#probably will only be to walk around the yard rather than the neighborhood

[lycorid]

I want to get a harness and leash for my cats so I can take them for walks. They’d both love it.

I let my more skittish middle aged man go out on the deck with me when I put peanuts out for the birds and it’s gotten to the point that when he sees me get up in the morning and go to the kitchen he skips over to the door and meows nonstop. I only let him because his form of skittish isn’t “bolt at the speed of light” it’s “drop to the ground as low as possible and slink to a safe place (my room)” so even if he does somehow run past me he’ll hit the stairs or grass and immediately stop and start crying.

[softspiderling]

catch me or i go (houdini) | r.c.

summary: rafe witnesses a skilled burglar in the middle of the burglary. also, he can’t quiet seem to stop putting his foot in his mouth when it comes to you

pairing: rafe cameron x reader

word count: 6,6k words oops

warnings: mention of peterkin and what rafe did to her, cursing

author's note: i was listening to houdini by dua lipa and somehow got inspired to write this. also kind of lost myself in this fic bc i enjoyed writing it so much. pls leave a comment/like if you liked it and reblog to share. ily!!!

“Are you sure you want to sell it off? We can put it in storage for you.”

Rafe waved the guy off, pushing a fifty in his hand. “It’s fine, just sell it for me, I don’t want to see it again, it’s gaudy as fuck.”

The guy, Jacob or whatever, scratched his head, but seemed pleased enough with the tip that he got into the car with the rest of his team, the trucks pulling off the property.

“Fucking finally,” Rafe sighed, running his hands over his buzzed hair. The renovation of the house was his first step of distancing himself from Ward and he started by getting rid of the ridiculous furniture Rose had chosen. While Rafe knew that it was going to be a pain redecorating, he’d live in the comfort of his own space, instead of being reminded of his psychotic stepmother whenever he sat in the living room. Rafe was about to go back inside when he heard a loud crash coming from Mr. Jenkins’ property. He hesitated for a split second. Rafe never really liked Mr. Jenkins, he was a nosy motherfucker and always liked to call the sheriff’s department when the parties got a little louder than usual. But if that old fuck died right now only to be found like a few weeks later? That stench would probably sit in his nose for months. So might as well be proactive now.

Ducking between the bushes - he really needed to call the guy who trimmed their greens - Rafe jogged over to Mr. Jenkins’ property, slowing his pace when he reached the property line.

“Mr. Jenkins?” he called, trying to sneak a glance into the house, without being spotted at the same time. It’d just be his luck that Mr. Jenkins shot him in the face for evading his property.

Nothing.

Served him right for trying to do the right thing.

Rafe turned on his heel, ready to return home when he caught movement in the second story window: Someone was climbing out of the window.

Reacting quickly, Rafe ducked beneath the bushes, hiding as he watched a girl shut the window behind her, tiptoeing across the patio roof and then scaling down the gutter, all the while carrying a huge backpack. She must’ve robbed Mr. Jenkins’ house, based on her dark clothing and the red bandana covering half of her face.

Rafe’s curiosity was piqued, and he didn’t even hesitate to follow her as she snuck off the property through the yard. He kept in the shadows, not wanting to alert her to his presence as she kept a rather slow pace to keep the attention off of her. Rafe followed her a few blocks down the neighborhood, until she took a left turn into a small, dark alley, but he hid behind the corner of a house when she stopped, pulling the bandana off. Rafe stared at the side of her face, knowing he’d seen her somewhere before, but not quite remembering where from. The lighting was also not helping, as he barely could make out her features in the shadows, while she tugged a floral shirt out of the backpack, throwing it over her black top. After having fixed her outfit, she kept walking, and right as Rafe stepped out behind the house, his foot caught onto an empty glass bottle, making an unnecessary loud noise.

Rafe froze, noticing how her shoulders tensed, barely looking over her shoulder, before taking off in a sprint.

“Wait!” He called, probably the dumbest thing he could have said, running after her but even before rounding the second right corner, she disappeared.

“Fuck,” he muttered to himself, looking around, hoping to catch a glimpse of her, but nothing. One of his neighbors was outside tending to her flowers, giving him a weird look. Rafe only let out a polite chuckle, giving her a wave before he turned on his heel, making his way back home.

“How the fuck did she just disappear into thin air?” He muttered to himself. As he walked through his gate, he couldn’t help to peek over to Jenkins’ house if the old man was home already, but the house was still dark. Rafe tried to get back to work looking at new furniture, but his mind kept going back to the thief. As the sun started to set Rafe finally heard Jenkins’ Aston Martin pull into his drive way, and he figured it wouldn’t take long until the sheriff’s department showed up.

Minutes went by, then hours, and Rafe started to wonder if there was some other case Shoupe had to attend to, must be a real big case if he couldn’t even spare one deputy to check out Jenkins. Then again, Rafe would’ve had heard about it. Kildare wasn’t that big. It was already dark by the time the sheriff’s car pulled up on the street. Shortly after, the bell rang and as inconspicuously as possible, Rafe opened the door, feigning surprise.

“Shoupe. What brings you here at this hour?”

The sheriff only looked at Rafe unimpressed. He was pretty sure that Shoupe still resented him for the entire Peterkin thing, but innocent until proven guilty, right?

“Rafe… There was a break in at Mr. Jenkins’ house and I’m just here to ask if you saw anything suspicious,” Shoupe said, flipping open a small notepad.

Rafe rubbed his chin, sighing. “A break in huh? That sucks. I haven’t heard anything, though, sorry that I am of no help. What was stolen?”

“Jewelry that belonged to his late wife. The thief broke into the safe and completely emptied it. Took all the cash, too,” Shoupe said, scribbling something down on his notepad before looking at Rafe again.

“Bummer… I’ll let you know though, if I happen to remember something,” Rafe added.

Shoupe let out a grunt, stuffing his notepad away and turned to leave. Rafe stood in the doorway, hesitating, before calling out.

“Hey Shoupe.”

He turned around, raising a brow at Rafe.

“What took you guys so long?”

“What do you mean, son? We got here as soon as Mr. Jenkins called us.”

Huh.

“Really?” Rafe said, thinking. “Sorry, I just thought Mr. Jenkins has been home for a while now and you’re just now questioning me. Was wondering how fast you would get here if I had a problem.”

Shoupe eyed him suspiciously. “Mr. Jenkins didn’t notice the break in until an hour ago, his security system was active when he got home, so he had no reason to suspect anything…. You sure you didn’t see anything?”

“Positive,” Rafe insisted. “Have a good night, Shoupe.”

The sheriff stood on the porch for another second before he left with a small headshake, leaving Rafe with his thoughts as he shut the door. The thief must have been a pro. Bypassing the security system and taking just enough to delay the sheriff’s department from investigating? That wasn’t an easy feat. To say that Rafe was intrigued was an understatement. The way she moved with such stealth and precision proved how she knew her way around sneaking in and out. There was no way this was her first hit. He wondered what motivated her to rob the house, if she was just a plain poor Pogue, or a Kook, doing it for the thrill of it.

Rafe had to find out more about the thief. Even two drinks in, he still had to think about her. And when he set his mind on something - or someone - there was no getting past it. He knew it was going to haunt him until he figured it out. Figure her out. Problem was, how the fuck would he? Right, Kildare wasn’t that big, but it wasn’t like he could just waltz around looking for her either. And chances are she was just some tourist, looking for some fun. Before he could start forming a plan to find out who she wa, his phone buzzed, distracting him.

Top: scarlet’s throwing a party tonite. u in?

Rafe thumbed at his screen, having half a mind to decline the invitation, but when he looked up, taking in the empty room, he almost got depressed. Why was he sitting on the fucking floor, thinking about some random girl he was probably never going to see again? Downing the last of his drink, he texted Top that he’d see him at Scarlet’s.

By the time Rafe arrived, the party was already in full swing. Weaving through the crowd, he greeted the familiar faces, gravitating towards the living room where he knew Scarlet’s father kept the expensive stuff.

“Hey Rafe!”

Lifting his head, he saw Topper on the couch with some girl, waving him over. Rafe took his time walking over, because what was he, a dog?

“’sup Top,” he greeted his friend with a light slap to the shoulder. “Give me your drink.”

“Alright, damn bro,” Topper said, handing Rafe his drink, before gesturing over to you, introducing you to him. Rafe gave you a nod as you smiled shyly at him, not bothering to exchange pleasantries. The last thing he needed right now was you simpering over him, no matter how pretty you were.

“Right, so where were we…” Topper said, apparently picking up the previous conversation you were having before Rafe joined them. “Are you leaving for university anytime soon?”

“Uh… No. I could go, but I don’t want to leave my mom all by herself, you know,” you answered, tucking your hair behind your ear. You looked like you’d rather be anywhere else but at this party. Rafe gave you a quick once over as he sipped on Topper’s drink. You were pretty, he figured. Maybe a bit mousy for his taste, with the shirt under your dress and a denim jacket on top? Other girls your age would have worn only the dress and maybe even cut a slit in it, just for the sake of it. Rafe’s brows furrowed as he looked at you more closely, pausing.

“… I know you?”

Topper gave him a very unsubtle look as he chuckled awkwardly, trying to play his friend’s rudeness off, while you just sat there, your back ramrod straight, smiling at him bashfully.

“She used to go to school with us? Then uh… Transferred during her senior year.”

Squinting his eyes at you, Rafe tried to think back to his school years, before realizing.

“Right, your dad embezzled like millions of dollars from his company right?”

Topper cleared his throat, looking up at the ceiling and you only smiled tightly at Rafe, the corners of your mouth not quite reaching your eyes.

“Um.. I think I’ll grab a drink, Topper,” you said, excusing yourself, quickly disappearing between the people. Topper waited until you disappeared to elbow Rafe into the side, who only smirked into his drink.

“What’s her deal?”

“Are you joking?” Topper asked with a sigh, pinching his nose. “You can’t just say shit like that man, it’s obvious she’s embarrassed. Why would you bring up her father?”

“Get off your high horse, it’s not like I embezzled a bunch of money,” Rafe huffed, shoving Topper off of him with an eyeroll. He knew that Topper was frustrated with him, but honestly, why would he care if he hurt your feelings. Topper inhaled deeply and Rafe just knew that an lecture was incoming.

“She’s a good kid. Lives just on the outskirts of the Cut now with her mom. I guess they can still afford to live on Figure 8, but her and her mother are too embarrassed to come back after all of their money was seized and her father got locked up in jail. Which is probably why we never see her around. Now, we’re definitely going to see her less because you’re such a dick.”

Rafe was only half-listening to Topper, processing what he had just been told, the gears in his head turning.

“Wait, what?” he asked, sitting up straight and looked at Topper, finally taking the conversation seriously. “How would they still be able to afford living on Figure 8 when all of their assets were seized?”

Topper shrugged his shoulders. “How the hell should I know? I’m just telling you what she told me.” He glanced to the back and paused, before looking back to Rafe. “She’s coming back. Just… Think before you speak.”

If this was any situation, Rafe would’ve probably bit Topper’s head off for being told what to do, but for once, Rafe decided to lean back and listen. A short while later, you slipped past a kissing couple, joining them on the couch, holding onto a red solo cup with both hands.

“What kind of toxic waste did Scarlet mix you?” Rafe asked as some sort of peace offering.

“Oh this?” you lifted your cup, laughing awkwardly. “It’s juice. Don’t really like alcohol.”

Rafe almost choked on his whiskey, and he let out a cough, trying to hide his surprise while Topper only leaned his head back with an exasperated look on his face, you only stared at him with an open mouth.

“Sorry, went down the wrong pipe.”

After that, Rafe didn’t ask you that much, letting Topper lead the conversation and instead just soaking up information about you. In the brief interaction he had with you, Rafe somehow got the feeling that you didn’t like him that much. He didn’t even know why.

Okay, he knew why. But honestly, he was just asking what everyone would ask, right?

When Rafe got home from Scarlet’s, he didn’t know that much more from you. After he really started paying attention to you, he realized that you never really divulged that much information about yourself, despite answering all of the questions. You were much smarter than Rafe had previously assumed. He wondered how many people you had fooled. But all of this was still a theory, and he had to put that to a test.

The next day, Rafe spent his morning asking the neighborhood about your family, disguising it as friendly neighborhood chatter and it was really far too easy. If there was one thing one needed to know about the people living on Figure 8 is, that they loved to yap.

“- just dreadful. That poor girl. Her mother took her out of the academy in her senior year and now they live next to Franklin Stewart on the other side of the island…” Susannah shook her head as she feigned distress, but Rafe didn’t believe an ounce of the compassion she was showing. She used to be best tea buddies with Rose, that really said it all.

“Oh man… I really hope her family is doing alright,” Rafe said stuffing his hands in his pockets. “Anyways… Thanks for the chat, Mrs. Cooper. I’ve kept you long enough.”

She only waved him off with an obnoxious laugh, “Please, don’t you worry about it. Give Rose my best wishes, okay?”

Rafe gave her a smile, which immediately dropped as soon as he turned to leave. “What a bitch,” he muttered under his breath, walking back to his house. At least it paid off having to talk to Susannah, since he now knew where you lived. He didn’t ponder over it long before he got on his bike, riding over to the Cut. As the mansions and well groomed front yards slowly turned smaller, one might say modest, he couldn’t imagine downgrading from Figure 8 to the cut. Though, now that he thought about it, he figured his family was pretty close from having to give up their life on the north side of the island. Rafe let his bike roll to a stop when he reached Franking Stewart’s house, laying his eyes on the only neighboring house.

It was pretty okay for a house on the Cut. Still on the cut, though.

He took off his helmet, placing it on his bike and getting off, walking in front of his house, contemplating his next move, when the door suddenly opened and a person exited. For a split second, he thought it was you, but upon closer inspection, he realized that it was your mother. She tugged a sun hat on, before pausing when she saw Rafe on the street.

“Can I help you?”

Rafe rubbed the back of his neck.

“Uh, sorry. I didn’t mean to bother you… I’m Rafe, a friend of your daughters…” He said, approaching the house to avoid yelling all over the street.

Your mother beamed at him. “Really? I barely get to meet any of my daughter’s friends. She’s not home right now, but would you like to come in for a glass of lemonade?”

Rafe hesitated. On the one hand, it would be a perfect opportunity to find out more about your situation, and if you really were the thief like he suspected. On the other hand, if you happened to come home while he was still there, you’d immediately know that there was something going on. Then again, high risk, high reward?

“Sure, I’d love to.”

Rafe followed your mother into your quaint home, and while your mother was blabbering away, he took the time looking around the kitchen.

“- she’s a good girl, bless her. A bit too serious, though. I always try to encourage her to live a little, you know?” your mother handed Rafe a glass of ice cold lemonade, which he gladly accepted. He was a sucker for a good old homemade lemonade.

“She is a bit shy,” Rafe agreed with your mother, only making her laugh.

“And very headstrong. Which is why it’s so hard for me to get her to change her mind on anything. I’m just so upset that she took the whole thing with her father so hard… The burden of that really shouldn’t fall on her shoulders. Ever since we moved out here, she got more withdrawn, angry. I know she’s still upset, but I really feel like she’d be happier if she got out of her shell again.”

Hm. Maybe you were stealing to help your mother pay the bills, help your family stay afloat.

“Yeah, I’d know a thing or two about that.”

Your mother laid her eyes on Rafe, smiling sadly.

“I was very sad to hear about your father’s passing. I didn’t know him very well, but I’m sure he was a good man.”

Rafe almost scoffed, because only if she knew, but the noise died in his throat when your mother gave him a shoulder squeeze, rubbing his back.

“I hope you’re alright, honey. It’s hard to lose a parent at such a young age.”

His hand tightened around his lemonade glass, the coldness somewhat settling him down. He hasn’t felt the touch of a caring parent for a long time. “Thank you,” he pressed out, giving your mother a stiff smile. “Um… I should go. Don’t want to cause any more of an inconvenience,” he said, standing up.

“Oh please, don’t worry about it, I always love to meet my daughter’s friends.”

Your mother led him out of the house, and when Rafe passed the staircase that lead upstairs, his eyes caught a very familiar floral shirt tossed carelessly on the bottom of the stairs. Your mother followed his eyesight, palming her forehead, embarrassed.

“Oh god, please forgive the mess. I always try to tell her to keep her things in order,” she quickly said, picking up the shirt and hanging it over her arm. Rafe however only waved her off, giving her a charming smile.

“Don’t worry about it, it’s just a shirt.”

After bidding good bye to your mother, Rafe drove to the nearest beach, shutting his bike off to take moment to process. The shirt confirmed his suspicion, you were the thief he saw breaking into Jenkins’ house. He still didn’t know what your motives for stealing were. It was clear to him that your mother was very open about what your father had done, and you still seemed to be doing fairly well, all things considered. Where you paying the bills with the shit you stole from other people’s houses? Rafe stared at to sea for a second, before he got an idea, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

rafe: anything going down tonight?

top: uh

top: i think there’s a party at the boneyard.

top: pogue party, tho

rafe: thats fine.

rafe: you think you can get your friend to come?

top: … why? so you can embarrass her some more?

rafe: just want a second chance, maybe apologize

top: i’ll see what i can do. no promises, tho

“So, why did you really want her to come?”

Rafe was aware that Topper didn’t even have to say your name for him to realize who he was talking about. Rafe took a sip from his drink, wincing a bit. While he did say that he didn’t care about the fact this was a pogue party, they did always buy the cheapest shit. He could feel Topper’s gaze on him, scrutinizing and a little suspicious.

“I didn’t really make a good first impression. Just thought it’d be nice to make amends,” he finally said, his eyes set on the crowd around the bonfire, studiously not looking at his friend.

“Amends, huh?” Topper replied, sounding not at all convinced. “You’ve never been the type to care about stuff like that, Rafe.”

Rafe shrugged, feigning nonchalance. “People change, Top.”

“Or they have ulterior motives,” Topper shot back almost immediately, and Rafe couldn’t help but grin at the accusation.

He finally looked up to meet Topper’s gaze, his eyes gleaming with amusement. “Can’t a guy try to be better without being accused of having a hidden agenda?”

Topper held his gaze for a moment longer before breaking into a grin himself, shaking his head in disbelief. "Just...don't mess with her, okay? She's been through enough."

Rafe raised his hands in surrender, his grin still in place. "Promise, Top. No messing around."

He did intend to make amends, but not for the reasons Topper thought. There were still so many questions Rafe needed answers to, and he was willing to play nice to get to them.

Topper only rolled his eyes at him, looking to the side for a bit. “Head’s up,” he muttered, before straightening his back, greeting you when you joined them.

“Hey guys,” you said, waving at them sheepishly.

Topper gave you a brief hug. “Hey, I was hoping you could make it. You remember, Rafe, right?”

“Yeah of course,” you replied, your voice light, but Rafe couldn’t help but think that your gaze somewhat hardened when you laid your eyes on him. He hoped that he was still able to salvage the relationship.

“Hey. Nice to see you again,” Rafe told you, giving you a charming grin. “You got anything to drink yet?” He looked pointedly at Topper, who stared back at him, his expression unmoving. Rafe inclined his head, raising his brow and Topper bit back a sigh, standing up.

“Let me get you something to drink. No alcohol, right?”

“Uh no, you don’t have to,” you insisted. “I’m not really thirsty anyways.”

Topper waved her off, lifting his own cup. “It’s fine. I need a refill anyway.” With that, Topper turned to leave, leaving you with Rafe.

“I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable the other night,” Rafe started and you looked at him in surprise, your eyes widened. “I might have been a bit insensitive, maybe a bit too forward. I’m really sorry.”

It felt like swallowing gravel, the over the top apology, but he hoped that it came across as sincere.

You let out a breath, your forehead pinched, like you were holding something back. He saw a flicker of something in your eyes, and he realized you didn’t buy a single thing he just said.

“It’s fine,” you then said, smiling at him and Rafe raised an eyebrow, seeing past your facade, though he had to admit that you were a good actor. If he couldn’t get close to you by being nice, it seemed like he had to resort to his back up plan

“We good, then?” he said, offering you his hand, which you shook, after hesitating for a brief second.

“Sure.”

You leaned back against the boulder Rafe was sitting on, and an uncomfortable silence settled over the two of you. Rafe considered throwing himself into the black water, when you finally spoke up.

“My mom told me you came by this morning.”

“Yeah, I was in the neighborhood and your mother saw me outside your house,” Rafe explained, glancing over at you. “Hope you didn’t mind that I called myself a friend.”

“It’s okay..” You trailed off, like you were about to add something else, but hesitating. Usually, he’d be fed up with people not speaking when they want to, but he was intrigued and figured he’d give you the time you needed to spit it out.

“What did you and my mom talk about?” you asked lightly, but Rafe knew how loaded the question actually was. He waited for a beat, sipping on his drink before he answered, enjoying playing with you.

“Not much, really. Just said how happy she was to meet one of your friends… She’s really nice,” he added and you gave him a wry smile.

“Thanks.”

Rafe paused for a beat.

“You guys are doing okay, right? Financially, I mean?”

You narrowed your eyes at him and he was praying to god he was pressing the right buttons.

“Yes. Why?”

“Was just wondering,” Rafe answered nonchalantly, shrugging with his shoulders. “I remember when Ward’s company hit a rough patch and we almost lost our house. But now, we’re better than I ever, and really appreciate my home and everything in it. I can’t even imagine how it feels like to lose everything just like that.”

He turned to look at you, catching how you were clenching your jaw and like the perfect friend he was, Topper returned with two cups in his hand.

“Hey, so they didn’t have juice, but I go-”

“I’m so sorry, Topper,” you said, interrupting him with a small smile. “I have to go. I forgot that I promised my mom I would help her with something early in the morning. But I really appreciate you inviting me out.”

“I- What?” Topper asked, confused but you only gave him a quick wave, almost ignoring Rafe entirely, before you left. Rafe would almost feel bad for pushing you, if he didn’t exactly know where you were going. Topper on the other hand, turned to his friend, glaring at him.

“Bro, what the fuck?”

Rafe drank the last of his drink, clapping Topper on the shoulder.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll explain soon. I gotta go, text you later, okay?”

He didn’t wait for a reply, tossing his empty cup into a trash bag and walking up the dune to get to his bike. Rafe took the straight way home, but decided to turn the engine off a few blocks before he got home, walking the rest of the way. The estate stood in darkness, not a single sound coming from it as he approached it, deciding to heave himself inside through a window, before deciding to wait.

It didn’t take long until he heard tinkering on the backdoor from the kitchen, then the unmistakable sound of the door clicking open. The door shut almost silently, and then quiet steps echoed over the marble floor. The moonlight shone through the window and that was the only reason Rafe saw you when you walked through the arched doorway of the living room. You froze mid step as you took in the complete lack of- well, anything.

When Rafe turned on the light, you barely reacted.

“How long have you known?” you asked with a sigh, pulling down the bandana, uncovering your face.

“Not long,” Rafe answered, as he leaned in the door way, his arms crossed. “You’re good at what you do, I’ll give you that. I was just paying attention.”

A range of emotions played on your feature - surprise, irritation, realization and then resignation.

“You saw me while I was in Mr. Jenkins’ house, didn’t you? You’re the one who was following me.”

Rafe merely raised an eyebrow and you groaned, pinching your nose.

“And you saw the shirt at my house. Damn it.”

Rafe smirked at your reaction. “So. Why are you doing this?”

Your eyes met his and Rafe actually saw a spark of defiance in them and for the first time, he actually believed you weren’t putting up an act. This was the real you.

“What’s it to you? It’s not like you’re planning on turning me in. Shoupe hates you more than he could ever hate me.”

“Well,” Rafe started, pushing off the door frame and walking over to you, “Let’s just say I’m curious. Clearly you’re a pro, but the question why is really bothering me. You need to pay the bills? Are you doing this for money?”

“What?” You asked, exasperated. “No, I told you, we’re doing fine financially.”

“Yeah ‘cause you’re such an honest person to come by.”

You gave him a look and only scoffed, turning on your heel to leave, but Rafe was quick to grab you by the wrist, holding you back.

“Don’t fucking touch me.”

“Fine,” Rafe snapped, releasing your wrist, his eyes burning into yours. “But you’re not just getting off this easily. You tried to fucking rob me, you at least owe me an explanation.”

“I wasn’t going actually fucking rob you!” You bit at him, glaring at him with a challenging look in your eyes. Then, you sighed and ran a hand through your hair, a weary expression taking over your face. “Okay! Okay. You want an explanation? Fine.”

Rafe was taken aback by your sudden cooperation, but he wasn’t going to let his surprise show. Instead, he raised an eyebrow at you, waiting for you to continue.

“I’m not doing this for money,” you started, your gaze fixed on a point somewhere over Rafe’s shoulder. “I’m doing this because… Because it’s the only way I can get back at the people who ruined my family.

You finally looked at him, your eyes hard. "The people we used to call friends, the people who claimed to care about us, they were the first ones to turn their backs on us when my father was arrested. They didn't waste a second before they started spreading rumors, tarnishing our family name even further."

Rafe was silent for a moment, processing your words. "So you're... what? Stealing from them as some sort of revenge?"

You shrugged, looking away.

“What about the stolen items? If you’re just keeping them, you’re not really that different from your father, are you?”

“What did you just say to me?”

Your nostrils flared and you glared at him, your eyes burning. Interesting. You stole from people who spread gossip about your family, but at the same time, you resented your father, and his actions, Rafe assumed.

“I sell that shit. I’m not getting caught with stolen items,” you then explained, rolling your eyes at him. “And then I give the money away.”

“Hold up, what?” Rafe paused you, frowning. “What you mean you’re “giving the money away”?”

“I don’t have time to tutor you in English.”

“Shit, you really were putting up a shy girl act, weren’t you?” Rafe huffed in disbelief, shaking his head. You rolled your eyes at him and he was speechless for a moment, not having expected your motive. Personally, he would never steal money just to give it away. Why go through all that trouble to gain nothing from it? He had to begrudge you though, you really had a pair of balls on you.

“I’m giving it to people who need it, people who live on the cut,” you elaborated with a sigh.

“You’re actually insane,” Rafe pointed out. He then froze, thinking. “So what were you planning on doing with the stuff you stole from me?”

“I don’t know,” you said with a shrug. “You were pissing me off and I just wanted to see how far I could get.”

Rafe rubbed his jaw, at loss for words. “You really are something, you know that?”

Your lips twitched in a small smile. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Figured you would.”

Rafe glanced over at you, taking in your figure, clad in dark clothes, red bandana still in hand. “So what now?”

You seemed to wonder the same, your gaze falling to the floor. “I don’t know,” you admitted. “I never thought I’d get caught, let alone by someone like you.”

Rafe tried to not get offended by that.

“Maybe I should get out of the game while I still can get away unscathed.”

“Sounds like a smart idea,” he said and you looked at him, biting your lip.

“Guess that’s my cue to leave, huh?”

Shrugging with his shoulders, Rafe made no move to stop you and nodded slowly, playing with the bandana in your hand.

“Cool… This was great,” you said, walking backwards. “Let’s not do it again.”

Rafe snorted and you turned around to leave, not before pausing, looking back at him.

“You’re not as bad as I thought you were, Rafe.”

With a grin, you disappeared into the hallway, no doubt leaving just the way you entered the house, leaving Rafe in the empty living room. That was the last time he saw you for a long time. Topper bombed him with questions, wanting to know what happened, but Rafe waved him off, not wanting to spill secrets that weren’t his to tell, but assured him that the two of your resolved your problems. For a while, Rafe though that you had gone against your words and just kept robbing people, but he hadn’t heard any chatter about any unsolved cases. For a while, Rafe thought that you had moved to the main land, but he happened to bump into your mother on a random afternoon, where she promptly thanked him for being such a good influence on you - which left him really bewildered. Because him? A good influence? He really didn’t want to know what that even meant.

