#she asked me last year if I wanted a big camping chair and I said let me think about it and she ordered it anyway and

[ghostsinthecellar]

I am worried about money all. the. time. and mom keeps buying things! for me! that I either don’t need or already have!

[luci-in-trenchcoats]

The Change: Beau

Summary: Beau's having a normal Saturday night when he catches a strange scent in the wind...

The Change

Pairing: Alpha!Beau Arlen x omega!reader

Word Count: 8,000ish

Warnings: language, angst, minor violence/injuries, fluff, implied smut

A/N: Y'all wanted more of The Change and I thought what better way to fill in some of the gaps than by taking a peak through Beau's perspective! While not 100% necessary to read The Change to understand this story, it's highly recommended!

_________

Saturday Night

“Dad, are you okay?” I turned my head towards Em, forcing a smile. She raised an eyebrow from her chair nearby the fire pit, a blanket over her lap. “You look worried.”

“It’s fine.” Shit. I bit my tongue but she was giving me that look again. That “we need to communicate openly, remember what the counselor said, dad?” look. I slumped down in my chair, trying to ignore the strong whiff of omega floating through the breeze. 

I could smell Em by my side. All sugar cookies, lavender, fresh linen, with that oh so subtle hint of fresh rain that was baked into the Arlen pack. Scenting had it’s limits though. It only worked maybe twenty feet or so away. 

So why the hell did I smell an Omega with rain in her scent but nothing else? We had some land to ourselves, a good ten acres, on the edge of the neighborhood. There was no feasible way I could be smelling an omega all the way up here.

“Dad!” Emily barked. I shot upright, looking around for any sign of danger. “What’s wrong with you? You smell…weird.”

“Weird?” I lifted my jacket collar and sniffed, something certainly off about it. She shrugged.

“You smell, like you did when you found me at the mine,” she said quietly. “You know, way on red alert. What’s wrong?”

“I’m not sure…” I said, standing slowly. I was prepared to make up an excuse but Emily was watching with those big doe brown eyes and it made my heart clench. Communication. Right. “I uh, smell an omega which is weird when it’s only the two of us out here.”

Em smirked, a frown crawling onto my face. “Well there is one reason Alphas can smell an omega that’s far away when they aren’t in the pack. You know…soulmates.”

I blinked at her, cocking my head. “That’s not…your mom was-”

“Daddy.” I froze still, eyes locked on hers. “I mean this in the nicest way but you and mom are not soulmates. Your bond broke way before you got divorced and soulmates never get divorced. You care about each other but it’s not that soulmate love.”

“I thought you wanted me and your mother back together for the longest time,” I said quietly, slowly sitting. Emily slumped down, fisting her blanket. 

“Me too. But you’re happier here than I think I ever saw you with mom. What’d you tell me? Don’t settle for convenient and easy?” I smiled, reaching over to mess up her hair, earning a groan that made my heart happy. 

“Sometimes I forget my sassy child is full of wisdom,” I said.

“Going to traumatic murder camp and getting kidnapped will do that to you,” she said with a cheeky grin. I rolled my eyes, chuckling as I ruffled it one more time. She’d been pretty shook up after everything last year and Carla didn’t love Em’s dark humor but the counselor said it was a healthy way for her to cope and shit, I wasn’t about to stop her.

These days, it was hard to tell anything even happened to her besides the occasional nightmare.

“I’m going to run out real quick and pick up some ice cream. Flavors?” I asked. She rolled her eyes. “What?”

“Go find this little omega of yours. I can handle being alone,” she said. I stared at her, Em rolling her eyes. “Fine. You can have a sheriff come over.”

“Thank you,” I said, kissing her temple. “Put the fire out for me please when you’re done. I’ll be back soon.”

“Have fun finding your soulmate!” she teased, not noticing the way my heart jumped up to my throat at her words.

Twenty minutes later I was walking around town, following the growing scent of rain when something else mixed in. Something sharp, painful.

Danger. Omega in danger. Your Omega is in danger.

I took off in a sprint down the sidewalk, following the scent and turning the corner to a dark parking lot next to a pharmacy.

“Get off!” someone muffled a shout under a large hand, that someone being my goddamn omega, my soulmate, my everything. 

I drew my weapon and fired a shot in the air without thinking, nearly pulling the trigger on the two scumbags pinning her down.

Calm down. She needs you more than you want to hurt them. 

I reluctantly took a breath, listening to the inner voice in my head. “On your bellies. Hands on your head or the next one goes through your spine.”

The two assholes rolled off of her and I quickly glanced at the omega. Her cheek was scuffed up and she looked sacred but damn, she knocked the breath out of me.

Hairs prickled the back of my neck as I inhaled her scent. 

Fuuuuuuck. She smelled like fresh rain, she had that Arlen pack scent. My vision swam for the briefest of moments as my heart thudded happily at finding it’s soulmate. Alright, I could be a pile of mush later. I needed backup and these guys restrained before I not so accidentally started shooting off pieces for touching her.

“Mam’, are you alright?” I asked. She nodded quickly and thankfully it looked like they hadn’t done more than knock her to the ground before I was able to step in. I pulled out my phone, shoving it between my shoulder and ear. “Dispatch, this is Arlen. I need two squad cars at the Rite-Aid pharmacy off of Main. Two suspects in custody. Attempted assault. Vic appears okay besides some minor injuries.”

“We’ll have two cars over in under two, Sheriff.”

“Thanks, Abby,” I said, staying on the line but shoving the phone in my pocket just in case. I secured one man with my cuffs but I needed something else unless I wanted to sit on top of this guy. Meanwhile, the omega was scrambling across the pavement, trying to pick up the items she’d bought into the plastic bag in her hand. She reached for a small pack of zip ties, slightly odd to pick up in the middle of the night but I’d hold off on my judgment.

“Mind if I borrow that?” She let me take the package and remove a tie, securing the second man, albeit he could get out if he really tried. “Thank you mam.”

She was clearly petrified and putting on a brave face. She shoved a bottle of pills in her bag as I asked her once again if she was alright.

“Never better!” She said in an abnormally high pitched voice. She popped to her feet before I could help her up, a slow sigh escaping me. “Uh, thanks.”

Be a calming presence for her.

But then she was trying to leave down the dark parking lot again and I grabbed her arm on instinct. Didn’t she realize the safest place for her was by my side? “Whoa, whoa. These guys can’t do anything to you. Backup will be here in two minutes tops. I know you want to get home but we need a statement and you should get that scuff cleaned up by a paramedic. Hell, I can do it for you back at the station.”

She just kept staring at me and alarm bells were going off in my head. Did she have a concussion? Did she hit the back of her head? Okay, she needed to be seen by a doctor right now. “Alright. I think you hit your head a little harder than we both realized when they knocked you down. Why don’t you take a seat-”

I was not expecting my dream girl to proceed to knee me in the dick so hard my life flashed before my eyes. I heard a sorry squeak out as she took off and I lay on the ground, trying to get my bearings.

“Nice one, sheriff,” snided one of the men in custody. I grunted, kicking him in shoulder as I sat up. “Fucker, you can’t do that!”

“If it were up to me, I’d beat the shit out of you, drop you off a cliff and let the animals eat you alive.” I rolled to my knees and got up as a squad car showed up, an officer running out.

“You alright, boss?” I waved him off. 

“Read these two their rights. I’m going after the victim,” I said, jogging past him and down the street, catching tail lights in the distance. I made it to my truck and was on the road just as she turned left about a mile away. I cursed as I lost sight but then I rolled down my window, taking a deep breath.

Her scent was subtle but I followed it down a dirt road and up a barely there path through the trees to a rundown looking cabin. There was a light on inside and I jogged up to the door when her scent was stronger. “Miss? It’s Sheriff Beau Arlen. We met just a short time ago. I’m doing a wellness check. Please answer the door.”

The omega ripped open the door, the fear from before replaced with etches of worry. 

“Hi. My dad fell earlier today. I think he broke his leg. He’s in the bathroom.” Oh, this poor thing. I nodded, giving her a smile. 

“Okay. We can call an ambulance and-”

“He’s terrified of public places. Of catching the…sickness.” Sickness? What the hell was she talking about? “I know he needs a hospital but is there any way we can limit the number of people he’s around? Like a doctors office or something?”

I breathed deeply, picking up on her father’s bland scent indicating he was Beta. But in her own home this Omega should have smelled like something more than fresh rain. Anything at all. 

Shit, she smelled like Emily had before she fully presented. Like a blank canvas. But how the hell had this woman in her early thirties that was presented as omega not smell like one?

“How the hell…” I shook my head. She simply hadn’t had a proper heat before which in theory was possible if she hadn’t been around an Alpha during her cycle before. Strange but not completely unheard of. A groan in the background had me straightening myself. “Alright. I’ll see what I can do to accommodate his…needs.”

She thanked me and attempted to have me leave but I was already texting dispatch, telling them I was about to have a first time adult heat. God, I remember when Carla had hers. She was bent over in pain one second yelling at me for existing and trying to jump my bones the next telling me how much she needed me. Even though I was struggling through a damn rut in exhaustive pain.

That should have been my first clue that her needs would always outweigh mine.

I sighed when our argument turned heated, the poor little omega in front of me overwhelmed with fear and hormones and likely a good dose of paranoia. She collapsed as I caught her in my arms, gently laying her down to the ground.

“What the hell did you do to my daughter!” shouted her father from a room off to the side. “You infected her you-”

“Hey!” I barked, placing a pillow under her head and brushing the hair from her face. I stood and stormed over to him, wincing at the nasty piece of meat that was his leg. “You are going to tell me exactly what has been going on around here with her, with you, all of it.”

“You got her sick!” I squatted down, narrowing my eyes. He returned it, breathing hard. “You nasty smelling mutt. You bite her and I’ll kill you.”

“So you do know a thing or two about this situation,” I said with a smile. “Now. Tell me everything or this nasty mutt with a gun and a badge will start thinking you’re keeping your daughter locked away and doing some very nasty things.”

“I would never, you perverted-” I snarled, the Beta biting his tongue.

“Do not disrespect me. I am here to help her and her alone. Now she’s going into heat, uneducated and scared. Her body is going to be in pain and she doesn’t understand why all because you have lied to her for a decade. I would never be so cruel to my daughter.” He swallowed, his gaze going to behind me where she lay on the floor. “She will be fine but you need to tell me everything. Now.”

Five Hours Later

“Good evening, Dr. Y/L/N. This is sheriff Beau Arlen of the Helena police department. I apologize for the late call but we have a situation here with your father and sister,” I said from the corner of the hospital room where Y/N laid fast asleep. She’d awoken confused and more than a little…primal a few hours ago. I could only imagine what it felt like to go through your first heat with your soulmate sitting eight feet away. 

She smelled delectable, enough so I had to ask for some scent blockers for myself so I’d stop getting so damn horny around her. 

“Please call me Emmet. Are they okay? I haven’t heard from my sister in a decade so any news-”

“She’s alright Emmet. She’s currently at our local hospital being treated for her first heat. Your father broke his leg badly a few days ago and is in the ICU recovering from surgery.” Emmet swore on other line and breathed deeply.

“My father is paranoid, Sheriff. I called him on the night of the Change years ago and told him to take my kid sister out of the city for a few days until we knew what was going on. I called him five days after and told him it was okay to go back but they never did. I’ve explained to him over and over again that she is perfectly safe. I could never track him down.”

“They appear to be staying at an old cabin on the edge of town here,” I said, Emmet groaning.

“They went to grandpa’s hunting cabin? Jesus christ. I forgot that place existed. Is Y/N alright?” 

“She’s fine, Emmet. She’s a strong woman, her body just needs to catch up a little is all.” Emmet huffed.

“She was supposed to work at a big accounting firm. She got a really good job out of college and then she disappeared with him. The paranoid fucker’s probably kept her locked up there for years.” My heart skipped a beat. “Sorry. He wouldn’t hurt her. Dad’s just…always been overprotective of her. Always. Something happened when she was young and…yeah, he’s always been afraid of her getting hurt again.”

“Emmet, any information you can relay to me might help me understand your father better. I need to know if your sister has been at that cabin all these years of her own free will or not.” 

Emmet was quiet for a beat, a chair creaking as if he were sitting down in the background. “Our father was a lawyer. A prosecutor. He put away a killer…for a very dangerous and powerful family. I was in college at the time. They broke in one night and killed our mother and kidnapped Y/N. She was maybe four? I don’t think she even remembers. It took a few days to get her back and that was only because she bit one of them and ran away and out a window.” I smirked, closing my eyes.

“Always been tough as nails even when she’s afraid, huh.” 

“Yeah. Dad was different with her after that. Always blamed himself. Way too protective. She tried to appease him but she always wanted to live her own life too. The idea of her being claimed by someone-”

“He literally can’t handle it,” I finished. Emmet hummed. “Thank you for the information Emmet. I’ll speak with your sister more but I doubt we’ll press charges.”

“Mr. Arlen, I’ll be down in a few days. I need to speak to my sister, and father. I’m in Seattle these days and I think it’s best if she stays with me for the time being.” I cleared my throat, walking out of the room and to the hallway. “My father will need intensive rehab if it’s as bad as you say and then in-home care, both of which will be much easier to provide if I’m there-”

“Emmet, there’s not an easy way to say this so I’ll just spit it out. I got involved tonight because I was able to scent your sister from my backyard over eight miles away from where we met. Now, you’re a doctor. You tell me the only scenario in which that is possible.” Emmet was quiet, my heart hammering. “Dr. Y/L/N-”

“Are you a good man?” he asked. I sat down on a hall bench, glancing down.

“I’m divorced, I got ten years on her and a teenage daughter. I am by no means perfect. If she wants to go to Seattle, I will not stop her.” I crossed my arms, leaning back against the wall. “But I can promise you, she will be safe with me and free to live her life. I do not intend to hold her back.”

“I seriously doubt my sister’s going to want to leave your side once her heat calms down and she realizes who you are to her,” he said with a hum. “Sheriff.”

“Yes?”

“I’ll take my dad off your hands once he’s ready for in-home care. Let Y/N live in a town without him for a while.” 

“What’s she like?” I asked, screwing professionalism for the moment. “You said she wanted to be an accountant?”

“Pft, god no. She would have worked at a bakery if she had her choice but you know how parents can be,” said Emmet. “You said your name was Beau, right?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Well Beau, considering this is likely the first of many conversations we’ll have throughout our lives, a word of advice. If she wants to work at a goddamn bakery, let her. If you guys ever need help, just tell me. I got more than enough. I just want my baby sister to be alright.” I smiled, relaxing my shoulders.

“I appreciate it Emmet but I do alright on my own. Like I said, I will not be the one holding her back from whatever it is she wants to do.” I could feel her scent pick up, twitchy, wanting me nearby. “I got to run but I appreciate the talk and I’m looking forward to meeting you. I’ll make sure she gets a chance to talk to you tomorrow.”

I hung up and slipped back in the room, pulling my chair closer, her scent calming. My phone dinged and I frowned. What the hell was Emily doing up at 2 in the morning?

How’s the soulmate search going? Pop says hi by the way. We ordered pizza. There’s leftovers in the fridge if you ever come home tonight. Please tell me you’re not stalking some woman in the middle of the night. 

“This child,” I grumbled, typing a long message before my phone pinged again, eyebrows raised.

I can talk to her. I know more about being an Omega than you do to be fair. She’s probably scared. I can dig up those Change puberty books from the basement.

Thank you, Em. We’ll talk in the morning. Now get some sleep..

I frowned, shooting off another text.

Tell Pop if he eats all my mint fudge ice cream again I’m firing him. 

Too late. Night dad!

I sighed, resting my phone on my chest and sliding down in the chair. I kicked off my boots and propped my feet up at the end of Y/N’s bed. 

“So. Not how I imagined my first night with my soulmate,” I said quietly. “How about you, darlin’? Everything you dreamed of?”

She snored lightly in bed, rolling over on her side and staying in a deep slumber. 

“Well don’t chat my ear off, I’m trying to sleep,” I chuckled. She scratched her belly absently, breathing deeply. “Goodnight, omega.”

The Next Day

Despite an albeit awkward start to the day, the smile on Y/N’s face as she and Emily shared the far side of the booth and devoured a brownie sundae was putting a big on on mine. Y/N hadn’t had much of anything besides basic foods for ten years and she was ordering every greasy, fatty, sugary thing on the menu. 

It was kind of adorable the way she guzzled down a pile of poutine on her own and then asked for seconds.

“Is Y/N coming home with us?” asked Emily a little eagerly. I lightly kicked her shin under the table, Em pouting. “That’s child abuse.”

“Child abuse is you hitting me in the nuts with a baseball bat when you were four. Pretty sure you were trying to make sure you were an only child from the start.”

“I wouldn’t mind a sibling-“ I kicked her again, Emily glaring back. Y/N looked between us with a goofy smirk, gravy at the corner of her mouth.

“You guys are really cute. I wish I’d had that with my dad,” she said, her face falling momentarily. She cleared her throat though and wiped off her lips, glancing at me. “Your dad and I have to talk about a lot of things but in the meantime he said he had an idea about where I could stay. You guys have a trailer on your property?”

“Dad used to live in an air streamer when he moved here,” said Emily, smirking at me. “If you need a love nest-“

“Do not tell her about nesting,” I growled, Emily grinning like a Cheshire cat. Y/N blinked at both of us, her head tilting. I cleared my throat when I sensed her…fuck, she was horny as fuck.

Cool it with the Alpha voice bucko.

“Nesting is um, well…” I trailed off, Emily pipping right in.

“It’s when the Alpha goes all crazy and makes you a comfy bed with pillows and blankets and stuff so you can pass a heat surrounded by their scent. And to fuck in a lot but the scent stuff too.” I dropped my head to the table, a low whine escaping. “They teach us in health class.”

“In my health class all they did was show us pictures of STI’s,” said Y/N, her fingers grazing my scalp. I raised my head, heart skipping at the feel of her touch in my hair. Her face was so soft, so unlike the fearful one of last night. “Relax. I’m not going anywhere and Emily’s bluntness is appreciated.”

Emily glanced at Y/N and then myself, making an excuse to use the restroom. Y/N’s hand dropped to the table, a pout forming on my face. She giggled though, the sound calming me. “Can you…smell me, Y/N?”

“Sure,” she said coyly, laughing when I rolled my eyes. “I think so. I don’t quite understand it but I know you’re nervous. You like when Emily teases you but there’s something a little on edge with you. I’m still trying to figure all this out to be honest.”

“It’s okay,” I said, reaching a hand up and gently taking hers in mine. My thumb stroked over the back of her skin and I held it up, closer to her. “You won’t be able to do that with most people. Only your mate can you tell certain things. We don’t exactly understand that part of it yet.”

“I imagine it gets a bit complicated when you mix advanced evolution with metaphysical souls,” she said, tilting her head, turning my hand over and stroking my palm. Her big eyes stared at my skin, nose twitching when she inhaled. “Everything in my head says I’m a moron for trusting a strange man, that you could hurt me or worse. But then I do this…”

She tugged me closer, pulling my hand to her warm cheek, her skin velvety soft. Her bond pulsed hard under the skin of her neck, so subtle no one would notice but I could see it thumping away like it had it’s own heartbeat. Y/N’s eyes searched my face, looking for an answer to a question she didn’t know how to ask.

“There are some people that don’t believe in true mates. They think it’s just hopeless romantics making shit up,” I said, pulling my hand down, grazing her bond with my fingertips. Soft lips parted, Y/N’s eyes dewy at the touch. “Touch my neck.”

She tentatively reached across the table, letting me guide her hand to the left side. “My gland is much smaller but it’s there. Now push down on it.”

Y/N didn’t look convinced but gently nudged two fingers against the skin. I jerked back just as she did, a bolt of peacefulness shooting through my body. She rubbed her own gland, breathing hard. “What the fuck was that?”

“Think of it like there’s a rope connecting our souls. We just tugged on it,” I grinned, rubbing my chest. “So we can’t get lost from each other ever again. True mates form that bond even without the physical connection being met yet which is why you could tell I was nervous.”

Y/N smiled, placing a hand over her bond. “So that’s why you don’t feel so strange. Huh.”

“We can take this as slow as we want to,” I said, taking out my phone, checking the time. Y/N shoveled one last scoop of ice cream in her mouth before sliding out of the booth. “Where-“

“Emily has school in the morning. We should head out,” she said, catching Emily returning from the bathrooms. “We’ll meet you out front?”

“Y/N.” I hopped up quickly. Shit, was I making her nervous? I opened my mouth to speak but she was right there, placing a finger to my lips.

“It’s okay, sheriff,” she murmured, grazing her knuckles over my beard. “Just need a little girl talk.”

“About what?” I asked quietly.

“About…just trust me?” I held up my hands, Y/N backing away before popping outside with Em. 

“Sheriff,” said a deep, monotone voice. I spun around, Donno standing there with a styrofoam box. “Rhubarb pie.”

“I didn’t order-“ Donno shoved it forward, my hands barely catching it. 

“She wants it.” I raised my eyebrow, glancing outside to where Y/N and Emily were leaning against the truck. “She wanted pie and this is all we have.”

“Uh, thanks Donno,” I said. He half growled and I handed him my credit card. He grumpily took it behind the counter, handing it back with a grimace. “How’s things with Tonya?” 

He grunted and I chuckled. 

“Later, Donno. You and your girl stay out of trouble.” I ducked outside with the pie, the girls giving me a smile. “Everything all set?”

“Never better.”

“Hey, Em?” I asked after showing Y/N the airstreamer when we got home. She was downstairs talking to her brother, all sorts of giddy scents coming off her. “Got a sec?”

She put her phone down, frowning when I pushed it away and set it on the charger. “First off, it’s bedtime. Second, is everything okay with you and Y/N? I know everything’s been moving fast and if you want to talk about anything, I’m here.”

“We’re fine,” she said softly, giving me that look I’d seen in therapy too many times. I pouted, Em sighing. “She was…her body did something at the diner. She said you guys touched bonds which made her…you know…down there…”

“Oh.” I sat on the edge of her bed, holding my hands on my lap. “Was she embarrassed? I shouldn’t have-“

“No, she just wanted to make sure it was normal to…get all…slick and fuck, this is as bad as the sex talk.”

“I thought we did a good job with it,” I said, ruffling her hair. “Are you okay with her being here?”

“Duh,” she said, sitting upright and giving me a hug. “She’s your soulmate, dad. Of course, I want her to stay with us.”

I tucked her head under my chin, giving her a deep squeeze. “Dad. Too tight.”

