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dumdumsun · 4 years ago

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Forever and Never

A/N: Enjoy ❤️

Warnings: mentions of marijuana and rape

Word Count: 2493

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Five: The Beauty That Is Stanley Barber

“And after I found out what happened, I became kinda cold towards him…”

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That Monday, I had felt like absolute shit. I had never gotten that drunk before, that I guess I was still recovering from Ricky’s party. I hadn’t remembered much of anything other than dancing, kissing Stan, and being alone with Ricky. My mind went blank once that door locked. It truly angered me that I let myself get intoxicated enough to lose my virginity to the one person I wanted to keep it away from, but that was just the story of my life. I hadn’t spoken to anyone since then, not wanting my headache to increase by staring at a phone screen. When Pam got home, she only tutted at me as a ‘told you so’ before proceeding to baby me for the entirety of Sunday. I hadn’t complained, not for a second. In her care, I almost forgot what it was like to be swarmed by my overbearing school body. Walking into school that Monday instantly shifted my mood. The overlapping conversations, the constant bumping into everyone, countless greetings I didn’t bother to return. I just rubbed my temples and sped down the hall. Almost at my locker, I heard a familiar voice call out to me. It was too familiar to ignore, so I turned to find Dina, standing at her locker with a friend. She whispered something to her companion, leading them to smile at us both and walk away. Her eyes assessed me as I approached her, leaning against her neighboring locker. She chuckled and crossed her arms. “Well, someone is still fucked up.”

“Yeah, I feel like shit,” I mumbled. “Is Ricky looking as bad as I am?”

“No,” Dina frowned in confusion. “He was nowhere near as drunk as you.”

Despite its protest, I snapped my head up to attention. “Huh? Yeah, he was. We were both shitfaced.”

“I’m telling you, (Y/N), Ricky was tipsy for, like, half an hour. He had been looking for you once he sobered up.”

My heart dropped to my stomach as my mouth dried up. Pushing myself off of the locker, I turned and walked away, my head too foggy to hear Dina calling after me. He can’t and won’t do that to you again, (Y/N). That’s what I told myself right before entering that party.

Well, he did. And he did so much worse.

Ricky wouldn’t do that without consent, right? He was so respectful towards me, he was patient with me.

He never was patient when it came to sex. That’s why I avoided him in the first place.

My breathing was labored, my vision was clouded by tears, my mind went haywire. Ricky raped me. I got drunk and I isolated myself in a room with him. A locked room. He knew what he was doing. As I passed the girls’ bathroom, I saw a familiar blur of curls, but my mind forced my legs to keep moving. I caught onto the last bit of what he was saying to me.

“-- doing okay? How are you feeling?” When I didn’t respond, he sighed. “Why is no one talking to me today…?”

Maybe it was his defeated tone, maybe it was the fact that I trusted him most, but without a second thought, I grabbed Stan by the wrist and dragged him around the corner. I led him under the stairs and stopped when we were consumed in darkness. I opened my mouth to tell him, but where do you even start with this? My hands flew to my mouth to muffle the broken sob that escaped. Stan stiffened at the sound before ducking his head to search my face. “(Y/N)? Hey, talk to me. What happened?”

“S-Stan, Stan, I… Me and Ricky had sex at his party.” I shakily whispered. His brows furrowed, and I noticed an eye twitch, but he slowly nodded for me to continue. “B-But… But I-I just t-talked to Dina and s-s-she said that Ricky wasn’t even drunk. I-It was just me, Stan, it was just me.”

“Shit, (Y/N)...” He whispered and let me fall into his chest. I always felt safe in Stan’s presence, in his arms, and he was usually who I turned to if I ever wanted to spill out my feelings to someone. “I-I’m so sorry… Hey, hey, do you wanna go home? I-I can take you home, Nugget.”

“No, I don’t wanna go home.” That was a lie, but Pam and David were sure to be notified if I had missed any classes.

“Well, then… tell me what to do. Do you want me to kick his ass? I’ll kick his ass for you, I swear to god, (Y/N)-”

“No, don’t fight him,” I sniffled. “He’ll beat the shit out of you.”

“Hey…”

“Sorry,” I hiccupped and let him brush my tears from my cheek ever so gently. “I’m so pissed… Like, that was my first time? I didn’t get to even consent to my first time?”

“You know, I heard that if you didn’t consent, it doesn’t count. So… you don’t have to worry about that.” Strangely, his awkward approach at comforting me was what prevented me from curling into myself and spiraling. That had been a gift of his.

Pulling away, I noticed a mark on his face. When I reached up and gently brushed my thumb across the bruise on his eye, he flinched back. “W-What happened to your eye?” When he hesitated, I knew immediately. His dad was home.

“Don’t worry about it,” He mumbled, holding my hand in his. “I just wanna worry about you right now… Because this whole situation is so fucked up. Are you sure you don’t want me to fight him?”

“Well, I want him to get hurt, but not by you.” I tried a smile, but it fell immediately. With a huff, Stan wrapped his arms around me yet again and pulled me against him, letting the sounds of our fellow peers take over.

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

“As the temperature increases, if an atom loses one or more electrons, it becomes oxidized!” When Mr File realized his exclamation fell upon deaf ears, he faltered. “Uh… Yeah, okay. Goggles up. Bunsen burners on, and please, please, please, nobody burn down the school.”

Stan carefully watched me as I slapped my goggles onto my face. His hand held mine under the table, causing me to turn to him. “Hey, Nugget, I need to talk to Sydney. Are… you gonna be okay if I-”

“Go ahead.” I whispered, my eyes never leaving him. Ricky was only a table away, and I watched as Stan checked him before giving me a nod. When he turned around to talk to Syd, I felt unsafe. I felt exposed. I felt open to Ricky. My shoulders tensed as I took a deep breath, trying to focus on my work. I felt Stan’s hand on my shoulder as he leaned in close.

“I’ll be right back, I won’t leave you.”

“I know.” I nodded, allowing him to leave the table and follow Syd. My table mate asked if I could hand her the test tube with the blue liquid. I hoped to god she didn’t notice my hand trembling as I reached out to pick it up. Ricky was looking at me. I could feel it. His eyes bore into the side of my face and my hand wouldn’t stop shaking and my table mate was looking at me oddly and-

“Hey! Where are you-”

“Bathroom!”

The sudden exclamations from Sydney and Mr File snapped me out of my daze, my hand naturally letting go of the test tube. Both my classmate and I yelped as the liquid spilled across our table. We stood as our teacher quickly gathered paper towels.

“Shit, I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” I apologized profusely as I felt someone tug me away from the table. The gentle touch informed me that it was Stan and I was safe. He turned me to face him, and I felt hot tears prick the corners of my eyes.

“It’s okay, Miss (Y/L/N). Did any of it get on you?”

“Yes, it got all over me! I have to go!” The warm touch of Stan’s hands slid from my shoulders as I raced out of the classroom. I gasped aloud when I felt Ricky touch my arm.

“Babe, are you-”

“No!” I shouted at him, ripping the door open and dashing down the hall. My heart pumped in my ribcage as I flew down the stairs, hiding in the same place Stan and I were that morning. My knees pulled into my chest as my hands clutched my head.

Calm down, (Y/N)... Calm the fuck down. Think happy thoughts. Think happy thoughts, (Y/N).

Memories of my dad, of Jacob, of Stan flashed through my mind. My dad and I engaging in a tickle fight. Jacob practically flinging me around his bedroom to the beat of his favorite song. Stan using his comb as a microphone, pointing to me as we belt out the lyrics to some 80’s song blasting throughout his bedroom. The flat of my chest wasn’t heaving as much as I leaned against the wall. I felt safe, I felt calm.

Then I felt a hand on my wrist.

Gasping out, my head snapped up and my gaze focused on Stan. His eyes were searching my face, his hand left my wrist, but hovered close. “Do you… want a hug…?”

I was safe again. “Please.”

The rest of my day consisted of ignoring Ricky and staying under Stan’s protection. I didn’t eat lunch, despite his insisting, I almost had two more panic attacks when Ricky found me alone, and my throat was sore from holding in sobs for hours. In the end, I made it. When I came home, I locked myself in my bedroom and called my dad. He wouldn’t have to know about everything, but it would have filled my heart with so much relief if I could at least hear his voice. The dial droned once, then twice, thrice, and a fourth time before it went to voicemail.

“Please leave a message at the tone.”

My tears spilled over once I heard the high-pitch beep. “D-Dad, hey… Uh, it’s (Y/N)... U-Um… I-I’m not having a good day today, and I know you’re probably hella busy, but I just… I really need to talk to you today. So, please call back as soon as you get this. Please. I-I love you.” And with a shaky breath, I hung up. Three soft knocks averted my attention to the door, where Jacob had just entered.

“Hey, Bug…”

“H-Hey…”

“Do you… maybe wanna watch some movies with me? Your pick.”

“That sounds really great, Jake, but not tonight. I’m just, uh… wanting to be alone.”

“I get it. Totally get it,” He nodded and backed out of my bedroom. “Just know that if you change your mind, I’m down the hall and very willing to drop everything.”

I only nodded as he closed the door. I hadn’t trusted myself enough to spend dinner with the family, so I laid in bed and tried my best to fall asleep. But it wouldn’t come. I was too occupied by my thoughts, too alert. It was honestly stressing me out to the point that I ironically began falling asleep once the sky faded into night. Just as my eyes drooped, I heard a soft tap on my window. I wanted to ignore it but it happened again. And again. And again until I heard a tap that could’ve cracked the window. Jumping up from my bed, I rushed over to find Stan. He had one hand full of small rocks, the other ready to launch. Of course, he stopped upon seeing my form at the window. He dropped the rocks and waved with both his hands. Softly chuckling, I slid my window up. “What?”

“Wanna go for a drive?” He loudly whispered.

“Hell yes.”

I didn’t realize how much I missed Stan until we were on that drive. With his windows down, soft rock music gracing our ears and the wind blowing in our hair, I was brought back to the summer. When we’d spend the day in this car, cruising around Brownsville. We had not a care in the world. We lived in bliss, only with each other for company. Selfish with each other’s time. I had him all to myself those days. As I looked over at him in that moment, I couldn’t help but grin. The curls on his forehead were now leaning with the wind as his fingers tapped to the beat of the song on the steering wheel. He looked so pretty like this, the moonlight kissing his pale skin just right. He was so beautiful and he didn’t even know it. He glanced at me from the corner of his eyes, a blush spreading across his cheeks. “W-What?”

“Nothing, just… I’m happy to be here.”

Later on, we parked in the middle of an empty grocery store parking lot. Reclining the seats all the way back, we let our legs drape outside the car window. In that moment, everything felt perfect. The sweet melody of Vanilla Skin rang throughout my ears as the sound of Stan’s lighter flicking accompanied the night critters’ chirping. This was everything I needed. Bloodwitch, a joint, and Stan by my side. It took us only twenty minutes for our highs to kick in, but this time, it was different. We weren’t stupidly laughing. It was comfortably quiet between us. I suppose we both had our own battles we were fighting that day because at the same time, we both inhaled deeply and soundly exhaled.

“Stan, why isn’t every guy like you?” I quietly asked. He looked over at me with furrowed brows.

“Huh?”

“I mean, why can’t they just be patient? And considerate? And just naturally sweet people? Why can’t they do something for a girl without wanting something else in return…?”

“Why can’t every girl be like you?” He sighed as I reached my arm in the air, fingers grazing the top of his car. “Why can’t they understand that I’m here to help?” He reached his hand up towards mine. “That I wanna help?” Our fingertips touched. “That I love helping?” And our fingers interlocked. Slowly, our joined hands rested in between our bodies, our heads simultaneously turning to each other.

“I don’t know… maybe we’re not meant to meet other people like ourselves…”

His mouth quirked up in a hesitant smile before he leaned closer. I met him in the middle in yet another kiss. I knew that after, we wouldn’t speak of this. We’d reset and go back to normal so that Stan could keep trying with Sydney. I knew he wasn’t mine, that I wasn’t his. But-

Just let me have this.

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Taglist: @nate-hargreeves @sapphicsyn @stqnley @lonely-kermit @juliet-doesnt-give-a-fuck @moatsnow

#i am not okay with this #ianowt #ianowt x reader #stanley barber #stanley barber x reader #wyatt oleff #wyatt oleff x reader #i am not okay with this x reader #ianowt fanfic #ianowt stanley barber #forever and never

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youeverfeelcursed · 4 years ago

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On The Narrative of The Last of Us 2 (1 of 2?)