When three months passed without a single sight of you, Rafe started to believe that you were avoiding him. Sure, you lived on the other side of the island, but again; Kildare wasn’t that big. He was bound to see you around at least once a month. Rafe wasn’t even exactly sure why it bothered him so much that he hadn’t seen you. Like, okay, he was curious about your story and the motives behind your burglaries at first, but he figured it all out, right? Rafe shouldn’t be wanting to see you anymore. Maybe he should ask Topper about you. But then again, the last time he did, it ended with you walking off.

“What, run out of girls to torment?”

Rafe lifted his head, surprised to see you grinning at him. He blurted out your name in shock like an idiot. He was so deep in thoughts, he hadn’t even notice you approaching him as he was sitting outside on the patio at Kelce’s party.

“What are you doing here?”

“It’s a party, what does one do at a party?” you answered, plopping down on the couch next to him, throwing your legs in his lap like you’ve done it 100 times before. You looked different, too, your outfit wildly contrasting to the nice girl from next door outfit you were wearing at Scarlet’s party. Rafe tried to hide his perplexity by plucking the cup out of your hand, taking a big swig, expecting juice or maybe a coke and nearly choked when he realized it was vodka cran (more vodka than cran).

“The hell?” Rafe coughed, giving you a side eye. “I thought you didn’t drink alcohol?”

“Whatever made you think that?”

You reclaimed your cup, drinking from it like it was water, giving him a coy smile. Rafe ducked his head, smirking. So this is what your mother meant by good influence? You seemed less angry, more comfortable in your skin, like you had unburdened yourself from protecting your family’s reputation.

“Well, you definitely should get your liver checked out if you’re making this a regular occurrence.”

“Yeah, pot, kettle,” you shot back, holding your cup out of his reach when he lunged for it again. If Topper happened to walk out to the patio to see Rafe and you bickering again, he didn’t mention it.

And just like that, you fit yourself into his life like you had always been part of it.

There was rarely a morning when you weren’t in the kitchen when Rafe came downstairs in the morning, never questioning how you got in, building stacks and stacks of pancakes with ingredients from his pantry. You even helped him pick out the new furniture for the house, as the rooms of the Cameron estate slowly filled with interior.

The biggest work in progress was the living room, and Rafe scrolled on his laptop looking for a couch that was big enough and fit in with the rest of the decor of the house. You were sitting on the outdoor sofa next to him, your legs thrown over the arm rest like a damn pogue.

“What about this?” Rafe said, flipping his laptop around to show you the white couch with gold lining. It looked classy and he thought it fit right in with the new wall colors.

You glanced at it, shrugging, before doing a double take, frowning.

“That’s tacky as hell.”

“You know, I think I liked you better when you were acting like you were shy,” Rafe sniffed with a dirty look in your direction, keeping on scrolling. You only snickered, picking up another piece of pineapple on the fork, eating it.

“I don’t think you do.”

Rafe ignored you, frowning at his computer screen as he continued his search. It was harder than expected, and at this point he wondered if it would be easier to hire an interior designer.

“Hey Rafe.”

“What?”

Rafe kept his eyes on the screen, not moving an inch, when you suddenly leaned over, leaning your hands on his thighs and pressing your lips against his in a soft, but very decisive kiss. He let out a soft grunt, not having expected it, before he kissed you back, momentarily forgetting his search for furniture. You licked into his mouth briefly, before pulling away, grinning at him as he furrowed his brows at you.

“Still like me better shy?”

author's note: did you like it?🥹

[omies-odd-writing-spot]

Lifeboat 13 Good Luck Fairy

Story also on Ao3! Have some cozy GT? [will ad link once Ao3 is back up] (Also I'm shamelessly yonking @horseyneigh2002 's idea from their ADDC story about unraveling fabric for string <.< >.> ;3 hi fren!)

.

All things considering, Lana was impressed with what had been done with her new space so far. She had to giggle to herself a little bit at a few things. At how the offered ‘long tables’ were consistently the same size. As well as just being better counters rather than tables. Very stable too. 

A little bit of color difference between them, but Lana had a little kitchen corner. Not so much running water but had several clean jars with lids that had water for now. Including one larger one near the door that was more like a…pool? Small pool, not really a tub, but Lana could lift the thin lid to scoop any water out when needed. Only thing was that there was no inside bathroom, but Lana did not mind having to walk out and around the crate a bit to the new little ‘out house’ if it was needed. 

Lana walked around the space, not really home as she knew it, but it was almost like it. She even rearranged several of the counter tables to put all the pumpkins on them. The young woman snorted a bit, pausing to look, it was honestly not that different from the ‘empty’ family condo she lived in. Lots of room for cooking and plants, and her bed hidden in a corner.

It was probably the first time Lana had a bed that was queen sized, instead of a twin. Some of the scraps of fabric Sesa had gotten were carefully cut to make loose sheets, and another thicker cloth was working as a blanket. It was nicely heavy at least, and would be hopefully warm at night. 

Lana looked over at the door, smiling at the not so little to her pattern of green and blue swirls. Something that might have been an accident in dyeing for the giant weavers but, Lana loved the tie dyed like look. Enough that the rest of the ‘scraps’ had become sheets, and after that folded to be set aside. Lana got up and walked over to pick up one of the folded bundles unfolding and then walked over to what would be her dining table, carefully spreading it out and smiled at the swirling shades. 

It was a nice color to stand out against the wood all around, and once the dishes were all placed on the table it could be cute.

Not that Lana had a lot to be picky about, but the splash of color was helpful. Dishes were a bit miss-matched over all, Sesa had seemed mildly alarmed about that after she recovered from the idea, new concept, about pumpkin pie. Lana was highly amused as she walked around the still mostly open space. Debating on how to use the support pillars now to the sides, half tempted to add some of the cloth on those too.

Distant sounds drew Lana’s attention away and back to the present. She stood up, hesitated, realized there really should be a door in the ‘back’ of the crate. Lana would have to ask Sesa about that, she peered outside the door. Hesitated at taking in just the massive scale of the room again. 

Not as bad as early that morning after Lana woke up, but the scale was so… odd. Lana looked around at the cabin, pretty sure a whole neighborhood could be on Sesa’s big dining table. Pausing to grin wide at the tray that now had many ‘small’ flightless birds, lingering to look at the silly and temporary ‘front yard’ that was in front of the crate. 

Lana leaned on the side again, still feeling that bemused and awed feeling watching the almost turkey sized creature. She had seen dinosaurs yesterday, and sea monsters fished, but watching Sesa trying so hard an hour ago to move ‘garden birds’ from the pots with trees to the tray had been… hilarious. Though seeing live, chittering dodos had finally sealed the reality that Lana was just… not home. Being in what very much in a different world, not just she spontaneously gotten smaller. 

Plus, the Lifeboat was the same size too.

At least the dodos seemed happy to scratch around in the giant tray looking for bugs or something else to nibble on. Lana stood up, recognizing that there were a few new eggs compared to what she had found in the pots before Sesa stepped outside. Three of the dodos were still firmly settled on the nests that had been moved.

Were dodos like chickens to lay an egg a day? Somehow? Lana tried to remember any information on dodos, just coming up with they were from an isolated island.

Or… did dodos originally come from here? Yotin?

That was an interesting thought.

Did some mega fauna come from Yotin, or came to it from earth?

The young woman got up to walk around the crate, thinking about this. The dodos had water and should be fine. Lana sighed as she eyes the big crate, she definitely needed to ask her host about a back door. It was tolerable to get to the ‘outhouse’ and could be dealt with like this. Yet it would differently get to be a pain real fast if Lana found any food she was sensitive to here. Walking around the crate took a minute, leaving Lana in a surprisingly calm cubby-like space. With the warm tones and textures of the wood now behind her, the earthy tones of the towering clay pots on either side.

The light that came in was warm too. As if softened, like through a canyon, the pots even had some color differences in the sides. Like a little hidden pocket of a back in the city but with a view of greenery and sky over the edge of the windowsill. It took a minute or so to walk around the semi sheltered space, letting her imagination go wild for a bit.

Would there be prisms here? 

The warm tones and cubby but still big, to Lana, space would be really pretty with rainbows in the morning.

Would there be prisms that could be used inside the crate?

Lana walked over to the warm windowsill, the just massive table she and her new home were on, was right against the wall, with barely a foot of space between the edge and the wall. The sill had an edge that hung over the table though by a few feet, and Lana was just able to fold her arms over it and peer at the window. The vast panes of thick glass did not have as much of a tint to it as the smaller glass jars in the crate, or the jug of water Sesa liked.

How was she going to climb up there?

Lana made a face, the edge of the sill was almost at neck height. She could even sit up to peer at the Not impossible to climb up on, just uncomfortable. Lana sat back, looking around and then peered outside. Seeing Sesa moving around the outside of the barn building.

The giant woman seemed to have her attention caught, and was focusing on something to Lana's far left as if she heard something. Out of sight of the window, but for a moment the human paused trying to climb as she stared at Sesa. With the distance again it was easier to take in some of the details of the giant woman that were lost on Lana when up close and small enough to fit in a hand.

Sesa had paused at noticing whatever, mid motion of taking out the impressive braid. It showed that what Lana noticed before was true. Sesa had recently lost a lot of weight, still had muscle but it seemed leaner then she should be. How her shirt was not fitting just right. That there was not a lot of good fat on the bigger woman, in the face, in the arms.

Lana lowered her arms, holding the edges of the windowsill. Suddenly reminded of how an aunt that had cancer and had lost weight rapidly.

Only Sesa did not have that underlying sickness, but had lost weight. How bad was the last ‘bad winter' really? Lana wondered as Sesa pulled her now loose hair into a loose ponytail. Calling out to something out of sight before moving. The giant woman looked confused but not seemingly upset or offended by whatever it was. If anything, Sesa looked startled before brightening up and calling out.

“Hello traveler!” Sesa called, voice just making it through the thick glass, but not the words of a second voice. Lana froze after a few seconds, sliding down and stopped trying to get on the windowsill.

Curious about what was happening, but not wanting to be spotted by a stranger. Lana looked around, but there was not anything to stand on. Lana grasped the edge of the sill again to peer over, seeing the fencing around the barn. It was built into the trees that were as big as Sesa, and bigger trees, making a paddock for the Parua. 

Buck was coming trotting over from farther away inside that paddock. Two other purua were by the fence (the girls?), having been getting attention. Buck was letting out a long luu-ing sound that Lana could hear through the glass. Sesa was listening to who must be talking but it was just a murmur around other animal sounds.

Curiosity finally won out and Lana jumped a few times. Looking around and trying to find some hand holds in the wood of the windowsill, Lana paused and walked to her far left. The outhouse was to the right. Using the edge of the pot to help brace against and slowly climb up to the windowsill, pausing to catch her breath. It was notably a little warmer here on the windowsill even though the sun was no longer directly shining against the glass. It was comfortable warmth up here, Lana decided as she looked at the space behind the crate from this angle. 

Looking up, Lana could see a tree hanging over the pot she was by, it looked like a pretty old willow that was very happy. Even starting to bloom on one side. The few trees Lana had glimpsed in the pots above seemed to be just as happy. 

She could not wait to see the trees in the smaller pots the dodos came out of. Lana was pretty sure that she had spotted two apple trees. 

Lana realized the windowsill would be a good place to try growing some of the pumpkins. The wood containers were being soaked in water in the sink across the cabin in the kitchen. There should be something to fill the gaps in them. Hell the acorn-like shells could be turned into decent sized pots to get plants started. Sesa seemed confident to be able to make or get more of the, to her giant self, berry containers. 

The muffled sounds of outside the window drew Lana's attention back to why she climbed up. She did not get up, watching in fascination as a wagon like Sesa's was being pulled into the open space between house and barn. Only it seemed newer and longer, needing a pair of big Parua to pull it. The new giant seemed like a woman too from the distance, stepping down from the loaded wagon. She was dressed in a leather jacket and was a good head and shoulders shorter than Sesa. It looked like cages were stacked up inside the wagon, like wood framed kennels almost, with two or three ‘small' creatures inside. To the giants in scale, and with the distance, it was like rabbits were inside the cage-kennels. 

There was also another dinosaur type following the wagon. 

…triceratops?!

Lana forgot to listen as she crawled over to the vast glass window. Focused on the creatures, taking in the quadrupede stance. They were bouncing around the open space, even the three adults that were twice as big as what must be juveniles. They were all happy to have new space to play, and nibble on the grass and corn mix. 

Maybe not triceratops, but they were relatively short, being at most knee high to the stranger and shin height to Sesa. Colorful crests were on the adults, flashes of metallic purple, orange and dots of red that Lana could see from the house. With smaller little horns on the colorful crest, not the head. The adults were a mottled color pattern of brown, black and thick golden stripes down the back. The half sized juveniles were darker, a black or dark brown shade with gold or silver spots down their sides. Not unlike how chicks were different colors from parents.

There had to be eight or ten little ones, they were, well, frolicking around too much to do a good head count from Lana’s spot. Almost like goat antics from the agriculture college. It had Lana smiling before looking over to catch the bemused expression on Sesa as she talked to the stranger. Now that there were no lifted voices to call out, it was almost impossible to hear words. 

Lana looked around, trying to see if there was an opening anywhere in the window but it was very solidly made. She looked back to watch how the stranger was waving at the wagon, and the interest that Sesa was showing while talking.

For a moment, Lana wondered what they were talking about. Then facepalmed after that moment. The animals, duh. Sesa was motioning to the ones bouncing around, then turned to look up at the mountains that took up half the sky. She asked a question turning back, and Lana could imagine the same curios but dry tone sesa had in the stores they had been in. 

The stranger seemed to be highly amused, waving at the not triceratops dinosaurs. The body language seemed like she was making an offer that was done many times. Then shifted to shock as the taller woman just nodded, likely with her agreeing sound.

There was a long moment before the stranger seemed to ask something. Sesa turned and pointed at the back of the wagon, likely wanting something in there as well. The stranger stared, and then lit up as she laughed in clear delight and got very animated compared to Sesa. Who looked very confused about the reaction, but not offended.

Lana smiled at the look Sesa had. This giantanic, impressive woman that fished for sea monsters…and all but gave fish to kids, really did not know much about interacting with her own people. Better with one on one like now compared to when Sesa had gone through that farmer's market like space.

Sesa was hesitant with Lana too, but that seemed to be nervous about her size. 

Hermit indeed.

Lana blinked where she sat by the window. Wondering if her host was a severe introvert. That would make sense. Lana guessed whatever stories Sesa heard about ‘bitta' made it easier to talk with her.

Also riding in someone's bra was weird, but kind of effective bonding time. Heat aside.

Lana turned her attention back to watching the interaction outside. Smiling as she was able to watch Sesa as her and the stranger talked about likely trade. How the stranger looked at her Parua, and then the excited Buck, Lana wondered if the trade would be a stud fee. Or stud cover? 

The two Parua pulling the stranger’s wagon looked like the girls with Buck on the paddock. Somewhat smaller, not having the arch in Buck’s neck after his shoulders. Just not nearly as round as the pregnant… cows? 

Sesa waved at the now contentedly grazing creatures that were almost but not quite triceratops. Then the barn with a head tilt. Both her and the stranger walked into the massive barn, after the wagon was secured. Brakes? Some of the creatures happily followed the two giant women, the smallest it looked like. While the three biggest were now fully focused on grazing on what Lana was sure was more one that wild growing, and altered corn. Some stalks seemed even bigger than from where Lana had been gathering on the side of the road the evening before.

Lana hoped she could get some ears of corn from those bigger plants. Having some seeds from them, able to test the growth rate and yield. The corn so far was colorful and a few ripe, not dried out, pieces she tried were still sweet.

There was likely enough corn mixed in with the tall grass in Sesa's yard to make her giant host some cornbread and just… another truck load after that.

Corn she knew could get upwards to ten or twelve feet on the larger scale. Some stalks that Lana was seeing to the side of the yard were about that high without any flowers or ears yet. 

Lana wanted to explore out there as she got up on the windowsill. Not wanting to find more of the aggressive, hungry wildlife though. Exploring outside of the tentative safe of Sesa’s home did not seem wise. Hell, getting off the table as in going down on the ground level was more than a bit daunting. Lana was okay with staying at this level for now. Walking along the windowsill was enough adventure on her own for now, and Lana got a better look outside and of the room once she was past the planting pots in the middle third of the table. She made it to the far left of the window, getting to see the side of what looked like a garden space. 

Big leaves of squash plants spilling over and through a fence. Big enough to match the giant squash now on the kitchen counter, and Lana giggled at the realization that she could likely fit inside some of the flowers she could just barely see.

Lana wondered if those flowers were edible too, like what she was used to. Hells they were big enough the pedals might be used like noodles, or dumpling wrappings.

Did sesa like stuffed squash flowers?

Now Lana was hungry again at the thought of what could be done with one blossom.

…Could she make tea with the flowers? She had some edible flowers in her seed collection in her backpack. Like marigolds, camomile and some pansies. Some sunflower seeds too.

How does one hand pollinate sunflowers?

Lana froze at the thought, and at catching movement outside. She slowly sat down as the two giant women were back at the wagon talking. The stranger seemed to be in full explanation mode, Sesa's attention fully on her. While at the same time, Lana was doing a mentalist of what seeds she had, knew what could be hand pollinated, what was possible but hard to do like tomatoes that needed a soft paint brush.

Lana reached up, touching her short hair, wondering if she could use her hair to make something like a brush for pollinating. Then trying to remember what was needed for hand pollination. She had been a part of a side group project, going over the theoretical ideas of farming in something like Fallout. 

The young woman pulled her legs up, settled on the windowsill to watch the giants again. Tensing as the stranger looked at the house and window. Pointing at the house, motioned to the wagon and at a crate. 

The stranger missed Lana just sitting in the corner. Was she too small? Just still enough in the corner to be missed? Sesa did not seem to see her either.

While the stager was turned away, Lana moved to the side of the windowsill. Made sure the distance was the same as well as the table was still there before sliding off and back down to the table. Just in case she would rather not be the novelty ‘fairy 'bitta' to sma stranger. It was hard enough to wrap her mind around the idea that Sesa saw her like that, but at least her new… friend? Guardian? Did not keep fussing about it. If anything sesa seemed comfortable to start teasing a bit.

Lana really did not feel like good luck, she felt no different than normal. Yet Sesa was oddly sure about it.

Looking around the cabin from this new vantage point. She only walked the full length of the table earlier in the morning, before Sesa woke up. It felt good to walk, though it was not a hiking trail. Still a good flat hike. Lana covered the open distance to the things Sesa had tried to neatly stack there earlier. What looked like crafting supplies, even an open woven box of some fabric scraps for a giant. One was a familiar texture that Lana could feel between the cracks of the weaved material. 

She hesitated, debating on climbing up. Sesa said they can use any of these things that were set aside for now, for her new home. It was just moved aside until the crate and planter ‘pots’ were in their permanent home once the crate was settled. Lana took a breath and got a good hand hold, then second a one, bed climbing up the side of the container. Basket? 

Lana could peek outside, hearing laughter from the giants. But they were going back into the bar with the rest of the creatures that had been grazing. Each had a crate in each hand, well the stranger was carrying two cages, Sesa was managing two in each hand. Another six storage crates were stacked in the front yard near the cabin porch. Lana flopped into the basket of fabrics and could not help but giggle. Then gasped as she found something that was a good few yards long for her but soft like silk.

The young woman pointedly did not want to know what made the silk yet. That was for later when her curiosity got the better of Lana. She hoped it was something like silk moths, not anything like spiders. 

Giant spiders did not sound good for Lana's health. 

Lana settled to keep an ear out for the cabin's main door. Just in case she needed to hide if the stranger came in. For a little bit distracted by unburying the fabric she had spotted before, setting pieces aside, or carefully tossing fabric that would be useful for her lol into one spot. Lana made herself inadvertently a not so little hiding spot when she tugged a nice long piece of fabric… lace? It seemed like something that had been trimmed off the more Lana studied it. The price was at least as long as her arm span. So around five feet and change? Maybe a bit bigger, and some three feet wide?

Lana ran her hands over the very loose weave, able to tease one long thread off the long side, it was not thread thing as she knew, but compared to Sesa, it seemed very light and thin, if not delicate in comparison. Lana rubbed the string over her fingers, coming up with the memory of playing with the string used on animal feed bags. 

Something useful.

Lana was only half aware of what she could use it for, but something subconscious was trying to poke her brain. It was partly lost in translation, so to say, but the idea should pop up later. The loose string was wrapped up and put in her back pocket. That piece of loosely woven cloth was tossed to the keep pile. 

It took a bit to finally get down to the spot the woman found the thicker, warm fabric, having to unbury it. It was almost like the fluffy expensive towels, but bigger than Lana. There were a few pieces of it!

One longer piece reminded Lana of long runner rugs, and she wrapped herself up in the fabric. Angle to imagine having a nice big towel, and something on the ground beside her bed. If she had a nice rug or two she might not have to worry about splinters.

Maybe there would be some equivalent of… polish or coating. What did people use to make wood floors smooth and splinter free?

Lana puzzled over that, unable to resist smuggling down in the massive pile of clothes until she was comfortable. The not so sudden temptation to take a nap was very strong, as Lana had been awake since just before dawn after all. She shifted in the basket, sitting beside the wall of it and giggled despite herself. Taking advantage of the softness all around to just relax. Lana peeked through the weave of the basket to the window, spotting movement of the stranger and Sesa walking up to the porch with those storage crates. 

She pulled another few more clothes over her, Lana wanting to hide from this stranger still. Instinct maybe, something whisperung in the back of the mind that just because Sesa was kind so far, did not mean that the other gigantic beings were nice. If not being giant predators of some sort. 

Hells, if humans were technically endurance predators, what did that make these giants? Sesa could eat raw sea monsters after all. 

Lana was grateful for her hiding soloist as she heard muffled voices before the main door opened.

“-inside is the best place Sesa, the eggs need a stable temperature. Most of these I've candled already as firtal. Oh looks like you just came clack from town. Nice!” The stranger's sude loud voice had Lana jumping a bit, but she held her breath a moment to not yip. This new person was placing a storage crate on the floor beside the others. 

It was longer and a bit shorter than those that Sesa had made. About half or two thirds the height from what Lana could tell. Looser so to say with gaps between the slats that showed some kind of straw. Lana wanted to investigate what kind of straw, or grasses would be in there not with the stranger here as she took the crate from Sesa's hands to carefully stack on the others. 

“Most of these will hatch in two, or three groups.” She was saying, “you'll need something with solid walls and shallow water. You can fence in a section of your front yard that has soft grasses and ferns for the chicks. If one of the older girls can get in they might adopt the chicks. Oh and be sure to handle the chicks as much as you can to imprint them on you.”

“And they won't bother the parua?” sesa asked, worried as she scanned around. Looking for Lana on the dining table. 

The stranger mistook the worry as she sat up, “Oh don't worry, if anything I noticed Parua being protective of them. They bond or recognize each other as herd I think. With your two cows about to give birth they should see the eggers as babies. Now let's get those other eggs inside, they'll be fine at room temperature like this. Most should hatch as female with being a little cooler temperature.”

The stranger pushed the taller Sesa back outside, still talking. “I'll write out what an incubator shed needs while at the trading post. And find you a good male for these girls.”

Lana blinked from her spot, then again and giggled softly into some fabric to herself. Suddenly recognizing the interaction as an extrovert that had adopted an introvert. Sesa was confused but not stressed like she had been in town. She knew this person enough to be gently bullied and not fight it. The stranger was confident as her voice was still heard, not quite but almost information dumping. Promising to write out things and to come back to help make things for the ‘eggers’.

Lana made sure she was well hidden, trying not to move even though there was some good distance between her spot and the giants.

All six crates were stacked inside, plus one more from the wagon as they talked.

“This box is the one I pulled eggs from this morning before leaving, I haven't candled any but they should be fresh enough to eat.” The stranger spoke as the last of the crates were carefully stacked. 

“Candle?” Sesa asked, looking puzzled.

“You don't have to use a candle.” The stranger assured as she pointed to the drying dishes. “Use a cup or mug that's not clear. Put a light stone inside and the egg on top. The older the eggs in incubation the thicker the shell and darker it is. Infertile eggs and fresh will let some light through.”

“Will the older two… older ‘eggers’ give fertile eggs?” Sesa asked, looking over the boxes and setting the one of supposed eating eggs on the counter of the kitchen. Lana wondered what the eggs looked like, as they seemed buried in the straw-grass. Definitely not at an angle that Lana could see between the woven basket's side. Was it just tall grass like the ornate breeds where she was used to? Or something that was also a massive size that fit with the scale of the giants?

“Maybe for two months if there's no males around, after that you only get anything fertile.” the stranger said, stretching her back and then left shoulder. Not seeming to pay attention to doing so, an old injury perhaps.

…what could injure a giant being of that size? Lana wondered if it was gravity, an animal, or someone else? Sesa had a lot of scars too, Lana remembered.

“If I can't find a male for whatever reason,” the new giant woman continued speaking as she started walking to the front door again. Pausing as she noticed the table and grinned at the cute display of plants that seemed a work in progress. “I'll be heading to the far southeast trading post in two weeks. I won't let you down for what the breeding of my cows are worth. Are there any color breeds for the eggers you want me to keep an eye out for?” 

“Not really Bear, just consistent layers. Doesn't even have to be bigger meat ones.” Sesa shrugged awkwardly, looking around once the other woman, ‘bear’ had her black turned. Lana was not anywhere in direct line of sight at least so that was good.

Sesa was pretty sure Bear would not hurt Lana, or try and take her, but knew the shorter woman did talk a lot. Trusted her as a neighbor but the novelty of a real life bitta might be too strong of a temptation to talk about.

There also might be a bit of a selfish edge to Sesa that she did not want to share it with anyone. Yet? Maybe… maybe if she had to trust someone it would be John, he was kind and as much as a hermit as herself. If not more.

“Oh, before I forget,” Bear was turning to look back up at Sesa, “If you see him before I do, could you tell J'onn to come see me at the ranch down mountain?”

Well, that was an interesting coincidence, Sesa blinked, baffled once again at the eastern Torsi' accent of John’s name. “Ah, oh, yes. Sorry. I can. For anything in particular?” 

“Yes, after this last winter, I and my girls would like to trade for or buy some good furs before next winter. My grandchildren are going to get big enough to have their own beds soon.” Bear sighed and ran a hand through her brown hair. “Three are going to be teens far too soon.”

“...has that much time gone by?” Sesa asked in mild, not full alarm, “The oldest weren’t that big that long ago?”

“They weren’t,” Bear groaned, and then sighed, “They’ve been growing far too fast, even my daughters did. Ari is expecting her third this time next year.”

“Uhhg,” Sesa made a face, then sighed, “I remember holding Ari as a baby, Tia too. Well, at least the oldest if you all think they can, send them up here with something to trade and I can send them back with some sort of goodie. Get them going farther out but safe?”

“I appreciate that Sesa. I’ll do that next week if the girls are okay with it.” Bear smiled, “It’s a straight shot, almost, up the mountain and they’ve come to the trading posts with me before.”

“I’ll keep an ear out for them.” Sesa promised, slowly following Bear to the front door, glancing at the table and then back. “Maybe… if they won’t hurt them, get them to bring me some more garden birdies, or those different sweet little barries. I like both, and nuts.”

“Just not tiny bags eh?” Bear laughed as she smiled up at the taller woman, then over at a big netting bag that had been left for her at the cove. It was more than enough to make two pies once shelled. “Got to be worth it,” Sesa smiled a bit, glancing over. “If John’s not at the trading post, I’ll see him in the next few days, I got some things for him from town.”

“I’m glad you make sure he’s taken care of.” Bear sighed again once on the front porch, “I know a lot of people in town don’t like him, or many of us on the mountain. But he’s a kind man, for all the fighting he did in the last two wars.” 

“He is.” Sesa glanced back at her table.