“Alright,” I said, releasing her. “I’ll make sure Y/N understands you already have a mom and-”

“We kind of talked about that when you were paying.” Em shrugged. “Y/N said she didn’t want to overstep anything and said it’s probably best right now if we’re more like friends? Until we figure out what we want.”

“I’m going to have a hard time keeping up with you two staying ahead of me,” I chuckled, hearing a loud crash downstairs. I stood up, Em pouting. “Stay. Go to bed.”

She grumbled as I left and jogged down the steps. Y/N was bent over in the kitchen, her scent stressed but not in pain. 

“Y/N?” I asked. She popped her head up, swallowing thickly as I saw she’d dropped her bottle of heat medication and the pills had gone all of the floor. “Hey, hey. What’s wrong?”

I knelt down and started to help pick them up, Y/N moving farther away to pick up the scattered pills. I reached out and caught her wrist, Y/N’s breath hitching. She looked over her shoulder, body tense. 

“It was an accident,” I said softly. She looked down and I frowned. “Hey. I can smell you’re upset but we still need to talk. What’s going through that head? Did your brother say something?”

“No.” She shoved the pills in the bottle, waiting for me to deposit mine inside. The cap snapped on and she shot up, stepping past me for the front door. I caught up to her on the front porch, not touching her but holding up my hands. She squeezed her eyes shut, rubbing her temple. “Please move. Better yet, take me back to the cabin.”

“...If that’s where you want to be,” I said. She went straight to the truck, barefoot, climbing inside. I got in after her, leaving my keys in my pocket. I could sense her agitation rising, especially when I turned towards her. “What did your brother say, Y/N?”

“He told me he contacted my dad right after the change. How dad would call him every few years. He didn’t know I thought he was dead all this time,” she breathed out. She shook her head, wrapping her arms tight around herself. “You have an idiot for a soulmate.”

“Now I don’t believe that’s true for a second. I-”

“Beau.” Y/N glared at me but her eyes were more watery than anything else. “You have a teenage daughter that knows more about how sex works in this world than I do. I’m…a child. You deserve so much better than me. I’ve never had a real job. I’ve never had my own place. Shit, my longest relationship lasted two months. J-Just throw me back in the woods so I can be alone.”

Omega in pain. Omega in pain. 

She moved as far away as possible, staring out the window as a primal urge in my head was trying to take over.

Protect her. PROTECT HER. Do your job. 

“No.” She shifted in her sheet, making her eyes as hard as she could. “I don’t care if you hate me. I will never abandon you. Ever.”

“I’m a fucking project, not a soumate,” she scoffed. 

“You think I’m perfect?” 

“Um, have you met you because yes, you are,” she grit out. I growled, her scent shooting through the roof as I leaned over and cupped her cheek. Her lips parted, breath mingling with my own. “W-What are you doing?”

“I don’t like when you’re mean to yourself,” I said, my voice lower than usual as I kept a tight control on letting my Alpha out. Y/N shivered under my touch and she looked away embarrassed. “Don’t you dare be embarrassed for making slick. You are in heat next to your true mate. I’d be concerned if you weren’t.”

“I don’t know anything,” she whispered, still not looking at me. “I don’t know how to be an adult or have my soulmate be someone way out of my league or what you want me to be to Emily. You have an ex-wife and you have such an important job and you’re single dad and it doesn’t matter how nice you smell or if you give me lightning bolts. I am and will be a burden to you.”

I sat back in my seat, breathing hard. Y/N sniffled, keeping her head low. “I know I’ve upset you, I can smell it.”

“I’m upset you’re upset. I’m not upset at you,” I said quietly. Every instinct I had said pull her into my lap, bite her neck and press the magic fix it button to flood her full of so much ooey gooey good feeling crap she’ll never remember why she had doubts in the first place.

Talk to her.

I swallowed, closing my eyes. “My partner died two years ago. He was my best friend.”

“Beau.” She unfurled her hands from her body surely because one of them was interlacing with my own. “I’m so sorry.”

“I blamed myself for a long time. For too long. For something out of my control,” I said, opening my eyes, finding her misty ones. “It drove my ex away. It drove Emily away too for a while. I’m so scared of loving someone else and losing them. Y/N, it took everything in me to not kill those men that attacked you last night. I am not fucking perfect and you are way way too hard on yourself. News flash, nobody knows how to be an adult. We’re all just pretending and a smart woman like you, hell you already are thinking of my daughter before I am. You are not behind. You are right where you’re supposed to be.“

“I…” She sighed, squeezing my hand. “I’m sorry that happened to your friend.”

“Did you get any of the rest of that?” 

“Yeah,” she said softly. “So we both need to take it easier on ourselves.”

“I got faith in us.” She wiped off her face as she nodded, her scent turning calm and gentle. “Come on. It’s been a long day and you’re at the tail end of your heat. You need to get some rest.”

“Dad!” I bottled upright in bed, groggy and reaching for my gun when Emily burst in the bedroom. “It’s almost seven. Move your ass. I’m not getting detention for being late again because of you.”

“Good morning to you too,” I mumbled, setting my gun back on the bedside table and flopping back against the pillows.

“Pro tip,” she said, whacking me with a pillow. I groaned, growling as I sat back up. “Maybe go make you and your new omega girlfriend some coffee? Not like she talked about coffee for like a solid thirty minutes with your coffee snob ass last night.”

“Someone’s got a mouth on her this morning,” I said, tossing back the covers, Em rolling her eyes as she left. “What?”

“I’m so going to be late,” she muttered, jogging downstairs. I grumbled, padding into the bathroom and getting ready for the day. Em was in a mood when I found her by the front door waiting for me but it was no big deal to me if she was late a few minutes. For one, that school started too damn early at 7:30. She had freaking study hall first period of the day which was just plain stupid. Plus that principal of hers had more than a few unpaid parking tickets I could leverage. 

I whipped up a cup of coffee and poured the rest in my thermos, tossing some half and half in the mug before whistling on my way outside. “Dad!”

“Five minutes, pumpkin. Why don’t you lock up and I’ll meet you at the truck?” I slipped outside, Em muttering again as I walked across the yard. WIth two knocks on the door of the airstream, it opened, Y/N half-asleep as she answered in last night’s clothes. “Good morning, gorgeous.”

“You’re lucky you’re hot,” she mumbled, perking up when I held out an orange mug. “Is that-”

“Coffee. Two tablespoons half & half. Hold the cream and sugar.” Her eyes welled up as she took the mug. “You really missed coffee, huh?”

“You were paying attention to what I said last night,” she whispered. I cocked my head, leaning my hip against the door jam. “Thank you for the coffee, Beau. I really appreciate it.”

“No worries.” The truck horn honked and I rolled my eyes, Y/N smirking. “I have to run before that one hotwires the car without me but I’ll be back and we can go shopping for whatever you need. Food. Clothes. Whatever you want. I’ll be back in about thirty.”

“Thanks, Alpha.” She stepped forward and pecked a kiss to my cheek, grinning when I blushed. “That’s adorable.”

“I’m from Texas. We don’t blush,” I said despite feeling the radiating heat on my face. She raised an eyebrow, her smile turning a hair darker. “Omega…”

“You know that only makes me want to find out how to make you blush more, right?” I pouted but didn’t mean it, Y/N seeing right through it. “All that for a peck on the cheek. I wonder how red I can get you when I properly kiss you.”

“Down girl,” I purred, adjusting myself and in desperate need of one of my scent blockers again. “Let’s cool our jets. Once we start playing around, it’s going to be hard for either one of us to not want to bond.”

“Sorry,” she said, not looking it one bit. She pressed the mug to her lips, eyes closing as she took her first sip. “Wow. Yeah, I’m so keeping you. This is the best cup of coffee I’ve ever had.”

“Well that’s a relief,” I chuckled, the horn honking incessantly in the background. “I’m sorry about the sassy child.”

“It’s fine. Take her to school. I’ll be here.”

“I’ll be right back, darlin’.”

Four Weeks Later

Y/N was tucked against my side, resting her head on my shoulder and draping her arm over my chest. Soft, slow breaths left her lips, nose buried against my pec. Oh so carefully I thumbed over the fresh bite mark on her neck. Ordinarily I’d think the best thing to do would be not touch it but instinct was telling me to gently soothe the ache away and her pain would be gone by the time the flood of hormones in her body dropped.

“How we feeling, Omega?” Y/N tightened her hold on my body, snuggling harder. 

“Fuzzy,” she mumbled, a smile on her lips. “You?”

“Fuzzy’s a good way to describe it,” I chuckled. “You did so well.”

“Not so bad yourself,” she laughed, eyes closing. “You smell even nicer now if that’s possible.”

“I know the feeling.” I stroked my fingers up and down her bare back, tracing patterns against the soft flesh. “So…would you maybe want to move into the house?”

“You really know how to pillow talk, babe,” she said against my shoulder, smirking against it. “And yes, I’m tired of being away from you guys.”

“Okie dokie.” Y/N snorted, lifting herself up onto her palms to look at me. “What?”

“You’re way too hot to be that adorable.” I shrugged, smirking as I gripped her waist and pulled her tight against my chest, earning a gasp. “Oh you want to play?”

“With you? Forever.” I grasped her chin with my thumb and finger, pulling her into a deep kiss. “Who’s ready for round two?”

Three Months Later

“Emmet!” Y/N squealed and jumped into her brothers arms the second I had the front door open. He laughed deeply, dropping his luggage on the porch to catch her.

“Fuck Y/N, I’m forty six years old. You’re going to throw out my back if you keep doing that every time I visit,” he laughed, spinning her around. “How you doing, kiddo? Keeping your Alpha in line?”

“She wishes,” I said, giving him a brief hug when he set her down. “Where’s Max?”

“She’s coming up on Saturday. Covering a double at the hospital,” said Emmet, giving Emily a hug when she popped out of the kitchen. “Em, mind helping me get the presents?”

She threw on her coat and boots, following Emmet outside as I saw Y/N’s father putter around their rental car. Emmet said something to him, the man giving Emily a brief smile before he carefully walked across the shoveled driveway.

“Darren.”

“Beau.” Y/N frowned at him, his jaw clenching when he saw the faded mark on her neck. “Emmet’s right. You really did claim her.”

Y/N stepped onto the porch, waves of powerful scent washing over us. “This is my house, dad. If you’re going to be a dick, you can go sit in a hotel room by yourself for a week while the rest of us celebrate the holidays. As a pack. Beau’s family is coming in tomorrow and you will not-“

“Down omega,” I purred, Y/N allowing me to pull her back a few steps. “She’s a tad defensive of me and Emily is all. Darlin’, why don’t you help the Em’s.”

A moment later Darren and I were alone. I nodded, walking him around the wrap around porch to the side of the house where a pair of rocking chairs sat. I took a seat in the far one, Darren hesitantly sitting in the opposite.

“Y/N and I like to sit out here in the morning and have our coffee together.” Darren grunted, lips pressed into a thin line. “How’s the leg?”

“It hurts,” he grumbled. 

“But you can walk on your own on it. Emmet says that’s a good sign.” He leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his knees.

“Arlen, enough with the small talk. Say what you mean to say away from my daughter.” I leaned back, rocking a few times, enjoying the chill breeze.

“Your daughter didn’t want you to come. The only reason you are invited is because I asked her to give you another chance.” He scoffed. “You were pretty nasty when we showed up at rehab a few months ago and saw she was claimed.”

“You manipulated her into being with you. She doesn’t know it yet but you’ll turn on her. I know cops like you, especially cop mutts. Don’t blame me for seeing exactly who you are.”

“Well fuck you,” said Emily, appearing around the corner. 

Back off, pup. I got this.

Only she ignored the warning in my scent, the clear line she would have picked up in favor of storming over in front of Darren. “You’re an asshole.”

“Em-” 

“The mouth on you,” said Darren, frowning up at her. “You learn that from your father?”

“If anyone’s the manipulative asshole around here maybe it’s the guy who scared his kid into staying in a cabin for a decade,” she spit out. Darren opened his mouth, Emily holding up a hand. “My dad’s not perfect but thank god I have him. Bad stuff happened to both of us but he doesn’t keep me locked up. So maybe stop being an ass to the guy that makes Y/N happy for the first time in ten years.”

“Emily,” I said as she started to walk away. “Em!”

“Ground me but I am not apologizing,” she said, walking off back around the corner. I sighed, side eyeing Darren.

“You know what, you say and think what you want about me but don’t you dare speak ill of my daughter,” I said. “She has been through more shit than you could ever know so do not blame her for being defensive of her family which includes your daughter.” 

I stood, putting my hands on my hips, looking out over the barren yard, a light layer of snow dusting it.

“It’s not personal,” said Darren after a beat. “I’d hate any man that tried to take her away. I’ve hated all of her ex’s.”

“I know something about having a daughter that was kidnapped.” I turned over my shoulder, Darren’s face paling. “You didn’t keep her safe. You squashed her. From the moment I met your daughter, I’ve had to help her learn that she can have goals and dreams of her own. She lived her whole life trying to appease you. She will never do that with me. Never. So I understand the fear and pain of dealing with your little girl being taken and feeling like a failure as a father. But we have to let them go because our little girls are a lot stronger than us fathers give them credit for. Let them show us. The only person my kid mouths off with is me, her mother, and Y/N. Her parents. For her to do that just now means you really ticked her off. So stop protecting Y/N for one second and get to know that strong kid of yours.”

He was quiet, no words spoken between us as he rose.

“Your daughter reminds me of Y/N when she was younger.”

“Em adores Y/N…aside when Y/N goes mom mode and makes Em do her chores,” I chuckled. Darren cleared his throat. “The girls are still figuring out their roles but Y/N’s gotten more comfortable stepping into that parental role. They’re friends more than anything. Family.”

“Right,” he said quietly. “How angry is Y/N with me?”

“Oh, pretty mad,” I laughed. “She’ll forgive you eventually. Probably. I’d stop calling her mate a manipulative mutt, though. Might help out there just a tad.”

He lowered his head with a nod. “Let’s go in before you freeze.”

“Alpha,” Y/N murmured from beside me in bed late that night. I had my face shoved into the crook of her neck, arms bundled under her maroon sweatshirt, formerly our sweatshirt, formerly formerly my sweatshirt. “Noooo, get your greedy hands away from my fleece.”

“No can do, darlin’,” I murmured, arms shoved under the soft material, her eyes narrowing. “I’m not going to cop a feel.”

“Sure you won’t,” she teased. “We can play in a minute. Real talk right now.”

“What’s up?” I asked, wrapping my arms around her waist, lifting my head. Her fingers raked through my hair, massaging my scalp. I hummed, resting my chin on her shoulder. 

“I don’t know what you said to my dad earlier but thank you. He was different.”

“Well, Emily should really get the credit. She stole my thunder,” I said, Y/N’s scent swirling around the room. “Our girl really loves you, you know.”

She flushed, smiling when I kissed her jaw. “Thank you both then.”

“You’re welcome. Now,” I said, grabbing the ends of the sweatshirt, pushing them up her body. “I think you stole this.”

“Going to arrest me for it?” she murmured, pulling me into a chaste kiss before rolling to the far edge of the bed and out of my grasp. She sat up with a fake pout, batting her eyes as I crawled over. “That’s a good look for you, Alpha. On all fours for me.”

“For fucks sake, Omega,” I growled, grabbing her ankle and yanking her body underneath mine as she giggled. “What am I going to do with you?”

“I’m sure you’ll come up with something, Alpha Boy.” I laughed into her neck, kissing over her healed mark. 

“For you, Omega, anything at all.”

___________

[punkshort]

Chapter warnings: smut (m masturbation), language

Chapter Three

Pairing: Joel x F!Reader, pre-outbreak and post outbreak

AU (the only thing I kept was the outbreak, Joel, and Tommy's characters. Joel's backstory is different, and the way he finds Jackson is different. I may include Ellie one day, I just haven't planned that far)

Fic Summary: You worked for Joel and Tommy a few months before the outbreak. The outbreak happens, and you and Joel get stuck traveling the country and keeping each other safe. Neither of you spoke about the feelings you had for one another pre-outbreak, and in a post-apocalyptic world, it seems like survival should be your only focus. But feelings can't be ignored forever.

Fic tags: Explicit Smut (18+ MDNI), Smut, Language, Canon-Typical Violence, Alcohol Use, Age Difference (Reader is 10 years younger than Joel), slow burn, mutual pining, angst, trauma, SA referencing later but I will put a big warning on those chapters

You were nervous about the office dynamic once you broke up with Justin. That following Monday, you walked into the department and risked a glance over to his desk. He was hunched over his keyboard, burying himself in some report, looking mildly panicked. You frowned as you made your way to your chair and slunk down, punching in your password while you waited for your computer to boot up.

Colleen popped up quietly behind you.

"Sooooo? How was camping?” she whispered with a huge grin on her face. "Tell me all the details!”

She propped herself against the edge of your desk, trying not to draw Justin’s attention.

“I broke up with him,” you whispered back, eyes wide. You needed to tell someone, your nerves were on fire. You knew you shouldn’t have told the queen of gossip, but people would have figured it out soon enough. Colleen’s jaw dropped.

"What?! Why?” she whispered back, but louder than the first time. You put a finger up to your lips, indicating she was being too loud.

"I don’t know, I just don’t feel the same way he does. He’s a sweet guy, but there’s no spark. I didn’t want to lead him on,” you told her, and turned back to your computer, opening your email program.

“Well, your timing couldn’t have been more perfect. I don’t think he’s got the time to be upset over it. He came in this morning to an email from Joel, with Heather cc’d, wanting a full breakdown on the 401K contributions for the past 6 months. Apparently, he caught some discrepancy, and he wants answers first thing this morning,” she said, raising her head a few inches to glance over the top of your cubical wall in his direction. “He must be shitting his pants; Joel never contacts any of us directly. I don’t think he even knows most of our names.”

You felt guilty as relief flooded through you. At least there was a distraction from the elephant in the room.

About an hour later, Heather came to collect Justin. He followed her out of the room with a folder tucked under his arm and nervously running a hand through his hair. As he walked by your desk, he gave you a tight-lipped smile, which you returned. At least he wasn’t the type of guy to be an asshole about being dumped.

It had been three hours since Justin and Heather left for their meeting. At this point, his absence was painfully obvious to the whole room, and everybody had given up on trying to be discreet.

The whole department had rolled their desk chairs out to the openings of their respective cubes so they could all see one another as they gossiped and speculated wildly. All except for you. You tried your best to stay out of it, but you kept overhearing everyone’s chatter, and it was incredibly distracting.

“They couldn’t possibly still be talking about a minor discrepancy, could they?” one person asked.

“No way, something happened by now. Oh my God, what if he was stealing from our 401Ks? I read a newspaper article about someone doing that last week!”

“Oh come on, Justin wouldn’t do that,” Colleen chimed in. “I bet they finished up their meeting a long time ago, and he and Heather are in her office doing a deeper dive into the numbers together.”

Everyone went quiet for half a second when the electronic beeping of the door keypad caught the attention of the room. Chairs were hurriedly being pushed back up against desks, and fingers furiously typed, trying to log back into computers that had been long asleep during the gossip.

Heather walked into the hushed room with an empty banker’s box in her hands and headed straight for Justin’s desk. She set it down on his chair and turned to address the room openly.

"Hey guys, I’m sorry I didn’t have the time to call a formal meeting, but I wanted to tell you all personally before the email from HR comes out... Justin quit this morning.” She paused when a couple of people quietly gasped and exchanged looks. “Now I know we are going to have some big shoes to fill, I may call upon some of you to help and do some overtime until we can find a suitable candidate to take his position. As always, if any of you want to recommend anyone you know, my door is always open. But for now, we will just have to make do. Does anyone have any questions? You know I like to be transparent with you.”

Heather glanced around the room of stunned faces. Everyone was wondering the same question, but nobody had the nerve to ask it, until Debbie spoke up from behind you.

"Why did he quit? Was it Joel?” She was standing outside her cube, frowning with her arms crossed, no doubt feeling some residual anger from when Cheryl quit just a few short months ago. Your boss sighed, and slowly nodded.

"Yes. Well, yes and no. Joel really grilled him in that meeting this morning, it went a full hour. I did everything I could to take some of the heat, but Joel was just dialed in on Justin today, I don’t know what got into him. He had a million questions, one after another, and it eventually got to a point where he was outright questioning Justin’s job performance and skillset. It finally got to be too much for him, and Justin announced he was quitting.” Heather paused for a moment and looked around the room at the team. She turned and pulled Justin’s chair from his desk, moving the empty box to the floor. She sat down, looking as if she was exhausted from just recounting the events from the meeting. She rubbed her pointer and middle fingers against her temples for a moment, and then continued.

“Joel didn’t say anything wrong; this is his company, and he has every right to ask those questions… he just has such a harsh way of addressing things. It is a lot to handle. I managed to grab Justin at the elevators and took him back to my office for a while. I tried to convince him to stay but he just wouldn’t hear it, he had his mind made up. I’m sorry guys, I really tried. I know this will put a burden on some of you, I will do my best to fill the position as soon as I can.”

The keypad that operated the door started chiming, and in walked Mike from the mailroom. He had his head down, looking at the pile of mail in his cart, bopping along to the music feeding through his CD player and into his headphones, oblivious to the awkwardness in the room. He stopped at your desk like usual and dropped a big stack of envelopes in your inbox, gave you a quick smile, and turned to leave.

Heather quietly began filling the box with Justin’s personal effects, looking like she desperately needed a cigarette or a coffee break. Or both.

You exchanged a quick glance with Colleen, one that said ‘we are definitely going to talk more about this when she leaves’. Then you noticed the envelope at the very top of your mail pile: Sullivan Agency, LLC.

Your heart thudded in your chest. It was a strange feeling – your body was waging a war within you: relief vs fear. Relief that you didn’t have to pay Mr. Sullivan’s balance out of your paycheck, but fear that you would now have to go to Joel’s office as he requested and tell him about the check.

You shakily opened the envelope and sure enough, as promised, was a check for the full balance due on his account.

You stood up, feeling slightly lightheaded as you made your way over to Heather. She jumped slightly when you quietly said her name.

"I just got the check from Mr. Sullivan. What should I do? Should I just email Joel and tell him it came, or do we really have to go to his office?”

You prayed she would tell you to just email him, but unfortunately, she said “We should tell him in person, I don’t want to make him even more mad.” She stopped organizing Justin’s picture frames and buried her face in her hands for a moment, trying to collect herself. She raised her head up, clasped her hands in front of her mouth in thought, then turned in the chair towards you.