I am impressed by how many people are hating on this game and its narrative when I’m finding it how amazing its written even though it broke my heart in so many pieces I’m not sure I’ll be able to stick them together for a while. Reading most of the arguments against the game it feels like people are simplyfying the story of both game to worrisome levels.

This is going to be a long text, and obviously, it’s going to be FULL of spoilers so: SPOILERS AHEAD.

Let’s start by going back a bit and into the Last of Us.

Naughty Dog and the importance of being human: The Redemption of Joel

I think before we start we need to talk about the most important detail of The Last of Us franchise - onwards TLoU - and that is that its never been about zombies, or survival, or Joel or Ellie but about humanity, or better yet, about what is being human and what makes us human. It doesn’t matter if its Part 1 or Part 2 but keep in mind that this concept is the driving force of this story, subtly hiding in our protagonists and their friends stories. You wont find easy blacks or whites in their storytelling, because being human is not that simple.

Now that we have that clear, keep in your mind too the word monster.

With TLoU - Part 1, we get in the skin of Joel Miller, an assholish smuggler based in Boston. From the beginning we can see that Joel is not a good person and through the whole game is heavily implied that he’s been less that nice to humans to survive. The player can “easily” forgive these flaws of him because we can empathize with the lost of his daughter during The Outbreak but even if we empathize we can’t just ignore that Joel is not a hero, he’s just a broken survivor.

Many people think that TLoU is all about the connection of Joel and Ellie, but in the end it’s all about Joel and his “redemption”, his coming back up from being a murderer, a smuggler, a shitty person to a human with feelings again, with so many feelings he makes the worst decision for the survival of humanity: he saves Ellie. He saves Ellie because he cares, because he learnt to care so much that he put his own selfishness above humanity’s well being. He’s battled thousand of zombies along the way but we know they are mostly not aware of their actions anymore, they can’t choose to hurt people, they just do it because it’s what they do but Joel made a conscious decision. A horrible decision.

And after, he lies to Ellie. He takes the chance of deciding about her own life only because he desires to keep her alive. And this is what it is about, how beautiful can it be to be human, and how horrible can it turn into.

TLoU Part 2, the death of Joel and the descent of Ellie.

We begin Part 2 with Joel narrating what happened in the hospital to a flabbergasted Tommy. I’m not sure how most people felt during this sequence but during it I felt shitty for actually being happy that he saved Ellie, which was alleviated by Tommy’s acceptance of it (”I can’t say I’d have done different”). I’m not sure if I were to be Tommy I would have reacted the same way, but props to him for forgiving his brother.

So times passes and we land on Ellie. This is where everything begins.

The transformation of Ellie is like a trainwreck, you know it’s going to end badly but you cannot stop looking.

When we get control of Ellie we get our old Ellie back, maybe a little less cheerful but it’s normal, she’s already 18 and she’s been hit hard by life, multiple times. Still we can see that underneath all that tough and grumpy behaviour (I mean seriously, she’s just like Joel) there’s the Ellie we loved from the first part.

Up to the point Joel is killed.

Oh how I fucking hated that moment and it’s not because it felt stupid - it truly didn’t to me - but because I was at the same time expecting it, and not expecting it. Because that’s how death gets to you and I found the setting horribly marvelous.

Many people think that his dead was stupid, that he didn’t go in a grand way but just simply got his face smashed by Abby. I hated it, because the whole scene I was like Ellie hoping for Joel to pull through and save himself, I couldn’t believe he would die in the first 3 hours of the game!! Naughty Dog what the fuck!?

But you know. That’s it. That’s the point. Things come and go and most of the time we don’t really expect what happens. And it’s traumatizing, it’s unbelievable, it’s shitty. But it’s life. One night I was saying goodnight to my dad, the next day he was dead. It happens. Death is not grand, death is not heroic most of the time, it just is.

And that’s the feeling that they manage to convey, that it’s not real. We are feeling the same feelings as Ellie, thinking that somehow, in some crazy way he’ll be back to come back. But he won’t. There’s a grave. And yet the feeling is there. If Joel’s death had been shown differently, we - as players - could find some closure, but this way? This way we are stuck. Just like Ellie.

Just like the beginning of the end of Ellie. Because the next part is all about losing yourself. We can see it in tiny details like Ellie’s hair. In Jackson, she’s got a tight bun, controlled and when she and Dina are getting to Detroit, part of that bun is loose as an analogy of her slow demise, how she slowly loses control. It’s also represented by the weather, with one of the most ruthless scenes happening during the huge storm of Detroit: Mel’s death.

It would be easy to just blame this turning into a monster on Joel’s death, but there’s multiple factors affecting Ellie during this time, apart from the trauma from watching Joel be killed in front of her own eyes.

The first one is that she was forced to miss the chance of being useful, useful as a cure for the whole world, for her life to have meaning. It must be really hard to love someone so much - Joel - and hate them at the same time, and plus to all of that, you dont get the chance to forgive them because it was ripped from your own hands.

Next is what she deems as a betrayal from Dina, her pregnancy. This is where the queer theme comes strong, because who hasn’t been in a situation in which we feel we will lose our loved one to the straight ex? The feeling of being powerless specially because Jesse is her friend. She loves him, she loves them both. But it’s obvious she doesn’t feel worthy of Dina, and when the pregnancy comes, it just pulls at her strings. She starts to go alone on missions, reckless crazy missions distancing herself from both of them to the point she crashes hard and makes Nora talk.

Ellie much to our liking and hate, grew up under the care of Joel, a sweet and wonderful man with his own troubles but a great problem of sharing his feelings, something I feel was passed to Ellie. She doesn’t speak of her feelings, she keeps them inside until they break her apart, so this descent wasn’t caused by just one simple happening, it was a collective of shitty feelings. And we could argue, “but its obvious Dina likes her!”. Well yeah, it’s obvious to us, but for someone that lost so much so fast, how obvious can it be?

Finding Abby is not just about revenge, is about having control over her life. That’s something she can do, she can find Abby kill her and get revenge for Joel. It keeps her grounded while slowly plummeling her into turning a monster. Because sometimes we hold onto the most stupid things just for the sake of being grounded, even if that thing destroys what’s left of us.

I know many people were angry at how a LGTB+ was treated but I personally don’t think this demise would be as hardcore if it had been a straight white girl. If this representation is good or bad its up to everyone’s opinion but I personally think Naughty Dog did a good job in here. I know people are tired of traumatic stories, but there’s a lot to chew in this game to just reduce it to “sad gay story”. For the instance, Ellie is consciously destroying her own life, personally I think because she felt she should be dead plus everything mentioned beforehand. When she leaves Jesse behind to go get Abby instead of saving Tommy that’s the point of no return.

Well, there’s more to unravel but I feel this post is long enough already and we still have Dina, Tommy, Jesse and Abby to talk about. So I’ll take a breather and keep writing later. Sorry for typos and keep safe.

#the last of us 2 #the last of us 2 analysis #the last of us 2 spoilers #spoilers #the last of us 2 representation #tlou 2 #tlou part 2 #tlou II #ellie #dina #joel miller

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bluebellhairpin · 4 years ago

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Nemo Watches ; Attack on Titan (S3)!

So I put up earlier (last night for me) that I’d simmer of the last few episodes of Attack on Titan (S3) and write up my ‘watching for the first time’ commentary on it.

Here it is.

I started writing with about halfway through the third-last episode, so it all takes place after the Shiganshina Arc. Nevertheless, I’m still putting all the commentary under the cut to avoid spoilers for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet.

I think I might do this for the S4 episodes I watch too, depends how you all like it. - Nemo

For context, this starts in the middle of the episode when Grisha is at the border of Marley and Paradis, kneeling and waiting to be turned into a titan with his fellow revolutionaries.

I have left the commentary as un-edited as I can bear it to be.

HIS SISTER WAS FED TO THE DOGS hOW HORRIBLE CAN YOU POSSIBLY BE TO DO THAT TO AN EIGHT YEAR OLD GIRL???? I’M PUKING A LITTLE RN NGL

What's the bet one of these guys from the Eladian Subjects of Ymir are goona turn into the smiling titan?

DINA DINA DINA SHES THE SMILING TITAN OHMYGOOOOOOOOODDDD

Push him off.

YES HE WAS PUSHED OFF EXCELLENT.

EREN KURGER IS THE ATTACK TITAN??????

Yes! Wow. Okay.

Pffft Eren and Grisha are wearing the same shirt.

Why are the teenagers in cells? Armin and Eren I get - titan shifters - but Mikasa? What's she supposed to do? Accidently go Ackerman buckwild?

They Handmaiden those Eladian women for Marley huh. Damn.

It's Always the sunset scenes. They're the emotional ones. The ones that push thy forth into a new beginning or something corny.

ERENS STIKL 15 UEARS OLF. I CALL CHILD LABOUR.

Oh so they’re like borderline criminals or something? That’s why they’re in the cells?

It was a love letter? I'm crying. Boo.

YMIR NOOOOOOO -

Historia Still so cute tho aha.

SASHA AND HER APPLES. GIRLS GOTSA EAT YAAAA!!!!

Hange do not put that idea in Eren's head you dumbass.

EREN YOU DUMBASS DON'T KEEP THESE THINGS TO YOURSELF I'M GONNA COME FOR YOU AND RIP YOU -

Huh. Can he see the future? Eren KURGER tell me all your secrets.

OH thank God, only one episode left of the season. Lets get it out of the way then, shall we?

Oh damn then I'll be all caught up. How odd. I've never been that before.

These last few episodes have felt tedious. Is that just me?

Historia Setting things straight.

LEVI LOOKING FINER THAN A SET OF CHINA TEACUPS. SERVE KING. YES.

Oh look, fine china teacups.

PFFFTTT LEVI JUST - oml, zero tact. I love it.

If I ever EVER see Fletch - I'm gonna deck him. Then slam his face into the pavement. We anti-stan him here.

I actually will.

No I won't.

I kill him.

THANK YOU JEAN. Someone knows whats up.

FLATSH. SHUT. UP. I AM THIS FONGING CLOSE BUDDY I SWEAR. ZIP THY MOUTH.

Oh so they're metals.

Aha, Historia, I wish that were me.

THE FUCK WAS THAT HUH.

Why Eren got that face? It's so u g l y.

Wow, A lot of titans in one year. Very efficient. I'm proud.

SEAGULL.

That titan looks like a potato.

AHAHA THAT WALL. THE ONE FROM before.

The horse hooves should not be making that noise on sand.

They look so in awe at the ocean. Wow. How wholesome.

Hey, I did that today too Armin.

JEAN DRANK THE,,,,, OMY THE BEACH EPISODE. HOW LOVELY.

I'm glad to see Dad has healed up well tho, that's really good.

SASHA I mean to say SASHA.

Deadass tho, we’ll pause here for a sec because like - no one has ever mentioned Sasha got that hurt at Shiganshina? Why? Potato girl could’ve died and no one (the fandom, namely) said anything?

EREN STOP BEING EMO YOU'RE RUINING THE VIBES.

EREN. THIS IS WHY I DON'T LIKE YOU. EREN. THIS IS THE START OF YOUR I N S A N I T Y. EREN.

Hanges sea cucumbers tho *wink wonk*

#nemo watches #nemo's commentary #attack on titan #season 3 #spoilers

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incorrectdeceptionquotes · 5 years ago

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Fortuitous

A multi-chapter gift for @deceptionheadcanons based off of one of her wonderful fanfictions.

If you have not read her fanfiction Before and After... what are doing with your life? Go read it, you’ll... well, if you’re looking for fluff, you won’t thank me but if you’re looking for angst, go and behold that fanfiction!

Spoilers for her fanfiction below:

We have been talking about a slight AU from that fic where when Cameron grows up, instead of switching lives with Jonathan, he becomes a foster parent and takes care of kids the way Emma and Oliver took care of him and Jonathan when they were younger.

Cameron, Jonathan and their whole deception team help build children back up from their past traumas in order to help them find their new families. However, one little girl will give them a very different yet familiar experience.

“Alright, I think you’re all set.” Cameron smiled as he knelt down in front of a little boy with green eyes and curly dark brown hair. He placed a navy blue Monsters University backpack next to him. The boy’s little chin began to quiver and Cameron was quick to gently place his hands on the child’s shoulders, “Hey... hey, Lewis, look at me.”