Bear laughed, patting the taller woman on the arm, “I’ll let you get back to your project, Sesa. If I don’t come with the rest of the eggers for the breeding of Buck, then one of the twins will.”

“Keep an eye on your cows in the next two weeks.” Sesa said, not minding walking the slightly older woman back to her wagon. Pausing to pick up a fresh laid egg that had a marble of blue shades,  in the yard, hearing Bear laugh at seeing it. “...soon as they start showing signs of heat, bring them up. They might need to stay a few days or a week to be sure they take, so you can plan around that. I’ll make the arena bigger if I have to.”

“You give your Parua enough space to graze around.” Bear snorted, lifting the breaks and climbing back up into her wagon. Rains in hands she smiled, “I’ll be back if not tonight then tomorrow from the trading post, I’ll see what I can find for the rest of the cost for the stud cost for both girls!”

“...maybe see if there’s more… breeds with pretty egg colors?” Sesa stepped away with that half request, waving a bit and seemed bemused, but gave a small wave with her.  

Bear breamed wide, finally getting something other then ‘lots of eggs’ from Sesa, “Will do love! See you on the way back!”

Sesa made sure the other woman got turned around safely and back to the wagon trail that connected her home to the main roadway like path that went up to the mountain pass. She looked around, then peered at the egg in her hand. It was palm sized, she noticed it weighed not that much more than Lana. The woman stood up and walked to her garden, careful of the fresh, shiny egg, and picked another squash that was like the one she picked. More white with brighter speckles across it.

She came back to the cabin, thinking fist that one of these squash, gourds, might work to be… pie. Then eyed the open forest on the other side of the somewhat neglected garden, if she was careful, that might be a good spot for the so-called ‘eggers.’ to have a nice big grazing area and a small barn for them between the live trees. Those trees would also give them the needed shade mentioned in the summer. 

“...Lana?” Sesa called carefully, making sure her front door was closed and no lizards got in. “Bear left, are you okay?”

Was the bitta still here…?

“Here!” a soft, little voice called from the table still, thankfully. Sesa walked over, and looked startled at a few bits of scrap cloths were tossed out of the basket she put them in. 

She blinked and the woman smiled before coming over to look inside, and bit down the soft sound Sesa almost made. Almost crooned at seeing Lana wrapped up and holding tight to a longer stretch of thicker cloth. “Cold?”

“Little.” Lana admitted, but seemed quiet happy as she was struggling to push the thicker fabric over the side of the basket. Then spotted the new thing from the garden and brightened up. “That’s a BIG pumpkin!”

“Pumpkin?” The woman perked up, shifting to set it on the table, and at seeing Lana struggling a bit to get back out again. Sesa slowly offered her now free hand to the bitta, holding in the thrill that came as Lana climbed up onto her fingers with less of a hesitation. Maybe tired enough of sinking in the scraps, as it looked like Lana had been picking through the scraps for bits that were big enough for herself. “...like the pie you mentioned?”

Lana giggled, looking up at the giant, and then giggle again, mostioning to the kitchen’s general area. “You know what, sure. If there are eggs here that can be eaten and not half developed.”

“Got at least one.” Sesa moved the blue marble egg closer to Lana to see, trying to be careful of both handfuls of fragile. Smiling wide at the gasp that came from the bitta. 

“Is that real?” Lana asked, sitting up then shifting to lean on SEsa’s palm for balance. “That’s so pretty- and huge!”

“Almost as big as you.” Sesa chuckled, shifting to sit down in her chair and rest her hands on the table top. Not minding waiting for a few more minutes as Lana’s excitement was a bit contagious. “You’re lighter though.”

“I could almost fit in that shell! It’s like those…well egg chair things. And it's such a bright blue! Blues?” Lana slid off one hand and padded over to Sesa’s other hand as the giant woman rolled the eggs into the curve of her fingers. She reached out, touching the still warm shell, it had an odd texture of being like a thick chicken egg and leathery. Or it was trying to harden.

Sesa smiled, hesitated a moment and thought, “Can shells be cleaned?”

“Egg shells where I am can be.” Lana looked up, “Do you have an idea?”

“Maybe.” Sesa looked at her crafting things, then looked at the kitchen. “But after pie?” 

Lana giggled, “Okay, after pie. Do you have a sweet pie crust recipe?”

Sesa nodded, brightening up, “I have some, what my grandmother left me, and what I’ve found in the papers they wrap my things in from the store. Wait, sweet crust? You can do that?”

“I have the feeling I’m going to introduce you to so many desserts.” Lana noted as she was nudged to climb up into Sesa’s left hand, past the egg. She thought of the yesterday in the bathroom of the store. When seeing Sesa’s ribs then, as well as earlier that day as the woman changed shirts. Maybe that was not a bad thing. “Can I see your spices? Seasons? See if I can find something similar to what’s needed?”

“Yes.” Sesa nodded, grabbing the white gourd and careful of her left hand walked over to the kitchen area again. Glanced at the crates and perked up some more. Gently setting down the gourd, squash, on the counter, then letting Lana hope down to it, setting the egg down beside her. “I’ll get the new ones too.”

Lana was poking and investigating the egg again, admiring the almost shimmery color. Then looked up and gasped as Sesa set several more eggs down on the counter near her. Most had the same blue-green colors, but two were almost orange! Lana shamelessly moved to look at those as well. Lana looked over as Sesa was moving the crates to find where the rest of the seasoning jars were packed in that she had not gotten to. They were set on the counter on the other side of the box-crate of eggs. 

Something caught Lana’s gaze as she moved to one of the orange and tan eggs as it shifted? Just a faint rocking. She reached out to touch it, both hands spreading on the shell, it was a lot thicker, more firm then the newly laid egg. If it was stood up right instead of on its side, it would come up to Lana’s middle. Maybe lower chest. The shell was warm, and Lana felt… a crack?

The spot between her hands was stressing, and Lana’s eyes widened as she felt something moving inside. Then yelped as the stress marks audible cracked and a piece fell off. Lana stared in shock as the tan and dark spotted thing inside… squeaked at her, a big, golden colored, and warm looking eye opening to blink at her.

“...oh my god, I love you.” Lana gasped, staring at the baby dinosaur, as she felt Sesa’s heavy steps coming back rapidly in response to the yelp. She looked up at the giant woman from where she was now sitting beside. As her hands were set beside the opening, feeling a damp, warm, soft nose nudge at her. “Can I keep them?”

[kodiacast]

Timing: Current Location: Outside Maggie's apartment Feat: @woveninstardust & @kodiacast & Beezus Warnings: None! Summary: A firefighter helps a cat in a tree!

She was in a tree… A freaking tree. And it was all Beezus’s fault. 

Usually, the cat was content to exist indoors. The fuzzball was, as Maggie affectionately referred to him, the laziest cat in the entire world. There was a faded dent on the arm of the couch where Beezus loafed about for hours at a time like a king holding court. The only thing that ever tempted him to leave the comfort of his throne were squirrels. And on that afternoon where the January snow had started to melt away under February skies, the squirrels were out in full force.

She’d been trying to gather her art supplies and sneak past the cat to go downtown and draw, but for such a lazy boy, Beezus moved like a speeding bullet. Before she could get in his path, the Maine Coon was darting out the door and scrambling up the oak tree in the front yard. Maggie followed suit, dropping pens and notebooks on the grass to gawk up at the bough of the tree. Beezus had lost sight of his prey, and was sat on a branch yowling at the top

It hadn’t been so high, she’d thought. There was a branch that she could pull herself up into and start climbing her way up. But there was a secret rule that no one had told the young woman as she tried to get to her cat: don’t look down. 

Now it was Maggie who was clinging to a tree branch, eyes staring at the drop that awaited her should she let go. “Uhhhh…. Help?”

Lost in thought. Most of the time the saying was a figurative one. For Otis, more often than not, it became all too literal. Navigating on the ranch wasn’t hard. If he had been out with the horses amongst the cattle long past the dinner bell, the smell of dinner cooking at the homestead would always bring him home. Probably what brought him to the ranch in the first place. After a long day of work, nothing satisfied quite as much as the promise of a big supper. 

Unfortunately, in Wicked’s Rest, all dinners had to be made by Otis, or written by him. All roads in town didn’t always lead back home. Sometimes they lead to a different neighborhood and a dangling body from an old tree. The bear’s gaze stirred from the concrete in front of his feet up and up until he was face to face with shoes. And a… girl? And also a cat. One looking decidedly more stressed than the other. 

The branch groaned, gravity pulled. Otis held his arms out, the stranger fell. 

A groaning branch was never a good sign. Why had she chased Beezus up the tree? Cats tended to land on their feet, right? Humans didn’t. If humans fell, they fell clumsily. She would fall clumsily. When she’d started climbing up, Maggie hadn’t thought she’d gone so high. But now with an impending fall, the ground seemed miles away. 

Gravity was her enemy. Despite her best efforts, her arms grew heavier and heavier. Slipping, slipping… falling. A shriek rang out as the branch finally escaped her grasp. Maggie’s eyes were scrunched tight, bracing for the painful impact that was surely coming for her. But rather than hitting frozen grass and dirt, the girl felt something- someone?- catch her. It was a moment before one eye peeked open. 

A man had caught her. A stranger. Had he been standing there waiting for her to fall? Who walked down the street and just caught weird people up trees. “Uhhh….” Her brain was trying desperately to kick into gear. Unfortunately, when one fell from a tree, it seemed the first thought was more ‘oh fuck, I’m falling’- and it didn’t go away very quickly. 

“I was testing gravity.” Brilliant… dumbass. 

Maybe it was a blessing in disguise that Otis was still in uniform. Walking to and from work was easier than trying to break out the truck, what with the parking situation around the station and all. Besides. The man liked his walks. Liked a chance to breathe in the fresh mountain air. To collect his thoughts. Some of his best stories came from those walks. Anything and everything could be inspiration. And while his uniform was a little uncomfy for the exercise, it afforded him a bit more credibility than a regular joe on the street who happened to catch a falling scientist. 

It made sense, in his mind, that she would say she was testing gravity. Things were strange in Wicked’s Rest. There was a massive mountain of deep black obsidian looking stone that appeared out of nowhere (if the stories were to be believed.) There were some odd runs the station had taken Otis on, and a few too many things that couldn’t quite be explained away by his very vivid overactive imagination. Maybe gravity did work differently here. He didn’t know. 

So he simply nodded, and gently let the girl down. “...Still workin’ then?” Otis questioned while looking up at the open boughs and branches. Hadn’t that guy Fig Newton discovered gravity in a tree? Though… that one had apples. This could have been an apple tree, he supposed. It was winter. Wasn’t like he was much of an arborist, the only trees he knew much about were the peach trees back at his mamas’ ranch. And they looked a lot different. Hell, all the trees up north looked different. It was one of the very first things he noticed. One of the first to give him culture shock. 

There was still movement in the tree though. Hidden behind bare branches. He squinted, straining to see… right. The cat. He almost forgot. “That yer…” What did scientists have? Interns? Study-buddies? Shoot. “–Coworker?” 

It was fortunate that the man- a firefighter, she noted from the crest on his shirt- had happened upon her when he did. If he hadn’t, she would probably be calling WRMed and asking them to send help. At which point a long list of family members and friends would come to yell at her for chasing after a cat into a tree while being patched up. 

God, was Maggie relieved that wasn’t the case…

Beezus, the little shit that he was, was sitting on one of the highest branches yowling in frustration that no one had come to lift his fluffy butt down to safety. As the firefighter set her back on her feet, Maggie couldn’t help but scowl up into the boughs of the tree. “Coworker is a nice way of putting it…” Utter doofus fuzzball was probably more accurate. 

“Gravity is still working the way it’s supposed to. Which is really shitty for him because he went up and now needs to come down…” She emphasized the last few words, hoping it would summon the cat back down. Instead, he just let out another pitiful meow. 

The branches would be a problem. That high up they were more likely to bend and snap than someone who'd just walked out of legally blonde. Otis put his newly empty hands to his hips as he stared. The lonesome meows bellowed out and filled the air with a mournful song. Fortunately, he'd grown up on a ranch. Knew more than his share of barn cats. Knew full well how much they liked to sing, and how it usually actually meant they were doing okay. A little scared, sure, but cats didn't tend to tell people when they were hurt. So that was a blessing too. 

“Been up there long?” He asked, still forgetting to introduce himself. Otis was kind of bad at that. For the most part, both of his jobs were functionally anonymous. One by design, couldn't have anyone knowing who wrote the podcast, the other because there was rarely time to exchange information before shuttling someone from the scene of some tragedy to the hospital. The people who needed rescues weren't usually the most conversational. And that was okay. For his part, Otis kind of liked it that way. 

His head swiveled around, looking for something they could use to bring the feline back to ground level. They'd need– ah perfect. A house not too far off had a shed. An open one by the looks of it. Otis turned without a word, started trudging off to grab it. Either someone would be there to ask, or he'd get the ladder back where it belonged before they even noticed. It was for the greater good, right? Well, it was certainly for the good of this woman's cat. 

Beezus continued to yowl like the most pitiful creature in the world, and Maggie cringed all the while. She swore the whole neighborhood could probably hear him- hell, maybe the whole of Wicked’s Rest was listening to the incessant wailing of a cat that thought himself braver than he actually was. The girl dragged a hand across her face in embarrassment. “Him? No… uh… I don’t think so, I think it just feels like he’s been up there forever because… ya know.” As if on cue, Beezus let out another long, warbling yowl of disdain for his current situation. 

Suddenly, the firefighter was walking away. Not another word. Just walking. Right as she was about to open her mouth to thank him for keeping her from hitting the ground, she watched the guy walk across the street onto the Morris family’s front yard and straight towards the shed. Maggie stared, her bafflement turning to surprise as the man walked right back out of the shed with a ladder. Oh… Were firefighters just allowed to commandeer things they needed? Did they actually climb into trees to rescue ridiculous cats? 

It felt like some scene from a tv show: do-gooder firefighter solves problem for inept citizen, specifically written in for some giggles. She was just a throwaway character in the story that was WRFD. Though, if there was a tv show about the Wicked’s Rest Fire Department, they would probably have an awful lot more scenes about ooze abnormality rescues or reindeer infestations or shiny crabs trying to commit arson… 

“So the whole ‘firefighter rescuing cat’ thing isn’t a myth?” She asked as the man came walking back across the street. 

With the shed owner nowhere around, Otis just bumbled in and out, grabbing what he needed and heading back to the tree where he started to set up very carefully. “Oh.” He paused, thinking back on his training before incorrectly answering the question. “Think it is. A myth… Most firefighters are… too busy.” Another pause, then he started to climb the ladder. “...At least while on shift anyways.” Which he wasn't. Though that was probably pretty apparent. Most firefighters stuck around the station for the most part. Unless they were on a run or getting dinner, or ingredients to make dinner. As one of the newer guys on board, Otis was often sent out as the errand boy. He didn't mind. He liked being useful. 

A few rungs up the ladder the man stopped to look back down at the concerned scientist. “What’s his name?” Didn't feel right to pick up a furry fellow without at least knowing what to call him. Downright rude, what with the performance he was putting on. Practically an opera singer, open mic. Otis found himself actually sporting something of a smile as he listened. Talkative cats were adorable, he thought. Even if they caused a bit of trouble. Even if they got themselves stuck up in trees from time to time. Otis liked listening to people who knew how to express themself. He always found it… too hard. 

Maybe there was a rule when someone became a firefighter that they had to be super brave. Maggie certainly couldn’t take a ladder up to the top of a tree without thinking. But the stranger clearly could. He didn’t even seem to hesitate when considering the climb up. How had she planned on doing it? She couldn’t even get halfway up- how the hell would she have gotten down with an armful of screaming cat. 

“Beezus.” She’d thought he was a girl when she’d adopted him. Named him for one of her favorite books from when she was little. She and Frankie were probably a bit like Ramona and Beezus at times, though now she saw so little of her sister that she couldn’t make the comparison. Frankie was the smart one. Maggie was the artsy one. Frankie didn’t like monsters and Maggie did. It was just the way it was. “Despite the way he sounds, I swear, he’s a sweetie…”

“Beezus.” Otis repeated, committing the name to memory. If it was a reference, it wasn't one he understood. [Lou does though, Lou read the heck out of those books] In his mind, it sounded like something relating to a bee. And with the scientist's glowing testimony of the cat's supposed sweetness, he assumed the moniker was given because of how a purring feline often sounded like they’d swallowed a happy hive. Maybe it was a play on words. Bees and Fuzzy? Or maybe because he was sweet, it was like Bee Jesus? (Truthfully, the bear didn't know much of the gospel or anything like that. Mostly just heard the guy's name being used as a show of shock, or as a thanks for a harrowing rescue.) Not that it mattered too much. Not while Beezus was still terrified and tree bound. 

“C’mere Beezus.” Otis cooed soft as his voice would allow. The tree was still softly swaying in the wind, but if there was one thing any firefighter worth his spit knew, it was how to properly anchor a ladder. His feet planted firmly, his arms were just below the yowling animal. The cat was scared, and looking for an exit, but he'd run out of branches a while ago. With a slow methodical patience, Otis brought his hands close, then quickly together. Capturing the capricious kitty in a gentle but sturdy hold. Claws dug into the arm that supported the little guy's undercarriage, but aside from that, he wasn't squirming all too much. Seemed safe enough to make his descent. 

Two feet back on the dirt, turned towards Beezus’ buddy and carefully held out the cat. “There y’are.” 

The moment the firefighter had climbed up into the tree and scooped Beezus, he stopped yowling altogether. Fussy baby. If she had managed to make it the whole way up the tree, Maggie had no doubt that Beezus would have dug those little murder mittens into her head and yowl the whole way down. 

Beezus looked downright pitiful curled up in the man’s arms. By the time the the pair were on the ground, the cat was rumbling like an engine and snuggled into his hero’s arms. He meowed pathetically at her, as if offering a half-hearted apology. Little criminal, causing trouble… 

Maggie sighed as she took Beezus into her arms, planting a kiss in between his ears. “Stinky. You are a stinky little guy.” She grumbled before looking back up. “Thank you, again…” Had she never asked his name??? Idiot. “Mr. Firefighter man… whose name I never got- I’m Maggie. But thank you..”

Cats usually felt so small in Otis’ arms, this Beezus was a welcome change, almost felt as big as one of the baby goats back at the ranch. Back on the ground he had half a mind to ask her about it. The idea lined up, the question formed, but all that came out of his mouth was. “Well alright, Miss Maggie, happy to help... I’m…Otis.” Between the long pauses, the bear somehow forgot how to smile properly again. Or perhaps he really never knew. What resulted from his efforts was more of a grimace. Lips drawn into a thin flat line, puffing up his cheeks just so. He nodded and stepped back, assuming that this meant the interaction was done. Wouldn’t have been the first time he assumed wrong, but wouldn’t be the last either. 

“Keep–” Something tugged at his shoulder, begging him to turn and engage a bit more. Maybe it was the echo of his moms voice, telling him to get out of his apartment more often, maybe it was the warm spring weather making the sleepy bear feel a lot more sociable. “Keep a good eye on him, y’here? Got a good… cat there.” Another nod, and he felt satisfied. It was an attempt. A step outside his comfort zone. Hopefully he didn’t seem rude. That was the last thing Otis wanted. 

It seemed to her that Otis was more at ease with animals than he was people. Maggie couldn’t say she blamed him in the least. People were hard, so fickle, so confusing. Animals, on the other hand… Beezus bonked his head against her shoulder, still rumbling on like a freight train, demanding love and affection after his clearly terrifying ordeal. The girl sighed a little and shook her head as she looked down at the silly cat. He was a handful, but he was indeed a good cat.

“Thanks Otis…” She called out after the man as he started to walk away. The cat in her arms gave a loud meow, as if mimicking his owner. “Beezus says come back any time if you promise to pet him!” 

[ivyandbone]

Native planting, community, and land

Today was a pretty incredible day.

Work was cancelled. Free day in the middle of the week. Bad for my checkbook, good for my mental and spiritual health.

This morning was volunteer time at the butterfly garden. I helped a member pot a bunch of winecups so they'd be ready for the spring plant sale and I got to take a few home with me. After was lunch with the volunteer crew, and after that I followed a member home to pick up yet more plants. I spent a few hours at her house, her showing me around her front and back yard at all her native plants and her new landscaping, digging up the plants I was going to take home, potting them, then hanging out and chatting for a bit after.

When I got home I continued my work on my front yard, pulling up grass from a bed that got away from me in order to plant some of the new plants that were ready for it(the plants dug up and potted today have to wait a a couple weeks in shade to grow out their disturbed root systems).

While I was digging in the bed it finally happened. Someone in the neighborhood complimented my flowers. Currently the only things flowering are the bluebonnets, pink ladies/pink evening primrose, and bearded irises.

It was a simple compliment. "I like your flowers." It means the world.

Maybe ten minutes after that one of the older neighborhood boys, maybe 15 or 16, comes by on his way to hang out with his friend 2 houses down, joined by his friend's younger brother who's probably 8 or 9, and says he likes my flowers too. He asks me how long it took to grow them. When I said I planted the seeds in October it seemed to really wrinkle his brain, and I talked a little about the plants I have growing and why they took that long to grow and flower. Maybe ten minutes after that the younger boy comes back over to my yard and starts asking me questions about my plants. What's growing, what the names of the ones flowering are, why I'm playing in the dirt(I was weeding), he would point to plants to ask about them and I showed him around the yard a bit. My favorite question that he kept asking was how old a plant was.

Does anyone wonder how old a plant that isn't a tree is? Probably not, having much shorter lifespans that we can easily see for ourselves. But what they do with that short amount of time, that single season in some cases, is incredible. What hardships they endure over winter in order to bloom in spring and summer. What hardships they endure currently, as my coreopsis are being defoliated by leaf beetle larvae. Coreopsis aren't their normal host plants, so even though the beetles are native my yard is out of balance because their natural predators don't know that that's where they need to find their food now. I prayed to Cernunnos at last Saturday's spring equinox ritual to help these tiny hunters find their prey.

It was very exciting. This is one of the goals I had when I started planting native plants. I didn't realize I'd hit it within my first year; I didn't start until the spring plant sale in May last year! People in my neighborhood are seeing my work, and they are being positively impacted!

With that interaction I learned that I knew more about my yard than I realized. Or rather, showing it to someone and talking about the plants was like realizing the normally loose leaf pieces of paper my notes are written on form a cohesive book.

I keep writing about my native planting on my witchcraft and paganism blog and I don't know if I've talked about how it relates, or if people can figure that out without me needing to say it. I feel like it can be sussed out with my personal writings on here, but I'm going to talk about it on this post anyways. This is related to my post the other night but not about that, I'm still planning on writing that post but I was too tired after work to do it.

This is what connecting with the land means to me. Yes, there are spaces where I can go and walk and sit among trees and plants in my neighborhood because I'm very lucky like that, and I need to get back out and do it again, but there's a different energy when you are the one shaping and cultivating the land. Building relation with the plants in my own yard, connecting with the land and the land spirits by restoring it.

Witchy books come out all the time talking about connecting with the land and what you can plant at home for a magical garden, but honestly I wonder how much you can truly connect with the land when you plant things that aren't native. What connection does that plant have with the land? What relationship does it have with the environment? What eats it, what benefits from it that's not a honeybee(itself an invasive non-native that out competes native bees and does a worse job pollinating native flowers)? If it escapes containment what sort of ecological damage can it do(how invasive is it)?

I plant native as an act of building relationship with the land in connection with all it's components, the bugs and the birds, the fungi, the spiders and snakes and lizards. There's no books, no guides on how to incorporate the plants of this land into a magical practice(by which I mean ready made correspondences and uses). It would be SO regional! The plants native in my area won't all be the same plants even 10 miles away! Hard to make a halfway decent selling book when only a tiny portion of even 1 state can use it. Plus, I believe you should take indigenous culture into account, learn which plants have special rules and respect them. Purchase from indigenous businesses when possible, and some plants shouldn't be purchased at all, only given as gifts.

So I gotta do it myself, and that's fine. Bree's post that I reblogged earlier will go a long way to making that easier.

[jmreyes9]

PC - Jesse Reyes

THE SPLENDOR OF AUTUMN:  ".....the falling leaves of red and gold"

By Jesse Reyes 

As I made a right turn from our subdivision to the adjoining street to take Devon, my grandson, to school, the leaves of many colors (not Biblical Joseph’s coat!) of several trees along the street on both sides caught my eyes.  It seemed that only two or three days ago, most of the leaves were still green and only a few leaves were starting to change in color.  I guess two or three days or nights of 40-50 degree Fahrenheit temperatures wrought havoc on the photosynthetic process occurring within the trees' internal system.

So today, three days after, I decided to take some pictures of the leaves, displaying this phenomenon--the rapid metamorphoses of their hues, for I wasn’t sure how long the leaves would stay on the trees before they fell to the ground below. Last year, if my memory fails me not, the leaves of various hues stayed only for a week or two and then quickly fell to the ground after a gusty wind.  I had to cancel all my appointments today, so I could devote and take my sweet time choosing the right location, angle, distance and composition of the shots, which I hoped would be pleasing to the sight of my many (more than 100 but less than 700!) FB friends.

First, I started around my home (although there was actually no notable activity of this nature around my house).  Some of my immediate neighbors’ trees now had leaves of reddish-orange (more towards my favorite color, fuchsia!), golden yellow, yellow-orange, amber and pinkish-red.  So I took pictures of these, using the flowers in my front yard, mostly roses and geraniums, as the foreground, my only “contribution” to the finished product, being clicking of my camera's shutter.  

I then proceeded to Walker Park, a five-minute drive from my home, and there I took pictures at a furious pace, since this was a public park and there was nobody to accost me.  I recall an episode about a week ago when I was taking pictures around the condominiums adjacent to my back yard.  A lady driving her car stopped a few inches from me and asked me what I was taking pictures of.  

“These trees with leaves of different colors are beautiful, aren’t they?” I heard myself reply. “You see I am a photojournalist,"  I continued.  She looked at me as if I was from Mars or something! 

 “You know, there has been a burglary here recently, so we are carefully monitoring our surroundings for any suspicious persons,”  she explained trying to be tactful but not being very successful at it, I thought!  I almost asked her if I looked like a person who would stoop down so low as to break the 7th commandment but I was able to hold my tongue (not literally, of course!)  

“Thanks for the info,”  I managed to blurt out and continued taking pictures.

I then went to a nearby lake, a “stone's throw away from my home”  and took pictures of the trees along the edge of the lake—there were trees with leaves of red, gold, orange, brown, yellow, amber, rust, fuchsia (I had to include this, whether you like it or not for it's my favorite color!) and combinations of these, as well as green (the evergreen conifers and weeping willows).  Their reflection on the water in the lake produced mirror images that closely resembled the trees on the ground!

In another suburb of Chicago, another lady (why is it always my fortune, or misfortune, rather, to be involved with ladies?!) walking around the neighborhood, accosted me and asked what I was doing.  I told her I was, or still am, a photojournalist and before she could utter another word, I said, “Yeah, I heard there has been a recent burglary in this area and you are just watching out for any suspicious activity, right?” She nodded, probably still unsure of what a photojournalist really was or did!  

When I went to Walker Park a few days back, I was confident that nobody would ask me what was doing, since this was a public park.  On the day I went there, many kids were out playing rugby, and as I got ready to shoot a picture of a tree nearby, a man (for a change!) approached me and inquired, “What are you taking pictures of?”  

“I am a photojournalist and I’m taking photos of these trees—see the magnificent colors of their leaves?” I said and asked him a question myself.

“Oh. I’m their teacher,” pointing to the kids, “and you know I had to ask.”  

“No, you didn’t have to ask.  Am I carrying a gun?” I answered so softly that even I couldn’t hear what I had said!