“I really hate to ask you this… do you mind going up to his office by yourself? He’s had enough of me today, and quite frankly I’ve had enough of him, too. He seemed to take a liking to you, it won’t be that bad, it'll be quick.”

She looked at you hopefully, desperately, eyes begging, but followed up with “If you are really uncomfortable, I can go with you, it’s just...” her gaze drifted back to Justin’s desk, and the enormity of just how much work this put on her plate was likely hitting home. Updating a job description, meeting with HR, creating the job posting, screening applicants… the list went on.

You shook your head, always the people pleaser you said, “I got it, don’t worry, I will go up there right now and just get it over with."

You gave her a small smile as relief flooded her face. Heather asked if you were sure, and you promised her you were. Before your resolve broke, you turned on your heel and left, heading towards the elevator. 

The moment the elevator opened and you stepped out onto the 10th floor, your heart lept into your throat. The nerves were finally catching up with you. You looked up and saw a small desk situated between two closed doors. Behind the desk sat a kindly looking older woman. She had hair so grey that it looked almost blue, and it was woven on top of her head into a conical shape. She looked up at you through her plastic pink framed glasses, which were adorned with a chain that wrapped around the back of her neck so she wouldn’t lose them. She smiled at you warmly, her bright pink lipstick somewhat smudged on her front tooth and beckoned you over. Your eyes flicked to her name plate - Ruby Potter - as you returned her smile and walked over.

“Hi there, dear, who are you here to see?”

“I’m here to see Mr. Miller," you said without thinking. Ruby chuckled.

"Dear, they are both ‘Mr. Miller’. Which one?”

"J-Joel, I’m here to see Joel. I have a check for him," you stuttered, your cheeks warming from embarrassment.

She picked up her phone and punched one of the buttons on her speed dial, lazily lifting the headset to her ear.

"You have an accountant here to see you,” she said. She had forgotten to ask your name. You tried to mouth it to her, but she waved you away, as if she did this all the time. You couldn’t hear the words on the other end of the phone, but you could hear the tone – it was sharp and aggravated. Ruby seemed unphased. Once the other end of the line went silent, Ruby said “So do you want me to send her in, or not?” She nodded with whatever Joel said in response and hung up the phone.

“Go right on in, dear. His office is that one.” She languidly pointed to her right, your left, and then turned her attention back to her computer. You took a moment to appreciate the elderly woman’s ease. She clearly dealt with Joel’s wrath countless times, yet she was completely collected. In fact, she sat before you, well past her retirement years, working directly for the man himself without a care in the world.

That gave you a small confidence boost. If Ruby could handle Joel, so could you. Afterall, it’s just words. You had a job to do, you did nothing wrong, you are here because he requested it. 

You approached Joel’s office door and gently gave it three quiet knocks. You waited until you heard his acknowledgement to enter. You twisted the doorknob, opened the door just enough so you could squeeze through, and shut it behind you.

Shit, maybe you should have left it cracked. Too late now.

Your eyes locked onto the back of his tall, broad frame as he stood facing away from you, one of his arms resting above his head against the window. He was overlooking the city through the floor length windows as he finished up a call on his cell phone.

You had no idea what he said on the phone, you were far more distracted with how large and strong his shoulders looked in his white button-down shirt. Your gaze slowly traveled down, taking in his dark grey dress pants and noticing how generously they hugged his backside. You only wished he had rolled his sleeves up to his elbows like before - you wanted to see his muscles twitching under that tanned skin again. You watched in a daze as he lifted his arm from the window and ran his long fingers through his dark curls, wrapping up the phone call.

Get it together, what is wrong with you??

He pushed a button on his cell and began speaking without even turning around.

"What do you need now? I already told you-“ Joel swiveled around to see you standing before him, eyes wide, nervously clutching the envelope in your hands from Mr. Sullivan. He stopped short when he realized you weren’t Heather, and his expression softened a fraction. You must have surprised him, because before he could catch himself, he was raking his eyes up and down your entire frame, sending a shiver up the back of your spine. You were grateful you happened to wear your most flattering light blue sundress today. You thought this morning when you put it on that it would give you the confidence to get through seeing Justin at work for the first time since your break up. You never thought you would need that confidence for this moment.

You meekly cleared your throat.

"I’m sorry, Mr. Miller. You wanted me to tell you when Mr. Sullivan’s check came…” you trailed off, your cheeks feeling warm under his intense gaze. You needed to look somewhere else. You glanced down at the now crumpled envelope in your hand and stretched out your arm to eagerly show him your prize. You were at least 10 feet away from him, barely inside his office at all. It looked ridiculous; he obviously couldn’t take it from you at this range.

He nodded, pursing his lips, and then showed mercy on you when he finally looked away to take the few short strides back to his desk chair. He sat down, glancing back up at you expectantly from across the room.

"Sit.” he ordered, motioning towards one of the two chairs placed in front of his desk.

You responded to his command quickly, and you thought you saw a twitch at the corner of his mouth, but it disappeared too fast for you to be sure.  You sat down in one of the chairs, shifting uncomfortably in your seat as you waited while he scrolled through his emails, looking bored. Looking down at the envelope in your hands, you gently fingered the edges in order to focus your energy somewhere. Why did he want you to sit? This should have been a quick conversation.

Joel cleared his throat, and keeping his eyes on the computer monitor, he began to unbutton the cuffs of his dress shirt. First the left sleeve, then the right, taking his time. He began to methodically roll his left sleeve up, up, up all the way to his elbow, before he leisurely did the same to the right sleeve. You didn’t realize your eyes had snapped up when you saw him begin to uncuff his sleeves, so by the time he finished, you had barely blinked and your lips were slightly parted, breath ever so slightly quickening as he finished his task. You didn’t notice your reaction, but out of the corner of his eye, Joel certainly did. He fought to contain the confident smirk that threatened to spill across his face.

He was right, you had been checking him out in that meeting.

“Give it to me,” he said, turning his probing gaze towards you once again. You looked into his dark, beautiful eyes for a moment, not sure what he meant. Then it came to you. The check.

Wordlessly, you outstretched your hand once again to hand him the envelope. Without breaking eye contact, Joel reached out and took the envelope from your grasp, but in the process grazed two long fingers gently against the back of your hand, sending sparks through your entire body at the contact.  You gasped softly, and clamped your mouth shut. You dropped your gaze, embarrassed, while you waited for him to open the envelope and hopefully dismiss you. The tension was too intense, you needed this to end.

Joel didn’t seem to mind the tension in the room, or even notice it for that matter. He slowly opened the envelope and pulled out the check within. He took note of the amount as a small yellow post-it fell out. You hadn’t seen that before in your rush to get up to his office, you had no idea what it said.

Joel picked it up and read it thoughtfully to himself. When he didn’t say anything after a minute, you finally spoke.

"What does it say?” you asked, your voice almost a whisper.

He swallowed before bringing his heated gaze back up to you.

"It says: Thank you for showing me such kindness during my time of need. I’m sorry for the late payment. It won’t happen again.”

You glanced down at your hands in your lap, a small smile threatening to tug at your lips.

“You were right this time, but don’t be naïve. Not everyone is always tellin’ you the truth,” he warned, sliding the check and post-it note back into the envelope. You nodded in agreement, still sheepishly looking down at your hands.

Joel gazed at the top of your head as you stared at your lap. He didn't want the conversation to end.

"You’re doin’ a good job," he told you, pausing to reflect for a moment. "Thank you for making that connection with my client. I’m not good at all that. Talkin’ about their personal stuff. That’s more Tommy’s side of things.” He reached across his desk and held out the envelope for you to take back.

You looked up at his outstretched hand, and careful to avoid touching him again, took it. 

"Thank you, Mr. Miller,” you replied softly, and stood up from your seat.

You gave Joel a quick smile and turned to head towards the door. Halfway to the exit, you stopped and turned back around, finding Joel’s eyes had yet to leave your body.

“I bet you would be good at it," you said, then your eyes widened as you realized how that sounded. “I-I mean, talking to the clients, learning about them, their personal lives…” you rambled as heat spread across your cheeks.

He stared at you for an awkward moment, considering your words.

“Well, I should be getting back to work,” you said, hitching your thumb to the door behind you, but before you could turn away, Joel stopped you.

"Thanks, sweetheart, maybe I’ll try it sometime,” he said, his expression softer.

You nodded and forced yourself to look away from the uncharacteristically relaxed features on his face. You turned to leave the room, but the door suddenly swung open. You nearly lost your balance, but a strong arm shot out to catch you.

“Jesus, Tommy, would ya watch it?” Joel growled from behind his desk, his expression leaving no traces of the softness you had just witnessed.

“Sorry darlin’, didn’t know my brother had anyone in here.” Tommy eyed you up appreciatively and grinned. “I don’t believe we formally met, I’m Tommy,” he stuck out his hand, which you quickly shook and gave him a polite smile, telling him your name.

You hastily made your exit, squeaking out an excuse about work, and shut the door.

“Do ya ever knock?” Joel seethed, but Tommy was too busy staring at the closed door, still thinking about the way your ass looked in your blue dress.

“I’m happy for you, Joel,” Tommy said, ignoring his question, and strolled over to a small cluster of framed pictures on the wall that haven’t been updated since they started the business. He leaned in to examine them more closely. “You need to be gettin’ back out there. I won't even give you any shit for dippin’ your pen in the company ink, like you did to me.”

“The hell you on about?” Joel replied, taking the opportunity to adjust himself under his desk while Tommy’s back was still turned. The way you were blushing and squirming in his office had a bigger effect on him than he thought. And you hadn’t even been trying. Not like him, rolling up his sleeves on purpose to see your reaction. He shuddered to think what it would be like if you actually tried to seduce him. He would be a puddle on the floor.

“Nothin’ was goin’ on, she just brought me a check.” Joel stood and walked around the front of his desk, leaning up against the edge of it, arms crossed and surveying the back of Tommy’s head.

Tommy chuckled, still examining the photos.

“Yeah, right. She was blushin’ like a whore in church when she left. Ya know, you should really get some new pictures in here. Did ya know you still got this old picture of the bunch of us at that rodeo? It’s got Amy in it.”

Joel sucked in air through his clenched teeth, the rest of his hard on instantly disappearing at the mention of her name.

“Sorry, Joel. It’s been so long, we still ain’t allowed to talk about it?” Tommy walked over behind Joel’s desk and flopped down in his chair, which made Joel have to turn around and sit in the same chair you had just occupied moments before.

“What’s there left to talk about?” Joel sighed, rubbing his face with his hands.

“Do you still talk to her? Keep in touch?” Tommy asked, fiddling with a pen on the desk.

“No.” Joel responded harshly. “Why would I? Last I heard, she’s been shacked up with that prick somewhere in the Midwest.”

“It’s been five years, and I still haven’t seen ya go out on a date, coffee, nothin’. Why are you doin’ this to yourself?”

Joel shook his head and stood up, already missing the warmth your body left in the chair.

“I’m just busy, Tommy. Haven’t met anyone worth chasin’," he replied, grabbing a pen and pad of paper from his desk.

“Well, that little lady that just left is well worth chasin’, if you ask me.” Tommy stood up too, and joined Joel as they headed out of the office to the conference room for their next meeting.

“Nobody was askin’, just drop it.” Joel couldn’t have Tommy egging him on, it was already difficult enough to keep his mind off you.

Joel hardly heard a word all throughout their meeting with the Marketing department. He vaguely remembered the head of the department nervously working through a technical error on his presentation, which made IT have to get involved. But Joel barely noticed. All he could think about was you.

You: in that thin, blue dress. He remembered how your cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and how you bit down on your lower lip when you tried to hold back a smile. He thought about how soft your skin felt when he gently grazed it with his fingers. How your knees pressed together as you squirmed in your seat, waiting for him to turn his attention to you. But you had no idea that his attention was always on you, even when you weren’t around. It was all consuming, at times overwhelming, the way he constantly recalled images of you in his mind. 

Joel was relieved when the IT department could not fix the technical error, and the meeting had to be rescheduled. Everyone in the room held their breath, Tommy included, for Joel’s inevitable outburst, but surprisingly none came.

“Check with Ruby and put it on my schedule,” Joel said, collecting his things and leaving the room.

Tommy stayed behind to chat with the head of Marketing while Joel made a beeline for his office. He shut the door quickly behind him. Squeezing his eyes shut, he leaned his head back on the door.

What was going on with him? Why couldn’t he get you out of his head?

This was Tommy’s fault, had to be. He kept bringing you up and forcing these thoughts into his head.

But it wasn’t Tommy’s fault when his cock jumped after he touched your hand and heard you gasp.

Fuck. This had to stop. He rubbed his hands over his face roughly, then something Tommy said came back to him. It had been a long time since he was with Amy. Tommy was right, he hadn’t been on any dates, he was just sexually frustrated. It was building up, and he needed a release. That would clear his head.

Joel turned and headed towards his private bathroom, which was just a small pocket door in the wall, hardly visible when you first walked in. He went in and locked the door behind him. He unzipped his pants and pulled out his cock, already throbbing from the past hour of torture his thoughts have led him on.

Joel gripped the base firmly in his fist, and he squeezed his eyes shut, dreaming of you wearing that dress in his office. This time, when you squeezed your knees together, he imagined you were trying to create some friction to relieve the wet heat between your legs. You were just as turned on as he was in his fantasy. Joel lazily ran his hand up and down his cock, as his imagination kept carrying him away.

He wondered what kind of panties you were wearing under that dress. Maybe they were lace, or a thong. Maybe you weren’t wearing any at all. There we go.

He started running his hand up and down his shaft faster, his breath quickening as his fantasy took hold.

Now he was bunching your dress up around your hips, hitching your leg around his waist as he grabbed onto the back of your neck, bringing you closer so he could suck on the pulse point in your throat, making you moan his name. He pushed you on top of his desk, and you let yourself fall backwards, recklessly shoving papers and files off his desk.

He could feel his release bubbling to the surface now, as his movements became more frantic, and his other hand grasped the towel bar next to the sink for leverage.

Now Joel saw you bouncing on his cock, still wearing that pretty little dress, but your tits were spilled over the top. He pulled one nipple into his mouth, making you cry out and bounce faster, while his fingers brushed gently against the other one. You grabbed the sides of his face and dragged his mouth up to yours, hovering over each other’s mouths, gasping, but still not touching, as you bounced faster, faster, faster… 

Joel groaned and desperately reached out to grab a tissue from the box next to the sink, right in time to catch his thick ropes of come. His hips gently thrusted forward as he came down from his high, breathing heavily, eyes squeezed shut.

He opened his eyes as his breathing returned to normal, glancing around the room to steady himself.  He looked down, grateful he didn’t make a mess on his dress pants. He cleaned himself up, flushed the tissue down the toilet, tucked himself back into his pants and went to wash his hands.

He cupped some water from the sink and rinsed his face. Drying himself with the towel, he looked up at the mirror and saw a dirty, old man, who had just jerked off to the thoughts of a much younger employee. The shame was setting in now.

I hope you enjoyed it, you dirty fuck. She would never give you the real thing.

Joel dried his hands, and left the bathroom, feeling guilty, but couldn’t deny he had a much clearer head.

He didn’t see you for at least a full week. That whole week, he felt like himself again. He could see clearly; his thoughts weren’t all jumbled up and he was back to barking orders to his teams on jobsites.

He just needed to jerk off. That’s all it was. No big deal.

Early one morning before most of the employees started their work day, he made his way down to Heather’s office on the 6th floor. She had left him a voicemail saying that the company was being audited, and she needed to speak with him right away. This would require a lot of work from her department, and she needed him to approve the overtime, especially since he scared off your pretty little boyfriend, the department remained shorthanded. He walked off the elevator with his hands shoved in his pockets, sleeves pushed up to his elbows. It was quickly becoming his new look, just in case he ran into you.

He turned the corner towards Heather’s office but stopped short when he heard you laughing. He peered around a corner and saw you with some co-workers in the break room.

He was frozen to the ground, taking in your beautiful smile and laugh as you tried not to spill the coffee in your hand. You were wearing a knee-length flowy black skirt, with a V-neck light purple blouse. When you bent over to laugh again, he saw a glimpse of your tits bouncing under your shirt. He held his breath for a moment, trying to will himself forward, when you suddenly looked over and met his gaze. 

Your friends didn’t notice him standing there, and you didn’t say anything. You just ran your eyes up and down his body, pausing on his exposed forearms. You gave him a shy smile and a little wave. Before he realized it, he was slowly lifting his hand up in return.

He was fucked.

Chapter Four

[sunshine-theseus]

Mi Corazón | Olga Carmona x reader

Word Count: 2.4k Summary: you’re in the military, she plays football. You both have busy schedules, but you’ll always find time for each other. Warnings: angsty, fluffy. I’m learning Spanish but I don’t know an awful lot so I’m sorry if it’s incorrect😭, and if it’s a long conversation I’ll only write some things in Spanish. Request for: @thedarknessempress and @realsociadadferminofan - i'm pretty happy with this one so i hope you like it!

I hadn’t expected it to be this hard every single time. Of course I knew I’d miss my family and friends, but six months always felt longer than it seemed.

And then there was Olga. We already struggled to find time to ourselves before I was deployed but now it was a whole other issue. There were time zone struggles and she was getting ready for the World Cup while I was working with my platoon and showing people that I deserve my rank.

After years of work, I recently got promoted to Teniente (Lieutenant), so this mission was a big deal in proving to the higher ups that they hadn’t made the wrong decision. Olga understood but was reasonably upset that I wouldn’t be able to support her at the beginning of the World Cup, especially with the struggle the girls have had with the RFEF and Vilda.

The last time we spoke it was tense. Things were getting difficult in camp as they approached the quarter-finals and when I told her my deployment was being extended a few weeks, conveniently ending days after the finals, she broke.

“Qué? What do you mean it was extended?! Can they even do that? You promised you’d make it if we got this far!”

“I’m sorry Ol. You know I want to be there more than anything.”

“This keeps happening. How can I trust a promise when I know you could be deployed or called to work on some plan at any point?”

“Mi corazón, that is not fucking fair. You knew what me being in the Air Force entailed when you met me. I requested this time off specifically so I could be there but there was nothing anyone could do! They need me here. I’ll be able to use this for extra time off another time. Just for us.”

“But I need you here!” her voice shakes, and I nearly break; tell her ‘Fuck it I’m on my way’.

“Olga…”

“Vete a la mierda” were her final words and then the line goes dead. (fuck off)

That was over a week ago. I texted and called her more times than I can count. When she didn’t answerr the first few, I messaged Ona, asking her to at least update me on how she’s going.

‘She is ok, very sad.’ Is the first message I get in return from said left back.

‘Felicidades!’ they win their quarter-final match (congratulations)

‘She is missing you’ is what I get in return.

‘can you tell her I miss her too?’ I don’t get a reply that night and her updates continue to be few and far between as they progress through the semi-finals all the way to the finals, against England.

~~~~~

“Deja de mirar tu teléfono” Alexia scolds me as I stare at the picture of Olga, Ona and Alexia, arm in arm together after their semi-final win (stop looking at your phone)

“What if she doesn’t want to see me Ale?”

“No seas estúpida! She loves you, she is just upset. Maybe saying your deployment got extended was not your best idea.” she chuckles as I glare at her, sitting on the uncomfortable plastic chairs right behind the substitution bench. (don’t be stupid)

“I didn’t know how else to surprise her.”

“They are coming out! Pull down your cap so she cannot see you.”

“I’m still in uniform Ale. If she doesn’t recognise the outfit, she won’t recognise me.”

“Oh, just do it!” I follow the pink haired girl’s instructions and slouch in my chair.

But then I see her. For the first time in 6 months, I see her and all I want to do was run onto the pitch and pick her up and kiss her. But I can’t, I refuse to ruin the surprise after literally risking my relationship for it.

My soul focus the entire game is Olga. The way she seems so free when she plays, the way she moves. When she scores the first, and only, goal of the game and pulls up her jersey to reveal the name of her best friend’s mother I nearly cry. Even in one of her biggest moments, she honours the other people in her life.

The final whistle blows, and we cheer as the girls fall to their knees and hug each other, others comforting the English girls. After a minute or so, Ona runs over to pull Alexia and I over the barricade and I rush over to stand behind Olga who is hugging Esther, who catches a glimpse of me and smiles before pulling away from the hug.

“Felicidades mi corazón!” (Congratulations my heart)

“Qué?” she whips around at the sound, and I don’t get to say anything else before she’s jumping into my arms.

“You’re here? But y- your mission got extended?”

“Is that what I said? Whoops! I meant to say ‘I’ll be here’.” I kiss her on the forehead, then set her back down and she slaps my arm before glancing at her team.

“Go celebrate, I’m not going anywhere.” Olga hugs me once more before going to hug her teammates and comfort some of the other players, a large smile on her face.

I then stand with the other family and friends, Alexia’s arm tightly around me, as the team is presented their medals and the trophy.

Joy is rushing through until I witness Rubiales kiss Jenni, but I try to focus on the win, catching Olga as she comes barrelling back toward me after they take team photos.

“I’m sorry for yelling on the phone. And ignoring you.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was coming. I just wanted it to be a surprise.”

“But you didn’t even know if we would win the semis.”

“Mm I’m kind of psychic, I actually knew ages ago.” Olga giggles and pushes me lightly.

Then her family approaches us, sadness looming behind their smiles. I leave them alone to talk but it doesn’t take long for Olga to fall into my arms as she cries.

“Shh mi vida. What’s wrong?” I hold her tight as I rock us back and forth, rubbing her back.

“Mi papa murió” I stop abruptly and pull away, taking her face in my hands as I stare in shock. (my dad died)

“Qué? Cuando?” (What? When?)

“Viernes.” (Friday)

“What do you mean Friday? No one told you?” she only shakes her head before pulling me back into her.

“Lo siento mucho Ol. I’m so sorry. He would have been so proud” (very sorry)

~~~~~

We get back to Madrid after celebrations with the team. The funeral is a few days after and I spend most of the time taking care of Olga, refusing to let her do anything she doesn’t need to. Most mornings I make her breakfast, then wait to see if she wants to do any activities, then finish off the day by making dinner.

I then decided we both deserved a small holiday, so I brought her to my hometown, Dénia, on Spain’s east coast.

“Bebé! Do you have the towels?” Olga shouts from the door as I struggle to pull on my second sandal.

“Sí! I’ve got everything, don’t worry.” I walk towards her and peck her on the lips before opening the door, ushering her out.