Lewis pouted as his big eyes looked at Cameron and he clutched the teddy bear he was holding, “I’m going to miss you Cameron... and Johnny, and Dina, and Jordan, even Gunter.”

Cameron chuckled, “We’re going to miss you too buddy but remember, I left our numbers in your storybook so if you ever need anything, call us.” He ruffled Lewis’ hair, “And I mean anything, kiddo. Even if you just want to talk about Monsters University.”

“Do you... do you think they will like me?”

Cameron’s smile grew, “They’re going to love you. They’re going to be your family. You met them a few times and you like them, right?”

Lewis smiled and nodded, “Yeah, they’re really nice.”

“Well, there you go.” Cameron grinned, “Now, can I get a hug before you go?” Lewis nodded and wrapped his little arms around the magician’s neck, “Good luck buddy. We’re going to miss you.”

“Me too.” The little boy whispered.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Cameron let go of the child and went to open the door to find Janice Salero, the same middle-aged woman he had seen multiple times over the past few years. Every time that there was a child, who needed to be fostered one-on-one, she brought the child to him and his team. Cameron, Jonathan and the others helped bring these kids come out of their shells, help show them that the world isn’t always going to be against them.

Long ago, Cameron and Jonathan thought they had no way out, they thought it would always be them against the world but thankfully things changed. Cameron and Jonathan were taken in by Emma and Oliver, and it wasn’t long before they adopted the brothers, making them feel loved and more importantly, safe. That’s what Cameron hoped to do for these kids, make them feel loved and safe until the time came for them to be adopted by a new family who could appreciate how amazing each of them were.

Cameron gave a small smile to the middle-aged woman, “Hello Mrs. Salero, we were just saying our goodbyes to Lewis.”

The older woman gave a slight nod, “Well, the Karlsons are excited to welcome their new son.”

“Hear that Lewis?” Cameron smiled down to the little boy, “And you were worried about them liking you. They’re excited to have you!”

Lewis giggled as Mrs. Salero held out her hand to the little boy. Lewis waved, “Bye Cameron! Thank you!”

Cameron smiled and gave him a tiny wave back, “Of course Lewis.”

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

The next day, Cameron got a call from Janice Salero. There was a new child that had been brought in who desperately needed a faster home. Cameron, Jonathan and the others were more than happy to accept a new foster child to take care of.

A few days later, the middle aged woman returned to the Archive and with her was a tiny little girl. “This is Anna.” The small child looked down at feet and Cameron noticed that her shoes looked worn and way too big for her. Her auburn hair was messy and tangled and obviously had not been well kept. Mrs. Salero knelt down and placed a gentle hand on Anna’s shoulder, “Anna, this is Cameron. He and his family are going to be taking care of you for a little while.” Anna just whimpered slightly. “Don’t worry,” The older woman assured, “They’re not going to hurt you. They just want to help you.”

Cameron also knelt to the ground to try to reach the little girl’s eye level. When he got a closer look, he noticed that there were slight bruises on her face and she was far too skinny as her pajamas just hung off her shoulders and her cheeks barely filled out her face. His heart pained slightly but he gave her a friendly smile, “Hi Anna, I’m Cameron; it’s nice to meet you.”

Anna lifted her head slightly and looked at Cameron for a moment, her dull blue eyes taking in his appearance. Mrs. Salero gave her a tiny smile, “You’ll be staying here for a while.”

Cameron held out his hand, “Do you want to come meet everyone?”

Anna looked at his hand for a moment and then took a glace over his shoulder. Suddenly, she ripped herself from the social worker, ran past Cameron to the dining table, and huddled underneath into a little ball. Cameron and Mrs. Salero stood up and looked at the little girl under the table. “She was like that when we found her.” She said, referring to Anna hiding under the table.

“What happened to her parents?” Cameron asked as his heart broke at how scared the little girl looked.

“They were both heavily under the influence. There was a call in from a neighbour who suspected domestic violence after hearing screaming from the mother. The neighbours didn’t even know that they had a kid.”

“How old is she?”

“Four years old as of last month. The father was not only incredibly intoxicated when we found her but he is currently being charged with child and domestic abuse.”

“And the mother?”

She sighed, “Passed out drunk on the couch but also showed signs of having been abused. We’ll know more once she woken up in hospital.”

“She... Anna,” Cameron hesitated, “She hasn’t been...”

Mrs. Salero shook her head, “Thankfully, the abuse never went that far” She sighed once more as she whispered, “Unfortunately, as I’m sure you noticed, she was ill-treated quite a bit and underfed.” She shook her head, “And her environment was just filthy, the house looked like it had barely been cleaned at all. These were the only clothes she had that were intact.”

“Well, thankfully, when Dina heard we were getting a girl to take care of for a little while, she went and got a couple outfits. I’m sure something will fit.”

Mrs. Salero gave a small smile, “Well, I should be off. If there are any issues you can’t handle, give me a call.”

Cameron nodded, “Of course.”

The social worker walked out, closing the door behind her. Cameron looked at the little girl hiding under his dining room table. He remembered how scared he was when he and Jonathan had been taken away by social services. However they were much older than Anna, they were aware of exactly what was happening. He wasn’t even sure if Anna knew what was happening.

Jonathan walked in with a smile on his face, “So, is the new kid here?”

“Yeah...” Cameron gave a sad smile and motioned his head to the dining table.

Jonathan looked over and saw the tiny girl curled up like a baby armadillo. His gaze turned sorrowful as he was suddenly reminded of how Cameron used to be. How Cameron would curl up just like that when he was upset. Of course, Cameron hadn’t been distressed like that in years but the memory was still fresh in his mind like it was just yesterday. “She’s been hurt.”

“Yeah.”

Jonathan winced slightly as a question occurred to him, “Was she-”

“No,” Cameron quickly shook his head, “Thank God it didn’t go that far.”

“She looks terrified.” Jonathan said, not realizing he was thinking out loud.

“She hasn’t even said anything yet.”

“Maybe you could call Mom and Dad and ask them what to do?”

“How would they know-” Jonathan shot Cameron an amused look. The younger twin’s face gained a slight pink colour, “Oh... right.”

“I’m just saying that they might be able to help.” He gave his brother a small smile, “They always want to.”

“That’s not a bad idea.” Cameron let out a tiny chuckle, “Although, knowing Mom, she’ll probably show up with like a hundred freshly baked cookies.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” Both brothers shared a silent smile which quickly faded when their eyes fell on the frightened little girl, still hugging her knees.

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

About half an hour went by; Cameron had been sitting near the dining table, fiddling with his phone waiting for Anna to say... something, anything. He looked over to the table and found Anna’s big blue eyes looking at him before she noticed that he caught her staring. She was quick to look down and hugged her knees closer to her chest.

He felt his chest tighten. There must be some way to make this little girl smile. He racked his brain. She clearly wasn’t the talking type. He glanced at her and noticed her tracing her finger on the floor. He smiled as he rose from his seat.

He came back with a couple of colouring books in hand along with a box of crayons. He sat down on the floor, slightly under the table but not getting too close to Anna. He placed the materials down in front of her, “I figured that it can’t be much fun just sitting here with nothing to do.” She didn’t respond. He knew he probably wasn’t going to get her to talk but he wanted to make sure she knew she was allowed to have fun. “Do you want to colour?” She still didn’t respond. He gave the tiniest of sighs but gave her a small smile, “You don’t have to if you don’t want to but if you want to, you can.” He opens the colouring book in his lap and grins, “Now if you don’t mind, this puppy needs to be coloured.”

She watched Cameron just colour the page of the book he was holding, not paying her much mind. She continued to watch him for a few minutes before she slowly picked up the other colouring book that he had placed in front her and took a few crayons out of the box. He didn’t lift his head but Cameron couldn’t help give a tiny smile to himself as Anna opened the colouring book. She looked at him with slight caution but when he didn’t show any negative reaction, her shoulders relaxed slightly. She flipped the pages until she got to a page with some characters from Sofia the First and she silently started colouring Sofia’s dress with a purple crayon.

They just continued to colour in silence for a good twenty minutes when, out of nowhere, somebody’s stomach started growling. Very loudly. Cameron couldn’t help but look up at the sound and saw Anna’s eyes widened in fear, “I’m sorry! I be quiet!” She exclaimed as she curled back up into a little ball.

Cameron’s eyes widened at the first words that came out of the little girl’s mouth since she had arrived. He shook his head and gave her a gentle smile, “Hey... hey, you didn’t anything wrong.” He gave a tiny chuckle, “You’re just hungry.” She just stared at him as she hugged her knees. “Do you want something to eat?”

She just stared at him for a few moments before she warily nodded her head.

Cameron’s smile grew the tiniest bit as he got out from under the table, “Okay, I’ll be right back.”

“Okay...” She whispered.

He went over to the kitchen. “Cameron?” He heard Dina call as she also walked in, “I heard our new friend has arrived. Where is the little darling?”

He gave a sad smile and motioned to the dining table, “I’m afraid we’re going to have to postpone the big movie night we had planned.”

Dina’s eyes found the little girl with messy red hair hiding under the table. Her heart broke at the sight, “She’s so small...” She looked to her friend, “How old is she?”

“She’s only four.”

“Has she said anything?”

“She just apologized for her stomach growling.” Cameron sighed, shaking his head, “She’s hungry and she thinks that’s something she had to hide.”

“I could make her a sandwich. Something simple.” Dina offered.

“Thanks D.”

“Of course.”

When Dina finished making a very effortless turkey sandwich with lettuce, tomato and mayo, she handed the plate to Cameron. “Thanks Dina, do you want to meet Anna?”

“Her name is Anna?” Dina gushed as Cameron nodded, “Oh, I’d love to but... I don’t want to overwhelm her.”

Cameron remembered his own experience of him and Jonathan having been taken away for their own good. He hadn’t wanted to speak to anyone and every single tiny change made him scared. He couldn’t do that to Anna. She needed to become comfortable with her new surroundings.

“You’re right...” He gave her a sheepish grin, “Maybe tomorrow.”

“Whenever she’s ready...” Dina took another quick look at her and smiled, “I’d love to meet her.”

“I hope you get to, soon.” Cameron smiled back as he went back to the dining table and carefully wiggled his way under the table once again.

Cameron gently placed the plate in front of Anna and made it a point to remind her that it was okay for her to eat it. She eyed the sandwich for a moment before her stomach growled again. She gingerly put down the crayons she was holding and went to pick up the sandwich. As she picked it up, Cameron realized just how tiny she was as she could barely bite into the sandwich. Once she took her first bite, she didn’t even lower her hands until she got halfway through which at that point, she placed the sandwich back onto her plate.

“You can keep eating if you want.” Cameron said.

She slowly shook her head, “Full.”

“Did you like it?” She slowly nodded her head which made him smile, “You can finish it later if you get hungry.” He noticed Anna look down at her hands which had some mayo on them. “Do you want to clean your hands?” She nodded, her cheeks turning a little pink upon noticing the sauce on her hands. Cameron got her to look at him as he somehow managed to pull a tissue out of thin air, earning him a great big smile from Anna who seemed to be amazed at his little trick. He helped her clean up and as she wiped down her hands with the napkin, he couldn’t help but notice some tiny faded scars on her palms. What had this child been through?

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

A few hours went by as Anna began to warm up to Cameron a bit more as they managed to colour about ten more pages and the little girl even managed to finish her sandwich. Cameron smiled at seeing her finish her food. He remembered that he was quite the opposite when Emma and Oliver started taking care of him and Johnny.

“Full?” He asked.

“Yeah.” Anna whispered.

After a few moments, she let out a bit of a whimper. Cameron grew concerned, “What’s wrong?”

“I gotta go to the potty.”

“Oh!” Cameron exclaimed letting out a tiny chuckle, “There’s a bathroom right around the corner.” He noticed her hesitate, “I can stand by the door outside if you want. So nobody walks into the bathroom.”

She nodded, “Okay...”

Ten minutes later, Cameron led Anna back and sat under the table with her as they went back to colouring. It was very quiet until she let out a great big yawn. Her eyelids began to droop as she rubbed her eyes with a tiny fist.

Cameron smiled, “Tired?”

Anna nodded, “Sleepy.”

“Well, we have a bedroom all ready for you.” He offered, “Do you want to come see it?” Anna just hugged her knees. “What’s wrong?”

