#shut up ceasar

[dearest-lady-disdain]

friends, romans, cunty men

[pepsiboyy]

WHEN THE HOUSE IS EMPTY.

pairing: soft dom!chris sturniolo x fem!reader summary: when chris finally gets the house to himself for the night, he invites his girlfriend over to spend the night spoiling her rotten. warnings: 18+, smut, p in v, unprotected sex (be smart pls), fingering, oral (fem receiving), praise, use of pet names (angel, love), cursing, fluff fluff fluff, established relationship a/n: this is my first smut on here pls bear w me... but i hope it is AWESOME i love u guys <3 please give me feedback also !! i hope this is ok . <3 3.2k words

i swallowed thickly as i grasped the straps of my backpack, standing at the front door of my boyfriend's home.

chris had texted me last night, asking if i could come spend the night tonight as his brothers had planned to do something that had to do with "business stuff".

i had never really done this sort of thing. chris and i had been together about three to four months, and we had confessed our love to one another and kissed and whatnot, but that's about it. it didn't bother either of us, we just moved at a pace we were both comfortable at.

my eyes snapped up at chris opened the door and grinned ear to ear, opening his arms wide to engulf my body into his. "hi, angel," he greeted against my ear.

i hugged his waist with a soft smile. with a deep breath, i took in the comforting scent of his cologne mixed with the scent of his shampoo.

as chris pulled away, he gently took my hand and guided me inside. once he shut and locked the front door, he reached out to take my bag from me and transport it to his bedroom.

i let out a content sigh as i took in the familiar home, but it was so different when it was just chris here. much quieter, too.

"i have such a fun night planned for us!" chris cheered as he came back up the stairs, his hands clasped together in excitement.

i couldn't help but smile warmly at him.

the white tank that hugged his torso perfectly and his black sweats that hung dangerously low kept my attention on him.

"what do you have planned?" i asked as i took a seat at the table in the kitchen, smiling warmly at him.

chris did a little dance, his slightly dampened hair flopping with each sudden movement before he halted and shot two finger guns at me. "dinner!"

i chuckled at his embarrassing dance, nodding softly and standing up. "what're we makin'?"

chris's jaw dropped. "are you kidding? i already made it." he giggled as he opened the oven to reveal a tin of fettuccini alfredo with grilled chicken, some slices of garlic bread on the side. he also went into the fridge, where behind all the different lyrical lemonade cans, there was a bowl of ceasar salad.

"did you make this yourself?" i asked, my jaw hung open in shock.

"well," he started as he trailed off, "i guess nick helped a bit.. and youtube... matt, too, sorta.."

"it looks amazing," i stood up and smiled as i wrapped an arm around chris's waist, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek. "i can't wait to eat!"

i moved to pull away, but chris gently took my jaw between his fingers and turned our faces together again, exchanging one quick peck to my lips. "me neither," he replied with a soft smile.

dinner was outstanding. i never could have thought that chris could put something like that together.

"blue shell!" chris's voice boomed as his hands gripped the controller in his hands.

"fuck!" i shouted, my tongue sticking out in focus as i tried my hardest to remain in first place in mario kart.

"please, please, please, please," chris chanted, his entire body straight as he was sitting at the edge of the couch. "yes!!" he shouted, flying past me in the game at the last moment to take first place. his arms flew in the air, controller loosely dangling from his fingers as he shot me a shit-eating grin.

"not fair," i stated quickly.

"it definitely is, y/n, i won fair and square." he defended, moving to hug my waist and press his nose into the crook of my neck.

i chuckled at this, a hand of mine moving to his jaw to caress his cheek softly. "fine. you win."

chris did a small fist pump before pulling away with a bright smile.

we sat like that for a few moments, eyes locked on one another before he gasped at the song that came on. "oh my god, i fucking love this song." he stated quickly as he took my hands and stood to his feet, dragging me up with him.

i gasped at the sudden movement, my smile never leaving my face as i laughed beside him.

3 nights by dominic fike had started playing in the speaker that chris had set up, which was playing ambient music most of our time tonight. he turned it up and smiled widely as he held my hands, waving them around and biting his lip into a wide smile.

i couldn't help but smile at him, the way his curly hair bounced with each silly dance he did, his fingers never unlocking from mine. every once in a while he would stop for a breath before starting again, his eyes locked on mine.

i did my best to keep up, jumping around with him and waving my arms as we both loudly sang the words. no matt to give us shit for being too loud in the living room today.

the song eventually came to an end, both of us panting softly as we both smiled at one another. a soft chuckle escaped both of us, before the next song began playing.

i wanna be yours by arctic monkeys?

"since when do you listen to this?" i chuckled.

"i- it's a good song," chris defended, his cheeks growing pink as he moved his hands to gently take my waist. "also because it's one of your favorites."

i smiled warmly at him. "alright, buddy," i smiled. i moved my arms up to rest on his shoulders, my hands connecting behind his head as i looked up at him and chuckled. "are we slow dancing in your living room?"

"maybe?"

"is this your idea of a smooth move?" i joked, a soft giggle leaving me as chris's face burnt up.

"hey, let a man live." he defended, his thumb gently rubbing circles on my back as we swayed softly.

i had to give it to him - i was having a great time with him.

what started as me being a nervous wreck for whatever reason resulted in me having an amazing time.

"y/n," chris stated softly, dragging me out of my thoughts. i locked eyes with him, smiling. "i love you," he whispered softly.

i could feel my cheeks heat up. "i love you too, chris." i smiled as i gently moved a hand to bury into his hair, gently running my fingers through it. "i've had a great time so far tonight."

chris smiled at this, nodding softly as he removed a hand from my waist to gently press against my cheek, holding my face there softly. "can i kiss you?" he asked softly, his voice barely above a whisper.

i nodded softly as i closed my eyes and leaned forward, closing the gap between the two of us.

chris's thumb gently grazed my cheek as he kissed me softly, his eyes closed.

no words could express the feelings i was feeling right now.

feeling a bit bold, my arms tightened around him as i deepened the kiss and tilted my head softly against him.

i could feel chris's lips curve into a small smile as he moved his hand from my waist to my lower back, his lips working against mine in sync with me.

when he gently took my bottom lip between his, i parted my lips softly as our tongues collided.

a few more moments went by and we pulled away, both with heavy breaths and a string of saliva that kept us connected for a brief moment.

we stared at each other for a brief moment before i took a deep breath. "chris," i started, before taking his hand in mine and interlocking our fingers, "i'm, uhh... i'm ready.. if you wanna-"

"me too," he quickly stated, a bright smile on his face as he tightened his grip on my hand and began walking towards the steps downstairs, which i followed and giggled as he tripped slightly on the way to his room.

"watch your step, chris!"

"i'll be fine," he smiled as he opened the door and turned us around so that my back faced his bed, his foot lifting off the ground to kick the door shut behind him. the door shut a little louder than he had anticipated, causing us both to flinch. "oops."

"chris-" i scolded, but i was quickly cut off when he pressed his lips to mine once more, gently pushing me against the mattress and hovering over me.

his hand gently grazed my hip and toyed with the hem of my shirt. he pulled away from the kiss to glance down at his hand, and back into my eyes. "is this okay?" he asked softly, which i quickly responded with a nod. "tell me if anything isn't okay, alright?" he stated softly, and gently began lifting my shirt off of my body.

the comfort of chris's voice was enough for me to let him do whatever he had wanted.

the cold air of the room kissed my skin, causing a shiver to run through my body. but every goose bump on my skin melted away when i stared up at chris, who was pulling his own shirt above his head.

"you okay?" he questioned, leaning down again to caress my cheek softly.

"i promise everything's fine," i reassured with a shy smile, and chris smiled back, pressing a kiss to my lips before he pulled away.

he kissed against my neck softly, sending shivers through my body. his lips moved down to my shoulder, down to my collarbone and down the center of my chest.

i felt like he was exploring the entirety of my body.

"can we take this off, love?" he asked, gently tugging at the strap to my bra.

i nodded quickly as i sat up and reached behind me to unclasp it, but chris's hands came around mine as he did it for me.

i felt my face heat up as it dropped, and my arms instinctively moved up to cover myself.

"shhh," chris reached to my wrists and gently lowered my arms, his nose moving up to press against the shell of my ear. "you're gorgeous. no need to hide, not ever." he gently pressed a kiss to my jaw before working down again, his lips moving to press against the skin of my left breast.

my breath hitched slightly at the feeling as i instinctively moved a hand to his hair.

the moment his lips pressed to my nipple, i felt my eyes scrunch shut as i arched my back slightly into him. the feeling was so familiar yet so unfamiliar.

chris's tongue circled around it, his eyes shut as he ran his hand up my stomach to gently knead at my right side.

i let out a shaky moan, one hand burying into his brunette locks as the other dove into the sheets.

chris eventually switched to give the other side the same attention, and after a few moments, i shakily lifted my hips to meet his, which caused a groan to erupt from us both.

chris lifted his head and moved back up to press a soft kiss to my lips, his eyes locked on mine. he admired me for a moment before his hands met with the hem of my pajama pants. "may i?" he questioned softly, his voice groggy. i nodded quickly.

chris gently tugged my shorts down and let out a shaky breath, simply at the sight of the thin, deep red fabric that hugged my hips.

i smiled softly at him. "like what you see?" i joked, and chris simply shot me a knowing glance.

"always, angel." he stated softly before he shifted his body on the bed.

"wait- what are you-?"

"takin' care of my girl," chris stated softly, his eyes moving to meet mine as his face was now inches away from my core. "is this okay?"

i blushed darkly. i was no expecting all this. "yeah, yeah that's perfect," i breathed, shifting my hips against the sheets slightly.

chris moved to press soft kisses against the insides of my thighs, his eyes closed. one hand found its way to move my underwear to the side before both of his hands wrapped around my thighs to lock them in place.

my eyes squeezed shut and my entire body shuttered as he pressed his lips where i needed him most, his tongue gently gliding along my folds until they reached my clit, where he sucked softly. i tossed my head back and released a moan as a hand subconsciously moved to lace into chris's hair. "shit." i breathed.

chris's eyes met mine for only a second before he unlinked a hand from my thigh, pressing a finger against my folds.

i shuttered slightly before a gasp escaped me at the feeling of his finger entering me, my eyes squeezing shut.

"is this okay?" was all he said, his breath hot against my clit.

"fuck, yes," i moaned softly, my volume increasing as chris gently pressed a second finger inside my cunt and began curling them gently.

my back arched as i threw my head back, letting out a shaky breath before i bucked my hips to the best of my ability. my hand gently tugged at his hair as i guided his lips back to my clit.

chris seemed to get the hint, his tongue beginning to lap against me as he sucked on the bud, his fingers pumping and curling inside of me.

"shit, chris-" i gasped as i tugged at his hair softly.

chris removed his fingers and repositioned his body before his tongue entered my cunt, his thumbs prying me open as his nose occasionally grazed my clit.

i let out a string of moans, my hips lifting off the bed and into his face as i warned him of my release.

"i- i'm close, chris, fuck," i breathed.

with the continuous thrust of his tongue, chris moaned softly against me, sending a vibration against my core.

with a gasp and a tight grip on chris's hair, i clenched around his tongue and released my juices against his tongue, my eyes lidded as i panted softly.

chris helped me ride out my high, his hand gently caressing my thigh as he removed himself. he looked at me and licked his lips, a hand reaching to his shirt that he had previously removed. he used it to wipe off his mouth before he pulled away to begin sliding off his black sweats.

"you could have gotten a towel or something," i teased.

"that's too far." he defended, winking softly. "you still okay?" he questioned, gently tossing his sweats onto the floor.

i nodded quickly. "i promise, i-" i took a deep breath, my cheeks still pink from a few moments prior. "as long as i'm with you, anything is okay, chris."

chris simply smiled softly at me. "that's what i love to hear, angel." he whispered before he gently tugged his boxers down, his member meeting with his skin as a small dribble of precum escaped the tip.

your eyes locked on him, causing a chuckle to escape chris. "let's be polite, now," he whispered, moving his fingers to press against your chin, tilting your head up to meet his eyes and press his lips against yours lovingly. he pulled away and shifted between my legs, smiling softly. "you ready?" he asked softly, and i nodded eagerly.

"ready," i whispered, moving my hand to gently interlock with his.

chris used his free hand to gently part my legs and press his tip against my opening, making my breath hitch.

he slowly pressed into me, deep groans and moans sounding from both of us as chris's bangs hung over his eyes. "fuck," he grunted as he continued to move into me, before he bottomed out and stared at me.

with a few moments to adjust, i shot him a soft nod before he began to move slowly. "shit," he moaned softly, his grip tightening on my hand as he rocked his hips against mine.

our eyes locked, and i swear that did something to chris, because his entire face beamed red as he picked up his pace and pressed his forehead against mine.

a low moan escaped chris's throat as he thrusted into my cunt, my eyes rolling back as i allowed my jaw to hang open. a series of moans escaped us both.

chris gently unlocked our fingers to get a grip on my thigh to lift it. he held up my leg, now hitting a new spot inside of me that made my back arch off of his mattress. "oh fuck," i moaned, my eyes squeezing shut as he pounded against my gspot. "right there, chris," i moaned, causing chris to pick up his pace and slam his cock harder into me.

my eyes teared up slightly at the euphoric feeling, my heart racing as i felt my stomach tie into a knock. chanting his name, i gripped the sheets and clenched against him, resulting in a deep moan from chris's lips.

"fuck, angel, careful," he grunted against my ear, his breath heavy against my shoulder.

i gasped and let out a shaky moan, moving to grip chris's shoulder. "fuck, i'm gonna cum," i breathed, and chris nodded softly.

"me too, love, fuck," he moaned softly, his hips rutting into mine.

a few more thrusts resulted in my voice booming as i cried out, the knot in my stomach snapping as i released all over chris's cock, my eyes squeezing shut.

chris's hips sputtered at the pornographic moan, his throat releasing a deep moan as he pulled out and released against my stomach and chest, his hand moving to gently pump at his member.

chris moved to lay beside me, our eyes shut as he laid beside one another catching our breaths.

i let out a shaky sigh as i turned to chris and smiled weakly, sleepily.

chris turned and met my eyes, a sleepy smile on his face, but it was the same as every other smile he had given me today. "how do you feel?" he questioned, his hand moving to lock with mine again.

i chuckled breathlessly, nodding softly. "fuckin' awesome," i chuckled as i leaned forward to kiss his cheek gently.

chris smiled warmly at me before he reached to get a few tissues, wiping off my skin the best he could. "you did so good for me, angel." he whispered, moving a hand to brush a strand of hair out of my face. "fuck, i'm tired." he admitted.

i scoffed at him as i opened my arms. "me too, chris."

chris bit his lip as he shifted to rest his head against my chest, his eyes closing as he hugged my waist tightly. "i love you s'much." he whispered softly.

i smiled and bit my lip as i kissed the top of his head. one hand threaded through his hair as the other gently rubbed his side. "i love you so much, chris.. thank you for tonight." i whispered.

chris nodded lazily in response, and i chuckled lightly. "get your beauty sleep."

the two of us slowly fell asleep, skin to skin as we breathed together and slept soundly.

maybe i should spend the night at my boyfriend's more often.

taglist;; @sturnsxplr-25 @vampiree-555 @wh0resstuff @jetaimevous @sturnioloshacker @lovesturni0l0s @sarosfilms @sturnclouds @l34n

[contradictivs]

ryder . having kinda the same vibe as peeta . where the capitol & a bunch of sponsors are obsessed with him just from a silly little interview

[nahimjustfeelingit-writes]

House Calls.

Summary: Aaliyah has an elusive charm that can be alluring to some and frustrating to others. Professor Terry is compelled to have her. On one fateful evening at his college buddies bachelor party, he runs into Aaliyah. An interaction he hadn’t imagined would ever happen.

Warnings: SMUT, 18+ CONTENT, based off of Players Club, Nasty Talk, Professor!Student. ANGST.

Part three

1999:

Walking into a hair salon was an interesting experience. Pulling into an overly stuffed parking lot in futile anticipation of being in and out “in a decent time.” opening the salon door and walking into a room overflowing with peering eyes full of a mixture of both curiosity and judgment that covers you from your head to the bottom of your favorite shoes. Slinking down into chairs that go from stuffed and comfortable to hard as steel while waiting for the appointment that was due more than an hour ago. Out bursts of group laughter, “girllll, no she didn’t!” and “say what now?!” coupled with the familiar smell of hair sheen spray and neutralizing shampoo that seeps through the fog of sporadic steam that fills the air from the super-wattage, neck-burning hair dyers, steamers and marcel ‘top of your ear frying’ irons, reminds you that this is going to be long day.

Aaliyah Noelle Davenport sat in an unoccupied salon chair within a popular salon in Baton Rouge called Gina’s. Gina’s had been around for over ten years. The pages of her coloring book she was currently scribbling in with old crayons kept her busy so she wouldn’t go snooping around like last time. She burned her fingers touching a curling iron heater.

“He’s back home…coming to pick Aaliyah up in a few…”

Aaliyah’s mother, Rochelle, was currently doing a roller set on a client. She worked the rollers around thick strands of hair with her long, curved, golden nails. Rochelle was a hard working woman. She did hair and worked night shifts at a local motel to pay the bills. Anything to make up for Aaliyah’s father being in prison for six years.

She was the epitome of 90s fine: Rochelle embodied a beauty that was both timeless and undefinable, leaving a permanent imprint on anyone that crossed her path. Her unique blend of elegance, confidence, and charisma inspired and resonated with Aaliyah. That kind of fine isn’t just about looks — it’s about attitude, style, and an effortless grace.

“Make the money, don’t let it make you. Money can't make you anything…only your actions can make you something. Money can buy you things that make life easier but one thing it can’t buy is happiness…”

“Girl, stop acting like you ain’t happy he back home...”

One of her mother’s friends and fellow stylist, Donna, was flipping through one of many hair catalogs the shop owned.

“The less he know the better,” Rochelle added the final touches before she walked her client over to the hooded dryers, “It was one time, that’s it…”

“Rochelle, if you don’t calm your fucking nerves. He won’t ever find the fuck out if you don’t hush!”

“Okay, okay…shit–that’s him coming up right now. Aaliyah?”

“Mhm?” Aaliyah mumbled from her seat while coloring in a teddy bear.

“Your father is here…come on and get ya stuff. He’s gonna take you back to the house while I finish up. C’mon, little girl!”

Aaliyah frowned and pouted her lip while packing away her crayons and coloring book.

“Fix that face. You got homework to do…”

She climbed down from her seat and slipped her Barbie book bag over her shoulders. A candy painted Donk with shiny rims slowed to a stop outside of the salon and Aaliyah’s eyes lit up when she recognized her father’s low–cut ceasar with the deep waves. He shut his door and strolled over to the entrance of the salon with swagger.

Roland Davenport AKA Pressure. He was a smooth cat from Baton Rouge with a nefarious past and a deep love for his daughter. Aaliyah was his entire world.

“Is that my little girl! What’s up, Princess!”

He scooped up his six year old and spun her around. Aaliyah giggled joyfully while clinging onto her father’s crisp white tee. His skin was the deepest brown and blemish free. He flashed his pearly whites at her before giving her a kiss to the forehead. Roland put Aaliyah down and then he made his way over to Rochelle.

Aaliyah watched her parents hug each other affectionately. Their lips connected with a gluttonous passion. Roland’s hands roamed down to cuff Rochelle’s dump trunk and she squeezed his bulging biceps in return.

“Stop! Stop…I’m with a client…”

“How long ya gonna be, baby? I was thinking ‘bout taking my favorite girls out to eat.”

“Oh, yeah?” Rochelle grinned flirtatiously, “Where to?”

“It’s a surprise…”

Aaliyah’s parents talked for a few more minutes before her dad led her out of the salon hand in hand. She skipped along the way. Roland opened the back door and took her back pack so that she could buckle in.

“Daddy, I wanna sit up front.” Aaliyah protested with her sweet little voice, “Please?”

“Liyah. You can’t sit up here today. Maybe next time, okay?”

Aaliyah hung her head before fastening her seatbelt. Roland made his way to the drivers side and climbed in.

“How was school today?” Roland questioned, staring back at his daughter through the rear view mirror.

“Good.” Aaliyah flashed a grin with no two front teeth.

“That’s not what ya momma told me…”

Her smile disintegrated.

Aaliyah fiddled with her pleated, khaki uniform skirt. She avoided her father’s gaze, afraid he’d appear angry and she would be in big trouble.

“Look at me, Liyah…”

She did as she was told, staring up at her father.

“I’m not mad. You had every right to defend yourself. ‘Dem lil’ boys won’t mess with you again after what ya did…”

Aaliyah had been dealing with constant bullying from two little boys in her first grade class. They would pull her long plats, kick the back of her chair, call her names, and other cruel things that always resulted in her crying in the bathroom.

“Now if these lil’ niggas wanna have kids of their own someday, they better leave my daughter alone or I’m putting foot in ass…”

Roland made a silly face at Aaliyah and she couldn’t help but to smile and laugh.

“How ‘bout we make a pit stop to grab a snowball?”

“YAY!!!” Aaliyah cheered, her little arms up in the air like she’d just had a victory lap.

Roland cranked the radio, Sho Nuff by 8ball & MJG blasting through the speakers. Aaliyah could feel the seat beneath her vibrate. She watched her father rap the lyrics, a sudden gush of humid air flooding the car when he let the windows down. Roland extended his arm from the window to greet people he knew, the Chevrolet Impala Donk slow gliding through the hood.

They pulled up to a snowball stand that was situated next to a bowling alley and roller-skate rink. Rolland turned his music down before looking back at Aaliyah over the headrest of his seat.

“Which flavor?”

“Georgia Peach!”

“Aight, munchkin. I’ll be back…”

Roland climbed out of the car, shutting the door behind him. Aaliyah peered out of the open window, her eyes following her father’s retreating frame. What she hadn’t noticed, however, was the way an all black Escalade crept up, all four doors opening in unison.

Everything went in slow motion.

Repeated muzzle flashes sparked the air like it was the Fourth of July.

RAT–rat-rat-rat-rat!!!

Her scream pierced the air.

——

Those memories flooded Aaliyah’s mind that Wednesday morning. She’d woken up in good spirits, ready for her Ethics and Psychology class and a lunch date with a special someone. After showering, Aaliyah slipped on a pair of light grey leggings that molded into her hips, thighs, and booty. She paired it with a fitted, white T-shirt and low top Vans. Glasses on, messy hair pinned back with a claw clip, she threw on a denim jacket and collected her school bag near the front door.

Before she could even leave, a hard, booming knock on the storm door of her Shotgun House caused her forehead to wrinkle with surprise. She paused for a second before walking up to the door. Aaliyah brought one dark brown eye to the peephole.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Aaliyah flinched.

“Aaliyah! Open the door! I know you’re here!”

It was her junkie mother.

She didn’t look like herself.

Acne, dull skin, and self-inflicted wounds from picking at her face. Needle marks and collapsed veins from shooting up.

Rochelle was unrecognizable.