Olga swings our hands back and forth between us as we make our way down to the beach from our hotel.

“Can we build sandcastles?” she looks at me with those big, whiskey brown eyes and I find it impossible to deny her anything.

“Of course we can.” And so we set up a spot, and while she gathers some water, I start packing sand into our buckets.

Every now and then a kid comes up to us, asking for a photo with the ‘Heroe de Fútbol’ who got us that trophy. Other kids have no idea who she is and just want to help us build a big ass sandcastle, and we tell them jokes and play into whatever fantasy they’ve made for the structure.

‘y las dos princesas se casan y viven felices para siempre!’ the little girl finishes her story. (and the two princesses get married and live happily ever after)

Lucia, as we learned her name was, quickly switched the prince for a princess after momentarily being confused when she asked if we were ‘friends or friends’. Her mum tried to apologise but Olga laughed and just took hold of my hand as we listen to the story.

Not long after saying goodbye to the girl and her mum, Olga and I pack up and head back.

“What do you want to do tonight bebé?” I ask as I unlock the door.

“Movie night? All those kid stories make me want to watch Disney.”

“As long as we get to watch The Princess and The Frog”. I head to the kitchen to start on dinner when I feel Olga’s arms wrap around me and I turn around.

“What’s up?” I stare down into her eyes, so full of love.

“Thank you. For coming home early and for this holiday, for taking care of me.”

“I’ll always take care of you mi corazón, even if I have to get dishonourably discharged, if you need me, I’ll be here. And if I really can’t be, I’ll do whatever I can to help.” I lean down and capture her lips in my own, our love for each other radiates through the kiss.

“Te amo.” She pecks my lips again (I love you)

“Te amo.” I turn back around to continue with dinner and Olga curls into my side, following me around the kitchen, always leaning on me.