She sniffled, “Wanna be here...”

Cameron nodded as his face fell slightly. However, he could understand wanting to stay somewhere that felt safe and comfortable, “Okay.” He saw Anna smile a little bit. “Can I bring you a blanket and pillow?” It took a moment but the little girl nodded, “Okay, I’ll be right back.”

He left her for a moment and after a few minutes; he came back with a few blankets and pillows in hand. He set down a soft fluffy blanket so Anna wouldn’t be lying down on the cold hard floor. He set down a few pillows to give her a choice of which one she’d want to sleep on. Anna patted some of the pillows with a tiny smile, “Squishy.”

Cameron smiled, “Yeah, I got the squishiest pillows for you to sleep on.” Anna’s smile grew as she crawled onto the fluffy blanket and laid her head on the biggest pillow of the bunch. Cameron gently placed another blanket on top of her to keep her warm. “Oh, before I forget!” He exclaimed as he pulled a soft plush bear from behind his back, “Here’s a little friend to keep you company.” When he brought the bear down next to her but Anna’s smile faded and she was hesitant to take it. Cameron pursed his mouth before he thought of something, “Can I tell you a secret?”

Anna nodded before letting out a tiny; “Uh-huh.”

“Did you know that teddy bears like this little guy help defend against night monsters and bad dreams?”

“Really?” Anna looked at Cameron and the bear with wonder as she pulled the bear close to her and hugged it tightly.

“Yeah, they’re always gonna be there for you” Cameron smiled as Anna started to drift off to sleep, “Good night Anna.”

“Nigh’, nigh’.” Anna whispered.

Cameron moved out from under the table and gave a long look to the sleeping little girl before he got up. Jonathan walked over to him and saw the little girl sleeping under the table in the little DIY bed Cameron had made for her, “Couldn’t get her to come out from under there?”

Cameron shook his head with slight disappointment, “No... she’s still too scared to.”

Jonathan gave a sigh, “At least, she’s warmed up to you”

“You think?”

“She definitely didn’t mind you staying with her all day after a little while”

Cameron’s mouth twitched upwards, “That’s true.” He narrowed his eyes for a moment before saying, “Maybe I should stay out here tonight.”

“You sure Cam?”

“The couch does pull out.” He snapped his fingers, “And I should get her a nightlight, she might not like the dark.”

Jonathan chuckled as he watched his brother run off to get some old nightlight he just knows Cameron has hidden away somewhere.

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

Later in the night when Anna woke up for a brief moment, she turned her head and cracked her eyes open. She noticed Cameron lying on the couch nearby but she didn’t feel the same unease she did when she would see her father asleep on the couch. She didn’t even notice her own mouth form a tiny smile as she hugged the soft teddy bear Cameron gave her and closed her eyes, letting sleep take over. For the first time in forever... she finally felt safe.

Hope you enjoyed the first chapter and let me know what you thought, hopefully I can get the next chapter out sooner rather than later and until then, have a nice day <3

#deception #deception fanfiction #cameron black #jonathan black #dina clark #before and after #Hope you like it <3

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artificialqueens · 8 years ago

Text

What’s That Coming Over the Hill? (New Year, New Au) (Trixya) – Ellen Thwoorp

Summary – There are things in this world that don’t make sense. Creatures that shouldn’t exist in the real world. Entities that suck the life from the living. Those who want to bring the world to darkness. There are only two people in this world who can stop them.

A Russian ex-cop with a taste for danger and an unhealthy obsession with her car and a bubbly ex-hairstylist with a passion for mythical lore, who somehow got roped into both monster hunting and a relationship with said Russian.

Follow them on their investigation into a string of murders and an abduction in a small town.

A/N: This is a supernatural-esque AU. Now this sounds like it’s going be morbid/serious as hell but it’s actually fun and kind of cracky. Also not really scary, unless you’re afraid of stupid jokes and flirting. I somehow wrote 12K for this story, so much for my short AUs… Also Dina’s Fun Aunt Holiday Bonus will be submitted later in the week as I’ve decided it’s better for me to have separate deadlines for my series and for DFA. Enjoy!

“I got a good feeling Trixie, this is gonna be the one.” Katya said excitedly, hands drumming on the steering wheel of her shiny vintage Impala. “Katya, people are dead.” Trixie chastised looking back down at the map on her phone. The car became quiet as Katya looked guiltily out at the road ahead.

“…And it’s never going to be aliens, especially not this. This clearly looks like a werewolf.” Trixie added, unable to resist this particular debate again, mostly because it warmed her heart to see Katya get excited over little green men. “I’m telling you.” Katya insisted, smile firmly back in place as she slid her sunglasses on. “Bet you its aliens.” She said playfully as the cars in front of them halted for a light. “Oh yeah, what we betting with?” Trixie snorted, looking up from the map to regard her mad partner. Almost four years they’d been hunting paranormal entities and cryptids, getting into dangerous scrapes and saving lives. God, Trixie could write poetry about it if she could find something to rhyme with ‘she saved me from a monstrous spectral rhinoceros.’ But alas, their story didn’t seem to lend itself to poetry. “If its aliens you give me a handie.” Katya said, dropping her sunglasses to give Trixie an exaggerated suggestive wink. Maybe no poetry was a good thing if that was what she had to work with. “Oh my god, I hate you.” Trixie laughed despite her words. “Pay attention to the road you dork.” She added as the traffic in front of them began to move again. “No you don’t you lurrrrrvvve me.” Katya sang. “You don’t let an ancient spectral priest, with one leg and an unhealthy obsession with Tina Turner, marry you to someone you hate.” She added casually, fiddling with the radio. “First time for everything.” Trixie quipped back as music began to blast out from the speakers. She smiled as she began to look for a motel on her phone. She should never have let Katya make that hunting playlist. She’d filled it with every monster themed song she could think of. The Russian sang along to Monster Mash under her breath as they turned off the highway onto a long quiet stretch of road. ………. After checking into their rather small yet decently equipped motel, the pair made their way to a carnival which had conveniently come into town just a month before the disappearances and murders began. There had been disappearances in the area for the past year, nobody particularly well known or liked. Several homeless people, old shut-ins with no family and teenage runaways. The sort who people wouldn’t even notice disappear. That was until the last disappearance, Helena Jones, daughter of local Politian. Police and volunteers searched long and hard for days.

That was when they found the bunker.

Inside they found twelve bodies along with Helena’s jumper. Each body had its stomach ripped and torn apart, organs missing. They still hadn’t found the girl and chances were growing slim. But the police hadn’t made a connection that Trixie had. They’d reported that each month someone had gone missing but what they hadn’t noticed was that they all went missing within the two days before a full moon, all with the exception of Helena.

Katya and Trixie pulled up to the carnival, and got out of the car.

“Oh god, clowns, Trixie there are clowns here.” Katya whispered anxiously as a clown passed them on a unicycle, his cigarette smoke blowing in their faces as he passed. Classy. “Uh, duh it’s a carnival.” Trixie replied, giving Katya a look as they stepped up to the ticket stand. “Yeah but I didn’t know they still had clowns, nobody likes clowns.” Katya insisted as they bought tickets from a very bored looking teenager with a brow piercing and a bad attitude. Trixie took the tickets with a polite smile and took Katya’s hand. “Sure they do.” Trixie shrugged, surveying the carnival. It wasn’t very busy today it seemed. There were a few children with candyfloss stuck all over their faces. A group of teenagers played the shooting game in a hopes to impress the pretty young woman running the game. They stepped over to a notice board covered in posters. “Trixie. They are beings of the purest evil and they want to eat your face and wear your skin.” Katya continued warningly, pointing to a poster for a ‘Bernie the Amazing Wolf Man’. “They all float down here, Georgie.” Trixie quoted, her voice deep as she took a picture of the poster on her phone. “Don’t even joke about that. That’s a fucking documentary.” The other woman snapped, looking suspiciously at the poster for ‘Clown Extravaganza. They’ll slaughter you with laughter’. She shuddered. She didn’t know exactly why she hated them so much but she did, ever since she was a child. “Katya. Remember what you said to me when we were on the bee case?” Trixie sighed, turning to the mad Russian with a fondly exasperated look on her face. “Calm your tits and take a bubble bath.” “That’s the one.” Trixie nodded, dropping down to press a quick kiss to Katya’s lips.

“Sorry. The wolf man is on in an hour, you want some candyfloss?” She said, looking down at her watch. She jerked her head to motion to the food vendor down the makeshift street. “If there’s one person who might be able to tell us something.” They both looked in the direction of the balding, reedy man serving doughnuts to some young women. His eyes followed them longingly as they walked away, chattering away to each other.

“Thirsty friends?”

“Thirsty friends.” Katya nodded, turning her back to the vendor as she took off her leather jacket and adjusted herself slightly in her bra. She ruffled her hair as Trixie admired her figure in her tight ripped jeans and black cut off tank. “How do I look?”

“Ghastly.” Trixie replied sarcastically, pulling off her cardigan and stuffing it in her handbag. “I can barely stand to look at you.”

“I love you too.” Katya laughed, before slipping into character as they began to make their way to the vendor.

“Hi handsome, could we get some of the fudge and two doughnuts please.” The Russian said brightly as they reached the vendor. She’d changed her voice to this simpery Valley girl she always seemed to slip into. It was either that or the two characters Katya called Trish and Maureen. Trixie wasn’t as good with the accents so she ellected to follow Katya’s Valley girl lead.

“Sure thing.” The man blinked, looking Katya up and down, eyes briefly pausing on her breasts before quickly flicking to her eyes. He smiled and nodded, moving towards the blocks of fudge.

“It is just so Goddamn hot.” Trixie sighed, fanning herself with her hand.

“Um, you ladies want a third?”

“Oh my god, how did you know? We’ve been looking for a third all over but nobody seems to think they can handle us both at the same time.” Katya gasped excitedly, looking at the man with a coy expression.

“Oh my god Tanya, he means of the fudge. You’re such a slut.” Trixie cried in mock horror, laughing softly and flipping her hair over her shoulder.

“You weren’t saying that last week when we were with Kevin, Stephen and Bobby.”

“I’m sorry about her. So what’s it like working here? Do you live in the area or travel with the circus?” Trixie apologised, pushing Katya out of the way a little so that she could lean on the counter.

“Um- hah. Its ok I guess, I travel with them but I won’t be here all that long, we’ve already stayed longer than usual. Down to the new attraction I guess.” The vendor replied, directing most of his speech to Trixie’s chest. The knife he was folding for the fudge was still raised as though he’d forgotten he had it.

“New attraction, is that the wolf guy?” Katya asked, leaning against the side of the stand.

“Bernie? Oh no he’s been with us years now. The clowns, I think they’re foreign or something they never really talk to us.” He shrugged, suddenly realising he wasn’t doing anything with his hands. He began to cut the fudge into pieces. “My dad says they’re nice but kinda odd.”

“Your dad?” Trixie questioned.

“Yeah, he owns the carnival.”

“Oh, so you’re kinda like the Prince of the carnival.” Katya said brightly, earning herself a kick from Trixie. That sounded too much like she was making fun of him. Trust Katya to say something like that.

“Will you take over the business? Is it a generational thing? That’s adorable.” Trixie cooed, smiling brightly.

“Ah, I suppose. One day that office will be mine.” He assured them, jerking his head towards a portable cabin. He took a deep breath before speaking again. “So you ladies here with your boyfriends or something?” His eyes stayed glued on the fudge he was wrapping as he asked the fumbled question.

“No. You should call us some time.” Katya grinned.

“Really?” He blinked, look up at them in surprise.

“Yeah.” Katya nodded, taking out a pen from her pocket and writing down a phone number on his hand. “My dad might pick up, we look after him. Tell him you’re looking for Tanya and Vicky.” She instructed, patting his hand as she took their treats. "Oh and don’t call until Thursday, we won’t be home.”

“What number did you just give him?” Trixie asked as soon as the vendor was out of earshot.

“Remember that old guy that used to live next door to us in Massachusetts, the one that talked to his plants and used to tape bible verses to our front door?”

“Yeah.” Trixie said slowly.

“His number.”

“You know only people who were alive in the Stone Age memorise phone numbers, right?” Trixie quipped, nudging Katya’s arm fondly as the Russian dipped into the paper bag in her hand.

“Shut up.” Katya cried, mouth full of sugary doughnut. Trixie rolled her eyes, reaching forward to brush sugar from Katya’s cheek.

