…suck?” Red ground out, hoping it wouldn’t be interpreted as an admission of weakness. Doesn’t it hurt? “When he shuts you out all the time?”

“Of course. I never said it was an easy task but it’s not within me to accept defeat!” Blue stopped up short then, holding his breath as Papyrus shifted against him. Neither Red nor Blue had been particularly careful about their volume.

After a few moments of adjustment, Stretch settled deeper into his blankets with a sleepy hum of contentment. Blue softened, eyelights aglow with such fondness that Red could almost feel a ripple of it in the air between them. It made his soul turn.

“He’s my only brother. We only have each other in the end. Isn’t that worth the effort?”

_____________________________________

If Red hadn’t been passing his boss’s room at precisely the right moment, he never would have heard it: a string of low, ragged gasps, followed by a rumble that could have been a groan or a growl. Sans grimaced at the sound, already aware of what was happening. Boss never made noise in his sleep unless he was injured, pain slipping through the cracks of his subconscious, or he was fighting a nightmare. Seeing as the last few days had been highly uneventful, it would be the latter.

Welp, that’s his problem. I’m not about to get impaled ’cause he mistakes me for his sleep paralysis demon.

That was habit speaking. Better reasoning caught him a few steps later, slowing him to a halt.

It would be easy to swan off, mind his own business and let Papyrus suffer on his own. It would have been easy to do it years ago too, when Pap was nothing but a scrawny baby bones who couldn’t have done anything about it.

If he hadn’t then, why should he now? It was Boss’s shouts in the morning that often woke him from dark dreams…He could return the favor and feel less indebted to him for it.

It was only fair.

Cursing his newly planted seed of a conscience, Sans pivoted with great difficulty and kicked a foot at the door with a small thump. No answer. He kicked again. The gruff breaths from within quickened.

“…Boss?” he ventured, clearing his throat roughly. “Hey. Boss.” Belatedly he realized that he had no proper excuse ready if Papyrus awoke and asked what he wanted. That might not go over well, but the circumstances were making it hard to focus. Those strangled groans were slowly but surely chipping away his first instinct of self-preservation.

He was definitely going to get impaled. One shot, -9999 damage and his life would be over, all for an attempt to be considerate, but he could hear it now in Papyrus’ voice. There was a scared little brat trapped inside the intimidating commander and that brat clearly still needed a big brother to drag him out of trouble.

Steeled for his impending doom, Sans jostled open the door. “Boss,” he began again as he poked his head in. “You’re makin’ noise, alright? You gotta—Whoa, whoa, whoa, that’s not good—”

Papyrus was a writhing, tangled mess in his blankets, some already torn where his claws had caught. Sweat and magic bled down his face, eye sockets sputtering and smoking in a flurry of colors as he choked for traction to cry out.

“Ngnnh—No, no—stop!”

“Boss?!” Sans stammered, surging forward. Of their own volition his hands got busy, dragging at the blankets to rend them free of Papyrus’ kicking legs. “Bro, hey! It’s okay, it’s just a dream!”

From there it must have only been a few seconds but to Sans it felt like an eternity before Papyrus lurched upright, already scrambling. He didn’t lunge to attack as Sans had expected but recoiled; it was only when he smacked his skull against the wall behind him that he came to a lurching stop.

“I-It’s just me, Pap,” Sans stated cautiously. He wouldn’t have dared use the old nickname under any other circumstances, but it seemed to clear some of the wild haze in his brother’s eyes. It took a beat for him to formulate an appropriate response.

“Get out,” he rasped. It didn’t hold a candle to its usual bite. He was still panting, disoriented. “What are you doing here?”

Which d’you want, an answer or me getting out? “I heard you…Well, I didn’t know if somethin’ was up. Maybe someone…broke in or somethin’, trying to get to you.”

“Oh?” Shoulders shuddering in what could barely be masked as a laugh, Papyrus shook his head minutely. “And what could you do to save me? L-Look at you. You’re not even armed.”

“And look who didn’t even wake up when I barged in here! The big, bad boss could’ve gotten killed in his sleep because he was too busy cryin’ like a—” By the greatest restraint he cut himself off, foreseeing how that would be received, but he’d said enough already.

“Get. Out,” Papyrus snarled, rediscovering vitriol enough for Sans to cringe.

“Sorry, I’m sorry.”

“Get out, you fool, this instant, or I’ll—!”

“I’m sorry, okay? I was worried!” That word felt taboo aloud. “I just wanted to make sure you were alright and you weren’t so I stayed to help.”

“There’s nothing you can do here, Sans; as always, you—you prove to be utterly inadequate! Your best course of action will be to close the door behind you.” Judging by the way his chin jutted out, he was clearly expecting that to be the last word.

“…No.” Tossing the blanket’s edge back to the floor, Sans squared up. “I’m not goin’ anywhere.” The incredulity that flashed in Pap’s eyes should have cowed him but he had resigned himself to that already at the door. “I’m not just gonna leave you here, all jittery and crunched up against the wall. I can’t leave you like this. You’re not fine and I know if I try to say somethin’ to make it better, I’ll screw it up. Like you said, I always do. So let’s just skip that part where I do it wrong and get to the bit where you tell me what you need. What d’you need to feel better and get back to sleep okay?”

The following silence caught him off guard. Papyrus was never at a loss for further scathing remarks so why was he just staring at him? Moreover, where had his anger gone? He looked smaller without it, less like the Great and Terrible Papyrus and more like…

Papyrus. Red’s only brother. Hunched down, hands fisted into the mattress, micro-tremors trailing down his ribs as he breathed, he looked exhausted.

A minute passed. Maybe it was two.

Sans fidgeted, his nerve failing. “Boss, listen, I—”

“Tea,” he muttered, hooded eyes darting away. “If you really want to make yourself useful.” Sans hadn’t expected his soul to fill his throat at that response; something must have shown in his face, as Papyrus’ next grumble was even quieter. “You’re acting uncharacteristically generous with your work ethic. Why would I pass up this opportunity to make you work in the kitchen for once?”

Sans felt oddly light at the words as he nodded, turning for the door. “Gotcha.” He had never thought this day would come. For once in his life, he saw doing more work as a victory.

If it did some small modicum of good, if it made one miniscule chip in those walls between them, it would be worth the effort.