It can be so hard to find time like this together so when we have it, neither of us want to be apart from the other. I never want to be apart from her.

~~~~~

Our holiday goes on for another couple of days, and we decide for our last night we would have a romantic dinner at Mala Vita, a restaurant in the Marina, overlooking the water.

“Are you ready?!” I yell through the bathroom door, waiting for Olga to finish getting ready.

I’m about to knock again when the door creaks open and Olga steps out.

I choke as I catch sight of her. Her satin red dress clings to her perfectly, her muscles are softly defined, and her loose hair frames her face. Her heels make her taller, but she still has to lean up to plant a kiss on my cheek as my mouth continues to gap open.

“Perfecta hermosa! Elegante!” I kiss her with every word before we head down to the taxi, my arm tightly wrapped around her shoulders. (Perfect beautiful! Elegant!)

“You don’t look too bad yourself.” She lightly pokes me in the side as she takes in my own outfit.

When we arrive at the restaurant, it’s golden hour, and Olga begs to do a small photoshoot, asking an older couple to take some photos of us together.

I hold her close and look her in the eyes before dipping her, both of us laughing as the older lady cheers and takes a photo.

Then Olga turns her back to me as she adjusts her hair, and I drop to one knee and hold out an object that could change everything. I see the couple smile to each other and continuously take photos from Olga’s phone out of the corner of my eye. I smile to myself, I hope to one day be like them, with the girl in front of me.

It takes Olga a few moments to turn around, ready to hug me. It then takes her a few more moment to realise I’m not standing in front of her, her eyes dropping to meet mine as I grin up at her. Her hands are then quick to cover her mouth.

“Olga Carmona García, you are the light of my life, and I would do anything for you. When you kicked a football into my face, I couldn’t even imagine this is where we would be 2 and a half years later. I am more in love with you than I have ever loved anything in my life. I want to grow old with you and love you for eternity. Por favor hazme la mujer más feliz del mundo y sé mi esposa” in mere moments Olga falls to her knees, pulls me in and kisses me passionately. (please make me the happiest woman in the world and be my wife)

“Sí! Sí, lo haré!” she cries as I slip the ring on and kiss her again. (Yes! Yes I will!)

“Sois una hermosa pareja” the lady says as she hands Olga’s phone back to her. (You are a beautiful couple)

“Gracias.” We wave goodbye to the couple before heading into the restaurant.

“I love you so much.” Olga whispers as she takes my hand, admiring the ring on her other hand.

“Not as much as I love you.” I kiss her forehead before we sit down.

“I have another surprise…”

“Qué?” her head quirks to the side in that adorable way that makes my heart clench, and I know what I’m about to say will be the best decision of my life.

“I got offered a job..” I can tell Olga is about to ask how this is a good surprise, so I rush on.

“As a lead trainer of the Air Force Academy in Madrid.” I grin at her, waiting for her to react.

“W- what does that mean?”

“I’ll be in Madrid permanently, unless of course you move clubs, then I’ll move. But most importantly we’ll have more guaranteed time together.”

“But your dream has been to be a high rank in the Air Force for basically ever!” I can see her begin to look distraught.

“It was my dream. But I’ll never want anything more than to be with you. And being in the Air Force basically guarantees we only ever have 6 months, if that, together every year. I don’t know about you, but I can’t live without you for that long for the rest of my life.”

“I can’t either.” I take her hand.

“I want this Olga, I promise. And if I get bored of being on the ground, I can always become a commercial pilot. Then I’ll always be a captain.” I smile reassuringly at the love of my life.

“Siempre serás mi capitana.” I lean over the table and kiss her once more. (You will always be my captain).

“Te amo.” She whispers as we part.

“Te amo mi corazón.”

[astorytotellyourfriends]

The one thing that everyone seems to know about Eddie Munson is that when he's not out touring the world with his band, Corroded Coffin, he makes a point to be as invisible as possible in order to spend time at home with his family. Eddie, along with his wife Chrissy of seven years and their two young children, graciously invited Vogue into their Hollywood Hills home that's about as secluded as you can get while still having that coveted Los Angeles zip code.

Vogue: I have to admit, given what I've seen of Corroded Coffin on stage, I think I expected your home to reflect a bit more of that personality.

Eddie Munson: [laughs] You can thank Chrissy for that. She's the brains behind this whole operation, I just do what she tells me.

So there's no hidden dungeon in the basement?

Hate to burst your bubble, but nope. I've been trying to get a sacrificial altar for the backyard, but I haven't found one I liked yet.

Really?

[laughs] I'm kidding. But I had you going, right?

You really did. But that's what you've always done, right? Leaned into the mania of Satanic Panic and made it work for you?

Yeah, I guess so. I mean, people are gonna believe whatever they wanna believe anyway so I might as well give 'em what they want, right? Plus, [laughs] it's a hell of a lot of fun.

What's it like having that devil-worshipper stage persona with two young kids at home? Do either of your kids know what their dad does for a living?

Oh, yeah. They [redacted] love it. Wait, can I say [redacted]?

We can't print it, but you can say it.

[Redacted] yeah. Our little one doesn't really get the whole stage thing yet, but she sure looks cute in those big-ass headphones.

And your other daughter?

Oh, if she could be on stage with me every night, she would be. On our last tour, we had this gimmick where Gareth rigged a bunch of blood packs to his drums to explode during the encore and she thought it was the coolest [redacted] thing in the world. He even offered to let her do it when we were in rehearsals!

And did she?

Maybe.

From the look on your face, I'm guessing she did.

[laughs] Don't tell Chrissy.

Scout's honor. Until this article comes out, anyway.

[Redacted]. Is it too late to say off the record?

Way too late.

[Redacted]. Oh well. Worth it. She had the biggest [redacted] grin on her face when she was covered in fake blood, it was priceless.

Seems like you might be raising a mini version of yourself. Would you support your kids following in your footsteps and joining the music industry?

[Editor's note: At this point in the interview, the eldest Munson child came running out of the back door and pounced on her father, who took it in stride and continued answering questions as though he didn't have a six-year-old hanging over his shoulder.]

I mean, if that's what they wanna do, then hell yeah.

[gasps] Daddy said a bad word!

Daddy did not, Daddy said hell.

Mommy said hell's a bad word.

Mommy also said you were supposed to stay inside, didn't she?

Pip was crying. She misses you.

Do you need a moment?

[laughs] Believe me, if I took a moment for every time I wanted to be with my kids, I'd never get anything done.

Because you love us so much?

Exactly.

How much?

To the moon and back.

That's a lot!

Sure is, kiddo. Now shush and let the nice lady ask her questions.

Ooh, ask me! Ask me! I got lots of stories.

If you don't mind?

It's your funeral. [laughs] She'll talk your ear off if you let her.

What do you think about your dad being a rockstar?

[shrugs] It's okay.

Wow, thanks for the endorsement, kid. You heard it here first: being a rockstar is just okay.

Would you rather he had another job?

[shrugs] What other job?

I dunno. Playing music's the only thing I've ever been good at.

Nuh-uh! Daddy's good at lots of things.

Like what?

Telling stories. Playing with me. One time, he built me a big castle out of pillows and chairs and blankets and we played in it all day 'til Mommy said it was time for dinner. And then we all went to bed in it. Like camping!

Camping? When did you go camping?

Mommy let us sleep outside and said it was like camping. It was when you were gone. I don't like when you're gone. It makes Mommy sad. And then I'm sad. And Pip's sad. You're not going away again, are you?

No, baby. I'm staying right here with you.

Good. [to Vogue] Do you wanna see what Daddy brought home for me last time he went away?

I'd love to.

Okay!

[Editor's note: just as quickly as she came, Munson's daughter ran off to go fetch the present from inside the house.]

Do you need a minute?

Nah. It just… [sighs] never gets easier, you know? Hearing how much they miss me when I'm gone. I miss them all the [redacted] time.

I'm not surprised. Just from the last five minutes, I can see how much she adores you and I can't imagine what it's like to leave that behind, even when it's to go on a worldwide tour.

It's tough. I love my job, don't get me wrong. It's what's given us this house, all the [redacted] that the girls need, anything they could ever want, but… [shrugs] I dunno. Sometimes giving it all up doesn't sound half as hard as leaving them is. Maybe that's just me being ungrateful.

I don't think so. I think it means you're human. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, you know? Torn between two worlds.

[laughs] Now there's an idea for an album. The dichotomy of being a rockstar and a father.

I'd listen to it.

Hell, so would I.

(might continue this with a lil follow-up fic of chrissy and eddie reading the interview before it goes to print... thoughts? 👀)

[poppitron360]

Okay so @green-tea217 requested that I share this fanfic based on this post that I made.

I never usually post my fanfics, but I’m feeling brave. This one isn’t finished, but I’ll post the first chapter ‘cause I’m really proud of it. I’m working on the other fanfics that were requested, but I’m posting this one first because I’ve worked rlly had on it.

Summary: Kind of an OC/FanChild fic about my hcs for Percabeth’s kids. VERY Leo/Nico heavy bc they’re my two favourite characters, particularly Leo.

TWs: Swearing, lack of smut (she is a teenager)

Disclaimers: I was still reading SoN when I wrote this chapter, and I am currently on HoH, so if I’ve missed anything that gets revealed later, that’s why. Also I listened to the audiobooks, so if I spell a name wrong, that’s also why, either that or I’ve spelt something the British way.

Chapter 1:

Olympia hated stories.

She hated telling them. She hated hearing them. She hated the way they were often twisted and bent to contain some kind of message. She hated the theatrics of sharing them around the fire, the hushed voices and dramatic tone. And she hated how every story she heard was almost always about her dad.

Olympia Grace Jackson-Chase.

Of course.

For as long as she can remember, people had told her stories about her parents. About her and her birth. How she had been born on Olympus. How Apollo himself had delivered her, and named her “Olympia Grace” so that it would rhyme with her last name. That wasn’t entirely true. “Grace” was the last name of her Auntie Thalia and Uncle Jason. She hated the stories about them too- about all her parents’ friends. They were myths and legends in the eyes of the other campers, to her they were just people who babysat her sometimes. The Cabin 9’ers had been shocked when she’d told them that the heroic son of Hephaestus who had saved the world from Gaea and her evil forces was actually just Little Uncle Leo, and the first Fire User in three and a half centuries isn’t very mythical and legendary when he’s running in from the kitchen, waving a tea-towel at the fire alarm and yelling “Oh shit, the guacamole’s on fire. I set the guacamole on fire. Don’t tell your mom.”

People never wanted to hear those stories. Only the exiting and dangerous ones.

“Percy Jackson fought the Minotaur when he was only ten years old!!!”

“Percy Jackson keeps insisting I tidy my room.”

Suffice it to say, she was sick of it.

“Dad,” she asked, approaching the kitchen table.

Perseus Jackson, the man, the myth, the legend himself, looked up from his comic book and ginned at her.

“What is it, dolphin?”

“Can you… like… not send me to camp this year?”

Her dad frowned, put The Amazing Spider-Man down on the table and leaned back in his chair.

“Why? What’s up? Are the other campers not nice to you there?”

“It’s not that… in fact, it’s the opposite. The attention is getting too much. I wanna learn to fight, but… I’d rather you just teach me yourself. You can show me how to use my water powers.”

“Oly, I know it’s hard, especially as you’re one of the first Legacies at Camp Half-Blood. I can absolutely arrange for you to not go anymore if you don’t want to… but there’s only so much I can teach you on my own, particularly with your mother’s workload. I want to make sure you’d be protected. Could you maybe give it a try, please?”

Olympia was pretty sure she’d been “giving it a try” for the last 14 summers, but she didn’t want to argue with her dad.

“Fine,” she said.

“That’s my girl,” he beamed, “Now, remember to pack your armour for Capture the Flag, I don’t want to have to drive out there and back just ‘cause you forgot it again.”

She sighed and left the room.

She just wished that he had stayed in the car when he’d dropped her off, but no. He insisted on walking with her to the Big House, saying hello to Chiron and generally being a huge embarrassment. It didn’t take long for the crowds of campers to form around them, whispering behind their hands. She hugged her dad, and said goodbye to him as quickly as she could.

She dumped her things in the Poseidon Cabin. She was allowed in both her mom and her dad’s old cabins, but she preferred to be alone to sleep. She did her activities with the Athena kids though, she didn’t want to stand out any more than she already did.

Olympia sat alone, perched on the edge of the Athena table, when suddenly a kid shuffled up next to her. She looked about twelve, with the same grey eyes of her mother.

“What’s your name?” The girl asked.

“Olympia Jackson-Chase,” Olympia sighed.

“I’ve noticed you doing cabin activities with us, but you don’t sleep with the other Athenians? What’s up with that?”

Olympia took a deep breath, and began to explain, “I’m a-“

“Wait. Jackson-Chase?” The kid gasped.

Oh, here we go, Olympia thought, preparing for the usual swooning and/or geeking out.

“Your mother was Annabeth Chase?”

Olympia was slightly taken aback, “Usually, people talk mostly about my father. I’m always “The daughter of Percy Jackson,” never “the daughter of Annabeth Chase.””

“Oh but she’s a legend! She re-designed Olympus! She led our cabin in battle against the Titans! She even held up the sky! I mean, I know your dad did that too, but-“

“She did it for longer. She was under that thing for over a day, he only held it for at most 20 minutes.”

The girl laughed.

“And, if you ask me, she was the one who did all the work when it came to defeating Kronos. Dad did jack shit, just handed a knife to a guy.”

“Exactly! Just because he was in the Prophecy-“

“Nah, it’s a lot simpler than that,” Olympia said, “It’s because he’s a man.”

They sat in silence for a bit.

She never blamed her dad for overshadowing her mom. He didn’t mean to. In fact, he openly hated the stories that didn’t recognise her for all she did. They were so in love, it was sickening.

“I can’t believe she’s, like, my sister.”

The girl gasped, and grabbed Olympia’s arm, “Wait, does that make me your aunt?”

Olympia shook her head, “Don’t bother with family trees, man, otherwise you get into the whole “my dad’s dad is my mom’s mom’s uncle, which makes me kinda my mom’s second cousin, and my dad her cousin-once-removed”- it’s just too much to get your head around.”

She looked directly into the girl’s grey eyes, “My advice, kid, believe whatever bullshit they tell you about the Gods not having DNA, and just try not to think about it.”

The girl’s face fell. “Oh.”

Then she looked exited again, “Did you come out of her tummy or her head like I did with my mom?”

And there we go, Olympia thought. Geez, they didn’t hesitate to ask the really invasive questions, did they?

She took her three-pronged fork out of her pocket, and fidgeted with it, twirling it in her fingers. Instantly, she realised her mistake.

“Why do you carry a fork around and never eat with it?” The girl asked. More questions.

Might at well get it over with, she thought.

“Gift from Grandpa,” she replied.

“A gift from Poseidon? What does it do?”

She sighed again, and dangled the fork over the girl’s glass of orange juice, and let go. It dropped into the glass with a satisfying plop, and then rose to the surface. No, it wasn’t rising. It was growing. It’s shaft elongated, and the prongs stretched to become longer and way more deadly. Intricate designs started carving itself into the metal. Olympia stood up, and grabbed the shaft of the fork just as it finished growing. A three-pronged death skewer of pure celestial bronze. A Trident.

The surrounding campers gaped at her, open-mouthed.

“Woah,” said one of the Hephaestus campers, clearly someone who hadn’t seen the spectacle before.

“OLYMPIA JACKSON-CHASE! NO WEAPONS AT THE DINNER TABLE! CAMP RULES! YOU OF ALL PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW THAT!!”

“Sorry Chiron,” Olympia called. She twisted a little ring of metal around the shaft of the trident, and it shrank back into a fork. She sat back down.

“It responds to water,” she explained, “get it wet, and boom, Trident.”

She had named it Blue. It was her first word, after all. Or at least, that was the story. Poseidon had given it to her on her second birthday, and she had just looked at it, holding it in her tiny fist, and cried “bloooo!” It was probably just baby babbling, but Dad said it counted.

“So what’s Poseidon like? Do you have water powers too? Can you get me your mom’s autograph? Is your dad really 7ft tall?”

She ate the rest of her lunch in silence, only answering the onslaught of questions from the young camper when she had to.

Cabin 3 offered a pleasant respite from the crowds and the people. She dropped her armour and weapons from the day’s activites by the door and kicked off her shoes.

She looked at herself in the mirror.

(Drawing of Olympia: Art by me)

Her curly black hair, which she’d dyed the tips of blonde, was pulled back into a messy ponytail. Around her neck hung a necklace of leather chord, fourteen different coloured beads threaded onto them, each painted with a different design. Her broad shoulders and thick muscles bulged through her plain navy-blue tank top. Her skin was tanned from spending long hours training in the sun. She had a battle-hardened look to her that meant people often mistook her for a daughter of Ares. But her eyes was what made her stand out most- one grey, like her mother, one green, like her father. Her parents had told her how her birth had ended the centuries-long feud between Poseidon and Athena for good, and she had been given those eyes as a way of symbolising that. Another story. It felt like every part of her body had been attached to a story about something her parents had done. Why couldn’t she just be herself? She had spent 16 years living under the shadow of her parents, she was homeschooled from an early age, and had been going to camp since before she could even hold a sword- the demigod life was all she’d ever known. Someday, she’d get away from it all. She’d sink to the bottom of the Mariana Trench and just study the fish, and she wouldn’t have to worry about people or monsters

Suddenly, she felt something tap her on her shoulder. Quick as lightning, she grabbed Blue and spun around. Blue, still in fork form, was about a centimetre away from the neck of her intruder, who held up his hands in surrender.

“Whoah there!” He said.

When she saw who it was, she lowered the weapon and pulled him into a tight hug.

“Leo!” She cried.

“Hey, how’s my favourite cousin? Or… whatever.”

She looked at him and smiled. Despite him being old enough to be her dad, he was about half her size. With a thin, wiry frame and very little meat on his bones. His wild, curly brown hair framed his pointed face and elfish features. His dark skin was covered in a thin layer of motor oil and grime of unknown origin. He tapped her cheek affectionately, leaving a grubby handprint on her face. He walked over to her bed and leaped onto the top bunk, his legs dangling off the ladder.

“You need to stop growing,” he instructed, “You are getting too big, it’s not fair.”

“You need to stop being so short,” Olympia retorted, then her face broke into a huge smile, “I feel like I never see you anymore!”

“I know, you’re too old for me to babysit now, kiddo,” He complained.

“Well that always ended in disaster anyway. There’s still burn marks on that wall.”

“Did your mom find out?” He asked.

“Nope. Dad told her he just wanted to hang more pictures up. And then he went on a long speech about how nice she looked in that wedding photo, and then took her out for ice cream. I think she bought it.”

“Good.”

They stayed in comfortable silence for a few seconds, and then she asked, “So… it’s great that you’re here and all, but… why are you here?”

“What, I can’t come and visit my favourite partner in crime every now and then?”

“Leo…” Her tone was firm.

Leo’s face was suddenly dark and serious, he paused before speaking, but said, “I think I have news about your brother.”

That was Chapter 1- if this post gets… let’s say… 30 notes, I’ll post Chapter 2.

[ramspatula]

Carnations | Cole Brookstone x fem!reader | Part 5

Warning there is a lot of sexual language, scenes and actual smut in here!

Previous part, Masterlist, Next Part

Lloyd stared at the two girls in front of him hopelessly.

“So before I start I want everyone to keep an open mind…”

“Mhm.”

“So… my family… friends… want all of us to hangout as a big group.” He said and Peach raised her eyebrow.

“Expand the Pookies?” She asked and Lloyd shook his head.

“I’d never ask you to do that… just one hangout… to see how it goes?”

“I’ll do whatever you want me to, Lloyd. But it’s up to her if she wants to go.”

“….is Cole gonna be there?”

0:57———|——— -2:10

“Hey- look who it is!” A ginger boy yelled and Cole shoved him out the way.

“Y/n! Come here, let me introduce you to everyone.” He said before wrapping an arm around me and kissing my forehead. “How you been, sweetheart?”

“I saw you last night.” I told him.

“And I wanna know how your sleep and morning was.” He said.

“It was good, better if you stayed though.” I told him and he smiled.

“Next time, promise.” He said and faced the others as we got closer.

“Okay! Y’know Lloyd and Peach obviously. They’re not important-“

“Hey!”

“This is Jay, he’s annoying. Don’t talk to him for too long-“

“You’re so rude.” ‘Jay’ said and Cole ignored him.

“That’s Nya, she’s Kai sister and that’s Zane…” I looked to them all. “This is Y/n.” He said and they all greeted me and I smiled and waved.

“Hi.” I said, small voice.

“Kai and Skylor should be getting here later.” Lloyd filled in and I didn’t miss the way Peach slowly turned to look at him in disbelief. He turned to face her and gave her a quick peck before leaning back against the tree.

0:57———|——— -2:10

We were sat around this big fire. Camping chairs surrounded around it. Me and Cole shared one, Nya and Jay shared one and Zane had the other one to himself. His girlfriend couldn’t make it. Pixie or something. Lloyd and Peach were sat against the tree, huddled together. Skylor and Kai were sat in the other camping chair. We mainly avoided eye contact.

“Your uncle’s name is Wu?!” I asked and Lloyd nodded.

“Yeah… my Dad had 4 arms. Are you surprised?” He asked, taking a swig of his beer.

“What is your Dad’s first name?” I asked and I noticed the amused smile.

“Garmadon.” He said.

“Yeah but his first name.” I said and they all giggled.

“It’s Garmadon.” He said again and i made a face.

“No that’s his last name. The one that comes before that.” I said and they started giggling.

“It’s Garmadon!” He repeated and my face dropped.

“No! That’s your last name! Like Wu Garmadon.” I said and I could feel Cole shaking in laughter against me.

“Actually he’d love to head that. When you meet him, call him that.” Lloyd said and Peach giggled.

“Y/n… they don’t have last names. Wu is just Wu, Garmadon is just Garmadon.” She explained.

“That’s weird.”

“My family is weird.” Lloyd added.

“So what’s your mom’s name?”

“Misako Garmadon.”

“What the fuck-“

“Enough of that.” Cole said, placing a hand over my eyes, I ignored how the fire was brighter after I shoved his hand off. “Let’s get to know each other better.” Cole said, mischievous glint in his eyes.

“Truths!” Jay yelled and Peach groaned.

“What’s truths?” I asked.

“It’s awful. It’s how they found out I had a my little pony phase when I was little and how I’ve smoked since I was 15.” Peach said and Lloyd kissed her forehead.

“I’m so glad you quit, babe.” He said and I gave her a look.

“Me too, Pookie.”

“Don’t. He gets me nicotine patches every year for Christmas.” She warned and Jay lit up in offence. “Just play your stupid game.”

“Okay so how this works is… you either take a shot, of your choice, or answer the question.” Cole said and I huffed out a breath.

“Beginners first.” Nya said and handed me a random shot. “Have you and Cole had sex yet?” She asked and I raised my eyebrows.

“Wow right in there… no.” I said and gave the shot to Cole.

“Okay, big guy…” Nya said, trying to think of a question.

“What’s your body count?” Peach asked and Cole immediately took the shot.

“You’re a bitch for that one.” He said.

“That’s for asking me how many times a week I get off.” She said and he shrugged. Pouring a new shot and handing it to her.

“Do you think Garmadon is a gilf?” Nya asked and Peach took the shot. Lloyd looked at her in outrage.

“You think my Dad is a gilf?!” Lloyd asked and she handed him the next shot.

“Your turn.” She said instead.

“Favourite position and why?” Cole asked and Lloyd has a devious look in his eyes. Peach gave him pleading eyes, he looked like he was about to take the shot before-

“Mating press. More intimate than missionary.” He said and we all burst out in disbelief as Peach hurried herself in her hands. He passed the shot to Skylor.

“Have you ever pegged Kai?” Jay asked straight away and she took the shot quicker than I could imagine. Kay looked at her outraged.

“That’s never happened!” He yelled and she poured him a shot.

“Biggest fear.” Zane asked and Kai shotted.

“You’ll use it against me.” Kai said to the group, pouring another shot and handing it to Nya, skipping Zane who apparently didn’t drink.

“Bodycount?” Cole simply said and she shotted.

“Not getting into that.” She said afterwards and poured one for Jay.

“Does Nya dominate you in bed?” Lloyd asked and he nodded.

“I don’t need to deny that one.” He said and passed the shot back to me.

“Ever cock-warmed?” Jay asked and I shotted. Cole looked at me in shock.

“Who?!” He asked and I smacked his chest,

“I shotted so I didn’t have to answer that.” I told him.

0:57———|——— -2:10

A few more questions later and we all significantly more drunk.

“Okay… What is your actual name, Peach?” Kai asked and she shotted.

“I’m not nearly drunk enough for that.” She said and threw the little plastic cup at him.

“Lloyd. Baby.” Peach said and he nodded, leaning in closer to her.

“Yes, baby.” He said.

“Y/n, baby.” Cole mocked and I laughed.

“Yes, baby.” I said, Lloyd and Peach looked at us unimpressed.

“What? It’s too lovey dovey.” Cole said and Peach rolled her eyes.

“It’s your turn.” She said instead and handed him a shot.

“Craziest place you’ve ever had sex.” Jay asked and Lloyd’s eyes widened.

“…On the back of a dragon- No!” Lloyd said and they all looked at him shocked as he continued to think. “When my Dad had us on the dark island and we did it in the forest against this big ass tree.” He said and I looked at them more shocked.

“One- where did you find a dragon?! And have sex on it?! Next, when were you two on the fucking dark island?!”

“When you went up south with your Nan for 2 weeks right before the final battle.” Peach explained and I nodded.

“The dragon is a really long story.” Lloyd said, passing the shot to Skylor.

“I wanna hear about the dragon story actually.” She said.

“I’ll tell you it if you tell me what happened on Chen’s island in that underground tunnel.” Peach said and Skylor shotted.

“That wasn’t the truth!” Peach said and we all started laughing, the tension gone. Soon enough it was back to me.

“Are you still upset over the noodle house incident and if you are or not, why. Y/n & Skylor.” We were both handed a shot each.

“No.” We both said, honestly.

“You’re not?” Kai asked, confused.

“I’m more annoyed how it turned out.” Skylor said and I nodded.

“I’m not proud of it and I might be a little insecure for this but I was really unsettled with the thought of my boyfriend still hanging around someone he used to hook up with. I was actually so relieved to hear that you were going on date with Cole and it ate me up inside with the thought of this pretty girl who was there before me and such a nice person as well that it felt good to see you not have the best day because I felt like you were almost better than me. I don’t really have many friends either so knowing that you had a best friend that’s like the ones you see in movies just added onto things.” Skylor said and I was almost speechless. I had a moment with Kai when they first started going out where I told him to make sure that his girlfriend was okay with us hanging out still. I should’ve known that feeling like the other woman is inevitable in those situations. “Your turn” she said and took a sip of her actual drink and not the shot.

“That night I was so excited and happy. It was the first time I was looking at a date as the start of a relationship rather than messing around. I wanted so badly for the night to be perfect and be like a dream.” Cole’s grasp got a little tighter. “Then of course. Cole got called in to work and I had no message so I was thinking that I had been stood up. I was upset and just wanted to go home and talk to my best friends and then to hear you talk about them I’m not such a positive light just set me off because that’s home. It felt like you insisted my family was falling apart and that- that hurt. So I just went off. It just felt like the world was turning against me in that moment.” I explained, feeling a bit sober now and then Cole passed the shot to Peach.

“Now you. Why haven’t we seen you in forever, you’ve been like a ghost.” He said and Peach smiled before laughing a little.

“We’ve all got our own shit going on. Yours is all connected. Mine is different. I do shit that you wouldn’t be able to understand and then on top of that I’m still in college so, I’m busy too. And your guys house… unsettles me. There’s always something going on and it just overwhelms me but I’ll put in more effort if that’s what you want.” Peach said and Lloyd didn’t look at her. We swiftly moved on from that. Kai and Skylor’s chair glitched and they fell onto the floor. We all got up in shock. The chair appeared again on top of Kai and went into his rib.