“Is he still watching us?”

“No, there’s customers. A family. Now’s our chance.” Katya said quickly as they picked up their pace walking in the direction of the office.

……….

Two broken bobby pins, muttered swear words and sugary fingers later they slipped into the office, quickly shutting the door behind them. Trixie head straight for the desk. They didn’t know how long they’d have so it was best to work quickly and get out as soon as possible.

“This would be so much easier if this guy knew what a filing system was.” Trixie huffed as Katya came to join her. “If we can find some kind of records on the people who work here.” She mused as Katya went over to the filing cabinet and opened the top drawer.

“This man has a lot of porn in here.” She snorted, pulling out a magazine with a very busty nun on the cover. She opened it curiously before Trixie noticed what she was doing and gave her butt a smack.

“Not what we’re looking for you sex beast.” Trixie reminded her, keeping an eye on the small plastic window on the wall across from them.

“Jealousy is a sin.” Katya chuckled “If you want me to look at you naked, all you have to do is ask.” Katya smirked, putting the magazine away.

Trixie snorted as Katya closed the top drawer and opened the one beneath it. She began to rifle through poorly labelled files. They were searching almost fifteen minutes before she found a small book labelled ‘Legal’. She opened it curiously. “Hey Trix, I think I’ve got something.” She said, holding out to the book to show her partner. Written inside was a scribbled log of all the attractions, when they joined the carnival, where they were from, previous experience and their wage.

“Perfect.” Trixie grinned, taking the book from the other woman. “This says Bernie the Wolf Man used to work in finance in LA. And now he works here?”

“You know what else is weird.” Katya hummed, tapping her lip with her finger.

“What?”

“The clowns, they work for free and it doesn’t say where they came from.”

“Maybe they’re not legally supposed to be here?” Trixie suggested. Katya was right, that was unusual. But working for free doesn’t make you a murderer.

“I wonder.” Katya muses before checking her watch. “Bernie the dog man is in ten minutes, babe.”

“Wolf man, Kat. Wolf man.” Trixie snorted, taking a picture of the book pages on her phone. “We better go then.” Katya nodded, putting the book back exactly as she found it.

“That went well.” Katya said happily as they stepped out of the office, shutting the door behind them as they re-entered the carnival as nonchalantly as possible.

“You got the ring on?” Trixie checked, Katya nodded holding up her hand to show the somewhat gaudy pure silver ring. Werewolves had an aversion to silver. All they had to do was offer to shake the man’s hand or touch him and if he resisted in fear they knew. It had worked pretty well as a system so far. Time to see the show.

………………

“Well that was interesting.” Trixie mused as they made their way back to the Impala.

“What a joker, you can’t really think he’s a werewolf can you?” Katya asked incredulously. That Bernie fellow might play rough and tough on stage but the moment they’d encountered him off stage he was the most zen, vanilla tree hugger she’d ever met.

“Wouldn’t shake your hand.” Trixie pointed out as Katya pulled the car keys from her pocket.

“He said he was a germaphobe.”

“Uh-huh, sure.” Trixie said disbelievingly as she sat in the passenger seat. Katya hummed sitting in the driver’s seat, an odd look on her face. “What’s up?” Trixie asked, noting the tightness around her partner’s eyes and the twisting of her lips. “This all feels very wrong.” Katya confessed, twirling a lock of hair around her finger as she often did when she was nervous. Her eyes follow a pair of clowns as the walked past the car, their faced painted in permenant smiles as they walked in silence. “It’s not the clowns, Katya.” Trixie assured her, patting her knee comfortingly. This was quite new for her, sure Katya was uncharacteristically jumpy for a monster hunter but she was never ususally phobic of things. “How do you know?!” “How do you know its aliens?” Trixie countered, hoping this logic would calm her. “My third eye.” Katya grinned, patting the spot between her brows. “Shut up.” Trixie snorted as Katya turned the keys, bringing the engine to life. “Listen I bet you it’s not clowns.” “What do I get if I win?” “I’ll give you a handie.” Trixie laughed. “Now let’s go back to the town, maybe we can ask around the homeless, see if anyone has gone missing.”

…………

The next day the pair sat together with two slices of pie and coffees, trying to make a plan of action when they were interrupted by a man.

“Excuse me ladies, mind if I sit down?” A young man in a slightly cheap looking suit asked, looking down at them with a serious expression. His dark curly hair was jelled down heavily, looking almost like a protective helmet. Katya briefly wondered if he rode a motorbike like that and crashed, just how much damage his hair would do to the tarmac.

“Uh, you can but I don’t know why you’d want to.” Katya frowned, looking around at the almost empty café.

“Detective Kevin Kander.” Trixie shot Katya a warning look before motioning to the seat across from them. She quickly closed the book they’d been using for notes when she noticed him try to read her writing upside down.

“What can we do for you, Detective?” Trixie asked, forcing her face into a smile.

“Can I ask your business here?”

“We’re having lunch.” Katya shrugged, taking a forkful of pie and shoving it into her mouth. “Why?

“Well, we’ve had reports from some anonymous persons that you have been asking around a lot, talking to people down on their luck.” The young man informed them, looking between the pair suspiciously.

“We’re charitable.”

“I was told you were paying for information about the missing people who were killed.”

“So?” Katya asked, not appreciating the man’s tone.

“So why are you ladies here?”

“We’re reporters.” Trixie lied, they’d used this as a cover quite a few times in their time.

“For what paper?”

“You wouldn’t know it.” She continued with a shrug.

“Can I ask why we’re being questioned? We’re just trying to have lunch.” Katya interjected, leaning back in her seat and resting her arm on the back of Trixie’s chair.

“We’re keeping an eye on all suspicious activity until we find Helena and the killers are caught.” Detective Kander said, eyeing them suspiciously.

“Killers? You know there’s more than one?” Trixie asked, hoping they could coerce the detective into revealing more information about the case.

“I’m keeping an open mind.” He smiled humourlessly. “Where were you the night Helena Jones was kidnapped?”

“We were in West Virginia.” Trixie replied, deciding not to go into too much detail. He didn’t need to know about the encounter with the Mothman, who’d actually turned out to be quite a nice guy with a cat and a crush on a local gas station worker called Susan. Sadly Susan turned out to be a runaway con artist and seemed to revel in the idea of being the first person to con a cryptid.

“But you know what.” Katya offered, leaning across the table as though confiding in the detective. “We drove nine hours to kidnap a girl we never met from some politician nobodies heard of past the state border, then we came back a week later to pay a bunch of homeless people to tell us information we already knew about the murders and decided to stick around for the weather.” Katya said sarcastically. The detective scowled. Trixie put a hand of Katya’s, where it lay on the table, in an attempt to calm her down.

“I’m sorry, she woke up on the wrong side of the bed.” Trixie apologised, kicking Katya under the table as the Russian laced their fingers. He looked down at their joined hands curiously. Trixie could practically hear the cogs turning.

“Is it too much to ask for a motel to have a mattress thicker than paper?” Katya grumbled, taking a drink of her black coffee.

“Ah you’re staying at the Sleepy Lodge, it’s well known for its ‘comforts’.” The detective laughed awkwardly, evidently having finally come to the conclusion that he was dealing with lesbians. He looked up at them with slightly wide eyes. Trixie fought the urge to roll her eyes. People always got awkward when they realised they were a couple.

“Yeah.” She piped up after a moment of silence, realising neither Katya nor the detective had anything else to say. “Listen we can only apologise for our attitudes, we want the same thing you do.” The young man nodded, with the first genuine seeming smile she’d seen yet.

“That beauty out there yours?” He asked, nodding his head to Katya’s Impala, parked proudly outside the cafe.

“Yeah, that’s my baby.”

“Mind if I take a look inside.”

“I’d rather you didn’t, it’s messy.” Katya replied, a fake smile stapled to her face.

“I don’t mind. I want to know what kind of seats that model has.” Detective Kander shrugged, mirroring Katya’s false smile.

“Leather.” Katya answered shortly.

“I’d rather see it.”

“Google it.” Trixie fought the urge to sigh at her partner’s attitude. This was going to get them arrested for sure.

“Is there a reason you don’t want me to see what’s in your car so badly?”

“Is there a reason you want to see what’s in my car so badly?”

“This would be so much easier if you just cooperated.” The detective informed them, obviously trying the good cop, bad cop method on his own.

“We have cooperated. But if you want to search my property better get a search warrant.”

“The Jones family are personal friends of mine. I will find out what happened to her.” He said menacingly as he stood, any trace of a jovial nature erased from his face.. “And I will bring the perpetrator to justice.”

“We hope you do.” Trixie called after him, earning a shifty look as he left the cafe. “Our job would be so much easier if you didn’t always antagonise the cops you know.” She grumbled, letting go of Katya’s hand to get back to their notes. “You’re so cranky today.”

“I know. Sorry.” Katya apologised. “I hate it when they treat you like you’re guilty. Its poor practice.”

“I know.” Trixie nodded. “He’s young. Maybe he’s just trying to find his detective feet.” She suggested, noting that the detective didn’t have a partner. He couldn’t have been more than twenty four years old. She was sure a big case like this must be even harder when you’re new. She wasn’t really sure why she was making excuses for the man but something inside her felt for him.

“Well, he’s not going about it the right way.” Katya grumbled, casually resting her hand on Trixie’s leg as she returned to her pie.

……………. Trixie sighed softly as she woke. She couldn’t be sure what woke her but something felt off. She opened her eyes, the room still dark but she could just make out Katya laying in front of her. She was about to make to get up and go to the bathroom when she realised what had woken her. There was a soft tapping against her back. It was Katya, tapping so lightly she could barely have been moving. Tap tap t-tap tap. Trixie swallowed, the code. That was the silent code for danger. Tap tap t-tap tap. If she squinted she could see Katya’s eyes, watching something intently. The door. Tap tap t-tap tap. The tapping became more insistent as Trixie heard the noise of the door opening. She let out a soft sleepy sigh, feigning sleep as she stretched to pull Katya closer. The noise stopped abruptly, their intruder evidently scared to wake them. Interesting. Tap tap. Trixie answered from where her hand now rested at the small of Katya’s back. The sound of their intruder letting out a breath they seemed to have been holding was loud in the quiet room. A plan. They needed a plan. Trixie quickly took note of the way Katya’s hand had slid beneath the pillow when she’d pulled her closer. Good, there was a knife beneath the pillow. She knew all she had to do was reach the bedside table to grab the gun there. They both just had to choose the right time to act. Their intruder stepped further into the room, letting out a hiss they stubbed their toe on the dresser. Amateur. Certainly not any kind of paranormal entity like a ghost or a spectre. Definitely not a demon as they’d salted the doors and windows before sleeping. The intruder, a man it sounded like, snook over to their bags, pulling the zips at a painstakingly slow speed. Tap tap. Now. With that the pair swung into action. Trixie practically jumped over Katya as the other woman rolled towards her. She slammed a hand on the switch for the bedside light, taking the gun in her other hand and raising it to their intruder. Katya had pulled the knife from under the pillow, and she was now stood on the other side of the bed holding out her long necklace adorned with a protective pendant from all the major religions, in case the intruder was spiritual in any way. “The gigs up.” Trixie said as the man’s shoulders slumped. He turned slowly, wincing at the click of the gun safety being disabled. “Alright, alright don’t sh-” He began as he turned slowly only to stop in surprise, his eyes wide as her looked them up and down. Trixie followed his gaze and groaned. “Dammit Kat, this shitty detective has seen more of me than some of my ex-boyfriends.” They were both completely naked with the exception of a love bite just above Katya’s hip. “Hey, I’m not shitty! I’m just trying to figure out what happened.” The man argued, looking hurt. “I would say we should stop going to bed naked but that would be waste of beauty.” Katya sighed dramatically before turning to wink at her lover. “To be fair we didn’t go to bed naked. But I don’t think we should sleep naked anymore.” Trixie nodded, deciding they should take that precaution so that next time their intruder didn’t get to see just so much of her paranormally ordained wife. While she felt exposed, naked in front of this man, it mostly bothered her that Katya was naked and on show. She regarded the man for a moment his eyes were flicking between the gun pointed at him and the ceiling. Interesting, while he lacked any tact taking to them earlier at least he was somewhat a gentleman. “Would you like some tea?” “What?” Both Katya and the detective said in unison. “We’re supposed to be on the same side, Inspector. So you’re going to sit down, have some tea and tell us why you’re looking through our underwear in the middle of the night.” Trixie said sternly, pointing at the chair next to bed. The man blinked, steadfastly avoiding looking at either of them as he walked over to the seat. Trixie followed him with the gun, watching him as his eyes darted around the room. “Put something on Kat, I don’t like other people seeing you naked.” Trixie sighed, appreciating the man’s efforts to not look at their bodies. “Same for you, blossom.” Katya said cheerily, pulling on Trixie’s college tshirt and a pair of boyshorts with cartoon cats on. The Russian bounded forward taking the gun from her partner as Trixie grabbed some clothes from the chair on the other side of the bed. She shot the detective a look as she walked past them and into the bathroom for a moment, switching on the provided kettle as she passed. “You don’t take advantage of her kind nature, or you will answer to me. Understand?" Katya hissed, leaning close to the detective, nothing between them but tension and the metal of the gun. "Kind nature? She pointed a gun at me and insulted me.” The man said incredulously, eyes flicking to the gun then back to the Russian in front of him. “Yeah but let’s just say there’s a reason she gets the gun and I get the knife, I tend to have less patience and my finger just…” She made the sound of the gun going off with her mouth before pulling away. The young detective flinched.