The lesson I learned from my photojournalistic adventures is to respect people's property and privacy, although I was, most of the time, taking pictures from my car and maybe only 50% of the time, would I go down from my car.   It’s better to go to a public park where you are free to do what you want and take pictures at will, although on rare occasions, a teacher of some kids having their recess activities in the park might accost you so he/she could look good in front of the kids.

Written in Burr Ridge, IL on Oct. 13, 2014. Other writings and poems of Jesse Reyes can be found in his blog: anadventurecalledlife.com. Posted in FB in Oct. 2014 and reposted in Oct. 2023. Edited 10/23. Posted in my blog 10/23.

[countenanceblog]

Chapter 61

Chapter 61

A manhole somewhere on the outskirts of Monolith popped open from the inside. It glided to the side an inch above the ground. From inside emerged Rufus, Karen, Jack, Nook and Corey. The five of them looked around.

Jack nodded to himself. "I know this neighborhood."

"You really had us guessing, Corey," said Rufus. Corey couldn't help but crack a sinister smile. Karen scoffed.

"You killed a hundred people, or so you say. Are you proud of yourself, Corey?," she intoned. Nook nodded.

Corey shrugged. "If you inflict enough losses, you win by default. You think these men will keep fighting?"

Jack perked up. "We should get out of the road. If we walk fast, we could get to my friend's house before anyone notices we're out in the open. It's possible, anyway."

Rufus chuckled. "And what? Get them killed, too? Anywhere we go, people are going to die. You saw the Most Wanted list. We're right up there with Aleister."

Karen surveyed the empty yards and windows in the neighborhood. "Jack's right, we can't stay in the open. You're sure they haven't killed this friend of yours?"

Jack smiled. "They can't have gotten all my exes. C'mon, I'll lead the way." With that, the five of them got onto the sidewalk. Soon enough they arrived at a white matchstick house. "This is it."

Jack, seemingly taking a moment to collect himself, walked up to the door and rang the bell. A woman with a very unusually curvy body, and tall figure answered the door. She was dressed in a black bralette, black skirt, and thigh-high black boots. Her roots needed to be dyed. "Jack!," she cried, a bit too loud. "Come in."

"Emilya," said Jack merrily. "Thank you so much."

Inside Emilya's house, the white furnishings created a serene and calming atmosphere. As they settled in, Emilya's gullible nature came to the forefront while she looked at the group with wide-eyed excitement. "Oh my gosh, you guys! You won't believe this! I saw you all on television! People are saying you're part of the Resistance and that you're gods in human form! Is it true?"

Rufus rolled his eyes playfully. "Oh, you got us! There's nothing godly about us, right, guys?"

Karen held up a finger dramatically. "Well, not entirely true, Rufus. We do have our...special qualities."

Nook blushed at the attention. "I-I think Emilya is referring to our alter egos, the ones with abilities beyond normal human capabilities."

Corey sighed and clarified, "Yes, it's true. We're more than just ordinary people. Each of us has unique gifts and responsibilities. For instance I just killed a hundred guys."

Jack, the brainy maverick, chimed in, "But we're not the only ones with powers. There's another one in town, Raj Dubey, people think he's the god Helion. And more still, in Spain City there's Grindall with his lightning."

Emilya's eyes widened even more. "Whoa, really?"

Karen nodded with a mysterious smile. "Indeed. But we try to keep a low profile to protect our loved ones."

Jack added, "Yeah, it's not all fun and games. Being part of the Resistance comes with its challenges."

Rufus glanced around the room, taking in the quirky decor. "You know, Emilya, you should probably keep this on the down-low too. We don't need everyone knocking on your door, thinking you're friends with the Gods."

Emilya giggled, oblivious to the gravity of the situation. "Oh, don't worry! My friends know I'm a bit spacey. They won't believe me anyway."

Jack, failing to respect any boundaries, looked Emilya up and down rather hungrily. "Are you still single?," he blurted. "Sorry, it's just. You're so good-looking."

"What's your power, Jack?," a candid Emilya asked.

Jack pouted. "Threatening people with a gun."

Emilya smiled and nodded. "That's really cool Jack. I'm not single, actually, but my girlfriend was looking for a guy we could have a threesome with, and I think – "

Jack's eyes widened. "Girlfriend?," he cut in. "Three way?! Are you fucking kidding me right now?!" He pounded his fist on the chair and stood up. "God, you just made me so horny I can't believe it. Sorry, guys."

Rufus nodded. "Yeah, me too. You're going to have to come back here later if any of us survive, Jack."

Emilya piped up. "What do you mean, if you survive? You guys will be okay, right? All you have to do is kill the vampires." She smiled and nodded reassuringly.

"Oh right," said Jack. "You believe in vampires, huh? You always did. Damn it, what a gal you are, Emilya. Thank you for letting us inside."

"Anytime," said Emilya. "You guys wanna watch the news? We can figure out what's going on by not believing whatever they say, all the time."

"Yeah," said Jack. "Turn on the TV." Emilya walked over to the aged television set and turned the dial away from the 'off' setting. The set flickered to life.

Redheaded Amanda Cairn was at it again. "Griffith, who blew up his own headquarters killing over a hundred brave Elite Tactical members, was caught in a shootout with Elite Tactical near the intersection of Diamond and – excuse me, here is our President, Robert Mayflower."

"Damn," said Jack. The others shushed him. An older man with a turkey neck flashed onto the screen. He wore a dark blue suit and tie. Everyone leaned in their seats.

"Good afternoon, my fellow Agarthans. With the death of David Griffith, we invite a new dawn for our country. Though our sacrifices have been great – "

Jack snarled. "Fuck me. They got to Mayflower too. I thought he was from Brownsville, what a sellout."

Karen nodded. "It seems we have few friends left in this world. For that reason, I have to thank you, Emilya. You let us into your home in a time when many would have turned us away. You have my eternal gratitude."

Emilya beamed. "It's not just me. A lot of people have heard about the man who escaped the earthquake in Cortez. Everyone saw it live, and then they heard Apollo talk about it live, and then, well. They've been killing too many people. They made themselves look bad."

Jack put his tongue in his cheek. "Maybe not. After all, they did get David Griffith. What a mess. That means they probably got everyone else, too." He put his face in his hands. "I can't believe they got him," he muttered.

Nook, sensing Jack's distress, spoke softly. "Jack, I know how much you idolized David. He was a complex man, and a hero. Losing him is a tremendous blow."

Corey interjected, "We can't afford to lose hope. David's death doesn't mean the end of the Resistance. We carry on his legacy, and we keep fighting."

Karen, channeling Nyx, added, "Death is an inevitable part of our journey. But it also fuels our determination to protect this realm and its people. They need us."

Rufus, being sarcastic as always, tried to lighten the mood. "Well, if we're gonna get all philosophical, I suppose it's our destiny to be the dysfunctional superhero team of Agartha. Except for me and Jack, of course."

Jack, still grappling with his emotions, nodded solemnly. "Yeah, sure. I can't help but feel responsible for not being there to help him. I should've been there."

Emilya, ever the optimist, put a comforting hand on Jack's shoulder. "You're doing your best, Jack. You can't save everyone, but you're doing more than most people would. I believe in you. I'm really glad you're here."

Karen chimed in, "We all do. We're a team, and we have each other's backs. We don't have to give up."

Nook, speaking with her quiet strength, added, "And we'll honor David's memory by continuing to fight for what's right. We'll take down The Monolith."

[themidnightcrimson]

Mentor—part one. | w. maximoff

summary: in which you are wanda's young newlywed neighbor, and she graciously offers to mentor you on wifely duties.

warnings: 1950s!wanda, top!wanda, innocent!reader, magically enhanced strap, strap sucking (r giving), riding (r receiving), manipulation, corruption, let's pretend they had straps in the 50s, my coochie was niagara falls after writing this

this post is for 18+ only. minors: do not interact.

masterlist.

Manicured fingers pushed the thin curtains to the side as green eyes peered through the window. It was the first time Wanda had ever seen you. She saw your husband first, stepping out of the driver’s side of the car before going to the trunk and picking up one of the many boxes that were stuffed in there. She noticed that the For Sale sign planted in the front lawn of the house had a big, red sticker slapped across it that read SOLD. Then she saw you.

You stepped out of the car wearing a pretty green dress that was short enough for the breeze to flitter it up your thighs. Your red lips parted in a smile as you embraced your husband, wrapping your arms around his shoulders and kissing him before he turned to take the box inside as you took a smaller one out of the trunk.

Wanda was always friendly with her neighbors but not close with them. Agatha was her closest neighbor, although that was not from Wanda’s end of the friendship. But when she watched you walk up your driveway to your newly bought house right across the street from hers, then stop and slowly turn around, your eyebrows sewed together as if you knew someone was watching you, she couldn’t help but let her interest pique.

Wanda was quicker to get close to you than she was with any other new neighbors she had before. She brought you casseroles and cakes and invited you to barbecues and dinner parties. When you attended a pool party at Dottie’s house and wore such a teasing one-piece swimsuit, she found herself obsessing over you every minute of the day. As she kissed Vis goodbye every morning, she would watch you kiss your husband goodbye instead of watching Vis’ car leave like she usually did. When she would fold clothes and wash dishes, she wondered what you looked like doing the same. She started to call you nearly every day when both of your husbands were at work. She would keep you on the phone for hours, asking you questions that started to become more and more personal.

Your husbands also got close. Wanda always got excited when you and your husband would come over so the men could drink and watch TV while you and Wanda prepared dinner in the kitchen. She realized quickly that you were quite young and still a newlywed; you’d gotten married right before moving in across the street, which was only a month ago.

Wanda also learned that you were quite an innocent little thing.

“W-what?” you choked on your lemonade that Wanda had made extra sugary for you since you were a ‘sweet girl’. Her question had taken you off guard so that you had coughed mid-sip of your lemonade, the drink splattering down your chin.

Wanda quickly leaned forward from where she sat rather close to you on her sofa, wiping the lemonade off your chin and lips. “It’s just a question, sweetheart,” she said in a comforting tone as she licked the lemonade off her fingers. Your cheeks burned more at the sight of her red lips sucking her finger than at what she had asked you.

Wanda had asked about your sex life. You figured that was probably common for housewives to talk about amongst one another. Your husband was outside helping Vis repaint the picket fence around their front yard, so it was just you and Wanda alone.

“Um,” you began, your heart beating hard in your chest as Wanda calmly watched you. Her red hair was made into perfect curls that rested around her neck, her deep red lips taut as she waited for your response. Wanda had taken you in under her wing as the new couple in the neighborhood, and you had appreciated her guidance and her friendship. It was the only real friendship you ever had, in fact, since you had gotten married off so soon in your adulthood. But Wanda seemed to get very personal sometimes, and sometimes she lacked an understanding of personal space. You had lost count of all the times she had let her hand rest on your lower back for lingering moments. She was very touchy—always grazing your arm or touching your hair. Recently, she’d gotten comfortable enough to touch your face, whether it was caressing your cheek or wiping lemonade off your lips. You weren’t quite sure how to voice your concerns about the closeness of your friendship, but Wanda was older and wiser and certainly had more girl friends than you did; so you went along with all of it in your shy, timid way that Wanda found incredibly endearing.

“Our sex life…” you breathed, lowering the icy cup of lemonade to your lap as your cheeks blushed. “Well, it’s, um…” you began, before you looked back up at her. “Isn’t that thing sort of… private?” you chuckled nervously.

You were afraid you had possibly pushed Wanda away or made her feel uncomfortable that she had offended you, but she only grinned and tilted her head. “No, darling, women talk about those things together all the time! Go ahead, I’m all ears.” She lowered her head, and you didn’t catch the darkness under her brow.

“Well, it’s…” you said again, shifting on the sofa and trying to figure out what you wanted to say. “It’s not very…good.”

Wanda’s brows sewed together in concern. “You mean the sex?”

Your entire body was heating up due to the explicit topic of your conversation. “No—I mean, I don’t know. I don’t think I’m as…experienced as he is.” You glanced past Wanda to see your husband through the window, crouching by the fence with Vis. It was true that you had been harboring an insecurity about your ability to please him. You’d never been with anyone before him, and in your month of marriage, the few times you had been intimate with each other always fell below the mark. You had expected great passion and pleasure, but all you got were a few thrusts before he rolled over and went to sleep.

“Oh, honey,” Wanda cooed, reaching forward and placing her hand over yours. You startled at the touch as Wanda scooted closer to you so that you were almost touching. “That must be so difficult, especially since you haven’t been married that long at all.” You nodded as she moved her hand to your hair, tucking some of it behind your ear. There were a few moments of silence before she suddenly said, “You know, I think I have a great idea.”

+

Wanda planned it all so perfectly. She set up a hunting trip between Vis and your husband that would put them hours away in the forest for a whole night. They were to leave after dinner and return at lunch the next day, with Wanda preparing dinner and you preparing lunch for them to pack. Your hands trembled the entire time that you cut the sandwiches and packed them safely in brown paper—you were entirely uncertain about Wanda’s plan that she only vaguely explained to you.

She said she wanted to be your mentor. Since she was older, wiser, and more experienced, she said she had so much knowledge to offer you about the intimacies of marriage. You hadn’t quite caught her drift until she told you to stay the night with her while your husbands were gone so she could teach you some things—about how to please your husband. You expected her to have some sort of sultry magazine to show you, or perhaps she would simply sit you down while you had a private moment and tell you some tips or tricks. You never expected what Wanda really had in mind.

The four of you ate dinner at Wanda’s dining table, and you were silent for the majority of the time, too nervous to eat much. Wanda was cheerful and charming as ever, and your husbands took off once they were done eating. You helped Wanda to clean up the table, complimenting the dinner and helping her to wash dishes. You didn’t say anything about what was going to happen afterwards, nor did she, as if it was just a perfectly normal dinner between two women.

The time came when the kitchen was all cleaned up and the leftovers were put in the fridge, and Wanda turned to you. She smiled softly, reaching for your hand and taking it in her own. “Follow me, sweetie.”

You found it hard to breathe as Wanda led you up the stairs of her comfortable home, bringing you into her bedroom. It felt wrong to be there in such a private room that she shared with her husband, although it was just a normal bedroom with a perfectly made-up bed and a bathroom attached to it. Wanda kicked off her heels in the corner, and you did the same, feeling the carpet soothe your aching feet.

“Now,” Wanda sighed, standing in front of you and caressing your arm, which both soothed your nerves and worsened them. “You told me that you’re a little…innocent in the area of…wifely duties,” Wanda said her words carefully, having to stifle the crawling smirk on her lips as excitement whipped within her. Her heart was beating hard in her chest with anticipation as you stared at her nervously. You were so young and so innocent, and while she had felt a swirl of guilt when she made this devious plan, she assured herself that she was only being a good mentor to you—even if it was to her own greed and fascination with you.

“So, I’m going to mentor you tonight,” she continued, rubbing her palm over your shoulder and letting it cup the side of your neck. “We’re going to pretend that I’m your husband, and you are your own pretty little self,” she said quieter, and the casualness with which she spoke made your face go red. This couldn’t be normal, you thought to yourself, but you reminded yourself that Wanda knew so much more than you and that you should trust her.

Wanda looked over your face for a moment before she suddenly leaned closer. You froze, confused at what she was doing, until her breath fanned across your mouth and her lips pressed against yours. It was a fleeting kiss, because you jumped away from her touch and placed your hand over your lips, eyes wide.

“Wanda!” you exclaimed as your lips buzzed from the brief kiss that had you instantly feeling so many different, confusing things all at once.

“Sweetheart, relax,” Wanda purred with a smile as she neared you, placing her hand back on your neck. “I’m your husband, remember?” Her hand settled on the curve of your waist, and a wave of heat passed through you all at once. “Surely, you kiss your husband, don’t you?”

“Y-yes,” you stuttered as you looked up at her, the room starting to spin. “But—”

“Shhh,” Wanda shushed you, pressing her red fingernail against your lips. “How am I supposed to help you learn if you won’t let me teach you?” she whispered lowly, leaning down close again. You held your breath as you felt her lips graze yours, your varying shades of lipsticks mixing as she tantalized your lips. Something about this felt so wrong that you were about to crawl out of your own skin, but something about it also felt so right as Wanda pressed her lips against yours fully, her eyelashes tickling your cheek as they closed.

You were like a statue as Wanda moved against your frozen lips, until she pulled away to whisper against them, “Kiss me back… kiss me like you kiss him.”

She gave you a moment to nod before she kissed you again, and this time you moved your lips against hers. You had never thought much about how you kissed your husband, but in that moment, kissing Wanda, you considered every move and felt desperate to kiss the right way, the good way, in whatever way made her pleased.

So caught up in trying to kiss her well enough, you didn’t notice that your lips turned hungry and the kiss fiery. Finally, Wanda pulled away, and you instinctively chased after her lips until she gently kept you away with a hand on your chest. She looked down at you, smirking, and you realized you had completely ruined her lipstick that was now smudged all across her mouth.

“I’m sorry,” you breathed, shrinking within yourself at embarrassment over being too eager.

Wanda shook her head and cupped your cheek. “Don’t apologize, sweetheart. That was great. You’re very good at kissing.” Her voice sounded strained as she discreetly licked the taste of you from her lips, and you worried that you had made her uncomfortable.

You blushed under her stare as she slowly backed away from you towards the bed, sitting on the very edge. “Undress,” she simply commanded you, and the order made you stiffen.

“Undress?” you echoed.

“Mhm,” she hummed, something glinting in her eyes as she stared at you.

“Completely?” you squeaked. Only your husband had ever seen you naked before, but even with him you had never undressed in front of him while he watched.

Wanda nodded, letting her palms rest on the bed as she leaned back and crossed her legs, squeezing them rather hard together. “Come on, sweetheart. It’s part of the lesson.”

She was right. Did you expect her to just kiss you forever and suddenly you would be perfect in bed? Hesitantly, you started to unbutton the buttons of your dress, one by one, noticing the way Wanda’s eyes followed your fingers. You took in a deep breath and let the dress slip down to your ankles, revealing your frame dressed in only your undergarments now. Wanda’s lips parted at the sight, but when you made no motion to take the undergarments off, her perfect brow arched high on her forehead.

Complicitly, you reached to your back and unhooked your bra, letting it fall before you slipped your panties down. Goosebumps rose on your skin, and you resisted the urge to cover your private parts as you stood completely nude in front of Wanda who sat on the bed and darkly watched you, eyes raking down your figure as she sucked her tongue. Finally, she filled the silent air between you. “You are beautiful.”

Not letting too much of her lust for you show, Wanda snapped out of her trance and motioned for you to near the bed. You complied, following her finger until you stood right in front of her. Wanda eyed your body with hunger as she placed her hands on your waist, letting them glide upwards and turn inwards at your chest, taking both of your warm, soft breasts in her hands. Alarms blared in your mind at the touch, though it was not because it was uncomfortable, but rather because your nipples hardened at how much her gentle touch pleased you.

“You are so perfect, sweetheart,” Wanda breathed, and you wondered why she seemed as on edge as you were. She squeezed your tits, which caused you to let out a tiny squeak that made her smile. “Does he tell you how pretty you are?”

Your face grew even hotter at her compliments. Your husband had of course complimented you every now and then, but he never admired you with his eyes the way Wanda was. He never touched you just to feel you and appreciate you. He never had to control his breathing while letting out his compliments to your beauty. You had never felt this way before.

Wanda let her hands fall down the flat of your stomach, turning outwards to slide around your hips and down your backside, stopping to gently grab the hills of your ass. Your breath hitched at the feeling of her warm, soft hands grabbing you, and the way that her eyes seemed to darken by the second.

“So perfect,” she mumbled under her breath as she moved her hands to your thighs, gliding upwards until she let one hand slip between them and cup your heat. You jumped at the sudden contact that felt rather intrusive, but Wanda just marveled at how wet you didn’t even realize you were. “My, my,” she whispered as she soaked her fingers in your wetness, and as her fingers brushed your clit, you felt the heat in your face drop to your stomach and blossom there. When her fingers started to move towards your entrance, your hand involuntarily snatched her wrist. Her eyes flickered up to yours again, seeing the hesitant look on your face. “Trust me, sweetheart.”

You needed to trust her if you wanted to learn—you knew that. Although you kept your hand on her wrist, you loosened your hold, allowing her to slip one finger inside you. You heard Wanda gasp as your eyes closed at the penetrative feeling. She let her finger submerge deep inside you, curling it and swiveling it around to feel every inch of you.

“You are so tight,” Wanda groaned, using the next few silent moments to simply feel you.

Then she dragged her finger out and, to your utter shock, slipped it in her mouth. Your mouth fell open in surprise when Wanda’s green eyes fluttered shut and she let out a sensual moan as she sucked on her finger that was coated in your arousal.

“W-wanda,” you stuttered, and she opened her eyes and removed her finger to look at you, licking the remaining taste of you from her lips. “I’m really appreciative that you’re trying to help me, but… How is this going to help me better please my husband?”

Wanda gave you a warm smile and stood up, taking your face gently in her own. “I was getting to that, sweetheart. Stay here—I’ll be right back.”

You watched as Wanda disappeared into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. The room feeling cold and quiet now, you sat down on the edge of the bed and hugged your body. Was this normal? Was this wrong? Why was Wanda able to get you wetter and more riled up than your own husband? How would he feel if he knew that Wanda had seen you and touched you like that?

Before you could further dissect the complexities of the situation, the bathroom door opened. When you looked up to see that Wanda was standing there completely naked, except for something strapped onto her hips, your mouth fell open.

Wanda’s eyes ate you up predatorily as she sauntered towards you, but your eyes were stuck on the long, thick thing between her legs. “What is that?”

Wanda neared you and placed a gentle hand on your shoulder. “Some call it a… marital aid. It’ll help me teach you how to make your hubby feel good.” She was getting tired of having to refer to your husband to get you to cooperate, as she wanted to just have you all to herself. She didn’t want to scare you away though, which was also the reason why she went into the bathroom so she could snap her fingers and use her secret magic to enhance the strap-on dildo.

You eyed the thing fearfully as Wanda crawled onto the bed and sat against the pillows, spreading her legs a little bit as her strap pointed upwards. She tapped her thighs and gave you an assuring smile.

More curious than anything, you crawled up the bed towards Wanda, and once you had gotten over the object between her legs, you couldn’t help but stare at her nude body. She was so beautiful and so perfect, and she giggled when she noticed the way your eyes trained on her bare chest as you kneeled between her legs. Your cheeks blushed as you realized she had caught you staring, and although you felt the need to apologize, you felt that wasn’t the strangest thing about this situation.

Wanda reached out and stroked your hair as she began, “Tell me. Have you ever pleasured him… orally?”

Your eyes widened as you slowly shook your head, feeling embarrassed that you hadn’t done that with your husband yet. He was more traditional and never did anything outside of missionary that lasted thirty seconds.

Wanda smirked, excited to be the first one to have your mouth. “You do know what I’m talking about, right?”

You nodded from under her hand stroking your cheek. “I’ve heard girls talk about it before…”

Wanda nodded and then placed a hand on your shoulder, guiding you down. “Lay down on my lap, dear.”

Slowly, you lowered until your elbows were laying across her thighs, and her strap was inches from your face. You looked up at her doe-eyed, noticing the dilation in her pupils. You didn’t know that Wanda about to feel everything she was going to make you do.

“Okay, now just put your mouth on it,” she told you, unable to find any better words for what she wanted you to do. You looked at her hesitantly, so she gently stroked your hair. “Don’t be scared, sweetheart. I’m going to teach you how to use your mouth.”

Nervousness filling you, you opened your mouth and placed it around the large object, closing your lips only a few inches down it. Your mind started to process the fact that this object was much larger than your husband.

Wanda had to bite her lip to keep herself from moaning at the sensation. Cradling your head, she recovered herself to tell you, “More, baby. Put it all inside.”

Obeying her, you lowered your mouth down and down, trying to take it all in until the tip suddenly hit the back of your throat, inducing you to gag. Scared, you instantly removed your mouth from her, looking at Wanda with frightened eyes that involuntarily watered.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Wanda assured you, leaning forward to give you a kiss that, admittedly, calmed you down. “Go slow, my love,” she whispered, leaning back again and guiding your head back towards her strap.

Taking a deep breath, you reminded yourself that you needed to be good to please. So you opened your mouth and slowly took her length into it again, and when you gagged again, you tried hard to keep your mouth on it.

“Good girl,” Wanda said in a rather breathy voice. “Now suck.” Her hand was tangled in your hair as you suctioned your mouth, and you felt her fingers tug on your hair.

“G-good,” she breathed, “Now move your mouth up and down, okay? I’ll guide you.”

Her hand guided you by your hair to move your mouth up and down her cock, and you didn’t stop to think about how she could have felt you sucking. Each time the tip hit your throat, you silently gagged, and after a few minutes, your face was covered in tears and saliva.

“So good,” Wanda breathed, letting her eyes close as she felt you suck her off. She had been so curious as to how your mouth would feel, and now that every glorious inch was inside that warm, wet mouth of yours, she was in heaven. Your hair looked so pretty splayed across her thighs, your ass on display as you kneeled forward, the way your face had grown red and wet from your tears. She was lucky that you weren’t looking up at her when you started to grow comfortable and suck even harder, swirling your tongue around her length, because the look on her face was pure pleasure.

“Keep going, sweetheart,” she told you, and she couldn’t help but thrust her hips up a little into your mouth, listening to the sounds of you choking on her. She was struggling to control her breathing, and when you noticed and lifted your head to ask her what was wrong, she pushed it back down, lodging her cock deep into your throat. “You’re doing so good, sweetie,” she choked before she could no longer speak, having to bite down on her hand to restrain her moans as she came in your mouth, hips stuttering as her hand harshly tugged your hair.

Nearly blinded from her orgasm, Wanda quietly panted as she came down, watching you still work her strap, oblivious to the fact that you had just gotten her off.

“Alright, that’s enough, sweetheart,” Wanda said, and you lifted your mouth off her cock. She could have came again just at the sight of you, lips all red and swollen, saliva covering your chin, tears glistening on your bright red cheeks. Some of your mascara had melted around your eyes, and you looked so perfectly ruined. But she wasn’t done with you yet, not when she finally had you doing everything she asked. She was greedy, especially when it came to you.

“Hop up,” she told you, guiding you to sit up on her lap. She could feel your wetness on her thigh that had amplified while you pleasured her. She took a moment to kiss you, straightening your hair and wiping the liquids from your face.

“I’m assuming you have never ridden him?” she asked while her thumb swiped across your puffy lower lip, and you shyly shook your head. Wanda smiled at this also as she reached under you and took her wet shaft in her hand, letting the tip push against your entrance. Your eyes widened as you grabbed onto her shoulders. “It’s just the same, except you’re on top, doing all the work,” she told you as she swiveled the tip around your hole, her breath shaky. “This is very important for you to learn,” she said more firmly, and eventually you nodded in agreement.

She slid only the tip inside you before taking your hips and guiding them down. You hissed as her cock started to fill you, too focused on the stretch between your legs to notice Wanda’s subtle groan.

“It’s so much bigger than him,” you whined as pain filled you, but Wanda’s hands kept your hips under her control.

Wanda inwardly smirked at the compliment. “You can take it, sweetheart. Just keep going.” Wanda’s eyes fluttered closed when she finally felt herself all the way inside you, and it took all the strength within her to not flip you over and start fucking your tight pussy until it was completely ruined.

You whined and nuzzled your face against her shoulder, afraid to move your hips from the pain. Wanda, though eager, let you sit still for a moment, trying hard to keep her own hips still. Eventually, she started to guide you up, and you struggled through the pain as she slowly slid you up and down her length.

“You’re doing so good, sweetie,” she purred, again thankful that you weren’t looking at her as her mouth fell open. She let you go slowly for a few minutes until she could tell you were getting used to the pain. Wanda was growing way too frustrated, so she breathily commanded, “Ride me—faster.”