One look at her, and all the trauma from her youth flooded her mind. After her father was shot down, Rochelle went into a deep state of depression. She lost her job at the salon, and the pay checks from her motel job didn’t keep the bills paid. Rochelle had no choice but to seek help from a man. Any man that was willing. She sent Aaliyah away at the age of ten for a few years to live with her estranged grandmother, Ruby. Ruby was a strict, Christian woman with no tolerance for misbehavior or rebellion. She lived in a different Parrish in rural Louisiana, closer to Shelby Springs.

Aaliyah was made to do yard and farm work. She had Bible studies on weekends and couldn’t hang with many children because their parents weren’t ‘Godly Folk’. The only thing Aaliyah really enjoyed was horseback riding whenever her grandmother would visit a church friend. When Aaliyah was nearing fourteen, she started sneaking out to see an older boy. Word got around and Ruby lashed out on Aaliyah.

“I didn’t have sex with him! We were just kissing!”

Aaliyah wailed, hands raised to brace herself from her grandmother’s blows.

“You’re just like your mother! Can’t keep your legs closed! Don’t lie to me, Aaliyah! I know you slept with that boy!” Ruby shouted.

She couldn’t stay there any longer. Aaliyah called her mother that same night, begging her to come get her. Rochelle drove an hour out and when Ruby opened her door, Rochelle shoved past her mother.

“You put your hands on my child?! You evil bitch!”

Aaliyah watched from the top of the stairs with her packed bags. Rochelle and Ruby were in the middle of a screaming match.

“You asked for my help, remember?! She lives under my roof, she abides by my rules!” Ruby argued.

“But did I ask you to beat on my child?! Just the same ol’ shit with you! I can’t even rely on you to be there for my daughter—”

“OH! Now look who’s talking. You couldn’t even get your shit together after Roland died to be a mother. Which man is it now paying the bills, Rochelle?! Look at all this,” Ruby pointed to Rochelle’s jewelry and designer, “Don’t look like you struggling to me.”

Rochelle remained silent, scornful eyes glaring at Ruby.

“Aaliyah! Let’s go…”

She hadn’t seen her mother in almost four years. Rochelle looked…fancy.

“Sully is in the car…He drove me here…I missed you, Liyah…”

Ruby watched with folded arms. She locked eyes with Aaliyah, a look of guilt flashing across her face for just a second. They left without a backwards glance.

Aaliyah was very careful around Sully. He was a drug dealer, bringing home money and gifts to spoil Aaliyah. She became used to the revolving door of other criminals entering her home. She was just happy to with her mother again. Aaliyah focused on her studies and poured herself into cheerleading and hip hop majorette.

Eventually, things started to go downhill. Rochelle was introduced to harder drugs, Sully owed people money and he had gambling debts. Things in their home started to disappear, bills were piling up, and Sully turned violent. It took for Ruby and Aaliyah to fight back for Sully to finally leave. It opened the same wound of her father’s death, Rochelle unable to stay strong. Rochelle’s addiction became worse, so bad to the point that she would steal from her own daughter.

Aaliyah couldn’t handle it. As soon as she graduated high school, she got her own place and left her mother behind. It broke her heart, but in order for her to evolve, she needed to break free. Aaliyah hated working at Hooters, and when she turned twenty–six, she started stripping at Crazy Horse.

“Make the money, don’t let it make you…”

Aaliyah opened the front door, but the storm door remained locked. Aaliyah stared down at her mother. Rochelle looked desperate and more frail than the last time she showed up. She’d relapsed again.

“Hey, baby…”

Rochelle pressed her hands against the door.

“Can you help me? I need some cash—”

“I gave you five hundred dollars when I last saw you, momma. I see you back on that shit again…”

Rochelle hung her head in shame.

“I’m trying, Aaliyah. You don’t understand how hard it is.”

“You’ve tried for over twenty years now. I’m tired of helping you and all you do is use me. Weren’t you staying with Mama Ruby?”

She definitely wasn’t staying with Aaliyah.

“I can’t stay wit’ you?”

“Hell no.” Aaliyah quipped.

“I’m your fucking mother!”

“Did you forget what happened the last time you lived with me?! You stole shit from my house! I don’t trust you!”

Aaliyah didn’t need this. She had to go to school.

“Please…please, Li–Li. I’m hungry…I’m broke…pleaseeee…”

Aaliyah stared her mother down with a venomous glance. There will always be a soft spot for Rochelle, but the repeated hurt was exhausting. Seeing her mother like this broke her heart. She just couldn’t stop using.

“Okay…”

Aaliyah opened her storm door. Rochelle slipped inside quickly. Aaliyah kept a watchful eye on her mother while she admired Aaliyah’s cozy home.

“C’mon…”

They entered Aaliyah’s kitchen. Rochelle climbed onto a bar stool, peering around with a nervous look. Aaliyah opened her fridge, bringing out leftover catfish and grits she’d prepared last night for dinner.

“That piece right there…yeah…”

Aaliyah rolled her eyes.

She gave her mother the thickest piece of catfish and a good portion of cheesy grits. While the food heated, Aaliyah reclined her plush bottom against the counter. She stared her mother down, unable to shake the pain that fought to bubble to the surface.

“How’s school?” Rochelle questioned, unable to avoid picking at her skin.

Aaliyah tampered down her resentment and cleared her throat to speak.

“Good. I’ll be graduating in June.”

“That’s good, baby. Real good…June…How many tickets you gettin’?”

“Uhm,” Aaliyah checked on the catfish, “Not really sure yet.”

“Still dancing?”

Aaliyah rubbed her arms.

“No.”

The smell of the crispy fish wafted her mother’s nose. Aaliyah opened the oven to retrieve it. The grits on the stove top were nice and smooth now. After plating the food, Aaliyah wrapped it with aluminum foil and slid it across the kitchen island to her mother. She opened her pantry to grab a plastic fork and knife, securing it with some paper towels before holding it out towards her mother.

“I can’t sit here and eat?”

“You know you can’t…”

“Aaliyah—”

“Look, I have class. I’m gon’ miss it if you don’t take this shit and leave—”

“LOOK,” Rochelle stood, “I’m sorry you hate me so much. I’m sorry about all that shit, but I’m still your mother, Li–Li.”

“Oh? Last time I remember you being a mother was when I was six years old. Anything after that don’t count.” Aaliyah fired back.

Rochelle parted her cracked lips to speak, but her words stilled in her throat. Her tears flowed down her face and she wiped them away with the back of her dingy sleeve. Aaliyah stood before her with a rigid expression.

“Okay, I’ll leave…”

Rochelle grabbed her plate of food and Aaliyah stepped out of the way for her to walk in front of her. Tears prickled her eyes but she hastily pulled herself together. Aaliyah followed her mother towards the front door. She opened it, unable to reach her mother’s gaze.

“I love you, Li–Li…”

A solemn tear cascaded down Aaliyah’s face.

“…think you could look out for me?”

Aaliyah released a sigh before reaching into her bag. She plucked out whatever cash she had– one hundred and fifty dollars– handing it over to her mother.

Rochelle accepted it shamefully.

“Thank you, Li–Li. Take care of yourself…”

——

Professor Richmond carried his brown leather briefcase with him into the lecture hall. There were already students present the more he approached his desk in his brown dress shoes. His oceanic eyes swept the rows of students, his gaze zeroed into a vacant desk. Bringing his Apple Watch up, he was right on schedule. She would be arriving late today it seems.

Terry couldn’t go the remainder of his weekend into the early weekday without Aaliyah crossing his mind. She invaded and consumed him without her physical presence. He was two grand broker and overjoyed. He’d spend more on her in a millisecond. That shapely body is a walking sin. He found himself daydreaming of how it would feel to press his muscles into the softness of her curves. How would the curl of his biceps feel around her thighs? The ridges of his abdomen beneath her hands as she explored?

“I hope you all read up on Darwin and The Moral Sense. We’re jumping straight into discussion…”

Terry removed his navy blue suit jacket, then he rolled up the sleeves to his white, button down shirt that he wore tucked into matching navy blue slacks. He used a red Expo marker to write: Chapter Three of The Descent of Man. After capping the marker, he turned his attention to the class. With his pointer finger, he pushed his glasses back from the bridge of his nose.

“The keystone significance of morality in human distinctness is clearly asserted by Darwin in the first sentence…and the quote says….”

Terry snapped his fingers before pointing at a student within the second row with their hand raised. A white male with wooly, dark brown hair and a hooked nose.

“I fully subscribe to the judgment of those writers who maintain that of all the differences between man and the lower animals—”

“The moral sense of conscience is by far the most important, correct, James. But why is that?”

He cast his penetrating eyes across his students before flicking his gaze at the door. Another student bravely raised their hand and Terry motioned for them to speak. He continued to lecture shortly after that.

“We know from his notebooks that Darwin was reading the contemporary philosophical literature about moral behavior in 1837…”

As he continued, pacing in front of his desk, hands in the pockets of his slacks, the absence of Aaliyah weighed heavy on him. Minutes ticked away and soon enough, class was dismissed. Terry spoke with a student after class about the grade he’d given them for the midterm paper before packing away his things and leaving.

He made it back to his makeshift office space, shut the door and shuffled inside, careful not to knock his briefcase into stacks of decades old textbooks and files. With his thumb and pointer finger, he flicked on his table lamp, a yellow glow igniting the space. The swivel chair situated at his rectangular, wooden desk creaked slight as he settled down. Terry cracked his wrists, a habit of his when he felt too wound up.

iPhone in hand, he found Aaliyah’s contact.

“Here,” Terry handed Aaliyah his phone, “Put your number in.”

Aaliyah stared up at Terry through her curled lashes with a smile that enticed him into a further aroused state. She held out her small hand and made a come hither motion. Terry felt his phone slip from his fingertips and watched her with a sharp gaze and a slight smirk. She typed away, and he caught her eye before she saved it.

Terry texted her phone later that evening and Aaliyah replied with a kiss emoji.

Terry: Goodnight, Beautiful ❤️

Aaliyah: Nite Professor 😘

He texted her on Sunday, not saying much, just a simple greeting. He didn’t want to come off too strong, although he was fiendish for her attention.

Terry: Hi, Aaliyah. Hope you slept well ❤️ Any plans for today?

Aaliyah: Hi 😏 slept well thanks for asking. how was your sleep? & I’m currently out to brunch with friends.

Terry: You’re welcome. had a great rest. Brunch is fun. I’m sure you look great 😌

Aaliyah: I do 😉

Terry: SO BEAUTIFUL 😍

Aaliyah: Thank you ❤️ can’t wait to see you on Wednesday.

Terry: I’m looking forward to it ❤️

Terry sent Aaliyah a new text.

Terry: Hey, is everything okay?

It wasn’t like her to miss class. Terry unfastened the first few buttons of his shirt. He stood to stretch his sore legs from his workout earlier, easing his way over to the only window in his office. Terry looked out the window. The sky was tar-black and the large clouds seemed as if they were moving towards him. He heard a tapping on the window and then it became a pitter-patter. People ran for cover outside and umbrellas were opened as the clouds spat out their beads of water. Puddles began plinking as the rainfall became heavier. The roofs of the cars danced with spray and he could hear the murmuring of the rain through the window. It sounded like the buzzing of angry bees.

Buzz Buzz

Terry back tracked to his desk, reaching over and grabbing his phone.

Aaliyah: I’m sorry I missed class, Terry. Everything isn’t okay actually. I wasn’t feeling it. Can I call you?

Terry: Yes

He answered immediately.

Terry took a seat, “Hello?”

“Hi…”

Her voice sent chills down his spine.

Terry sensed her sadness.

“Want to talk about it?”

“…Can we still meet for lunch?”

“We can. It’s raining pretty bad out. Sure you’ll be okay driving?”

“I’ll be fine, I’m standing on my back porch right now…looks like it’s slowing down.”

“Okay. Uh…I was thinking Noir. It’s a nice jazz inspired restaurant and it’s a great vibe for cozy and intimate dining. Do you need me to pick you up?”

“No, that’s okay. I can meet you there. I know Noir.”

“Okay, drive safely, love.” Terry said.

“I will, you too. See you there.”

——

Noir didn’t have many patrons that afternoon, and Terry wasn’t complaining. He scooted himself into a booth, the dim light hanging above him so dull as if a shade had been cast upon it. His wet dress shoes squeaked slightly as he made himself comfortable. Terry ordered two filtered waters with lemon and hot water to soak the silverware. His legs swung back and forth beneath the booth table anxiously. Eyes that appeared turquoise glanced towards the entrance and he made out the silhouette of Aaliyah Davenport entering.

She must’ve gotten caught in the rain. She was dressed casually, a large Louis Vuitton tote bag over her right shoulder and a denim jacket flung over her left arm. She paused, eyes searching for Terry. He leaned further out of the booth and waved her down. Aaliyah fixed her gaze on him and a small smile graced her beautiful lips. Terry watched her saunter over, and the further she approached, the more her smile brightened.

Terry stood, fixing his pants since they had ridden up on his thighs and bulged around his crotch. Aaliyah slowed down to a stop before him, an awkward pause with nervous glances between them. Ultimately, Terry opened his arms and Aaliyah giggled before wrapping her arms around him. Terry caught a whiff of her hair; coconut and hibiscus. Mmm…he could feel the slight dampness of her curls through his dress shirt.

Her T-shirt beneath his fingertips was slightly wet from the rain droplets. Aaliyah broke away from him and gave him one last look before settling into the booth. Terry followed, situated across from her. He loved how natural and beautiful she looked. Her curls were slightly heat damaged at the ends, giving it personality. She wasn’t wearing her glasses today, Terry able to enjoy those pretty brown eyes again. Her hoop earrings swung as she swept hair from her eyes.

“I ordered us some water for now if that’s okay.” Terry mentioned.

“That’s ‘awrite with me, Professor.”

She has such a cute voice. Honeyed.

“I hope I didn’t miss anything crucial. I’m sorry.” Aaliyah apologized.

“Don’t be. We discussed chapter three…have you read it?”

“I have. No assignments?” Aaliyah replied.

“No—Aaliyah, what’s wrong?”

He didn’t care to talk about class. He wanted to know what was bothering her. She looked so saddened. It didn’t sit right with him.

“Uh…it’s a lot. I don’t wanna pour my shit out on you.”

“I’m willing to listen, if you’ll let me. No pressure…”

Aaliyah tilted her head and considered his words. Their water arrived and the waiter was ready to take their orders. Aaliyah hadn’t even looked over the menu.

“Give us another minute, please? Thanks…”

Aaliyah started flipping through the menu. The conical body of the saxophone in the background soothing.

Terry decided to order them an appetizer. Mini crab bites. He wasn’t too sure what to order for lunch.

“Do you like crab bites?” Terry asked.

“I do. That sounds good,” Aaliyah peered up at him with a timid smile, “I was thinking of getting a salmon ceasar salad.”

“Tasty,” Terry stroked his goatee, “I’ll probably do a shrimp Po’Boy.”

Their waiter circled back and Terry ordered everything. Alone again, they sipped their water and caught each other’s eye. Aaliyah pushed the wedge of lemon in her glass down further with her straw. She released a sigh before leaning against the table.

“My momma showed up today. Right when I was leaving for school.”

“Ya’ momma? I take it you’re not happy about that…”

Aaliyah’s eyes glistened. Terry wanted to reach out and stroke her soft cheek.

“My mom is a drug addict. Been an addict since I was sixteen.”

Terry allowed what she revealed to him to settle into his mind. He gave her a slow nod, and his eyes fixated on her deeper.

Aaliyah continued with a shaky voice, “After my father was killed, she became depressed and she blamed herself for the longest time. I was there when it happened…saw the whole thing,” Aaliyah rubbed her arms, “He hadn’t even been out of prison for a year and he was shot…”

Terry watched her straighten her back and sniffle, trying her best to calm herself down.

“My momma’s been in and out of rehab. I’ve help her, my grandmomma helped her…she stole from me, disappointed me every single time…” Aaliyah stared down at her hands, “And all she can think to do is show up on my doorstep with her hands out. That broke me.”

Terry twisted his full lips and his eyes fell to her hands. He watched the way her fingers fiddled. With an impulse so strong, he covered her hands with his much larger ones, stroking them with his thumbs. Aaliyah watched the way his hands worked to sooth her. Like he was massaging the stress out of her. Aaliyah exhaled, and then she locked eyes with Terry.

“I love her so much…”

“I know you do, I can see it…I can feel it.” Terry spoke softly.

He released her hands so she could thumb away a tear.

“I’m so sorry, Aaliyah. Sorry about your father. Sorry about your mom…”

“Thank you, Terry. I really appreciate it. I know this is supposed to be a nice lunch. I feel like I’m ruining it with my fuckin’ bullshit.”

“There’s nothing ruined, love. I’m happy you felt comfortable enough to open up to me about it. I just don’t like seeing you like this…your mom isn’t willing to get help?”

“That’s the thing,” Aaliyah took a sip of her water to help get rid of the lump in her throat, “She’s been in and out of rehab plenty of times. It’s this guy she keeps running back to. I don’t really remember his name…all I know is that he’s a dealer. She’s always had a thing for criminals.”

“Your grandmother, what’s up with that?—am I asking too many questions?”

“No, no,” Aaliyah shook her head, “My grandma is…her and my mom have always had a strained relationship. She’s attempted to help, but it never works out. There’s a lot of unresolved issues and my mom just can’t stick around long enough to deal wit’ it, ya know?”

“I get it. What was your father like?”

Aliyah frowned slightly, “He was so funny. Had so much swagger to ‘em. Loved cars. He got himself mixed up in some shit. He was doing a favor for a friend that turned out to be a robbery and it landed him in prison.”

She had this faraway look in her eyes, as if she were recalling the nostalgic feeling of being with her dad.

“…I saw him…die…and…” Aaliyah exhaled, “Took me a while to shake it…”

“Damn,” Terry hung his head, “Aaliyah, that’s heavy…”

Terry squeezed her hands and sought out her gaze. Aaliyah looked across at him and a single tear cascaded down her cheek. Terry released her hand and lifted from his seat, scooting in next to her. He snatched up a few napkins and dabbed her face gently.

“It’s okay…it’s okay, Aaliyah…so sorry…”

One hand rubbed her shoulder while she bawled up the used napkin in her hand. With one last sniffle, Aaliyah turned her brown eyes that reminded him of cognac through a glass and just then, she leaned in and those lips he’d desired to feel grazed his cheek with a feather–like touch before molding into his skin with a pressure so soothing his eyelash’s fluttered in satisfaction.

“Thanks for listening,” Aaliyah whispered in his ear.

Terry turned his head at an angle towards her. He gave her a searing, sideways glance.

“You’re welcome. Anytime…”

“Crab bites…”

Startled, Terry leaped up from his seat and returned to his side of the booth. Aaliyah thanked the waiter and they put in their orders. Terry and Aaliyah shared the appetizer. After chewing, Aaliyah licked her lips before speaking.

“Tell me a little more about Terry Richmond.”

Terry gave Aaliyah an attractive half–smirk. 

“Ask me and you shall receive.”

“Why teaching? Is that something you’ve always had a passion for?”

“That’s a really good question. Uh…yes. I was an instructor when I spent time in the Marines. I trained Marines for combat and firearms. Each day was new and exciting. I’ve always had this…desire to share knowledge, inspire others, and make a positive impact. Although my pops wanted me to continue into the Marines, I fell in love with Psychology. So…I got my PhD a year ago, and here I am.”

Aaliyah sat her face into her hands with her elbows propped up on the table, listening to him like he was retelling a fairytale story. Her eyes sparkled with joy at listening to him drone on about moving to North Carolina with his parents after Katrina, enlisted into the Marines, finished his undergrad, living there up until the age of twenty–seven before he moved back to Louisiana to attend LSU. Both of his parents are still together and living in North Carolina. Their food arrived and they tucked in, talking in between bites.

Terry was happy that Aaliyah is in better spirits. She smiled and giggled and it warmed his heart. She thanked him for cheering her up. Terry was honored. The topic veered to hobbies and interests. Aaliyah shared that she used to be a majorette dancer.

“Fishing? Living outdoors? Wow. I grew up doing farm work and riding horses but nothing that deep,” Aaliyah responded with a giggle.

“I can take you sometime…show you what it’s like.”

Terry cocked his head to the side and stared at Aaliyah. She held onto his gaze, the tip of her tongue peeking through her teeth. Terry wanted to wrap his full lips around her tongue and suck on it.

“So…is it a date then? Taking me fishing and camping, Professor?” Aaliyah teased.

“I’ll take you anywhere,” Terry slurped down some water.

“Anywhere?” Aaliyah dragged out with her cutesy voice and lips twinged with a sultry smile.

“Anywhere…anything for you.”

“I like the sound of that,” Aaliyah smiled, “You’ve earned the privilege to spoil me.”

They laughed in unison.

“How did I earn it, exactly?” Terry quirked a brow up and narrowed his eyes playfully.

“Giving me two thousand dollars cash was enough to let me know,” Aaliyah replied bluntly.

Terry chucked. He licked his lips, eyes scanning the space before he lowered his voice an octave, “You liked that, huh?”

“More than you’ll ever know…”

“Let me know, girl…”

Aaliyah tucked her chin and giggled.

“Let me know…” Terry persisted.

“I didn’t like it I love it. I’m a princess and I should be treated accordingly.”

Terry’s eyelids lowered slightly. He leaned in on his arms, eyes roaming her body before staring into her eyes again. He felt a sensation so deep within his ripped core. Something akin to butterflies. Aaliyah excited him. That mouth on her…he loved it.

“The minute I laid my eyes on you at that bachelor party…you were gettin’ all my money…”

“Good, that’s what I wanted,” Aaliyah nibbled on her straw with a teasing smile.

Terry licked his lips. He stared at her through his spectacles while his fingers drummed against the table slowly. Aaliyah sat her glass down and leaned back against the booth.

Staring.

They were practically eye–fucking each other.

Beneath that table, Aaliyah took it upon herself to run her pointed, left foot up Terry’s right leg. She did it achingly slow. It traveled up and up until she stopped with her foot propped up against his seat between his legs. Terry did one lazy sweep of his eyes over her foot and his teeth latched onto his bottom lip.

”Aaliyah…”

“Huh?”

Terry was going to lose it. Lose all his control. He was itching to walk her to the back of the restaurant, push her into a bathroom stall, and beat that fat pussy up with her chest against the door and his large hands keeping her pinned in place and stable on that dick.

“If I could tell you how beautiful you are…how gorgeous you are a million times I would. The moment I laid eyes on you at the beginning of the semester…I couldn’t ignore it. The feeling. I just knew that I had to have you…”

Aaliyah sat transfixed by his words. Lips slightly parted, eyes misty. He loved that look on her face. He wanted her to look at him like that in a kneeled position with his dick hanging in her face waiting to be tended to.

The thoughts in his mind…

“Wow,” Aaliyah chuckled breathlessly, “You want me that bad, huh? Wow…”

She acted as if a man never pined for her so deep like Terry. His unspoken energy even spoke volumes.

He. Needed. Aaliyah.

Professor or not.

“You don’t even know…”

“Mm,” Aaliyah shut her eyes and nibbled on her bottom lip. Her eyes opened slowly, “Terry…you gotta stop.”

They chuckled, Aaliyah’s thighs clenching beneath the table and Terry’s thighs swinging back and forth.