“A lot of weapons for reporters.” He mused, looking around the room. “This is an offence, you know.”

“There no need to be offended, Kev.” Katya said earnestly, enjoying the way the man blinked at her.

“A criminal offence.” He clarified as Trixie came out of the bathroom and made some tea.

“I know. That was a joke.” She sighed, rolling her eyes. She heard Trixie snort from the other end of the small room.

“Hilarious.” He replied dryly. “You’re not doing the best of jobs convincing me that you’re not the murderers, you know?“ "Get this Trix, he thinks we did it.” “Why does everyone always blame the lesbians?” Trixie sighed, as she walked back in with two cups of tea. She handed one to the detective and sat down on the bed across from him. “Don’t forget to check the door, babe.” Katya reminded her, taking the mug from her girlfriend and taking a sip. “Shit, yeah.” Trixie nodded, getting up to go and lock the door, ensuring that their line of salt wasn’t broken. “What’s with the sugar?” The detective asked, looking over at the door with a frown. Katya turned to look at the detective with thoroughly unimpressed look. How dumb can you get? “It’s salt.” Katya replied dryly. “Does that make a difference?” “Have you ever had popcorn? Of course it makes a difference.” Katya rolled her eyes, raising the gun as Trixie came past her. She wasn’t going to point a loaded gun at her lover even if it was only for a second. She cared about gun safety. “Why did you break into our room at… two o six in the morning?” Trixie asked, as Katya took a few steps back, leaning against the foot of the bed. “I know what you are.” “You know nothing about us.” Katya countered, some of her casual demeanour slipping at the detectives accusatory tone. This man didn’t know them. He didn’t know their lives before the paranormal, although some days Katya wasn’t sure she did either. He thought he knew what they were, but they were many things. They were hunters. They were explorers. They were bakers, when they had the facilities. They were goofballs. But first and foremost they were lovers.

Trixie put a hand on Katya’s knee. Whether it was a comforting gesture or a reminder to stay civil, she wasn’t quite sure. “You’re the killers, the cannibals.” “Oh my god, you know I wondered why those burgers we had yesterday had fingers.” Katya gasped, looking thoroughly pleased with herself as Trixie chuckled. “The murders started before we got here.” Trixie reminded him, taking the mug from Katya and blowing on the contents before taking a sip. “How do we know that? All we know is that you booked into a hotel after the murders began. You’re untraceable, nobody knows where you came from or who you are.” He explained. “Except now I suppose I know you to be Kat and Trix.” He added somewhat smugly putting his mug down on the bedside table. The tea was untouched. Trixie tried not to be offended. She supposed if he thought they were the cannibals he wouldn’t trust anything they gave him to consume. “Oh my god, don’t say that!” Katya cried in exasperation. “Did you learn nothing at the academy? If we were the murderers we’d have to kill you now because you just pointed out you know our names.” “Don’t mind her, she used to serve. Shoddy police work drives her up the wall.” Trixie informed him, lowering her voice as though confiding in him. Katya pushed hair from her face. “Shoddy police work?!” The detective cried, looking affronted. “Never mind that.” Trixie said with a careless wave of her hand. “Listen we’re not the killers. We will tell you who we are but you have to believe us.” “Wait Trix, him? Really? You want him to be our local cop?” Katya interrupted, hardly believing the words leaving her lover’s mouth. In every corner of the country, and in some cases the world, they’d touched down in during their adventures they would make a contact. It was usually a member of the local police department or a detective. Someone with information on cases and trusted them enough to not suspect them and value their expertise. This usually required persuasion, such as saving their asses from whatever unfortunate creature was chasing them. Sure most of them thought they were mad when they did the whole ‘monsters are real’ speech but they normally chose nice guys who weren’t dicks to them for no reason. “He’s obviously driven and desperate Katya, otherwise he wouldn’t have broken into our room to gather evidence that wouldn’t have held up in court.” Trixie reasoned, giving Katya a look that suggested she’d been thinking about this for a while. “And besides.” The blonde added, patting Katya’s leg. “I like the fucker.” She shrugged. “You like me?” The detective asked, clearly as dumbfounded as Katya. She never did understand Trixie’s ability to see good in people even if they were douchey to them. “Sure. It’s hard to explain. I got good women’s intuition.” “Here we go with your women’s intuition again.” Katya moaned. That damned women’s intuition. She knew it was just Trixie’s way of getting out of having to explain why she did things. Honestly she would say that Katya was rash then do something equally rash at the calling of her women’s intuition. “It has never once led us astray and can I also just say ‘third eye’ to you right now.” Trixie replied sternly, raising a finger as she did so. She looked like a teacher when she did that. Katya rolled her eyes. Her third eye was a real thing. Sure sometimes she couldn’t distinguish between her third eye telling her something and a Katy Perry induced headache, but that was beside the point. “I have no idea what’s going on.” Detective Kander confessed, looking between them with a bewildered look. A smirk touched Katya’s lips. She honestly kind of liked that people couldn’t understand them sometimes and found them hard to follow. It was almost like she and Trixie had their own language. Like they were on this wavelength that no one else could tap into. “Kevin, can I call you Kevin?” Trixie began, not waiting for a reply from the younger man. “We are not the cannibals. We hunters.” “Like rabbits and stuff?” He asked slowly. “No, like demons, like monsters, like ghosts, like Bigfoot. All that jazz.” Katya clarified, waiting for the inevitable disbelief. Three… two… one… “Oh my god you’re crazy.”

There it was. “You don’t think it’s odd that these disappearances have happened every full moon?”

“Serial killers can often be ritualistic.”

“They weren’t killed by any man, Detective. They were eaten alive, we saw one of the bodies. Its internal organs were gone and the stomach was torn apart.” Trixie reasoned, pausing to take a sip of tea. Katya fought a grin as she marvelled in how smart her girl was. It would be in poor taste to smile like a loon during this conversation, and it certainly wouldn’t help convince the detective they weren’t the killers. “We’ve seen this before. A lycanthrope in Kansas. Just the same.”

“Wait, lycanthrope. You mean like a werewolf.”

“Exactly.” Trixie nodded. “Have you been so focused on our coming into town that you haven’t noticed another body of individuals who came to town just before the murders began.” “The circus.” He blinked. “It’s the clowns.” Katya interjected. “It’s not the damn clowns Kat, you have no proof.” Trixie groaned in exasperation, they’d been having this debate basically all day. “Neither of you have any proof, this is ridiculous.” Kander insisted, looking between the pair as thought they were insane. “Look it’s not any damn werewolves. Even if I was crazy enough to believe something like that, I don’t know any werewolves who carry around butchers knives and butter.”

“What?” The women asked in unison.

“We found traces of butter and small cuts from a knife on the bones during the autopsy. Whoever did this was very human.” He explained. Katya turned to look at Trixie in bewilderment mixed with worry. They’d accepted that they were dealing with werewolves pretty quickly after finding out more about the deaths. But now, surely it couldn’t be. “So you want to run that werewolf bullshit past me again or are you going to confess?” He asked, standing for his seat.

“We didn’t do it.” Trixie insisted as she and Katya also stood.

“Sure, how about we go over that at the station.” The detective said derisively stepping towards Trixie. Katya stepped between them, scowling up at the man as she let the barrel of the gun rest against his chest. There was no way in hell he’d touch a golden hair on her head when Katya was around. That simply wasn’t happening.

“We will do no such thing. You broke into our hotel room without a search warrant and you have no right to arrest us with no charge.” Katya practically growled, causing the man to take a step back.

“You are both heavily armed and pointed a weapon at me.”

“It’s currently one of our legal rights as Americans to have guns, no matter how problematic that is.” Katya said, eyes sharp. “Leave now. I’m sure the last thing the local department needs right now is a scandal about how one of their detectives forced his way into the room of two young women to rifle through their underwear.”

“Don’t think this is over. I won’t rest until the culprits have been found and punished.” Detective Kander vowed, glaring at them as he headed over to the door. “Don’t leave the country.” He added, looking them in the eye as he kicked their salt line derisively and shut the door behind him.

“What a cunt.”

“He took it better than Detective Parker.” Trixie reminded her, moving across the room until she stood a Katya’s side. “What are we going to do now?” She asked as she rested her chin on Katya’s shoulder, wrapping her arms around her stomach.

“Full moon is tomorrow, I think it’s best for us to take a late night trip to the circus.” Katya sighed.

“But we don’t know what we’re dealing with.” Trixie said worriedly as Katya put a comforting hand on her arm, stroking her skin softly with her thumb.

“We just have to be prepared for anything.”

“That’s easier said than done.” Trixie laughed, although the humour wasn’t quite there. Katya turned her head so that they were face to face.

“I know, my love.” She said softly, leaning forwards to press a kiss to her partner’s lips.

“Are you coming back to bed?” Trixie asked, stepping away and catching Katya’s hand.

“No, I’m too wired. You go to sleep, I need to think.”

“I’ll help you.”

“It’s alright, get your beauty sleep, you need to be rested for tomorrow.” She said softly, as Trixie nodded, slipping back into their uncomfortable bed. Katya headed over to their bag, pulling out their laptop and opening it.

“I love you, trash can.” Trixie sighed, grin on her face at the name. Katya chuckled. Trixie would never let her live it down that the first time they met she’d been hidden in a trash can. Her hiding had been so good Trixie had nearly thought herself mad, thinking the bin was talking to her.

“Love you too, arm chair.” Katya snorted, ducking down to press a kiss to the top of Trixie’s head as the other woman settled into the flat pillow. Trixie rolled her eyes, managing to smack Kayta’s ass playfully just before the woman stepped out of reach. Katya stuck her tongue out as she sat down at the tiny table with the laptop.

…………

10:37pm, The Circus

“Right, ready to narrowly escape getting eaten alive.” Katya asked brightly, checking that her gun was fully loaded. She knew it was as she’d filled it purposefully with a mixture of silver bullets and blessed bullets the night before, in case whatever they were dealing with could be shot. There was something about the few hours before an inevitable battle that made her paranoid.

“I don’t like not knowing what we’re up against.” Trixie said anxiously, looking out of the window and into the darkness. “Normally we’re better prepared.” She sighed, chewing her lip.

“Trixie, it’ll be ok. How many times have we done this sort of thing before?” Katya assured her, putting a warm hand on her knee. Trixie turned to look at her with a small smile.

“Lots. And it’s always really dangerous.” She replied, eyes searching Katya’s face as her lips twitched into a smile.

“And that’s why you like it.”

“I love you.” Trixie said earnestly, looking into Katya’s eyes. She suspected that Katya could see the little pink hearts that replaced her eyes every time she gazed at the other woman.

“Love you too.” Katya smiled, putting a hand on the back of Trixie’s head to pull her into a kiss. Trixie sighed as their lips met. There was a small part of her that always worried this kiss would be their last. After a long moment she pulled away and smiled at her lover.

“I think you should wear this tonight. Just in case.” Katya said, pulling a small silver medallion from under her shirt. Her sister had given it to her as a sort of protective good luck charm. Katya was never really sure if it really worked. She’d never seen anything like it in any book and she wouldn’t put it past her sister to give her a placebo charm but if it did have any protective powers, Trixie should be wearing it.