Lifting up from her shoulder, you noticed a strange look on Wanda’s face. Nonetheless, you did as she said, moving your hips on your own. Her strap was so deep inside you that as the pain melted away, pleasure throbbed within you. The stretch that previously hurt now felt like euphoria as you started to bounce on her strap, catching your own rhythm.

Wanda was about to go mad from having to control herself and her expressions, gently rubbing your lower back to make sure you felt okay as you started to ride her. She watched in adoration as you let out little moans, your eyes fluttering closed. She felt your walls clenching and throbbing around her, and you were so slick and wet that your juices dripped down on her thighs.

“Just like that,” Wanda gasped, letting out a guttural moan that made your eyes snap open.

“Wanda, what’s wrong?” you asked, assuming that the expression on her face was one from pain. You started to slow down, but she grabbed your hips and forced you to keep going, and the pleasure that brought you made you completely forget everything else.

Wanda thrust her hips upwards in motion with your own, fucking you so hard and so deep that your vision started to grow splotchy. You felt this strange pressure in your lower stomach, your insides starting to pulse and tingle as if something was about to happen.

“Wanda,” you pleaded, tapping her shoulder. Her eyes were closed in a concentrated look as she fucked you onto her strap, taking complete control. “Wanda!” you exclaimed, and she finally opened her eyes to look at you with concern. Worried she was really hurting you, she was about to stop until you said, “I feel like I’m going to pee.” You said it with such conviction and embarrassment that she almost laughed, until she realized that you had apparently never orgasmed before, not from yourself or your husband.

“Shhh,” she shushed you, thrusting up even harder. “It’s okay, just keep going.” She was starting to sweat, and you could see the glisten on her forehead as her cheeks reddened.

All thoughts of how this was going to help you please your husband left your mind as that pressure grew strong within you. You squealed and buried your face in Wanda’s neck, losing all inhibition and throwing your arms around her neck as she kept fucking you. Finally, that pressure broke, and pure bliss washed over your entire body. You couldn’t control the shrieks and moans that left your lips, and Wanda couldn’t control her own as she came inside you, her hands bruising your hips as her thrusts stuttered. You felt fire all over your entire body, but it felt so amazing. It was like there were a hundred heartbeats all going at once inside you, and when you finally started to calm down, you had never felt more relaxed.

Whatever had happened to you had happened to Wanda also, because when you pulled away to look at her, she looked just as spent and out of breath as you were.

Remembering the situation, Wanda regained her composure and grinned at you. “Good, very… very good.”

You let your finger wrap around one of her red curls, and Wanda grinned up at you. You felt something… different. As you thought about going back to your husband and doing with him the things Wanda had done with you, you didn’t want to do it. You had never felt with your husband the things you had felt with Wanda in your short time together. You didn’t even want to leave her arms, whining when she started to move to get up.

Surprised, Wanda leaned back down and snaked her arms around you. “You don’t want to get up?”

You shook your head, just staring at her as if she was a new creature you had never seen before. Not even having to ask why you were staring at her so, Wanda just held you closer to her, keeping herself inside you as she whispered in your ear, “I can’t wait to show you so many more things.”

[s1ater]

the older boy, part two. eli moskowitz x reader

summary 📣: in which reader’s friends warn her about the older boy with the red mohawk but she doesn’t listen

warning/s 🚫: swearing

slater’s note 🗯: omg slater finally uploaded 😮

part one, part two

hawk: miss me princess?

you squinted your eyes from the bright glare surfacing from the screen of your phone. it had to be about close to midnight and it was almost something you expected, this text.

he always texted late, always catching you minutes before you decided to clock out for bed, and always drawing out your sleep schedule. so instead of going to bed at 11:30 like normal, you ended up wide awake well around two hours later.

y/n: you flatter yourself too much

hawk: is that so? thought you always looked forward to our nightly convos

y/n: other than them being nightly, sure

hawk: i’m a busy man

you rolled your eyes, “sure you are.”

y/n: that’s probably why i never see you outside of school then huh

you couldn’t careless on why you never saw hawk outside of school. it seemed to be rather a blessing from all the things you had been hearing about him lately. it was just fun to tease.

he liked being teased as weird as it sounded, it fired him up as he stared at the screen of his phone, smirking. hawk knew you knew why you never saw him and why he never saw you. you guys weren’t friends, barely acquaintances, only two oblivious lonely people who wanted someone to fill their hormonal needs. 

hawk: you never see me sweetheart because you never want to

y/n: that’s a lie

hawk: is it?

y/n: i’d love to see you

hawk: i’m sure you would, but face it princess, you’d chicken out halfway through before you’d even see my face

y/n: lies, you sure you’re not talking about yourself?

but was it really a lie? you wondered, thinking whether or not your wits and nervousness would overcome you before you actually saw the face of eli if you were to ever hang out with him.

you bit your lip thinking about earlier today when moon said to stay away from eli for rather obvious reasons. one being he was violent and angry a lot of the time and two... he was a teenage asshole who’d fuck you over the minute you showed vulnerability.

hawk: let me come over if you’re not a pussy

you bit your tongue at the sight of the message. great, you thought. now you had to come up with some excuse only to prove hawk right; that you were a pussy. the thing was, you didn’t actually think he’d want to see you.

it was like a silent agreement that your relationship was flirting only, nothing else. he was like a side hustle along with all the other boys who hit you up through your snapchat.

y/n: sorry babe, i only let boys who actually talk to me in real life come over

hawk: alright, fuck you lmfao

eli mindlessly smiled at his phone screen while shaking his head. he knew you’d be a challenge, and he knew you’d turn him down any minute or mention of hanging out.

he found taunting and teasing you amusing and sometimes the highlights of his days but sometimes it also got boring with how you didn’t put out as easily as the other girls.

y/n: sorry bud

hawk: alright, goodnight princess ;)

°•

it was uneventfully windy as you stood outside waiting for moon’s red car to pull up and drop you home. you almost swore as you came into realization that she probably forgot about you, again.

you tucked a strand of your hair behind your ear as you checked your phone once again, absent of any notifications that would relate to moon.

you were beginning to feel sick, the kind of sick that resonated in your stomach from a sprout of loneliness. you shook your head, pushing yourself off the brick high school wall deciding you better start walking now if you wanted to get home before five.

your feet begun to burn five minutes into walking the shortest route you could think of as a way home, “fucking, moon.” you shook your head, taking out your phone again. she always had the strangest memory problems and seemed to always goes m.i.a. the moments you need her the most, such as.. when you were desperately in need a ride home. 

“need a ride?”

you almost jumped in surprised, not realizing a car had pulled up next to you as you were focused on your phone. you dipped your head down to the low window of the old red cadillac pulled up next to you, their windows rolled down, old rap music turned down low in order to speak to you. 

eli.  

“nice car,” you quirked your brow with a slight impressed smile. he was one of the last people on earth you would expect to give you a ride despite your conversation the last night. 

“you want a ride or not, princess?” “oh, i wouldn’t want to ruin your special me time, hawk.”

“get in the fucking car, y/n,” he rolled his eyes, quickly done with your bullshit as he put the car in drive. you reluctantly got in the nice car, swinging your bag to the floor as you couldn’t help smile to yourself. 

“you know i’ve never been in a karate kid’s car before,” you mumbled lightly, examining the interior of the car better, your fingers running against the smooth dashboard, impressed by how well restored the old car was. 

“is that so?” he glanced at you, a slight smirk on his face. 

“who restored the car?” you mumbled, your eyes still looking around almost like a kid in a candy store, only more subtle, trying to hide the fact how impressed you were with the car. 

he glanced at you again, almost taken back by the question. it was never a question he had heard before, especially by a girl. he smirked, trying to hide his own surprisal, “you know larusso? guy helped me out with it.”

“nice,” you mumbled, leaning back into the seat, done with your examination. 

it was silent now, and you almost sat comfortably if it weren't for the voice in the back of your head yelling at you that the whole thing was a bad idea. you wanted to ignore it so badly, because you had never actually ever saw a red flag from eli other than the fact that it’s basic knowledge he’d a fuck boy. 

he seemed like a generally good guy. no not a good guy, a guy that was your type. eli wasn’t at all the good guy type but more or so the douche that was only nice to certain group of people, you being on of them. 

because he wanted to fuck you. 

“got something on your mind?” he glanced at you, almost nervously like you'd hop out the window with any wrong move he made. 

“no,” you said it fast making him smirk, almost as if he knew what you were thinking, almost as if he were familiar with the typical female anxiousness. familiar with the fast talking, redden cheeks, lip bites, fingers fiddling, all of it, it seemed as if he just knew. 

and eli was, it hadn't taken him long when going through girls to pick up on the similar body language they all seemed to have. because really, down to the bottle, they all did the same thing; always rubbed their lips together prompting for kisses, using a different fragrance than usual when finally alone, fingers tapping, lessening the clothing on their body than the usual outfit. all similar, and he could almost see it in you despite this being an unintentional meet up... and you weren't trying to pounce on. 

“actually.. yeah,” you lightly bit your bottom lip as you looked at your lap, trying to think of the best way to ask him the question that had been on your mind for awhile; “what do you expect from me, eli?” wow, what kind of question was that?

it was an honest and upfront one, something he wasn't used to, practically sending him into shock as he had to look at you fully to see if you were actually serious and not pulling his leg, seeming like something you'd do. 

but you really wondered. 

“uh- i, what?”

you awkwardly laughed, looking to him, “no, i mean i really don't give a shit, i’m just not about to lead you into something you think you’re going to get nudes in, because your really not.” 

wow, really? 

he almost swore aloud, biting his lip hard, now realizing you really weren't going to be easy, not as easy as the girls who put out the moment you called them pretty, or even the ones who you had to take on a date before they even sent. 

fuck. 

he laughed it off, shaking his head as if you were a fool for thinking that, “you really think that low of me?”

no worries, there’s always plan b; make you feel bad. 

you laughed in return, “yeah, i really do.”

but he forgot you weren’t that stupid to fall for feeling bad just for something you weren’t about. 

“wow.”

“you wouldn't be the first.”

“so, I've heard,” he gripped his neck, eyes now glued to the road before turning into a neighborhood off from the main road, his mind following the map basically glued in his mind from driving past your house to dmitri’s. 

he parked, now seeming to ignore you as his whole plan begun to fall apart right before him. 

“thanks, eli,” you nodded to him, jumping out of the car with your bookbag in hand before beginning to trek up your front yard. 

“anytime, princess.” 

masterlist

💒

join the taglist lil doggy

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[invisibleanonymousmonsters]

All Men Have Limits - VI

Character: Dick Grayson x Reader x Bruce Wayne

Summary: A certain bat believes that Y/N is in way over her head, that she’s too naive to act in her best interest. So, whether she wants it or not, the vigilante family is going to help and protect her before she gets herself killed.

Word Count: 3,800+

Previously on…

“Nightwing! Regroup!” Bruce snapped into the comms again.

No matter how dire the situation was, they always stuck with their codenames while in uniform. But right now, Bruce wanted to scream at Dick to get his shit together.

Dick was quiet for a moment, allowing his family to only hear the roaring of his motorcycle as it zipped through the streets of Gotham.

“By the time we regroup, she’ll be dead,” Dick answered darkly.

This was the biggest difference between Dick and Bruce.

Dick wasn’t ruled by his emotions – except when it involved the safety of people he cared for and loved. When that happened, his emotions took control. It was very unlike Bruce, which just proved there were some things Dick simply couldn’t get trained out of him.

Bruce was always calm and collected – even when it was his kids that were in danger. Was he scared for Y/N’s life? Yes. But he also knew that panicking and going in hot was not going to help her. If anything, it would put more people in danger.

“Jason is following him,” Tim announced.

Jason might’ve refused to use comms, but they still had a tracker on his bike.

“What’s the plan?” Tim asked.

——————

Y/N probably looked like a drunk driver from the way she was serpentining to the heart of Gotham.

But she was tried to load a magazine into her gun as she ran every red light without getting t-boned by oncoming traffic.

It was…a lot. Especially since Y/N knew she were driving to her assassination.

It hadn’t been hard sneaking past the internal security at the manor. Y/N knew she could do it since she was brought there. But she decided to save that knowledge for the right time. And that was tonight. It was clearly designed mostly for Damian – or perhaps for any of the boys when they were younger and rebellious.

Then Y/N had to jumpstart the first car she saw parked on the street near Wayne Manor, which took longer than she had liked.

She might not have a lot of skills in the combat area. But she was rather resourceful in almost every other way – which included hijacking cars.

Y/N was so panicked about making it to the city before they could intervene, that her mind wasn’t really processing what was about to happen.

All Y/N knew was that she hoped they’d be done with it before any of them knew what was happening and could try to stop it.

She knew what they would’ve said. They would’ve told her to stay where she was and they would handle it. They would’ve done everything to keep her safe while also trying to save Gotham.

But Y/N couldn’t wait to see if she was responsible for the deaths of thousands while she sat on her ass and did nothing.

So she took her life into her own hands.

She gave enough information for them to use. Even if she was gone, she’d given them enough leads to finish the job without her.

Now her time was up.

Y/N knew eventually time would catch to her. She’d lived a far too risky life, threatened the most dangerous people, ruined the lives and locked up even more of dangerous people. It was only a matter of time before her luck ran out.

Y/N skidded the car to a stop. And she realized her hands were shaking as she threw the car into park.

She hadn’t stopped driving until she reached Old Gotham – right underneath the Clock Tower.

It was a nice, wealthy part of the city, which meant that there weren’t questionable people lingering on the streets.

In fact, it was eerily quiet – even for such a nice neighborhood. Y/N didn’t see a single person walking around in her vicinity.

But when she turned, there were five masked people watching her.

The Talons.

Their faces and bodies were completely covered, with their masks and goggles reminiscent of actual owls.

All of them had an arsenal of some sort of bladed weapon – countless knives, katanas, axes, or even broadswords. And, of course, they all had talons. 

“So you are the irritant,” one of them greeted, his voice muffled from his gear.

Y/N took a step back as she grabbed her gun out of the back of her waist.

But she felt a presence behind her and whipped around to see more Talons surrounding her.

Did they really expect her to be able to put up that much of a fight?

“I’ve been called worse,” Y/N smirked.

She was clearly in denial that she was about to die.

They all unsheathed their weapons.

But Y/N wasn’t going to let them make the first move.

She started shooting bullets. Either they were wearing bullet-proof vests or they were blocking her bullets with their weapons. It was all happening so fast that she couldn’t figure it out. She knew her aim wasn’t off. Jason had been secretly teaching her how to shoot. And she’d gotten rather good with his help.

“Fuck,” Y/N hissed when her magazine was empty and she had failed to take down a single Talon.

As she tried to reload the magazine, their patience ran out.

One of them knocked the gun out of her hand, slicing the skin in the process.

Before Y/N could look down at the damage, another Talon wrapped his hand around her neck and lifted her off the ground like a doll.

“How can such a weak and pathetic woman have caused such a nuisance?” He cooed at her as he tilted his head, inspecting her.

Y/N couldn’t reply even if she wanted to.

Her hands were frantically trying to free herself, nails ripping at the armor and gloves of the Talon.

“Perhaps she could be of use to us,” one of them spoke up. “Unless she’d rather die…”

But before they could drop her or make a decision, someone dropped into the middle of the chaos with a blur.

Next thing Y/N knew, she was being dropped to the ground and coughing to recover her breath.

When she looked up, she saw Dick – no, Nightwing – taking on all of the Talons who were sent to kill her.

Yes, Y/N had frequently seen Dick train with Bruce and his brothers. However, this was something entirely different.

Y/N watched in shock as Dick used his escrima sticks to take out the Talons in droves. He flipped, kicked, punched, and moved in a way Y/N had never seen before.

There was a moment of pause that gave him the opportunity to meet her gaze.

“Y/N, run!” Dick screamed as he flipped away from the deadly claws of a Talon.

She blinked at his command and snapped out of her daze.

Jumping to her feet, she did as he said.

But she only got a few yards before two more Talons dropped in front of her and blocked her path.

Her fear was interrupted by bullets raining on them seconds before a motorcycle flew into her peripheral.

Red Hood did a front wheel break and swung his motorcycle so precisely that he managed to take out both of the Talons with the backend of his bike.  

He turned to look at her. “Get on.”

But Y/N looked behind her at Dick, who was fighting Talon after Talon.

“What about Di–” she stopped herself from using his name. “What about Nightwing?!”

“Batman is on his way with the others. But right now, we have to get you out of here,” Jason yelled back.

Right on cue, the Batmobile came screaming toward them, as well as Tim on his motorcycle.

“Y/N, get on the motherfucking bike,” Jason warned her.

She turned around again and saw Dick now being aided by Damian, Tim, and Bruce. They were finally starting to overpower the Talons.

Clearly they hadn’t sent the numbers to defend themselves against the entire bat family. They probably assumed Y/N would head their warning and arrive unaccompanied. And Y/N did. But both her and The Court underestimated the vigilante family’s protectiveness towards her.

Y/N finally listened to Jason and jumped on the back of his motorcycle.

Barely giving her a second to adjust, Jason floored it and sped away from the fight as quickly as possible.

This motorcycle ride was nothing like the one Y/N shared with Dick.

Jason rode like bat out of hell, whipping around tight corners without slowing down. And even with her vice-like grip around his waist, Y/N felt like she could fly off at any moment. The wind stung against her skin like a million little needles.

“Where are we going?” Y/N tried to scream to him.

“We have to make sure they’re not tracking us before we return to the cave!”

Y/N couldn’t tell how long they had been driving around. But her arms and muscles were sore from the tension of holding on for dear life. She was so exhausted that if she hadn’t been so scared, she probably could’ve fallen asleep on the back of Jason’s motorcycle – even with his reckless driving.

Without any warning, Jason veered into a parking garage and went to the basement level where no cars were parked. He must’ve pressed a button because a hidden compartment was opening against the cement wall and suddenly they were driving through it.

Y/N got off the bike as soon as he stopped and looked around.

It must be one of his safehouses.

To her surprise, Jason took off his Red Hood helmet and then the domino mask underneath. He also grabbed some clothes that would either cover his Red Hood uniform or make it look like civilian clothing.

He pointed to a car, “Come on.”

Y/N followed him silently and got into the passenger seat.

It was a 20 minute ride back to the manor.

And it finally gave Y/N time to actually process what she had planned to do tonight. 

“Wanna talk about it?” Jason asked after 10 minutes of silence.

“And say what?” She challenged.

He smirked. “I don’t know. Maybe how you enjoy playing sacrificial lamb.”

Y/N ground her teeth together. “That’s oversimplifying it, and you know it.”

Jason just shrugged.

“That’s it?” She asked when he didn’t follow up with any more questions. “Really? You’re not going to start lecturing me?”

“Oh, definitely not. ‘Cause you’re gonna get a shit ton of that when Bruce sees you – maybe even from Dick, if he’s not too overwhelmed with relief from seeing you in one piece. Which, by the way, you’re very lucky to be.”

Y/N had no response to that.

The rest of the ride was quiet, except for the local classic rock radio station that Jason decided to turn on.

To their surprise, no one was waiting in the cave for them. But Dick and Tim’s motorcycles were parked, as well as the batmobile. So they had clearly returned.

“That might not be a great sign…” Jason mumbled as got out of his civilian car. “Come on,” he nudged with his head as he started making his way to the stairs that led back into the manor.

When they got up, Jason followed the sounds of voices coming from the kitchen.

Y/N’s eyes immediately took in the group, worried that someone would be missing.

No one was in full uniform. Tim and Damian were in sweats. Bruce’s cape and cowl were gone, but his full body armor was still on.

The three of them and Alfred were all gathered around Dick, who was sitting on the island counter shirtless with nothing but his black compression shorts on.

One of his left eye was black, there was dried blood below his nostrils, his bottom lip was split and swollen. But Y/N’s eyes were only looking at the wound on his side that Alfred was currently stitching. Clearly one of the Talons’ swords found an in.

When the family heard Jason and Y/N’s entrance, all eyes were on them.

Dick looked relieved.

But Bruce? He looked livid.

“What the hell were you thinking?”

He didn’t yell. No, instead his voice was low and even. And it scared Y/N more than yelling ever could.

But she was too busy looking at Dick’s injuries with concern.

Then her gaze raced to Tim and Damian, looking them up and down to try and assess if they had any injuries. But they seemed in good shape.

“Y/N!” Bruce snapped.

Finally she acknowledged him. 

“What?!” She growled in return.

“What were you thinking?”

“Bruce…” Dick warned quietly.

They had all seen Bruce get this way. And they all unfortunately had been on the other side of his wrath. They could see the telltale signs that Bruce was about to give one of his level-headed, but extremely disappointed speeches.

Except there was one big difference this time: Y/N wasn’t one of Bruce’s kids.

And by now, all of the boys had figured out that Bruce was feeling some kind of way about her. Even Damian had finally realized that Y/N wasn’t just an ally or fellow vigilante to his father.

“How about we all take in a deep breath and appreciate that none of us are dead?” Jason asked the group loudly. “Because we know that hasn’t always been on the case in the past…”

But Bruce ignored Jason and took a step to Y/N.

“You could’ve been killed,” he muttered quickly.

“I was trying to save innocent lives!” Y/N snapped.

“You should’ve told us as soon as you received the threat,” he countered.

“Why? So you could sideline me and make decisions about my fucking life?”

“We would have come up with a plan. One that did not involve you hot-wiring a car and driving to your death.”

“I was trying not to endanger anyone else, meaning all five of you!”

“And look how that ended,” Bruce answered darkly as she gesture to Dick, who was now stitched up and Alfred was putting a wrap around his torso.

“You can’t just shove your way into my life whenever you feel like it!” Y/N finally shouted at Bruce. “I was doing just fine before you added yourself to the situation.”

This wasn’t just about tonight anymore. The tension in their relationship had now flooded into the argument, finally reaching its boiling point.

“Tonight proved otherwise,” Bruce told her evenly.

But Bruce remaining too calm and showing no emotional reaction was only infuriating Y/N more.

“Hey!” Y/N yelled. “Just because I don’t put on a stupid costume and punch my way out of problems doesn’t mean you’re better than me. In fact, you would be screwed if it weren’t for me. You need me. You need me more than I need you.”

Bruce just glared at her.

“What? Nothing to say?”

“We can have a discussion when you stop behaving like a child.”

And it was finally what made Y/N snap.

She lunged at him.

What she planned on doing to him was beyond her. Everyone, including herself, knew she didn’t stand a chance against a petty fight with Batman. She probably couldn’t even land a punch if he let her.

Thankfully, she would never have to get that proven to her. Because Dick put a stop to it before it could actually start.

When he had moved off the counter and closer to their argument, she didn’t know.

But now Dick was finally intervening as he wrapped his arms around Y/N from behind her, pinning her arms to her side and pressing her back to his chest.

“A child?!” Y/N screamed as she tried to fight her way out of Dick’s grip. “Should I remind you that you fucked this ‘child’?!”

“Alright,” Dick warned her calmly. “That’s enough.”

“Let go of me!”

“Calm down,” he told her quietly.

Suddenly, Y/N remembered that Dick was injured, and he was injured because of her. And now she was thrashing against him, probably causing him harm and putting him at risk of opening the stitches Alfred had just finished.

“Fine,” she huffed. “I’m calm.”

But Dick waited a second or two before he decided to believe her.

When he let go, she lightly shoved him away from her and made her escape.

The whole family watched her leave, and felt the awkward tension that filled the room after she’d gone.

Tim looked shocked.

Jason glared at Bruce.

Damian seemed rather disappointed – in Y/N or his father, no one could figure out.

Dick eyed Bruce. “Great job,” he told him darkly.

Bruce just crossed this arms and sighed.

Dick gestured in the direction that Y/N went. “Aren’t you going to go after her?”

But he knew already from Bruce’s expression that he wasn’t going to anything of the sort.

“You know what, forget it.” Dick huffed before heading in the general direction that Y/N had escaped.

But Jason wasn’t going to let Bruce off the hook so easily.

“What the fuck is the matter with you?” He hissed.

“Stay out of it, Jason.”

“Stay out of it?” He mocked. “Yeah, it’s a little bit hard to do that when her safety has become a family matter.” Jason shook his head in disappointment and turned to leave, “I’m out of here.”

-----------

When Dick tried to retrace Y/N’s steps, he found the front door of the manor wide open. The sight was rather eerie for some reason. But Dick stepped onto the front of the manor and looked out at the land.

Had she made a run for the gate?

It wouldn’t be the first time tonight, clearly.

But after a few scans of the property, he eventually found her.

Despite the circumstances, Dick couldn’t help but smirk when he found Y/N sprawled on the great lawn of the manor, laying on her back and staring up at the stars.

He stood over her. “I’m surprised you didn’t make a run for it.”

“Oh, I tried,” she told him matter of factly. “Bastard’s already updated the security system from earlier tonight.”

“Believe it or not, that’s his way of saying he cares. Just ask Damian.” He slowly sat down on the lawn with her, but made sure to still give her some space.

“No. It’s his way of reminding me that he’s the one in control.”

Dick winced, knowing there was probably truth to that, too.

“He shouldn’t have said that to you,” Dick sighed.

Y/N scoffed. “What part?”  

He hesitated before clarifying. “You’re not a child.”

She went quiet, not expecting him to get right to it.

“Well, we’re the same age…so of course you’d say that.”

Dick rubbed his face, knowing this was a losing battle. Nothing he said on the matter would bring her comfort.

Y/N finally looked away from the stars and her face scrunched in guilt and worry as she took in Dick’s fresh bandage. There was a pinkish blotch that showed just how big the wound was.

Slowly she sat up and turned to him. “Are you okay?” She whispered shakily.

He grinned at her concern. “Believe it or not, this is nothing.”

But Y/N still reached forward and cupped his face. Her thumb traced around his black eye, but made sure not to put any pressure on the swollen skin.

Dick leaned into her touch, not bothering to try and hide the affection.

“This is exactly what I didn’t want,” Y/N mumbled.

Dick opened his mouth, but then quickly changed his mind and closed it again.

“What?” She pushed.

But before Dick would answer, he slowly moved into her space. Then he pressed his forehead to hers.

“Please, don’t do anything like that again.”

His approach was different, but it was clear Dick and Bruce felt the same way about the stunt she had pulled. 

Y/N was quiet.

“I understand why you did it. I really do.” He added quickly. “But just…” He paused and took in a shaky inhale. “Tonight scared the hell out of me, Y/N.”

“I’m sorry,” Y/N whispered.  

“I know you are. I saw it on your face as soon as you saw my injuries.” His eyes went dark. “But we can’t do things like that. We have to work together or this is all going to explode in our faces.”

Y/N thought over his words.

His hands went to cup her face.

“Deal?” He pushed.

She nodded.

Then Dick’s eyes moved down to her throat.The blistering red was already fading and being replaced by purple and blue bruising.

His mind flashed back to earlier, how he saw her dangling by her throat and unable to escape the Talon’s grip. The sight had caused him to rush into battle, not thinking of a plan before doing so. It went against everything Bruce had taught him. But seeing Y/N’s life in danger made him black out.

“We should get some ice for your neck,” Dick muttered quietly.

Then he looked down at her hand. It had stopped bleeding, but the cut looked painful and there was dried blood surrounding it.

“Fucker sliced it when he knocked my gun out of my hand,” Y/N mumbled when she saw Dick staring at it.

He eyed her suspiciously. “And I suppose Jason’s been helping with that, huh?”

She cringed. “Maybe…”

Dick just huffed and shook his head.

He started getting up, “Come on. Let me clean that cut and get some ice for your neck.”

But Y/N pulled him back down.

“Wait. Can we…Can we just stay for a bit?” She asked quietly, and then pointed up and laid back down in the grass to stare up at the sky.

Dick smirked and nodded.

He joined her, moving closer this time so their shoulders touched.

“You can actually see the stars out here,” Y/N sighed.

The smog and city lights of Gotham made them invisible.

But now they were far enough to see a few.