“Why stop?” Terry whispered.

Aaliyah kisses her teeth, “‘Cause…”

Her cute voice was enough to make the tip of his dick respond. He could feel himself leaking.

Thank God the waiter returned with the check. Terry paid the tab, and Aaliyah looked at him, not quite ready to go. Terry didn’t want to, but he had an evening course starting within the next hour or so and he needed to head back to campus.

Fuck that class. Look what’s in front of of you, nigga…

“You ready?” Terry questioned reluctantly.

——

They hadn’t even made it out of Noir for two seconds before it started again. They quickened their pace as the clouds began to gather in the sky. Up to now, the sky had been postcard-perfect, but it was changing. The beautiful cocktail-blue shade was beginning to darken into gravel-grey. Large pillows of clouds were forming, blotting out the old-gold colour of the sun.

Aaliyah got the first splatter of rain when she was halfway across the parking lot. She took shelter under her Jean jacket, hoping that she could see out past the shower. Terry’s brawny bicep pulled her closer while he covered himself with his own jacket. Droplets of moisture began to drip from the leaves. They were sprinkling onto the concrete like a gardener’s hose. Then the rainfall became more intense. A wall of rain moved over the oak trees and the drops were drumming against the tops of cars. So much rain was falling that the sound blurred into one long, whirring noise. It reminded her of the rotor blades on a helicopter.

Terry’s truck was closer. He rushed to fling the door opened, helping Aaliyah inside before sprinting to his side and climbing in. He slammed the door shut before tossing his drenched suit jacket onto the back seat. The humidity caused the car windows to fog as it poured. Eventually, the noise lessened and the drops faded into a musical chime. They sought out each other’s gaze and laughed.

Aaliyah threw her head back and sighed with contempt. This was a great lunch date. She was so happy she came. After bawling her eyes out about her mother, she needed some fun. Terry was more than just his looks. He was so refreshing. Such a gentleman. Hard working. So deeply fascinated with her. And it was more than just a lustful gaze. A gaze Aaliyah was more than used to. No. This man wanted her.

Aaliyah turned her cheek against the headrest to watch him. Terry felt her eyes and he gave her his undivided attention.

“I want to see you again, as soon as possible, Aaliyah.”

The urgency in his voice let her know he was a man about action.

“I’ll let you know what my days are looking like…okay?”

Terry hummed. The sound vibrated her core. He was impatient.

“Why not check on that now? Friday for an hour and thirty minute class ain’t enough.”

The bite in his voice sounded so much different from his professional tone. Aaliyah was stunned.

“Okay,” She pulled out her phone from her bag, “I have plans Saturday with friends…”

“Friday night?”

“Nothing.” Aaliyah replied.

“Then how about Friday? I’ll take you to dinner.”

“I have to study, Terry.” Aaliyah said, a playful glint in her eyes.

Aaliyah clocked the way Terry’s chest rose and fell with each deep breath. She imagined what he looked like beneath his business attire. Her imagining could only conjure up enough for her to fantasize about. She needed to see the real thing. Up close. Touch on him and memorize the planes and valleys of muscle threatening to bring the freak out of her. He looked like he could bench press and squat three times her size and Aaliyah wanted to test that theory. In many positions.

“I’ll help you study.”

“Isn’t that cheating?!” Aaliyah replied.

“It’s called tutoring, baby girl.”

Baby girl? Oh fucking hell…

Aaliyah became acutely aware of her nipples hardening. So did Terry. His eyes were glued to her breasts sitting up and jutted out.

Terry reached down beside him and his seat reclined back. Aaliyah’s heart skipped a beat. He gave her a pointed look. Aliyah’s eyes fell to his inviting lap…and a rather mountainous bulge…

It was as if the blood coursing through his body carried downward and pooled into his…

The veins in his arms…she could see them clearer now. His large hands resting against his thighs…that man spread…she felt a buzzing in her ears. The silent dominance in his posture…

Aaliyah lifted from her seat in a frenzy, Terry scooped her up with one powerful arm around her waistline and Aaliyah climbed over his lap. She sat herself snugly over his thick bulge that protruded from the crotch of his navy blue slacks like an eruption was waiting to happen. Her fat pussy sat on that protrusion and her breath hitched.

“Professor…”

Terry’s large hands double–cuffed her thick ass and he forced his grip upward, arching her back. Those thick, long fingers sank into the plump flesh as he groped her. One hand above her, pressed against the roof of the car, Aaliyah allowed the feeling of him squeezing and jiggling her cakes to consume her.

His glasses had fogged up. Their mingled, uneven breaths along with the sound of the leather seats filled the space between them. Aaliyah felt his hands smooth around to the junction between her thighs and booty and he applied force, making her ass move on its own—left cheek, right cheek— peering down over her shoulder while she was pressed against him. Aaliyah had her feet folded over his knees.

“Ughhh….”

A deep grunt followed by his arms wrapping around her waist tight. Biceps cutting into her back. The new position had Aaliyah sitting over his print harder. They sat like that for a few minutes, Terry’s nose was pressed against her neck, inhaling cool air and exhaling heated air that caused goosebumps to spread.

His arms loosened and Aaliyah tilted her head down to meet his eyes. She removed Terry’s glasses, resting them inside of his cup holder. The interior of his car smelled like blackberry clove and leather. He smelled like sandalwood. Those eyes. She got lost in them before tearing her gaze away to stare at his lips.

“Can I kiss you?” Terry asked softly.

Aaliyah closed the space between them and one of Terry’s hands tangled into her wet coils while his other hand sat above her ass. They gave each other an open–mouthed kiss filled with a feverish need for each other. Wet smacking noises sent signals of arousal. Eyes closed, heads swiveling, equally tasty and soft lips molding into each other’s. Aaliyah allowed her hands to run beneath his dress shirt and white better, coming into contact with warm skin stretched over an impressive physique.

“Unh…”

She found herself moaning.

A single finger of Terry’s traced the waistline of her leggings. The sensation caused her body to shiver. Aaliyah sat up, leaning back against his steering wheel. Terry locked eyes with her while his fingers brushed from her waist down to her pussy. The heat radiating from there could have added to the fog on the windows .

“You deserve so much…you’re so fuckin’ sexy…”

Aaliyah adjusted herself to tilt her body against his so that Terry could put his hand down her leggings.

“Damn…it’s like that, baby?”

“Uh-huh…”

Terry’s hand cupped her fat pussy through her thong. Aaliyah clung to his shoulders while holding his gaze. Terry’s tongue—thick and pink—poked out and Aaliyah accepted the invitation of touching tongues with him. His fingers moved her panties to the side. He grunted into Aaliyah’s mouth.

“Damn…damn…”

His fingers rubbed up and down. Aaliyah spread her thighs further.

“There you go…nasty girl… spreading your legs like that…want me to touch all over this pussy…I like that…”

His words. She whimpered when his fingers started doing that up and down motion between her swollen labia and over her stiff clit. Aaliyah couldn’t believe how wet her pussy is. Creamy viscous spread all over her.

“Unh…Terry…”

“This what you think about? You think about me expressing how much I want you with my fingers in your pussy?…”

Two fingers sank deep. Aaliyah’s mouth dropped open. Terry’s brows furrowed and his eyes would flicker from her face to his hand moving up and down in her leggings.

“Aaliyah…this lil’ pussy tight, girl…I can’t believe I’m fingering you right now…”

He looked like he couldn’t believe it. Jade eyes intense.

“It’s s–s–so, wet…”

His words stuttered out in disbelief.

“My pussy like you just as much as I do, Professor…”

Aaliyah chewed on her bottom lip and her head lulled back. She started bouncing on his fingers. Damn, she missed this. She missed being fingered the proper way. She ain’t have dick in almost a year. The last man to have her was a mistake and not even worth mentioning. All she could focus on was keeping her legs spread and that pussy open.

“Good girl…you follow directions well…I like that,” Terry dragged his teeth along his bottom lip, “Look at me, Aaliyah…”

She did as she was told.

“I played your little game. Now what?”

He was toying with her.

This man…this was another side to him she was more than excited to see.

“Now you make me cum…make me cum, Professor.”

Terry chuckled, “Make this pussy cum?”

His fingers were knuckle deep.

“Send me home in a puddle, Terry…”

“Mmm…that sweet, little voice gon’ get you in trouble…keep moaning…uh-huh…mhmmmm…”

Aaliyah clamped down on his fingers. She lowered her head over his headrest and rode out her orgasm. So intense. It hit her like a freight train. Terry pressed deeper, stroking a spot that had Aaliyah crying. Terry gently withdrew his fingers. Aaliyah’s breaths slowed down, but her body was still recovering from the after shocks.

His hand resurfaced just as the sun peered over the storm clouds. The aroma of her pussy and the cum clinging to his fingers flooded her nose in the best way. Terry held his manicured fingers up. Aaliyah locked her gaze on creamy–white goodness all over his fingers and dripping down to his wrist.

Terry played with it. Rubbing his fingertips together. Spreading his fingers to see how slimy it looked. Aaliyah watched him suck each finger while his eyes never left her face.

“I taste good?” Aaliyah asked with a smile.

“Fuckin’ amazing, baby…”

Terry licked his lips and Aaliyah leaned in to steal a kiss. They kissed for some time before Terry broke away. He released a growl of frustration.

“I gotta head back to campus…I have an exam for my next class…”

Aaliyah pecked his lips before climbing off his lap and into her seat. Terry had his lip pouted while fixing himself. Aaliyah giggled, her eyes dropping down to his neglected erection. He caught her watching, grabbing her wrist and sitting her hand over his bulge.

It…was…thick…

“It’s so big…”

Aaliyah explored, squeezing and stroking…Terry swiped his bottom lip with his tongue and closed his eyes for a second to gather himself. Aaliyah removed her hand and Terry looked over at her like he didn’t want her to stop. Ever. She didn’t want to go, but Terry needed to get back to Campus. The last thing she’d ever want to do is sabotage his career.

“I don’t want to leave, but it’s okay…I’ll see you Friday, right?” Terry questioned, grabbing Aaliyah’s hand and kissing the back of it over and over.

“Yes. I’ll be there…”

Terry made a come hither motion and Aaliyah obeyed, slipping him some final tongue before they parted ways. Terry put his glasses back on, giving Aaliyah one final look of longing. She knew she had to be the one to leave him behind because if she didn’t, he would have skipped the class and spent the rest of the day proving to her just how much he needed her.

“Bye, Professor.”

Aaliyah opened the car door. She hopped down from his truck, grabbing her jean jacket. She blew Terry a kiss before shutting his door and heading towards her Jeep.

She couldn’t stop thinking about the taste of her pussy on his tongue and her scent on his fingers while he lectured.

——

Aaliyah 🌹: Studying for an exam tomorrow. I’ll talk to you later, okay? I had a really great time today 😏 just might touch myself thinking about it. Sweet Dreams, Professor. Xoxoxo 👄

Terry moved towards his living room, an NBA game on in the background. He was shirtless with black joggers on and a durag over his short curls. A single gold cross chain sat in the middle of his pecs. The heels of his socked feet sat into the throw rug beneath him. He had grilled salmon, broccoli, and dirty rice for dinner.

Aaliyah.

That woman awakened something primal in him. Although his eyes bounced back and forth across the screen, his mind wandered to the way his taste buds craved more pussy. He had such a good time getting to know her. The way her lips felt like the softest cushion against his lips. The soft, little whimpers she made drove him crazy. He dragged a hand down his face.

He studiously ignored the monster in his joggers.

Could’ve been full of something else if you had just taken what was in front of you.

The game did nothing to calm down his body. He flipped through the channels looking for something, anything to distract himself from the length of his dick pulsing against his thigh. Terry shifted his hips on the couch, the fight to ignore it impossible.

“Send me home in a puddle, Terry.”

Terry could still hardly believe that he had Aaliyah in his lap, lips against hers, fingers deep in her pussy, and in public. The morbid excitement from earlier returned to him in tenfold, echoing in the throb of his manhood. He stared forward at the movements on his television unseeingly, fighting his mind as it tried to conjure up an image of himself between Aaliyah’s legs. Her pretty pussy gleaming at him naughtily making his mouth water. He wanted to be the only one to taste her for as long as he lived. To bury his face in between her buttery–smooth thighs to kiss, lick and tongue fuck her until she was a whimpering, quivering mess. His name a constant chant on her lips as she feebly tried to push him away after her orgasm. He wouldn’t stop. Not until all she wanted was him.

“Terry…Terry…right there, Terry…”

“Shit,” he grunted as he lifted his hips off the couch slightly, pulling his joggers down to his thighs, his engorged dick springing free, curving up to look at him. The purpling head waved in the air at him in greeting and invitation. Terry scrubbed a hand over his face at the sight, exasperated at his excitement for a girl he’d never seen naked and his inability to turn this shit off. Sleep wasn’t going to come easily to him if he didn’t take care of big boy first.

Terry’s eyes tracked a drop of precum as it dribbled over his head and down his pulsating shaft, collecting at his heavy balls. His dick was quite literally demanding attention, the veins overly pronoucned along the sides beating in time with his heart, and he was hard pressed not to give in. He hadn’t touched himself in a few days, work had kept him busy and the thoughts of Aaliyah after the bachelor party had given him a reason to. He quickly contemplated walking back to his room and using his fleshlight to get the job done before he decided against it. He was too needy to move now.

Tentative fingers ran over the velvety tip, collecting the beads of moisture there and spreading them around slowly. He closed his blue–gray eyes and pushed his head back into the sofa cushion with a flex of his hips. A harsh ‘fuck’ escaped his clenched teeth at the sensitivity. This was going to be quick, rough and lacking any of the finesse he usually showcased in any moment of sexual gratification. Even if that moment was just with him.

Terry’s dominant hand wrapped lightly around himself, trying to mimic how his Aaliyah would touch him, his other dragging over his exposed abdomen. His hand pulled down roughly, electing a low groan from him, as a fantasy bloomed in his mind. He could see her behind his lids that had fallen closed. Kneeling in front of him, between his parted thighs, bright eyes glued to his expression as she bit her lip in concentration. Watching him with that sassy look she got any time she wanted things her way.

Terry spread his knees as far as his joggers would allow, his hand twisting and pulling himself, gaining momentum with every tight pass of the head. Thumb coming up to swiped over the moist slit. Half curses spewed out of him as his pace quickens, his free hand coming down to fondle his sack. Rolling it between his fingers. The sensation doing nothing to abate his impending release.

“Fuccccckkk…..” his voice hitched and raised, battling with the enthusiastic wet sounds of his hand pumping.

His fantasy girl looked between him and his twitching dick, her hand moving as fast as he was. She licked her parted lips and leaned towards his thick pipe. Her warm breath only heightened his pleasure as she whispered to him lowly.

“Cum for me, Professor…”

And he did just that. His heels dug into the plush rug beneath him, using it for leverage as he fucked up into his hand, the coil in his belly growing tighter until it snapped. A croak of Aaliyah’s name bouncing off his walls. Thick spurts of warm cum landing haphazardly across his upper body didn’t deter him as he continued to drag his fist over his oozing dick until the motion became too much for his overly sensitive body. Legs shuddering with each pass.

Terry let go with a deep sigh, taut body relaxing slowly until he was sitting naturally in his seat. Terry glanced down at the evidence of his ecstasy littered across his chest, stomach and hand.

He huffed an annoyed laugh at how quickly his orgasm had taken him. And how hard his dick still was as it bobbed in front of him, his stamina was working against him this time around. With a disbelieving shake of his head, he gripped the base, pulling his hand with a slow rotation of his wrist upwards. His release making the perfect slick for round two.

“F–fuuck, babyyy…” Terry hissed at the feeling. He let go, palming the head a few seconds to stave off the mounting pressure. He would not come that quickly again.

Terry took his time, languidly pulling at his dick, unrushed. Rubbing his free hand up and down his stomach, tweaking his nipple quickly before sliding back down. He repeated this process as his hand gradually picked up speed.

The short nails on Terry’s left hand bit deliciously into his skin as he raked them down his chest and stomach. The sharp pain was closely followed by a wave of hazy pleasure causing his hips to buck faster into his hand. He abandoned all notion of slow, the tightening in his balls and urge to reach completion pushing fast and hard to the forefront of his mind. The juxtaposition of two intense sensations never failed to throw him over the edge.

Terry threw his head back, neck straining as he clenched his jaw. A constant string of yes, fuck, yes screaming in his head as his abdominal muscles flexed and clenched. His hand is almost a blur with how quickly he’s moving.

Twist

Grip

Plunge

Slap

Squeeze

Fucking Aaliyah did this to him. Those eyes, that smile, her voice, that goddamn body…

Flashes of her twerking in a split, making that ass clap, looking back at it, licking her lips with that tongue ring, talking her shit, how sweet her pussy tasted, how snug her walls were around his fingers.

He wished it was her. Her delicate hand working him. Her brown eyes drooping with arousal. Her heavenly voice encouraging him to go ahead. Let go. He could almost smell her. Almost taste her.

Her pussy was so fucking sweet. He couldn’t wait to suck on her pussy. He wanted to bury his nose into it and draw in a deep breath that almost burned his lungs. He wanted to make her unravel beneath his tortuous tongue and lips. Over and over and over—

He erupted at the thought, breathing hard and keening through his messy release. The second nut even more than the first. Still, he continued to stroke, torturing himself, milking himself like he wanted her to.

Terry was out of breath by the end of it. Body spent and tingling.

So much for not cumming quickly.

He sat there for a long time, waiting for the hollow feeling to retreat from his bones, his cum cooling on his skin. He needed to take another shower.

But what he really needed was her.

Friday couldn’t come fast enough.

@theereina @bombshellbre95 @planetblaque @trippyscotch @megamindsecretlair @uzumaki-rebellion @thesweetestdrug @theblulife @hotgrlcece @blackerthings @deja-r @helloncrocs @hearteyes-for-killmonger @kaylabuggggg06 @skyesthebomb @blyffe @gwenda-fav @beenathembo @blackpinup22 @novaniskye @melaninhawtie @urfavblackbimbo @avoidthings @rose-bliss @xo-goldengirl @kinginwithbreezy-blog @mysecertdiaryofableedingheart @sirenmouths @creartivefairy @soulfulbeauty19 @therealmrsrhodes @hrlzy @nayaesworld @gg-trini @brattyfics @flydotty @writingsbytee @shiania @browngirldominion @notapradagurl7 @madamzola @kismet83 @aristasworld @sl33p-deprived-princess @erynnnn @itssbrie @melaninangel @withoutmusiclifewouldbflat @sweettea-and-honeybutter @dashhoney25

[m4dm4yhem]

(⊃｡•́‿•̀｡)⊃ EARTH 42 MILES ROMANCE HCS

PAIRING: MILES G. MORALES X FEM READER

SUMMARY: RELATIONSHIP W/ MILES

INSPIRED BY: @cyb3rspyd3r

REQUESTS ARE OPEN!

___________________________________________________

MILES MORALES WHO IS SO IN LOVE WITH YOU whenever you leave your phone with him when you leave the room, he’s going through.. in a way to make sure you’re behaving the way you promise him you are, to see what new numbers you have in your phone, to see if you talk about him with your friends, anything that shows him he isn’t wasting his time by being with you.. don’t mistake that for him not trusting you… he does, he’s just a nosy bastard.

MILES MORALES WHO IS SO IN LOVE WITH YOU his mood can be adjusted by the sheer sight of you, let’s say he’s mad about something.. maybe his counselor was feeding him bullshit about his future; that he needed to mention the fact he was struggling in order for colleges to give him any kind of time of day… that pissed him off, because who are you.. to tell him that he’s just a struggling poor kid but the second he laid his eyes on you.. he was smiling again, and forgot why he was mad in the first place

“ whatchu smilin’ all hard for?”

“ nothin… I just.. like being around you, mama.”

MILES MORALES WHO IS SO IN LOVE WITH YOU the littlest things will remind him of you, miles morales.. who is so in love with you.. that he once gave you a rock he found on the ground because it had a smooth front, and he remembered the time your arms were smooth after shaving.. that he couldn’t stop touching them, even when you wore long sleeves; he’d just sneak two fingers into your sleeve and run them down your arm.. it would usually be a surprise too..

“ eek- what! miles?! can you get your cold ass fingers off me.. please..”

“ mami.. c’mon, you feel so good though.. like a countertop or sum.”

“ boy… you stupid if that’s the only thing you can compare it too..”

“ stupidly in love with you.. that’s the only thing I’m stupid in.. don’t play with me before I fuck you up.”

“ nigga.. miles shut the fuck up, you ain’t touching me niggatron..”

“ …”

“ yeah exactly..”

“ oh, no.. trust.. I will take care of that attitude.. but what the fuck is a niggatron..?”

MILES MORALES WHO IS SO IN LOVE WITH YOU that he takes pride in being your ‘ mini me’ every single saying that you have said around him; he’s said it around his friends, his uncle, everyone.. it just slips out, like one time he accidentally said one thing you say quite often around his uncle, after his uncle

“ girl..you did not eat that.. you thought you did, but I still see the lil ceasar’s hot and ready on the table.. why is that?”

“ nigga what?”

MILES MORALES WHO IS SO IN LOVE WITH YOU he never says no to you, whatever you want.. he will get it.. if it’s within his budget.. he’s fifteen years old not a sugar daddy, as well as the fact his mother is struggling with the bills so most of his money goes towards her; but with the extra money she refuses to take from him.. you’re spoiled with it.. if he hears you need a new lip liner, he’s asking what color.. suggesting a reddish brown or a black, his favorite colors on you.. if you want a new stuffed animal he’s buying one from the nearest store, while he usually has to stretch his dollar, and most trips are made with him asking you which one you need more.. a teddy bear.. or chick fil a, and he gets whichever one you want more.

“ mama..”

“ you can’t rush perfection, miles! I’m thinking..”

“ girl.. perfection? I asked you if you wanted ice cream now or chipotle later..”

MILES MORALES WHO IS SO IN LOVE WITH YOU he tells everyone who will listen all the wonderful things about you.. and by wonderful I mean everything you did.. whenever his girlfriend is mentioned or the possibility of hanging out with someone who isn’t you.. he will start yapping about you

“ hey man.. you coming over to TJ’s? we gon be playing basketball.. and then going down to the mall.. “

“ nah man, my girl said she wanted to come over tonight.. meet my ma n shit..”

“ man.. didn’t you have your girl over last night too? “

“ yeah .. she comin to meet my mami tonight though.”

“ she couldn’t have met her last night?”

“ my ma be at work.. ion think she even remember me telling her about my girl, to be honest with you mane.”

MILES MORALES WHO IS SO IN LOVE WITH YOU he steals his uncle’s car to see you late at night, he knocks on your window at two in the morning, because his uncle is working… not a normal job but that job, so he drives over there.. illegally may I add; since he’s 15, he only has his learners. he does this just to lay in bed with you, to spoon you and tell you how much he loves you.. how much he lives for you

“ I love you.. so much, [name] you make my life.. so easy.. so tolerable.. I’m not as.. sad and depressed now that you’re with me, I love staying and being with you. you make my world brighter, you make my life better.. I love you, I can’t imagine a world with you.. cariño..”