“Your medallion. No Katya, that’s yours.” Trixie shook her head.

“I’d rather you wear it, if it does offer any protection, I want you to have it.” Katya continued, fiddling with the clasp beneath her long, thick hair.

“I’m not helpless, Katya.” Trixie sighed, a note of annoyance to her voice that made Katya stop suddenly.

“I know, beautiful. You’re anything but. I just want you to be safe.” Katya tried to explain, letting her hands fall to her lap.

“You know I’d rather you wear it for the exact same reason.” Trixie laughed with less humour than she’d likely intended. “While you’re busy putting yourself into danger to protect me do you ever consider what I would do if something happened to you? What it would do to me if something happened to you? Especially if it was at my expense.” The car fell silent. This was something that had been eating away at Trixie ever since the incident with the poltergeist that had left her medically dead for a month before being resurected by a teary Katya and her sister. Part of her loved that Katya was protective of her, it showed that she really cared about her. But sometimes it meant Katya didn’t think about her own safety.

“I’m sorry.” Katya said after a long moment, eyes flicking to meet Trixie’s. The younger woman swallowed, immediately feeling guilty for snapping at the other woman, no matter how true the words. This wasn’t the time or the place for this conversation.

“I’m sorry too, this whole thing has got me a little worked up. I’ll feel better once I know what we’re dealing with.” Trixie sighed, rubbing a hand over her eyes. “Wear the medallion Katya, it goes with your outfit.” She added with a smile, reaching out to take Katya’s hand to let her know they were okay. Katya caught her eye and smiled.

“Huh, that might be the first time I’ve worn a coordinating outfit in years and I wasn’t even trying.” Katya joked, looking down at her outfit in exaggerated surprise.

“I didn’t say your whole outfit, girl.” Trixie grinned, rolling her eyes fondly. Katya laughed, squeezing her hand before pulling it to her lips. Trixie squeezed her hand back before pulling away, enjoying the red lipstick imprint of Katya’s lips marked on the back of her hand. “You got your butt kicking boots on?”

“You betcha.” Katya laughed as they got out of the car, flashlights in hand.

……………

“Ok.” Katya said, hair swishing slightly as she dangled upside down from the ceiling. “So it’s alien clowns.” “Uh-huh.” Trixie hummed, hands almost brushing the ground as she spun ever so slightly. The pair were strung up by oddly coloured chains that were wrapped almost painfully around their ankles. They were in a fully concrete room, the walls sloping oddly. It seemed to be some kind of cell. “You’re two handies up on me.” “Where’s the detective when you need him?” Katya asked with a chuckle. “Still trying to blame us probably. How are you holding up over there?” Trixie mused, turning her head to look at Katya. The Russian gave her a soft look, reaching out to see if they could touch one and other. “I can’t decide whether to be excited because aliens or be terrified because clowns.” She confessed, sighing as their fingers tips hung barely a centimetre or so apart. “I mean, I watched one of those clowns literally dislocate its jaw to swallow a bird whole. Snatched it out of the fucking air.” “I was there, Katya. How about we be terrified because they’re going to eat us?” Trixie sighed, letting her arms hang back down. She let out an annoyed grunt as her chain began to spin again. It was really starting to get on her nerves. “Eh.” Katya shrugged, crossing her arms over her chest. “How are you doing?” “I just feel bad for them.” Trixie replied nonchalantly. “Why?” “They’re gonna eat you. Bet you taste like cigarettes, Red Bull, coffee and crying. And have the consistency of jerky left out in the sun for two years.” Trixie laughed. “But with a little bit of whoo!” Katya added, laughing along with her. “Anyway I thought you knew what I tasted like pretty well.” “Humans, will you please act like you are imprisoned. We are sick of the sound of your kind.” A gravelly exasperated sounding voice spoke as part of the concrete wall became see through. On the other side of the wall stood a clown who seemed to be on guard. “Do we have to be upside down? It’s messing up my hair.” Trixie asked, hoping to weed some information out of the guard. “Being upside down isn’t so bad.” Katya mused, evidently enjoying the annoyance she was causing. Trixie rolled her eyes. Katya could be so devil may care sometimes. It was definitely going to get her eaten first. “I see London, I see France…” She began to sign, turning to look at Trixie’s exposed underwear.

“This is the last time I bring a dress to a trouser fight.” Trixie grumbled. “I hate humans.” The guard sighed, hand coming to massage his red nose. Trixie bit her lip. She knew that the creatures wanted to brutally gut them and devour their innards but she couldn’t help but find the squeaking noise the nose made amusing. “Pretty sure that’s racist.” Katya informed it. “Species-ist?” “I think the UN are going have to establish some terminology now there’s confirmation of other life forms.” Trixie mused as the guard reached for something beside him. “Trix-” Katya began, sniffing as the air took a soft pink hue. “Do you smell-” “Dammit.” The younger woman cursed as they slipped out of consciousness. ……… “Katya.” A voice called as Katya began to feel consciousness dragging her back to the cell.

“Not now Trix, Ellie’s about to go through the wormhole.”

“Katya wake up.” The voices insisted, funny Trixie’s voice sounded oddly deep. And why was she putting on a Carolina accent. A hand patted her cheek sharply and she suddenly opened her eyes. “Kevin, where the hell have you been? Call yourself a detective.” Katya snapped as the detective swam into her vision. “Hey Bern, how’re the germs?” Bernie blinked, evidently not sure how to respond.

“Abhorrent as usual?” The hairy man replied as he helped the detective get her down from the ceiling.

“Took you long enough.” Katya huffed as the detective held her weight as Bernie untied the chains. They managed to get her down fairly easily, although Katya wasn’t a fan of being held upside down by a man almost half her size. “We didn’t cover killer alien clowns in the academy.” He snorted, catching Katya as she wobbled. He was taking the whole thing suprisingly well. Maybe Trixie was right. The world swam before her eyes as he slid her down to sit for a moment. All the blood had run to her head, leaving her legs weak. “You win Trix, he’s not so bad.” Katya laughed. There was no reply. The Russian’s heart sunk when she looked to her left to see nobody there. “Where’s Trixie?!” “She’s here too?" "I’m here, of course she’s fucking here too.” She cried incredulously, trying to gather her strength to stand. “She was chained up next to me.” “Woah, you can’t go anywhere yet. I’ll go look for her.” The detective insisted, catching her as she wobbled. “My wife is being primed up as a delicious starter for a bunch of alien clown motherfuckers. I am not staying here.” She insisted, heading towards the opening the pair had entered through. The Kevin and Bernie shared a look before stepping forwards to help her.

"Trixie’s your wife? Women can’t get legally married in this country.” Bernie asked as he offered her an arm for support until her legs become fully cooperative. “We’re married in the spiritual sense.” She informed them, taking the arm gratefully. She didn’t half have pins and needles in her feet. The pair nodded in understanding. “As in we were married by a spirit.” She added, earning two surprised looks. “You’re very odd.” Bernie mused. Katya snorted, Bernie the Wolf Man, walking talking hairy freak show attraction thought she was odd. Most people might use that as a trigger to do some serious self-reflection on their mental state. Katya took it as a compliment. “Trixie finds it charming.” She shrugged with a smile. The smile dropped quickly as she wondered where her lover was. She hated being separated from her like this. They’d been practically glued together at the hip since the night they met all those years ago. Not being together frightened Katya, she couldn’t protect Trixie if she wasn’t with her.

She and Trixie had been through a lot since they’d met four years ago. They’d had many close calls, as was the nature of their business but Katya couldn’t imagine living without the other woman. She’d been unlucky enough to experience Trixie dying already. They’d had this case in Hollywood, a poltergeist that was haunting a basement studio. Katya would never forget the moment she’d turned to see Trixie raised into the air, body at an odd angle as glass from studio lights and cameras swirled around her.

Katya’s had felt the fall as though it had been her own body to hit the floor once she finally managed to expel the spirit. She’d made a joke, a stupid pun as she made her way over to check Trixie for bumps and bruises. The fall hadn’t been that far so she’d expected a groan at the joke and snarky comment. She hadn’t expected a gasp of pain and blood as Trixie shifted onto her back. There was so much blood. She’d forgotten about the glass.

She’d heard Trixie’s last words choke from her lips, that afternoon. Of course they were about her. A confession between friends, one that they’d both been to afraid to verbalise.That had been the first time Katya had ever heard Trixie say she loved her and every day she wished that memory wasn’t tainted by blood and sorrow. Katya had insisted she felt the same a she watched as the light drain from her eyes. It still haunted her.

Katya had called in every favour she had with her twin sister Briana, or as she called her Doctor Bitchcraft, who lived as a witchdoctor beneath the Hollywood sign. She’d offered the woman everything she owned, all her money, what little she had, the clothes off her back and even her baby, the Impala, in exchange for Trixie. Briana had eyed her for a moment before looking down at the motionless body of the pretty girl in front of her.

She’d sent Katya on a month long quest of sorts to find all the rare ingredients for the spell to save Trixie, keeping the body in a magically frozen state until she returned so that Trixie’s spirit could not pass over.

Katya had cried like a baby the moment Trixie’s eyes opened again, her chest heaving as she took her first breath in over a month. Her sister had sat back and watched as the pair had desperately embraced, words that they’d been meaning to say tumbling from their mouths.

That was how they got together and there wasn’t a day the memory didn’t delight and haunt Katya.

There were night she wake up in a sweat, momentarily panicked when she didn’t find Trixie in her arms. Trixie would simply open her eyes and roll over from the other side of the bed, pressing herself against Katya to remind her she was still there.

She couldn’t go back to being alone. Since her sister’s death she didn’t know anyone who would do a resurrection of that kind again. If she lost Trixie this time, she would really be gone and Katya wouldn’t be able to bare it. ………. The unlikely trio turned yet another plain looking corner and suddenly found themselves inside a large, chamber-like room. It was bizarre. It looked like a medieval dining room and yet the walls were covered in odd pieces of complicated looking technology. In the centre of the room stood a huge wooden dining table. And on either side of the table laid almost naked two figures, clad only in their underwear. Each lay motionless and seemingly tied down to the thick wood. The second Katya caught sight of familiar golden hair and hot pink lace, she knew who it was.

“Trixie!” She gasped, causing the other woman to turn to look at her. Katya made to step properly into the large room when Trixie quickly shook her head. The Russian stopped, putting her arms out to the men beside her and pushing them back further into the shadows of the corridor they’d come from. Trixie raised her index and middle fingers at them as best she could with her hands buckled beside her head.

“Is she swearing at us?” Bernie asked in scandalised horror. Katya rolled her eyes.

“Two of them in there.”

“What are we gonna do?”

“I don’t know, we need a plan.” Katya hissed, pulling them into a nearby alcove.

Almost ten minutes later they’d formulated a seemingly fool proof plan after a lot of heated whispered debate. They all nodded at each other. Each secure in their rolls, Katya stepped forward.

“People at the party, and I’m wanting to dance.” Katya sang, cartwheeling into the room. She was the distraction, aka she had the most balls out of the three of them. If there was one thing she was even better at than monster hunting, it was being distracting. She turned, expecting to see two clowns looking at her with confused and maybe slightly impressed looks.

“Wait so you left me for long enough for the clowns to straight up get bored and wander off. And you were using that time to come up with a plan at comprised of you singing Same Parts?” Trixie grumbled, looking thoroughly unimpressed. As if Katya’s obsession with the song by pop sensation Tatianna wasn’t bad enough the rest of the time. It was like she couldn’t even almost die without hearing a Tatianna lyric. Some things just weren’t sacred anymore.

“It would have worked.” Katya insisted, making her way over to her partner. “Guys, the coast is clear.” She called behind her. Two slightly disappointed men came from the corridor. Their plan had really been good. She sighed. What a waste of a Tatianna lyric.

“Anyway, thank goodness you came.“ Trixie breathed, letting her head fall back against the lettuce and rocket beneath her head. "They were about to eat me with instant mashed potatoes! Instant!” She said incredulously as Katya and Kevin began to untie her. “What? You deserve real organic potatoes in the least.” Katya insisted, helping the other woman down from the table as Kevin went to check on Helena. “God you’re so romantic.” Trixie sighed. Bernie removed his shirt and offered it to Trixie to cover herself, leaving himself in a vest. She took it appreciativley, pulling the floral print shirt on. It hung almost to her knees and she had to roll the sleeves up. She mirrored Katya’s grin as the Russian slipped an arm around her lower back. “Um, ladies.” The detective interjected, looking around the room worriedly. “Not now Kev, we have a ritual. We do the thing, we say something cheesy, we kiss, go get food then we bone. A. Lot.” Katya reprimanded, not once looking up from Trixie’s face, grin fixed on her lips. “It’s sacred.” Trixie nodded.