Dick thought about all the places he used to travel to with the circus. Some of them were so far removed from society that he could see every single star at night.

But he didn’t tell Y/N that this was nothing compared to those places.

Instead, Dick just slowly moved his hand and grabbed Y/Ns, interlacing their fingers. A part of him expected her to pull away. But she squeezed his hand and kept looking up.

—

Alfred found Bruce in the library, looking out the windows.

When he joined his side, he saw what Bruce was looking at: Dick and Y/N laying on the grass of the great lawn, stargazing.

“You’re disappointed in me,” Bruce said without taking his eyes off the two.

“I said nothing of the sort, Master Wayne.”

Bruce frowned. “You don’t have to.”

“She is not another charge, Master Wayne.” Alfred sighed. “Therefore you should not treat her as such.”

“I’m trying to keep her safe.”

“Why do you think she said nothing of the threat?” Alfred countered. “Why do you think she did not believe she could trust you?”

Bruce said nothing.

“You put the safety of Gotham over your own life every night, Master Wayne.” Alfred continued. “Yet you are so spiteful towards others who do the same.”

That finally made Bruce turn away from the window to look at Alfred.

“You owe her an apology,” Alfred finally confirmed. “Even if Master Dick has become rather good at cleaning up your messes.” 

--------------------------------------------

Part 7

Let me know what you think – please, please, please.  

[suchalonelysunflower]

You Said Forever (c.h)

Pairing: Calum Hood x Reader

Requested: Yes!

Summary: Based on the song “Driver’s License” by Olivia Rodrigo. You did everything you could to get over him, you talked to friends, went on long drives and even wrote him a song. Why cant you just let him go?

Warnings: Angst. Language. Mentions of alcohol. Some grammar mistakes? (English is not my first language, I’m sorry)

Word count: 6.7 k

Author’s Note: I’m so excited someone requested this! I highly recommend listening to the song before you read, references are in the text and dialogs. Please remember that Reblogs, Coments, Feedback and Likes are more than welcome and encouraged! You don’t know how much they help me 💕 Hope you like it and Happy reading 🦋

Fic of the week // My Materialist // wanna be part of my tag list?

@rime-warrior : Hey love! Has anyone requested an imagine for Calum based on the song “Drivers license” by Olivia Rodrigo yet? I think you’re the only one who would be able to do it any justice 😭💕

“I still see your face in the white cars, front yards

Can't drive past the places we used to go to

'Cause I still fucking love you, babe”

You could hear the doorbell ring over the thunderous storm raging outside. It was late, probably closer to midnight than you imagined. Who could possibly be outside right now? especially in this kind of weather?

After four consecutive rings, you decided to get up from your spot on the bed and walk up to the door. It must be something very important for someone to startle you that way.

Once you got closer to the door you could also distinguish some strong bangs coming from the other side accompanied by the endless ringing “Okay, okay! I’m coming!” You called, but whoever was standing opposite to you mustn’t have heard you as they continued to disrupt the peace of a stormy night.

A shiver ran down your spine before you could reach the doorknob, almost like the ghost of a feeling, a warning for you not to open the door. Despite your common sense, you decided to open the door, already being too late to go back.

“Calum?”

He was standing in front of you, completely drenched from head to toes. His breathing was uneven, almost like he ran all the way over here, but his eyes were set on yours, unmoving as you both tried to take each other in.

“Calum-what is?-” Your words got stuck in your mouth as he pushed himself forward, grabbing your face delicately as he clashed his lips with yours.

You felt yourself melt into the kiss, making it everything you ever wished for. You wrapped your arms around his neck and deepened the kiss as you brought him closer to you. He was here, he was finally here with you. It all feels like a dream.

Your alarm clock marked 6 AM when you jumped from your dreams into reality. You should’ve known, everything was too good to be true.

You brought one hand to your face, trying to wipe away the tiredness of your eyes, but you found your cheeks were humid due to tears you didn’t even know you shed through the night, damping your pillow sheets once again.

It was always the same dream: Calum coming back to you. Night after night your mind drifted to another reality where you’d meet again, sometimes it was at a concert, other at the local café of your neighborhood that you used to love so much, but tonight was the first night where he appeared at your house. Which was funny considering that he hasn’t stepped foot in this place for almost a year.

You pushed your thoughts away as you tried to go back to sleep. And you did try, but the tossing and turning made you restless, you cursed your mind as the only thing you could see when you closed your eyes was Calum, standing at your door and asking for a kind of forgiveness you weren’t sure you could give. Although, who were you kidding?

Checking the clock once again you realized it was 20 past 6, still too early to go back to real life, but not too early to start and try to live a little.

Pushing yourself off the bed, you grabbed a big hoodie and some pair of sweatpants before putting on your running shoes and hopping into the bathroom to brush your teeth and clean your face before grabbing your keys and getting out of the house.

You sat on the driver’s seat, just like you did a thousand times, taking a big breath before starting the engine.

“You do know you have a perfectly good car in your driveway, right?”

You smiled at him and greeted him with a hug and a kiss as you climbed into the passenger's seat.

It was your usual morning routine. Ever since you met and he found out you lived nearby the studio he always volunteered to carpool with you. Since then, your mornings were filled with hugs, good coffee and stolen kisses you gave each other as the road to the studio became longer and longer thanks to all the detours you took.

“Hello, Calum. I’m very good, thank you for asking, how are you?”

Calum rolled his eyes and gave you a little peck on your lips “I would’ve been on time if I hadn’t had to pick your ass from the other side of town”

You lightly punched him in the arm “You know you love me” He smiled.

“That I do, darling. But I would love you more if you drove us from time to time”

“You know I don’t have a car!” Calum turned to you and pointed to the classic mustang sitting in front of your house, raising his eyebrows as if to ask if you were stupid “That’s my dad’s car!”

“That he kindly gave to you when he helped you move to LA so you could pursue your dream of becoming the next new sensation of music,” He said mocking a dreamy voice to try imitating you “He said it was yours, so it's yours! And honestly, it’s a pretty cool car if you ask me. A real chick magnet”

You mocked a gag at his old reference of movies from the 50’s “Sexist much?” You both laughed as he started the car and started driving “Anyways, he only gave me the car because mom was threatening to sell it on eBay if he didn’t get rid of it soon enough, so he could still come and get it whenever he wants to” You shrugged.

Calum started sniffing the air, “What?” You asked, sniffing as well in case there was something wrong.

“Do you smell that?” He asked with a concerned face.

“Smell what?”

He leaned closer to you and sniffed harder before whispering “The bullshit”

You scoffed and pushed him back “Haha very funny”

You waited until he stopped laughing, you never told him the truth, well two truths actually.

One: That you enjoyed the drives you had with him, it was a special time for the two of you to be yourselves without anyone to judge. You would laugh, sing, talk for hours as you sat in traffic under the city lights. It was the little moments that matter for the two of you, these were your little moments and you didn’t want to give them up just yet.

It was not easy being in a “relationship” that no one knew about, not even his bandmates, although you knew they were suspecting something. All the sneaking away while amid a recording session, hanging out in each other’s rooms, how adamant he was to carpool with you every day, even when he didn’t need to go to the studio… It was an easy tell, but it was also your private life.

You told yourself that it was for the best, that you shouldn’t mix work and personal life, especially when your personal life included Calum. He was adamant to keep whatever you had out of the public eye “What we have is good” He said, “Why ruin it with labels?” And you agreed, knowing that making everything official could just mess everything up. Calum was your best friend, after all, you would be damn if you lose him.

And for the second truth:

“I don’t know how to drive”

Just in time, the traffic light turned red. Calum turned to you in disbelief “Bluff” You shook your head, not looking at him just yet “Bluff! That can’t be right! Y/N how old are you?”

You shrugged again “I never needed to! I always enjoyed walking plus,” You said nudging your arm on Calum’s “I have the best driver right here!” You pecked his cheek with a kiss and saw how quickly they blushed, making you celebrate this tiny victory inside your head. You loved making him blush, it gave you some kind of security that he felt the same way.

Calum stared at you for a moment too long, making you self-conscious under his eyes. You could tell the gears were running inside his head “What if I teach you how to drive?”

You chuckled “Now I call your bluff”

“I’m serious!” He said, not taking his eyes from you “We have time before the tour starts, and that way you could drive us somewhere for once! You know? Picking me out and going on a date?”

Your eyes were set on him with an alarming tone, a what now? Was he serious? “You would do that for me?” You asked shyly, not wanting to fall into another of his pranks, but he seemed serious enough.

“Of course!” He said with a chuckle that accentuated all his dimples “Let’s get you your driver’s license, Y/N!”

Calum grabbed your hand and intertwined it with his, shaking it as a victory celebration and then placing a kiss on your knuckles. You laughed and reminded him where you were “Eyes on the road, Hood” even though the light was still red, you would rather him not noticing the red that tinted your cheeks and the loud beating of your heart.

You saw how the sun was starting to illuminate the coast as you drove by. Everything was so quiet this early in the morning and you were thankful, you needed this quiet so you could be alone with your thoughts once again. And, just like every day, that just meant you were thinking of Calum.

Could you blame him? Possibly, your friends said you should. But could you live with yourself knowing that you are holding a grudge towards someone who is probably unaware of it? Not in the slightest.

You were never official, not to the public at least, but in your heart, you knew he was the only one who could make you feel like this. He was the only one capable of making you laugh as hard as you did, cry the way that you did, and enjoy yourself to the fullest. You were your best when you were with him and now… How are you now?

Would he care?

You knew he loved you, he said so himself. The only thing you didn’t know was in what way. Did he love you like a lover? or just like a friend who he’d get to kiss and make love to from time to time?

The lump in your throat became stronger as you remember the last moments you had with him and all the promises he couldn’t keep. You tried to distract yourself, crying behind the wheel could be dangerous and you weren’t going to risk your life for him, not yet at least.

You turned on the radio in hopes that it would call your mind, at this point even the commercials would make you feel better if they made you think about anything but him.

“And now, Laurie. We have the hottest single of the year!” Said the radio host with the most cheerful tone a person could mutter this early “This up-and-coming artist debuted this single almost a month ago and it is still top of the charts in almost 34 countries all over the world!”

Now the lump in your throat came back but this time with a knot on your stomach as well. The first time you heard the song play on the radio you felt excited, after all this is why you came to LA in the first place. Yet the feeling became bittersweet in no time.

“My girls, boys, and non-binary folks; if you are in your car right now get ready to sing this at the top of your lungs with all the feelings you could muster and send a fuck you to your ex. This is ‘Driver’s License’ by Y/N L/N”

“I got my driver’s license last week, just like we always -”

You turned off the music and kept driving in silence.

You knew it was a bad idea to release the song you wrote about him. Maybe it was a petty move on your part, but… didn’t you have the right to be petty this time?

Either way is not like people would realize it was about him. It was your little secret, yours and Calum’s if he ever heard it, although you believe that if he did then he would’ve said something to you by now. Yet his silence was similar to the one in your car; deafening and heartbreaking.

“I don’t know Calum,” You said as you stared at your car parked in front of you “Is it safe to do it here?”

Calum was leaning on top of the hood, rolling his eyes at your indecision “Would you rather do it on the PCA?” You shot your eyes at him with a deathly glare, he just chuckled “I promise is okay, this parking lot is big enough and there are no cars left that you could accidentally hit”

You were both standing in the middle of the studio’s parking lot late at night. Calum insisted that this was the day you learned how to drive, so he spent the night at your place and today he drove you in your car, that way there would be no excuses left for you not to do it.

However, you were still hesitant. This was technically your father’s car, his other baby, and if you ever crash it you wouldn't know what you’ll do. Calum noticed your doubt and took a step closer to you, grabbing your hand in his to give you some sort of encouragement.

“Look, babe. It’s okay if you don’t want to do it. I won’t pressure you” He said softly “I just thought this could be fun for the both of us” He smiled “Fun and educational for that matter. But if you’re not ready then we can go home and-”

“I want to do it, Cal,” You said, “I just- I don’t know where to even begin!”

He chuckled and placed a kiss on your forehead, making all the butterflies in your stomach take flight.

“Tell you what,” Calum said confidently “You get behind the wheel and I’ll put us some inspirational music”

He walked back to the car to connect his phone to the speakers “You better put my song first!” You called after him as you walked towards the driver’s seat.

Calum laughed “God, I should’ve never told you that! Now your ego’s off the damn roof!” Soon enough he sat on the passenger’s seat next to you and buckled up.

“Not my fault that you think of me so often you want to put it into song” You teased, leaning in for a kiss that Calum was happy to oblige.

“Yes,” He said mid-kiss “It is completly your fault” Next thing you know ‘Kill My Time’ was playing on the radio, but Calum was not letting go of you just yet.

You wished this moment last forever, you wished every moment with Calum would last forever, but you both needed to breathe at some point “I wish I could kiss you all day long, I swear I could die on your lips and die happy” You said as you pressed your forehead to his, smiling like a fool in love.

“Soon, love,” Calum said as he crashed his lips against yours “Just wait until tour is over and then we’ll have forever to do just that”

You grinned at his words, a few days ago he promised to make your relationship publicly official once he came back from tour, that way you’ll have more time together as a fairly new couple. If he was willing to take that step, then you were more than ready to follow along. You knew you’d give everything for him if you had to and you still won’t regret it. You love him, and that was enough for you.

“Think I’m ready to start,” You said once you pulled away from him for the last time.

Calum nodded and patted his hand on your thigh “Okay, first you have to turn on the engine. Good, then you check all your mirrors and make sure your gear shift is on position-”

“My what?” You asked.

“Your gear shift, you know? The stick in-”

“Oh, you mean the PRNDL? You said, trying your hardest to stay serious, but failing to do so once you saw Calum’s face.

“You couldn't go one day without your references now, could you?” He said in amusing disbelief that had you both laughing.

The lesson was fairly simple, it just consisted of going forwards and on reverse a few times and practicing some turns in circles around the parking lot, and you were proud to say you were getting the hang of it pretty quickly. Calum turned out to be a great instructor with the patience of a god, he never got mad at you or showed that he was scared - even though it was pretty clear that he was, especially when you turned too far and almost hit a lamp post - and you appreciate him for that.

It was almost 2 AM when you decided to call it quits for the day and start back tomorrow. Calum was now behind the wheel driving you to your house so he could pick up his car and drive home.

“Cal?” You said once he parked in your driveway.

“Yes, love?”

“I’m really happy with you” You shyly admitted.

Calum’s heart beamed with love as he pulled you closer for a goodnight kiss “And I’m really happy with you”

You kissed him one more time before jumping out of the car “See you tomorrow!” He called before you watched him drive away.

The sound of a horn woke you up from your daydream memory. You didn’t know the light had just turned green until the car behind you started pounding their button and cursing at you to move.

You watched the white car from the rearview mirror as you drove away, it looked like his, all the white cars did, but you knew he couldn’t be here just yet, not until the tour was done.

A sinking feeling of hopelessness filled your inner thoughts once again. The promises he made faded like the wind in the summer once he stepped on that plane and decided that you were something he had to leave behind. It would’ve been good to know beforehand, that way you wouldn’t have wasted a year by the phone, hoping it would ring and that he’d be on the other line.

You glanced at the car’s clock one more time, it’s already too late to do anything, you’ve been driving around without a destination for hours when it only felt like minutes. Time is something you learn how to lose when you’re alone, minutes become meaningless once you realize there is no one there to share them with you, but it’s late and it was time to head home. You let out a sigh at the realization that your drive-through therapy didn’t work this time.

Deciding to take the long way home, you started to drive through the lesser-known streets of LA, hoping that you’d get lost somewhere and not knowing if anyone would care.

The dreams of running away came flashing down, more of an idea than an afterthought. Yes, you made it in LA, you have a hit song and your dreams are coming true. Why didn’t that feel like enough?

If you were gone, even just for a little bit, would anybody notice? If you just got up in your car and started driving somewhere unknown until the feeling of loneliness faded away. Could you drive your feelings away? Outrun them somehow?

You knew that if Calum could do it then so could you. It was so easy for him to just leave whatever you had behind, to leave you behind and hope that you were okay somehow. If he thought that you were okay then he maybe didn’t know you at all and you are probably better off without him, just like your friends say all the time.

But were you better off without him?

Tears started piling up in the corner of your eyes once again. No, you were not better off without him even though you want to be. And neither you are better off with him, if he ever came back to you, that is.

You swallowed a sob, trying your hardest not to break down again. It was useless, all the tears and all the songs and all the fuck him an attitude that you could muster… What was it for if not to dwell on your pain even more? You are still hurt and he still did not care.

You took a turn on the left, knowing the way like the back of your hand. You knew this path would lead you home, but you also knew it would lead you to his house as well.

The first time you did this was to practice how to find your way to Calum’s home without getting lost. You knew he wasn’t home and he wouldn’t be for many many months, but you wanted to surprise him once he got there, to pick him up and drive him to that date he promised you once he returned. Now, you avoided that road like a plague unless you had days like this, days in which missing him became everything you did, and now passing through his empty house gave you the reality check you desperately needed: He is gone. It also inspired you to write the song, it was a blessing and a curse.

You turned into the familiar street and looked to your right, you counted the houses passing by one, two, three, four… Until you spotted his old porch. Normally, that’s all you did. You would drive through his street and see the house dark and cold as his owner was out of town. But today there was a white car on his driveway.

Your breath got caught in your throat as you recognized the license plate, immediately stepping on the breaks and making the car stopped abruptly in front of the house.

That is his car… But how? You knew that Calum kept his car in Ashton’s place so they could drive up together to the airport every time they had to leave. What is it doing here? Tour didn’t end until a week from today and-

The sudden movement coming from the house pulled you from every rational thought as the front door opened. You held your breath as the person who stole all your sleepless nights came into view.

He was home.

Calum stepped out of his house with a bright smile on his face. His hair was shorter than the last time you’ve seen it, and he was less tanned, a fact that was easily noticeable thanks to the contrast of his leather jacket on his skin. But his dimples were intact as he smiled at whoever was inside the house.

A small figure came behind him, wrapping her arms around his torso as she was laughing at something he said. Her blond hair was falling down her back so elegantly, and her smile was bright as day as she hugged him, you wouldn’t have noticed that in the photos. She looked happy, but what broke you the most is that he looked happy as well.

He was home, but he was home with her.

You knew something was going on, even if there wasn’t anything official from either of them. You weren’t official, too. But seeing them was all the proof you needed to believe it. Believe that it was actually over and neither of you said goodbye.

You bit the inside of your cheek as silent tears started rolling down your face. You wanted to scream, to cry your hearts out, and let the world fuck itself over and over again. But for the love that you had on yourself, you promised that you wouldn't dignify him by making a scene. He didn’t deserve it. He didn’t deserve to know you cared.

With that in mind, you wiped your tears and floored the gas pedal, driving away from the scene.

“Hey!!!!!”

“Guess what?”

“I PASSED THE TEST!”

“I can legally drive on my own now :D!”

Read 19:05

“Calum?”

“Oh, you must be at the concert now, my bad!”

“Let me know when we can FaceTime again! I can’t wait to tell you how it went! I’m so excited we can finally switch places and let me be the one in charge of the road, lol”

Read 23:54

“Is everything alright, Cal?”

Read 04:32

“I miss you”

Read July 19th 14:49

Last week you sent your last text to him and he still hadn’t responded yet. You tossed all night waiting for at least a smoke signal from him. He was gone for two months now and he never missed one of your calls, it was so unlike him, especially when he promised you to call every day he was on tour.

You tried to distract yourself by doing everything you could think of. You watched videos, listened to music, played candy crush over and over again, and still, there was no answer.

You were starting to give up when a notification from Twitter graced your screen, it read: “Calum Hood, bassist from the band 5 Seconds of Summer, seen cozying up with a mysterious girl in a nightclub two nights ago”

You blinked twice and reread the headline, hoping that your eyes were deceiving you.

“The Australian bassist seemed to be catching up with some friends and letting it all loose at a wild night here in London after their sold-out show in the O2 Arena.

Hood was wearing-”

You skipped all that unnecessary information, scrolling down to the bottom where you knew all media kept the real gossip. A bubble of anxiety started forming inside your throat, as your fingers moved over the screen. The atmosphere became heavy while you could hear your heart thundering inside your chest, every little beat it made was hurting you, almost like it was banging your ribcages begging to be set free.

Time stood still as you looked at the pictures, not wanting to believe your eyes as they analyzed every detail of it.

There he was, hugging a blond woman from behind and resting his face on her shoulders just like he used to do with you. Even from the picture, you could tell she was gorgeous. The next picture showed her wrapping her arms around his neck and smiling at him. He had his hands cupping her cheeks, his face denoted a serious expression, but the look in his eyes was fixed on her.

He kissed her in the third picture, his hands still cupping her cheeks. It seemed like he was smiling through the kiss.

The last picture had them sitting on some kind of leather sofa. She was sitting on his lap and his hands were wandering very close to her butt, holding her close to him.

“The fans of the band wasted no time on identifying the mysterious girl. She seems to be the new tour assistant manager of the boys. Let’s hope that work and pleasure don’t get between this beautiful couple #goals<3”

The stream of tears was never-ending. You couldn’t understand what was going on, why Calum hasn’t said anything to you, why-why did he let it happen? Something was not right, and it wasn’t just your breathing getting heavy inside your lungs or your shaky hands as you typed the next text.

“We need to talk, please call me?”

You got no answers that night as you cried yourself to sleep, realizing that you had no one to comfort you cause nobody knew that you two were even together. You were utterly alone.

The next morning you woke up to no text from him, not even a call or a voicemail.

Read 08:45

You forced yourself to finish your nighttime routine. Ever since you came back home you did nothing but cry, but not of sadness, you were crying of anger.

With him being far away it almost didn’t seem real. You allowed yourself to create some sort of fantasy where he would come back to you, to start over where you left off and be together for everyone to see. How foolish.

You thought that he’ll hear your song and he’ll be running back to you to apologize, to ask if you still love him like before. But he won’t, because he is happy without you while you rot in your own pity party.

You grabbed hold onto the counter, trying to hold the tears as everything suddenly became clear as day. All the red flags you ignored were now shining as candy apples. He made a fool of you and didn’t even dignify you with at least some kind of warning or apology. He brought you down and now it was up to you to climb back up and even higher than before.

How could he?

All the memories you held close to your heart were burning in the pyre of your soul. You loved him, you knew you did. But all you meant for him was just a summer fling, something to waste time on before the real thing came along.

But he loved you…

Did he?

He spent entire days and nights next to you. He told you stories no one’s ever heard of. He sang to you to sleep and wrote you the most beautiful poems you’ve ever read. He picked you up every day and stayed with you until it was your time to leave. He made you feel welcome and there was not a day where you didn’t feel safe around his arms. He was your best friend. He taught you how to drive and what it meant to feel something real, something as important as the love you could have for someone. He loved you, he said he did, he promised he did.

Maybe love was not enough for him.

Your mind was divided, fighting over and over and over again about the same thing. Part of you cursed his name while the other part just wanted to be held by him, telling you that it will all be okay. But you couldn't even trust yourself on this one.

The doorbell rang, one, two, three times.

You were not going to answer it. One look in the mirror and you knew you couldn't answer anyone in this state. Your eyes were puffy and red, your cheeks were hollowed from not eating all day. There was nothing you could do to make you look or feel better, so whoever was behind the door will have to find another way to disturb the chaos in your mind.

However, they were persistent. With the ring of the doorbell came a few bangs. It seemed urgent.

You took one last look at yourself before deciding with a sigh to go and open the door. Whoever it was must have a good reason to come banging at your door a little past midnight.

“I’m coming!” You called, voice coming out a little hoarse from crying all night.

A shiver ran down your back and you felt like you were here before, in this exact moment where all your instincts told you to walk away. You decided to ignore them as you gently turned the doorknob and opened the door. Immediately wishing you didn’t.

“Calum?”

He stood in front of you, soaked from head to toe. Hands in the pockets of his jacket, not the leather one, but one more cozy. He was also wearing a pair of sweatpants and part of his hair was stuck on his forehead. You didn’t realize it was raining.

“Can I come in?” He asked, not even a hello.

You debated on whether or not to let him in. Part of you wanted to throw him back into the streets, but a storm was coming - much in the literal and subliminal way, and you didn’t want him to drive in this weather, you still care for him even though you shouldn’t.

With a simple nod, you opened the door wide enough so he could enter the house, a little “thank you” came out of his mouth as he stepped inside for the first time in over a year.

You closed the door and started walking into the kitchen with Calum following you like a stray dog. Your hands were shaking so you hid them behind your back as you slowly wrapped your arms around you in an attempt to comfort you throughout this whole ordeal.

Calum is standing in front of you on the other side of the island. He is not looking at you, but rather he is looking at his feet. You figured he was too scared to be the first one to talk and it broke your heart that he has suddenly become shy around you when you used to tell each other everything. ‘But whose fault is that?’ You thought.

Now you were just two strangers in a room.

“I thought you’d still be on tour,” You said, breaking the silence that has fallen upon you.

Calum looked up and he almost looked thankful that you spoke first “The last two venues canceled at the last minute due to weather conditions,” He said “So we came back earlier than expected”

You nodded and faced the other way. The fact that he was here in your home made your stomach turn and not in a good way. You always thought him coming back was going to be something joyful, but it became more painful as time went by.

“They closed café Mariannete while I was gone” He said, was he really going to talk about that right now? Did he came over here to reminisce about the café you used to have breakfast in?

“I didn’t know. I don’t go there anymore”

More awkward silence came upon you. You both knew he was bullshiting his way into the real conversation he was avoiding to have. He always used to do that and you have forgotten how much you hated it.

“Were you driving by my house today?” He asked and you froze on the spot. You didn’t think that he saw you.

“I was,” You cleared your throat “I was coming back home”

“And you didn’t say hello” It was more a statement than a question.

A sour taste filled your mouth. How dare he? “You were busy enough” You knew it was a petty answer, but what did he expect?

A flash of hurt came through Calum’s eyes as he said nothing in return. He knew you saw him with her, so he had no excuse to push the topic back to you.

The atmosphere was tense as the only thing you could hear was the ticking of the clock and the raindrops falling through your window. There was so much to say and yet none of you were brave enough to muster them.

You had every right to be mad and he had a right to explain himself, but you were not going to be the first one to cave in. Not without hearing from him first.

Eventually, Calum got restless of the silence.

“Your song is amazing,” He said, pleading for an answer that didn’t contain poison in your words ���Ashton showed it to us the day it came out”

So he has heard it, you didn’t know if you should be proud or ashamed “Thanks”

“I forgot to congratulate you on your number one”

“You forgot to do a lot of things”

If there was ever a moment where you could give him the chance to redeem himself, this was it.

You saw how Calum shifted his weight from foot to foot, he had his lips pressed in a thin line and you could see how his eyes changed and fell into a deep pit of regret as tears were forming in the corner of his eye.

“I know the song’s about me-” He said.

“How did you figure that out?” You said sarcastically.

“Y/N…” He pleaded, running a hand through his face, but you were having none of that.

“Why did you do it, Calum?”

You needed an answer, something you could hold onto to eventually let go. Calum, however, was almost speechless.

The ticking of the clock became even louder as you counted the seconds until he spoke again. One, two, three…

Ten “I don’t know”

The answer cut right through you as you let a stream of tears roll down your cheek, not lifting your head to look at him in the eyes. It wasn’t what you expected, it was way worse.

Calum noticed your crying and started panicking, spilling every thought he had through his mouth “I-I don’t- I was drunk and she was there with our groups of friends and we were too drunk to even take notice of what was happening and we just kissed and- Y/N, I’m not perfect. We weren’t perfect, we weren’t even official and it was only a kiss and I thought it would be okay but then the tabloids and your message and I just- And she’s a great friend, she didn’t mean any harm but things happened and-” He stammered, unable to connect his thoughts as he desperately tried to fix something so you would stop crying.