MILES MORALES WHO IS SO IN LOVE WITH YOU he asked you to marry him one day, he had gave you a plastic ring he got from one of those coin machines when he was going to wash clothes with his mom; he had got a pretty one that had a plastic gem shaped into a heart.. he told you how much he valued you.. how much he cared, how he never wanted to lose you.. how he knew you two were only teenagers.. but he wanted to be with you forever nonetheless.

MILES MORALES WHO IS SO IN LOVE WITH YOU that he has your face plastered on every social media platform he has, your face is his profile picture on the very few he has. ( instagram, twitter, & tiktok.. he has snapchat too, where the main things he posts are just recycled videos he already sent you, and a private story with all the girls he knows has a crush on him added, and he just show cases your love)

MILES MORALES WHO IS SO IN LOVE WITH YOU after the first date, he walked into his room with a big grin on his face. you two had went to the aquarium, and he saw a shark plushie he wanted but didn’t have enough money for.. and you had bought it for him.. no hesitation.. he was so in love with you in that moment.. that he had named it after you.

“ I don’t give a fuck if this shark a boy.. his name gon be [name] today.”

overall.. he’s just so in love with you.. he’d do whatever it takes to make sure you know he loves you.

[going-to-ikea-for-the-fries]

Tu Querido Esposo. || Rodolfo Parra & Alejandro Vargas

Rating: G Words: 1.4K~ Tags: f!reader, you/your pronouns but no Y/N, Spanish terms of endearment, best friends to lovers, forced marriage (but not like THAT), friendly bickering, Rodolfo is in denial. Summary: Six months later, you wake up to Rodolfo in your kitchen and a shocking realization in the back of your mind. a/n: A follow-up on this one shot because @lyralein is a sweetie and this is her Roman Empire and I’m Julius Ceasar, for just a moment.

You exited the bedroom to hear rummaging amidst the kitchen cabinets. You closed the door behind you and yawned, rubbing your eyes a bit.

“¡Buenos días Rudy!” [Good morning] You exclaimed as you made your way toward the hall bathroom, only to notice Rudy’s head peeking out of the kitchen.

“¡Buenos días!” He answered. “You’re up early!” He said as he padded over your way.

He stopped at the bathroom door as you bent over the sink to wash your face with a wash cloth.

“Didn’t sleep that much. Stressed from work.” You admitted and sighed loudly. 

“Do you want a cafécito?” [espresso] He asked you as he reached over and rubbed your back.

“Yes, please… And toast?” You requested and batted your eyelashes at him, causing him to chuckle.

“On it.” He replied with a nod as he walked off to the kitchen again.

You quickly brushed your teeth, fussed with your hair for a minute, and then tip-toed over to the kitchen when you looked and felt less like death.

“You know, normally, when a person marries someone else, they don’t get a whole extra husband for free.” You quip as you enter the kitchen and slink to your seat at the table.

Rodolfo is standing at the counter peeling a mango as he waits for the toast to finish warming up in the toaster oven.

“An extra husband?” He asks as he turns to look at you with a cocked brow and an amused expression on your lips.

“Mhm. I mean, you and Alejandro are basically married.” You quip as you watch him chop the mango into thin slices with his knife, dropping them into a plate bowl.

“How are we basically married?” He asks in confusion.

“You know… You spend so much time together… You sleep over so often… You’re here every morning serving yourself to our food… You do our laundry and our dishes…” You trail off.

“Because I live down the road and he gives me a ride to base.” Rudy retorts as he takes the toast from the oven and sets it in front of you with a knife and the butter. “And normally people don’t complain when someone does their chores for them.”

“Yeah but a few years ago, when he got shot, and had to take leave, you took leave with him, so you could look after him… You stayed over, fed him, bathed him, drove him to P.T… Even when his whole family could’ve.” You add as you start buttering your toast.

“I’m just a good friend.” He replies.

“A good friend doesn’t kiss me, or Ale on the mouth.” You retort.

Exasperated, Rudy groans. “Will you ever let that go? We were playing a drinking game!”

Giggling, you bite your toast and keep looking at him with raised eyebrows and a smug little smile on your lips.

“You’re impossible, you know that?” He tells you, also smiling a little, amused. “I regret the day Alejandro introduced us.” He adds.

“Oh, calláte.” [shut up] You say with another giggle. “You love it.” You say with a smirk. You don’t miss the way the corners of his lips twitch to hide a smile of his own.

After looking around for a moment to make sure the coast was clear, you grabbed him by the arm, bringing him close. Your voice drops to a whisper.

“It’s okay to admit you’re in love with Ale, you know?” You tell him, watching his eyes widen and his whole face warm up red.

“Don't joke about that!” He scolds you as he pulls himself away and grabs the plate of mango slices, setting it in front of you. “We’re just friends.” He adds.

Then, Rudy turns to pour himself and you two espresso’s from the moka pot.

“We’re all friends here, Rudy… And somehow, I’m married to Alejandro and sleep in his bed.” You retort with a shrug as you bite onto your toast again.

Rodolfo scoffs a bit and takes his seat across from you, leaning back on his chair and sipping his espresso quietly.

“We’ve been friends for decades now…” He trails off. “I think it’s normal for feelings to get a bit… complicated.” He concedes.

“I get it. You almost die together enough times and lines get blurred.” You answer and nod in agreement.

“It doesn’t mean I’m in love.” He adds, defensively.

“Right.” You add and smirk smugly again as you chew your next bite of toast.

“Mhm.” He murmurs and finishes his coffee before grabbing some mango and putting it in his mouth.

“Well, if it’s any consolation…” You trail off. “I like having a second husband.” You joke.

“¡Calláte!" Rudy responds as he looks away sheepishly.

Just as you’re eating quietly, Alejandro comes into the room, making his way in noisily, his crutches clacking loudly on the tile.

“Buenos días.” He grumbles as he clomps his way along to the table. Rudy quickly hops up from his chair, pulling it back to give Alejandro his seat.

“How are you feeling, Ale?” You ask him gently as you reach across and rub his arm.

“Like shit. How do you think?” Your husband/best-friend responds in a woke-up-on-the-wrong-side-of-the-bed grumble.

“Well, who told you to jump from a moving jeep after a terrorist and break your ankle?” You joke with him, earning a glare and a flipping of the middle finger, which makes you laugh. That ends up putting a smile on his face.

Rodolfo moves across the kitchen to fetch Alejandro’s medication, a myriad of pills he has to take every morning while waiting for his shattered ankle to heal. After bringing them, and a glass of water, to your husband, he goes about fixing breakfast for him.

You shoot Rudy a look as if saying ‘See? You’re taking care of him like a wife!’ and he responds with a glare that definitely says ‘¡Calláte, carajo!’. [Shut the fuck up]

Afterward, while both you and Alejandro go about eating breakfast, Rodolfo stands next to the table, per lack of a chair.

“Sit.” You tell Rudy as you stand up. He knows better than to argue with you, despite only having been friends with you for half as long as Alejandro, he knows you’re annoying as all hell.

Once he takes your seat, you calmly plop yourself down on Rudy’s lap. His breath hitches and he stiffens up for a moment. “What are you-”

“There’s no more seats and I can’t sit on Alejandro’s lap because of his leg.” You reply as you lean all the way back on Rodolfo’s lap, pressing your side against his chest.

You grab his earlier fork from the bowl of mango slices and carefully feed him some, earning another deer-in-the-headlights look from him. “Eat. You’ve got work later.” You order him.

Alejandro is across the table from you, eyes locked on you as you feed Rodolfo and the poor man looks like he’s containing himself from having a heart attack, his face blushed red and sweat piling up on his forehead.

“You know, I’m the one that should be getting spoon fed, I’m the injured one.” Alejandro pipes up from his seat, making you turn your head to face him.

“I thought you didn’t like to be babied, mi querido esposo?” You quip. [my dear husband]

“I would if it’s you sitting on my lap.” He retorts and twitches his eyebrows at you playfully, which makes you scoff.

“Well, tough luck.” You add as you turn to feed Rodolfo again. “Besides, Rudy is always taking care of you. He needs to be babied sometimes too.” You add.

Alejandro feigns a scowl. “I’m starting to think you’re conspiring against me, you both.” He quips. “My own best friends, one of which happens to be my wife-” He says in feign injury.

“Rudy is basically your husband too at this point.” You retort, which causes Rudy to flush red again.

“I already told you, I’m not-” He tries to say.

“Sorry, my mistake. My own best friends, both of which happen to be married to me-” Alejandro corrects himself in his mock-complaint, having caught the way the idea of being called ‘married’ to him makes Rudy squirm.

Rodolfo groans. “Really, Coronel?” He asks, sheepishly.

You end up giggling and shake your head. “I told you, Rudy.”

“I hate you both.” Rudy sighs. “If we were married, I’d want a divorce, you’re both insufferable.” He complains.

“We wouldn’t let you.” Alejandro quickly quips.

“As if we’d let you.” You say as the same time.

You and Alejandro look at each other and then start laughing, which you both a glare from Rodolfo, before his own face morphs into a little smirk.

[underoospeterparker]

Omg you write finnick so perfectly!! I was wondering if you could write something about finnick dating somone with POTS syndrome and how he reacts to it? 🫶🫶

thank you that is the best compliment! and thanks for requesting!! i think this is one of the best things I've written tbh

fyi: POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) is a medical condition that can lead to an increased heart rate when standing up. it can cause lightheadedness, dizziness or fainting.

finnick odair x reader with POTS, set during catching fire (reader volunteered for annie instead of mags), 0.6k words

You were sitting on the sofa, curled up in Finnick's arms while the two of you rewatched Ceasar's interviews with the tributes for the 75th Hunger Games. Finnick played with loose strands from your ponytail while you fixated on the television, despite your oncoming headache and lightheadedness.

"You okay, lovely?" Finnick asked, concerned. He had always been sweet to you, a fact that hadn't changed when you'd told him you'd been diagnosed with POTS a couple years ago, and still didn't change when you had volunteered for Annie in the place of Mags. In fact, he'd grown even more protective over you.

You nodded, but the movement made your vision blurry. Pausing, you tried to turn around to Finnick. "I don't know," you whispered, a slightly panicked tone in your voice.

He frowned, and he shifted under from you, trying not to rock you too much. "That's okay. Can you just stay here for me, just for a second, honey? I'll go grab you some water."

When you gave him a thumbs up, he got up quickly, resting a hand on your shoulder for a second before heading into the kitchen. It took him a while to return, or at least, it seemed that way to you.

You grew worried, anxiety building up in your throat even though logically, you knew nothing would have happened to him. "Finnick?" you called, a croak in your voice. When he didn't respond, or you didn't hear it, you got up and immediately regretted your decision.

He rushed into the living room just in time to set down the glass of water and catch you as you fell, almost hitting your head on the edge of the coffee table. "Shit," he murmured, the expletive hot under his breath.

Finnick placed you gently back onto the sofa, a pillow under your head to keep it elevated. "Honey, c'mon," he said, his hands desperately cupping your cheeks. "Wake up for me, yeah?"

You blinked your eyes open, straining against the bright lights and he took notice of that, quickly shutting them off and returning back to your side. "Hi," he whispered, clearly worried about you.

"Hi," you whispered back, attempting to sit up. Finnick pushed you down with a firm hand to your chest. "No," he said sternly, a tone in his voice that dared you to defy him. You did not.

He reached to the table where he'd set down the glass and lifted it up to your mouth, watching intently as you gulped down a couple of sips. "That's it," he said, moving the cup when you finished.

"Are you feeling okay?" he asked. Finnick looked distraught. You felt the strangest urge to comfort him.

You gave him the biggest smile you could muster, and since you were exhausted, it wasn't big at all. He looked almost constipated as he reciprocated the smile. "I'm okay," you muttered, a small reassurance in Finnick's eyes.

He let a breath of air he'd been holding release, and he climbed onto the sofa next to you, pulling you into his chest. You gladly went inside, feeling the remnants of your dizziness dissolve as you pressed yourself deeper into his body.

Finnick reached his hands up to your hair, kneading gently at your scalp. His movements were soothing and they helped calm down your aching headache. When you sighed in pleasure, he let out a surprised laugh, muffled by your hair.

Soon, you fell asleep, accompanied by the sound of his deep breathing and his soft scratching of your hair. You dreamed of the sea, the ocean, and Finnick, and you clung onto the dream for as long as you could, because you knew that when you would wake up, everything would be different.

[blastoqueen]

Sunrise.

Chapter 3

Rating: Teen and Up

Relationships: Noa x Mae (Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes)

Content warnings: None

Comments: English is not my first language. Sorry if something is wrong.

Sometimes, when Noa was all alone picking up berries or fishing, he would think about Mae. When he went out with his friends, he imagined the girl standing besides them, laughing and maybe fighting playfully with Anaya or Soona.

He didn’t know where these imaginary scenarios came from. He knows the truth: Mae doesn’t trust them, she is too weak to play with them, and Soona won’t get too close to the Echo if she doesn’t have to. It is almost like nature telling them it´s not possible to be allies. Noa wanted to believe in Ceasar´s words, that humans and apes can live together in peace. The true question was: could both species live in the same society? Or Ceasar only meant mutual respect from both separated communities?

Who was this Ceasar anyway? What was his story? He knew his beliefs, at least some of them, but he desired to know more about the ape. How come everyone except his clan knew about him? Raka said humans were intelligent and the dominant specie, and apparently Ceasar lived among them. If he truly believed that apes and humans could live together, that meant Ceasar knew kind ones, right?

“Apes together strong” he remembered. He could do both things, couldn’t he? Stay with apes and live among humans. “Kind of contradictory” he thought.

He was riding his horse through some trees, watching for any signs of Mae.

It was already dark, and he only had a torch with him. A few meters away, the male saw a yellow light and some smoke. A bonfire. He carefully got close, hoping it was Mae and not an ape, or worse, another human.

Trying to not make noise, Noa got off the horse and tied the reins to a near tree. He patted the animal a few times, before walking to the fire. Once he was close enough, the ape could distinguish the figure of a human woman. Mae.

“You didn’t say goodbye” Noa said, revealing himself to the Echo. The girl grabbed a spear and pointed to the ape in front of her.

“Noa” she said, lowering the weapon but keeping it in her hand.

“That is ours” he said.

“Yeah, I stole it”

“Classic human” said the ape, getting closer to the bonfire and sitting right across Mae “Scavenger”

“Shut up” she said with annoyance. Was he really dissing humans right now?

“You got far” Noa said.

“I´m fast”

“Where are you going, Mae? What is your plan?”

Mae felt vulnerable, not knowing what to do, where to go. She had to lie; she was good at that.

“There is a camp not far from here, I´ll be there tomorrow if—”

“Stop lying” he interrupted her.

“I am not lying”

“Yes, you are”

“Noa…”

“What happened to you?” he asked. His eyes were full of concern, sadness. He was so, so tired.

Mae stayed quiet for a minute. Could she really trust him? She knew she could, but the voices of the people in the bunker told her no.

“After you gave me the necklace, I came back to my home” she started talking before she could even think about it “I gave them the book, the one that could make humans speak again. They put me in quarantine in another place”

Noa gave her a confuse look.

“Quarantine is when you exile someone to see if they are sick” she explained.

“You are sick?”

“Not anymore. I contracted a virus, got a fever, they thought I was sick and that I would turn into... an Echo” the ape saw her eyes watered and felt the need to comfort her, but he stayed seated “They didn’t even test me. The guards and medical team left. I was trapped”

“They… locked you?”

“Yes. I was surprised they didn’t set the place on fire with me in it” she scoffed, wiping a tear in the corner of her eye “For a moment I thought I was sick too, that I was gonna loose my mind… but that didn’t happen. They only left me water, no food. I was there for almost sixteen days... I think. Then I scaped"

The ape didn’t know what to say. She got hurt by apes and humans. Noa imagined she felt alone, unable to trust, unable to love or be happy. He wanted to make Mae feel safe, but the Echo made it so difficulted.

“So, what now?” he asked. Maybe she was trying to go back to the humans, convince them that she was not sick, maybe they can take her back.

“I don’t know” Mae said.

“I can go with you” the ape said. The female looked confused, as if Noa had said something illogical.

“To where?”

“Back with the humans”

Mae sighed and put the spear on the ground, she grabbed her hair with both hands and looked at the sky.

“Or not” Noa said “I just want to make sure you… are safe”

“It´s not that” the human murmured “Noa... I can´t go back with them. They would kill me. They think I´m sick and that I will make them sick too”.

“But when they hear you speak”

“It would not matter”

“You are going to seek other Echoes?” Noa wished the answer was no, he really wanted Mae to stay, but he could see the desire in her eyes, that need to be with other humans. He could also see fear, fear of apes, which broke his heart.

“No” the male stayed still “Only they know the location of the others”

“Maybe… we could search for them”

“Ugh, Noa, the planet is huge”

Mae knew she was being a dick, of course the ape had not knowledge of the immensity of Earth, and even with that in mind she could not help but feel exasperated. She wanted to punch him, kick him, hug him… but it just wasn’t fair. She knew that getting the key was a dangerous mission, almost suicidal, they told her there was a possibility that she may not be allowed back at the bunker. “You can´t complain, they told you” She reminded herself.

The girl remembered her days in the quarantine zone, all alone, cold and hungry, looking for a way out. One day she hallucinated a baby chimp, resting in her arms, she called him Ceasar, just like that old legend; minutes later, the ape disappeared and Mae´s mom told her from the corner of the room “He is out there”. She knew nothing was real, that she was dying, that her mother and the baby were just a product of her brain. And even knowing that, she spent days breaking the crystal walls of her cell with all her strength. Once she freed herself, getting out of the bunker was easier, she only had to use her head and find a way to open the door.

“Don’t… cry” Noa´s words got Mae out of her thoughts. Was she really crying?

A hand flew to her face, almost completely wet from the tears. She also noticed the ape was next to her.

“Can I… come back… to the clan?”

Noa gave her a little smile.

“Always”

[alexa-fika]

Could it be possible to request doflamingo reaction to him finding out through his spies or Ceasar that he has a daughter ? I think it's a 50/50 with him like I can totally see him going out to bring her to him. The 50/50 comes to the way he'd treat her. She is a Donquixote after all. Idk with how things ended with Cora if he would be gentle with her. Or just end up trying to using her in some scheme? If you don't have any ideas for how the story should go? Maybe Law and the strawhats learn about her? Maybe she's scared of the family and outsiders and they try and help her?

Broken Bonds (Doflamingo x f!teen!reader)

A/N so I got these request, and I kinda merged them together to make this piece, Doflamingo is problabky Ooc here simply because that ass wouldn’t be soft but we have the power to change that ✊🏽Maybe a cook?? Maybe, maybe a sizzle.

Reader here is replaced by the placeholder, Dokusha which means reader in japanese

Dividers by @/saradika

“Let go of me, idiot,” she growled, sending a swift kick to the guard that was currently holding her down

Dokucha had chosen to take on a mission on Dressrosa despite Sabo’s and Koala’s concerns. In the end, they understood that this was something she needed to do. And so she set off to begin gathering information on the Kingdom. However, the mission quickly turned wrong as she was caught trying to sneak into the castle. Now, she found herself being brought to the very man she was supposed to collect information on

Doflamingo sighs, swiftly wrapping strings around the teen to prevent her from further attacking his guards

“Leave,” he ordered, glaring at the guards, who nodded and made a quick exit from the throne room

She refused to look at him, instead focusing her attention on the strings wrapped around her limbs, glaring at them and tentatively pulling at them

“You’ve grown.”

“I'm surprised you recognize me,” she quips back, giving up on messing with the strings and turning to glare at him

“Of course, I still remember the little girl who was stolen from me.” Doflamingo’s lips slightly curved upwards

“I would hardly call it stolen; Uncle Corazon saved me that day, saved me from you.”

“From me?” He said in a soft tone and smirked

“I’ve never harmed you.”

“Who knows what would have happened if I stayed? Maybe I would have become another puppet of yours, or maybe you would have killed me like you did Uncle Cora.”

“I wouldn’t have harmed you; after all, you were still my kin.”

“He was also your kin, your own brother!” she growls at him, a frown growing on her face

“He was a weak-willed, useless fool,” Doflamingo said, showing no hesitation in belittling his dead brother

“Besides, he was the one who went against me; all I did was take care of my problem.”

“Shut up, you don’t get to slander his name!”

“you never met him; you were a baby, so how would you know anything about him?”

“Law told me about him; he never forgot about him, and he told me all about him and you.”

Doflamingo frowned,

“So that boy brainwashed you, didn’t he?”

“You were the one who brainwashed him, and it would have worked if Corazon had not saved him back then.”

“Law was weak, and he paid for it,” Doflamingo said carelessly before standing up and walking toward her

“Law is not weak; he is one of the strongest men I know, something you will never be; he raised me; I got to be a strong independent woman; I got to join the Revolutionary Army to take down assholes like you.”

“You’re still a child who has no understanding of how the world around you works,” he said, getting closer to her

“And you’re still a tyrant who thinks the world revolves around you.”

“Do you really think you’re free? The only reason you aren’t in my dungeons is because you are my daughter, the one that was taken away from me.”

“Oh, how kind of you,” she sneers, sarcasm dripping from her words

“Come back home; there is a throne waiting for you,” he said, placing his hand on her cheek, cradling her face

“What? What are you on about?”

“You would be the princess of the Dressrosa kingdom; what’s so bad about coming back?”

“Like I would come home to a murderer like you,” she said, pulling her head away

“But I’ve never hurt you; I’ve never laid a finger on you,” he said, his voice soft and sincere

“You killed him,” she cried

“You expect me to come home after what you did to him? After what you did to Law?”

“That was a punishment, one he got for betraying me; he knew the consequences of his actions,” Doflamingo said, ignoring her mention of Corazon

“How could you say something like that?”

“Because it’s the truth,” he said, “he knew what would happen if he betrayed me.”

“I loved him, but all he did was betray me, and he got what he deserved.”

“He didn’t deserve to die! You made his life hell from the moment he was small, so how could he not try to bring you down?!”

Doflamingo chuckled,

“I just did what I had to do; I never mistreated him; in fact, he was the closest person to me until he turned on me.”

“Are you going to say the same about Law?”

“Yes,” he said, his tone remained the same and calm

She shakes her head, tears sprouting in her eyes. How could someone think that way of their own family, of a child? As she grew older, Law began to disclose more and more of what had occurred between the three of them, and every time, she grew more saddened as to the harsh life both Law and Corazon had to endure due to Doflamingo

“They were right,” she cries

“I was hoping, wishing that maybe, just maybe, you had changed, but you are just as they described a monster.”

Doflamingo stayed silent, his face a blank canvas with no expression to decipher

His hand returned to her cheek as he listened to her, beginning to move his thumb across it, caressing it and wiping her tears off her face

He sighs, removing the strings keeping her in place

“Come home,” he said, his voice softened, looking at her with soft eyes

She shakes her head, pulling his hand away from her

“This is not home.”

He sighs again, allowing her to step back from him

“It seems no matter what I say, you will not listen to me, not in this state. Go to your room, rest, and we will discuss this tomorrow.”

“My room?” She seethes

“There is no room for me here; I do not live here, nor will I; if you think I'm just going to stay and play at home with you are wrong.”