“Peach!”

“Sorry!”

“Peach?!” I questioned and they all paused. “You did that?! They know about that?!” I asked and she looked at them all before taking two shots at once. Kai pushed the chair off and grabbed a shot and took it.

“I felt like I should.” He said.

“What the fuck?” I said and looked to Cole. He took a shot and when I turned to the others they were pouring a shot hastily to avoid answering anything. “You guys are messed up and serious secret keepers.”

“Blame his Uncle.” Nya said and pointed to Lloyd.

“Actually blame me, I’ll take it.” He said.

“Your saviour complex is so annoying sometimes.” Kai said and just picked up the bottle of vodka and started drinking it straight.

“Let’s just get pissed.” Jay said and picked up the bottle of cherry sours.

“Fine by me.” Peach said and picked up the Malibu, Lloyd shoved Cole away with amazing strength to get the whiskey.

“Fuck off.” Cole said in annoyance. Lloyd flipped him off and he spun the bottle around with it in his mouth to do that tornado affect.

“I don’t care what that is just hand me it.” I said and took the bottle.

0:57———|——— -2:10

The light peaked through my curtains and I groaned. My headache was severe. I felt the mattress below me dip and rise as a weight was moved around on it. I looked over shoulder to see Cole. I smiled to myself and turned to cling to him.

“G’Morning.” His morning voice was deep and gruff and I held him tighter.

“Fix my hangover… please.” I said and he chuckled. I felt the vibrations of his laugh against his back and I smiled. I could stay like this forever.

“Shoulda answered more truths.” He said and I groaned.

“No one needs to know the longest amount of time I’ve edged for.” I said and he turned over.

“How about we play on our own? Slightly different version though.” He said and hovered over me.

“What’s this version?” I asked and he shuffled so he was above me with his knees between my legs and I wrapped my legs around his middle. He was such a big man and I kept forgetting. “I like this position.” I said and he laughed before leaning down and kissing my neck a few times before sucking, then biting and I gasped before moaning a little.

“It’s more intimate. And you don’t really avoid questions. I’ve just made it up.” He said and I giggled. “I wanna make up for something though.” He said and I looked up, confused.

“What’s that?” I asked and his hand moved from beside my arm to between my legs and he gently moved his thumb over the clothed area. My body shuddered as he leaned down to whisper in my ear.

“The fact I haven’t fucked you yet.” He said and bit my ear. I moaned as his rubbing movements sped up. “You want that?” He asked and I nodded.

“Yes! Yes!” I said and he chuckled before my breathing sped up and I was panting now in pleasure. “I want more, take them off.” I said, gesturing to my pyjamas shorts and he only kept to what he was doing.

“What was the longest you’ve edged yourself for again?” He asked and my face almost dropped.

“What?” I asked and he smiled.

“Tell me baby or else this isn’t going any further.” He said and I closed my eyes as I felt him go faster then slow down.

“40 minutes!” I said and he looked surprised.

“Mmm. Well we’re gonna beat that today.” He said and looked around. “Where’s the draw?” He asked and I could feel myself started to lose my clear thinking already.

“What draw?”

“I know you have a draw.” He said and pulled out my bedside table draw and smirked. I heard a buzz and looked to the side shocked. In his hand. Was my vibrator. “30%? We’re gonna have to wait for it to charge a bit.” He said and plugged it in to the usb in the wall and I gasped as the hand movements sped up except his thumb turned into his finger and the up and down motion turned to circles. I grabbed onto his bicep to try and control myself. “You’re not going to let go until I say, okay? This will be the best experience of your life.” He promised and I nodded because he’s already got me closer to finishing in 5 minutes than any man had in 2 hours.

“Yeah.” I said and brought his face down to kiss him.

“Now let’s play the game.” He said and I almost forgot about that.

“Every time you answer a question clearly, wihout moaning or anything like that, a piece of clothing comes off. On you and me.” He said and I nodded.

“Okay!” I agreed and he smiled.

“Good.” His movement sped up and I gasped. “What’s the fastest you’ve ever came?” He asked and I honestly couldn’t think.

“I don’t know… 2 minutes?” I said and he tutted but ripped of my pyjama shorts with ease. Like it was nothing. I gasped in shock. “They’re my favourite-!” Put I was cut off by him continuing what he was doing.

“Mm. 50%. We’ll keep at this.” He said to himself and shifted so I was sat between his legs and against his chest. “It’s gets harder, babe. Don’t worry.” He said and I moaned when he put my pressure into his movements. “You’re so close.” He said and I grabbed onto his arm… so ready to cum. “But it’s only been 20 minutes.” He told me and slowed down the movements. I clung desperately onto him in an attempt to get him to carry on and he didn’t.

“Please!” I said and he tutted again.

“No, not yet.” He said and I actually whined. “Plus, you’re not coming until some part of me is inside you.” He said and I whined again. I couldn’t believe this. I did not expect to wake up and do this, this morning.

He’d kept up with the same pace for another 10 minutes, bringing me close, bringing me back down again before I could climax. My body had started jolting in frustration.

“Cole! Please!” I yelled and he chuckled.

“Okay, I think it’s time for the next question.” He said and I smiled, relived.

“Have you ever came to the thought of me?” He asked and I nodded, he slapped the part of me he has been rubbing so tirelessly for the past half hour and I gasped. “That’s not an answer.”

“Yes!” I yelled and he smiled, bringing my face up to kiss me and I got so into it I almost didn’t notice the fact he has tour my underwear off until I felt the cold breeze on it. I broke this kiss and he moved us again so I was sat against him with my legs over his thighs to keep them spread.

“Are you ready for this, sweetheart?” He asked and I nodded, assuming he was going to start rubbing again but instead I felt something push at the soft tissue inside me before it was intruding more and more and I almost cried. It had been a long time and one of his fingers were worth at least 3 of mine. So it hurt. I grabbed onto him as he started making gentle movement in and out in order to get it further without it hurting so much and the pressure from inside me causing it to burn made my breathing go heavy. “It’s okay.” He reassured me and I held onto him. “One at a time.” He said and kissed my forehead, I nodded and another one was prodding through. I didn’t mean that but now the burn was expanding and I just sat there whimpering as he continued to work them into me until he had 2 fingers actively scissoring me, stretching me. Just as the burn was becoming small another one started being worked in and I cried. “Do you want me to fuck you?” He asked and I nodded. I wanted him. I wanted a sex life as well with him and he kissed my head. “Then I gotta stretch you out, doll. Otherwise, I might tear you or hurt you more. Which I really don’t want to fucking do.” He said and I nodded as he finally got the third one in all the way. I loved that he cared. I loved that he was making this all about me. I couldn’t be any more relieved to have someone who cares about my pleasure.

Another 10 minutes of this and I was feeling the pleasure. I was feeling some satisfaction and I thought his next step would be to fuck me. It’s been 50 minutes. He’s beat me record.

“What’s your favourite part of yourself?” He asked and I didn’t know. It was so subjective.

“What’s yours?” I asked instead and he chuckled.

“I like your hips. I don’t know why but I do. However that doesn’t get my boxers off. It’s not an answer to my question after all.” He said and I heard a buzz before I felt it. Right against my clit. The vibrator was held lightly against my clit and I gasped, wanting immediately to cum. It was so euphoric. My body lifted up off of Cole’s chest as I got closer to release and he pulled me back down with one arm before going pack to holding the vibrator against me and still fingering me. My body started convulsing.

“How long has it been?” He asked and I couldn’t open my eyes or form words with my mouth. To fucked out to think. I just sat there, body jumping again this chest, mouth open in pleasure and eyes shut. I was totally dumbed down by him. “Okay I think this is the last stretch.” He said and turned up the vibrator, sped up his fingers and I cried out and whimpered. “Whenever you’re ready, doll.” He said and I felt the same pressure building up, the knot in my stomach becoming tighter and tighter until. I screamed. I actually screamed. I heard Cole chuckle in surprise as I collapsed against him. “That was a very wet finish. I wasn’t expecting that.” He said and moved. I was fully laying down now and whimpering. I felt hot breath on my worn out and sensitive clit and I flinched but then his tongue got to work. He ate me out as I came down from my high and I ended up squirting again, over his face and I didn’t even react. “Remind me to do that again.” He said and I shook my head.

“No… that was… yeah do it again.” I panted and he smiled.

“How was that?” He asked and I let out a small laugh.

“Amazing… it’s never felt that good before.” I said and he winked before taking his boxers off. I looked at him in shock. “How are you still going?!” I asked and he smiled.

“I’ve got so much stamina baby. You’re gonna learn that real soon.” He said and brought my legs over his shoulder. “I’ve actually been thinking about what Lloyd said.” Cole said and I frowned in confusion.

“What?”

“Mating press is more intimate than missionary.” He filled in and I felt his presence infiltrate my body again. Except this time. It was different. Thicker, longer, harder. I gasped as I was somehow stretched out so much more. When I thought that was it he moved up and it was so much deeper. My knees were next to my head as he pressed his weight down on me and held me there for a moment. His hands went from holding him up to holding the sides of my head as he started rocking himself in and out. I gasped. It didn’t take long for him to speed up. And soon it was hard and fast paced. Unlike when he was getting me off, this was hard and rough and controlling. I liked it but it was scary to see the transition. He felt powerful on top of me like this. Me completely pinned down and I felt protected. This felt dominant and it felt good. Too good. As he got closer, he panted and the back of my thighs started to really hurt. I couldn’t work out why but it felt like they were burning. Like the impact was so much stronger than it currently felt as he starting kissing my cervix. I felt the satisfaction build up again and release but not as strong as before. Still satisfactory. I felt my head hit the pillow as I moaned and he was grunting like an animal before he broke through my cervix and I screamed. That hurt. His hips stuttered and I gasped. It was burning hot and it was a lot and it was directly in my womb. I panted and so did he before letting my legs come down but still collapsing on me.

“I love you. I fucking love you.” Cole panted and my body froze.

“I love you too.”

0:57———|——— -2:10

Peach slammed something on the counter in front of me and I frowned.

“What?” I asked staring at the plan B.

“You haven’t took your birth control for 3 days.” She told me and my eyes widened as she also put the other pill down next to me as well.

“Did Cole tell you on the way out?” I asked and she looked at me exasperated.

“Tell me? He didn’t need to tell me shit girl, I heard it. Made me horny and all I had to wake up Lloyd just so he could eat me out.” I said and Lloyd walked in at just the right time.

“Best alarm I’ve ever had.” He said and kissed her on the cheek before opening the fridge.

“Eat all my food and I’ll bite your dick next time.” She said and I gave them a look.

“He got horny too.” She said and I rolled my eyes.

“Whatever.” I said and got up to walk away but she followed me and closed my bedroom door.

“Tell me everything.” She said and I smiled. “What happened?”

“He edged me for over an hour using his hands, fingers and my vibrator. I was like a fucking rag doll I couldn’t move by the end of it. Then he ate me out and I squirted.” I told her and she gasped.

“On his face?!” She questioned and I nodded. She laughed. “Wow.”

“You ever done that before?” I asked, a little embarrassed.

“Last night.” She said and I looked at her shocked. “He has a real thing for eating me out.” Peach told me and I nodded.

“Clearly.” I said and she shoved my shoulder.

“Tell me more.” She continued and I smiled.

“Then he actually fucked and thanks to your man. He had me in a mating press.” I said and her eyes widened. “I’ve never been so fucked out in my life.”

“Did it hurt the back of your thighs?” She asked and I nodded, in shock.

“Yeah, is that common?” I asked and she looked up at me.

“Are you wearing underwear right now?” She asked and I nodded. “Okay just quickly, pull down your pants.” She said and I frowned but did it anyway because she doesn’t ask to do this stuff often unless something is really wrong. “Yep. Of course. I knew it.” She said and I looked at her in worry.

“What?! What?!” I asked, frantically and she turned me around so I could see the back of my thighs in the mirror. They were bruised black. I gasped. “Oh my god! I didn’t even notice!”

“It’s not good, Pookie. Makes it exciting when you want a rough time but trust me. It makes them feel like shit even though it doesn’t hurt that much.” She explained and I frowned. “It’s happened to me. Multiple times and now I don’t even have any feeling in the back of my thighs or bottom of my arse.” She explained and I looked at her in shock.

“This has never happened before?!” I said. I wasn’t a virgin.

“These guys are different. Especially Lloyd and Cole. They’re strong. Extremely strong. Sometimes they lose control of that.” Peach told me and I looked at her worried. “You’ve just got to let him know so he doesn’t break you.” She said jokingly but it didn’t feel like a joke. I stared at the massive bruises in the mirror.

“So when did he ask?” Peach moved on and I frowned confused.

“Ask what?”

“Ask for you to be his girlfriend.” Peach said and my face dropped as I turned around to look at her. Her eye twitched and one of my perfume’s glitched.

0:57———|——— -2:10

“Can we get a round of applause for Cole?!” Lloyd cheered and the rest of the team did as he patted him on the back.

“Him and his girl have officially reached the level of fucking without it meaning the relationship is over.” Lloyd filled them in and they all cheered louder.

“So you’re serious serious now.” Jay said and Cole nodded.

“We were before.” He said and went to get some food.

“Cole’s fucking and dating my ex fling and I love it!” Kai cheered and everyone looked at him weirdly. “I’m trying here.”

“Anyway so when are you-“

“Stop the congratulations- this dickhead hasn’t asked her to be his girlfriend yet.” Lloyd said, looking at his phone.

“What?!”

“Are you dumb?!” Jay and Kai’s outburst made Cole put his hands up in defence.

“Woah! I have to ask?! I thought it was clear?” He said and they all looked at him dumbly and Lloyd smacked him across the head. “Ow!”

[baylz]

PAGE ONE : choyo's

steeeam by shelly

07/20/2018

“It’s so hot today!” Nobara slumped against her desk, a small fan in her hand keeping her cool from the blazing heat.

The summer temperature was seeping into the classroom as students talked about their summer plans, eyes occasionally peering toward the ticking clock above the teacher’s desk.

I abandoned my usual blue jacket and hung it on my chair, leaving only the white button-up with the sleeves rolled up exposing the pale skin that hides beneath. My eyes were laser-focused on the time as I counted the minutes left before we could leave.

tick! tock! tick! tock!

My eyes narrowed at the taunting sounds, unaware that Nobara had been talking to me for a minute now.

“Yo.” A winced left me as a smack landed at the back of my head. A glare was now directed to the brunette next to me. Though, it wasn’t sending the message I wanted it to because she just blankly stared at me. “Pay attention.” Her polished fingers snapped in my face.

“Guys!” Yuji burst into the classroom with high energy and a bright smile, tumbling into the seat next to me. “I have an idea. Since we’re third years next year, I thought we could do a summer bucket list!”

“…”

“…”

"Oh, come on, guys, this is our last summer as high schoolers. We should make the most of it." Nobara was the first to decline, “Sorry, but I can’t. I’m spending the summer in Tohoku.” Her fan slowed to a stop, and Nobara shrieked, slapping the device against her palm.

Yuji turned to me for an answer. Don’t get me wrong, it sounded like an interesting plan for the summer, but I already had plans to do what I do every year: stay home and do nothing. It’s not that I didn’t want to spend time with Yuji; it was the fact that he was unpredictable, and being friends with him for as long as I had, I knew it was something chaotic. He dug into his pocket, pulled out a crumbled napkin littered with ketchup stains and scribbles, and presented it to us.

YUJI’S GUIDE TO AN AWESOME SUMMER (｡+･`ω･´)*!

1. Summer festival

2. Aquarium

3. Camping

4. Go Fishing

5. Catching fireflies in a jar (and releasing them…)

6. Hiking

7. Stargazing

8. Road trip!!

9. Laser tag

10. Go to the beach

Nobara ditched the broken device and signaled toward the list. “What’s with the stains?”

“I was eating a burger when I got the idea.” The grease splotches were evidence enough of this. Yuji fully turned his body towards me, expectant and patient. Now, I’m not mean per popular belief; I just treasure the solitude that I have become used to before meeting the two loudmouths on either side of me. Analyzing the dirty linen placed in front of me, it looked harmless. I expected some reckless activity like breaking into someone’s pool or egging the elder's home.

Still, I didn’t answer immediately, and the silence was confirmation enough to Yuji because he didn’t press about it anymore. The scrutinizing tick of the clock had stopped at that moment, and the bell rang soon after. Students scrambled to collect their belongings and bolted out the door, and summer began.

After School - Choyo's

Yuji told me Choso had bought the ramen place below them after the owner retired. They were quite close to the old man because he knew their grandfather. I had seen him the couple times that I went over and Yuji suggested to eat there. “It’s cheap, delicious, and super close dude”, he said.

Choso spent weeks learning and perfecting the recipes. They had even asked the three of us to be their taste testers to see if there was anything missing. I couldn’t eat ramen for a while after that…

To present time, Choso didn’t change a thing about the place. Everything to the decor and furniture was the same except the name is different and the toilet is fixed. So, it doesn’t make that weird noise it makes whenever you flush.

We sat our usual in seat, which was a booth in the right corner near the big windows. Yuji took his place next to me while Nobara was across from us and inspected the menu. Yuji and I did the same as if we haven’t been there millions of times.

A glimpse of blonde hair entered my peripherals, and I immedately knew who it was before she even spoke. “Hey guys! What can I get ya?”

Yuki came in one a busy night after quitting her job on a whim and got drunk, cheeks flushed and eyes half-lidded. She stayed for a couple hours gulping down drink after drink and stuffing her face before eventually passing out, face smushed against the wooden table and sunny locks covering her line of vision.

“Um, miss?” Choso cautiously poked her like some roadkill on the side of the street. She stirred and he jumped from the sudden movement. “Miss, wake up.” He politely shook her and Yuki slowly lifted her head up to look at him.

“Miss?”

“Hire me.” She slurred and stood on wobbly feet and Choso stresfully kept his arms out to catch her, if anything. “Miss you should—”

“I see you busting your ass, and I need a job. I’ll take whatever pay you have I’ve already saved enough from my recent job.” Choso pinched the bridge of his nose, and sighed at her tenaciousness, the muscles in his arm flexing. “Fine, you can come in tomorrow for an interview when you’re feeling—” Yuki cut him off again, but this time by puking on his shoes.

In the end, Yuki stayed in the guest room and secured the job the next day.

“I’m struggling.” Yuji fiddled with the menu and scooted closer to me, our shoulders brushing. “Megumi, should I get this?” His finger pointed at the pork cutlet bowl, before it moved to the somen. “Or that?”

I copied his movements and placed my index finger next to his. Yuji’s entire right side was warm. I couldn’t tell whether it was from the sun that was radiating heat from the window to where he sat or if it was generally him. Either way, I felt myself sweating.

“That.” Our fingers lingered longer than what was necessary. I was the first to retract.

“Megs.” Nobara called and I acknowledged her with a hum, and she causually slid her ice water towards me. I cage the condensed glass into my weirdly sweaty palms before mouthing a thank you, and took a sip before sliding it back to her.

We stayed there for a couple hours until it was closing time. We stepped out into the summer breeze of the night, the crickets singing a chorus while the moon loomed over us with its purloined light.

The three of us hesitated to move. Nobara more hesitant as she shifted on her feet and flickered her gaze between me and Yuji. Her usual poker face turned into a puzzled look and I knew what she was thinking.

"So" she started, "Not to be sappy or whatever but I really am gonna miss you guys. I'll see you when I get back." Nobara looped her arms around both of us and suddenly we were all in a group hug.

Realistically, I wouldn't have stayed for as long as I did. Gojo would attempt to comfort me with a hug, but I would shrink away from the contact because it felt embaressing and being vulnerable is a foreign thing for me. But with Nobara practically crying into my shoulder I couldn't find it within myself to pull away from her.

"You crying?" Yuji teased after a moment of silence. Despite her state, she still managed to land a smack at his head and mutter a "No, shut up."

After a few more minutes, we unlinked and went our seperate ways.

Toeing off my shoes at the doorway, I make my way down the long hallway before making a B line for the living room.

Gojo was lounging around in a loose tank and shorts, sitting comfortably on the couch with his legs crossed and arm hanging off the back. He peeled his eyes away from the television when I entered.

“Oh gumi, you’re back! Out with a girl?” His bangs were clipped back, with a few white strands falling forward. I ignored him and sat on the floor before the coffee table. “What are you watching?”

“Slotherhouse.”

“That stupid movie about the killer sloth?”

“Yup! It's been taken in by a sorority for popularity points.” He explained. I don’t understand how someone could even direct such an atrocity, and who would even be stupid enough to watch it?

Apparently, we were. “I thought the girl only adopted it because she was running for president and thought she could win.”

Gojo made a dismissive gesture with his hand. “Same thing.”

The sound of the television filled the silence that followed after that. The house smelled of the dinner Gojo had prepared before I arrived home, and I knew it was some delicious soup. It was warm but cool simultaneously, as one of the sliding doors was opened with just a crack.

There was a familiar buzzing in my bones as it almost lulled me to sleep.

Key word: almost.

ping!

“Summer festival?” Gojo suddenly was peeking over my shoulder and I jolted from my spot, hand clutching my chest from the surprise.

“What the hell? Why are you looking at my messages?”

The prier completely disregarded my question and further pressed me about it. “Why aren’t you going?”

“Don’t want to.” I muttered, my attention returning back to the movie.

“Megumi.” He warned.

“No.”

“It’s the summer before you turn 18. You really wanna waste your last summer as a kid?” His eyes averted from the television to me. I didn’t have to look to know that he was practically shooting daggers at my head.

It’s moments like these where I was slightly scared of him.

Just slightly, though.

I sighed, completely ignored his nagging. “Yuji is more outgoing than I am. I’m sure he can find someone else to spend his time with.”

Gojo huffed and abruptly switched off the movie, fully positioning his body to face me, and I did the same.

“Listen, you do nothing every summer. I even remember when you were little I would try to get you to play with the neighborhood kids and you never would.” His eyes held an inmidating intensity that I had never seen before. He was sincere and I knew better than to dismiss him when he got like this.

I considered him for a moment, exhaling and pondering my next move. He continued, his voice low and considerate. “Plus, Yuji is your friend and he seems really excited about this.”

A huff and then, “Fine.”

He smugly smiled and leaned back in his original position, arm resting behind his head and feet propped on the table. “Ah! Take my camera when you go, I need pictures for my megumi scrapbook!” He yelled across the room.

“I told you to burn that!” I yelled back, leaving him by himself.

next chapter

masterlist

TAGLIST (OPEN) 2/50 : @nicememerino @rrinkyoo

@baylz please do not copy, translate, or repost any of my works onto other platforms!!

[deans-baby-momma]

Law & Love Chapter 20

A/N: Well, guys.....looks like this is the end. NOT!! HAHA I know last time I said there was only one more chapter to this but my muse woke up and after talking over some ideas with my beta @kazsrm67, there are about 3-5 more chapters of this now.

THEN:

Beau gently lays it out for her. How Emily was invited back up to Montana to help with Sunny Day Excursions, how he wants to be honest and truthful with her. 

"I've come to realize that I'm not happy here anymore, Car. I miss the mountains and the fresh air."

"You're going back for her, aren't you?" Carla says, sitting back in her chair, crossing her arms and glaring at him.

NOW:

"It's not like that," Beau objects as he stares at the woman in front of him. "I told you, Em got that letter and it just made me realize, I miss it up there."

"Beau, babe," Carla stands up and walks around the desk. "Can I be honest with you?"

"Of course."

"I've been selfish-" she begins. "-and weak."

Beau watches his ex-wife in perplexity. ‘What is she talking about?’ he thinks and opens his mouth to voice the words, but Carla holds up her hand, silencing him.

“Listen Beau, when I asked you to come back home-” she sighs before continuing. "-I wasn’t completely honest. After Avery’s death, I was afraid to be alone. I haven’t been alone since….well, ever. We got together in our freshman year of college, married a year after graduation; had Em and then after our divorce I met Avery and in a whirlwind got remarried. And then I found myself being a widow with an ex. So I took the coward’s way out. I asked you to try again.

“I knew you had moved on. I met Y/N, remember. Hell, yall were living together for fuck’s sake! I saw that and it reminded me of us when we first got together."

Beau sits there unmoving, flabbergasted over Carla's admission. He keeps his eyes on her as she begins pacing back and forth, between his spot and her desk. 

"I realized that I was about to come back to Texas, alone, as a widow and I was scared. I haven't been a single woman since before college and I was terrified of what that meant."

Beau's heart breaks at her confession. It's true though. From the moment they met in the financial aid line their freshman year of college, he and Carla had been inseparable,  spending every free minute with one another. It was love at first sight for both of them and even back then he thought he'd spend the rest of his life with her.

They'd graduated college and had both entered the workforce with promising careers before taking that next big step of getting married. The first few years were bliss and they felt indestructible.  Even with the unexpected arrival of Emily, they were invincible but by the time Em turned 5, that armor had been chipped and by their daughter's tenth birthday, their relationship was nothing but a shell. 

And then Beau received the final blow when he was served with divorce papers; Carla had filed for divorce, claiming irreconcilable differences. The difference was she had become captivated by a friend of a friend of an acquaintance,  Avery McCallister. And less than a year after the divorce papers were signed, Carla was no longer an Arlen.

"So," he finally spoke. "Once again, you duped me? You pretended to still feel something for me to make me do your bidding. Did you ever love me, Carla?"

Standing up, Beau towers over the brunette,  his chest heaving. "I'm just a pawn in your game of life huh? Well, guess what. I'm done. It's over. We're over. Emily and I are headed to Helena soon, and after her stint as camp staff is finished she can come back to you, if she wants. But I will not be returning. This is goodbye, Carla."

With that he turns and walks toward the door. As his hand wears around the knob, Carla defends herself. 

"I do love you Beauford! You were my one true love for almost my whole twenties. But I let outside factors cloud my judgment. I am truly sorry, honey. I moved on but I guess I didn't expect you to. I'm sorry. "

"I'm sorry too," Beau replies before turning around and looking at his ex-wife. "I'm sorry for not being enough. I'm sorry that I let you down. But I will not apologize for continuing my life. And if she'll have me back, I plan to continue living my life in Montana with Y/N."

He gives a small smile toward Carla and turns the knob and walks out of her office, passing by the receptionist desk and to the elevator.

On the way to the bottom floor, Beau closes his eyes and pinches his nose. 'God, please don't have let me have fucked it up with Y/N. I'll beg if she wants!' he thinks to himself. 

Beau: Hey Y/N. It's Beau. Looks like I'm going to be coming back to Helena. Could we meet up and talk about some things?

Beau wasn't expecting his phone to ring so when it did, he almost dropped the device in the floor.

"Y/N?"

"It's me," she answers and her voice washes over him like a warm breeze. God, how he missed her!

"How you been, sweetheart?"

Beau closes his eyes and just basks in the cadence of her voice until she says something that causes him to pause. His eyes shoot open. What did she mean by that?!