“For me it was perfect” You cried “We were perfect in my mind, you made it perfect. God, Calum. Why didn’t you tell me? I spent months in agony trying to figure it out, to make it make sense! I beat myself up over and over again and there you were having the time of your life with a stranger!” Your voice was loud, not enough to yell, but enough to make it clear that you were fuming.

“What are you talking about?!” Calum said matching the tone of your voice “I missed you every fucking day but there was nothing I could do about it! You don’t know shit of what you’re talking about!”

You scoffed “Oh yeah! It surely seemed like you missed me! You never called me once, Calum. Not even to apologize and try to make it better”

“I didn’t know how!” He said, “I was scared that-”

“That I’d hate you?”

“That you’d forgive me,” Calum said in one breath, making you stare in shock “I-I didn’t want you to forgive me, Y/N, cause you deserve so much better. On tour I realized that I wasn’t ready for a relationship, no matter how much you mean to me and I didn’t know how to tell you that so-”

“And are you ready now? That’s why you are with her?” You interrupted, head filled with anger to even think straight.

“I’m not ready to be with either of you!”

The room felt silent once again.

You had no answer to that and you weren’t sure you wanted to hear more from him.

The rain outside your window started to calm down, only droplets of water were left as the memory of the storm that almost was.

Your legs gave out a minute later, sliding you down slowly onto the floor. Calum walked up to you and sat next to you, neither of you saying anything for what it seemed like hours.

“You said you loved me…” You said with a faint voice.

Calum sighed “I did. I do”

“And you love her too?”

He thought about it “I don’t know. I might” You closed your eyes as a tear fell down your cheek “She’s good to me, Y/N. And we really got close but-”

“I know,” You said with a soft sniffle “We weren’t perfect either”

“You do know I love you, right?” He said softly, turning his face towards you “And that everything we had was real. Every minute of it, every word in every song was true and it still is. All was real and it’s still there somewhere. I still want you in my life, Y/N, cause you make it better. I just,” He sighed “I need to figure my shit out”

“Yeah, you do” You said, making him chuckle darkly “But I can’t promise I’ll be here”

“I wouldn’t ask you to”

You sat there in silence for a few more moments, just enjoying each other's company before everything fades away.

“I love you, too” You said in a whisper, hoping that he won’t hear “I still fucking love you”

Calum sighed “I know”

“Guess that you didn’t mean what you wrote on that song about me

‘Cause you said forever now I drive alone past your street”

.

Tags: @iknowyouthinkimbulletproof @mystic-232 @talksoprettyjjx @theshyspy @sarcasticallywitty15 @hoodhoran @flaneurcth h @notinthesameguey @myloverboyash @yeah-and69 @fckingpernico

* if your url is crossed please reach out to me so we can fix it

[cinnamonrusts]

i’ll see you in the village -- 2

parts: 1

This village is nothing that you thought it was going to be. You interact with some locals and Chris does some homework to find where you are when he cannot contact you. (chris redfield x f!reader) (a/n: it’s a long one, bois. thank you for all the love)

                                                            ✧.* ✧.*

As the terrifying sounds echoed through the dilapidated village grew closer to where you stood, your blood ran cold and you reached for your gun but stopped; because, you knew that if you opened fire you might blow your cover. However, whatever created these noises did not sound like a friendly neighborhood pet. Person? Dog? Creature? Whatever it was, it sounded dangerous.

“Come out!” you yell as your head whipped side to side, desperate to get a glance at what it was that was playing this game with you. “Come out!” you scream again, but are only answered with a sharp arrow which hurdled through the air and embedded itself in the wooden fence beside your head. You curse loudly, your life almost ended, and you probably wouldn’t have realized it if it did.

Before you popped off any rounds in retaliation, a strong arm pulled you back from behind. Their rough, dirty palm was pressed firmly against your mouth and they shushed you quietly. The person pulled you into a darkened home and quickly closed the front door that was opened just enough for the two of you to slink through. Your mouth opened to speak once you felt relatively safe from whatever horror lurked in the shadows of the night. “Quiet, girl,” your savior spoke. With the faint moonlight that shined through the boarded up window, you could make out the face of an elderly man and to his right was presumably his wife - who was armed with a double-barreled shotgun and the nose of it pointed at a small hole in the door.

They didn’t explain anything besides telling you that being quiet is the correct thing to do. The same blood-curdling screeches grew closer and thuds on the roof caused you to jump. “Do you have a gun?” he asks and you nod as you place your hand on your hip where it was concealed under your clothing. Sounds of snapping wood from above draw the attention of the wife and she proceeded to pump shells in the general direction of the intruders. One of her shots hit whatever it was and it scurried away. Screams of pain were the last of its noise before the thuds stopped and sounds of it tearing through the front yard verified it was gone.

✧.*

A brief amount of time passed before the two locals spoke. “You’re an outsider,” the woman said as she leaned her firearm on the wall beside the door. “Yes, that is true, but I’m nothing but a traveler from a town far East of here,” you lifted your long skirt to curtsey for the couple, “I’ve come here to spread my fortune telling for all to enjoy.” The man scoffed and shook his head before he took a drink from a dirty mug. “Mother Miranda does not cater well to outsiders,” he burped, “--Especially those with talks of necromancy and fortune telling.” Mother Miranda? Score.

“I promise I have no ill well to you, the locals, or this Mother Miranda that you speak of.” The man scoffed once more but his wife shushed him, “You’re welcome here, dear.” she placed a hand on your shoulder and grinned a gummy smile. “Thank you,” you say and the three of you exchange backstory to your lives, until you try to push for some information about Miranda. “Who is this Mother Miranda?” you ask finally and hope that the tape recorder that is hidden in your waistband had begun to record once you bumped it with your wrist. A glimmer of light sparked in her dark eyes and she walked over to the main wall across the way. She pushed herself onto her toes and reached for a dusty painting of a woman that hung crooked above her head.

“This -- this is our wonderful, Mother Miranda.” she placed it in your palms and you brushed away a thick layer of dust with your thumb. The painting was faded but you could still make out what this woman looked like, and it was identical to the photo that the BSAA showed. Another spot marked off on the mission bingo sheet. “She keeps us safe and has for longer than we have been around.” she continued to praise the blonde. “She does? What about whatever is out there!? Does she keep you safe from that?” Your insult hit a nerve because the man stood from his seat, “How dare you insult our Mother in our home! You will feel her wrath!” he continued to yell, despite hiding away from the thing just outside the door. He proceeded to kick you out of their home and closed the door behind you, then locked it so you couldn’t get back in.

You knocked several times and attempted to apologize, but the same shotgun used to save your life was now pointed at your forehead. When you could feel the sensation of the firearm aimed for you, your hands raised instinctually in the air and you backed away slowly, your eyes never moved from the barrels. Never again would you see this couple.

✧.*

Once again, you found yourself alone in the dark village. Maybe the large castle that loomed over would be a good place to investigate next? You wandered toward the center of the crossroads and your thoughts drifted from subject to subject before being interrupted by the sound of a horse’s gallop. Another villager?! Hopefully they’d be nicer than the last pair. You turned to wait for the horse to approach but were horrified at the site that soon was before you. On the animal’s back was no man or woman, but a grey skinned creature who wielded a burning stake with a charred human remain pierced through the middle. It looked like one of the drawings you found in the old fairytale book your mother read to you when you were a small.

There was no time to scream but just enough to pull your pistol off your hip and shoot into its face. Unlike any human but just like the BOWs you’ve dealt with previously, it took the bullets like a sponge. Instead of wasting any more ammo, you decided on your best bet, and that was to run - run fast. The terrain was unknown but you did your best to go in any direction that was not the same way as your assailant. 

The creature slashed the burning spike around in the air as it tried to hit you with it but you managed to duck and dive each time he did it. Soon, you saw a hope of escape, a line of trees. You continued down your path and once you reached the wooded area, you threw yourself down the only option you could see -- a steep hill and then tumbled down. The horse cried in fear and bucked upward, it wouldn’t allow the hostile creature to chase you any longer.

Your hands covered your head as you bounced off the hard, icy ground. Each hit, bump, and scrape burned through your body but you hoped that at the bottom you’d be safe. When you reached the bottom, you rolled out onto a dirt path and narrowly missed being trampled by a horse drawn carriage. The stallion that carried the wooden neighed loudly as it’s hooves dug into the ground. Your vision was blurred from your trip down the hill and you could barely make out a rather obese face of a man who peeked his head out from behind the curtain of his carriage. 

“My word, I nearly flattened you into a pancake!” he cried as he pulled the fabric back completely. Your breaths were heavy and short as you remained silent, eyes fixated on the Caucasian friendly face. The man encouraged you to enter his wagon and you hesitated to accept but did once you pushed yourself up from the ground. “Unlike those bewitching women who lurk in that castle... I don’t bite!” he giggled. The gentleman introduced himself as “The Duke” and gave you a short tale about his travels in this village. Duke explained that it wasn’t always this way and it was once full of rich life and light, but it’s all different now... “What about you, my lady? What is it that brought our paths to cross one another?” he asked before he blew out a puff of cigar smoke. You coughed several times and waved your arm in the air in an attempt to waft the smoke from the small room. “Well...” you started and then proceeded to tell the imaginary tale that you told the couple previously.

                                                                      ✧.* ✧.* ✧.*

“Dammit!” Chris yelled and slammed the dashboard of the vehicle he was passenger in with his fist. The truck that was to transport Ethan and his deceased wife had been taken off the road and the infant, Rose, was most likely gone or dead. He began to bark orders at his squad in frustration before he came to his senses and took a deep breath. Miranda must’ve been behind all of this... and took Rose. “There,” he pointed at a rugged map of the local area that was taped onto the truck’s wall and turned to Umber Eyes, “Miranda’s village is there, and I bet so is Rose.” 

A female interrupted from the back of the caravan, “Alpha, that information you requested came in.” she brought over a laptop and set it in Chris’s palms. The bright screen in the dark caused Chris to squint as he read through the document. Your BSAA photo was the largest thing on the page and beneath it was the detailed report of your newest mission, the one that brought you to Europe. He gritted his teeth - thoughts of the BSAA sending you on what could be a death mission crossed his mind. Chris reached into the breast pocket of his black overcoat and pulled out his phone, then held down the 1 key to speed dial your cell. It rang several times before informing that there was no voicemail set up. He huffed before he tried several more times. Each call ended the same way and Chris felt anxious.

“Lobo, ping on [Y/N]’s phone and find her location!” he ordered, his voice cracked just the slightest as his anxiety peaked. Lobo nodded, gave his superior a thumbs up and typed away on his laptop. Chris not only was concerned for Ethan and baby Rose, but now your whereabouts plagued his mind. He was confident in your capabilities but he knew how dangerous Miranda and her subordinates could be.

Chris sat in silence with his thoughts as the vehicle turned around and headed in the direction of Miranda’s village. He reached into the same pocket as earlier and pulled out a wrinkled photograph of the two of you. It was from your first mission that the two of you ever went on together. It wasn’t too long ago, maybe three or four years but it felt like a lifetime now. His calloused thumb ran over your smiling face and he hoped that you were okay...

The moment of silence ended, “Alpha, her phone pinged in the same location as Miranda’s village.” Lobo informed as he turned the screen to Chris. A brief moment of relief washed over him but if your phone was there, then where were you? And why weren’t you answering?

Little known to you or Chris -- the cellphone laid in the middle of the dirt road, left behind as you road off in the carriage with the Duke. The screen lit up brightly in the dark air and the generic tune jingled in the stillness of the night. It continued to do this several times as Chris continued to call and worked on pinpointing the pings. On the final ring, a feminine hand reached down from above and picked the phone up. The screen flashed, “CHRIS” over and over. The call was ended by the person, they took the phone firmly in their palm and crushed it with their strength.

Now, there was no way for Chris to communicate with you and someone was now on your tail...

[morporkian-cryptid]

Today in "Elliott's Niche AF AUs": one (1) person asked me about this, sooooo...

Lupin III Discworld AU crossover headcanon pile thingy!!!

For those who don't know: Discworld is a flat world held on the back of four giant elephants on top of a giant turtle, floating through space. That world has magic, as well as trolls, dwarves, goblins etc... but in a way that's meant to subvert typical fantasy tropes.

Ankh-Morpork, the biggest city on the Disc, is a hotbed of crime, innovations, and innovations in crime. It is run by a council of guilds, and by a Patrician (a lifelong tyrant; he's elected by the guilds but he has the final say in everything). Notorious for having an Assassins', Thieves', Beggars', and Seamstresses' (sex workers) Guilds. Also notorious for its Watch (the police), which is actually surprisingly good at solving crimes. It's also the biggest immigration destination on the Disc.

Character backstories/situations:

Lupin : half-quirmian-half-agatean (Quirm being the DW equivalent of France), grew up in the Agatean Empire (DW equivalent of China/East Asia). He moved to Ankh-Morpork to follow Fujiko, and/or to escape Zenigata. He’s an illegal thief (meaning he's not registered with the Thieves' Guild), and his favourite hobby (besides just stealing in general) is screwing with the Guild. Commander Vimes, the head of the Watch, is supposed to catch him (or at least help Zenigata catch him), but he's secretly rooting for him because he dislikes the Guild slightly more than he dislikes Lupin.

Jigen : son of a couple of Agatean immigrants in Ankh-Morpork, grew up as a street urchin in the Shades (the most crime-ridden neighborhood of the notoriously crime-ridden Ankh-Morpork). He joined the Assassins’ Guild later in his life as a (mostly self-taught) sharpshooter, with a talent that outshone that of the Guild's best students. He later quit the Guild after he met Lupin (possibly had a contract to kill Lupin, and decided “screw this I’m going with him”). He can use any kind of shooting weapons, but favors crossbows. He’s tried stealing and using the gonne (DW's first and only firearm); it didn't go well. He somehow managed to learn one single spell from the wizards, the fireball, by becoming pals with Arcchancelor Ridcully (wizard, head of the Unseen University, and famous for his unfortunate passion for crossbow shooting).

Goemon : agatean immigrant/fugitive, master swordsman. He left Agatea because Fujiko stole his Zantetsuken and fled to Ankh-Morpork, so Goemon had to follow her to retrieve his sword. He then met Lupin and Jigen and decided to stick around. The Zantetsuken is a talking sword, and its personality is basically the embodiment of Bushido. It's extremely annoying (like all talking swords), but Goemon loves it. (it was probably his only friend back in Agatea)

Fujiko : agatean immigrant/fugitive. Ran away from the Agatean Empire chased by Goemon. She joined the Thieves’ Guild, but everyone confuses her for a seamstress because her technique usually involves seduction. She tried it on Vetinari once. It failed spectacularly.

Zenigata : agatean immigrant, part of the Empire’s police force, who came to Ankh-Morpork chasing Lupin. He only brought his assistant Yata with him, and has to cooperate with the Watch to have resources to catch Lupin. Vimes doesn’t particularly like him, but he’s good at his work so he can’t say anything (they're both too stubborn to get along).

Bonus:

Yata: Zenigata’s assistant, came to Ankh-Morpork with him, rapidly became great friends with Rufus Drumknott (the Head Secretary of the Patrician, Lord Vetinari). He has a bad influence on Drumknott. He also befriended Captain Carrot Ironfoundersson, but then again Carrot befriends everyone.

Ami: She's a clacks operator. Clacks are basically the DW equivalent of telegraph. There's a group of clacks hackers called the GNU, so she might have joined them.

Albert: He's part of the Patrician's Dark Clerks (they're the secret services of Ankh-Morpork)

Rebecca: She's from Quirm. That’s all I have about her for now. (Quirm's the equivalent of France, but in the french translation it was made into an equivalent of Italy)

Random-Ass Headcanons

Lupin gets along like a house on fire with Moist von Lipwig (former conman and current postmaster, notorious adrenaline junkie), both figuratively and literally. Lupin and Lipwig sometimes team up on heists and rely on each other’s help, when they’re not busy competing against each other because Lupin keeps daring Lipwig to thieving competitions.

One of the contests’ goal is to steal Vetinari’s manuscript, The Servant. Fujiko wins. She wasn’t even in the race.

///

Fujiko quickly became friends with Adora-Belle Dearheart (Moist von Lipwig's rather explosive girlfriend), they get together every now and then to trash-talk their respective boyfriends.

///

For some reason everyone thinks Lupin is a werewolf. (it’s actually Jigen)

(maybe. I haven't yet decided whether or not he is. That would be a very good source of angst, considering what most werewolves are like, and also a very good source of domestic fluff if the whole gang has to adapt to the moon cycle and Jigen's transformations. Idk. Might be fun.)

///

Fujiko owns a horse golem (a gift from Adora-Belle or something she stole, we may never know). The Gang also owns a carriage, modified with a spell so it will drive faster, and they drive it completely carelessly. It has been destroyed and rebuilt countless times. (actually a bunch of spells, Lupin probably found a way to blackmail Ridcully so he could mod the shit out of his carriage. Or they rely on Jigen’s friendship with Ridcully)

///

Lupin uses swamp dragons as firearms (dialogue courtesy of @marquise-de-clarabas: Jigen: You stole a dragon??? Lupin: I didn’t steal him! He’s his own person and can make decisions himself! Dragon: I wanna steal). He has an alias and disguise entirely dedicated to visiting the Sunshine Sanctuary For Sick Dragons, and somehow became friends with Lady Sybil Ramkin-Vimes (Commander Vimes' wife, and the greatest expert on swamp dragons in the city, probably on the Disc). Vimes doesn't know about it, and Lupin finds the whole situation hilarious. He constantly makes jokes about how he’s playing with fire.

///

The Thieves’ Guild and the Watch are competing to catch the Gang, but secretly Vimes is rooting for the Gang (the Guild just hates them). That said, Vimes also hates Lupin (only slightly less than he dislikes the Guild), because he's always a little shit whenever he gets put in jail, and then he immediately breaks out.

///

Rincewind (famously bad wizard with a shit luck and a tendency to run from problems) once got arrested by Zenigata, because he got startled by him yelling LUPAAAAAAAAAN! and started running for the hills, making Zenigata believe he was Lupin in disguise. Rincewind is terrified of Zenigata.

///

Zenigata is actively trying to stop the Thieves' Guild from catching Lupin and Co, both because he wants to catch them himself, and because he knows what the Guild does to illegal thieves and he doesn’t want it to happen to Lupin.

///

Lupin stole Ridcully’s hat (custom wizard hat with a bunch of pockets, drawers, a crossbow, and a tiny flask of alcohol) as a gift for Jigen’s birthday. He also stole Lipwig’s hat (golden cap with dove wings), after which Adora claimed she didn’t recognize Moist (dialogue courtesy of @marquise-de-clarabas: Moist: C’mon babe, it’s me, your boyfriend! Adora, knowing full well who he is: I have never met this man in my entire life). He also raided the Assassins' Guild's armory/museum to get a birthday gift for Goemon.

///

About Jigen and the gonne (spoilers for Men at Arms) : basically, the gonne being such a dangerous and destructive weapon compared to crossbows, it has a nigh-magical attraction on people, and awakens and strengthens whatever lust for power, vengeance, blood etc they have. It basically controls its user and feeds on their convictions, addictions, wants, etc. The only person known to have resisted it is Vimes (because he's a stubborn mofo with a sense of morals you could bend iron on), and even he came damn near to losing his mind. (And Carrot, because... he's Carrot.)

Assuming the gonne didn't get destroyed in this AU: after they steal it, Lupin tries to use it, gets completely possessed/cursed (again) and accidentally tries to murder his friends (again), prompting Jigen to take it from him. Jigen then gets possessed as well, and they start fighting for the gonne, until Goemon just walks in, takes it out of their hands and takes it away. Goemon's completely unaffected by the gonne because 1) of his ascetic training and 2) "it is a filthy morporkian artifact and cannot compare to the noble art of the sword."

///

Zenigata often teams up with Angua (resident werewolf of the Watch), they get along very well. The Gang is very easy to track, they smell like a tobacco factory that has caught on fire.

///

Yata and Drumknott (Patrician's head secretary, and confidante, sort of) get together after office hours, and argue about whose boss is the best (because as we all know they both have a crush on respective bosses). One day Drumknott accidentally calls Vetinari “Sempai” after he heard Yata call Zenigata that all the time.

///

Lupin follows Lipwig’s example and steals all of Yata’s pencils every time he visits the Pseudopolis Yard (the Watch's HQ). Drumknott is fuming when Yata tells him about it.

///

Leonardo Da Quirm is butt-naked, because Part 4.

///

Something with vampires, probably.

///

tagging @carriagelamp and @mad-whoman-with-a-book00 because I know you may be potentially interested in this AU ^^

[iluvyou-xoxo]

high

suna x reader

wc: 2.2k

you were completely in over your head. sure, you had the occasional blunt at a high school party or kickback, but never have you been to something like this.

your senior project about the film industry was just proven wrong as the girls next to you snorted a line off the kitchen countertop. in your suburban neighborhood, the parties portrayed in television or cinema were only that: something that directors and script writers created as they continued to fetishize the high school experience. your paper talked about how odd it was that films focused on the loss of innocence during those four years of hell and how extremely inaccurate the portrayal was.

but here you stand at your first college party since attending university for only about a month now. it was exactly as pictured in every movie that you once would have called “stupid as fuck", and now you wish you had paid more attention. 

everyone seemed to of had experience in these types of gatherings while you stood next to the sink with a red solo cup filled with only water. your roommate had dragged you to this frat house because she had to meet with her dealer and would much rather do it in a public setting. her smart decision was only your downfall as she had begged you to come too, yet ditched you fifteen minutes ago to go find him even though she said she'd be back in five.

a tall lean figure walked past you but it wasn't his perfect physique that got your attention, it was the strong scent of weed that clung to the cotton of his hoodie. once you looked up to see the ethereal face of rintarō suna, you immediately recognized him as your roommates plug and decided to ask him if he has seen your roommate that seemed to have gone m.i.a. while looking for the person only a foot away from you.

“excuse me,” you called out much louder than how you would usually speak, but the base of the speakers drowned out your voice. although suna had heard you, he didn't look around just in case you were trying to capture someone else's attention. when you timidly tapped the back of his arm with your index finger it was unmistakable you weren’t asking for anyone else.

he slowly turned around and looked down at you with a bored expression and a red flask in his left hand, “yeah?”

“i'm y/n, and I was wondering if you have seen himari; she's my roommate,” you quickly asked as you removed your hand from his soft hoodie that hid the hard muscle underneath.

“oh uh yeah...” suna said, unsure of what else to say.

“well, she said that she was supposed to meet with you quickly but it's been over fifteen minutes now and she hasn't responded to my texts.”

quickly he understood what you were asking, “we met up like ten minutes ago but right now I think she's hooking up with my friend aran.”

instead of responding, you looked down and a small frown pulled the edge of your lips in realization that the person that asked you to come for protection had left you even though she knew this was your college first party— hell, your first real party.

before you had the chance to decide on either waiting for himari to finish or to take your chances walking alone to your dorm room, suna lightly grabbed your hand and pulled you out of the kitchen. the two of you weaved through the bustling function until you reached the front yard that was littered with cups and bottles.

“aran said that he'd meet up with me as soon as they're done so we can just chill in my car ‘til then,” suna said slightly ahead of you with your hand still placed lightly in his as the two of you continued walking.

you were completely sober, yet his skin touching yours had your head spinning and all the danger signs that would have flashed in your head seemed of cut off when you were with him. although this was the first time you've ever conversed with suna, you had a slight crush on the middle blocker that you had seen in school games a few times.

the both of you approached a black car that flashed twice indicating that suna had opened the doors. to your dismay, he let go of your hand and walked to the driver's side as you made your way to the passengers. once inside he pulled out his phone to play some rap song that you had never heard of before and pulled up the middle console to reveal a mason jar with four pre-rolled blunts inside.

“you wanna smoke, doll?” the mysterious man asked.

“i don't have any money on me,” you responded quietly, shifting your gaze to the window next to you. a muffled chuckle interrupted your mile-a-minute thoughts and turned you to see suna show more expression than you had ever seen him hold before.

“baby, you don't need to pay if i offer it to you,” he explained with a light laugh at the end of his sentence. wow, his laugh is beautiful.

“oh, well okay then,” you reply timidly as you watch him take off the lid and reach over to pull a lighter out of the glove compartment.

he takes the first few hits, quickly putting your mind at ease in case it was laced or something, and then brings the joint to you. next, you take two pulls and pass it back, the cycle continuing until the car is filled with smoke and the blunt is near its end.

the silence between you two is comforting as there was no need for awkward conversation. it was just two people in a cloudy car, vibing to one of the many chill playlists that suna had. the weed had hit you full force and you suddenly started to chuckle while thinking about how happy you were that your annoying roommate ditched you, even though in any other circumstance you would be livid.

suna was just appreciating the calm that marijuana gave him until your laughter filled the car. his eyes that naturally hung low seemed to have deepened as he slowly looked over to you and poked your cheek with his pointer finger. “watcha’ laughin’ about?”

your smile didn't leave your face as you looked over to the most beautiful person you have ever laid your eyes upon. “oh nothing,” you said slyly as your smile seemed to only intensify.

“oh really?” he asked while slowly shifting towards you

“yep, really,” you said, but this time closed your eyes with a big smile still plastered to your face.

rather than saying anything else, suna only chuckled and placed a hand on your thigh while shifting in his seat so his head leaned back on the headrest. the small action made you're heart leap and eyes open again and you found suna with a calm look on his face with his eyes closed and head tilted slightly back.

his peaceful face made you realize that he has probably taken many people to his car for a smoke and called them endearing nicknames. rather than feeling dread, something you were sure to have experienced if you were sober, you came to terms that this would be your only chance to be close like this with him again. before you could even think twice about it, you reached over the middle console to grab his cheek and quickly brought his lips to yours.

either he had experienced this situation many times before or he had expected it, because he immediately kissed you back and not a single muscle tensed at the sudden move on your part. his lips slowly moved with yours and met your tongue with his own.

soon you got frustrated because even though you were making out he wasn't doing much else. you thought that by now he would understand that you wanted him to take you on the backseat, but he kept the pace slow and his hands stayed in safe places, one holding your mid-thigh and the other on the side of your neck.

you broke your lips from his and even though that pace had been slow, he somehow still managed to take your breath away. “suna, do you not want to touch me?” you asked with insecurity leaking into your tone unknowingly.

“baby, i don't fuck people unless they’re sober,” he said with a slight smile as he looked at you. although you completely understood where this was coming from, you couldn't help the frustrated whine that left your lips.

“then why did you offer to smoke if you knew we wouldn't do it afterward?” you looked down to his lap to he was definitely hard, but his face didn't give anything away.

“well i wasn't really looking to get in your pants just yet, but no need to worry babe, we can always pick up where we leave off,” next suna placed his hand on your cheek and began softly rubbing it.

three hard knocks on the driver's side window grabbed both of your attention. there stood a tall man with beautiful deep skin and you instantly recognized him as aran from the volleyball team.

suna rolled down the window and although most of the smoke had dissipated throughout your make-out session, the final bit remaining went out and drifted into the midnight sky.

“suna please tell me you're ready to go now. i can't keep stalling her forever,” aran said as he let out an exasperated sigh.

“where is she now?” suna asked with slight frustration.

“well, she was dancing with a few of her other friends so i decided to run out and see how you're doing out here. do you need more time?”

normally you would mind your business but now you seemed to let the thoughts you hold fall from your lips. “what are you guys talking about?”

“nothing baby, don't worry about it,” suna brushed you off quickly.

“c’mon suna, i can tell that this is going well since you’ve been in here for almost half an hour,” aran pressed. “i'm pretty sure you're going to have to tell her eventually anyway.”