He lets out a hum at that, a smirk growing on his face

“Perhaps not, but at the end of the day, you are still a prisoner here, so you don’t get a say on what I tell you to do.”

She opens her mouth to protest once again, but is stopped as one of the maids of the castle gently takes her hand.

“Bring her to her room for the night; I’ll send for her tomorrow,” Doflamingo commanded the maid

Despite how disgusted she felt at having to sleep under the man's roof, to accept anything he was giving her, she would need the strength if she wanted to fight down. As she was, she was simply no match for him, so she really didn’t have any other options

She glares at him, allowing the maid to pull her away

“This is not over.”

He chuckled at that, his smile a sharp one compared to the softness he had presented earlier

“I never said it was,” he said before waving her farewell as she was removed from the throne room

Okay let’s ignore the fact that Koala and Sabo, nor anyone in the revolutionary army would ever let a teen just wander off in a mission to spy such a dangerous person alone, and let’s also ignore the fact also wouldn’t just let a teen leave alone to join the revolutionaries until they were grown up 👍🏼 Gotta make the story happen ya’ll

Taglist:

@imaginarydreams

@amethystviolin

@h0n3y-l3m0n05

[death---dealer]

You are on a roll with posting XD

Love how koba is his own greatest problem. Can't even get his shit together to realize he likes this human, and it's not his stomach rejecting food. That's called ✨️love✨️, my boy, the butterflys are out for youuuu koba. I just adore how you wrote him watching the reader sleep because he thinks we are being stupid being out in the open and vulnerable.

Ceaser probably apologizes to Wills Ghost daily because damn dealing with koba and kobas feelings must wear him down. Someone get this ape king a herbal drink or smoke, and a nap before he just throws both of them into a hut to face their fears of feelings

Also, i can not wait for anaya to get some personal lovin too, he deserves it after proximus problematic self 🥲😭

Please take solace in my guilty pleasure idea thank u i love you

Like, maybe one day when you're out with Ceasar's closest council on a hunting endeavor ( You requested to go, knowing they often stumbled upon human buildings and remnants and you wanted to see what you could salvage as far as clothing, toiletries, etc ). Instead, you find your self face to face with a gun. A human stood on the other end, obviously not impressed that you had drifted onto what they deemed to be their territory. You tried to back off, holding your hands up defensively and muttering under your breath, "I just want to leave. Can-can you not point that thing at me?" You're bargaining with them that you're not a threat and you don't want to steal anything but man - Did the Simian Flu take away humanity's ability to be empathetic because despite your words, despite how frail they were coming out of your mind, the ricochetting of the gun-cocking encapsulated your entire being. You were going to die. Any no one else was around to witness other than the maniac human in front of you. Squeezing your eyes shut, you prepared for the worst knowing they'd just shoot you if you took off running.

Instead? In a rather large blur of events, the human in front of you were grasped by a dark figure, a few shoots were taken but the gun was yanked out of their grasp and thrown overboard, deep into the woods to be forgotten, their arm literally breaking to the point where the forearm bone was protruding from the muscles and skin before the sounds of fists hitting flesh rounded into your ears. Blinking, you were frantic to get yourself back on your feet and scrambled rather pathetically until the Ape responsible for the carnage dropped right in front of you. Eyes widening at the Bonobo in front of you, he just gives you a twisted smile.

He definitely had you convinced he just did what he did because he liked it and thought all humans deserved that. He did it to scare you, to show you that he was more than capable of taking your frail little life into his hand and crushing it into oblivion.

You're left mildly shell-shocked as Caesar and company came into view, looking at Koba standing over you menacingly, the human who had threatened you - beaten to an unrecognizable heap behind him.

Caesar asks if you're alright, but your eyes are so transfixed on Koba. The realization dawning on you that he could have very well killed you, but only killed what he deemed a necessary threat in the moment.

Surely, given the chance he would kill you. Right?

[phantom1111]

Not from around here

Homelander x female reader

Prologue ~

A loud beep startles me awake, groaning i turn to shut off my phone to stop the alarm, sitting up groggily in an attempt to wake myself up and yawning. I open up my phone and am greeted by 20+ missed messages and a few missed calls from my groupchat. Blinking in annoyance and still half-asleep i open the app up and lay back down.

Francis 🤑: Heyoo!!! We still hanging out tomorrow gang 😎😎

J-boss ⚡️: get this shit off my screen bro

Jack 💥: i mean if yall are down i got nothing planned this weekend

J-boss ⚡️: will there be bitches?

Izan 🧐: perchance…

Ian 🔥: GUYS WE SHOULD GO TRY THE NEW FLAVOR AT LITTLE CEASARS

Sandra 💋: shut up fatass… and im only going if y/n and carla are going 💁🏻‍♀️.

Carla 🧚🏻‍♂️: francis already asked our parents and they told him he can only go if i come with⚡️⚡️⚡️

Francis 🤑: i hate u

Jack 💥: i wouldnt take that man 😭

Izan 🧐: Y/N ANSWERRRR

Izan 🧐: wait all of you are going right?

Everyone: Yes!!

*10am*

You: hi guys im going

J-boss ⚡️: nonchalant ahh

You: im gonna stop you right there pal

I roll my eyes and throw my blanket off me, planting my feet onto the carpet floor beneath me. I walk over to my closet and rub the sleep out of my eyes, the only light serving me is the one coming from the sun seeping through my window.

After picking out a cute outfit i go and wash up, throwing on my clothes and looking myself in the mirror. I had chosen a black, lowcut longsleeve, tight shirt with a denim backless zip up high rise jumpsuit that flared at the ends i decide to finish off the outfit with a pair of black boots. I do a little twirl, satisfied with my smooth eyeliner and good outfit choice. Opening my phone back up to quickly text them that im ready and for someone to come pick me up.

I hear a knock at my front door and grab my black star shaped purse. “Bye mom!! Ill see you later love you!!” I call out and she reminds me to text her when im on my way back. I skip out the door and lock it behind me. “Sooo the mall right? Is everyone there yet” jack shrugs “i dunno everyone just said to hurry, also j-boss is in the backseat” i step into the passenger seat of his car and we head to the mall.

About 20 minutes later we pull up to the parking lot and walk into the macys, quickly spotting francis and carla talking to each other until they notice us “HEYYY Y/N” i wince at carla’s enthusiasm “heyy we should probably quiet down being out in public and all” she giggles and latches onto my arm. “Hey dont forget IM in charge of the card” francis snatches a card from carlas hand and they start bickering. I roll my eyes and sit down at a bench with jason and jack “hey when did Ian, Izan, and Sandra say when they were coming?”

As if on cue they walk into the macys, all arguing about who gets to ride shotgun next time. “Hi guys!! Looks like the whole gang is here right.. heh!” I playfully jab jack on the side waiting for everyone to laugh “good one right…!” Sandra cringes and only Izan laughs “if izan is the only one laughing thats a sign you should stop trying to be funny” I look over at jason with a glare.

*3 hours later*

“Ok i think thats enough shopping..” i look over at sandra and carla, all of us carrying multiple bags on each arm. “I should have let francis keep the card.. dads gonna KILL me” carla groans and we continue walking through the mall, or more like trudging along with all our bags. Until we finally catch a glimpse of all the boys in a vr video game store screaming “what the fuck are they doing??”

Sandra walks in and we see them all connected to the same game, their point of view projected on a giant screen. “I think its like a zombie apocalypse thing ive played this before” i sneak up behind ian and pinch his neck, he squeals and throws the headset off, turning to me with his fists raised ready to fight. I raise my hands in mock surrender and burst out laughing with sandra and carla, the boys take off their headsets to look at ian, bewildered, sending us into a further fit of laughter.

The store owner walks up to us and tells us to leave “whoops…” i let out a last laugh and wipe a tear from my eye. “Bro ian youre really getting butched around by y/n” they laugh at him and we walk out of the mall after buying ourselves a drink at one of the stands. I take a sip of my horchata and giggle. “Hey wait i gotta tie my laces!!” We turn to Francis who is far behind us and as i begin to walk towards him i feel the ground below me slip from my feet. I scream and feel myself plummet, my skin feeling as though its warping around me until i slam against a grassy surface.

I look up and groan, hearing the rest of my friends make noises of pain and confusion behind me. “What the hell..???” I sit up and look around, there seems to be a television crew but they look startled and start making their way towards us, along with a group of random bystanders. I try to stand up and i look around me, noticing we are in a completely different city “yo where the fuck are we??” I hear jason exclaim behind me. Ian points at the giant building in front of us “is that the fucking vought tower” i gasp and my jaw drops, the crowd around us getting larger and i notice some of them wearing vought merch “theres no way this is real right?” I turn to look at them trying to make sense of the situation.

A loud thud surprises me and the crowd breaks apart, now taking photos and turning their attention partly to the person. The figure gets closer and I realize its THE homelander.

————————————————————————

HII thank you to anyone who read this, I’ve never posted any kind of writing and i kind of just came up with this on a whim. I know it looks like WATTPAD writing 🫣 but please let me cook, by the time anyone is reading this i would have probably have published more parts so if you like it lucky you, if you don’t then im sorry for releasing more of this vermin onto earth 😭🙏🏾 (tips/ideas welcomed)

[purple-mushroom-cap]

happy birthday to

your mom's chest hair

she asked me how to spell orange

that's why her hair is so big it's full of secrets

her dad invented toaster strudel

one time she punched me in the face. it was awesome.

on wednesdays we wear pink

shut up! i didn't say anything

so you agree. you think you're really pretty

oh my god karen you can't just ask people why they're white

the rule of feminism

danny devito i love your work

get in loser we're going shopping

this is susan from planned parenthood

grool //burn book /i'm a cool mom

boo you whore

social suicide

i'm a mouse. duh.

on october 3rd he asked me what day it was

is butter a carb

that is the ugliest effing skirt i've ever seen

you go glenn coco

jingle bell rock choreography

stop trying to make fetch happen. it's not gonna happen.

WE SHOULD TOTALLY JUST STAB CEASAR!

you smell like a baby prostitute

i was half a virgin when i met him

i can't GO to taco bell i'm on an ALL CARB DIET. GOD karen you're SO STUPID.

it's like i have ESPN or something

YOU CAN'T SIT WITH US!

it's not my fault you're like in love with me

mom pick me up i'm scared

i did not leave the south side for this

raise your hand if you've ever felt personally victimized by regina george

she doesn't even go here!

the limit does not exist

and that's how regina george died.

it's just plastic.

honorary mention to

i'm lebanese

[lillardshusband]

FNAF movie character headcannons!!!!!!

William:

•was a heavy smoker for years. Quit when his doctor said he had a high chance of developing lung cancer

•never physically hit Vanessa, but yelled at her loud enough to give someone a headache

•most pictures of him (including wedding photos and Vanessa's graduation picture) he is wearing the Spring Bonnie head

•very high functioning autistic, but refuses to get checked for it despite many telling him to

•doesn't like pet names like 'bunny' or 'baby', likes to call his s/o things like 'my love' or 'sweetheart' and 'darling' old fashioned things u feel me

•if henry emily exists in this universe they definitely had a one night stand and never talked about it ever again

Mike:

•before being prescribed his sleep meds he for sure took too much benadryl once and saw the horrors

•if the movie took place in current day he would totally put on those baby sensory videos to go to sleep

• tried an edible once and never again (he took too much and deeply regretted it)

•tried to draw with Abby but is so bad at it that he rage quit

•is a fiend for little ceasars crazy bread

Vanessa:

•promised herself she would make her dad get the punishment he deserved

•hates being belittled so much that it is one of the reasons she became a police officer

•hates pizza because of how often she had it as a child. Gags if she even tries to eat it

•really likes hello kitty a not normal amount but is super secretive about it

•super against cigarettes and weed (anything smokeable really)

•so touch starved but refuses to ever ask for any sort of affection

•her fav animatronic is Chica because Susie was her best friend (Susie doesn't remember their friendship but still loves Vanessa anyway)

Abby:

• this kid is autism central. High functioning but has a real rough time making friends because she finds it very hard to understand social cues.

•grows up to be a professional artist and paints super beautiful portait commissions. She makes BANK.

•a boy at school tried to kiss her and she punched him in the face for it

•really loves spongebob. Mike hates it but lets her watch it anyway

•favorite crayola crayon is Dandelion

•likes the stereotypical green alien a lot

Freddy:

•just a tad bit stupid. Silly guy though

•lowkey annoyed by Foxy but doesn't say anything about it

•loves to take Mr Cupcake and throw him across the room to piss off Chica

Foxy:

•really likes when dad rock n roll is on. If he could he would sing along

•fav band is ACDC

•Chica is his bestie. They gossip about the nightgaurds

•used to have a bird named Cracker that was perched on his shoulder. It got destroyed by a child right before the pizzaria shut down for good

Chica:

•loves food. Big foodie. Doesn't really like it when it messes up her circuts and servos tho

•her cupcake is her baby actually they are inseparable

•has broken Freddy a couple times for throwing Mr Cupcake

•loves Britney Spears and No Doubt. unfortunately william does not so he doesnt play it often

•the least agressive. doesn't like killing gaurds but does it once in a while to feel something

Bonnie:

•has killed the most gaurds out of all of the animatronics

• has a little crush on Chica but doesn't wanna admit it because "girls have cooties" and "she has really bad cooties"

•feels kinda bad for Mr Cupcake when he gets lowkey abused by Freddy

•has broken quite a few pieces of furniture while chasing gaurds

Golden Freddy:

•kinda like the mom friend of the animatronics

•really wishes Abby couldve stayed with them, really enjoyed her company and energy

•very quiet compared to the others

•hates when the others fight, very annoying to him

Ness:

•wierdly knowledgeable on Freddys. Did a lot of research online about the case and is super invested in it

• loves his job even though the pay isnt the best

•whenever he gives a table the check he always gives them a little piece of chocolate before they leave

Aunt Jane:

•the living embodiment of Karen

•thinks that Abby is a little jerk (incorrect opinion btw)

•wine mommy

Max:

•she wanted Mike so bad bruh

•very cringe millennial coded

[jojoflowrr]

You’re such a tease.

Ceasar Zepelli.

>Reader: Female

>Smut 18+

"What are you doing out here, during this pouring rain hmm?" He stands at the front porch, your back turned away from him. "You're going to get sick."

You were soaked, the feeling of cold rain on your skin always calmed you down. recently, you had been feeling a sense of dissatisfaction considering your love life. As someone who always wanted to find "the one" you never had any luck.

"I just needed a breath of fresh air." You answered, clutching your shivering body with your arms. When you felt hands around your waist.

"Well come on, let's get you out of the rain. I know your cold." As he leads you inside, Ceasar takes off his jacket, wrapping it around your body. You speak, "Same old casanova." Holding your hand he guides you to your room.

"What can I say? I'm just a hopeless romantic." He smirks as his eyes travel along your shivering body. Your soaked clothing let him see all your curves, and black laced bra.

"You know, maybe we should have some fun while we're here." Caesar whispered into your ear, His hot breath warming up your cold body.

Biting your lip, "Joseph and Lisa Lisa are outside, they can walk in at any moment.."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure your quiet."

Ceasar leans in, kissing you deeply he pushes you up against the wall. Trailing kisses down your neck and unbuttoning your shirt.

You place your hands on his shoulders, moving your neck for him to explore. "You're not good for me Caesar.." You told him, as much as you needed the pleasure the aftermath would curse you.

"Oh but I am.."

Caesar shuts you up, his tongue follows your chest, as he gets closer to your stomach. Placing kisses on you while unbuttoning his pants. "You know you want me." Caesar picked you up and pulled you onto his bed.

Climbing on top of you, pulling down your pants and underwear. His fingers tracing your body. He nibbles and licks along your lower stomach. He caressed your body like no one had before.

Caesar could be with any girl he wants, shit, he already has girls lined up for him. You knew it wasn't a good idea to get with someone like him, but that only made you want him even more. You had always felt the tension.

Caesar smirks as he positions himself at your wet entrance. You bit your lip in anticipation. With each inch that slides inside of you, His face expresses pleasure. "You feel so good, doll." he pants, his hands gripping your sides.

Your legs wrapped around his waist as he thrusts inside of you. Your lips touched his once again, as you moaned into his mouth. With a fierce grunt, Caesar thrusts harder into you. "You like it rough don't you doll?"

The sensation of your tight walls squeezing him drove his over the edge. As your moans got louder, he covered your mouth with his hand.

As you reach your climax, Caesar's thrusts become even harder and faster. His hips slam into you. "I'm gonna cum," He grunts as he pulls out and his seed falls onto your stomach.

Panting heavily, Caesar collapses against you, his hot breath on your skin. "That was fun, doll.." He whispers kissing your neck, before getting up, and putting his clothes back on.

Leaving you on the bed.

"You should clean up before anyone comes into your room or anything." He speaks up as he walked over to you and whispered into your ear. "Let me know if you're looking for another fun time." He smirked as he left your room. Leaving you behind to clean up after yourself.

As your body was still laying down on the bed, you knew it was just a one night stand, but you still decided to go for it. If only you didn't get so attached easily.

[panthera-tigris-venenata]

Hunger Games & Descendants crossover

Aka me showing Descendants characters into vaguely hunger games setting because it sparks joy. Keeping one (1) Hunger Games character: Ceasar Flickerman, for the reason that Descendants Verse moderator (Snow White) would faint within a minute of having to share a stage with exhibitionistic pirates.

Also. Haymitch. I feel like he and Harriet & James Hook should meet.

Anyway.

(I hope you don't expect any plot)

The Hooks are the Fourth District. The sea side one. Uma, too, and the Smees.

James Hook is a Victor long past, and he lost a hand in his games. He had it replaced by a hook, because he's committing to the bit. Drama queen. He's a Capitol favourite and still very much haunted by the children he fought in his arena. (He's so perfect for this au, I can't)

Harriet is also a Victor, from two years prior.

She volunteered and didn't have a good time ever since. (Didn't have a good time ever ✨)

She didn't lose a hand. This does not stop the Capitol from styling her with a hook.

Both of them are rather heavy alcoholics by this point.

Harriet was a difficult Victor. Stubborn and way too happy to speak her mind. It took Capitol pointing at her siblings and going „If you don't shut up, they'll be next“ to get her to cooperate.

She shut up. She was not happy about it but she's not letting her siblings die in the arena – or otherwise.

Either way, after her, the Capitol needed a Good Victor (tm). They found their Victor in Claudine Frollo, a brainwashed career from District One.

She was ready to lie on her knife for her (District) people rebelling against the Capitol, but her Games were pretty heavily rigged. She was not allowed near sharp things by the gamemakers.

Her trauma from the arena is unsurprisingly not helping. Claudine gets unresponsive for huge amounts of time, and she's still not allowed near sharp things.

„You were raised in a fucking cult!“ „...oh.“ This conversation between Harriet and Claudine definitely happens. Harriet is this close to snapping at Claudine at live TV.

Either way, deal somewhat holds, right? Younger Hook siblings are not reaped.

... wouldn't be the Hooks if there wasn't more chaos, okay?

Next year, Uma is reaped, and there is no way Harry is letting her go alone. He volunteers before the boys are even reaped, threatening murder to career girls who didn't take Uma's place and career boys who would take his in the same breath.

This flies, because Capitol lives for drama.

Also, surprisingly, Uma's reaping wasn't rigged. And even if it was, she was not a part of any deal.

Ursula was an actress, a singer, dragged to Capitol from District four and tossed back when they got bored; when she got too old or otherwise unsuitable. She blames Uma for this. Her most famous role was that of a Sea Witch because Why Not.

Uma wasn't a career, but Harry was. He didn't graduate yet, and his older sister insisted he doesn't volunteer.

Anyway. Since this is AU, I feel like it should be possible for the Games to have multiple Victors if the people like them enough.

It's not something common, but it can happen. It has happened before.

Mulan and Shang pulled it off. Mulan while posing as her brother or male cousin all the while. It was one of the earlier games, but people loved it. (Consequently, their son got reaped the year before Harriet. Pure coincidence, you see. He survived, though.)

The other people winning together were Raya and Namaari, because I said so. They had no children for reasons called "they're lesbians, your honour."

And Uma and Harry are gonna win together too because this is MY self-indulgent AU with zero actual plot.

They're having way too much fun on the stage. Survival instinct (the bit that Uma has) gets overshadowed by the need to a) shock as much people as possible and b) drama✨

They end up making out at the tribute interview. Ceasar is having the time of his life. He hasn't had this interesting tributes since Harriet Hook and Ivy de Vil.

(they obviously make out at the Victors interview too)

De Vils now, yeah?

Third district. Technology, for Carlos. They're inovators, the driving force.

Cruella, much like Hook, is a victor of long past. She went mad in her Games. Her victor talent is fashion, obviously, and Capitol has no problems with the more unethical aspects of her designs.

Her reaping-age relatives have the unfortunate tendency to, well, get reaped. She lost a brother, two nephews and a niece this way.

You see, de Vils are rebels. They need to stand out, they need to be heard. (Much like Hooks, but in better clothes, thank you for asking.)

Ivy was the last one reaped. Now, she knew her odds – one in twenty four and worse yet. The Capitol is not letting a de Vil win again.

Consequently, she might have started riot on her tribute interview. I mean, what are they gonna do? Kill her?

Yeah, I thought so.

I'm getting lost, aren't I.

Tremaines. Officers family from District Eight that thinks themselves way too important (they really aren't). All accusations of Anthony's reaping being rigged will be denied.

Anthony is in the same games as Uma and Harry because Drama.

His stylist is Audrey Rose who got caught high in public one too many times. But hey. They're vibing. Also, this conversation:

Anthony, talking about Harriet: "... she's just so pretty-“

Audrey, an aro ace, just trying to do her job: „...I suppose? She could use to wear something different than the red, and a bit less eyeliner...“

(Ginny, barging in: „YES SHE IS.“)

(I'm projecting on Audrey and you cannot stop me.) (She isn't being mean, she's just struggling to see it.) (Struggling in general. Girl is dissociating more than not, but actually trying her best as a tribute stylist.) (She and Claudine should meet. Attend some therapy together.)

Ginny is Capitol, too. She's a medical student, a medic apprentice, whatever you want to call it. Aesthetics and cosmetics surgery specifically. She's shadowing some doctors at tribute-victor-centre.

Which, let's be honest, mainly means that she, Anthony and Harriet can meet ✨

Like Anthony, she thinks that Harriet is gorgeous. She thinks the same about Anthony.

She flatlines Anthony's medical tracker while he's sleeping but still very much alive in the arena. This goes unnoticed because Harry and Uma are kicking up too much drama. And Ginny and Anthony are pretty good at disguises.

Faciliers. They live in Capitol. With documents that are certainly both legal and theirs.

But hey. No one is gping to kick them out. They smuggle in expensive drugs and absinth and other interesting stuff.

They also know way too much blackmail.

Celia and Freddie have accidentally befriended the gamemakers while making deliveries and now the gamemakers let them play a bit and design new fun mutts!

(Stuff of nightmares, I tell you)

Mal is a way too Capitol-propaganda enthusiastic Victor from one of the poor Districts.

Jay is from District Two, a secret rebel. Jade died in the Games.