"Wait, what do you mean taking me back?! Don't you still live there? Please don't tell me you've moved back East," he begs. 

She laughs and it brings a smile to his lips and he breathes easier. She explains that she still lives in Helena but isn't there and once again, Beau holds his breath. Had she already met someone and is off visiting her new man? Oh god, please don't let that be it!

"Ohhh," Beau breathes out before asking "where are you?"

As soon as her answer hits his ears, he smiles. She is so close. But why is she in Texas? What brought her to the Lonestar State?

@spnbaby-67 @sea040561 @delightfullykrispypeach @larajadeschmidt13 @atc74 @vicariouslythruspn @squirrelnotsam  @sandlee44 @blacktithe7 @hoboal87 @mogarukee @supraveng @akshi8278 @lyarr24 @kazsrm67 @chriszgirl92 @deanwithscissors @raisinggray @fanfic-n-tabulous @hobby27 @stoneyggirl @purpleeclipseeggsland @kmc1989 @deans-spinster-witch @yvonneeeeeeee @tmb510 @globetrotter28

[look-mom-percys-on-the-tv]

Ep 5 reactions

spoilers beneath the cut for s1e5 and minor spoilers for most of the books, but I censored the traitor's name. mostly positive tone.

ANNABETH SAW THE FUCKING FATES

"Im the last one to realize this aren't I" A LITTLE BIT

I love Percy admitting there he was really ONLY in it for Sally. Poseidon does ONE good thing and all of a sudden it's "wait I think the conspiracy to start war betten the gods is... important?" SEE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU MEET REASONABLE PARENTING EXPECTATIONS? A certain god could be taking notes, specifically the patent of [REDACTED]

go off Percy with the emotional intelligence. A for effort

and an A PLUS to Annabeth for the sharing important info and being vulnerable.

I see that coat covering the bike seat. there's human skin on that thing, isn't there?

LIVING the portrayal of Ares as man-baby who starts twitter fights. average maturity level of anyone who likes war.

"there's no fear in you, is there?" STAWPPP

THEY KEPT THE MANHUNT PLOT🎉🎉🎉🎉 also the Gabe is Gabe-ing. Manipulate mansplain manwhore on the most literal level. except disney probably cut the womanizer bit.

the whole "Im immature as shit but my threats are real, I hold all the cards" THE GOD OF WAR IS GODOFWAR-ING

"can I walk them to the door" IS HE GONNA RUN FOR IT? they're really letting Grover miss out on this quest, huh? I mean I guess it makes sense. PLUS it means more Grover-exclusive scenes! MY BOYY

that's a lie. there HAVE to be corny movie nights at camp, right?

ALSO botl movie date, anyone?👀👀👀👀

is that? a JOKE I HEAR??? poking fun at Percy? a little. Genuine? ALSO TRUE. If you told me that "amusing" line was Liften from the book and I've just forgotten about it all five million times I read it, I WOULD BELIEVE YOU

Annabeth who complimented Circe's loom when Percy got cursed🤝 Annabeth who complimented Hepheastus when Percy got trapped

the way she says push before telling him what it is😭😭😭

WE'VE MET BEFORE. I'M 24. A FAN!? GROVER WHAT ARE YOU PLAYING AT

songs about feelings that was PERSONAL

*insert Coach Hedge talking about nature*

Annabeth asking what Ares need the kids for if he wants the bolt/thinks their quest means nothing🤝 Grover gaslight girlbossing : doing detective work under Percy's nose

OOOH good detail with Percy being caught up with all the "3000 year-old goss" because HIS MOTHER TOLD HIM hi sally i fuckign love u

"don't even try to tell me not to be weird about this" we love an honest queen. While I kinda miss book Annabeth being a bit stompy and whiny at this part, I do think that the show version suits its own characterization of Annabeth, saying whatever she thinks needs to be said.

this whole show, I've been able to see everything. episode five DO NOT be the one to let me down! PLEASE!

THE SONG omg i wasnt expecting that. miraculous movie flashbacks fr.

W CONVO. DOUBLEYOU CONVO. nothing to add. perfection.

Also. don't shoot but the song choice unironically fits Hephaestus's story.

SWIMMING

is that a giant gold naked statue of Hera? to taunt them for cheating on him? hypocrite.

"they like to ignore what doesn't fit their narrative" [REDACTED] APOLOGISTS TAKE NOTES.

also, SMOOTH AF

okay there's no way Annabeth doesn't know that story. there's ONE way to take a god's power and she doesn't know it? at least let them tell it in tandem! a little "Yeah I recognize the chair, what of it?" THEN let the touchy-feely boy present the bargain. AT LEAST.

SHE'S NOT LEAVING WITHOUT HIM

"do you need some help?" "FUCK OFF" that's Annabeth

in the one hand, I am not a fan of depriving Annabeth of her super wisdom hero moment. on the other hand, placing responsibility to fix things on the perpetrators instead of those kids from Season ONE queen shit, and showing people can change. slay, but PLEASE let Annabeth do some more puzzle shit!

THE SHIELD LOOKS SO BIG IN HER HANDS

THESE FUCKIGN TWELMVE YEAR OLDS

OH so [REDACTED] and Ares conspired to make sure the trio never makes it there, not just using the magic things that activate at a certain place, but also by DIRECTING THEM TO THE TIME FREEZE ON PURPOSE

TO SUMMON WHAT

that interaction. SO THEM

YOU KNOW WHO WHATTED THE WHAT

[ceruleanmusings]

Big Time Secrets - Lucy & Mason

going a little bit different with this one. the guys are involved peripherally but i wanted to give a better insight to their relationship with one of the girls on the show.

@partiallypearl @raging-violets

---------

Big Time Rush’s and Camille’s shouting faded down the hallway once they streamed out of Lucy’s apartment. Lucy and the Mason girls stared at the open doorway; bewilderment written all over their faces. Save for Jazz, who snickered while pulling the bowl of popcorn onto her lap.

“So…you knew they were figure skating the whole time?” Lucy asked, head slowly turning to face the giddy girl.

Jazz snorted, stuffing popcorn into her mouth. “Of course I knew.” She tossed a piece into the air and caught it with a triumphant smile.

“Why didn’t you say anything? Because of you, I had to deal with an axe-wielding maniac all day!”

“Because Knight asked me not to and I prefer that my boyfriend can trust me.” She tossed more popcorn into her mouth. A second later an explosion of popcorn flew around the room due to the pillow Lucy threw at her knocking the bowl out her hands. Unperturbed, Jazz’s smirk, if possible, got wider.

“I don’t see what’s so funny about it! They ruined my choreography!” Sammi said with a huff. Perched on the arm of the couch, she crossed her arms, thin bangles slid down to mid forearm. “Do you know how many hours I wasted for that showing? Camille at least kept her lines clean but Kendall; I swear, he forgot everything I taught him! I can’t put my name on that! No ma’am! Samantha Mason Does. Not. Lose!” The bangles on her arms and the hoops in her ears shook with the force of her ensuing clapping.

“And you thought Logan was bad?” Jazz asked, giving Sammi a look. Jerking her thumb in Sammi’s direction, she added, “Try having to deal with that every day for the last two weeks.” It all came out afterward that Sammi had Kendall and Camille’s skating instructor. While she was more adept at roller skating, she had figure skating for a few years in her youth before switching over. James, Logan, and Carlos didn’t take it too well when learning that both Sammi and Jazz kept the secret from them, yelling about breaking a “No Secrets Between Friend Groups” code.

Jazz threatened to break something of theirs in return and it wasn’t related to a code.

“Besides, this is kind of your fault,” Mel pointed out from where she was tucked in the corner of the couch. She dug her elbow into Sammi’s leg only to flinch when Sammi reached out and flicked her behind the ear.

“How’s this my fault?” Lucy asked.

“If you hadn’t brought up that game of secrets in the first place none of this would’ve happened,” she said. “Then I wouldn’t have had to deal with Gustavo and Aunt Kelly, the cookie monsters. Emphasis on monsters.” She patted her arms as she spoke, plumes of flour bursting and curling into the air. “We could’ve been writing The Guys’ last song but noooo, they needed to get more of those cookies. I was in the zone, too.”

“You really should’ve seen that coming though,” Sammi said from where she sat poised on the arm of the couch, one leg over the other, ankles crossed. “Remember Christmas ’00?” At Lucy’s raised eyebrow she explained, “She straight up stepped on Jazz and knocked Mel into a chair to get first dibs for our Christmas cookie swap.”

“Yeahhh, I got my first set of stitches that year,” Mel said, lifting the hem of her jeans. A crescent-moon like scar webbed around the curve of her kneecap. “Who knew a Barcalounger had so many sharp parts. I think Jazz still has her shoe print on her back, too.”

“Wow. And I thought the guys were crazy,” Lucy muttered beneath her breath, tucking her hair behind her ear. Then she shrugged in nonchalance. “But the cookie insanity thing wasn’t my fault. Besides, why didn’t you just ask Mickey to make them? It would’ve saved you the time.”

“Because she was busy going to camp,” Mel said. With a swing of her head, she turned an accusatory glance the silent sister’s way.

Sitting on the floor, Mickey’s head bent over a popsicle stick bird house. But with a tall ceiling and thin walls, it resembled more a little pavilion than a bird house. Silence stretching, she slowly looked up only to jump at the four pairs of eyes set on her. “What?” she asked.

“Well, unlike the rest of us, sounds like you had a fun day,” Lucy said.

Frowning, Mickey eyed the gleam in her eye. “It was okay.”

“Easy for you to say when you roasted marshmallows and had sack races and did arts and crafts,” Jazz said. She idly pulled a kernel out of her thick hair and popped it into her mouth.

“All you did all day was sit back and watch all this blow up. With popcorn,” Mickey pointed out.

“But I didn’t get marshmallows out of it.” Pressing her finger into Mickey’s forehead, she pushed her sister’s head backward with a poke. “Besides, you and James looked awfully cozy cuddled up on the floor.”

Lucy, Sammi, and Mel reacted all at once: “What!?” “Excuse me?” “Say what?”

“Back up.” Sammi held her hand in the air, as if pressing a large pause button. “I need context.”

Huffing, Mickey relayed the story: how James talked her into making gourmet corn dogs for an apology to Carlos, how he talked her into pretending to be Heather Fox’s agent on the phone to figure out where she was in town, and how he talked her into helping him and Carlos turn the Palm Woods into Camp Wonky Donkey and to play games with them in an effort to get Carlos and his camp crush back together. All because she had to abide by the “Don’t Break Carlos” Heart’ code.

Mel shook her head. “That’s crazy.”

“I know,” Mickey said.

“No, I meant that they went to a camp that’s actually named Camp Wonky Donkey,” Mel said with a snort. “Was Camp Lame taken?” She and Jazz snickered, reaching over the table to slap a high five.

“Anyway, in the end Heather ended up writing a note to tell James she liked him and not Carlos which was…eh.” She made a face and waved her hand, batting away the thought and the returning annoyance of reliving witnessing the moment. “And then Lucy ran up and you know what happened.”

“Which reminds me…” Lucy’s words stretched out as a sly smile came to her face. “You never told us what your secret is.”

Mickey blinked. “Huh?”

“Everyone’s been spilling or keeping or trying to crack secrets all day. The ice skating, the cookies, the camp thing, sneaking around. You’re the only one who hasn’t said anything. So out with it.” Leaning forward, she sat nearly nose to nose with Mickey while wiggling her eyebrows. “What’s your secret?”

“I don’t…” Mickey gulped, forcing the lump in her throat down. “I don’t have one.” How did this suddenly become about her? She’d been doing nothing but minding her own business.

Leaning back, Lucy rolled her eyes. “Everybody has one.”

“What’s yours?” Mickey asked, irritating sparking inside her. That felt too familiar.

Lucy laughed. “Oh, I don’t keep secrets. There’s no point. Besides, everything you need to know about me you’ll find in my music.” Her head tilted to the music equipment spread around the room, from the piano, to the various microphones, to the range of acoustic and electric guitars leaning against one another.

“That’s a bit of a cop out don’t you think?”

“Don’t change the subject. C’mon, Mick, what’s your secret?”

Thundering footsteps and thumps on the wall grew. Mickey sighed. Saved by the bell! Shouts and grunts accompanied the rolling thunder, with a loud whooping leading the way. One wouldn’t be wrong for assuming a train had somehow made its way through the halls of the Palm Woods but it, in fact, was just the boys and Camille running along the floor for another lap chasing Carlos around. They looked worse for wear this time around, with Logan having to carry Kendall along on his back instead of letting him hop around on his foot. He used one of his crutches as an extension to poke at Carlos. James looked as if he’d been through a shredder, his clothes hanging off him in tatters, and Camille came up last, dragging her leg behind her with her once free hand stuffed in a vase.

Lucy pointed at the empty doorway. “How…?”

“It’s best not to ask,” Sammi said with a wave of her hand. “You’ll never get a good answer.” Releasing a long sigh, she slapped her hands on her knees and got off the couch. “Let’s go help them.”

“Why?” Jazz and Mel wore identical confused expressions, noses wrinkled. Mickey suspected half of it was due to, for once, not being involved in their issues and the other half was due to Sammi being the one to suggest helping them. She tended to stay away from their “white boy shenanigans” as much as possible. Unless she found a way to get something out of it, anyway.

“Yeah, I really don’t want to be dragged into anything else today,” Lucy added.

“You can’t be dragged into something you set in motion. And it’s the ‘I Will Take Responsibility for My Actions’ code,” Sammi shot back.

“Oh my gooodddd!” Lucy’s head tilted back at her exasperated exclamation. “Fine! But after this, I’m making my own code. It’s the ‘No One Makes Binding Codes Ever Again’ code!”

“Orrrr!” Jazz popped out of the chair, eyes lighting. “We can make a bet with Mr. Bitters that he’s the one who has to clean up everything they destroy.”

“I like that one better,” Mel said with a wicked grin.

Their bundle of friends moved past the door again, this time with Carlos struggling to run with Camille grabbing his ankle and James holding him in a headlock. Logan, now running much slower and panting, pulled up the rear with Kendall still on his back. Sammi, Mel, and Jazz hurried out the room after them. Mickey started to follow but Lucy stopped her, standing in the doorway.

“You don’t exactly like me, do you?” Lucy crossed her arms and tilted her head to the side, scrutinizing Mickey through squinted eyes. “That’s your secret, right?”

Figures Lucy wouldn’t let her off the hook. Still, the accusation had her heart drop and all the saliva get sucked out her mouth. Her eyes darted around, looking for an exit, but Lucy had her cornered on her own turf. “It’s not…that. Well, not exactly…” She fiddled with the hem of her bright yellow Camp Wonky Donkey t-shirt.

“Thennnn what?” An elongated squeaking sound came out of Mickey’s mouth as she struggled to find the words. Lucy, despite looking amused, rolled her eyes. “Don’t act all innocent now. I can handle it.”

She probably could. Very little seemed to faze her and maybe that was the problem. That her choices and actions didn’t seem to bother her, no matter how much they messed with someone else. Did she not care? Mickey looked just past Lucy’s head when she spoke, voice quiet but firm, “I don’t particularly like that you mess with my friends’ feelings.” Lucy moved to reply but Mickey kept on, her words building atop of one another, nearly colliding in her haste. “None of this would’ve gone on if you didn’t purposely bring up a game that would cause…this.” She gesticulated wildly around the room.

“I didn’t know it would cause this.” Lucy mimicked her gesticulation. “Trust me. You didn’t deal with Logan. No one would willingly want to.”

“It’s the guys,” Mickey said, exasperated, as if the two words held all the explanation in the world. (Which they did.) “They can’t play a video game without getting into some sort of death match. Getting them to spill secrets about the horrible things they’ve done to one another? That’s not opening a can of worms, that’s throwing a grenade on it. And you pulled the pin.”

“It was just a game.”

“It’s…it’s not fair to others to have them messed with for the sake of someone else’s entertainment. Feelings aren’t a game.” Not to me.

The longer Lucy stared at her, the more Mickey’s skin prickled and itched. Right when she felt ready to jump out of it, or form some sort of apology for something she probably didn’t need to apologize for, Lucy slowly nodded her head. “Alright. Fine. I get it. You may have a point. For the record, I was just—”

“Trying to make things interesting?” Mickey asked wryly.

“No. well, yeah, but no. I was just…trying to make…friends? Small talk and all that stuff…” She made a retching noise and Mickey nodded. Boy, did she understand that. She and small talk were mortal enemies. The accompanying awkwardness could kick rocks as well. “I’m still new and the guys are…well, the guys. And Camille’s great but kind of…all over the place? So I thought if we could get to, well, the good stuff first it’d make being new…easier.” Mickey stared. Lucy Stone was…unsure? She’d come in with such an aura around her, shaking up the guys’ worlds so bad, it was hard to grasp that even she had been worried about something as normal as making new friends. Mickey bit her lip. Maybe she’d been too hard on her? With a loose shrug, Lucy went to leave only to stop and lean back in the doorway. “Oh, and don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me!”

Even with the smile Lucy flashed at her, Mickey’s stomach turned at the following wink.

That secret was easy to keep and, maybe it wouldn’t be true after some time.

But if Lucy ever found out her real one, the one she was just coming to grips that existed, she wasn’t so sure that one could be kept quiet.

[starstwinkleplanetsshine]

Daughter of the Sea

Chapter Thirteen: My First Trip to New York City (Read on AO3 here)

Eventually, the last day of camp arrived. I opened our cabin door to find a note on the front step saying that if we stayed past noon without a signed waiver, the cleaning harpies would eat us. 

“Is this for real?” I asked with a light laugh. 

Percy was just putting on his shoes. 

“Yeah, at least I think so. I never stuck around to find out.” He joined me at the front door and we started walking towards breakfast. “Have you decided what you want to do?” 

Percy had offered me a place in his apartment a week ago, saying it was only right because we were siblings. At first that offer terrified me, and I felt at a loss. I hadn't really considered life after Camp, and now, all too quickly, it was here. 

I wanted to say yes, but there was my adopted mom, and my home back in Arizona. A home that no longer felt like home. 

I had thought a lot about it, and I had finally made a decision. 

“I think I wanna go with you…if that’s okay. At least for now, at least to meet your mom, I mean my mom, and maybe—” 

He cut off my ramblings with a hug, and when he pulled away, he was beaming. 

“I was hoping you would say that. Argus is taking us home at 10.” 

Home. 

The way he said it, I actually believed that maybe, just maybe, that could be true.  

I found myself wandering into the Big House around 9:45, looking for a certain child of Apollo with dark red hair. I learned halfway through the summer to check the infirmary before checking her cabin, and sure enough, I found Cadence Hayes sitting in a chair, counting bandages. 

“I wanted to say goodbye before I left.” My voice was soft even though there was no one else in the room. Cady looked up and smiled at me. 

“So you’re leaving then?” 

I nodded, walking towards her. “I’m gonna go home with Percy. It felt like the right choice.”

She nodded. “I was hoping you would say that. It’ll be good for you to spend time together, and you can continue your training.” 

I rolled my eyes playfully at her. “Life’s not all about training, you know.” 

“For now, it is.” If she meant it as a joke, it came out heavy. But I knew she was right—it had been a hard summer, and it wasn’t going to get any easier. Kronos’ army could attack again at any time, and we had to be ready. Percy seriously considered staying at Camp year round just in case, but at the last minute decided he wanted to spend as much time with his mom as he could. As much time as he had left, is what he said. 

“Well, I think it’ll be good for a lot of reasons. I’ll miss my mom, well, my adopted mom, though.” 

Cady nodded. “Maybe she’ll come visit.” 

I smiled at the thought. “I hope so.” 

Cady crossed to me and gave me a hug, and I squeezed her back. We stood there for a while, knowing this was goodbye for now. If all went well, I wouldn't see her again for a couple months, and the thought of that made me a lot sadder than I was expecting. A few tears fell down my cheeks as I pulled away. 

I was about to say something when Cady got a faraway look in her eye, like the glassy eyes of a porcelain doll. I had seen this once before, and knew what was happening. She was getting a premonition, which was one of the gifts she received from her father. When the life returned to her eyes, I smiled gently at her. 

“Pasta tonight for dinner?” 

She shook her head and cracked a grin. “Sally’s gonna be really happy to see you. Don’t be nervous.” 

I felt like I had the wind knocked out of me. 

I could hardly sleep last night because I was so afraid to meet my real mom, and hearing Cady say those words made me feel a million times better. I still had butterflies at the thought of the reunion, but my fear went away. 

“Thanks, Cady. You don’t know how much I needed to hear that.” I hugged her again, and she held me just as tight.

“Sometimes dad comes through.” 

I said a silent thanks to Apollo, and I could've sworn the sun shining through the window got brighter. 

“You’d better get going, you don’t wanna miss the bus.” 

I nodded, wiping the last few tears from my eyes. “Thanks for everything this summer. I wouldn't have survived here without you.” 

Cady smiled. “We’ve come a long way from the living room fireplace.” I laughed, remembering my first day of Camp. I thought about how scared and confused I felt, and realized how different I was now. In just a couple months I had grown into a more confident, capable, and happier person. I may have arrived at Camp alone, but I wasn’t leaving that way. 

“Yes we have.” I squeezed her hand one last time and finally made my way back out to the hallway, tracing the steps I took that very first day, and out into the gleaming light of the morning. 

Standing on top of that hill, looking at the strawberry fields and the glimmering Sound beyond, I knew that was still the most beautiful sight I had ever seen. 

I stood in the tiny elevator of the old New York City apartment building, my hands sweaty and fidgety. Percy stood next to me, also fidgeting, but with a smile on his face. For him, this was coming home. I guess it was for me, too, in a way, except I had never been there before. 

Throughout the whole bus ride from camp, Percy was telling me all sorts of stories about growing up in the City and what his mom, I mean our mom, Sally, was like. I was barely listening, though, because the whole time I was just staring at the buildings that were getting taller and taller, my eyes following the massive crowds. Argus dropped us off outside a brick apartment in the Upper East Side, and I could see the East River gleaming not too far away. I could see why Percy liked growing up here, although to someone who grew up in the wide open west, it all felt a bit cramped to me. 

The elevator stopped with a ding, and the door slid open. I followed Percy down the hall in silence, until he stopped in front of a door with a faded brass 12 on it. 

He turned to me, smiling. 

“Are you ready?” 

I tried to speak, but no sound came out. My throat felt too dry, my hands too shaky. I stood there with my mouth open and shook my head. 

Percy’s smile faded. “Hey, it’s okay.” he spoke softly as he pulled me into a hug. “She’s gonna love you.” 

“She doesn't even know who I am.” 

It was true. As of now, Sally didn’t remember that I existed. 

“But she will.” he reassured me as he let go of the hug. “Hestia promised to restore her memories as soon as she saw you.” 

“But what if…” I trailed off, scared to say what I was thinking. 

“What if what?”

“Nothing.” 

“Angie,” He put his hands on my shoulders, “As soon as she remembers that you’re supposed to be in her life, she's never gonna want to let you go. Trust me.” 

“How can you be so sure?” 

“Well, for one, she’s my mom. And two, because that’s how I felt.” 

Tears began to threaten my eyes. “Really?” 

He nodded. “When I found out I had a sister, I was confused. And then I got to know you, and I was angry you were ever taken away from me. It's like you're a part of me I didnt even know I was missing. It'll be the same for mom.” 

I nodded, trying to believe his words. 

“Okay. Thanks, Percy.” 

He smiled again and ruffled my hair, something he had gotten in the habit of that I hated. But I think he knew that. 

Then he knocked. 

There was silence, then shuffling, then the door swung open. 

“Percy?!” In the doorway stood a beautiful woman with hair the same color as me, but she was a little taller and her eyes were a sparkling blue. She wore an expression of happiness mixed with concern that I had only ever seen on mothers. I could tell she wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around her son, and she almost did, but then she saw me. 

“Oh! Percy, who’s—” she cut herself off, gasping. Her eyes went wide and they instantly filled with tears. “Oh my God, my little girl! Where have you been?” She wrapped her arms around me and pulled me close, and I let her. 

I was worried I would feel weird, that maybe she would love me but I wouldn't feel anything for her. But as soon as she pulled me to her chest and I heard her heartbeat against mine, a love surged through my body that I couldn't quite explain. It was as if Hestia didn't just restore her memories, but also filled in all the emotions that should've been there, everything we missed in the last fourteen years. Tears ran down my cheeks and I felt my moms fall onto my head. Eventually, she pulled Percy into the hug too, and the three of us stood in the doorway, holding each other and weeping. If any of the neighbors passed, they must've had a weird sight. Or maybe they wouldn't have batted an eye. This was New York City, after all. 

My mom and I stayed up late that night, long after Percy went to bed, learning everything we could about each other. I shared all the stories I could think of—every birthday, swim meet, vacation, and scraped knee. And she shared about her life, her childhood, her dreams of being an author, and the classes she was taking. She even told me about her boyfriend, Paul, and how they had met. 

I loved every second. 

She suggested that my adopted mom fly out and visit, since she wanted to meet her and tell her thank you for taking care of me for so long. My heart raced with excitement—growing up, I had felt so alone. The only person who ever cared about me was my mom, and now here I sat, with two moms who loved me with their whole heart, a brother who could always make me smile, and more friends than I could count. The only thing that was missing was a father, and little did I know, I wouldn’t have to wait too much longer for that.

[pbandjesse]

I felt pretty good today. My allergies continue to plague me but I was in a good mood this morning. I didn't sleep amazing, waking up with a very upset stomach in the middle of the night again. But I was able to sleep after that and felt pretty good when my alarm went off.

I got up and got dressed and felt happy. My eyes were hurting and my sinuses were making my ears very closed up. But I was still very excited for the market.

James made the bed and we left together. We would have to come back pretty quick when I realized I forgot my tablet. But it was not a big deal. We stopped for my tablet. And headed to the museum. A pit stop for McDonald's breakfast. And then we went to set up.

And I had a lot of fun! I got lots of hugs and was really happy to see my market friends. Give them updates like how we bought our house. It was a good day.

I would set up. James would help and than stay outside for a bit to collect some forms for insurance from vendors. And I was having a very nice morning.

I would buy some brownies and a chocolate pop tart and then a whole bunch of strawberries. Which were super dark red and lovely.

I wasn't sure how my day was going to go though. I wasn't sure I would sell anything. So I just focused on the craft I brought with me.

I would spend most of the morning catching up on my knitting and I am totally caught up now. And I would work on sewing down my ends from last months square. That still has work to be done but it was nice to have something to focus on.

But I would make sale! I actually did really good today. I sold 8 stuffies and a bunch of stickers and even some prints. I was having a great time. I made my sales goal for the day by 1030. So the rest of the day felt easy and fun.

I would have some great interactions too. People being super kind about loving my designs. Making a deal with a 4 year old after she asked for a stuffie and I told her she has to ask her parents because they cost money. And so she tells me "my daddy has so much money" which was hilarious. And when she came back with her dad a few minutes later and I said hello again, her dad went "again?" And I explained she had said he has so much money and he laughed and seemed flabbergasted and then gave her $20. So I bargained with her and we shook hands very seriously at the end of the transaction which was just the best.

I would also have some lovely conversations with Anne and Ginny and Stan and also Jordan. We would talk for a long time and while we were talking I noticed a man who sails with the downtown sailing center waiting near the market table. And I knew as soon as Jordan left he would come over. And I was absolutely right.

He wasn't weird or anything but he was hitting on me. Asking if I have a man. And I am like yes I have a whole husband! But we would still chat and exchanged Instagrams because he makes tshirts and I like connecting with other small businesses in the city. I have seen him around the market plenty of times. He's hard to miss. He is a young black man in a wheel chair who is a double amputee. His whole deal on Instagram is about overcoming the hardships so you know there's a story there. Maybe he'll tell me sometime. I told him to come chat with me next Saturday before he goes sailing again.