“okay now i’m really confused” you replied.

suna stayed silent while glaring and aran, but aran only smiled at you while slightly shaking his head. “this boy has had me distracting your roommate while he tried to sneak in some alone time with you.”

the idea of suna, the most handsome boy in all of japan, creating a plan just to talk to you made you almost want to laugh at how farfetched it was. but shortly after glancing at suna to find him holding a slight blush on his cheeks and shooting his friend a glare, you understand that this was actually the truth.

there's an awkward silence between the three of you and aran was the first to break it. “well i'm gonna dip real quick, but i’m only stalling her for five more minutes so you better wrap this up.”

he quickly turns away and walks back into the party as suna rolls the window up again refusing to make eye contact with you.

“do you like me?” you cut quickly to the chase as your excitement can barely be contained.

suna has yet to meet your eyes but when he nods his head indicating yes you smile brightly at him and quickly place your hand upon his thigh to grab his attention. “you know, you should have just said ‘hi’ to me around campus or something; i like you too.”

when he looks up he holds a sheepish smile and is still dusted pink from embarrassment. “oh shut up and hand me your phone, we don't have much time and i need your number.”

wordlessly you hand your phone over once it's unlocked and on to your contact app.

“well your friend is waiting for you, aran should have already called an uber for you guys”

“well are you going to tell me how you knew id be coming tonight for this elaborate plan to seduce me?” you asked flirtatiously and in a teasing manner.

quickly, suna cupped your jaw and squeezed your cheeks together forming an adorable pout on your face, slowly making ‘tsk’ noises while swaying your head left to right.

“it's time for you to go now, sweetheart. i’m gonna text you later so we can plan a date and maybe ill let you know then.”

your eyes quickly light up at the word ‘date’ and you lightly nod with a smile forming on your face. as soon as he lets you go you lean forward to place a final kiss upon his lips and walk out of the car.

once you finally find himari, you get her into the awaiting uber, wave goodbye to aran, and tell the driver your address. the smile you hold doesn't seem to let up for the rest of the night and once you're tucked in bed at around three in the morning your smile only intensifies at the glow of your phone that holds two new text messages.

maybe: suna- hey, this is suna

maybe: suna- i have a game tomorrow and was wondering if you'd come..?

—————

date: march 18th, 2021

[binniesthighs]

two tails | the series prologue | reader x minho

in which a chance encounter with your neighbor’s fluffy cat buds a romance when you least expected it 

Part One coming early January 

if ya would like to be on the taglist for when this series starts, send me an ask ♡ 

Pairing: self insert, female reader x lee minho

Genre: a lil bit of everything!

Tags: neighbors au, catowner!minho, catowner!reader, skz side characters, slow burn, gradual romance, neighbors to lovers, friends to lovers 

Word/part count: tbd! 

Requested: by a lovely anon! 

Chapters now available! 

Start here ➡️ ONE 

[open me for the prologue]

The tabby cat yawned, stretching out it’s little white paws in front of itself. You would have thought that the poor little lost thing would have been much more panicked, but this cat was rather the opposite. It’s golden-brown eyes dilated while it studied you. 

“What am I going to do with you...” The cat’s fur was cloud-like between your fingers. “Clearly someone takes care of you...you’re not gonna tell me who?” 

The cat stared at you blankly and unamused. 

“Of course you can’t...you’re a cat...what am I saying.” 

The cat rubbed it’s orange cheek into the side of your hand, a thankful little sign of trust. 

“Nothing scares you, huh?” 

As if saying, yes, the cat’s scratchy tongue licked at it’s chops. 

“Hungry? I’ve got just the thing for you.” 

The aged wood flooring of your duplex groaned under your feet while you patted your way to your kitchen. The tiny modest place flooded with the late-morning light. Streams of light brushed past the windows lined with your garden’s menagerie of budding flowers. In her usual spot on the windowsill was your calico, Bomi. Her sleeping green eyes peeked at you lazily when you entered. 

“You’re not gonna say hi to our new friend, Bo?” 

Temperamental as always, Bomi chose when she wanted to recognize your voice. 

“Hope you don’t mind that I’m borrowing some of your food for then.” You scooped out some of Bomi’s kibble--a sound which made her twitch her ears. “I’ll leave you to your nap, princess Bomi.” 

Even flattery didn’t phase that cat. 

Once you had returned, the tabby had jumped up onto the edge of a chair overlooking your front lawn. The cat was unmoving and sphinx-like as it watched the cars roll past. 

“Here’s some food. If you want it.” 

The cat twisted it’s head back as if to say thank you. 

“You’re alright, Cat. Maybe I should keep ya!” You scratched behind it’s ears eliciting little purrs. “No...I shouldn’t do that. Someone’s probably looking for you right now.” 

Across the room, your TV hummed with the cooking show you had been watching before your walk. 

“Well...I’ll leave you to it then. I’ll just be...over there.” 

You slid back onto your couch, cuddling yourself up as tightly as you could into one of the sides. It was no wonder that you adored cats as much as you did when you were so similar to them. On your most peaceful days, there was nothing more that you enjoyed than reading or writing out in your garden, soaking up the sun, or your quiet nights with open windows, cicadas singing and fireflies dancing to their tune while you would wash your dishes. 

Never had you thought that talking to Bomi was strange. She was your only companion, even if she would begrudgingly accept your love. You couldn’t picture your quiet little life without her. 

The tabby loafed it’s body on the upholstery and you laid yourself down too. The constant droning of the chef on TV was the perfect lullaby to your sleepy eyes...

₍⸍⸌̣ʷ̣̫⸍̣⸌₎

Ding dong! 

“Hello?” His muffled voice seeped through your front door. 

You shot awake from your couch with a startled gasp, your socks had twisted themselves all around your feet making them look like little elf booties. Undoubtedly your hair had resembled a bird’s nest. 

The tabby stared at you with wide eyes and chirped as you approached the door. For a couple moments you fumbled with the obscene amount of keychains on your keys--many of them cat themed. 

“Can-can I help you?” You tried your best to rub the nap out of your eyes and patted down the knots in your hair. 

“Oh. Ahem Hi, I’m-uh, I live a couple houses down, I wanted to see if you had seen a cat around, maybe in your yard, it’s a tabby, they’ve got some white on their belly and their face...” 

There were other words that had escaped out of his mouth, but those easily slipped past you. What was startling was how he was really...pretty. You had never really seen someone quite like him that made you feel as such. There was something about him too that seemed a little cat-like: perhaps it was his chocolate eyes, or bouncy coca-colored hair. He wore silver wire glasses that framed his face perfectly. There was a cardigan draped around his elegant figure, and it pooled at his hands into little paws. 

“...have you seen them? I’m sorry to bother you.” He pushed his glasses up his nose bridge. 

“Oh! Sorry, yeah, I’ve--” 

The tabby yowled out, suddenly and proudly making its presence known.

“Doongie!” The boy gasped out, and promptly scooped the cat up while it’s legs dangled. “Thank you so, so much.” 

“It’s no worry at all, I have a cat of my own, so it was no issue. I gave them some of my cat’s food as well.” 

“Oh really?” His smile was just as pleasant and calming as you could have expected. “What kind? And thank you.” 

“Calico. I think that she hates me most days but what would I do without her, you know?” 

“Ahhh. That’s the life of a cat owner.” 

You chuckled out a bit. “Hm. Yeah, it is.” 

His face lit with realization. “Sorry! I didn’t introduce myself, I’m all over the place—I’m Minho. Lee Minho, from 2503.” 

“I don’t think that I’ve seen you around this neighborhood before?” You leaned into the doorframe. “Then again...I don’t get out of my house all that much...” You laughed aloud a little at yourself. 

“Me either,” He joined you. “Actually, I just moved back in with my mom, one thing after the other happens and living in the city doesn’t stack up too well...commuting is what works best for me now.” 

“Oh, I’m sorry...” 

“It’s fine. I don’t mind. It’s a lot nicer than I realized coming back home after being away for so long. She helps me with my cats as well. I have three.” 

“Three?!” 

He warmly laughed. “It’s kind of a lot isn’t it? For one person?” 

“No, no! If I could have more cats I would, but...the one I’ve got already is a bit of a handful sometimes.” 

“Maybe you could meet them one day...if you’d like?” 

Minho’s cat Doongie had settled into his arms cozily, tail swinging and a paw slung over his arm. 

“...Sure! But, I-I don’t want to impose--” 

“--Please, my mother would love for me to invite someone over. She already thinks I’m a recluse.” 

You cracked out a hard “HA” and Minho’s face flushed as pink as the petals from your yard’s cherry blossom tree. 

“Oh! Sorry, sorry, I’m not laughing at you, it’s just that my mother thinks the exact same about me.” 

Minho nervously joined in your laughter. “Good to know I’m not alone.” 

Between both of you and the door frame, an awkward silence pervaded the air. 

“I-uh, should get going...but--you didn’t tell me your name?” Minho swayed his cat gently in his arms. 

“It’s Y/n.” 

“Ah...Y/n. I’ll...be seeing you around then?” 

“See you around.” You smiled to him as he clumsily attempted to walk backwards off your front porch. 

You closed the door after him, facing the tiny mirror nearby. You looked an utter mess, baggy eyes and hair looking as if it had survived a windstorm. You couldn’t help but laugh a bit at yourself. 

meow? 

Bomi had sauntered up to you, then twisted between your legs. 

“Sorry Bo, guess we don’t get to keep the cat.”

Bomi licked at the hair on her leg, going right back to ignoring you.

“I...wouldn’t mind seeing them again.”  

[cherrycheolcoups]

Please please would you do a one shot that take place in season 3 episode 20. And the reader is jealous and hurt of hotch being close to Kaye Joyner and getting mad when he takes his side over Morgan's. They could already be in a relationship or not. if you would like. :) thank you

hey, anon! thanks for requesting! i wasn’t sure if you wanted it to be fem!reader, male!reader or gn!reader so i went ahead and chose gn!reader. i kind of got carried away and it became longer than i was intending, but i hope this is to your liking. enjoy! :)

pairing: aaron hotchner x gn!reader

You were at your desk doing some paperwork while trying to ignore Morgan when JJ had came and said there was a case. Getting up, you and the rest of the team made your way to the conference room where the team was usually debriefed of the case. However, as soon as everyone walked in, Hotch had said, “Don’t get comfortable. There’ll be time to debrief on the plane” without even turning around to look at anyone. Clearing your throat a little bit, you look to your boyfriend. “Where are we headed, exactly?” You asked, Hotch still having yet to turn around from the screen where a clip of the murder was playing. “New York,” he had simply answered.

Rossi then spoke up. “5 shootings in 2 weeks. It’s about time we got the call.” You see he finally turns around and looks at Rossi for a moment before looking to Emily when she asks a question. “What do we know?” “All the killings are mid-day. Single gunshot to the head with a .22,” Hotch had answered. “Any witnesses?” JJ pipes up and asks, her hands on her hips. Shaking his head a little bit, Hotch tells her no before looking to Reid when he starts to speak up. “.22-caliber pistol’s only 152 decibels. New York streets and subways are routinely well over 100. It could be people aren’t even registering the gunshot until the unsub’s already leaving the scene.”

You look to your right and listen to Morgan when he says, “They sound like mob hits.” Then, you look to your boyfriend when he responds. “Except none of them have ties to organized crime.” “Do they have any connection to each other?” Emily asked. “None they’ve found,” Aaron told her. “How about communication with the police? Has the unsub tried to make contact?” Morgan asked next. Aaron turns to look at the screen as he answers. “Surveillance cameras have captured video of 3 of the murders. This is the latest,” he says as he clicks a button on the remote and a video comes up on the screen. “That’s the best image they have?” JJ asks Hotch. “They’re all the same. He wears a hood and keeps his head down,” Aaron answers. Emily begins to speak. “This guy’s bold. Crowded areas, broad daylight.” Rossi furrows his brows a bit as he asks, “So they’re completely random?” “It seems that way,” Hotch says. You sigh softly and cross your arms over your chest. This whole thing just gives you a bad feeling.

“Son of Sam all over again,” Reid said. “Wheels up in 30,” you hear your boyfriend say as he then exits the room, probably to go back to his office and grab his go bag. You and the rest of the team all start to pile out of the room as well. Everyone returned to their desks to retrieve their go bags. Derek got hit and said he was going to get Garcia, to which everyone simply shrugged. After you got your go bag, it was time to board the jet. Once on the jet, you chose to sit next to Emily. Besides Aaron, she was the person you were closest with on the team. Though, to everyone else, Emily was the only person you were closest with. None of the others knew about you and Hotch. Well...except maybe for Rossi if the way he looks at you and Aaron sometimes is anything to go by.

You look to the entrance of the plane when you hear Garcia’s voice. “How come I only get to travel with you guys like once every 2 years?” Derek was the next one to talk. “Trust me, Mama. It can get old.” Garcia moved to sit one sit in front of JJ as she turned and set her bag in the chair behind her as she answered. “Oh, right. Like the way that spa treatments in 5-star hotels can get old,” she had said. Emily piped up while looking at Morgan. “Remember the time we got on board and they hadn’t chilled the cristal?” Morgan looked at Prentiss and answered. “Ooh. I almost quit the B.A.U. that day.” This encounter made you laugh some. It was nice when you guys got to joke around for a moment before remembering where you were. You notice Hotch looking at you from the corner of your eye, though you weren’t going to give in and return his stare. Rossi was sitting right in front of Aaron after all. 

Garcia stood and looked at Derek. “You know what? You guys can joke all you want ‘cause I am never leaving this plane.” This made you smile to hear how Garcia just loved the plane. You smiled at Emily when she nudged your shoulder with her own once she sat down. Turning back to look at Hotch, Rossi, and Reid, you turn serious once again. “The victims?” You hear Rossi ask as he sets the photos down on the table. “Each killed in a completely different neighborhood. Hell’s Kitchen, Murray Hill, Lower East Side, Chinatown, East Harlem,” Aaron told Rossi, though looking at all of the team. “It doesn’t make any sense,” Reid says with a shake of his head. “There’s no common victimology, no sexual component, no robbery, no geographical connection. Do the police have any leads?”

“He’s killing roughly every 2 days. The press is having a field day, and it sounds like the mood on the street’s getting pretty edgy,” Aaron spoke as he leaned forward a little bit. “It’s a joint FBI-NYPD taskforce?” Rossi asks. Aaron simply nods his head before answering. “Kate Joyner heads up the New York field office. She’s running point on the case and called me directly,” he says before looking past Rossi and to JJ. “JJ, would you tell them we’re ready to go?” “Right,” JJ says as she pulls her phone out of her pocket. “Kate’s starting to butt heads with the lead detectives and wanted a fresh set of eyes.”

“Joyner, I know her. She’s a Brit, right?” Morgan asked Hotch. “Well, dual citizenship. Her father’s British, her mother’s American. She was a big deal at Scotland Yard before coming to the Bureau.” “I heard she can be a little bit of  a pain in the ass,” Morgan says next. Aaron shakes his head a little bit while looking at Derek. “I didn’t think so.” Emily looked at Hotch. “You know her?” She had asked. At this point, you were a little confused and a little upset, but you couldn’t convey that since you were supposed to be doing a job and the team didn’t know about the two of you, either.

“We liaised when she was still at Scotland Yard,” Hotch told Prentiss. Rossi then asked, “And she’s good?” Hotch looked to Rossi. “I think we’re lucky to have her.” This didn’t sit right with you, but you chose to try and ignore it for now. It was in the past, if anything had happened with him and this Kate Joyner you guys would be seeing. You looked out the window and felt Emily nudge you again. “You okay, (Y/N)?” You nodded your head and gave her a smile. “Yeah, yeah I’m okay.”

A little while later, you guys were now piled into the elevator, going to the floor you needed to go to. Once it dinged and opened, everyone got out, Hotch taking the lead. You were standing with Garcia and JJ, and clenched your jaw when you heard what JJ asked the two of you. “Is it just me or does she look exactly like Haley?” You didn’t want to see it, but there was no denying that Kate Joyner looked like Haley, and that didn’t make you feel any better about hiding your relationship from the team. You watched the two interact. “Kate.” “Aaron. How have you been?” Oh, so on a first name basis? That was not what you had wanted to hear. 

You didn’t want to be jealous. You wanted to give Aaron the benefit of the doubt and come clean to you later if he so chose to do so, but you couldn’t fight the feeling itching under your skin. “Well, thank you. This is my team. Kate Joyner, this is David Rossi, Emily Prentiss, Jennifer Jareau, Penelope Garcia, Derek Morgan, Spencer Reid, and (Y/N) (Y/L/N),” Aaron tells her, pointing everyone out as he said their name. Kate nods. “Thanks for being here. Anything that you need, just tell me. Please don’t stand on protocol,” at this point her voice was just starting to grate your nerves, especially when she was talking to your boyfriend. 

“What can you tell us about the city’s surveillance system?” Garcia had asked. “Um, it’s run by the NYPD. It’s still in the infant stages. It’s been rather controversial. American privacy laws. Um, but they’ve had some success,” Kate had told her. “And I’ll have complete access?” Garcia asked. “They’re already expecting you. Shelley?” During that entire time, you noticed how Aaron hadn’t taken his eyes off Kate. You tried to ignore it, but the thought stayed. Garcia pushed past to go. “I’d like to get a map of the borough. I want to do a comprehensive geographical profile of the area in order to ascertain the unsub’s mental ma before it’s clouded by our own linkage blindness,” you hear Reid say as two detectives walk up and stand next to him. The shorter one remarked, “I see you brought your own computer.” You didn’t like him already. “Detectives Brustin and Cooper. I’ll let you do the introductions,” Kate spoke. 

“You caught the first shooting?” Rossi had asked. “They’ve all been in different precincts. It wasn’t until the third murder that anyone even made the connection,” Detective Cooper had told him. “I guess this is where we play nice and ask you what you need,” Detective Brustin told the team. You really didn’t like this guy and his attitude. Kate let out a little bit of a laugh while she spoke. “I’ll let you all figure out what that is. I just ask that you run everything back through me. It’s been my experience that having one butt on the line is enough,” she says, looking at Detective Brustin who looked away and said, “Yes, Ma’am.” The next thing you saw really made you mad, and at this point there was probably steam coming from your ears. 

You watched as Kate stepped closer to your boyfriend and ask to “have a word with him in private.” “Sure,” was your boyfriend’s response. You crossed your arms over your chest and furrowed your brows. Emily and JJ shared a look with each other. You notice Rossi was looking at you from the corner of your eye. Sometimes, Rossi just knew too much. You watched as Aaron and Kate walked into her office. You didn’t like how close they were standing to each other. It just made your blood boil. “Woah, sweetness. What’s got you all red?” You hear Morgan ask you, to which you sighed and bit your lip, trying to decide if you should just come clean. 

“I...I probably shouldn’t say it here where all these officers could hear, but um...Aaron and I are...seeing each other. And have for some time now,” you told them quietly, making sure no one else was in ear shot. “So that would explain everything, then,” you hear Emily say as she then walked over to you and placed a comforting hand on your arm. “You trust Hotch, right?” She quietly asked you. At this, you gave her a confused look but nodded your head. “Yeah, of course. I trust him with my life.” “Then, okay. There should be nothing to worry about, (Y/N),” she told you. You sighed and nodded your head. “You’re right, Em. I’m sorry,” you apologized while shaking your head. 

A little while later, you were at the next crime scene with Kate, Derek, Detective Cooper, Detective Brustin, and Aaron. During that time, there seemed to be some tension between Kate and Morgan, and you didn’t like how she talked to him. You watch and listen as Morgan looks to Aaron. “You mind telling me why I’m catching attitude from her?” Aaron hesitates for a moment before he answers. “FBI brass has made it clear to her that if she doesn’t bring this case home, she’s gonna be reassigned, and you are at the top of the list to replace her,” your boyfriend explains to Derek.

Derek looks at him. “You’re kidding me.” “Why should you be surprised? You’re good at your job. People notice that,” Aaron told him. Derek turns away for a moment before turning back to Hotch. “What happened to the bureau patting itself on the back for stealing her away from Scotland Yard?” Aaron shrugs a little while shaking his head. “I don’t know. Politics here are different. And you can see she doesn’t pull punches,” Aaron said as he then walked away from the two of you. You and Morgan share a look before sighing and walking away as well. You really didn’t like how your boyfriend was sticking up for Kate the way he was.

After you guys find out there’s more than one unsub, you look at Kate when she asked if there was enough for a working profile. “Broad strokes,” was Rossi’s reply. “Dave, you and Reid talk to the agents here. Morgan, Prentiss and (Y/L/N), brief the police when each shift comes on duty tomorrow,” at Aaron’s demand, you nod your head. Morgan looks at Hotch. “I think we should get out on the streets,” was Derek’s reply. That was when Kate decided to speak to him. “I brought you here to create a profile,” she told him. “Which we can give in the morning, and then they can share it with the afternoon shift,” Derek told her. You really didn’t like how Kate Joyner was talking to Derek. 

“We’ve allocated every extra man we have. This is New York City. It’s not like a few more people is going to blanket the city,” came Kate’s reply. “I understand it’s a long shot, but these guys, they hit at mid-day. We could target Ingress and Egress to particular neighborhoods. Position us near express stops- 14th, 42nd, 59th-” Morgan was saying, but got interrupted by Aaron. “Morgan, it’s not your call,” your boyfriend told Derek with a shake of his head. You rolled your eyes and walked off, not liking how he just took Kate’s side and not Derek’s. 

After being done at the office, you guys went to the hotel. You laughed some at a joke Emily made as you guys walked in, Aaron holding the door for everyone. You guys made your way to the lobby before stopping when Reid motioned for JJ to look behind her. You, Aaron, Emily, and JJ turn around and spot Will. This made you smile. You were always rooting for them. Walking over, you guys look between Will and JJ. Will looks at Aaron and returns his handshake. “Detective,” Aaron had said to him. 

“I’m sorry for showing up like this. I know you’re working. But, um...I can’t stand you being on this case and me not being here, not with what’s going on,” Will told JJ. This made you a little confused. ‘With what’s going on?’ You asked yourself. Aaron tilted his head a little as he looked at Will. “Is there a problem?” He asked. JJ slightly scoffs before turning around to look at the rest of you. “I’m pregnant,” she says. This brought a smile to your face as you pulled her in for a hug, missing the look in Aaron’s eyes as he watches. “We’re so happy for you guys,” you told her, to which she had hugged back and thanked you.

Then you pulled away, still smiling after hearing the news. “I’ve asked JJ to marry me,” you hear Will say. “Will,” JJ had turned around and scolded. “We’re still working out some kinks,” he told the group. Aaron nodded. “We’ll, uh, give you both some privacy.” And with that, your boyfriend had started to walk away until JJ stopped him. “Hotch.” He turned around and looked at her. “JJ, you could have told me,” he said to her, a small smile on his face. “I know,” was JJ’s response. 

You, Aaron, Spencer, and Emily leave the two of them alone and retire to your rooms. You were debating on stopping at Aaron’s, but decided against it. Instead, you went towards Emily’s room, softly rapping your knuckles against the door. A few seconds later, Prentiss opens the door and ushers you into the room. “Hey, (Y/N). Not talking to Hotch now?” She teased. You smiled some and shrugged. “Eh. I was going to...but I’m not sure what to say without getting upset over the whole Kate thing. I don’t want to dump that on him right now. Not while we’re working a case.”

“That’s understandable. But you do know you have to talk about it with him eventually, right?” Emily pressed, looking at you. You sighed and nodded your head. “Yeah...I know.” A little while later, after having a few too many drinks with Emily, your addled brain supplied you with going to Aaron’s room. You hesitated at the door for a moment before knocking. Better now than never, you figured. Almost immediately, the door had opened, as if he were impatiently awaiting your presence. 

“(Y/N)...are you alright?” Your boyfriend asked you, concern and worry etched into his features as he gently pulled you in, shutting the door behind the both of you. “Yeah. I just spent a little time with Emily, not to worry over,” you assured him, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “Nothing to worry over? You’re drunk,” Aaron had told her. “Yeah, well...it’s what I needed after today,” you told him. With this information, he studies you for a moment. “What are you talking about?” He asked, confused about what happened to cause you to drink this much. 

“You and Kate. I don’t like it. Plus...the team ended up finding out about us,” you said, yawning some as you kicked off your shoes and laid down on the bed. “That’s what this is about? Kate? You’re not jealous are you?” Aaron asked. At your silence, he scoffed, shaking his head. “Unbelievable. You have no reason to be jealous. Nothing’s ever happened between Kate and I and nothing ever will,” he told you. For now, in your current state, it out you at ease.

The next day, you guys were listening to Garcia as she explained that the unsub was getting away. You were beyond frustrated, and so was Morgan. “We could’ve had that guy,” Derek said. Kate spoke next. “Even if we were on that platform, odds are he would have moved on to someone isolated.” At this point, Morgan started raising his voice a little. “Maybe, but it was worth taking a shot.” Kate and Derek looked at each other. “We had every available man on the street,” Kate told him.

Morgan got a little closer to the desk. “And I suggested to you that you use this team,” he had told her. Aaron looked at Derek. “Second-guessing doesn’t do us any good right now,” Aaron told him. “Hotch, how am I supposed to look these cops in the eye and tell them that we’re actually here to help them?” Morgan asked him. “We’re here to present a profile. That’s what we need to do.” Aaron was all too calm about this, you thought. 

“I said to put us at express stops, 14th, 42nd, 59th, and that’s exactly where they hit,” Morgan pushed. “It’s not your place to have this discussion,” Aaron told him. At this, you pursed your lips and watched them. “My place?” Derek asked. “You need to back off,” came your boyfriend’s reply. “We got 7 bodies, man.”

“Which is exactly why we need to stay focused,” Aaron told him sternly. “Focused.” Derek got closer to Hotch. “From where I’m standing, all your focus is on her,” you heard him say, which didn’t surprise you that he would bring this up. “Talk a walk. Now,” Aaron told him. You and Rossi looked at each other. You really didn’t like the tension in the air and quickly walked away, ignoring your boyfriend calling your name. You couldn’t deal with him right now.

You only made it to the door when Aaron had caught your arm, stopping you from going any further. “Let go, Aaron,” you said through gritted teeth, trying your best to not show any other emotion. Really, all you wanted to do was go home and scream and cry into a pillow or something. “(Y/N). Talk to me. You never storm off like that.” “Yeah? Well, my boyfriend also never adamantly takes someone’s side like that,” you spat, shrugging his hand off and leaving the office, getting into one of the SUVs and driving back to the hotel. 

Sometime later, Aaron found himself knocking on the door of your hotel room. “(Y/N). Please open the door. Let’s talk about this. Please...” you hear your boyfriend ask. You sigh and let him in, going back and sitting on the bed while having your arms crossed over your chest. “I know you’re upset with me right now. I know that this might take some time before it passes. I just want you to know that I do love you. And that I truly am sorry for you feeling this way. But please understand we’re not here to over step. Simply to give a profile. This is the NYPD’s investigation. And Kate happens to be the lead. Trust me when I say, nothing is going on between Kate and I. I only want you. Okay?” Aaron spoke softly, his hands encasing yours in his own, his eyes peering into yours the way he always does. 

After thinking about it for a moment, you sigh and close your eyes, the tears finally escaping your eyes as you hug Aaron tightly, burying your face in his neck. Aaron closed his eyes and engulfed you in a hug, pressing a kiss to your temple. “It’s all going to be okay, baby. I’m here,” he whispered into your ear. You eventually nodded and calmed down some, pulling away from him as you wiped your eyes. “I-I’m sorry...” you told him. Aaron gently cupped your face in his big hands, his thumbs stroking your cheekbones. “You have nothing to be sorry about. Truly,” he said, pressing a kiss to your forehead before you took it a step further and pressed your lips to his, just wanting to be surrounded with nothing but him again.

okay so this was way, way longer than i was intending for it to be but i wanted to get some of the dialogue plots from the episode between morgan, kate, and hotch to give that drama that was there between them. but i do hope that you enjoyed and that it was something similar at least to what you were picturing! and thanks again for requesting! :)