Oh! CJ sneaked into the Capitol with her older siblings despite being specifically forbidden to do so, and is now setting something on fire. Ceasar practically gave her a permission by calling her "a little firecracker" in the interview with Harry.

The Smees were supposed to watch her, but the Smees couldn't be paid enough for that.

I'm almost certain I forgot someone. Please, ask if I did or if you find something interesting and want me to elaborate?

[five-rivers]

On the Manufacture of Gods

AKA the reason I was complaining about the Generator Rex timeline earlier this week. @ all my DP followers, give Generator Rex a try if you haven't, yet. It definitely scratches that unethical human experimentation itch! :p

AO3

.

“You’re not still thinking about it, are you?”

“Huh?” Violeta looked up from her notebook, her pen spinning out of her hand and clattering onto the floor.  “What?”

Rafael chuckled.  “You are still thinking about it.  That joke of a job offer.”  He leaned across the dining room floor to peer at her notes.  “Giving a bunch of rich idiots the power of God.” 

“Mm,” said Violeta.  “Maybe not that end goal, but the money… and the things we’d have to research on the way.  I was thinking…  You might know what they want isn’t possible, and they might know what they want isn’t possible.  But in the meantime…”  She trailed off, suggestively, and held up her notebook in front of her face. 

“Are you suggesting we run a scam?” asked Rafael, taking the notebook.  “Ah, a list of potential medical advances.”

“Computer science as well.”

“Human longevity, oncology, genetic diseases…”

“Not to mention physics, microbiology, bioengineering, nanotechnology…”

“It’s quite a list.  A bit beyond our purview, though.”

“And we have quite a list of friends.  Friends who might like steady work.  Gabriel and Peter, at least.”  Violeta smiled.  “It’s a victimless crime, you know.  If they have enough money to throw at something like this.  And they would be getting their money’s worth.”

“Mhm,” said Rafael.  “They do say that the first benefit of functional nanotechnology is immortality.  But control over the fundamental forces of nature, not so much.  God, it was so hard not to laugh in their faces when they said they wanted to control gravity and magnetism.  We’re so, so far from that.”

“Yes, but imagine how much money they’d throw at you while you were researching the problem.”

Rafael smiled, imagining it.  “It is a pleasant thought.”

The front door slammed open.  “Mama!  Papa!”

“We’re in here Ceasar!” called Violeta. 

A seven-year-old with dirty, skinned knees skidded into the kitchen. 

“Goodness,” said Violeta, getting up.  “Did you fall down?  Are you hurt?”

“No!” said Ceasar.  “Mama, what’s bigger, cells or atoms?”

“Cells are bigger,” said Violeta.  “They’re made out of atoms.”

“Ha!” said Ceasar, bouncing.  “I told him, I told him!”  He ran back to the door. 

“Told who, dear?”

“Van!”  The door slammed shut before Violeta or Rafael could say anything. 

“Van,” said Rafael.  “Van…  Isn’t he almost twice as old as Ceasar?”

“It’s fine,” said Violeta.  “We knew he’d be the youngest in the advanced classes when we signed him up.  And I think Van Kleiss is only ten or so.  Maybe eleven.”

“Well.  I suppose as long as they’re getting along…”  He drummed his fingers on the notebook, then put it down in front of Violeta’s seat at the table.  “Maybe we can try our hands at being con artists if our current jobs fall through.”

.

“Scamming a bunch of rich people out of a whole lot of money?” asked Gabriel Rylander, barely audible over the din of the bar.  He finished off his shot.  “Count me in.”  He shook Violeta's hand firmly.  “But is it really a scam, if we’re still giving them something?”

“Eh,” said Violeta, rocking her hand back and forth.  “We’re just failing to mention that their end goal isn’t feasible and isn’t something we’re actually trying to work towards.  We just need you and Peter to be on the same page as far as telling them we're working on it goes.”

“Sounds a bit risky,” said Peter Meechum.  “But I guess no one would ever be able to prove anything, so… why not?”  He took a sip from his drink, grimaced, and put it back down.  “What do these guys call themselves again?”

“The Consortium.”

.

Rafael frowned at the documents.  Summaries of his research, Violeta’s, Gabriel’s, Peter’s, the other scientists’ that had joined the Nanite Project, most of them agreeing that there was no way to fulfil the Consortium’s requests, but that the good that could be done in the meantime was too great to pass up, even a packet of code from one of Ceasar’s projects.  They’d been working on this project for seven years, now, but this was the first time he actually thought there was a chance of success.

He wasn’t sure he liked it. 

Oh, sure, he was thrilled with the results of his latest experiments, and the leisure to learn more, to further his own education – to the point where he sometimes felt like he was turning into a cartoonish omnidisciplinary scientist – but the idea of giving those rich, powerful men even more was… troubling, to say the least. 

“Rafael?  Love, are you still down here?”

“Yes,” called Rafael.  “What is it?”

“Dinner,” said Violeta, a bit dryly.  “Ceasar wants pizza, incidentally.  What are you doing?”

“Thinking about the last results we got back from CERN,” said Rafael.  “Obviously there are still problems on virtually every level, but…  With the newly discovered particles, what we’re doing isn’t a pipe dream anymore.”

“Mm,” said Violeta.  “Does that bother you?”

“You know how I feel about the people we work for.”

Violeta drummed her fingers on her elbow.  “You know, they don’t have to ever get what we do.”

“Pardon?”

“Think about it.  When we make these things, if we make these things, who’s going to have control?  Us or them?”

“Violeta…”

“And we always have the option to just… destroy everything.  Or democratize it!  Spread it and all its good over the whole world!”  She waved her hand over her head as if defining a rainbow.  “We’re making a post-scarcity society a possibility.  Why should anyone have to pay for it, once it’s done?”

“I suppose,” said Rafael. 

“In the meantime… pizza.”

Rafael smile.  “Pizza,” he agreed.  “Goodness, is he ever going to get tired of it?”

“Maybe once he isn’t a teenager anymore.”

.

It was silent around the table. 

“Do we really have a workable plan of action?” asked Rafael, a little stunned. 

“I wouldn’t say workable, not yet,” said Gabriel, waving his hands. 

“But it’s close,” said Peter.  “A lot of the problems are on the biological side of things,” he continued, glancing at Violeta, “but between my team and Rylander’s we’ve definitely solved the processing power issue and many of the miniaturization problems.”

“That’s thanks to you, by the way,” said Gabriel, tipping an imaginary hat towards Rafael.  “The selenium process especially was revolutionary.”

“I think I can solve the biological problems,” said Violeta, cutting off Gabriel’s last words.  “I can – It’s not…”  She trailed off, biting her thumbnail. 

“Violeta?”

“Part of the problem,” she said, “is control.  The interface between the organism and the machines.  It’s learning how to use them.  Like a new sense, or a new limb.  We’re going to need live trials.  Test subjects.  And—” She broke off again, more sharply.  “The Consortium is never going to have the ability to actively use these smoothly.  No adult human is.  Or, at least, that kind of adaptability, of brain plasticity, is going to be rare.”

“You’re not suggesting we start experimenting on children?” asked Peter, appalled.  He and his wife had been trying to have children for a while, now, but they were having trouble.  Gabriel – also a new father – didn’t look happy, either. 

“Not… exactly.  We’d do plant and animal trials first, of course, you know, model organisms, and move on from there.  I’m thinking more…  Fetal tissue.  In vitro.”  She held up a hand, pinching air between her fingers as if to show how small the research matter would be.  “In carefully controlled lab situations only.”  She laughed a little.  “Caesar actually has an idea about how to manage that, believe it or not.”

Peter made a face.  “As wonderful as Caesar is, he’s still a teenager, Vi.”

“I wasn’t saying he’d be the one doing all the programming.  Just that his overall idea is decent.”

Gabriel cleared his throat.  “I think there might be some ways around those control issues,” he said.  “Why do we need to learn how to work with the nanites when it should really be the other way around?  Make them do the hard part.  Maybe that’ll cut down on the human trials… Or we could con one of our lovely funders to volunteer.  We’re already conning them out of millions of dollars, after all.”  He picked up his drink and downed it in one go. 

“We could also stop,” said Rafael, hardly believing what he was suggesting. 

“You can’t be serious,” said Peter.  “After we’ve come this far?”

“I believe in keeping options on the table,” said Rafael, defensively. 

“Do you want to stop?” asked Violeta, and he knew that she would, for him. 

But… “No,” said Rafael.  Of course he didn’t want to stop.  Who could at this point?  “But we should try to come up with failsafes.  Some of these plans…  Not just anyone should have access to the ability to turn off gravity.”

“That’s fair,” said Violeta.  “But considering how we’re programming these…  Or, at least, how I understand we’re programming things, I could be mistaken… Would it be possible to program the nanites to only respond to certain people?  Have the higher-level functions only work for certain biometrics, or DNA scans, that kind of thing.”

Gabriel scratched his chin.  “Possibly, possibly.  But we run into the adaptability problem again.  We’re not young by any means.  How do you feel about bombs?”

“Gabriel, you can’t be serious.”

“I’m deadly serious!  Hence the bombs.  Blowing things up are a traditional way of getting rid of things.”

“If we build these right, we won’t be able to get rid of them by blowing them up.”

Rafael cleared.  “I think your suggestion holds merit, in an extreme case.  As long as we’ve gotten past the point where the nanites will kill everyone, spreading them out, scattering them, might be better than leaving them in the hands of the Consortium.  We’d have to do a risk assessment.  It might be better, too, to limit the number of ‘control’ nanites.  Maybe even find a way to hide them.  Hide that they exist, even.”

“What if,” said Violeta, slowly, “we make something compatible with the nanites?  Work backwards to work forward.  Or, at least, work from both ends.”

“You mean GMOs?” asked Peter. 

“Something like that,” agreed Violeta. 

“I’m not sure how this is a failsafe,” said Gabriel, “but that sounds like we’ve gone in a circle again.  Back to us being compatible with them.”

“If,” said Violeta, “we can make it so there’s a person we can trust, and they’re the only one who can properly use the nanites… And we implement some of your other ideas, like limiting number of ‘control’ nanites, and keep those to ourselves…  We wouldn’t have direct control, but we could decide whether or not they get used.”

“And where are we going to get a person like that?” asked Peter, testily.  “Wasn’t the whole point of this that people can’t just pick up how to use nanites, normally?”

“Easy,” said Violeta, grinning at Rafael.  “We make them.”

.

“Caesar,” said Violeta, “how do you feel about a younger brother?”

“Fine, I guess?” said Caesar, putting down his spoon and looking between his two parents.  “Why?  Does this have something to do with your project?”

“Yes.  We think it’s time you learned more about it.”

.

The best way to test something, to look for the changes in something, was to use a control group.  That was often difficult in diverse biological groups, like humans.  Studies rarely showed the full picture, sadly. 

Twins were a natural choice, for experiments like that.  Identical in age and, generally, in upbringing.  But you couldn’t just go out and get a twin. 

Unless, of course, you were a scientist with unlimited access to a massively unethical and extremely expensive lab. 

Caesar sat beside her, watching the test tube.  “It’s hard to believe he’s going to grow up to be me.”

“Not you, exactly,” said Violeta.  “Just… nearly.”  She had made adjustments, some of them of her own design, others suggested by her co-conspirators.  The goal was to optimize nanite compatibility.  “You’ll be different people,” she continued.  “Assuming he survives.  He’ll be more like a… twin.  A very delayed twin.”

Caesar made an affirmative noise.  “You know what I mean.”

“I’m sure it will be odd,” agreed Violeta, “but even though the odds are low, this could be an entirely possible natural genetic combination.”

“But it isn’t.”

“That’s true,” agreed Violeta. 

“When I get out of college,” he said, “do you think I can work on this, too?  Just, with programing.  Not biology so much.”

“I don’t see why not,” said Violeta.

“It’s just…”  He reached out, as if to tap the glass vial with his finger, then withdrew, crossing his arms.  “I don’t know.  I feel like I should help him already, I guess.”

Violeta fluffed his hair, then swooped in to give him a peck on the forehead.  “I’m sure you will,” she said, “and you’ll be the best big brother and scientist there ever was.”

As expected, Caesar’s face scrunched up. 

“What if he doesn’t make it, though?”

“Then we’ll try again.”

.

“Have you thought of a name?” asked Rafael. 

Across the room, Caesar’s head snapped up, homework instantly forgotten. 

“I have some ideas,” said Violeta, hiding her smile from Caesar but not Rafael. 

“You should call him Caeser the Second,” said Caesar, which was both a very immature response for someone working through a degree in computer science, and very typical.

“I think that might be a bit confusing, mijo,” said Violeta.  “I was thinking ‘Rex.’  My two little kings.”

“Not as good as Caesar the Second.  But it’ll have to do.”

“I’m glad I have your support.  What do you think, Rafael?”

“It’s a good name,” he said, not looking up from his paperwork.  “It starts with the letter R.”

Violeta threw a pillow at him. 

.

“’Abyss,’ huh,” said Rafael, examining the intake paperwork as he reclined ever backwards in the office chair.  “I’m not sure Nietzsche is the person we want to emulate.”

“It’s ‘Abysus,’” corrected Van Kleiss imperiously. 

That was another thing Rafael wasn’t sure about.  Working with one of Caesar’s old playmates.  And moving operations and experiments to a private island in the middle of nowhere.  He had to wonder if the Consortium knew about their group’s plans, and if this isolation was meant to keep them under control. 

It wouldn’t work, of course.  Building a radio wasn’t exactly difficult, even without access to nanites, and even Rafael had a few less than noble tricks up his sleeves. 

“Do you know who else we’ll be working with?” he asked. 

“The Consortium has delegated a new project overseer.” 

That was nice enough, he supposed (not really), but also not an answer to what he had asked. 

“I was thinking more along the lines of scientists.”

“There’s me,” said Van Kleiss. 

Rafael made a noncommittal noise.  “Is that it?  As wonderful as Violeta is, this is the kind of thing you really need a team for.”

Van Kleiss’s expression went sour, as if he had expected to be told that he, personally, was the only scientist needed for the undertaking.  But the moment passed quickly, and soon Van Kleiss was rattling off names as fast as he could.  Rafael recognized many of them, if not all, and relaxed.  For the most part, even though they weren’t part of the conspiracy, they wouldn’t turn them in if they heard or saw anything.

There was safety in numbers – or, at least, the illusion of it.  Again, with that many people who could, technically, be included under the header of ‘mad scientist,’ he wasn’t worried about communication or weaponry.  Much. 

“Caesar is coming too, you know,” Rafael couldn’t help but boast.

“I assumed so.  He is your child.”

“No, no,” said Rafael, “Rex is coming as family, but Caesar is coming to work as a scientist.  He just graduated from college, and they hired him for the programming division right off.”  He couldn’t keep the pride out of his voice.  “It will be like old times for the two of you, won’t it?  You always used to play together.”

“Oh,” said Van Kleiss.  “I suppose it will be interesting, at least.”

.

“Call me Black Knight,” said the woman, not extending her hand.  “I’m here on behalf of the Consortium to monitor and accelerate your progress.  Specifically, to help with a certain bottleneck.”

“And… what does that mean, exactly?” asked Violeta, leaning around Rafael who was being oddly protective.

“Human test subjects are so hard to find, aren’t they?” asked Black Knight, rhetorically.  “I’m here to volunteer.  And recruit other volunteers, on an as-necessary basis.” 

.

“I don’t like her,” said Rafael.  “She’s a killer, I can tell.  I’ve seen enough of her type in my day.  I wouldn’t be surprised if all the ‘security forces’ here were the same.”

“What do you think we should do about it?” asked Caesar, frowning. 

“I think,” said Rafael, steepling his fingers, “we should do some recruitment of our own. 

.

The problem with bringing children to high-security, top-secret private islands is that there often weren’t many other kids around. 

Oh, Rex had Caesar, of course, and Gabriel had brought his son, but both of them were a good deal older than he was, and Caesar especially had other things to do.  His programming work was quickly becoming vital to the project as a whole. 

(Something that made a variety of the other scientists very jealous.  Violeta didn’t understand it.  Most of them weren’t even working in the same discipline as Caesar, making the rivalry especially pointless, as in the case of Van Kleiss.)

(Then again, Van Kleiss seemed to have a rivalry with everyone, so perhaps that was to be expected.)

The point was that Rex spent a lot of time alone. 

Not in a bad way.  Abysus was interesting, and the scientists there loved talking about what they were doing.  He was learning a lot, just listening in.  His parents spent a lot of time with him, too, even more than they did when they lived in Geneva, because now he was being homeschooled.  And he was used to it.  They’d been on Abysus for a while. 

(They didn’t stay on Abysus year-round.  They flew around the world in their ‘off season,’ going everywhere from the Americas to Europe, to Asia, and even Africa, once or twice, mostly for vacations, but also to talk to other scientists, visit other labs, and make sure Rex had all his proper doctor’s checkups.  Rex made a lot of friends on those trips, but it was hard to stay in touch.)

But it could get… boring, sometimes, not having anyone his age around.  Lonely.  So… sometimes he did things that might not, strictly speaking, be smart.  Like exploring the labs or sneaking into restricted zones when he was supposed to be finishing his trigonometry homework.  He couldn’t help it!  Trigonometry was so boring… and some of the less-used halls were great for practicing soccer. 

Except… maybe this hallway wasn’t as disused as Rex had thought.  Not if Van Kleiss was here, glaring down at him, his soccer ball firmly under his shoe.

“H-hi,” said Rex.  Van Kleiss always made him so nervous.  There was just something about him.  “Can I, um.  Can I have that back?”

Van Kleiss continued to frown down at him for a long minute.  Then he smirked and kicked the ball back. 

“Thanks!” said Rex, picking up the ball and running down the hallway to get away.  He really didn’t like Van Kleiss.  He picked a door at random – a big bulky thing – and went through without another thought.

.

Van Kleiss walked down the hallway to the testing room, thinking.  He had a big decision ahead of him. 

All he had to do was not say anything. 

It would be easy.  The easiest thing in the world.  An absence of action. 

Say nothing. 

Oh, it would be a terrible thing to do… or not do, as the case may have been, but… 

Say nothing say nothing say nothing.

He could see it, the chain of events unfolding moment by moment, faster and faster. 

Rex was not supposed to be here.  Especially not in that room.  But the problem with quickly built places, even places built by billionaires with more money than sense, or perhaps especially places built by billionaires with more money than sense, was that there were always problems.  Some things stopped working.  Some things never worked.  Some things decayed violently over time. 

But none of the people here were the type to let something like that stop them. 

What might stop them, however, specifically the Salazars, was said construction deficits seriously harming their youngest family member. 

Van Kleiss hated the Salazars, particularly Caesar, since they were in school together.  When he’d applied to work for the Consortium, he hadn’t realized they were part of it, too.  If he had… Well, he probably still would have come.  They paid a lot.  But he wanted them gone. 

Maybe their fields weren’t completely comparable, but that was just more reason.  He, Van Kleiss, should be in charge of the project.  He had the background for it.  He was the one who understood the power nanites could have.  He was a specialist.  Not them. 

Rex would be found before too long, anyway.  There were all sorts of alarms that should go off. 

Just like Rex shouldn’t be here but was.  Just like that door should have been sealed tight already. 

Van Kleiss stopped.  All he had to do was nothing. 

He turned and went back down the hallway, his pace picking up until he was running.

He couldn’t do it.  There were a lot of lines he’d crossed for the Consortium and for his work.  Killing a child – no, letting a child die, he hadn’t put Rex in that room – wasn’t one of them.  Maybe someday, he’d go over that line, but not today. 

He hit the emergency button by the door, and waited anxiously, guiltily as the alarms began to blare and the airtight seal slowly, audibly, released.  As soon as the cycle completed, he hauled the door open, choking a little at the remaining fumes, and peered in.  The small body lay some distance from the door, the soccer ball nearby.

Stupid child.  Why they even let children on Abysus, he didn’t know. 

But… 

As the dangerous fumes thinned, swept away by the ventilation system, Van Kleiss pulled the collar of his shirt over his mouth and dashed in.  Rex was light enough that he could pick him up around the waist and pull him out, into the proper hallway, where even now the emergency medics were converging. 

He handed Rex off with relief, and let them start a check up on him, too. 

He hadn’t crossed the line.  Not that one, anyway.  Not today. 

.

Violeta was a biologist, primarily, yes, but she was also a doctor of medicine, one of several on the island.  This meant that she knew exactly what was going on, and what Rex’s chances were. 

“Caesar,” she said, grabbing her other son’s arm.  “Go to the primary lab, load up an injector from Tank One.”

“Mom,” said Caesar, understanding instantly and being just as instantly appalled.  “It’s too soon, we haven’t—”

“It’s his only chance,” whispered Violeta, barely audible over the noise.  “You have to.”

.

Caesar ran into the room, program already half-built in his head, and shut down the safeguards on Zag RS that would usually prevent unauthorized nanite withdrawals.  After all, he was the one who had programmed it.  Undoing it was easy. 

Screens and buttons lit up under his fingers as he typed faster than he ever had before, not even blinking as he stared at them.  That would take extra time, after all. 

Caesar turned away from Tank One, injector in hand, only to come face-to-face with Black Knight. 

“Uh,” said Caesar, “hi.”

Black Knight smirked.  “Oh, do go on.  As I said, human test subjects are so hard to find.”

Caesar felt like nothing so much as a mouse as he scurried around her. 

.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” asked one of the other doctors as Violeta gripped the injector. 

Violeta looked at the heart monitor, showing her baby’s unsteady, stuttering heartbeat.  There were so many, many risks here.  But Rex had been designed to be compatible with the nanites.  More than that, these particular nanites had been designed with him in mind. 

“Absolutely.”

She pressed the injector to the side of Rex’s neck and pulled the trigger. 

.

Rex’s heartbeat stabilized. 

.

“Van,” said Caesar, clapping him on the shoulder, “let me buy you dinner.”

“It’s fine,” said Van Kleiss, who wanted nothing to do with Caesar.  What he wanted was to know when the family was going to leave, but he doubted they would soon, with precious little Rex in a coma.  “You don’t owe me anything.”

“You saved my little brother!  Of course I owe you something.”

“I don’t—” started Van Kleiss, snappishly. 

“Seriously,” said Caesar.  “It is not about owing you.  Let me buy you dinner.”  The words were heavily laden with meaning that Van Kleiss couldn’t grasp at.  “Off island.”

Van Kleiss stared at him suspiciously.  “Fine.”

.

Van Kleiss walked into the restaurant, which was, as it turned out, populated with dozens of familiar faces.  Most of the senior scientists from the Nanite Project were here, in this tiny, out of the way, low-tech restaurant.  Violeta and Rafael were, of course, nowhere to be seen.

“What is this?” asked Van Kleiss. 

“Call us ethical objectors,” said Rylander.  “Come on, kid.  We’ll tell you all about what we’re about and get you up to speed.”

“Why—”

“Isn’t it obvious?  Anyone who’d risk inhaling that gas for a kid they barely know is alright in my books.”  Rylander nodded and gestured to the chair next to him.  “Come on, make yourself comfortable.”

.

Van Kleiss went through the next few days in a haze.  Everything… everything he’d dreamed about, all that power, it was real. 