“Only there’s a bunch of killer alien clown motherfuckers looking at us and I reckon they’re not happy you’re trying to steal their dinner.” Kevin stammered, causing the pair to finally look away from each other. They turned to see eight red-eyed clowns staring at them.

“Ok, we’re outnumbered.” Katya breathed, looking around for a weapon. One of the clowns let out a horrifyingly creepy chuckle.

“Maybe we can reason with them?” Bernie said hopefully. The creatures all bared their long, sharp fangs. Their jaws seemed to dislocate, looking almost like an oversized toothy grin.

“I hope you taste as good as you are annoying, humans.” One of the aliens growled, saliva dripping from its teeth as they all began to close in on the four of them. Katya tried to maintain her look of horror as she felt Trixie pass her a piece of cold metal. Weapons are more effective if they’re a surprise. It felt like a knife. Perfect.

“Reasoning seems out, Dog Man” Katya said with a raised eyebrow, patting the hairy man’s back. “You may want to get behind us.” She whispered to the men as the creatures came ever closer.

“You’re mad.” Bernie huffed, raising his fists in front of him. Huh, seems all it took was a bunch of alien clowns who wanted to eat you to turn a pacifist into a fighter. The detective pulled out his gun, preparing himself for the fight. Katya wished she had her gun too.

The first creature lunged at Trixie, earning a punch to the face as the others three dispersed, each finding their own battle. Trixie raised her knife, jabbing it towards the hideous clowns in front of her. The pair dodged away from her, trying to find a weak spot. Katya raised the weapon she’d been given ready to stab one of the creatures when she saw what she was holding.

“You gave me a damned fork?!” Katya cried incredulously as she realised what was in her hand. She quickly shoved it between her teeth and began to fist fight with the clown that lunged at her.

“Stab in four places at once.” Trixie yelled back as she managed to slash one of the clown’s throats. It shrieked and began to shrivel as though becoming crispy and dry. The remains crumbled in multi-coloured dust before her eyes. She looked up with wide eyes at the other clown in front of her who had reached into his oversized trousers. She had to admit there was a small part of her that was thankful it was some sort of futuristic looking gun of all the things the creature could have been keeping in there. That feeling was short lived as she realised what appeared to be a ray gun was much more dangerous than a dick would have been.

Katya’s head shot up at Trixie’s shout of the words ‘ray gun’. She was sat on a corpse that was quickly disintegrating beneath her. Aliens and ray guns! This was fantastic. Well, it was until she saw said ray gun pointed at Trixie. For a lack of anything else to do in the short amount of time she spat the fork into her hand and tossed it across the room.

Trixie gasped as she felt dust cloud into her face. She blinked, coughing on the blur of colours in front of her. Right in front of her, wedged between the heavy stones, stood a fork. She turned to give Katya an, admittedly thankful, ‘I told you so’ look. Katya gave her the finger before being jumped on from behind by one of the clowns.

Trixie grabbed the gun from the ground and ran towards her, leaping up onto the large table. She fumbled with the gun, pulling the trigger but nothing happened.

“If you could shoot this dick at some point.” Katya cried, managing to roll the creature off her back.

“I’m trying. He didn’t teach me how to use it before he got forked, Kat!”

“Give it to me then.”

“I forgot you did a course in alien weaponry in school.” She snapped, pulling one of the knobs and nearly jumping out of her skin as the gun flashed bright green suddenly. She pulled the trigger, disintegrating the clown that was seconds away from sinking its teeth into her lover.

“Sarcasm is not becoming of a lady.” Katya shouted as she rushed to help Bernie who was trying to fist fight three clowns at once. Kevin ran towards her, throwing his now empty gun at the fat clown chasing him. Trixie dropped the gun onto the table and grabbed a large metal dish.

“Duck.” She cried as the detective approached. The young man dropped and rolled. Unfortunately for the clown, it didn’t register the words before the metal dish hit it square in the face. It hit the ground with a heavy thud, sounding almost like a dropped bag of flour. Trixie handed the dish to Kevin who brought the edge sharply down on the creature’s neck. Colourful dust spilled from its clothing.

Bernie and Katya managed to take down one of the clowns but quickly found themselves running away. Bernie directed them towards a large fireplace, grabbing Katya’s arm to pull her away from a lunging creature. Once the arrived at the target destination he grabbed a fire poker handing it to Katya before grabbing a heavy metal kettle.

Bernie struck his creature first, sending it tumbling back. It snarled at him, lunging forwards again and this time managing a deep scratch on his arms with its exposed fangs before Katya swung her poker and flung it away. Luckily Bernie did not seem too badly hurt as he quickly turned to the other clown and began to fight it.

“Say hello to your dead dad on the beach.” Katya cried, raising the metal pole to strike the final blow to the vicious creature. Kevin ran to help Bernie take down the clown as Trixie dropped to untie Helena from the table. Lucky girl to sleep through the whole ordeal. Trixie hadn’t realised just how lucky they were the aliens hadn’t found them quiet annoying enough to sedate them like they had her.

“Oh my God. Contact!” The alien said suddenly, looking up at her with shining eyes. “I love that movie.” He breathed, hand on his chest as though he had never found another being who understood him better. Katya faltered, willingness to kills a creature she had so much in common with slipping. They both liked the movie Contact and eating Trixie, admittedly in different ways but it’s whatever.

Trixie’s head snapped around at the words she feared most in this world. No! Not another person, well creature, that loved that damned movie. She marched across the room. She could not let this thing encourage Katya’s insistence to talk about that crap.

“Hey. We were bonding!” Katya cried as Trixie shot the clown in the face. The creautre fell into colourful dust alongside the others. The floor was now an odd juxtaposition of dirty, grey stone and brightly coloured rainbow dust.

“He was reaching for a weapon.” Trixie insisted, quickly returning to untying the young girl.

“What weapon?”

“It was concealed.” Trixie shrugged.

“He was reaching for concealer. To fix his make up?” Katya asked in her valley girl voice. Trixie looked at her with dead eyes.

“I wish they’d eaten me.” Trixie groaned from deep within her soul. Katya cackled.

“Don’t worry, I’ll eat you if you like.” She offered, nudging the other woman with her elbow. The detective took off his coat to cover Helena’s Wonder Woman underwear and keep her warm. He picked her up, thankful to have finally found her. He’d been so worried.

“Is it just me that finds being around them a constant state of being amused and uncomfortable?” Bernie asked turning to the detective with a helpless look.

“Same, man. Same.” The detective nodded as Bernie wandered towards the computers curiously.

“Well that’s all done.” Katya said, clapping her hands before brushing coloured dust from the shoulder of her jacket.

“I don’t even know where to start with the paperwork.” Kevin confessed.

“I heard them say they kept her sedated pretty much all the time because she screamed a full hour when they first took her.” Trixie said, checking the girl’s pulse. It was low but regular, similar to that of someone who was simply sleeping. “Ours wore off though, so I can only assume hers will too.” She added, gently pulling at the girl’s eyelid to check her eyes.

“Maybe you just found her out on the highway, walking or something.” Katya suggested.

“The bodies disintegrate so there’s no suspicion there.” Trixie added, wiggling her toes with a look of disgust. She was barefoot and she could feel gritty powder between her toes. Great. There were bits of alien clowns between her toes. Perfect.

“Wrapped up pretty neatly I’d say.” Katya nodded.

“What about the big fuck off spaceship we’re in?” The detective cried. Trixie and Katya both blinked. They hadn’t actually seen this place from the outside. They’d been taken from the circus and the next thing they knew they were hanging upside down in a cell.

“Guys.” Bernie interjected from his place beside a collection of screens and blinking lights.

“Not now, Dog Man.” Katya waved a hand. “Only I think this building may explode.” He informed them, quickly catching their attention. They all rushed over. “Inspector?” He asked, motioning to the screen. Bernie took Helena gently from Kevin. The detective surged forwards, pressing buttons in a way that was obviously supposed to look like he knew what he was doing. “In the academy they taught us some basic coding and this looks like a detonation.” He said quickly, flicking another switch hopefully. “I don’t know why I ever doubted you, Kevin.” Katya nodded cheerily, clapping on the back. Kevin blinked at her, open mouthed. It took a second for her to rerun his words in her head. “Oh shit.”

“Yeah, you have to be a trained specialist to understand a detonation countdown and a big red flashing button.” Trixie pointed out, the cold of the stone floor stinging at her feet. Kevin flipped another switch. The room around them became suddenly blurry, as though the edges of the room were shifting in and out of focus. The room around them suddenly became a sixties nautical themed room. The cold floor beneath Trixie’s feet was replaced with a grey rug in the shape of a swordfish. “Is this a run now or a ‘I can disable it’ kind of thing?” Katya asked, looking around at the design of the room with interest. “Ummm. Oh no.” He said quickly. “The first one. The first one!” He cried, the pitch of his voice fluctuating to something almost comically high as he read the screen. The detective ran, grabbing the two by the arm to turn them round. The pair looked at each other for less than a second before bolting after him. Bernie hurried behind them, carrying the unconscious girl. …………. “There we go. All done here.” Katya said, shutting the trunk of her beloved car and wiping her dusty hands on her jeans much to Trixie’s annoyance. “Where to now?” “Well the thing is we never finished our ritual.” Trixie pointed out, leaning against the trunk of the car with a coy smile. “That is very true.” Katya nodded, raising her eyebrows with a grin. “Where did we get up to?” “Well we did the say something cheesy part but I don’t think we can just jump to the kissing.” Trixie said seriously, hands coming up to straighten the front of Katya’s purple leather jacket. She wasn’t really a fan of the purple one on Katya. It looked great on her though. She was waiting for the day Katya would realise that and just give it to her. “You’re right the kissing has to come after the cheesy.” Katya agreed, stepping closer to her lover. “You got any good lines?” Trixie grinned. Katya paused for a second, looking up at the sky and sighing thoughtfully as she let her hands fall to rest on Trixie’s hips. She hummed. “I hope those aliens checked their smoke detectors before having you because laid out on the platter, you were smokin’.” Katya purred, wiggling her shoulders excitedly. "Ok, that surpassed cheesy and was just bad.” Trixie snorted, rolling her eyes fondly. “You’re lucky I love you.” She sighed, stroking a hand over Katya’s cheek. She pulled the other woman close, pressing her lips to her lover’s with a smile. Katya hummed, pulling her flush against her own body. Trixie’s arms slid around the Russian’s neck, fingers curling into her blonde hair.

After a few minutes, Katya pulled away, dipping to press another quick kiss to Trixie’s lips as though not wanting to stop kissing her. It was odd. She’d kissed Trixie so many times over the past few years. And yet every time their lips met, a bolt of nerves and pleasure shot down her spine and pooled in her stomach. “Now, I believe, let me just check my list.” Katya mimed pulling a list from her pocket and folding it out. Trixie snorted, watching the other woman fondly. “Ah, yep. An I.O.U for two handies, subject to be paid in full by one Trixie Mattel.” “We haven’t eaten yet.” Trixie pointed out, looking down at the hand placed scandalously high up on her thigh. “We’ll get in and out on the way back to the room.” Katya suggested, patting Trixie’s thigh before stepping back and pulling the car keys from her jacket pocket. “And then we’ll go to In and Out burger, get it?” Trixie joked as they walked around the car to their respective sides. “You’re lucky you’re pretty.” Katya snorted, shaking her head as she slid into the driver’s seat. Trixie laughed as she joined the other woman in the car. Kevin waved as the car pulled away. It certainly wasn’t the last time he’d see the hunters throughout his career, but what would continue to surprise him every time was just how perfect the pair were for each other. And that’s how the two local to nowhere hunters defeated killer alien clowns and introduced the currency of handies to a small town.

#new year new au #ellen thwoorp #katya zamolodchikova #trixie mattel #trixya #lesbian au #cisgirl au #au #fluff #minor angst #horror #humour #rpdr fanfiction #tw death mentions #tw mild gore #tw abduction mention #tw clowns #submission

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