I think it's hard making friends. Both because I mostly just want to be alone. I am mainly not interesting in hanging out. But also that people think I'm flirting with them. I am not trying to!!! I am just friendly! But I am still trying to make those connections.

And I think I did a good job at that today. Making more market friends. I even met a girl who's job is curate Jellycat collections?? What a neat job! She was so sweet. I joked with her that she was 100% my audience and she was like I get that a lot!

Callie would come to the market today. And it was so nice to sit with her for an hour. I shared my strawberries with her and we talked and caught up and discussed camp. There is apparently a meeting on Tuesday night for senior staff to discuss the schedule. I hope that goes well.

I spent most of the last hour drawing on my tablet. I wanted to design a silly logo for the events team. I was just having fun. And then Jesse came through and I got to show him briefly and was just having a nice time.

At 1 I would pack up. I had made a few trips around the market. To say hi to people. To go say hi to James and enjoy the AC for a bit. But once I was totally packed up and everything was in the car (which was a little bit of a struggle, and I would replace the rope handles on my box because the current ones were to short and hurt my hands) I would go sit at the front desk with James and Jordan. And talked for a bit. James went to get their bike off the car and warmed up their lunch. But once they were back and calling for the last tour of the day, I would head home.

Getting home took almost a half hour though because there was a music festival downtown that made me go home in the most bizarre way. It was not fun for me!! If I had known earlier I would have taken the tunnel. People were driving so stupid and someone tried to go around me and I was so mad about it. Almost caused a multiple car accident!! People need to calm down.

When I got home I brought one of my baskets in. To sort and clean up. When James got home later they brought in the rest for me to sort through. But I was a bit tired. And very hungry.

So I made a little lunch. A small frozen pizza because that's the only thing I want for eat for some reason. And spent time just resting on the couch. Sweetp was outside. I trimmed my nails and watched videos and it was a nice afternoon. I never a really slept like I had originally planned. But it was all okay. Just having a nice time.

James would come home and were very sweaty. They would go clean up and then come to lay with me. And we would spend a lot of the afternoon resting together.

But not all of it. James would run to the hardware store. To inquire about ladder rentals and to get fly tape to capture the annoying flies that have come in the house. And while they were gone I would sort my market boxes and then I would work on sewing panels on the dress I got last week. And it actually fits me now so I am very happy. It needs slightly more fixing but I think it's going to be a really great option for the musuem. I am pretty excited to be able to have a place to wear slightly nicer things.

James would make me vegan fish fillets for dinner. And we watched videos together. James would play a video game. And we just enjoyed being together. Talking and making plans. I was feeling really happy.

My allergies started hurting again. I would take a shower and it helped even if my eyes were burning. I would take more meds and they are finally kicking in so I am slightly less unhappy.

I am going to go brush my teeth and get in bed now though. I am hoping to have lots of energy tomorrow. I want to be productive and have fun. So wish me luck. Sleep well everyone. Wash your hands and take care of eachother!!

[everystephoftheway]

camp cloudtop: chapter twelve

I’m back! Thank you so much for everyone’s patience! My trip was incredible and I had such a good time! The cold I got once I returned home was less fun, but I’m feeling 100% now and I’m happy to be writing again! 

This can be found on ao3 as well.

“Clemyn! What did we say about climbing on the furniture?” Keyleth ran across the music room, hands grabbing the little gnome girl under her armpits and placing her back on the ground where she belonged. Her brother, hiding behind a box of xylophones, was cackling to himself, though he stopped as soon as his sister delivered a nice punch to his shoulder. 

“Ow!” 

“That’s what you get for laughing at me.”  

A week had passed since Keyleth’s first date with Kash, and within that week a second date had occurred–just a simple dinner after camp one night. She had gotten him to promise to keep the PDA at camp to a minimum; she didn’t need anybody gossiping, and she definitely didn’t need any of the campers chiming in.

“Hey, Ms. Keyleth! I saw Mr. Kash staring at you at lunch today.” 

Keyleth’s smile fell to something a bit more annoyed as Lei’hava called her attention, and she just managed to hide that annoyance before she turned around.

“Oh, I doubt he was staring at me. He was probably looking at something else. That pizza looked really good today.” 

The draconian girl’s hands landed on her hips. “He didn’t look like he was looking at pizza.” 

“And how do you know?”

“Because I know boys don’t smile that big for pizza.” 

“That’s a big assumption to make, Lei’hava.” Vax–lovely, sympathetic, suave Vax–poked his head into the conversation, Simon wrapped around his back. “I look at pizza like it’s the most important thing in the world.” 

Lei’hava folded her arms across her chest. “Really?”

“Really. So don’t assume all boys don’t smile that big for pizza. You never know what makes a person go crazy, boy or girl.” 

She eyed her counselor a little bit longer before she let her arms fall to her sides. “Okay…” 

Once Lei’hava turned back to her friends and a pile of drums, Keyleth let her head fall forward, sighing. 

“Thanks,” she said. “You would think nine year olds wouldn’t be so observant.” 

“You would think Kash would learn not to be so obvious.” 

She looked at him with a resigned frown. “It’s really that obvious?”

Vax just gave her a look and Keyleth sighed. “I mean, it’s nice! I shouldn’t not want him to be nice.” 

Before Vax could reply, a couple bell chimes tolled over the loudspeaker, followed by the dulcet tones of Gilmore’s voice. “Good afternoon, my turtle doves. I need all of the staff to please join me in the auditorium after all the campers have been dismissed. Thank you!” 

Keyleth and Vax glanced at each other, Vax’s hands squeezing Simon’s ankles, making the little boy laugh. 

“What do you think that’s about?” she asked.

“I wish I knew.” 

                                                           ***

Just as Gilmore requested, after all of the campers had been loaded on buses or picked up by parents, the entire staff gathered in the auditorium. Some found seats while others stood toward the back, hoping whatever this was didn’t take more than a few minutes. Keyleth and Vax found a happy medium, taking a couple seats in the last few rows. The seat to Keyleth’s left was only vacant for a moment before someone crashed down into it.

“Hey there.” Kash leaned into her side with a cheesy grin, causing Keyleth to bump into Vax. 

She smiled softly, brushing some hair behind her ear. “Hey, Kash.”

“Do you guys know what this is about?” Kash crossed his legs, one of his arms extending over Keyleth’s chair to rest along her shoulders.

Vax shook his head. “No more of an idea than you have.”

“Hm.”

“Alright, everyone, settle down!” Gilmore clapped his hands and called everyone’s attention, climbing up the stairs to the stage where he stood front and center. He took a second to look over his staff, a fond smile on his face. That smile, ever so slightly, started to fade.

“I don’t want to keep you here too long; I know you all have busy lives outside these grounds, but I didn’t want to wait to tell you.” Gilmore’s eyes fell to his hands, but he forced himself to look up before he continued. “It pains me to have to tell you that, as it stands right now, this will be the last summer of Camp Cloudtop.” 

An instant muttering of chatter filled the room as staff turned to each other, all wide-eyed and confused, but Gilmore continued on as if he didn’t hear it.

“There are buyers who are interested in the land, and we currently aren’t making enough to not consider the offer.”

“How much do you need?” Keyleth didn’t even think about it before she was shouting out, voice carrying over everyone else’s.

“That is not for you to worry about,” Gilmore smiled softly. “I wanted to be transparent with you all, my little turtle doves. I am not announcing anything to the campers just yet; no deal has actually been made, so for now let us keep this between us, shall we?” He looked around the room, and after he saw most of the staff nod, he smiled again. “I appreciate all of your hard work. Let’s keep it going for the rest of the summer. That’s it for now.” 

Keyleth leaned back against her chair, mind both racing and quiet at the same time.

“I can’t believe this,” she said out loud, though more to herself. “We can’t let Gilmore sell the camp.” 

“I don’t know,” Kash shrugged. “If he can make some profit from these buyers it may not be a bad deal.” 

Keyleth’s brow furrowed hard as she turned to look at Kash. “And lose the camp? There’s no universe where that’s a good deal.”

Kash raised his hands and stood from his seat. “Hey, I like the camp too. But the man’s got to do what the man’s got to do. You ready to go?”

Keyleth shook her head. “You go ahead. I’m going to be a minute.” 

Kash hesitated for a moment before he nodded, fixing the drawstring backpack on his back. “See you guys tomorrow.”

“You’re right,” Vax said quietly. 

“I am?” Keyleth turned to look at him, leaning back in her chair again to match him.

Vax nodded. “We can’t let Gilmore lose the camp. I’ll talk to him, try to get some more information when he’s not in front of everyone.”

“Then maybe we can figure out how to raise the money. Do a fundraiser of some kind.” 

He nodded again, finally looking away from Gilmore to look at her. His determination was clear in the way his brow furrowed low, jaw set tightly. “Why do they want this land? And why now? It’s been in Gilmore’s hands for years. And why isn’t he fighting to keep it?” 

Keyleth looked back at their camp director, Gilmore now off stage and consoling Scanlan and some other members of the staff. He looked defeated, but not nearly as devastated as she imagined she would’ve been if her livelihood was about to be taken away from her. “I don’t know.” 

[heroes-of-olympus-next-gen]

Day 5: Gingerbread house

The one thing that Annabeth takes seriously more than anything else is making gingerbread houses. It was the one thing she did every Christmas even when she was a child, later in Camp with her siblings and definitely when she grew older. Being an architect on the top of the field was a bonus when it came to making realistic gingerbread houses. It was the only tradition that she held onto. After Charlie and Zoe were born she started making them their own Gingerbread houses and she gave them frosting to decorate them.

But her yearly activity turned to a family tradition when it turned out that Zoe, Charlie and Theo had inherited Annabeth’s ability to make gingerbread houses. Zoe especially was putting her on a run for her money. Which could only mean one thing; family Gingerbread competition that Lana and Percy would decide which one was the best.

“Don’t you think gingerbread houses with gingerbread men in them are kinda morbid? I mean, it’s a house made out of flesh.” Charlie said after he watched Zoe put Gingerbread men outside her house.

“They’ll be fine. It isn’t that morbid.” Zoe said and took a better look at her house. “Is it morbid, Teddy?” She asked her younger brother who had been awfully quiet for the past hour, busy putting together his masterpiece.

“The whole thing is a bit morbid if you think about it. Globalisation and us commercialising the holidays.” Theo replied.

“Boo, you’re ruining the Christmas spirit.” Zoe claimed as the kitchen door opened.

“Hey! You aren’t supposed to be here!” Theo said as Bianca entered.

“Hi bestie.”

“I am not a judge. I came for moral support.” She explained as she left four coffees on a chair. “I even brought you all coffee.”

“Thanks, Bee.” Charlie said trying not to get distracted by his girlfriend. Theo noticed that which only made him reply, “Actually, you can stay. For as long as you want.”

“I’ll go sit with Lana and Jasmine.” Bianca said before she went to the living room.

Zoe stopped decorating as she took her coffee from the chair. “How is the house going, mum?”

“I think it might be my best yet.” Annabeth replied as Zoe handed her the coffee.

“I’ll only believe you when I see it.”

“How much time do we have left?” Charlie asked as he was getting distracted.

“One hour.” Percy shouted from the other room.

An hour later, the four of them were done. They hadn’t seen the finished results as they were all focused on their own designs. The winner was going to get to pick the movie they would watch on Christmas and get the huge box that nobody knew what it contained except from Percy, Lana and Bianca.

“Can we come inside?” Lana asked, annoyed that she couldn’t come in the kitchen for four hours.

“Yes, love.” Annabeth replied as her twelve-year-old daughter marched inside.

“Who’s presenting the houses?” Percy asked. Theo, Zoe, and Charlie turned to Bianca.

“So, that’s why I’m here.” Bianca said in a knowing tone. “I thought we were going shopping.”

“We are. After you present the houses and mum gets crowned winner for the hundredth time.” Zoe replied.

“Okay, then.”

Theo had gone with a futuristic design and Charlie with a New York townhouse. Both very impressive, but they couldn’t reach Zoe’s or Annabeth’s designs. Zoe had baked a Victorian mansion with crazy details. And Annabeth? She had made a gingerbread version of their home. Down to the last doorknob, everything was identical to their own.

“I think it’s a draw.” Lana said after she had talked about it with Percy. “Between mum and Zoe.”

“I think Zoe should win.” Annabeth rebutted.

“What?”

“Really?”

“Mum, no. It’s fine. My feelings won’t get hurt if I don’t win. I know that I’m always a year closer to winning.” Zoe said smiling. Annabeth knew she meant it. She was the biggest fighter out of her kids. The most resilient and goal driven.

“I know your feelings won’t get hurt. But if you want to lose so you can beat me fair and square with a big gap between the two houses, I’m on your side.” Annabeth replied.

“I just want to see what’s in the big box.” Zoe whispered.

“You can open it instead of me.”

“I won’t take away your joy.”

“Speaking of joy. Does anyone else want to get a hammer and eat my house.” Theo suggested.

“Everyone knows you’re not actually supposed to eat the gingerbread house. Those things are stale as hell.” Charlie replied.

“I am getting the hammer.”

“Not until Christmas you aren’t.”  Percy declared.

“Anyway. Some of us have to get their Christmas shopping done.” Zoe said as she motioned Bianca and Charlie to stand up.

“Do you have money?” Annabeth asked.

“Yes, the video games pay well.” Charlie replied. For the past three months, he had been coding for a company and had even pitched them a video game idea, which gave him some money to have except from his allowance.

“What are you getting for Bianca?” Lana asked.

“That’s a secret.” Charlie replied. “Who is driving?”

“I am.” Bianca took out her car keys. “Bye!”

“Drive safely!” Percy told them as the door closed.

“I am going upstairs.” Lana told them.

“Okay, darling.”

A few seconds the kitchen got too quiet. “I never thought you would let Zoe win.” Percy stated.

“She’s going to outsmart me. Any day now. And I’m proud of that. Because we made it happen. I mean she got in Early Decision for MIT. They rejected me both early and regular decision. I am preparing myself. But I can’t not be overly excited about her. She’s my baby.”

“Can you believe it that this time next year, Zoe and Charlie will be coming home from college?”

“I can’t. It feels like yesterday when we were in the old apartment, celebrating their first Christmas.”

[pookha]

Disillusioned

An Owl House Fanfiction.

Luz has found out the sad truth about the author of her favorite series: Mildred Featherwhyle is a TERF. As president of the Gravesfield High Queer Alliance, she has to make a statement about it. As the owner of two Mildred Featherwhyle fansites, she also has to make a statement there. Fortunately, Camila, Vee and Masha are all there to support her.

TW: biphobia, TERFs, homophobia, Disillusionment with a hero.

A knock came at the door and Luz jumped. She’d been staring at a news article on her laptop for a long time. She had closed her eyes to think about it and had drifted into a spiral of thoughts that chased each other around and around in her head.

“Come in,” she said as she opened her eyes and spun around in her desk chair.

The door opened and Masha came in. They had their softball jersey on over dark black skinny jeans. When they turned to close the door Luz saw it was actually Vee’s JV jersey from the previous year with ‘Noceda’ printed above Vee’s number 5. Luz smiled; she should have known it was Vee’s jersey since Vee was wearing Masha’s 08 jersey from last year when she went to school that morning.

“Got a moment?” Masha asked. Luz nodded and Masha sat down on Luz’s bed across from her.

“What’s up?” Luz asked.

“I have a favor to ask you, but I think it’s going to be hard for you.” Masha sighed.

“Anything for you,” Luz said.

“Don’t say that too soon.” Masha blinked slowly, obviously screwing up courage.

“Oh no! You’re breaking up with Vee!” Luz’s mind immediately leapt to the worst thing.

Masha’s eyes snapped open.

“No, no, no, never!”

“No, it’s about that.” They pointed at Luz’s laptop.

Luz didn’t turn around. She knew what was on the screen.

“Yeah, it sucks.” She twisted in her chair and closed the lid on her laptop.

She sat with her back to Masha.

“What about it?” Luz finally asked.

Masha hesitated, then spoke firmly.

“Look, I know you’re not just a big fan. I know you’re actually a big name fan: Luzura1. I know you run the Good Witch Azura fanfiction archive and the ‘I Love Hecate’s Three Faces’ fan club page.”

Luz spun around so fast she almost fell off her chair.

“What? How?” She put her hands up on her face.

“Vee told me. She learned when you were away in the Demon Realm. You left your laptop open and she saw. She wasn’t prying; she just saw it. She told me. She probably shouldn’t have, but I can’t un-know it now.”

Luz sighed.

“Not her fault. What’s the favor?” She dreaded what Masha was going to say, already knowing the answer.

“As president of the GHQA, I think you have a duty to denounce her and make our position on this clear.”

“I—I know I do, but it’s hard. The Good Witch Azura meant so much to me; it was the book my dad gave me before…” Tears filled her eyes.

Masha reached over and took her hand.

“I know.” They squeezed Luz’s hand and Luz gripped their hand tightly, almost painfully.

“I can’t believe Mildred Featherwhyle’s a TERF.” Now the tears spilled down Luz’s cheeks.

“I mean, people have seen it coming for a while, looking at her Twitter likes and who she was following on social media. I didn’t want to believe it. I defended her when people started figuring it out and I should have known better; I saw the same links and likes they did.” Luz grabbed a tissue from the desk and wiped her eyes.

“But this…this is just out there. She really said that trans women are just perverts; that they just want to invade women’s spaces. That they just want to take women’s rights.” Luz’s voice was thick, not just with sadness, but anger, too.

“I hate to ask it of you, but coming from Luzura1 , it would have a lot more impact.” Masha leaned over and squeezed Luz’s hand again.

“I wish we’d met at the summer camp, too,” Luz said.

Masha laughed.

“But then you’d never have met Amity and I’d never have met Vee, so no to that.” They smiled at Luz.

“Yeah, but I wish we’d been friends then, too. I feel like I missed a good year.”

“Nah, you just had that good year in the Demon Realm.”

Masha stood.

“I’ll leave you alone, but if you need me, just text…or call if you must.”

Luz laughed. Masha never answered calls and often left texts on read for hours unless it was Vee; everyone knew it.

Masha got up and left. Luz slid over to the door, locked it and turned out the light. She sat in the dim twilight until it got dark, then she opened her laptop and started typing. She’d only been at it for a few minutes when Camila called up for dinner. Luz made sure her work was saved, locked her screen and went down to dinner. She immediately noticed that it was just her and Camila.

“No Vee?” Luz asked.

“She’s staying with Masha tonight.” Camila’s voice was too bright, too cheery.

“Is she afraid that I’m mad at her?” Luz asked.

“No, no,” Camila said, still too cheerily.

“I’m going to break the ‘no phones at dinner’ rule for a moment,” Luz said and pulled out her phone. She texted Vee.

Hey, not mad at you. If I’d seen something like that I’d have told Amity. ILY.

Vee texted back immediately.

ILY too…Sis

Luz laughed, Vee called her sis sometimes and it just made Luz smile, but it also made her crack up for some reason that she couldn’t say.

“Everything okay?” Camila asked.

“Yeah, just telling Vee that I love her and I’m not mad.” She put her phone away.

Camila sat down, took Luz’s hand and said a silent grace. Luz kept respectfully silent, but no longer bowed her head. Camila finished, let go of Luz’s hand and they dug in. Vee had made a rosemary-garlic sourdough bread that smelled amazing when Luz cut it, and Camila had made a seafood stew that was somewhere between a sancocho and a gumbo. They ladled it into bowls and sopped it up with their bread.

“What’s wrong?” Camila asked after a moment.

“Nothing’s…” Luz started to say, but Camila wagged her spoon at Luz.

“C’mon.”

“It’s Mildred Featherwhyle.” Luz’s spoon clanked back into her bowl as she dropped it.

“Oh, I saw that horrible stuff she said on Twitter.” Camila took Luz’s hand again and squeezed it. Luz squeezed back then returned to her food. She stirred the stew around and around in her bowl, just like the thoughts in her head earlier. The beautiful bread that Vee had made disintegrated into the stew.

“You should eat, mija.” Camila put her hand on Luz’s again to stop her.

“Sorry.” Luz ate a few bites, then put down her spoon and stared down at her bowl.

“It’s just that this is eating me up inside. Those books meant so much to me; dad gave me my first one. They made me realize it’s okay to be different, to be gay; to be bi; to be queer . They’re how I connected with Amity, and also with all the people on my websites. I looked up to her and now I see she’s not a good person like I thought she was.”

She sighed and ate another bite, then put her spoon down again.

“I don’t know what to do.” Tears sparkled at the corner of her eyes again.

“Just do what you know’s right in your heart. You’ll know when and how. Talk to your friends in the Queer Alliance; they’ll help.”

“Yeah.” Luz picked up her spoon again, but just stirred her stew around and around again. Finally, she stood up.

“I can’t eat right now. Sorry, mamá.” She covered her bowl with a lid and put it in the fridge.

“It’s okay. Let me know if I can help.” Camila stood and hugged Luz as she left the kitchen. Luz hugged her back tightly then went back to her room.

She closed and locked the door, sat at her desk and opened the laptop. She opened a new document and watched the cursor blink on the blank page.

On Off On Off On Off On Off

She shut her eyes, put her head in her hands and sobbed in the blinking light. When she looked up to get a tissue, she saw that nearly an hour had passed. She wiped her face, tossed the tissue in the garbage, and touched Amity’s photo. “Te amo, batata,” she whispered.

She touched the photo of Vee in her dirt-streaked softball uniform smiling next to Masha.

“Te amo, hermana.”

She closed her eyes for just a moment more and started typing. The words flowed in a torrent, a flood that spilled on the digital page. She didn’t pause to edit, but wrote from the heart. When she was done, she opened her contact list for the GHQA and sent her draft to all of them. Then she opened her DMs on her websites and contacted all of the moderators. Now, all she could do was wait. Almost immediately, her phone began to chime with notifications. Almost everyone told her to run with what she’d written. Some told her she was being reactionary. Some told her that she should wait and see if Mildred Featherwhyle retracted what she’d said. Two of the moderators for the Hecate fansite quit, one because they couldn’t support Mildred Featherwhyle anymore and the other because they thought Luz was betraying women to ‘the trannies and perverts.’ Luz wondered how they’d ever been a fan of The Good Witch Azura in the first place.

Vee texted her.

Looks good to me. Masha has some sources they’re gonna send you. I know this hurts, but it means a lot to both Masha and me

Luz half-smiled around a new set of tears. She’d just started to do some light editing when Masha’s list of sources arrived. She used info from some of them and added the links to the end of her posts. She started editing more heavily based on the feedback she’d gotten. She only realized she was hungry when her stomach growled and Stringbean woke up from her perch in the corner and flicked her tongue at Luz. Luz smiled at Stringbean and she leapt from her shelf onto Luz’s shoulder.

“You’re right; I should go eat.” She looked at the clock on her laptop. She’d been at it for hours. She knew she’d miss school tomorrow, but she also knew that her mom would understand. Luz crept downstairs to the kitchen, heated her leftover stew in the microwave and when it was almost done, threw a piece of the bread on top of it for the last few seconds. She could feel Vee’s disapproving stare about microwaving bread instead of toasting it even though Vee wasn’t here; she took her baking seriously and microwaving bread was a sin in Vee’s eyes.

Luz sat down at the kitchen table and ate mechanically, shoveling the stew and bread in. Stringbean rattled in her ear and she slowed down to enjoy her mother’s and Vee’s cooking. She held up pieces for Stringbean, who ate some of the vegetables, but none of the seafood. She’d never gotten a good answer if Palismen actually needed to eat, but Stringbean enjoyed it so Luz fed her.

She heard her mother’s steps on the stairs and a moment later, Camila sat down next to her.

“Have you slept at all?”

Luz shook her head.

“Nope, I’m acting like Hunter.”

Camila laughed at that. Getting Hunter to sleep was a chore. When he and Willow got married, Luz didn’t envy Willow Hunter’s restlessness.

Luz’s phone kept chiming with notifications, but she turned it upside down and the noise stopped.

Camila tapped it.

“Are those your mods?”

“And my friends from the GHQA. They’re replying to the draft I wrote of what I’m going to post on my sites.”

She finished her stew and put her bowl in the sink. Stringbean leapt off onto Camila who stroked her. Stringbean forced her way under Camila’s sleeping cap and Camila laughed at the Palisman on her head; Stringbean was just as silly and loving as her daughter.

“A couple of the mods quit and one of them said she’s going to post about what I’m doing on her personal website. She threatened to dox me.”

She turned to Camila.

“I’m going to probably have to dox myself to put this out, but I don’t want to hurt your business or you.”

“Oh, honey, it’ll be okay. We’re in Connecticut, not Texas. I won’t lose much if any business. Will you be safe?”

Luz shrugged.

“I’m not scared of trolls anymore; I think Grom cured me of that…or maybe monster-Belos did, I don’t know.”

“Do what you need to. We’ll deal with the fallout.” Camila stood and hugged Luz again.

“I have one more favor, mamá. Could I tell the story you told me about the Gay and Lesbian club at Manderlin College?”

Camila went stiff in Luz’s arms while she thought about it. Stringbean poked her head out from under Camila’s sleeping cap and flicked her tongue at Luz. Camila saw it out of the corner of her eye and relaxed.

“It’s been long enough. You can tell that story.”

“Thank you.” Luz squeezed her mom tighter and Stringbean slithered onto Luz’s shoulder.

Luz went back to her room and spent the rest of the night typing away. When Camila checked on her in the morning, Luz was slumped over her desk on folded arms with Stringbean watching over her from the closed laptop. Camila put a blanket over Luz, petted Stringbean and went downstairs to call the school and tell them that Luz wouldn’t be there today.

When Luz woke up that morning, she wiped her eyes, stroked Stringbean, who went to sleep on her corner shelf, then picked up her phone. She made her way through all the notifications and then made a last few edits to her docs before finalizing and posting them. Now all she could do was wait for the fallout.

Just after school let out that day, Luz’s phone started playing the song, “Basilisk” by Geno Lazeretti and she snatched it up. It was Vee’s custom ringtone and like Masha, Vee didn’t often call, preferring to text.

“Hey, sis,” Vee said.

“Hey,” Luz said, her voice low.

“You okay? You sound tired.”

“I was up all night writing.” Luz put the phone on speaker and put it on her desk.

“I noticed. Masha and I both appreciate what you did and I know it must have hurt, but it means a lot to them and me.”

“Thanks, Vee. It was the right thing. Sometimes the right thing hurts, you know?”

“Yeah.”

Vee paused and there was silence.

“If you don’t want to be alone you can come to Masha’s. I’m going to make spaghetti squash with that spicy tomato sauce you like and we’re going to play some Super Smash Brothers.”

Luz looked at the unread notifications on her phone and decided they could wait a little bit longer.

“Yeah, sounds good. I’ll be there around 6. Mom will enjoy having the place to herself for once, too, probably.”

“Okay, we’ll see you around six.”

“Vee, I love you; I’m glad you’re my sister.”

“Aw, I love you, too, Luz. Basilisk hug!”

“Stringbean says ‘shapeshifter hug pile!” back at you.”

“Bye.”

“Bye.”

Luz texted her mom that she was going to eat at Masha’s and Camila would have the house to herself. She texted back a hug emoji a few minutes later.

Luz wanted Amity badly, but the portal’s scheduled opening wasn’t for two more days and they’d agreed to limit the number of emergency openings and this was painful, but not an emergency. Luz sat on her bed for a few minutes more, then got up to go shower away the previous day’s evil thoughts and the previous night’s bad dreams.

When she got to Masha’s, Vee greeted her at the door with a big hug, which Masha joined a moment later. The apartment smelled of roasting squash, spicy tomato sauce and garlic bread.

“Thank you,” Luz told both of them when they broke the hug.

“You’re welcome…sis,” Vee said.

Luz knew it would never be perfect , but with people who loved you like this, it could be better.