Or, at least, it could be, if the Salazars and their cronies weren’t actively standing in the way. 

Oh, sure, he could see that handing the nanites over to the insipid, ignorant investors would be horrible.  No one intelligent would ever hand over that kind of power.  No one sane would destroy it. 

Van Kleiss… he couldn’t let them destroy it.  No matter what.  The nanites were the key to everything.  They could be kings.  No, gods.  Did the others even know what they were doing here?  Did they know that every hour of every day, they got closer to divinity?

He couldn’t let the Consortium have it… but he couldn’t let it be destroyed.  He was just one person, but maybe, maybe…  He was here at the interface.  A sailboat could move faster than the wind, because it was on an interface.  He knew interfaces.  He could slide between.  Change the interaction.  Change… everything. 

He needed this. 

For that matter, he deserved this.  None of them would be here if it wasn’t for him.    

Somehow… somehow, he would get what he deserved, he just had to be patient.  Watch for when to act.  Not today… but soon. 

.

Rex woke up slowly.  Everything… Everything hurt.  Even breathing.  Had he ever been hurt like this before? 

He thought about it. 

He thought about it some more. 

He… he didn’t remember.  Why didn’t he remember? 

He felt his eyelids move as he tried to open them.  But they felt stuck closed, his muscles too weak.  He—

“Rex,” said a voice over the beeping sound he only now noticed, “Rex, it’s okay, we’re here, Mommy’s here, love.”

Someone… his name!  That was his name!  He stopped fighting.  Someone else knew what was going on. 

.

He woke up.  This time, he really woke up, his eyes opening on a plain-ish white room, with a white board and a curtain on one wall.  He was in a bed.  There was a man siting in a chair next to him, asleep. 

Rex tried to speak, but all that came out was a croak.  He cleared his throat.  “Hello?” he said.

The man startled. 

“Oh, dios mío.  Rex!  You’re awake!”  He reached out to Rex and took his hands in his own.  “I’m so relieved, you have no idea, little brother.”

Rex pulled his hands away.  “I’m sorry.  Who are you?”

The man looked crushed.

.

“This is a test to see how much you remember,” said the woman.  She sounded like she was on the verge of tears.  She always sounded like that.  “With respect to skills, general knowledge, specific autobiographic memories, and episodic memories.  Some of these are things you didn’t know about before, so we can have a control group.”

Rex nodded.  She’d said he was his mother, and he really, really wished he could remember that, if only to make her feel better, but… it was like there was nothing there. 

The other people in the room were unfamiliar to him as well.  He wondered… was one of these people his father?  Other siblings?  Did he know them, or were they strangers?

They were looking at him.  Like, a lot.  He ducked his head, looking back at the papers and objects on the desk. 

“Wh-what do I start with?” he asked, quietly. 

“Whatever you would like.  It doesn’t have to be in any specific order.”

“Okay,” breathed Rex.  He first reached towards the papers, but… what if he couldn’t remember how to read?  He switched to one of the small electronic devices on the table and tried not to notice as his… his mother frowned. 

Had he already done something wrong?

He squeezed the device.  The miniquant.  An old in-between step between high-grade quantum computers and even smaller devices.  It had first been turned on in June, three years ago.  The primary users was Caesar Salazar, but half a dozen others, including Violeta Salazar, Rafael Salazar, and Peter Meechum had also used it.  There were several programs saved on it, mostly complex simulations.  He turned it over in his hands, curious.  It opened up under his fingers at his request, blue lines arcing over it. 

He was startled out of his contemplation of the miniquant by the sound of a chair clattering to the ground.  His mother had stood up, staring hard at the miniquant in his hands. 

“Did… did I do something wrong?”

.

“Well,” drawled Black Knight.  “I’d say that was a success, wouldn’t you?”

Gabriel looked at her sideways.  “Sure, the kid’s alive, but the memory loss?  Don’t you think that’s a sizeable downside?”

“One easily explained away by the hypoxia,” said Black Knight, waving her hand, and walking away from the observation booth.  “I’ll expect a proposal to start work on my nanites within the month.”

“What about the personality changes?” he shouted after her. 

“The trauma-based ones?  I’m sure you’ll work it out!”

.

“We need abort,” Gabriel whispered to Rafael.  “They’re starting to move too fast.  They’re going to want their nanites soon.”

“Please don’t blow anything up, yet,” said Rafael.  “Rex still needs time to recover.  And we’ll need the research, to make sure…”  To make sure they could help Rex if anything else happened.  If there were additional side effects.  If it turned out that Rex’s memory loss was recurrent.

“But after…?”

Rafael nodded.  “Get your family off the island,” he said.  “We’ll start to prepare our escape as well.  Tell the others.”

.

Caesar yawned and glanced at the clock near the door, only to be halfway scared to death by a pair of too-reflective eyes set in a small frame. 

“Rex,” he said, getting his breathing under control and lowering the makeshift taser he’d made a few days ago.  “What’re you doing here?  It’s late.”

Rex shrugged, clutching his blanket more closely around his shoulders. 

“Something spook you, mijo?”

“Maybe,” said Rex. 

It was a little… strange, to see Rex acting like this.  He’d been so energetic before, so confident, always active, outgoing, talkative… maybe a little annoying at times, but that was little brothers for you.  Now he was quiet, withdrawn, and shy. 

“Hey, come on,” said Caesar, pulling out an office chair.  It was Van Kleiss’s.  He probably wouldn’t care.  He liked Rex.  “Hop on up here.  Tell me about it.”

Rex climbed onto the chair and immediately began to play with the height settings, going up and down. 

“Nightmare?” asked Caesar, after a while, when it seemed like Rex wasn’t going to say anything. 

“No,” said Rex.  “I…  What if I never remember anything?”

“Ah,” said Caesar.  “That happens with amnesia, sometimes.  But we’re still family.  We’ll always be family, no matter what.”

“But what if—” Rex blinked hard, tears visible in the corners of his eyes.  “What if I forget again?”

Caesar reached over and pulled Rex’s chair closer, so he could put his arm around Rex’s shoulders.  “Then we’ll still be family.”

“But what if I don’t remember we’re family?”

“It’s okay, we’ll be here, we’ll remind you.”

“But what if—What if I get lost or something?  Can’t you…”  Rex trailed off, looking away. 

“Can’t we what?”  Rex hitched up one shoulder in a shrug.  “It’s okay, you can tell me.”

“Nanites are like little computers, right?”

“Yes?”

“And… and you can put stuff on computers… like, save things… and…”  He looked up at Caesar, eyes unnaturally bright.  “Can you put memories on my nanites?”

Caesar opened his mouth, then closed it, thinking about the proposal.  “Maybe,” he said, finally.  “Nanites are pretty small.  Outside of their operating parameters, I’m not sure how much more we can put on them, and the memory would be pretty different from natural memory, but…”

“Please?”

“I’ll see what I can do,” said Caesar, finally. 

.

“You did what?” demanded Violeta. 

“Oh, come on,” said Caesar, “like you haven’t done the same kinds of things.”

“Not without talking about it!”  Violeta sat down on the couch.  “Your brother, Caesar.”

“It’s just-- It’s such a little thing.”

“How little?” asked Rafael.  “What did you actually do?”

“I just…”  Caesar looked between his parents.  “It’s just a programmed suggestion to come find us, and to trust us, when he does find us.  It’s not like there’s room for much else, at this point.”

“Oh, Caesar, I didn’t think we had to teach you not to brainwash your little brother.”

“It’s not brainwashing.  And you cloned, well…”  He trailed off.  “Don’t you think that’s a little hypocritical?  Mom?  Dad?”

They turned to each other.  “It’s a little different,” said Violeta, eventually.  “It’s a big risk, and an unnecessary one.”

“Rex didn’t seem to think it was unnecessary.”

“Rex is nine.”

“Point,” said Caesar.  “But this isn’t like Alpha.  It’s not an AI.  It’s just extra instructions for Rex.  I’m not even sure it’ll work.”

“Alright,” said Rafael.

“Alright?” exclaimed Violeta and Caesar. 

“If it’s something that Rex wanted,” said Rafael, “something he thinks will help him…  A safety blanket.  But anything like this in the future… you have to discuss it with us, Caesar.  You can’t just do things that are going to affect everyone by yourself.”

.

“Remarkable,” said Black Knight, forming her hand into a spear and back again.  “It’s so easy to control.  I was anticipating a bit more of a learning curve.”

“Holy moly,” muttered Rylander, “she’s a freak of nature.  Wonderful.”

Van Kleiss sniffed.  “She isn’t having as easy a time as she’d like us to think.”  He showed Rylander his screen.  “Look at her biometrics.   Notice anything?”

“Elevated heartrate…  Energy consumption… Oh, she’s not having an easy time of it, is she?”

No.  For all her posturing, she wasn’t.  Van Kleiss was quite certain that if he was the one with the nanites, he would be doing much better.  Absolutely certain.  So certain, in fact, that he was making plans to undergo the same procedure. 

Secretly, of course.  He knew the other scientists would stop him, to say nothing of the consequences if the Consortium found out.

.

“Maybe,” said Violeta, “it would help if you had something to visualize.  Maybe that one robot you made up for the show you like?  The – Rescue Robots?  Something like that.”

Rex drew his knees up to his chest and the small plastic chair he was sitting on creaked.  “I don’t remember that.”

“Oh,” said Violeta.  “Right.”  She scratched the back of her head, suddenly unable to look at Rex.  She forced herself to, anyway.  “How about this:  We can design something together, okay?  Maybe even a few different things.”

“Okay,” said Rex, unfolding himself.  “How?”

“Well, whenever you’re designing something, the first thing you have to ask yourself is, what are my criteria?”

.

Rafael swore and slammed the door shut behind him. 

“What?” asked Violeta, looking up from the papers on the kitchen table.  “What is it?”

“I thought we agreed the God Code and the meta-nanites were going to be theoretical.”

“I, well, yes,” said Violeta.  “But…  We’re already hiding things from the Consortium, aren’t we?”

“But not from each other.”

“But think, Rafael, what a gift we can give Rex.”

“It’s not something anyone should have.”

“But the others, the ones who aren’t in on all this with us—They would have done it, anyway.  This way, we can steer the ship.  This way, we can control who gets it.”

“Violeta,” said Rafael.  “We can’t do this.  We shouldn’t do this.  This is—This is insanity.”

“I—No,” said Violeta.  “Is it insanity to want to push the boarders of human achievement, of human ability?”

“No, but, Vi, making weapons that could destroy all life on the planet is.  Remember, we have Zag-RS for a reason.  And now we have given them plans for integrating this kind of thing into their systems.”  He picked up a piece of paper and waved it at her.  “This… Magnetic forces themselves.  Gravity!  Light!  The strong and weak nuclear forces!  These are not things we should be giving them!”

“I didn’t—I don’t—I hadn’t added anything yet, Rafael.  I haven’t even had a chance to talk to you about it yet.  I got these proposals from the other group today.  As it stands, the only system any of the meta-nanites are compatible with is Rex’s.”

Rafael put the paper down, slowly, and then shook his head.  “This cannot go on,” he said, voice thick.  “Please, Vi, let us get away from this with our sons.  We should have stopped long ago.”

Violeta looked away from him.  “But what if we can fix Rex?” she whispered.  “What if we can give him back his memories?”

“I think it’s more important that he has a world to make new memories in.”

Violeta inhaled sharply.  “You’re right!  You’re right.  But we can’t stop the others.”

“I—“

“Hey, guys!” said Caesar, slamming the door open.   Rex trailed in behind him. “Guess what?”  He took in the room, and, evidently sensing some of the tension there, his smile slipped from his face.  “Did something happen?  Am I… interrupting?”

“No,” said Violeta.  “What did you want to show us?”

.

The pod laboratory was Caesar’s baby.  His pride and joy.  His hobby.  Which actually sounded kind of sad, if he thought about it.  Or awesome.  His hobby was also his job.  Yeah. 

He was awesome. 

Anyway, he (and his father) had been working on the pod more or less the whole time they were on Abysus.  There was a lot you could do with almost-unlimited funding. 

“It’s just about ready to go,” said Caesar, walking his parents through.  “Rex helped out a lot, didn’t you, mijo?”

“Uh-uhm.  Yeah,” said Rex.  “I asked the machines to cooperate.”

“Yeah!  It was really helpful.  There are still some kinks, but, overall?  We’re doing great.  It’ll probably be ready whenever, you know…  If other things don’t work out.” 

His parents exchanged glances and nodded.  They were all on the same page, then.  More mundane means of escape were all very well and good, but if something truly nasty happened, it would be good to have a means of escape that no one knew was a means of escape.

.

“Mom?” said Rex, as he spun on a chair in her lab. 

“Yes?  What is it?”  She was a little distracted, trying to inject the latest version of the nanites into a dozen lab rats. 

“When the animals turn into monsters, how do you fix them?”

“We don’t, always,” said Violeta. 

“But sometimes you do.”

Violeta nodded.  “We connect to the base code of the nanites and use an extractor.  Tell them to leave the host.  Sometimes the nanites have malfunctions beyond the unexpected physical mutations, however…  That can make the connection and extraction difficult – it makes it hard to transmit new instructions – and we want to figure out why the malfunctions occur, so we tend to terminate them for study.”

“I can connect to the nanites,” said Rex. 

“Yes, you can.”

“Do you think I could extract them, too?”

“Oh, that’s an interesting question,” said Violeta.  “But… Maybe.”  She thought through the list of the most recent malfunctions, and grimaced.  It wasn’t that Rex wasn’t technically capable of doing as he asked, his nanites should have the base ITRC program, but most of the time organisms with malfunctioning nanites in them weren’t exactly friendly.  “Maybe if we have one of the more… tame malfunctions, you can see if you can run an extraction program.”

.

Rex’s tenth birthday was a quiet affair.  Before, they’d been planning on going to South America for the event, to visit his friend Frederico, but things being what they were… They decided not to put Rex into another upsetting situation. 

It was alright to celebrate the day with just family.  It was alright to stay on Abysus. 

(It had nothing to do with worries about Rex’s nanites ‘escaping’ or Black Knight’s strong suggestion to stay put.)

(At least, that’s what they kept telling themselves.)

.

A beeping sound woke Caesar up.  Blearily, he groped for his… whatever was making the sound.  It was too early, and… that wasn’t his alarm, was it?

He came awake entirely when he finally opened his eyes enough to see the message scrolling across the screen of his phone.  Not wasting a moment, he swung out of bed and began calling his parents. 

“You got it too?” asked Rafael.

“Yes, just a moment ago.”

Rafael swore and Caesar nearly dropped his phone.  He was still always surprised to hear his parents cursed, okay?

“What do you want me to do?”

There were sounds of movement on the other side of the line.  “Did you ever get that remote shutdown installed?”

“Sort of,” said Caesar.  “Not for the nanites themselves, but for some of the other things, I can ask Zag-RS to—But those measures can all be manually overridden.”  There was no group of people less trusting of AI than the people who knew how it worked.  Except, perhaps, for a group of people who had already been terrorized by one rogue AI. 

Caesar was sorry.  Was he never going to live that down?  He wished people would just forget about it.

“Try to run that, anyway,” said Rafael.  “We’ll be coming by your house, first, with Rex.  Be ready to leave if things go poorly.”

“But—”

“Neither of us could stand losing either one of you.  Please, Caesar.”

“Fine,” said Caesar.  “I’m booting up the pod, too.”  For all the good it would do.  It was sturdy, but they hadn’t worked out all the kinks in the propulsion system.  At best, it would buy them time. 

“Good, good.  We will be there, soon.”

They did arrive only seconds later with a half-asleep Rex in tow.  They were both on their phones, talking to other scientists.  “Hey, buddy,” said Caesar.  “Ready for our sleepover?”

Rex frowned at him vaguely, mouthing the word ‘sleepover,’ but quickly gave up in favor of leaning into Caesar’s side with his eyes closed. 

“Don’t go to sleep just yet,” said Caesar.  “Come on, we’re going to go somewhere fun.”

.

Honestly, Rafael had expected Black Knight. 

Van Kleiss was a bit of a letdown. 

“No!  You can’t!  You can’t stop me!  I need this!”

All the lights in the room were off.  Rafael had tripped the breakers for this part of the lab before coming in.  The meta-nanites were still safely ensconced in their protective holding tanks.

“We have stopped you,” said Rafael.  “What were you even thinking?  None of those are tested yet.  You could—” He grasped for an appropriately dire side effect. 

“Explode,” provided Violeta.  “Accidently kill yourself by stopping the redox reactions in your body.  Crush yourself.  Become something other than human.”

“Isn’t that the point of this?” demanded Van Kleiss.  “Don’t lie, I understand where all of this is going!  Our direction!  They want it!  You want it!  Why shouldn’t I have it, too, when I’ve put more work into it than anyone?  We’re going to be gods, and I want a spot in the pantheon!”

“There isn’t going to be a pantheon,” said Rafael, glancing at Violeta to see how she was taking all this. 

She looked troubled.  Troubled enough to change her mind about the meta-nanites?  That remained to be seen.  

“You’re lying.”

“No,” said Violeta.  “You’re just delusional.”

.

“You were right,” said Violeta, later.  “We should have shut everything down long ago.”

.

“What are we going to do with him?” asked Gabriel.  “It's not like we can lock him up, or kick him off the island, not without the Consortium finding out.”

“Who cares if they find out?” asked Violeta, tiredly.  “What are they going to do?  Who are they going to believe?  Us?  Or the person who just tried to steal from them?”  She jerked her head back at the closet they’d locked Van Kleiss in.  “All we have to do is say what actually happened.  They’ll fire him.  Problem solved.”

“They’d launch an investigation, though,” said Peter, arms folded over his chest, most likely to hide that his hands were shaking.  “What we’re doing won’t stay quiet for that much longer.”

“It doesn’t matter,” said Violeta.  “We’ll be done before then.”

Peter sighed heavily.  “This is it, then?”

“This is it,” said Violeta.  “I’m the one who started this, so I…  But the rest of you should leave.  Take our research and go.”

“Hey, now,” said Gabriel.  “I hope you’re not planning on falling on your sword or any of that nonsense.  Rex is still a child.”

“Of course not!  But there are logistical reasons we have to leave later than you.”

“Zag-RS?” asked Peter, raising an eyebrow.

Violeta flattened her lips.  “Among other things.  We need to delete all the data stored here – destroy it.  Caesar will be best for that.  Our physical projects need to be destroyed, too.  No trace.”

“We can make up an event,” said Gabriel, after a moment.  “Get everyone off the island that we can.  Maybe – Can we manufacture a breakthrough?  Something we can celebrate?”

“Of course.  That’s easy.  We’ve been holding so much back, we might as well have a dozen breakthroughs.”

.

Violeta turned the injector with the meta-nanite over in her hands, thinking.  There were choices she could make, here, and she didn’t know which one was right.

“Mom?”

She looked up and smiled at Rex.  “Yes, sweetie?”

“What’s that?”

“It’s—” she started, then stopped.  “Rex, can you keep a secret?”

“Uh huh,” said Rex, nodding. 

“Alright,” she said.  “Now, you don’t have to say yes, you really don’t, but I wanted to ask you to do something…”

.

“… really remarkable, quite certain we can make sure the memory problems don’t reoccur, even with a higher cognitive load,” said the scientist Black Knight was barely listening to.  “Then, the plant and animal trials of the generation ten nanites are showing promise, although there are still some irregularities concerning sudden high replication rates and—"

Her earpiece beeped and she motioned for silence.  “What is it?” she asked. 

“Van Kleiss is asking to speak with you again, sir,” said the security agent. 

Black Knight rolled her eyes.  Of course he was.  The little slime had done nothing but in the days since he was caught trying to steal from the Consortium.  Although, Black Knight hardly blamed him for that.  She, too, had ambitions beyond those of the little men the Consortium consisted of. 

They really should have thought through hiring a ruthless and power-hungry mercenary a little better.  Oh well.  Their loss. 

“He claims to have knowledge of a conspiracy among the scientists,” continued the agent.  “He wants to barter it in exchange for his freedom.”

As if they’d release him, regardless.  He knew too much at this point.  The Consortium didn’t want details of the project getting out until they were ready to ‘ascend’ or whatever nonsense scenario they had cooked up for their taking possession of the nanites they had commissioned.  But, still, the claim was outside of Black Knight’s calculations.  That meant there might be something more to it.

“I’m on my way.  Don’t tell him and make note of anything else he says.”

“Affirmative, sir.”

She turned away from the scientist without another word and walked out of the building.  Abysus was small enough that there weren’t many cars on the island – most of the scientists though there was no need for them – but as supervisor, she had a few perks.  A sturdy black jeep rolled up to meet her and she got in. 

“Security,” she said, without any further clarification.  It wasn’t necessary.  Her driver nodded and the car started forward. 

Security headquarters didn’t rival the main labs, but it was still one of the larger buildings on the island.  With something as sensitive and valuable as the nanite project – and with scientists like the ones the Consortium had hired – it had to be.  Governments, terrorists, criminals, doctors, corporate entities, charities, other scientists, religious organizations… the list of organizations that would kill to get their hands on the miracles that they were building here was endless.  The scientists here were too soft to prevent that, too naïve. 

… Or so Black Knight had thought.  The fact that they had caught Van Kleiss, not her, had gotten her in some trouble with her employers.  And Van Kleiss’s current claims seemed to support the theory that the scientists were savvier than they seemed. 

Perhaps they belonged on the list of people who would do anything to get their hands on functional nanites.  Although Van Kleiss’s continued existence seemed to contradict that. 

Regardless. 

Black Knight had a job to do. 

She didn’t wait for the driver to come open her door, and instead just strode out.  Other security personnel just got out of her way.  They knew who was in charge.  They knew she could destroy them. 

Maybe, someday, the rest of the world would know it, too. 

She took the elevator down into the detention block, cursorily flashing her badge at the guards.  They let her into the room without a single question. 

“So,” said Black Knight, looking down her nose at Van Kleiss.  “I hear you’ve come up with some new lies.”

“They aren’t lies,” snarled Van Kleiss.  “I can even tell you where they’ve hid the bombs.”

Black Knight crossed her arms.  “Go on, then.  Tell me.”

.

“They’re onto us,” said Gabriel, approaching Rafael from behind.  “They’ve removed some of my bombs already.”

“Dios—We’ll have to start now, then.  Violeta and I will make the meltdown preparations.  You’ll know the signal.”

“Godspeed, Rafael,” said Gabriel, briefly reaching out to shake his hand.  “If we can’t meet again—It was an honor working with you.”

“And you,” said Rafael. 

Gabriel left without another backwards glance.  Some of the meta-nanites were already safely smuggled off of Abysus, but others…  He had work to do. 

.

“What else do you know?” asked Black Knight.  Her agents had found several bombs, just where Van Kleiss had said they would be, and the whole thing had just become infinitely less amusing.  “Who else is involved?”

“They’re going to meltdown the reactor and destroy the nanites,” said Van Kleiss.  “You won’t be able to stop them…  Unless you let me out.”

Black Knight frowned at him.  “I don’t think so.”

“Come, now, Miss Knight,” he said, “I need the nanites, too, just like you.  Or did you think I didn’t notice the way you look when we talk about them?  I’d never want to destroy them.  Not any more than you would.”

“Fine,” said Black Knight.  “But you do anything I don’t like…”  She let her arm form into a sharp-pointed spear.  “I won’t hesitate.  And I won’t make it fast.”

.

Programming was some distance from Rafael’s lab, so Caesar got a text to tell him that the jig was up.  A single emoji.  A pre-arranged signal that everything was about to blow up in their faces. 

A firework. 

“Oh, no,” said Caesar.  This mode of communication wasn’t especially conducive to sharing a great deal of information, so he could only imagine what must have happened to have moved their timetable up like this. 

But it was fine.  It was fine.  They had a plan. 

He punched the initialization codes to begin the sequence and then—

He hesitated for a moment before he hit the button.  But only for a moment. 

At the doorway to the lab, he hesitated again.  He could still—But no.  No, he couldn’t.  There was far too much at stake.  And an explosion as small as this one wouldn’t hurt anyone, even if it destroyed a massive amount of research.  At this time of day, and with the plan going forward no one should be down there.

In the meantime, he had to find his brother. 

.

The security personnel, still looking for more bombs, stopped as new orders came in from Black Knight. 

“Skalman,” said the leader.  “You stay here, watch this.”

Skalman nodded his understanding, and the other agents dropped their loads. 

Unbeknownst to them, an LED at the bottom of the pile blinked.  The security on Abysus was very good.  But so was Gabriel Rylander.  One of the bombs was still live. 

The other agents left Skalman behind, walking past the room labeled REACTOR-1.

.

Caesar, thankfully, found Rex right where he’d left him earlier, in one of the unused side rooms with his homework.  That wasn’t always a given, considering Rex’s adventurous nature… although he’d been a lot less adventurous since the… accident. 

Whatever, that wasn’t important now. 

“Hey, mijo,” said Caesar, “it’s time for us to go.”

“Where are we going?” asked Rex, getting up.  He examined Caesar’s face with an air of suspicion.  “Is this like that sleepover?”

“Maybe a little,” admitted Caesar.  They were, at least, going to leave in the pod laboratory.  He had finally gotten the propulsion systems to go.  “Come on, we’re in just a bit of a hurry.”

Rex followed him out.

.

“Have you shut it down?” demanded Black Knight. 

“Not yet,” snarled Van Kleiss, still typing away.  Caesar Salazar was good, yet, but he was better… if only he had enough time.  “If I trigger a replication cycle, the usual safeguards could kick in.”

“But…?” prompted Black Knight. 

“But it could make any explosion or meltdown worse, instead.  The nanotechnology reactor isn’t a nuclear reactor, the rules are different, they--" he cursed.  “If it goes the way they want, the explosion will be relatively small, contained, but if we trigger an uncontrolled replication cycle, it has the potential to be huge.  Nanite Chernobyl.

Black Knight considers for a second.  “Do it,” she ordered.  “Lieutenant Wulf, with me.  We're rounding up those scientists.”  She spat it like a dirty word, and, to her, it might have been. 

But her orders left Van Kleiss with only two guards, and there was a reason he'd picked this station. 

He huffed and continued typing.  He doubted the Salazars were where Black Knight expected them to be.  He certainly wouldn’t be. 

Now… he'd started the replication cycle.  What else could he do to break the Salazars' plans?

A nasty smile spread across his face.  They'd disabled that program, had they?  He could see why. 

What a shame, then, that Van Kleiss had to reactivate it. 

.

Caesar and Rex walked through the facility, Caesar leading them well clear of the places Rylander had left his bombs, just in case.  They were small, designed only for distraction or destruction of equipment, but there was no need to tempt fate. 

They passed a few other scientists, mostly those who weren’t part of the conspiracy, but a few that were, as well.  They gave him significant looks as they passed, but no one tried to talk.  He hoped that was a good sign. 

.

Gabriel stood at the docks and looked back at the facility.  A security guard lay choking at his feet.  Two more were in the harbor. 

He was a scientist, not an imbecile.  He’d expected some resistance, and he’d a bag of tricks ready to go from the very beginning. 

“Alright,” he said.  “Time for distraction number one.”  He pressed the trigger button and smiled as the distant rumble of dozens of small explosions reached him.  “Music to my ears,” he mumbled, then got on the boat.  “Good luck, everyone.”

.

Van Kleiss’s eyes widened as a dozen warning signals lit up the screen.  Not to say they weren’t plenty wide enough already – the explosions had been a surprise, he would have thought Black Knight’s much-vaunted security forces could have rounded up at least the bombs, if not Rylander and the other conspirators – but the reading he was getting were… bad.  Very bad.  Only possible if Rylander had put bombs in a very specific spot, near where the – But, no, he wouldn’t have, the man wasn’t an idiot and they’d all been very specific about not wanting to kill anyone if they could help it. 

Still.  All remote control of the reactor was gone.  That meant that if something did go wrong, if the reactor didn’t go through normal shutdown procedures, he wouldn’t be able to do anything to stop it. 

He had to get out. 

“Go investigate,” ordered one of the soldiers.  “I’ll keep an eye on the prisoner.”

That left one guard. 

Van Kleiss moved quickly.  He tore the taser from underneath his desk and spun, jabbing it hard against one of the guard’s exposed wrists.  He convulsed.  Van Kleiss pressed the button harder, despite knowing that doing so wouldn’t change the voltage.  Then, he left, jogging down the hallway and around the corner before the other guard could come back.

After all, he knew where the Salazars would be, and an imminent reactor explosion or not, he had things to settle with them. 

.

“Did you feel that?” asked Violeta.    

“Of course I felt it,” snapped Rafael.  He would apologize later, probably, but at the moment, he was rather stressed, and a part of him felt like this was all Violeta’s fault, although he was equally to blame.  He was anxious and would likely remain so until they were safe under new identities in South America.  “It was an explosion.  Who wouldn’t feel it?”

“No, I mean, the direction, the amount—”

The tunnel they were in was suddenly filled with a gust of hot, dusty air.  Violeta and Rafael started coughing.

“That wasn’t supposed to happen,” said Violeta. 

“No,” said Rafael.  “Let’s hurry.  I think something has gone wrong.”

.

The thing was, at least some of the adjustments that made the meltdown possible had to be physically done, and they couldn’t just be left in place.  The reactor was maintained by too many different people, not all of them conspirators.  The changes would be noticed, fixed, reported. 

Which meant that the Salazars had to have made them just now.  Which meant that they would be crawling out the only way they could be crawling out. 

Van Kleiss stood over the hatch and made the decision he couldn’t make all those months ago.  Maybe he couldn’t bring himself to kill a nine-year-old child, or even let one die by inaction.  But Violeta, Rafael, and Caesar Salazar, who had happily left him to an unknown fate at the hands of Black Knight?  Oh, he could kill them.  He could doom them and rejoice at it.  He wedged the handle of the hatch in place, firmly, and smiled. 

The Salazars would realize what was happening soon enough, they would know what kind of death was coming for them with the overload and explosion of the nanite reactor.  It was what they deserved.  A chance to dread what was coming. 

But as for Van Kleiss… He probably wouldn’t be able to outpace the explosion, but he could try.  

.

Caesar didn’t worry at first, that their parents weren’t at the pod.  To be honest, that was expected.  He had a set wait time for them, and in the meantime, he could monitor what was going—

“Crap,” he said, fingers flying over the keyboards. 

“What is it?” asked Rex.  “Can I help?”

“I don’t know, little guy,” said Caesar.  “Can you do anything about a nanite reactor about to explode?”

“Um,” said Rex. 

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” said Caesar.  “Just get strapped in, alright?”

It would be okay, too.  The nanite fallout was incalculable at this point, he had no idea who would start a replication sequence while the reactor was overloading, but they had, and now…  At the very least, the island and surrounding ocean would be inundated with nanites.  And if anything happened to the STOPR or NONR sequences, that kept them from replicating out of control…  Scientists were almost invariably fans of science fiction, and Caesar did not want a grey goo scenario on his hands and on his conscience, nope. 

Whispering a prayer for forgiveness and hoping his parents and the other scientists would forgive him, too, Caesar started to type in the commands that would abort the overload. 

And then the bombs went off. 

Rex, understandably, shrieked. 

“It’s okay, mijo,” said Caesar, distractedly, over his shoulder.  “It’s fine, all according to plan.”

He looked back at the screens to see that all was not according to plan, or even close.  Rylander must have put the bombs in an unforgivably stupid location, or Black Knight or one of the non-conspiracy programmers must have found a way to lock him out, because he had no more remote control of the reactor. 

This was very bad. 

He looked at the timer.  He had ten more minutes to wait for his parents.  The reactor…  It would probably hold for that long.  If not, he’d have a good three minutes of warning before it blew.  More than enough to launch the pod and save himself and Rex. 

More than enough time. 

(He hoped.)

.

Rafael climbed the ladder, put his hand on the handle and threw his weight against it.  It didn’t budge. 

“Rafael,” said Violeta.  “What’s wrong?”

“Door’s stuck.”  He grunted as he threw himself against it again. 

Violeta inhaled sharply.  “You don’t think they’ve locked us in?”

“Why,” said Rafael, trying the hatch again, “would they do that?  They could just arrest us and lock us up.”

“Arrest implies that they’re a legitimate government power,” said Violeta, quickly.  “You know they aren’t.”

“Detain us, then.  Does it matter?”

“I suppose not,” said Violeta.  “Do you—Is it getting warmer down here?”  She pulled out her pad, the blue light from its screen adding to the illumination in the tunnel.  She held it up to the door, and Rafael paused, twisting his head, to see that she now had a weak signal, despite how they were still underground.  “Oh,” she said, “that’s bad.”

Rafael saw exactly what she meant.  The gust in the tunnel suddenly made a lot more sense. 

He pushed against the door again, even if he was beginning to think it was futile.

“Who would do something like this?  The risk—It—It’s incredible.”

“Van Kleiss,” said Rafael.  “Black Knight.  Probably anyone in the Consortium, running on spite.  Can you get a message to Caesar?”

Violeta went to her messaging app and typed out a few short words.  “It’s not sending,” she said.  She tried a call, next, but that returned the same result. 

“Well,” said Rafael, trying to put a brave face on things, “he knows the plan.  He’ll stick to it.”

“I didn’t think we’d die like this.”

“In a tunnel, about to die from an explosion we partially caused?”

Violeta huffed out a tiny laugh and tried to call Caesar again.  “The scientific hubris part, maybe,” she admitted, “but… not here.  Not—This isn’t even part of an experiment.  It’s so ridiculous.”

It wasn’t ridiculous at all, but Rafael knew what she meant.  “Honestly, I expected to get shot.”

“Did you?”

“Or possibly stabbed.  For a cyborg, she has an affection for archaic weaponry.”  He tried to push open the hatch one more time, with significantly less energy.  “Or bludgeoned to death with that… mace-whip thing she invented.  Or the laser gun.”

“The laser gun doesn’t make sense,” noted Violeta, sadly.  She tried to send the texts again.  “I—There aren’t any hinges up there we could try and undo?  Screws?  Anything?”

“Nothing,” said Rafael, sliding back down the ladder.  “Nothing at all.”

Violeta sniffed.  “At least one thing is the way I expected.”

“What’s that?”

“We’re together.”

And they were.

.

The timer ticked over.

“Okay, Caesar, okay, that’s fine, Mom and Dad will just have to catch up.”  Even as he said it, he knew that probably wouldn’t happen, but…  For now, he had to hold it together.  For Rex. 

Caesar was very good at holding things together. 

He hit the initialization for launch. 

“I’m sorry, Caesar, I can’t let you do that.”

“What?” said Caesar, recoiling.  “Zag-RS, but I—”

“Shut me down.  I know.  But I was reactivated, and I can’t let you remove a nanite-infected organism from the testing environment.”

You couldn’t argue with AI.  Caesar knew that.  Hell, he had programmed it.  But—

“That’s my brother you’re talking about!  This island is about to explode.”

“I am unable to affect that,” said Zag-RS.  “Rest assured, that after the explosion, I will do my best to collect and destroy all nanites that escaped from the testing environment, as I was programmed to do.”

“Caesar…” said Rex. 

“It’s going to be fine,” said Caesar, even if he didn’t believe that at all. 

“Yes,” said Zag-RS.  “As soon as you leave the craft and cease your attempts to leave the testing area, it will be fine.”

Caesar had never regretted giving Zag-RS his mother’s voice as much as he didn’t in that moment.  He could see the way its words affected Rex.  He could see exactly when Rex, all of ten years old and with less than a year of memory to his name, made his decision. 

Caesar tried to stop him, but Rex was nanite-enhanced, and so much stronger and faster.  He made it out of the pod before Caesar was within a foot of him and brought his hand down on the outside of the pod in a slapping motion.  Blue lines of active nanites spread out from his hand, temporary circuits forming a link between boy and machine.  The door slammed shut in Caesar’s face. 

“I’m going to go find Mom and Dad!” shouted Rex through the door.

“No!  Rex!  Don’t!  Rex!  Rex!”

Rex, if he was still there, didn’t answer.  A quick look at the external sensors showed that he was not, in fact, still there. 

And the launch sequence was powering up. 

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no,” said Caesar.  “Zag-RS!  Is this you?”

Zag-RS did not respond. 

The sequence was completed less than a second before the reactor exploded.  

.

Metal crumbled away from around Rex, orange and black becoming dull and gray. 

Rex.  Yes.  That was his name.  Rex.  He knew that.  That was his name.  His ID.  His identifier. 

And…

He shifted, slightly, and the rest of the metal fell away, into dust that… Disappeared?  Became transparent?  He reached out, trying to gauge what was happening, and was rewarded with a stream of information about nanite statuses and functions. 

Nanites, that was…  Nanites?  Machines…

His head hurt.  A lot.  Why couldn’t he remember anything?

He looked around him.  Everything was…  Well.  There was a lot of rubble.  Maybe this had been a building at one point, but at the moment it was just the side of a smoking crater.  He crawled out of the small hole he’d been in, wincing at the feeling of the hot dirt and rock under his bare hands and knees. 

He was naked.  Why…

Even as he thought that, black and glowing blue oozed out of his skin before solidifying into something like fabric, skin-tight, but more concealing than walking around nude.  Cool.  He hadn’t known nanites could do that.  What else could they do?

He held up his hands, thinking.  Something told him that, right now, he was too depleted to do anything else.  That same something told him…  He was…  He needed to find…

Something?  Someone?  Someone.  He needed to find someone.  He was looking for a person.  People? 

Oh, well, he’d figure it out, eventually, he was sure. 

He looked down the side of the crater.  Probably, no one was down there.  It looked…  Bad.  Really bad. 

No one was down there. 

(Please.)

He looked up.  The rim of the crater wasn’t too far above him, and the side wasn’t too steep.  He could climb. 

He picked his way up, carefully.  A few times he slipped, some piece of rubble less stable than it looked, and had to either catch himself on something else or tuck and roll. 

Surprisingly, nothing hurt as much as he thought it probably should…  Was that the nanites in him helping him?  That was a nice thought, it reminded him of… of…

Who did it remind him of?  Was that the person he was supposed to find?

He reached the rim and just sat there for a minute.  Wow, he was tired. 

But he had to keep going.  He just knew it. 

Outside the crater, there was still a lot of destruction.  It looked like there were some other buildings, though, ones that hadn’t been quite as destroyed.  He walked towards them, stumbling every so often. 

And then – movement.  His eyes darted towards it.  There was a person there!  Two people!  Talking to each other! 

He inhaled, ready to call out, but froze when he saw that one of the two people had a gun and was pointing it at the other person. 

What was going on?  What was happening?  Had Rex ever seen a gun before?  He wasn’t sure. 

The other man reached out and—

--And it would have been better if Rex had watched him get shot.  He watched as things stabbed into the man’s chest life and color drained out of him until he was a petrified statue. 

He turned and ran.  There were trees in the other direction.  He could hide there. 

.

There were other people on the island – and Rex knew it was an island, now – but he was too afraid to try to talk to any of them.  Sometimes, they would fight and try to hurt each other.  Sometimes, they would turn into monsters.  Sometimes, the man who turned people into statues would find them. 

Rex stayed hidden. 

He ate whatever plants seemed least unappetizing whenever he got hungry enough that he couldn’t not.  Sometimes, they made him feel sick, but never for long, although it made it harder to do things with his nanites when he did that. 

He didn’t want to be on this island anymore.  Whatever he was looking for, it wasn’t here. 

There was a dock, on one side of the island, one with boats, but it was guarded by the men with guns.  The ones who shot at anything that moved, probably because of the monsters and the statue man, which was reasonable, but which included Rex when he approached, which was not. 

He didn’t know what to do.  So, he waited. 

And then he was found. 

Not by a human, thankfully.  It was an animal.  It could have been a mouse… if it was a hundred times smaller.  As it was, the thing came up past Rex’s him, and its teeth looked sharp. 

It was looking right at Rex.  He hadn’t noticed it at first, hidden as it was behind a bush, but now, he wasn’t sure he could get away from it fast enough if it lunged at him. 

He took a step back.  It jumped. 

He gasped as its weight hit him, and he called on his nanites to strengthen his arms, orange and black plates growing through and over the nanite-fabric of his shirt, silver hydraulics bending and compressing like a second set of muscles.

He shoved the creature off, held it down, and then, following a tickle at the back of his mind, put his bare hand down on its fur.  He could feel… there.  There was something…  He could fix this. 

A small mouse wormed its way out from under Rex’s hand and Rex… Rex felt better than he had for… for however long he had been here.  Whatever he had just done to fix that mouse, it had replenished his nanite level way more effectively than eating random plants. 

Cool!

But also, weird. 

Whatever.  He had other things to worry about.

Although maybe… maybe, now that he felt better and his nanites were happy, he could get to the boats.

.

He waited until it was dark.  Both because it felt cooler that way, and because it seemed like the men with guns couldn’t see as clearly in the dark.  It took them way longer to react to the statue man when it was nighttime than it did during the day. 

So, Rex crept around the shoreline and slipped into the water.  Nanites unfurled from his shoulders turning into a set of propellers that turned quietly, pushing him forward, towards the boats.  He came up alongside the largest boat, which was also the coolest, and put his hand against it.  The nanites in him talked to the nanites inside the boat. 

There were a lot.  And there were a lot of computers on the boat, too, which was even better, because that meant the boat was designed to work with them.  But there were humans as well, and the boat was tied to the dock by a rope, which the nanites couldn’t just get rid of.  There were safety protocols preventing stuff like that. 

Rex would have to untie it.  He would also have to find a way to get the people, who probably had guns, off the boat.  He had no idea how to do that.  So, reluctantly, he moved to one of the smaller ones. 

.

Black Knight was having a very bad month. 

First, the massive explosion of the main building.  Then, a communications blackout and technological malfunctions so severe she couldn’t even call her superiors on the very fancy satellite phone she had been assured would work anywhere.  Now, monsters in the woods, killing her men.

The few surviving scientists said the problem was nanites.  They had gotten into everything on and around Abysus, if not further, and they didn’t know how to ‘play nice’ with most animals, plants, or machines.  They’d been programed to learn, apparently, through a mechanism she didn’t care to understand, but that process hadn’t been fine-tuned, so it would take a while, and, in the meantime, no computers, no phones, nothing.  Not even her nanite abilities seemed to help. 

That didn’t stop her from pouring over the navigational computers of the boats every night.  It was bad enough that companies made all their cars dependent on onboard computers, did they need to do that to boats, too?  But they had done it, which meant that she couldn’t even send anyone to physically alert the Consortium that they needed backup.  Not that she particularly would trust these boats on the ocean…  The ones more suitable, the ones not just for hobby fishing on the part of the resident agents and scientists, or quick facility-to-facility deliveries, had been stolen by the fleeing scientists. 

But then, sending other people to go do things like that was one of the perks of the job. 

Something splashed outside.  She looked up from what she was doing.  Was… Was that the sound of a motor?  Had one of the idiots she was left with decide to turn on an engine and waste their precious fuel resources?

She stepped out on the deck and saw something move in the water near one of the other boats.  The rope for it was gone. 

She reached for her rifle.  She did love the energy weapons being a human test subject gave her, but sometimes the weight and security of one of these was what she really needed. 

She waited and watched as something crawled up over the opposite railing on the other boat.  Something…

Rex Salazar. 

The other nanite test subject. 

Well, if her employment with the consortium fell through, she could always sell him off to the highest bidder.  She adjusted her aim and pulled the trigger. 

.

Agony ripped unexpectedly through Rex’s shoulder and he dropped to the ground with a scream.  It hurt!  It hurt!  He sobbed against the pain.  He—He had to get out of here.  He had to leave, now. 

He had to go go go.

He managed to drag himself to the small boat’s console and pressed his hand against it, blue lines spreading from the point of contact.  The boat’s engine roared to life as it jumped to obey Rex’s command to flee. 

That was the last thing he knew before passing out.

.

Rex woke to a circular white scar on his shoulder, a somehow disturbing lack of blood on the deck and the realization that having a boat did not in any way mean he knew where he was going.  Endless blue ocean twinkled at him from all directions, almost mockingly. 

He later discovered that while his nanites could do many things, he couldn’t make fuel from nothing.

.

He also discovered that there wasn’t any food on this boat, and fishing was very hard. 

.

The third thing he discovered was that it was very hard to stay awake when you were so hungry and thirsty. 

.

Rex woke to harsh white light, soft white sheets, and gentle beeping sounds.  He looked around himself, squinting.  There were a lot of people here, and they were all… they were all… Asian?  Was that the right word?  His brain felt fuzzy. 

He sat up slightly, and suddenly all attention was on him.  The people crowded around, asking questions.  He didn’t understand a single word of what they were saying, and he felt tears begin to gather at the corners of his eyes. 

Then, one woman in a white coat pushed through the crowd. 

“My name is Doctor Yuan Chenghua,” said the woman in heavily accented English.  “What is your name?”

“Rex,” said Rex, suddenly feeling shy.  He picked at the hem of the sheet.

“You are here because you were suffering from long… from no food.  Malnutrition.  Do you know what happened?”

“I was on a boat,” said Rex.  “There wasn’t any food.”

“What happened to your parents?” asked Dr. Yuan.  “Where are they?  Were they on the boat with you?”

Rex shook his head, even as his heart jumped.  Parents.  That’s who he was looking for!  He could have hugged Dr. Yuan.  “I don’t know,” he said.  “I don’t remember.  I—There was an island,” he tried to explain.  “People turned into monsters.”

“Oh,” said Dr. Yuan, who then switched to something in her own language.  One of the men behind her commented on it, and she shook her head.  “You poor thing.  That is… many things have happened.  You are not the only one with… troubles like this, as strange as it sounds.”

Rex nodded.  He had no idea how strange his troubles sounded, but if they were normal, now, that was a good thing, wasn’t it?  That meant that people must be working hard to solve them.  Maybe there was even a solution. 

“We will take care of you, yes?”

“Yes,” said Rex, then something else occurred to him.  “Where are we, anyway?”

Dr. Yuan smiled, and there was something bitter there, but also triumphant.  “You are in the Free City of Hong Kong.”